Althouse: At the Wildflower Café...

September 8, 2019

At the Wildflower Café...

... you can talk all night.

66 comments:

mockturtle said...: Anyone else watch the marathon [5 hour] men's US Open final today? I watched the last few sets. Although wanting Rafa to win, I really hated to see Medvedev lose. Excellent matchup!; 9/8/19, 8:56 PM
Ken B said...: Nope, but I kinda followed the women’s final on Google. Straight sets, fabulous. Great to see a Canadian win, wonderful to see Serena lose.; 9/8/19, 9:02 PM
David Begley said...: Drove up to Valentine this weekend. I’ve never seen so many flowers along the highway.; 9/8/19, 9:05 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Hiked Katahdin on Thursday. Beautiful day, beautiful hike. My Son's favorite mountain.; 9/8/19, 9:07 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: A headline I saw today:

Antifa Calls A Black Man Who Has De-Radicalized KKK Members A White Supremacist

I clicked through and nope not a satire. It's impossible to satire these lunatics.; 9/8/19, 9:11 PM
wildswan said...: I have a patch of black-eyed-susans and several stands of goldenrod to look at. But the beautiful little songbirds are going away. I was tired of filling the bird feeder so often but now I wish they were back emptying it.; 9/8/19, 9:20 PM
Wince said...: Man, the 80s kicked ass!

I'm a wolf child, girl
Howlin' for you

Wild Flower

You're a perfect creation
You're an angel, baby
And I'm cryin' for you
My heart beats faster
Yeah hey, and I'm overpowered; 9/8/19, 9:23 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Kamala Kameleon is ok with "retarded" for Trump

"Well said!"

https://twitter.com/i/status/1170416528455602177

'Clear causal link': Lawyers accuse Kamala Harris of defying Supreme Court by hiding evidence from defense attorneys
While district attorney for San Francisco, Kamala Harris withheld evidence that could have exonerated defendants on multiple occasions, in violation of a key due process ruling by the Supreme Court.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/clear-causal-link-lawyers-accuse-kamala-harris-of-defying-supreme-court-by-hiding-evidence-from-defense-attorneys; 9/8/19, 9:25 PM
Big Mike said...: I see that Barack Obama and spouse are embroiled in a case of trademark infringement. They wish to call their Netflix company "Higher Ground Productions," however a company by the name of "Higher Ground Enterprises" registered their own name eleven years ago and has been using it ever since. For perhaps the first time in a long time they were told "No" by the Patent and Trademark Office, but they are seeking to use the name they like no matter what. You'd think the two of them would just pick another name, but that's not how lefties operate. Because there's one set of rules for elite lefties, and another for the rest of us.; 9/8/19, 9:39 PM
Narayanan said...: Anybody in Hillsdale for CCA - on China?
Find me with my name-tag; 9/8/19, 9:48 PM
rcocean said...: Great Tennis match at US Open. Nadal-Medelved - five sets - some great tennis. Too bad the US open crowds are such a fucking embarrassment. Thanks for making the US look like a bunch of Archie Bunkers and Hollyweirdos. And ESPN, please quit with the CONSTANT shots of the relatives/friends in the crowd looking "concerned" or "Happy". Just stick to Tennis.

(Comic Book Guy Voice) Thank you.; 9/8/19, 9:52 PM
rcocean said...: I wish Women's tennis would up its game. Why do women do 2 out of 3, when the Men play 3 of 5?; 9/8/19, 9:54 PM
gilbar said...: David Begley said...
Drove up to Valentine this weekend. I’ve never seen so many flowers along the highway.

Were the flood waters down yet?
I went through in July, and there was still standing water in what used to be pastures
I guess that was more west of Valentine, though.; 9/8/19, 9:57 PM
Darrell said...: "Higher Ground Productions"

The Choom Gang is pretty close--try that one.; 9/8/19, 9:59 PM
rcocean said...: "Great to see a Canadian win, wonderful to see Serena lose."

