Beautiful butterfly on my shoulder. 🦋 pic.twitter.com/mYwAFryxYJ
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) February 13, 2019
And I just want to say, thanks, Scott, for keeping us out of the high-speed-rail boondoggle.
But I'm also thinking — and this is just aspirational! — couldn't we power the Unites States with butterfly wings?
86 comments:
Are we sure that's not a moth?
Loved the documentary "Won't You be my Neighbor?"
"couldn't we power the Unites States with butterfly wings?"
Yes, but we would need an additional source of energy like farting cows.
69 million farting cows would probably be enough.
I think that you and Meade would really enjoy the award-winning recent documentary on the life of Fred Rogers. I notice you didn't employ a "Fred Rogers" tag and I don't know if you have one. I couldn't recall if you had ever blogged it.
And THEN we could afford high-speed bullet trains everywhere we want to go whenever we want to go there.
No you can't. A butterfly fluttering in Tokyo made me realize this.
Captain Kangaroo would be more interesting. Clarabell I, who made an art of being a clumsy untalented oaf. Kids loved him. Buffalo Bob hated him.
Clarabells II and III had some talent and never worked.
...couldn't we power the Unites States with butterfly wings?
In theory we could, but in practice, the level of chaos unleashed by all those flapping butterfly wings would be unimaginable.
"couldn't we power the Unites States with butterfly wings?"
No, they're powering something else.
If you're going to fuel up with butterflies you're going to need a Butterfly Pump.
Butterfly wings? That ain’t power. But a few thousand humming birds , now that’s power that could do the trick.
If only Scott Walker wasn't a GOPe pet.
He had a shot at being president. He had the lead and momentum in 2015.
He took on the government union corruption and won.
Then he cucked it up on immigration. He listened to a bunch of highly paid consultants and blew all of his campaign cash in a month on DC "consultants." He did what all the "smart" people said to do.
Walker just wasn't up to it.
Now, thankfully, we have Trump.
GDN will replace farting cows with unicorns, who will fart rainbows of gaea-friendly renewable energy to power our jetpacks
I'm trying to figure out how farting cows are not a renewable energy source. A good ribeye renews my energy.
As a blue collar and crass lifelong Bostonian I have to say that the more I see of Scott Walker the more he appears to be the sort of person I imagine when I think of people from the Midwest: polite, friendly, and kinda nerdy in a good way. Very much unlike me and my fellow Massholes.
Walker may have a little Mr. Rogers in him, but let's look at the big picture, and big impact he had.
1. Walker wins Governorship -- shuts down government unions, chokes off Democrat Party money source.
2. Wisconsin Left goes apeshit, starts "protesting"
3. Althouse and Meade fearlessly report on the "protests" at the scene -- therebye, supercharging this fine blog.
4. Walker survives bogus recall, and then wins another term.
5. By neutering Dem money machine, and highlighting the infantile protests of Wisconsin Dems, Walker slightly turns the state red just in time for the 2016 Presidential election.
6. Trump squeaks by in epic upset victory.
The causal chain of events!
Thank you, Mr. Rogers! Thank you, Meadehouse!
"couldn't we power the Unites States with butterfly wings?"
Well the unicorn farts aren't working out so far...
Truly Ass Pirational! PWND. HI ALTHOUSE FAM AND YES ALSO MEADE. ONE EXTRA FOAMY LATTE, COMING RIGHT UP! PWND. pwnd. pooned. etc.
I would love to contribute more to the health of the conversation hereabouts, mateys, but, the she-beast not be working on my otherwise fabulous smart phone. Not ass pirational, not in the least. Anyway, I have been browsing the comments. No, that's a lie. I hang out on Twitter with my real friends. They are open to new ideas, and don't hate on fabulous ass pirational movies, like, "Gravity," starring a gray tank top with Sandra Bullock stuffed inside. They're nice people. Unlike here. Always with the side eye. pwnd.
Anyway, looks like Ann's procedure was a success. Probably had a nice Jewish doctor and everything. My last procedure was a uh, you know, an enhancement to my membership, and I unfortunately had an Obamacare doctor, nice lady, but looked askance at my desire for more than a pathetic stub of manhood. Needless to say, I'm now a eunich. It's a living. pwnd.
