Althouse: At the Friday Night Cafe...

February 21, 2020

At the Friday Night Cafe...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

164 comments:

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Looking forward to the return of cruel neutrality. Just need Democrat president.; 2/21/20, 7:02 PM
J. Farmer said...: Since it wasn't really related, I'll move my comment in the previous post to here:

"We are desperate -- desperate -- for more people. We are running out of people to fuel the economic growth that we've had in our nation over the last four years. We need more immigrants."

-Mick Mulvaney, Director of OMB and Acting White House Chief of Staff

Ugh. Why oh why does Trump surround himself with such nudniks.; 2/21/20, 7:06 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: I still giggle at Warren's denunciation of Bloomberg's "Horse-Faced Lesbians" comment.

She may have a sunk a $460 Million dollar candidate with one blow.

Looking forward to next debate - see if she can administer the coup de grace.; 2/21/20, 7:15 PM
Mark said...: The Balance of Terror tonight.

I think we already discussed this one a few months ago.; 2/21/20, 7:16 PM
FullMoon said...: Sad story

Rosemary Kennedy: The Tragic Story of Why JFK's Sister Disappeared from Public View

Bonus, Joe jr. was a Nazi.; 2/21/20, 7:16 PM
Inga said...: "We are desperate -- desperate -- for more people. We are running out of people to fuel the economic growth that we've had in our nation over the last four years. We need more immigrants."

-Mick Mulvaney, Director of OMB and Acting White House Chief of Staff

Ugh. Why oh why does Trump surround himself with such nudniks.”

Oh that Mulvaney, out of the mouth of babes...; 2/21/20, 7:17 PM
Mark said...: You kidding me???

Here's what I said in November --
Last appearance for Yeoman Janice Rand.

I've been saying that for the last three episodes!; 2/21/20, 7:19 PM
FullMoon said...: I still giggle at Warren's denunciation of Bloomberg's "Horse-Faced Lesbians" comment.

She may have a sunk a $460 Million dollar candidate with one blow.

Nah, Mike's team needs to claim he was talking about Ann Coulter. Garner more dem support.; 2/21/20, 7:20 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: J. Farmer said...
"We are desperate -- desperate -- for more people. We are running out of people to fuel the economic growth that we've had in our nation over the last four years. We need more immigrants."

-Mick Mulvaney, Director of OMB and Acting White House Chief of Staff

Ugh. Why oh why does Trump surround himself with such nudniks.

The entire careers of Trump and his family are build on illegal workers: construction and hospitality industries. They are not changing a thing. It is all a show.; 2/21/20, 7:21 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Brian Williams was disgusted that Americans were "apathetic" in response to "THE RUSSIANS" trying to affect the 2020 elections. Watch Tucker tonight late night repeat he's on fire.; 2/21/20, 7:24 PM
John henry said...: Is this the friday night Book-A-fe? Why yes, it looks like it.

So what's everybody reading?

Last week Narciso mentioned a favorite author of mine, Paul Erdman, in passing. For some reason his books have not been available on Kindle. But Narciso's comment reminded me to check and I find that his first 2, "The Billion Dollar Sure Thing" and "The Silver Bears" are now available on Kindle.

I bought and read both.

Paul Erdman is not only a helluva author, he is a very interesting guy. An American born in Canada, he studied theology and international business, got a doctorate in economics from a Swiss University and, after a couple of finance jobs, started a swiss bank.

While there, the bank was involved in some shenanigans and Erdman wound up spending 8 months in jail waiting trial, managed to get out on bail and fled the country. The Billion Dollar Sure Thing is a lightly fictionalized novel about the affair.

It gets heavily into the nuts and bolts of foreign currency transactions but Erdman has a way of writing about it that keeps it from being dull. The fact that he is an expert in the field, as opposed to a novelist who did good research makes all the difference.

I enjoyed it as much this time as I did the dozen other times I've read it.

John Henry; 2/21/20, 7:30 PM
Drago said...: Todays ARM: "They are not changing a thing. It is all a show."

Yesterdays ARM: Trump has already destroyed the nation!

Just use whatever you think will work at that moment in 30 minute increments.; 2/21/20, 7:33 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Drago, you already have very limited credibility, why do you make up obvious straw-men to undermine it further?; 2/21/20, 7:35 PM
Drago said...: I am just waiting to hear from Bolton.

I understand it will be devastating to Trump and will finally make the walls close in and spring the Mueller Trap as part of the Weissman ploy within the Pelosi/Schiff game.; 2/21/20, 7:35 PM
Inga said...: “So what's everybody reading?” Yes, we liberals read too!

In the Garden of Beasts -Erik Larson

Imagine Heaven- John Burke; 2/21/20, 7:36 PM
Drago said...: The Russia Collusion Hoaxers and Kavanaugh gang rape deluders wish to discuss "credibility".

That should be fun.; 2/21/20, 7:36 PM
Inga said...: “Drago, you already have very limited credibility, why do you make up obvious straw-men to undermine it further?”

OCD?; 2/21/20, 7:37 PM
Mark said...: A strange thing in The Balance of Terror when the Romulans fire their weapon. To evade the charge coming at them, the Enterprise retreats backward in a straight line on that line of fire. All it had to do was go up or down or right or left while going back and it would have gone past them, rather than trying to outrun it.

No need to use one-dimensional tactics in a three-dimensional battlefield.; 2/21/20, 7:38 PM
John henry said...: The Silver Bears is a classic "caper" crime novel involving an American mafia owned Swiss bank, an Iranian silver mine and a lot of hijinks. I won't go more into the plot because it would give too much away. $2.99 via the portal. Give it a shot, what have you got to lose?

I've probably read it a dozen time, most recently last weekend and it never ceases to hold my attention.

It was made into a movie in 1977. That Michael Caine, Jay Leno, Cybill Shepherd and Tom Smothers are leading characters gives a glimpse of what kind of movie it is. I saw it back in the day and would love to see it again. Not available online. I can buy a DVD but don't have a player.

Here's the trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jjkj_Wb0-w

A clip of the 1977 Jay Leno as the numbers man in the caper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJUqQn1MTR8&t=9s

John Henry; 2/21/20, 7:38 PM
walter said...: The caravans got frightened by the Dem crackdown.; 2/21/20, 7:39 PM
Mark said...: An Isaac Asimov book on a bunch of trivia in an range of subjects.; 2/21/20, 7:39 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Inga said...
OCD?

Maybe. There is something going on. The posts are more scattered than ever.; 2/21/20, 7:39 PM
Drago said...: Speaking of very little credibility, you will find it interesting to note our very own Inga, on this very day, using long ago discredited hoax collusion articles from Time Magazine from Sep of 2018 (yes, 2018!) to "prove" Trump "loyalty" to Putin TODAY!!

