October 15, 2019

Debate about to happen.

...

My son John is live-blogging. Check it out!

ADDED: I walked away from the noise after an hour, realizing I’d entirely tuned out. I couldn’t take the artifice.

AND: I just don’t like hearing people talk about politics on television, and it’s particularly annoying when you have to hear so much from candidates who are polling at next to nothing. I don’t have to understand Beto!

137 comments:

Unknown said...

FOOD FIGHT!

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Jennifer Griffin said ...
Russian mercenaries give video tour of abandoned US base in Northern Syria, laughing at the hasty US retreat, showing unfinished meals on dining tables and heavy military equipment left behind. A Russian propaganda coup.


rhhardin said...

It's frightening to think of all that brain power right in my own neighborhood.

cubanbob said...

Why waste the time? They are all interchangeable. From President to Governor Member of Congress to State Legislature to Mayor and City Council every Democrat running is interchangeable. Everyone one of them is a Progressive ( code word for Commie).

Birkel said...

Moderation may not make this a free wheeling affair.
/understatement

Big Mike said...

More interested in Nationals vs Cardinals

chickelit said...

I gave it a watch for 15 mins but got bored with the unanimous animus towards Trump and half of America. That Bootyjudge guy was the only one who made sense there.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

we want to see an ALTHOUSE/WILLIAMSON ticket

The Professor &...Marianne !

"Compassionate Cruel Neutrality"

chickelit said...

Warren -- the "new" frontrunner -- looked downright stupid on healthcare.

rehajm said...

Trump is a criminal. What law did he break? Selective use of legal words...

How divisive they all are...

Rory said...

Nats 7, Cards 0. Second inning.

gilbar said...

Elizabeth Warren responds: "Sometimes there are issues that are bigger than politics.… Impeachment is the way that we establish that this man will not be permitted to break the law over and over without consequences."

So?
Does that mean,
that WHEN the Senate fails to vote for removal; that Trump WILL be permitted to be Trump?

rehajm said...

They’re all war mongers. Clearly no qualms about sending Americans to die in an yet another unwindable conflict. Not much talk about asking permission from Congress either...

War crminals!

gilbar said...

{sorry, one more post}
8:11 - Pete Buttigieg: "A president 10 years, or 100 years from now will look back at this moment and conclude either that no one is above the law, or that the president can get away with anything."

I'm assuming that the President mayor Buttifuc is talking about is Barry O'Bama?

J. Farmer said...

@Birkel:

Moderation may not make this a free wheeling affair.
/understatement


Always love when Birkel and I can agree on a topic wholeheartedly. What is the point of having an open forum on this topic if we have to wait for Ann or Meade to getting around to approving the comments so that 50+ comments can appear at once. I missed whatever incident led to comment moderation being turned back on, but it could it possibly have been so bad to require this ham fisted intervention. I obviously get that this is Ann's blog, and she's free to run it however she sees fit. But for christ's sake, get over yourself already.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

will they debate about the Collusion/Flynn thing?

Sidney found out about the phones--ruh roe!!
when fishing for the Deep State, use only OCONUS Lures!

Flynn lawyer @SidneyPowell1 is demanding the DOJ "produce evidence that has only recently come into [the DOJ's] possession" --
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1184211806174081024.html

The phones used by Joseph Mifsud.

PB said...

Two thing piss me off about Democrats

1. medicare for all. Medicare is a Ponzi scheme now. It needs more tax revenue today to meet current projected costs. Whatever they think medicare for all will cost, it will be 2x or more.

2. Woman's reproductive healthcare. Just say abortion. Be honest. No one is attacking prenatal, birth and post-birth care.

NCMoss said...

Cory Booker, "c'mon people now; smile on your brother - everybody get together, try to beat Donald Trump right now."

bagoh20 said...

What are they debating? Do they have any actual disagreements other than who gets to be the big loser that bears their standard of free stuff for everyone, Orange man and White people are oppressors, and all other POC are victims? That's their entire message. Will they mention the economy at all. You know that thing that affects us all every day of our lives, our potential, our comfort, and our happiness. The thing that makes America the most powerful nation, lifts our people up, and is currently the envy of the world? Have they heard of it?

