Althouse: At the Tuesday Night Cafe...

February 20, 2018

At the Tuesday Night Cafe...

... you can talk about anything you like.

100 comments:

steve uhr said...: Trump's tweet that those kids would be alive but for the mueller investigation is shameful.; 2/20/18, 8:19 PM
traditionalguy said...: I tested the wife on this Mornings sleeping rabbit woken with an airhorn trick cruelty Youtube. She watched it all the way through; and she fell off the charts with empathy for the rabbit, but she watched it all. She may be tougher than I thought. My mistake was probably presenting it as " watch the whole way to the end" challenge, and she seldom backs down from a challenge.; 2/20/18, 8:28 PM
MadisonMan said...: The Tuesday Night Club is the introduction of the great Jane Marple.; 2/20/18, 8:28 PM
JackWayne said...: “Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!”

Ho Hum, a troll misrepresents what was said in the tweet.; 2/20/18, 8:46 PM
YoungHegelian said...: In 1966 in Fantastic Four #52 Stan Lee & Jack Kirby introduced the character & story line of the Black Panther, king of the African kingdom of Wakanda. For the purpose of my argument here, I'm ignoring the movie entirely & relying on the comic book "canon" as created in the years following 1966 by Marvel Comics.

The kingdom of Wakanda is isolationist, ethnically pure, nationalistic, highly technically educated, & committed to maintaining the culture of the Wakandan people against outside influence.

Now, if you want, you can believe that Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) & Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber), two post-war NYC Jews in the racial ferment of the 60's, a ferment in which NYC Jews played a large part, sat down & thought that the time was right to attempt to create an Afro-centric character out of whole cloth in order to get with the times. But, why would such an Afro-centric fable be founded on such "nationalistic" themes, when such themes were at the time "fringe" in the civil rights movement?

Because Wakanda isn't really an Afro-centric myth at all. It's an allegory of Zionism.

Generally left out of the history of Zionism is that Theodor Hertzl & the World Zionist Congress considered not only Palestine for the future Jewish homeland, but also the Oklahoma Territory, Argentina, & land in Kenya/Uganda. In fact, the first great diplomatic success of the WZC, the sign that the great powers could take the movement seriously, was in 1903 when British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain offered Herzl & the WZC a sizable chunk of land in Uganda. The offer was turned down because the majority wanted Palestine for obvious reasons, but Palestine was in the hands of the Ottomans & they weren't in any mood to play ball with the WZC. The creation of Israel had to wait until mandate Palestine was in the hands of the more agreeable British Empire. But, in any case, for Jews who knew their history of Zionism, the idea of an African Israel was always there as the road not taken. I think that myth was the one that Kirby & Lee created with Wakanda.; 2/20/18, 8:46 PM
M Jordan said...: I want to talk about the number z. It’s a fairly large number but not really. For that matter, in some cultures it’s not even a number. I think Trump would have a lot to say about this but I’m hearing from my sources on the ground that the MSM has already prepared a counter attack to anything Trump has to say on this number. When Wolf Bltitzer heard Trump had something to say about this he was heard to say “That’s unacceptable.” He then dropped the number z from his name. It’s a shame when you stop and think about it.

(Ann said we could talk about anything, right?); 2/20/18, 8:57 PM
Hagar said...: Outlawing semi-automatic rifles or "AR-15 style rifles" will not get the loony lefties what they want.

The proper term for the rifles they are after is "modular rifles," since their real distinguishing feature is that they are constructed in modules that can be removed and replaced by other modules to suit the owner.

But, they need not be semi-automatic rifles; one can easily see variations of bolt- or lever actions, or some other type of action not yet invented that does not rely on recoil or bore gas, employed with a modular assembly.

Dianne Feinstein's failed law has already demonstrated the futility of legislation based on looks. I think Ruger or somebody even has a "AR-15 style" rifle that at at first blush looks like a "conventional" rifle, wood stock and all.; 2/20/18, 9:04 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/20/18, 9:09 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: SonofNewo has obtained and posted the transcript of the preliminary hearing of James Fields, the man who drove into the crowd of anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville, VA, on August 12, 2017. The preliminary hearing took place on December 14 and comprises mostly the testimony of Detective Steven Young, the case investigator.

A couple elements of Young's testimony surprised me as blatantly false:

1) Supposedly the maroon van was stopped at the intersection of Water Street and Fourth Street because of the marching protesters.

2) Supposedly the protesters turned north on Fourth Street as a spontaneous decision.

By the time Young testified, he had studied the incident for four months with the help of helicopter video. Nevertheless, both those statements are contradicted by videos available on the Internet.

1) The maroon van was stopped at the intersection for many minutes, during which its way forward was open.

2) The protesters turned north from Water onto Fourth because their way forward on Water was blocked.

-----

Two videos were especially important in Young's testimony.

1) A helicopter video, but it seems to not see much of Fourth Street during much of the time before Fields drove into the crowd.

2) A video from the surveillance camera of a restaurant on the northeast corner of the intersection of Fourth Street and Main Street. The restaurant faces Main Street, and it seems that this camera is on the building's side and pointed toward Fourth Street.

Young provides many specific times of events, and it seems that those times are determined by the restaurant video, not by the helicopter video. Therefore it seems that the helicopter camera could not see many of the events on much of Fourth Street.

