Althouse: A midday café...

November 16, 2020

A midday café...

... an open thread.

The photo has a jittery effect, but that was there in real life. It's not out of focus.

It was 6:53 a.m. — and that happened to be exactly the official sunrise time today.

50 comments:

Yancey Ward said...: How about a mid-afternoon cafe instead?; 11/16/20, 2:17 PM
stevew said...: Kinda crab like.

Sean Davis is reporting that Durham is dropping his investigation out of fear of reprisals from the, as yet to be confirmed, incoming Biden Administration. I don't know, seems like he and Barr have been slow rolling this thing all along. Biden wins and they drop it, Trump wins and he loses interest, either way they calculated that getting through the election without a conclusion would mean they would never have to even file a report.

I'm still trying to make sense out of the Sidney Powell and Giuliani reporting. They claim there is a mountain of evidence, that continues to accumulate and grow, that will be so overwhelming as to overturn the currently understood election result. That is just too fantastic to be true. To me at least.

In other news, I am past the point of accepting all this Covid bullshit. Masks, work from home, etc. I bet I'm not alone. It will end soon - maybe like the Barr investigation.; 11/16/20, 2:27 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: https://twitter.com/APhilosophae/status/1328371105636249601

This is one to follow.

PS - Barr "dropping cases" is misinformation. Misdirection, more accurately.; 11/16/20, 2:44 PM
n.n said...: make sense out of the Sidney Powell and Giuliani reporting. They claim there is a mountain of evidence

Wouldn't it be grand, clever, even, if there existed honeypots that captured the fingerprints and other signals of the commission and outcome of mass irregularities. Well, we'll see. They claim to possess evidence, they have laid claim to forensic evidence, domestic and foreign, and soon they will present their findings and case.; 11/16/20, 2:55 PM
320Busdriver said...: make sense out of the Sidney Powell and Giuliani reporting. They claim there is a mountain of evidence

Andrew Mcarthy was asked just a bit ago what he thought about the VERY specific claims that Powell made this weekend and he seemed very doubtful that there could be something so dramatic as to overturn the approved narrative. He went as far as to say that Smartmatic is disputing its involvement with Dominion. Well yeah, no siht Sherlock! Andy’s a closet nevertrumper.; 11/16/20, 3:38 PM
Arashi said...: Well I am really tired of the WhuFlu, but our erstwhile gov Inslee is not done imposing restrictions on Washington state without the consent of the people or the legislature. Today he put us back in super double secret lockdown until at least December 16th or DJT concedes. He and the gov of Oregon follow Newsoms lead like the number two and three sled dogs. Our local press has pretty much stopped reporting on BLM/antifa activities in Seattle and after the govs lockdonw announcement, people went out and started stockpiling toilet paper again. Portland continues to burn every night, but now that Slo Jo is the 'president select' we can start healing real soon.

I will be happy when this Twilight Zone episode ends, but I am starting to think it has been re-newed to run forever. Oh joy.; 11/16/20, 3:41 PM
Howard said...: Those clouds look to me like they are saying a storm is coming; 11/16/20, 4:02 PM
Kathryn51 said...: Arashi said...
Well I am really tired of the WhuFlu, but our erstwhile gov Inslee is not done imposing restrictions on Washington state without the consent of the people or the legislature. Today he put us back in super double secret lockdown until at least December 16th or DJT concedes. . . . . . .after the govs lockdonw announcement, people went out and started stockpiling toilet paper again.

This Inslee-watcher, and apparently many others, knew what was coming as soon as the election was over. We went to Costco last Friday morning - all the TP, paper towels and Kleenex were gone. Oh, some sort of "bamboo" TP was still available but it was almost gone. I bought one of the last big packages at the nearby Fred Meyer - mind you, this was last Friday.

My millennial son (who voted for him) decided it might be a good idea to go shopping and stock up yesterday "during the Seahawk game" (when the store would be supposedly empty!!!???). Oh, my foolish boy - the shelves were bare.

Anecdote: my hubby read something by a cashier at QFC (grocery store for those outside metro Seattle). She said people were buying $1500 worth of groceries yesterday. One gal's cart was simply full of wine. I bet they all voted for Inslee.; 11/16/20, 4:09 PM
StephenFearby said...: WordPress:

ACE: November 16, 2020

Meanwhile, WordPress has deplatformed Conservative Treehouse for reporting news which has not been pre-approved by the Sturmabteilung.

