Althouse: At the Fall Flowers Café...

September 26, 2017

At the Fall Flowers Café...

... you can write what you want.

And please use The Althouse Amazon Portal.

157 comments:

brylun said...: A nod to Laslo: 57th use of the "Hillary goes away" tag? Clinton reportedly calls Kushner emails 'the height of hypocrisy'; 9/26/17, 12:19 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Yesterday Consortium News published an article written by Robert Parry and titled "WPost Pushes More Dubious Russia-bashing". Excerpts follow.

... Some people feel that the evidence-lite and/or false allegations about “Russian meddling” are the golden ticket to Trump’s impeachment. But the unprofessional behavior of The New York Times, The Washington Post and pretty much the entire mainstream media regarding Russia-gate cannot be properly justified by the goal of removing Trump from office.

Ethically in journalism, the ends – however much you might wish them to succeed – cannot justify the means, if those means involve violating rules of evidence and principles of fairness. ....

... a banner headline [appeared] across the front page of Monday’s Washington Post, another screed about how Russia supposedly used Facebook ads to flip last November’s election for Trump.

The article ... actually it is a story about how powerful politicians bullied Facebook into coming up with something – anything – to support the narrative of “Russian meddling,” including direct interventions by President Obama and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia ... Facebook was sent back again and again to find what Obama and Warner wanted the social media company to find.

Eventually, Facebook turned up $100,000 in ads from 2015 into 2017 that supposedly were traced somehow to Russia. These ads apparently addressed political issues in America although Facebook has said most did not pertain directly to the presidential election and some ads were purchased after the election. ...

Left out of the Post’s latest opus is what a very small pebble these ads were – even assuming that Russians did toss the $100,000 or so in ad buys into the very large lake of billions of dollars in U.S. political spending for the 2016 election cycle. ...

So the assertion that this alleged “meddling” – and we’ve yet to see any evidence connecting these ads to the Russian government – “played a key role in the U.S. election” is both silly and outrageous ....

Even the Post’s alarmist article briefly acknowledges that it is still unclear who bought the ads, referring to the purchasers as “suspected Russian operatives.” In other words, we don’t even know that the $100,000 in ads over three years came from Russians seeking to influence the U.S. election. (By comparison, many Facebook advertisers – even some small businesses – spend $100,000 per day on their ads, not $100,000 over three years.)

But this diminutive effort by “suspected Russian operatives” doesn’t stop the Post from going on and on about “fake news” and “disinformation,” albeit again without offering evidence or specifics of any Russian “fake news” or “disinformation.”

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/09/25/wpost-pushes-more-dubious-russia-bashing/; 9/26/17, 12:28 PM
J. Farmer said...: The damage done to Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria is pretty staggering. If you're interested in contributing to relief efforts, here are a couple of links...

Here’s where you can donate to relief efforts in Puerto Rico

Where To Donate Money And Goods For Hurricane Maria Relief; 9/26/17, 12:29 PM
MayBee said...: Yesterday there was an interview with the CEO of AirBnB on CBS this morning that Althouse might find interesting. He talked about the way they got Eric Holder to help them write a user agreement to eliminate discrimination on the part of home owners renting out their homes. He then said very proudly that recently they found out White Supremicists were using AirBnB to rent out places when they were coming in to town for a protest. And they found a way to keep that from happening.

I just can't agree with that. If you are trying to use your company to advance the idea that people need to rent to people rather than practice discrimination....you should live by that. Is the homeowner who doesn't want to rent to a LaRaza protester more wrong than a person who doesn't want to rent to a White Supremacist? If you are a person renting out your own home, can you or can you not decide that someone makes you uncomfortable?; 9/26/17, 12:37 PM
mccullough said...: Last week of MLB regular season. Still a fight for the second NL wild card. I tip my cap to the Brewers and Rockies. They've both had great seasons and improved over last season while the NL itself is stronger. Also the Twins made the biggest turnaround. Be great to see any of these teams make some noise in the postseason; 9/26/17, 12:49 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Following up my comment at 12:28, I want to add the following passages from the Consortium News article:

.... Facebook initially – after extensive searching – did not find evidence of a Russian operation. Then, after continued pressure from high-level Democrats, Facebook continued to scour its system and again found nothing, or as the Post article acknowledged, Facebook “had searched extensively for evidence of foreign purchases of political advertising but had come up short.”

That prompted [Senator Mark] Warner to fly out to Silicon Valley to personally press Facebook executives to come up with the evidence to support the Democrats’ theory about Russia paying for carefully targeted anti-Clinton ads in key districts.

The Post’s article reported that “Finally, [Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex] Stamos appealed to Warner for help: If U.S. intelligence agencies had any information about the Russian operation or the troll farms it used to disseminate misinformation, they should share it with Facebook. The company is still waiting, people involved in the matter said.” ...

Facebook finally delivered the desired results, or as the Post reported, “By early August, Facebook had identified more than 3,000 ads addressing social and political issues that ran in the United States between 2015 and 2017 and that appear to have come from accounts associated with the [Russia-based] Internet Research Agency.”

So, the ads covering three years, including post-election 2017, only “appear” to be “associated” with some private Russian operation that only allegedly has ties to the Kremlin. And the total sums of the ad buys are infinitesimal ...

If ... this story were ... about the U.S. government trying to influence public opinion in another country, the Post would be among the first news outlets to laugh off such allegations or dismiss the vague accusations as a conspiracy theory, but since these allegations fit with the prejudices of the Post’s editors, an entirely different set of journalistic standards is applied. ...

Instead of looking in the mirror, national Democrats demanded that Facebook executives ferret out whatever tiny or imaginary information there might be about some Russians buying Facebook ads – and then allow those coerced findings to be fed into the excuse industry for why Hillary Clinton lost.

And, what about the Post’s repeated accusations about Russia engaging in “disinformation” and “fake news” without offering a single example? Apparently, these assertions have become such articles of faith in the U.S. mainstream media that they don’t require any proof. ...

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/09/25/wpost-pushes-more-dubious-russia-bashing/; 9/26/17, 12:54 PM
StephenFearby said...: In other important news today, workers digging near the Paul Revere house in Boston's North End believe they may have found an archaeological jackpot.

The Revere family outhouse.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/09/26/paul-revere-outhouse-north-end-house-dig-joe-bagley/; 9/26/17, 12:58 PM
Michael K said...: Aw shit.; 9/26/17, 1:02 PM
madAsHell said...: I see that Kathy Griffin is going out on a world tour, but no dates in north America.; 9/26/17, 1:06 PM
Patrick said...: " I tip my cap to the Brewers and Rockies. They've both had great seasons and improved over last season while the NL itself is stronger."

I agree, McCullough, but I have to say I'm disappointed with their performance against the Cubs last weekend. That was a big opportunity.

Nevertheless, it has been a fairly good season (I do hope standards for that rise very soon), and it's great to see them playing for something in mid-September.

