Althouse: At the Midday Café...

April 1, 2021

At the Midday Café...

... you can write about anything.

That's a panorama view that shows the sun and the moon. Click and click again to get a big enough picture.

183 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...: Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun 🎶; 4/1/21, 11:04 AM
MayBee said...: Yesterday, I learned I had been wrong about something. I thought the cops were being dicks and telling Floyd to get up at the same time they had him pinned down. But no, it was a bystander telling Floyd to get up and get in the car. The cops, according to the body cam the prosecution showed yesterday, were quite calm with Floyd, and basically told him only that if he could talk, he could breathe. Which is true.

So....I don't think this prosecution is doing a very good job of proving Chauvin's guilt. Today it came out he overdosed in March, and the people he was with on the day he died were his dealers.; 4/1/21, 11:06 AM
Robert Marshall said...: This is a question I've asked before in other comment threads, and haven't gotten an answer.

What is systemic racism? Talk about concrete examples of it. Explain why racism is the explanation, instead of something else. Since racism is a state of mind or a pattern of behavior, there have to be PERSONS who cause 'systemic' racism. Who are those racist people, in your examples?

I've heard a lot about systemic racism over the last year, but haven't heard answers to these questions. So I'm inclined to call BS on it, but to be fair, I want to hear why it is not BS.; 4/1/21, 11:15 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: My wife and I now prefer Married at First Sight to American Idol.

However, we did watch the two most recent American Idol episodes, where the final 24 are being selected.

The final 24 include many talented, remarkable, creative singers. I was very impressed.

The three judges are making quite intelligent comments about the contestants. This might turn out to be a great season of American Idol.; 4/1/21, 11:17 AM
mandrewa said...: Gahrie said, "I don't understand why charging your car at night is "playing" anybody. How is it any different from any other energy use at night?"

It's cheating at two different levels, one from the CO2 perspective and one from the economic.

Countless credulous articles from the media aside we really don't have any practical way to store energy, so when you charge your electric car at night there's a good chance the energy is coming from a fossil fuel power plant. If it's coming from coal then you are generating more CO2 than a gasoline powered car would generate. If it's coming from natural gas then you are generating a comparable amount of CO2 as a gasoline powered car would generate.

Nuclear power plants and hydroelectric power plants don't generate CO2 but it is disingenuous to give credit for their lack of emissions to electric cars, since these power plants were built a long time ago, and no new ones, apparently, are going to be built. And since these power plants would have been running even if electric cars didn't exist, then electric cars should never be given credit for this. (Although of course people disingenuously do. If they live in the Pacific Northwest for instance electric car owners will say, oh, my energy comes from hydroelectric dams. Except as explained above, this is nonsense.)

And that leaves windmills -- and I tempted to digress and talk about the very serious and understated issues with windmills but I'll skip it for now.

So to sum up, if you charge your electric car at night -- and that is of course what most people will do -- then the difference between your CO2 emissions and that of your gasoline powered neighbor are far less than you think they are.

The second con is economic. In any state where there is significant amount of solar power installed, and California is an example of such already, the power companies have zero need for electric power in the middle of a bright, sunny day. On the contrary it is of negative value and they have to pay to get rid of it.

In a huge and hidden subsidy for solar power the government in many states forces the power companies to pay for solar power at times, which are almost most of the time because the power companies can't rely on the solar power being there, when the solar power is objectively worthless.

It's the consumer, of course, that pays for this huge subsidy with higher electricity prices across the board.

So you as a consumer are subsidizing the generation of electric power at night, which is mostly coming from fossil fuel power plants, and subsidizing getting rid of solar power during the middle of the day, and paying top dollar for it during the middle of the day, as if it were worth something.; 4/1/21, 11:25 AM
mandrewa said...: Romanian TVee talking about some of what it meant to live under Communism: Westerners stop defending the USSR regime. It is cringe.

But what I found myself thinking about -- and not for the first time -- is why are leftists attracted to these ideas?

Because it's very strange really. If you take leftists at their word -- their words about what they care about, this should not be what they are praising.

But the fact that they do, hints, strongly, that the motivations of leftists are not what they tell themselves.; 4/1/21, 11:26 AM
Joe Smith said...: This is interesting…

https://www.revolver.news/2021/03/new-york-times-sicknick-video-creates-big-problems-for-capitol-riot-prosecutors/

Sounds like some organizations are still committing investigative journalism, and the NYT is still a fake news shill.; 4/1/21, 11:27 AM
narciso said...: So floyds passenger and standup witness was his drug dealer ooops; 4/1/21, 11:27 AM
Joe Smith said...: "What is systemic racism? Talk about concrete examples of it."

Me not having a career as a power forward in the NBA.; 4/1/21, 11:28 AM
Gabriel said...: Amazing how many people don't realize that the moon is up in the daytime 50% of the time... or that the Earth goes around the sun and a takes one year to do it. (Exactly? What are the odds of that? :/ ); 4/1/21, 11:29 AM
narciso said...: But they know 57 genders thats the important stuff.; 4/1/21, 11:31 AM
narciso said...: And straws kill scores of fish

https://mobile.twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1377652649491890176; 4/1/21, 11:34 AM
Humperdink said...: What is Systemic Racism? Affirmative Action. It’s been around for decades.; 4/1/21, 11:35 AM
narciso said...: Dave cullen leaked it back in december

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-covid-internment-camps-coming-country-near-you; 4/1/21, 11:35 AM
Joe Smith said...: "Amazing how many people don't realize that the moon is up in the daytime 50% of the time... or that the Earth goes around the sun and a takes one year to do it. (Exactly? What are the odds of that? :/ )"

What are the odds that Lou Gherig would get Lou Gherig's disease?; 4/1/21, 11:36 AM
AZ Bob said...: Does anyone buy into AOC's conflation of words?

