Althouse: At the Bird on a Wire Café...

June 26, 2019

At the Bird on a Wire Café...

... you can hang on all night.

77 comments:

walter said...: Prince has new songs soon to release.
Rumor has it one of them is an ode to Biden called Raspberry Sorbet.
Lyrics leaked thus far:
"He needs his Raspberry Sorbet.
The kindest find behind his dressing room door.
Raspberry Beret.
It's on his ryyyyyy--derr.."; 6/26/19, 9:16 PM
rhhardin said...: Some hams have set up 24/7 spotting networks - if a robot hears you it reports it on the internet automatically. I put out a ten second call and got spotted in NH, KS, TX, PA, CO, Switzerland and Germany. Not bad for 15 watts.

Get a robot to send out the call and the hobby could be completely automated.

Not watching the debate.; 6/26/19, 9:17 PM
rhhardin said...: Radio Operator by Rosanne Cash is good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRkfiTZWvbc

google the lyrics; 6/26/19, 9:19 PM
h said...: I've noticed two articles today that reflect a marked difference of opinion between blacks (African Americans) and hispanics (especially those who are not in the US legally).

One is an article about a hispanic boy who was bullied in school by a black fellow student who chanted "all Mexicans should go back behind the wall." The bullying student subsequently attacked the Hispanic mother of the Hispanic student. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/06/26/mother-teen-bully-assault-mexico/?utm_term=.61405411c9b8

The second is an article and especially the reader comments to the article about a woman who was detained by police in (predominantly black) Prince George's County, MD (just outside DC, represented by Steny Hoyer) after a traffic accident and was turned over to ICE officials because she had been in the US without proper documents since 2005. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/sanctuary-or-not-after-immigrants-wrongly-targeted-in-md-suburb-officials-strengthen-protections/2019/06/26/d5ac277c-7c09-11e9-a5b3-34f3edf1351e_story.html?utm_term=.d7fe3c6551c0&wpisrc=nl_buzz&wpmm=1

The second article is quite sympathetic to the woman detained, and raises questions about whether the PG police correctly followed county rules regarding cooperation with federal immigration authorities. But the comments include things like (most liked comments): "She has no legal right to be here and should be deported," and "African Americans fight hard for Hispanics but their [sic] is no reciprocation on the part of Hispanics/Latinos....I am not MAGA or any of that but I can see how these illegal border crossers are actually bad for African Americans. It is what it is.....stop supporting this foolishness! "

I wonder if this is a wedge we will see grow wider as the 2020 season wears on.; 6/26/19, 9:23 PM
buwaya said...: That house and yard - $5 million minimum in SF. If you can find such a lot that is.; 6/26/19, 9:35 PM
Lawrence Person said...: More NRA Troubles: Wayne LaPierre And The Iron Law of Bureaucracy.

Also, I tried to live-tweet the debate, but I only got about 45 minutes in when the pandering overwhelmed me.; 6/26/19, 9:58 PM
Birkel said...: If Althouse is truly for boring she found her match tonight.
That house is not attractive.; 6/26/19, 10:01 PM
StephenFearby said...: "Clint Eastwood will film his new movie, “The Ballad of Richard Jewell,” in Georgia, despite many Hollywood celebrities calling for a boycott of the state due to its controversial “heartbeat” abortion law."

'...“The Ballad of Richard Jewell” is based on a real-life incident that took place during the 1996 Olympics there.

Security guard Richard Jewell discovered a pipe bomb in a knapsack at a park near the Olympic grounds. Although he reportedly helped clear bystanders out of harm’s way, he was later named as the primary suspect in the case. Jewell endured countless media outlets naming him a lone bomber and terrorist, only to be cleared of all charges three months later.'