Go brewers!; 9/26/17, 1:09 PM
320Busdriver said...: Cubs are peaking at just the right time. The last 4 games pretty much prove that. The Crew was lucky to take game 3 and avoid a 4th, if you count the Pittsburgh game, crushing extra innings loss. Remember the Brewers swept the Cubs in Chi-town just a few weeks ago. I have to keep telling myself that I never expected them to be contenders when the season began, much less lead the division for the first half.

Added: America is losing its scheiss over this flag stuff. I say ignore it and it will go away. I respect your right to burn your NFL jerseys just as I respect the players right to kneel or do whatever they can get away with while at work. Doesn't mean I think any of it is wise. If you are looking to get rid of your Packer Season tickets give me a jingle.; 9/26/17, 1:33 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Looks like we can finally settle the longstanding debate as to whether the Reveres were cannibals.; 9/26/17, 1:40 PM
FWBuff said...: Thanks, @J. Farmer. The hurricane damage in Puerto Rico is terrible. We're also seeing the beginnings of the media's concerted effort to turn this into Trump's "Katrina" despite the praise by the governor of Puerto Rico and the mayor of San Juan for the responses by FEMA and the Trump administration so far.; 9/26/17, 1:46 PM
Big Mike said...: @StephenFearby, back when my wife was an undergraduate she took s class in archeology which included digging up an 18th century privy in old Philadelphia near City Hall. Surprising what sort of things fell in or were thrown in along with the usual stuff that falls into a privy. As I recollect, the discoveries included a human skull as well as broken pottery, buttons, and 18th century coins. They also discovered viable trichinosis larvae in the soil -- two centuries after the poor trichinosis sufferer voided them.; 9/26/17, 1:47 PM
Ken B said...: I just want to call out buwaya, whose observation about sports as a mass hallucination and the bursting bubble strikes me as the sharpest thing anyone has said on the NFL on its knees thing.; 9/26/17, 1:50 PM
mccullough said...: The Brewers played the Cubs well this season, 9-10 against them. If the Brewers come up a little short it won't be because of their division play, which are usually the toughest games because the teams know each other well. The Brewers should have won more games against the NL east and a few more interleague games. They played well against the tough BL West.; 9/26/17, 2:02 PM
mccullough said...: NL West; 9/26/17, 2:03 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Yesterday's Washington Post describes the decisive advertisements that Facebook think might have been purchased by Russian operatives for $100,000 during the course of three years (about $33,000 a year) to cause Hillary Clinton to lose the US Presidential election:

[quote]

The batch of more than 3,000 Russian-bought ads that Facebook is preparing to turn over to Congress shows a deep understanding of social divides in American society, with some ads promoting African American rights groups, including Black Lives Matter, and others suggesting that these same groups pose a rising political threat, say people familiar with the covert influence campaign.

The Russian campaign — taking advantage of Facebook’s ability to send contrary messages to different groups of users based on their political and demographic characteristics — also sought to sow discord among religious groups. Other ads highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women. ...

The previously undisclosed ads suggest that the operatives worked off evolving lists of racial, religious, political and economic themes. They used these to create pages, write posts and craft ads that would appear in users’ news feeds — with the apparent goal of appealing to one audience and alienating another. In some cases, the pages even advertised events. ...

.... the ads and accounts appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum — touching on topics from LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights ...

Clinton Watts, part of a research team that was among the first to warn publicly of the Russian propaganda campaign during the 2016 election, said that identifying and exploiting existing social and cultural divisions are common Russian disinformation tactics dating back to the Cold War.

“We have seen them operating on both sides” of an issue, said Watts, a fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a former FBI agent. ...

In addition to the ads described to The Post, Russian operatives used Facebook to promote anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim messages. And Facebook has said that one-quarter of the ads bought by the Russian operatives identified so far targeted a particular geographic area. ...

[end quote]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/russian-operatives-used-facebook-ads-to-exploit-divisions-over-black-political-activism-and-muslims/2017/09/25/4a011242-a21b-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html?pushid=59c9727dd4ac501c0000005f&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.52a74058110a; 9/26/17, 2:07 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: After our President Trump was elected, there seemed to be a rather even race to see which of two US Government institutions would disgrace itself the worst -- 1) the US Judiciary and 2) the US Intelligence Community.

However, the appointment of Judge Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court seems to have put some brakes on the US Judiciary's race to disgrace itself the worst.

Now there is no longer any competition. The US Intelligence Community is leading -- by miles -- all US institutions in the race to disgrace itself the worst.; 9/26/17, 2:13 PM
Nonapod said...: Do people believe that those silly Russian bought ads actually did anything? I mean, really?

I believe that ultimately the Russians only goal is to sow discord in the USA. Fortunately for them, in turns out they didn't really have to do anything at all to get all sorts of discord. There's plenty of righteous anger and distrust to go around in America today.; 9/26/17, 2:20 PM
Sebastian said...: Update for soccer fans: Ramos handball in penalty area waved off, Dortmund wuz robbed.; 9/26/17, 2:29 PM
J. Farmer said...: @FWBuff:

Thanks, @J. Farmer. The hurricane damage in Puerto Rico is terrible. We're also seeing the beginnings of the media's concerted effort to turn this into Trump's "Katrina" despite the praise by the governor of Puerto Rico and the mayor of San Juan for the responses by FEMA and the Trump administration so far.

I take your point, but I don't really give a fuck about who wants to play politics with this thing, be it the media or Trump. As usual, I don't really see much of a side to be on either way. My father has worked in PR for more than 20 years and is currently sitting in a tugboat off the Port of Ponce. No cell or internet service available. Luckily been in touch through sat phone and email via sat connection. Puerto Rico will need major relief services in the coming months.; 9/26/17, 2:34 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Mike Sylwester:

The US Intelligence Community is leading -- by miles -- all US institutions in the race to disgrace itself the worst.

That's not really anything new.; 9/26/17, 2:35 PM
John Nowak said...: I've always wondered if Hillary needed US / Russian relations to go sour so she could plausibly claim any released emails were forged.; 9/26/17, 2:36 PM
Ken B said...: Facts on shootings. https://www.city-journal.org/html/hard-data-hollow-protests-15458.html

The NFL refused to allow players to commemorate the 5 cops killed by a BLM activist.; 9/26/17, 2:42 PM
Ken B said...: Direct TV will let angry customers have a refund if they complain about the protests.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/directv-allows-some-nfl-refunds-after-anthem-controversy-1506453159; 9/26/17, 2:51 PM
Gahrie said...: Puerto Rico will need major relief services in the coming months.

Puerto Rico has major economic problems caused by corruption, over generous pensions and deficit spending. Basically Democrats doing what Democrats do.

Much of the current problems in Puerto Rico come from neglect and the diversion of funds intended for infrastructure improvement and disaster preparedness.

While I have compassion for the people, this must not turn into a general bailout of Puerto Rico. Send food, water, medicine to the people, but no bailout for the government.