"This is not a surge. These are children. They are not insurgents. And we are not being invaded. Which, by the way, is a white supremacist idea—the idea that if an other is coming in the population, that this is like an invasion of who we are."

You must learn your woke language rules.; 4/1/21, 11:37 AM
narciso said...: Stewardess i speak jive, and this is too much; 4/1/21, 11:38 AM
Yancey Ward said...: When I was teenager, I would often try to find the new moon with the telescope or the binoculars. It never really worked, but I could find the very thinnest cresent in the hours just before the actual passing of the moon by the Sun or just after. Of course, you can actually see the entire disk of the 2-3%+ cresent of the newest Moon after sunset due to the Earthshine.; 4/1/21, 11:40 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: The three judges are making quite intelligent comments about the contestants.

However, I no longer am amused by the judges pretending they are about to send the contestant home but then suddenly telling the contestant he is in the final 24.; 4/1/21, 11:42 AM
Yancey Ward said...: If AOC wasn't crying in the parking lot of the child immigrant camp, then it isn't a crisis even if the situation is actually worse.; 4/1/21, 11:44 AM
mandrewa said...: Gabriel said, "Amazing how many people don't realize that the moon is up in the daytime 50% of the time..."

Yes, I know. Actually it's worse than that. It's amazing how many people don't realize that the Moon is often up in the sky in the daytime.

So how is that possible? How can people not have noticed the Moon is up there, and they've had a lifetime by the way to see this?

I think this speaks to how much we see what we expect to see, and then only see that. I think it has something to with children's books which invariably show the Moon in the sky at night.

And somehow we, or many people anyway, don't see what they don't expect to see.; 4/1/21, 11:47 AM
narciso said...: So canada is running quarantine hotels which are no help to anyone including enabling assaults on 'guests'; 4/1/21, 11:52 AM
Jalanl said...: "What is systemic racism? Talk about concrete examples of it."

Systemic Racism is blaming personal failure on nefarious, unseen and secret forces.

There are no concrete examples because it doesn't exist.; 4/1/21, 11:52 AM
Mike Sylwester said...: Robert Marshall at 11:15 AM
What is systemic racism?

I do not like the expression systemic racism.

There is plenty of racial prejudice. In particular, racial prejudice is a continuing problem for Blacks in the USA.

And there is plenty of current disadvantage that still can be attributed reasonably to racial discrimination of the past.

However, I do not agree that there is some significant system of racism in the USA now. Rather, there is a system of trying to compensate for the prejudice and chronic disadvantage that Blacks do suffer in the USA.; 4/1/21, 11:55 AM
tim in vermont said...: What amazes me about these pictures is that when I was into photography with my digital camera, I had to work so hard to get those zillions of tiny branches to look right, many levels of processing, and now the phone does all of that stuff automatically and they always look right.; 4/1/21, 11:55 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Jive-ass dude don't got no brains anyhow! Shiiiiit.; 4/1/21, 11:57 AM
Big Mike said...: In any state where there is significant amount of solar power installed, and California is an example of such already, the power companies have zero need for electric power in the middle of a bright, sunny day.

@mandrewa, bright, sunny days are usually the days when my air conditioner is on.; 4/1/21, 12:05 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: The Dark horse podcast tries to satirize the (woke) Evergreen ship 🚢 that was stuck at the canal.

https://youtu.be/ramT7_QcwaQ; 4/1/21, 12:05 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: From Twitter...

Joe Biden is actually running the country!

#AprilFools!; 4/1/21, 12:07 PM
tim in vermont said...: The wokesters should be to find some test of ability that works out equally for all races and still can predict success in the fields requiring advanced math skills that our advanced technological society absolutely depends on. That would prove the existence of systematic racism.; 4/1/21, 12:08 PM
mandrewa said...: Bright Mike said, "...bright, sunny days are usually the days when my air conditioner is on."

Yes, that's true. And up to a certain point, solar power matches well with that need, but California is already well past that point, and when those solar panels are all pumping out power at the same time there is far more energy than can be used.; 4/1/21, 12:10 PM
Francisco D said...: Robert Marshall said... What is systemic racism?

It is something that cannot be seen or defined. It is a special phrase that only truly woke people can even understand.

Now stop questioning your moral superiors!; 4/1/21, 12:35 PM
Kai Akker said...: New high for the S&P.

2/16: 3950
3/17: 3980
4/01: 4012

No new high for Nasdaq. No new high for AMZN, AAPL, FB, NFLX, TSLA.; 4/1/21, 12:41 PM
Lyle Sanford, RMT said...: What a wonderful pic! Congratulations.; 4/1/21, 12:44 PM
J. Farmer said...: @tim in vermont:

The wokesters should be to find some test of ability that works out equally for all races and still can predict success in the fields requiring advanced math skills that our advanced technological society absolutely depends on. That would prove the existence of systematic racism.

I take your point, but even that wouldn't help. The Woke readily admit the gap in achievement and performance between the races. But they attribute it to social deprivation and systemic cultural forces that have accrued benefits to whites at the expense of non-whites. It's any suggestion of a biological component to this that they vehemently object to.

In truth, the biological explanation presents a fundamental challenge to both sides of the race issue. Both sides blame the gap on "culture," but the right blames black culture and the left blames white culture. The biological component of IQ also makes a mockery of meritocracy. Michael Young explained why when he coined the term. I have no idea how Charles Murray could write The Bell Curve and remain a libertarian. Or how he could write Coming Apart and propose a loss of "founding virtues" as the culprit.

