Althouse: At the Paintbrush Café...

November 13, 2019

At the Paintbrush Café...

... pick your topic.

120 comments:

Yancey Ward said...: For those interested, you can find an updating transcript of today's hearing right here.

I have read the entire thing so far (as of right now, we are 4 minutes into Stefanik's time).

This was a disaster for Schiff from what I have read. Even Jeffrey Toobin understood that today. I guess we will now hear from Taylor's aide who Taylor claimed to have claimed to overhear a phonecall between Sondland and Trump- that was the only new thing learned today from either witness that I have read so far. So, did Sondland put the phone on speaker when talking to Trump? If not, then the aide's testimony is also just going to be more hearsay and opinion.

I don't know what Pelosi is going to do. Schiff no doubt led off with his best two witnesses, and I kind of doubted that Vindman would be allowed to testify again given how bad his private testimony went, but Schiff may have no choice but to roll the dice..; 11/13/19, 7:26 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I will finishing reading it tonight if they finish the transcription.; 11/13/19, 7:27 PM
Sprezzatura said...: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U99d9_hqyQE; 11/13/19, 7:31 PM
madAsHell said...: When I was younger, some of the neighbors had black porter porch dolls. The dolls were about two-feet tall. They all had distinctive lips, and noses. They were deemed racist sometime in the mid-60's.

Some of the neighbors painted the porch porters white. Yeah.....porch porters in white face......that didn't work either.; 11/13/19, 7:32 PM
steve uhr said...: Maybe Trump or Bolton or Mulvaney or Giuliani or Perry will be called by the minority to the explain why it’s ok for trump to engage in foreign policy on behalf of himself and not the country.; 11/13/19, 7:33 PM
madAsHell said...: I see they should be called lawn jockeys.; 11/13/19, 7:36 PM
Ken B said...: Hearsay, the *best* that evidence can be

https://mobile.twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1194715834092019712; 11/13/19, 7:36 PM
Ken B said...: Yancey
Thanks for taking one for the team. From what I read highlights include
- a main witness saying Trump did the right thing (ie the investigation was needed)
- a main witness saying Trump didn’t make any inappropriate deal (no quid pro quo)
- a Democrat insisting that hearsay evidence is better than direct evidence

In a serious country that would end things. Even Vyshinsky would give up.; 11/13/19, 7:41 PM
narciso said...: In other news:

https://babalublog.com/2019/11/13/what-took-place-in-bolivia-was-not-a-military-coup/; 11/13/19, 7:41 PM
narciso said...: Odd how all they have is hearsay

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6003585-Rosemont-Seneca-Bohai-Bank-Records-Listing.html?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&fbclid=IwAR1Ji70E0srVY8BVZsRTdyTmsgTNLbWgQCfgH-FBajrlMwmPNx1QvWt7jbk; 11/13/19, 7:43 PM
tim in vermont said...: Maybe Trump or Bolton or Mulvaney or Giuliani or Perry will be called by the minority to the explain why it’s ok for trump to engage in foreign policy on behalf of himself and not the country.

If you explain to me how this happened, keeping in mind that Ukraine did interfere in our election in 2016, I will be happy to join your pressure campaign.; 11/13/19, 7:46 PM
Big Mike said...: @Yancey, thanks for the link. Since Sunday I have been deluged by texts and Email messages imploring me to stick it to Schiff and the Democrats by contributing to Trump's reelection campaign. I gather that he is raising money hand over fist because of these hearings.

In the end there are three groups of people looking at these hearings. The hard core lefties have made up their minds that that Trump is guilty of coercing Ukraine into investigating the Bidens and they don't need no stinkin' evidence, so there. People such as myself think that the Democrats are pretty much just wasting their time trying to protect Biden père et fils, and further trying to hamstring Trump so he cannot further improve the American economy and succeed in his foreign policy initiatives, and we are not persuadable otherwise. There is a third group, which probably accounts for 40% to 50% of next year's electorate, who have been persuaded that perhaps with all the hyperventilating and the totally one-sided spin by the media there might really be something there, but they want to see proof and they want to see fairness. If Schiff and the Democrats fail at that, then they have totally hosed themselves in the coming Congressional elections as well as the Presidential election.; 11/13/19, 7:48 PM
tim in vermont said...: Maybe steve uhr can explain why it is ok for the former Veep to project an air of corruption by setting his son up to collect graft from struggling young democracies.; 11/13/19, 7:49 PM
tim in vermont said...: I am not even worried about this anymore afer today.; 11/13/19, 7:50 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Big M,

When you described the middle type (like you), you forgot to mention how good looking those folks are, in addition to mental infallibility.; 11/13/19, 7:56 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: dont bristle, or brush this aside

Leaked documents from the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office indicate complex money transfers from foreign sources into the control of a “slush fund” owned and operated by Devon Archer, John Kerry Senior, John Kerry Junior, Heinz Jr, and Hunter Biden.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1194782001422721024.html; 11/13/19, 7:58 PM
narciso said...: Heh:

https://bostonherald.com/2019/11/12/howie-carr-is-deval-patrick-joking-hes-running-for-president/%3Cblockquote%3EHowie; 11/13/19, 8:09 PM
stevew said...: I've got an elliptically shaped turned bowl on my dresser that holds my coins from the day. That thing is decidedly more interesting and, dare I say, campy.

