Althouse: At the Sunday Evening Café...

November 15, 2020

At the Sunday Evening Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

192 comments:

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I was thinking of Elon Musk after watching Total Recall yesterday. Not only does he want to go to Mars, but he has his Boring Company that has machines a lot like those turbidiem mining machines in the movie. Maybe that movie had a big effect on an impressionable young Elon

BTW, he does have COVID:

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/elon-musk-confirms-he-likely-has-moderate-case-covid; 11/15/20, 5:00 PM
Dave Begley said...: The Husker football players stay in the Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln the night before home games. The kicker had his 2002 Dodge truck stolen from the ramp used by the hotel's guests.

Who would steal a 2002 truck?; 11/15/20, 5:04 PM
donald said...: Do you know how much used trucks are selling for these days?; 11/15/20, 5:12 PM
steve uhr said...: Durham is now part of the deep state. And trump wants to stop the recount in Georgia. Hard to keep score.; 11/15/20, 5:14 PM
Curious George said...: "Dave Begley said...
The Husker football players stay in the Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln the night before home games. The kicker had his 2002 Dodge truck stolen from the ramp used by the hotel's guests.

Who would steal a 2002 truck?"

The kind of person who would stay at the Cornhusker Hotel.; 11/15/20, 5:16 PM
effinayright said...: Over at Instapundit, they are reporting that Durham isn't going to be bringing indictments.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2020/11/15/source-durham-investigation-winding-down-scared-of-biden-blowback-n280344

Never mind!!!; 11/15/20, 5:17 PM
h said...: I wonder how much impact will be seen from the phenomenon of Trump supporters who no longer abide by social niceties. I've long been intrigued (amused?) by the notion that Washington, DC could be ground to a halt by a few drivers who went out to the beltway and drove at the speed limit. I think it is underappreciated the extent to which the smooth functioning of our society depends on people agreeing to or adopting certain non-formal rules of conduct. So if a number of people refuse to make a right-turn-on-red, or pause and make a phone call in the self-check-out line, or probably lots of other behaviors (legal, but not cooperative) I think that the potential for social disruption is great -- greater than the threat of looting by Trump supporters, for example.; 11/15/20, 5:19 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

the Left's prototypical radical, per Alinsky, would like to make a deal; 11/15/20, 5:20 PM
Lawrence Person said...: Tolerant liberals ban To Kill A Mockingbird.; 11/15/20, 5:23 PM
stevew said...: Yes Donald, I do. So I'm going to buy new rather than used. Reminds me of the situation with the price of copper a few years ago; people were stealing copper pipe for resale. Now everyone uses Pex tubing. No black market for that shite.

Weather is back to typical fall here in southern Maine. Was 27 degrees F upon rising today, topped off at 45. I will be storing the clubs for the season. New house build is coming along but I don't see how they hit the Dec 16 date at this point.

Assuming Joe Biden is inaugurated Jan 20, 2021 I expect an amusing and entertaining four years. Will Kamala remain muzzled? Will all the super "Go Women!" folks stand for that? Will the pussy hats be repurposed? Will Joe inappropriately sniff some young girls hair? Will he catch Covid at the swearing in and die short of Harrison's 31 day record?

Pass the popcorn.; 11/15/20, 5:24 PM
Humperdink said...: Back in 1980, Pennsylvania ran a simple daily number lottery. Three globes with ten numbers in each globe. It was televised out of a Pittsburgh station on a nightly basis. On April 24, 1980, unbeknownst to the gambling public, television personality Nick Perry weighted selected balls with white latex paint. It was the 4 and 6 balls in each globe. He then had people float around PA buying large numbers of lottery tickets in every 4 an 6 combination. 666 was the winning combo.

At the same time, Pittsburgh's Tony Grosso was running an illegal lottery operation. Grosso used the televised operation for his payout. His payout was more than the state. As I recall, Grosso paid $600/ winning ticket versus the state's $500. On the day in question, Grosso refused to pay. He knew it was fixed. No one argued.

Fast forward to November 2020. Have all the bookmakers settled up on Biden's "victory"? Nope.

https://www.onlinegambling.com/news/when-will-sportsbooks-pay-election-bets-sites-vary-on-what-makes-biden-victory-official/; 11/15/20, 5:32 PM
Narr said...: "Podcast People" eh? Another good house band name.

I didn't listen much past that, and I haven't read the posts or comments since Timothy Leary's dead bimbo . . . If Durham is throwing his hand in, that's no more than I thought probable, and one of my fearless forecasts proves disappointingly prescient.

Narr
I hate it when that happens; 11/15/20, 5:39 PM
rhhardin said...: Fox radio news always says Trump's "baseless" claim of an unfair election. I'd have guessed that that opinion would be too clumsy to even try.

Radio Japan always says "without evidence" but they get their news from the American MSM, not knowing any better.; 11/15/20, 5:53 PM
steve uhr said...: Manned Falcon 9 launch in 30 min. Spacex.com; 11/15/20, 5:56 PM
Humperdink said...: "Manned Falcon 9 launch in 30 min."

It's about time Biden left his basement.; 11/15/20, 6:01 PM
narciso said...: Not suspicious

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/sidney-powell-smartmatic-voting-machines-chairman-board-peter-neffenger-named-joe-bidens-transition-team/; 11/15/20, 6:04 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Launch at 7:27 EST, gonna watch it from my back yard, thanks!; 11/15/20, 6:05 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I am in South Florida, for those of you who don’t keep up to date on my travels.; 11/15/20, 6:05 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Weather is perfectly clear. Ooooh boy!; 11/15/20, 6:06 PM
MikeR said...: SpaceX to ISS, w astronauts.; 11/15/20, 6:08 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Who would steal a 2002 truck?

Someone who can sell 2002 truck parts. You would be surprised.; 11/15/20, 6:09 PM
rcocean said...: I'll talk about Dustin Johnson. Never been a big fan, but 21 under at Augusta is a great win.; 11/15/20, 6:13 PM
rcocean said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/15/20, 6:16 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Yes, that win by Johnson was legendary.; 11/15/20, 6:16 PM
stevew said...: Lots of focus by the cognoscenti on Syd Barrett, but for me and my money the heart and soul of Pink Floyd is David Gilmour. Roger Waters is a dried up and miserable, anti-semite piece of shite.; 11/15/20, 6:17 PM
Quayle said...: Michigan Governor Whitmer orders new 3 week shutdown. Relying on Department of Health powers. I guess the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment don’t apply in Lansing.; 11/15/20, 6:17 PM
rcocean said...: The other amazing performance was by Tiger. He hit 3 balls in the water at the 12th. I never would've believed it, but he's almost age 45 and hurting. Incredibly he came back and birdied 4 of the last 6 holes.; 11/15/20, 6:20 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Looks like one of my predictions is coming true. I predicted that Wordpress and other blog hosts would start deplatforming conservatives just like Twitter and Youtube do. I was told by people I respect that that was crazy talk- that due to the nature of Wordpress' business they couldn't care less what you wrote on your blog as long as it was all legal stuff.

Does Althouse have a back up plan if Blogger decides politically non-compliant blogs are verboten during the glorious reign of Bidarris?; 11/15/20, 6:20 PM
Quayle said...: “I'll talk about Dustin Johnson. Never been a big fan, but 21 under at Augusta is a great win.”

Happy for him. The gap in strokes between he and the rest of the field shows the achievement. But the absolute score maybe should be asterisked. November conditions just not the same. Slower greens, and creek banks that held better. Tiger taking a 10 on number 12 was something, though.; 11/15/20, 6:22 PM
rcocean said...: "I will continue my non-violent protests as long as the government of Israel continues with these policies. ... It is difficult to make arguments to defend the Israeli government's policies, so would-be defenders often use a diversionary tactic, they routinely drag the critic into a public arena and accuse them of being an antisemite"

So parteth the waters. I had to look him up, he's with Pink Floyd of "The wall" fame.; 11/15/20, 6:23 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Gilmour and Waters were both important to the great success of Pink Floyd. The band really wasn't the same after Waters left, even though I did like the later albums, but not quite as much.; 11/15/20, 6:23 PM
stevew said...: RE: Johson's win at The Masters. Did his lovely wife wear a conservative or provocative outfit for the champion's presentation ceremony. Whatever, he's an amazing talent.