It was awesome.

I can understand now why you lefties still believe Carter Page is a russian spy.; 2/21/20, 7:41 PM
Mark said...: Asimov keeps mentioning this "President Carter" guy.; 2/21/20, 7:41 PM
Drago said...: We don't hear much of "Great Awakenings" from ARM anymore.

I wonder why that is....; 2/21/20, 7:42 PM
Mark said...: Can you believe that Jimmy Carter is still going? At his age?

I mean, he's almost as old as Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders.; 2/21/20, 7:43 PM
John henry said...: Gilbar mentioned that he had read 'Adam Smith's' book Supermoney. I highly recommend that book for a variety of reasons.

One of them is that Adam Smith was pals with Paul Erdman and has a chapter about Erdman in the book. It's where I first heard of him.

Wikipedia has an entry on Erdman but it is a bit sparse. I found a better bio in his obit from the The Gaurdian:

Producing blockbuster novels that read like a cross between Adam Smith and Sidney Sheldon, Paul Erdman created a genre of fiction based on the world of high-finance, which he dubbed "fi-fi". His thrillers always carried the ring of accuracy, as well they should have, since he was both a respected economist and had been head of an international bank.

It was in the latter role that Erdman, who has died aged 74, was held in a Swiss jail, accused of fraud following his bank's collapse. While behind bars in the rather comfortable confines of a 17th-century dungeon in Basle, he began writing the book that became The Billion Dollar Sure Thing, which became a bestseller in 1973 and won an Edgar Award for best first novel from the Mystery Writers of America.

Although he was American, Erdman was born in Canada, in Stratford, Ontario, where his father was a Lutheran minister. He appeared to be headed toward his father's calling, taking a bachelor of divinity degree at Concordia Lutheran seminary in St Louis, Missouri. But he then moved to Washington DC, where he earned a second degree from the Georgetown University school of foreign service, and spent time working at the Washington Post and at a brokerage house.

(continued); 2/21/20, 7:44 PM
John henry said...: (Continued)

Erdman moved to the University of Basle to take a doctorate in economics, history and theology in 1958, and worked as an economist for the European Coal and Steel Community. He also spent time in California at the Stanford Research Institute. In 1965, with backing from Californian financier Charles Salik, Erdman became the first American to open a private bank in Switzerland. It was immediately successful, and in 1969 was bought by United California Bank. A year later, it collapsed, after its assets, in excess of $50m, were lost by unauthorised speculation in futures markets for silver and cocoa. Erdman was arrested, and held eight months in the dungeon, which allowed him self-catering luxuries such as meals from local restaurants and a stock of fine wine.

He had intended to write an economics treatise, but his privileges did not extend to a research library, so he switched to fiction. One of his fellow prisoners was a French safecracker, who, in return for wine, provided the practical detail for the opening scene in the The Billion Dollar Sure Thing.

Eventually, Erdman posted $133,000 bail, and fled Switzerland. In 1973 he was convicted in absentia of fraud and sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. Having settled on a Sonoma County ranch in Healdburg, California, and not facing extradition, he declined to return to Switzerland. Erdman blamed unscrupulous traders for the bank's failure. He later said that he respected the Swiss, who might allow the wealthy privileges in jail, but at least, unlike the Americans, are willing to put white collar criminals behind bars.

His second novel, The Silver Bears (1974) was turned into a movie starring Michael Caine. His third, The Crash of '79 (1973) was the book that best defined his "fi-fi" genre, a sprawling tale of economic doom, which was prescient in many ways. As America entered the economic free-for-all of the Reagan regime, his theme resonated more strongly in The Last Days of America (1981) and The Panic of '89 (1986).

Erdman possessed a knack for rendering complex economic concepts in simple terms, and using them to propel his stories, which always flowed swiftly. He resented critics who challenged his economic credentials. "I think my credentials are just fine," he said. "It's just that it's a rather boring profession. Who in hell wants to spend their life being an economist?" His ability to simplify complicated economics served him in non-fiction as well. The Money Book (1984) was a guide to personal investing, while The Tug of War (1996) warned about a global currency crisis. He produced much financial journalism, and a number of articles about another obsession, American football. From 1998 to 2005 he wrote an online column about international finance for the financial website MarketWatch.

Erdman died at home after a long struggle against cancer. He is survived by his wife, Helly, and two daughters. The Great Game, his 10th novel and first since 1997's The Set Up, will be published later this year.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jun/08/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries

John Henry; 2/21/20, 7:45 PM
Original Mike said...: Blogger Mark said...
You kidding me???

Here's what I said in November --
Last appearance for Yeoman Janice Rand.

I've been saying that for the last three episodes!"

IMDB, Mark.; 2/21/20, 7:48 PM
roesch/voltaire said...: I’m waiting for just one of the thousand tweets that Trump makes to criticize Putin. Not holding my breath.; 2/21/20, 7:50 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Listening to:

remixes
european jazz
more euro jazz
british jazz drummer; 2/21/20, 7:50 PM
Chuck said...: So the Bolton book continues to haunt Trump. WaPo reports on Trump staff indicating that they will try to tie up the book's publication until after the election.

It will be interesting to see how Professor Althouse threads that needle; between Trump Apologism and "prior restraint" law under the First Amendment.

And then there is Trump himself. Always, always, always, always always always right there, Donny on the spot, to say the one most stupid thing that a litigant like him must not say. Trump:
“We’re going to try and block the publication of the book,” Trump said, according to the notes. “After I leave office, he can do this. But not in the White House.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-wants-to-block-boltons-book-claiming-all-conversations-are-classified/2020/02/21/6a4f4b34-54d1-11ea-9e47-59804be1dcfb_story.html

Aha. So the official "defense" is classified national security information. But that classification ends the moment Trump leaves office? The review underway right now is not an "executive privilege" review. It is a "classified information" review. And there goes Trump, blowing up any genuine classified status for the information, and revealing that it is just political interest and personal preference for Trump, to keep the information out of the public's attention.

He really is the dumbest, worst, most awful legal client I've eve known of. Lucky for the White House staff counsel. They will get paid, by Uncle Sam. Unlike all of the other lawyers Trump has stiffed over the years.; 2/21/20, 7:53 PM
Original Mike said...: Blogger roesch/voltaire said..."I’m waiting for just one of the thousand tweets that Trump makes to criticize Putin. Not holding my breath."

You guys are just a one-trick pony.; 2/21/20, 7:54 PM
Inga said...: “I’m waiting for just one of the thousand tweets that Trump makes to criticize Putin. Not holding my breath.”