On a side note, my using of cash, including coins, in the company cafe is an outlier among my younger, millennial, coworkers. When I present said cash for payment they all say, "OK BOOMER", but with their inside voice and silently so I'm not meant to feel shame or embarrassment.

Which is nice.; 11/13/19, 8:11 PM
narciso said...: See the resemblance:

https://donsurber.blogspot.com/2019/11/310-vindmans-how-democrats-conned.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR0OF2aaoXsH_ncwF5PEUZ9bc8Wau3e_F2De8O-Tagyug5-zIKU-4IntjhM&m=1; 11/13/19, 8:11 PM
Lokesh Umak said...: Well decorated cafe; 11/13/19, 8:43 PM
wild chicken said...: Thread Reader no worrrk.; 11/13/19, 8:44 PM
narciso said...: The gist is my link at 7:43; 11/13/19, 8:48 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: works for us; 11/13/19, 8:52 PM
Lawrence Person said...: Joe Rogan on California's homeless problem.

And me on Austin's version of same.; 11/13/19, 8:58 PM
gilbar said...: Democrat Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) on evidence:
"Hearsay can be much better evidence than direct ... and it's certainly valid in this instance"
Much Better! since it's not cluttered up with facts!; 11/13/19, 8:59 PM
narciso said...: Yes its the financial recordsplus a passagge from shokins deposition,btw where do you think burisma has assets besides the caucasus, would you believe italy?; 11/13/19, 9:08 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: or watch the teaser vid:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1194750788502835200; 11/13/19, 9:09 PM
narciso said...: Oh really:

https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/navy-says-it-never-got-a-trump-order-to-stop-patrols-in-black-sea-1.607116?fbclid=IwAR2x2iN8Ec41loHklaZwbVCIRU5wtJeWHhtp_v-wPyDzoSdeBMvAzjg_Etw#.XcyhnJ03xZ8.facebook; 11/13/19, 9:16 PM
Michael K said...: steve uhr said...
Maybe Trump or Bolton or Mulvaney or Giuliani or Perry will be called by the minority to the explain why it’s ok for trump to engage in foreign policy on behalf of himself and not the country.

Poor steve. He is trying to understand why it is in Trump's personal interest that Ukraine now, finally, has lethal aid to resist Russian aggression. Steve, you're gonna have to explain that to us.; 11/13/19, 9:18 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Kink Tut !!

Clinton WhistleBlower: FEDS Probe Adam Schiff Dressed like Egyptian at Bizarre “Sacrafice” Parties at Ed Buck’s Meth Mansion

https://truepundit.com/clinton-whistleblower-feds-probe-adam-schiff-dressed-like-egyptian-at-bizarre-sacrafice-parties-at-ed-bucks-meth-mansion/; 11/13/19, 9:18 PM
narciso said...: And from someone in the business:

https://pjmedia.com/trending/the-real-mystery-about-caramella-and-vindman/?fbclid=IwAR1vQrtCbw66ohHMjeIAH2NSf0E5Zzb6ooJAa5w4nY4vEPi3T3dt6cGJsB8; 11/13/19, 9:18 PM
narciso said...: Finally they got competent people to run this op, sarc

https://mobile.twitter.com/JebSprague/status/1194710802168610816; 11/13/19, 9:24 PM
MacMacConnell said...: That cafe figurine isn't a jockey, it's a fox hunter. It wasn't originally meant to hold change, it's a business card holder. I have one on my desk with a fox's head. They also come with fox hound heads.

Oh! And Shiff and the Dems shit the bed today. Trump 2020!; 11/13/19, 9:35 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: Hi-ku and bye-ku for Deval Patrick:

You got started late
It doesn't really matter
You'll finish early; 11/13/19, 9:36 PM
Drago said...: Has Steve Uhr ever apologized for completely buying into the hoax russia collusion lies and the hoax dossier and the hoax gang rape charges against Kavanaugh and the hoax emoluments lies told by him and his dem pals?

Asking for sentient people everywhere.; 11/13/19, 9:39 PM
Sprezzatura said...: https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/5D0395BE-0645-11EA-94A5-1BADAC491F3B?__twitter_impression=true; 11/13/19, 9:40 PM
narciso said...: Well well:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.dailycaller.com/2019/11/13/joseph-mifsud-audio-recording; 11/13/19, 9:45 PM
Michael K said...: Peanut posts about the deficit. The Democrats let Reagan win the Cold War as long he let them spend.

The Democrats now want to impeach Trump so badly they will not even address the trade issue.

Personally, I think there will have to be a mass economic collapse before anything happens. No politician wants to stop buying votes .

Peanut is obviously not serious. Just another leftist concern troll.; 11/13/19, 9:48 PM
narciso said...: Marketwatch ought to call itselfmarket oiuja they are that bad.; 11/13/19, 9:50 PM
walter said...: Quite the brushcut.; 11/13/19, 9:51 PM
Sprezzatura said...: https://nypost.com/2019/11/13/new-proposed-tax-cuts-may-not-be-helping-national-debt/amp/?__twitter_impression=true; 11/13/19, 9:57 PM
Gahrie said...: Re: The clip on Homelessness with Joe Rogan (I love his podcast by the way, interesting guests and they have interesting conversations)

They couldn't understand why homelessness was such a big problem out here, and not back East. They stumbled across one reason, the weather, and then quickly moved on.

