Althouse: At the Sunrise Café...

December 17, 2020

At the Sunrise Café...

...you can talk about whatever you like.

280 comments:

1 – 200 of 280 Newer› Newest»

Josephbleau said...: I think that is a Bob Ross painting.; 12/17/20, 6:12 PM
roesch/voltaire said...: Notice how loudly the Trump administration is protesting the massive attack on government agencies from Russia? Oh that’s right we are still trying to undermine our own democratic election.; 12/17/20, 6:15 PM
stevew said...: Trump: Do you dislike him because?; 12/17/20, 6:18 PM
wildswan said...: I read story today about the Supreme Court decision in the Texas case and thought: "That's it. There goes ball game."; 12/17/20, 6:19 PM
stevew said...: If Obama were POTUS he'd be telling us that his silence on this massive attack is done to protect the investigation and our assets. And you'd be lapping it up.; 12/17/20, 6:20 PM
Jim at said...: Oh that’s right we are still trying to undermine our own democratic election.

You undermined your own fucking election, boy.; 12/17/20, 6:24 PM
Birkel said...: roesch/voltaire

What makes you think it was Russia, instead of all the other state actors?
What evidence have you?

And here we are using the same standard of evidence that you want to apply to the voter fraud investigations.
Choose whatever standard of evidence and apply it consistently.

We good?; 12/17/20, 6:26 PM
Jim at said...: In case you missed it, this is what's been going on in Olympia, WA for the last six months. This picture was taken last Saturday not four blocks from the capital campus.

Keep it in mind the next time someone starts running her mouth about the boogie woogie boys, or whatever.

Inga's People; 12/17/20, 6:27 PM
Inga said...: DeSantis says Florida shipments of vaccines are ‘on hold.’ Pfizer disagrees. ‘No shipments containing the vaccine are on hold or delayed,’ the pharmaceutical giant said in a statement Thursday.

Officials in multiple states said they were alerted late Wednesday that their second shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine had been drastically cut for next week, sparking widespread confusion and conflicting statements from Pfizer and federal officials about who was to blame.

What is going on and why? Clusterfuck under Trump administration, would would’ve guessed?; 12/17/20, 6:32 PM
roesch/voltaire said...: Well of course we had to spend more money on the wall then cyber security, but nonetheless there are some very smart people working on this hack and I trust them and not ungrounded speculations Berkel,; 12/17/20, 6:33 PM
stevew said...: Those are lovely winter photos. We had winter arrive here, in earnest, today. About a foot of snow, temps in the teens (F), and howling wind. The sea, nearby, was torn up bigly. The central propane space heater did its gallant best to keep up, but fell short most of the time. Fortunately, mrs. stevew is back from her grandmother gig an hour south and we can warm each other under a blanket and watch something on the boob tube. Lately have been enjoying "The Undoing" with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.; 12/17/20, 6:34 PM
stevew said...: The Portland Maine Press Herald is reporting that vaccine shipments to the state are to be reduced by 40%.; 12/17/20, 6:36 PM
stevew said...: Hey, just wondering, was the Obamacare website on time and on budget?; 12/17/20, 6:39 PM
wildswan said...: In her PhD thesis Dr. Jill Biden out a great deal of emphasis on teaching students how to write "clearly and coherently." "The ability to write clearly and coherently 28is “the hallmark of an educated person, ... the entire faculty has to acknowledge the value of good writing and incorporate good writing practices and expectations into their curricula. Effective writing and communication has major importance not only in academic arena, but more importantly, in the workplace."

But as I understand it, this is racist-in-place. Instead, a good community college would help students to "develop a critical awareness of the variety of choices available to them w/ regard to micro-level issues in order to empower them and equip them to push against biases based on ‘written’ accents.”

Now, Dr. Jill Biden is going to teach at NOVA Community College next September and it seems to me that if we accept critical race theory then she ought to acknowledge that her PhD thesis (which entitles her to call herself Dr. Jill Biden) was a piece of colonialist, racist garbage. Far from teaching, she ought to be going back to school herself. And her insistence on being called "Dr. Jill Biden" shows a desire to maintain her place in the hierarchy of oppression which has wrongly resulted in "low test scores" among minorities in DC and the surrounding area. Certainly Dr. Jill Biden, with her avowed goal of improving students' ability to write "clearly and coherently" should not be teaching ESL students who know better than she does what needs to be said and how to say it.; 12/17/20, 6:40 PM
Inga said...: Correction for 6:32.

WHO would’ve guessed?; 12/17/20, 6:40 PM
Birkel said...: https://m.theepochtimes.com/china-engaged-in-mass-surveillance-on-american-mobile-phones-report-finds_3622636.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2020-12-17-5

China spying on Americans.

The Leftist Collectivists approve, of course.; 12/17/20, 6:44 PM
Birkel said...: So the standard roesch/voltaire suggests is whether or not the people alleging a thing are demonstrably Leftist Collectivists so that roesch/voltaire may trust them?

Yeah, nobody is going to abide by your Calvinball rules.; 12/17/20, 6:46 PM
Birkel said...: I was reliably told that no vaccine could be created before mid-2021 and probably not until 2022.
I was told that by sources roesch/voltaire trusts.

Therefore all stories of delays are impossible.
They literally cannot be believed.; 12/17/20, 6:48 PM
Narr said...: wildswan, Dr. Jill is Edumacuss Doculoress, (Ed.D.), not to be confused with Philosophonis Diquadiss (Ph.D.).

Narr
It's been in the news.; 12/17/20, 6:53 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: https://twitter.com/i/status/1339237706539397121; 12/17/20, 6:55 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Evidence? R/V? That's funny shit right there! Don't care who you are!; 12/17/20, 6:58 PM
Birkel said...: BUMBLE BEE,
Thank you for mocking roesch/voltaire in the manner he deserves.
Never again will a Democratical be able to use the word "evidence" without making a fool of shimself.; 12/17/20, 7:10 PM
Michael K said...: I wonder if the bedpan commando is drunk again tonight. Well, it's early.; 12/17/20, 7:12 PM
Inga said...: “I wonder if the bedpan commando is drunk again tonight. Well, it's early.”

No wonder that Michael K’s son and daughters and grandchildren don’t speak to him.; 12/17/20, 7:15 PM
Michael K said...: I answered the bedpan commando on another thread. She is a liar but we all knew that. This personal stuff she thinks she knows are all lies. Here I thought the last refuge of a scoundrel was patriotism. Instead, I find it is lies about personal information.

Boy, you must have been drinking from those bedpans.; 12/17/20, 7:25 PM
Inga said...: “I answered the bedpan commando on another thread. She is a liar but we all knew that. This personal stuff she thinks she knows are all lies. Here I thought the last refuge of a scoundrel was patriotism. Instead, I find it is lies about personal information.

Boy, you must have been drinking from those bedpans.”

Any and all information about Michale K’s dysfunctional relationship with his family is gleaned from comments he made right here in these comments threads over the years. I have a suggestion for you, you senile demented egotistical bitch, stop insulting my profession of nursing and stop with the gratuitous insults and people won’t have a reason to fling your abuse right back in your fat ugly face.; 12/17/20, 7:36 PM
Birkel said...: The difference is that when Michael K types things there is a belief even amongst his ideological opposites that it is largely true.

Meanwhile, nobody believes a single thing the Leftist Collectivists type.
All of the "the" and "a(n)" are assumed to be lies.
Shims cannot be believed.; 12/17/20, 7:40 PM
Che Dolf said...: "The US CDC is going to recommend that 'essential workers' are vaccinated before the over-65s, despite their *own modelling* showing this will result in more deaths. Why? They say IT IS UNETHICAL TO PRIORITISE THE ELDERLY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT RACIALLY DIVERSE ENOUGH. This is based on the slide pack below: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2020-11/COVID-04-Dooling.pdf"
- David Algonquin (twitter thread); 12/17/20, 7:46 PM
Sally327 said...: Major League Baseball has announced that it is now going to treat the Negro League as a major league, which means that players will now get credit for their stats from the Negro League games. This is going to take a lot of work to figure out the stats since the Negro League didn't keep great records but apparently there is enough there to achieve some sort of accuracy and completeness.