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/clint-eastwood-richard-jewell-georgia-boycott-abortion-bill

I was only vaguely aware of the Richard Jewell story in 1996. After a little Googling I found Vanity Fair had scored an exclusive interviews with Jewell and his attorney which revealed his real problem wasn't so much being hounded by the press -- but the stupidity and incompetence of the FBI in handling the investigation. The Clint Eastwood movie uses the same title as the the Vanity Fair piece:

The Ballad of Richard Jewell
BY MARIE BRENNER
FEBRUARY 1997

"On July 30, 1996, the media identified Richard Jewell as the F.B.I.'s prime suspect in the Olympic Park bombing. For the first time, the 34-year-old security guard tells his extraordinary story: his brief moment as a national hero, his hounding by the Feds and the press, and his eccentric friendship with the unknown southern lawyer who helped him through his public torment...."

https://outline.com/2pKuDu

It's a long article but very useful in reminding us of the incompetence of FBI directors.
Like James Comey (Russiagate) and Robert Mueller (Anthraxgate), Louis Freeh was not only stupidly involved with Jewellgate but (according to Wikipedia) a string of other asinine investigations like:

'On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 230 persons on board. The following day, the FBI commenced a parallel investigation in spite of the National Transportation Safety Board having "priority over any investigation by another department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government", as stated in 49 U.S.C. § 1131. Subsequently, FBI agents blocked attempts by the NTSB to interview witnesses, according to a copy of a safety board report obtained by Aviation Week & Space Technology. One month after the explosion, chemists at the FBI crime laboratory in Washington found traces of PETN, an explosive component of bombs and surface-to-air missiles.[24]

'...in August 2000, the NTSB published its final report which stated that "the probable cause of the TWA flight 800 accident was an explosion of the center wing fuel tank (CWT), resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank."[25]'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Freeh

Satires of Juvenal, circa 100AD:

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?; 6/26/19, 10:05 PM
Birkel said...: Althouse: I like boring.
Democratics: Hold our collective beers.; 6/26/19, 10:07 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "It turns out that fired FBI director James Comey had Hillary Clinton’s definitive backup email device the entire election and never searched it."

and (craze) E. Jean once tweeted "I'm a MASSIVE Apprentice fan"; 6/26/19, 10:20 PM
effinayright said...: You can see a plaque on next to the steps.

What does it say?

(I agree it's not an esthetically pleasing design. Those windows on the right side....ick.); 6/26/19, 10:48 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Hopefully, Bernie lays into Biden tomorrow night. Gotta spice it up a bit.; 6/26/19, 10:52 PM
Chuck said...: Is that the Chancellor’s official residence? I was in it once, for a party with donors before a Michigan-Wisconsin game.; 6/26/19, 10:56 PM
effinayright said...: Steven Fearby halluciantes: "One month after the explosion, chemists at the FBI crime laboratory in Washington found traces of PETN, an explosive component of bombs and surface-to-air missiles.[24]"

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

Yeah, but you conveeeniently left out the details:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-24-mn-37173-story.html

"They described the amount of PETN uncovered in the FBI's Washington laboratory as no larger than a "speckle." They said it was found on a piece of seating material on the right side of the plane's middle passenger compartment between Rows 17 and 28."

SPECKLES don't bring down airplanes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800#Live_missile_or_bomb_detonation

Trace amounts of explosive residue were detected on three samples of material from three separate locations of the recovered airplane wreckage (described by the FBI as a piece of canvas-like material and two pieces of a floor panel).[1]:118 These samples were submitted to the FBI's laboratory in Washington, D.C., which determined that one sample contained traces of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), another nitroglycerin, and the third a combination of RDX and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN);[1]:118 these findings received much media attention at the time.[42][43] In addition, the backs of several damaged passenger seats were observed to have an unknown red/brown-shaded substance on them.[1]:118 According to the seat manufacturer, the locations and appearance of this substance were consistent with adhesive used in the construction of the seats, and additional laboratory testing by NASA identified the substance as being consistent with adhesives.[1]:118

>>>>>Further examination of the airplane structure, seats, and other interior components found no damage typically associated with a high-energy explosion of a bomb or missile warhead ("severe pitting, cratering, petalling, or hot gas washing").[1]:258 This included the pieces on which trace amounts of explosives were found.[1]:258 Of the 5 percent of the fuselage that was not recovered, none of the missing areas were large enough to have covered all the damage that would have been caused by the detonation of a bomb or missile.[1]:258 None of the victims' remains showed any evidence of injuries that could have been caused by high-energy explosives.[1]:258

You got nuthin.

But thanks for demonstrating your woozy reasoning power.; 6/26/19, 10:56 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: were those Dems running for President of Mexico?; 6/26/19, 10:58 PM
chickelit said...: I see they still haven't fixed that ugly utility casing that I complained about years ago. It just ain't Wright.