----

From north to south, the key streets are

* Market Street

* Main Street

* Water Street

Fourth Street is open to vehicles traveling one-way south. The restaurant video filmed vehicles driving south, from Market, past the restaurant at Main, toward Water.

The maroon van passed the restaurant at 1:48:40 p.m., whereas Fields passed the restaurant at 1:54:49 as he was driving into the crowd. Therefore, the maroon van was stopped at the intersection of Fourth and Water for about eight minutes. For most of those eight minutes, the area in front of the van was clear to drive forward. Nevertheless, Young testified falsely that the van's path forward was blocked by the protesters.

-----

https://www.scribd.com/document/371657879/James-Fields-Dec-14-Preliminary-Hearing-Transcript; 2/20/18, 9:12 PM
Mark said...: Boy is Bode Miller boring.; 2/20/18, 9:14 PM
Mark said...: Any whiny with his excuses.; 2/20/18, 9:16 PM
langford peel said...: I can only hope that one of the last skiers can ice that bitch Linsey Vonn out of a medal.

Seeing her crying on Video was pathetic.

I pray that somebody beats her out.; 2/20/18, 9:18 PM
Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCD said...: I hear a lot about toxic macsculinity these days. I’d like to know how “toxic femininity” is defined. If we’re equal, there must be a toxic equivalent for woman. Curiously, it seems to be absent from the conversation. Any conversation.; 2/20/18, 9:28 PM
Anonymous said...: I need this; 2/20/18, 9:29 PM
glenn said...: Has Jesus showed up over here?; 2/20/18, 9:30 PM
langford peel said...: No he is hanging out with Matty and Felipe.; 2/20/18, 9:33 PM
glenn said...: “I hear a lot about toxic macsculinity these days. I’d like to know how “toxic femininity” is defined. If we’re equal, there must be a toxic equivalent for woman. Curiously, it seems to be absent from the conversation. Any conversation.”

THATS NOT FUNNY!; 2/20/18, 9:35 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Continuing my comment at 9:12 PM

The maroon van drove south on Fourth Street, past the restaurant at Main Street, at 1:48:40. This van continued south to the intersection of Fourth and Water, where it stopped for about eight minutes. During most of those eight minutes, the van had a clear path to drive forward. The van stopped in the center of Fourth Street, at the pedestrian crosswalk right before the intersection.

Fourth Street was wide enough that cars could pass around on either side. However, once the protesters became crowded in and around the intersection -- because their way forward on Water Street -- the van effectively blocked following cars from driving further south into the intersection.

-----

Then a black truck drove south on Fourth, past the restaurant at Main, at 1:51:55.

Then a white soft-top camera drove south past the restaurant at 1:52:50.

Then Fields' car drove south past the restaurant at 1:52:56.

-----

The black truck stopped on the right side of the maroon van, thus blocking more of the path southward.

The white Camry stopped directly behind the maroon van.

Around this time, the intersection of Fourth and Water was filling with anti-racism protesters, because their path forward on Water was blocked.

Young testified falsely that the protesters decided spontaneously to turn left from Water and begin walking north on Fourth. In fact, their way forward on Water was blocked.

----

After Fields' car passed the restaurant at 1:52:56, his car is out of the camera's view for 1:10 minutes. During that time, he is on Fourth Street, somewhere between Main and Water. He is somewhere between 1) the three vehicles at the intersection of Fourth and Water, where the protesters are filling the intersection and 2) Main Street, which the restaurant faces.

Then at about 1:54:06, Fields' car back up north past the restaurant and stopped out of the camera's view, somewhere between Main and Market.

Then about 45 seconds later, Fields' car drove south, past the restaurant again, and raced further south into the crowd at the intersection of Fourth and Water.; 2/20/18, 9:36 PM
glenn said...: That’s Hey-Soos. Jesus is that guy in the movies.; 2/20/18, 9:42 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Continuing my comment at 9:36 PM

Fields' car backed up south past the restaurant at about 1:54:06 and stopped somewhere between Main and Market. For about 45 seconds, Fields' car was out of the restaurant camera's view.

In that block of Fourth Street between Main and Market there is a pie shop that has a surveillance camera pointed toward the street.

Parked roughly in front of the pie shop -- parked in front of the next-door store -- was a black van with a Washington DC license plate and with a government decal. The van's windows are tinted.

Except for the three vehicles I mentioned previously, this black van is the only vehicle parked along the two-block stretch from Water to Market.

-----

After the incident, the FBI arrived and seized the video from the pie shop's surveillance camera. The FBI did not inform the local police investigators or prosecutors about the video's existence.

-----

SonofNew video
BREAKING: The FBI Stole Evidence out of Charlottesville
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6JqO35Nqjo; 2/20/18, 9:45 PM
wwww said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/20/18, 9:50 PM
TestTube said...: I have a question: Did anyone ever even ask the names of the North Korean cheerleading squad? It was bizarre that in all the fawning that took place over the squad, there were no names, no individual identity.

Being an interchangeable face is even more perilous. How would we know their fate? It is harder to ask what became of a person if they don't even exist except as "Third row, second from the right". They can disappear. Anything can happen, and we don't even have a label to identify who it might have happened to. Interchangeable dehumanized cogs.