Congress needs to return Puerto Rico to direct federal control.; 9/26/17, 2:58 PM
MadisonMan said...: I have really enjoyed the recent heat wave. There is something awesome about very warm temperatures after Fall's astronomic start. All the Stink Bugs clogging my screens can die.

I've found it interesting that Madison has experienced, in the past 5 years, a couple of extended heat waves (4-5 record highs in a row) outside of Summer (March 2012, February this year, and Now). This is not something I recall too well as happening during my youth; maybe April 1976? It's the kind of thing that makes we want to look through the entire temperature record.; 9/26/17, 3:24 PM
J. Farmer said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/26/17, 3:33 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Gahrie:

While I have compassion for the people, this must not turn into a general bailout of Puerto Rico.

Fantastic. So how much are you donating to the relief effort?; 9/26/17, 3:37 PM
Quaestor said...: MeadeHouse should be on the lookout for a Western Giant Puffball. Madison in late September is the epicenter of their appearance — here and there, usually in a sunny spot. Lightly sautéed with a smidgen of Meade's homegrown garlic and a green salad on the side, lovely! Better even than a Burgundian truffle IMOA.; 9/26/17, 3:39 PM
traditionalguy said...: Corker has put a cork in it. The 2018 elections may restock the Senate Swamp with more Trump supporters.; 9/26/17, 3:45 PM
FWBuff said...: @J.Farmer I don't deny that Puerto Rico has suffered terribly from Irma and Maria. I also agree with you that the suffering shouldn't be politicized. I appreciate your making the donation links available. But my point still stands that the media are scrambling to use Maria to smear Trump similar to how they used Katrina. I don't yet see Trump trying to politicize his administration's response the other way.; 9/26/17, 3:48 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: One individual who is familiar with an aspect of the Mueller inquiry but asked to not be named told New York that, unlike other federal probes that he’s seen in action, where prosecutors build their cases from clear allegations, this one feels different. “This is a backward investigation,” the individual said. “You don’t have a crime. You’re searching. And so you’re not really sure exactly what you’re searching for. So you start asking around and you see what comes up. And you start creating a paradigm and you see what else comes up and figure out at some point whether or not there’s a crime.” - New York Magazine.; 9/26/17, 3:59 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: J. Farmer said...
@Gahrie:

While I have compassion for the people, this must not turn into a general bailout of Puerto Rico.

Fantastic. So how much are you donating to the relief effort?

9/26/17, 3:37 PM

After Vieques I feel about PR kinda how you feel about Israel.

Meh. At best.; 9/26/17, 3:59 PM
J. Farmer said...: @FWBuff:

But my point still stands that the media are scrambling to use Maria to smear Trump similar to how they used Katrina.

Sure. They've been trying to smear him with anything that will stick for two years now. That's old new.

I don't yet see Trump trying to politicize his administration's response the other way.

Well, I don't think this is exactly the most opportune time to point out Puerto Rico's infrastructure and debt problems while millions of its citizens are suffering hardship. Plus, it's important to separate the smears from legitimate criticisms. One of the problems of the media's scorched earth policy is that it leads people to blindly defend Trump against every perceivable criticism regardless of its legitimacy. You might take Sean Hannity as the prototypical example, if a bit of an extreme case. But for what it's worth, I always supported Trump because of his policies; I think one should always be careful not to be a flatterer or supporter of politicians.; 9/26/17, 4:02 PM
Quaestor said...: Much of the current problems in Puerto Rico come from neglect and the diversion of funds intended for infrastructure improvement and disaster preparedness.

Detroit with palm trees. The number of Peurto Ricans (statutory citizens, mind you, not citizens as defined by the Constitution) living on public service pensions is amazing (though some of those pensions are DoD payouts, and therefore not so pernicious as such retirement plan abuses tend to be) and paying those pensions has left the Commonwealth unable to afford basic stuff like road maintenance. Many of those trees that fell and destroyed the power grid were overgrown disasters waiting to happen, but with pension liabilities growing faster than the tax base arborist services are among the "luxuries" local governments must indefinitely defer.

J. Farmer wrote: Fantastic. So how much are you donating to the relief effort?

Send this question to twenty or thirty of the NFL's highest-paid players. The means to defeat President Trump are staring them in the face! Donate that Lambourgini which costs you more to service and insure than it cost you to buy. Refrain from that next wife-bashing incident that will drain a million in legal fees from your bottom line. The check to the Red Cross will hardly be a dent in the lifestyle (and tax-deductible, though you don't really don't pay that much attention, do you?); 9/26/17, 4:05 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

After Vieques I feel about PR kinda how you feel about Israel.

Meh. At best.

Except Israel is a foreign country, and Puerto Rico is a commonwealth whose people are US citizens.; 9/26/17, 4:05 PM
Jupiter said...: J. Farmer said...

"Fantastic. So how much are you donating to the relief effort?"

They can have Bill and Hillary. Obama too. What more do they need?; 9/26/17, 4:05 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Quaestor:

The check to the Red Cross will hardly be a dent in the lifestyle (and tax-deductible, though you don't really don't pay that much attention, do you?)

Once again, Quaestor, you are tilting at windmills.; 9/26/17, 4:06 PM
Sebastian said...: "how much are you donating to the relief effort?" I am sure DJT and Congress will be making a substantial contribution on my behalf.

How much, exactly, did PR save up to deal with predictable emergencies like this? What is that you say, they are deeply in debt, and can't fend for themselves, and have not a penny in the bank?

How did they harden their infrastructure, sitting out in the open sea like they are? Where did they store up supplies, ready for distribution? What is that you say, it all has to be brought in from the mainland, courtesy of taxpayers elsewhere?; 9/26/17, 4:07 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Jupiter:

They can have Bill and Hillary. Obama too. What more do they need?

Just out of curiosity, what the hell does any of this have to do with the Clintons or Obamas?; 9/26/17, 4:08 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Sebastian:

Presuming that Florida and Texas don't suffer the same institutional problems you mention, is it permissible to solicit charitable donations for people suffering in those places?; 9/26/17, 4:11 PM
Michael K said...: Farmer, I donated to JJ Watts' thing for Houston because I thought it would actually get to the people who needed it.

I don't donate to the Red Cross. The executives make enough as it is.

I've been to Puerto Rico and if someone comes up with a valid sounding program, I might give some.

It is a welfare hellhole, sort of like New Orleans before Katrina.; 9/26/17, 4:13 PM
Gahrie said...: Fantastic. So how much are you donating to the relief effort?

To Puerto Rico? Nothing so far.

I did contribute to the Houston relief efforts. Perhaps next quarter I will contribute to PR, if I feel it won't be wasted.; 9/26/17, 4:14 PM
Michael K said...: Just out of curiosity, what the hell does any of this have to do with the Clintons or Obamas?

