Althouse: At the Hard Swim Café...

April 4, 2019

At the Hard Swim Café...

... it's not your fault.

131 comments:

tcrosse said...: Yesterday I had cataract surgery, and opted for a toric lens to correct a severe astigmatism. It worked. Ain't science grand?; 4/4/19, 5:48 PM
Yancey Ward said...: He is exactly where the Chicauvwxzy Asteroid buried him 66 million years ago.; 4/4/19, 5:49 PM
Michael K said...: I had a mild astigmatism in one eye and it was corrected by LASIK at the time of the cataract on that side.; 4/4/19, 6:41 PM
CWJ said...: I recently completed my income tax forms. I'm curious as to what others experienced. Was it easier, harder? Were there any surprises? For me the biggest one was itemization. Yes, I knew local taxes were capped at 10K, but I didn't know that Misc. deductions had been eliminated. Under those circumstances, I really wonder who qualifies for itemizing anymore. I couldn't come close to what for us was the $25,300 standard deduction. How charitably generous, or how sick, do you have to be to find that other $15K?; 4/4/19, 6:59 PM
Hagar said...: Our new governor today signed a bill joining New Mexico to 13 other states requiring them to give all of their electoral votes to whoever wins the majority national vote.
Is not that a blatant attempt to make an end-run around the Constitution without going through the amendment process and should be thrown out by the courts forthwith?; 4/4/19, 6:59 PM
CWJ said...: tcrosse,

Hugh betcha!; 4/4/19, 6:59 PM
traditionalguy said...: The First Round of the Masters in one week. The dogwoods are at their peak.; 4/4/19, 7:03 PM
CWJ said...: Hagar,

As I've said time and time again, unless you have uniform national rules and enforcement for voter eligibility, registration, voter ID, election mechanics, vote counting, and certification. The idea that the national popular vote total is meaningful in any way other than an artifact is ridiculous.

Tying your state to the collectives whims of the other 49 (plus territories) is sovereignty suicide. Now yes it's an end run, but I believe each state can apportion its electors as it sees fit. No matter how stupid. As long as your state adds no more to the total than its allotted umber of electors.; 4/4/19, 7:07 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: It's Wisteria season; 4/4/19, 7:12 PM
tcrosse said...: On the new 1040, 1040ES estimated tax payments have to be entered on Schecule 5, then reported on line 17, while withholdings from W2 and 1099 are entered on line 16. The instructions do not make this clear.; 4/4/19, 7:15 PM
tim in vermont said...: As of 2019, 14 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact; collectively, these jurisdictions control 189 electoral votes, which is 70% of the 270 required for the compact to take effect. Only strongly "blue" states have joined the compact, each of which returned large victory margins for Barack Obama in the 2012 election and for Hillary Clinton in 2016. - iHeartRadio; 4/4/19, 7:17 PM
bagoh20 said...: Gander meet Goose:

"HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIR REFUSED TO RELEASE TAX RETURNS"

And he's not the only one:

..."Roll Call asked each member of Congress to if they would release their tax returns. Of the 530 members, only 37 responded..."

Back in 2012, when McClatchy requested each member release their tax returns or give some information about the returns, just 17 lawmakers responded with any information and Neal was a member that did not respond at all to their request."

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/04/house-ways-and-means-chair-refused-to-release-tax-returns/

Has anyone else noticed that hypocrisy now seem to be S.O.P..; 4/4/19, 7:32 PM
madAsHell said...: Yellow Submarine, or Peter Max??; 4/4/19, 7:33 PM
rehajm said...: CWJ, the MST wife says the simple returns go quicker because of the standard deduction. With the large complex 1040s, the page form layout is superior- easier to review. Also she’s noting in review letters how the client is doing under the new law. Most have savings. One or two big W2s well into the highest bracket in a high rate state paid more. Alas, so did the MST wife...independent accountants didn’t get the lower rate.; 4/4/19, 7:38 PM
Hagar said...: I do not think Congress can subpoena the President's tax returns any more than any other citizen's tax returns without there being actual indications of something wrong with them for them to "investigate."
IOW: No fishing expeditions allowed.; 4/4/19, 7:40 PM
Hagar said...: But has either ever been challenged in the courts? Up to the Supremes?; 4/4/19, 7:43 PM
effinayright said...: Hagar said...
Our new governor today signed a bill joining New Mexico to 13 other states requiring them to give all of their electoral votes to whoever wins the majority national vote.
Is not that a blatant attempt to make an end-run around the Constitution without going through the amendment process and should be thrown out by the courts forthwith?

*****************

Article 2., Section 10, Clause 3: "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress , lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay."

I don't think Congress would allow it, but in any case it's well-established that Congress cannot agree to effectively amend the Constitution without going through the procedures outlines by the document itself.

And yes, that's exactly what it is: a brazen attempt to circumvent the Constitution.

I doubt the Supremes would allow it, but....who knows.; 4/4/19, 7:51 PM
Ralph L said...: I thought rock beat scissoring.
4/4/19, 8:31 AM
On the gay Brunei thread, some of my best work and I didn't hear even a chortle.; 4/4/19, 7:52 PM
effinayright said...: Hagar said...
I do not think Congress can subpoena the President's tax returns any more than any other citizen's tax returns without there being actual indications of something wrong with them for them to "investigate."
IOW: No fishing expeditions allowed.
*******************************************
Actually, the Congress can demand to see the tax returns of anyone, as part of their oversight and fact-finding. They did it to Nixon.

But in this case, since Trump has been audited up to the eyeballs, it's pretty obvious they want to get their hands on Trump's in order to leak them.