On a related note I saw another headline recently about the "stunning lack of diversity" in MLB, which I think is misleading because MLB is very diverse, it just doesn't have many African-American players these days. But I guess that's the standard, you can have a ton of Hispanic players from all over Latin America and you can Asian players from that part of the world, you can even have one or two European players in there but if there aren't any African-Americans then it's not considered diverse.; 12/17/20, 7:47 PM
Birkel said...: Sally327,
Don't forget the Australian players. And for some reason the black hispanics are not black. But the children of a black and a _______ are always black. Unless it's for the sake of diversity. Because then the Cubans are not black.

The circles refuse to square.; 12/17/20, 7:58 PM
Birkel said...: Che Dolf,
If the CDC says it has to protect older folks first, imagine how that would affect the lockdown arguments.

Some of us were saying destroying the economy was a bad idea when we could just protect the vulnerable first. Do you honestly think the CDC Swamp Creatures were going to admit the Deplorables had the better of an argument? And that in the face of all the credible OrangeManBad allegations?

No chance!; 12/17/20, 8:01 PM
Yancey Ward said...: It is funny how blacks don't play much baseball any longer in the US, but then whites don't play the game as much any longer either. When I was growing up, Little League and Babe Ruth baseball was almost a rite of passage for males of any athletic inclination- my two youngest sisters even played a year of tee-ball league. Oak Ridge has several public ball fields, but they are almost never used by anyone during the Spring-Fall period. I can't even remember the last time I saw kids playing baseball anywhere in public. I could see them playing basketball at the public parks until the city took down the backboards and goals in late March due to the Covid panic, and they never put them back up- I suppose they never will now.; 12/17/20, 8:05 PM
Yancey Ward said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/17/20, 8:09 PM
Yancey Ward said...: The very first recipients of vaccines should be the people who are most at risk of dying- basically everyone over the age 80, then over the age of 70, then over the age of 60. Included in those, though, should be the medical personnel who work directly with such patients. This shouldn't be either or, but both, but the most elderly get it first.; 12/17/20, 8:11 PM
Inga said...: “Included in those, though, should be the medical personnel who work directly with such patients. This shouldn't be either or, but both, but the most elderly get it first.”

Absolutely.; 12/17/20, 8:13 PM
Michael K said...: stop with the gratuitous insults and people won’t have a reason to fling your abuse right back in your fat ugly face.

You're the only one flinging insults since Ritmo was banned. You post silly links that don't support what ever argument you think you are making.

I don't suffer fools gladly and have not asked anyone for support or affection.

Your whining about nursing, when you were not even an RN, is silly. My wife, who I married in 1979, has a BSN and two MSNs and was a nurse practitioner for a number of years.

I don't try to say who should be here but you have no one who thinks you are a worthwhile commenter.; 12/17/20, 8:14 PM
Inga said...: “Your whining about nursing, when you were not even an RN, is silly.”

Excuse me?! You really cannot help yourself, can you? As I said many times to you over the years, don’t hand it out if ya can’t take it.; 12/17/20, 8:17 PM
readering said...: Inga is a worthwhile commenter. If Michael K and others don't get anything from her comments they should learn to scroll, as I have written many times, instead of hurling puerile insults about bedpans and such. Personally I try to ignore the personal insults, but we're all different about theses things. Inga responds in kind, everyone knows that, so I conclude that indeed many commenters enjoy immensely that stuff, especially Michael K, who makes it his personal obsession to comment on who's commenting on the thread.; 12/17/20, 8:24 PM
Inga said...: And Michael K, that you would denigrate CNA’s and LPN’s as mere “bedpan warriors”, you really are a loathsome creature, especially as an MD. I could not have had a successful nursing team without those “bedpan commandos” as you insultingly refer to them. You must been despised on the units you waddled on to.; 12/17/20, 8:26 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: @Yancey

cant remember if we posted this a while ago for you--
dont think we were able to find it at the time.
An SNL skit with Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman--
a bit schmaltzy, yet poignant-- atypical for SNL
Perhaps you, and other Althousians might enjoy it

Hartman & Hooks--"Love Is A Dream"

‘Love Is A Dream’ With Jan Hooks And Phil Hartman Is The Perfect Way To Remember Them Both

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/love-is-a-dream-jan-hooks-phil-hartman_n_5967454; 12/17/20, 8:27 PM
Birkel said...: Readering comes in to offer shim's support for Royal ass Inga.
Good stuff.; 12/17/20, 8:28 PM
narciso said...: Herein lies the problem

https://mobile.twitter.com/AlexBerenson/status/1339727859691245569; 12/17/20, 8:28 PM
Inga said...: “Readering comes in to offer shim's support for Royal ass Inga.
Good stuff.”

And Birkel stalks and abuses Freeman Hunt on these comments sections repeatedly over the years. What did Freeman Hunt ever do to you, you weirdo.; 12/17/20, 8:34 PM
mockturtle said...: And Pfizer executives say they won't be getting the vaccines right away because they 'don't want to cut in line". Sure.; 12/17/20, 8:35 PM
Kai Akker said...: Eight Althouse posts today, not counting this cafe, and only one from NYT. A lot of starving commenters tonight.; 12/17/20, 8:36 PM
Michael K said...: especially Michael K, who makes it his personal obsession to comment on who's commenting on the thread.

Only the dummies and the lefties who usually qualify on both counts.

Lots of us discuss issues but I generally go elsewhere for those topics.; 12/17/20, 8:37 PM
Inga said...: And thanks for the support Readering. Your contributions to the comments sections have been appreciated, by me and no doubt others.; 12/17/20, 8:37 PM
mockturtle said...: This must be the troll feeding station.; 12/17/20, 8:38 PM
narciso said...: Never mind then:

https://mobile.twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/1339738080157315072; 12/17/20, 8:42 PM
Francisco D said...: After perusing DR. JILL BIDEN's "dissertation" I have two take aways.

1. There are humans dumber than Inga and;

2. The U. of Delaware Education faculty (and her dissertation committee) should be ashamed of themselves.

I understand that they were doing DR. JILL a political favor, but the innumeracy and illiteracy of her paper (it was neither a dissertation nor a thesis proposal) is truly astounding. I mean really and truly astounding.

Yes. She was a Special Ed teacher (the bottom rung among teachers), but her paper reads like it was written by a Sixth Grade special ed student.

The Bedpan Commando could do better ... probably ... with a little help from her friends.; 12/17/20, 8:43 PM
Narr said...: SJW = Slack Jawed Wokel.

Baseball was the least played and watched sport among my cohort. I'm not sure why; I was about the least baseball oriented of the bunch. My father had my older bro in little league for a time but he didn't like it, it caused friction between the two of them, and I had no desire to go through that too--which was moot when the old man died.

We have some photos of my father in pitching poses or just with a glove on in the air force, but I never heard a word about any baseball skills on his part, that I recall anyway.

Ironically, some projects I ended up helping with--about Black history and the Negro Leagues particularly--had me meeting and working with some of the last old players.

Narr
And their fanboys; 12/17/20, 8:44 PM
narciso said...: Elaborating

https://thefederalist.com/2020/12/17/fbi-spied-on-fox-news-and-recorded-the-phone-call-new-texts-show/#.X9v4QAVfxiY.twitter; 12/17/20, 8:45 PM
Inga said...: Speaking of drunks...

@12/17/20, 8:43 PM
—————————-; 12/17/20, 8:45 PM
walter said...: How many Dems have submitted affidavits denying the blocking of R election observers?
Folks ok with Zucky dumping $$$ into "democracy in the park" sans chain of custody bags O' ballots?
Big tech blocking posts re Hunter, now allowing?
Urinal overflow in GA triggering process stoppage acros battleground states?; 12/17/20, 8:47 PM
John henry said...: Let me congratulate Pete Buttigeg for being the first gay nominee for Transportation secretary! What a victory for gays of all sexes everywhere. The whole world is in admiration of your courage, Joe.

Now all we need is for president trump to actually appoint a gay transportation secty in February.

So Peter b is one news item.

Another news item is that the Chinese have been suborning American mayors and governors for years.

Is Mayor Pete one of them?

I suppose it is possible that a second rate mayor of a second rate city could mount a serious campaign without Chinese (of some other) support.

Possible, perhaps, but is it likely?

John Henry; 12/17/20, 8:47 PM
Kai Akker said...: It was certainly a good day to be selling FedEx stock. Charts look as vulnerable as they ever get. Will it be taxes? A recognition the business cycle is not getting better? The misery of a Biden/Harris/Soros administration? It is my opinion that: Tomorrow will be a good day for selling stock, even if futures fall pretty hard tonight.; 12/17/20, 8:48 PM
Inga said...: To what end?