Ken B said...

ARM
Running away is the new great.
The Trumpkins will have cognitive dissonance attacks over Tulsi. She correctly slams Trump for last week and correctly slams Obama, Clinton, Biden and the rest for 2011.

wildswan said...

A Dullbate

To those who are watching and commenting:
We who refused to let our brain cells die, salute you.

I swear I will take my turn and watch the next one. Certainly. Or maybe I'll try commenting without watching and see how close I can get to what is actually said while only knowing who is speaking. Pin the Meme on the Donkey

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Message in a bottle.

WK said...

Yang talked about self-driving trucks being developed by his counterparts in Silicon Valley taking jobs away from American workers. Are they also creating robot hookers to work at the truck stops to support the self driving trucks?

Michael K said...

The Chinese are watching these debates and it is not good news for Democrats.

Take your crazy somewhere else. We're all full up here,

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

I am starting to enjoy the moderation. It has vastly reduced the rate at which people impugn my character.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Lies , BS and alternate reality smothered in santa clause sauce.

Bob Smith said...

Translation: We built this trough. Our snouts are in it. Our kids snouts are going to be in it. Our grandchildren’s snouts are gonna be in it.The rest of you get busy filling it up. And keep it full, peons. Or else.

Limited blogger said...

I'm serious, Yang and Gabbard are only 2 dems who are sane.

The dem candidate for president can not be on that stage.

Big Mike said...

I am starting to enjoy the moderation. It has vastly reduced the rate at which people impugn my character.

Out of curiousity, what character would that be?

J. Farmer said...

I'm watching with my father. I think he's starting to get fed up of me pausing every two minutes and then going on a five-minute rant :)


I am starting to enjoy the moderation. It has vastly reduced the rate at which people impugn my character.

Oh grow a pair!

Limited blogger said...

Socialism only works if its paid for by Capitalism

rhhardin said...

TV is for women. Presumably it's even unwatchable to a lot of them, but enough watch to make the pretending worthwhile.

Those women drive everything. The democrats free-ride on it. All other stories get no legs because they don't draw audience numbers.

Everything starts with audience. Whatever draws audience survives.

Ken B said...

No vote on impeachment. Have they been asked to explain that? Can you explain why your party huffs and puffs but won’t vote the door down?

Shouting Thomas said...

@ARM

Non-intervention in pointless wars was one of Trump’s campaign promises. One of the reasons I voted for him.

This is one of those rare instances of a president following thru on his promises to his constituents.

Non-intervention used to be a passion of lefties. Something changed. It’s like a game of opposites.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Biden and his son are criminals - or at least money grubbing government whores --so they must call Trump a criminal. Warren lied about Darren Wilson/and Michael Brown. So - she's, well, a liar.

Imagine if the Trumps did what the Bidens or the Clintons did.

Rob said...

I'm truly sorry, but when Biden said "expodentially" he sounded like a character on "Amos 'n' Andy."

Michael said...

ARM
I see you are giddy at the U.S. humiliation in Syria. Way to go.

Jeff Brokaw said...

For me, after watching Trump in the 2015/2016 debates, everyone else is boring. I generally agree with Althouse that I just don’t like people talking politics in any setting, ever.

They all think they’re playing the JFK part in the famous Kennedy-Nixon debates—but they’re usually playing the Nixon part. Whoopsie!

I only watch GOP debates out of obligation. For Democrat debates my interest level is less than zero.

BJM said...

I hate to pile on...but moderation is killing the comments. I miss the riffing and repartee that was once a hallmark of the comments. Add a three hour time difference and it's like reading day old newspapers.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Noonan on the Bidens:

"I don’t think this is merely a “muddy the water” story. This is a story that at least half the American people understand the Hunter Biden story as a story of the swamp, the elite, buddy-buddy-ism, using your family influence to do well in life. The American people don’t like it. They have never liked it. "

(and then Chuck Todd cut her off and started whining about Trump)

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Bob Smith #

chickelit said...

rhhardin said...It's frightening to think of all that brain power right in my own neighborhood.

A dozen fragile, eggshell minds.

Big Mike said...

