Althouse: At the Monday Night Cafe...

February 15, 2021

At the Monday Night Cafe...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

151 comments:

FullMoon said...: There is no good reason not to put the toilet seat in the dishwasher.; 2/15/21, 6:59 PM
Narr said...: I got nothing.

Just kidding. We have about 5" of snow on the ground, so much that our 36 y.o. son called to tell us that this was the best snow he can remember. And it is the best and longest since the great icestorm of Feb '94, when we lived like the pioneers for nine days until power was restored, and for almost two months w/o cable (which mattered back then).

A few days ago someone stole the catalytic converter off of his car; I didn't realize that was still a thing.

So far we've had very little ice since Friday, and the snow has mostly been dry.

Narr
Sunny tomorrow, supposably; 2/15/21, 6:59 PM
Achilles said...: Comey couldn't verify Steele Dossier.

Signed FISA warrant anyway.

Fascists using the government to illegally spy on political opponents.

You cannot support the Biden Regime without being a fascist.; 2/15/21, 7:01 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I was going to tweet that maybe rappers renaming themselves "little" this and "little" that, was an unconscious honoring of their single-mom/grandmother who raised them.

I thought better of it because the last part could be deemed racist.

#StuffIcantTweet; 2/15/21, 7:03 PM
FullMoon said...: A few days ago someone stole the catalytic converter off of his car; I didn't realize that was still a thing.

Security camera recorded theft of neighbors. Took less than three minutes. Very efficient.; 2/15/21, 7:06 PM
Lucien said...: Narr: Rising prices of Rhodium (sp?) and similar metals used in cat. converters are making it a thing.; 2/15/21, 7:13 PM
Whiskeybum said...: Good Grammar rule for Feb. 15:

Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.; 2/15/21, 7:17 PM
Lucien said...: Has anyone from the left wing media asked any of the House Managers a question along the lines of: “The former President’s counsel say you submitted doctored evidence to the Senate. Did you — and if so, why?”; 2/15/21, 7:17 PM
Achilles said...: FullMoon said...

A few days ago someone stole the catalytic converter off of his car; I didn't realize that was still a thing.

Platinum prices look to do well in times of inflation.; 2/15/21, 7:18 PM
Leland said...: Sitting in a rolling blackout. Temps are in the 20’s. Good thing Austin pushed Texas to have 15% wind generation. And Biden wants even more.; 2/15/21, 7:19 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Getting a taste of what global cooling would be like. Warming is definitely the way to go.; 2/15/21, 7:25 PM
Joe Smith said...: "Getting a taste of what global cooling would be like. Warming is definitely the way to go."

Assuming you have the energy available to run air conditioning...

That used to be a given; not so much anymore.; 2/15/21, 7:33 PM
Big Mike said...: Getting a taste of what global cooling would be like. Warming is definitely the way to go.

@Freeman, get used to it. For years now Russian and other scientists and have been warning that solar energy is declining and we are headed for a lengthy period of global cooling.; 2/15/21, 7:45 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: from twitter followers: it turns out Texas might be reaping their efforts to go green.

Solar panels that don't work because they are coated with snow and frozen wind turbines.

When the design is something nebulous like "green", you can guess why things like weather could get overlooked.; 2/15/21, 7:47 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Texas replaced some of their coal energy plants with "green energy".; 2/15/21, 7:49 PM
rcocean said...: I wanna talk about global warming. It its true, why is it so cold?

Smart. Take. And worthy of at least 40 comments.

Go at it guys!; 2/15/21, 7:52 PM
rcocean said...: If only we'd have Hitler in charge.

He'd save those coal plants.

Smart. Take.; 2/15/21, 7:52 PM
rhhardin said...: Ha. My router died, bought in 2006. Upstairs though is a duplicate I wisely bought in 2010, and it works, albeit confusingly because one of the new wireless access points steals 192.168.1.1 if it starts first, so you have to start it second.

Advantage of the same model is you just transplant the wires in the same order to the same jacks without figuring it all out again.

Ordered a second replacement just now, expensive because legacy, for 2038.; 2/15/21, 7:53 PM
rhhardin said...: The cold is because of Rossby waves.; 2/15/21, 7:54 PM
rcocean said...: 2010? 2015? 2021?

It doesn't matter. Want to impress your friends and get the girls?

Global warming and Climate change is wrong.

Smart. Take.; 2/15/21, 7:54 PM
max said...: Bari Weiss on

https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/gina-carano-and-crowd-sourced-mccarthyism; 2/15/21, 7:56 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Texas is the canary in the coalmine.

