January 9, 2020

Sunrise type #2.

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This morning at 7:30. The "actual" sunrise time was 7:29.

Talk about anything you like in comments. Did you watch Trump's Toledo rally? The "Jeopardy!" "Greatest of All Time"?

115 comments:

Lawrence Person said...

Mike Resnick, RIP.

Ralph L said...

Shocked that James missed the Daily Double. Guess he isn't a woodworker.

FIDO said...

I am very curious why, out of the dusky gray, Althouse is so obsessed with sunrises.

I mean, it is as meaningful as her Dylan obsession, easily passed over. One wonders if someone significant in her life has suddenly had a big health issue making her more mindful of the significance of every new turn of the globe.

traditionalguy said...

Our beloved President is challenging Ohioans to be as loyal to him in 2020 as he has been to Ohio. Apparently their answer is yes. His communications skills are are very good at every level tonight.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

whoa! look who leads Sanders in Dem primary poll!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN2WITtUUAIIyym.jpg

Danno said...

FIDO, it appears that Althouse has become more healthy with her sunrise running routine and her daily stop to photograph the view over the lake. Deal with it! It might be overkill to you, but she does her blogging to please herself. Her large volume of Lake Mendota sunrises is a treasure to those who are into it.

traditionalguy said...

There is a Lake in Madison they call the rising sun. It's been the ruin of many a early rising Blogger, but thank you Lord this is not a one.

Drago said...

In a completely expected move, Iranian State TV is using sound bites of democrats to blame the US for pretty much everything.

The dems/Iran Terrorist Regime Alliance is now fully established.

Dem Jackie Speer when questioned by Wolfie in CNN put ALL the blame for the Iran shootdown of the airliner on Trump.

ALL the blame.

The dems and their LLR-lefty allies arent even trying to hide it anymore.

Lucid-Ideas said...

I just saw a pic of Malia and Sasha Obama at some event and wow, there is some serious forehead action going on with those girls. Like Klingon-level forehead action. My fiancee took a look and said the same thing. I'd hate to butt heads with them unexpectedly in some dark Chicago alley just saying.

StephenFearby said...

In other news...

Ace
New Sharyl Attkisson Lawsuit Over Alleged Government Spying Names Rod Rosenstein and Four Others As Involved in the Hacking

Trust your DOJ straight-arrows.

According to the complaint--filed in United States District Court in Baltimore, Maryland--Rosenstein led "a multi-agency task force in Baltimore that conducted surveillance of the Attkissons’ computer systems" and "used USPS IP addresses on other occasions to conduct operations."

The complaint states that all of the defendants "were agents and/or employees of the United States Government working with Rosenstein" to conduct "the unlawful surveillance and hacking of the computer systems of the Plaintiffs."
She says she is in contact with a whistleblower, who admitted his own role in the hacking of her and her family's computers.

Ace links to:

https://amgreatness.com/2020/01/09/new-lawsuit-claims-rod-rosenstein-led-task-force-that-spied-on-sharyl-attkissons-computers/#.XhdytejzyXU.twitter


Kyiv Post
How Ukrainian plane crash went from ‘engine failure’ to ‘Iranian attack’

"..Speculation that the plane was shot down or bombed was widespread in Ukrainian social media."

https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/how-ukrainian-plane-crash-went-from-engine-failure-to-iranian-attack.html

Comment:

rolltide
I grieve for the victims of this senseless loss of life.. I doubt that Iran downed this plane on purpose but rather through incompetence..

The main purpose of the Iranian government is to maintain power, so I expect they will lie, bluster, finger point, but never tell the truth or admit any responsibility.. In this they have the example of Putin and Russian involvement in Donbass.

But there will be evidence in the future of Iranian stupidity so the world will know what really happened.

This incident should strip the Iranian regime of any sympathy or international cooperation or any legitimacy to govern the great people of Persia and to be custodians of their long and rich history..

traditionalguy said...

