January 16, 2021

At the Sunrise Café...

IMG_2194

... you can talk 'til dawn.

239 comments:

1 – 200 of 239   Newer›   Newest»
tim in vermont said...

Eleven million new Democrats at the stroke of a pen!

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1350517781742104576

Remember when Biden ran on this and got a mandate for this radical change to the American democracy? Me neither. Biden was a “moderate,” remember? This will put the white left in charge for the foreseeable future with no check on their power.

Mark said...

Who killed the unarmed Ashli Babbitt?

West Texas Intermediate Crude said...

Crude's Corollaries:
1. No politician who has imposed a lockdown or forced a business to close has missed a payday.
2. A lockdown is a situation in which poor folks bring stuff to rich folks and everyone in between suffers at home.
3. Masks interfere with the body's natural process of ejecting germs, thus making it more likely that a person exposed to a virus, of Chinese origin or otherwise, becomes sick and more infectious.
4. (Stolen from Glenn R.): Police exist to protect the criminals from the victims of crime.
5. It's gonna get uglier. Buckle up,

Rt41Rebel said...

"Eleven million new Democrats at the stroke of a pen!"

...and at $15/hour, every single one will be unemployed.

Browndog said...

There's an inch of snow stuck to every tiny thing under God's creation. The landscape looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Beautiful, but eerie. It's common to have wet snow stick to trees, but this is beyond anything I've ever seen.

Browndog said...

Fun little graphic. Well done, entertaining. Worth 2 minutes of your time:

This is how the news works.

stephen cooper said...

In my entire lifetime as a faithful Christian and a Roman Catholic, I have learned that many bad people try to take advantage of the good-hearted believers in the Catholic church. It is sad! From the nasty man-hating nuns of my youth to today's SJW clerics, it has not been a good stretch of decades for the Catholic church!!!

I hope that poor Bergoglio has many people praying for him after his recent misbehavior. The poor man obviously likes to eat more than a Christian should, and likes to say vile things about others : well, those are not really all that serious, who among us does not have a vice or two, such as gluttony or unkind gossip ???? but it now appears that he (Bergoglio) is engaging in elder abuse against poor old Benedict (Ratzinger), forcing the old man of 94 to take a coronavirus shot that the poor old man does not need, and lying by omission about what happened decades ago when one fetus after another was preserved alive after being cut out of the womb in order to obtain organs that were suitable for the purposes of the "medical researchers"who worked on the developement of this series of vaccines.

Please pray for poor Pope Benedict, the victim of elder abuse, and please pray for his abuser, Bergoglio.

My friends, let us pray for every poor old man and poor old woman who are so so flustered by current events and so afraid of what is just one virus among many! Let's pray for them to be better tomorrow than they are today!

tim in vermont said...

Lincoln Project sexual predator says “The truth is, I am gay.” I guess that’s why it was OK for him to offer jobs for sex with young people, I guess. What a great sexual harassment defense! “The truth is, I am straight!” But I get rather the feeling that the press won’t look on it’s enemies so kindly as it does their friends.

rehajm said...

Eleven million new Democrats at the stroke of a pen

The 'latinos' broke for Trump this cycle. Own goal this is...

GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLL!

BUMBLE BEE said...

So, we've got the Soros Crew for the next 4 years. Obama 3 with attitude, nothing to stop em. Yes 11 million. Probably more on the way. Republican party sold out as well. Good to be old.
Inauguration is a super spreader I hope.

tcrosse said...

Now that the precedent has been set, some states might choose to be Sanctuary states, which can nullify Biden's orders, or Congress' acts as other states did Trump's.

mockturtle said...

SFSG for the Packers.

mockturtle said...
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Two-eyed Jack said...

2021: "$15/hr minimum wage everywhere!"

2046: "Full benefits for all sub-thresholds!"

2071: "Automatic work assignment rotation in all gamma-zone areas!"

Mark said...

I guess that’s why it was OK for him to offer jobs for sex with young people

That's right. That's been clear for years. So back off on imposing your CIS-straight values on others.

Browndog said...

Caravan from Honduras busting through Guatemala Border in route to the USA

You're country is about to change. This is why I laugh at people that talk about the next election.

This was the last one.

JaimeRoberto said...

Lincoln Project sexual predator says “The truth is, I am gay.

At least he didn't say it is his truth.

mockturtle said...

Hope I didn't speak too soon [re Packers].

John henry said...

Another thing that doesn't get a lot of play is how much support (still) President Trump gets from Mexico.

Agreed to restrict caravans
Agreed to prevent people from breaking the wall on the Mexican side
Agreed to pay for repairs when people on Mexican side break the wall
Is taking his side in the social media wars
Agreed to renegotiate NAFTA
Cooperating (somewhat) in the war on some drugs.

Other stuff.

John Henry

stephen cooper said...
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Chuck said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
stephen cooper said...
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stephen cooper said...

Chuck --- try again.
I do not want the killer to be charged. but he did not have to murder her, and I wish he hadn't.

You might feel differently but you shouldn't.

DarigoldVanilla said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Browndog said...

Notice lefties have no problem with killing Trumpers. NONE.

You'd think, like most humans, they would be a little moved by the killing of another human, but nah.

Remember when killing an unarmed person, not matter their actions, caused such outrage cities burned?

Mark said...

This was the last one.

That's what we were warning before the last one.

Mark said...

Who killed the unarmed Ashli Babbitt?

A federal officer . . .

"Some people did something . . ."

Yeah, we get it. You are a complete POS. You don't need to demonstrate it every day.

Mark said...

#SayHerName - Ashli Babbitt

#SayHisName - ???

DarigoldVanilla said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Browndog said...

DarigoldVanilla said...

Oh, fuck-off.

Iman said...

Imitation ice milk, at best.

Original Mike said...

Packers defeat the Rams…and mockturtle's jinx. :-)

Mark said...

Why her, DV?

There were lots of people there in the Capitol. Why single out Ashli Babbitt for execution? Or do you think that they all should have been mowed down?

And if it was so justified, why not reveal the shooter's name? He's a hero after all! He deserves a medal -- the Congressional Medal of Honor -- for shooting this unarmed woman. Let us know his name so we can all praise him.

I Callahan said...

Mark - DV is a liar, along with Chuck. It’s pointless to try to be fair and reasonable with either.

Mark said...

There was a woman a few years ago who was driving with her little child in the back seat and she took a wrong turn in D.C. Ended up at the security checkpoint at the White House. She saw the security and panicked and drove off. Law enforcement pursued, which only led to more panic. She tried to get away and headed east up Pennsylvania Avenue, taking random turns at the end because she didn't know the area before hitting a dead end. Literally.

The police riddled her with bullets too.

Nothing ever came of her killing either.

Unknown said...

I guess I don't understand what an insurrection actually is. No weapons, no point except to show Congresspersons that someone cared about the integrity of an election. I would have been really tempted to called criminal trespass.

Mark said...

The thing is this -- they are representative of the views of tens of millions of others.