Paulina Takes a Walk; 11/15/20, 6:25 PM
Quayle said...: My first live rock concert was when I was in seventh grade. My sister had an extra ticket and took along her punk kid brother with her friends. Was Pink Floyd’s first Darkside of the Moon tour. Concert at Roosevelt Stadium in Bayonne New Jersey wasn’t even sold out. Every other concert I saw after that was sort of downhill. Except a few Zappa concerts at the Phil forum on Halloween.; 11/15/20, 6:25 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Bloomberg: Trump Urges Judge to Preserve Suit Over Pennsylvania Ballots

My Tweet: My speculation is that maybe the lawsuits have to wait until the states that engaged in election fraud certify their elections as clean, fair and proper. If the process is working like it’s supposed to; certification catches the fraud. #2020ElectionThoughts

Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.; 11/15/20, 6:26 PM
stevew said...: You're right of course Yancey, I'm terribly biased against Waters because of his very public antisemitism. And Gilmour is such a gifted guitarist.; 11/15/20, 6:27 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I always wanted to see Pink Floyd in concert, but I never got the chance.; 11/15/20, 6:29 PM
Big Mike said...: Cool to learn new things. The Acting Secretary of Defense is Christopher Miller, who led the US Special Forces into Afghanistan as a captain in the Green Berets. In the movie “12 Strong” his character was named “Mitch Nelson” and he was portrayed by Chris Hemsworth. Much of the movie was, er, embellished, but his charging the Taliban on horseback really happened.

There are times when I think this country does not deserve its heroes. This is one of those times.; 11/15/20, 6:29 PM
rcocean said...: I'd agree about asterisk, but then scoring is so much easier than it was in the 80's because of the ball and the clubs. You have drivers the size of catchers mitts. And you have a ball that travels farther. That's why Watson almost won the Open at age 59, and Berhard Langer - who's 63 years old - just came in 29th at the Masters.

I'd love to see one PGA tournament, where the Pros would have to play with the same clubs Ben Hogan used back in 1953.; 11/15/20, 6:30 PM
FullMoon said...: Yancey Ward said...

Looks like one of my predictions is coming true. I predicted that Wordpress and other blog hosts would start deplatforming conservatives just like Twitter and Youtube do

The Treehouse is Deplatformed…
Posted on November 15, 2020 by sundance

Most CTH readers are likely aware of the term “deplatforming.” Unfortunately, the big tech control mechanism to shut down speech & assembly has now arrived on our doorstep.

One week after the 2020 presidential election, The Conservative Treehouse received the following notification:

…”given the incompatibility between your site’s content and our terms, you need to find a new hosting provider and must migrate the site by Wednesday, December 2nd.; 11/15/20, 6:32 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I actually liked "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" by Waters quite a bit. I didn't much like anything after that, though.

The first album I ever purchased was "The Wall" in February of 1980. I played it at least once a day pretty much that entire year. And I think it is the only album I have purchased in vinyl, cassette, and CD format. I even have a second vinyl copy my sister and brother-in-law gave me for Christmas a couple of years back.; 11/15/20, 6:35 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "I'd love to see one PGA tournament, where the Pros would have to play with the same clubs Ben Hogan used back in 1953."

That would be hilarious to see!; 11/15/20, 6:38 PM
Quayle said...: Yeah RCocean. It’s getting pretty obvious that the USGA and the Royal and Ancient need to step in and dial back the equipment.; 11/15/20, 6:38 PM
R C Belaire said...: The governor of the Great State of Michigan has just lowered the covid boom once again -- 3 weeks of more stringent restrictions ending December 8th. Just wish we knew for sure whether all this really helps.; 11/15/20, 6:39 PM
Yancey Ward said...: They have made Augusta much harder over the years- this really got started after Woods won the tournament the first time. It isn't nearly as easy to reach the greens on the par 5s in two shots as it was in the mid 1990s.; 11/15/20, 6:40 PM
Yancey Ward said...: The one signal that can be seen in the lockdowns is that it raises the fatality rate of the virus, and I doubt three weeks will do shit to slow the spread of the virus. Michigan voters are getting what the deserve, I am sorry to say.; 11/15/20, 6:42 PM
Yancey Ward said...: If the governor closes the liquor stores, it might extend the life of Chuck's liver, though. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?; 11/15/20, 6:43 PM
Big Mike said...: Christopher Miller is not the first senior DoD official to have been portrayed on the big screen. That honor goes to Dr. Christine Fox, who was Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense from December 3, 2013 until May 2014. She was the real mathematician working at Miramar who was portrayed by Kelly McGillis (“Call sign ‘Charlie’ “) in “Top Gun.”; 11/15/20, 6:45 PM
Lucien said...: When Officer Chauvin goes on trial will the state need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that his conduct caused Mr. Floyd’s death? Because that seems like a big ask.; 11/15/20, 6:46 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Looks like we get our first freeze down here in Oak Ridge, TN tomorrow night and Tuesday morning. We were in the low 80s F the first half of last week. Was a glorious day today after the rain cleared out this morning, but definitely felt like Fall for really the first time.; 11/15/20, 6:46 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Chauvin likely won't be convicted, and if he is, it will be overturned on appeal. The case is literally the definition of reasonable doubt as to cause of death.

However, with Joe Biden as President, I am quite sure the riots and looting will be done peacefully. Let the healing begin.; 11/15/20, 6:50 PM
Andrew said...: I've been thinking about something, and maybe this is the place to air it. At the risk of offending those commenters who are fellow Trump supporters, I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

Put aside for a moment that the post-election process is not over. Also put aside the possibility that no matter what Trump had done in his campaign, the Democrats would have still been successful through fraud.

The question is, what should Trump have done differently, in his campaign and in his four years in office, to win a second term?

Here are a few things I wish he had done differently:
1) More Oval Office speeches, to counteract the false media narratives and to describe his administration's positive achievements. He depended too much on Twitter. The Charlottesville hoax could have been nipped in the bud with one formal speech.
2) A consistent message on the virus, rather than seeming to agree with his experts on one day and then tweeting "Liberate Michigan!" the next. Pick a script, and stick to it. Then if the strategy changes based on new information, communicate it effectively. It's better to fire Fauci then to pretend to agree with him but then undermine him.
3) A non-stop highlighting of the issue of illegal immigration. That issue won him the first election, but it was overlooked this second time. He needed to emphasize that Biden was for virtually open borders. Trump should not have taken this issue for granted.
4) More self-control in the first debate, rather than bullying and interruptions. It was a very bad look, and turned some people off. For apolitical observers, he made Biden look like a reasonable adult.
5) At least one speech where he laid all his cards on the table regarding Russia collusion, the spying on his campaign, the Barr/Durham/Huber investigations, etc. Just bring it all out in the open, and declassify any necessary documents. I actually hope he might still do this.
6) Pardon Snowden and Assange, and explain why. Be explicitly the pro-4th Amendment President, and challenge the authority of the NSA to spy on citizens.
7) Bring the soldiers home from Afghanistan etc. earlier, and name the people who were thwarting him. Most Americans would have been on his side.
8) Knock off the trivial and false accusations (like Joe Scarborough's intern), and the mockery when empathy was needed (like the California wildfires). These undermined his credibility.
9) No burning of bridges with those who once worked for him. No insults out the door if you're boasting in your hiring prowess. Try to maintain some alliances.
10) No granting of individual access to hostile reporters unless absolutely necessary. No shooting his mouth off. That led to "soldiers were suckers" and other false narratives.

Some of these Trump still has time to do. I think he governed successfully in many areas, and ran an amazing race (and again, it's not over). But his peculiarities that made him effective were also his undoing. He needed to learn self-control and restraint. He needed a more effective communication strategy. And he depended too much on Jared and Ivanka.

He played to his base, and even enlarged his coalition. But too many citizens were unpersuaded or turned off. Trump bears some responsibility for that.; 11/15/20, 6:51 PM
Clyde said...: I watched the Crew Dragon launch about twenty minutes ago. It was visible from the Gulf Coast side of Florida, a red spark shooting up into the night. It's good to see an American company returning our astronauts into space, rather than having to beg a ride with the Russians. Four astronauts going up at once seems like a lot, but the number of people who are up in space at any one time is miniscule. We won't really be a spacefaring culture until that increases by several orders of magnitude.; 11/15/20, 6:52 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: Wish I knew, Clyde! I was going to go out and look for it but saw that it was launching from Kennedy and did't think I'd have a view. I'm in Naples.; 11/15/20, 6:58 PM
stevew said...: Watched the link to Maria Bartiromo's interview with Sidney Powell. Ms. Powell seems very confident. I'm not sure what to make of that other than to say we'll see the truth soon.; 11/15/20, 6:58 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: King Jay I has just locked down Washington for four weeks. He says the "cases" are rising precipatedly, but the hospitalizations are only 60 for a state of 7.5 million and the deaths/day are about 6. The death rate has been holding steady at about that level since mid-August. It's an emergency response to a non-emergency.; 11/15/20, 7:00 PM
Big Mike said...: Oops. Christine Fox does not have a Ph.D. in math. She has an MS in applied math, which is still a formidable degree. I should have checked further. Oh, and apparently she really did have a call sign at Miramar: not “Charlie,” but “Legs.” Fighter pilots are sexist; who knew?; 11/15/20, 7:03 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: Andrew:

11) Highlight his foreign policy successes. The peace treaties, the containment of Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela. The export of LNG to Europe and the undercutting of Russia's foreign gas sales. The Biden camp didn't want to talk about all of that, and Trump should have.; 11/15/20, 7:05 PM
Big Mike said...: @Rt1Rebel, watch out for that T. Rex — sized gator.