People don't earn their IQs. We tend to be compassionate with people who have IQs below 75 or so but treat people with IQs around 75-95 as if they deserved it. Darwin Awards. World's Dumbest...Caught on Film. Sticking a camera on a street corner or in front of a Miss America contestant and record them saying something dumb is the easiest thing in the world. The smartest people in our society have been a hell of lot more destructive than the dumbest. Maybe we should stop shitting on the underclass for a while and redirect that contempt towards the overclass.; 4/1/21, 12:57 PM
narciso said...: They are zombies, change my mind.; 4/1/21, 12:57 PM
Patrick said...: Chauvin is toast. 50% of his jury is nonwhite; 4/1/21, 12:58 PM
Joe Smith said...: "Maybe we should stop shitting on the underclass for a while and redirect that contempt towards the overclass."

I don't think anyone should shit on anyone.

But in San Francisco, you pay extra for that...; 4/1/21, 1:00 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Chauvin is toast. 50% of his jury is nonwhite

A guilty verdict must be unanimous.; 4/1/21, 1:01 PM
narciso said...: Credentialed idiots rule us, they know nothing that matter but are full on confidence about it.; 4/1/21, 1:01 PM
narciso said...: Sometimes they know better, but they dont care anyways

https://mobile.twitter.com/arabbitorduck/status/1377638923741102082; 4/1/21, 1:05 PM
Rory said...: "why are leftists attracted to these ideas?"

There's a genetic desire for people to stratify - I'm this high up on the pyramid. Leftist analysis lets people put themselves above others, while providing the excuse that they're doing it for the benefit of that third party over there. The modern woke variant is even better - I'm actively squelching these people under me, and I have to do it because they're evil people seething with the desire to squelch those poor idiots over there who can't help themselves.

Speaking for equality before the law just doesn't provide these sorts of satisfactions.; 4/1/21, 1:06 PM
narciso said...: Exactly zombies there is no logic to what they do.; 4/1/21, 1:08 PM
narciso said...: And its not unique to educational institutions

https://mobile.twitter.com/shidelerk/status/1377288077929029635?s=21; 4/1/21, 1:11 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: J. Farmer said...

Maybe we should stop shitting on the underclass for a while and redirect that contempt towards the overclass.

I think we're moving towards that at a pretty good clip. The overclass leaves much to be desired these days.; 4/1/21, 1:17 PM
n.n said...: "What is systemic racism? Talk about concrete examples of it."

Diversity [dogma] (i.e. color judgment), which denies individual dignity, individual conscience, intrinsic value, and normalizes color blocs (e.g. people of color), color quotas, and affirmative discrimination.; 4/1/21, 1:20 PM
rhhardin said...: Systemic racism is phlogiston. Phlogiston was the cause of fire, and people spent a lot of time looking for it. It's called a reification error. If fire exists, then phlogiston must exist.

Systemic racism is the cause of blacks appearing to have a lower average IQ than whites.; 4/1/21, 1:22 PM
n.n said...: Maybe we should stop shitting on the underclass for a while and redirect that contempt towards the overclass.

Ironically, the underclass may have individuals who are smarter, more intelligent, better judgment; but, for one reason or another, have not realized their potential, and not converted their knowledge and skulls for a secular return.

Don't exercise liberal license to indulge diversity dogma (i.e. color or class judgments).

Individual dignity. Intrinsic value. Inordinate worth. Reconcile.; 4/1/21, 1:23 PM
Michael K said...: Both sides blame the gap on "culture," but the right blames black culture and the left blames white culture.

The "right" blames black culture for violence, unless you want to argue the warrior gene. The Great Society created the destruction of the black family and you know that is true. Look at 1950 illegitimacy rates.

In mid-1960s America, the nation's out-of-wedlock birth rate (which stood at 7.7 percent at the time) began a rapid and relentless climb across all demographic lines, a climb that would continue unabated until 1994, when the Welfare Reform Act helped put the brakes on that trend. Today the overall American illegitimacy rate is about 40.7 percent (29.1 percent for non-Hispanic whites). For blacks, it is about 72 percent—approximately three times the level of black illegitimacy that existed when the War on Poverty began in 1964.

The "White Supremacy" myth is just an attempt to rationalize IQ differences, as you say.; 4/1/21, 1:38 PM
Howard said...: rhh makes a great point. Phlogiston turned out to be hydrogen, so ipso facto systematic-structural racism is elemental my dear Watson.; 4/1/21, 1:42 PM
Humperdink said...: "Credentialed idiots rule us."

Watch the first 15 minutes or so of the movie 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi to get a heaping helping of this crap. Better yet, watch the entire movie.; 4/1/21, 1:45 PM
narciso said...: indeed, I thought it would turn out largely like black hawk down, and I wasn't far wrong, the operators had a much better understanding of what was going on, as compared to the embassy staff or even the station chief,; 4/1/21, 1:48 PM
madAsHell said...: Do Thing1 and Thing2 represent a latent trans-gender phobia by Theodore Geisel??

Yes, it is that day.; 4/1/21, 1:50 PM
rhhardin said...: Racial IQ differendes are an effect of taking statistics by race. Once you do that, you say that blacks are being held back, because look at the difference in the average.