These Russian Missiles are designed to fly up next to a plane and shoot it down using a blast of penetrating steel pieces that wipe out the cockpit controls and the crew. Then all come tumbling down.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Ace
New Sharyl Attkisson Lawsuit Over Alleged Government Spying Names Rod Rosenstein and Four Others As Involved in the Hacking


Sounds like a special prosecutor has to be named. How can the DOJ investigate itself?

C'mon Barr, do your duty.

stephen cooper said...

Felt sorry for Jennings. He knew he had to be lucky to beat the other guy, the other guy was having a great time/

Also the other guy meant to write GOAT = greatest of all time, not Ghost, ----- it was a quick maneuver, so he put Pat Sajack's name in there when he realized he had put down GHOST (5 letters, referring to beloved friends who have passed away, in the best of all worlds) instead of GOAT (trust me that is what he wanted to write).

Yeah I watched it and it was a total goat rope (Clutterbuck, this Islanders fan says) but great TV.

narciso said...

Gosh mike resnick brings me back to when sci fi wasnt all sjw all the time.

narciso said...


I remember this one in particular


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/293291.Santiago

Sydney said...

My new iPhone has a seriously annoying Siri. When I say, "Hey, Siri" it answers "Uh-huh," "Hmm" Sounds like a truculent teenager.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

...and now, The Daily Decode

Royal Palace: "It's complicated" = "Cuz he's a paeaedophile!!"
Trump: "I have my suspicions" = "of course they did!!"
Pelosi: "When I'm ready" = "where's my gin bottle?"
Manhattan Correctional Center: "Technical error" = "You'll never see those effing tapes!!"
Trudeau: "It's too soon to be drawing conclusions" = "Of course he is!
-oh-- and is my goatee coming unglued??

narciso said...

Referring to the other thread



http://magnusflyte.com/soundtrack/

D 2 said...

Sunrise you better take care
If Althouse don't think that the timing is fair
Some things she thinks are a sin
Like shorts, false civility and vacationin'

They seem to overplay that song in my youth of the 70s, so much I didn't like his voice, but I came round to putting it on the long playlist.

Jupiter said...

I want to talk about this. Do you recall, a while back, Trump was getting ready to put the Hammer down on the Iranians. And then, at the last minute, he said, "Hold on. This is just a plan to use American power to destroy the lives of some unfortunate, low-level schlubs, who are basically just takin' minimum wage to stare at a screen twelvet hours a day to put some food on the table. We are not going to do that."

That's what he said. So, he found a plan more to his liking.

I know he's just a man, and that's why I don't worship him as a God.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

@LucidIdeas

"Five head"

...oh-- any markings that look like 3 upside down 9's??

Jupiter said...

But if you have to follow somebody into Hell, this guy works for me.

narciso said...

I see him as a useful instrument, who can ne too blunt at times, why did it take 16 and 36 respectively to bring certain figures to ground.

rehajm said...

Pete Dye passed today, too. One of the best golf puzzlers...

Inga said...

DOJ inquiry tied to Clinton, touted by Trump winds down with no tangible results: report

stephen cooper said...

narciso then there was Gene Wolfe who wrote a dozen novels and a hundred short stories all of which were graced with this not really all that unprecedented plot point
THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO MESS UP YOUR LIFE and that is to forget that GOD LOVES YOU AND GOD LOVES EVERYONE YOU LOVE



if you have energy to be successful in life well then be successful and kind

if you don't well then just spend your time in fervid prayer.

There is always a good choice to be made.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Well, if any one cares; looks like Krugman was the victim of social engineering.

stephen cooper said...

Jupiter - rich people can be kind too.

Even very very rich people.

stephen cooper said...

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW is that the only thing that can go wrong in your life is to forget THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND GOD LOVES EVERYONE YOU LOVE.

Remember.

narciso said...