A second reason is the fact that California gives a bigger welfare check than other states. It doesn't go as far as less money does in other places, but we aren't talking about deep thinkers here.

A third reason is that a lot of places back East will give the chronic homeless bus tickets to California.

That is why California has 30% of the country's welfare recipients, but only 10% of the population.

Top all of this off with the insane regulations and policies the Democrats have placed on building new homes and apartments...and you get rampant homelessness.

Instead of fixing the problem, the Democrats simply make it worse.; 11/13/19, 9:59 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Gahrie:

The issue of homelessness in California is what sparked the infamous exchange between Gavin Newsom and Adam Carolla when the then lieutenant governor appeared on Carolla's podcast. You can listen to it here.; 11/13/19, 10:05 PM
narciso said...: Living in realville:

https://mobile.twitter.com/LeeSmithDC/status/1194819301066387457; 11/13/19, 10:10 PM
J. Farmer said...: For those interested, you can find an updating transcript of today's hearing right here.

No, thanks.

I am a bit of a news junkie but haven't managed to give one damn about this story. It's just the sort of stupid political theater the Establishment likes to portray as essential to our existence as a democracy when it's really little more than a pissing contest between two corrupt sides jockeying for power and influence. The media is playing its role as the court stenographer, and the politicians are playing their role as the jester. Nothing could be more banal. What they are trying to impeach Trump for is merely a MacGuffin.; 11/13/19, 10:10 PM
Jerry Goedken said...: From today’s hearing, how can someone like Ambassador George Kent not be aware of CrowdStrike? Does he live in such a closed bubble? When I heard this exchange, I thought I heard it wrong. Thanks Yancy for posting the transcript.
Daniel Goldman: (33:53)
Now when he talks about this CrowdStrike in a server, what do you understand this to be a reference to?
Mr. Kent: (34:01)
To be honest, I had not heard of CrowdStrike until I read this transcript on September 25th.; 11/13/19, 10:13 PM
narciso said...: The relationship between the ukraine and mother russia is complex to say the least, you have the aftermathof the wars with turkey, you have petluras the holomodor therise of the oun, etc etc.; 11/13/19, 10:15 PM
narciso said...: Of course you have sander and cortez backing morales.; 11/13/19, 10:19 PM
J. Farmer said...: Now might be a good time to trot out the leaked phone conversation between Victoria Nuland (a Clintonite career State Department employee married to Robert Kagan) and the then US Ambassador to Ukraine back in January 2014. They were publicly musing over who should be the next Ukrainian PM following Yanukovych's ouster.; 11/13/19, 10:22 PM
narciso said...: Crowdstrike is the fulcrum, its analytics not the bureaus were the ones they telied to claim russian intrusion, but the code is not uniquely russian and certainly not exclusive to the fsb.; 11/13/19, 10:23 PM
J. Farmer said...: @narciso:

Of course you have sander and cortez backing morales.

I am curious to get your take on the Bolivia situation. I get the impression from you that you've never met a military-backed Latin American coup you didn't like. But I am open to being pleasantly surprised.; 11/13/19, 10:24 PM
narciso said...: And there isnt amarxist regime you have a problem with, in fact you considered voting for a trotskyite.; 11/13/19, 10:29 PM
narciso said...: Now one could make the argument, its damgerous to offer ukraine weapons like the javelins, but that isnt being done.; 11/13/19, 10:36 PM
narciso said...: You miss the point of salvation

https://www.dailywire.com/news/english-singer-threatens-canceling-halftime-thanksgiving-nfl-show-unless-salvation-army-makes-pledge-or-donation-to-lgbt-community; 11/13/19, 10:38 PM
J. Farmer said...: And there isnt amarxist regime you have a problem with, in fact you considered voting for a trotskyite.

Depends on what you mean by "have a problem with." Do I agree with them? No. Do I care how Bolivians wish to organize their society? No.

in fact you considered voting for a trotskyite.

Who precisely are you referring to? If it's Peter Hitchens, the topic the last time you brought up "Trotskyite," a few points: (1) I have never considered voting for him; (2) Peter long ago renounced Trotskyism as a youthful dalliance; (3) Yes, Peter's brand of economic nationalism, non-interventionism, and social conservatism is a brand I subscribe to. They are correct positions even if the person advocating them was or is a Trotskyist.; 11/13/19, 10:40 PM
J. Farmer said...: @narciso:

p.s. If military coups are such a wonderful remedy for bad policies, why don't you advocate for them here?; 11/13/19, 10:43 PM
walter said...: If Trump doesn't fully deliver on immigration in first highly contested term, of course, Bernie is worth considering...; 11/13/19, 10:45 PM
narciso said...: For sixty years, we have gone to practically every satrap and vilayet except the one in our front porch.; 11/13/19, 10:45 PM
narciso said...: I confuse sanders on thiscoast with corbyn across the pond.; 11/13/19, 10:47 PM
narciso said...: If demography is such that standard political methods cannot sustain the republuc...; 11/13/19, 10:48 PM
narciso said...: Republic, and not mere ethnic demography but ideological.; 11/13/19, 10:49 PM
J. Farmer said...: Republic, and not mere ethnic demography but ideological.