What’s the latest on that monster?; 11/15/20, 7:07 PM
Rory said...: Resemblance? Art Carney and Laurence Olivier.; 11/15/20, 7:08 PM
alanc709 said...: Nothing new in occupied Washington, just another lockdown. Maybe Inslee will relent when our state is in full recession.; 11/15/20, 7:13 PM
Political Junkie said...: If the R senate candidate in GA was a rightwing white pastor, can you imagine the uproar?; 11/15/20, 7:14 PM
Mark said...: They have released what Biden's America will look like.

Expert Dr. Fauci, with his science and evidence, has said that when there is widespread vaccination, the country should STILL wear masks and socially distance, which also implies limits on gatherings and in businesses. There will never be a return to normal. The suspension on civil liberties is permanent.; 11/15/20, 7:14 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Andrew,

All of those are good suggestions, but it wouldn't be Trump in a lot of cases. I think his most fatal error was letting Fauci and the apparatchiks in the FDA run everything back in March. Trump had the right instincts right from the beginning about the lockdowns, but he allowed himself to get stampeded into actively supporting them, and then he had to find a way out in late April after it became clear that to continue would cause 10 times as many deaths before we even got the November (he succeeded in that, but the mistake had done major damage). Additionally, if he had sidelined Fauci and the FDA morons right at the start, he might well have gotten the successful vaccine news in the Summer instead of the week after the election. The one thing that should have been done in the vaccine development was challenge trials- you find candidate vaccines, you administer them to healthy volunteers who have agreed to be directly exposed to the virus in a laboratory setting, and are compensated well for the risks they take. Instead, it was obvious from the very start that the bureaucratic Dems in the FDA were slow-walking the vaccine the entire time. We have literally waited 4 months for enough of the volunteers who took the Pfizer vaccine to be exposed by accident to the virus- this was 4 months that didn't need to be wasted, and there is nothing unethical about challenge trials- I can fucking guarantee you that if it had been President Clinton, the FDA would not have slow walked anything.

In short, Trump needed Scott Atlas in March, Fauci should have been fired at the same time.; 11/15/20, 7:18 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: I've seen a lot of talk saying lockdown is a conditioning exercise for the next generation's green new deal. Still, it provides Whoopie and the GruesomeViewsome outlets for their bitching.; 11/15/20, 7:20 PM
gilbar said...: Yancey Ward said...
Looks like we get our first freeze down here in Oak Ridge, TN tomorrow nigh

i was fishing on the Tellico River last weekend (got home last tues)
the views were incredible! fantastic tree color
my only problem was, i didn't pack enough shorts; so i was stuck wearing long pants
(highs were in the 80's)

Most impressed with Tennessee in November; 11/15/20, 7:21 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Joe is still trying to "put forth a panel to find a concensus in order to form a far reaching blah blah blah"...; 11/15/20, 7:24 PM
mockturtle said...: Andrew, while I agree with most of your suggestions, I cannot see anyone who voted Trump in 2016 switching to a Biden vote in 2020. If, and it's a BIG if, the election was on the level, it wasn't through loss of Trump votes so much as the aggressive VOTE campaign aimed at potential Dem voters [use of pro athletes, e.g]. The Dems and Trump are philosophically so far apart it's inconceivable that any of your well-considered factors would have made a difference in anyone's vote. But I could be wrong. ;-); 11/15/20, 7:25 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: That launch was awesome.; 11/15/20, 7:26 PM
mockturtle said...: Anyone see our 'Hail Murray' pass to beat the Bills in the final two seconds of the game? Golden!; 11/15/20, 7:28 PM
Tomcc said...: Quayle @ 6:22- Tiger taking a 10 on number 12 was something, though.
I don't golf much, but I've done that quite a few times (10 strokes on a par 3); it's not that hard.; 11/15/20, 7:29 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: We have flu vaccines and people still die from influenza. If masks work, why don't they work?; 11/15/20, 7:30 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Joe didn't campaign! Guess he knew he didn't have to. Most peculiar momma.; 11/15/20, 7:32 PM
iowan2 said...: Andrew, those are all reasonable for a politician. Trump aint. That's not how he got in office. In fact, shifting his persona, would have gotten him convicted on the impeachment indictment.,
You don't understand that DC, both parties were sending a message. The next outsider will be destroyed.I see more legal action to follow. A message must be sent to other dreamers.
I cant think of another human that could have stood up to all of this. Not a single soul would have continued to fight.; 11/15/20, 7:33 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: The worst thing about it, Bumble, is that you can never prove a negative. If we hadn’t had stickers on the floor at Target and everyone wearing masks for all these months ONE ZILLION PEOPLE WOULD BE DEAD!!!!!!; 11/15/20, 7:33 PM
Humperdink said...: Power out again due to heavy winds. Last time it was several days. Running on standby generator. The beauty of living in the woods with REA as your power supplier.; 11/15/20, 7:33 PM
rehajm said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/15/20, 7:37 PM
narciso said...: Its said mitch nelson is mark nutch.

Fauci is like mueller or comey, you cant cut that tripwire without blowing up in your face and getting a chestful of shrapnel.; 11/15/20, 7:38 PM
rehajm said...: Interesting tidbit from thao today- it's looking like the dems lead in the House is going to be so thin they risk losing a majority in special elections. Death by attrition...; 11/15/20, 7:40 PM
Quayle said...: “ Quayle @ 6:22- Tiger taking a 10 on number 12 was something, though.
I don't golf much, but I've done that quite a few times (10 strokes on a par 3); it's not that hard.”

Tomcc, I know what you mean. But Tiger has enough money to get a lot of lessons. ;).; 11/15/20, 7:42 PM
Narr said...: Our weather did what Yancey reports and gilbar enjoyed, only a day or so earlier. The smaller trees--dogwoods, tulip poplars, maples--flamed out beautifully last week but the cold winds last night forced their leaves down. Now it's the predominant oaks' turns; they've been pretty dull and sullen, but have held on to most of theirs.

OTOH hand, for the first time in some years I've seen the Taurids, unmistakably doing their lightshow. A few nights were very clear, last night the front prevented any viewing, but tonight and the next few promise clear. The moon is going to start being a factor too.

Narr
Tennessee's nice year 'round if you have a/c; 11/15/20, 7:44 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Parler vous?

Mercer madness
Bongino badness
Sundance sadness

Gab nous!; 11/15/20, 7:54 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "What’s the latest on that monster?"

I dunno, I don't golf. Ergo, I also have no comment on Tiger's 10 on the 12.; 11/15/20, 8:01 PM
narciso said...: I didnt know the election of 1930 was that close in the house.; 11/15/20, 8:05 PM
boatbuilder said...: I've never taken a 10 on a par 3. Always pick up after 6.; 11/15/20, 8:05 PM
FullMoon said...: Us Californicators trying to decide which state to move to and turn blue for next election.
Any suggestions? Texas gettin' wise and greedy natives jackin' up home prices.Az pretty much done.
So, we need some place where the local yokels are clueless and homes are still cheap.
We got lots of high school teachers looking to educate the next wave of ignorant first time voters.

Thanks in advance!; 11/15/20, 8:11 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Andrew:

But his peculiarities that made him effective were also his undoing. He needed to learn self-control and restraint. He needed a more effective communication strategy. And he depended too much on Jared and Ivanka.

I think this is pretty close to 100% accurate. I would add, too, that I think Trump had a very naïve view of how government operates and what a president can achieve. Being a CEO is nothing like being a president, and Trump never had the skill set for that (impossibly) demanding job. Moxie helps, but it's never enough.; 11/15/20, 8:17 PM
historyDoc said...: I predict that Slow Joe will need to take a trip to the hospital within the first 6 months of his administration. The only question is if the press will report it.; 11/15/20, 8:17 PM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/15/20, 8:18 PM
Andrew said...: @Mike of Snoqualmie,
Agreed. The burying of that news by the MSM was criminal. I was repeatedly surprised that very intelligent people I knew were unaware of these foreign policy successes. I wish Trump had boasted about them more often. He could have counteracted the "Putin's puppet" nonsense. Another foreign policy success that was forgotten: the return of hostages, and of war remains, from Korea.

@Yancey Ward,
Yes, the whole year would have been different if he had trusted his initial instincts regarding the virus. It would have led to a typical media onslaught, but he would have withstood it. I don't know much about the FDA, but what you describe sounds accurate. One of his great legacies was deregulation, and this would have been a golden opportunity.