Democrat cynicism, straight up.; 4/4/19, 7:54 PM
Ralph L said...: MST wife

Is she the MST2k model or the MST3k?; 4/4/19, 7:55 PM
mockturtle said...: CWJ, I used Turbo Tax and knew I wouldn't be able to itemize but the standard deduction was much more generous than in years past. I found the form itself very confusing.; 4/4/19, 7:57 PM
Michael K said...: Even Peggy Noonan is trying to tell Joe Biden "Don't Run Joe. They will tear you up."

And she is right.; 4/4/19, 7:57 PM
mockturtle said...: Tradguy observes: The First Round of the Masters in one week.

Have any favorites?; 4/4/19, 8:00 PM
Kathryn51 said...: Hagar said: Our new governor today signed a bill joining New Mexico to 13 other states requiring them to give all of their electoral votes to whoever wins the majority national vote.

Isn't it interesting that in the name of one (wo)man/one vote, this stupid compact still requires that ALL electoral votes of a compact state must go to the national winter. Why not pro-rating (I know, it's their way of getting around the requirements of the Electoral College). Why not change the state laws to allow division by congressional district (Maine and Nebraska, I believe).; 4/4/19, 8:09 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: Looks like fugu to me. I'm not eatin' it.; 4/4/19, 8:11 PM
rehajm said...: I’m not convinced. Last time we only had one socialist gain traction and while there was outrage (there always is) from the bros it wasn’t like they didn’t vote for Hillary! in big chunks. Sure, DNC changed the rules and there’s too many socialists to count this time but did the rules change enough to stop a coronation? It still feels like Biden was running a Warren-style airing of vulnerables early so the opponents won’t do it later...and the socialists will wail and moan but fall in line if they have to...like they usually do.; 4/4/19, 8:11 PM
rehajm said...: Have any favorites?

Jack and Gary.; 4/4/19, 8:12 PM
Tank said...: Tiger vs. the field.

Those were the days.

He could win, why not?; 4/4/19, 8:16 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: CWJ @6:59 PM: I found it much less expensive than in prior years, although, using Turbo Tax, I had to go through all the nonsense of entering my deductions in order for the program to tell me what I already knew, that the new standard deductible was far higher itemizing than even when I was working, and with a fresh mortgage, etc. I'll try to find a cheaper way to do the taxes next year because Intuit sure didn't earn the money I paid them this time. If I could do it on paper, it would take less time than the online method did.

I live in the rural, hick, deplorable, southern part of NJ, and my real estate taxes are well under the $10K cutoff. Tough noogies for those lefty smacks north of Trenton, where taxes on any house pretty much start at $10K, who want to take my guns, let violent felons out of prison early, and keep voting Democrat.

I scoff at them.; 4/4/19, 8:22 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: @ Ralph L 4/4/19, 7:52 PM "...I didn't hear even a chortle."

I not only appreciated it, I wished I wrote it.

I am Laslo.; 4/4/19, 8:23 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: I owed a lot on my taxes, but that's because my withholdings were messed up. Overall I'm paying about the same amount in higher income.; 4/4/19, 8:23 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: "Yellow Submarine, or Peter Max??"

Definitely Peter Max. I was born at Univ of Michigan Hospital amidst all these hippies, and I had a buncha Peter Max kiddie books back then - all those beautiful colors still etched in my little pea brain.; 4/4/19, 8:25 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: So if the popular vote goes for the Republican, do you really think California's electors will stick to the agreement? I sure don't.; 4/4/19, 8:26 PM
rehajm said...: Rory Mcilroy, Tommy Fleetwood, John Rahm

long, long shot: Bernhard Langer; 4/4/19, 8:26 PM
narciso said...: Well last time mr tokes threw the state to hillary:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1110046/south-china-sea-latest-news-Philippines-tension-Chinese-militia-vessels-invasion; 4/4/19, 8:31 PM
Anonymous said...: re: cataracts - I've had them going on three years. Prior to that, I needed correction for both distance and near vision. I'd had lasik in 2005 which restored my distance vision, but, over time, my distance vision deteriorated again. With the onset of cataracts, I started noticing that my right eye poor distance vision was gradually improving to normal - no need for correction. Then, it started to go south, however, now my left eye began improving to normal as my right eye got worse and worse. Finally, a little over a year ago, my right eye near vision improved to the point where I could (almost) see a fly's sphincter spasm when it farted. As of this date, there has been no change. My left eye is still good for distance and my right eye is good for near. On the advice of my ophthalmologist, I am postponing any surgery until the situation changes. Any one else have similar experience with cataracts?; 4/4/19, 8:34 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: "Go Nadler!"; 4/4/19, 8:37 PM
Big Mike said...: I agree with JaimeRoberto — in fact none of the states of the compact will stick to the agreement if Trump wins the popular vote but their state goes blue.; 4/4/19, 8:46 PM
narciso said...: Very deftly handled:
http://victorhanson.com/wordpress/angry-reader-04-03-2019/?fbclid=IwAR10HYguN3wUPOi8jA7iZTXcv1Jrahz-Hog3DxCQSuSuB_YXrBFFyWP-X64; 4/4/19, 8:49 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Hey I got yer "Go Nadler" right frickin' here.; 4/4/19, 9:04 PM
traditionalguy said...: Who to watch at next weeks Masters: Locals still like Tiger Woods but are realistic about his game. But most are for local boy, Patrick Reed. Rory is always hard to beat. My long time favorite. Jordan Speith, is having putting troubles. Few people care much for Bubba Watson anymore.