Ethnic demography and ideology actually track each other quite well. There is a reason that most libertarian types are smart white guys and most statists are single white moms and ethnic minorities. Latin America is a poster child for why diversity is not a strength. Iberian-Americans and Indigenous Americans are not really capable of sharing political space without either conflict or violent oppression.; 11/13/19, 10:53 PM
narciso said...: Wellconsider europe they were tracking left even before the demographic influxoftge 70s; 11/13/19, 10:57 PM
daskol said...: This must be one of the all time highest blog posting days. All the non-impeachment news Althouse cares to post about. It’s a lot!; 11/13/19, 10:57 PM
daskol said...: That paintbrush face is amazing, maybe my favorite non-impeachment thing I’ve seen today except perhaps for the Werner Herzog post, which while posted yesterday, is timeless.; 11/13/19, 11:00 PM
walter said...: Via Drudge, did Los Angeles mag Photoshop a chin onto Schiff?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJRIVgpUEAE3OPj?format=png&name=small; 11/13/19, 11:02 PM
Sprezzatura said...: No more Cedarford.

But, we gots Farm, and many others.

BTW, he forgot some racist jabber. The Chi-com elimination of “others” is why they can smoke us. Not cause of con cons (like obfuscation) that we’re* cooked.

Math is tricky.

* the royal “we.”; 11/13/19, 11:06 PM
Jeff Brokaw said...: J Farmer: thanks for that podcast link, that was a fantastic listen. Carolla killed. Several LOLs from me.; 11/13/19, 11:07 PM
J. Farmer said...: @narciso:

Wellconsider europe they were tracking left even before the demographic influxoftge 70s

Certainly, but I think that was more a function of industrialization, and the inevitable economic inequalities it will produce. There really is no modern industrialized state that does not have a mixed economy. Rich societies will always produce a welfare state. But again, degree matters.

This is a world map based on degree of ethnic diversity. T>This is world map of the UN's Human Development Index. I think the patterns are quite striking.; 11/13/19, 11:07 PM
walter said...: ADS, master of communication..; 11/13/19, 11:09 PM
walter said...: *stuff
etc
Anywho; 11/13/19, 11:09 PM
narciso said...: China has a problem, going back hundred hundred,hundred fifty years a durable political philosophy.; 11/13/19, 11:11 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Jeff Brokaw:

J Farmer: thanks for that podcast link, that was a fantastic listen. Carolla killed. Several LOLs from me.

Welcome. Believe it or not, Carolla was a huge intellectual influence on me. When I was in high school during the second half of the 1990s, I always listened to the radio program Loveline that he co-hosted with Dr. Drew Pinsky. They would often take calls from teens with very disturbed home lives and backgrounds, and both would consistently push the notion that single-parenthood was a driving factor in so much childhood maladjustment. I had decided to pursue psychology as a career during my freshman year in high school, and listening to that show influenced my decision to work with troubled youths.; 11/13/19, 11:11 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Altrighthouse; 11/13/19, 11:14 PM
Gahrie said...: The issue of homelessness in California is what sparked the infamous exchange between Gavin Newsom and Adam Carolla when the then lieutenant governor appeared on Carolla's podcast. You can listen to it here.

Thanks for the link. I enjoy listening to Adam when I get the chance. (How far he and Jimmy have come) Newsome makes an incredible statement given today's politics: "President Obama has incarcerated more immigrants than any president in history".; 11/13/19, 11:15 PM
J. Farmer said...: China has a problem, going back hundred hundred,hundred fifty years a durable political philosophy.

That sentence lends itself to at least a half dozen interpretations and consequently, I have no idea exactly what point you are trying to make. Why you are so averse to communicating beyond a sentence or two is beyond me. Is it merely a gimmick, or is there some deeper reason?; 11/13/19, 11:15 PM
walter said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/13/19, 11:15 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Something is beyond Farm?

Shocking!; 11/13/19, 11:19 PM
J. Farmer said...: Thanks for the link. I enjoy listening to Adam when I get the chance. (How far he and Jimmy have come) Newsome makes an incredible statement given today's politics: "President Obama has incarcerated more immigrants than any president in history".

Occasionally Newsom would commit a Kinsley gaffe and get caught telling the truth. Their full conversation, which you can listen to here, has some enlightening moments from Newsom. I have never really cared for Newsom since the time he injected himself into the same-sex marriage debate in the most obnoxious, self-aggrandizing way imaginable. If Newsom showed up to a casting call for a slick, shallow politician, he'd be turned away at the door for being too cliche.; 11/13/19, 11:21 PM
J. Farmer said...: @anti-de Sitter space:

Something is beyond Farm?

Shocking!

I have a few talents, but unfortunately mind reading is not one of them ;); 11/13/19, 11:21 PM
J. Farmer said...: @anti-de Sitter space:

By the way, I appreciated the kind words during the Veteran's Day back-and-forth. Compliments tend to make me uncomfortable, and I am much more at ease when being attacked rather than praised, but I appreciated it nonetheless.; 11/13/19, 11:25 PM
Milwaukie guy said...: See Congressman Paul Gosar's tweets on Ace. Epstein didn't kill himself.