What i suspected



https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/01/09/Informants-in-Iraq-Syria-helped-US-kill-Iran-s-Soleimani-Sources.html?fbclid=IwAR3LWjcJyTYlfHyoN3UMTtVOi2gVPU_Rlwy2JMd_bewyM_M2kO9KLZsITPA

narciso said...

Lets torch this sucker



https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/9/mitch-mcconnell-signs-resolution-pushing-rule-chan/

rhhardin said...

Wagner, if one may be permitted a little of the grandeloquence that suits the man, was a beautiful sunset that has been mistaken for a sunrise.

- Debussy, in his music column

Ann Althouse said...

“ My new iPhone has a seriously annoying Siri.”

The other day Siri played the wrong music from my iTunes, and I said “Stop the music” and she played “Stop the Music” by The Shirells.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

MEN"S FASHION COLLECTION 2020 is here!

https://www.eatliver.com/male-outfits/#aYuVsUGye7dWF32x.01

(also check out the Vegetarian hunting photos)

StephenFearby said...

Ace

Latest Democratic Presidential Primary poll has a new candidate with extensive military experience who has zoomed up to the #4 position (ahead of Bernie Sanders):

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/polldemocrats

narciso said...

What fresh hell.

Big Mike said...

The plot thickens. Apparently the US declared a no-fly zone over Iran. Did the Ukrainian pilot not receive the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM)? Was he directed to take off by the airline he worked for? Did the Iranians suppose that in light of the no-fly zone order the only planes in the sky just had to be American? Lots to sort out here.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

egg separator-- not what you expect(orate)

available on Amazon-- remember to use the Althouse portal

https://www.amazon.com/zdz-5060073508648-Bogeyman-Egg-Separator/dp/B007ZZCSOY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=funnpict00-20&linkId=cb4eea35bf5725b0766aee901096755e&language=en_US

Big Mike said...

@StephenFearby, yes, but he's not on active duty anymore.

Rory said...

Ken has adopted James's innovations very well. I guess he's the favorite now, but James still very dangerous.

narciso said...

Inactive reserve, i know this will complocate the debates.

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

"Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat."

Hey, Althouse, is this guy "serious" enough for you?

Bay Area Guy said...

This is for Althouse:

Robert Caro papers get a home.

AReasonableMan said...

narciso said...
What i suspected


In other words, once again we were tools in other people's civil wars.

narciso said...

How elsedo you take down soneone who considers himself untouchable?

Mark said...

James got a little desperate tonight and started guessing too much.

Mark said...

Also the other guy meant to write GOAT = greatest of all time, not Ghost

What the hell are you talking about? You think you know more than James what James intended??

He meant GHOST - Greatest Host Of Syndicated TV.

stephen cooper said...

Yes that could be what he meant, Mark.

Or maybe he did not say actually what he really meant because ----

and this is what I am talking about ....

He wanted to say the nicest thing he could ---

But, even if we accept as true the premise that he is really bright, we can also think that, at his low level of understanding of HOW TO COMMUNICATE with people not intently focused on his type of view of the world, he did not succeed.

AND I KNOW HE WANTED TO SUCCEED.

It is actually a frequent occurrence when one person knows more than another person what that other person really intended.
Imagine it this way - we are all standing on the beach, looking at the whitecaps on the waves, and the whitecaps on the waves have a meaning, and some of us understand a little and some of us understand a little more or less what the waves are trying to say, but we are all, when you look at it the way God looks at it, more or less illiterate.

You see, I am human, and he is human.
That is why I think it is possible I know what he wanted to say, and that is how I know he did not actually say what he meant to say.

stephen cooper said...

You just don't ever tell someone who will be dead in a year or so that they are a ghost.

Everybody knows that.

Mark said...

HE WROTE IT OUT YOU NIMWIT.

It's not "could be what he meant" -- it's what he ACTUALLY SAID.

stephen cooper said...

Mark if you think I am a nimwit, all I can say is I hope you are right.

You aren't, but this would be a lovely world if you were ....

