May 13, 2019

At the Sunset Café...



... you can talk all night.

And here's the Althouse Portal to Amazon, in case you need to do some shopping.

126 comments:

David Begley said...

Nice pix Ann!

But Nebraska is nicer.

Ann Althouse said...

The picture is from a couple weeks ago in Mesa Verde, Colorado.

Chest Rockwell said...

These two videos came in my youtube feed back to back. They both illustrate the point that we have huge challenges facing our country and absolute fucking morons in our academic and cultural institutions.
Rogan Talks to Futurist About Tech Battle with China.
Brainwashed Professor Embarrassed In Front Of Her Students.

narciso said...

For a change of pace


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/5/13/18622415/nasa-moon-return-first-woman-astronaut-artemis-program

rhhardin said...

There's talk of China cashing in their Treasury debt - there's no way to cash it, they have to sell the debt, which means finding a buyer. Then there's the question of what they'll hold instead of Treasuries.

I assume that will drive Treasury yields up unless buyers of whatever the Chinese replace their Treasuries with switch to US Treasuries because of the reduced yield where they were.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

some dinner music as you wolf down your Marmot

Mongolian Throat Metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8dCGIm6yc

Achilles said...

Special prosecutor time.

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stevew said...

"There's talk of China cashing in their Treasury debt - there's no way to cash it, they have to sell the debt, which means finding a buyer."

Sounds like there'll be some discounting of that debt.

Topped out in the upper 40's here today (Boston's north shore) with gray skies and occasional rain. Lots of grumping about this spring's weather, but good-natured in a we're all in this together and aren't we tough way. Gallows humor?

Fen said...

NASA had also planned the first All Female spacewalk but it got scrapped due to drama revolving around the patriarchal design of spacesuits or something:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/25/us/nasa-first-all-female-spacewalk-canceled-trnd/index.html

Also, a contingent at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory questioned why no women of color or binary pansexual handicapped transgendered astronauts were invited to participate.

This follows a NASA-wide stand down a month earlier to remind engineers to avoid wearing attire patterned with voluptuous women. A decision that drew scrutiny from the SIS ("Skinny Is Sexy") contingent that now monitors quality control of the O-ring.

Meanwhile, a child with a telescope from Walmart has published his findings that SMOD will enter the Solar System two years ahead of NASA's projections.

stephen cooper said...

China is not going to harm us, or harm our economy

They know that we and our Canadian pals have been kind enough to let millions of Chinese live here and we have treated them all with kindness and friendship, and the Chinese know that in a million years they would never have done that for any of us at anywhere near the rate we did that for them.

They recognize that we are kinder than they are, and all their bluster is just that, bluster, they respect us and know that they have no right to be rude or unkind to us, either in the geopolitical sense or just in the sense that they are human beings with morals.

steve uhr said...

Rest peacefully Doris Day.

rcommal said...

Doris Day.

rcommal said...

Jinxco?

narciso said...

You haven't read Michael pillsbury then, I was watching part of otto premingers in harm's way which I've mentioned before and the battleship Yamato surfaces in a key scene and it made me wonder how dis they find enough steel for it.

madAsHell said...

I hope the democrats keep pushing Kamala Harris. She's not very bright.

Robert Cook said...

Alphabet for Adults

Danno said...

Blogger stephen cooper said...China is not going to harm us, or harm our economy

The U.S. has been the largest market for Chinese goods and that has helped them raise many hundreds of millions of their people out of poverty. It wasn't that many decades ago that China was a country of peasants, lucky to get enough food to maintain their health.

mockturtle said...

Stephen Cooper: Do you really think the Chinese give an obese rodent's derriere about our kindness?

stephen cooper said...

Doris Day was one of the best people in the world.

Her kindness and energy on behalf of abandoned and unloved animals was legendary.

She was a real good singer in her early 20s, later in life she usually sang less well, probably because she was surrounded by rich industry people later in life, and earlier in life she wasn't. But even later in life she sang some songs really well, and her friends liked her a lot - not everybody can say that!

Memento etiam Domine famulorum famularumque nostrorum qui nos praecedesserunt in signo fidei: ipsis, et omnibus In Christo quiescentibus, locum refrigerii, lucis, et pacis, ut indulgeas, deprecamur, per Iesum Christum, Dominum Nostrum et Filium Dei.