People started flocking there and look what happened ;); 2/15/21, 8:04 PM
narciso said...: Thats not the problem

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/15/axios-deletes-tweet-doing-journalism-replaces-it-with-activism-to-allow-kamala-harris-to-spread-vaccine-lies/; 2/15/21, 8:06 PM
Humperdink said...: Spouse thawed out some venison butterfly steaks for dinner. She wanted to cook them on the George Foreman grille. I insisted on cooking the steaks on the gas grill, even with the outside temp at 20 degrees. It was worth a momentary chill.; 2/15/21, 8:07 PM
Yancey Ward said...: What is the worst movie ever made that you absolutely love to watch? The Fifth Element is mine.; 2/15/21, 8:15 PM
narciso said...: The critical drinker just did a review, it was luc bessons passion project.; 2/15/21, 8:17 PM
narciso said...: It borrowed from the valerian graphic novel, but it had c list actors.; 2/15/21, 8:21 PM
narciso said...: Valerian did dane dehaan cara delevigne (from the american perspective); 2/15/21, 8:22 PM
Sally327 said...: KellyAnne Conway and George Conway's daughter, Claudia, who is 16, auditioned on American Idol last night and got voted through. Apparently that's caused quite the stir, since KellyAnne worked for Trump she's evil incarnate and I guess this daughter is openly anti-Trump and has posted lots of stuff to that effect and also about her Mother in a very negative way on social media over the last couple of years.

And then of course George the Dad is part of The Lincoln Project. So there are lots of postings about how this is American Idol exploiting this "abusive" family situation for ratings, etc. And accusations that Kelly Anne is trying to use Claudia to rehabilitate her image, which I don't quite see how that would be true. Or why she would see the need to do that seeing as how she's signed a multi-million book deal already.

Anyway, I didn't listen or see it but the consensus seems to be that Claudia is an average singer and wasn't that good.

Reading about all this it seems to me that the only normal person associated with the Trump presidency is Mike Pence. He's Marilyn. Trump is Herman, Melania would play Lily, Rudy Guiliani would be Grandpa and I guess Donald Jr would be Eddie.; 2/15/21, 8:24 PM
Humperdink said...: Rumored the Durham report will be released just prior to the 2024 presidential primaries. Or was it the 2028 primaries?; 2/15/21, 8:24 PM
narciso said...: The mouthpiece of a group of pederasts who turned his daughter against her mother.; 2/15/21, 8:25 PM
narciso said...: See here

https://youtu.be/1-38s1iAy9U; 2/15/21, 8:28 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: For those who saw the previous post, Glen Loury has an excellent and provocative essay on Quillette attacking Critical Race Theory. One point he makes is that if the Woke mob keeps attacking "whiteness," they should not be surprised when whites decide to see themselves as a racial bloc--and act accordingly.

Only rich, white liberals go along with the "white confessional, traitor, and abolitionist" bullshit. The rest of us begin to get our backs up.; 2/15/21, 8:28 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: FullMoon said...
There is no good reason not to put the toilet seat in the dishwasher.

How about I don't want people to sit down and take a crap in my dishwasher?; 2/15/21, 8:31 PM
stevew said...: Has been cold around here for awhile, but none of that "feels like -31" sort of cold. Frozen precipitation is headed our way, Tuesday and then again Thursday. Just in time for us to head south for a week. MIL celebrates 89 years early next week, we will be in attendance.

Got the basement storage shelves done this weekend. Also got my primary work bench constructed. Will build the turning workbench next. The electrician for the new house build needs to come back to finish some punch list stuff. Will have him run a couple of circuits for the workshop rather than DIY it. Not a fan of working in the electrical box. A wise man once told me that DIY plumbing is ok cuz if you screw up stuff just gets wet. If you screw up electrical work, shit burns and people die.

My Valentine's Day poem and card were well received, however today mrs. stevew asked where I got it given that I didn't list any attribution. I said I composed it, of course. That got me a very nice hug and kiss; which is nice.

What sort of Trump outrage will be trundled out this week in an attempt to prop up the falling and failing MSM ratings? They are running out of issues to promote, and Slo' Joe is just so damn boring.; 2/15/21, 8:33 PM
narciso said...: Thats kind of a basic rule, i think.; 2/15/21, 8:33 PM
narciso said...: Theyve already dialed to 13, whats next.; 2/15/21, 8:34 PM
Humperdink said...: I put my ball caps in the dishwasher. They make a plastic cage to put the hat in for that purpose. The results are amazing.; 2/15/21, 8:36 PM
narciso said...: I guess it was a european take on alfred bester.; 2/15/21, 8:39 PM
Sally327 said...: I read an article about Lara Trump, who is married to Donald Trump's son, Eric, possibly running for Senate in NC to take the Richard Burr seat. Apparently that's legit speculation, even Lindsay Graham has brought it up. Of course she doesn't live there, so that's a problem, and she's not got much in the way of qualifications, her work experience includes personal trainer and TV producer. It reminds me of Elizabeth Dole who ran and won a NC Senate seat even though she hadn't really lived in the state for decades, being a DC bureaucrat and the KS Senator's wife. But the state was more reliably GOP then. Although then she got taken out when she ran for reelection in 2008 when Obama took the state.; 2/15/21, 8:45 PM
narciso said...: Some films are just unsalvageable

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=amln5OxsQlA; 2/15/21, 8:47 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I find The critical drinker overly critical.; 2/15/21, 8:54 PM
walter said...: 911 commission for the capitol insurrection since we can't shake the images of congress critters jumping to their death.; 2/15/21, 8:59 PM
Ralph L said...: We're finishing our 5th day of cold rain here in NC. A little ice the first night. If it had been a few degrees colder, we'd be a foot deep in snow. So glad there's a floor drain in the cellar.; 2/15/21, 9:00 PM
Sally327 said...: "What is the worst movie ever made that you absolutely love to watch? The Fifth Element is mine."