I ACTUALLY SAID THAT.

imagine the best of others, my young friend.

FullMoon said...

HE WROTE IT OUT YOU NIMWIT.

It's not "could be what he meant" -- it's what he ACTUALLY SAID.


HaHa! And, he wrote it down. Frustrating, ain't it?
Un poco loco..

stephen cooper said...

"Those vagrant hieroglyphs, now here, now there ....
Prove we are all one and illiterate" ----

from a poem by Anthony Hecht, reflecting on the whitecaps he once observed from one of the Atlantic beaches in New Jersey - his point was that the whitecaps had a meaning, a meaning that God imbued them with, and he, the poet, did not understand them, no more than anybody else, in his opinion.

That is what he, the poet, actually said.

And by the way I knew the answers to most of the questions that James and Ken got wrong. Seriously, they messed up on some pretty easy questions.

That being said, out of the ones they got right, I would have gotten somewhere only a little north of half right. Respect.

Mark said...

You "hope" I'm right.

A simple, "I was wrong," would have sufficed.

(shakes head)

Scott Patton said...

Now Krugman's internet is slow. Better call Dogbert Tech Support.

stephen cooper said...

bonus trivia - that is probably Anthony Hecht's best poem.

It is free to read on Google books, just type in google books ---- Hecht vagrant hieroglyphs.

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

speaking of whitecaps the best song of the 2020s so far is Michael Buble's "love you anymore" --- the video has great views of whitecaps and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in a music video hanging out with Mike as if she loved him and knew that he loved her
sure it is just a video and just a great song, a Sinatra level love song, but still just a song, but
I HOPE THAT THIS VIDEO REMINDS YOU OF LOVE YOU HAVE HAD IN THIS WORLD OR WILL HAVE SOMEDAY IN THIS WORLD

stephen cooper said...

the remix is 2020 the song dates from 2018

grackle said...

The dems/Iran Terrorist Regime Alliance is now fully established.

I think Trump’s killing of Qassim Suleimani, who apparently had been blithely using commercial facilities to travel around Iraq as part of his daily terrorism duties, is particularly galling to the Western Left because Iran has been one of their go-to champions against America since 1979.

Over the years since, the Left, which certainly includes most if not all media, had elevated Iran to an heroic, almost undefeatable level which Iran has not really deserved. The fact that Trump has come along and demonstrated Iran’s weakness is very upsetting to the Left. Trump killed Iran’s chief terrorist and there is nothing Iran can do about it. When myths die it is very painful to the devotees.

But how could Trump trust the intelligence that triggered the Suleimani killing? How could Trump know that it was actually Suleimani’s convoy and not some visiting group of nuns sacrificed by the Deep State in order to create a nasty incident to be used against Trump?

Perhaps the answer is that Suleimani’s whereabouts did not come from the Deep State, which I define as the higher elements of our spying bureaucracies – the FBI, CIA, etc.

What other nation in the ME, friendly to America, and renown for its far-flung intelligence network, would likely know all about Suleimani’s daily movements?

stephen cooper said...

Lebanon?

Drago said...

grackle: "What other nation in the ME, friendly to America, and renown for its far-flung intelligence network, would likely know all about Suleimani’s daily movements?"

Israel is certainly in the mix considering how much they like and respect Trump. But do not discount the possibility that the other members of this alliance (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait) might have a hand in here or there.

FullMoon said...

Flashback: Pelosi Said Obama Did Not Need Authorization to Attack Libya

David Duffy said...

Shaving cream on stiff facial hair about an hour before 7:30 getting ready for work. The water coming out of the tap is ice cold.

Crazy World said...

Must go search for pictures of the Obama girls foreheads. LOL
Nancy is a fool, hope she has a nice weekend saving the country from Orange Man Bad, I shall tune them out in 2020. Lovely photo Ann and Jeopardy was wonderful!

Big Mike said...