(Remember, Lord, our brothers and sisters who have preceded us in death with a sign of faith in their hearts: for them, and for all who have gone to sleep under the protection of Jesus Christ our friend and Creator, may you find and prepare a place of consolation, divine light, and peace .... we pray this through Crhist our Lord, the Son of God.)

stephen cooper said...

mockturtle - Li Po and To Fu are real popular in China.

It is not that hard of a country to understand.

I could be wrong.

narciso said...

The hundred year marathon, describes their strategy toward resuming the mandate of heaven

stephen cooper said...

China and America are natural friends, the way the USA and England used to be natural friends, when our grandparents were young

alanc709 said...

Cookie, want to see a dictorship disquised as a democracy? Read about our Obama years. Although, to be fair, America has never been a democracy, so why would you expect a journalist to recognize anything about our government anyway, when they can never be bothered to report things accurately as it is.

stephen cooper said...

Chinese are big into ancestor worship and they know that absent half a million dead American GIs most of their coastal provinces would still be ruled by Shinto fans of old Japan

and trust me Chinese people are fond of their coastal provinces

USA and China are natural friends

wwww said...

First Theory: Book readers were not surprised by Sunday's episode of GOT.

Second Theory: Parents who named their kid Daenerys or Khaleesi were not pleased with that episode.

JackWayne said...

Matt Taibbi says that the media downfall began with the Lewinski reporting. I guess he’s too young and also ignorant to remember JFK and Camelot. FDR, fuggedaboutit!

Achilles said...

The investigation into Biden and his sons billion+ Dollar deal with the chicoms and Biden’s contributions and promises to China are going to be glorious.

narciso said...

In so far that lewinski obscured the investigation into more pressing issues, but that's not what taibbi means

Fen said...

The Fen-Wife Nature Preserve is doing well.

For those not caught up, a few months back we discovered the Section 8 next to us brought mice along with them. No idea how. Cute little buggers charmed the wife who wanted them gone but not killed. I set about designing elaborate traps and we are now the proud parents of Pinky and The Brain. No, we did not mention them on Mother's Day.

Brain lived up to his name and escaped on three separate occasions (making me look like an idiot in front of the Wife). And apparently Pinky identifies as a female because he just had a litter of 4 little ones.

So the habitats are being expanded from 2 to 3, as The Brain is demanding "more Living Space". It's adorable how he mangles the German, along with his insistence that "tin pot dictator" is a really a term of endearment.

Those of you annoyed with me may delight that I finally put my college degree to use and designed an intricate web of tubing to entertain the little buggers (and more importantly, the Wife). It now spans 131 yards of total tubing and has consumed 1,081 working hours.

Fen said...

Second Theory: Parents who named their kid Daenerys or Khaleesi were not pleased with that episode.

I loved her character and am happy with the arc they took. It's going to cost her, but I'm sure it felt good, after all King's Landing had done to her. Little Eichmanns got their due.

Of course, the approval of Fen may also give those parents pause.

mockturtle said...

Stephen: I agree that we and China have mutual needs and interests. I just don't think 'kindness' has anything to do with it.

Sprezzatura said...

I don't like the phrase "in case..."

I don't know why I don't like it.

'In case I lose my shoes I have extra shoes in my car.'

'In case I forget my wallet I have cash in the plane.'

I can't see any reason to use that phrase.

'If they're needed, I keep extra shoes and cash around.' Much, much better.


IMHO.

Anywho...


Carry on.

Original Mike said...

Ooh, Baby.

BREAKING: AG Barr Appoints U.S. Attorney To Investigate Origins Of Russia Investigation

buwaya said...

"'If they're needed, I keep extra shoes and cash around.'"

A true man of the world also keeps extra passports.
Around somewhere.
Just in case.

narciso said...

If Mao's China had not gotten rid of 40-60 million people, I'd be a little more sanguine.

Fen said...

Meanwhile, a child with a telescope from Walmart has published his findings that SMOD will enter the Solar System two years ahead of NASA's projections.