Yes, me too waiting...crickets... waiting...; 2/21/20, 7:54 PM
John henry said...: Richard Russo wrote Nobody's Fool, made into a movie with Paul Newman, one of his last.

He also wrote Empire Falls, made into a mini-series available on Amazon Prime. Also has Paul Newman in a supporting role.

Amazon recommended his book "Straight Man", about a college professor and life.

I had started it a couple weeks ago but got sidetracked by Erdman. I am back to it and enjoying it as it meanders along.

John Henry; 2/21/20, 7:54 PM
Yancey Ward said...: My predictions for tomorrow night:

Sanders- 30%
Buttuvwxyz- 24%
Klobuchar- 16%
Warren- 12%
Biden- 10%
Steyer- 8%

I also predict they won't turn out like Iowa- you can't run that trick on Sanders twice in a row- you will have the final count by Sunday morning at the latest.; 2/21/20, 7:54 PM
Original Mike said...: My predictions for tomorrow night: "The App ate our homework."; 2/21/20, 7:57 PM
Yancey Ward said...: That is my prediction for first choice. As I understand it, the second choice gets counted for those about the 15% first choice threshold. So, at the end, I expect:

Sanders 39%
Buttuvwxyz 34%
Klobuchar 27%; 2/21/20, 7:58 PM
Yancey Ward said...: In short, Biden and Warren get no delegates tomorrow.; 2/21/20, 7:59 PM
Drago said...: r/v: "I’m waiting for just one of the thousand tweets that Trump makes to criticize Putin."

LOL

What? Whacking 300 russian mercs in Syria, keeping russia's grubby little mitts off the Syrian oil fields, increasing sanctions on russia and russians, providing lethal military aid to Ukraine, missile systems to Poland, opposing the Nordstream pipeline by having American contractors shut down their operations, getting NATO to increase military spending, making the US the largest energy producer in the world and creating a reinvigorated alliance to oppose the Putin client state of Iran isnt enough for you?

You require a couple additional words on social media as well?

Yeah, yours is certainly a very "serious" critique....; 2/21/20, 7:59 PM
John henry said...: Blogger Chuck said...

It will be interesting to see how Professor Althouse threads that needle; between Trump Apologism and "prior restraint" law under the First Amendment.

An actual lawyer might know something about Non-Disclosure Agreements. (NDA's) especially with them being in the news of late.

There is no first amendment, censorship or prior restraint issue. Bolton signed an NDA, as does everyone who works for govt in security areas.

Under the NDA, he agreed to submit any writings abut his job and related issues for review. Further, under the NDA, he agrees not to publish anything that he learned from his job, without permission after review.

An actual lawyer would probably understand that.

John Henry; 2/21/20, 8:00 PM
Original Mike said...: "I also predict they won't turn out like Iowa- you can't run that trick on Sanders twice in a row- "

Why not? These are the same people who have been running 'Russia!' for four years.; 2/21/20, 8:01 PM
Drago said...: Poor Inga and r/v.

So very very upset Trump embarrassed their hero obama by supplying lethal aid to both Poland and Ukraine...which our very pro-"Vladimir" "flexible" obambi refused to do.

I wonder if the Ukrainians and Poles would trade their javelin missiles and air defense systems for a couple of tweets?

We already know Inga and r/v and obambi would.; 2/21/20, 8:02 PM
FullMoon said...: “I’m waiting for just one of the thousand tweets that Trump makes to criticize Putin. Not holding my breath.”

Killer comment, no malarky. Bloomberg, right?; 2/21/20, 8:02 PM
Inga said...: OCDrago.

Just like the Energizer Bunny, marching around in circles clanging his little cymbals.; 2/21/20, 8:05 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: My friend sent me this from the Internet.

"Biden is in 5th place. He is losing to an 80-year-old socialist, a gay soldier and a fake Indian. The dude is literally getting beaten by the Village People."; 2/21/20, 8:06 PM
FullMoon said...: An actual lawyer might know something about Non-Disclosure Agreements. (NDA's) especially with them being in the news of late.
He is possibly pretending to be stupid.

NDA's pretty common in tech and manufacturing around here..; 2/21/20, 8:06 PM
Drago said...: LLR-lefty Chuck: "So the Bolton book continues to haunt Trump."

LOLOLOLOL

Just yesterday Bolton called LLR-lefty Chuck's hero, Schiff-ty, the leader of a hopelessly partisan and failed process AND that his (Bolton's) testimony would not have changed a single vote.

Double-plus amusing: The Dems are refusing to subpoena Bolton!

So. Much. Winning.; 2/21/20, 8:08 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Chuck's power is that he doesn't have to pretend, FullMoon. It makes him invulnerable to criticism because he doesn't understand it.; 2/21/20, 8:09 PM
Drago said...: Admiral Inga: "OCDrago.
Just like the Energizer Bunny, marching around in circles clanging his little cymbals."

And yet not so OCD as to accidently use a completely debunked article regarding an exposed hoax from 2018 to "prove" an updated version of that hoax today.

Which Inga did.

And then ran away.....

Well. There you go.; 2/21/20, 8:11 PM
Drago said...: I cant wait for Inga to lob in some early 2016 polls to "prove" Trump has no path to 270 in 2020.

Its gonna be lit!; 2/21/20, 8:12 PM
Gahrie said...: Looking forward to the return of cruel neutrality. Just need Democrat president.

You may have to wait a while. Right now of the two leading contenders for the Democratic nomination for president, one is a Socialist, and the other is a Republican.; 2/21/20, 8:12 PM
Drago said...: Maybe its just taking longer for Inga to "catch up" to everyone else and she has only just clawed her way up to September of 2018 in terms of news.

Oh boy.

Whose gonna tell her about Mueller?! (Not gonna be pretty...); 2/21/20, 8:15 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: "“I’m waiting for just one of the thousand tweets that Trump makes to criticize Putin. Not holding my breath.””

Peace is not the answer!; 2/21/20, 8:15 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Ref! Stop the fight!

Watch: Biden Says His Son ‘Was Attorney General of the United States’

https://flagandcross.com/watch-biden-says-his-son-was-attorney-general-of-the-united-states-flat-out-lies-on-cnn/; 2/21/20, 8:18 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: "Today I bashed people on Twitter, ate junk food and went to a strip club. How did you celebrate 'President’s Day'?"
—Conan O'Brien; 2/21/20, 8:19 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: not exactly Tesla, but...

RIP Larry Tesler: The Man That Invented Cut, Copy, And Paste On The Computer

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/1919588/rip-larry-tesler-the-man-that-created-cut-copy-and-paste-on-the-computer; 2/21/20, 8:23 PM
Drago said...: ARM has unleashed The Conan.

Trump is worried now....; 2/21/20, 8:24 PM
John henry said...: Blogger FullMoon said...