Given his comments regarding the downed Boeing 737, can we revoke Buttigieg’s credentials where he points to his service in military intelligence? He shows very little in the way of analytical skills (or even basic, run of the mill, common sense).

stevew said...

Siri is not good enough, I turned it off.

Watched Jeopardy Greatest of All Time! earlier in the week but not last night. An hour of Jeopardy is too much, my attention wanders. James and Ken seem to be having fun and are enjoying the competition. Brad, what I've seen of him, is not doing well and seems to be feeling the pressure.

Good thing Pelosi got the House to put the brakes on Trump's foreign military activities, that will smooth things over with the Iranians, too bad she didn't do it before Suleimani was taken out. -sarc-

Robert Cook said...

""Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat."

This, of course, is the perennial reality of wars, "police actions," "nation building," and all the other names and euphemisms for military aggression everywhere. All wars are crimes, consisting of murder and maiming of mostly innocent civilians. This is why war should only be the absolutely necessary last choice, for purposes of self-defense. The number of wars the U.S. has engaged in its entire history that fit this definition are very few, and of the wars we presently and have been engaged in for the last half-century, none fit this definition.

madAsHell said...

Sounds like a truculent teenager.


You’re in the wrong demographic.

alanc709 said...

Buttigieg was entirely correct that the airliner was shot down by the tit for tat response, and yet completely wrong as to who was at fault. Sounds like military intelligence to me.

buwaya said...

War is a normal human activity.
In many places there is a tradition of low-level "war" as the ordinary state of affairs. Raiding and harrassment between tribes/clans or ethnic communities, of warlords and warbands, of religio-cultural aggression.

Especially so in the Middle East, but its very common elsewhere. Its difficult to grasp, to us moderns, just how dangerous travel and trade used to be, across much of the world, how often a human "storm" would build up and blow through.

This was not simple banditry, of outlaws, but a matter mainly of opportunistic local powers doing the legal thing, within their context. The world was full of tribal and feudal polities happily doing whatever they could get away with, and the almost regular fit of bloody madness.

The state of "normality" pre-European interventions can be judged by histories and contemporary accounts, to the early 20th century. In the case of Iraq and environs I highly recommend John Bagot Glubb's works - start with "War in the Desert", if you can find it. He spent his life trying to change what was normal in the region, to an enforced peace and order. Much like many another European colonial official really. These men are rarely credited, these days, for their success in creating a normal state of peace.

This was also true in Europe. The change to an expectation of a state-enforced peace is a relatively new development in human affairs.

We moderns are too often surprised by this ancient stuff showing up - like Somali pirates or Islamic mad mullahs or narco-warlords.

Hagar said...

I have speculated that with Anne Applebaum and others, though they are socialists, what really motivates their defense of the EU is their deep-set fear of another general war setting the tribal societies of the Balkans and eastern Europe once again free to re-arm and murder their neighbors.
Like we saw when Yugoslavia broke up after Tito's death.

buwaya said...

Mike Resnick was a decent genre writer.
RIP.

Gene Wolfe (who passed away last year) was something else.

tim in vermont said...

It was fiercely urgent that those articles of impeachment be voted on on the precise anniversary of Clinton’s impeachment. So we have the real message now. Do not investigate Democrat malfeasance, be suborning perjury over sexual harassment or plain old graft.

Unknown said...

Buwaya,

War today is not surprising, as it is driven by the desire for plunder and power, the perennial motivation for war. This is is motive for U.S. war-making, as well. The thing is, we tell ourselves, and the credulous believe, that our wars are all for "good" causes, for "self-defense," to "protect our freedoms," to "protect others," etc., etc. These are almost always lies, and obvious lies, but we always readily accept these lies. We see ourselves as uniquely virtuous as a nation and as a people, and we refuse to see ourselves as being no different, basically, than humans and societies as they have always been. As a purportedly--even constitutionally planned--representative republic, we, the people should be deciding when and why to go to war, yet, as always, such decisions are planned by those who lie when they claim they are our representatives, and once their plans are made, or actions taken, we are told lies and lies and lies to convince us the (latest) war(s) is/are--as always--"good" and "necessary." As always, they are campaigns of murder, maiming and destruction, pursued largely for profit and power. We are murderers for plunder and power as every empire and most nations have always been.

buwaya said...