Indiviually you don't notice it except in blacks who've developed a chip on their shoulder because of the announcement. You notince the chip, and that adds to their apparent stupidity, which is what you notice.; 4/1/21, 1:50 PM
tim in vermont said...: I still laugh a little every time I see the 'woke' use the phrase "white supremacy" I would think that they would mean "white supremacism," but it almost looks like they really do believe in "white supremacy" which is why they are convinced that asking blacks to meet the same standards to vote as whites is an attack on blacks. The Democrat attacks on the Georgia voting law are simple white supremacism, which is a belief in the supremacy of whites. They use the term "white supremacy" as if it were an actual fact of life, when we all know Asians do extremely well under a system they claim has been designed to benefit whites, both East Asians and South West Asians. I always agreed that the concept of the "White Man's Burden" was irredeemably racist, but maybe it's like the term "color blind," it depends on who thinks it whether it's racist or not to think it. No wokester would ever say the words "white man's burden" out loud, that's the quiet part!; 4/1/21, 1:52 PM
Humperdink said...: And the movie (13 Hours) was a true depiction of what occurred. The surviving operators gave a one hour interview, of which I hung on every word. The men were absolute heroes. The movie never mentioned Obama or the Hildebeast, but you knew. You knew, you knew, you knew. And they were never held to account.; 4/1/21, 1:57 PM
Andrew said...: Is anyone else struck by the emotionalism of the Floyd murder trial? I watched some excerpts last night, and I couldn't believe how many times the prosecutors asked, "How did that make you feel?" or something similar. I realize it's effective, but in a normal situation, wouldn't there be grounds for objection? I sincerely don't know, but I was surprised so many "feel" questions were allowed.

I'm willing to believe there was police misconduct, but the way this case is being manipulated is nauseating to me. I saw a journalist begin his reporting with, "We were all heartbroken..." The groundwork is being laid for a repeat of the Rodney King riots. But they won't be limited to one city. And I pity those poor jurors.; 4/1/21, 2:04 PM
n.n said...: Floyd murder trial

This is where the groundwork is laid. There is limited evidence of a homicide, let alone a murder.

The groundwork is being laid for a repeat of the Rodney King riots

Yes, they are stoking diversity, adversity, and exclusion. And, of course, redistributive change.; 4/1/21, 2:07 PM
tim in vermont said...: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nightmare-los-angeles-da-dissolve-or-downsize-hardcore-gangs-major-narcotics-units

Imagine that California is being run by a coalition of its enemies and you will easily be able to predict what will happen there next.; 4/1/21, 2:07 PM
gilbar said...: so, people are STILL doing "gender reveal" stunts.

I'm Not Sure i understand. I thought CNN had told us; that gender was NOT something that ANYONE, could EVER determine. That a person's gender was as transitory as the wind?
Yet, people just Don't seem to be obeying their media masters... What's WITH That?; 4/1/21, 2:15 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: So-Called “Assault Video” Creates Big Problems for Prosecutors in Sicknick Capitol Riot Death Case

A superb article challenging the FBI's account of the death of Brian Sicknick; 4/1/21, 2:16 PM
iowan2 said...: So how is that possible? How can people not have noticed the Moon is up there, and they've had a lifetime by the way to see this?

I think this speaks to how much we see what we expect to see, and then only see that. I think it has something to with children's books which invariably show the Moon in the sky at night.

nah. People are selfish. You, me, them. Just selfish. Concerned about what is affecting(rather they perceive as affecting) their lives. That's not a judgement of anyone's worth, just how life happens. The moon in the sky during the day is a non event because it doesn't matter.; 4/1/21, 2:17 PM
narciso said...: that's the good prosecutors shop, so yes that's like disbanding the sheep dogs, leaving the sheep at the mercy of the wolves,; 4/1/21, 2:19 PM
Jim at said...: Washington state recently announced there were - for the first time since they started keeping track - zero flu deaths this season.

Of course they praised masks and distancing as the reason.

Don't think for a second they're not going to pull this shit every flu season from now on.; 4/1/21, 2:20 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: "why are leftists attracted to these ideas?"

Political tags--such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and. so forth--are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort. -- Robert heinlein; 4/1/21, 2:26 PM
gilbar said...: Bright Mike said, "...bright, sunny days are usually the days when my air conditioner is on."

Of course; the Hottest part of the day; isn't noon, or even afternoon...
It's Early Evening. (~7pm Daylight time)
because the day has been warming all day.
And, the fun thing is... Come Early Evening; solar power Rapidly drops, to nothing
ALSO! many people aren't (weren't) home during the day, so their programmable thermostat drops the inside temp...RIGHT when the outside temp is the highest...
Which, is *RIGHT* when solar power production drops to nothing; 4/1/21, 2:28 PM
tim in vermont said...: You don't suppose that the gangs in LA help to get the mayor elected, do you? Like they do in Chicago.; 4/1/21, 2:28 PM
Michael K said...: Phlogiston turned out to be hydrogen, so ipso facto systematic-structural racism is elemental my dear Watson.

Huh ?

Phlogiston turned out to be imaginary, just like systemic racism. The big problem Phlogiston had, before the discovery of Oxygen, was that rust made added weight even though the connection between rust and fire had been recognized.; 4/1/21, 2:35 PM
Tomcc said...: Within the last 10 days, I've heard (but not seen) a reference that Toyota had done a study that indicated that if all automobiles were electric, that we would not have enough electricity to support them.
I've done a cursory Bing search, but nothing shows up.
Does anyone have knowledge of this?; 4/1/21, 2:40 PM
n.n said...: turned out to be imaginary, just like systemic racism

Diversity (and exclusion), not limited to racism, is a a real and progressive condition. That said, all that is necessary to overcome diversity is to not exercise liberal license to indulge color judgments. Diversitists need to lose their Pro-Choice religion, then CRT, the bigots' philosophy, built on a mass of incongruities, collapses under its own weight.; 4/1/21, 2:46 PM
Nonapod said...: Does anyone have knowledge of this?