But the reverent atmosphere at Augusta is really what we love about Bobby Jones's tournament .; 4/4/19, 9:13 PM
effinayright said...: wholelottasplainin' said...
A follow-up to my previous comment: I think the Dems who entered that compact KNOW it will be declared unconstitutional, and that their next step will be to "independently" instruct their electors to vote for the person with the largest national vote--as long as he/she is the Dem candidate.

The Constitution's Electoral College system is written in a loosy-goosy manner, never quite saying that a state-wide election for POTUS has to be held , and its results passed on to the Electors. Nor are electors legally-bound to follow their instructions; we've had a few "faithless electors" over the years. But the expectation has always been to instruct Electors to vote based on their citizens' state votes, and one can only imagine how
a majority of voters who choose, say, Trump, in their Blue state, find their votes nullified by Dem state politicians.

It gets worse: the Secretaries of the Red-voting States will understand this ploy and likely not certify their elections so that the Blue states will have no firm totals, only unofficial polling data to work with. So who knows what they will do on the day they all have to present their official electoral votes to the President of the Senate.

We very well could see the messy process of the 12th Amendment kick in. Go read it, and imagine the chaos. How could the Senate President certify the election if everyone is using different rules to present their states' electoral votes?

Finally, if there is any scheme designed to poke a sharp stick into the eyes of Red State America, this is it. This is the way the totalitarian left will ensure that, no matter the 2020 election's outcome, they will not let Trump officially win a second term.

Of course, if Trump overwhelmingly wins the national vote, the Dems still have all sorts of ways to demand recounts, stuff ballots, lose ballots ignore ballots: it's been their stock in trade for decades. They will try to completely gum up the electoral process. The political and social chaos will be terrible. Our enemies will likely seize the opportunity to do bad things, knowing how divided and distracted we will be.

But power, absolute power, is the Dem goal.

You libs out there ought to be careful; you won't get the US Armed Forces to join such a Banana Republic-style subversion of the Constitution. WE have all the weapons, hundreds of millions of them. And remember the wisdom of Chairman Mao about where political power ultimately comes from.; 4/4/19, 9:18 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: "I support release of the Mueller report.”

Senator Chuck Grassley tweeted today.; 4/4/19, 9:18 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “You libs out there ought to be careful; you won't get the US Armed Forces to join such a Banana Republic-style subversion of the Constitution. WE have all the weapons, hundreds of millions of them. And remember the wisdom of Chairman Mao about where political power ultimately comes from.”

As IF no liberals or Democrats serve in the US Armed Forces.; 4/4/19, 9:20 PM
David Begley said...: Saw Beto in Iowa today. I can’t believe anyone has given this guy a dime. He raised $9.4m in 18 days.; 4/4/19, 9:23 PM
narciso said...: I think he only raised 1.5 million the first time, but that's still about 6 million, but the bloom Is off the rose; 4/4/19, 9:26 PM
narciso said...: Its still a very silly crew
https://pjmedia.com/spengler/to-stop-the-deep-state-bring-back-mike-flynn/?fbclid=IwAR0buprmpLYswM4RTNVmQq4m0BuzGrh6nF2rfL8XJEhAuEt3GnAvFiIer5Q; 4/4/19, 9:28 PM
stephen cooper said...: Inga ----- please try and remember that you are a real person.

God loves you,

Stop arguing with phantoms on the internet.

Every moment we spend angrily arguing on the internet is a moment we do not spend with those who love us in the real world.

Silblngs, parents, friends, in-laws, cats, dogs, or most importantly ....

that marginal loser who we would have had time for if we had not spent the time that God wanted us to spend with the marginal loser on arguing on the internet with people who were no more than phantasms to us.

I used to live a couple blocks from the headquarters of the KGB, named after poor Maurice Thorez (Dzherzhinsky, actually, but you may not know the difference), and I remember that neighborhood of Moscow well, but I also remember the French countryside, where the poor creature Thorez, God bless his angry soul, was born, and I remember the early countryside morning hours where people who
woke up early were ready to work, and to take care of those they loved.
Think about it.

God loves us all, my young friend.

Let go of your anger, and pray for the poorest of the poor.; 4/4/19, 9:31 PM
narciso said...: How did you happen to live there Stephen cooper, that woit link was interesting

Science that cannot be replicated or observable isnt really science; 4/4/19, 9:34 PM
narciso said...: She will likely say we are the angry ones, and the media gives reasons for her to have the only argument; 4/4/19, 9:36 PM
effinayright said...: Inga...Allie Oop said...
“You libs out there ought to be careful; you won't get the US Armed Forces to join such a Banana Republic-style subversion of the Constitution. WE have all the weapons, hundreds of millions of them. And remember the wisdom of Chairman Mao about where political power ultimately comes from.”

As IF no liberals or Democrats serve in the US Armed Forces.

*************

AS IF a vast majority of the US Armed Forces, ESPECIALLY the combat branches, are not constitutionalists, sworn to defend it, first and foremost.; 4/4/19, 9:37 PM
AllenS said...: I had been using Weather Underground for years to get my weather reports and now the site is the absolute shits. What other weather sites are there to use?; 4/4/19, 9:38 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “God loves us all, my young friend.”

Well thanks but I’m no spring chicken and yes indeed I know God loves me. He loves you too!

Oh but my dear friend, my anger is righteous! Jesus was angry and overturned the money lenders tables, did he not?

Seriously though, I’m having fun commenting here. It’s one of my hobbies.

“...with people who were no more than phantasms to us.”

You’re not real? Ooooo surprise!; 4/4/19, 9:40 PM
effinayright said...: That fish has "Gary Larson" written all over it.; 4/4/19, 9:40 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “AS IF a vast majority of the US Armed Forces, ESPECIALLY the combat branches, are not constitutionalists, sworn to defend it, first and foremost.”