@mockturtle,
You could be right, regarding the changing of votes. I doubt there were many voters who were for Trump in 2016, who voted against him this time. But there are other categories, such as:
1) people who didn't vote at all in 2016 because they weren't of voting age, or were uninterested;
2) people who voted 3rd party in 2016 (could the Libertarians have been reached more effectively?);
3) people who voted for Hillary but were persuadable this time around, including moderate Dems who don't agree with the leftwing direction the party is going.

@iowan2,
I agree with you to a degree. I just wish Trump could have made some slight adjustments to his persona for greater effectiveness. As was said about him repeatedly, "He fights." But even General Grant made mistakes, and adjusted his strategies accordingly.
"I can't think of another human that could have stood up to all of this. Not a single soul would have continued to fight." I couldn't agree more. It was almost supernatural. I felt privileged to witness it, and I hope that his fight can continue.; 11/15/20, 8:33 PM
narciso said...: Did fauci lie in his public statements and published work re the severity of the virus. Certainly new york and a whole host of states in a horseshoe from virginia to california horribly mishandled the situation.; 11/15/20, 8:43 PM
mockturtle said...: Trump has been willing to fight for our country and our Constitution like no one else would or could have done. Though he drives me crazy with his bloviating, his Presidency is the only thing standing between us and a totalitarian state. Don't believe me? Then you are a hopeless moron. Sorry.; 11/15/20, 8:44 PM
bagoh20 said...: "The question is, what should Trump have done differently, in his campaign and in his four years in office, to win a second term?"

I don't think there is much more he could have done, or should have needed to. He had just about the most successful first term in American history by accomplishing many things long considered just too hard to do by the experts, and doing things long promised, but never delivered. On the ground, I never saw such enthusiasm for a candidate in my life. He brought people of all stripes together like we have never seen before. As for job performance, he did more to deserve reelection than any President in our lifetime. That's exactly why the Democrats were forced to do such extensive cheating to beat him. They simply could not win a fair fight. They destroyed the respect our system has always enjoyed and deserved with citizens and admiring foreigners alike. That's gone now.

All Presidents could have done something better, but if you stop counting votes when they are winning, and don't restart until you have enough illegal ballots, then how could anybody win, regardless of merit?

You may disagree with that assessment of the election, but what President has delivered more that is basic, real, and important? Who has ever so over-performed in office? Give me a name, and tell me how they did that. And who has ever faced such adversity from people in his own county from even before being elected. The only way Trump could have been beaten was by cheating. That's why it was done more than ever before and by such a huge margin. There simply was no alternative. They tried everything else. Can you even imagine another election with more cheating? Is that our future?; 11/15/20, 8:47 PM
Andrew said...: @J Farmer,
That's a very good point.; 11/15/20, 8:51 PM
bagoh20 said...: What's naive is to think that Trump could win when the opposition is willing to break any rule necessary, which you just saw them do for four years straight . If you think Trump would have won by being softer, you don't understand the Left. You think they are like the Right, but with just different political goals. That's been blown out of the water by the last four years. They would eat your imaginary candidate for lunch, and then leave you with the bill.; 11/15/20, 8:57 PM
I Callahan said...: Can you even imagine another election with more cheating? Is that our future?

At this point, that is our future. They got away with it this time; why wouldn't they the next time? As you said yourself, they destroyed the respect our system has always enjoyed, and that includes the integrity of the vote.; 11/15/20, 8:57 PM
Andrew said...: @bagoh20,
Trust me, I share your frustration. It's possible that nothing would have changed the outcome. But I still can't comprehend that so many millions of people voted for Biden. It wasn't entirely fraudulent. Could Trump have reached some of them with a different approach? First-time voters, for example?

But to have witnessed his rallies, and the love and enthusiasm from his supporters, and then to see him beaten by that carcass who couldn't draw a room full of people, is excruciating.; 11/15/20, 8:59 PM
Andrew said...: By the way, one reason I'm thinking about all this is, what do we need to learn ahead of 2024? We can't just throw in the towel because the Dems will cheat again.; 11/15/20, 9:02 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Being a CEO is nothing like being a president, and Trump never had the skill set for that (impossibly) demanding job."

OK, so who does or ever did? Who was so vigorously opposed by the media and the opposition, and then despite that, who accomplished more? Give a name.; 11/15/20, 9:02 PM
narciso said...: They stole it like the elections in venezuela after 2002.; 11/15/20, 9:04 PM
Mr Wibble said...: I hate this. We're gonna end up with more lockdowns because of incompetent and fascist governors. I haven't gone dancing in almost a year because of these dipshits.

Also, I'd support nuking China for letting this virus spread and then lying about it.; 11/15/20, 9:04 PM
bagoh20 said...: A name?; 11/15/20, 9:06 PM
J. Farmer said...: @mockturtle:

his Presidency is the only thing standing between us and a totalitarian state. Don't believe me? Then you are a hopeless moron. Sorry.

With all due respect, that is hysterical. It's very near the level of being scared there's a monster under the bed. There is no Leninist faction on the verge of seizing power in the US. Who is this faction? What is the source of its power? What will be the source of its legitimacy? Why will the Pentagon and Justice Department, and thus all military and federal law enforcement officers, concede to their authority? Never mind the thousands of state and local law enforcement agencies that would have to recognize their legitimacy. And all the state and municipal governments. And the international community.

There's a very easy way to tell what kind of state the elites want. It's the one we have right now. The elite do not want a Marxist system. They want globalization by liberal capitalism. Their vision is laid out in the "four freedoms" of the European single market: the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people. It is indeed a very radical idea, but it's liberal capitalism that is driving it not Marxism.; 11/15/20, 9:07 PM
Rory said...: "By the way, one reason I'm thinking about all this is, what do we need to learn ahead of 2024?"

You need an overlay of argument in favor of Constitutional reform to support individual rights and federalism. That can't get done against the dead weight of the coastal areas, so the more sensible parts of the country have to move forward with reform and just see who will come along with us.; 11/15/20, 9:21 PM
J. Farmer said...: @bagoh20:

OK, so who does or ever did? Who was so vigorously opposed by the media and the opposition, and then despite that, who accomplished more? Give a name.

I imagine our respective conception of those accomplishments are very far apart, so that wouldn't be a very fruitful conversation. I've never denied that the establishment did everything in its power to constrain Trump, and it largely succeeded. Nonetheless, his weaknesses made their job easier. If anything, the outsized media coverage probably helped him more than it hurt him. He got tons of free press during the campaign, and during his administration the press provided him a foil. The "fake news," the "lying media." Their attempts at flogging every potential anti-Trump story led to outrage fatigue pretty quickly. Most of the people not looking at the president through a partisan lens saw the caricature that CNN and MSNBC were freaking out about. Coincidentally, the right was involved in a similar dynamic with another president not that long ago.; 11/15/20, 9:22 PM
gadfly said...: President Trump’s campaign on Sunday scrapped a major part of its federal lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania.; 11/15/20, 9:22 PM
mockturtle said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/15/20, 9:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: 44 other Presidents to pick from. Who did more in 4 years, and who had more opposition to every single action, even his very existence?; 11/15/20, 9:23 PM
mockturtle said...: Farmer: Do you deny that freedom of speech has been damaged beyond repair? Do you deny that political correctness has not just denied us freedom of expression but changed our very language, as well? Do you deny that climate change activists intend to curtail our activities, our diets and our livelihoods? Do you???

With all due respect, Farmer, you are of the sort who know in detail the composition of every tree but fail to see the significance of the forest.; 11/15/20, 9:24 PM
mockturtle said...: One need not have Marxism to have a totalitarian state, BTW.; 11/15/20, 9:25 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/15/20, 9:29 PM
Mrs. X said...: I think his most fatal error was letting Fauci and the apparatchiks in the FDA run everything back in March.
This.
At the time, much as I wished he would push back, I didn't see how he could do it without setting himself up as both unsympathetic to those who were ill and anti-science. I've subsequently come to think that the people who would have hated him for working as hard as possible to keep the country open, including issuing guidance that contravened the power crazed and incompetent governors of left wing states, already hated him, so there would have been no net loss of support.
But would it have ultimately mattered? The prize was mail in voting for all, and because Trump couldn't (and didn't seem to want to) overrule governors' orders, the fraudsters were always going to get what they were after.; 11/15/20, 9:29 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "I hate this. We're gonna end up with more lockdowns because of incompetent and fascist governors. I haven't gone dancing in almost a year because of these dipshits."

I haven't "beat the Market" ever in my entire life, except for that one time two years ago when I put in for a transfer to Florida.

