Althouse: At Smirky's Café...

January 29, 2019

At Smirky's Café...

... you can talk all night.

90 comments:

gilbar said...: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nno6SAYDfx8; 1/29/19, 8:37 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: I'm sooooo offended. Quick - who can I destroy!?!? Someone must pay.; 1/29/19, 8:39 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: This rat has bedroom eyes.; 1/29/19, 8:40 PM
bagoh20 said...: It's a come hither look.; 1/29/19, 8:50 PM
YoungHegelian said...: This is yet another fake hate attack.

Oh, sure, because all the white racists know the cast members of "Empire" by sight at 2:00 AM in a Subway shop in Chicago. I mean, don't the homophobes have the cast members of "The Assassination of Gianni Versace" memorized?

And two white racists carrying around bleach & a noose on some random Siberian-level freezing 2AM jaunt out to a Subway sandwich shop? Suuuuuerrrre! Don't we all bleach & strangle our foot-longs before we wolf 'em down?

"Homophobic & racist language". Well, that settles it, 'cause black guys never, ever use words like "ni***r" & "faggot".

This is bullshit. This was a gang hit. He pissed off some rap artist's posse or didn't pay his dealer or the like, and they were there waiting for him.; 1/29/19, 8:52 PM
John henry said...: Re Howard Schultz:

Is he really thinking of running or is this just a particularly obnoxious way to promote his book?

Or maybe it's pure coincidence it was released yesterday?

Let's see how long his campaign lasts. I give it 30 days tops.

Then he will, very publicly, withdraw and milk that for 15 to 30 days.

John Henry; 1/29/19, 8:54 PM
Big Mike said...: She's smirking because she hasn't yet realized that a laser pointer has severed her legs and tail into multiple twitching pieces.; 1/29/19, 9:01 PM
Andrew said...: I'm curious what fellow commenters think:

It's interesting to me that Trump is holding his fire when it comes to the various Dems who have declared their candidacy, or who are likely to. He could easily destroy them with a few tweets. He could play whack a mole as they announce. Why isn't he doing this? Is it to focus his energies on the wall and other priorities? Is it to allow the Dems to eat each other alive, so that he can then give a finishing blow to the survivor? Perhaps he is being shrewd,but I would love for Trump to get a head start on 2020 by screwing with the Dems right now so that they can't make any headway.; 1/29/19, 9:02 PM
Lucid-Ideas said...: Great...

Now even rats are getting tattoos. When will the madness end.; 1/29/19, 9:04 PM
chickelit said...: At first glance I thought she was a platinum blonde with big hair.

Neat optical illusion.; 1/29/19, 9:12 PM
Jimmy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/29/19, 9:13 PM
Meade said...: I agree — for the next couple of nights we’ll sleep with the windows completely shut.; 1/29/19, 9:16 PM
Tommy Duncan said...: There is no need for Trump to attack the myriad Democrat candidates. He only needs to defeat the last rat standing. The rest will destroy each other.

The Democrats are heartless and vicious. There will be blood in the water.; 1/29/19, 9:18 PM
William said...: Schultz screwed up. He should have announced that he was switching parties and planned to contest Trump in the Republican Primaries. He would have gotten the best press since Mother Theresa. News outlet would have asked him to expound on his corporate philosophy and detail how well he treated his workers. Their praise would be almost embarrassing to sit through during the interviews. Then, at a later date, he could have withdrawn from the Republican primaries and announced his independent candidacy.; 1/29/19, 9:18 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: William - that would have been awesome. Watching the media gush over him.; 1/29/19, 9:23 PM
garage mahal said...: Looking for owls I found this Cooper's Hawk at Picnic Point. -6 below zero.; 1/29/19, 9:24 PM
Sebastian said...: "He should have announced that he was switching parties and planned to contest Trump in the Republican Primaries."