That line from the book Lucifer's Hammer - the feminist movement died a millisecond after impact - is going to be even more ironic if we miss our intercept mission with SMOD because NASA was more concerned with "the first women to turn a wrench counter-clockwise in low orbit on a day beginning with W"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was 20 YEARS ago, how many more decades of reminding women they are not inferior is it going to take? I briefly considered apologizing to all the strong independent women out there who don't need this shit, but then I realized the don't need me to.

buwaya said...

Also a tweed jacket. As lightweight as you can manage.
And tailored.
I am a devotee of leather elbow patches on these things. But YMMV.

Pack just one jacket, usable in most places with a temperature under 75 degrees.
I am a devotee of leather elbow patches on these things.

You can always get a new shirt and tie locally, if you need them.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

"the first women to turn a wrench counter-clockwise

Lefty Lucy
Righty Tighty

buwaya said...

Hot weather is tough.
The old standard was a white or off-white linen suit.
But those things require a good laundry, and a houseboy busy ironing, to keep them presentable.

And us moderns are much too used to air conditioning to tolerate a suit for any length of time in tropical weather. Which is why you never see them now, even in places where appearances mean something.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was 20 YEARS ago,

Buffy, Xena, Ripley, Sarah Connors, Honor Harrington, Storm, heck Jirel of Joiry was 1934.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Also a tweed jacket.

Nice, but it's no towel.

Sprezzatura said...

I'm not into the globalists. Or gender conformism.

I'm a ze of the them.

Very woke.

P.S.

I planned to have been on the plane to Spain. The problem wasn't rain. But, missed a good race. Sucks to be me in cases where I'm too busy for fun. [at least I don't suck as much as people that use the phrase "in case." IMHO.]

Churchy LaFemme: said...

BREAKING: AG Barr Appoints U.S. Attorney To Investigate Origins Of Russia Investigation

"The inquiry will focus on whether the government’s methods to collect intelligence relating to the Trump campaign were lawful and appropriate," The AP added. "Durham has previously investigated law enforcement corruption, the destruction of CIA videotapes and the Boston FBI office’s relationship with mobsters."

Boston FBI/mobsters -- wasn't that a Comney thing?

Achilles said...

stephen cooper said...


and trust me Chinese people are fond of their coastal provinces

USA and China are natural friends


The ruling classes in China and the USA are natural friends.

The people in China and the USA are natural friends.

The ruling classes in both countries are happy to destroy the US middle class and exploit Chinese people to get wealthy.

The Bidens and the rulers in China seem to be particularly aligned.

David Begley said...

Saw Harris and Jake again. Ann was so, so right about the optics. Harris is below Jake and is pleading up.

stephen cooper said...

Achilles -

no argument from me on that.

God helps those who help themselves.

Joan of Arc, Admiral Halsey, Lila Rose, people like that.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Doris Day The Earth Stood Still

Drago said...

Unknown: "Boston FBI/mobsters -- wasn't that a Comney thing?"

Actually, it was a Mueller thing......

...nice touch of Barr to appoint the guy that took down the Mueller House of Corrupt FBI Shenanigans.

Something tells me Mr Durham isn't too fond of what he tends to find in the wake of Mueller and Mueller's henchmen.

I am especially looking forward to hearing all about Andrew Weismann's pre-Special Counsel contacts with FusionGPS.

What a coincidence there, eh?

etbass said...

Was it friendship that sent hordes of Chinese across the Yalu River to kill Americans who defended South Korea from its North Korean cousins?

buwaya said...

Ariosto, in Orlando Furioso, had Bradamante, a maiden knight (who, spoiler, eventually marries a muslim, albeit a convert)

Orlando Furioso was published in 1516

Also, the damsel in distress (often in distress), Angelica, is Chinese. And she also ends up with a muslim.

Sprezzatura said...

Sure, SmallWD is said to be somewhat common. And, SmallBD is said to be somewhat uncommon.

But has anyone run the stats re all the Justices being small?

They exude that. IMHO. But would that be an outlier?

What does the science say about the stoutness and positioning re the curve? Chuck Murph?

Michael K said...

China is not going to harm us, or harm our economy

True because Trump is not selling us out like Clinton and Biden.

Lawrence Person said...

This week's Democratic Presidential Clown Car Update is up.

Sprezzatura said...