I recall Toyota saying something along those lines recently. But in fairness, even the NYT has admitted that the nations energy grid will absolultey have to be upgraded a lot.

If every American switched over to an electric passenger vehicle, analysts have estimated, the United States could end up using roughly 25 percent more electricity than it does today. To handle that, utilities will likely need to build a lot of new power plants and upgrade their transmission networks.

“There’s no question that utilities can do this, but it’s not going to be trivial,” said Chris Nelder, who leads the vehicle-grid integration team at the Rocky Mountain Institute. “It takes time and money.” In a recent study, his team found that many utilities and vehicle fleet managers planning to go electric have yet to fully grapple with all the challenges involved.; 4/1/21, 2:47 PM
mandrewa said...: "Within the last 10 days, I've heard (but not seen) a reference that Toyota had done a study that indicated that if all automobiles were electric, that we would not have enough electricity to support them.
I've done a cursory Bing search, but nothing shows up."

I found this:

“The more EVs we build, the worse carbon dioxide gets … When politicians are out there saying, ‘Let’s get rid of all cars using gasoline,’ do they understand this?” Toyoda said at the event as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

See Toyota Boss Warns That The Electric Vehicle Shift May Cause Big Problems; 4/1/21, 2:51 PM
n.n said...: that we would not have enough electricity to support them

Not in mass, no. The limitation stems from two factors: intermittent/renewable energy and safe distribution at sufficient levels to points of consumption. Electricity is a low-density media for energy transmission. Its saving grace in mobile applications is through thermal savings (e.g. transmission, generation) and shifted environmental impact.; 4/1/21, 2:53 PM
n.n said...: A superb article challenging the FBI's account of the death of Brian Sicknick

Yes, the only confirmed homicide, elective abortion, was of an unarmed woman, Ashli Babbitt. The question remains, since it was not in self-defensive, but elective, who was the government agent and why did he/she shoot to kill?; 4/1/21, 2:59 PM
gadfly said...: MayBee said...

The cops, according to the body cam the prosecution showed yesterday, were quite calm with Floyd, and basically told him only that if he could talk, he could breathe. Which is true.

Not necessarily true. The police cannot assume to know everything about Floyd's medical condition. When Derek Chauvin put his knee on Floyd's neck and applied the full weight of his body for over 9 minutes, he suffocated a fully handcuffed man. A knee on the shoulder blade and a hand controlling any head movement would have sufficed but 9 minutes is too long a time to continue the painful neck pin. Don't forget that Chauvin and Floyd worked overlapping security shifts at the same nightclub and must have known one another. Something personal was likely behind this ugly incident.; 4/1/21, 2:59 PM
n.n said...: The police cannot assume to know everything about Floyd's medical condition.

Which is why he was removed from the police car, then the officers called for medical assistance, and was restrained to protect the suspect, officer, and members of the public from harm.

he suffocated a fully handcuffed man.

The forensic evidence does snot support that assertion.

Floyd experienced an adverse reaction to a mixture of drugs and redistributive change-induced stress (i.e. conscience). This was a progressive condition that started inside the police car and perhaps earlier.; 4/1/21, 3:07 PM
walter said...: According to Gadfly's summary, this should be over and done quickly.
There ya go.; 4/1/21, 3:13 PM
Mark said...: Since racism is a state of mind or a pattern of behavior, there have to be PERSONS who cause 'systemic' racism.

Your presumed idea that racism is a state of mind or behavior by an individual is itself systemic racism. It is an idea that has been incorporated into the system of thought. And by consigning racism only to individuals in this way, it ignores that someone who protests that they are not "racist" can and do in fact benefit greatly from their whiteness to the injury of people of color.

Your idea that grading of students or employees should be based on "merit" ignores the fact that whites have benefited from not being victims of racism and have thus a built-in systemic advantage over people of color who have been disadvantaged from this inequitable power structure.

The very way that you think is racist, particularly when you deny that it is racist.

That's how systemic it is.; 4/1/21, 3:15 PM
mandrewa said...: Tim Pool: George Floyd GF Says State Witness Is Their DEALER, Witness Then REFUSES To Testify In Chauvin Trial

Paraphrasing:

One of the people that the state prosecutor had testifying, or that was to testify at the trial, seems to have been in the middle of a drug deal with George Floyd at the time police approached.

Floyd was foaming at the mouth before Derek Chauvin put his knee on Floyd's neck.

Floyd had a lot of fentanyl in his body. It may have been enough to kill him, absent quick treatment at a hospital.

Putting one's knee on the neck to subdue an uncooperative suspect was a technique taught to Minneapolis police.; 4/1/21, 3:17 PM
Mark said...: If you view the races as classes, such as economic classes or political classes, you can understand what systemic racism is. The permanent ruling class of the oligarchy would be a political equivalent of systemic racism. It is built into the very structure.; 4/1/21, 3:18 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Not necessarily true. The police cannot assume to know everything about Floyd's medical condition. When Derek Chauvin put his knee on Floyd's neck and applied the full weight of his body for over 9 minutes, he suffocated a fully handcuffed man. A knee on the shoulder blade and a hand controlling any head movement would have sufficed but 9 minutes is too long a time to continue the painful neck pin.”

You don’t know that Chauvin suffocated Floyd. There are few, if any, forensic indications of that. You also don’t know how much of his weight was put on Floyd’s neck. And moreover, the allegation was not that Floyd’s breathing was cut off, but rather the blood flow to his brain. We do know that Floyd was showing indications of a fentanyl OD (foaming at the mouth) before he was placed in custody, and in particular before the knee hold was placed on his neck.