He is possibly pretending to be stupid.

"Pretending"?

He had me fooled.

John Henry; 2/21/20, 8:24 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: You have to hand it to ARM, not just anybody could associate that level of obtuse stupidity with Aristotle.; 2/21/20, 8:26 PM
narciso said...: Erdman is a little more harold robbins 8n his stylings that was certainly true of at least two novels including last days; 2/21/20, 8:26 PM
Inga said...: “And yet not so OCD as to accidently use a completely debunked article regarding an exposed hoax from 2018 to "prove" an updated version of that hoax today.

Which Inga did.

And then ran away.....”

Liar. I was commenting about oligarchs and Trumps connection to them. But you really have a one track mind...OCDrago.; 2/21/20, 8:27 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: more euro jazz

british trumpeter; 2/21/20, 8:28 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 8:28 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "Liar. I was commenting about oligarchs and Trumps connection to them."

You are the liar, obviously. Demonstrably.

Those "connections" talked about in your BS 2018 article have all been completely debunked.

But do go on and tell us more about how Carter Page is a russian spy.....; 2/21/20, 8:29 PM
Andrew said...: More Biden news: He's been saying that he was arrested while visiting Mandela. Turns out to be false.; 2/21/20, 8:29 PM
Inga said...: “You have to hand it to ARM, not just anybody could associate that level of obtuse stupidity with Aristotle.”

Why so cranky today Auntie? Your time of the month? Have a piece of chocolate cake, that’ll fix ya. Take some ibuprofen for the cramps.; 2/21/20, 8:30 PM
Inga said...: “Those "connections" talked about in your BS 2018 article have all been completely debunked.”

Yeah, tell yourself that if it calms you down little bunny.; 2/21/20, 8:31 PM
Inga said...: “Thanks for reading,if there is any way I could have said this better, please let me know.”

You could’ve just wrote, Jesus loves us this we know, for the Bible tells us so...

Short, succinct.; 2/21/20, 8:35 PM
rcocean said...: "We are running out of people to fuel the economic growth that we've had in our nation over the last four years. We need more immigrants."

Yeah, that's fucking stupid and its just the kinda crap that Southern Congressmen always say. We have over 1 million immigrants every year. We have huge numbers of H-1B's. We don't "need more immigrants".; 2/21/20, 8:45 PM
John henry said...: Blogger narciso said...

Erdman is a little more harold robbins 8n his stylings

I can see that in his later novels, though I never found Robbins that interesting. Not terrible, I read several of his books, just never really excited me.

Billion Dollar Sure Thing, and especially The Silver Bears put me more in mind of Donald Westlake. (Another author I read over and over)

John Henry; 2/21/20, 8:51 PM
Mark said...: Very interesting.

So I'm watching this episode of Insight from 1967. It's about a couple of Auschwitz survivors, one who lost his faith and other whose faith was strengthened. And there is a flashback to the camp.

One of the prisoners is Werner Klemperer, who in other acting played a few Nazis, including the twisted jurist on trial in Judgment at Nuremberg and, of course, Col. Klink. Here, he tries to encourage the others with speaking about love.

The part he plays in Auschwitz is not one of the Jewish prisoners, but Father Maximilian Kolbe, who volunteered to take the place of another prisoner who was condemned to execution.

The prisoner whose place he takes is played by Jack Klugman.; 2/21/20, 8:57 PM
FullMoon said...: “Thanks for reading,if there is any way I could have said this better, please let me know.”

You could’ve just wrote, Jesus loves us this we know, for the Bible tells us so...

Short, succinct.

Credit where credit is due, even a blind hog..stopped clock ..etc..; 2/21/20, 8:59 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 9:01 PM
wildswan said...: People are running out of New York, California and Illinois so those states are running out of people and need immigrants who don't realize they could run out on failure like everyone else.; 2/21/20, 9:02 PM
Mark said...: You know, steve, if you really loved, you would presume the best of people, not the worst.; 2/21/20, 9:04 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 9:11 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 9:11 PM
narciso said...: https://www.foxnews.com/media/devin-nunes-washington-post-trump-joseph-maguire.amp?__twitter_impression=true; 2/21/20, 9:12 PM
Inga said...: Sanders called Putin a thug and an autocrat and more. So what did Trump say today?

“I don’t care, frankly, who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants to be president,” Sanders said in a statement to the Post. “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do."; 2/21/20, 9:13 PM
Inga said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 9:16 PM
Mark said...: Yes, we've seen your prideful judgmentalism on display many times.; 2/21/20, 9:17 PM
Mark said...: But I had enough of stupid silly arguments with you last night.

No more of that folly.; 2/21/20, 9:18 PM
Inga said...: “Feel free to mock me as much as you want ..... we will all figure things out, eventually.”

My dear Cooper, I don’t want to mock you. I just think you’ll convince more people of God’s love for them by using less words. I already know God loves us. Oh and thanks for calling me your young friend, I’m probably older than you.

Peace brother.; 2/21/20, 9:18 PM
Mark said...: No RESET button for Bernie??; 2/21/20, 9:19 PM
Original Mike said...: "Sanders said in a statement to the Post. “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.""

Well, that's got him shaking in his boots.; 2/21/20, 9:19 PM
wildswan said...: I wonder if anyone knows whether the coronavirus will spread in this country as fast as it did in China. On January 20 China had about 256 cases and now it has 70,000. And I wonder if anyone knows whether it's really true that no one under fifteen has died from the virus. Is it targeting older smokers? Or people with damaged lungs? It's annoying that we can't believe anything they are saying and we have to wait for reliable statistics till some other country has cases. I believe this will permanently alter the world because as we can see controlling information allows an epidemic to spread uncontrollably, while not controlling information spreads freedom. I believe the despots in China have decided that freedom is the more dangerous epidemic and so they'll end up with both.; 2/21/20, 9:22 PM
FullMoon said...: "Sanders said in a statement to the Post. “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.""
......................

This is the guy the left wants to trust with our atomic bombs?; 2/21/20, 9:23 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 9:24 PM
daskol said...: Cruel neutrality and the Era Of That’s Not Funny are great. I’ve been saying for years, Ms. Tangerine: loudmouth NYers have taken over. Others, besides the Jew-resenters who were admittedly hip to this a while ago (but it’s not the Jewish thing they see under their beds and in their closets and everywhere else) are noticing: Our politics is now a battle of the boroughs, says WFB.; 2/21/20, 9:24 PM
n.n said...: That's why we got slavery.