He tried (but failed) to do a mega-swindle on his ailing dad. And, has made a career of swindling people to benefit himself.

But, DJT has got Doc Mike's back.


I love this blog.

Narayanan said...

After watching some of the hearings I've decided that if I'm to be witness I shall demand even height seats with committee members.

Is that possible or would be ground for contempt?

mockturtle said...

God helps those who help themselves.

If memory serves, that's from an Aesop fable and reads: The gods help those who help themselves. It certainly is nowhere in the Bible.

narciso said...

Oh the final season of empire wont have jussie smollett coming back.

Fen said...

Ho ho ho. Breaking:

"Attorney General Bill Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation and to determine if the FBI's surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016 was legal."

https://www.dailywire.com/news/47154/breaking-ag-barr-appoints-us-attorney-investigate-ryan-saavedra

Fen said...

Boy am I slow today. MOAR COFFEE!

etbass said...

I think relationships help in the give and take among nations. But it is foolish to think any country acts not in its own interests (except the US, unfortunately).

stephen cooper said...

The entire narrative arc of the Old Testament is about God wanting the people who lived before Christmas to help him, God, make this world a place of peace (Isaiah), a blessed vineyard (Song of Songs), an innocent homeland for the children of God (Ezekiel and Jeremiah), and a fit place in which the Prince of Peace could be born (Isaiah, Daniel).

There are just as many Bible-loving Christians in China as there are in the USA.

Just saying.

Sprezzatura said...

I've got this amazing news!

AG Barr is gonna find out the details re the BHO folks spying on DJT@!!@@Q1!~!~!21`@@#!SD@#!!!!!!



[Now, fer shur, I won't be banned again.]

narciso said...

The old story is about gods people, trying to live in gods land, following gods rule, from eden to lot to Noah to the babylonian captivity.

stephen cooper said...

we are old, Narciso ....

the story you describe is young

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
etbass said...

"There are just as many Bible-loving Christians in China as there are in the USA."

I think that is true. But they are less of a proportion of the population in China and have less influence.

Fen said...

Alphabet for Adults

The problem with designating a letter for every act of Trump "tyranny" is that we all played that game around age 14.

A is for the apple of my eye
B is for her breasts
C is for the cute... oh come back that
D is...is for the dimple in her chin!
E is the expression of...no..hmmm

Everyone has experienced the need to contort facts and language to make up their version of the Alphabet Game. So, it's a given that your wise and woke idiot had to invent a whole lotta high crimes and misdemeanors to make it all fit together.

Yawn.

narciso said...

The old testament, for a time it had purchase in some parts in China, in fact it had a foothold in most of the known world.

narciso said...

Going through the book of Luke in particular, he leaves many hints about what would come to pass and what what has yet to be. Almost 2000 years later it seems many are as confused about the latter as the former.

Sprezzatura said...

Echo chambers are kept tight.

Wee pee pees feel at home.

Francisco D said...

@Stephen Cooper

You strike me as a kind and gentle person. Very naive, but kind.

You also remind me of 1970's Jesus Freaks who found a new addiction after giving up drugs.

That sounds more harsh than I would like.

mockturtle said...

Stephen: Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

The peace he brings is that between man and God.

And, yes, I know more than a few Chinese Christians and know that there are many in China who have to worship in secrecy. Prayers for them.

Birkel said...

Older and busted argument: There was no spying.
Old and busted argument: There was spying but it was legal.
New and future busted: The investigators of the spying won't find the wrongdoing.
Predicted future busted: The illegal spying did not originate from Obama's White House.
Finally, the last to bust: Prosecuting Obama White House officials is purely political and goes against America's traditions.

stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stephen cooper said...

Granted that was not the 70s but the 90s.

In the 70s I was a thug kid. Suspended from school many times.

And I have never been addicted to drugs, drugs are for the weak. And I have my faults but weakness is not one of them.

My older brother was in a motorcycle gang. Not one of the tougher ones, but still ....

I am many things but naive is not one of them.

(By the way I wrote this comment specially in a way that it can easily be translated into Chinese).

William said...