I'm off to Starbucks! The barista gives me the side eye when I talk about Drumpf and his fabulous reign of terror, then the whole staff huddles around my Extra Foamy Latte and makes hucking sounds. Tastes terrific. Extra protein! pwnd.
Butterfly wings are weapons of cumulative minor destruction, but when contained could be a source of clean, green, renewable/intermittent energy. That said, there is still their successive unborn evolutionary stages, where as larvae and caterpillars they are rapacious and destructive. Fetal features that only a Mother Gaia could love.
Toxic masculinity.
No, Scott! That's a chaos butterfly!
Then he cucked it up on immigration. He listened to a bunch of highly paid consultants and blew all of his campaign cash in a month on DC "consultants." He did what all the "smart" people said to do.
Koch Brothers. Too bad. I liked him.
In 2015, I happily thought that Scott Walker would be elected President in 2016.
Unfortunately, he turned out to be a squish on the issue of illegal immigration.
I'm surprised AOC didn't include butterfly wings in her GND term paper. Less improbable than many of her bullet points. I'm looking forward to the Senate vote. Let the Donks own it.
Of course! He only instituted his party's boondoggle (FoxCON)!
"69 million farting cows would probably be enough."
Nice!
And I just want to say, thanks, Scott, for keeping us out of the high-speed-rail boondoggle.
don't worry i'm sure your Evers will put you right back into the boondoogling business
I hang out on Twitter with my real friends. They are open to new ideas,
LOL, that’s why nobody responds to you. Ok, have fun storming the castle!
Ajnal: "Of course! He only instituted his party's boondoggle (FoxCON)!"
Yes, because having private industry move in to conduct business is EXACTLY the same as govt run "projects" which waste billions of taxpayer dollars and deliver nothing of value.
I guess if one wanted to know why lefties think we ought to create Venezuelas everywhere, look no further than Ajnal, Inga and LLR Chuck.
Walker was defeated last fall solely by the “revenge vote”. The teachers and mill workers came out in droves to vote for the complete idiot Evers. Evers is now on a quest to increase taxes on every single thing he can, staring with gasoline and property taxes. Hope you enjoy the revenge on yourselves, idiot dems
Yes, because PAYING private industry millions to move in to conduct minor business is a waste billions of taxpayer dollars and deliver nothing of value.
Ajnal: "Yes, because PAYING private industry millions to move in to conduct minor business is a waste billions of taxpayer dollars and deliver nothing of value."
Maduro and AOC could not have said it better.
Inga summarized the lefty view a few weeks back when she said that it was "cities" that provide jobs and that businesses only bring misery!
Seriously, its good the lefties are so willing to demonstrate their increasingly irrational thought processes.
Transparency is a good thing.
I used to go to bed at night, dreaming of a wonderful world where Scott Walker was President... Then, he ran for President; and i wondered where Scott went, and who This guy was.
If Walker (or Rubio) had stepped up to the plate and swung away; one of Them would be President now. But when the pitch came, they struck out looking.
By the way; PITCHERS AND CATCHERS ARE THROWING BALLS!!
WOO HOO! start cooking those dogs! start popping that crackerjack!
Speaking of the High-Speed Rail boondoggle, Megan McArdle has just unleashed a tweet-storm about why it won't work in the USA.
Blogger tcrosse said...
Speaking of the High-Speed Rail boondoggle, Megan McArdle has just unleashed a tweet-storm about why it won't work in the USA.
Yes, but it's fake news that ultimately published by Jeff Bezos' organ formally known as the WaPo
Trains are for moving freight and communists - David Burge
Ignorance is Bliss:
"...the level of chaos unleashed by all those flapping butterfly wings would be unimaginable."
That's what central planning is for.
But I'm also thinking — and this is just aspirational! — couldn't we power the Unites States with butterfly wings?
Only if you can figure out how to get them all to flap in the same direction. Butterflies are notoriously independent-minded.
rehajm: It is definitely a butterfly. Only butterflies sit at rest with their wings up like that, not out flat or folded across their back like moths.
I can see why you would say that though. There are many moths in this part of the country at least that have those "eye" markings on the wings. Whatever the reason for it, it must work.
They are indeed strange and beautiful creatures. (I tend to use those words a lot in describing my reactions to Nature, I know.) Who, picking a random planet, would expect to find something like that, especially considering that it starts out as a digestive tract with suckers for legs, goes to sleep for a while, and wakes up looking like something completely different?