Nationals letting the Cards back into the game. That team will break your heart.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Our Liz finally got off a good line. There's something English about Warren's manner. She would fit easily into a Jane Austen novel.

walter said...

I give Castro credit for so deftly ignoring Cooper's mention that the vast majority of "Gun Violence" is from handguns.
Harris should make available "Dude gotta go" merch.

MacMacConnell said...

Watching the Democrat debates is like watching an auction for other peoples' money. That and hatred for Trump and the despicable people who voted for him.

Paul said...

What you had was twelve stupes who had really nothing to say except convert the USA to the Communist system. Hence they wall wanted gun control.

Trump is gonna win.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

thanks to John for the live-blog.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Beta-Billionaire-Boy called Warren "punitive" lol.
That after Beta's threats to take away your guns and your religious autonomy and the right to be charitable in the community thru your church.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Let me guess: None of them will/have talked about a plan for how to make trillionaires richer, and this really upsets the commenters.

Shouting Thomas said...

@ARM

Did Jane Austen novels often include fake Injuns?

After all your talk about Trump’s cult, you’ve become a butt kisser of a pathological liar... Liawatha.

Ken B said...

“Liz finally got off a good line. ... She would fit easily into a Jane Austen novel.”

Last of the Mohicans. And it’s actually by James Fenimore Cooper.

But you are bong on about about the title: Pride fits her, and prejudice fits her.

traditionalguy said...

They were yelling out everything said in a pretense of great sincerity. Even Buttigegg was doing it. All except Tulsi Gabbard. She has the mind and the personality of a leader. So she was treated as a threat by the Dem Media actors.

rcocean said...

LOL - Yes, why is Beto on the stage? Kick out everyone except the big five.

walter said...

Beto is still trying to slip in Spanglish here and there.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

somebody on the interwebz said this:

#DemDebate is an embarrassment. This...this is all you got? We. Are. F*cked.#

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Non-intervention in pointless wars was one of Trump’s campaign promises. One of the reasons I voted for him.

This is one of those rare instances of a president following thru on his promises to his constituents.


In what way were our 1,000 token troops in Syria "intervening?" What did they do to "intervene" in anything, other than when Trump told them to intervene in that ISIS thing?

Seems to me it's Turkey and Russia that are doing a lot of intervening there right now, thanks to Trump's willingness to roll over for them when they told him he was a good doggie.

Which cabinet member was the one who had to tell Trump the purpose of our troops in South Korea? Which was in his words "to prevent WWIII?"

Trump is permitting Russia and Turkey to do to Syria what Germany and Stalin did to Poland. Republicans hate FDR so much that they are trying to re-create the kind of strongman-take-all world that existed prior to WWII. Just encouraging every tyrant to carve up the world into little pieces for themselves. A strategy proven to be stupid by Pearl Harbor and the events of the four years that followed it.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Money For Nothin' And O M B

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Warren -- the "new" frontrunner -- looked downright stupid on healthcare.

Did she say, "Who knew it could be so complicated?" Or that the sum total of her plan for addressing it was to make it "great?"

Oh! Maybe she argued for shrinking the coverage market and raising our premiums, as Trump has done!

That would be really intelligent.

rcocean said...

I love how people complain about the moderation - EVEN THOUGH Althouse pointed out her son is live blogging and accepting real time comments.

So why very few takers? Simple, certain people don't want "quick repartee" they to want to slang back and forth with same old suspects and spam the thread.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Michael said...
I see you are giddy at the U.S. humiliation in Syria


How am I the bad guy here? Save it for Trump.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Flashback to when we had a real media:

(PS - Jeff Zucker is the Harvey Weistein of CNN.)

Watch: Tom Brokaw Nailed Joe Biden About Conflicts Concerning His Son in 2008

Any of this come out in this debate? nah.

J. Farmer said...

I love how people complain about the moderation - EVEN THOUGH Althouse pointed out her son is live blogging and accepting real time comments.

For what it's worth, my complaint about moderation is general and not just about this one particular thread. And on John's post, you're responsible for 50% of the comments. Should we therefore conclude that you want to "spam the thread?"

Narayanan said...