I would probably say Dune. I don't think I love to watch it necessarily but if I land on it while channel surfing I get drawn in by it's badness and keep watching. And then there's Showgirls. Same thing.; 2/15/21, 9:01 PM
narciso said...: Well it could do with about an hour excised. In the directors cut.; 2/15/21, 9:03 PM
FullMoon said...: Lilliputians ?; 2/15/21, 9:10 PM
narciso said...: Your mileage may vary

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YWiuddtXuWA&t=20s; 2/15/21, 9:11 PM
Mark said...: Fifth Element is a great movie and enjoyable to watch. Same with Starship Troopers, RoboCop, Total Recall, The Running Man, and others of that genre.; 2/15/21, 9:12 PM
Mark said...: Sharknado and sequels really are in the worst category. Stupid fun to watch though.; 2/15/21, 9:14 PM
Sally327 said...: Texas is experiencing a horrible winter storm, severe cold, etc., and is having trouble keeping the power on partly because the wind turbines are all frozen. I don't know enough about how all of that should work to know if that should have been anticipated or what the wind turbines are taking the place of but I'm assuming it's natural gas? I hope people are figuring out ways to stay warm and safe.; 2/15/21, 9:14 PM
Gospace said...: F ullMoon said...
There is no good reason not to put the toilet seat in the dishwasher.

Used to work in a big box. One of the toilet seat manufacturers on one of the new easy to remove for cleaning seat put ”Dishwasher Safe!” on the box. I would point this out to customers-as a joke, not as an actual benefit of the seat. The reaction was pretty much disbelief they’d ever think of doing that. Methinks they had a lot of negative feedback. Within months, an enormously fast time for package evaluation and changing, the blurb disappeared. I bought one of the seats myself. It has never ever been in my dishwasher.; 2/15/21, 9:18 PM
MadisonMan said...: A few days ago someone stole the catalytic converter off of his car
One was stolen from my daughter's car a couple months ago.; 2/15/21, 9:19 PM
Mark said...: and others of that genre.

Demolition Man, Judge Dredd,; 2/15/21, 9:20 PM
walter said...: Sally,
Kinda depends on the range of temp variability to be considered..worth considering.; 2/15/21, 9:23 PM
walter said...: re catalytic converters, i remember about a month ago listening to L.A. radio hosts going on about it. Apparently low ground clearance vehicles less susceptible.; 2/15/21, 9:25 PM
narciso said...: Now dredd was just too bleak, it was probably faithful to the source material , memolition man was just scarily prescient.; 2/15/21, 9:27 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: My blood has gotten too thin for SC winters, which is saying something like I would die immediately in WS.

Back when I had Presidents' Day off, and more money, I used to like to go down to FL during February. You get below Jacksonville, and open up the car windows. Drive through the orange country around Tarpon Springs and see all the fruit cheerfully ripening. See the Mermaids at Weeki Wachee and ride an airboat in Melbourne. Man I would like to be warm.; 2/15/21, 9:27 PM
Quayle said...: My daughter and i decided to form a two person book club. We’re reading Blindness by Saramago. We’re finding it a bit disturbing, given the past year.

“[The Sargent] headed for the command post, switched on the microphone and, putting the words together as best he could, calling to mind words he remembered hearing on vaguely comparable occasions, he announced, The army regrets having been forced to repress with weapons a seditious movement responsible for creating a situation of imminent risk, for which the army was neither directly nor indirectly to blame,...”; 2/15/21, 9:30 PM
stephen cooper said...: Gina Carano will be remembered long after chickenshit George Lucas is forgotten; 2/15/21, 9:31 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: Advantage of the same model is you just transplant the wires in the same order to the same jacks.

My philosophy exactly. I get Laserjet 1300 printers off ebay and when one dies, I plug in the next one, no scrambling for drivers. I used to buy Thinkpad A22-M laptops in multiples. IBM has actual service manuals, and with a few screwdrivers, you can swap parts in from hanger queens in just a few minutes. They finally got too slow and I moved to Thinkpad T-61s which will take a non-spec 8G RAM upgrade, run Win10 and are old enough to be cheap. Unfortunately they are not as easy to service.; 2/15/21, 9:31 PM
Sally327 said...: The Taliban are apparently on the move in Afghanistan, positioned to move on several major population centers with little or no resistance from the Afghan security/police forces. It will be interesting to see what the Biden administration decides to do here.; 2/15/21, 9:33 PM
mockturtle said...: What is the worst movie ever made that you absolutely love to watch?