Haiti.; 9/26/17, 4:14 PM
Quaestor said...: Once again, Quaestor, you are tilting at windmills.

Not exactly. I prefer to think of it as tilting at blowhards.; 9/26/17, 4:15 PM
Gahrie said...: Well, I don't think this is exactly the most opportune time to point out Puerto Rico's infrastructure and debt problems while millions of its citizens are suffering hardship

Considering that millions of the citizens of PR are constantly suffering hardships, when would be a good time?; 9/26/17, 4:16 PM
Quaestor said...: The good doctor wrote: Haiti.

Ka-BOOM!; 9/26/17, 4:17 PM
FWBuff said...: @J.Farmer

I'm not blindly defending or flattering Trump. Even though I don't like his shoot-from-the-hip style, he is correct in saying that Puerto Rico's pre-existing debt and infrastructure problems are going to make hurricane recovery more difficult. That was also true of New Orleans and Katrina. But it doesn't take away from the need to respond to the immediate crisis.; 9/26/17, 4:17 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Tim in Vermont at 3:59 PM

One individual who is familiar with an aspect of the Mueller inquiry ... “This is a backward investigation, ... You don’t have a crime." ....

This is how Robert "The FBI White-Washer" Mueller is conducting himself and his investigation.

Mueller is disgracing himself. The US Intelligence Community is disgracing itself.

Mueller is using our Intelligence Community to collect information about the sexual infidelities of President Trump's associates in order to pressure them to provide information against Trump.

A couple days after Mueller's team searched Paul Manafort's home, information about Manafort's mistress was leaked to Manafort's daughters and to the tabloids.

That is how Mueller rolls. This "investigation" is an absolute disgrace.; 9/26/17, 4:18 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Quaestor:

I prefer to think of it as tilting at blowhards.

Funny, that's just what I think about people who decide to respond to basic requests for charity with a bunch of red herrings.

@Michael K:

I've been to Puerto Rico and if someone comes up with a valid sounding program, I might give some.

It is a welfare hellhole, sort of like New Orleans before Katrina.

So that means the people there deserve their suffering and don't deserve help? If a welfare queen was in a bad car accident and needed assistance, was the fact that she was on welfare dissuade you from assisting? Why or why not?; 9/26/17, 4:19 PM
rehajm said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/26/17, 4:21 PM
J. Farmer said...: @FWBuff:

I'm not blindly defending or flattering Trump.

I didn't mean to imply you were doing it personally. I was just making a larger point.

he is correct in saying that Puerto Rico's pre-existing debt and infrastructure problems are going to make hurricane recovery more difficult.

As the saying goes, timing is everything.; 9/26/17, 4:21 PM
Gahrie said...: It is a welfare hellhole, sort of like New Orleans before Katrina.

So that means the people there deserve their suffering and don't deserve help??

How much help, and for how long? How about the fact that much of the suffering was caused by a failure to prepare? How about the fact that resources dedicated to preparing were diverted to other uses?

We ants are getting really tired of the grasshoppers constantly showing up with their hands out.; 9/26/17, 4:23 PM
Quaestor said...: Just what percentage did the vaunted Clinton Foundation actually funnel to the storm-stricken poor of that half-island? 7%, 9% with the wind at its back. Enough to keep that 501(c)(3). Barely. Trump writes a check drawn on his account. The Clintons did nothing but touch others for the dough. Their own millions remained blissfully drawing interest, unmolested by withdrawals and such.; 9/26/17, 4:25 PM
Sebastian said...: "Presuming that Florida and Texas don't suffer the same institutional problems you mention, is it permissible to solicit charitable donations for people suffering in those places?" I am not in the business of giving permission. Anyone is free to raise money for PR regardless of the, umm, "institutional problems." Nor does anyone ask for my permission to waste money on disaster areas, like the billions spent after Katrina to prop up a sinking bathtub in the path of major storms, or the billions spent under the flood insurance program on properties that flood repeatedly, etc. etc.

But I do prefer to donate money to people who have shown that they take responsibility for themselves. Judging by its already unsustainable debt, PR has not.; 9/26/17, 4:26 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: After Vieques I feel about PR kinda how you feel about Israel.

Meh. At best.

Except Israel is a foreign country, and Puerto Rico is a commonwealth

Due to the very interventionist/imperialism you decry.
If ROW now is nothing to us, WTH was PR, Cuba or the Philippines to us then?

whose people are US citizens.

Like anchor babies. A historical accident, much to be regretted. Give it back to Spain. Or cut 'em loose whichever. They love being American so much I guess they can come here.

You just care because it's your ox being gored.; 9/26/17, 4:27 PM
rehajm said...: Tim Thomas on his protest of The White House visit after the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup victory:

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT"

Sports Illustrated’s response:

There is a time and place for people in hockey to express themselves politically as individuals. They can do it in the voting booth, they can donate to political causes they support, they can do it almost any time or any way they wish -- except when the time in question is for the team. Tim Thomas decided to exploit a non-political event to expose his personal political views. To exploit this highly visible group function in order to make a statement about one's individual beliefs is sharply out of tune with everything this club has supposedly been about and what that celebration is intended to be.

Fuck you liberal assholes. Enjoy your Trump induced stomach ulcers.; 9/26/17, 4:29 PM
Quaestor said...: So that means the people there deserve their suffering and don't deserve help??

With the sophistry filter engaged, that reads: It would be nice if they got some help.; 9/26/17, 4:29 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Queastor:

Who, exactly, are you arguing with?; 9/26/17, 4:32 PM
Gahrie said...: As far as federal disaster relief I have a proposal. The second time a piece of property is damaged by a natural disaster, in order to get federal aid, the owner must sell the property to the government, and the property becomes parkland open to the public.; 9/26/17, 4:34 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

Due to the very interventionist/imperialism you decry.

Yeah, 120 years ago. They said could be said about the territories acquired in the Mexican-American War. So what?; 9/26/17, 4:37 PM
urbane legend said...: Quaestor said...
Just what percentage did the vaunted Clinton Foundation actually funnel to the storm-stricken poor of that half-island? 7%, 9% with the wind at its back.

Which, Quaestor, is why anyone with any sense of moral responsibility despises the Clintons.; 9/26/17, 4:38 PM
MadisonMan said...: Can we send money directly to John Henry? He'd know where it is needed.; 9/26/17, 4:38 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Gahrie:

Who’s talking about federal aid? I’m talking about private charitable giving.; 9/26/17, 4:40 PM
Gahrie said...: Who’s talking about federal aid? I’m talking about private charitable giving.

Riiiight...and your position is that the federal government shouldn't provide any aid?

My statement applies to Florida, Texas and everywhere else by the way.; 9/26/17, 4:45 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Gahrie:

My position on federal aid is meaningless. I don’t have a big problem with it. But it has nothing to do with what I’ve talked about here. I provided links for people who wanted to give privately. How is bringing up federal aid a response to that?; 9/26/17, 4:48 PM
Quaestor said...: @Queastor: Who, exactly, are you arguing with?