“Anti-government extremist Stewart Rhodes again called on President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy the U.S. military against his domestic opponents.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/12/right-wing-militant-leader-pledges-violent-support-for-trump-dictatorship/; 12/17/20, 8:51 PM
walter said...: Robert Barnes
@Barnes_Law
·
4h
Can't sue before the election; can't sue during election; can't sue after election. Not ripe in spring, no standing by summer, laches by fall, and moot by winter. This is the Pandora's Box of Pontius Pilate pretexts #SCOTUS unleashed w/ its refusal to do its job.
Quote Tweet
Josh Gerstein
@joshgerstein
· 4h
BREAKING: 2nd GOP challenge to GA runoff procedures is dismissed on standing grounds....; 12/17/20, 8:54 PM
Inga said...: Ah, I see.

“State Sen. Amanda Chase (R), a Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, called on President Trump to declare martial law to keep Joe Biden from being sworn in as the next president.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/530291-gop-gubernatorial-candidate-in-virginia-calls-on-trump-todeclare-martial; 12/17/20, 8:54 PM
John henry said...: Inga asks folks to support veterans by donating to the Demmie scam Actblue.

What the Hell kind of person would do that? Its an insult to vets everywhere. Including her daughter.

Maybe even especially her daughter.

Inga, have you asked her how she feels about Actblue scamming folks via a phoney veterans website?

Have you asked her how she feels about you pimping for them?

Shame on you

John Henry; 12/17/20, 8:58 PM
walter said...: Note Inga never addresses concerns raised over election, just the actions stemming from the concerns.; 12/17/20, 8:59 PM
madAsHell said...: The very first recipients of vaccines should be the people who are most at risk of dying- basically everyone over the age 80,

Disagree. My 94-year-old mother is more than ready to take the COVID challenge.; 12/17/20, 8:59 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: @walter said...
This is the Pandora's Box of Pontius Pilate pretexts #SCOTUS unleashed w/ its refusal to do its job.

SCROTUS lacks the balls to do the right thing; 12/17/20, 9:00 PM
John henry said...: I'm 73 and I'll be happy to give up my place in line to anyone who would like it.

I have an agreement with the flu and all other viruses. I agree to ignore them and they ignore me.

It's worked for 73 years so far. It should be good for another 30-40

John Henry; 12/17/20, 9:03 PM
Inga said...: “Inga asks folks to support veterans by donating to the Demmie scam Actblue.”

Are you senile too? Just where and when have I ever asked anyone to donate to Actblue? Votevets or any organization, except maybe to a food bank. You said the same nonsense the other night.; 12/17/20, 9:04 PM
Inga said...: “Inga, have you asked her how she feels about Actblue scamming folks via a phoney veterans website?”

First of all, my daughter is active duty Navy. Secondly she supports Votevets.org and you know what, my daughter would laugh at you.; 12/17/20, 9:07 PM
walter said...: Did you donate to BLM?; 12/17/20, 9:07 PM
narciso said...: A 3.5% sell off doesnt suggests large downturns, however future policy dos suggest it.; 12/17/20, 9:08 PM
madAsHell said...: First of all, my daughter is active duty Navy. Secondly she supports Votevets.org and you know what, my daughter would laugh at you.

Her daughter is Joe Biden's Corn Pop.; 12/17/20, 9:10 PM
Inga said...: How is your daughter doing madAsHell? I hope she’s doing better now and is safe.; 12/17/20, 9:12 PM
John henry said...: I am second to none in my respect for navy chiefs.

But if your daughter actually supports Actblue, I may need to rethink my opinion.

It's been 15 or so years since I've actually known any. I keep hearing horror stories about the current personnel problems. This may be an example. Or a symptom. Or a cause.

Or all 3

As a vet I say fuck actblue/votevets and anyone who supports them.

John Henry; 12/17/20, 9:16 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: The Party of Biden; 12/17/20, 9:20 PM
John henry said...: Mad as hell, your comment about corn pop reminded me of something

In hunter Biden's emails there are complaints about having to kick money up to "the big guy" and most have assumed that meant Joe xiden.

However, hunter also refers to Joe as "pop" in a number of emails. Some people are speculating tha "the big guy" was actually Obama.

John Henry; 12/17/20, 9:22 PM
walter said...: ICTA,
Consider Scrote-less.
How're we liking J's with kids in cross-hairs....; 12/17/20, 9:22 PM
Inga said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/17/20, 9:23 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Hunter Biden in 2017 sent 'best wishes' from 'entire Biden family' to China firm chairman, requested $10M wire; 12/17/20, 9:24 PM
Inga said...: John Henry, It may come as a surprise to you but the military has members that come with their own political ideologies and manage to serve under various CiCs over the years. My daughter, in 2 years will have her 20 years in and has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents and has managed to become a Chief and is well liked and respected. My daughter doesn’t need your respect, she has plenty, thanks; 12/17/20, 9:25 PM
John henry said...: It may have sounded like I was casting aspersions on Ingas daughter.

I do not know her and know nothing about her, even her rating. I'm going to assume that someone competent enough to be a navy chief is smart not to support Actblue.

I suspect thatInga is telling porky pies on her daughter.

John Henry; 12/17/20, 9:26 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Democrat Party sanctioned street violence.

Not in theory - right there on video.; 12/17/20, 9:27 PM
Birkel said...: I like the children for every occasion ruse.
It's one of my favorites, really.; 12/17/20, 9:27 PM
John henry said...: Smart enough not to support ActBlue

John Henry; 12/17/20, 9:27 PM
Original Mike said...: "A 3.5% sell off doesnt suggests large downturns..."

What 3.5% sell off?; 12/17/20, 9:29 PM
Inga said...: I suspect that John Henry is as senile as the MD and as weird as Birkel who stalks Freeman Hunt for no apparent reason.; 12/17/20, 9:30 PM
gspencer said...: Jill Biden does not hold a PhD. Hers is an Ed.D in "education" which to the uninitiated means absolutely nothing.

But she like Joe does have three descriptive letters after her name, "POS."; 12/17/20, 9:31 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: An outspoken anti-Trump Twitter activist who bragged about being on Hillary Clinton's team is the expert in charge of certifying Facebook fact-checkers.; 12/17/20, 9:33 PM
FullMoon said...: Not sure where I heard it, but rumor has it women in Navy were hysterically crying about potential lack of toilet paper earlier this year, or that they might actually have to bite the bullet and buy some with their own money. Can you imagine the sacrifice?

Possibly not true. Hard to imagine battle hardened military stressing over something so trivial, unless it was a way to somehow blame Trump for it.

Probably a Marine who started the rumor.; 12/17/20, 9:34 PM
Birkel said...: Question for the people who are not idiots:
If one person makes comments about another person repeatedly while accusing the second person of stalking, does that qualify as stalking by the definition of the first person?

Also, is that ironic?

I'm verklempt.; 12/17/20, 9:40 PM
narciso said...: Well recent performance was not impressive

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/16/uss-john-mccain-back-to-operations-almost-3-years-after-fatal-collision; 12/17/20, 9:40 PM
Lawrence Person said...: Everybody in California is moving to Texas.; 12/17/20, 9:41 PM
walter said...: Bad for Teas..and the US.
Keep 'em in CA.; 12/17/20, 9:44 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: 57 years later, an official music video!

Well done & full of Easter Eggs for fans!; 12/17/20, 9:45 PM
Inga said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/17/20, 9:48 PM
John henry said...: Lawrence,

I just spoke to someone today who had recently moved his business to California from Pennsylvania.

Things must be really bad in PA

John Henry; 12/17/20, 9:48 PM
Birkel said...: It pretends its opinions matter.; 12/17/20, 9:49 PM
Inga said...: Birkel, maybe you’d like to explain to the folks here what you have against Freeman Hunt? You have repeatedly hounded her and made unsolicited negative comments about her quite often when she posts a comment. Others, besides myself have called you an asshole, even today just a couple of hours ago, and remarked upon your odd treatment of her in another thread.; 12/17/20, 9:50 PM
narciso said...: https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/16/joe-biden-ricchetti-vaxart-coronavirus/; 12/17/20, 9:50 PM
John henry said...: Church,

I really really didn't need to see Santa top less waxing his surfboard.