Hey, hey, there are limits to our gullibility. I mean, Trump is one thing. But let's-talk-about race-and-let-in-the winos Schultz?; 1/29/19, 9:25 PM
alanc709 said...: I'm not worried about the current crop of Dem candidates, when the clown car doors open, the imbeciles will turn on each other, all Trump has to do is wait till natural attrition eliminates the saner candidates and let the lunatic progressives do the rest.; 1/29/19, 9:25 PM
Birkel said...: Holy cow!
garage mahal is here.; 1/29/19, 9:27 PM
Henry said...: all Trump has to do is wait till natural attrition eliminates the saner candidates

That worked pretty well for him in 2016...; 1/29/19, 9:27 PM
Jimmy said...: garage mahal said...
Looking for owls I found this Cooper's Hawk at Picnic Point. -6 below zero.

Beautiful photo. Stunning.; 1/29/19, 9:27 PM
Birkel said...: And with a good photo too.
Thanks for sharing.; 1/29/19, 9:27 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @garage,

Looking for owls I found this Cooper's Hawk at Picnic Point. -6 below zero.

And he's thinkin' "I think I understand now why those other guys go South for the Winter...".

Great shot!; 1/29/19, 9:38 PM
chickelit said...: @garage mahal: You’re a regular Owen Gromee. Good to read you here again.; 1/29/19, 9:51 PM
chillblaine said...: The, "Year of the Pig," starts Tuesday. Welcome, Pigs! Also, three-toed sloths. Where do they get off, like, three toes is a likely bowling DQ.; 1/29/19, 9:54 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: garage mahal is here.

Greatest screen name ever.; 1/29/19, 9:56 PM
Big Mike said...: @garage, good to hear from you again. Nicely composed picture.

Anybody know what happened to Hoosier Daddy and Edjumakated Redneck?; 1/29/19, 10:00 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Ok, I might win this:

Bernie Sanders in the Soviet Union in '88 before the Berlin Walll fell - singing Woody Guthrie song - with his shirt off.

What do I win?; 1/29/19, 10:01 PM
Big Mike said...: Re: Howard Schultz. Has he announced any policies yet? I mean, “both parties suck” is self-evidently true, but it’s not much of a platform.; 1/29/19, 10:04 PM
Big Mike said...: @Bay Area Guy, you don’t want to know. Trust me on this.; 1/29/19, 10:06 PM
iowan2 said...: -17 right now. About another 10 degrees to go, to hit the forecast low.; 1/29/19, 10:08 PM
FullMoon said...: Full sentence or paroled?; 1/29/19, 10:24 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: It was 35f in Anchorage today. You'll might want to come up here and warm up.; 1/29/19, 10:27 PM
Original Mike said...: Blogger Meade said..."I agree — for the next couple of nights we’ll sleep with the windows completely shut."

We're keeping the thermostat at daytime temperatures because I'm worried about one particular pipe. Not that I'm sure the furnace will be able to maintain daytime temperatures. Should be interesting.; 1/29/19, 10:33 PM
Original Mike said...: Hey, garage!; 1/29/19, 10:34 PM
Jay Elink said...: I enjoyed Limbaugh today pointing our Millennials and other Kool-Aid drinkersbelieving in global warming having to twist themselves into logical pretzels over what they "believe" and what they are experiencing.

Meanwhile, arctic ice's extent has been inside a one-Standard-deviation for the past twenty years, meaning there's no discernible trend.

Yet many of the Green Weenies said the ice would be GONE by now. Winter or summer.

Snort.; 1/29/19, 10:39 PM
narciso said...: Well they are doomed
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/29/fiona-onasanya-becomes-first-sitting-mp-jailed-almost-30-years/

Her replacement diane Abbott is worse; 1/29/19, 10:46 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: Replacement? The story (what I can see without a subscription) says she's not quitting.