I don't think anyone will ever sing Que Sera Sera better than Doris Day. There was something kind and reassuring about her voice. The future is a better place when she sings about it. Her version of Sentimental Journey was the favorite song of JFK and most vets who heard it in foreign lands......Apparently either her husband or her husband's lawyer embezzled or cheated her out of all the money she made. Her husband died suddenly, and she discovered that she was bankrupt and in debt. She had four unsuccessful marriages. She had as much reason to sing the blues as Billie Holiday, but her voice remained sunny and life affirming. Que sera.

stephen cooper said...

The Chinese are not naive either and they know who they can trust.
They can trust us, and almost nobody but us.

That is all I am trying to say.

stephen cooper said...

If Karen Carpenter had lived she might have sung it better than Doris Day, but she didn't, William, and so I agree with you 100 percent.

Original Mike said...

"Durham was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2018. At the time, Connecticut’s two Democratic senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, called Durham a “fierce, fair prosecutor” who knows how to try tough cases."

Good to know Dunham will have the support of his home-state Senators.

effinayright said...

steve uhr said...
Rest peacefully Doris Day.
********

And don't forget Otis Day and the Knights.

Haven't heard from them since the movie.

Gahrie said...

Second Theory: Parents who named their kid Daenerys or Khaleesi were not pleased with that episode.

Predictions:

Sansa becomes Lady Stark, Queen of the North. She ends up married to Tormund.
Arya takes over the Tully lands.
Gendry rules the Baratheon lands. Arya ends up marrying him.
Tyrion survives, and restores the Lannister family.
Davos is given the Tyrell lands to rule.
Jon (or Aegon) kills Daenerys and goes into exile on Dragonstone to rebuild the Targaryen family.
Bronn takes the Iron Throne

narciso said...

That was very droll, original mike.

Drago said...

adSs: "Wee pee pees feel at home."

I'll bet they do as they huddle close together in Democrat cloakrooms.....

Gahrie said...

And don't forget Otis Day and the Knights.

Haven't heard from them since the movie.


In 1983-1984 they were making live appearances at Fraternity parties.

Fall 1983 rush at USC. Two whole blocks with nothing but fraternities and sororities on them, barricades at all the intersections. Otis and the band set up in the middle intersection, beer trucks lining the streets. Thousands of freshmen (male and female) roaming the street drunk and horny...a huge percentage wearing little more than sheets. That was a fun night, and I even managed to stay out of jail.

narciso said...

Contra conventional wisdom:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/america-will-pay-for-it-if-trump-backs-down-to-china-now?fbclid=IwAR0GMirBVBlzROkTqp7nskhATkvpOZlt2gyjdflIO-qIbWW4QeX01CyQwDM

Robert Cook said...

”The problem with designating a letter for every act of Trump ‘tyranny’ is that we all played that game around age 14.”

Who is talking about Trump? The tyranny described was already set in place before Trump even thought of running for office. This is American Tyranny. It is entrenched and little affected by which person or party is in the White House.

Original Mike said...

You sound skeptical, narciso.

Guildofcannonballs said...

https://slate.com/technology/2019/05/japanese-knotweed-invasive-plants.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

narciso said...

Just a teency tiny bit, you aren't supposed to look inside the arc.

bagoh20 said...

"The Post and Courier-Change Research Poll shows that although front-runner Joe Biden enjoys enormous support from the African-American community, Buttigieg has none at all.

The openly gay South Bend, Indiana, mayor has zero percent support among African-Americans.

Biden has 58 percent support in the demographic, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is in second place with 15 percent support among African-Americans.

California Senator Kamala Harris (D) comes in third with 12 percent support among African-Americans."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/buttigieg-struggling-with-blacks

wwww said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walter said...

Look upthread, Fen

narciso said...

So we discover kavalec and Steele were stationed in Moscow, roughly at the same time, this is why Steele went over to her, noe Steele tried to say surkov Putin's rove was one of his sources

Bruce Hayden said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

Welcome to the party.

narciso said...

Have a few beers, apparently Durham had been investigating since October during the deposition.

walter said...

Fen said...
Ho ho ho. Breaking:
"Attorney General Bill Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation and to determine if the FBI's surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016 was legal."
https://www.dailywire.com/news/47154/breaking-ag-barr-appoints-us-attorney-investigate-ryan-saavedra
5/13/19, 10:02 PM

Bruce Hayden said...