My Bernie-bro son pointed out that the Epstein meme is big on both the right and the Bernie left. Finally, something that unites us. Disgust at the rot at the center of our Republic.; 11/13/19, 11:33 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: Via Drudge, did Los Angeles mag Photoshop a chin onto Schiff?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJRIVgpUEAE3OPj?format=png&name=small

It looks like he has a pair of testicles growing out of his chin.; 11/13/19, 11:38 PM
Yancey Ward said...: They definitely photoshopped integrity into the body of the article.; 11/13/19, 11:44 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Farm,

I like balance. = less uninteresting (at least).

That balance is often you. As much as there is any balance re here, as Althouse works to crush speech/typing from alt-alt POVs.

Anywho praising race based screeds re black folks and Hispanics v Jews and Asians doesn’t get my juices flowing, cause I’m not a racist who is easily manipulated. No squirrel chasing fer me. Different strokes fer diff folks.; 11/14/19, 12:08 AM
Drago said...: anti-de Sitter: "Altrighthouse

Dont forget to reference Russian backers of Althouse, Macedonian server farms amplifying Althouseblog, Althouse's connections to wikileaks, and the rape gangs Althouse led across the WI plains.

Its important not to neglect any elements from the entire battery of lunatic lefty conspiracies that are necessary to justify the stalinist behavior.; 11/14/19, 12:12 AM
Sprezzatura said...: Drag,

Worse than those things: she’s anti-donut!

Carbs are like Mexicans. Build a wall.; 11/14/19, 12:23 AM
Drago said...: I'm just glad to have learned that not only have our Beria-buddies on the left turned 500 years of law on its head by demanding the accused "prove a negative" in their secret star chamber proceedings but also that hearsay "evidence" is totally better than any of that icky direct and proveable actual evidence.

Of course, one must always bear in mind these are the same people who tell us men can become women and have babies and menstruate simply by wishing it were so....and also tell us babies arent really human until after the birth and the doctor and mother decide to allow the baby to live.

So take it all for what it is worth.; 11/14/19, 12:38 AM
Ralph L said...: radio program Loveline

I saw it on MTv before I found it on radio. Dr Drew would pick up on the (abused) little girl voice or the pothead giggle right quick. Nice that MTv did something to undo the social damage the rest of their programming caused or encouraged.; 11/14/19, 1:14 AM
Crazy World said...: Awe Steve uhl yep President Trump just hates America. MAGA; 11/14/19, 1:40 AM
BlackjohnX said...: @Farmer@Narciso: I've given up on trying to read and understand Narciso. He is usually unintelligible (spelling and grammar a constant challenge) and his short pronouncements assume background knowledge not necessarily in evidence on the part of his readers. His twitter links would be better served if he posted his thoughts, not the link itself (of course, then, there would still be the problem aforementioned). It is obvious he is well read and intelligent, just not a very good communicator - at least as I interpret things. He and Cannonballs compete for the most difficult to understand postings.; 11/14/19, 2:43 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: There are 3 big waves, swirling about the treacherous political seas, possibly 4:

1. The Schiff/Pelosi/AOC impeachment push.
2. The IG Report/ Durham investigation
3. The 2020 Election;
4. The replacement of RBG on SCOTUS

Ideally, 1 & 2 would be a wash. Schiff's kangaroo court looks like it's about to fizzle, while IG Horowitz is diligent, but refuses to hit the DOJ/FBI too hard. I read somewhere that McCabe is gonna walk free. Bummer. But if it negates 1, then I can live with it.

As for 3, the only recent incumbent Presidents to lose reelection bids were Bush 1 (1992) and Jimmy Carter (1980) and since "It's The Economy, Stupid!", DJT should easily win in 2020 and, naturally, should pick the next SCOTUS under 4, without some maniacally crazy Kavanaugh-like jihad attack by the Left, who remain addicted to abortion and Roe v Wade.

However, we live in strange times. The Left freaks out when they lose, but their allies and enablers consider it normal or necessary. So, we just gotta wait, ride out the storms and see how they play out.; 11/14/19, 4:12 AM
rhhardin said...: Bloomberg Calls for Complete and Total Chicken Ban to End the Scourge of Popeye’s Related Violence

https://www.thederringer.com/
is back online.; 11/14/19, 5:02 AM
J. Farmer said...: @anti-de Sitter space:

Anywho praising race based screeds re black folks and Hispanics v Jews and Asians doesn’t get my juices flowing, cause I’m not a racist who is easily manipulated. No squirrel chasing fer me. Different strokes fer diff folks.

I honestly have no idea what the word "racist" is supposed to mean anymore. So when you say, "I'm not a racist," I have no idea what you are trying to convey to me.

Here's the thing. Personally, I am a bohemian cosmopolitan. My mother spent a large part of her childhood in the UK, our family traveled internationally, and I have lived in rural villages where I was the only pale-faced English-speaker for many miles. My husband is half-Chinese and half-Thai. My childhood best friend is Puerto Rican. My adult best friend is ethic Chinese but born and raised in Malaysia. I spent at least 15 years in a career that had me in the homes, detention centers, foster facilities, jails, prisons, rehabs, and psychiatric wards living with a population that was disproportionately minority (i.e. black and Hispanic). While this may have a tinge of, "some of my best friends are black," I bring it all up only to point out that this would seem like a very odd confluence of choices for someone who had some kind of irrational hatred or disliking of members of certain races.