In other news something else incomprehensible happened about Brexit today.; 1/29/19, 10:50 PM
Ralph L said...: A wise Dem candidate would wear Trump's insults and nicknames as badges of honor. We'll see how many are wise. That could be why Trump is holding fire.; 1/29/19, 10:51 PM
narciso said...: Just a day ending in y, in Andrew marrs rather prescient 'head of state' written in 1l2015, you'd never guess how far the establishment would go to stay in the eu.; 1/29/19, 10:56 PM
Kevin said...: There is no need for Trump to attack the myriad Democrat candidates. He only needs to defeat the last rat standing. The rest will destroy each other.

Who is crazier, the Republicans who ran in 2016 or the Democrats running in 2020?

The point isn't just to win, but to expose the Democrat Party for what it truly has become.

The crazier they get, the more sober and Presidential he seems in comparison.; 1/29/19, 11:15 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: Look at that rat smirking. Probably thinking of oppressing a wise Native American man, who just wanted to help youth. Probably a white supremacist rat too. That smirks speaks volumes. That is the smirk that launched a 1,000 MAGA hats.; 1/29/19, 11:20 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/29/19, 11:26 PM
David Begley said...: Badgers best the Corn in Lincoln. Head coach is finished.; 1/29/19, 11:38 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I was thinking about my years in Chicago when I was in graduate school. The coldest spells I can remember were during a week of February 1989 (my first winter there as a grad student) when we had almost full week of below or near below zero minimums, and few days my last winter there in 1992 (January I think). I remember the latter spell better because it was at least 10 below one night during the outbreak. I rode the train into Evanston every morning- a 3 block walk to the Bryn Mawr station, then a 5 block walk to and from Noyes station in Evanston- I thought it was invigorating- at least the walking part- the standing and waiting for the train was a different matter.; 1/30/19, 12:03 AM
Original Mike said...: The metal window frames are popping.; 1/30/19, 12:13 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Maybe Jussie Smollet was beaten up by his boyfriend for not making him a sammich, and decided to blame Trump.; 1/30/19, 12:23 AM
walter said...: For the sake of your concerns, observations etc narciso..
Might be good (and blog respectful) to provide more than a vague comment and elsewhere pointing link.; 1/30/19, 1:39 AM
Rocko said...: How do these three-legged rats stay upright when they lean to the right?; 1/30/19, 2:31 AM
Rusty said...: -19 here in the Fox valley.; 1/30/19, 2:52 AM
rehajm said...: Nice shot Garage! I like the monochrome of the winter.; 1/30/19, 4:01 AM
Mr. Forward said...: Chicago police looking for two MAGA hats with ear flaps.; 1/30/19, 4:51 AM
tim in vermont said...: Wow garage, your skills have come a long way. Post processing is great.; 1/30/19, 4:56 AM
stevew said...: Saw Tom Perez on with Bret Baier last night and have to say he does not come across as very bright, or effective. To me he makes DWS seem rational.

When asked about Schultz, and the emerging cornucopia of Dem candidates for POTUS, he got rather wild-eyed and bumbled through a message of: we welcome everyone to the mission of defeating Trump and will support all good Democrat candidates. His answer to every other question was healthcare related, whether the question was or not. He clearly established the issue they plan to campaign on.

"Healthcare is a right."
"We have to provide healthcare for everyone, not just the wealthy few."
"90% of Americans have healthcare, we have to get that up to 100%."

Ummm, what?; 1/30/19, 5:21 AM
Clyde said...: I hope that the weather people who are doing the TV segments outdoors this morning in the dangerous cold are getting hazardous duty pay. I always wonder why the TV networks feel the need to put someone outside in a hurricane or 25 below zero temperatures. We know that it's nasty outside, there's no reason to stick someone out there to suffer in it.; 1/30/19, 5:37 AM
rhhardin said...: First impression is that the rat has a huge white mane.; 1/30/19, 5:54 AM
George said...: Here's some civility bullshit for you - from David Taylor, CEO of Procter and Gamble and their already famous leftist feminist inspired ad which told their main customers that they are a bunch of assholes:

"It sparked a conversation about appropriate behavior about civility and things that I think are very timely. And we’ve seen a number of people step in, advocates to take on those that attacked it. And what happened was we didn’t accuse anybody of the behavior. We highlighted behavior that’s happened that often has been dismissed as “boys will be boys” and they do things that are very derogatory toward women or they do things that are frankly difficult to really explain--bullying and others."