Again I ask how can someone who can afford Wright care so little about aesthetics? I'm pretty sure it wasn't in his original design.; 6/26/19, 11:02 PM
chickelit said...: Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...were those Dems running for President of Mexico?

Did any of them come out against open borders? Drudge said there was a clash on immigration, but I can't find what he meant. It sounds like they clash with Trump on immigration but not with each other. They are all in lockstep on open borders. What kind of American wants that?; 6/26/19, 11:07 PM
wildswan said...: Those flat roofs don't work well in Wisconsin or anywhere where snow accumulates. Always problems in Milwaukee area with FLW's roofs leaking.

If the debate tomorrow is like the one today people will begin to be found dead in their rooms as in the Dominican Republic from a strange toxic emanation. We should rotate people to watch in case there's anything to see as they did at Fukushima where people were exposed for strictly limited periods of time. We've been totally spoiled by Trump rallies which are very interesting since he always mentions his next plans but which are also colorful and fun with a back and forth with the audience, with cheering and jeering, with cameos by local politicians and Melania, Sarah Sanders and others, with possible attacks by Antifa. These guys sounded like a room full of typewriters, chattering.; 6/26/19, 11:17 PM
J. Farmer said...: @chickelit:

Did any of them come out against open borders?

Nobody will come out for "open borders" because it's a political loser. I prefer Steve Sailer's formulation: they are anti-anti-open borders.

Drudge said there was a clash on immigration, but I can't find what he meant.

Probably the brief spat between Castro and O'Rourke. Castro wanted to downgrade illegal border crossings to a civil offense, while O'Rourke supported keeping it a criminal offense.; 6/26/19, 11:23 PM
J. Farmer said...: p.s. And was it just me, or did Julian Castro remind anyone of Mickey Rooney's character from Breakfast at Tiffany's?; 6/26/19, 11:24 PM
Ralph L said...: The downspouts are badly placed, too.

I'm building a small cantilevered extension of my carport roof over my backdoor because the west wind blows rain onto the stoop and door. The framing seems sturdy but looks like hell. I'll cover that once I decide how to vent to the attic (the rest of the house has exposed eaves, Satan's gift to house painters). The tricky part is that it joins the main roof at a different slope.; 6/26/19, 11:44 PM
wwww said...: "Hopefully, Bernie lays into Biden tomorrow night. Gotta spice it up a bit."

I really don't think watching this stuff is a good entertainment plan.

Farmer,
Congrats on the upcoming marriage. Agree "boyfriend or partner" sounds odd. Sounds like a business partner & boyfriend sounds like high school.

Do you have a estimated time frame for starting a family? It's an amazing time. I advise having a photo/ video/ recording and sorting/ storage system in place before the baby arrives. It's too easy to take multitudes of pictures and video.; 6/26/19, 11:51 PM
chickelit said...: J. Farmer said...p.s. And was it just me, or did Julian Castro remind anyone of Mickey Rooney's character from Breakfast at Tiffany's?

I think he looks like Mr. Sulu in the original “StarTrek.”; 6/26/19, 11:55 PM
chickelit said...: Castro has Peter Lorre eyes.

Unsee that one.; 6/26/19, 11:57 PM
StephenFearby said...: wholelottasplainin' said...
Steven Fearby halluciantes: "One month after the explosion, chemists at the FBI crime laboratory in Washington found traces of PETN, an explosive component of bombs and surface-to-air missiles.[24]"

"...You got nuthin.

But thanks for demonstrating your woozy reasoning power."

The quoted sentence is Wikipedia's, not mine. However, Wikipedia didn't hallucinate. They supported their statement by providing a footnote [24] citing the NYT story describing the FBI's mistaken conspiracy theory and helpfully provided a link to it:

PRIME EVIDENCE FOUND THAT DEVICE EXPLODED IN CABIN OF FLIGHT 800
DON VAN NATTA JR. AUG. 23, 1996

"...After a prolonged, confounding search of the ocean floor, investigators have finally found scientific evidence that an explosive device was detonated inside the passenger cabin of Trans World Airlines Flight 800, senior Federal officials said yesterday.

Chemists at the Federal Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory in Washington have found traces of PETN, a chemical in plastic explosives, on a piece of wreckage retrieved from the jet's passenger cabin between Rows 17 and 27, according to three senior officials deeply involved in the investigation. They spoke on the condition of anonymity.