And everyone seemed alright with it. Weird.; 2/20/18, 9:52 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/20/18, 9:56 PM
langford peel said...: I thought the names of the cheerleaders for North Korea were Jm Acosta and Kathy Tur?; 2/20/18, 9:56 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: I provided basic information about the Charlottesville incident in this blog's previous post, titled "At the Sunrise Café" on November 6, 2017.

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2017/11/at-sunrise-cafe.html

To understand what happened, watch the following three videos in the given order.

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePsK0dpyu4g

2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCBfjIDriYw

3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESHIrLb7xxM

-----

If you want to spend only 2:15 minutes, then watch just the second video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCBfjIDriYw

* from 14:30 to 16:30

and

* from 21:00 to 21:15

You will see how the anti-racism protesters were blocked from walking further on Water Street and so were diverted north onto Fourth Street. A few seconds later -- as the crowd began walking north, Fields drove his car into the crowd.; 2/20/18, 9:57 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: The following photo shows a certain Dwayne Dixon carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle about a block from Fourth Street, where James Field was waiting in his car at least 1:15 minutes before he drove into the anti-racism protesters.

https://i0.wp.com/jasonkessler.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Dwayne-Dixon.png?resize=768%2C498

-----

The following screenshot of Dixon's Facebook page shows him boasting:

I used this rifle to chase off James Fields from our block of 4th St. before he attacked the marchers to the south.

https://i2.wp.com/jasonkessler.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Spikes-Tactical-Gun-Threatening-James-Fields.jpg?resize=768%2C542

Dixon has removed that post from his Facebook page.

-----

James Fields Was Chased With a Semi-Automatic Rifle Before Crash

http://jasonkessler.us/2018/01/13/james-fields-was-chased-with-a-semi-automatic-rifle-before-crash/

-----

Several videos showing events on Fourth Street during the incident are being kept from the public.

The FBI seized the video from the security camera of a pie shop on Fourth Street and still has not informed local police investigators and prosecutors about that video's existence.

Two videos that were shown in open court are now being withheld from by public. The prosecutor is using "prosecutorial discretion" to reject FOIA requests for the two videos that were shown in open court at the indictment of James Fields.

Two private companies that filmed the scene are refusing to allow the public to simply watch their videos, even for payment.

Charlottesville Car Attack: Ten Curious Facts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0kdA7Ce9to; 2/20/18, 10:04 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: What's up with the chickapocalypse in the UK?

I thought DHL was a competent company. A number of stories quote union sources, are they hinting at some sort of sub-rosa labor action?; 2/20/18, 10:09 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: James Fields drove south on Fourth Street into the anti-racism who had been diverted from Water Street north onto Fourth Street. Fields hit the crowd at about the intersection of Fourth and Water.

From north to south, the relevant streets are:

[north part of Fourth Street]

Market Street

Main Street

Water Street

[south part of Fourth Street]

Fourth Street is open to vehicles driving one-way south.

Third Street and Fifth Street are pedestrian-only streets, which permanent obstacles blocking vehicles.

* The Unite the Right protesters marched north on the pedestrian-only Fifth Street.

* The anti-racism protesters were following at a long distance. Instead of following the same route north onto pedestrian-only Fifth Street, they were diverted north onto Fourth Street, which was open to vehicles driving one-way south.

A police car was positioned at the intersection of Fourth and Market in order to prevent vehicles from driving south on Fourth Street. In addition, sawhorses were placed at that intersection to prevent vehicles from driving south on Fourth Street.

However, the police officer positioned at that intersection drove away. Later she explained her departure by saying that she did not feel safe in her police car while it was parked at that intersection.

The sawhorses were removed from the intersection by unknown persons.

Because the police officer drove away and because the sawhorses were removed, vehicles were able to drive from Market Street south to Water Street. This is what James Fields did. He drove west on Market Street and turned south onto Fourth Street.

Before Fields drove south on Fourth Street, three other vehicles drove south likewise.

1) A maroon van that stopped for eight minutes at the intersection of Fourth and Water.

2) A black truck that stopped next to the maroon van.

3) A white Camry that stopped behind the maroon van.

The only other vehicle on that two-block stretch of Fourth Street was a black van -- which had a Washington DC license plate, a federal-government decal, and tinted windows -- that was parked between Market and Main, roughly in front of a pie shop. We do not know when this black van entered Fourth Street and parked there.

-----

Charlottesville Cops Pulled Squad Car From Intersection Used By James Fields After Officer Said She Felt ‘Unsafe’

http://dailycaller.com/2017/12/01/charlottesville-cops-pulled-squad-car-from-intersection-used-by-james-fields-after-officer-said-she-felt-unsafe/

-----

The FBI has seized the video made by the pie shop's surveillance camera and has not informed the local police investigators and prosecutors about the video's existence.

There seems to be a coordinated effort to prevent the public from seeing several videos that show events on Fourth Street right before Fields drove into the crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0kdA7Ce9to; 2/20/18, 10:12 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: The two videos -- the helicopter video and the restaurant video -- were shown in open court at the preliminary hearing on December 14. Reporters who were in court watched the videos and subsequently reported to the public about what was seen in the videos.