Diversity and labor arbitrage. With progress, the color judgments and affirmative discrimination liberalized and encompassed new classes of people... persons. They relieved "burdens" for the sake of social progress, social justice, taxable revenue, and democratic leverage. That said, technically, they made a choice based on science. The slave trade and cancellation policies (e.g. Hutu vs Tutsi, Mandela factions lynching competing blacks) of African tribes provided an environmentally and climate friendly worker, which displaced the existing workers at a progressive cost, in the short-term. The same thing happened with women, where human life was considered a miracle of procreation, until the "burden" impinged on economic stability, taxable revenue, and social availability. The solutions were wicked and global in both cases.; 2/21/20, 9:25 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 9:25 PM
daskol said...: It’s not so much a sense of superiority or a mere regional chauvinism, is it, when it’s a fact.; 2/21/20, 9:25 PM
William said...: We all pass on. It's the things we leave behind that counts. The founder of Hair Club for Men has died, but his creations will live on. I'm sure that with proper maintenance and care, a good hairpiece can be passed down for many generations as the family heirloom....I'm sorry to see that Biden chose the hair plugs route instead of the Hair Club solution. He went through painful and repeated operations that robbed his brain of oxygen and all for what? The dark forces of biology have left him nearly bald. If he had gone the Hair Club route, he would still have a full, luxuriant head of hair--one, moreover, that he could pass on to his balding son and, later, his grandson....Learn from the sad lessons of Biden's life and rejoice at the triumph of Sy Sperling who had such crowning achievements.; 2/21/20, 9:26 PM
FullMoon said...: The ordeal of K. T. McFarland
Longtime Republican politico K.T. McFarland said in a radio interview Wednesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team pressured her for “20, 30, 40 hours of hell” to either cop a plea or implicate other Trump associates in crimes, even though she didn’t think she or they did anything wrong.

McFarland, who served a four-month stint under Trump’s short-lived national security adviser Michael Flynn, was ensnared in Mueller’s dragnet after leaving the administration in May 2017…

“When the Mueller people came knocking at my door, they started quizzing me on stuff that I didn’t have access to and didn’t remember 100 percent accurately, and it allowed them to say, ‘well you must be lying then,’” McFarland told WMAL hosts Vince Coglianese and Mary Walter.

Walter asked McFarland why she wasn’t in the same position as Flynn, who ended up pleading guilty to a crime he didn’t commit (after Mueller threatened to bring criminal charges against his son). She replied: “because I didn’t break.”…

McFarland…said she’d had “a really hard time of it” and almost broke herself.

“At one point, I turned to my lawyer and said, ‘just tell me what they want me to say and I’ll say it!’” she recalled.

McFarland told the hosts that she just wanted the ordeal—which cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees—to be over with.

“My husband, God bless him, said ‘you can’t do that. Even if we go bankrupt,” she continued. So McFarland decided to stand her ground…

“This tool, which we had given the intelligence community—which is a good thing for them to have if they’re tracking down mass murderers and terrorists—they were using it for political purposes to go after political enemies,” McFarland lamented.; 2/21/20, 9:29 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Corrupt Elites Siphon Aid Money Intended For World’s Poorest

https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2020/02/20/corrupt-elites-siphen-aid-money-intended-for-worlds-poorest/amp/; 2/21/20, 9:30 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: FullMoon said...
This is the guy the left wants to trust with our atomic bombs?

As opposed to the current guy who just said, 'Fuck me harder'?; 2/21/20, 9:31 PM
Original Mike said...: "Walter asked McFarland why she wasn’t in the same position as Flynn, who ended up pleading guilty to a crime he didn’t commit (after Mueller threatened to bring criminal charges against his son). She replied: “because I didn’t break.”…"

Robert Mueller turned out to be a thug.; 2/21/20, 9:33 PM
Inga said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 9:37 PM
Inga said...: “AND I WILL HAVE PRAYED AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT you will be in heaven.”

Of course Mark will get to Heaven, so will you, so will I, so will Trump, yes even Trump. Have you read any Near Death Experiences? There are thousands of them nowadays, documented cases of people whose vital signs have stopped and the were revived through modern medicine/technology. So many have come back and reported being enveloped by a light, God’s light, enveloped with Gods light, all encompassing love. Some of these people were terrible sinners and even atheists. They report that God did NOT judge them, they judged themselves during their life review. God told them it was unimportant and they were on earth to learn to love. We ALL will be able to go to our true Home...Heaven, no one will be locked out. Even Jews who do not believe in Jesus report going to heaven, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus all report similar trips to heaven and back . All were embraced by God. People of all religions have reported having near death experiences.

No,one should fret about if they are going to heaven. Stop with all the anxiety about God’s love. Just believe He does love us.; 2/21/20, 9:40 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: It seems pretty obvious that our beloved Deep State is using the Rooskie threat to harm Sanders. I have to say it would be kind of amusing to watch all the FBI bootlickers in the media cover a Deep State op against a Democratic president.; 2/21/20, 9:41 PM
daskol said...: Matt Taibbi, despite being (I think) a Bostoner, sees Bloomberg very clearly.. It’s not cynicism, though, that we’d be descending into. It’s cynicism proving inescapable, since this is a cynical political age, or was anyway, until Trump.; 2/21/20, 9:41 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Automatic_Wing said...
it would be kind of amusing to watch all the FBI bootlickers in the media cover a Deep State op against a Democratic president.

That would be called American History.; 2/21/20, 9:44 PM
Original Mike said...: "I have to say it would be kind of amusing to watch all the FBI bootlickers in the media cover a Deep State op against a Democratic president."

That'd almost be worth it.; 2/21/20, 9:45 PM
Mark said...: Wow. Bernie hasn't changed in 30 years! In his look, in his tone, in his uncombed crazy hair, in his loudness, in his nutty ideas -- he's exactly the same and giving the same speech today as he did then.

Here's Bernie's first speech in Congress from 1991 (about a minute long).; 2/21/20, 9:45 PM
Drago said...: Admiral Inga: "Yeah, tell yourself that if it calms you down little bunny."

LOL

I just love that Deripaska is prominently featured in your hilariously debunked 2018 article.

Deripaska is the guy who told of FBI types coming to him to ask him to say things that were not true.

You see Inga, that came out in 2019, but your hoax article on hoax collusion written by collusion hoaxers in 2018 didn't include info like that.