“BREAKING: AG Barr Appoints U.S. Attorney To Investigate Origins Of Russia Investigation”

"The inquiry will focus on whether the government’s methods to collect intelligence relating to the Trump campaign were lawful and appropriate," The AP added. "Durham has previously investigated law enforcement corruption, the destruction of CIA videotapes and the Boston FBI office’s relationship with mobsters."

USA Durham seems like a good choice here. Bulldog reputation, which should send chills down a number of spines.

What must be remembered here is that IG Horowitz has no power to convene a grand jury or issue indictments. For that you need either a USA or AUSA. Working with Horowitz may be part of his job. Or that could still be UT USA Huber. Mueller and his prosecutors were essentially AUSAsm under supervision of DAG Rosenstein. USA Durham, as a Senate confirmed principal officer, has significantly more autonomy than Mueller and his prosecutors, who were all inferior officers.

USA Durham apparently has dealt with both internal malfeasance as well as national security and the intelligence community in the past. That, along with his bulldog reputation, suggests that he could do well running this investigation. I am cautiously optimistic.

Original Mike said...

Huber is a myth.

StephenFearby said...

The Perceptivity of Harvey Silvergate
October 17, 2017

'...Given the rampant media partisanship since the election, one would think that Mueller’s appointment would lend credibility to the hunt for violations of law by candidate, now President Trump and his minions.

But I have known Mueller during key moments of his career as a federal prosecutor. My experience has taught me to approach whatever he does in the Trump investigation with a requisite degree of skepticism or, at the very least, extreme caution.

When Mueller was the acting United States Attorney in Boston, I was defense counsel in a federal criminal case in which a rather odd fellow contacted me to tell me that he had information that could assist my client. He asked to see me, and I agreed to meet. He walked into my office wearing a striking, flowing white gauze-like shirt and sat down across from me at the conference table. He was prepared, he said, to give me an affidavit to the effect that certain real estate owned by my client was purchased with lawful currency rather than, as Mueller’s office was claiming, the proceeds of illegal drug activities.

My secretary typed up the affidavit that the witness was going to sign. Just as he picked up the pen, he looked at me and said something like: “You know, all of this is actually false, but your client is an old friend of mine and I want to help him.” As I threw the putative witness out of my office, I noticed, under the flowing white shirt, a lump on his back – he was obviously wired and recording every word between us.

Years later I ran into Mueller, and I told him of my disappointment in being the target of a sting where there was no reason to think that I would knowingly present perjured evidence to a court. Mueller, half-apologetically, told me that he never really thought that I would suborn perjury, but that he had a duty to pursue the lead given to him. (That “lead,” of course, was provided by a fellow that we lawyers, among ourselves, would indelicately refer to as a “scumbag.”)

This experience made me realize that Mueller was capable of believing, at least preliminarily, any tale of criminal wrongdoing and acting upon it, despite the palpable bad character and obviously questionable motivations of his informants and witnesses...'

https://www.wgbh.org/news/2017/10/17/silverglate-how-robert-mueller-tried-entrap-me

Crazy World said...

I always respect Bruce’s comments (and many others here). May it be the beginning of the investigation of The investigators.
Off to read my Peggy Lipton (RIP Julie hot Mod Squad chick) book, she really was interesting and eternal hugs lovely Doris Day.

Fen said...

Years later I ran into Mueller, and I told him of my disappointment in being the target of a sting where there was no reason to think that I would knowingly present perjured evidence to a court. Mueller, half-apologetically, told me that he never really thought that I would suborn perjury, but that he had a duty to pursue the lead given to him.

This experience made me realize that Mueller was capable of believing, at least preliminarily, any tale of criminal wrongdoing and acting upon it, despite the palpable bad character and obviously questionable motivations of his informants


I'm skeptical. Good that Silverglate acted honorably, but he is naive if he thinks Mueller half-heartedly set up a sting. Mueller got a coerced a confession from Flynn by threatening to ruin the life of Flynn's son. Mueller had no duty to do that.

I suspect that if Silverglate's position was reversed, he would have audiotape of Mueller coaching the fake witness-bait: "Now Silverglate plays by the book, so to go gently until the very last moment or you'll scare him off."

Fen said...