Its nice to see a new face, but I was hoping serena would get her 24th major. She just didn't play very well. She destroyed the Chinese girl, but then couldn't serve worth a damn when it counted in the final. I think she has until 40 to win one more.; 9/8/19, 10:00 PM
J. Farmer said...: Anyone else watch the marathon [5 hour] men's US Open final today? I watched the last few sets. Although wanting Rafa to win, I really hated to see Medvedev lose. Excellent matchup!

Fun fact: I've never seen a sporting event from beginning to end in my life.; 9/8/19, 10:04 PM
wild chicken said...: We had a beautiful summer in Missoula, no serious fires. But no meadowlarks either.

Too many houses going up here.; 9/8/19, 10:07 PM
Lucien said...: Rcocean:

Try thinking like a tournament director. Two 128 place draws for singles means 64 matches per day if you play the first round in two days. Only two or three covered courts in event of rain. Doubles, mixed doubles, junior and wheelchair matches to schedule as the tournament progresses. So why extend half the singles matches by a potential 66.666% unless there’s a very real benefit to be gained?; 9/8/19, 10:13 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Lotta football this weekend. High school, college and NFL. The best, of course, was the high school ball, where my kid is a 2 year starter at free safety on the team that won handily . I can see him as a young Marine Corps Officer in 5 years - I can dream can't I?; 9/8/19, 10:34 PM
mockturtle said...: Fun fact: I've never seen a sporting event from beginning to end in my life.

Nothing fun about that fact, Farmer. ;-D; 9/8/19, 10:38 PM
Sebastian said...: "Fun fact: I've never seen a sporting event from beginning to end in my life."

No kids, I guess. Sad fact.; 9/8/19, 10:44 PM
Birkel said...: Some boxing matches last mere seconds.
Boxing is a sport.

That fact was sad.
And probably not true.; 9/8/19, 10:56 PM
narciso said...: Oh

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-iaea-exclusive/exclusive-iaea-found-uranium-traces-at-iran-atomic-warehouse-diplomats-idUSKCN1VT0L8; 9/8/19, 11:02 PM
narciso said...: Two of one:

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChuckRossDC/status/1170866387235102720; 9/8/19, 11:32 PM
J. Farmer said...: A fault line I've noticed between traditional right and alt-right is religion. It seems that the traditional right are fairly religious conservatives while the alt-right are mostly atheists.; 9/8/19, 11:46 PM
Gahrie said...: Lotta football this weekend. High school, college and NFL.

Me too. My high school won a big game on Friday, the kid from USC lit things up on Saturday, and I won both of my fantasy match ups this week.; 9/8/19, 11:49 PM
J. Farmer said...: Nothing fun about that fact, Farmer. ;-D

I've never been the slightest bit interested in sports. I was a nerd. My two older sisters are both obsessed, and my mother is a big fan. My father more a casual fan. We had get togethers every weekend during football season, and the Super Bowl was always a big party. I'd wander in and out of the living room, watch a few minutes and almost immediately lose interest. I was shocked that my mother could sit for two hours and watch tennis. My grandfather would sit in a recliner and watch golf tournaments. I couldn't fathom it. I'd rather watch paint dry. The only sport I can ever remember paying any attention to whatsoever was male gymnastics, but that was only ever four years and I suspect was a more a result of pubescent homoerotic desire than any real appreciation for the sport.; 9/8/19, 11:54 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Sebastian:

No kids, I guess. Sad fact.

Not yet, but with any luck, I'll be having my own father and son moment within the next year or so.; 9/9/19, 12:04 AM
J. Farmer said...: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-iaea-exclusive/exclusive-iaea-found-uranium-traces-at-iran-atomic-warehouse-diplomats-idUSKCN1VT0L8

A few thoughts...

1) This discovery was made by the inspections team that everybody has been telling me can't detect anything and that Iran could easily evade.