However, the prosecutor rejected SonofNewo's FOIA request to watch the videos. The prosecutor justified his refusal on "prosecutorial discretion".

SonofNewo recently sued the court to compel the prosecutor to release the videos to the public.

Charlottesville: My Name and My Lawsuits (plus more on the Maroon Van)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1vS2KR5tXU; 2/20/18, 10:23 PM
walter said...: WED, APR 18, 7:30 PM | Overture Hall

Michael Wolff will be appearing in theaters across the United States and Canada sharing insight and new, exclusive details with audiences about his time of unprecedented access into the world of Donald Trump’s White House. An Evening with Michael Wolff: Fire and Fury will be a moderated, live, shocking and intimate conversation with the man on the inside of the most controversial presidency in U.S. history.; 2/20/18, 10:51 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Today, February 20, SonofNewo posted a new video about Brennan Gilmore, who was standing in the middle of Fourth Street, just south of the intersection of Fourth and Main.

James Fields drove south closely past Gilmore, who filmed Fields racing further south on Fourth Street and into the crowd of anti-racism protesters.

Gilmore seems to be a CIA employee. He had served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in the Central African Republic. There Gilmore was "responsible primarily for military affairs, which include the U.S. Special Forces deployment to the eastern Central African Republic and a rotational U.S. Africa Command liaison officer position".

In many public interviews, Gilmore has said that he was standing in the middle of Fourth Street and filming the crowd that was beginning to walk north on Fourth Street. Gilmore said he heard, behind himself, Fields' car approaching. Gilmore moved aside, and Fields' car raced past him as Gilmore continued to film.

Gilmore subsequently posted his video on the Internet. The video begins as Fields' car drives past him. The posted video does not show Gilmore's preceding filming of the crowd walking north. The posted video shows only the few seconds when Field raced past Gilmore and into the crowd.

The public interviews of Gilmore have not revealed how he happened to be standing on that spot at that moment.

* From where had he come to that spot?

* When did he arrive at that spot?

* Why was he waiting on Fourth Street, when it seemed that the anti-racism protesters would follow the Unite the Right protesters north on Fifth Street?

-----

A few days ago, SonofNewo managed to engage Gilmore in a conversation on Twitter. This conversation is the subject of the YouTube video that SonofNewo posted today.

Charlottesville EXCLUSIVE: Brennan Gilmore's BREAKING NEWS to SonofNewo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J3PCru63zE

-----

Gilmore indicated that he arrived at that spot after Fields had backed up into the block that is between Main Street and Market Street. In other words, Gilmore arrived during a 45-second interval. During those 45 seconds, Fields' car was about a half block behind Gilmore while Gilmore was pointing his camera south and filming the crowd begin to move north on Fourth Street.

So, we have some progress in determining Gilmore's movements and whereabouts. We still don't know whence he came to that spot or why he came to that spot.; 2/20/18, 10:51 PM
buwaya said...: For some reason I have confused "Black Panther" with "The Phantom", both African-ish superhero types, and just today I found that the "Panther" was actually something else.
Maybe its the Africa thing and the "P"s.
The Phantom was in the funny papers when I was a tyke, and seemed a good-natured sort.; 2/20/18, 11:04 PM
Sebastian said...: Paper dimensions is a very twentieth-century subject.; 2/20/18, 11:09 PM
Sebastian said...: So, how does the kingdom in Black Panther deal with Dreamers?; 2/20/18, 11:10 PM
walter said...: Mike Sylvester,
Can you boil it down a bit?; 2/20/18, 11:14 PM
sane_voter said...: WI supreme court primary, 98% reporting

Screnock (R) 243,199 46.4%
Dallet (D) 188,009 35.8%
Burns (D) 93,346 17.8%; 2/20/18, 11:17 PM
langford peel said...: They boil them down Sebastian. In a big black kettle. With carrots and turnips and potatoes.

It's a traditional dish.; 2/20/18, 11:20 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: According to 23&me, I have 1% sub-Saharan DNA. The intrusion into my Aryan bloodline occurred around 1800. At first I thought WTF?, but then I thought, "oh yeah, the Boyds." Family stories, you know. Near as I can figure, one of my ancestors was half black and half native american.
I have blue eyes and blonde hair. Black people hate me because I am so frikkin' white. But according to the one drop rule, I am as black as the ace of spades.
It will take a while to get used to fact that I am a black man. When applying for jobs, I will be legally obligated to identify myself as a black man. Or a Native American. That will take courage. DNA, I am told is destiny.
I may convert to Islam.; 2/20/18, 11:22 PM
eddie willers said...: WI supreme court primary, 98% reporting

Screnock (R) 243,199 46.4%
Dallet (D) 188,009 35.8%
Burns (D) 93,346 17.8%

So is there a runoff or is it majority wins?; 2/20/18, 11:23 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: I believe "The Phantom" is set in an imaginary Indian Ocean country. They have tigers there at any rate. Of course "The Ghost Who Walks" does get around the world as well.

There actually was a "Phantom" movie. I haven't seen it, but it's supposed to be pretty good in a good humored, not terribly expensive, way. The strip is still running and has shown signs of unexpected vitality in recent years.; 2/20/18, 11:23 PM
sane_voter said...: So is there a runoff or is it majority wins?