While the new finding provides evidence that the plane was destroyed by an explosive device, a senior official noted that PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate, was an explosive component commonly found in many bombs and surface-to-air missiles, making it impossible, for now, to know for sure which type of explosive device destroyed the Boeing 747, killing all 230 people aboard.

Nonetheless, the discovery meets the F.B.I.'s previously stated standard for declaring that the plane was brought down by a criminal act. In loss of life, the downing of T.W.A. Flight 800 would stand as the most serious crime in American history.

For weeks, criminal investigators have said they would need positive findings of explosive residue at the Washington lab before they could conclude what most of them have believed all along -- that a bomb, not an unusual mechanical malfunction -- destroyed the jet shortly after it left Kennedy International Airport on the evening of July 17."

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/23/nyregion/prime-evidence-found-that-device-exploded-in-cabin-of-flight-800.html; 6/26/19, 11:58 PM
J. Farmer said...: @wwww:

Congrats on the upcoming marriage.

Thank you very much.

Do you have a estimated time frame for starting a family?

It's in the works, but since we aren't going the normal coital route, the timeframe is a little fuzzy. Within the next 18-24 months seems likely.

It's an amazing time. I advise having a photo/ video/ recording and sorting/ storage system in place before the baby arrives. It's too easy to take multitudes of pictures and video.

Indeed. I have two nieces (ages 6 and 4), and my sister has produced an ungodly amount of photographs. I swear she must have them professionally photographed on a weekly basis. But they sure are beautiful. I used to hate people that trapped you with looking at photographs of their children, but I've already done it myself with just my nieces. I'll probably be unbearable when it's my own child.

It's an exciting and invigorating time. But of course I'm scared shitless.; 6/27/19, 12:03 AM
J. Farmer said...: @chickelite:

Castro has Peter Lorre eyes.

Unsee that one.

I had to go back and look at Peter Lorre when he was younger and thinner. The resemblance is pretty striking. Given that Castro looks vaguely East Asian, I'd bet he has a fair amount of indigenous American ancestry.; 6/27/19, 12:11 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Beto murió esta noche.; 6/27/19, 12:13 AM
J. Farmer said...: I wonder what hell Amy Klobuchar's staff is experiencing tonight.; 6/27/19, 12:16 AM
Yancey Ward said...: I just finished watching the debate. Beto is finished- I think tonight was his last real opportunity to get it off the ground, and he failed miserably. Warren surprised me by fading so badly in the last 60% of the debate- maybe being 69 will be a hindrance to her after all.

All in all, I thought Booker did himself the most good tonight, but it probably isn't enough unless Harris really bombs out Thursday night. Gabbard also did ok, but has no chance like all the other non-entities on the stage.; 6/27/19, 12:18 AM
walter said...: J. Farmer said...
I wonder what hell Amy Klobuchar's staff is experiencing tonight.
--
Duck. Duck. Go!; 6/27/19, 12:23 AM
Yancey Ward said...: As I have written many times, you have to take risks in such a large field to stand out, and no one on that stage really did that.; 6/27/19, 12:25 AM
walter said...: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8U-SfKVsAA-AiC.jpg:large; 6/27/19, 12:46 AM
J. Farmer said...: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8U-SfKVsAA-AiC.jpg:large

50 years of gay pride, and they put a closet case on the cover. Smdh.; 6/27/19, 12:55 AM
walter said...: Anderson Cooper
‏Verified account @andersoncooper
Jun 5

Thanks for the cover @EW!; 6/27/19, 1:00 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: J. Farmer: Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials and on planning your family; I suspect you will be a thoroughly excellent father. :) Forgive my presumption, but if any of your possible routes to parenthood involve gamete donation, I'd like to invite you to reach out to the donor-conceived adult community for insight into the experience from our end of the transaction. As a psychologist I'm sure you are sensitive to the identity complications that are raised from these kinds of arrangements, and furthermore are well aware of how corrosive secrecy around a child's origin is, so you wouldn't do it the dumb old way (which, summarized, was to say as little as possible, discourage questions, and imply disloyalty to parents on the part of a child curious about biological origins). But still, as a member of this community and being mildly involved in advocacy, I think it'd be worth your and your husband's time to listen to the experiences of articulate donor conceived people if that is something you are considering. There is a lot of good information which can help everyone involved not go in blind. I'd start with We Are Donor Conceived if you were so inclined. And thus ends this PSA with best wishes for your future family. :)