2) There is an awful lot of hedging in that article: "One diplomat said the uranium was not highly enriched, meaning it was not purified to a level anywhere close to that needed for weapons. “There are lots of possible explanations,” that diplomat said. But since Iran has not yet given any to the IAEA it is hard to verify the particles’ origin, and it is also not clear whether the traces are remnants of material or activities that predate the landmark 2015 deal or more recent, diplomats say."

3) Does it really make sense at this point to complain about Iran's obligations under the JCPOA considering we have pulled out the deal, declared it null and void, and reimposed economic sanctions?

4) To increase my popularity even more, allow me to suggest an elegant solution: a quick way to stop Iran from being an enemy is to stop attacking it. We need to put a period on 1979 and accept the Islamic Republic as the legitimate government of Iran. That doesn't mean we have to like them, same as we don't have to like all the other oppressive, autocratic states we do business with. Russia, China, India, Japan all have trade and diplomatic relations with all of the major players in the region, from Israel to Saudi Arabia to Iran. There is no reason we can't have the same.; 9/9/19, 12:20 AM
Nichevo said...: a quick way to stop Iran from being an enemy is to stop attacking it.

Why would that work?; 9/9/19, 12:43 AM
Mr. Groovington said...: Was an interesting week in Johannesburg. Nigerian shopkeepers are the current villains. I went to a jazz festival at Zoolake, was the only white boy other than a guy I saw in line at the liquor tent, and it was all smiles. When your that obvious a target nobody bothers you. Kindof a rule.; 9/9/19, 12:50 AM
n.n said...: "a quick way to stop Iran from being an enemy is to stop attacking it."

Why would that work?

It has some merit in isolation. It assumes that Iran will reconsider its international activism, which was, in part, the missing link in the agreement. This is a matter of reconciliation with their foreign interests. Or, given their valuable natural resources, Iran could be the next Libya, or another South Africa.; 9/9/19, 1:11 AM
gadfly said...: I really don'r understand how anyone can trademark "Higher Ground" since the term is in the realm of common usage. Why the Obama company would even try is dumb. If the legal organization - Corporation, LLC or whatever - successfully registers its name with the state where the business is located, neither Obama nor the HG Enterprise folks can contest it - since "Productions" is not "Enterprise." Hmm, perhaps we will now see James T. Kirk of Star Trek joining in this fiasco.; 9/9/19, 2:40 AM
alanc709 said...: "Sebastian said...
"Fun fact: I've never seen a sporting event from beginning to end in my life."

No kids, I guess. Sad fact."

Some people blinked and missed the Holmes-Cooney fight.; 9/9/19, 3:53 AM
Kevin said...: They wish to call their Netflix company "Higher Ground Productions," however a company by the name of "Higher Ground Enterprises" registered their own name eleven years ago and has been using it ever since. For perhaps the first time in a long time they were told "No" by the Patent and Trademark Office, but they are seeking to use the name they like no matter what.

Irony alert!; 9/9/19, 4:48 AM
rehajm said...: If’s an interesting point. Demanding equal pay but providing less tennis to fans. Women play shorter golf courses too....; 9/9/19, 5:09 AM
rehajm said...: Perhaps that’s a feature not a bug?; 9/9/19, 5:10 AM
rehajm said...: Netflix gives away free month to every new email acct. Sometimes the old one too...; 9/9/19, 5:11 AM
Rusty said...: Found some uranium traces in a uranium warehouse eh. That IAEA is on top of everything aren't they?; 9/9/19, 5:50 AM
stevew said...: The only sporting event I'll willingly spend more than a couple of hours with is a round of golf with friends.

Fall is just around the corner. Personally I'm enjoying the change in weather around here to cool and dry. Best part is all the little bugs that buzz around my head when I'm outside are gone.; 9/9/19, 6:12 AM
Hagar said...: I think the hummingbirds started to leave yesterday. Two weeks early.; 9/9/19, 6:44 AM
Hagar said...: Iran and Turkey are modern states that dreams of expanding and recovering ancient empires.; 9/9/19, 6:47 AM
iowan2 said...: 4 ) To increase my popularity even more, allow me to suggest an elegant solution: a quick way to stop Iran from being an enemy is to stop attacking it.