Change the pronouns.; 9/26/17, 4:56 PM
Big Mike said...: Funny, that's just what I think about people who decide to respond to basic requests for charity with a bunch of red herrings.

@Farmer, after the Clinton Foundation and Haiti, it is right and proper for people donating in the wake of a disaster to be sure that all or at any rate most of the money they are contributing actually goes to relief efforts. The Red Cross when Elizabeth Dole was running it, okay. In the 21st century, not so much. One of the charities mentioned in your links was set up by Beatriz Rosselló -- is she as honest as Laura Bush or is she another Hillary, bent on lining her own pockets and paying off cronies? Do yo know? Are you sure?

Can someone besides Farmer make a recommendation for a good organization?; 9/26/17, 4:57 PM
J. Farmer said...: As I thought...phantoms. You see anyone in this thread defending the Clinton Foundation? And what does Clinton malfeasance have to do with what anyone here is talking about?; 9/26/17, 4:59 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Big Mike:

@Farmer, after the Clinton Foundation and Haiti, it is right and proper for people donating in the wake of a disaster to be sure that all or at any rate most of the money they are contributing actually goes to relief efforts.

That was true long before any Clinton Foundation scandals. Also, I provided two links that provide numerous ways to contribute. If you don’t like any of them, go find one you do like.; 9/26/17, 5:01 PM
Quaestor said...: And that's Quaestor, if you don't mind. (Jumps on his motor-psycho and roars away in a cloud of antiprosopopoeia); 9/26/17, 5:03 PM
J. Farmer said...: p.s. There are numerous organzizatioms you can use that help to independently evaluate charities (e.g. Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, Charity Check 101). Feel free to use these to help direct donations to where they can do most good.; 9/26/17, 5:06 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Can we send money directly to John Henry? He'd know where it is needed.

There is somebody who will bring a little credibility, tell us who is doing good work on the ground.; 9/26/17, 5:11 PM
Henry said...: My employer offered a match for both Irma and Maria, so I took them up on it.; 9/26/17, 5:15 PM
buwaya said...: "antiprosopopoeia'

Damn!
I had to look that up!; 9/26/17, 5:15 PM
Henry said...: Interestingly, they offered two choices -- The Red Cross or an internal company fund for helping out employees directly affected.; 9/26/17, 5:16 PM
Quaestor said...: MeadeHouse should be on the lookout for a Western Giant Puffball.

And a little of that crocus pollen would lend a puffball another interesting favor, not to mention a fine fall color on the plate.; 9/26/17, 5:25 PM
John Nowak said...: >Interestingly, they offered two choices -- The Red Cross or an internal company fund for helping out employees directly affected.

I'm kind of in the same position, but I already gave for Harvey and Irma. I'll have to check my finances to see about Maria.; 9/26/17, 5:25 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Due to the very interventionist/imperialism you decry.

Yeah, 120 years ago. They said could be said about the territories acquired in the Mexican-American War. So what?

An, so it comes down to a number. What's the number?

We have big involvement in the world, some got g back over 120 years, and you want to wad it all up and chuck it, because, I dunno, Buchanan. Or to be fair to you, because it's not in our interest. So this running sore cold Puerto Rico is not in our interest. If everybody on the island was dead and all material objects washed out to sea, you would have a well fertilized real estate bonanza, more valuable without them. Apparently any Puerto Rican will tell you that Puerto Ricans suck. If the island of Puerto Rico itself did not exist, you would have more navigable waters in the Caribbean.

It's no good to us, that's a problem, we owe them nothing, throw it away. Better yet, let's give it to a foreign enemy, because it doesn't matter what anybody else does in the world, nothing will affect our position. Let Russia or China or Iran have it. Or Cuba! Or scuttle it.

Puerto Rico is not worth 125 billion dollars. For that money you could give every Puerto Rican a house in Nebraska. It's not irreplaceable like the key ports of Houston or New Orleans. Just another flyspeck to sign yourself on. Catch some nice tropical fish, tropical diseases. Cuba is just as good.; 9/26/17, 5:26 PM
Big Mike said...: Has anybody heard from John Henry yet? Is he okay?; 9/26/17, 5:27 PM
buwaya said...: "Cuba is just as good."

Cuba is better. Or was better. It was the most valuable bit of the Spanish empire in 1896, and taxes from which provided the bulk of the budget.

It may be a much worse sink now though. Lots of this value comes from human capital. Which left Cuba, mostly.; 9/26/17, 5:32 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

Quite a callous indifference to human life you betray there. Please tell me you’re pro-life. That would just be icing on the cake.; 9/26/17, 5:33 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Greg Popovich is a Hall of Fame basketball coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Outstanding coach in every respect.

But now he is popping off with leftwing, half-baked politics. He says white people need to be made to feel uncomfortable.

Trust me, Greg, if we're walking down Broadway St. in downtown Oakland, after work, at dusk, it's damn uncomfortable. The muggers in Oakland tend to be black, Greg. Ditto for Detroit, ditto for Chicago, ditto for Baltimore.

Of course, most of the black folks here in Oakland are fine, upstanding citizens, trying to make it in this hard world. No doubt about that. Love 'em and support 'em. It's just that the small minority of violent trouble makers happen to be black too -- hence the discomfort you seem to covet.; 9/26/17, 5:34 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Blogger J. Farmer said...
@Bad Lieutenant:

Quite a callous indifference to human life you betray there. Please tell me you’re pro-life. That would just be icing on the cake.

Oh fuck, J. Farmer calling ANYBODY else indifferent to human life? That's rich. That's sweet whipped topping on the isolationist cake.; 9/26/17, 5:40 PM
J. Farmer said...: Yeah, not supporting American wars of aggressions in which tens of thousands of people are violently killed really shows how indifferent I am to human life. Those who support those wars...well, hey, I gueee you can’t call them “isolationist” (which I’ve never been); 9/26/17, 5:44 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Cuba is just as good."

Cuba is better. Or was better.

Buwaya, if you say so. My point is that J. Farmer wants to feed our friends to our enemies, or at least, let them fend for themselves in difficult circumstances. So feed Puerto Rico to Cuba. Or let PR fend for itself.

But since his dad is there, boohoo, suffering! Iran doesn't do terrorism, only Hez and whoever that only attack Israel. It's not like they harm Syria or Saudi or anybody who counts. Saudi shouldn't defend its interests via Yemen anyway. (He's not neutral, he's on the other side).

But his dad is wet, so break open the piggy bank! Oh wait, we just gave Iran all that cash. Which is good, because they definitely aren't opposed to our interests. But that's that much less for the poor dears in PR. Ah, choices.; 9/26/17, 5:50 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Yeah, not supporting American wars of aggressions in which tens of thousands of people are violently killed really shows how indifferent I am to human life.