This made my day:

Brie Larson made a big Virtue Signal about getting more minority representation in Hollywood. Remember her complaint about "too many white dudes" in the press pool?

Well, turns out the original MCU Captain Marvel and leader of the Avengers was Monica Rambeau, a black female.

But Brie still took the part, a role that should have gone to a black actress. See, when Brie says step aside for diversity, she means you not her.

Now comes a petition to have her step down. Hahaha! It won't shame Disney, but perhaps some brave minority reporter will bring it up next time they interview the Toxic Avenger.

Fen said...

walter: Look upthread, Fen

Yah. I've had my head up my ass all day. LOL

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fen said...

China is not going to harm us, or harm our economy

In Frank Herbert's God Emperor of Dune there's a great scene. The spice has not flowed for centuries, the Bene Gesserit have had to abandon it's use in creating more Reverend Mothers. But for dozens of generations they carefully collected and condensed what remaining spice they could find into a small vial - a priceless spice "essence" thought to be a lethal poison to the God Emperor.

The Bene Gesserit delegation arrives to pay homage to the God Emperor (and poison him). Short version, he sleuths it out and, in exchange for their lives, he orders them to leave him the priceless vial of spice essence they had painstakingly collected over generations for this one moment in time. He sends them away with "And now you must re-evaluate your definition of patience"

That's how I feel about the Chinese. We're fucked.

Achilles said...

That's how I feel about the Chinese. We're fucked.

The Chinese are going to get old before they get rich.

The real concern for humanity is google, not China.

tim in vermont said...

I read recently that the reason Marth Stuart was sent to prison by Comey was that she protested her innocence, which he called securities fraud because he said she did it to prop up her stock price. That’s Comey’s America.

tim in vermont said...
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tim in vermont said...

By Comey’s own standards, he is already guilty of obstruction of justice since he publicly claimed there was no crime.

tim in vermont said...

Sauce for the goose would be gag orders on Comey and Mueller, and a constant stream of damaging leaks, then throw them in prison if they take any action that might concievably be interepreted as questioning the majesterial powers of the prosecutors.

Welcome to the world you made, Comey! We see the man, it’s just a matter of provoking the crime!

stevew said...

Nations have interests not friends, which when aligned and mutual give the appearance of friendship.

China, unique among nations, has consistently refused to follow the mutually agreed to rules of fair trade. They cheat, and steal, and when caught and punished refuse to change their behavior. All the presidents before DJT have been willing to abide this behavior, mostly in return for relative peace in the East. The use of these tariffs should challenge China's interests in a way that will get them behave better on trade. At least that is the plan.

Schumer expressed support but I doubt it is because he agrees with the approach, wouldn't be surprised if he is hoping the tariffs will make a mess of the US economy and undermine the strongest argument for re-electing Trump.

Cool temps (40's), overcast, and occasional rain today. That's simply the truth of it, I may use it as a metaphor for the mood in the market too.

The dialogue overnight was quite good. Good day to you all.

tim in vermont said...

Neighbor just “rescued” a pit bull and lets it run around freely. I have a twelve year old Labrador, achy of joint and slow of foot. If something happens, this is going to be a test of my relationship with them. They are such liberals too. My millennial daughter said that I was being prejudiced by assuming that the dog was a risk, I said I keep a hefty steel pipe laying around in case of difficulties.

tim in vermont said...

China’s best lever is to take the economic pain for two years and put another patsy in the White House, somebody with higher agreeableness.

Humperdink said...

Our dog trainer said she never takes her dog to dog parks. Her dog is well-trained, but the others? You just don't know.

Rusty said...

Except, Fen, The Chinese government is still rather new at this "capitalism" thing. They will or are now fucking it up. Something socialism always does. Like all leftists they have an imperfect understanding of wealth and how it is created. Much less maintained.
I'm optomistic.
"Where there is a market, that market will be filled."

Humperdink said...

Mika, this morning: "I don't see an upside to the trade war with China." Of course not.

Bruce Hayden said...