To take that seriously, you have to define exactly what the Mullah's long term goals are. We are not talking about "Iran" we are talking about a few people that are the dictators of Iran. If their goal is the Muslim Faith ruling the world, your suggestion fails to address anything.; 9/9/19, 6:53 AM
Jaq said...: Iran and Turkey are modern states that dreams of expanding and recovering ancient empires.

There should be a summit in Italy, near as they can get to the lamp post where Mussolini was hanged.; 9/9/19, 7:26 AM
Jaq said...: Do you think Hitler and Mussolini were trying to set Europe up for one more battle royale between the Romans and the Goths?; 9/9/19, 7:28 AM
Lawrence Person said...: It's your Democratic Presidential Clown Car Update.; 9/9/19, 7:32 AM
tim maguire said...: J. Farmer said...
A fault line I've noticed between traditional right and alt-right is religion.

Is that the only one? From where I'm sitting, the two groups have nothing at all in common but a common enemy too lazy to make vital distinctions. When it comes to the broader politics and programs, the "alt-right" has more in common with the left.; 9/9/19, 7:45 AM
Gahrie said...: To increase my popularity even more, allow me to suggest an elegant solution: a quick way to stop Iran from being an enemy is to stop attacking it.

So your position is that if we leave Iran alone, they will leave us alone? What evidence do you have to support that?; 9/9/19, 8:21 AM
Hagar said...: The current map of the near Middle East was settled in rather slapdash fashion by the "Big Four" at the peace conference headed by President Woodrow Wilson in Paris following WWI.; 9/9/19, 8:25 AM
I Callahan said...: To increase my popularity even more, allow me to suggest an elegant solution: a quick way to stop Iran from being an enemy is to stop attacking it. We need to put a period on 1979 and accept the Islamic Republic as the legitimate government of Iran.

This is just a philosophical difference between you and the bulk of the rest of us, so arguing points that fit your belief here will do nothing, and my doing the same will do nothing. That said - you believe that the US is the aggressor in any contact with Iran. I believe that the Iranian government is an Islamic supremacist government, and if we didn’t do anything in the Middle East at all, they’d be as belligerent and nasty as they are now. This is militant Islam by its very nature, and its naive to think otherwise.; 9/9/19, 8:26 AM
Fernandinande said...: Fun fact: I've never seen a sporting event from beginning to end in my life.

I've never watched a pro or college sport-ball game of any type for more than a minute or so.; 9/9/19, 8:28 AM
Chuck said...: I love a good Trump scandal more than anybody.

But this Air Force crew layover story at Trump Turnberry is a great big non-story in my humble and slightly-informed opinion.

I've been to Glasgow, Troon and Turnberry. The RAF Troon (aka Glasgow) base is very near to Troon and Turnberry. I've seen the RAF Fighters and Fighter-Bombers as well as USAF cargo jets flying in and out of Troon.

Turnberry is one of the few large good (not great) hotels in the area. It isn't overpriced insofar as it is struggling since Trump took it over. (UK corporate disclosure rules prove it.) Word is that the Defense Department paid less than the allowable $166/night for the crew's rooms.

One air crew; one night. There are some really good Trump scandals. Like how he got the money to buy Turnberry. This one, however, is not a good Trump scandal.; 9/9/19, 8:48 AM
Michael K said...: Another Chuck turd. The haters on facebook are all over this story, just like you;; 9/9/19, 9:02 AM
Ken B said...: Farmer
The problem with your argument is it is too broad. If the way to not have enemies is to not attack anyone, then Belgium would never have been invaded, Kuwait would never have been invaded, ...
Bonus question: did the Philippines have a record of attacking Japan that I missed?; 9/9/19, 9:03 AM
mandrewa said...: J. Farmer said:

"1) This discovery was made by the inspections team that everybody has been telling me can't detect anything and that Iran could easily evade."