Very little disruption to normal life here now, just wear the mask for show. My vote actually matters here and isn't invalidated by fraud. DeSantis is pushing legislation to expand stand your ground laws to allow for the shooting of looters, but as Tyrus said on the GG Show last night, that's not a message for FL, because everyone in FL already knows that if you break in or loot, your ass is getting shot, it's a PSA to Antifa and BLM should they decide to show up here.; 11/15/20, 9:29 PM
gadfly said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/15/20, 9:31 PM
n.n said...: One need not have Marxism to have a totalitarian state, BTW.

But diversity or color judgments, class-based judgments, facilitate its progress.; 11/15/20, 9:33 PM
n.n said...: re: totalitarian state

Diversity dogmatic beliefs (i.e. systemic discrimination), also, a Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic, relativistic, politically congruent quasi-religion (e.g. "ethics"). The normalization of selective-child was only the first step on this progressive path.; 11/15/20, 9:37 PM
Readering said...: Bagoh: easy. No. 44.; 11/15/20, 9:40 PM
bagoh20 said...: Readering, please explain your choice?

Did the FBI spy on him and try to frame him him as a foreign agent from even before his election? And for doing exactly what every other President elect did, including Biden.
Did the media attack him 24 hours a day, and run a false narrative about him for four years using nearly every media hour to do so?
Did the opposition try to impeach him on completely unfounded charges for non existent crimes.
Did the he bring the lowest unemployment for minorities in history?
Did he create the highest GDP increase in history?
Did he broker historic middle east peace agreements?
Did he end the ISIS?, the most murderous entity in recent times, which was created under Obama's leadership.

I could go on and on, but you tell me what Obama did that was more impressive. You picked him.; 11/15/20, 9:54 PM
Readering said...: Boo hoo.; 11/15/20, 10:03 PM
Drago said...: bagoh20: "Readering, please explain your choice?

Did the FBI spy on him and try to frame him him as a foreign agent from even before his election? And for doing exactly what every other President elect did, including Biden."

Bagoh, I dont think you understand where readering is coming from.

Right now, today, at this very moment, readering STILL believes Trump colluded with russia and that putin actually changed vote totals to get Trump elected.

Which is precisely what 67% of all democraticals still believe.; 11/15/20, 10:04 PM
J. Farmer said...: @mockturtle:

Farmer: Do you deny that freedom of speech has been damaged beyond repair?

Yes, I deny that. The ability of the government to restrict speech is much less than it has been traditionally in the Republic, when it would not have been that unusual for people to be jailed for opposing US entry into a war or publishing material considered "obscene" or "indecent." It wasn't that long ago that Republicans supported amending the constitution to make flag-burning a crime. The one really concerted effort against free expression engaged in by the government is one you probably support--the attempt to crush the BDS movement.

The censorship you are concerned with is not coming from the government but from the business world and academia. Republicans have traditionally support at-will employment, so it's hard for them to mount much of a response if a company wants to fire someone for having views they disagree with.; 11/15/20, 10:07 PM
Readering said...: I certainly do not believe the FBI tried to spy on him and frame him. I also believe the Mueller investigation was insufficient. We'll no doubt learn more in the coming years.

I'm thinking more about the opposition to Obama in Congress and the money poured into opposing him by conservative fat cats. Koch belatedly expressing regret but not others.; 11/15/20, 10:08 PM
Readering said...: I never claimed Putin interfered with election processes. But promoted disinformation and hacks. But Drago has been making nut job accusations against me for longer than I can remember. Don't understand why he can't just make his own comments without stalking me. Other offenders in that regard but he gets the gold medal. And the effect on what I write? Beats me. I guess his reason is that I write quite a bit and our views differ. But who cares? Dogs on the internet.; 11/15/20, 10:13 PM
mccullough said...: Andrew and Farmer are making good, substantive points.

I think Trump was fairly effective at repealing some regulations and a few other things that are within the president’s power (unfortunately Congress long ago delegated most of its law making power to the president).

Also, his changes to NAFTA were helpful. Even the Dems agreed with it.

Trump appears to have come into office thinking Congress was just a rubber stamp board of directors. His lack of discipline there hurt him. Mitch got what he want from Trump (tax cuts and judges and his wife a cabinet post) but Trump got nothing from Mitch in return.; 11/15/20, 10:15 PM
walter said...: What was that Gadfly? Why the hasty delete?; 11/15/20, 10:15 PM
Drago said...: Readering: "I certainly do not believe the FBI tried to spy on him and frame him."

LOL

4 fraudulent FISA warrants later, readering has no idea what anyone is talking about!

Go ahead, ask the readering dunce about obama having 20 AP reporters spied upon.

Then ask the readering dunce why it was Brennan was forced to apologize, under oath, for having the CIA spy on congresspersons and senators who opposed the pro-mullah Iran deal...for which he had previously lied about...under oath!

Then ask readering the dunce why the obamaites spied on journalist James Rosen AND Rosen's parents!

Too easy.; 11/15/20, 10:17 PM
Drago said...: Readering The Very Forgetful: "I never claimed Putin interfered with election processes. But promoted disinformation and hacks."

LOL

In this very thread you are still pushing conspiracy theories that Mueller didnt investigate enough and that more will likely come out.

You are insane.

Lets test this a bit: Carter Page, russian spy or no?

This should be fun.; 11/15/20, 10:20 PM
Readering said...: Gibberish.; 11/15/20, 10:21 PM
Readering said...: The very notion that the heart of Drago's fantasy is Carter Page. Carter who????; 11/15/20, 10:24 PM
Drago said...: readering goes Full Inga, because of course he/she/xe does.

And note I didnt even bother mentioning obama's laddie Clapper apologizing, under oath, to congress, for having lied about the NSA spying on Americans...to congress...while under oath.

readering remains purposefully, blissfully, at peace with his/her/xer conscious "ignorance".; 11/15/20, 10:25 PM
Drago said...: For the readering dunce: "As reports emerged Thursday that an internal investigation by the Central Intelligence Agency’s inspector general found that the CIA “improperly” spied on US Senate staffers when researching the CIA’s dark history of torture, it was hard to conclude anything but the obvious: John Brennan blatantly lied to the American public. Again.

“The facts will come out,” Brennan told NBC News in March after Senator Dianne Feinstein issued a blistering condemnation of the CIA on the Senate floor, accusing his agency of hacking into the computers used by her intelligence committee’s staffers. “Let me assure you the CIA was in no way spying on [the committee] or the Senate,” he said.

After the CIA inspector general’s report completely contradicted Brennan’s statements, it now appears Brennan was forced to privately apologize to intelligence committee chairs in a “tense” meeting earlier this week. Other Senators on Thursday pushed for Brennan to publicly apologize and called for an independent investigation. Sen. Ron Wyden said it well:

.@CIA broke into Senate computer files. Then tried to have Senate staff prosecuted. Absolutely unacceptable in a democracy.

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) July 31, 2014

But the director of the CIA – and the architect of America’s drone program, who will be all but defending torture for the next several"

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/31/cia-director-john-brennan-lied-senate

readering the dunce hardest hit.; 11/15/20, 10:29 PM
narciso said...: Try again:

https://mobile.twitter.com/TimMurtaugh/status/1328169116230971397; 11/15/20, 10:30 PM
Readering said...: Stop with the heshexer crap for a few months and I might take you seriously.; 11/15/20, 10:31 PM
Drago said...: Bears repeating for the dunces of Althouse blog, of whom readering is a case study:

@CIA broke into Senate computer files. Then tried to have Senate staff prosecuted. Absolutely unacceptable in a democracy.

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) July 31, 2014

Did you catch that readering?

Spying and framing/prosecuting...all by obamas little minions.

The best part?

By tomorrow morning readering will claim he/she/xe never heard any if this.

Our resident dunce will probably call these facts "gibberish".; 11/15/20, 10:33 PM
Drago said...: readering: "Stop with the heshexer crap for a few months and I might take you seriously."

I'm sorry under oath testimony and admissions and apologies make you weep and curl up in a ball.; 11/15/20, 10:34 PM
J. Farmer said...: @mccullough:

Mitch got what he want from Trump (tax cuts and judges and his wife a cabinet post) but Trump got nothing from Mitch in return.

I was legitimately surprised at how bad of a strategist Trump appears to have been. It was solidified for me in the battle over the government shutdown. Pelosi ran circles around Trump, and you don't have to like her or her politics to recognize that. I still remember the footage of Trump in the oval office saying, "I will shut down the government. I am proud to shut down the government. I will take the mantle." Then as the shutdown dragged on, he folded. A year later, he did a deal with Pelosi where he agreed to support paid parental leave for federal workers (a big Dem wish list item) in exchange for Space Force, a stupid boondoggle to the defense industry.; 11/15/20, 10:37 PM
Drago said...: Here's a link to Clappers lies to congress that readering doesnt want to know because it makes him/her/xer feel very bad:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/policy/defense/308979-clapper-apologies-for-erroneous-statement-to-congress-on-us-data-collection%3famp

July 02, 2013 - 11:40 PM EDT
Intelligence chief Clapper apologizes for ‘erroneous’ statement to Congress

I suspect readering will crawl back into the dunce hole to avoid dealing with these inconvenient realities.; 11/15/20, 10:38 PM
Ralph L said...: Sean Davis
2h
Another source familiar with Durham's investigation rejected entirely the characterization that Durham is dropping his probe: "John Durham's investigation remains at full-speed ahead."; 11/15/20, 10:42 PM
Drago said...: Farmer: "A year later, he did a deal with Pelosi where he agreed to support paid parental leave for federal workers (a big Dem wish list item) in exchange for Space Force, a stupid boondoggle to the defense industry."