The honest answer is, any halfway moral person with half a brain understands a basic truth: you judge individuals on their individual merit and not on their group affiliation. Every subgroup, whether based on language, ethnicity, religion, race, nationality, or sexual orientation, contains humans of every stripe. Good/bad, smart/dumb, sociable/unsociable, smart/dumb. Group affiliation generally is not a good way to judge an individual's character.

That said, there is a fundamental difference between discussing individuals and discussing groups. A group is simply the sum total of all the individuals in that group. There are many blacks who are smart, considerate, and likable. Unfortunately, among blacks, they are a minority. There is reason that the US and Canada are far ahead of Latin America in terms of development. North America was dominated by Anglo-Protestants while Latin America is a hodge podge of Southern Europeans, Indigenous Americans, and sub-Saharan Africans. What we call "Hispanics" are basically some combination of these three ancestries. And miraculously, as Hispanics come to dominate in places like southern California and south Florida, they bring all of the problems of the third world with them. You do not become American simply by virtue of living on the soil. Tiny thought experiment, imagine that you took the population of Japan and the population of Nigeria, and switched them. Guess what? Nigeria would thrive, and Japan would regress.; 11/14/19, 5:02 AM
Mr. Forward said...: There are racists that are smart, considerate and likable. Unfortunately among racists they are a minority.; 11/14/19, 5:28 AM
tim in vermont said...: You know... “parlous” takes fewer characters in Twitter than “perilous” so look for a comeback. Like “limn” it’ is a good Twitter word. Another one might be “eft."; 11/14/19, 5:41 AM
gilbar said...: J Farme
Thanx for the infamous exchange between Gavin Newsom and Adam Carolla
that was Most entertaining!

Anybody can eat at IHOP; but it takes COURAGE to pay the bill; 11/14/19, 5:42 AM
Browndog said...: I'll say it again-

Anyone that puts stock in the Horowitz IG report is a fool. All he's done so far is provide cover for the democrats and never-Trumpers to run rough shot over Trump and the MAGA movement.; 11/14/19, 5:46 AM
tim in vermont said...: Since “racist” is a smear that flies around all the time for little to no reason, I don’t trust anybody’s judgement as to whether another person is racist, since mostly it seems to mean that you won’t vote for some Democrat regardless of any other good reasons not to vote for that Democrat.; 11/14/19, 5:49 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Leaked documents from the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office indicate complex money transfers from foreign sources into the control of a “slush fund” owned and operated by Devon Archer, John Kerry Senior, John Kerry Junior, Heinz Jr, and Hunter Biden.”

I’m a bit surprised at this. Kerry, Sr being directly involved would mean that both of Obama’s Secretaries of State were Crooked. I expected it from Clinton, just not Kerry. She fairly obviously picked State as having the highest payoff likelihood. I had assumed that Kerry’s reason for wanting the job so badly was that he thought of himself as an expert in foreign relations, having spent so long on that committee in the Senate. But he appears from that to have also been interested in the money. Maybe Teresa had him on a short enough leash that he wanted some money of his own. Probably shouldn’t be surprised though that the Swift Boat captain who shilled for the North Vietnamese most of a half century ago, would give the Ukrainians blankets instead of armaments when the Russians were seizing the Crimea from them. So, of course, the Ukrainians would try to buy him. He is just too stupid to have seen it coming.

I am just surprised that Heinz, Jr was involved. He has, or will have, enough money that he could buy whatever toys he wants. The rest of the crew seemed to grow up or having lived in an environment where everyone around them was mega rich, and they were tolerated due to their political power.

Still, you have to ask yourself why Schifty and his Dem accomplices picked the Ukrainian hill to die on. I think that this will, in the end, destroy Biden, Sr’s reputation. Schifty essentially has to dwell on Biden’s corruption to get to Trump, and everything that he says bad about Trump is orders of magnitude worse for Biden. Possibly Schifty was trying to take Biden’s obvious corruption off the table, so that the Trump Administration couldn’t investigate it, since that would look like payback. Immunize Biden’s corruption. Or maybe they are just so desperate to protect the IC from their extensive use of Ukrainian assets against Trump and the Republicans during the 2016 election. IG Horowitz’s report on FISA abuse is scheduled to be released any week now, and USA Durham’s investigation has switched from preliminary to criminal, with the heavy involvement of the corrupt Clapper/Brennan IC now apparently the center of Durham’s criminal investigation. It is striking, but maybe shouldn’t be, that most of Schifty’s initial witnesses were CIA with strong ties to Brennan. This is very similar to how the Mueller investigation immunized themselves from being shut down by adopting the Lawfare misinterpretation of the one Obstruction of Justice statute, which essentially made it a crime to shut down their investigation. Of course, right after the 2018 election, both Schifty and his boss, Speaker Palsi, hired Lawfare people to put together the impeachment investigation that The US is currently suffering through.; 11/14/19, 5:59 AM
gilbar said...: Bruce said...
She fairly obviously picked State as having the highest payoff likelihood. I had assumed that was Also Kerry’s reason for wanting the job so badly... having spent so long on that committee in the Senate

fify?; 11/14/19, 6:03 AM
Michael K said...: Or maybe they are just so desperate to protect the IC from their extensive use of Ukrainian assets against Trump and the Republicans during the 2016 election.