Sure you are. You are literally, proudly, boastfully indifferent to suffering abroad, as long as it doesn't involve Americans. You don't care how many millions would die in the wars that would follow the vacuum left by the withdrawal of American power from the world. Are you kidding me? Please, you're a fucking monster.; 9/26/17, 5:53 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: I'm not getting outraged, or God forbid, judging, I'm talking to you like one talks to a monster. It's always interesting to find out what the monster isn't monstrous about.; 9/26/17, 5:56 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

If you don’t want to donate, don’t. I could not care less. As for the rest of your garbage, it’s as wrongheaded and simplistic as usual. But let me see if I understand you: we should care about Israeli and Saudi and Syrian lives and spend billions of dollars and put US service members lives in jeopardy, but we shouldn’t give privately to charities to help US citizens after a natural disaster. Gotcha.; 9/26/17, 5:57 PM
J. Farmer said...: You know next to nothing about me. And your regurgitations of what you think my position on these issues shows there is a lot more you don’t know as well.; 9/26/17, 5:59 PM
buwaya said...: You can blame it all on William Mckinley over the course of a night in 1898.

You all probably dodged a bullet in leaving Cuba to the Cubans, mostly, but keeping the Philippines was a terrible error with global consequences.

As for PR, its going to be a money-sink for the foreseeable future.
You all are stuck with it and will have to continue spending.

I suggest you reorganize it as, maybe through property purchase incentives, a low-cost retirement home for the elderly. It could be the new Florida.; 9/26/17, 6:00 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: If you don’t want to donate, don’t. I could not care less.

About me giving, or about people giving? Pretty sure you want people to give.

Suffice it to say that no, you don't understand me.; 9/26/17, 6:01 PM
J. Farmer said...: About you. Apparently a request that people be charitable to others in a time of need is reason to bring up my position on Israel or Syria, which you seem to understand in only the most caricatured way imaginable.; 9/26/17, 6:04 PM
buwaya said...: Looking at PR property now.
May be a good time to buy.
And it was petty darn cheap before this.
Less charity, more investment.; 9/26/17, 6:07 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Well, if anybody else asked for money for PR, it would be different. I'm definitely worried about John Henry, for instance.

You, the Vulcan, I want to see do the pon farr. It's nice to know you care about some damn thing.; 9/26/17, 6:07 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Problem with not caring about whether you have any friends is, you have no friends.; 9/26/17, 6:08 PM
Roughcoat said...: May I say, quietly, that the U.S. Virgin Islands also needs help.

This is personal. My brother-in-law (wife's brother) was killed last week on St. Thomas by Hurricane Irma.

He was sleeping in his house when a mudslide came down the hill behind his house and crushed the structure in on him. He was buried under an incalculable amount of mud and debris.

When we didn't from him we began to worry but held out hope that he had taken refuge in a shelter. But it was not to be. His body was recovered on Sunday. He was found in his bed with his two beloved cats by his side.

I pray that his death was instantaneous. It appears that it was.

We are dealing with this tragedy now. My wife flew to Philly to meet with her two sisters to break the news to their mother. His ex-wife had to fly out to California to inform his son.

We are so sad. So incredibly sad. But he lived a life in full, a productive and successful life. He will be greatly missed.

Requiescat in pace, brother Ralph.; 9/26/17, 6:09 PM
J. Farmer said...: If the only way you can understand non-interventionism is not caring about a damn thing, you have a long way to go. Just out of curiosity, since you apparently care about Syrians much more than I, what are you doing to alleviate their suffering? Is US support for radical jihadis in the region a sign of how much we care?; 9/26/17, 6:12 PM
Gahrie said...: How is bringing up federal aid a response to that?

you're right of course..aid has nothing to do with aid.

Will a simple mea culpa suffice, or do you require seppeku?; 9/26/17, 6:14 PM
narciso said...: Well as you knife, phillipine was the stir of a sizable insuegwncy, at the turn of the last century. Then there was the hug post war, it also has a better grade of us envoy, taft and future drug envoy Harrison.; 9/26/17, 6:15 PM
Roughcoat said...: I've been posting on Althouse threads, rather cantankerously I admit, because it's a distraction from my sadness.

Otherwise I don't feel like doing much of anything just now. Walking my border collies, that's about the extent of it with the missus off in Philly. Pondering the Big Mystery, shedding a few tears now and again, watching old movies on Netflix.; 9/26/17, 6:17 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

Do you support a massive increase in the foreign aid budget? I don’t. If you agree, then should I conclude your just an isolationist who doesn’t care about people?; 9/26/17, 6:18 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: May I say, quietly, that the U.S. Virgin Islands also needs help.

Indeed, I neglected to mention that, apologies. I'm sorry for your loss, Roughy.

If the only way you can understand non-interventionism is not caring about a damn thing, you have a long way to go.

You know you're right, I don't understand you, but in this case, it's because I only speak English.

Just out of curiosity, since you apparently care about Syrians much more than I, what are you doing to alleviate their suffering?

And wow, you DEFINITELY don't understand me.

Is US support for radical jihadis in the region a sign of how much we care?

That speaks to a dispute over policy, not an absence of policy.; 9/26/17, 6:19 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Gahrie:

Will a simple mea culpa suffice, or do you require seppeku?

Nope; a donation will suffice ;); 9/26/17, 6:20 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Do you support a massive increase in the foreign aid budget? I don’t. If you agree, then should I conclude your just an isolationist who doesn’t care about people?

This...is just a non sequitur. Null program. Huh?; 9/26/17, 6:22 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

If you’ve noticed, I haven’t said one thing about federal aid or government policy. I talked about private charitable giving. But apparently that’s a problem because you don’t agree with (or understand) my positions on Israel or Syria. Makes sense.; 9/26/17, 6:23 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

It’s ecactly the point you’re making. You’re drawing conclusions about my personality alley based on my foreign policy. Shouldn’t I be able to do the same thing in regards to your views on foreign aid? I don’t actually agree with that but what’s good for the goose should be good for the gander.; 9/26/17, 6:25 PM
Roughcoat said...: Bad Lieutenant:

Many thanks.; 9/26/17, 6:31 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: No, I literally hadn't noticed, except for your "this isn't the time to worry about PR debt," and now that you tell me I don't care.

I'm chiefly motivated to bust your chops because you have displeased me, and therefore it pleases me to blunt your teeth for you. If I do give for PR, I surely wouldn't give you the satisfaction of knowing it.

Likewise, Puerto Rico has displeased me, and so I feel liberated from such pieties as "oh, the poor dears, we must help them!" We don't help Cuba. When they give Vieques back to the Navy, I'll GAF.

As "Americans," the natives do have a call on my attention. I'm happy to evacuate the island and they can all come here and patrol the Mexican border. The next use I have for Puerto Rico will be the first. Wait-I hear the coffee's good. (Must watch the price of Bustelo. Or is it the other one?); 9/26/17, 6:41 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

Very mature of you.; 9/26/17, 6:43 PM
Big Mike said...: @Farmer, please don't say that you're not an isolationist. It only shows how utterly lacking in self-awareness you are.; 9/26/17, 7:05 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Very mature of you.