The US is trying to do, with drones and Hellfire missiles, that which J.B.Glubb was trying to do with his desert patrols of Ford Model T's armed with Lewis guns.

Rusty said...

Unknown said...
Buwaya,

War today is not surprising, as it is driven by the desire for plunder and power, the perennial motivation for war. This is is motive for U.S. war-making, as well.

Show me where we profited from WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq 1 and 2.
I'll wait here.

buwaya said...

The US has not fought for plunder in quite a long time.
There are phases in civilizations.
Consider Rome. Early on it lived off plunder.
Into the late Republic it made (foreign) war mainly to loot and exploit, as Caesar did to Gaul.
But the Empire settled down, stopped expanding, and in the main fought defensively for four centuries.
The US is now in that mode of the Roman Empire, defending it limes (frontiers) and its Pax, sometimes undertaking punitive campaigns among the barbarians.

stlcdr said...

Seen elsewhere:

Trump: Siri, how many miles have I ran?

Siri: Sending missiles to Iran.

AllenS said...

Unknown said...
War today is not surprising, as it is driven by the desire for plunder and power, the perennial motivation for war. This is is motive for U.S. war-making, as well.

Bullshit. Show me how much plunder the US got from Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq.

I'll answer that for you, Zero.

Andrew said...

As much as I hated Obama's presidency, I didn't hate the man. I did the best I could to respect him as the President, even if I rejected his actions and ideology. I even prayed for his safety.

When Osama bin Laden was killed, I gave Obama credit. I had no problem doing so. Of course, the vast majority of the credit goes to the incredible men who carried out the operation. But still, "the buck stops here." It was a bold, risky decision, and it was the right one to make. It could have been a disaster, like Carter's attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages (or whatever that was). Good for Obama. I know many people who felt the same way, who otherwise couldn't stand the man or his presidency.

It never would have dawned on me, or anyone I know, to be antagonistic to Obama's decision because he would benefit politically. The death of bin Laden was something that transcended politics. An evil man who was responsible for thousands of deaths had faced justice. Thank you, Obama. Credit where it's due. You made the right call.

Watching the Democrats and the news media virtually take the side of Iran, and continue in their hatred and contempt of Trump, is so beyond rationality and basic human decency that I can't even comprehend it. To hell with these people. The Dems are an evil party. The news media is literally the enemy of the people. It is not an exaggeration. They would rejoice in the deaths of more Americans if Trump would be hurt by it.

The Democrats have become irredeemable and unsalvageable as a political party. Not one of their candidates for President can rescue the party, or even wants to. They need to be burned to the ground in the next election. Their defeat needs to be catastrophic. Their party needs to cease to exist, so that something new can take its place. I have felt these emotions before, but never in so visceral a way.

AllenS said...

I feel the same way, Andrew.

Tank said...

That’s well put Andrew.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

What Andrew said

Fernandinande said...

that is probably Anthony Hecht's best poem.

It's not much of a poem if you have to explain the punch-line.

stevew said...

Well said Andrew.

AllenS said...

Also, I think that Andrew @ 7:41 AM, pointed out just how bigly Democrats are hypocrites. Shame on them.

buwaya said...

I have known many US military contractors, both Americans and foreigners.
They serve under US protection to support US interests.
Given modern US force structures they are often as important to US missions as US servicemen are. The US has been trying for decades to reduce its services "tooth to tail" ratio by privatising things, almost always non-combat functions.

They don't usually make "big money" (that is a question of perspective), though more than US military pay certainly.