Bingo. The corruption of the CIA/FBI is so thorough that they are desperate to protect this Deep State they have created and fostered. It was 1976 when the Democrats, in the form of the Church Committee, decided to dismantle the CIA/OSS remnants. In 40 years, the Democrats seem to have taken it over as part of the bureaucracy. The CIA, to me, consists of 20,000 people reading foreign language newspapers and creating small fiefdoms. The useful members have shrunk to maybe 500.; 11/14/19, 6:07 AM
Michael K said...: Guess what? Nigeria would thrive, and Japan would regress.

I'm not sure about Nigeria. The Ibo (Igbo) tribe is quite different from the other tribes of Nigeria and the rest of west Africa. Had the Ibos (Biafrans) been better fighters than the Muslims of the north east tribes, Nigeria might be a model African country.
The story.

Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, but remained in the Commonwealth of Nations, composed of 53 former UK colonies. In 1960, Nigeria had a population of 60 million people, made up of more than 300 differing ethnic and cultural groups. More than fifty years earlier, the United Kingdom had carved an area out of West Africa containing many different ethnic groups calling it Nigeria. When the British arrived the three largest ethnic groups were the Igbo, which formed between 60–70% of the population in the southeast[citation needed]; the Hausa-Fulani of the Sokoto Caliphate, which formed about 65% of the population in the northern part of the territory[citation needed]; and the Yoruba which formed about 75% of the population in the southwestern part[citation needed]. Although these groups have their own homelands, by the 1960s, the people were dispersed across Nigeria, with all three ethnic groups represented substantially in major cities. When the war broke out in 1967, there were still 5,000 Igbos in Lagos.[37]

The semi-feudal and Islamic Hausa-Fulani in the North were traditionally ruled by a feudal, conservative Islamic hierarchy consisting of Emirs who, in turn, owed their allegiance to a supreme Sultan. This Sultan was regarded as the source of all political power and religious authority.

The Yoruba political system in the southwest, like that of the Hausa-Fulani, also consisted of a series of monarchs, the Oba. The Yoruba monarchs, however, were less autocratic than those in the North[citation needed]. The political and social system of the Yoruba accordingly allowed for greater upward mobility, based on acquired rather than inherited wealth and title.

In contrast to the two other groups, Igbos and the ethnic groups of the Niger Delta in the southeast lived mostly in autonomous, democratically organised communities, although there were eze or monarchs in many of the ancient cities, such as the Kingdom of Nri. In its zenith the Kingdom controlled most of Igbo land, including influence on the Anioma people, Arochukwu (which controlled slavery in Igbo), and Onitsha land. Unlike the other two regions, decisions within the Igbo communities were made by a general assembly in which men and women participated

Igbos are prominent in New York Financial entities as "quants."; 11/14/19, 6:16 AM
tim in vermont said...: Kerry made so much as a gigolo that it doesn’t need the graft. Especially if he has to hide the money, I think that he figures that you need to spread the graft around though to get the stuff he really believes in, the establishment of world communism, done.; 11/14/19, 6:17 AM
tim in vermont said...: Supposedly Heinz Jr left the company over Burisma, but if you look at the kinds of stuff he tolerated at Archer, it makes you wonder.

Rosemont Seneca Bohai was controlled by Mr. Archer, who left Burisma’s board after he was charged in connection with a scheme to defraud pension funds and an Indian tribe of tens of millions of dollars. Bank records submitted in that case — which resulted in a conviction for Mr. Archer that was overturned in November — show that Rosemont Seneca Bohai made regular payments to Mr. Biden that totaled as much as $50,000 in some months.. - New York Times

The conviction was overturned because they couldn’t prove intent to defraud, the fleecing happened.; 11/14/19, 6:22 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Kink Tut !!

Clinton WhistleBlower: FEDS Probe Adam Schiff Dressed like Egyptian at Bizarre “Sacrafice” Parties at Ed Buck’s Meth Mansion

https://truepundit.com/clinton-whistleblower-feds-probe-adam-schiff-dressed-like-egyptian-at-bizarre-sacrafice-parties-at-ed-bucks-meth-mansion/

Several gay men died at Ed Buck’s house of apparently meth overdoses. Once is happenstance, twice coincidence, and the third time is enemy action. Kinky meth fueled gay sex parties is not where you want the chair of the HSCI, one of the Gang of Eight, hanging out. Normally, anyone with the sort of security clearance that Schifty needs for his job there chairing the HSCI, would probably have their security clearances yanked for coming within a couple blocks of the sort of party thrown by Buck. But Schifty, running the impeachment witch-hunt may be above that. We shall see.

But then, under normal rules, Schifty would have had his security clearance yanked years ago for routinely mishandling and leaking classified information. He hasn’t, of course, and I think that the reason for it is fairly obviously because he has led the Dems’ attacks on Trump. So why the release of the information that Schifty attended a couple of meth fueled gay sex parties? It may be just a shit across Schifty’s bow, telling him to lay off the President, a bit. Or, it could be to sideline him. If the story is true, it should cost Schifty his security clearance, which should cost him his chairmanship of the HSCI, and thus position in the Gang of Eight. Should be interesting to see how the plays out.; 11/14/19, 6:25 AM
rehajm said...: Should be interesting to see how the plays out.