There will be another election between the top two in April.; 2/20/18, 11:38 PM
pacwest said...: Nuclear proliferation has commenced!; 2/20/18, 11:42 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: walter at 11:14 PM
Can you boil it down a bit?

The Unite the Right group was infiltrated by the FBI, which knew that one of the group's members, James Fields, said he wanted to drive his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters at the event.

That knowledge was used to enable Fields to carry out his stated intention.

Fields was told that he would be able to drive into the crowd if he positioned himself at Fourth and Market.

After the Unite the Right protest was canceled by the government, all the protesters were guided south to Water Street. The Unite the Right protesters were guided to walk east along Water Street to Fifth Street, where they marched north and eventually dispersed.

The anti-racism protesters followed a long distance behind. They likewise walked east along Water Street, but they were diverted north on Fourth Street.

Third Street and Fifth Street are pedestrian-only streets, with permanent obstacles preventing vehicle traffic. Fourth Street is open to vehicle traffic, one-way going south. The anti-racism protesters were diverted north on Fourth Street, enabling Fields to drive south and into the crowd.

After Fields began to drive south, he noticed that his way was blocked by a van and a truck, that were stopped at the intersection of Fourth and Water. Fields saw that he would be able to drive into the crowd surrounding those to vehicles, but he would not be able to complete his getaway by continuing to drive south through the intersection.

Therefore, Fields backed up to consult with the person(s) guiding him. Then Fields drove south into the crowd and made his getaway by backing up north.

Some goons positioned near the van were supposed to pull Fields out of his car and knife him to death. However, they were not able to do so, because Fields escaped by backing up north.

The purpose of the incident was to promote the idea that racists are able to murder people and create havoc in the USA because the President is Donald Trump.; 2/21/18, 12:13 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: Following up my own comment at 12:13 AM
The purpose of the incident was to promote the idea that racists are able to murder people and create havoc in the USA because the President is Donald Trump.

Charlottesville: A Staged Event that Heralds the End of Trump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHwtxQy-3dk; 2/21/18, 12:18 AM
Mark said...: I wish I had never turned this crap on. Just watched the ice version of roller derby. Like a lot of other things, millennials, post-millennials and even Gen-Xers have ruined the Olympics. Or at least they have ruined the coverage of the Olympics.

I'm sure the coverage of the Games in Norway is great, no doubt focusing on the traditional (real) events.; 2/21/18, 12:22 AM
Mark said...: Now I wish I had never read the lunacy two comments before mine.

Way to destroy your credibility for ever.; 2/21/18, 12:26 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: In August 2017, when the Charlottesville incident happened, there still was a Resistance group in the DOJ/FBI.

On December 1, the guilty plea of Michael Flynn was reported to the public.

On the following day, December 2, a long series of leaks began that gradually devastated the DOJ/FBI Resistance. The leaks exposed Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, Bruce Ohr, and others.

The Battle Within The Department of Justice: Black Hats -v- White Hats

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/18/the-battle-within-the-department-of-justice-black-hats-v-white-hats/; 2/21/18, 12:28 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: Mark at 12:26 AM
Now I wish I had never read the lunacy two comments before mine. Way to destroy your credibility for ever.

Invest 2:15 minutes of your time by watching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCBfjIDriYw

* from 14:30 to 16:30

and

* from 21:00 to 21:15

You will see how the anti-racism protesters were blocked from walking further on Water Street and so were diverted north onto Fourth Street. A few seconds later -- as the crowd began walking north, Fields drove his car into the crowd.; 2/21/18, 12:31 AM
Dan said...: Look for the AK-47 to be rebranded as "The Dreamer."; 2/21/18, 12:46 AM
chickelit said...: How has Althouse avoided blogging Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Black Panther" opening? She usually hops-to-it regarding Coates.; 2/21/18, 12:46 AM
chickelit said...: --February 28th, 2019 -- Oscar-winning Screen-play writer Ta-Nehisi Coates holds joint news conference with newly-selected Senate Majority Leader Kamala Harris: "Reparations Bill is Done Deal: White Citizens born after 1945 to pay surtax"; 2/21/18, 1:08 AM
chickelit said...: Coates allegedly writes from the heart, including familial memoires about his black panther father.

How about more memoires about Wisconsin father-types from the last 2 centuries? Maybe call it "White Badgers" instead of "Black Penthers"?; 2/21/18, 1:19 AM
DavidD said...: Hagar said, “I think Ruger or somebody even has a "AR-15 style" rifle that at at first blush looks like a "conventional" rifle, wood stock and all.”

It's called a Mini-14 and it’s modeled on the M-14 but fires .223 cal ammo from proprietary 20-round box magazines; they make a Mini-30, too, that fires .30 cal ammo just like the M-14 did.

It’s semi-auto rather than full-auto like the M-14–kinda like an AR-15 but without being a modular system.

Most progressives probably have no idea *why* an AR-15 has the features it does.; 2/21/18, 1:20 AM
chickelit said...: @garage: "Conspiracy theorists are only nutters if they're wrong" - Sherlock; 2/21/18, 1:35 AM
Kevin said...: I thought the names of the cheerleaders for North Korea were Jm Acosta and Kathy Tur?

That's exactly the kind of joke we used to hear on late nite TV.