What does this mean? It means CTH is being kicked-off the WordPress website hosting platform because the content of our research and discussion does not align with the ideology of those who define what is acceptable speech and what is not.

What was our violation? After ten years of brutally honest discussion, opinion, deep research and crowdsourcing work --with undeniable citations on the events we outline-- there is no cited violation of any term of service because CTH has never violated one.

The WordPress company is not explaining the reason for deplatforming because there is no justifiable reason for it. At the same time, they are bold in their position. Perhaps this is the most alarming part; and everyone should pay attention. They don't care.

Truthful assembly is now the risk. CTH is now too big; with a site reach of 500,000 to a million unique readers each day; and with well over 200,000 subscribers; our assembly is too large, too influential, and presents a risk� we guard the flickering flame.

Also: Mailchimp has deplatformed the Northern Virginia Tea Party.

http://ace.mu.nu/

CTH response also includes:

"...We will take this challenge head-on and we will use this attack against our freedom as fuel to launch CTH 2.0, a new version of The Conservative Treehouse.

I have no idea yet what it will look like… hopefully not too dissimilar to what we are already comfortable with. However, a lot has changed in the technological world since 2010/2011. There are many new and innovative ways to develop, build and create proprietary platforms.

I don’t like anything about having to be forced to do this. Readers here know I prefer comfortable quality that lasts a long time; but there is no alternative. We are being kicked-off WordPress and will have to assemble on a platform that allows free expression, free thought and free ideas to be shared, valued and appreciated."

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/11/15/the-treehouse-is-deplatformed/; 11/16/20, 4:11 PM
lb said...: Kyzer Sosay at 2:44 - wow I hope that link is true!; 11/16/20, 4:16 PM
effinayright said...: I find listening to infinite loops of the song by the "1910 Fruit Gum Company" takes away my cares and worries:

"Yummy, yummy ,yummy I got love in my tummy..."

Listen and bliss out...until they come for you.; 11/16/20, 4:16 PM
Wince said...: Hmm, Kyzer SoSay's CIA server farm raid theory does kind of tie a few seemingly incongruent things together:

1.) Louie Gomer's misplaced German Dominion/Scytl raid story.

2.) Wikileaks prior disclosures about the CIA's election-meddling Frankfurt server base.

3.) Sidney Powell calling for Gina Haspel's immediate resignation as CIA Director.

4.) Esper's summary firing.

5.) Even the fight over Biden's delayed security briefings?

Needless to say, it's the kind of deliberate, system-wide manipulation evidence that could reverse the election results, and obviously drop a nuclear bomb on The Swamp.

And, yes, that would mean Trump's litigating the ballot issues was indeed a stall, a placeholder, and largely a distraction and delay.; 11/16/20, 4:22 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: Some more interesting feeds to follow, if anyone is so inclined:

https://twitter.com/MikayesFiona

https://twitter.com/toad_spotted

An information dam is about to break. Not sure if the country will be able to handle it.

In my nice, safe, Red area (town and county), I'm sitting pretty on 3 months of food, a private well, 68 gallons of 89 octane, and 3000 rounds of centerfire (35/75 ratio of 5.56/9). If you're in a deep blue zone with anything less, God help ya.

Truth be told, that's all probably too much. But with a child and working on #2, I'll be damned if the words "If only I had . . ." ever emanate from my lips.

PS - great deals on FRS radios on Amazon. My neighbors and I all have them, and have plans in place to deal with unrest before it gets to our 'hood. None of those plans involve social workers or psych majors. And some of my neighbors are even more prepared than I am for whatever may come.; 11/16/20, 4:27 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: 3.) Sidney Powell calling for Gina Haspel's immediate resignation as CIA Director.
- In the MikayesFiona thread, she explains why this is not going to happen. She has been made aware of who her bosses are and what might be in store for her if she does not play ball. A LOT of people with deeper info than I are of the belief that the end game is preordained and has been for over a year.

4.) Esper's summary firing.
- Yes. This one ties in nicely. Esper had other masters and his involvement is why the military was NOT used for the Frankfort am Main raid. Instead it was likely the Secret Service and the US Marshalls.

I've verified as much as I can thru other sources, and there's a lot that is still unclear, but this is to be expected. Frankly, I'm amazed that I've been able to learn as much as I have, but that's the magic of modern communications and establishing the proper ratlines early on.; 11/16/20, 4:32 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: And a quick mea culpa - if this all turns out to be bunk (I truly do not think it will), then my sincerest apologies are issued for raising false hopes. Lots of tracks on these game trails, and it's hard to know for absolute certain which are fresh and which are fossil. But I very much think that we're on the verge of a reckoning.; 11/16/20, 4:34 PM
Bill Crawford said...: Why are we seeing more of Obama after the election than before?; 11/16/20, 4:49 PM
Wince said...: My gut would say that if the CIA was running election meddling around the world in Frankfurt through entities like Scytl and Dominion, it would come with the stipulation that the CIA could monitor all such transactions.