One interesting thing that we found yesterday was that Floyd was probably not asking for his mother when he was asking for Moma. Rather it was the name he called his GF, who was there at his previous fentanyl OD a month earlier, and called 911, thereby probably saving his life.; 4/1/21, 3:20 PM
Mark said...: "How did that make you feel?" or something similar. I realize it's effective, but in a normal situation, wouldn't there be grounds for objection?

It is TOTALLY objectionable and not at all admissible evidence. But there may be strategic reasons why the defense would allow it. Perhaps they think that the jury can see right through it and will resent being manipulated and resent the prosecution for exploiting the witnesses.; 4/1/21, 3:21 PM
Mark said...: When Derek Chauvin put his knee on Floyd's neck and applied the full weight of his body for over 9 minutes, he suffocated a fully handcuffed man.

The part highlighted in bold has NOT been established by the evidence.

The evidence does not show the knee was fully on the neck, much less the throat; it does not show that he put his full weight on it; and it does not establish that the decedent was suffocated.

The defendant may or may not be guilty of a crime. But your mischaracterization of the facts in evidence do not help the case.; 4/1/21, 3:25 PM
mandrewa said...: "Your idea that grading of students or employees should be based on "merit" ignores the fact that whites have benefited from not being victims of racism and have thus a built-in systemic advantage over people of color who have been disadvantaged from this inequitable power structure."

Such bullshit. I don't know whether you're mocking it or this is what you believe, but this is fascism.

We do have systematic racism in the United States. It's anything the government does to discriminate between races and in favor of one race over another. Unfortunately we have this in abundance.

The only way to escape from systematic racism is to treat people as individuals.

Any other way of looking at things is deeply and profoundly racist.; 4/1/21, 3:28 PM
stevew said...: I like the panoramas that come from the iphone - this is a beauty. Many people are not fans, such as mrs. stevew.

Can't see how Chauvin gets anything but a conviction. The evidence isn't there but the people that decide his guilt or innocence are under intense pressure to keep the peace by finding him guilty.; 4/1/21, 3:30 PM
n.n said...: people of color

From colored people (i.e. low-information attribute) to "people of color" (i.e. identity defined by skin color, diversity [dogma], racism). There's your systemic bigotry, and it's a progressive condition. #BabyLivesMatter(BLM); 4/1/21, 3:33 PM
gadfly said...: n.n said...
A superb article challenging the FBI's account of the death of Brian Sicknick

Yes, the only confirmed homicide, elective abortion, was of an unarmed woman, Ashli Babbitt. The question remains, since it was not in self-defensive, but elective, who was the government agent and why did he/she shoot to kill?

An absolutely sick comment. Ashli Babbitt chose to illegally enter a locked Capitol and she attempted to enter into an area defended by outmanned police. Police say she disobeyed a command attempting entry into the defended area through a broken window.

As for Officer Sicknick's killer, a video shows Julian Khater spraying the Capitol Police officer with bear spray. Officer Sicknick later collapsed and died. Khater needs to be tried for murder.; 4/1/21, 3:33 PM
n.n said...: but the people that decide his guilt or innocence are under intense pressure to keep the peace by finding him guilty

Maybe not. After all, they ruled for self-defense in the case of the White Hispanic... people of color... people of white hispanic who reacted aggressively to confront the man who was knocking his head on the pavement, which if allowed to progress, would have aborted his life.; 4/1/21, 3:37 PM
narciso said...: The point is too make the cities safe for rioters pints and bone thugs, not for decent people of any stripe.; 4/1/21, 3:38 PM
n.n said...: An absolutely sick comment. Ashli Babbitt chose to illegally enter a locked Capitol and she attempted to enter into an area defended by outmanned police.

Invited into the capitol, yes. Lead by men wielding the Americans flag to assault and damage property, yes. Outmanned because Pelosi et al refused federal aid to carry out crowd control. Surrounded by armed security personnel, and an agent who elected to shoot to kill an unarmed woman.; 4/1/21, 3:41 PM
n.n said...: Lead by men wielding the Americans flag to assault and damage property

Well, at least one man recorded in the act. Dozens of people who were and were not "Trump supporters".; 4/1/21, 3:43 PM
n.n said...: As for Officer Sicknick's killer, a video shows Julian Khater spraying the Capitol Police officer with bear spray. Officer Sicknick later collapsed and died. Khater needs to be tried for murder.

Another assertion made without supporting evidence. The officer died from a medical condition, which may or may not have been related to that event.; 4/1/21, 3:46 PM
n.n said...: to the injury of people of color

Yes, diversity (i.e. color judgment) and exclusion, overtly practiced with the progressive inclusion of "people of color" (i.e. identity defined by skin color, racism), not people, not persons, not even colored (i.e. low-information attribute).; 4/1/21, 3:52 PM
tim in vermont said...: Anybody who sprayed a cop with bear spray should face serious charges. Though this sounds more like manslaughter than murder.; 4/1/21, 3:52 PM
tim in vermont said...: If true.; 4/1/21, 3:53 PM
Michael K said...: Another assertion made without supporting evidence. The officer died from a medical condition, which may or may not have been related to that event.

The bear spray guy seems to have been misidentified. The spray cannot be seen and the accused was 10 feet away from Sicknick

Another DOJ loser.; 4/1/21, 4:00 PM
Gabriel said...: @Big Mike: bright, sunny days are usually the days when my air conditioner is on.

You're moving heat. How much energy it takes to move heat depends mostly on the temperature difference. If it's 90 outside and you like it 70 inside, that is a 20 degree difference. If it's 30 outside and you like 70 inside, that's a 40 degree difference and it takes a lot more energy to maintain.; 4/1/21, 4:01 PM
n.n said...: bear spray should face serious charges. Though this sounds more like manslaughter than murder.