Blogger BleachBit-and-Hammers said...
Noonan on the Bidens ...

and then Chuck Todd cut her off and started whining about Trump)
______
If they are facing each other in arms reach she should've slapped him like his mom.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Moderation has been a brilliant innovation for this blog. You people are a bunch of whiners who have utterly failed to fully appreciate our hostess's vision.

Narayanan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

Question for folks who watched the debate. 12,000 people (39%) voted on Drudge that Tulsi Gabbard won the debate. What did she do that had them excited?

LA_Bob said...

rcocean is right.

Hey, ARM! Come on over to https://jaltcoh.blogspot.com/2019/10/live-blogging-biggest-presidential.html and have your character impugned. It'll be fun!

Michael K said...

ARM and Ritmo thread. Have fun.

J. Farmer said...

@Chief Executive Lawbreaker - Whiny Weasel Trumpkins:

In what way were our 1,000 token troops in Syria "intervening?" What did they do to "intervene" in anything, other than when Trump told them to intervene in that ISIS thing?

If China deployed a thousand troops to the US and all the requisite military hardware to back them up, would we consider that an intervention into our domestic affairs? Military deployments into a country against that country's wishes is ipso facto an interventionist. It is not just about what they are doing but what they can do.

Seems to me it's Turkey and Russia that are doing a lot of intervening there right now, thanks to Trump's willingness to roll over for them when they told him he was a good doggie.

Russia has been allied with Syria for decades, and their operations in Syria were at the behest of the Syrian government and began more than a year before Trump was elected president.

Which cabinet member was the one who had to tell Trump the purpose of our troops in South Korea? Which was in his words "to prevent WWIII?"


That was Mattis, and it was nonsensical.

Trump is permitting Russia and Turkey to do to Syria what Germany and Stalin did to Poland.

The result of Russia's actions and resources in Syria have been to return the country to its status quo ante, before the US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE attempted to overthrow Assad by giving money and funds to radical jihadists to make war on the government. That is what transmogrified into ISIS, and then the US found itself in the absurd position of trying to fight ISIS while simultaneously trying to get rid of Assad. One of Trump's few foreign policy successes was calling off the idiotic attempt by the US to try to force Assad out, which would have turned Syria over to anarchism and been a breading ground for terrorism and instability. See Libya, for example.

Shouting Thomas said...

For once, I agree with ARM, although the “you people” bit is a dumb method of communication.

The ranting fights between two or three commenters that raged on all night was boring and drove interesting commenters away.

Moderation has cut that down to an acceptable level.

Limited blogger said...

Worst debate ever. Don't think Trump has lost 1 vote here tonight.

buwaya said...

What IS the purpose of US troops in Korea?
Over the years I have heard many justifications, many plausible.
But not just one reason.
Some attached to possible wartime contingency plans.
But that sort of thing, like the mobilization plans of the Great Powers in August 1914, were not a purpose, but a mechanism.

This is nothing new - there were long-winded discussions on this in the Service journals (I was always fond of the Naval Institute "Proceedings" - https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings)

A question about the purpose of the US garrison there is just the beginning of, possibly, a fascinating multiplication of arguments, and "purposes". Any one of them dependent on a different scenario, and a different set of assumptions. In the end the only general "purpose" seems to be a desire to keep US options open.

J. Farmer said...

Moderation has been a brilliant innovation for this blog. You people are a bunch of whiners who have utterly failed to fully appreciate our hostess's vision.

Yeah, I'm certainly glad there's a schoolmarm figure who will protect me from anonymous Internet coommenters impugning my character. Otherwise I'm not sure I'd find the strength to carry on. Of course, as someone who is occasionally part of the problem by getting into long, tedious back and forths with one or two other commenters, I can appreciate how my perspective is a bit skewed. But so long as conversations stay relatively civil and don't just turn into back and forth mudslinging (which I've admittedly indulged in on occasion), I'm not that busted up about it. seems a less intrusive system would be to just delete comments when that happens with a warning not to let it happen again.

walter said...

The real solution would be allowing (dreaded?) real-time back and forth but banning those who abuse that. As it is, it's a far less interactive/conversational result.

mockturtle said...

I'd rather watch baseball.

mockturtle said...