We take our pleasures where we find them.; 9/26/17, 7:11 PM
J. Farmer said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/26/17, 7:14 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Big Mike:

@Farmer, please don't say that you're not an isolationist. It only shows how utterly lacking in self-awareness you are.

No, it only shows how misused and abused that word is. Not supporting aggressive wars that are only tangentially connected (if at all) to American national interests is not isolationism. I have said repeatedly on this platform that I support membership in the UN, favor mutual defense treaties with Japan, the UK, Canada, and Australia, and support US involvement in a number of international institutions. None of that is consistent with being an "isolationist." And even though I was a pre-teen at the time, I would have had no problem supporting the First Gulf War in the early 90s. Meanwhile, I do not support NATO or the Rio Pact or a mutual defense treaty with Philippines or South Korea, and I am prepared to standby those arguments 100%. None of them have to do with "isolationism." In fact, if I was an isolationist, I would say I was, and I would defend isolationism. I've never done either. What I have done is said that I was a non-interventionist, and it's a position I'm more than willing to defend. For a longer discussion of this phenomenon, see The myth of American isolationists.

9/26/17, 7:14 PM Delete; 9/26/17, 7:17 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Bad Lieutenant:

We take our pleasures where we find them.

Kudos to you. You must be quite proud of yourself.; 9/26/17, 7:18 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: Roughcoat said...
"Requiescat in pace, brother Ralph."

My condolences to you and your family, that is terrible news.

I hope the border collies take care of you.

I am Laslo.; 9/26/17, 7:26 PM
Big Mike said...: Call yourself what you want; it doesn't change what you are.; 9/26/17, 7:48 PM
JML said...: Thoughts and prays to you and for you and your family, Roughcoat.; 9/26/17, 7:48 PM
MayBee said...: J Farmer- I'm sorry your father is going through such a tough time.

Roughcoat- So devastating. I hope telling his mother isn't too awful for your wife. There is something always a little more awful finding out someone had passed and nobody quite knew it. Hugs to all of you.; 9/26/17, 7:56 PM
Jupiter said...: J. Farmer said...
"If a welfare queen was in a bad car accident and needed assistance, was the fact that she was on welfare dissuade you from assisting? Why or why not?"

Yes, because if she recovers, she'll just go back to voting for Democrats. You sanctimonious prick.; 9/26/17, 8:05 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: @J. Farmer said...
@Bad Lieutenant:

We take our pleasures where we find them.

Kudos to you. You must be quite proud of yourself.

Not at all. I would have been proud if I had remembered the original French.; 9/26/17, 8:05 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Big Mike:

I explained pretty clearly why the term isolationist does not applying. If you have a refutation or the actual argument I made, I’m all ears.

@MayBee:

Thank you for the sentiment, but he is doing fine. They went to Aruba to avoid the storm and are now just waiting off the coast.; 9/26/17, 8:09 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Jupiter:

Yes, because if she recovers, she'll just go back to voting for Democrats. You sanctimonious prick.

I’ll take sanctimonious over cruel anytime.; 9/26/17, 8:14 PM
Jupiter said...: PR is such a basket case they can't even stand up to beg. If they had any sand, they would vote for statehood. Then they would have the electoral votes to saddle us with Hillary Clinton, and a couple Senators to make sure they got their cut of the loot. But they are so addicted to welfare that they can't let go of the teat long enough to give the udder a squeeze. I don't know how they came to be such a pack of losers. As remarked above, the Cubans were fairly functional until Castro took over. You'd think PR would be the same stock, Columbus wiped out all the Indians centuries ago.; 9/26/17, 8:14 PM
Jupiter said...: J. Farmer said...

"I’ll take sanctimonious over cruel anytime."

You don't have to choose, J. You can have your sanctimony regarding PR, and support the Iranian Mullahs.; 9/26/17, 8:16 PM
rcocean said...: PR should be given a bailout and Independence.

We never should have made them a colony. Most people never understood why, and we would have given them their "freedom" if a majority of them had asked for it.

Its amazing how a few members of the power elite were able to get us involved in Philippines and Puerto Rico. And we stayed in both places long after we needed to because members of the power elite wanted to have an Empire just like the British and French.

Wilson was elected in 1912 on a platform of giving the Philippines and PR Independence. It took another 33 years to give the Philippines their freedom, we STILL have to suffer with PR.; 9/26/17, 8:17 PM
rcocean said...: Like most bad foreign policy decisions this came about because the USA was full of dumbshits would'd say stuff like:

1) We need to fall in line and support our Commander in Chief
2) We need to support the POTUS, he has all kinds of info we don't have.

Its that stupid attitude that gave us Vietnam AND colonies in the Philippines and PR.; 9/26/17, 8:20 PM
David Begley said...: Report that Luther Strange loses AL primary.; 9/26/17, 8:28 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: The US through strategic alliances since WW2 has kept the world trade system through freedom of the see, going at a fairly low cost. This has benefited the US as a major part of the world economy. And it has helped the rest of the world, where they have not had to pay a huge defense budget.

And the US has managed to stay out of any super bloody wars since WW2 (for US casualties, North Vietnam I believe lost 10% of the population and NK and Chinese Casualties were huge during the Korean Police Action). There have been no world wars since then.

When the US withdrew from the Philippines, China has moved into the power vacuum left. Would they have built their artificial island if the US had stayed? The mess in Iraq also blew up after the US left. US troops have been in Korea, Japan, and Germany and kept those nations at peace. It's an amazing accomplishment that aside from Yugoslavia, there have been no wars in Europe since WW2. This is highly unusual.

NATO I have mixed feelings on with the expansion to the East, and our relationship with Turkey. I have noticed the lack of defense budgets in Europe, and how the US has been expected to shoulder a lot of the costs.

Ukraine is another mess, that I have mixed feelings on. The US promised to support Ukraine if they gave up their nukes, and we have not. It's a mess, and I don't have any easy answers.; 9/26/17, 8:34 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: On Paul Manafort's mistress. Very strange tale...

Information came from text messages from his daughter that were somehow hacked, and released onto the dark web.

Who has the ability to hack their smart phones? Or their computers. Or was the information from the NSA storage facility in Utah that captures all US telecom communication?

