Althouse: At the Saturday Night Café...

August 22, 2020

At the Saturday Night Café...

... you can write about whatever you like.

48 comments:

ALP said...: I have coined a couple of phrases I would like to share.

Hardy Miscreant: a person willing to attend protests in bad weather, in rain/snow - specifically cold and wet conditions.

Tender Miscreant: a person only willing to attend protests when temps are over 60 degrees F. Must return indoors once the first frost arrives.

Note that it also relates nicely to previous discusson on garden design/plants.; 8/22/20, 9:26 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: This is the person who called you a conspiracy theorist
Their photo

-->The Obama-Biden Virus Response
If H1N1 had proved as deadly as Covid-19, it could have killed nearly two million.

“Former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain said in 2019: “We did every possible thing wrong. Sixty million Americans got H1N1 in that period of time, and it is just purely a fortuity that this isn’t one of the great mass-casualty events in American history.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-obama-biden-virus-response-11597966209

-->Biden lied for years about the accident that killed his wife & daughter

https://www.independentsentinel.com/biden-lied-for-years-about-the-accident-that-killed-his-wife-daughter/

...and who's idea was the Dem's "Death 2 America" logo?; 8/22/20, 9:33 PM
Ken B said...: Remember, Birkel said he wants people to be denied jobs, because they are part of the same group as someone he disagrees with. Birkel is the same kind of person as AOC.; 8/22/20, 9:35 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: What sister?; 8/22/20, 9:37 PM
Michael K said...: It would be nice to be in Cour d'Alene this weekend.

Our daughter's property north of there will not see much work while she has a 1 year old.; 8/22/20, 9:44 PM
narciso said...: Wait what

https://mobile.twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1297287767890767873; 8/22/20, 10:09 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Two Weeks For Joe Biden's 24 Minutes In Wilmington

“Half our staff wanted to go outside just to see it, to see if it was really happening"

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/democratic-national-convention-biden-dnc-details; 8/22/20, 10:39 PM
Nichevo said...: I know you like TikTok, Emerita, but this is why we can't have nice things:

http://chinascope.org/archives/24225

RFA did not spell out the company names. A Twitter account said the technicians were from Huawei and the video platform they used to identify candidates and push videos to was TikTok.

Sources:
1. Radio Free Asia, August 7, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/ear/ear-straw-08062020081345.html
2. Twitter, @Raymond999USA; 8/22/20, 10:45 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: At the ̶S̶a̶t̶u̶r̶d̶a̶y̶ ̶N̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ Cafe

... It's Sunday Morning

Have a blessed day, y'all !; 8/22/20, 11:15 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "Black oLives Matter" -- Kalamata Harris

Be Safe-- Practice Socialist Distancing

...a message brought to you by the Silenced Majority; 8/22/20, 11:31 PM
Readering said...: Guess we know why Maryanne trump Barry was a no show at her brother's white house funeral.; 8/22/20, 11:54 PM
gadfly said...: With apologies to Leonard Cohen, "So long, Maryanne, its time that we began to gasp and cry and cry and gasp about it all again." Recordings of Maryanne Trump Barry, Donnie's older sister, confirm that the president is as bad or perhaps worse than his opposition has already discerned.

Maryanne has kept her mouth shut for a long, long time while serving on the U.S. District Court - while sucking up illegal income that came from All County Maintenance, an fake company that raked in income for all of Fred Trump's spawn. But cousin Mary Trump blew up the secretive activities and gave us the news that Donnie's sister don't like him either. Read the Daily Beast story here.

“He went to Fordham for one year and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.”

“He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this,” Barry says on the tape, apparently referring to his policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the border. “His goddamned tweet and lying, oh my God. I’m talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy shit.”

She added, “It’s the phoniness of it all. It’s the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.”

In other parts of the audio, Barry, who has not previously spoken out against her brother, reveals that the president “doesn’t read.” She recounted a phone call in which he asked her if she was watching Fox News and she told him that she prefers to read.