But that was back when we had actual comedians hosting the shows.; 2/21/18, 5:07 AM
Humperdink said...: ^^^^^^ That was a my morning laugh. Funny.; 2/21/18, 5:16 AM
Humperdink said...: Also funny:

Nancy Pea-losi: "“It can’t possibly be a statement of values for us to talk about, as Martin Luther King said, … ‘God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth while others live in abject deadly poverty ......”

Heckler: “How much are you worth, Nancy?”; 2/21/18, 5:21 AM
Virgil Hilts said...: Trying to figure out what, if anything, the current Drudge photo juxtaposition means.; 2/21/18, 5:39 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: SAN FRANCISCO — New misconduct allegations have been leveled against California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia — the high-profile #MeToo movement activist under investigation herself for alleged sexual harassment — including a claim that Garcia urged staffers to play “spin the bottle” after a political fundraiser.

Last week, prior to filing his complaint, Kernick and three other ex-staffers issued an open letter to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon charging that Garcia, a powerful Democratic lawmaker who until recently headed the legislative Women’s Caucus, presided over a “toxic" workplace where activities included regular heavy drinking with staffers, sexually charged meetings and raunchy conversations highlighting intimate details of her sex life.

A Sacramento-based lobbyist who spoke to POLITICO corroborated their accounts of a free-wheeling and alcohol-fueled workplace.

The industry lobbyist said he was surprised last year when, during a late-morning policy meeting in Garcia’s Capitol office, the assemblywoman poured beer from a kegerator — a refrigerator with a beer tap on top — located in her office.

She offered the brew in red Solo cups to the group of lobbyists, even though it was “sometime between 11 a.m. and noon ... a little early,’’ the lobbyist said. "

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/18/california-metoo-allegations-legislator-416916; 2/21/18, 5:54 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: "Trump's tweet that those kids would be alive but for the mueller investigation is shameful. "

So if there is no direct linkage between certain actions and priorities of upper management in an organization and the lower levels of the organization, those actions and priorities have no impact on the lower levels?; 2/21/18, 6:30 AM
Curious George said...: "eddie willers said...
WI supreme court primary, 98% reporting

Screnock (R) 243,199 46.4%
Dallet (D) 188,009 35.8%
Burns (D) 93,346 17.8%

So is there a runoff or is it majority wins?"

Top two run off.; 2/21/18, 6:49 AM
Jaq said...: Most progressives probably have no idea *why* an AR-15 has the features it does.

Because it’s not important to the discussion. We get it, you like your hobby. What is important is that semi-automatic rifles are inherently dangerous to the rest of us in the hands of people it seems impossible to keep them out of. I have no idea what the solution to that is.

And Trump is right, if not precise. The FBI was focussed on politics, first getting Hillary elected, then reversing the election, not on their actual job.; 2/21/18, 7:04 AM
Jaq said...: Youtube is very high bandwidth for some things, guitar lessons, or teaching cooking techniques, are good examples, recipes, not so much; extremely low bandwidth for other things, among them being reporting news. I would never go to a Youtube site for the purpose of gathering information about a complicated situation.; 2/21/18, 7:09 AM
Kevin said...: "Trump's tweet that those kids would be alive but for the mueller investigation is shameful."

The FBI did not know about the Florida school shooter, until they learned about him from CNN...; 2/21/18, 7:31 AM
Michael K said...: What is important is that semi-automatic rifles are inherently dangerous to the rest of us in the hands of people it seems impossible to keep them out of.

So are machetes.; 2/21/18, 7:32 AM
Jaq said...: Ho Hum, a troll misrepresents what was said in the tweet.

That’s why they hate his Tweets. They want him helpless before their attacks.; 2/21/18, 7:33 AM
Kevin said...: We get it, you like your hobby.

What other civil liberties do you declare the be "hobbies"?

Speaking? Voting? Trial by jury?

Any of these can be denigrated, ridiculed as outdated, and taken away just as easily.; 2/21/18, 7:34 AM
Jaq said...: So are machetes

True, but a machete can be countered with lots of stuff that is laying around a school, a chair, for example.; 2/21/18, 7:35 AM
Jaq said...: Any of these can be denigrated, ridiculed as outdated, and taken away just as easily.

Absolutism is how you are going to lose this fight.; 2/21/18, 7:36 AM
Kevin said...: Absolutism is how you are going to lose this fight.

You're ducking the question, but you know that.; 2/21/18, 7:39 AM
Jaq said...: And my point was that details about your chosen activity are not important to the discussion. Like the guy who says that bump stocks shouldn’t be illegal because there are so many other ways to turn a semi-automatic rifle into a functionally sort of automatic. The obvious response is to get rid of the semi-automatics the same way we got rid of machine guns, though heavy regulation.; 2/21/18, 7:39 AM
Kevin said...: "Every civil liberty but this one is important" isn't an argument.

It's a suicide pact.; 2/21/18, 7:40 AM
Kevin said...: The obvious response is to get rid of the semi-automatics the same way we got rid of machine guns, though heavy regulation.

The obvious response is no abortions after 20 weeks, but that's not going to happen either.

It's amazing how people who can detail that women would get "back alley abortions" through limiting the right to an abortion can't see that "heavy regulation" of anything is an utter failure.