Separately, seems like there's a lot of hate in Wisconsin for Walker. Apostates are never popular, I guess.
"Butterfly wings"... nicely done!
And a belated congratulations on your anniversary!
@Achilles
Then he cucked it up on immigration. He listened to a bunch of highly paid consultants and blew all of his campaign cash in a month on DC "consultants." He did what all the "smart" people said to do.
You've got it backwards. During the campaign he went from supporting "comprehensive immigration reform" to opposing it, and even opposing increased legal immigration. The exact opposite of "cucked".
His problem is that he relied too much on GOPe financing. But his hardened stance on immigration killed his fundraising among the usual Chamber of Commerce donors.
I would like to think he could've continued outside the Republican establishment. Trump did it of course. I don't think Walker's personality would allow the same self-promotion and provocative campaigning that Trump used. But I also don't think he would have needed the massive ad buys that Republicans once needed, I think he could've found better messaging paths.
I think the lawfare campaign by Chisholm, and his little rizzotto tray had it's effect, even though he wasn't indicted, it even impacted the 7th circuit decision where the raid on Cyndi archer was ratified, because it collected info on other targets,
The Wisconsin high speed rail proposal between Milwaukee and Madison was insane. It was a route that could be more effectively and flexibly served by an express bus service. But buses lack the left wing glamor of sexy light rail. Buses also don't require huge "green" expenditures on single purpose infrastructure.
I remember the progressive outrage when Walker declined $810 million in federal aid for the light rail. Now that California's $77 billion light rail is kaput I'm sure they'll all thank Scott Walker.
liz mair, and mari maseng (will) did him no favors,
now the Chisholm 'Koch bought walker' narrative, is just as fake as the Russia one, or most recently this djinn's recent tirade,
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/ilhan-omar-offers-absurd-excuse-for-anti-semitic-scheduling
it's striking how they deploy the pillow:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-air-force-intel-vet-monica-witt-is-accused-of-being-irans-dumbest-spy?via=twitter_page
for six years since she defected nothing was done,
Only butterflies sit at rest with their wings up like that, not out flat or folded across their back like moths.
Thanks Phidippus
I have spent must of my life identifying and killing the larval form of moths, Army worms, European Corn Borer, Clover worm, Black Cut worm, Corn Ear worm, etc., and never took the time to learn the difference between moths and butterflies.
The commenters at this blog are by far the most informed group, on the entire internet.
"The commenters at this blog are by far the most informed group, on the entire internet."
Indeed. Come for the etymology, stay for the entomology! (And of course don't forget to pick up a free promotional rat sticker for the road.)
77 billion could have bought them high speed water.
well my early interest was zoology before astronautics and then social sciences:
I guess one can establish a rough taxonomy,
https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/13/ilhan-omar-elliott-abrams-committee-hearing/
iowan2: I can't blame you--they eat like crazy. And not all of the adult forms are particularly attractive to us, at least.
I grow some milkweed over the septic tank in my back yard. I call it my "weed patch". Last year we had dozens of Monarch caterpillars there, and they totally defoliated the milkweed plants, even eating the stems by and by. I figure at least 10 got enough food to pupate and fly away. (The rest pupated, but never woke up.) It was quite nice back there for a few weeks last summer when they were emerging from their chrysalises and drying out on the deck and windowsills.
Once nice thing about Monarchs is that they eat only, and I mean only, milkweed, so they are no threat to human food crops.
I planted more milkweed last fall. The seeds need to overwinter to germinate.
Yes. Mr Rogers resemblance okay for Governor. For President it just doesn't work.
"Speaking of the High-Speed Rail boondoggle, Megan McArdle has just unleashed a tweet-storm about why it won't work in the USA."
Note that this comes AFTER the boondoggle was terminated.
Not before or during, when it was being milked for financing.
Not when its further financing was on a CA proposition 15 months ago.
This is the pattern.
Everyone is glad to say this was all destined to be a failure, after its all done with.
But its very rare to say such things, or at any rate for the MSM to say so, when they are being proposed and operated.
@buwaya:
That may be a pattern, but it's not fair to ascribe it to McCardle. She's been writing about the issue of high speed rail for over 10 years.