The WSJ has the last word:

"Here’s to respectful communication, and no doubt many customers of both genders prefer that people are judged as individuals, not members of the half of humanity prone to toxicity."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gillette-masculinity-and-authenticity-11548802921?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb; 1/30/19, 5:56 AM
rehajm said...: Schultz/Snow 2020:

We Know Nothing!; 1/30/19, 6:10 AM
rehajm said...: As if we needed more on how corrupt Mueller and his FBI are..

...for 40 years, ever since the night of the murder, the FBI had known that these four guys were innocent, and yet they never stepped up to identify the real killers, because they were FBI rats. And Mueller’s FBI was prolonging the cover-up, the judge wrote.

“Given those accusations,” she wrote, “the position the FBI is taking is chilling … This Court is not remotely satisfied.”; 1/30/19, 6:15 AM
gilbar said...: Garage Mahal; you hawk pic is Really Good!
my fly fishing shop owner in wyoming (who owns a photo studio too) has been trying to teach me about outdoor photography; and your pic would be a good example of: How to do it right; 1/30/19, 6:18 AM
Hagar said...: narciso,
What is with the Brits I do not know, but the continentals, particularly in eastern Europe, I think are convinced that it is only a question of time before another Hitler arise in Germany, and it is a matter of life and death to enmesh the Germans thoroughly in the EU - like Gulliver in Liliput - so that cannot happen again.; 1/30/19, 6:30 AM
Hagar said...: Stacey Abrams to make the Democrats' response to SOTU?
I knew I had heard the name before, but had forgotten in what context.

After all that hullabaloo about the SOTU, and this is their heavy gun?; 1/30/19, 6:45 AM
tim maguire said...: Andrew said...
I'm curious what fellow commenters think:

My guess is he's happy to watch them beat each other up and let them go do their own oppo research without his heavy hand interfering. Give it 6-8 months and see if he starts going after the leaders to encourage the long-shots to stay in and keep fighting.; 1/30/19, 6:46 AM
Hagar said...: Fun fact: Hitler was an Austrian citizen born and raised and never bothered to take out German citizenship.; 1/30/19, 6:49 AM
Temujin said...: $5 says that Abrams states in some fashion, that her election was stolen from her, within the first 3 minutes.

If you read reports about her, the media universally state that she's a proponent of voter rights. The reality is that she's against voter ID. In some circles that makes you for voter's rights. Not citizens rights, but voters rights.; 1/30/19, 6:49 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Hagar:

Fun fact: Hitler was an Austrian citizen born and raised and never bothered to take out German citizenship.

There's an old joke: do you know Austria's two greatest achievements? To convince the world that Hitler was German, and Beethoven was Viennese.; 1/30/19, 6:59 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Hagar:

I think are convinced that it is only a question of time before another Hitler arise in Germany

What does that even mean? A leader will arise who will use old resentments to convince the German population that they need to conquer territory to the east? Germany will launch military assaults on Poland and the Czech Republic?; 1/30/19, 7:02 AM
Hagar said...: It isn't that old, Farmer. And it does not have to make sense. They know this.; 1/30/19, 7:13 AM
rhhardin said...: One advantage of running XP is that nobody is pushing out updates that break the computer overnight.; 1/30/19, 7:13 AM
Tank said...: Jussie Smollet seems like a nice guy.