“President Donald Trump’s approval rating among active-duty military personnel has slipped over the last two years, leaving today’s troops evenly split over whether they’re happy with the commander in chief’s job performance, according to the results of a new Military Times poll of active-duty service members.

About 44 percent of troops had a favorable view of Trump’s presidency, the poll showed, compared to 43 percent who disapproved.

The results from the survey, conducted over the course of September and October, suggest a gradual decline in troops’ support of Trump since he was elected in fall 2016, when a similar Military Times poll showed that 46 percent of troops approved of Trump compared to 37 percent who disapproved. That nine-point margin of support now appears gone.

During that same period, the number of neutral respondents has dwindled from almost 17 percent to about 13 percent, suggesting political polarization inside the military community has intensified in recent years.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/10/15/support-for-trump-is-fading-among-active-duty-troops-new-poll-shows/; 4/4/19, 9:43 PM
effinayright said...: Inga...Allie Oop said...
"I support release of the Mueller report.”

Senator Chuck Grassley tweeted today.
**************

Did he say he supported the release of the parts that BY LAW are not to be made public?

No.

DERP; 4/4/19, 9:44 PM
narciso said...: Grassley should follow up on the means by which we got here, the dossier the fisa warrant the leaked Comey memo; 4/4/19, 9:47 PM
effinayright said...: Inga...Allie Oop said...
**************

Inga, just STFU, will you?

There's a huge difference between what military people say in a poll about politics in general, and their SWORN DUTY to defend the Constitution.

Trump is their CINC, and only a very small number of them would defy him to support totalitarians like you.; 4/4/19, 9:48 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “Did he say he supported the release of the parts that BY LAW are not to be made public?”

He didn’t specify and if you weren’t a dummy you wouldn’t make assertions. I quoted him and made no assertion.; 4/4/19, 9:49 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “Inga, just STFU, will you?”

NO I won’t.; 4/4/19, 9:50 PM
Hunter said...: The popular vote compact calls to mind historical precedent.

Before Trump, the last person to win a presidential election without winning the popular vote was George W. Bush, in 2000. Bush won re-election in 2004 with 3 million more votes nationwide. These blue staters cannot fathom that Trump might win not only the electoral college, but the popular vote as well in 2020. But I have to call a greater than 50% chance that is what will happen.

My suspicion is that Trump has gained significant support among the center and center-right since he has been in office and shown far better actual governance than most of us expected; and this is masked by how loud his opposition, including the MSM, are screaming. They tried to astroturf examples of "Trump voter regret" but this effort fizzled almost immediately and was never heard from again -- much weaker even than the fairly weak #walkaway campaign. Anecdotally, it seems to me like far more people on the right are eager to reverse their choice to not vote for Trump in 2016, and almost nobody has been appalled to discover what they voted for (this is obvious projection from the left who find Trump even more appalling than in 2016 -- if that were possible -- now that he's gotten tax reform, rolled back regulations, put conservatives on the bench, etc).; 4/4/19, 9:50 PM
narciso said...: There is more that fishy here than the fultin fish market:

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/04/cambridge-halper-flynn-spygate/; 4/4/19, 9:53 PM
stephen cooper said...: Inga .... you say evil things.
You support the murder of babies.

You have hatred in your heart.

There is something wrong with you. I think you may be schizophrenic, but I think it is more likely that you had an abortion and killed your baby and are acting out.

If I am wrong, God bless you.

You have no idea how happy I would be if you were not just acting out because you did something evil back in the day.

anyway, don;t worry.

I will pray for you no matter how much you hate me.; 4/4/19, 9:57 PM
Hunter said...: Inga, just so we're clear:

EV. ER. Y. BO. DY. supports releasing the Mueller report.
They are all ON. RE. CORD. supporting its release.

Just as soon as it has been gone through and redacted appropriately, so as to not contain material that shouldn't be released to the entire world.

I do agree it seems unreasonable to not release the full un-redacted report to stellarly trustworthy Congress-people like Sheila Jackson Lee who would never ever leak confidential information entrusted to them, even if they thought it politically useful. But perhaps it is still best to be safe.

Thank you. This has been a test of the Emergency Rationality System. We now return you to your regularly scheduled strawman arguments.; 4/4/19, 10:01 PM
mockturtle said...: Tank opines: Tiger vs. the field.

Those were the days.

He could win, why not?

Well, I wouldn't count him out. But Kisner's hot right now and Dustin Johnson will probably rise to the occasion. Hard to tell. It would be nice to see an American win it but it really dosn't matter. Anyone but Sergio...; 4/4/19, 10:01 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: Ohhhhh, “Stephen Cooper” you’re doing your schtick tonight again, LOL! Entertaining but it’s getting old sweetie. Won’t anyone else respond to you? I think I’ll take their lead.; 4/4/19, 10:04 PM
narciso said...: Will the (currently ailing) Mick Jagger FINALLY make his movie glorifying Che Guevara? (i.e. the co-founder of the regime that criminalized Jagger's music and tortured Jagger's fans en masse?) | Babalú Blog
https://babalublog.com/2019/04/04/will-the-currently-ailing-mick-jagger-finally-make-his-movie-glorifying-che-guevara-i-e-the-co-founder-of-the-regime-that-criminalized-jaggers-music-and-tortured-jaggers-fans-en-masse/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork&fbclid=IwAR1KbmTzfej62VyNwCw9_cw4lh6JRlElHbj3dX6GECss9V0WJmo8q_14b2w; 4/4/19, 10:07 PM
narciso said...: I guess it wasnt a metaphor.; 4/4/19, 10:08 PM
steve uhr said...: Brewers six wins by a total of seven runs. Looks like a lot of nail biting this season; 4/4/19, 10:08 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “EV. ER. Y. BO. DY. supports releasing the Mueller report.
They are all ON. RE. CORD. supporting its release.”