Why the U.S. Will Not Get China's High Speed Rail (11/22/10)
Does High Speed Rail Have a Future? (09/01/09)
If a butterfly flaps its wings in Singapore, it causes a hurricane in the Atlantic. Chaos theory. So replacing high speed rail with butterfly wings is not out of the question?
McArdle wasn't in the WaPo in 2009/10
It appears the Democrats are upset that Mitch McConnell is going to schedule a vote on their Senate Green New Deal resolution. They're calling it "bullying" by McConnell that the resolution they authored is being brought to a vote.
Seriously, Mitch McConnell a bully? How dreadful to have one of your political posturing resolutins come to a vote, thus forcing you to go on the record. Meanwhile, AOC is telling the Democrat Senators to "call McConnell's bluff" and vote for the resolution.
The Democrat rough stretch continues...
@buwaya:
McArdle wasn't in the WaPo in 2009/10
I thought you were speaking of the MSM writ large, not just WaPo.
It appears the Democrats are upset that Mitch McConnell is going to schedule a vote on their Senate Green New Deal resolution.
It is precisely because the Green New Deal is politically toxic to the 2020 presidential race that Mitch McConnell will make a move to remove the political risk represented by the GND
Mitch will remove the sword of Damocles from the 2020 politicians, protect the viability of any opponent to Trump, and simultaneously remove a very sharp arrow from the quiver of republican politicians in the 2020 campaign. Mitch isn’t hurting democrats by announcing support for a vote; he is actually helping them.
That my friends, is how Mitch McConnell works.
By removing the threat represented by the GND, McConnell removes an attack weapon from his real adversary, Donald J Trump. That’s Mitch…. That’s how Mitch operates… That’s the Decepticon DNA carried by McConnell that only close political followers can see.
Giving democrats an opportunity to vote against the silly GND is a way for McConnell to remain the almighty center of power and control. If he didn’t take that approach, the weapon would be available for any exploitation.
She was publishing in the Atlantic at the time, which was not quite part of the machine. It was an independent holding of David Bradley, who even hired Michael Kelly as its editor (until his death, as an embedded reporter during the Iraq campaign). It was still an interesting magazine in those days with a range of outlooks among its writers and editors.
The modern ultra-managed MSM system is a fairly recent development. I started smelling a rat during the Bush administration.
The Atlantic still isn't in the core of the MSM, now being the hobby magazine of Steve Jobs widow. Billions buys independence, but in this case the owners own opinions are generally in alignment with the core. Under that management independent opinions seem to have been purged.
@FullMoon
I read the article you linked to at the Conservative Tree house and don't find the argument compelling. I'm inclined to accept the situation at face value as being McConnell forcing the Democrats on the record regarding an absurd resolution.
Does anybody dispute the substance of McArdle's piece, or just its source or its timing?
If we planted milkweed beside the railroad right of way then the flapping of wings as the Monarchs circled and landed could power the bullet trains if there were tiny silken sails on the sides of the train to catch the breeze.
It appears the Democrats are upset that Mitch McConnell is going to schedule a vote on their Senate Green New Deal resolution. They're calling it "bullying" by McConnell that the resolution they authored is being brought to a vote.
Hilarious that Ed Markey got on Twitter to demand an immediate vote on the Green New Deal. More recently, for some strange reason, he insists that an immediate up or down vote is a deep, Republican plot. Strange how that happened.
It’s source and timing and purpose.
It is designed to excuse the Government of California, in its current iteration, from condemnation on “green” grounds. To reduce disappointment in such a massive failure by presenting a sort of “sour grapes”.
To do what ultimately had to be done, but put off for years due to political risks and uncontrollable greed. Lots of rice bowls needed to break.
What they won’t do is to seek justice for such an egregious failure, or place blame, or question the system that still leads California.
Isthmus Dec. 9, 2010
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin:
This is a terribly sad day for Wisconsin. By pledging to stop the high speed rail project in our state, Governor-elect Walker is denying jobs to Wisconsinites when they are desperately needed and sending the message that Wisconsin is not open to innovation, new business, and the economic development we need to grow and thrive in the 21st Century. We are witnessing the ugly triumph of politics over progress and the people of Wisconsin will suffer the consequences for decades to come.
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz:
This is a black day for Wisconsin's economy.
The 5,000 or so construction workers who could have been employed over the course of the next few months building high speed rail have Scott Walker to thank for their continued unemployment.