Unknown said...

Asked someone who plays the stock market how one can bet against the American economy, He said, and I quote, "Vote Democrat."

Michael K said...

I see the trolls are on the case about murdering Ashli Babbit, which they approve of.

An interesting analysis of Bidenomics.

The collapse of real Treasury yields to the negative 1% range during the course of 2020 had nothing to do with the savings rate, but rather with the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented purchases of public debt.

If the United States were to issue debt in order to rebuild its industrial base and reduce the current account deficit, increased debt might be justified. That is not the form that deficit spending is likely to take under a Biden administration, which is likely to offer lip service to investment in technology while spending lavishly on social and environmental programs.


"Green Nude Eel" anyone ?

As long as you idiots keep the party going until I am out of here. The only thing that worries me is that my mother lived to 103.

Browndog said...

There were 3 members of a SWAT team directly behind her armed with M-16s. This fuck-head took two steps towards her, from a a side angle, meaning she may have not even seen him, and tried to blow her head off.

Fuck that.

stephen cooper said...

I have a friend whose mother lived to 99 (not 103 but close). He said she was kind of a jerk until she was 96, the last 3 years she was a decent person. God works in mysterious ways.

Chuck said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
n.n said...

Another thing that doesn't get a lot of play is how much support (still) President Trump gets from Mexico.

Emigration reform to mitigate progress of immigration reform (e.g. illegal immigration, refugee crises) at both ends of the bridge and throughout is a compelling interest for all good faith actors.

tim in vermont said...

"meaning she may have not even seen him, and tried to blow her head off.”

Democrats motto for 2021: “Look what you made me do!"

Michael K said...

Let us know his name so we can all praise him.

We know his name. He is a BLM organizer who hates "Trumpers," like the trolls.

walter said...

Burying the lede: "11 million"
Ha!!!!!!

n.n said...

There were 3 members of a SWAT team directly behind her armed with M-16s. This fuck-head took two steps towards her, from a a side angle, meaning she may have not even seen him, and tried to blow her head off.

Wow. Yes, she was clearly a clear and progressive threat. Shoot to kill was socially, if not actually justified. He could have restrained her. Meanwhile, most of the people... persons stayed inside the lines and were escorted through the building. Congress should have invited a delegation to represent their diversity. The minority protests were more an effect than a cause.

walter said...

Just heard Madison Cawthorn suggest the Capitol "unrest" was the worst riot of them all.
I suppose from his personal standpoint.

Narayanan said...

tim in vermont said...
Eleven million new Democrats at the stroke of a pen!
-----------=============
at least next time when they vote again it would be legal.

Democratics : party of rule of law.
take that Repulicans

walter said...

We might compare the post riot aerial photos.

n.n said...

at least next time when they vote again it would be legal.

Democratics : party of rule of law.
take that Repulicans


Yeah, in the spirit of "stop hitting yourself."

I think we need more cowbell. Yes, more cowbell.

wildswan said...

35,000,000 people have been vaccinated world-wide with the vaccine that researchers under Trump delivered in less than a year - warp speed. The Dems impeached him. Unity.

DarigoldVanilla said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Browndog said...

I think we need more cowbell. Yes, more cowbell.

Oh, you did it. Why would you do that? Make us, once again, watch one of the greatest scenes in SNL history, and remind us SNL used to be funny.

Michael K said...

tried to blow her head off.

From the way she collapsed, I think he severed her spinal cord in the neck. Good shooting for aim, not very nice.

Mutaman said...

"35,000,000 people have been vaccinated world-wide with the vaccine that researchers under Trump delivered in less than a year - warp speed. The Dems impeached him. "

400,000 dead, 10.7 million unemployed, promised second reserve of vaccine not there. Trump has done a heck of a job. Don't let the door hit u on the way out.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/politics/coronavirus-vaccine-reserve-dose/index.html

WK said...

COVID related comments and experiences.
1. Went to urgent care and then hospital earlier this week for kidney stone diagnosis and removal. Wife was not allowed in urgent care and had to wait in car. She was allowed in hospital the next day when I had the stone removed (general anesthesia). Not that I couldn’t handle most of it but I can only imagine the stress caused on older folks or those forced to make more complicated treatment decisions alone. That separation cannot be good.
2. Celebrated son’s 20th bday today. Family went to a movie then out to dinner. First movie since last February. About 25 total in the theater and probably half looked over 60. Trying to support businesses still left open. He is doing a winter semester co-op and living about an hour away. Most work will likely be remote or over zoom. The isolation being forced on younger people is horrible and I am concerned about the long term affects especially as impact is lower in that age group.
3. Ohio is opening COVID vaccines to those over 80. Handled differently in each county and by hospital or org offering the vaccine. Most seem to require finding and filling out online forms to request appt, notification back by text or email. Or use the hospital/provider app. Trying to guide my 87 year old parents who don’t web browse or have a phone that does text or apps. It’s almost like they are putting up hurdles to getting the vaccine for those who want it.

Humperdink said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Narr said...

I haven't noticed the new(?) moderation rules until just now. I'll try to be good, but sometimes extra spaces happen.

Now I've forgotten what I meant to say . . .

Oh right. I'm getting geezer ads--pharmacy, furniture, and footwear mostly.

Narr
And I haven't been searching for any of those

D. said...

After many years, the Army of the Potomac is getting the band back together.

Mark said...

They mostly come out at night. Mostly.

No, they come out all the time. And not over in the margin, but in the very annoying spaces between posts and before the comment link.

Mark said...

In any event, for America, it's game over, man. Game over.

Ken B said...

Trumpkins: the election was stolen.
Trumpkins: the president is a crook
Trumpkins: the Democrats will rig the game forever
Trumpkins: the Democrats mean to start more endless wars
Also Trumpkins: We have nothing to learn from Canada. The USA is PERFECT.


Mr Wibble said...

400,000 dead, 10.7 million unemployed, promised second reserve of vaccine not there. Trump has done a heck of a job. Don't let the door hit u on the way out.

250,000 dead was the best case scenario projected a year ago, with 2+ million dead a worst case scenario. So by numbers we're closer to the best case than the worst case, by a lot. Those 10.7 million would be employed if state governors would do their jobs, reopen their states, and kick their school systems in the ass to reopen as well. And the second reserve isn't there because, at the article states, they have enough production capability that they don't need to keep a reserve for second doses.

LordSomber said...

And oh how they danced
The little children of Stonehenge
Beneath the haunted moon
For fear that daybreak might come too soon

Big Mike said...

What I believe:

I believe that Donald Trump won the 2020 General Election handily, but it was stolen. I believe this for two reasons: (1) the sheer number of irregularities, each of which might be explainable by itself (and some inexplicable except as hiding wholesale fraud); and (2) the Democrats are acting guilty. "Biden won fair and square!" Really? Then why do Democrats not cooperate with investigations into the irregularities in order to remove the taint from Biden's "victory"? Why do they not at least try to offer explanations for some of the more egregious irregularities?