Seriously though. Kinda cool. Thanks

John Henry; 12/17/20, 9:51 PM
narciso said...: Yikes

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/oregon-wants-deny-62-million-covid-relief-residents-who-arent-black-sparking?utm_medium=social_media&utm_source=facebook_social_icon&utm_campaign=social_icons; 12/17/20, 9:52 PM
Big Mike said...: I much enjoyed Glenn Reynolds' column in the New York Post:

"Democrats won the election, but they don’t seem very happy about it. And with reason: The election failed in its main purpose, which was to shut down the Deplorables.

The Deplorables, in Hillary Clinton’s infamous term, are working- and middle-class people who haven’t bought into the progressive agenda. They’re people who don’t see the rise of the tech oligarchy as a plus, who don’t think “woke” politics make sense, who have jobs that produce tangible outputs. They’re nearly half the country.

This election was supposed to demoralize them, crushing President Trump and his supporters in a double-digit landslide that would give the Democrats solid control of the White House and Congress — and, with a little judicious court-packing, of the judicial branch, too. The Deplorables would be made to realize that they aren’t in charge, that if they want to ride, they’ll have to (in Barack Obama’s famous words) ride in the back.

Only it didn’t work out that way. The big congressional victories turned into lost House seats for the Democrats. And the presidential election was hardly a crushing victory. For an election to really take, the losers have to admit that they’ve been beaten. And to admit that they’ve been beaten, they have to think they actually lost fair and square. Not many Trump supporters think that."

No, we don't. That's despite the best efforts of the news media to gaslight us that the evidence of our eyes is wrong, the best efforts of the courts to tell us that all was perfectly within the law, the best efforts of naifs such as Althouse to argue that, well, yes, fraud occurred, but only de minimis and not nearly enough to alter the outcome of election. As the Tremeloes put in song, "But my eyes still see."

Reynolds goes on to write:

"So the Deplorables are still around, and they’re still angry. And as long as they’re still around, and still angry, the Democrats can’t actually get what they want.

Trump was elected, remember, because in 2016 the elites had already lost their mojo. In the mid-20th century, elites brought us antibiotics, jet planes and trips to the moon. In more recent years, they’ve brought us failed wars, a failed health-care reform with a lousy nonfunctioning Web site and economic policies that benefited the rich at the expense of the middle and working classes.

Getting rid of Trump won’t get rid of that problem, and, in fact, will only make it worse. His army will still be out there — motivated."

And he concludes:

"Ironically, the one thing that might send the Unconquerables back to their daily routines is the one thing the Democrats won’t be able to manage: showing understanding, concern and respect to working-class America. Too many of today’s Democrats have anchored their self-esteem in feeling superior to other Americans — and to loudly and contemptuously proclaiming that superiority — for a conciliatory policy to work.

Indeed, I expect them to expand their efforts to mock and deplore those on the other side. In doing so, of course, they’ll just help keep the opposition together and focused.

It’s not smart, but it’s almost certainly what the Dems will do. And that will keep the army together for 2022 and 2024."

Looking at the threads on the Althouse blog, he isn't wrong.; 12/17/20, 9:52 PM
walter said...: Helpful for Reynolds to bail on efforts to rectify THIS election?
He bailed quite early, actually.; 12/17/20, 10:03 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Before this comment thread was sidetracked into the usual insults and inanity, there were a couple of posts complaining about vaccine shipments suddenly running late as if it were a horrible scandal and Trump directly responsible. Given that a major blizzard hit much of the northeast, I have to ask: did that keep trucks off the road? Wouldn't be surprising. Where are the Pfizer factories located? I believe I saw on Twitter that Binghamton, NY got 40 inches of snow. That would certainly keep any trucks in the Binghamton area from getting anywhere fast. In short, there may be no scandal at all in the (reported) delays, just an unfortunate 'act of God' event.; 12/17/20, 10:09 PM
narciso said...: You must avoid logic go straight to cannibaliam

https://babylonbee.com/news/tom-cruise-we-must-follow-the-science-and-trust-that-xenu-dumped-frozen-aliens-into-volcanoes-and-exploded-them-with-bombs-75000000-years-ago; 12/17/20, 10:13 PM
walter said...: Reynolds might think that dissent is ICKY!!!
(Meade did not delete himself); 12/17/20, 10:15 PM
Francisco D said...: Apropos of the doctorate awarded to Special Ed teacher Jill Biden, I propose that we create a degreed honorific for our resident dullard.

It is a special Master's degree in Nursing. Competence is demonstrated by exhibiting proper use of a bedpan without spilling shit and piss on one's shoes. Our resident dullard worked hard over several decades to master this skill of Bedpanology. She should be thus rewarded.

Congratulations!; 12/17/20, 10:15 PM
walter said...: It's great to see Higher Ed Law folks flapping around aimlessly regarding actual law enforcement.
Just not made for the moment.; 12/17/20, 10:18 PM
narciso said...: Persoective is often found wanting

https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html; 12/17/20, 10:19 PM
William said...: Baseball is The Summer Game par excellence. You can play it all day, even on a hot humid day, and never get tired. An hour or two of basketball or tennis on such a day and you're done. It also supports diverse body types and diverse skills. Most guys can find a position that with sufficient practice they can handle with a bit of competence...The journeymen ballplayers in the Negro Leagues made about as much money as their white counterparts which is to say not much. The superstars got screwed though. All ballplayers owe a debt to Curt Flood. He's the one who made utility infielders rich beyond the dreams of Croesus.; 12/17/20, 10:19 PM
walter said...: Jill's desire for recognition is the last fucking thing requiring attention...just consumes bandwidth.; 12/17/20, 10:20 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: just for S's & G's--

what if there is a recording of Roberts re: Trump?
Should Johnny be impeached?
Who's appointed in his place?; 12/17/20, 10:22 PM
Sally327 said...: Christopher Hitchens died 9 years ago this week. I miss his punditry. I wonder how he would fare in this new woke culture of ours.; 12/17/20, 10:32 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: President-Ersatz Joe Biden ‘Confident’ Son Hunter Did Nothing Wrong
Despite Federal Probe

https://thejeffreylord.com/joe-biden-confident-son-hunter-did-nothing-wrong-despite-federal-probe/; 12/17/20, 10:34 PM
narciso said...: Oh they would cancel him retroactively for any number of reasons; 12/17/20, 10:35 PM
narciso said...: An inspiration for scrooge

https://web.archive.org/web/20120326125204/http://www.corse.org.uk/james_wood.php; 12/17/20, 10:36 PM
Sally327 said...: What are the predictions for the most outrageous (depending on one's point of view) thing that Trump will do prior to leaving office? I remember the Clinton pardons when he left office, many of which were controversial.

I think he should give Hunter Biden a pardon.; 12/17/20, 10:43 PM
narciso said...: How does science work

https://mobile.twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1339761285404258304; 12/17/20, 10:43 PM
n.n said...: tom-cruise-we-must-follow-the-science-and-trust-that-xenu-dumped-frozen-aliens-into-volcanoes ... go straight to cannibaliam

Selective-child and cannibalized-child are real, today, NOW. Sequestered carbon with a forward-looking perspective. #WickedSolution; 12/17/20, 10:47 PM
narciso said...: California has as many cases as the rest of the country, how does that work; 12/17/20, 10:50 PM
J. Farmer said...: @roesch/voltaire:

Notice how loudly the Trump administration is protesting the massive attack on government agencies from Russia?

Yet again, the US media is fulfilling its role as stenographer for the US national security state.

Well of course we had to spend more money on the wall then cyber security, but nonetheless there are some very smart people working on this hack and I trust them and not ungrounded speculations Berkel,

I remember people making this exact claim in the runup to the Iraq War. Even if it's true that they are "very smart people," it's irrelevant. Very smart people get things wrong all the time. But even assuming that these claims were true, what do you think we should do about it? Other than make noise?; 12/17/20, 10:54 PM
Sally327 said...: Tom Cruise is in London I think it is making a movie and he has been caught on tape shrieking at some crew members for violating the social distancing rules.