Attack of the 50 foot Woman; 2/15/21, 9:34 PM
Mr Wibble said...: The Taliban are apparently on the move in Afghanistan, positioned to move on several major population centers with little or no resistance from the Afghan security/police forces. It will be interesting to see what the Biden administration decides to do here.

Whatever they do will be half-assed.; 2/15/21, 9:37 PM
narciso said...: Well we're standing till we find the rack wnd pinion molecule.; 2/15/21, 9:40 PM
Mark said...: Capitol Police union vote of no confidence in leadership ‘overwhelming’

The results of the vote included 92 percent voting "no confidence" in Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman. . . . Pittman, in prepared testimony before Congress, said that the Capitol Police "failed to meet its own high standards as well as yours." She listed several missteps: not having enough manpower or supplies on hand, not following through with a lockdown order she issued during the siege and not having a sufficient communications plan for a crisis.; 2/15/21, 9:45 PM
HistoryDoc said...: Any movie with Kurt Russell in it is terrible, but fun to watch. My favorite bad one is Big Trouble in Little China.; 2/15/21, 9:47 PM
narciso said...: Oh thats a great film, john carpenter was going for a western with kung fu elementsn; 2/15/21, 9:49 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "Any movie with Kurt Russell in it is terrible, but fun to watch."

My pick is Overboard.; 2/15/21, 9:54 PM
narciso said...: It wasnt a big hit that year,aliens was but its become a cult classic; 2/15/21, 9:55 PM
Sally327 said...: Speaking of John Carpenter reminds me of Vampires, a bad movie I like watching.; 2/15/21, 10:01 PM
Sally327 said...: Kurt's movies aren't all bad. He was good in Miracle and in Escape from NY. As to the bad movie but fun to watch of his I would go with Soldier.; 2/15/21, 10:05 PM
FullMoon said...: Attack of the 50 foot Woman

Greatly terrible; 2/15/21, 10:05 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: Hello Down There.; 2/15/21, 10:07 PM
William said...: What's so bleak as a cold day in February. I didn't go to Central Park for my walk. Why bother. It's all mud and slush, dead vegetation and dormant bushes. Nature doesn't show its prettiest face in February.... I walked down Madison Avenue instead. That was bleak too. Every block had at least one vacant storefront, and on some blocks there were more vacant than occupied shop windows. The shops that were occupied were high end boutiques and brand stores for expensive fashion lines like Chanel and YSL. I wouldn't think that customers for such clothes have taken to buying their clothes on Amazon, but there's all those empty store fronts. The customers buy their goods elsewhere or maybe the customers themselves have moved elsewhere. The avenue doesn't look run down, but neither does it look sleek and prosperous.....Well, the plus side of February is that in a couple of weeks all changes will be for the better. The days are already longer. Bleaker, but longer.; 2/15/21, 10:11 PM
J. Farmer said...: @HistoryDoc:

Any movie with Kurt Russell in it is terrible, but fun to watch. My favorite bad one is Big Trouble in Little China.

That's a very apt description of Russell's ouevre. The only possible exception I can think of would be Tombstone. His mustache alone keeps it from ever being terrible.

As for "favorite bad one," Captain Ron wins for comedy, and Breakdown wins for drama. Guiltiest pleasure, though, is Stargate. That script had a lot of problems, but James Spader and Jaye Davidson made it work. It was the only other movie Davidson made after The Crying Game. It's a shame. He could have had a very interesting career.; 2/15/21, 10:12 PM
William said...: Emily In Paris was a tv series, not a movie. It was genuinely awful,, but it was pleasant to watch. It was filmed on sunny days in Paris with some gorgeous scenery in the background. Lily Collins is very appealing and does a decent enough Audrey Hepburn imitation.....Lily Collins is much more attractive than Lily James who has no eyebrows to speak of.; 2/15/21, 10:18 PM
StephenFearby said...: Latest manifestation of the Great Woke Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the United States

Daily Mail UPDATED: 20:39 EST, 15 February 2021

REVEALED: How 'woke' teachers nationwide have cancelled Shakespeare because his work has 'white supremacy, misogyny, racism, homophobia and classism'

School Library Journal in January asked if teaching Shakespeare was needed

A growing number of teachers argue it is racist and unrepresentative of pupils

They suggest teaching more works from 'underrepresented' communities

"...Writing in the January issue of School Library Journal, Amanda MacGregor, a Minnesota-based librarian, bookseller and freelance journalist, asked why teachers were continuing to include Shakespeare in their classrooms.

'Shakespeare's works are full of problematic, outdated ideas, with plenty of misogyny, racism, homophobia, classism, anti-Semitism and misogynoir,' she wrote, with the last word referring to a hatred of black women."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9263735/Woke-teachers-cut-Shakespeare-work-white-supremacy-colonization.html; 2/15/21, 10:19 PM
narciso said...: Yes stargate not as good as the series of course, takes a bit to get running.; 2/15/21, 10:19 PM
Yancey Ward said...: narciso said...
"The critical drinker just did a review, it was luc bessons passion project."