Related to this, I have a great deal of disdain for people who say that, well, yes, there was cheating involved, just not enough to have tipped the election. Once you admit that cheating occurred, then what proof do you offer that the cheating did not tip the election?

Also related, I note that right after the election Althouse herself wrote that it was "possible" to believe that cheating occurred, but not enough to throw the election from Trump to Biden. Possible. What a lawyerly way to put it. Doesn't say that she believes it, or that Meade believes it. Only that it is "possible" to believe it. Very Clintonesque. I suppose now that the election has been certified, Althouse will write something along the lines of "at this point, what difference does it make?"

What I believe

I believe that governors including Gretchen Whitmer, Andrew Cuomo, Phil Murphy, and Gavin Newsom deliberately chose coronavirus policies that devastated their own economies and enlarged the death totals in order to damage Donald Trump. It's possible that the policy of placing COVID-19 patients in elderly care facilities initiated as a blunder -- Medicare reimbursements are higher for elderly care facilities than for hospitals and someone in the administration may have simply made a mistake that killed people -- but once these despicable governors discovered that their COVID-19 death counts were going up, and that the press could be used to cast the blame on Trump instead of where it belonged, then it was time to slaughter elderly, vulnerable, people by the thousands.

I believe that a similar desire to destroy or at least damage the booming Trump economy lay behind the BLM riots -- no, absolutely not "peaceful protests" nor even "mostly peaceful protests" -- that plagued American cities this past year. Else why were these riots not shut down?

What I believe

I believe that Trump should not have encouraged the January 6th protest march. It was too easy to infiltrate by lefty agitators, and that was very foreseeable.

Related to that, I believe that Nancy Pelosi probably directed the Capitol Police to let the mob invade the Capitol building. The Capitol Police include 2000 officers, and few estimates place the number of people invading the building much above a tenth of that number. Also, the Capitol police report directly to her.

This is what I believe.

Ken B said...

I don’t even know what QAnon is. I presume it’s some fringe group that has been hyped into the new, new threat, like satanists were 30 years ago.

Big Mike said...

Also Trumpkins: We have nothing to learn from Canada.

The Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau. We have nothing to learn from Canada. QED.

Gahrie said...

We have nothing to learn from Canada. The USA is PERFECT.

The only reason Canada still exists is because we never wanted it.

D. said...

"I don’t even know what QAnon is"


Q !!Hs1Jq13jV6 ID: f457dc No.11118631 📁
Oct 17 2020 11:36:26 (EST)
https://twitter.com/stinchfield1776/status/1317450311192223746📁
There is 'Q'. 1
There are 'Anons'. 2
There is no 'Qanon'. 3
Media labeling as 'Qanon' is a method [deliberate] to combine [attach] 'Q' to comments _theories _suggestions _statements [and ACTIONS] made by 2.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CANNOT ATTACK THE INFORMATION [primary source 1]?
DO YOU ATTACK [& TYPECAST] THROUGH USE OF OTHERS?
Not all 'Anons' are authentic [injected].
You are correct, CJ.
Retweet @ 17:17 had meaning. [mathematical probability _17:17 [day after]?]
Do you believe it was a coincidence surgical removal of You Tube accounts occurred same day as 'Hunter' drop?
Welcome to the Digital Battlefield.
Q
https://qanon.pub/?

mockturtle said...

Big Mike, I believe you're right.

Ken B said...

Big Mike
American elections are dreadful. Canada's are not. Our voters are dreadful but our election process is good. That's exactly why you are wrong when you say you have nothing to learn from Canada. That’s just immature jingoistic resentment. It’s doubly the case if you think the election was stolen!

But I do respect your clarity and honesty here.

mockturtle said...

No, we have absolutely nothing to learn from Canada. What a notion! LOL!

FullMoon said...

Narr said...

I haven't noticed the new(?) moderation rules until just now. I'll try to be good, but sometimes extra spaces happen.


Yeah, I don't understand the extra spaces. I minimize the comment box before posting and still get empty space at the bottom sometimes.

Francisco D said...

Ken B said...I don’t even know what QAnon is. I presume it’s some fringe group that has been hyped into the new, new threat, like satanists were 30 years ago.

My (life long Democrat) wife mentioned how horrible the Qanon conspiracy theorists were but could not cite a single wacky conspiracy. She is a moderate Democrat who unfortunately buys into the corporate media. She talked about ALL Trump's lies and cannot identified one. I can go on, but the crux is that the corporate mediate is pretty much like Hitler's propagandists for people who do not attention to the details.

Well, she is an artist.

rehajm said...

Fifty percent of Canadians live South of the red line...

Lurker21 said...


Is that a picture of Wisconsin Stonehenge?

It reminds me the movie This Is Spın̈al Tap for some reason.

Lurker21 said...

"My boy"

If they ever make a movie about that Lincoln Project guy, Michael Sheen has already auditioned for the part.

But Kevin Spacey is also available.

Michael K said...

Big Mike, I agree 100%. As far as Canada is concerned, look at a photo of Pierre Trudeau and one of Fidel Castro and tell me which is the father of the present PM.

I have been saying here that the election was stolen but we can do nothing about it.

Yet.

FullMoon said...

My (life long Democrat) wife mentioned how horrible the Qanon conspiracy theorists were but could not cite a single wacky conspiracy.

Couple of millennials were excited because Biden will give stimulus money. Unaware Trump proposed 2,ooo.00 and also unaware of where stimulus money is wasted.

Older relative believes the attack on capital has resulted in calls for gun confiscation., unaware left has been after guns forever.

Good people, just ignorant, like most. Get news from Facebook or five o'clock MSM.

Breezy said...

I believe @jack needs an intervention, right away.

narciso said...


The basis for that series i mentioned



https://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Seyt-Shura-Nermin-Bezmen/dp/197769831X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Kurt+Seyit+ve+Sura&qid=1610851259&sr=8-3

Mutaman said...

"50,000 dead was the best case scenario projected a year ago, "

A year ago somebody said "“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.” 11 months ago that same person said "“We pretty much shut it down coming in from China" and “Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”

narciso said...

There is a superficial resemblance but zoolander was born before margaret visited cuba.

Big Mike said...

The only reason Canada still exists is because we never wanted it.

@Gahrie, during the War of 1812 the US really did invade Canada with an eye towards annexation. We got our butts kicked.

OTOH if the Canadians want New England, they're welcome to it. Especially Vermont.

Lurker21 said...

The core of QAnon is supposed to be that there are Satan-worshipping, human-sacrificing cells of pedophile human traffickers in high government circles, but I wonder if the "core" reaches people who might have gone to a website or gotten an email at some point. Most of the communication may not involve that particular theory or may touch on aspects of it without others.

Gahrie said...

@Gahrie, during the War of 1812 the US really did invade Canada with an eye towards annexation. We got our butts kicked.

Only because the British were using it as a base to launch attacks on us.

mockturtle said...