Jussie Smollett

@JussieSmollett

Shut the hell up you bitch ass nigga. You will continue to run this country further into the ground and risk lives every time you breathe. You’re not the president. Just a dumpster full of hate. FOH. Sick to my stomach that literal shit currently represents America to the world.
Quote Tweet

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
The Democrats seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country from the Southern Border, risking thousands of lives in the process. It is my duty to protect the lives and safety of all Americans. We must build a Great Wall, think Merit and end Lottery & Chain. USA!; 1/30/19, 7:14 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Hagar:

It isn't that old, Farmer. And it does not have to make sense. They know this.

And how do you know what they know?; 1/30/19, 7:22 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Sign on the wall at Smirky's Cafe:

'Please Don't Punch The Rats'; 1/30/19, 7:28 AM
tim in vermont said...: She lifted her leg to pee on something, its obvious.; 1/30/19, 7:37 AM
Curious George said...: -24f in Milwaukee as I arise. Hey garage. Nice shot.; 1/30/19, 7:44 AM
Hagar said...: Partly because I know.
I was only a child, and Norway is not eastern Europe or the Balkans so for us "the occupation" was a walk in the park by comparison, but I still feel the Germans bear watching - including my relatives in that country.

And perhaps deeper into the realm of "folk memory"; it is now 205 years since the last time the Swedes invaded Norway, but I immediately react negatively on reading any news about Sweden or Swedes in Norway or Denmark. And I know why I react this way, while most people ("deplorables"?) in Norway and Denmark don't - they just do.; 1/30/19, 7:55 AM
Gahrie said...: Fun fact: Hitler was an Austrian citizen born and raised and never bothered to take out German citizenship.

Stalin was Georgian and not Russian.; 1/30/19, 8:11 AM
tcrosse said...: Rat a tat tat.; 1/30/19, 8:28 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Hagar:

I was only a child, and Norway is not eastern Europe or the Balkans so for us "the occupation" was a walk in the park by comparison, but I still feel the Germans bear watching - including my relatives in that country.

Oh I certainly agree with that. The rise of Germany has been one of the most consequential events in all of history. I am just not as sanguine about the rise of another Hitler or its supposed inevitability. On the other hand, within the last few years we have witnessed Germany's ability to decide Italy's and Greece's governments in order to protect German banks from bad debt exposure.; 1/30/19, 8:29 AM
Hagar said...: Sanguine?; 1/30/19, 8:35 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Hagar:

Sanguine?

Yeah, probably not the best choice of words. Confident.; 1/30/19, 8:41 AM
Hagar said...: Intellectually, I do not buy the blather about "something dark and sinister in the German soul," etc., more than in any other people. There were special circumstances that allowed - or rather, facilitated - the rise of Hitler in pan-Germany and Mao in China, and given the right circumstances it could happen again; anywhere, including here in the good ole USA.
Vidkun Quisling was Norwegian, and though Quisling himself may have been more comic opera than a genuine threat, the behavior of some quislings during the war was such that it was too much even for the Gestapo, yet no one talks of any "dark and sinister" streaks in the Norwegian soul.
And Mao certainly was totally an aberration in a people supposedly almost totally committed to Confucianism and Buddhism, not to mention ancestor worship.

But for people who experienced, or know of their parents' and grandparents' experience, in the two world wars of the 20th century, it is very understandable they feel the two Germany's should never have been permitted to reunite.; 1/30/19, 8:57 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Hagar:

There were special circumstances that allowed - or rather, facilitated - the rise of Hitler in pan-Germany and Mao in China, and given the right circumstances it could happen again; anywhere, including here in the good ole USA.

Obviously I am not going to say it couldn't happen. But also it depends on what it means to have a "rise of Hitler...again." If you simply mean an autocratic figure, that's one thing. If you're talking about someone with territorial ambitions prepared to launch on offensive assault, I think that is far less likely. Germany today, unlike the Germany of the 1930s, has nuclear-armed states to its east and west.