Good to hear! Because it WILL be released, even the parts you folks don’t want to see the light of day. A judge merely needs to make a court order for the ENTIRE report to be given to Congress, or the report will be subpoenaed.; 4/4/19, 10:10 PM
n.n said...: Despite failing to force confessions, the warlock hunts are in progress, and the trials are anticipated... nay, demanded, by the left/establishment.; 4/4/19, 10:13 PM
narciso said...: But those things can measured, we couldn't see how anything operates in a mirror universe. In fiction one can surmise

Fletcher knebels seven days in may occurs in a world where Iran not Vietnam had the wrenching Soviet proxy war; 4/4/19, 10:13 PM
steve uhr said...: Rule 6(e) governing the secrecy of grand jury materials is not a formality, and the rule doesn’t contain a “public interest” exception. A subpoena doesn’t change the analysis.; 4/4/19, 10:19 PM
narciso said...: That last bloc of text wouldn't detach I think nehru was also a lse grad, JFK did some work with harold lasik who was disappointed for hadn't nationalized all major industry; 4/4/19, 10:20 PM
stephen cooper said...: Inga:

do what God wants you to do.

God wants you to be a pro-life activist.; 4/4/19, 10:21 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “Rule 6(e) governing the secrecy of grand jury materials is not a formality, and the rule doesn’t contain a “public interest” exception. A subpoena doesn’t change the analysis.”

What about the report being released in its entirety to Congress?; 4/4/19, 10:22 PM
narciso said...: Laski, this likely influenced India's economic development which modi has tried to extricate from; 4/4/19, 10:23 PM
narciso said...: They want uncorroborated innuendo to be published where it's very hard to defend against it's the same junk that we've dealing with for three years, it's the same mo with weissman re the Enron task force with hatfill, with brenda Murphy in the Steven's case; 4/4/19, 10:27 PM
JackWayne said...: Who here thinks that the people in urgent need of the release of the Mueller report will read any of it? I believe they will simply accept Maddow’s paraphrase.; 4/4/19, 10:27 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “We need to devote more resources on treating mental illness.”

Indeed!; 4/4/19, 10:28 PM
steve uhr said...: Maybe it can be released to Congress in the context of impeachment proceedings. Otherwise prob not.; 4/4/19, 10:30 PM
stephen cooper said...: Inga .... please go away,if all you can do is say hurtful things. If you are a person who does not care about other people, you need to pray to God for wisdom.

I have no idea why you are so full of hatred, but I can guess.

I will pray for you non-stop if that is what you need.

I will pray for you for as long as it takes.

I have looked in the eyes of people with much more anger in their heart than you can imagine, and I have seen them look to God with love in their hearts.

See you in 2050, my young friend! There will always be someone praying for you, I can promise you that!; 4/4/19, 10:35 PM
narciso said...: As I've stated before it's an interesting crop of researchers behind this snipe hunt, Nellie ohr PhD reaffirmed the leading Ukrainian famine denialist (something Robert conquest challenged for 50 years) Steele having been born in colonial aden had strong leftwing sympathies perhaps ther lies his real animus toward the current regime; 4/4/19, 10:36 PM
n.n said...: Science that cannot be replicated or observable isnt really science

Given this criteria, what do you think is the limit of scientific philosophy and practice, what I refer to as the "scientific logical domain"?; 4/4/19, 10:39 PM
stephen cooper said...: Inga you make me laugh

when I go to heaven I will say to God where is Inga?

and if God says Inga is not going to heaven I will say

No Way! I want her to go to heaven!!!

I like you Inga I am not an opinion guy I am more intense than that; 4/4/19, 10:39 PM
narciso said...: Remember the Seinfeld episode where the gang met their almost dopplegangers; 4/4/19, 10:40 PM
effinayright said...: n.n said...
Science that cannot be replicated or observable isnt really science

Given this criteria, what do you think is the limit of scientific philosophy and practice, what I refer to as the "scientific logical domain"?
*************

This sort of inquiry is best left to the freshman dorm.

Pass the bong.; 4/4/19, 10:43 PM
Ralph L said...: Allen S, I use weather.com; 4/4/19, 10:46 PM
stephen cooper said...: Dostoyevsky's "The Double" is considered to be his most achieved work of fiction from the modern point of view

But we all know

God loves us all

it is all that simple

if you are spiritually ugly God loves in large part because you are ugly

happy people do not care about the things that people like me say

but God loves us all, happy or unhappy

I am in a good mood tonight so I will not tell you what I know about what God has said to people who have forgotten how hard this world is and who have never the less rejoiced at their success in this world

God loves us all trust me.
happy or unhappy.
God's love is infinite.

You do not want to know what I know about how much God loves people who are unkind.

Trust me they are not unkind for long, this world is not the sort of place where that could happen.; 4/4/19, 10:52 PM
FIDO said...: Three different polls have Trump getting 45-50 % approval from Hispanics.

Fifty Percent of Black People still see him as racist...which is a rather extraordinarily low number, all things considered.

I hope this trend continues if only because the Left needs a very strong object lesson in reality.; 4/4/19, 10:55 PM
FIDO said...: I am puzzled. What part of the Muller Report am I not supposed to want people to see? I am not afraid of the light.

I suppose it is possible that some intelligence assets might be revealed (though if they have remain unknown with all this silly FBI interference and questioning, the Russian Intelligence Services have become woefully drunk incompetents)

I think, when the House Democrats start to read it, that the opposite is likely: They do not want to hear about how flimsy and how much Democrat government interference went into making this fiasco. Names close to Obama will be named.