The affair was over. Paul Manafort paid for an emergency marriage councilor, $17K, so this would have shown up for anyone looking at his finances.
http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/donald-trump-campaign-paul-manafort-cheating-wife-mistress/

My guess is hackers were either Ukrainian or Russian. It sounds like somebody finally starting going through all the texts, and found the juicy tidbits. Probably after they found the marriage councilor expense.

http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-manafort-daughter-text-messages-ukraine-2017-3

It really sounds like this is a case of "Show me the man, and I'll show you the crime." The US justice system is not supposed to work like that. And he is bleeding money defending himself, which is also not fair.; 9/26/17, 8:52 PM
jacksonjay said...: Them fake polls down there in Bama musta been right. One of you Fifth Avenue Trumpets might wanna tell him!; 9/26/17, 9:17 PM
Roughcoat said...: My heartfelt thanks to Laslo, MayBee, and JML. Hope you guys see this, and that I didn't post it too late.; 9/26/17, 9:33 PM
traditionalguy said...: Roy Moore will be Trump's strongest supporter, much to Jared and Ivanka Kushner's embarrassment. I can't wait to see what fight Moore picks first after he gets to DC. Bannon will se to it that whatever crazy thing Roy does for God, Roy
Will get as much publicity as any first term Senator has ever gotten This should be interesting.; 9/26/17, 9:34 PM
buwaya said...: Just found on Youtube,

Full version of "Alatriste" 2006, A. Diaz Yanes, with Viggo Mortenson, et. al.

This is a compilation of sorts of several of the "Alatriste" novels by Perez-Reverte.

A very fine 17th century costume epic, including a star turn by the "Tercios viejos de flandes", done with a good appreciation of period formations and tactics.

Check it out.; 9/26/17, 9:34 PM
jacksonjay said...: And another thing, The Donald sure grabbed Rush by the pussy. A few malcontents and a call for a boycott by his Master caused The Great Maha Rushi to totally give-up his passion. The Pussy Grabber said he did it cause they'll let you. Sad

Was Limbaugh still crying today like a snowflake pussy? Talk about triggered! Bigly!

Can't wait till Trump evaluates the heroism of that Villanueva fellow! I bet he prefers heroes who aren't embarrased by their patriotism.; 9/26/17, 9:38 PM
jacksonjay said...: Here's hoping Roy Moore is placed on the Judiciary Committee. Supreme Court nominee hearing will be a hoot! "Mr Nominee, do you expect States to enforce Supreme Court rulings, or do you believe in them thar Sacred States Rights?"; 9/26/17, 9:47 PM
Big Mike said...: @Roughcoat, you have my sympathies as well.; 9/26/17, 9:55 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: A lot of pr issue seem to be due to the minimum wage:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-07/what-puerto-rico-can-teach-us-about-minimum-wage

About half of all Puerto Rican's live in the us:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Ricans_in_the_United_States; 9/26/17, 9:58 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: When the only unanswered question is What didn't they say in "The Larry Sanders Show"? and then the answer why it's not said more-funnily again lies in Bush -hatred; I say screw it and don't regret my votes for Bush no more.; 9/26/17, 10:00 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Yes I used Bush as my whore, but he begged and pleaded and supplicated so well, ...; 9/26/17, 10:01 PM
Birkel said...: Roy Moore won. Trump's candidate lost. Most Trump voters are pleased at this result.

Leftists must be terribly confused.; 9/26/17, 10:13 PM
mockturtle said...: Birkel, that is so true! Of course, the predictable media spin is that Trump's candidate lost. But I think we all know that Moore is closer to Trump's agenda than was Strange.; 9/26/17, 10:21 PM
JML said...: Roughcoat, not too late. I just made a small donation to The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. Sometimes we need a reminder from folks who share as you did to spur us to take action. Thank you.; 9/26/17, 10:24 PM
jacksonjay said...: Not Leftist and not confused! Obviously, DJT was totally confused. He supported and campaigned for MITCH's boy! Roy Moore coulda been Roy Rogers for all Donald knew! Luck for Trump, somebody musta told him before his speech about the fake polls. Tomorrows tweet, " Mitch tricked me.; 9/26/17, 10:26 PM
Big Mike said...: What tonight's election returns from Alabama demonstrate is that "Trumpism" is much bigger than Donald J. Trump, and thus even if the lefties manage to achieve their wet dream and eliminate him through violence or whatever, the movement will survive and may get even larger and more raucous.; 9/26/17, 10:37 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Jj, I'm not saying shut up, but your posts are entirely worthless on any basis.; 9/26/17, 10:53 PM
jacksonjay said...: Sorry lieutenant, forgot the trigger warning! I usually avoid the Trump circle-jerk echo chamber. As usual, not a word of rebuttal, just "Get Off My Lawn!" You guys just keep on believing in all the winning. I'm sure Ole Roy will vote to give them brown kids amnesty and build the wall, with your money, later. He sounds like a Chuck and Nancy man too.; 9/26/17, 11:13 PM
jacksonjay said...: Maybe Ole Roy can be the Tiki Torch Bearer for Trumpisn 2.0. Now that would be raucous. Bigly.; 9/26/17, 11:59 PM
eddie willers said...: Oh please, jacksonjay.

Trump dog whistled us that it was OK to vote for Moore. You remember his great speech for Strange, don't you. The one where he mentioned the NFL?

After that night, the news was all about.....what?

He he. 3D chess.; 9/27/17, 12:17 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Like I said, say what you want, but can you hear yourself cackling? Who's the geezer? Buy a set of teeth!; 9/27/17, 5:32 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Birkel said...
Roy Moore won. Trump's candidate lost. Most Trump voters are pleased at this result.

Leftists must be terribly confused."

It's sure thrown jacksonjay into a tizzy.; 9/27/17, 5:41 AM
Rusty said...: I see J is here virtue signalling again. He must be a good man because he goes through great lengths to tell us he is.
I'm mean because I laugh at Anthony Weiners predicament. I also rejoice that an innocent 15 year old has been spared his perverted attentions. Justice was done. For a change.
But I'm the mean one.
I blame mom.

I would still like to know what Huma sent to his computer.; 9/27/17, 5:49 AM
Rusty said...: You know what else is really interesting?
I'll tell you what else is really interesting.
N Korean and Iranian ballistic missiles look a lot alike.
Makes a person wonder who is helping Kim with his nuclear program.
Iran?
Russia? Both?; 9/27/17, 5:52 AM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Maybe Ole Roy can be the Tiki Torch Bearer for Trumpisn 2.0. Now that would be raucous. Bigly.

Hey, if your really into raucous, you could get yourself a club, or a bicycle lock, or maybe some brass knuckles, put on a black mask and you could go to a rally for people you don't agree with, and make sure that they have no right to peaceful assembly. "De-platform" them. You know, like Hitler's brownshirts! Hey, it worked for him! These tactics worked for Botha to take over South Africa and impose Apartheid too! You could do Apartheid here, Put up fences around Nascar tracks! You know you want to! It's tried and true stuff!!!; 9/27/17, 6:36 AM
Jupiter said...: Blogger mockturtle said...
"Of course, the predictable media spin is that Trump's candidate lost. But I think we all know that Moore is closer to Trump's agenda than was Strange."

I think the reality is that Moore was closer to our agenda, whatever Trump's might be. And the message to Trump is "Lead, follow, or get the Hell out 'the way".; 9/27/17, 5:06 PM