ARM asserts: Our Liz finally got off a good line. There's something English about Warren's manner. She would fit easily into a Jane Austen novel.

That might explain why I never liked Jane Austen.

walter said...

I love hearing the party of intersectionality and class warfare claiming Trump to be the divider.

walter said...

Even NPR talkers noting how Biden was barely questioned re Ewe Crane.

mockturtle said...

Yay! Nats sweep!

BlackjohnX said...

I agree with Birkel and Farmer regarding moderation. I am basically a lurker. I enjoy the give and take, albeit most commentators are moderate or conservative in their political orientation as am I. Chuck, Inga, Pee Pee, et al, even when they repeated themselves endlessly, never really made the blog any the less interesting to visit. I'd read their initial comments and then, if they became repetitive, just scim the rest. Fen, who became deranged, was understandably banished. Moderation does nothing to improve the blog for its readers - it simply depresses lively spontaneous commentary. Most persons who comment seem to hold Althouse in high esteem and those who disagree with her positions or find her to be unduly influenced, as they see it, by her feminist and liberal leanings, still remain decorous and respectful in their comments. I vote (is this a democracy or not/sarc) for elimination of moderation with one exception. If a comm enter abuses the privilege to participate as did Fen, then he or she should be excluded.

Hagar said...

Now Bloomberg is also making noises about running.
But isn't he almost as old as Sanders?

David Begley said...

They’re all a bunch of losers.

cubanbob said...

Trump is permitting Russia and Turkey to do to Syria what Germany and Stalin did to Poland. Republicans hate FDR so much that they are trying to re-create the kind of strongman-take-all world that existed prior to WWII. Just encouraging every tyrant to carve up the world into little pieces for themselves. A strategy proven to be stupid by Pearl Harbor and the events of the four years that followed it."


Now even the Great God Of The Democrat Party gets thrown under the bus.

roesch/voltaire said...

This actually was an interesting debate that kept pressing the same questions to many to see the differences, and my choice Amy made some strong points. I. Have paid close attention to political debates and articles going all the way back to the sixties and won’t stop now. Yes

Bob said...

The format makes it impossible to have any of them say anything meaningful. How about a series of one-on-one debates, randomly paired up, 15 minutes maximum. Now they all just spout their memorized responses on a subject, totally ignoring the ridiculous questions. These farces should not be called debates.

h said...

Althouse doesn't understand Beto. Here's why. Beto is speaking in his native language and Althouse only understands English.

cubanbob said...

Just for fun the Republican's ought to run with Warren's Wealth Tax and offer an alternative called the Warren Wealth Tax. Take Warren's wealth on every December 31st as the base, subtract one thousand dollars and tax everyone that makes the grade the tax from dollar one.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Chief Executive Lawbreaker - Whiny Weasel Trumpkins said . . ."
"I am a neocon. We need Kristol and Bolton in the Oval Office, stat!"
Lol. Literally, I am laughing out loud.

William said...

I saw a good chunk of the debate. My choice would be Gabbard, but I'm not exactly in the demographic that wins Dem primaries. Yang and Kobuchar are likable. Biden isn't great but he doesn't grate. Warren grates. When Sanders gets worked up, I become apprehensive for his health. Kamala Harris lost me when she said that Trump should not be allowed to speak in public. Buttigieg seems to work too hard at being a sane, regular guy. He's poised and balanced but he holds on to his military service to maintain equilibrium. Beto is way too earnest. The other candidates didn't make much of an impression beyond inspiring a vague sense of boredom.

walter said...

Ah..looky here:

Thanks in advance for leaving relevant and respectful comments.

I don't delete comments based on whether I happen to agree with them. In fact, I especially encourage comments that disagree with me, offer a different perspective, or point out errors in what I've written. These kinds of comments enrich the blog.

I do delete comments that I consider inappropriate. In a very small number of unusual cases, I have had to ban people who regularly post inappropriate comments.

If you notice a typo in your comment after posting it, you can correct it by copying the comment, re-posting it with the error corrected, and then deleting your original comment.

— John

Nichevo said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
I am starting to enjoy the moderation. It has vastly reduced the rate at which people impugn my character.