Thus, Trump's lawyer Sidney Powell is probably imputing a legal "knew or should have known" standard to Haspel, even if the CIA was not directly behind any manipulation.

And the proof would be in the transactions fed to the CIA and located on its servers.; 11/16/20, 4:52 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: I've contacted my state reps/senator in Washington's 48th district to impeach King Jay I. He's exceeded his authority, usurped the legislative function, failed to call a special session. His shutdowns make no sense. He's violating our rights to travel and gather together.; 11/16/20, 5:15 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: We drove home (Bellevue, WA) from Newport, OR on Friday. Stopped at the Vancouver, WA Costco for gas. What a clusterfck. It was wall-to-wall cars at Costco and at all the shopping centers around Costco. Filling up the car was not to bad, but trying to get back to I-205 was impossible. The streets were bumper to bumper. We ended up crossing I-205 to get away from all the shopping traffic and driving into the Vancouver-area countryside. Got back on the freeway after the I-205/I-5 junction.

Shopping Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Redmond Costco had a long line snaking down one way, reversing on it self. Took about 15-minutes to get inside when normally it's just wall right in. They had a one-way line setup for T.P. They were out of some cleaning products, like Soft soap, Lysol wipes, etc.; 11/16/20, 5:22 PM
mockturtle said...: Bill Crawford asks: Why are we seeing more of Obama after the election than before?

Because he's peddling his new book.; 11/16/20, 5:23 PM
gilbar said...: Fauci says Americans shouldn't stop wearing masks, social distancing even after they're vaccinated against Covid-19

and! his reasoning is:
the Vaccine is "only" 94.5% effective....
which means that there might be 1 chance in 20 that you could STILL get it (maybe!!)
And! nearly 20% of the people that get have SOME SORT of symptom
So, about 1 change in 100 of having SOME SORT of Symptom (IF you were exposed, AND got it)
AND! of the people that have SOME SORT of Symptom, NEARLY 1 out of 1000 (or so) DIE!
and THAT means!!
that you're looking at BETTER odds of dying from covid, than of winning the POWERBALL

Now, Admittedly; you have better odds of MOST THINGS, than of winning the POWERBALL
BUT STILL!
We should (according to Dr Fauci) all just commit Ritual Suicide, and Get It OVER with; 11/16/20, 5:27 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: What's the over/under for Trump firing Fauci?; 11/16/20, 5:29 PM
Wince said...: Kayze, are you (and MikayesFiona) saying Haspel has been cooperating (for some time, under threat or not) and Powell doesn't have sufficient clearance to know that yet?; 11/16/20, 5:33 PM
Achilles said...: Democrats are animals.; 11/16/20, 5:33 PM
pacwest said...: No big deal to anyone else, but unless this election is verified in a transparent manner as having not been decided by fraudulent votes I will, for the first time in my life not personally accept Joe Biden as "my" President. I spent 8 years of the Obama administration telling others who said differently that Obama, who I thought was the worst POTUS ever, was in fact their President like it or not. Lost one friend over it. If the EC determined Satan himself was the choice of the people I would accept that he was my President. But I will not accept Biden as my President unless it is proven that fraud is not the reason he was elected. I consider myself a man of honor and it is not easy for me to say that. Like I said, no biggie for others, and of no consequence to the world, but it is momentus for me and hard to say.; 11/16/20, 5:34 PM
Joe Biden, America's Putin said...: Twitter is leftwing; 11/16/20, 5:41 PM
stevew said...: Just listened to about 20 minutes of breathless Covid Panic on Fox News. Well, Brett Baier's show actually. OMG, 11 million cases nationally so far (in a nation of 320 million people). It will be well into 2021 until the vaccines are broadly available! Lockdowns of some level in many states, and growing. President Elect Biden says we will have a Dark Winter.

God forgive me I absolutely despise these people. The ignorant and dim I can excuse. These folks know better.; 11/16/20, 5:42 PM
Kai Akker said...: This is a learned, well-read, highly informed group. Someone or ones is sure to know this, sooner or later.