I agree with Achilles on China. I don’t think that this is a situation where their legendary patience is going to win them victory long term. First, and foremost, they are rapidly headed for demographic collapse. Birth rates drop as affluence rises. Much of Europe, as well as Japan, have been at or below ZPG for some time. China imposed this unilaterally, with force, from the top, with its “”One Child” policy. Except that when it comes to population levels, all children are not the same. For ZPG, each female must reproduce herself to the point of reproducing the next generation of daughter. Thus, every female must produce maybe 1.1 or so daughters, given modern medicine (which much of China still doesn’t have). Absent everything else, the average for a One Child Policy would be 0.5 daughters per woman having children, and even lower in reality because not all women can breed successfully. BUT Chinese society traditionally put having boys above having girls, since sons were the country’s traditional retirement system. So there was a lot of cheating going on when couples found that they had had a girl. In particular, enough were killed or otherwise made unavailable to reproduce. The result was a female replacement level of less than 0.5, maybe almost as low as 0.4, when 1.0 is needed. China has woken to the problem of one of the fastest aging populations in the world, but is finding reversing its One Child policy much harder than going the other way.

If one were to plot average age versus worker efficiency, you might have something like a bell curve. Not quite, of course, but close enough that it will work here for illustrative purposes. When the average age is too low, there are too many unproductive kids around. They consume more resources than they create. And you have the same phenomenon when the average age gets too high. These comments are filled with people now in their golden years, who have partially, if not fully, withdrawn from the work force. Part of that is inevitable, since our health declines with age. China’s One Child policy worked well to move the country up the curve to a place of maximum efficiency. But it very much appears that instead of slowing down as they reached the maximum, they discovered that their locomotive brakes didn’t work, and they have a runaway train, rushing to the point where a significant portion of the population is too old to work efficiently, or to reproduce. The obvious communist solution would be to liquidate its senior citizens. But I don’t think that option is even under serious discussion, though I think that it might have been in the era of Mao.

MadisonMan said...

"I don't see an upside to the trade war with China."

You can't see something when you aren't looking.

Hagar said...

Jeopardy should skip the Teachers' Tournament in the future.
The ignorance of these people is embarrassing.

Bruce Hayden said...

Back around 1970, when I took my first economics course, we discussed a problem that was plaguing third world countries. In order for a country’s economy to take off, it needed a certain amount of accumulated capital. Essentially GDP had to exceed population growth for a period of time. The problem was that population growth was higher than GDP growth because birth rates weren’t dropping as quickly as death rates in many of these countries, as modern medicine came to these countries. It was suggested, not surprisingly for the generation, that communism or similar centralized control might be the way to forcibly blast through this problem. And nearing a half century later, that appears to be precisely what China did, to turn itself from a nation of poverty level peasants into an economic powerhouse.

But the communist state does not shrivel up and die, since the easiest route to wealth and power often involves government control. In Russia, this was exemplified by party leaders refusing to give up their Black Sea dachas. Same sort of thing in China. The problem is that centralized planning works far less well when allocating resources among millions of competing products, than when the state merely has to determine whether to grow grain or cattle on a piece of land. A true market economy will always outperform a centrally planned one beyond a certain point in , because it has profit, as a maximizing mechanism, built in. China has tried a middle approach, where a lot of profit maximization is allowed, but the big decisions are still centrally planned. That latter means that when they screw up, they do so big time, and that has a significant negative long term economic effect. One Child was one such example. Another is that they seem to inevitably move too slowly out of segments of the economy that are better filled by countries behind them in economic development.

Nichevo said...

In Frank Herbert's God Emperor of Dune there's a great scene.

I've read that book more than once and don't quite recognize that scene. Can you provide more on that?

Adss, nice to have you back. You were never banned. You chose to leave. You're the one I allegedly keep confusing with shiloh, right?

Michael K said...


Blogger Gahrie said...
And don't forget Otis Day and the Knights.

Haven't heard from them since the movie.

In 1983-1984 they were making live appearances at Fraternity parties.


My older son was at that party on Fraternity Row aka as 28th street,.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Just for the record, Monica Rambeau was *not* the original Marvel Universe Captain Marvel. The title was first carried by a Kree warrior named "Mar-Vel" who abandoned his brutal homeworld and joined the side of the Marvel heroes. He later died of cancer and was sent to the great beyond in the graphic novel "The Death of Captain Marvel" by Jim Starlin (creator of Thanos).

Monica took up the mantle some time after that.