Your ignorance is showing again.

We absolutely require a space force that is independent of and no longer subservient to Air Force parochial needs and priorities.

A space force should have been created in the 90's.; 11/15/20, 10:43 PM
Readering said...: That's me, curling up in a ball from Drago's biting wit for more yeas than I can count.; 11/15/20, 10:45 PM
Drago said...: Readering: "That's me, curling up in a ball from Drago's biting wit for more yeas than I can count."

Brennans and clappers admissions of spying and lying are not dependent upon my wit.

I am sorry that their under oath admissions are happening to you.; 11/15/20, 10:48 PM
Readering said...: I doubt whether Durham's investigation is proceeding quite full speed when his chief deputy quit over DOJ DC interference. Part of a distressing line of Justice8 departures that will make for a fascinating book in a few years.; 11/15/20, 10:49 PM
Ralph L said...: @realdinaldtrump
Many of the court cases being filed all over the Country are not ours, but rather those of people that have seen horrible abuses. Our big cases showing the unconstitutionality of the 2020 Election, & the outrage of things that were done to change the outcome, will soon be filed!

He might have said that earlier.; 11/15/20, 10:52 PM
Drago said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/15/20, 10:53 PM
Drago said...: It was wise of readering to abandon his/her/xer original hilariously ludicrous claim that his/her/xer beloved obama admin would never improperly spy or attempt to frame anyone.....after being provided the direct under oath quotes and democratical criticism of obama admin types doing just that!; 11/15/20, 10:53 PM
Drago said...: Ralph L: "He might have said that earlier."

Why?

These suits are a matter of public record and anyone can pull them up to see who the relevant parties to the suits happen to be.; 11/15/20, 10:55 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Tweet from @TheFrancescaF

"Is there ANYONE I trust to give me hope about this election turning around? Not BS. Not wishes. Real, factual hope that something will happen? Because I don’t see it and I’ve given up and it makes me sad."; 11/15/20, 11:01 PM
Narayanan said...: I Callahan said...
Can you even imagine another election with more cheating? Is that our future?

At this point, that is our future. They got away with it this time; why wouldn't they the next time? As you said yourself, they destroyed the respect our system has always enjoyed, and that includes the integrity of the vote.
------------=============
Once you call to mind Stalin's spawn - what you have lost is the belief in integrity of the vote counters (which you probably never had for century or more); 11/15/20, 11:06 PM
Readering said...: Still? Bye, Felicia.; 11/15/20, 11:08 PM
stephen cooper said...: There are many many politicians who are going to write memoirs in the next 20 years.

On my side, I think there are a few good possibilities - Trump, of course, Mike Pence, and a few others among the non-swamp Republicans --- and on the other side ----- well, we know Biden will never again be younger than he is now and will never be less hopelessly senile than he is now, so that is a Brezhnev-level write-off. He is never going to write a decent memoir. You know that, I know that, everybody knows that. Pelosi is amazingly old - if she were to adopt a chihuahua, she would be 100 years old before the chihuahua reached middle age ----- we might get a picture book out of that, but nothing like what Ulysses Grant did.

My best guess is that, out of all the coup plotters and coup followers of 2020, there will be at most one or two who will one day write a useful memoir of these days. Assuming such a thing might happen, my money would be on one of the Pacific Time Zone or Mid-Atlantic senators --- some of those little critters have lately had the same guilty look on their faces that the creepy Marlene Dietrich character had on her face, in the middle scenes of Destry Rides Again.

By the way, I am no big fan of Lincoln, but I really do think that, among all the things we lost when he was murdered by a despicable coward, that his memoirs would have been almost as good as Grant's were. (and no, I do not think that Mark Twain improved the memoirs all that much.)

You know, I had a friend in Wichita once ....; 11/15/20, 11:12 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Drago:

Your ignorance is showing again.

Or perhaps you and I simply have a different set of assumptions, values, priorities, and opinions that have driven us towards different opinions. There are reasons people can disagree that don't involve ignorance or malice.; 11/15/20, 11:13 PM
Drago said...: Farmer: "Or perhaps you and I simply have a different set of assumptions, values, priorities, and opinions that have driven us towards different opinions."

Nope.

Its a reflection of ones understanding of the mission and its pre-eminent future importance and how that strategic mission is completely constrained by being made subservient to its legacy military branch oversight.

Why didnt we simply keep the army air corp after WW2 instead of creating the Air Force?

Because strategic air power requires a different and independent mindset from land force frameworks.; 11/15/20, 11:23 PM
walter said...: FWIW, Gadfly deleted a claim about Trump team abandoning major parts of PA suit.; 11/15/20, 11:23 PM
Drago said...: Readering: "Still? Bye, Felicia."

What part of Brennans and Clappers testimony did you find the most difficult to wish away and pretend never happened?; 11/15/20, 11:24 PM
Drago said...: walter: "FWIW, Gadfly deleted a claim about Trump team abandoning major parts of PA suit."

gadfly, as dumb as he is, still runs circles around russia collusian truther dunce readering and his/her/xer's conspiracy wishcasting.; 11/15/20, 11:26 PM
walter said...: Ok..as disputed by Murtaugh in narciso's non-linked link at 10:30 ;); 11/15/20, 11:28 PM
walter said...: A premature postulation, perhaps. Followed by wiping.; 11/15/20, 11:30 PM
JML said...: If they get away with it, one of the worst things about biden stealing the election is all the celebrities who won't be moving out of the country.; 11/15/20, 11:31 PM
Drago said...: JML: "If they get away with it, one of the worst things about biden stealing the election is all the celebrities who won't be moving out of the country."

Of course, they were never leaving anyeay.; 11/15/20, 11:39 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: I remain confident that Trump will win the day. Sidney Powell completely turned the Flynn case on it's head and gave him the best shot for vindication he ever had, and in fact has vindicated him - partisan judicial moves aside.

Her interview with Maria Bartiromo was something. She's given other solid interviews lately as well.

The Left continues to mischaracterize the issue, for obvious reasons. This isn't necessarily widespread voter fraud - it looks like was highly targeted on 6 or 7 key states/cities/exurban "collar county" type areas. However, the SCALE of it - in terms of absolute vote counts - is large. So it's a lot of fraud, but it's concentrated. It had to be because there are only certain places where Dems or RINOs in key positions could help provide cover. Trump outperformed himself in almost every area of the country compared to 2016. And remember, in 2016 there was probably much less fraud overall, and likely targeted on state and local elections rather than national ones, because EVERYONE thought Hillary was a lock thanks to nobody looking at the polls through the right lens (and many of those being malarkey to begin with). When my wife and I voted on Election Day in 2016, I told her I gave Trump a 40% chance. Her reply was, "Why so high?" I told her that I believed he'd crushed the enthusiasm gap and that enough people despised Hillary to take a chance on The Donald, but even I thought it was less likely (I actually sorta thought we might see a 269-All tie and that it would come down to some major drama in Congress).

That's why Hillary almost didn't concede that night, why Podesta came out at the Javits Center in her place to keep the party faithful holding on. Aside from Hillary probably being drunk as a skunk, they were back in the campaign room waiting for their blue-city machines to report back on whether they could pull off an 11th hour ballot-fest. I think the answer the Clinton campaign got back was "we maybe can, but it's going to be super risky and we're not sure we can make up the deficit everywhere you need without it being too obvious." At that point, the game was up, and immediate planning to "fix" their oversight in 2020 commenced.

And we see what happened.