Charges, yes. Homicide, maybe. Bear spray has an effect comparable to pepper spray, with effects correlated to the concentration of its active ingredient.; 4/1/21, 4:04 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/1/21, 4:09 PM
n.n said...: New NightShine Solar Panels “Game-Changers” In Fight Against Climate Change!

This low mass, nearly intangible particle is destined to solve the problem of intermittent/renewable energy. #1101000; 4/1/21, 4:16 PM
n.n said...: The bear spray guy seems to have been misidentified. The spray cannot be seen and the accused was 10 feet away from Sicknick

So, three separate questions: who, why, and effect.

Also, was there a spray, or was this another case of a cat without a hat, without boots, per chance a fire extinguisher, with a Cheshire grin. A JournoListic exercise of liberal license to stoke diversity, adversity, and exclusion. In this case to color Americans for profit and leverage.; 4/1/21, 4:21 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Michael K:

The "right" blames black culture for violence, unless you want to argue the warrior gene. The Great Society created the destruction of the black family and you know that is true. Look at 1950 illegitimacy rates.

I don't want to argue a warrior gene, but I certainly think there is a genetic component to aggression and impulse control. Consider that blacks start puberty earlier, have higher levels of testosterone, are overrepresented in professional sports, and display a disproportionate amount of disruptive behavior from pre-K through 12th grade and in the community at large. The black homicide rate was seven times the white rate in the mid-1950s, before any Great Society programs existed. Look at countries by intentional homicide rate. The top 50 are almost entirely sub-Saharan African or Afro-Caribbean. If you look at US homicide rates by state, the top are District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

In terms of illegitimacy rates, the black rate was already much higher than the white rate before AFDC was created. The introduction of oral contraceptive, legalized abortion, and the decline of shotgun weddings. Global divorce rates doubled over the last three decades of the 20th century. The long decline in crime from the early 1990s is also a global phenomenon.

All together, I don't think there's good evidence for a causal chain from AFDC to black illegitimacy to black violence and criminal offending. When you consider that most black offenders are male and under 30, you essentially have a couple percent of the US population causing more than half the violent crime in the country. That's a massive difference in magnitude. When blacks take over, you get Detroit. When blacks move out, you get gentrified Brooklyn. Only about a 1/4 of young black men are real troublemakers, but the other 3/4 suffer by proximity and association.; 4/1/21, 4:23 PM
alan markus said...: If the police officer was exposed to bear spray, and if bear spray exposure is known to potentially cause death, why was the officer not immediately taken for treatment?

I thought the cause of death was determined (at least by NYT & Gadfly) to be getting whacked by a fire extinguisher. Despite Gadfly's determination that the person needs to be tried for murder, note the article that he links to states:

Washington’s chief medical examiner has yet to release Officer Sicknick’s autopsy or cause of death.Michael R. Sherwin, who as acting U.S. attorney in Washington had been leading the Capitol riot investigations, told “60 Minutes” that if evidence connected the chemicals sprayed at Officer Sicknick with his death, “that's a murder case.”; 4/1/21, 4:32 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: gadfly at 3:33 PM
As for Officer Sicknick's killer, a video shows Julian Khater spraying the Capitol Police officer with bear spray. Officer Sicknick later collapsed and died. Khater needs to be tried for murder.

Thanks for that link, gadfly.; 4/1/21, 4:35 PM
walter said...: n.n.,
Some people did something.
If it rings true, it is true.; 4/1/21, 4:37 PM
Yancey Ward said...: In Gadfly's comments on both Sicknick and Floyd, you have the absolutely classic example of the Begging the Question fallacy. I doubt Gadfly even gets it, too.; 4/1/21, 4:42 PM
n.n said...: Some people did something.
If it rings true, it is true.

Yes, a very irrational assumption. Words to die by.; 4/1/21, 4:45 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Khater needs to be tried for murder.

Having read the NYT article, I now think that Khater killed Sicknick.; 4/1/21, 4:50 PM
Drago said...: Yancey Ward: "In Gadfly's comments on both Sicknick and Floyd, you have the absolutely classic example of the Begging the Question fallacy. I doubt Gadfly even gets it, too."

Gadfly, an even more doltish version of Inga, has never retracted his/her/xer's earlier ludicrous claims that a mob of Trump supporters bludgeoned Sicknick to death in the capital.

Its fun watching gadfly's insane and hilariously moronic accusations and claims of "truth" in continous Mutate Mode as one lie after another is struck down.; 4/1/21, 4:52 PM
Joe Smith said...: "As for Officer Sicknick's killer, a video shows Julian Khater spraying the Capitol Police officer with bear spray. Officer Sicknick later collapsed and died. Khater needs to be tried for murder."

I posted this earlier:

https://www.revolver.news/2021/03/new-york-times-sicknick-video-creates-big-problems-for-capitol-riot-prosecutors/

Try to keep up.; 4/1/21, 4:53 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: I assume that the the original video does show the spray going from Khater to Sicknick, even though you cannot see the spray on the Internet videos.; 4/1/21, 4:54 PM
walter said...: Big assumption if typical bear spray has notable plumes.; 4/1/21, 4:56 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Everyone should read both the NYT article and the Revolver article.

The spray is not really visible on Internet videos, but I think it's likely that the spray is visible on the original video. If so, then Khater looks guilty to me.; 4/1/21, 4:57 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Robert Marshall:

What is systemic racism? Talk about concrete examples of it. Explain why racism is the explanation, instead of something else. Since racism is a state of mind or a pattern of behavior, there have to be PERSONS who cause 'systemic' racism. Who are those racist people, in your examples?