I don't know the seriousness of the infractions or why he didn't just refer it to the site manager or whatever you call the person who should be supervising that sort of thing. Mostly though I think that Tom Cruise used to seem like a cool fun loving kind of guy and over the last 20 years he has morphed into this dour weirdo who seems incapable of projecting any feeling other than constipated discomfort.; 12/17/20, 10:57 PM
readering said...: Mark Levin calls for a ticker tape parade for Trump for vaccines. Is there a POTUS precedent? I believe mayors order them. Jacksonville anyone?; 12/17/20, 10:57 PM
narciso said...: Well how are they going to do the fight scenes or ahem others with rebecca fergusonor hayley atwell; 12/17/20, 11:02 PM
Sally327 said...: Meredith Bezos, Jeff Bezos' ex, has recently disclosed that she's donated 4 billion dollars to food banks and other charities to help the poor and I thought she better be careful or she'll end up poor herself. And then I read further into the article and saw that she's worth 60 billion, so yeah, only 4 billion, why so stingy Meredith?; 12/17/20, 11:05 PM
narciso said...: The director from the first film will guest star in this one, now ethans hunt will be the guy who was paul walkers supervisor in fast and furious and atwells in agent carter.; 12/17/20, 11:07 PM
narciso said...: This one is chalk full of characters like xivil war with characters as far back as 1996. And some from the last movie (whobid the daughter of the villain from the first one); 12/17/20, 11:10 PM
Sally327 said...: Sorry the ex wife is MacKenzie not Meredith.; 12/17/20, 11:12 PM
narciso said...: One of the woke housewives of silicon valley. How she came into this fortune is a story on its own; 12/17/20, 11:15 PM
readering said...: Who is more of a lunatic, Michael Flynn of Lin Wood?; 12/17/20, 11:17 PM
narciso said...: On a lighter note

https://mobile.twitter.com/TheCriticalDri2/status/1339597152457162753; 12/17/20, 11:17 PM
Inga said...: “Who is more of a lunatic, Michael Flynn of Lin Wood?”

They’re competing with each other.; 12/17/20, 11:20 PM
walter said...: Cruise is known for doing his own..stunts.; 12/17/20, 11:21 PM
walter said...: Behold the multi-state power of a GA urinal paired with late night vote dumps.
SHUT UP!; 12/17/20, 11:23 PM
narciso said...: Of course the last film made the stakes so catastrophically (nuking one of the larger water tables in the world.; 12/17/20, 11:24 PM
walter said...: OR ELSE!; 12/17/20, 11:25 PM
J. Farmer said...: Christopher Hitchens died 9 years ago this week. I miss his punditry. I wonder how he would fare in this new woke culture of ours.

Hitchens was undoubtedly a very gifted writer and rhetorician, but I never found him useful as a pundit. Despite Hitchens' reputation as an iconoclastic bomb-thrower, he was always firmly ensconced within the DC establishment. He was an elite-approved iconoclast precisely because his work posed almost no threat to established power. Hitchens was a cocktail party circuit regular, a gossip, and a schmoozer, particularly with the media elite who hung on his every word and who were too enamored with his British accent and bravado to notice the shallowness of his thinking. Whether it was supporting humanitarian intervention at the end of the first Gulf War, his 180 on Bosnia, his trashing of the Clintons in the late 90s, or his vociferous support for Bush's war on terror, Hitchens was largely in lockstep with convention DC punditry. Even his last act as a professional "anti-theist" came on the heels of popular atheist books by Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins.; 12/17/20, 11:27 PM
walter said...: SCOTI HAVE KIDS!; 12/17/20, 11:30 PM
Sally327 said...: Meanwhile Jeff Bezos just inked some kind of deal with NASA. What is it with these ultra wealthy guys and their obsession with space exploration. Bezos reminds me of that character in the Jodie Foster movie "Contact", the super rich guy floating around in the space station who secretly builds the second space ship. I think John Hurt was the actor.; 12/17/20, 11:30 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: @ Sally327

I firmly believe that Tom Cruise has more than his share of screws loose, but I don't have a problem with his reaction to Covid reg disregard on his set. I imagine a restaurant owner might react similarly if his staff was disregarding protocol and as a result could be facing indefinite closing. He's trying to shoot a movie under quarantine conditions, and his set could be shut down at any time because reactionary govt rules. Cruise will be fine, he's rich, but he's keeping a lot of people employed with this venture, and if it doesn't work out, all movies from now on may be made with animation, with a lot fewer staff.; 12/17/20, 11:32 PM
narciso said...: Its illogical because of the nature of the project, but weve deemed this andromeda 2 lectric boogaloo.; 12/17/20, 11:33 PM
narciso said...: What was the vector in italy last time 750,000 chinese nationals,; 12/17/20, 11:35 PM
narciso said...: A better exolanation than ornstein

https://m.theepochtimes.com/explainer-dueling-electors-and-the-upcoming-joint-session-of-congress_3622992.html?st=zcG4f7Q2wCySe3rh05aAvZg30JvsirvcKX0nnsnwWx4h2hbzJ1ls254JU88oeSMCG7Ufl4Qi-sG3Rv2zWqva7NaW5HjvEblSpwk; 12/17/20, 11:40 PM
Sally327 said...: "Cruise will be fine, he's rich, but he's keeping a lot of people employed with this venture, and if it doesn't work out, all movies from now on may be made with animation, with a lot fewer staff."

There are ways to supervise employees effectively and that doesn't include screaming at them. I also find it hard to believe that there wasn't someone with the responsibility to deal with the issue and he totally undercut that person's role as well. I get he's the high priced talent and can throw his weight around. It doesn't mean he comes off as anything other than unhinged in the way he dealt with this.; 12/17/20, 11:41 PM
The Gipper Lives said...: I knew about Color Revolutions and how Sidney Powell said the CIA had used Dominion Cheatware overseas to rig elections.

But the car-bombing of Gov. Kemp’s “sonny”-in-law confirms it for me; this is another CIA/FBI Coup, just like they run overseas. And why not? They suffered no real consequences for their 5 yr.-long Coup Attempt against the President. Haspel and Wray are just Mini-Me extensions of Brennan and Comey.

This is End-Stage Liberalism.

The Government is Overthrowing the People.

Pray for our nation.

If George Washington himself came back to Washington, D.C. today, they would have to put two slugs in his back at the city limits, like Seth Rich on a 3 a.m. sidewalk. Though they would let him keep his watch, just to send this message: "This was not a robbery."

Otherwise, he would smash them.

Fear not.; 12/17/20, 11:43 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/17/20, 11:46 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Ingachuck'stoothlessARM,

Thanks for that clip! I remember it well, and, yes, very atypical for SNL. A great way to remember both of those people.; 12/17/20, 11:49 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: If I can give leeway to Trump for his managerial style, I can give leeway to liberal Cruise for the same style. I'm not a hypocrite. I like leaders that take charge and responsibility and that get things done. If someone else was responsible and Cruise had to intervene, that person was not doing their job and deserves to be berated and possibly fired.; 12/17/20, 11:50 PM
narciso said...: Considering these rube goldberg rules, its not an irrational response, you would think he would have enough clout after 24 years in this franchise to steak out an independent course.; 12/17/20, 11:51 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "California has as many cases as the rest of the country, how does that work"

The remarkable thing you notice when you look at the data for the various US states and then the countries of the world is that the virus doesn't give a flying fuck about our mask rules or the idiotic shutdowns. So much effort put into ending up in the same damned place if we hadn't done jack shit other than let people go about their lives as they personally saw fit to do.

We actually knew what to do last Winter, and yet here we are having to learn it all over again.; 12/18/20, 12:09 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Seriously, Newsom looks like a fucking fool right now, can't we really agree with this assessment now?; 12/18/20, 12:11 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Who is more of a lunatic, Michael Flynn of Lin Wood?”

Both appear to have more information than they really should. Today, Woods accused CJ Roberts and J Breyer of forcing the dismissal of the TX case on account of worries about rioting if they did their duties. Today a retreat:

“ "I don't give a #@&^ about 'Bush v. Gore'... at that time we didn't have RIOTS!"

“A staffer "heard *SCREAMING* through the walls as Justice Roberts & other liberal Justices were insisting this case *NOT* be taken up..."”