It is why I made the comment- I had just seen the review. I have talked about the movie on these threads before, so it was good to see he had the same reaction to it that I do- "Bonkers, Baffling, and Brilliant."; 2/15/21, 10:23 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Rt41Rebel:

My pick is Overboard.

Almost picked that one, too, but Captain Ron edged it out. Gary Marshall had an incredible ability to take creepy, questionable premises and turn them into fun, heartfelt rom coms. Carpenter uses woman's amnesia as an opportunity to trick her into being a domestic slave. Russell and Hawn's comedic talent and chemistry made it work. Same way Richard Gere and Julia Roberts made "corporate raider falls in love with hooker he picks up off Hollywood Blvd and rents for three days" work.; 2/15/21, 10:25 PM
narciso said...: It really took great imagination on bessons part.; 2/15/21, 10:26 PM
John henry said...: J. Farmer said...

As for "favorite bad one," Captain Ron wins for comedy,

Most of it was filmed in my town of Fajardo.

"Saint potato"? That's the marina in front of my house.

In one scene, they pan the shoreline and if you go frame by frame you get a glimpse of my house. We used to sit on the balcony and watch them film.

A lot of pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in those waters too. The pirate ship was docked in front of my house for about 6 months at Puerto del Rey marina.

I have a soft spot for the Cap'n Ron even though it not very good

John Henry; 2/15/21, 10:31 PM
J. Farmer said...: @narciso:

Yes stargate not as good as the series of course, takes a bit to get running.

I liked the movie but never got into the series. I hated The Highlander movies but loved the series. I don't think I can enjoy any movie that has Christopher Lambert in it and isn't Tarzan.; 2/15/21, 10:32 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "Almost picked that one..."

You put a lot more thought into that than I did. Goldie Hawn.; 2/15/21, 10:43 PM
Yancey Ward said...: All those listed above, by the other commenters, I have seen except for Captain Ron and Overboard. I will have to take a look. Some of them aren't really bad movies in my opinion- "Robocop" is absolutely brilliant film making on the highest level- so is "Aliens". However, most of the other choices are right in the wheelhouse of what I was looking for- "Total Recall", "Starship Troopers", "Escape from New York", "Big Trouble in Little China", "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman", "Vampires", and "Soldier" are all great choices!; 2/15/21, 10:43 PM
Kathryn51 said...: As a teenager, I had a crush on Kurt Russell - recently found photos I cut out of Teen Beat or Tiger Beat - Thanks Mom for not throwing them away.

Who cares about his movies - he's Libertarian, never married Goldie and manages to make enough money to live his life as he wishes. We could all be so fortunate. Hero.; 2/15/21, 10:43 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "The Highlander" is ridiculously bad, but fun to watch just for Sean Connery's role, which ends abruptly in the first 1/3 of the movie. I never watched the series but have meant to.

I hated "Stargate" the movie- so bad I just couldn't stand it more than the one time. I didn't watch the series until it was near the end of its run on SyFy. The series is actually quite good. I liked all three of them, and was disappointed that SyFy cut the last two off abruptly.; 2/15/21, 10:48 PM
rcocean said...: Favorite "bad" movie" Donovan's Reef. but it was shot in Kauai = one my favorite places.; 2/15/21, 10:50 PM
Yancey Ward said...: One that is really bad that I loved as a child was Roger Corman's "The Raven". Hilariously bad, but loads of fun. How could you not like a film with Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and a ridiculously young Jack Nicholson? The screenplay was by Richard Matheson who I am sure a few of you will recognize as the author of another science-fiction work.; 2/15/21, 10:54 PM
Fritz said...: Army of Darkness.; 2/15/21, 10:58 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Oh, man, how did I overlook "Army of Darkness"???; 2/15/21, 10:59 PM
Joe Smith said...: "The Taliban are apparently on the move in Afghanistan, positioned to move on several major population centers with little or no resistance from the Afghan security/police forces. It will be interesting to see what the Biden administration decides to do here."

I don't care anymore...if people want to live like slaves, let them.

It's not the job of the USA to protect the freedoms of any foreign person.

We can't even protect the freedom of our own citizens.

I don't give a fuck about the well-being of any non-US person, nor half the people in this country.

They're on their own.

Want freedom? Fight for it.; 2/15/21, 11:01 PM
gadfly said...: Congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of the few House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump, reveals that several family members actually sent him a handwritten letter criticizing his condemnation of the former president’s actions that led to the riots at the Capitol.

At one point the letter says, “You should be very proud that you have lost the respect of Lou Dobbs, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Greg Kelly, etc., and most importantly in our book, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh and us!”

-----------------------------------------

MADISON - Two days after members of the U.S. Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump on a charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Wisconsin's senior senator is questioning whether an armed insurrection even occurred.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson toured the state's airwaves on Monday making the claim, despite video footage and photos of the attack showing participants erecting gallows on the Capitol grounds, deploying pepper spray strong enough to injure bears, carrying zip ties, hurling a fire extinguisher, using baseball bats to smash windows, and throwing flags like spears at police officers.