But for people who experienced, or know of their parents' and grandparents' experience, in the two world wars of the 20th century, it is very understandable they feel the two Germany's should never have been permitted to reunite.

A figure no less than Margaret Thatcher was deeply skeptical of German reunification. I think it is one of the more ambivalent foreign policy decisions pursued by the first Bush administration.; 1/30/19, 9:11 AM
Chuck said...: Blogger Char Char Binks said...
Maybe Jussie Smollet was beaten up by his boyfriend for not making him a sammich, and decided to blame Trump.

I am sympathetic to this skepticism about this reported/alleged crime. But I would not link it to Trump in any way.

We have seen hundreds of these purported crimes reported as hoaxes all across the nation. If there is a pattern, this case seems to fit it. A gay activist; the mysterious appearance of a pair of vaguely-described assailants. Injuries that may have occurred from an ant-gay attack or also an embarrassing accident or even gay-on-gay violence. (Some estimates are that half or more of all attacks on homosexuals are perpetrated by other homosexuals.). Add in the iconic hate-crime “noose,” and the mystery fluid poured on the purported crime victim.

So these hoaxes predate Trump, and would seem to be perpetuated irrespective of Trump. You can do online searches for lists and maps of all of the hate crime hoaxes all across the country where police investigations have determined similar cases to have been false reports.

I hope the Chicago Police never let up on this investigation until they either catch perpetrators who confess, or determine that this was another hate crime hoax. What I don’t want is for police to give up with a vague presumption that it was a real crime but just unsolved.

If I were a betting man — and I am — my money would be on “hoax.” Apart from and irrespective of “Trump.”; 1/30/19, 9:39 AM
Rusty said...: Garage.
I showed this to a friend of my wife, Bill Monke, who's a professional photographer.
He said it was a perfect composition. But keep in mind he phographed yacts and fasion models, LOL If you ever have a show inform us here.I'd buy a print.; 1/30/19, 12:01 PM
Chuck said...: Oh my. I must write an addendum.

No, I do not think that I have been mistaken in suspecting that this alleged crime might be a hoax. No; I am becoming more and more suspicious all the time.

But I did NOT realize that there was also a claim by the alleged victim that his attackers told him that “This is MAGA country.”

So while I was previously dismissing the “Trump” linkage, I think I was wrong about that. And I also think that it makes the whole story even more incredible. This will be fun to watch together. I have been sarcastic in the past about some of Althouse’s citations to “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” This case may well be certifiable TDS.; 1/30/19, 12:08 PM
Drago said...: LLR Chuck: "Oh my. I must write an addendum."

LOL

I can see that LLR Chuck is on his very "bestest" behavior as he begins the long, arduous (and inevitably unsuccessful!) journey to rehabilitate his image as a super duper TruCon Lifelong "Conservative-y Conservative" "The Likes Of Which You've Never Before Seen-ed"!!!

LOL

It's adorable.

However, as we all know, "teh interwebs" are forever and LLR Chuck's long resume as a Total Dem Cuck and Lefty Narrative Booster/Enabler cannot ever be papered over with new found "Like, Totally Conservative Views You Guys!!...Like Seriously..." "purpose".; 1/30/19, 12:31 PM
Meade said...: @garage,

Great to see you again. We both love seeing your work. Thanks!; 1/30/19, 1:02 PM
Meade said...: Ditto Rusty at 12:01; 1/30/19, 1:11 PM
Drago said...: garage, your photography is always enjoyable.

Have you been able to sell any of your photo's to any publications we might know? I've got to believe there is a market for your work.; 1/30/19, 1:11 PM
Clyde said...: Hagar said...
Stacey Abrams to make the Democrats' response to SOTU?
I knew I had heard the name before, but had forgotten in what context.

After all that hullabaloo about the SOTU, and this is their heavy gun?

Whoa, Hagar! No fat-shaming!; 1/30/19, 2:22 PM