10/15/19, 8:33 PM


No, it's the law of diminishing returns. By now pretty much everyone here except some n00bs knows you for what you are.

I wonder if you will like the moderation so well when it is applied to you for trying to destroy the blog. Maybe if you suck up more...but then you can't order her around and call her on her BS. Choices, choices...

M Jordan said...

I agree with Traditional Guy: Tulsi really seems leaderly. She makes the rest of them look cartoonish. Maybe it’s a Hawaian vibe thing or Zen or something but she stands out to me.

Narr said...

Winston Churchill! You come out from behind CEL and show yourself like a man!

But seriously, CEL thinks Syria, a construction of Western imperialism ruled by a small minority who are nutso even by Islamic-Arabic-ME standards, needs to be defended from Turkey and Russia.

Today Syria, tomorrow The World. Can't say we haven't been warned.

Narr
Some people see a bloody clusterfuck and want to jump in

Nichevo said...

You people are a bunch of whiners who have utterly failed to fully appreciate our hostess's vision.

Ah (overused but mandatory in this case), so 'tis the suckup it shall be.

Nichevo said...

ARM...Eddie Haskell...maybe you're Chuck after all!

Mark said...

Baby Shark, baby!

Shark clap!

Original Mike said...

"I am starting to enjoy the moderation. It has vastly reduced the rate at which people impugn my character."

Character? It's your intelligence that's lacking.

effinayright said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Jennifer Griffin said ...
Russian mercenaries give video tour of abandoned US base in Northern Syria, laughing at the hasty US retreat, showing unfinished meals on dining tables and heavy military equipment left behind. A Russian propaganda coup.

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

Great. We should just publish the bleatings of the remnants of the Russki mercenaries in Syria who were OBLITERATED just two years ago.

Unfinished meals as opposed to: "they murdered us."

Take yer fucking pick.

The Russkis know who the Big Dog is in the world, and it sure as shit is NOT THEM.


Original Mike said...

"Russian mercenaries give video tour of abandoned US base in Northern Syria, laughing at the hasty US retreat, showing unfinished meals on dining tables ..."

Yup, totally believable.

Mark said...

Nats going to their first World Series and the main headline in the hometown Washington Post is about effing politics!

Big Mike said...

The Nats did it! They swept the Cards!

(They waited until I gave up hope.)

Narayanan said...

Blogger BleachBit-and-Hammers said...
Noonan on the Bidens ...

and then Chuck Todd cut her off and started whining about Trump)
______
If they are facing each other in arms reach she should've slapped him like his mom.

Or Queen Liz

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...


“Blogger Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
I am starting to enjoy the moderation. It has vastly reduced the rate at which people impugn my character.”

ARM is being puckish, but I think he meant the rate people impugn his character here. It’s a big world.

John henry said...

 cubanbob said...

Everyone one of them is a Progressive ( code word for Commie).


You misspelled "fascist" Bob.

We should call a spade a spade. Progressives used to be proud to stand with Facism. They used to be proud to say that progressivism was the American style for Fascism. They used to admire how Mussolini "made the trains run on time"

Now the disavow fascism, though in name only.

We need to bring them into the sunlight.

John Henry

walter said...


feminist next door
‏ @emrazz
1h1 hour ago

Sorry Tulsi, when I see people who vote not just in spite of - but in support of - racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, anti semitism, rapists, nazis, dictators, mass shooters, kids in cages, and literal genocide...I see deplorables.
43 replies 121 retweets 1,017 likes
GEN by Medium
‏Verified account @GENmag
2h2 hours ago

I *hate* that Tulsi calls abortion one of the "most difficult decisions" women have to make. It's often...just not. Take that 90s safe/legal/rare bullshit out the door. #DemDebate

Narayanan said...

All except Tulsi Gabbard. She has the mind and the personality of a leader. So she was treated as a threat by the Dem Media actors.
_________
When will D's figure out she's ringer for Trump and use her for speed-bag and sparring!?

walter said...

Shocking that ARM would want restriction on speech.
Shocking!

Churchy LaFemme: said...

So why very few takers? Simple, certain people don't want "quick repartee" they to want to slang back and forth with same old suspects and spam the thread.