Big Mike: Maybe we could trade them all of New England for BC and Alberta. That way we'd have access to Alaska without going through a foreign country. And I'm very fond of the Icefield Parkway.

Gahrie said...

Big Mike, I agree 100%. As far as Canada is concerned, look at a photo of Pierre Trudeau and one of Fidel Castro and tell me which is the father of the present PM.

Line up Web Hubbell, Web Hubbell's daughter, Chelsea Clinton and Bill Clinton.

Narr said...

Got our butts kicked in the Revolution too-- thought we would be greeted as liberators; Montgomery's (not that one) and Arnold's men paid dearly for the illusion.

Narr
Canada: Very Nice

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Ken B said...

Also Trumpkins: We have nothing to learn from Canada

We have nothing to learn from a country that managed to fuck up bacon.

Rt41Rebel said...

"We have nothing to learn from a country that managed to fuck up bacon."

Not to mention beer.

narciso said...


Not one of his smarter moves


https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/henry-dearborn

Narr said...

The War of 1812 is so little remembered in this country that we only budgeted for one year of fireworks celebrations.

Narr
Typical Obama screwup

William said...

Can anyone advance a reasonable, plausible theory that would explain how Epstein"s career and death were not part of some kind of a conspiracy.....Stalin wasn't paranoic. He grew up in Russia, a land where conspiracy theories come true. Father Gapon, the man who organized the demonstration that started the 1905 revolution, was actually a police informant. Stalin himself was rumored to have been a police informant for the Czarist regime at one point. It is certain that a small group of Bolsheviks with financial and other assistance from the German General Staff were able to take control of Russia...I believe that there is currently a conspiracy to portray the boorish behavior of a few hundred fringe characters into some kind of sophisticated insurrection. This conspiracy extends to the highest personages in government and the media.

J. Farmer said...

@Big Mike:

The Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau. We have nothing to learn from Canada. QED.

We cab learn the benefit of not having millions of African chattel slaves in your country. I grant it's too late on that one, but another potential lesson is how to be a free and prosperous country without being global busybodies.

I Callahan said...

In fairness to Ken B - if we had the election system of Canada, Trump would have won in a landslide.

My problem with Canada isn’t its election system - it’s that they’re a progressive country.

Big Mike said...

@mockturtle, I’ve been to Vancouver. Like a less riot-torn Seattle. Your idea for swapping New England for British Columbia and Alberta sounds good to me, but why would Canada want our castoffs?

farmgirl said...

Lol Big Mike- ie: VT
Not all of VT is blue- we mostly blame Chittenden Co, it’s bigger than we are. The majority of my county descends from above- no loss for us-
It’s too bad so many implants have ruined what was once so good.

J. Farmer said...

@Narr:

The War of 1812 is so little remembered in this country that we only budgeted for one year of fireworks celebrations.

A few years back, the UK embassy in Washington tweeted a photo of a White House cake with sparklers and made a cheeky remark about the burning of Washington in 1814. Naturally, the humorless scolds of the outrage brigade kicked into gear.

narciso said...

Then theres this



https://www.rbth.com/politics_and_society/2017/07/31/black-as-azef-the-story-of-russias-most-notorious-double-agent_81441

The Godfather said...

a) I do NOT want Republicans/Conservatives/Populists (whatever "us" are called now) to steal elections.

b) I do want "us" to figure out HOW to steal the 2022 and 2024 elections. It's not as easy as it is for the Democrats because "us" are not as closely packed as "them", but we are smart and devious, so I'm sure we can do it.

c) I want us and them to spend the next 18 months working together to develop ways to assure that neither "us" nor "them" steals another election. With sufficient incentives on both sides, I am confident it can be done.

Michael K said...

Just started reading "Last Stands." by Michael Walsh. The prolog describes his father's career in the Marines in Korea. I had a patient 30 years ago who had walked out of the Chosin Reservoir. He had a bad stomach cancer but he said, if he could walk out of Chosin, he could beat this. I followed him postop until I retired and he was fine. Walsh's father in 94. Walsh did get one dust jacket blurb from a feminist friend who complained about "patriarchy." Nothing like a half century of peace to bring out the feminists.

J. Farmer said...

@I Callahan:

My problem with Canada isn’t its election system - it’s that they’re a progressive country.

In other words, it's like every other highly developed country in the world.

Michael K said...

Not all of VT is blue- we mostly blame Chittenden Co, it’s bigger than we are. The majority of my county descends from above- no loss for us-

I blame I 91 bringing all those New York communists.

Rt41Rebel said...

I'm trying to imagine what it would be like to be a member of the NG, to be called into service to do your duty by protecting corrupt politicians from being attacked by your fellow Americans, while knowing the snakes you are protecting are plotting an invasion of your country from the southern border.

Rt41Rebel said...

I mean, that would really piss me off. Enough that I might even talk about it with my pissed off mates.

Ken B said...

Gahrie
At the end of Mr Madison's War, Canada was in possession of Detroit. No further proof is needed that you lost than that we made you take it back.

Rt41Rebel said...

"In other words, it's like every other highly developed country in the world."

Definitions of 'highly developed' would be useful.

Ken B said...

Farmer
In fairness, Canada is a less coherent country than many, such as France. We were conceived of as two things: British North America, and as a bargain with the French to let them keep their culture within a British entity. The French feel we broke the latter deal, and I agree with them. Canada like the US is decidedly a *federal* system, to an extent few foreigners realize. And that is why we have periodic secession movements, especially in Quebec.

I once started an Ontario secession party. I got 2 million members the first day. All from outside Ontario.

Ken B said...

As to the extent of federalism here. In some ways it is even stronger than in the USA. Quebec has different IMMIGRATION policies than the rest of Canada.

I Callahan said...

In other words, it's like every other highly developed country in the world.

I keep hearing how other countries are better than us because of how progressive they are. Yet they’re moving here from those countries.
If you have a different definition of progressive than the one I’m thinking of, then maybe we’re having a misunderstanding.

Ken B said...

‘ Definitions of 'highly developed' would be useful.’

Never elected Kamala Harris to any office.

I Callahan said...

Ken B: I have a feeling that if she ran there, she’d be at least formidable, if not victorious.

J. Farmer said...

@Rt41Rebel:

I mean, that would really piss me off. Enough that I might even talk about it with my pissed off mates.

It would probably piss me off too but nowhere near as much as seeing hundreds of thousands of my fellow soldiers killed, crippled, or otherwise permanently disabled during 20 years of idiotic military adventurism in southwest Asia. And I'd be pretty annoyed at having to be one of the thousands of US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia to put their lives on the line for a theocratic, totalitarian regime that supported Sunni insurgents in Iraq, supports Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and supported what would become ISIS in Syria.

DavidUW said...

Every other “progressive” country in the world also has a more regressive taxation system, spends less on schools, has more abortion restrictions than the USA, and much more immigration control, legal and illegal.

Is that what you want?

J. Farmer said...

@Ken B:

‘ Definitions of 'highly developed' would be useful.’