Added: oddly enough, I make the same recommendation if you are considering adopting. I became an adoptive mom well before I found out I was donor-conceived, and the overlaps I have learned about on my own journey have very much helped me be sensitive to my son's needs as he comes to terms with his identity. One of the big things that adult adoptees say is to listen to them. Crazy, right, but I admit I never thought about it when I was preparing to adopt my son as an infant. I thought it would be much simpler than it is; whatever the classes I took taught me were not comparable to hearing adult adoptees discuss their own experiences and journeys.; 6/27/19, 1:30 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “That house and yard - $5 million minimum in SF. If you can find such a lot that is”

Not that bad, but...

We own real estate in the Denver market, and I was the family broker for awhile, so constantly get market updates from brokers there, trying to get us to buy or sell. And today, the update showed a small, 1200 sq ft house, with 3 bedrooms and one bath, built in 1927, selling in Denver for a couple grand below a $million$. Our house in the PHX suburbs cost 1/3, is 3 times the size, and is almost new. Visiting a friend at the time, whose daughter and fiancé are in the Denver area, and the runaway housing prices there are a big part of why they are looking for jobs now in E WA or N ID.; 6/27/19, 2:39 AM
Gahrie said...: You can see a plaque on next to the steps.

What does it say?

Probably: "This house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.".; 6/27/19, 2:46 AM
etbass said...: “I suspect you will be a thoroughly excellent father.”

Thought I saw him refer to his husband in another thread. Guess that means J will be the mother. That shouldn’t cause much confusion for the child. Any more than it does to normal adults. Growing up being taught that it is in a perfectly normal life situation. No problem at all.; 6/27/19, 2:58 AM
etbass said...: RHHardin said. “Get a robot to send out the call and the hobby could be completely automated”

It might as well be. Most QSOs are totally stock, and uninformative. Name and QTH, go to QRZ. Wx go to your wx app or TV. Rig is just another brand number. Been a ham 55 yrs. ho hum. Very best 73s.; 6/27/19, 3:05 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Last night I was in N ID visiting a friend doing manly things together, which included sitting out on his back porch burning pine needles in his stove there, drinking adult beverages, watching idiotic younger men do stupid stuff like ski off cliffs doing flips ( his middle daughter is dating one of them). And most importantly, building the sort of black scary guns that the Dems last night want so desperately to ban. Not because they actually kill very many people every year (my estimate is a couple per million guns of that type outside of use by the police). But because they have been seen for most of our lifetimes on TV and in movies as being scary and dangerous.

He had built a couple before, but it was really my first full build. Take a stack of parts, watch some videos, and, voila, a working firearm, guaranteed to scare the pants off most liberals. It is amazing how crude much of the technology is. Not as crude as the Russian equivalent, but still 60 year old technology. The nice thing is that since they are so modular, you can build exactly what you want. No more taking this feature, because it comes with that feature that you really have to have. Already planning the next build. Great fun.

Black, for many, is a pretty boring color (or, I am reminded by my interior designer partner, absence of color). He has been intensely researching anodizing, and has a system in his head for level 3 MilSpec garage anodizing. Far easier than that though, is that it turns out that you can dye magazines from a well known magazine manufacturer using RIT clothes dye. The problem is that you need the light tan magazines for this to work. So, I was in a sporting goods store today, and they had a dozen of these standard capacity (30 round) magazines for sale. As this has been a relatively hard color to find, I bought the entire dozen. Store is a little hard core, with maybe 4 different types of .22LR at the checkout counter. Clerk had bought maybe a dozen of those tan magazines, but didn’t know that you could dye them. I am thinking of dying some of them something distinctive for range magazines (I use different colored base plates for handgun magazines for this purpose), if that friend doesn’t want them. He is into Dark Earth and OD Green guns and gun parts, and, of course, needs magazines to match. I am best with simple black, though some of my handguns have silver slides.; 6/27/19, 3:20 AM
Gahrie said...: Growing up being taught that it is in a perfectly normal life situation. No problem at all.