“What do you read?” the president asked. When she replied, “Books,” he asked again, “You don’t watch Fox?”; 8/23/20, 12:29 AM
Kai Akker said...: @daskol -- You were right about Tesla. On Thursday, one hour above $2,000. On Friday, the whole day.; 8/23/20, 4:03 AM
rehajm said...: Strzok is trying to get out front of what’s coming. He’s doing his best to press a narrative.; 8/23/20, 4:54 AM
rehajm said...: Are Strozk and McCabe still on the same Page?; 8/23/20, 4:55 AM
rehajm said...: One is reminded of the spin put out ahead of the IG report: that Comey had been vindicated (false, accdg to IG) and that the IG had ruled out political motivations on the part of agents who behaved inappropriately or criminally (false accede to IG). We'll see

- Sharyl Attkisson; 8/23/20, 5:00 AM
Nancy said...: Ann, are you considering any way of returning to unmoderated comments? Could individuals earn the right to non moderation?; 8/23/20, 5:10 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Ann, are you considering any way of returning to unmoderated comments? Could individuals earn the right to non moderation?"

Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you saw what I am dealing with, you would understand why I have to do it. The only alternative is to give up on comments entirely.

The Blogger software has no option to let me deal with different commenters differently. I considered moving to another platform, but everything else is complicated in a way that prevented me from getting anywhere setting up a simple straightforward blog.

Blogger serves a purpose and I am within the purpose — simplicity. I am a lot bigger than what they're designed for, so I've had to make a decision to work around the problem that I have. What you're seeing is the answer: Moderation. I know the café post at the end of the day makes the limitation most obvious. Maybe I should post my day-end picture without comments, but I leave the comments section open so people can raise topics that weren't in any posts. It is no longer a way to have something like a chat room at night. But there are many place on the web where you can talk all night. It's just not here anymore.; 8/23/20, 5:31 AM
Howard said...: Fake news gadfly. Either that or throw his sister under the bus.; 8/23/20, 5:37 AM
Mr. Forward said...: So all that timeTrump spent making a billion dollars and bringing peace to the Middle East he should have been reading John Grisham. Is that your point gadfly?; 8/23/20, 6:00 AM
George Putnam said...: Professor Althouse, I would be interested to know what you think about the movie “Mr. Jones,” if you are so inclined. The movie, which came out in June, is about the Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who tried unsuccessfully to publicize the 1932-1933 Ukrainian famine that killed millions of people, now known as the Holodomor. It’s also about the disgraceful New York Times journalist Walter Duranty who helped keep that genocide hidden from the world. And the movie is also about George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” (Orwell and Jones knew each other).

I have found at least a dozen articles online about “Mr. Jones,” but all of them miss what I think is a central point about the connection between the Holodomor and “Animal Farm”: in the book there is a winter of food shortages on the farm (see Chapter VII) that closely parallels the Ukrainian famine.

So far as I can find, you have blogged only once about the Holodomor, in a post on 1/5/2014 about Ta-Nehisi Coates’ reaction to learning about it: “The details of evil, soothed by a perception that all is chaos.” In any event, I am a faithful reader of your blog and would be interested in your further views. I did not notice any men in shorts in “Mr. Jones,” but there is one disturbing yet funny scene where Duranty is naked at a bacchanal at his place, and Jones is having none of it. You have to see it.

I blogged about the Holodomor and “Mr. Jones” and “Animal Farm” here:
https://switchelphilosopher.blog/2020/08/22/the-holodomor/; 8/23/20, 6:08 AM
stevew said...: A walk along the shore this morning, southern Maine, reveals that autumn is rapidly approaching. The air temperature was cool, mid-50's F, and there are leaves on the ground. The smells have changed from fresh and bright to pungent. I welcome the change, it is time for summer to ease on out.