An attack on them is just as much an attack on US forces and interests as an attack on US servicemen. Any denial of that is just silly sentimentality, or simple stupidity.

Its like dismissing the sinking of merchant ships and the drowning of merchant seamen in the WWII North Atlantic convoys, as unimportant, because these weren't Naval personnel, and often weren't Americans.

MadisonMan said...

I am happy to hear about snow in the forecast. But this will complicate morning runs.

rehajm said...

The Democrats have become irredeemable and unsalvageable as a political party. Not one of their candidates for President can rescue the party, or even wants to.

While I'm on board with the frustration of what the party has become and find their political tactics reprehensible and there's no doubt the party has changed it is more a reflection of the changing values of many Americans and people who identify as Democrats.

As wild and disturbing as the presidential candidate platforms are I'm not so certain they can't pull off a victory using their base plus fraud plus lawfare.

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

And let me ask: WHY do runners wear those headlamp gizmos in pre-dawn hours? It's really not that dark out. Stop looking at me when you run and dazzling my eyes.

Maybe there's a plague of night-blindness in the neighborhood because of PFAS (it's blamed for everything else it seems).

(Re-posted because the typo just killed me)

buwaya said...

Soleimani was a persistent threat to the Pax Americana.
He should have been removed long ago, especially as he was given to traveling outside Iran, and in war zones no less. A bad mistake that would have long since been exploited by a less timorous American leadership.

You are an empire, like it or not, still riding the proverbial tiger of global empire. This makes a lot of measures necessary.
It is going to be a very tricky thing, getting off that tiger.

Fernandinande said...

"'Pre-school Picasso' shakes up German art world"

Seven year old pre-schooler paints like a 2nd-grader!

Bob Boyd said...

Plenty of defense contractors profited greatly in recent years, gentlemen.

It wasn't plunder they were putting in their pockets. It was US taxpayer money appropriated by Congress.

the United States should not have retaliated for the contractor

A number of soldiers were also seriously injured. That they weren't killed was not for lack of trying on Suleimani's part.
You can work for profit and serve your country. A lot of those guys are former, underpaid soldiers now using their skills and getting paid a fair wage for a change.
A lot of those guys are doing the protecting, not being protected. They are part of the team.

Do you know why the US Military uses private contractors instead of soldiers?
It saves the government money and it benefits the politicians to say they have less US troops in country.
For example, a company like KBR could support the entire US military in Iraq with 50,000 "contractors" (most are actually employees working by the hour) whereas it would take 3 or 4 times as many US soldiers in country to provide those same services.

rehajm said...

You are an empire, like it or not, still riding the proverbial tiger of global empire.

Fuck yah! USA! USA!

gilbar said...

have you ever noticed, how freaking SMART world leaders are? (ones not Trump, i mean)

The Smartest Man In The Room; Canada's Trudeau says,
"we have intelligence from multiple sources that Iran shot down Ukraine jet,
but the shooting down of Ukraine jet may have been unintentional!"

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!
Pete Trudeau thinks that, Maybe... Just MAYBE! the Iranians didn't MEAN to MURDER THESE People

Michael K said...

While I'm on board with the frustration of what the party has become and find their political tactics reprehensible and there's no doubt the party has changed it is more a reflection of the changing values of many Americans and people who identify as Democrats.

I agree with this. The Democrat candidates are appealing to what they think is their base. I hope they are wrong.

buwaya, there is a theory around that Soleimani and other Iran terror leaders were left alone because of the bomb attack on the wife of the Vincennes captain in 1989. The IC careerists feared personal retribution and convinced presidents to avoid such provocations. Trump owes nothing to the "Deep State," which is composed of these courtiers, and ignored that unspoken rule.

Curious George said...

"MadisonMan said...
I am happy to hear about snow in the forecast. But this will complicate morning runs."

Why? I love this warm snowless winter.

Michael K said...

I have known many US military contractors, both Americans and foreigners.