GDP per capita and level of industrialization are usually the metrics used. It's just a more PC term for what used to be called the "first world." So, basically, North America, Western Europe, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

Gahrie said...

We cab learn the benefit of not having millions of African chattel slaves in your country. I grant it's too late on that one, but another potential lesson is how to be a free and prosperous country without being global busybodies.

Unfortunately, the British government was responsible for that. Virtually no slaves were imported after the United States was formed, and it was outlawed shortly after.

Ken B said...

Farmer
Re slavery. You are right, it was not prevalent here, but it wasn’t entirely absent. Upper Canada got a quasi independent legislature in 1791. In 1793 we became one of the first jurisdictions to outlaw slavery, but because the legislature did not have plenary powers the law was only a partial ban. But various court cases made it a dead letter. The full ban came in 1833, when Westminster banned it.

I expect Achilles and Big Mike will explain why America was wiser to keep slavery ...

Rajnish Roy said...

Very Nice Shayari

Rt41Rebel said...

@ J Farmer

Man, the things we used to do for oil!

Ken B said...

I Callahan
Definition 2: Kamala Harris has never run for office.

Any country can fall from grace!

But, you are right, she would be very formidable.

I Callahan said...

It would probably piss me off too but nowhere near as much as seeing hundreds of thousands of my fellow soldiers killed, crippled, or otherwise permanently disabled during 20 years of idiotic military adventurism in southwest Asia.

I know you never served because no one who has served would say something like this.

I Callahan said...

I expect Achilles and Big Mike will explain why America was wiser to keep slavery

Your problem, Ken, is that you're so pissed off at them for other comments that you project nonsense onto them. I'd bet money both would say they wish slavery never happened here in the first place.

Stop that knee from jerking.

Ken B said...

It’s funny to see. The Trumpkins have not yet noticed that *they* live in a left wing country where AOC is a major force.

J. Farmer said...

@Ken B:

Canada like the US is decidedly a *federal* system, to an extent few foreigners realize. And that is why we have periodic secession movements, especially in Quebec.

We had one once, but the national government smashed the states, occupied them, rewrote the national constitutional order, and left them as economic backwaters for a generation. The US has similar problems with national coherence. Imagine if the Québécois were a racial, rather than ethno-linguistic, group.

As to the extent of federalism here. In some ways it is even stronger than in the USA.

Everything the Antifederalists warned about came true. The federalist system was blown up during the Civil War. The amendments changed the constitutional order of the country so that the federal government could use the interests of the citizens to justify controlling the states.

Rt41Rebel said...

"I'd bet money both would say they wish slavery never happened here in the first place."

I can't even imagine a hate group that would think that US slavery was a good thing.

Ken B said...

I Callahan
Oh, under normal circumstances they would. But after *I* point it out things change! Big Mike inadvertently dismissed voter Id in his rush to vent his anti Ken B spleen. Hilarious.

Rt41Rebel said...

"It’s funny to see. The Trumpkins have not yet noticed that *they* live in a left wing country where AOC is a major force."

+20,000 NG troops might beg to differ.

Ken B said...

Farmer
Lots of Quebec separatists talk about the “pur laine” and there was a famous book where one of them described them as “White N****s of America”

I Callahan said...

The Trumpkins have not yet noticed that *they* live in a left wing country where AOC is a major force

If you accept the results of the election at face value, then maybe we do live in a left wing country. I don't believe we do.

As for AOC - she's a major force in media and in her own district. The rest of the country couldn't care less what that bubble-headed moron has to say.

Ken B said...

R Rebel
You think those troops are there to suppress leftists??

J. Farmer said...

@Gahrie:

Unfortunately, the British government was responsible for that. Virtually no slaves were imported after the United States was formed, and it was outlawed shortly after.

Importation of slaves was not a significant concern by that time because the US already had a very large population of Africans, slaves have a mechanism for making more of themselves, and the banning of imports increased the importance of the domestic slave market. And for the next 50 years, a new state's status as either free or slave caused enough conflict to eventually rip the country apart.

I Callahan said...

Lots of Quebec separatists talk about the “pur laine” and there was a famous book where one of them described them as “White N****s of America”

So in other words, our countries really aren't all that different. So once again, other than the election system, what is we have to learn about Canada? We've made the same mistakes as Canada, and if the politicians and voters don't learn from that, what will they learn?

Ken B said...

I C
Get back to me about AOC in three months when you see the new legislation that’s coming.

D. said...

Nov 12 2020
4951
Q !!Hs1Jq13jV6 ID: b3a95d No.11618946 📁
Nov 12 2020 22:20:17 (EST)
Shall we play a game?
[N]othing [C]an [S]top [W]hat [I]s [C]oming
NCSWIC
https://www.cisa.gov/safecom/NCSWIC📁
Who stepped down today [forced]?
https://www.cisa.gov/bryan-s-ware📁
More coming?
Why is this relevant?
How do you 'show' the public the truth?
How do you 'safeguard' US elections post-POTUS?
How do you 'remove' foreign interference and corruption and install US-owned voter ID law(s) and other safeguards?
It had to be this way.
Sometimes you must walk through the darkness before you see the light.
Q

https://qanon.pub/?#4951

I Callahan said...

Get back to me about AOC in three months when you see the new legislation that’s coming.

We'll see if the legislation passes. Wacko congress people enter bills all the time, some even wackier than the Green New Deal.

Gahrie said...

Importation of slaves was not a significant concern by that time because the US already had a very large population of Africans,

I agree. But the blame lies with the British government, not an American government that hadn't been created yet. We didn't create the problem, we inherited it.

J. Farmer said...

@I Callahan:

I know you never served because no one who has served would say something like this.

I'm not describing what anyone would say. I was riffing on a remark on another commenter made. But for what it's worth, of the many people I know who have and are serving, I imagine that would challenge your assertion that you know what they would or wouldn't say about anything.

n.n said...

400,000 dead, 10.7 million unemployed, promised second reserve of vaccine not there. Trump has done a heck of a job. Don't let the door hit u on the way out.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/politics/coronavirus-vaccine-reserve-dose/index.html


Planned Parent/hood and social contagion spread by CNN et al to drive system load. From the beginning, we had the HCQ cocktail to reduce hospitalization and deaths by 80% or more (globally), which was denied and stigmatized by Democrats and anti... well, anti-Trumpers for political gain. Since spring, we had the Ivermectin protocol that is even more effective and at later stages in disease progression. The masks are statistically (i.e. random controlled trials) known to have no effect, or, in the minority, to be equivalent to flipping a coin. Then there is [catastrophic] [anthropogenic] immigration reform normalized by anti-emigration reform proponents, and, not coincidentally, the Progressive Church/Synagogue/Temple/Mosque/Clinic etc. under the ostensibly "secular" Pro-Choice quasi-religion (e.g. "ethics") that favor the wicked solution (i.e. shared/delegated responsibility) to reduce "burdens", NOW adopted by the Chinese after evolving from their Great Leap and one-child legacies.