Took some sunrise photos this morning, over the ocean, of course, and they look quite similar in color to yours. The tide is ebbing, there were a few men fishing off the rocks, for stripers most likely. Wasn't any catching while I observed.; 8/23/20, 6:11 AM
wendybar said...: Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Calls Joe Biden A ‘Brain-Dead Race Hoaxer’ And Worse (VIDEO)https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-calls-joe-biden-brain-dead-race-hoaxer-worse-video/; 8/23/20, 7:00 AM
wendybar said...: To all of those here that are posting what MaryAnn Trump said about her brother...Now do what Malik, and his calling Obama Cold and Ruthless, and a snob...amongst other things. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12291459/barack-malik-obama-brother-feud-siblings-vote-trump/; 8/23/20, 7:03 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “It would be nice to be in Cour d'Alene this weekend.

“Our daughter's property north of there will not see much work while she has a 1 year old.”

Probably should be through there this coming week, on the way to see an eye doctor in Spokane Valley this week. Other medical issues for my partner may have us traveling East instead.

Normally, I would have been through Sandpoint a half dozen times by now, but everything is conspiring against it this year. Road between us has mostly been closed, to rebuild one of the bridges across the highway. Moreover the friend I see a lot on the lake has been bunkered down, due to COVID-19, all summer. Sailing season on lake Pend O’Rielle has apparently been pretty dead this summer. If things are back to normal next summer, there is a guy there, a retired MD, about your age, who is always looking for crew. I have served as movable ballast for him several ties for their Wed races and supposedly there are Sunday races too at the south end of the lake. There is another yacht club out of Sandpoint on the north end out of Sandpoint. Keep it in mind, if you manage to visit her up here next year.; 8/23/20, 7:04 AM
wendybar said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/23/20, 7:05 AM
Anthony said...: I am in Arizona and went outside to sit while it was still dark this morning. I can do this in shorts and a T-shirt. It’s warm and a bit of an odor of smoke from distant forest fires and it reminds me of being in Egypt. The birds are only now starting to stir.

I don’t want to read anything political or about the covids or anything depressing or anger-inducing. I don’t want to be happy or content today either, just.......quiet.

I am a typewriter user and am going to type a letter and birthday card to a lady I don’t know but who is in a facility and very ill. Her sister asked people in our typewriter collector’s group to do so. It will be the second time doing this. I will use the old Underwood and not describe to the poor dear what typewriter I’m using because every other one in our group will and I don’t want to bore her.

Anyway that’s how I’d like my day to go.; 8/23/20, 7:46 AM
J. Farmer said...: “He has no principles. None. None."

Thank you, captain obvious. It's been clear for decades that Trump is driven almost entirely by egomania and self-aggrandizement. He has had success as a real estate developer and a reality TV star, two professions drenched in sleaze. That he has no principles is why he is such a talented bullshit artist. He clearly has a very disturbed character, probably due to some kind of pathological familial relationships in early childhood.

If American conservatism is not quite dead, it's most certainly on life support and in a terminal condition. The deplorables are a defeated people. Suicides and drug overdoses are accelerating their demographic demise. The establishment has nothing but contempt for them and intends to simply replace them with third-world immigrants, who will accept lower wages and crappier working conditions. The establishment worships at the church of neoliberalism, and it has relentlessly pursued those goals for over 40 years. It has made them fabulously wealthier and more powerful, even as it has decimated communities and destroyed traditional American culture. Its opponents are written off as either far-left kooks (e.g. Dennis Kucinich, Ralph Nader) or far-right cranks (e.g. Pat Buchanan, Sam Francis).