"This didn’t seem like an armed insurrection to me," the Oshkosh Republican said in an interview on WISN-AM with conservative talk radio show host Jay Weber, after condemning the events at the U.S. Capitol that day.; 2/15/21, 11:10 PM
narciso said...: After 19 years thats longer than vietnam war there really isnt anything we can do fpr them; 2/15/21, 11:23 PM
Mark said...: Puerto Rico governor expects statehood bill to enter House by mid-March
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/puerto-rico-statehood-bill-march-governor; 2/15/21, 11:23 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I don't know how anyone could look at the blood stained floors of the Capitol, the hacked off limbs, the stacks of corpses of congresspeople and their staff, the heads on the pikes outside and not understand this was insurrection. I mean, seriously, Ron Johnson was killed in the melee- how is it that even he says it wasn't an insurrection? Baffling.; 2/15/21, 11:26 PM
Ralph L said...: I thought the thick fur made a pleasing contrast with the Viking horns, and the tattoos actually helped the look for once. If only people hadn't died.; 2/15/21, 11:28 PM
Yancey Ward said...: How does Pelosi even convene the House when over half the membership perished at the hands of Trump's Freme.....er..... Sardaukar?; 2/15/21, 11:29 PM
Ralph L said...: I thought the Ricans wanted independence. Now the Dems just want their Senate seats.; 2/15/21, 11:30 PM
narciso said...: One must move on, the ones holding romney in the senate dining room wore styling balaclavas.; 2/15/21, 11:31 PM
Yancey Ward said...: On the Texas blackouts: this will only get worse as time goes on. We are in the process of building a third world power infrastructure out of a first world one. So is Europe.; 2/15/21, 11:32 PM
narciso said...: The pulse rifles burns on the walls have have almost been patched up.; 2/15/21, 11:33 PM
Yancey Ward said...: There really are no words that adequately capture the stupidity of what we are doing to ourselves. The Chinese are truly laughing their asses off as they build one fossil fuel or nuclear power plant after the other.; 2/15/21, 11:34 PM
narciso said...: Well they paid for the cabinet, so they know what they are doing.; 2/15/21, 11:35 PM
narciso said...: It makes you wonder what are they really using those zip ties for, palomino.; 2/15/21, 11:37 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Now imagine a world where the power is out for days and days and all the vehicles, emergency and otherwise, run on batteries?; 2/15/21, 11:40 PM
narciso said...: The outfits were just too terry gilliam derivative.; 2/15/21, 11:40 PM
narciso said...: She comes from a family of commies and perverts https://mobile.twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1361519576874446850; 2/15/21, 11:48 PM
narciso said...: Yes her grandfather was? Howard fast.; 2/15/21, 11:50 PM
Ralph L said...: The Chinese are truly laughing their asses off as they build one fossil fuel or nuclear power plant after the other.
Think of their poor, dammed salmon.; 2/15/21, 11:53 PM
Mark said...: "Witness to the Death of a Nation."

It's really, really bad.

And nothing that you really want to watch. But, damn it, you will watch it all the same.; 2/15/21, 11:56 PM
narciso said...: And we just let china into our electrical grid, what could go wrong?; 2/15/21, 11:59 PM
narciso said...: The real news

https://thenationalpulse.com/breaking/episode-13-the-insurrection-lie/; 2/16/21, 12:03 AM
FullMoon said...: Heroes welcome for Trump in Florida. People in shorts and T shirts , no masks lining the streets. Big super spreader, they all dead in a week.
Dems hafta come up with twice as many fans for Biden. Can they do it? Might be an ongoing contest. Nice contrast, masked and parkas, everyone dressed like Fargo, stemy breath , frostbitten waving No Malarky flags.

Please God, make it happen.; 2/16/21, 12:10 AM
FullMoon said...: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9263641/Heros-welcome-Trump-supporters-line-route-home-golf-course.html; 2/16/21, 12:11 AM
Ken B said...: Any of the Farrelly brother films. Dumb & Dumber being the funniest, but even Stuck on You is hilarious.; 2/16/21, 12:15 AM
FullMoon said...: The Screaming Skull.
Makes Ed Wood seem like Martin Scorsese.; 2/16/21, 12:16 AM
Ken B said...: One movie I always really liked is also probably the most delusional fantasy ever filmed. It’s about this guy, Jefferson Smith, who gets a new job in a city where things like “constitutions” and “ declarations of independence” are highly thought of. I wish I could remember where it was he went. Not a place any living American would recognize.; 2/16/21, 12:19 AM
Josephbleau said...: “Society is now one polish'd horde, form'd of two mighty tribes, the Bores and Bored”; 2/16/21, 12:23 AM
Ken B said...: Full Moon
Scorsese is overrated; 2/16/21, 12:28 AM
Gospace said...: Lem said...
from twitter followers: it turns out Texas might be reaping their efforts to go green.

Solar panels that don't work because they are coated with snow and frozen wind turbines.