So publish and be damned! What more can there be on Trump that is likely to change my mind?; 4/4/19, 11:01 PM
walter said...: Coop' unleashed...; 4/4/19, 11:10 PM
narciso said...: You forget who is helping declassify it, none other than ths special counsel, and of course his staff.; 4/4/19, 11:12 PM
Narayanan said...: Our new governor today signed a bill joining New Mexico to 13 other states requiring them to give all of their electoral votes to whoever wins the majority national vote.

Is there any mechanism for such a thing as certifiying national vote?

How will such a ploy to harvest electoral votes succeed without it?

Emerita Professora of ConLaw please come to the white phone please; 4/4/19, 11:14 PM
Drago said...: Inga quoting Gannett owned "Military" Times and its latest faked polls.

Essentially USA Today with more military pictures.

LOL

Trump will get his usual 60% of the military votes again as well as a higher percentage of the combat arms voters. This group is unlikely to look kindly on the pro-infanticide open borders socialists.; 4/4/19, 11:23 PM
Yancey Ward said...: CWJ asked:

"I recently completed my income tax forms. I'm curious as to what others experienced. Was it easier, harder? Were there any surprises? For me the biggest one was itemization. Yes, I knew local taxes were capped at 10K, but I didn't know that Misc. deductions had been eliminated. Under those circumstances, I really wonder who qualifies for itemizing anymore. I couldn't come close to what for us was the $25,300 standard deduction. How charitably generous, or how sick, do you have to be to find that other $15K?"

I did my mother's taxes yesterday afternoon. I had been doing my parent's taxes for several years now, and yesterday was the easiest time I have had doing them, but they were never terribly complicated anyway- their standard deduction was 26,600 so itemization is never a question. As usual, the hardest part is figuring out how much of the SS income is taxable, and that was just as hard as always.

As for the new 1040 form- I found it confusing a bit with the Schedule 1, 2, 3, and 4. It wasn't even clear to me whether you had to file all 4 or not with the return- I ended up only filing Schedule 1 since it was the only one with actual entries (royalties and miscellaneous income sources). All in all, I ended up filing one more piece of paper than normal.; 4/4/19, 11:27 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: There is a tale from Einstein's tenure at Princrton, that he used to write "2+2=4" on the chalkboard in his
upper division physics classes. When the students grumbled at the simplicity, his standard rejoinder was, "If you lose sight of the basics, nothing else matters."

With respect to Mueller, the basics are:

1. He was appointed Special Counsel to investigate Russian interference with the 2016 election and any coordination and/or conspiracy with the Trump campaign.

2. He hired 17 seasoned prosecutors.

3. He had the FBI at his disposal.

4. He issued a buncha subpoenas and executed a buncha search warrants.

5. He spent 2 years and $25 Million doing this.

He found no evidence of a crime, and did not indict Trump, or Trump, Jr., or Kushner.

End of Story.

The basics.; 4/4/19, 11:54 PM
n.n said...: Science that cannot be replicated or observable isnt really science...

Limit This sort of inquiry is best left to the freshman dorm.

Not at all. It establishes an exceedingly narrow domain of inquiry and practice. Unfortunately, people want to believe in something, something in the past, and predictions of the future, in something over the horizon, and in a mirage that is a "universe" away. Modern "science" indulges liberal assumption/assertions about signal fidelity, correlations of phenomena with sources, and infers the missing links to fill in the gaps.; 4/5/19, 12:01 AM
Ty said...: On a recent recommendation, I rented a documentary called "Tim's Vermeer". It has been out for a while, but it might be one of the most fascinating films I've seen in years. Be sure to rent or buy it on Amazon through the Althouse portal. I'm going to go back and buy it now; it was that good.; 4/5/19, 12:02 AM
n.n said...: He found no evidence of a crime, and did not indict Trump, or Trump, Jr., or Kushner.

He did force process crimes, and crimes that never were before the coup in Kiev. Crimes which were highly selective targeting people who may implicate Trump, and would hopefully justify Obama spying on the Republican presidential candidate and other American citizens.; 4/5/19, 12:06 AM
n.n said...: Our new governor today signed a bill joining New Mexico to 13 other states requiring them to give all of their electoral votes to whoever wins the majority national vote.

Democracy dies with Democrats. Civil rights are aborted with the flourish of a pen, and sometimes with a novelty, jumbo-sized gavel.; 4/5/19, 12:11 AM
Mr. Groovington said...: Virgin Atlantic reveals new “look”. And you thought you laughed at the Trump tweet.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/virgin-atlantic-ditches-flying-lady/index.html; 4/5/19, 2:17 AM
Big Mike said...: @AllenS, I use accuweather and dark sky.; 4/5/19, 2:58 AM
stephen cooper said...: If you are unkind for too long you become a mediocrity .
happens all the time .

and you get more and more selfish as the years go by.

and nobody wants to be around you, even your cats are envious of other people's cats.
but the cats try not to show it.
this is why cats are as expensive as they are, even stray cats cost a couple hundred dollars if you want to buy them at the stray cat home, because cats have the gift of making selfish people feel un-selfish.
Prayer is cheaper.; 4/5/19, 3:49 AM
Kevin said...: As IF no liberals or Democrats serve in the US Armed Forces.

And want a Banana Republic-style subversion of the Constitution.; 4/5/19, 4:08 AM
Mr. Forward said...: Today we got snow and 60 degrees in the forecast. April In Wisconsin, the only weather that matters is whether or not to wear the long underwear.; 4/5/19, 4:13 AM
Matt Sablan said...: "Oh but my dear friend, my anger is righteous! Jesus was angry and overturned the money lenders tables, did he not?"