Sidney Powell and others may flip this yet. I think there has been enough proven issues (dead voters confirmed to have voted, CoA voters confirmed to have voted in incorrect states, #maidengate proving that multiple female voters cast ballots under maiden names, and the shady shit with Scytl and Dominion) to turn the tide. But the courts need to be honest and take a clear eyed look at how everything stacks up together.; 11/15/20, 11:59 PM
Gahrie said...: I still simply cannot understand how anyone could possibly believe that Putin and Russia would prefer Trump to either Hillary or Biden. If Russia or Putin interfered in our elections, it was to try and defeat Trump, not elect him.; 11/16/20, 12:31 AM
narciso said...: Irony as tom lehrer used to say is dead

https://mobile.twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1328140686139547649; 11/16/20, 12:39 AM
Gahrie said...: I have come to realize that I am truly evil at heart. I am so looking forward to the Rich Eisen show tomorrow.....; 11/16/20, 12:47 AM
narciso said...: Im old enough to remember when the democrats not only blamed katherine harris but adnan khashoggi for the butterfly ballot because 20 years before teresa lepore has been a flight attendant on one of his planes.; 11/16/20, 12:58 AM
narciso said...: So dont get me started on lefty conspiracy theories that continued even after the supreme court certified the election.; 11/16/20, 1:01 AM
narciso said...: Perspective:

https://mobile.twitter.com/AlexBerenson/status/1327829256852934658; 11/16/20, 1:12 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Drago:

Why didnt we simply keep the army air corp after WW2 instead of creating the Air Force?

It was probably close to inevitable after WWII, but I'm not even sure if that was a good idea. There probably was an overemphasis on the importance of strategic bombing and aerial warfare, but it's obviously a big, complicated subject.

Nonetheless, another uniformed service will mean another layer of bureaucracy, another source for interservice rivalry, and a bureaucratic incentive to overhype potential threats and recommend expensive weapons systems as solutions.; 11/16/20, 1:50 AM
J. Farmer said...: Gahrie:

I still simply cannot understand how anyone could possibly believe that Putin and Russia would prefer Trump to either Hillary or Biden.

Hillary ran to Trump's right and advocated a very hawkish foreign towards Russia. Most critically, she was a strong proponent of no-fly zones in Syria. The administration had gotten itself into the absurd position of trying to defeat ISIS and Assad simultaneously.; 11/16/20, 1:50 AM
Readering said...: The counts continue and bolster Biden lead. The cases collapse. But hey that Powell gal talks a great game!; 11/16/20, 2:07 AM
gadfly said...: @Readering said...
The counts continue and bolster Biden lead. The cases collapse. But hey that Powell gal talks a great game!

You mean Sydney the liar, err lawyer, whatever - who makes up stuff and alters docs presented in Judge Sullivan's court to get traitor Flynn off the hook? Yeah, she tells tales she reads on Twitter.; 11/16/20, 2:31 AM
Big Mike said...: With all due respect, that is hysterical.

With all due respect, Farmer, you’re a moron.

Hillary ran to Trump's right and advocated a very hawkish foreign towards Russia.

Oh, bullshit. That’s a lie and you’re a liar. Four years ago isn’t so long that our memories grow dim. She was on Putin’s payroll, via the Clinton Foundation.; 11/16/20, 3:25 AM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: “Chuck Schumer’s name is certainly not on the ballot,” Warnock said

They say that, and it’s technically true as far as it goes, but it’s still a lie. Of course Georgia is voting whether to put Schumer in charge of the US Senate. Just like by voting for Biden, you voted to give Hunter access to the highest levels of power.; 11/16/20, 4:29 AM
tim maguire said...: Andrew said...
I've been thinking about something, and maybe this is the place to air it. At the risk of offending those commenters who are fellow Trump supporters, I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

I agree with your points about the need for Trump to have better explained the positive aspects of his presidency. For all Scott Adams’ theorizing on Trump and the art of persuasion, I think that was his biggest failure. Trump’s genius was recognizing and addressing the big issues that are being ignored by everyone else; he was awful at convincing people who didn’t already agree with him. And he relied too much on Twitter, making the common mistake of exaggerating it’s influence.

There were a few brilliant addresses explaining his successes, but the day in and day out was negative attacks. People get sick of it. Reagan knew how to use the bully pulpit to force the media to cover his ideas and achievements in a positive way, Trump did not. We saw Trump the happy warrior in his rallies, but it was all negative everywhere else.; 11/16/20, 4:46 AM
Michael McNeil said...: I also believe the Mueller investigation was insufficient.

Here's a summary of the Mueller investigation (compiled from these sources):

Team: 19 lawyers were employed (all rabid political enemies of Trump), assisted by “about 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants and other professional staff”

Investigation timeframe: 22 months (675 days)
Cost: some $34 million
Report length: 448 pages (with redactions)
Redactions: 865*
Requests to foreign governments for evidence: 13
Pen registers: 50 monitoring orders authorized
Comm. records: more than 230 orders obtained
Interviews: approx. 500 witnesses interviewed
Search warrants: close to 500 executed
Subpoenas: more than 2,800 issued

Results: [quoting the first source]

Indictments: Mueller ultimately indicted, convicted or got guilty pleas from 34 people and three companies. [None were related to “Russian collusion” — Mueller's original commission.]

Facebook: The St.Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, which is financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, purchased 3,500 Facebook ads. The expenditure cost the the group $100,000, according to the [Mueller] report.

Twitter: On Twitter, the Russian IRA was responsible for 3,814 accounts. Ahead of the election, these accounts were responsible for posting about 175,993 tweets. About 84 percent of those tweets were election related. Twitter said it contacted about 1.4 million people who it believed were in contact with the IRA-controlled accounts.

[/unQuote]

Such was the totality of the Russian interference in the 2016 election, as determined by Mueller's extensive and nearly 2-year-long investigation.

Please inform us, Readering, just how much more Mueller's team should have done, how much longer they should have taken — and how much more they should have spent (> $1 billion, say?) — to satisfy your request for a good and complete investigation. How many more search warrants than 500 (!), for instance, should they have executed?

____
*“Four types of information … were redacted: matters that could affect ongoing investigations (405), sensitive intelligence (87), infringements on personal privacy (66) and grand jury material (307).”; 11/16/20, 5:24 AM
Humperdink said...: mockturtle said: "Farmer: Do you deny that freedom of speech has been damaged beyond repair?

Farmer responded: "Yes, I deny that. ..... The censorship you are concerned with is not coming from the government but from the business world and academia."

Farmer, You don't think the government (Read: Dems/swamp) are in on the big tech gig? Wowee.; 11/16/20, 5:36 AM
Rusty said...: J. I disagree. I think there is every reason to be concerned. If they steal this election what's to stop them from stealing others? Even local elections. From all appearances they have prepared for this vote fraud years in advance. They are emboldened by their power. Further. It's no secret the proggs want a limit on speech. Speech that might be hurtful. With the ability to control the outcome of elections they will get their way. Once ensconced in the Whitehouse the dems will immediately start legislation to limit speech, firearms, and property rights. They've said so much publicaly. They have already severely limited you freedom of movement. They have already have you second guessing your speech by virtue of their violence.
Things will not be NORMAL after they succeed. Your vote from then on will only be a formality.
I truly, truly wish I was wrong, but I know these people. I know how they think.; 11/16/20, 5:56 AM
Humperdink said...: Headline Zero Hedge: "86% Of Trump Voters Say Biden 'Did Not Legitimately Win' Election"

86% of 73,000,000 is more than a few irate rebels. This may not end well.; 11/16/20, 6:05 AM
Humperdink said...: "Lawyers with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP submitted a filing late Thursday stating they were withdrawing as counsel (for President Trump) in a federal suit seeking to block Pennsylvania from certifying its vote. No reason was given. In a statement issued Friday, the firm confirmed the filing but did not say why it was exiting the case."

Scratching my head as to who was behind this? Can you help me Farmer?; 11/16/20, 6:14 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Sidney Powell and others may flip this yet. I think there has been enough proven issues (dead voters confirmed to have voted, CoA voters confirmed to have voted in incorrect states, #maidengate proving that multiple female voters cast ballots under maiden names, and the shady shit with Scytl and Dominion) to turn the tide. But the courts need to be honest and take a clear eyed look at how everything stacks up together.”

I think that one big reason that the Trump lawyers are framing the controversy the way that they are, which is illegal election processes, instead of alleging fraud, is that the cheating was at industrial level. They couldn’t expect to prove enough fraud, on an instance basis, to make even a small dent in the problem. And what’s the remedy? Sending a small number of low level Dem machine operatives to prison, until everything calms down enough to let them out? Biden would still be President, and the election would have still been stolen. And stolen once means that the Dems had a working template for how to steal national elections, that would be used again and again in the future.

Similarly, all of the stuff that was done to fudge actual votes tallied and reported, after the ballots were in the system, and separated from their identifying information, is also really irrelevant, because most of it will be cleaned up in a recount. In the big picture, it really doesn’t matter if the election supervisor left a flash drive in a machine unsupervised, breaking chain of custody for the tallies, or a Chinese, Pelosi, Feinstein, etc owned company misreported tallies. Just run them again.