But hey little bunny, if you've got all this cool info that can nail Trump, its never too late to send a little note to little Mueller and let him know all about it.; 2/21/20, 9:46 PM
daskol said...: It’s not that complicated, the NYer things. What they all have in common is it’s never occurred to them to stay in their lane. What lanes?; 2/21/20, 9:49 PM
Ken B said...: Yancey
Nice to see your predictions this time around because they essentially say “Ken B was right and I was wrong”. 😉; 2/21/20, 9:49 PM
Inga said...: Lessons from the Light

Here this is my gift for you today Stephen Cooper. It gives me peace and comfort when I miss my son. Don’t worry so much about people knowing God loves them, if they don’t know it while they are here on earth, they’ll find out when they leave their earthly body to go Home.; 2/21/20, 9:52 PM
Ken B said...: Mark
Joe Rogan *likes* that Bernie is “consistent”, and says the same thing for 50 years. That's why he endorsed Bernie. Nothing says leader like “impervious to experience” . Except possibly “blind to evidence”.; 2/21/20, 9:54 PM
Original Mike said...: Yeah, if you think the same thing at 70 as you did at 20, that's not good.; 2/21/20, 9:57 PM
Original Mike said...: Oops, 80 and 30.; 2/21/20, 9:58 PM
John henry said...: For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. - Isaiah 41:13

I always find this strengthening

John Henry; 2/21/20, 9:59 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 10:01 PM
Original Mike said...: I don't know, Inga's no spring chicken.; 2/21/20, 10:04 PM
Mark said...: I'm still trying to decide whom to vote for on Super Tuesday in Virginia.

It needs to be someone to help the cause of a contested convention. Maybe Grandpa Joe. He or she needs to be able to get some delegates and be sure to stick through to the end. The doddering fool is certainly too proud to drop out, even if he drops off and drools himself after some embarrassing outburst. But can he get above the threshold to get some delegates?

Possibly Pete, who is coming to town this weekend.

I think a Warren vote will be a throw-away. She's going nowhere. Klobachur too, likely -- if Bernie gets too far ahead, her money could dry up and she might have to fold.; 2/21/20, 10:06 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 10:11 PM
Mark said...: Meanwhile, Grandpa Joe is telling the story of how, after he was under the threat of sniper fire, he was arrested in South Africa while working to try to get Nelson Mandela freed from prison.

Problem is that he never mentioned it in his memoirs and no one there at the time remembers it either.; 2/21/20, 10:13 PM
Inga said...: Stephen, I wouldn’t presume to give you advice. The lessons are from those who were in the presence of God, what they learned form their short time in Heaven. We are merely human and cannot know why God allows awful things to happen on earth, he gave us free will, maybe he wants us to learn something. I have no control over other people’s decisions or bodies. I trust that God allows things to happen for a reason.; 2/21/20, 10:14 PM
Original Mike said...: Mark, did you see the clip where Biden claims his son was the US Attorney General? I don't think Joe makes it to the convention.; 2/21/20, 10:14 PM
mccullough said...: Biden’s brain is broken. But the guy looks to be in good health. He’ll outlive Bernie.; 2/21/20, 10:17 PM
Original Mike said...: "Biden’s brain is broken. But the guy looks to be in good health. He’ll outlive Bernie."

Joe should angle for Bernie's VP. He knows the way to the office. Well, maybe not anymore.; 2/21/20, 10:20 PM
effinayright said...: Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Listening to:

remixes
european jazz
more euro jazz
british jazz drummer
*****************************

You can't fool us. We all know you spend your time listening to those incessant voices in your head.

You know, sorta like Norman Bates.; 2/21/20, 10:22 PM
effinayright said...: Inga said...

I trust that God allows things to happen for a reason.
*****************

Your very existence falsifies that premise.; 2/21/20, 10:23 PM
daskol said...: Biden has plugs, veneers and has had a significant amount of cosmetic surgery. That he looks healthful is more a credit to his surgeon than an indication of longevity.; 2/21/20, 10:27 PM
FullMoon said...: "Sanders said in a statement to the Post. “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.""
....................
Who was in charge when the Russians interfered in last election?; 2/21/20, 10:27 PM
walter said...: Mark,
That just pissed off Brian Williams.; 2/21/20, 10:28 PM
Drago said...: Fullmoon: "Who was in charge when the Russians interfered in last election?"

Shhhhhh!

And that guy also told Putin to "knock it off!"......but now the lefties claim Putin did not "knock it off".....even though the lefties tell us obama was tough on Putin...even though he clearly was not.....

It's more lefty/LLR-lefty moebius-strip "logic".; 2/21/20, 10:34 PM
mccullough said...: Biden has good posture and moves with ease. Guy is in good physical shape.; 2/21/20, 10:38 PM
Mark said...: Yeah, he's great at push-ups.; 2/21/20, 10:39 PM
walter said...: Lotsa nude swimmin'; 2/21/20, 10:40 PM
stephen cooper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/20, 10:42 PM
mccullough said...: Bernie’s going to war with Russia. The Neocons must be masturbating.

So the question to Bernie is: IC is saying Russia is interferring again. So if you are elected, what will you do to punish Russia for interfering g in the election you won?; 2/21/20, 10:43 PM
FullMoon said...: Meanwhile, Grandpa Joe is telling the story of how, after he was under the threat of sniper fire, he was arrested in South Africa while working to try to get Nelson Mandela freed from prison.

Problem is that he never mentioned it in his memoirs and no one there at the time remembers it either.

I thought you guys were kidding. Looked at generic Yahoo news story. Comments pretty funny. Impressed that Joe jammed onstage with Jimmy Hendrix and fought alongside Custer..; 2/21/20, 10:43 PM
FullMoon said...: So the question to Bernie is: IC is saying Russia is interferring again. So if you are elected, what will you do to punish Russia for interfering g in the election you won?

All that excitable arm waving , he liable to hit the button by accident..; 2/21/20, 10:45 PM
FullMoon said...: Bobby Bare:
Drop kick me, Jesus through the goal posts of life
End over end, neither left nor to right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Drop kick me, Jesus through the goal posts of life
Make me, oh make me, Lord more than I am
Make me a piece in your master game plan
Free from the earthly temptations below
I've got the will, Lord if you've got the toe
(Chorus)
Bring on the brothers who've gone on before
And all of the sisters who've knocked on your door
All the departed dear loved ones of mine
Stick them up front in the offensive line
(Chorus 2x)
Oh, drop kick me, Jesus through the goal posts of life; 2/21/20, 10:52 PM
Marc in Eugene said...: I'm reading the Welsh poet Robert Stuart Thomas, the Everyman collected edition (1945-1990). His poem Evans.

Evans? Yes, many a time
I came down his bare flight
Of stairs into the gaunt kitchen
With its wood fire, where crickets sang
Accompaniment to the black kettle’s
Whine, and so into the cold
Dark to smother in the thick tide
Of night that drifted about the walls
Of his stark farm on the hill ridge.