It will somehow work with guns, but not with abortion or drugs, for example.; 2/21/18, 7:44 AM
Jaq said...: I also understand that the destruction of the culture is the real cause here, but sometimes reality intrudes on the cleverest political philosophy. What libertarian ever dreamed that the greatest threat to our privacy and therefore freedom would come from a private corporation whose motto was “don’t be evil”?; 2/21/18, 7:44 AM
Kevin said...: I look forward to your "War on Guns".; 2/21/18, 7:44 AM
Kevin said...: from a private corporation whose motto was “don’t be evil”?

The world could collectively turn off Google and FB tomorrow by going outside and having a picnic.

FB and Google don't have the power to start arresting people to force them back inside and on their computers.; 2/21/18, 7:46 AM
Jaq said...: You are just being emotional now, Kevin. No solution is perfect. There are millions of these guns out there already, obviously, but it should have been a lot harder for this kid to get his hands on one. Real obstacles, not just understandings about what should be done.; 2/21/18, 7:47 AM
Jaq said...: FB and Google don’t have the power to start arresting people to force them back inside and on their computers.

No, but they are required to comply with subpoenas, FISA warrants, which we have seen are subject to political abuse.; 2/21/18, 7:48 AM
Kevin said...: No, but they are required to comply with subpoenas, FISA warrants, which we have seen are subject to political abuse.

Unlike the FBI.; 2/21/18, 7:50 AM
Jaq said...: I look forward to your “War on Guns".

That’s the kind of rhetoric that is losing the debate for you guys. Implied threats of gun violence.; 2/21/18, 7:50 AM
Jaq said...: I supported the NRA right up until “bump stocks” became somehow a sacred right when “Tommy Guns” had somehow managed to be outlawed without the country collapsing.

We could have a vote and repeal 2A. You are just making such a vote easier.; 2/21/18, 7:52 AM
Kevin said...: You are just being emotional now, Kevin.

No, when you start the discussion by calling something a "hobby" rather than a fundamental right, it is you who are being emotional. As long as one side denigrates the need for guns at all, there isn't going to be a dialogue.

Imagine people arguing for changing voting laws who openly mocked the right to vote. How would you engage with them?

Likely in a way which they would label "emotional" and use to call you "unreasonable".; 2/21/18, 7:54 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Tim in Vermont said...

We could have a vote and repeal 2A. You are just making such a vote easier.

No chance such a repeal would pass. Not even close. Which is why the people who oppose the 2A are trying to repeal it by other means.; 2/21/18, 7:57 AM
Kevin said...: That’s the kind of rhetoric that is losing the debate for you guys. Implied threats of gun violence.

It wasn't a threat of violence at all. It was to point out the American "war on" anything has always failed because heavy regulation has never worked.

That you see it as violent rhetoric is all on you.; 2/21/18, 7:57 AM
Kevin said...: I supported the NRA right up until “bump stocks” became somehow a sacred right

Outlaw them then. It will make no difference at all whether the next school shooter uses them.

If he wants one, he'll make it in his basement.

The entire discussion about whether bump stocks are legal or not shows the insincerity of the people arguing to deal with the real issues.; 2/21/18, 8:00 AM
Hagar said...: Automatic fire is a firm functional definition, whether achieved by "real" designs or simulated with bump stocks or other means, and possession of "full auto" guns by civilians without the requisite FFL has been illegal since 1935.
Furthermore, "capable of automatic fire" is part of the definition of "assault weapons," so possession of assault weapons is included in that ban.

Modular design is as great an idea in the arms industry as in the auto industry, but trying to outlaw an idea is an exercise in futility. How do you define "modular"?
By looks, as Feinstein tried? You could also design a rifle that looked just like an AR-15, but with some parts welded together rather than screwed. At which point does it become "modular"?

This just leads to unending "lawfare" suits clogging up the courts. Though that may of course be just what the lefty Democrats have in mind.; 2/21/18, 8:04 AM
Hagar said...: Bump stocks are allowed by a rule promulgated by the BATF. No legislation is necessary. It is an obvious end run around the "full auto" ban, and should never have been issued. Just rescind it and investigate how it came to be issued in the first place, whether by simple boneheaded stupidity or corruption.; 2/21/18, 8:11 AM
Curious George said...: "Tim in Vermont said...
You are just being emotional now, Kevin. No solution is perfect. There are millions of these guns out there already, obviously, but it should have been a lot harder for this kid to get his hands on one. Real obstacles, not just understandings about what should be done."

Yep, just like all the obstacles to kids getting drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and thank god for them....and I'm sure while the 17 counts of Capital Murder didn't stop him, a gun charge would have been the necessary deterrent.; 2/21/18, 9:04 AM
Kyzer SoSay said...: If law enforcement had done their job, they could have charged this kid with making threats. At that point, he would not have been able to buy his gun, or if he tried, would have needed to go through a lengthy appeals process - which probably would not have been successful.

But sure, let's keep blaming the "scary" guns.

Let's say we ban semi-automatics? What's next? Some kid shoots up his school with a lever-action or a bolt-action rifle. Personally, I can rain aimed fire into a target with my bolt-action allllmost as fast as with an AR-15. Fine, so then the call is to ban bolt-action. Then what?