"slang back and forth" ==> chat

"Same Old Suspects" ==> community

"spam the thread" ==> socialize

FTFY

eddie willers said...

I'm truly sorry, but when Biden said "expodentially" he sounded like a character on "Amos 'n' Andy."

He and da Kingfish are getting into the rare chinchilla business making coats to sell to Ukrainians.

Bay Area Guy said...

These clowns couldn't manage the night shift at your local AM-PM Mini Mart. It is an embarrassment for every single person on that stage to believe they should be President of this great country. Yang & Tulsi are the only decent ones, and that's grading on a curve.

Fuck 'em. They are gonna face a world of hurt next spring.

walter said...

At 12:19 am sans update:
"Brilliant!"

Crazy World said...

Go President Trump 2020!
Shout out to my Hawai’i girl Tulsi for shoving some Aloha down their throats.

Mary Beth said...

There's something English about Warren's manner. She would fit easily into a Jane Austen novel.

Mr. William Collins

Kevin said...

If a comm enter abuses the privilege to participate as did Fen, then he or she should be excluded.

And the only way to do this is ... moderation.

400-count threads of name calling stopped being interesting in AOL dial-up chat rooms.

Kevin said...

Shorter Dem Debate: The only Republican I can stand is dead.

jaydub said...

"What IS the purpose of US troops in Korea?"

They serve as a trip wire that keeps the North Koreans on the correct side of the DMZ.

tds said...

9:20 - Kamala Harris says there are 4 winners from Trump's Syria policy: "Russia, Assad, Iran, and ISIS."

You get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car!!!

If there are 4 candidates to take a prize, isn't it obvious they will immediately start a war between them? A cop dealing with gangs should understand that.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

oesch/voltaire said...
This actually was an interesting debate that kept pressing the same questions to many to see the differences


I agree it was a very well run debate. The questioners didn't grandstand and largely stayed in the background.

Drago said...

ARM: "I agree it was a very well run debate. The questioners didn't grandstand and largely stayed in the background."

Thats because they are all on the same team which is why the media has lost all credibility with the vast majority of the nation.

Andersen Cooper sounded like a Biden campaign staffer in the Spin Room, not that it matters in terms of stopping Bidens collapse.

The good news for Sleepy Creepy Corrupt Joey is the rest of the relevant pack are insane socialists so the big dem donors keep their fingers crossed while holding their breath!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...


J Farmer takes idiot Ritmo to School.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The "no war" left is now the "endless war left"

Bruce Hayden said...

From my point of view, all the Dems have left are the corruptocrats, with the geriatric corruptocrats naturally in the lead, a couple of semi sane youngsters (Tulsi, Buttplug), and crazy Beto. If the Dems were smart, they would put Tulsi up against Trump. The people calling the shots there are too corrupt for that. Which means, I think that their nominee is almost assured to be one of their corruptocrats. Probably one of their geriatric ones (Biden, Warren, Sanders). Of the three, Warren has the most staying power, and can try to pull the Crooked Hillary claim of being the first cis Female President. The other two have their obvious health issues, and of the entire crowd the only one who can probably claim Biden’s level of corruption would be billionaire Tom Steyer. Or, Crooked Hillary could jump in. She is even more corrupt, and probably has even more health issues, so why not?

The two to watch in the future are Tulsi and Buttplug. Both are young, bright, and do not appear to be as visibly, noxiously, corrupt as the rest of them (which is what the Dems really need to beat Trump, but have already been bought off). I would give her the edge there - she is hot and smart. He is, when he isn’t campaigning, grossly mismanaging the city he is the mayor for. This isn’t going to get better, since he is too progressive to do much of anything that would help the situation.

MadisonMan said...

I don't mind moderation one bit. If you're complaining, and you interacted with the more poisonous commenters that are the reason for moderation, then just go look in the mirror.

Big Mike said...

. How am I the bad guy here?

@ARM, wherever you go you are the bad guy. After all these years you should be used to it.

For all of you who commented on Gabbard, thanks for answering my question from last night (9:39). It says a lot about the Democrat Party in Hawaii the Hirono is a Senator and Gabbard but a member of the House.

MadTownGuy said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

"I agree it was a very well run debate. The questioners didn't grandstand and largely stayed in the background."