It was not the dark filling my eyes
And mouth apalled me; not even the drip
Of rain like blood from the one tree
Weather-tortured. It was the dark
Silting the veins of that sick man
I left stranded upon the vast
And lonely shore of his bleak bed.; 2/21/20, 10:54 PM
walter said...: Paul Sperry
@paulsperry_
·
9h
The dirty Obama-era investigators have ESCAPED JUSTICE as Trump figures have had the BOOK THROWN AT THEM for similar offenses. #2TierJustice
Paul Sperry
@paulsperry_
·
10h
Perhaps AG Barr should step in and take these sensitive prosecutorial decisions out of the hands of his line attorneys. They are not the "career" prosecutors the MSM describes them as. Many appear to be partisans still working for Obama and AG Holder/Lynch.
Paul Sperry
@paulsperry_
·
10h
The father of the Obama Democrat-donating prosecutor who let admitted perjurer Andrew McCabe off the hook happens to be partners with Eric Holder at the DC law firm of Covington & Burling. Did the former AG have something to do with McCabe getting off?; 2/21/20, 11:08 PM
mccullough said...: I just laughed when Biden mentioned at the debates how he had worked with so many Mexican presidents. It was clear he couldn’t name any of them.

If he had blurted out Speedy Gonzalez, I’d have donated $2,500 to his campaign on the spot.

At the rate Biden is going mentally, the guy might be better than Trump. He’d revert back to his 1975 positions.; 2/21/20, 11:08 PM
Mark said...: Oh yeah, that too. Forgot all about Joe's #MeToo nude swimming in front of female Secret Service.; 2/21/20, 11:20 PM
John henry said...: Fullmoon,

Even after all that jogging he still has energy for dropkicking.

A never ending fount of energy.

John Henry; 2/21/20, 11:42 PM
John henry said...: Bobby has also never been to bed with an ugly woman but he's sure woke up with a few.

John Henry; 2/21/20, 11:43 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "Nice to see your predictions this time around because they essentially say “Ken B was right and I was wrong”.

I will end up being wrong again for giving Warren and Biden no delegates- they will end up over-performing tomorrow. I have called almost every turn in this primary wrong- I had, sequentially, Harris, then Warren, then Biden, and now Sanders as the candidate to beat. The only things I have gotten right is that Sanders won the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, but those were the easy predictions.; 2/22/20, 12:15 AM
madAsHell said...: I wonder if anyone knows whether the coronavirus will spread in this country as fast as it did in China. On January 20 China had about 256 cases and now it has 70,000.

The coronavirus is a CIA plot to eliminate the homeless under I-5.; 2/22/20, 12:18 AM
madAsHell said...: You heard it here first!!; 2/22/20, 12:19 AM
Yancey Ward said...: The Coronavirus is clearly a Russian Government plot like everything else.; 2/22/20, 12:21 AM
n.n said...: The coronavirus is a CIA plot to eliminate the homeless under I-5.

Actually, it seems to be most viable with the elderly. First, planned parenthood (e.g. one-child, selective-child) left the population top-heavy. Now (pun intended), planned parent to correct for past social injustices, and force a stable statistical distribution. Another great leap in the annals of human [unqualified] progress.; 2/22/20, 12:44 AM
etbass said...: Matthew 7:13-14 KJV

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.; 2/22/20, 1:06 AM
Lewis said...: Why do I admire you? Respect you? Not, obviously, because I'm supposed to say that. I read you in order not to read all the books I meant to read. That's not your fault, it's mine. I mean, I did my reading before I was 35 - after that, well, the dumb ages. But what I read in that brief (to me) span? Everything from Stendhal to Hegel. Anyways, this is me:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sLX5Nym9fcs

Lewis Deane; 2/22/20, 2:20 AM
Lewis said...: Everything is confused: for instance, my feelings about Bowie

https://youtu.be/KFhmmjDjHiU; 2/22/20, 2:47 AM
gilbar said...: bloombergs new commercial, is Surprisingly effective!; 2/22/20, 2:54 AM
Original Mike said...: He's not a Jiminy.; 2/22/20, 3:11 AM
rhhardin said...: Derb says that the widespread Chinese coronovirus prevention house arrest will help the plummeting Chinese fertility rate.; 2/22/20, 5:18 AM
Paco Wové said...: "if anyone knows whether the coronavirus will spread in this country as fast as it did in China."

I'd like to know WTF happened in Italy. Over 50 cases now, most just in the past week.; 2/22/20, 8:30 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “I wonder if anyone knows whether the coronavirus will spread in this country as fast as it did in China. On January 20 China had about 256 cases and now it has 70,000. And I wonder if anyone knows whether it's really true that no one under fifteen has died from the virus. Is it targeting older smokers? Or people with damaged lungs? It's annoying that we can't believe anything they are saying and we have to wait for reliable statistics till some other country has cases. I believe this will permanently alter the world because as we can see controlling information allows an epidemic to spread uncontrollably, while not controlling information spreads freedom. I believe the despots in China have decided that freedom is the more dangerous epidemic and so they'll end up with both.”

I don’t think that it will spread as quickly.

First, there is population density. The Wuhan city center (“Urban” has roughly 9 million people, in about 600 square miles, for an average density of about 15K people per square mile. Just under half our states have fewer than 100 people per square mile. Four have fewer than 10 per square mil. Wuhan has a slightly denser population than NYC (13.3K per sq mile - 8 million in 468k sq miles). In China, Wuhan, slightly more populous than NYC, is the 9th biggest city, Where we live in MT, the county has a density of maybe 2 per sq mile, and I would be lucky to be in contact with 100 people in one day. Here in suburban PHX, going to Walmart, I might be in contact with several hundred, at most 1k. In Wuhan, that might be 10k. Density is critical here, because every person you are within several feet of, or has touched the same thing that you have within the last day or two, is a possible infection point. And people who are infected are only contagious for a week or two. Possible several days before showing symptoms, at which time many will either self quarantine or check into the hospital.

Another issue is sanitation. A generation or two ago, the bulk of the Wuhan population was still rural, peasants working in the rice paddies. Many still have rural hygiene, which means coughing without covering their mouths, spitting, and not washing their hands as often as most of us do. All of which can transmit the virus.

Also, as noted, smoking is much less of a problem here. Moreover, there is some suggestion that it is most deadly to East Asians, and probably Han Chinese.

With these facts, I think that it is unlikely that we will face a large threat from this virus. Throughout most of the country, I just don’t see it moving fast enough through the population to swamp our ability to respond to it, like has apparently happened around Wuhan. Not that there won’t be outbreaks, but that they will mostly be controllable.

That said, I expect that there will be challenges. Homeless will be a challenge. Our biggest cities will pose some risk, esp places with high population densities like NYC and DC. Also anywhere there are high numbers of people congregating, such as sporting events, Trump rallies, and cruises (my partner has been demanding that we take a cruise this year - not going to happen).