Folks who don't understand self-defense, guns, the 2nd amendment, and all of the above - sadly, like Tim - won't be happy until we're reduced to using flintlocks.

Until some kid uses that in a murder . . .

Then it'll be axes . . .

Then stone-hammers . . .

Maybe we can all just cut off our hands.; 2/21/18, 9:17 AM
Lucien said...: A large proportion of shooting deaths are suicides, which I presume involve one shot. Ditto almost all accidental “I didn’t know it was loaded “ shootings. Most of the rest are by handguns (which are almost all functionally semiautomatic). Of shooting deaths involving rifles (shotguns excluded) how many involved multiple victims and enough shots fired that it mattered whether the rifle was semiautomatic?

I don’t want to see laws that limit anyone’s rights based on such unusual events.

Of course, I think it’s dumb that I have to take my shoes off before getting into an airport (or federal courthouse), too.; 2/21/18, 9:46 AM
Jaq said...: I don't have a problem with pump action shotguns, for example. I am not your problem. The fact that you are losing people like me with your absolutism is your problem, in my humble opinion.

I do admit that hearing some guy near by squeeze off around 25 consecutive shots, probably out in the frozen swamp, gave me pause too. He might have been shooting coy dogs, which I like because they keep down the numbers of fucking deer, might have affected my views, which mostly changed with Las Vegas.

Pointing out how easy it is to rig a semi automatic doesn't help your case either.; 2/21/18, 11:03 AM
Kyzer SoSay said...: It's not about how easy it is rig a semi-automatic. At this point, it's easy to make a semi-auto at home in your garage with less than $200 worth of tools and a little know-how that can be had within about an hour of research on the internet, all using commercially available materials that have many other uses and couldn't possibly be banned - unless you want to go Full Stalin Ahead.

They're coming out with ways to 3D print metal, too. Up till now, the big limitation on 3D printed guns is due to the brittle nature of the thermoset plastics they use. Soon, that won't be an issue. With a medium-end 3D printer, downloaded plan files, and a few hundred in materials, one could churn out a few dozen guns a day. Semi auto, or fully auto. There are plans out there now that have been downloaded and copied millions of times. The Feds could probably trace and pay a visit to about 80% of the people who directly downloaded the plans to their personal computers, but what about those who got them from a library computer, or received them on a flash drive.

How Statist do you wanna go, Tim? Your call.; 2/21/18, 12:20 PM
Gahrie said...: Wow..some of you guys are going to lose your minds when Musk begins delivering his flamethrowers......; 2/21/18, 12:38 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Tim in Vermont said...

The fact that you are losing people like me with your absolutism is your problem, in my humble opinion.

Is anyone calling for the legalization of full-auto? If not, then you are not dealing with absolutism.; 2/21/18, 12:45 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: My view:

The second amendment exists for the purpose of armed resistance to a tyrannical government. As such, at a minimum, semi-auto rifles are at the heart of what is protected.

I strongly suspect we will never need to make use of the second amendment for that purpose. On the other hand, never is a very long time, so I don't think it unreasonable for people to reach the opposite conclusion.

I also think that, short of banning all guns, we will do little to reduce gun deaths. ( Most shootings could be carried out by someone wielding several revolvers. ) I'm well aware that banning all guns would not remove all guns, but it would reduce the number around, and how willing people were to have one on them at any given time.; 2/21/18, 12:57 PM
Hagar said...: We will do better trying to keep mental cases away from guns than the other way around.
The market exists, and someone will move to fill it. In places like New York and Chicago it is already much easier to buy an illegal gun than a legal one.; 2/21/18, 1:05 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: So what can/should we do?

I don't know. Some things that I think should be on the table for discussion:

Ban bump stocks
Ban high capacity magazines
Require background checks for all purchases/transfers. This would need to be coupled with near-instant background checks, so that, for example, someone could go to a gun show, buy an gun, and be cleared to take it home with them.
Waiting periods ( with some sort of advanced registration. ) So that, if I am planning to go to a gun show, I can start the waiting period a week in advance, and buy a gun at the show. Maybe some means of a waiver, such that if someone is specifically threatened, they can obtain a gun for self defense right away.

I think that the NRA should be willing to negotiate on all of the above points, in exchange for things that it wants:

Reciprocal carry: If I have a permit in my state, then I can carry in any jurisdiction that allows its citizens to carry with a similar permit.
Right to transport: I can drive through any jurisdiction with my firearms, as long as they stay locked in the car anytime I get out.; 2/21/18, 1:14 PM
Hagar said...: "Background checks" are instantaneous as they just consist of a telephone call by the FFL holder to a tollfree Gov't number where they check your name and SSN against the federal data base, and such a call is mandated for any FFL holder to make regardless of venue for the sale, but that is it. There is no federal magic involved.; 2/21/18, 1:46 PM
Gahrie said...: Is anyone calling for the legalization of full-auto? If not, then you are not dealing with absolutism.

I am, but I admit I'm a minority.

How about one of you gun controllers explain the Marque and Reprisal power granted to Congress in Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution?; 2/21/18, 2:37 PM
Jim at said...: Trump's tweet that those kids would be alive but for the mueller investigation is shameful.

Good thing that's not what he said then, huh.; 2/21/18, 6:12 PM