The taxpayer subsidized solar panels here in central NY haven't produced any power for a while now. 2 or 3 weeks ago we had a beautiful sunny day, absolutely perfect for solar panels. The arrays I pass by on my daily commute were producing zip diddly squat. The owners hadn't cleared off the 6" of snow from the day before.; 2/16/21, 12:50 AM
Mutaman said...: Just had my first vaccination shot. Thank You President Biden!; 2/16/21, 2:03 AM
gadfly said...: A coal plant based in Vernon, Texas announced that it [would] shut down operations in 2020. It’s the fifth plant that has closed or announced its closure this year. These five coal plants made up 22 percent of the state’s coal capacity . . . . However, the reason for these closures has more to do with profitability as cheaper options become available. As the market shifts, so too does the reliance on coal for power.

Last year, Texans received [24] percent of their energy generation from renewables. While federal incentives for wind has made it cheaper to create wind farms projects in Texas, the Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) . . . phase[d] out at the end of 2019.

Translation: It is not cheaper to build those ugly bird and bat killing wind turbine farms, but the US government is financing them to put coal and coal miners out of business. And as we have forever known, an alternative to renewable energy electric generation will always be needed for times when the wind doesn't blow, the sun doesn't shine and (as we found out yesterday!) when those 150 foot turbine blades won't rotate in extreme cold. Unreliable electricity complete with frequent blackouts is an inexcusable third world condition.; 2/16/21, 3:30 AM
gilbar said...: What is the worst movie ever made that you absolutely love to watch?

Sausage Party (2016); 2/16/21, 4:36 AM
alanc709 said...: "Mutaman said...
Just had my first vaccination shot. Thank You President Biden!"

Thank him for what? Not banning them?; 2/16/21, 5:17 AM
wendybar said...: And once again, the Pravda media is ignoring or agreeing with Killer Cuomo that it wasn't his policy of forcing infected people to Nursing homes that killed them, it was the staff. What an asshole, yet the left LOVES him!! He got an EMMY for his great work killing the most people in the United States during Covid!! Biggest Serial Killer around, and he is getting praised.; 2/16/21, 5:17 AM
wendybar said...: Mutaman said...
Just had my first vaccination shot. Thank You President Biden!

2/16/21, 2:03 AM

You wouldn't have the option if it weren't for President Trump. Just imagine if he wasn't President at the time. YOU would STILL be waiting for Congress to pass a bill to get going on the vaccine.; 2/16/21, 5:19 AM
John henry said...: Ralph L said...

I thought the Ricans wanted independence. Now the Dems just want their Senate seats

There has never been more than about 3-5% of the populace wh want independence.

Otoh, there has never been a majority who wanted statehood when all 3options are on the ballot.

John Henry; 2/16/21, 5:35 AM
Mr. Forward said...: “A few days ago someone stole the catalytic converter off of his car; I didn't realize that was still a thing.“

Platinum prices highest since 2015, up 12% this month, but so are overdoses so I guess we’re even.; 2/16/21, 5:45 AM
Rusty said...: Mark the calendar. gadfly said something sensible.
Now lets get the EPA out of the nuke regulation pipeline and build more powerplants.; 2/16/21, 5:59 AM
Humperdink said...: The worst part of the wind turbines is not the waste of taxpayer money to subsidize them, it's they are visual pollution. They are a scar on the landscape. They need to be demolished.; 2/16/21, 6:15 AM
tim in vermont said...: "Translation: It is not cheaper to build those ugly bird and bat killing wind turbine farms, but the US government is financing them to put coal and coal miners out of business.”

This is the government you have been advocating for. Why aren’t you happy? Thanks for not being there.

Fracking is what is killing coal, BTW. Cheap and far cleaner natural gas.; 2/16/21, 6:24 AM
iowan2 said...: Now imagine a world where the power is out for days and days and all the vehicles, emergency and otherwise, run on batteries?

I'm not a stock aficionado, but I think I will look into manufacturers of big generators. Hospitals and such already have backup power, but looks like the need is going to explode. Texas is the canary in the coal mine.; 2/16/21, 6:24 AM
tim in vermont said...: "Heroes welcome for Trump in Florida. People in shorts and T shirts , no masks lining the streets. Big super spreader, they all dead in a week.”

I am sorry I missed it.; 2/16/21, 6:25 AM
iowan2 said...: -20f right now. Will loose another degree or three just before sunrise. Good news, this is our predicted bottom and moving up from dawn into spring.; 2/16/21, 6:28 AM
iowan2 said...: "Translation: It is not cheaper to build those ugly bird and bat killing wind turbine farms, but the US government is financing them

Iowa is one of the top producers of wind power. But not the in the top of users of wind power!? The State subsidizes production. But, Illinois subsidizes buying wind power. So most of Iowa's wind energy is exported to Illinois. In short there are different governments units handing out a subsidy for the same kilowatt of electricity.; 2/16/21, 6:38 AM
Ray - SoCal said...: Huge amount of catalytic converters thefts in the Los Angeles area.

Trucks are a huge target. Easier to get under, and more money.