Was ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across dun-colored houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? ... [E]xistence is commonplace, and no qualities save those which are commonplace have any function upon earth.; 11/16/20, 5:46 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: King Jay I is shutting down the gyms even though there's not one infection traced to a gym. The owner of a gym in Seattle went to Labor & Industries to find this out.

Impeach King Jay I!; 11/16/20, 5:50 PM
Achilles said...: Kyzer SoSay said...

And a quick mea culpa - if this all turns out to be bunk (I truly do not think it will), then my sincerest apologies are issued for raising false hopes. Lots of tracks on these game trails, and it's hard to know for absolute certain which are fresh and which are fossil. But I very much think that we're on the verge of a reckoning.

No need to apologize.

I agree with you. Something is coming.

The current COVID panic is all about stopping whatever this is and keeping it under wraps. So is the constant and scripted 2020 election is completely fraud free garbage that is being turned to 11.

I am telling all of my friends to pull their money out of the stock market and to buy back in at the bottom of the next short term rut.; 11/16/20, 5:52 PM
n.n said...: Fauci says Americans shouldn't stop wearing masks, social distancing even after they're vaccinated against Covid-19

Tokyo citizens may have developed COVID-19 herd immunity, say researchers

To estimate seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2 throughout the summer, the team enrolled 1,877 healthy, asymptomatic employees of large company from 11 disparate locations across Tokyo.
...
To estimate seroconversion and seroreversion among the general population in Tokyo over time, the tests were offered to each participant twice, separated by around a month.
...
The seropositivity rate increased from 5.8% at the beginning of the study to an unexpectedly high 46.8 % by the end of the summer.

Compared with the United States and European countries, COVID-19-related mortality has been low in Japan, and the death rate has fallen despite the absence of a lockdown.

Despite or because of the absence of a lockdown? The population was infected, developed community immunity, at a time when individuals were most likely to weather the pandemic with minimal effect, thereby reducing vectors and prolonged exposure of the population.

How To End The Covid-19 Threat, Right Now; 11/16/20, 5:58 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: Market timers almost always lose. They often sell after the market has tanked and buy after the market has soared. Market timing is following your gut feeling rather than following a fact-based procedure.

Never buy individual stocks. Buy low-cost index funds. Determine your risk tolerance and create a stock/bond index fund ratio that matches your risk tolerance. For instance, a 60/40 stock/bond ratio is considered a moderate risk portfolio. When the stock/bond ratio reaches 65/35, sell 5% to get the ratio back to 60/40. Likewise, a 55/45 ratio would mean buying 5% to get back to 60/40. Following these rules will mean buying low and selling high.; 11/16/20, 6:05 PM
Achilles said...: Mike of Snoqualmie said...

King Jay I is shutting down the gyms even though there's not one infection traced to a gym. The owner of a gym in Seattle went to Labor & Industries to find this out.

Impeach King Jay I!

Vitamin D and Vitamin C deficiency is directly linked to cases of COVID becoming severe.

Somehow the science says lock everyone in their homes.

This lockdown has nothing to do with COVID and everything to do with the rallies at the capitol.; 11/16/20, 6:07 PM
Achilles said...: Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Market timers almost always lose. They often sell after the market has tanked and buy after the market has soared. Market timing is following your gut feeling rather than following a fact-based procedure.

If I am wrong then over the next week not much happens. The market is likely to go up incrementally from current all time highs.

If I am right then Sydney Powell is going to drop a turn in the punch bowl and there will be a selloff from all time highs because investors always react one way to uncertainty.

When the BP Oil spill happened I decided at that point that the owners of BP stock and the government regulating agencies were colluding and insider trading. The drops and bumps in the stock were so predictable from daily announcements from the agencies and the company it was absurd.

There are cases where you can see two likely paths. This is one of them.

Never buy individual stocks. Buy low-cost index funds. Determine your risk tolerance and create a stock/bond index fund ratio that matches your risk tolerance. For instance, a 60/40 stock/bond ratio is considered a moderate risk portfolio. When the stock/bond ratio reaches 65/35, sell 5% to get the ratio back to 60/40. Likewise, a 55/45 ratio would mean buying 5% to get back to 60/40. Following these rules will mean buying low and selling high.

At this point buying houses is free money. My friend is about to end up at 2.3% interest on his mortgage. This makes absolutely no sense. Assets are going to explode in value. If Biden really does sign a $50,000 student loan write off that will just be the first of many debt wipes.