The contractor killed, buried in Sacramento last week, had an Arab name.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Hope Althouse didn't fall in this morning..

gilbar said...

oh WAIT! Canada's Trudeau, then Said; that
IT WAS ALL AMERICA'S fault; 'cause THOSE DAMN AMERICANS provoked the Iranians!!

Hagar said...

Katmandu or Timbuctoo, there is a McDonald's there.
Iran has Target stores, but no Wal*Mart (yet).
Though the Saudis have nationalized ARAMCO's properties, they are still operated by the American "Big Oil" cartel.
So, yeah, there very definitely is an American "empire."

And it is not that new a thing; American business operated across the seven seas even before the 13 colonies decided to form a new nation.

tim maguire said...

Does anybody really not understand why people are left cold by logic like, "we can't take a stand against violence and evil because our efforts may inspire violent and evil people to do bad things"?

I'm happy to hear about realistic alternatives.

We all are.

Browndog said...

I wonder why no one talks about the Libyan invasion by Turkey. Putin playing a key role.

The war over Mediterranean gas pipelines has begun.

Chuck said...


Blogger Michael K said...
“While I'm on board with the frustration of what the party has become and find their political tactics reprehensible and there's no doubt the party has changed it is more a reflection of the changing values of many Americans and people who identify as Democrats.”

I agree with this. The Democrat candidates are appealing to what they think is their base. I hope they are wrong.

buwaya, there is a theory around that Soleimani and other Iran terror leaders were left alone because of the bomb attack on the wife of the Vincennes captain in 1989. The IC careerists feared personal retribution and convinced presidents to avoid such provocations. Trump owes nothing to the "Deep State," which is composed of these courtiers, and ignored that unspoken rule.


“There is a theory around,” so you’ll help promote it on the internet.

tim maguire said...

Michael K said...The Democrat candidates are appealing to what they think is their base. I hope they are wrong.

The Democratic Party has a serious fracture at its core--all the energy comes from the lunatic fringe, where there aren't enough votes to win anything outside the big cities.

Anyone who tries to appeal to the more mainstream parts of the party, who will allow them to compete nationally, risks losing the door-knockers, the flier distributors, the phone-bank operators. Bloomberg and Steyer can pay people to do all that. Biden is running on name recognition. Everyone else is screwed.

Gahrie said...

“There is a theory around,” so you’ll help promote it on the internet.

Written without a shred of irony.

rehajm said...

all the energy comes from the lunatic fringe, where there aren't enough votes to win anything outside the big cities.

That lunatic fringe is not so fringe anymore and winning big cities in the right places is pretty much all they need...

MadisonMan said...

Why? I love this warm snowless winter.
Agreed. I want one spate of sub-zero though to stop some emails I keep getting.

Michael K said...

“There is a theory around,” so you’ll help promote it on the internet.

I posted a link to the article the other day, dipshit.

Bilwick said...

I'd like to talk about sports on television. I'm not a sports fan, so I'd like to know: other than events like the Super Bowl or the World Series, are they REALLY that popular, so much so that all other programming must be bumped? Or is it less a matter of ratings than Big Athletics paying off the networks?

I don't watch much television, but the shows I do watch I like a lot; and one of them is "Last Man Standing." It moved from ABC to Fox with a goodly amount of publicity about how successful in the ratings it is. Yet this year Fox postponed its season premiere for various and sundry sporting events. And now that it's back, they've bumped it from its Friday night spot, where it was apparently successful, to Thursday night--in conflict with another show I like very much, "Young Sheldon." And the reason "LMS" has been bumped from its Friday night slot? So Fox can air professional wrestling, which hardly counts as a sport.

Robt C said...

@Bilwick

Three-fourths of the top 100 TV shows this past season were NFL games, as were something like 24 of the top 25. So yes, sports is REALLY that popular. Can't speak for professional wrestling, but my guess is the programmers know what they are doing.
(BTW, I share your opinion about wrestling, but obviously a lot of others don't)