Trump doesn't have a clue of any of this and thus is completely incapable of doing anything about it. He's a dead end. The only person of any national significance who can articulate the problem is Tucker Carlson, which is why the establishment has relentlessly attempted to cancel him. At this point, the best solution would be to break the country up into smaller regional blocs, which of course will never happen.; 8/23/20, 8:09 AM
Kay said...: Everyone knows the famous Warhol quote about 15 min of fame, and I think we all thought that social media was going to turn everyone into a “celebrity,” but instead it’s turning everyone into a “politician.” Who needs it.; 8/23/20, 8:15 AM
Fernandinande said...: 1984-style anti-white racists claim that -

"The stench of colonialism mars these bird names. They must be changed." because they're named after the white people who discovered/described/illustrated them, and they want to change all the bird names to make sure nobody avoids being snubbed.

This is typically sad 'n' funny 'n' false:

"Audubon...decapitated several bodies [of semi-sacred dead Mexican soldiers] and sent the heads to Samuel George Morton, a notorious practitioner of phrenology, a pseudoscience that attempted to use skull dimensions to prove the superiority of White Europeans to other races. ... [Audubon's] scientific contributions do not excuse him from judgment."

Morton was not a phrenologist but he did observe that bigger human brains, which he correctly measured, generally indicate higher intelligence (correlation ~ .4 to .5), a fact that the sleazy Marxist Stephen Jay Gould blatantly lied about in one of his book-sized screeds.

"Yet these honorific names — known as eponyms — also cast long, dark shadows over our beloved birds and represent colonialism, racism and inequality."

White people are bad.; 8/23/20, 8:37 AM
Mark said...: To all of those here that are posting what MaryAnn Trump said about her brother

The far greater and bigger problem is the president once again being subject of spying.

And the more general point of how one can no longer have a discussion with someone without the prospect of them being informers and snitches. No one can be trusted.; 8/23/20, 8:57 AM
mockturtle said...: Colonialism was good. It served the important purpose of developing a country that was unable, at the time, to develop itself. The US is a good example. So is India. Both nations have succeeded independently as a result of British colonial enterprise. There are plenty of other examples, as well. To paint colonialism as an evil is to ignore reality, which is what today's 'Progressives' want to do. The Right builds, the Left tears down. Which is better???; 8/23/20, 9:21 AM
mockturtle said...: At this point, the best solution would be to break the country up into smaller regional blocs, which of course will never happen

No, it won't, Farmer, at least by design. We are already divided politically. Geographically will just take longer.; 8/23/20, 9:25 AM
Fernandinande said...: snubbed

That should be 'cancelled'; thanks, sub-therapeutic level of caffeine.; 8/23/20, 9:29 AM
Michael K said...: Keep it in mind, if you manage to visit her up here next year.

She is still in Santa Monica and uneasy about the riots. They spend time at his parents' house in Burbank but are thinking of getting out of CA. Her husband is a sculptor and sells his stuff online, doing pretty well. I could see them with a small gallery in Sandpoint while he still sells online. The property is about 6 miles south of Sandpoint near the eastern shore of the lake.

Before the virus, he did a lot of sculpture for others, like the animal statues at La Brea Tar Pits in LA. He is very talented.; 8/23/20, 9:52 AM
Michael K said...: If American conservatism is not quite dead, it's most certainly on life support and in a terminal condition.

In Farmer's mind. It's sad to watch someone intelligent melt down like this.; 8/23/20, 9:53 AM
Inga said...: "Ann, are you considering any way of returning to unmoderated comments? Could individuals earn the right to non moderation?"

“Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you saw what I am dealing with, you would understand why I have to do it. The only alternative is to give up on comments entirely.’

Thank you!; 8/23/20, 11:15 AM
Night Owl said...: Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you saw what I am dealing with, you would understand why I have to do it. The only alternative is to give up on comments entirely.

Althouse, have you considered leaving this blogspot as a finished work of art, and starting a new one where you can have more control over who comments? One where you can block people and/or require people to register to comment. This way you don't have to deal with the ugliness of your detractors. Life is to short to have to put up with that on a daily basis. Maybe let this run until the end of the year and start a new one in 2021.

You can put an "archive" link on the new blog that takes people to this one. And if you post a topic on your new blog that references an old post of yours, you can link back to it.