A governor-elect who claims to be making jobs his top priority has killed thousands of good-paying jobs before even taking office. And it won't stop here. Walker has laid out nothing less than an all out attack on the modern economy.
With his high speed rail decision, Walker has sent a national and even international message that Wisconsin is closed to new ideas and not nearly open to business. Next he'll go after stem cell research, possibly chasing those jobs to California. And we can only imagine what else he'll do to turn back the clock on progress.”
State Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison):
The people of Wisconsin lose today as California, Washington State and Florida will reap the benefits of Governor-elect Scott Walker's poor decision to turn away $810 million to build high speed rail in Wisconsin. It is unfortunate that Governor-elect Walker and the Republicans found it more important to try to score political points than to create 5,000 jobs and to invest in Wisconsin's future transit infrastructure.“
Gov. Jim Doyle
This is a tragic moment for the State of Wisconsin.
Meade said...
"The commenters at this blog are by far the most informed group, on the entire internet."
Indeed. Come for the etymology, stay for the entomology! (And of course don't forget to pick up a free promotional rat sticker for the road.)
Yes Meade the same phrase ran through my mind. Then the better half came home and thought I should actually do something, like start supper, empty the dishwasher and such. Told me to stop playing with my little friends on the internet and get to it.
So happy to hear AA is on the last stretch. Great new visions ahead!
"The commenters at this blog are by far the most informed group, on the entire internet."
Careful with that, you'll make Althouse jealous again. She'll troll us (again), then shut off the comments (again) when there is blowback (again).
"Althouse is the Star of this blog. There is NO supporting cast"
Say it 3 times, turn around and throw salt over your shoulder, you Jinx :)
The commenters at this blog are by far the most informed group, on the entire internet."
Laslo proved it on the Meghan Murphy/Twitter thread
Remember when the corruptocrat party attempted to smear Walker with corrupt lies?
Democratics are Stalinist pigs.
Blogger Drago said...
Ajnal: "Yes, because PAYING private industry millions to move in to conduct minor business is a waste billions of taxpayer dollars and deliver nothing of value."
Maduro and AOC could not have said it better.
Inga summarized the lefty view a few weeks back when she said that it was "cities" that provide jobs and that businesses only bring misery!
Seriously, its good the lefties are so willing to demonstrate their increasingly irrational thought processes.
Transparency is a good thing.
This, my friends, is a rarity. A Drago comment without mentioning Chuck.
Baby steps.
This, my friends, is a rarity. A Drago comment without mentioning Chuck.
Baby steps..
Haha! Chuck has made several innocuous comments today.
Idea being to elicit a response derogatory to himself, proving his oft repeated complaint that he is constantly attacked for no reason. Kinda like the time ABC sent a black reporter to a Nascar event, hoping he would be denigrated.
Did not work in either instance.
Disclaimer, this is an observation, not an attack on Chuck, who I have come to admire greatly for his persistence in the face of adversity.
FullMoon@9:56PM He persisted.
As an Illinoisan (FIB!) I don't know how much weight my comment should have..
But as a long time Wisconsin vacationer, I cannot for the life of me understand Wisconsin voters rejecting Scott Walker for another term.
We vacation in Door County, nearly every year.. sometimes twice a year. Fall colors.. yay!
We usually stay just north of Sturgeon Bay.. We have witnessed the ship yards in Sturgeon Bay go from nearly abandoned during the Bush/Obama recession to boom times this past summer.
Once, the streets were abandoned and the docks had no ships.
This past summer, every dock was full, and there were no parking spots on the streets empty, as they were filled with cars of workers. And the roads were lined with "We're hiring!" signs all the way up north!
Yet.. Wisonsinites elected a socialist.. it boggles my mind..
You might say, what does a fib know? We have it worse! Yes, we do..
Unknown, Wisconsin has 72 counties, Evers won 19 of them. Milwaukee and Dane counties are where Evers won.
Madison is in Dane county.
Looks like a Luna moth and not a butterfly but I could be wrong.
"As an Illinoisan (FIB!) I don't know how much weight my comment should have.."
One in 13 jobs in the state is sustained by tourism, and overall business sales related to tourism rose 3.2 percent to $20.6 billion in 2028.
Thank you, good people of Illinois and Indiana!
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