J. Farmer said...

@Gahrie:

I agree. But the blame lies with the British government, not an American government that hadn't been created yet. We didn't create the problem, we inherited it.

I'm not sure how "blame" got introduced in the conversation. I am talking about the consequences. That we have a huge population of African descendants of slaves is a unique burden that no other developed country has to contend with and has been a major and perennial source of social tension and upheaval in this country for over 150 years.

wildswan said...

Biden has built a wall around the Capitol to keep Americans out while he tears down the wall on the southern border to let everyone in.

Rt41Rebel said...

"You think those troops are there to suppress leftists??"

Trick question. Of course not. But given what we now know about the previous disturbance at the capital, that will likely end up being more than half the job.

Yancey Ward said...

Lots of people are in favor the Biden Amnesty, here are some of them.

John henry said...

Blogger Ken B said...


I expect Achilles and Big Mike will explain why America was wiser to keep slavery ...

Because of democracy?

Slavery was a state, not a federal issue. There was no way the federal government could ban it, since it could not get a majority vote.

Ditto the individual states. Many did ban slavery. Others did not. It was democracy thing. Majority rule and so on.

Some might say that it was undemocratic because slaves had no vote in the matter and that is right. But even if they had, and had voted 100% in favor of abolition, the pro-slavery majority would have won in many states.

But many people think that democracy is a good thing.

I'm not one of them. Partly for this reason.

The US could vote to re-establish slavery under the US Constitution. But it would be very, very, difficult, requiring supermajorities and so on.

John Henry

John henry said...

Is Canada really a federal system?

Canada is ruled by a queen, who in addition to being queen of Canada is Queen of England and other supposedly sovereign countries.

Justin Trudeau is not elected, nor are the governors & Lt governors of the various provinces. They are appointed by the queen of England (wearing her Queen of Canada hat) on the advice of political parties, who supposedly listen to the voters in making their choice. But they don't have to. Nor does the queen have to. She can, as I understand it, say "Justin Trudeau? Really? You want him? I don't think so."

She is not supposed to, but only by custom. I'm not sure if she can choose whoever she wants to be her PM (not Canada's PM) but she does not have to accept the recommendation of the party with the most seats. Yeah, I know, constitutional crisis and all that. But in the end, what does that really mean? Everyone is really, really, really, pissed but powerless to actually do anything about it?

That's my understanding. How far wrong am I Ken B?

John Henry

John henry said...

Blogger J. Farmer said...

Importation of slaves was not a significant concern by that time because the US already had a very large population of Africans, slaves have a mechanism for making more of themselves,

Pretty much the only place in the world, in 5,000 years of slavery being the norm where that was the case.

I am certainly not defending slavery with that statement.

John Henry

rcocean said...

You need to understand the Democrat voters. They fall into 3 categories:

1) minorities who are just voting "what's best for us" - Selfish but understandable.
2) Mentally-ill goobers who hate being White American
3) Gullible rubes who believe anything the MSM says.

That's why I have ZERO interest in engaging with the Leftwing trolls. How can you talk reason to the stupid or the crazy?

Anyway, Biden has already said he was in favor of open borders and letting in every biped on earth. He already said he hates the middle class and working class. If you didn't hear that, you're either stupid or engaging in wishful thinking.

If you stupidly thought "moderate Joe" was going to be "moderate" you're in for a shock.

Rt41Rebel said...

If the Dems were as proficient about getting people vaccinated as they are about getting them to vote, 110% of the country could be vaccinated in a week.

J. Farmer said...

@John Henry:

Pretty much the only place in the world, in 5,000 years of slavery being the norm where that was the case.

I am not sure to what point this is supposed to be a reply.

Yancey Ward said...

"If the Dems were as proficient about getting people vaccinated as they are about getting them to vote, 110% of the country could be vaccinated in a week."

Well, at least the dead would be vaccinated and a good portion of the population would be vaccinated multiple times.

Ralph L said...

Is it coincidence that directly above "The Cornish hotel" post is an ad: "Correct Bunions. No surgery."?

Mutaman said...

'Planned Parent/hood and social contagion spread by CNN et al to drive system load."

You really can't make this stuff up.

Hazel Motes said...

Good post.

Narayanan said...

Ken B said...
As to the extent of federalism here. In some ways it is even stronger than in the USA. Quebec has different IMMIGRATION policies than the rest of Canada. ------------
========

I am interested - how did that come about.

I wonder What would happen in USA if immigration was left to the various States

Ken B said...

Narayanan
Well, Ottawa has never been happy about it. It ties in with language laws mostly. Neither government is fully happy with the other!

Gospace said...

J. Farmer said...
@John Henry:

Pretty much the only place in the world, in 5,000 years of slavery being the norm where that was the case.

I am not sure to what point this is supposed to be a reply.


More black Africans were imported as slaves to various parts of Sharialand then ever crossed the Atlantic. The males were castrated and if the women got pregnant the baby was killed. Black population of Saudi Arabia and the other countries nearby is essentially zero. Slavery in the United States was unique in many ways. Slaves were allowed to have children- though the children were born into slavery rather than sold into it. Slaveowners had a choice with children they fathered- slave or they could free the child. Never understood how a free man could allow his child to be born a slave....

South America had many more slaves imported than the U.S. Argentina in particular was more black than South Carolina or Georgia at the height of American slavery. From the CIA Factbook: Ethnic groups
European (mostly Spanish and Italian descent) and mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian ancestry) 97.2%, Amerindian 2.4%, African 0.4% (2010 est.)
Paraguay: Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5% Uruguay: White 87.7%, Black 4.6%, indigenous 2.4%, other 0.3%, none or unspecified 5% (2011 est.) Chile: White and non-indigenous 88.9%, Mapuche 9.1%, Aymara 0.7%, other indigenous groups 1% (includes Rapa Nui, Likan Antai, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, Kawesqar, Yagan or Yamana), unspecified 0.3% (2012 est.) Bolivia mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 68%, indigenous 20%, White 5%, cholo/chola 2%, Black 1%, other 1%, unspecified 3% ; 44% of respondents indicated feeling part of some indigenous group, predominantly Quechua or Aymara (2009 est.)

The only major South American country with a substantial black population is Brazil: White 47.7%, Mulatto (mixed White and Black) 43.1%, Black 7.6%, Asian 1.1%, Indigenous 0.4% (2010 est.) WHy is Brazil so different? I'm going to go for the explanation it was colonized by the Portuguese, not the Spanish. The only other countries in SA with substantial black populations are Guyana, Suriname, and French Guinea- which is France but in South America. It's not a colony. And they also were not settled by Spanish. Where did they all go? Well, actually, they disappeared in different ways. But disappear they did. Oh, let's look at another Spanish settled country just to our South that condemns American racism on a regular basis: Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.) What happened to the blacks that were imported to Mexico?

There were all kinds of laws regarding proper treatment of slaves. An old slave who simply couldn't work the fields any more couldn't be freed and turned out on his own. He had to be fed and clothed and taken care of. I don't know all the slave laws- but there were a lot governing the care of slaves.