And if you haven't done so you may want to consider publishing this blog for posterity. Blogger may go away someday and with it all your work. That would be such a waste. This blog would be a fascinating read for future historians. The Obama and Trump eras, 911, the war in Iraq, historians will be writing about these times. This blog is a great document of current events. If it costs a lot to publish consider setting up a gofundme. Longtime, faithful readers would contribute to have this blog published.; 8/23/20, 11:18 AM
Kai Akker said...: ---We are already divided politically. Geographically will just take longer. [mockturtle]

Still thinking secession of the reds from the blues is a conceivable solution, something I never thought before in my life. But if a Trump ticket can take 60%-plus of the vote this November (which I think is very possible), it may begin the process of reintegration. Radical blues would become isolated on the left and the rest of the country could begin to heal. Maybe!; 8/23/20, 11:38 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Michael K:

In Farmer's mind. It's sad to watch someone intelligent melt down like this.

Except I am not melting down. I am completely sober and clear-eyed. Just tell me where my reasoning is wrong...

1) Since the '65 Voting Rights Act, Americans have been increasingly sorted by political party and ideology. The Northeastern/Midwestern Republican establishment became a southern-dominated party.

2) The core of the GOP's support is non-college educated whites. Around 1/3 of white voters are reliably Democratic, while around 1/2 of white voters are reliably Republican. The others are up for grabs. The part of Trump's victory in 2016 that caught many people by surprise was his ability to flip white voters who had previously voted Obama.

3) The share of the population that is non-college educated white is precipitously declining. This is a result of mass immigration and the high Latino birth rate. Non-white births have outpaced white births for years now. Non-whites are already a majority of the K-12 population.

4) These demographic shifts are reflected in the electorate. States like California and more recently Virginia have been turned blue. North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas are on their way.

5) As the US heads for majority-minority status and the WASP cultural core disintegrates, what exactly will be left to conserve?; 8/23/20, 12:14 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Kai Akker:

But if a Trump ticket can take 60%-plus of the vote this November (which I think is very possible), it may begin the process of reintegration. Radical blues would become isolated on the left and the rest of the country could begin to heal. Maybe!

I don't thin there's a chance in hell of that happening. I wouldn't think twice about betting a big sum on that fact. The US is more diverse than it's ever been, and diversity breeds division. There is no common cultural core holding these people together. Assimilation is abandoned. Basic aspects of culture like language, religion, history, holidays, etc. are as likely to push people apart as they are to bring them together.; 8/23/20, 12:23 PM
Drago said...: Farmer has become much more pessimistic about everything ever since the one politician he warmed to during this campaign and spoke well of, Bernie Sanders, dropped out.; 8/23/20, 3:42 PM
Drago said...: Althouse: “Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you saw what I am dealing with, you would understand why I have to do it. The only alternative is to give up on comments entirely.’

Inga, the Banned Commenter who cursed out Althouse: "Thank you!"

Discuss.; 8/23/20, 3:43 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Drago:

Farmer has become much more pessimistic about everything ever since the one politician he warmed to during this campaign and spoke well of, Bernie Sanders, dropped out.

Exhibit A for why conservatism has been in such a state of decline for three decades. I'm trying to point out we're in a speeding car heading for a brick wall, and Drago thinks the most important argument is whether we go 90 mph or 75 mph.

For what it's worth, I've been pessimistic since the late 90's. I came to the conclusion that "America is doomed" after the GOP's 2012 election "autopsy," where the consensus was to back a "pathway to citizenship" (i.e. amnesty). I briefly saw a glimmer of hope when Trump won an upset by going in the exact opposite direction, though I always considered his presidency a long-shot. It was obvious by the end of 2018 that Trump was too incompetent and strategically inept to be effective. He was bungling the government shutdown and at his SOTU in February 2019, he declared, "I want people to come into our country, in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally."