No. Not at all. This episode shows quite clearly that the inspection team can't detect anything and that Iran can easily evade an inspection event.

Here's what happened.

A. Israel, in a remarkable achievement, raided this warehouse in Iran and found a large number of documents detailing Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons and incidently at the same time also found 33 pounds of unspecified radioactive material in the warehouse.

B. The International Atomic Energy Agency informed Iran that per the agreement they wanted to inspect the warehouse. Some might claim that this demonstrates the IAEA's integrity since they bothered to make an inspection. I say that's nonsense. They absolutely had to.

C. Per the agreement, Iran had months to remove the 33 pounds and filter the air and scrub the floors and do any procedure that one might imagine to remove all trace of radioactive material.

D. Finally, the IAEA shows up and discovers, aha!, that there might have been 33 pounds of radioactive material there once upon a time! But they can't confirm that. It is just a maybe.

Now I'm not saying the IAEA are liars. I'm not an expert at this, but it seems plausible that they would be unable to get definitive evidence.

But there it is. Obviously if a country has months of warning that an inspection is coming to a particular site then they can do a cleanup. Now there are still going to be residual traces, but as the IAEA just demonstrated, the IAEA's reaction will be: "So what."

If we remember for Iraq they were given like 48 hours warning before an inspection. And in most cases that meant that for every such site there would be a bunch of trucks taking things away from the site the night before.

This is a large part of why so many people believed that Iraq was violating the agreement. But as Saddam Hussain later claimed it was all just a big fake. They were trying to persuade us, or the Iranians, that they actually had an active weapons of mass destruction program in Iraq. But in reality it was all in Libya, by that point, or just on paper.

So this inspection program is a fake. It is not intended to ever discover anything.

They have taken great care to make sure that's impossible.

It's just a big lie for the gullible.; 9/9/19, 9:18 AM
Chuck said...: Michael K said...
Another Chuck turd. The haters on facebook are all over this story, just like you;

"All over this story," as in my saying explicitly "this is not a good Trump scandal"?

What the fuck is wrong with you? You're like a little girl with your social media connections and obsessions. You're supposed to be a retired surgeon of considerable professional experience and standing, and yet you roam the pages of Althouse and your own blog(s), policing them like a mean girl in middle school.

Again for the umpteenth time, after you've repeatedly said that you would ignore my posts, and after my repeatedly asking you to please to exactly that, you keep badgering me.

Bugger off.; 9/9/19, 9:20 AM
Michael K said...: Chuck, I usually scroll past your comments but sometimes they are so silly in your obsession with Trump that I stop and look. Facebook has similar haters and I had just seen another one.

I feel sorry for you and believe that you were a lawyer with a med-mal specialty. I do not consider you a "Moby" as others do here. I am, just sorry for you.; 9/9/19, 9:34 AM
Chuck said...: And here I am, Dr. K, specifically identifying what I think is a non-scandal for Trump.

That's not obsession. That's my speaking clearly to what I think is and is not scandalous for Trump. Parsing the meritorious from the hysterical.

No, I really do not want to fit your, or anyone else's notion of what someone with Trump Derangement Syndrome is supposed to say.

There may well be a huge scandal with Trump and Turnberry. I'd like to know where Trump got several hundred million to invest in Turnberry, when practically every bank in the US and the UK would not touch Trump or Turnberry as an investment. Eric Trump told a golf writer that they could get all the funding they needed from the Russians. And then, that statement was denied by the Trump Organization.

But once again, I see no scandal of any note whatsoever in one US air crew making one layover at Turnberry for $166/night. It's not a scandal in my book and the anti-Trumpists would do well to make damn sure that if they are going to talk about Trump scandals they should make them good ones.; 9/9/19, 9:42 AM
Narr said...: You've been at this for days and Iran is still a problem!?! What's wrong with you people?!?