I would much prefer that a child be raised by two men in a loving, committed relationship (even though I prefer not to call it a marriage) than by a baby momma with six kids by four fathers and no husband.; 6/27/19, 3:26 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: The thing that got me off on the gun thing is that since I was gone last night, my partner was on cat parent detail. That meant letting the whining cat into her bed room at 3 am last night because he was, apparently, lonely. Not sure if it was actually loneliness, or seeking a nice heat source. He loves sleeping between her legs under a blanket. She lifts the blanket up, and he finds his place there. Except that today, he discovered how to lift up the blanket himself to get there. Too smart for his own good (we think that he only has 6 of his 9 lives left). #0so, in payment for taking off last night, I am on cat parent detail tonight, with him snuggled between my legs for warmth, out on one of the sofas in the living room.

We are guessing that he is right about 11 months old now, and has been eating nonstop for the last couple days, which usually indicates a growth spurt. Should be switching him away from kitten food soon.

The amazing thing is how he has taken over esp her life. Wonder how she survived the last 20 years without a cat, and esp the last decade since she quit working outside the house. About ten months ago, we were at the grocery store, and I told her not to look over there because someone was giving away kittens. They mostly looked Siamese, though we know he is a cross breed because of some light tiger cat markings. In any case, she, of course, headed over to see the kittens, esp after I told her that she shouldn’t. Which was the intent, of course. This one picked her, and the rest is history, asleep between my legs now as I type this. He did initially have a bad case of worms, which probably would have killed him if he hadn’t been adopted, and mites in his ears. But at maybe 4-5 weeks old, he litter box trained in under a day, and is a good traveler. And mostly has learned to obey my partner - he got out of the hotel room Fri night and he immediately came back in, when she ordered him to do so. Doesn’t mind me as much, but that is fine. I am the fun parent.; 6/27/19, 3:45 AM
etbass said...: "I would much prefer that a child be raised by two men in a loving, committed relationship (even though I prefer not to call it a marriage) than by a baby momma with six kids by four fathers and no husband."

Sort of like saying, I would rather drink a glass of urine than a glass of cyanide.

Only two alternatives. Makes sense to me.; 6/27/19, 3:52 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: It looks like Chancellor Merkel had another shaking episode, the 2nd public one in 10 days. https://news.yahoo.com/germanys-merkel-shaking-again-event-073009427.html

Here is video of the 2nd episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44j-tpuEefs

This one occurred indoors. In explanation for the previous one it was stated that she was dehydrated from being out in the sun.; 6/27/19, 4:11 AM
Jaq said...: “E. Jean once tweeted "I'm a MASSIVE Apprentice fan”

Makes perfect sense, since she says she wasn’t raped.; 6/27/19, 5:01 AM
Narayanan said...: Congrats on the upcoming marriage.

+1 from me

J. Farmer ... Check out this SF novel for reproduction technological ...
https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Jole-Queen-Vorkosigan-Saga-ebook/dp/B01A9CDKDC; 6/27/19, 5:01 AM
Jaq said...: I posted this yesterday very late in the old cafe, but I just find it amazing that the NYT would fudge the facts this much:

Trump Attacks Mueller, Repeating False Accusations

The president offered no evidence as he repeated earlier accusations that Mr. Mueller destroyed text messages between two former F.B.I. officials, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who worked on the Russia investigation. “They’re gone and that is illegal,” Mr. Trump said of the texts in an interview with Fox Business Network. “That’s a crime.”

Mr. Trump was referring to a December Justice Department inspector general report that noted 19,000 text messages were lost because of technical problems, not intentionally deleted by Mr. Mueller or anyone. - New York Times

OIG Report:
The SCO obtained the iPhone from that individual and provided it to the 010. CYBER obtained a forensic extraction ofthe iPhone previously assigned to Strzok; however. this iPhone had been reset to factory settings and was reconfigured for the new user to whom the device was issued. It did not contain data related to Strzok's use ofthe device. SCO's Records Officer told the 010 that as part ofthe office's records retention procedure, the officer reviewed Strzok's DOJ issued iPhone after he returned it to the SCO and determined it contained no substantive text messages.