That all said, I have several hundred masks on hand, as well as gloves, plenty of bleach (which I pick up at the $1 store), and have a couple weeks of food stockpiled. Will be augmenting all that in the near future.; 2/22/20, 8:30 AM
Chuck said...: Under the NDA, he agreed to submit any writings abut his job and related issues for review. Further, under the NDA, he agrees not to publish anything that he learned from his job, without permission after review.

An actual lawyer would probably understand that.

John Henry

An actual lawyer knows that such an NDA would not be enforceable. I don’t think that there is any Bolton NDA that contains such a provision. I am looking forward to any federal court litigation that exposes any/all agreements. I’m pretty much thrilled any time that federal judges get to do oversight on Trump.

Right now, by all accounts, the current White House review of the Bolton manuscript is strictly for classified national security information.

See you in court.; 2/22/20, 10:22 AM
effinayright said...: Chuck said...

. I’m pretty much thrilled any time that federal judges get to do oversight on Trump.
****************

Yeah, that's a sound conclusion from a guy who claims to be a lawyer---agreeing that lower federal courts have "oversight on" the POTUS.

S N O R T; 2/22/20, 10:31 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “An actual lawyer knows that such an NDA would not be enforceable“

Not sure why you think that. I worked in an area of technology where NDAs were routine (computers and software). As an attorney, I have drafted a number of them over the decades, and negotiated with other companies on many more. I have negotiated NDAs with IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, AT&T, Ford, and a number of lesser known companies. Indeed, patent law is highly dependent upon the enforceability of NDAs - they are routinely used to prevent the Novelty clock from starting to run, both internally and externally. Best practices for disclosing new products to potential customers is to make sure that (likely provisional) patent applications have been filed, and an NDA has been signed. A good friend just spent a couple months going around and around with a well known Fortune 50 company getting a one way NDA signed - that company kept changing it back into a joint development agreement, that could possibly let them steal the technology, and he kept insisting that the transfer of information was only going one way. We are talking possibly billions in sales, of products already promised by that big company to the market. Engineering and sales were screaming bloody murder, but their lawyers were holding firm, until General Counsel was called out at an Executive Council meeting. My friend got his one way NDA, and you will probably see (indirectly) the product next year.

For the most part, NDAs are used to create the confidentiality expectation that is a basic requirement of Trade Secret law. You can do it somewhat by other means. But NDAs are inevitably the best way to do it. There are rare exceptions to their effectiveness- I have worked on the discovery rule in both TX and CA, where the question is whether the Stature of Limitations starts to run when the confidentiality is breached, or when it is discovered. Last I knew, CA was the only state where the SoL starts to run at time of breach, even when the breach of the underlying NDA was intentionally hidden, and that, we think, is because one of the defendants was the University of California at one of its premier laboratories. In short, one of the branches of the CA government refusing to hold another branch of the same government liable for its misdeeds (at least in CA, not that unusual an occurrence when a lot of money is involved). Last I knew, the other 49 states run with the Discover Rule.

I have little doubt that when an AUSA goes into federal court and argues that our national security requires that federal NDAs protecting classified information must be enforceable, our Judiciary will almost always enforce them. For one thing, this is the primary source of the government’s injunctive powers against disclosure of classified information. Sure, disclosure of such can be a violation of federal laws, such as the Espionage Act, but that is after the fact. Retrospective. But NDAs allow prospective prevention of disclosure. NDAs are one of the few places where Prior Restraint is allowable under the 2nd Amdt, and that is partially because the NDA was a voluntary contract.; 2/22/20, 1:02 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: @Chuck - I will put my expertise and experience with NDAs up against yours any day. And that is because there is probably no place in a company where NDAs are more important than IP in general, and patents in particular. My father practiced mostly banking and real estate law for almost 50 years, and probably never had to write or negotiate an NDA the entire time. On the other hand, when I was an in house patent attorney for a major electronics company, in an office of maybe a dozen patent attorneys, we probably were negotiating several dozen NDAs at any given time. It was the bulk of the work done by the senior attorneys in the office, who really didn’t want to prepare and prosecute patents any more. I dealt with the companies listed above, because I was the software expert in the office (most of the rest were EEs). It was literally a firing offense for someone to sign an NDA in our $5B Sector w/o our department’s approval. (Part of why we were on call 24/7 - and why we were forced to accept voice mail and carried pagers - not that such access was frequently required. It wasn’t, but JIC).; 2/22/20, 1:30 PM
Chuck said...: "I have little doubt that when an AUSA goes into federal court and argues that our national security requires that federal NDAs protecting classified information must be enforceable, our Judiciary will almost always enforce them. For one thing, this is the primary source of the government’s injunctive powers against disclosure of classified information. Sure, disclosure of such can be a violation of federal laws, such as the Espionage Act, but that is after the fact. Retrospective. But NDAs allow prospective prevention of disclosure. NDAs are one of the few places where Prior Restraint is allowable under the 2nd Amdt, and that is partially because the NDA was a voluntary contract."

Sure.

But the burden is going to be h-e-a-v-i-l-y on the White House to prove that the words in Bolton's manuscript are divulging classified information.

Again, this won't be an "executive privilege" situation. It will be about classified information. Bolton has forgotten more about classification of intelligence secrets, than Donald Trump will ever understand. Bolton, more than anyone outside of the CIA itself, would know how to write in such a way as to elide any classification problems.

And Trump just got through saying that Bolton can publish it all when Trump is out of office. If it's classified, then why would it be publishable after Trump is out of office? What the fuck difference should that make? If Bolton can publish it later, why can't he publish it now? It isn't dependent on secrecy and operations, apparently. It depends on Trump's electoral exposure, political convenience and personal embarrassment.; 2/22/20, 1:34 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: "I'd like to know WTF happened in Italy. Over 50 cases now, most just in the past week.”

You get one guy with a runny nose and poor personal hygene...; 2/22/20, 1:41 PM
Nichevo said...: See you in court.

Chuck, nobody's going to see you in court, or anywhere else, but cling by all means to your TV lawyer catchphrase. What else have you got, after all?; 2/22/20, 2:00 PM
gadfly said...: Bozo Trump is going to India to visit Taj Mahal but he will likely become confused when there are no slot machines available.

What is this stupidity about "Trump finding himself?" When extreme narcissism bordering on solipsism sets in, the resulting NPD becomes a psychological state where reality is not external to his weak mind.; 2/22/20, 4:28 PM
Josephbleau said...: Claiming to know elaborate details about someone you have never talked to is a warning sign Mr. Gfly. Heinlein had the best evaluation of solipsism, "Sometimes everyone else goes away, but I'm always here..."; 2/22/20, 7:19 PM