Little story about when I worked in a prison. A black inmate assigned as my "assistant" to earn his 15¢/hr told me he was converting to Islam because they treated blacks right. They even had a group they called eunuchs who were trusted to guard their harems! After I explained to him exactly what a eunuch was and how they got that way he changed his mind....

J. Farmer said...

@Gospace:

You are under the misapprehension that I believe or have said that slavery was something unique to America. My point is that the presence of millions of Africans has been a source of conflict and tension for this country from the Constitutional Convention right up to today's headlines. Twice the issue has resulted in major social upheavals. First in the 1860s and again in the 1960s. The race issue has always divided European-Americans, and those divisions have accelerated

Gospace said...

Wandering around the internet tonight I stopped at my new gabdotcom account. Set up just like Facebook- I thought it was more twitter. And discovered this. There's a lot of people thinking Biden won't be taking the oath on January 20.

I posted earlier on my Facebook page an article that said Baron Benjamin de Rothschild dies of a heart attack and stated "I can guarantee there are conspiracy theorists already busy with this news snippet." And what was featured on gab when I wandered there?

Sheldon Adelson... dead.
Benjamin de Rothschild... dead.
25,000 Troops in DC.

Guessing there’s more than meets the eye going on around the world.


My advice for the next few days. Avoid major cities. Especially avoid capitol cities in all states. And, if you work in a downtown area of a capitol city or a large major city, put in for PTO on Wednesday January 20, or call in sick that day. Everyone else? Just ignore what's going on- you can't do anything about it anyway. Carry out your normal routine. Either Bide takes the oath, or Wictor and Drawandstrike and Voxday are correct and he doesn't. But one way or another- there's nothing most of us can do about it either way. I suspect that on January 21st, Biden will be POTUS, and by April 20th, he won't be. I wonder how office pools are going on for when does Harris assume the presidency... I'm going for 90 days ±10.

Big Mike said...

Oh, under normal circumstances they would. But after *I* point it out things change! Big Mike inadvertently dismissed voter Id in his rush to vent his anti Ken B spleen.

You’re right that I don’t much like you, you worthless blowhard, totally wrong about my support for US voting practices. I grew up in Illinois and lived for many years in on Maryland. Chicago Democrats have boasted about their election fraud since at least the 1950s, and probably earlier. Thanks to Baltimore and the affluent counties between Baltimore and DC (Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Howard) Maryland is only marginally less crooked. However the Democrats cast every effort to improve election procedures, starting with cleaning deceased people off voter rolls and especially including voter id, as efforts on the part of racist Republicans to disenfranchise poor, black people because black people are (Democrats claim) that they won’t be able to procure valid identity cards. And so between gullible black people and even more gullible white liberals, efforts to improve election practices get tabled again and again.

Big Mike said...

Something else I believe is that the riots in Madison, Milwaukee, and Kenosha happened with the deliberate acquiescence of Althouse’s old pal Ben Wikler. The only question is whether he gave explicit orders or did it via the old wink-wink, nudge-nudge route.

stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
J. Farmer said...

@Gospace:

I suspect that on January 21st, Biden will be POTUS, and by April 20th, he won't be. I wonder how office pools are going on for when does Harris assume the presidency... I'm going for 90 days ±10.

I think it's an interesting question not sure exactly how significant it is. One of the reasons I thought the Trump opposition in 2016 was so hysterical was because it presumed a level of power that a president doesn't really have in our system. A president's ability to act is constrained in all kinds of explicit and implicit ways.

If you look at trends over the past several decades, they have been much more continuous than discontinuous and policy pursuits have been much more consistent than inconsistent despite shifting partisan control of the White House and Congress. One of the reasons is that a great deal of power in society is not contained within elected positions.

Clyde said...

Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by?

stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gadfly said...

Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after . . . social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week . . .

Narayanan said...

americas-biggest-owner-of-farmland-is-now-bill-gates

looks like Bloomberg taught Bill how to farm

Francisco D said...

Gahrie said... The only reason Canada still exists is because we never wanted it.

I would take the French Quarter of Montreal. The food reminded me of Paris.

Francisco D said...

It looks like gadfly and AOC strongly support the idea of creating a Ministry of Truth.

What could go wrong?

Marcus Bressler said...

JF: but another potential lesson is how to be a free and prosperous country without being global busybodies.

I'm in the middle of "A French Village". Captivating. The French and most of Europe were glad we were "busybodies" back in the 40s. But JF is on point from the 50s on. Probably all of the "wars" the USA has engaged in since then seem pointless and terrible in retrospect, resulting in countless deaths and injuries to US Servicemen -- the wars stemmed from mostly political reasons, rather than saving the world from Nazis and Imperial Japan.

THEOLD MAN

I have mixed feelings about being "The World's Policeman". I endorsed DJT's willingness to bring troops home. Sorry if some of the generals lied and/or fought against that.

Humperdink said...

J.Farmer: " A president's ability to act is constrained in all kinds of explicit and implicit ways."

You may want to check our gracious hostess's headline of her first post this morning.

Matt Sablan said...

"A president's ability to act is constrained in all kinds of explicit and implicit ways."

-- But some presidents get restricted more, such as Trump being told he can't overturn Obama's Executive Orders by Executive Order because... well, because.

I have no doubt the legal reasoning of "because" will go away when Biden starts trying to undo Trump's EOs. I bet Biden doesn't have to fear his staff lying to him about troop deployments.

And that's the problem with our current system. Republicans are idiots and need to realize that there are political actors in places where Republicans assume there are none, and start treating those people like the political opponents they are and not just random bureaucrats.

Matt Sablan said...

"Notice lefties have no problem with killing Trumpers. NONE."

-- One of the most disturbing things online over the last week or so hasn't been the riot itself, but the glee that people on the left have taken in the Trump supporters' deaths. They practically cackle with glee about "shot himself in the dick with a tazer until he died." On Reddit, there were multiple threads of people talking about how it was a shame the woman who was shot died before they could sleep with her, and at least a few other social media posts about how hot she looked after being shot.

But, you have to remember, that a lot of vocal people online are A: Not real. As in, it's an act they put on. And B: They are a vocal minority.

Still. I was disappointed by some of the people I saw on Facebook cheering these deaths. Like, as a counter example, I think Rittenhouse's shootings were all in self-defense, but I legitimately wish there had been another way to solve that problem besides two people dying and a third being maimed. The shootings were still self-defense, but I'm not taking any joy in the fact it happened.

mockturtle said...

Matt, the war between Left and Right in the US will continue until there is a resolution. It will get hotter and uglier. My suspicion is that the Left, now commanding the powers of the federal government, will attempt to push the Right into acts of violence in order to justify draconian solutions.

tim in vermont said...

Ryan Fournier@RyanAFournier

I have friends deployed in DC right now with the National Guard.

They have no clue why they’re there and they don’t want to be there.


Easily answered, they are there as a prop for Democrat propaganda.