Then wiped it. I don’t know how you can call this a “technical issue.”

https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2018/i-2018-003523.pdf

I knew they were lying when they didn’t include any actual text from the report, but just characterized it in their own words. Black is white people! The NYT says so!; 6/27/19, 5:06 AM
stevew said...: Here is the analysis I'm qualified to make about last night's Democrate debate:

That's right, I didn't watch. Expected it to be dull and boring. The little bit I've read about it this morning indicates my expectations were exceeded.

There are too many candidates and the national Democrats are too obviously trying to steer the advantage to a select few.

I live in MA and so am left to wonder if Moulton is angry or embarrassed that he didn't qualify to be on the debate stage? Seems to me that is one thing the DNC got right.; 6/27/19, 5:08 AM
Humperdink said...: Paraphrasing the best quote on last night's debate: "A ten person press conference with questions being asked by cheerleaders".; 6/27/19, 5:29 AM
MadisonMan said...: Is that the Chancellor’s official residence?

No. The picture is the FLW "Airplane House", and it's a couple of blocks from the larger multi-story Chancellor's House (The Olin House). The FLW house has housed fund-raisers however, I recall one for Wisconsin Public TV about 10 years ago.; 6/27/19, 5:32 AM
Jaq said...: Probably for on the order of $5K those wires could have been buried. I would have done it.; 6/27/19, 5:45 AM
rehajm said...: Bury the power line. Get it off the center of the building at least. Did the builders want to show off the fact the house had electricity?; 6/27/19, 5:47 AM
Jaq said...: I don’t think people realize the options that you have with power lines. I buried mine because the power company was going to come on my land and cut several trees and “trim” others, so I just had them yank the poles and bury the whole mess. If I ever sell this place, I am going to have to put up signs to call DigSafe before digging on the barn though. I should do it now.; 6/27/19, 5:55 AM
Jaq said...: There is a house in the village from the Federal period, that sits on an old farm, and they required that when the village was electrified, all of the lines be buried as they crossed their farm. The whole village should have done it. Anybody who wanders around with a camera hates power lines. You don’t see them until you look at your pictures, at least us amateurs don’t, then they seem to be the subject of the photo.; 6/27/19, 5:59 AM
rehajm said...: This morning Bannon has it right- compared to Trump nobody on the stage looked presidential. Imagine Elizabeth Warren trying to negotiate a trade deal with China. First she believes climate change is the biggest existential threat to the US. I just think she’s dumb. She believes because GE didn't owe tax for a reporting period, GE doesn’t pay taxes.; 6/27/19, 6:24 AM
Chuck said...: Not the Chancellor’s house; looks like the Gilmore House (as someone already noted, Frank Lloyd Wright).

But isn’t the (old?!?) Chancellor’s house just a block or two away? And on a similar large, hilly lot?; 6/27/19, 6:27 AM
Chuck said...: Poops! I see Madison Man already rightly corrected me. Still appreciated.; 6/27/19, 6:29 AM
Tank said...: J. Farmer said...

I wonder what hell Amy Klobuchar's staff is experiencing tonight.

I didn't see her staff on stage. Gotta own your own performance me thinks.; 6/27/19, 6:44 AM
Tank said...: To me that home has no curb appeal, but it might be very cool inside; sometimes it works out that way.; 6/27/19, 6:48 AM
Robert Cook said...: "This morning Bannon has it right- compared to Trump nobody on the stage looked presidential."

Well, shit...Trump doesn't look presidential, either.; 6/27/19, 7:11 AM
narciso said...: Not the right sort:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1145788/Nigel-Farage-European-Parliament-breach-conduct-Brexit-Party-Arron-Banks-latest?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=dxfb&fbclid=IwAR1BJJ9cKnJErqH-8xNtDQfybvOb2BYUWSdy7SH4zyCxm-4iv6awRl-wM7M; 6/27/19, 7:21 AM
Ralph L said...: Duke Power put my house's power lines underground for free 25 years ago. The old line was too long--the voltage drop was higher than they thought acceptable. I complained after the house went black for a second when the 5 ton AC started at the same time as the washer. They ripped out a boxwood (they came the one day I was out of town), but its neighbors have since filled the gap and then some.; 6/27/19, 7:24 AM
iowan2 said...: "This morning Bannon has it right- compared to Trump nobody on the stage looked presidential."

Well, shit...Trump doesn't look presidential, either.