I understand your post and it is accurate past tense. But we are about to enter lala land of debt Calvin Ball. If you don't know what Calvin Ball is then duckduckgo it. It is more descriptive than I can be describing this situation.; 11/16/20, 6:20 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Kyzer SoSay:

But I very much think that we're on the verge of a reckoning.

Granted, I've not followed any post-election news and know almost nothing of the various claims and allegations. but my guess is nothing significant comes of this, Biden becomes president, and things carry on.; 11/16/20, 6:41 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: "Kayze, are you (and MikayesFiona) saying Haspel has been cooperating (for some time, under threat or not) and Powell doesn't have sufficient clearance to know that yet?"

I think so. It doesn't fully add up in my head but I defer to folks like Mikayes who are better placed to know.; 11/16/20, 7:12 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: "my guess is nothing significant comes of this, Biden becomes president, and things carry on."

I hope you are wrong. We're staring down the barrel of a true One Party State if this level of fraud is allowed to stand.; 11/16/20, 7:13 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: "The current COVID panic is all about stopping whatever this is and keeping it under wraps. "

I have a bad feeling that you're right.; 11/16/20, 7:15 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Kyzer SoSay:

I hope you are wrong. We're staring down the barrel of a true One Party State if this level of fraud is allowed to stand.

It all sounds an awful lot like conspiracy mongering to me. Even the results as they stand don't point to a one party state.; 11/16/20, 7:33 PM
narciso said...: https://directorblue.blogspot.com/2020/11/boom-ny-times-real-time-election-data.html?m=1; 11/16/20, 7:50 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: Maybe a little dramatic on my part, but if the results of the general stand, and either poor campaigning or more fraud leads to the Dems winning both GA senate races, this country is going to be in serious trouble.; 11/16/20, 7:51 PM
narciso said...: Thats the most charitable interpr3tation, schaffenberger is enabling thr fraud still; 11/16/20, 7:52 PM
320Busdriver said...: I’ve been a proponent of boglehead investing for many years, but have looked to find ways of increasing our returns. This year I did make some timing moves and sold some equities on Feb 27. I waited til the RBD’s in March and went back in with SPY primarily. Having some very high performing active funds in the company plan allowed for outsized returns ytd mainly due to tech. Last week I sold 15%of the total out of those funds and am waiting.

It’s coming.; 11/16/20, 7:54 PM
Wince said...: Thinking out loud, drawing inferences and even reading tea leaves should be acceptable in an open cafe, especially when you make the limits of your actual knowledge known.; 11/16/20, 7:59 PM
Kai Akker said...: I sat in the window with the volume in my hand, but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. My mind ran upon our late visitor -- her smiles, the deep rich tones of her voice, the strange mystery which overhung her life. ... So I sat and mused, until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged into the latest treatise upon pathology. What was I, an army surgeon with a weak leg and weaker banking-account, that I should dare to think of such things?; 11/16/20, 8:10 PM
320Busdriver said...: Even the results as they stand don't point to a one party state.

Dems are pulling out all the stops and I won’t be shocked if they cheat to win both GA seats. Pelosi has no control over her left flank. A pompous previous co worker who claims to be a LLR but who also has TDS had such a lack of self awareness to post after the election that “now we have to focus on GA”

I can’t even respond to such stupidity.; 11/16/20, 8:11 PM
Kai Akker said...: "Which is it to-day?" I asked. "Morphine or cocaine?"

"It is cocaine," he said; "a seven percent solution. Would you care to try it?"

"No, indeed," I answered brusquely. ...

"Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence."; 11/16/20, 8:28 PM
narciso said...: Hmm

https://michaelyon-online.com/washington-d-c-how-big-was-the-million-maga-march-really-and-why-do-blamtifa-continue-to-terrorize-business-owners-and-innocent-people/Page-3.htm; 11/16/20, 8:33 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: True the vote is suing Michigan to overturn the election.; 11/16/20, 8:58 PM
Achilles said...: J. Farmer said...

@Kyzer SoSay:

I hope you are wrong. We're staring down the barrel of a true One Party State if this level of fraud is allowed to stand.

It all sounds an awful lot like conspiracy mongering to me. Even the results as they stand don't point to a one party state.

Do you think there is a significant difference between the Bush/Romney GOP and the Obama/Clinton Democrats?

When I say one party that refers to the .0001% + college educated technocrat class + welfare class alliance that is represented by the GOPe and the Democrat party. A one party state of this coalition is California.

The Trump GOP retains the 1% + working/middle class as constituency.

You seem to be purposely obtuse right now.; 11/16/20, 9:53 PM