Chuck said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Lurker21 said...

Canada only uses paper ballots, so that is something we have to learn from them. It means fewer possibilities for cheating.

It's interesting, too that Trudeau's party actually came in second in the popular vote and few complained about the system when he stayed in office.

The US is a 50-50 country, or maybe something like a 33-33-34 country with 34% really not caring. It tips in one direction, then it tips back the next time.

John henry said...

Farmer:

Re my comment about slavery I meant that very rarely did slaves ever reproduce enough to maintain the slave population. Mostly this was because they were worked to death. Also, it was cheaper to simply capture more slaves than to "grow" them. A child is a net cost for at least 6 years and probably longer before they can do enough useful work to earn their keep.

Slavery has been a common condition of the human race for as far back as we know, in every society around the world at some time or another. Not just sub-saharan Africans. The very word "slave" refers to white people, slavs.

Something like 100 million black sub-saharan africans were taken into slavery in the 1,000 years between 900 and 1900. Virtually all by other Africans who sold them to Arab slave traders.

About 10 million came west across the Atlantic and of those, 500m to 1mm came to what is now the US. For an explanation, look at a map of the world. Look how close Brazil is to the Africa. Then look at how far the US is. Not just in distance. Wind patterns make it about 2-3 times further than it seems.

It's why slaves were cheap enough in Brazil to be expendable and expensive enough in the US to be a valuable capital asset. It's why banning importation of slaves into the US was not that difficult. It just did not pay well economically.

Again, none of this is in any way a defense of enslavement of anyone.

John Henry

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Hundreds of people signed legal affidavits as witness to election fraud.

Are they all lying?

According to the hack-D press. YES!

Michael K said...

Blogger J. Farmer said...
@Gospace:

You are under the misapprehension that I believe or have said that slavery was something unique to America. My point is that the presence of millions of Africans has been a source of conflict and tension for this country from the Constitutional Convention right up to today's headlines. Twice the issue has resulted in major social upheavals. First in the 1860s and again in the 1960s. The race issue has always divided European-Americans, and those divisions have accelerated


Farmer, I agree with you and watch with slight amusement as rich blacks complain about racism. What I have seen at the medical school level, and it may apply to law schools, is that Affirmative Action has been a bonanza for blacks not raised in the US. They arrive as immigrants and cannot believe what a wonderful place this is. They do not have the affliction of victimhood that infects American blacks. Of the black medical students I have taught, I can think of only two that were American born and raised and one flunked out.

Michael K said...

It's why slaves were cheap enough in Brazil to be expendable and expensive enough in the US to be a valuable capital asset. It's why banning importation of slaves into the US was not that difficult. It just did not pay well economically.

I have previously recounted my story of the pre-Civil War plantation that used slaves to haul bales of cotton to the river where they were pushed over the bluff to the river below. When asked if slaves were also used down at the river, the answer was that slaves were too valuable. The catching of the bales was done by Irish immigrants.

tim in vermont said...

Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) warned Friday that one third of Republican voters could leave the party if GOP senators vote in impeachment proceedings to convict President Trump.

Of course Rand Paul is right, but one thing we have learned is that it is easy to lead Republicans into traps for whatever reason. Probably because we think politics is about the issues being discussed, when it is anything but.

Big Mike said...

Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) warned Friday that one third of Republican voters could leave the party if GOP senators vote in impeachment proceedings to convict President Trump.

Only a third? Double that.

mockturtle said...

Tim in Vermont observes: Of course Rand Paul is right, but one thing we have learned is that it is easy to lead Republicans into traps for whatever reason. Probably because we think politics is about the issues being discussed, when it is anything but.

It's the same problem our best generals in history faced with political micromanagement. Generals charged with the responsibility of winning a war while politicians play chess. That's all changed, of course. Now they are all playing chess.


Rusty said...

"I have previously recounted my story of the pre-Civil War plantation that used slaves to haul bales of cotton to the river where they were pushed over the bluff to the river below. When asked if slaves were also used down at the river, the answer was that slaves were too valuable. The catching of the bales was done by Irish immigrants."
I was asked one time, by a black person of color,-Why the slaves didn't all rise up and just leave. Slaves in many parts of the south outnumbering whites by a large margin.
Because they were treated like family. That may sound strange at first but how else can you explain how people can get up every day and do the drudgery of the plantation when they outnumber their masters , in some cases, 25 to one. Force doesn't cut it. If they were beaten regularly they would regularly try and escape. The majority hung around because they were looked after and were given responsibility.
Not hard to figure out.

walter said...

I've just closed my eyes again
Climbed aboard the dream weaver train
Driver take away my worries of today
And leave tomorrow behind
Oh, dream weaver
I believe you can get me through the night
Oh, dream weaver
I believe we can reach the morning light
Fly me high through the starry skies
Maybe to an astral plane
Cross the highways of fantasy
Help me to forget today's pain
Oh, dream weaver
I believe you can get me through the night
Oh dream weaver
I believe we can reach the morning light
Though the dawn may be coming soon
There still may be some time
Fly me away to the bright side of the moon
And meet me on the other side
Oh, dream weaver
I believe you can get me through the night
Oh, dream weaver
I believe we can reach the morning light

Lurker21 said...

Looking at the pictures of the Capitol I am reminded of being a kid and getting a giant bag of green "Army men" in various poses. You could scatter them across the living room (before your dad got home and told you to pick them up) and it would look like the photos of the Capitol hallways.

[Nostalgically muses] Do they still sell those "Army men"? And the little Airfix figures? Or is America too evolved for that?

Rory said...

Phil Spector RIP at 81.

walter said...

Scott Adams Retweeted
Byron York
@ByronYork
·
18h
Thread. The Lincoln Project really likes to threaten people.
Quote Tweet
Steve Schmidt
@SteveSchmidtSES
· 18h
.@vrbo think carefully about this. Are you looking for a fight with @ProjectLincoln? Do you want us to take action? Pension funds? Hedge Funds? Companies? Employees? Smarten up. Act ethically. Act in the interest of the public good. Do the right thing. Time is up. twitter.com/buzzfeednews/s…

mockturtle said...

Are most of the Lincoln Project members gay?

BUMBLE BEE said...

Tell your friend the troops are in D.C. because dems couldn't gather a crowd for Biden/Harris any other way!

BUMBLE BEE said...

Rusty Ditto. I remember reading an essay about recording oral history of the surviving slaves by Ivy Leaguers Where the slaves describing their good treatment were edited out. The college lefties doing the transcribing couldn't believe slaves were treated well at all. Among the claims were good food, clothes and warm housing. Many raised the owner's children as their own.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Security too, as tribal warfare threatened all of Africa.

Lewis said...

Every hour is like grindind corn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybeeCqvLEwQ

Lewis said...

ing

Lewis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en8Ivh03rvY

Lewis said...

I'm not a robot - I think?

Lewis said...

And I love you - I think?

Lewis said...

Not, 'you', in particular but what is meant by 'people' - oh, God I'm alone.

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