Your post is probably the whole play.; 11/14/19, 6:34 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Bruce said...
“She fairly obviously picked State as having the highest payoff likelihood. I had assumed that was Also Kerry’s reason for wanting the job so badly... having spent so long on that committee in the Senate”

The question was why was Kerry so aggressive, maybe even desperate, to get the Secretary of State gig. I had assumed that his primary reason was that he had spent decades sitting on the sidelines, kibitzing a bit, but watching foreign policy being made in front of him. He has always seemed to have had an inflated sense of his intelligence, and very likely, I think, believed that he could do a better job tha his predecessors did in that job. But at least he would get the excitement of actually finally making American foreign policy, instead of having a front row seat on the sidelines.

But his apparently pocketing bribes opened up the possibility, in my mind, of another reason for wanting the job, and that was greed. His immediate predecessor, Crooked Hillary, had shown how to effectively monetize the post, raking in over a hundred million dollars directly into the family coffers, as well as over a billion dollars in her family trust/slush fund. Kerry has long been the poor kid hanging out with the rich kids, starting at the expensive Swiss boarding school he attended. He married well twice to very rich women, and that seemed to have been fine, being a kept man, in order to continuing to run with the rich kids. But was it? I was thinking that a little money of his own might have been attractive, after having been kept by women for much of his adult life.; 11/14/19, 6:42 AM
Andrew said...: Based on conversations I'm hearing at a local diner this morning, it is not going well for the Democrats.; 11/14/19, 7:23 AM
Hagar said...: Based on the modest coverage in the Albuquerque Journal this morning, this is not going well for the Democrats.; 11/14/19, 7:28 AM
Michael K said...: agar said...
Based on the modest coverage in the Albuquerque Journal this morning, this is not going well for the Democrats.

LA Times same way. They have been rabid.
William B. Taylor Jr., the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testified that Ukrainian leaders were told they would not receive hundreds of millions of desperately needed dollars unless Trump’s demands were met.

Which he had no knowledge of except hearsay from, other whinging diplomats.; 11/14/19, 7:36 AM
Hagar said...: One thing I wanted to comment on yesterday, but was afraid I had misheard, it went past so fast, was the story about Mr. Taylor's aide who had lunch with Ambassador Sondland and overheard him call up President Trump from a cafe in Kiev and discuss the Biden matter.

How in the world could this happen? Did someone get punked, is it a baldfaced outrageous lie, or did someone smart off and get taken seriously?; 11/14/19, 7:38 AM
Francisco D said...: Clinton WhistleBlower: FEDS Probe Adam Schiff Dressed like Egyptian at Bizarre “Sacrafice” Parties at Ed Buck’s Meth Mansion

A friend of my wife was talking to her hairdresser and he told them that one of his friends was at those parties and had sex with Adam Schiff.

At least that is my clear understanding.; 11/14/19, 8:05 AM
Michael K said...: Schiff has always looked like he swings both ways. I was actually a bit surprised to learn he has a wife and kids.

Not unique, certainly, A guy I knew had a very nice wife and kids. Fortunately for her, he divorced her and got into the Laguna Beach lifestyle before the AIDS epidemic began. Saved her life although she had a hard time for years.; 11/14/19, 8:14 AM
Nichevo said...: So where the hell is this d--d investigation? How many times does a POTUS with lethal aid at his fingertips and total authority for foreign policy have to ask nicely before criminals get looked into? Why should he even have to ask? The wonder is that it has not happened.; 11/14/19, 8:49 AM
mockturtle said...: Schiff has always looked like he swings both ways. I was actually a bit surprised to learn he has a wife and kids.

Which means nothing, Michael. Many a gay man has a wife and kids.; 11/14/19, 9:27 AM
Ralph L said...: He and Cannonballs compete for the most difficult to understand postings.

The worst part is that you begin to doubt your own comma placement.

Kerry wanted the SoS job so his 2004 loss wouldn't dominate his obit.; 11/14/19, 10:51 AM
Marc in Eugene said...: Was told by someone on Twitter the other day that I shouldn't have retweeted someone else's link to an article (that seemed to me to be clumsily written but not morally or politically objectionable) at VDARE because they are racists/anti-Semites/White supremacists etc etc, and that's indeed what the Wikipedia page leads with. Anyone here (who actually, regularly reads there) want to characterize etc the site for me?; 11/14/19, 12:33 PM
Drago said...: "A friend of my wife was talking to her hairdresser and he told them that one of his friends was at those parties and had sex with Adam Schiff."

Adam Schiff-ty is free to come forward at any time to provide evidence of his innocence. At this point in time, this "perfectly clear" understanding of what occurred between Adam Schiff and others at this party cannot be discounted and we can not exonerate him of this charge. If we could have we would.; 11/14/19, 4:12 PM
Drago said...: Marc: "Was told by someone on Twitter the other day that I shouldn't have retweeted someone else's link to an article (that seemed to me to be clumsily written but not morally or politically objectionable) at VDARE because they are racists/anti-Semites/White supremacists etc etc, and that's indeed what the Wikipedia page leads with. Anyone here (who actually, regularly reads there) want to characterize etc the site for me?"

First off, you need to understand that these days Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, Ben Carson and others are officially labeled white supremacist/anti-semitic racists by the lefties.

So, using that as the new lefty/libs/dems/LLR-lefty yardstick.....; 11/14/19, 4:15 PM