Feel free to play spin doctor all you like, but pretending that that brick wall isn't there is not going to stop you from running into it.; 8/23/20, 4:35 PM
Drago said...: Farmer: "Exhibit A for why conservatism has been in such a state of decline for three decades. I'm trying to point out we're in a speeding car heading for a brick wall, and Drago thinks the most important argument is whether we go 90 mph or 75 mph."

It's not my fault not that many people are buying into your Surrender Now! Give Up! All is lost! There is no hope! Nothing Matters Anymore! philosophy.

It's also not my fault you found lots of warm things to say about Sanders.

But I can understand fully why you wouldn't want those things discussed.; 8/23/20, 7:55 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Drago:

It's also not my fault you found lots of warm things to say about Sanders.

But I can understand fully why you wouldn't want those things discussed.

I have zero problems discussing any issue. No offense to Ann, but her blog comments are pretty inconsequential in the world, so frankly I find your insinuation utterly bizarre. I say what I think and I say it as directly as possible.

The "warm things" I've said about Bernie Sanders are that (1) the fact that the establishment is fanatically against him is a good sign. I've made the same exact point about Trump. (2) the criticisms made against Sanders are often hysterical, and I've made the same exact point about Trump.

The reason you seem to have trouble grasping my point is because you seem to view politics in a kind of left versus right Cold War manichaeism. That isn't the fault line in US politics. The fault line is establishment versus anti-establishment. The establishment is supportive of neoliberalism, and neoliberalism is what we have gotten for 40 years, regardless of which party was in the White House or controlled Congress. Democrats and Republicans are merely two wings of a centrist ideology. The establishment could live with Obama or McCain or Romney or Bush or Gore for the very reason that none of them would've seriously challenged their power and position.

This is about the hundredth time I've made this point, but I fully expect you to carry on with your partisan perspective. Partisanship is the divide-and-conquer strategy that allows the establishment to maintain its stranglehold on the institutions. Every couple of years they throw a couple of filtered and selected candidates at people, ask you to pick one, and then people think they've had some impact on how our society functions.

It's not my fault not that many people are buying into your Surrender Now! Give Up! All is lost! There is no hope! Nothing Matters Anymore! philosophy.

Certainly. The truth is uncomfortable. Many people prefer to be Baghdad Bobs. But by all means, if you have a strategy that you think has a chance of succeeding, share it with us. Is there a plan of action beyond wishful thinking? I've at least made a case for my position. Try doing the same rather than the same dumb, dull, tired attempts to criticize me.; 8/23/20, 9:38 PM
buwaya said...: " There is no common cultural core holding these people together. "

The main split, the reason there is no common cultural core, is because your elites have chosen a different culture for themselves, and they push it on everyone else. The Hispanics and Asians that have come in since 1965 are a nullity on the whole, they have not really brought in a culture that matters. Certainly not anything that challenged the old American core. They are mostly electoral make-weight for your divergent elites.

Really, think it through, what "culture" native to Latin America or Asia have the post-1965's created in the US, or added to the American mix? Nothing. There certainly isn't really a community identity either. These people were mainly a tabula rasa, waiting to have something written there. As far as it matters it is your elites that have done the writing.

Even the most successful attempt at this, the "Chicano" La Raza/Mecha thing organized in California State Colleges by ... white activists mixed up in the Cesar Chavez movement in the 1960s. And the effect of the La Raza BS was to put a bunch of Chicano college grads into low level government jobs. The people who actually call the shots in CA politics are (still) white people with lots of money. And thats Chicanos in CA, there is no continuity here or any coherent organization across the US or other "Hispanic" groups other than through white political organizations and white money. They havent even got independent media. Telemundo is owned by Comcast. Even Univision is owned by a bunch of white investment groups (Saban, etc.).

I am also a pessimist. But for different reasons.; 8/24/20, 2:20 AM
Kai Akker said...: @J. Farmer -- if you revisit this thread, I answered your comment of 12:23 pm on last night's (today's) cafe thread.; 8/24/20, 6:54 AM