-- My favorite rejoinder to this bit of wisdom always has been, "Well, yes, but you are not Him."; 4/5/19, 4:59 AM
etbass said...: One unhappy outcome of the higher standard deduction is a hit on charitable contributions. For myself, I have never made a contribution without mentally calculating the tax reduction that would ease the pain.; 4/5/19, 5:02 AM
rehajm said...: Given the way the Brits have cocked up Brexit I call no more Trump bashing privileges on any of them.; 4/5/19, 5:52 AM
tim in vermont said...: What about the report being released in its entirety to Congress?

How about we agree to a high standard? That the administration treat Congressional subpoenas with all the respect that Obama did.; 4/5/19, 6:00 AM
Humperdink said...: Joe Scar'bro this morning: "Joe Biden needs to get out on the campaign trial and define himself."

Define himself? He's been a politician in DC since the invention of the wheel.; 4/5/19, 6:06 AM
Rory said...: "So publish and be damned! What more can there be on Trump that is likely to change my mind?"

It's not about Russia at all. They want anything about Trump's business or finance that they can use to open a new front. Russia was based on nothing, so they figure that Mueller's report will justify 10 Russias.; 4/5/19, 6:10 AM
tim in vermont said...: I see that Insty has a piece about Dictionary.com’s politics. My favorite one was when they removed the sense of ‘unborn child’ from the word ‘baby’ and commenters were thanking them.

I wonder how somebody with only their dictionary would correctly understand the sentence “I felt the baby kick today.”

It’s like 1984 was a how to. Actually, Orwell didn’t invent those tactics, he described them.; 4/5/19, 6:16 AM
tim in vermont said...: The problem with the Mueller report is going to be that the real rot is in the “sources and methods” and secret FISA stuff. That’s a rock that needs to be overturned.; 4/5/19, 6:19 AM
tim in vermont said...: Castro is said to have used “For Whom the Bell Tolls” as a how to. Supposedly he read it with his commanders when they were still in the mountains. Hemingway was considered a national hero. Which is kind of sick because the commies committed some atrocities in that book.; 4/5/19, 6:22 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Saw this headline...
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2019/04/03/abortion-gun-laws-stand-your-ground-model-bills-conservatives-liberal-corporate-influence-lobbyists/3162173002/

When USA TODAY scoops the WAPO and NYT on substantive matters one may findout more about the Party Culture in D.C. Who has time for legislating when all that liquor is flowing and asses need kissing?; 4/5/19, 6:23 AM
stevew said...: It's fun to hear and watch all these folks demand that AG Barr violate the law and release the complete, unredacted Mueller report.

Yesterday I received an urgent phone call and voice mail on my home land line. The person that left the message, with an odd, stilted accent I can't identify, alerted me that she had observed some suspicious activity on my home computer and was very concerned about the security of my personal information. In addition, and what makes this urgent, she said that Windows Firewall had been breached and that I should call her back so they can assist in reestablishing my personal protection. Unfortunately I didn't get the message until this morning. My computer is still working fine so I'm going to take the chance that the caller is mistaken and see how things go today.

Is this what Joe S really said: "Joe Biden needs to get out on the campaign trial and define himself."

Biden is surely on trial already and rather than define himself is having to defend himself. Poorly as it happens, but I suspect Uncle Joe will emerge from the scandal in fine shape politically, and will remain at the top of the polls. I make this prediction based on the reaction of our host to the attacks (sympathetic to Joe) and that there is lots of buzz about who is behind said attacks.

Have a good one everybody!; 4/5/19, 6:24 AM
Humperdink said...: stevew asked: "Is this what Joe S really said: "Joe Biden needs to get out on the campaign trial and define himself."

Nope, he said trail. Typo on my part. Maybe a Freudian slip. Ha.; 4/5/19, 6:41 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Hey Inga... Chelsea Manning is on your team. Rest easy.; 4/5/19, 6:45 AM
Humperdink said...: "House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, who has demanded President Donald Trump release his tax returns, claimed he had released his own returns in the past. But according to previous reports, Neal had not released these documents when previously asked. ..... in 2017, New England Public Radio reported Neal ignored five different requests for his tax returns from the outlet."

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/04/house-ways-and-means-chair-refused-to-release-tax-returns/; 4/5/19, 6:47 AM
Humperdink said...: Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks: “I recognize that every woman has — this is such a personal issue, and it’s between her and her god as to what that decision should be, and in my view there should be no abortion that is in the last trimester,” Schultz said during a town hall that aired on Fox News.

Uh oh.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/04/howard-schultz-town-hall-abortion/; 4/5/19, 6:55 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Aggregate DEM strategy on full fevered display these day... By any means necessary. Kinda scary eh?; 4/5/19, 7:12 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Trying to normalize Biden's behaviors... FEH. Try them in your workplace.; 4/5/19, 7:16 AM
MayBee said...: Phidippus said...

I find TurboTax getting worse and worse each year. Last year it had a hard time figuring out what to do with my (self employed) health insurance that we bought through the exchange. This year it did better, but the part about entering what you got through the exchange AFTER the part about entering it on the self employment business income.

At one point, TurboTax kicked me to a screen telling me to log in to the development tools. It took a few rounds on Twitter for them to get me an update that took care of that. I really think they are sending stuff out and letting end users take the place of beta testing.; 4/5/19, 7:18 AM
MadBohemian said...: Steve Uhr said...
Brewers six wins by a total of seven runs. Looks like a lot of nail biting this season

I’m from the Chicago area and Cub fan. By the end of the weekend you’ll be tired of winning.
You’ll be bored by the sixth inning.; 4/5/19, 7:43 AM
Danno said...: tcrosse said...Yesterday I had cataract surgery, and opted for a toric lens to correct a severe astigmatism. It worked. Ain't science grand?