There was also apparently a conversation between Roberts and Breyer in 8/19 about making sure that Trump wasn’t re-elected. At some point, he mentioned that there had been a J Roberts listed as a passenger on Epstein’s Lolita Express, and questioned whether it had been the CJ. When accused of defamation, Woods apparently told them to bring it on, noting that truth is a defense in the US and he was oozing forward to discovery. He also pointed out that legally, you had to be registered to vote on Nov 3 to vote in the GA Runoff elections, and Stacey Abrams and the GA Sec of State were blatantly violating that law (by registering voters to vote in that upcoming election).; 12/18/20, 12:17 AM
Yancey Ward said...: If there are competing electoral slates on January 3rd, the House and Senate will probably both vote to pick the "certified" ones. Too many Republican Senators have already telegraphed their intentions regarding challenges for them reverse now absent stronger evidence of fraud being presented, and Trump's lawyers can't get that evidence without an open examination of the absentee ballot signatures. However, I will point out this- the procedures for accepting a slate as the authentic one aren't outlined in the Constitution, as was amply demonstrated by the election of 1876. The 1887 Electoral Counting Act purports outline the procedure, but the truth is likely that the law itself is largely unconstitutional and can't be used to bind the Congress that sits this coming January.

One scenario is that the Senate votes to uphold a challenge to a slate and House votes the opposite way- does the challenge succeed? The 1887 law would say the challenge fails, but the Constitution is actually silent on the issue as it is about even voting on challenges to the slates, and I don't see where the Constitution allows one Congress to bind another on this particular topic. In such a scenario, the Senate could, as a body, file suit at SCOTUS to determine whether or not its agreement is required to accept a slate of electors, and I think this SCOTUS would simply send it back to this Congress to work it out, and if they couldn't come to an agreement, then the Constitution is at least clear on this point- the House must select the winner itself by the procedures outlined in the 12th Amendment.

Of course, as I wrote above, this is probably moot unless the Republicans in the Senate can unite behind a different candidate than Trump that isn't named Joe Biden.; 12/18/20, 12:33 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Another thing of interest here is that a couple years ago, Trump issued an EO on foreign interference in our elections. 45 days after the election (Friday, 12/18), the ODNI was required to give the President a report on foreign interference in our elections. Yesterday (Wed 12/16) several intelligence agencies reporting to the DNI supposedly told him that they wouldn’t be ready on time. Duh. They IC Deep Staters have been slow walking the SpyGate investigation for four years now, and mostly getting away with it. If they can prevent the ODNI from publishing his results (that there was significant foreign interference), they will do it in a heartbeat, esp since that is presumably one of the keys to Trump’s plans. Today DNI Ratcliffe was strongly suggesting that they have evidence that the foreign involvement in the election fraud was significant and that the IC Deep Staters were essentially violating the EO.

We have known for some time that foreign interests had some involvement, but the interesting aspect that has come out this week is the ties between Dominion, the Chinese, Russians, Iranians etc. Also the (Chinese?) company that had included a back door into computer systems was apparently tied in. One of the important provisions in the EO is that it authorizes the seizing of any assets they can find in this country of any foreign entities interfering in our elections. I don’t see Russia being overall vulnerable to that, because legally most of their assets are owned by the oligarchs, and not the country itself but that isn’t the case with China, that could feasibly face many billions in asset seizures (including much of our debt?)

The other interesting facet is that the manipulation of the Dominion machines was supposedly being run out of Germany. Remember when there was supposedly a shootout between Army units and CIA contractors there in Germany a couple weeks ago? The CIA did better on body counts, but the Army units apparently got the server. That would mean that the military side of the IC had the goods - proof of massive vote switching by a foreign entity (even if it was somewhat controlled by the CIA).

Keep your eyes open for the next couple days in this area. Should be interesting. We don’t know, for sure, exactly what is going on except that we know that Trump issued the EO in 2018, and the ODNI is attempting to respond to its 12/18/2020 deadline.; 12/18/20, 12:53 AM
narciso said...: Indeed bruce there is a scytl facility that appears to be in frankfurt but thelegend says paris, so its reasonable to assume it might be hidden under another corporate blueprint either the swedish outfit telia (which has ties to dominion) or level 3 (which has ties to the maxwell sisters, those maxwells. Both are relatively near each other.; 12/18/20, 1:06 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: The 1887 law isn’t really clear about what happens if the House and the Senate disagree on slates of electors. It might give the nod to the slates that were certified by the state executives (Biden here). But the justification for the legislatures sending their own slates of electors is that the executive and some times the judiciaries of these 7 states openly flaunted and violated the rules set out by the legislatures (who have plenary authority to set the rules) of these states. Thus, giving the nod to the Dem slates here would effectively violate the Article I Elections and Article II Electors clauses to the Constitution.

At this point, after apparently the Chief Justice browbeating the three junior Justices to not hear the Texas case because AntiFA and maybe BLM might riot, on completely bogus reasoning (their justification was based on their appellate jurisdiction, and the TX case invoked their original jurisdiction, which isn’t dependent upon standing etc (the Supreme Court is the only place that states can sue each other)), few on the right are going to accept the Supreme Court meddling here, and letting Roberts, again, throw the Presidency to the Democrats.

My view is that if the GOP Senators can be shown that voting for the Biden slates of electors is political, and maybe even personal, suicide, through enough evidence of election fraud, the two Houses of Congress split, it goes to the House, voting by states, to determine the Presidency, and Trump is re-elected. That means, of course, flipping McConnell back behind Trump, despite his wife’s apparent Chinese ties - and another reason why the ODNI report on foreign election interference due 12/18 is critical.; 12/18/20, 1:17 AM
FullMoon said...: Nolte: Crybabies Quit After Tom Cruise’s Epic Rant Defending Jobs

"Tom Cruise, who is a producer on the $200 million film, has a responsibility, has already been shut down once, and paid some $700,000 out of his own pocket so the crew could live in isolation on a nice cruise ship.

What more do you want from the guy?

Plus, say what you want about his eccentricities, he has an excellent reputation for being a pleasure to work with, which is the long way of saying that this rant appears to be out of character, a man at the end of his rope, and now five crybabies who can’t stand a little heat have quit and run home to feel self-righteous about themselves.

We’re creating a nation of babies, and sheltering people from the realities of human nature is a disservice to them. Best to go through the fire so you can toughen up your skin and enjoy the rest of your life. That’s a much more fulfilling way to go through life than always being on the verge of breakdown every time someone looks at you cross-eyed.; 12/18/20, 1:52 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: My prediction, from the allegations made by Lin Woods, against Chief Justice Roberts, is that Roberts has been compromised (via Epstein?), that Q and military intelligence have the proof, and Roberts was threatened today (ok, yesterday, Thursday) with exposure. He could almost plausibly have thrown the ObamaCare decision to the Democrats, but the decision not to hear the TX elections case was either craven cowardice, or the results of those who compromised him yanking his strings. In the latter case, we, as a country, cannot afford him to remain in office, or not be behind bars.

Something else to consider. Originally, I didn’t think that the asset seizure in the EO I entioned above was that onerous. Ad I don’t think that it would be for either Russia or Iran (because Obama/Biden gave back most of their remaining assets in this country). But China is different. Very different. The CCP/Chinese Govt effectively owns the big companies that do business here (no oligarch middlemen, as is the case with Russia). But then the light went off when I was composing that earlier post - China owns a good portion of our national debt. It is an asset, and thus arguably subject to Trump’s 2018 EO. What happens if ODNI shows significant Chinese involvement in trying to manipulate our election (to get rid of Trump), and in addition to other Chinese government owned assets in this country, the Treasury voids their, by far, biggest US asset - our obligation to pay them back all the money they loaned us? I don’t see Trump actually doing it. But China has long been the biggest foreign threat to the US, and the worry about Russian interference in the 2016 election was always a red herring. No wonder they dropped better than a billion dollars on Biden, Inc. And almost assuredly had their fingers all over our election this time. They are the one country in the world that I can thin of, that is arrogant enough to think that they were in the right doing so, and that they could get away with it, having purchased so many powerful people in and around our government. But the blatancy of their arrogance may be what catches them this time. Can Mitch McConnell, with his known Chines connections, through his wife, afford to throw the election to Biden, as the Chinese so desperately want, if the evidence that gets out is overwhelming of significant Chinese involvement in te election fraud that purportedly elected Biden? Ditto for the other RINOs.; 12/18/20, 2:02 AM
FullMoon said...: No, Justice Roberts wasn’t screaming at the other justices about Bush v. Gore and riots

…"[T]here is a huge factual error in the account related by Mr. Patrick. The Supreme Court justices have not met in person for a conference since March. So there is no closed room from which shouting could be heard. If someone were outside the doors of Roberts or any of the other liberal justices, they could have heard one person screaming. If they were outside the conservatives’ doors, they would not have heard anything unless one or more of those justices had a kick-ass sound system.; 12/18/20, 2:20 AM
StephenFearby said...: In other news of the day...