The moderators are holding back until the Orange Man/D (Rigged) debates.

Narr said...

Can't watch those people. Prof's excerpt gave me flashbacks to student council elections in high-school-- the same smarmy suckups trying to look adult and informed, the same vague grandiose solutions to made-up problems, the same self-satisfied assurance that the peons thirst for their leadership.

I'd hate to see anything bad happen to TG or AY, but what an opportunity for a crazed anarchist bombthrower was lost . . .

Speaking of anarchy, as a libertarian I regret but understand why the Prof has had to assert her ownership rights by imposing moderation.

Narr
IMO only a few worthwhile posters have left since the new policy

Narr said...

Can't watch those people. Prof's excerpt gave me flashbacks to student council elections in high-school-- the same smarmy suckups trying to look adult and informed, the same vague grandiose solutions to made-up problems, the same self-satisfied assurance that the peons thirst for their leadership.

I'd hate to see anything bad happen to TG or AY, but what an opportunity for a crazed anarchist bombthrower was lost . . .

Speaking of anarchy, as a libertarian I regret but understand why the Prof has had to assert her ownership rights by imposing moderation.

Narr
IMO only a few worthwhile posters have left since the new policy

mockturtle said...

What I dislike about the new moderation is that so many comments are held up and then released all at once and I'd prefer to read just a few at a time instead of 50-100. Other than that, it's OK and at least prevents the tedious bickering.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I don't know what Fen did but Fen was great IMO. And the moderation sucks which is plain to see though the Althouse suckups say it is better.

MarkThomas said...

“In either case, I do not like the lack of spontaneity in the comments, but I appreciate the fact that annoying and stupid commenters cannot dominate this space.”

Yet here you are.

LA_Bob said...

JAC did a pretty good job blogging the debate. Must have been exhausting.

wildswan said...

If Warren were in an English novel it be as The Signora Vesey Neroni, (an unscrupulous Englishwoman pretending to have been married to a descendant of the Emperor Nero who tries to gain control of the wealth of another character in order to enrich her own family.)

Marc in Eugene said...

Mr William Collins

Thought of him, too. But I suspect he'd never get caught semi-dressed, anywhere or by anyone, even Mrs Collins.

I usually get to the longer comments threads on the morning after, so moderation doesn't much change my experience of them.

I know that Blogger allows that there be other, secondary authors, co-bloggers; I don't know if being a 'co-author' or whatever it is called entails access to the comments moderation buttons or not. If it does, Althouse might rope an esteemed, long-time commenter or two into doing comments moderation: my understanding is that 99% of the time it not a question of content but of people who are black-listed, and there are (I believe) long-timers who are retired or have otherwise some time on their hands. On the other hand of course, AA may prefer the current style.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

re: moderation
Discipline and self control would alleviate much of the need.
As we have mentioned before, any right-leaning forum/community will be in one way or another 'assigned' disruptors to sow discord. They are not posting to 'win hearts and minds' or convincingly debate topics. They are malicious, not honest brokers nor operate in good-faith. In certain cases they are bots, not humans.They are there to slide the thread, suck up attention, and break the harmony.
Their power is derived from their target's weakness-- lack of discipline and the perverse aspect in human nature that compels us to touch when we see the "Wet Paint--Do Not Touch" sign.

*******
from "The Left’s War on Comment Sections" an interesting character emerges:

Consider Guardian columnist Jessica Valenti, the most recent commentator to complain about the “noxious thoughts” and “sea of garbage” in the comments section.

But Valenti is paid to write deliberately inflammatory columns, with titles like “Feminists don’t hate men, but it wouldn’t matter if we did.” She is also notorious for wearing a shirt bearing the slogan “I bathe in male tears.” Valenti is a great example of what one savvy blogger called an “above-the-line troll.” She may write columns rather than comments, but, like any troll, her words are designed to inflame and antagonise.


https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2015/10/27/the-lefts-war-on-comment-sections/

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ann Althouse said...

Moderation became necessary because of about 5 to 10 bad actors. No one person deserves “credit.” It was a cumulative effect and we just don’t accept it as a way we want to live anymore.