The industrial grade election fraud happened because state election laws were violated. There were protections built into the various state systems that were (IMHO intentionally) bypassed in order to commit the fraud. What seemed to happen, over and over, in these six key states, and esp in PA, MI, and WI, was that the big Dem machine cities delayed their reporting of election tallies long enough to see how many votes that they would need to swing the election, then using one pretext or another, (illegally) sent everyone home, or prevented Republicans from reentering after a break, and then continued counting with Republicans no longer able to supervise what was going on. And at that point, the illegal ballots started rolling in, in boxes, crates, etc, through the front doors I one place, back in another. Template was similar in the central vote counting centers in each of these big cities. Often some variation of using COVID-19 as the excuse was used (which was part of why so much of the country has been locked up).

The excuse for violating election law was mostly COVID-19 (except maybe somewhat for GA, where a stipulated case by the Dem party may have played a part). An election official, at some level, justified violating the law. The legal problem, the critical vulnerability in the fraud is that the US Constitution requires that the various state legislatures determine election laws. And these changes, or exemptions, in election law were being made by executive branch employees in these various cities and states. That’s not supposed to happen. That is the critical place that Trump’s attorneys are attacking the vote tallies in court - they want any vote tallies that have been affected by this illegal state or local executive branch rules changes excluded from the states’ totals. Easy enough, except that we are probably talking well over a million votes here.; 11/16/20, 7:10 AM
Humperdink said...: Lefty Glen Greenwald: "The Three Greatest Dangers of Biden/Harris: Militarism, Corporatism and Censorship, All Fueled by Indifference"

Censorship? Huh? Can't be. Why would he even think that?

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-three-greatest-dangers-of-bidenharris; 11/16/20, 7:18 AM
Lurker21 said...: WTF. Meacham is back on Scarborough's show.
I thought he had been fired.
Not surprising though.
Having a scandal may be a requirement for being on Joe's team: Barnicle made up stories. Deutsch stiffed his realtor out of a commission.; 11/16/20, 7:21 AM
Mrs. X said...: The censorship you are concerned with is not coming from the government but from the business world and academia.
As a practical matter, censorship is censorship, no matter where it comes from, particularly when social media and search engine platforms are monopolies, for all practical purposes. If it’s provable that private companies are censoring conservative speech, there should be legal remedies available to fix the problem, and quickly. Southern restaurants (private companies) were not allowed to continue excluding blacks. This situation is no different. If the government isn’t helping to solve problem, they’re de facto censoring.; 11/16/20, 8:06 AM
wendybar said...: Barack Obama is delusional. He did all that he was saying Trump is doing. And he lies with a straight face. Fanatical. He is the Great Divider.; 11/16/20, 8:10 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Twenty years ago, if I remember things correctly, Bush v Gore was decided on Equal Protection basis. They even picked up a couple of Dem votes there (one was Justice Breyer). But three judges filed a concurrence (CJ Rehnquist, along with J Thomas and, I think, J Alito) that said that they would also have reversed based on the Constitutional provision that state legislatures determine the rules for running national elections and selecting Presidential electors. Concurrences are not directly controlling, but can, and often do, triumph in the end. Since then, over the last two decades, the composition of the Supreme Court has changed dramatically. Conservative CJ Rehnquist was replaced by squishy conservative CJ Roberts. But Trump managed to place three decently conservative Justices on the Court. Along with Thomas and Alito, this is likely a working majority. If one of these cases gets to the Supreme Court, I expect that they will vote to adopt the 2000 concurrence. And with that, I expect CJ Roberts to join them, in order to control writing the decision, instead of allowing it to fall to esp Thomas, who often writes with a broad brush, while Roberts prefers narrow, complex, decisions. Except that J Kavenaugh may be mushy here, and brand new J Barret may be talked int recusing herself. I don’t think that she will.

The lower court rulings are probably more likely than not going to go against Trump. That is because the judges there have to run for re-election in those cities, etc. they were often put on the bench by the Dem political machines that committed the industrial level election fraud. The state supreme courts are a toss up. No doubt, both sides have gamed this out and can predict whether they chose to follow the law, and the federal and state constitutions, or accept this executive power grab. I think PA is problematic. MI and WI may be better. Then there is the federal side. District court judges are a crap shoot here. Circuit courts are safely Republican for the MI, WI, GA cases. AZ is DOA in the 9th Circuit and PA in the 3rd Circuit is problematic. Any states won by Trump in the Circuit Court won’t be heard by the Supreme Court, because there won’t be 4 votes. There almost assuredly would be 4 votes to hear the cases Trump loses in the appeals court.

The other alternative, call it the backup strategy, is to get the Republican majorities in the state legislatures to refuse to certify Biden electors until the elections in these cities have been audited. I am pretty sure that it is in MI, where legislators have already formally requested an audit of the election in Detroit, and that request has been ignored. Of course it was ignored - the election officials involved can’t afford to have their operation audited, because it would expose their own culpability. So, that has already started. Again, the Republicans have a slight edge, because if no one has a majority of electors when the House counts votes, they decide the election based on a one vote per state basis, and while the Dems will hold a small majority of House seats, the Republicans control more House delegations (easy for states like MT and WY with single Representatives). Trump wins there too.

So, the reality is that Biden is the one who probably has few routes to the Presidency. He is likely to lose either way, whether in the state legislatures refusing to certify his electors, based on the cities giving him the edge refusing to be audited for election law violations, or through the court system, where Trump has the edge there too. A bout all that Biden’s side can do right now is poison the well, threatening a Trump win with illegitimacy, and Republican legislators and judges who don’t go along with the Dems stealing the election with personal violence. (Hence their recent doxing, along with AntiFA having their reins being slipped this last couple days).; 11/16/20, 8:13 AM
Nichevo said...: Who would steal a 2002 truck?

More to the point, who would steal a Dodge?

...

Does Althouse have a back up plan if Blogger decides politically non-compliant blogs are verboten during the glorious reign of Bidarris?

11/15/20, 6:20 PM

Yeah. Learn to like egg salad. "Ooh! Creamy! And such beautiful presentation!"

...

Readering said...
Still? Bye, Felicia.

If you had an atom of prayer in you, you should give thanks daily for the modern social cliche machine that spares you the agonizing burden of independent thought.

...

tim in vermont said...
“Chuck Schumer’s name is certainly not on the ballot,” Warnock said

Someone should tell him that Schumer is Jewish and pro-Israel. Warnock might jump ship. At least he would be like the NPC with the two buttons.; 11/16/20, 8:13 AM
Nichevo said...: Blogger Mrs. X said...
The censorship you are concerned with is not coming from the government but from the business world and academia.
As a practical matter, censorship is censorship, no matter where it comes from, particularly when social media and search engine platforms are monopolies, for all practical purposes.

Isn't that in line with a primary operational/ideological difference between communism and fascism? Fascism relies on indirect control whereas communism insists on owning and directly controlling everything.

If your point there, Farmer, is that communism is moribund, because fascism, or is it corporatism, has proved more effective...then I hope you find it serves adequately as lubricant.; 11/16/20, 8:17 AM
Jeff said...: Moderna reports they gave the vaccine to 15K people and placebo to an equal number. 90 infections in the placebo group, only 5 in the vaccine group, and none of the latter were seriously ill. The Pfizer vaccine has to be stored at -70°F, Moderna's at -20°F, and maximum refrigeration times are 5 and 30 days respectively.

Both vaccines will be starting vaccination programs before the end of the year. If you're not immune to Covid by the end of March, you probably don't want to be. New cases will start falling off the cliff in late January or mid-February. Herd immunity by the end of March.; 11/16/20, 8:43 AM
Michael K said...: Reagan knew how to use the bully pulpit to force the media to cover his ideas and achievements in a positive way, Trump did not. We saw Trump the happy warrior in his rallies, but it was all negative everywhere else.

Reagan could still get his message over the heads of the media, especially TV. The Media was not as hostile to Reagan as they are to Trump. I do think Trump was too combative at times. That's why the second debate was better for him than the first. Also, the Media was able to suppress the Biden laptop story. I doubt that could happen in the 1980s.; 11/16/20, 8:52 AM
walter said...: Rep. Doug Collins
@RepDougCollins
·
Nov 14
The hand count process in Georgia MUST include a review of signatures on absentee ballots and envelopes to verify whether the signature verification process was properly executed.

This is absolutely CRITICAL.

Without this, Georgia CANNOT properly certify the election results.
--
So....cannot properly=won't?; 11/16/20, 9:54 AM
Michael K said...: The envelops have been discarded, just like PA.; 11/16/20, 11:03 AM
walter said...: I agree. But I see Collins flitting around on media not mentioning this.; 11/16/20, 11:22 AM
Michael K said...: Here comes a preview of the Biden policy on Afghanistan.

Born into occupation, young Afghans fear the Taliban will crush their freedoms when U.S. troops exit.

Remember Clinton and Somalia ?; 11/16/20, 11:40 AM
madAsHell said...: Except a few Zappa concerts at the Phil forum on Halloween.

You have been blessed!!; 11/25/20, 8:53 PM