Times of London, December 18, 2020.

'A burglar confronted by a woman waving a samurai sword after he broke into her house almost bled to death when he grabbed the blade — and then claimed he had been the victim of an assault.

The break-in at the property in Shipley, West Yorkshire, began to unravel almost as soon as it began, a court was told.

Rehan Malik, 23, and two accomplices smashed a window to break into the house at about 5.30am on October 25.

The woman’s partner heard the noise and went to investigate. Malik, who was wearing a mask, demanded the keys to a car in garage, but the man went upstairs to call the police.

He grabbed the sword at the same time, then stood on the landing with the sheathed weapon to defend himself.

While the man was calling officers, Malik and his two masked accomplices had found the car keys and started the couple’s Audi S3 in the garage, but as they tried to drive off the car got stuck in the doors.

The couple had gone outside to try to stop the car being taken and the terrified woman unsheathed the sword to defend herself.

As Malik tried to flee she pointed it at him to keep him there until the police arrived, but he grabbed the blade and tried to pull it away.

In the process both of his hands were cut, Clare Walsh, for the prosecution, told Bradford crown court.

The gang managed to flee in a getaway car and Malik then went to Barnsley in South Yorkshire for hospital treatment.

Malik said that he had lost the feeling in both hands. Yesterday a judge told him that he only had himself to blame for his injuries.

The judge also said that the woman wielding the sword was “totally blameless” as he jailed Malik. It was his third burglary offence.'

'...Months before the burglary Malik had been involved in a car chase with police. He was pursued at up to 90 mph when he jumped a red light and mounted the kerb in a Seat car. He had only stopped when he drove down a dead end.

Malik, of Bradford, admitted all the offences. Judge Jonathan Rose jailed him for a total of three years and eight months for committing the burglary while on licence, dangerous driving and driving while disqualified and without insurance. He was also banned from driving for 58 months...'; 12/18/20, 2:41 AM
n.n said...: California has as many cases as the rest of the country, how does that work

Postoperative wound infections and surgical face masks: a controlled study

Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommendation to Other Public Health Measures to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Danish Mask Wearers

Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses

There are similar studies for restrictive mandates including lockdowns. This, and mischaracterization of transmission modes, has enabled the spread. Still, a case is past, possible, probable, and progressive.; 12/18/20, 2:44 AM
n.n said...: "Tom Cruise, who is a producer on the $200 million film, has a responsibility, has already been shut down once, and paid some $700,000 out of his own pocket so the crew could live in isolation on a nice cruise ship.

A commendable treatment. Good for him.; 12/18/20, 2:46 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: I wake up at 2 AM.

See my face.

Think, "I ain't him".

I'm more MACHO than that.; 12/18/20, 4:21 AM
Mark said...: Bruce, you beclown yourself with the easily falsified Roberts story.

Nevermind how you birch about sources used by the left, you believe every bizarre claim from wackadoodles from Q.

Seek professional help.; 12/18/20, 4:35 AM
Humperdink said...: Your know you are on the right side of the political spectrum when two card-carrying lefties label retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn a lunatic.; 12/18/20, 5:29 AM
Marcus Bressler said...: Why is Inga still here?; 12/18/20, 5:32 AM
Chuck said...: Bruce Hayden, “Just Asking Questions.”

I feel certain, that if there is anyone who can get to the bottom of the Chief Justice’s having been “compromised” by Deep State forces, it will be Q. Or Lin Wood. Or perhaps Lin Wood as Q’s lawyer. Or Q as Lin Wood’s spokesman.

Althouse; behold, what your comments pages have become during the Trump endtimes.; 12/18/20, 5:39 AM
J. Farmer said...: Your know you are on the right side of the political spectrum when two card-carrying lefties label retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn a lunatic.

I don't know about lunatic, but Flynn certainly has a very warped worldview.; 12/18/20, 5:46 AM
Humperdink said...: For those that don't know lunatic:

Lunatic /ˈlo͞onəˌtik/ noun/ : a mentally ill person.

Now you know.; 12/18/20, 6:19 AM
tim maguire said...: 167 posts, but if you ignore Inga and the posts responding to Inga, it's about 20.; 12/18/20, 6:22 AM
Big Mike said...: I don't know about lunatic, but Flynn certainly has a very warped worldview.

Or, more likely, you are the one with the warped worldview.; 12/18/20, 6:34 AM
Humperdink said...: Skimming the surface on worldviews:

Bide'n (née Obama): China is our friend and trading partner. Iran can be trusted.

Trump (and presumably the lunatic Flynn): China has screwed the US since Nixon/Kissenger. Trusting Iran is a fools errand.

Trump is the first president in my lifetime (three score and 10) that has stood up to China.; 12/18/20, 6:45 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Big Mike said...

I don't know about lunatic, but Flynn certainly has a very warped worldview.

Or, more likely, you are the one with the warped worldview.

I knew of Michael Flynn, first, as a military man, and then a crazy conspiracy theorist. This was long before he hooked-up with Trump.

So, I'd say, you're both right.; 12/18/20, 6:58 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: n.n said...

"Tom Cruise, who is a producer on the $200 million film, has a responsibility, has already been shut down once, and paid some $700,000 out of his own pocket so the crew could live in isolation on a nice cruise ship.

"A commendable treatment. Good for him."

I like how the fact he's a cult leader - that does this to people - gets ignored when money is flashed around in America.

It's a neat Jedi Mind Trick that explains politics A LOT.; 12/18/20, 7:03 AM
tim maguire said...: Big Mike said...
I don't know about lunatic, but Flynn certainly has a very warped worldview.

Or, more likely, you are the one with the warped worldview.

Given what he's been put through in the past few years, I think he can be forgiven a little warping in his thinking.; 12/18/20, 7:09 AM
Qwinn said...: Um. The Robert's screaming thing may or may not be true, but the argument that it couldn't have been real because they haven't met in person is pretty weak tea.

People can't yell during a Zoom meeting?

More than one person can't yell during a Zoom meeting? (Not that I heard the claim included anyone speaking but Roberts, but maybe I missed something).

A Zoom meeting can't be overheard?

Seriously, that was kinda the worst debunking ever.; 12/18/20, 7:19 AM
Qwinn said...: Flynn is awesome, and one of the few people popular enough among the Right that he could be the Pinochet we may wind up desperately needing. I hope it's him, in fact.; 12/18/20, 7:20 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Big Mike:

Have you read Flynn's book The Field of Flight? His choice of Michael Ledeen, a neocon fanatic, as co-author already raises concerns about his judgment. The week the book was published, Flynn wrote an article for the New York Post to help promote it. In it, he claimed: "We’re in a global war, facing an enemy alliance that runs from Pyongyang, North Korea, to Havana, Cuba, and Caracas, Venezuela. Along the way, the alliance picks up radical Muslim countries and organizations such as Iran, al Qaeda, the Taliban and Islamic State. That’s a formidable coalition, and nobody should be shocked to discover that we are losing the war."

No such alliance exists, and even if it did, it would most certainly not be "formidable." Unsurprisingly, Flynn's remedy for this bogeyman is endless global warfare.; 12/18/20, 7:28 AM
J. Farmer said...: Flynn is awesome, and one of the few people popular enough among the Right that he could be the Pinochet we may wind up desperately needing. I hope it's him, in fact.

And if that fails, you can always ask Santa.; 12/18/20, 7:36 AM
Humperdink said...: Lunatic, neocon fanatic .... if it wasn't for hyperbole, some commenters would be speechless.; 12/18/20, 7:44 AM
steve uhr said...: My guess is that Biden won’t be pardoning his NSA for lying under oath and to the VP about his contacts with our adversaries setting himself as a target for blackmail. But hey - I’ve been wrong before; 12/18/20, 7:52 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Humperdink said...

"Lunatic, neocon fanatic .... if it wasn't for hyperbole, some commenters would be speechless."

I repeat: I discovered Michael Flynn while researching conspiracy theory circles, long before Trump tapped him.