Just need a cordless grinder or sawzal and you are in business.

In my area, east la county, we have a lot more homeless and crime in general.

But, the law enforcement in our area has on their hone page, they are not working with ice!; 2/16/21, 6:38 AM
Mr. Forward said...: 20 minutes before sunrise-zero degrees zero activity at the bird feeder. In ten minutes the cardinals will be hitting it like the Berlin Airlift.; 2/16/21, 6:42 AM
Ray - SoCal said...: US is now up to 12% vaccinated.

Thank you President Trump for making this happen with Operation Warp Speed!; 2/16/21, 6:59 AM
mockturtle said...: One great thing about having an RV next to the house is that you have access to a generator, furnace and A/C in case of power outages.; 2/16/21, 7:02 AM
Michael McNeil said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/16/21, 8:00 AM
Michael McNeil said...: “Now imagine a world where the power is out for days and days and all the vehicles, emergency and otherwise, run on batteries?”

I'm not a stock aficionado, but I think I will look into manufacturers of big generators. Hospitals and such already have backup power, but looks like the need is going to explode. Texas is the canary in the coal mine.

The (or a major) solution to this onrushing (under the Biden Administration) issue is hybrids. Any hybrid (gasoline-electric) vehicle potentially holds the capability of providing up to tens of kilowatts of power (quiet power!) from its engine and battery system.

This site — PriUPS.com (“the Prius as a UPS” — uninterruptible power supply) — describes the basic principle (which up till now after-market manufacturers have had to address), but now Ford as a major automotive manufacturer is offering their new F150 pick-up truck hybrid with built-in usable generator capability.

Even without directly tapping the batteries of our hybrid (as PriUPS.com above describes), however, during PG&E's deliberate blackouts of the past few of years in California, my partner and I got through those inconvenient multi-day no-power periods in very comfortable shape, for instance, by simply tying the stock 120-watt output of our hybrid's electrical system, via an inverter along with extension cords, into our house.

So set up we could and did run our iPhones, internet and cable TV, our local gigabit network, laptops, printer, together with big-screen TV, all off that inverter — to be sure, not all at the same time. Nevertheless our hybrid(s) — we only used one (our Highlander Hybrid) for this role, though probably the Prius-C would have performed just as good — got us through all those outages very well.

Beyond that, equipped with a hybrid (such as the new hybrid Ford F150) that does provide kilowatts (rather than just over a hundred watts) of power (together with minor adjustments to the house wiring), basically an entire house can be supplied with power at need — automatically maintained for as long as the vehicle contains gasoline — and with no necessity for using extension cords to carry power into the house!

Moreover, that considerable power capability is also available out in the field, wherever you happen to be with your vehicle.; 2/16/21, 8:06 AM
mockturtle said...: “Now imagine a world where the power is out for days and days and all the vehicles, emergency and otherwise, run on batteries?”

Just like mass transit [superspreaders], all the bright ideas of the Green New Deal have been rendered useless in the face of nature's unpredictable reality.; 2/16/21, 8:13 AM
Achilles said...: Mutaman said...

Just had my first vaccination shot. Thank You President Biden!

This is how stupid you have to be to be a democrat.; 2/16/21, 8:24 AM
mockturtle said...: Achilles, you are swallowing the bait.; 2/16/21, 8:44 AM
Ray - SoCal said...: Interesting 3 comments thanking president Xiden.

AstroTurf? I wonder by who...

I guess that’s the message of the day.; 2/16/21, 9:38 AM
gadfly said...: @Rusty said...
Mark the calendar. gadfly said something sensible.

I always write sensibly, Mr. Rusty, but you should get over the fact that some people don't always agree with pro-trumpians and - that, of course, is why he lost the election big time.

But back to Texas blackouts, some 34,000 megawatts of generating capacity — more than one-third of state’s total capacity — was out Monday morning. Wind turbines were frozen. Shortages of natural gas, which must first go to heating homes, hospitals and other facilities that serve human needs, curtailed production of some power plants. Others could not operate under the extreme conditions.

No discussion was forthcoming on the 5% of Texas' generating power that was closed down at coal-powered generating plants this past year, which aren't the only coal facilities shut in recent years. Sadly, coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin surface mines is by far the cheapest burning energy source in the world and a little more CO2 hasn't killed anyone since civilization began.; 2/16/21, 10:36 AM
FullMoon said...: Blogger Mutaman said...

Just had my first vaccination shot. Thank You President Biden!

The Hank Aaron version?; 2/16/21, 10:36 AM
tim in vermont said...: "I always write sensibly,”

This is known as delusion. Enjoy the Biden presidency you worked so hard to bring about. I am sure he will take your calls.; 2/16/21, 3:46 PM
Mutaman said...: "Just imagine if he wasn't President at the time."

Imagine a president who didn't say:

"We have it totally under control"
"Just stay calm , it will go away"
"It's going to disappear one day , its like a miracle"
"i don't take responsibility all"

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eby5JDZXQAEFF0I?format=jpg&name=small; 2/16/21, 5:26 PM