That same day, I was checking with a spectacle shoppe in St. Paul for an eye exam and looking at their frames, when they said they had room for an eye exam right then. With all of the reports of cataracts and such on this blog, I thought I'd better take it. The optometrist said my eyes were healthy and my vision had actually improved somewhat since my last exam, which was quite a while ago. So I am having new lenses made for my driving (distance) glasses. I am going to update my reading (very fine print) lenses with new frames shortly.; 4/5/19, 8:17 AM
Danno said...: Blogger CWJ said...I recently completed my income tax forms. I'm curious as to what others experienced. Was it easier, harder? Were there any surprises? For me the biggest one was itemization. Yes, I knew local taxes were capped at 10K, but I didn't know that Misc. deductions had been eliminated. Under those circumstances, I really wonder who qualifies for itemizing anymore.

This is a feature, not a bug. Think of this as tax simplification for most people. It also works very well to limit the federal subsidy for people in high-tax states. In other words, why should a Florida resident (with no income tax and low property taxes) pay more federal income tax than a New York resident on the same level of income?

Governor Cuomo has been bitching about this already.

I bought my Florida condo in January and will be taking up residence there in 2020.; 4/5/19, 8:47 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “So I am having new lenses made for my driving (distance) glasses. I am going to update my reading (very fine print) lenses with new frames shortly.”

Can’t get a real handle on my eyes, whether they are getting better or worse, but try to get my eyes tested every year or two, since my father had glaucoma and cateracts. Thankfully, nothing yet. In any case, I tend to go with bifocals for long and short. I have a pair of just distance glasses that I had made when a pair of my regular glasses disappeared a couple years ago. Because they were cheap, I got plastic lenses. That was a mistake, because they were so thick, they almost touch my eyeballs. Need to track them down, since we are heading on our semiannual pilgrimage. Hope they are in the glove compartment on the vehicle we are taking. Found an extra pair of bifocals last night. Probably the pair that I had made up as safety glasses, for shooting. That turned out to have been a mistake, since that made them too soft to resist scratching. Latest pair is back to impact resistant with a scratch resistant coating, and change color, as required.

But the thing that set me to respond here was your mention of reading glasses. My idea had been to get a pair of dedicated readers - essentially the bottom half of my bifocals (that backup pair of distance glasses are essentially the top half). But the eye guy had a better idea. He asked me for what I really wanted, and that was for a set of computer glasses. I have a 2x2 rack of decently large monitors in my office, plus an RGB cable to the TV next to them. When the TV is active as a monitor, I have over six feet of monitors in width, and much of it is over three foot high. A lot of monitor real estate. I love it, and really miss it up in MT, where I have at best two screens. The eye doctor figured out a prescription for that, and it is great. Except that sometimes I forget around the house that I am wearing them, instead of my normal bifocals. And on occasion, go outside with them. Last Dec. accidentally wore them instead on our trip up to CO for Christmas. They were fine indoors, but distance is detuned enough that I can’t see as well as I would like behind the wheel, esp in low light. I am thinking though that the optimal indoor glasses might be to combine those computer glasses with my reading prescription in bifocals. My problem though is that I always get very similar frames - silver frames that bend instead of break when I roll over them in bed. I think that I know where five pair of such are right now, and expect that there is another pair or two lost in the house in MT.; 4/5/19, 9:31 AM
tcrosse said...: For my cataract surgery I chose to optimize distance because I already own a fine collection of high-quality reading glasses in various strengths.; 4/5/19, 9:56 AM
tim in vermont said...: OK, I just bought an iPhone yesterday, for the first time. What a piece of shit. And I am convinced now that Apple is a cult. “Why would you want that?" Or “streaming works great on my Toyota” Well, I had a Toyota with the standard radio, and my complaint is that that is exactly what streaming sounds like on my car with a decent stereo!

I can no longer see the calling number because caller ID figures it KNOWS what I really want to see. Well the fucking spammers spoof the numbers, so if it’s not a number I recognize, I don’t fucking answer! Apple’s answer? “There’s no setting for that!”

Apparently Apple determines all of these settings and if you accept them all the way they are served up by your lord and master Apple, you get to think of yourself as smarter and better looking than the Android users.

Turns out that the problem with the stereo is that I bought an iPhone 7, figuring it was up to date, but it doesn’t support Bluetooth 5, so the music sounds like it’s being played on rusty saws and files, toy pianos, and pencils on coffee cans for percussion. I guess I will try the iPhone 8, but I am not sanguine about the results.

/END OF RANT; 4/5/19, 10:12 AM
stephen cooper said...: Althouse said :

"it's not your fault" .....

and I reply ....

when I commented at 3:49 AM about the possibility of being unkind to others, and staying that way, so much so that even one's cats would try to avoid one, I was thinking of one of my possible futures.

and it would be my fault.

I have free will.

I worry that I will misuse it as much or more in the future as I have in the past.

That being said, I sort of gave up for Lent one of the great pleasures of my life ---
I decided not to seek out, through prayer or through just closing my eyes and thinking about what a friend God has been to me all these years.... I decided not to seek out that feeling of total joy that one has when one is blessed (unearnedly so, in my case by the way) to have strong faith in God as our creator and as our savior.

That didn't last, I was turning into a crabby unkind person by giving that up.

Laetare Jerusalem!; 4/5/19, 8:44 PM