He is a nut case - which is probably why he was targeted (low hanging fruit) - but they still did him wrong.; 12/18/20, 7:55 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Aliens exist and Trump is keeping it secret in case we panic, claims Israeli scientist

Face it: There's a lot of lunatics in government.; 12/18/20, 7:57 AM
Howard said...: Blogger FullMoon said..
... and now five crybabies who can’t stand a little heat have quit and run home to feel self-righteous about themselves.

We’re creating a nation of babies, and sheltering people from the realities of human nature is a disservice to them. Best to go through the fire so you can toughen up your skin and enjoy the rest of your life. That’s a much more fulfilling way to go through life than always being on the verge of breakdown every time someone looks at you cross-eyed.

Preach it, Brother. The fucking constant whining and moaning and complaining about wearing masks and social distancing from the legions of Trump supporters is just a byproduct of the deterioration of the once strong and proud American Heartland.; 12/18/20, 8:00 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Agreed - that the CJ Roberts story browbeating the three Trump Justices in conference probably falls apart if there have been no exceptions to the not meeting personally since spring for these conferences. It will be interesting on how this works out over the next couple of days. Unless the conversation was virtual, intercepted, and the meatspace meeting conjured as a cover (etc). Still, a screaming CJ over a conference call just doesn’t have the same in terrorem effect that it would have in a real meeting. Note yesterday that it was revealed that an Israeli company has apparently admitted to having cracked Signal. Still, if Signal has been cracked, the call could have been hacked or electronically intercepted. We shall see how this works out. The supposed earlier 2018 call between Roberts and Breyer, if indeed it happened, seems likely to have been intercepted.

And Mark, I may have gotten too far out over my skis this time, and not qualified myself enough, but your abject refusal to admit, and to try to pretend away the mass cheating on your side right after the election is just as beclowning. Esp all the evidence of Republican observers being sent home or otherwise evicted from the counting across six or so states, right before hundreds of thousands of almost Biden only votes were tallied.

As I pointed out earlier, the thing to keep your eyes on over the next day or two is the required ODNI report on foreign election interference. If nothing happens there, I have my doubts that McConnell, Romney, etc, can be dissuaded from voting for the Biden electors, over the Trump electors. Doing so makes little sense to me, after the exposure of the massive vote stealing by the Democrats.; 12/18/20, 8:02 AM
Howard said...: You got that right, Crack: Tom Cruise doing his best David Miscavige imitation.; 12/18/20, 8:03 AM
Qwinn said...: When a guy has had access to the highest security clearances possible AND his patriotism isn't in doubt AND he was considered dangerous enough by obvious enemies of the US within our intelligence agencies to neutralize him with bogus charges for the length of Trump's presidency, dismiss what he says as "conspiracy theory" at your peril.

Farmer, hunor me for a moment. Say you're wrong, and those countries DID coordinate and did steal the election for Biden. Just pretend that's true (it is, but I get that admitting that would reduce your sneering options). Would that suffice as a causus belli for you? Is there anything short of a Pearl Harbor that could? Would even that do .; 12/18/20, 8:05 AM
Fernandinande said...: Keith Richards is 77 years old today.; 12/18/20, 8:07 AM
mockturtle said...: Tom Cruise's vaunted rant was nothing but a publicity stunt.; 12/18/20, 8:11 AM
Curious George said...: "tim maguire said...
167 posts, but if you ignore Inga and the posts responding to Inga, it's about 20."

Did you count this one?

Francisco D said...
Apropos of the doctorate awarded to Special Ed teacher Jill Biden, I propose that we create a degreed honorific for our resident dullard.; 12/18/20, 8:12 AM
mockturtle said...: And yes, Scientology is a dangerous cult.; 12/18/20, 8:13 AM
Big Mike said...: @Farmer, I have not read Flynn's book, but what you claim he wrote doesn't surprise me. You are looking for some formal alliance where diplomats and leadership get together based on common interests and/or a common enemy and sign some documents. It wouldn't be anything like that. Learn to think outside the box, the way Trump and Flynn do. The countries and NGOs listed by Flynn with share information and provide financing or shock troops when convenient, or not, if inconvenient. Seems pretty obvious to me.

Is there a point where you admit you are not in the same league as Michael Flynn?; 12/18/20, 8:16 AM
Howard said...: I had to stop watching Leah Remini's Scientology series when the went deep into what they do to children. Fuck Tom Cruise. I don't care how nice a guy he is.; 12/18/20, 8:18 AM
Howard said...: Keef Richards; 12/18/20, 8:19 AM
iowan2 said...: Preach it, Brother. The fucking constant whining and moaning and complaining about wearing masks and social distancing from the legions

After the vulnerable are vaccinated by mid January, you are fine with dropping the whole covid thing? If not why not?

I have asked repeatedly what the goal of the US response was, since this broke in February. I only got one response from inga. Her emotional response(something proffered based on feelings, with no reasoned analysis) was complete eradication of the virus.
Since that was not possible in March, the left had no goal in mind. Govt actions were just exercises in power flexing.

So, are we good to return to wide open normal by mid January? (if you need a talking point, Biden said yesterday, normal by Christmas 2021. Without evidence, I'll point out to you); 12/18/20, 8:24 AM
wildswan said...: The "vulnerable" won't be vaccinated by mid-January because vaccinations are beginning with health care workers, a very large group.; 12/18/20, 8:29 AM
Birkel said...: Howard calls the demand for strongly supported evidence (instead of appeals to authority) to justify crushing the economy and diminishing personal freedoms whining.

You can wear the face diaper of submission if you like, Howard.
I am sure it suits you.; 12/18/20, 8:29 AM
Howard said...: A doublet. Thanks for playing, ladies.; 12/18/20, 8:32 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “ My guess is that Biden won’t be pardoning his NSA for lying under oath and to the VP about his contacts with our adversaries setting himself as a target for blackmail. But hey - I’ve been wrong before”

Ignoring that the alleged “lying” is the type that courts across the country accept each and every day whenever plea bargains are retracted. The alleged lying by Flynn was his coerced plea agreement. Of course, those condemning Flynn here ignore that the much more egregious, and constant, lies to the court made by the prosecution that had coerced the plea deal in the first hand, required Flynn to agree that there weren’t any side deals when the coercive deal to drop other charges and charges against his son and attorneys was the reason he agreed to it in the first place, along with all of the times that they lied about the evidence (and were ultimately revealed for having done so), etc. Remember - it was the prosecution that voided the plea deal by going back on their promise of no incarceration. Condemning Flynn for changing his coerced plea, after the prosecution had welched on the deal they had made with him, merely shows those condemning him to be blatant hypocrites.

Also keep in mind that Flynn never lied to VP Pence. Handling 30-40-50 calls a day from foreign counterparts the transition and the first frantic days of the Trump Presidency, and it should be no surprise that he hadn’t remembered exactly what he had said to whom. Pence and Trump have stated that they don’t believe that he lied to them (after finally seeing the transcripts of the call, years later). Who did know what he had said to the Russian Ambassador was the FBI, and ultimately, the Mueller prosecutors, who prosecuted him for lying to FBI agents Strzok and Pientka, knowing full well that he hadn’t. And of course, the FBI (and ultimately much of the Obama WH, and the Mueller prosecutors) having and using the transcript was illegal. Nevertheless, they had it, and neither Flynn, Pence, nor Trump did. But importantly, the Mueller prosecutors prosecuting Flynn’s case knew with a certainty that Flynn hadn’t lied to Pence, nor to the two FBI agents, when they indicted him for lying, and then accepted his coerced guilty plea for lying. They not only had the transcripts, but also the evidence of the repeated modifications to Pientka’s FD 302s, that they never provided to either the defense, or the court, despite their Constitutional and ethical duties to have done so.; 12/18/20, 8:37 AM
Marcus Bressler said...: Why is Chuck still here?; 12/18/20, 8:39 AM
steve uhr said...: The people who refuse to wear masks are the same people who blame the democrats shutting down bars and restaurants when the reason they are shut down is because people aren’t wearing masks. Amazing; 12/18/20, 8:41 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: Hayden where is the evidence for your claim of a fire fight between the army and the cia in Germany? I can find noting to support this in German or US papers.; 12/18/20, 8:43 AM
Qwinn said...: Florida didn't shut down. New York has.

Cases AND death counts are lower per capita in Florida than New York. And that's with Florida having a much higher elderly population.

So what is New York accomplishing by shutting down businesses? I can think of lots of reasons. None of them are to reduce COVID.; 12/18/20, 8:49 AM