Of course President Trump looks "Presidential" You don't like him.(he's not a Democrat) you don't like his success. But to say he does not "look Presidential" is your emotions affecting your ability to reason.; 6/27/19, 7:56 AM
rehajm said...: If the best anyone has is ‘Trump doesn’t look presidential either’ there’s no reason to change things up then...; 6/27/19, 8:03 AM
iowan2 said...: Three years ago I buried our electrical entrance.It was just an add-on project to a new garage, and converting my fuse box to breaker. That change required the electrician move the entrance into the house, away from the gas entrance. Burying the electrical is an investment, not a cost. I'm in the country and the power co. charged about $1500. My guess is, city rules and protocols might hinder individual owners from asking for the option to bury.; 6/27/19, 8:05 AM
Humperdink said...: "Trump doesn’t look presidential either"

OK, let's say he looks like King Rat. I would suggest, in comparison, the 25 or so in D side appear to be minnie mice scrambling for some cheesy votes. Willing to offer government cheese, or phones, or clash for clunkers or midnight basketball (remember that from the Clinton era?) anything ... anything for a vote.; 6/27/19, 8:44 AM
Fen said...: Too many levels. Wifey and I are in agreement - our next house with be Ranchstyle Home with NO stairs. And a big Inator in the open courtyard.; 6/27/19, 9:09 AM
Mark said...: Supreme Court rediscovers non-justiciability.; 6/27/19, 9:15 AM
Robert Cook said...: "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." (Thomas Paine); 6/27/19, 10:41 AM
J. Farmer said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/27/19, 11:32 AM
J. Farmer said...: @I Have Misplaced My Pants:

Forgive my presumption, but if any of your possible routes to parenthood involve gamete donation, I'd like to invite you to reach out to the donor-conceived adult community for insight into the experience from our end of the transaction.

Thank you for quite a thoughtful comment. You have actually touched upon part of why I have been reluctant to pursue parenthood for so long. Ultimately, it's the question of, "Is this fair to a child?" Is it fair to raise a child in an atypical familial arrangement that could potentially expose them to social ridicule? And is it right to deny a child 50% of its heritage? As you say, "the identity complications that are raised from these kinds of arrangements." I believe we've made the necessary arrangements to address these concerns, but I prefer to keep that part of my private life private.

If you are at all interested in discussing the matter further, please feel free to drop me a line at jfarmer017@gmail.com. Forewarning, I check this email infrequently so it may be a couple days before I respond.

@etbass:

Growing up being taught that it is in a perfectly normal life situation. No problem at all.

Thank you for your concern. For what it's worth I don't plan to teach my child something that I myself do not believe. I will not tell him or her that our situation is "perfectly normal." I will teach him or her that we've made a decision to live in a different way that some people do not approve of because we fell in love, wanted to be in each other's lives until one of us drew their last breath, and wanted to be part of creating new life that would have a shot at exploring the world and creating new life of their own. I will teach him or her that the world is full of different kinds of people, bohemian and conformist, eccentric and conventional, some of them good, some of them bad. What matters above all is their character and how they treat people.; 6/27/19, 11:34 AM
Begonia said...: I used to live in Summit Avenue Co-op, basically next door to the airplane house.

It always seemed to me that the owners of the airplane house never invested enough in the upkeep. On the contrast, we had an 18-member cooperative made up of mostly poor students but we took care of our house pretty well: http://summitavenue.coop/Rooms.html; 6/27/19, 11:37 AM
Tomcc said...: I was in western PA last week and visited Fallingwater for the second time in about 20 years. Still a breathtaking experience! And, yes, still about as impractical a dwelling as can be imagined!; 6/27/19, 11:48 AM
Spencer3 said...: It is the Gilmore House.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x8807ad5d45a32903:0x609939f3afdb9469!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_A._Gilmore_House!5sEugene+A.+Gilmore+House+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e1!2shttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Eugene_A._Gilmore_House.JPG/1200px-Eugene_A._Gilmore_House.JPG&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5q4elt4rjAhWGB80KHU59BvgQoiowC3oECAwQCQ; 6/27/19, 3:03 PM
Fen said...: "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; with the exception of those Marxist scum." (Thomas Paine)

FIFY

I'm tired of letting scoundrels use our principles against us.; 6/27/19, 5:34 PM
Jaq said...: Not to mention that Paine was a fruitcake.; 6/27/19, 7:55 PM