Slackers, the lot.

I have watched some football games with friends and family, and can appreciate one if the refreshments and jugjigglers are good, and I used to pay some attention to HW boxing. That's the extent of my fandom.

Narr
Since 43-Man Squamish was outlawed, anyway; 9/9/19, 10:02 AM
stevew said...: Shorter: We've got that bastard Trump this time!; 9/9/19, 10:51 AM
purplepenquin said...: What the fuck is wrong with you?

He is insane. Literally.

A while back ago he accused me of wanting to assassinate President Bush. I was completely confused by his statement, 'cause never have I expressed nor felt such a desire. When pressed on why he would think such a thing about me he admitted that I never said anything of the sort, but he simply knew that I wanted to kill the former president anyways.

There simply is no reasoning with people like that.; 9/9/19, 11:38 AM
Michael K said...: No, I really do not want to fit your, or anyone else's notion of what someone with Trump Derangement Syndrome is supposed to say.

Hey, if the shoe fits...

Try another topic someday. You might even like it.

Meanwhile I went to the doctor, got blood drawn and filled my car with gas. Get a life.; 9/9/19, 11:48 AM
Drago said...: LLR Chuck has moved on from denying NHC proof that Trump was spot on in the lefties laughable Sharpiegate to the newest nonscandal evidence free accusation!!

Too funny.

Gee, its a real shame we couldnt get a special counsel up and running who would have had an unlimited budget and unlimited access to FBI and intel sources and global financial records with full authority to pursue ANY potential crimes anywhere at anytime.

Because boy, if we had had that we could really get to bottom of this latest lefty/LLR-lefty nonscandal "scandal"!!

LOLOLOL

Keep your lefty hopes alive LLR Chuck!! Reid Hoffman and crew are counting on you!; 9/9/19, 12:08 PM
Jim at said...: Anyone else watch the marathon [5 hour] men's US Open final today?

Yes. An instant classic. And Medvedev is funny, too. Not sure if you watched the awards ceremony, but they showed clips of all 19 of Rafa's Slam victories.

Medvedev admired it and then asked what would they have shown if he'd won.; 9/9/19, 4:02 PM
Fen said...: "Why do women do 2 out of 3, when the Men play 3 of 5?"

Because women have 10% less hemoglobin than men.

We see it at Rapier practice all the time. I'm not very good, and the more experienced girls kill me easily. But during the 2nd hour I give them a more even match.; 9/9/19, 6:38 PM
Fen said...: Robyn Wright doesn't even know his name: Sgt. 1st Class Elis Barreto Ortiz, 34, from Morovis, Puerto Rico.

Althouse: :"You're wrong. The name is in the article. Why make assertions without checking?"

I did check. My mistake was when I got to the bottom of the page where it says:

MORE FROM
Our Columnists

I thought that was the end. Although now I see the article continues beyond that. Thank you so much for taking the time to point out my mistake.

Althouse: Really, Fen, your commenting needs improvement.

No, it really doesn't. It's been very sharp lately, more than usual. You are just saying that because I challenged you yesterday on another topic and you are holding a grudge. You sure you want to play that game? Because I am more stubborn than you.

Althouse: I'm going to start deleting you a lot more, beginning with this comment in half an hour. You may copy what you've written and attempt to rewrite it. If you don't want to go to the link and read or you need and don't want to get a subscription, you need to be circumspect about what you say is in the article.

OH. GO. FUCK. YOURSELF.

I will now happily copy everything I post here to repost 10 times over every time you delete it. And if you manage to ban this profile I will make several more and do it all over again.

OR

You can front page a public apology to me for being a vindictive bitch and singling me out because I had the audacity to challenge you on something stupid. What was it again? Oh right, I said I was "skeptical" that you were aware of the NPC meme. LOL.

(lets see now... New desktop folder: Althouse, new txt doc: Althouse1, copy and paste and save. Ready to launch upon deletion. Your turn....); 9/10/19, 9:40 AM