Imagine social stratification was determined by the outcome of a foot race. Unbeknownst to the race organizers or scorekeepers, the black runners have ankle weights and the Jewish and Asian runners have huge head starts. "Systemic racism" is the role these discrepancies (which are not uniformly distributed but nested in racial groupings) played in determining the outcome of the race. Maybe it was 5% or maybe it was 90%. Regardless, individual differences in ability and effort don't explain it all. It's systemic because it doesn't require any specific ill-will or intent to racially discriminate.

Here's a more concrete example. Automation, globalization, and mass immigration have all disproportionately harmed those at the lower end of the IQ distribution. About 15% of whites have IQs under 85. Half of blacks do. At the same time, they've been told that their economic circumstances are a reflection of bad cultural habits and poor moral character.

Black underperformance in education is blamed on the black family, the teacher's unions, poor facilities, and a lack of discipline in the classroom. Vouchers and charter schools are often the proposed solution. This is based on a fallacy that poor performing schools are a reflection of the school's quality rather than the student's. If you created the greatest school ever and filled it with black students, they will earn poor scores. Fill it with Asian and Jewish students, and they will earn higher scores. The reason the US always fares poorly in international education rankings is because our black and Hispanic populations skew the score. If you break it out by race, Asian-Americans perform commensurate with East Asians abroad, European-Americans perform commensurate with Europeans abroad, and African-Americans perform somewhere between Africans and Europeans. It isn't an illusion that black intellectuals tend to be lighter skinned (i.e. have higher amounts of European ancestry).; 4/1/21, 5:00 PM
Ken B said...: Chauvin did not use his full weight. You can see Floyd moving at times. Nor if the “full weight” were applied would it take 9 minutes to choke him. It’s not clear yet what role the neck pin played, it certainly might have exacerbated any problems, but it was not an extended garrotting.; 4/1/21, 5:06 PM
Mark said...: You will want to back off there, mandrewa.

Robert Marshall asked for examples of systemic racism. I gave it to him.

The people who use the term get to define what it means, not people like you who do not use it. And for the people who do use the term, that is what they mean.

Learn to think like they do. Don't think that they think through your lens.; 4/1/21, 5:11 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “An absolutely sick comment. Ashli Babbitt chose to illegally enter a locked Capitol and she attempted to enter into an area defended by outmanned police. Police say she disobeyed a command attempting entry into the defended area through a broken window.”

No evidence of any of that and using deadly force in that situation would almost assuredly have violated usage of deadly force guidelines in every jurisdiction in the country. We can argue all we want as to whether Officer Chauvin exceeded MPD use of force guidelines, but shooting someone, as some still unnamed federal LEO shot Ashli, presumably with their duty weapon, is unquestionably the application of deadly force. Shooting someone with a firearm invariably is such.

This means not only do her heirs probably have an unlawful death claim against the federal government, but that they should also be able to claim a civil rights violation of her 5th Amdt rights - she was deprived of her life without due process.; 4/1/21, 5:14 PM
Mark said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/1/21, 5:18 PM
Mark said...: Meanwhile, if you want examples of an overt racist mindset on an individual level, of making characterizations based entirely on race as biology and its associated inferiority or superiority, there are a couple of screaming examples here in this comment thread.; 4/1/21, 5:20 PM
Mark said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/1/21, 5:23 PM
Mark said...: There is a reason I ask the way I ask every time:

Who killed the unarmed Ashli Babbitt?

The fact that she was unarmed and not posing a risk to life of another makes the use of deadly force against her unjustified as a matter of law.; 4/1/21, 5:24 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: This low mass, nearly intangible particle is destined to solve the problem of intermittent/renewable energy. #1101000

Or we could just get energy from darkons instead of photons..; 4/1/21, 5:24 PM
Mark said...: It doesn't matter that Ashli Babbitt might have been doing other things. Trespassing in the Capitol and trying to enter the House or Senate chambers are not capital offenses that entitle law enforcement to take her life.

She was unarmed. It was a bad shooting. The officer should face justice and prosecution.; 4/1/21, 5:28 PM
narciso said...: Chauvin like other officers, have to clean up the mess that governor waltz and co left in their wake.; 4/1/21, 5:28 PM
Michael K said...: When blacks move out, you get gentrified Brooklyn. Only about a 1/4 of young black men are real troublemakers, but the other 3/4 suffer by proximity and association.

I don't disagree with much of this but the illegitimacy rate in both blacks and whites was low in the 50s. The influence of the Pill is another odd issue. You would think it would cause a big decline, or at least a level rate of illegitimate births, but it seems to have had the effect of reducing the stigma and increasing the rate of sexual activity without controlling for pregnancy. AFDC is one possible explanation.

Even abortion, sky high in blacks, does not seem to reduce the numbers of fatherless children. Black girls, as seen in the Uber driver case, are becoming as violent as boys.; 4/1/21, 5:39 PM
Michael K said...: The officer should face justice and prosecution

He won't because he is black. This has to be a given as his name is still concealed. Maybe a civil trial by her family would smoke the facts out.; 4/1/21, 5:40 PM
n.n said...: Or we could just get energy from darkons instead of photons..

Absolutely. And don't forget the brown matter to fill in the missing links.; 4/1/21, 5:58 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Who killed the unarmed Ashli Babbitt?”

“The fact that she was unarmed and not posing a risk to life of another makes the use of deadly force against her unjustified as a matter of law.”

Parsing this a bit. The latter (not posing a risk to life of another) is the key here. The risk has to also be imminent, the fear reasonable, and the person shot be the one posing that risk. If the threat was from someone else, the officer might have been privileged to utilize deadly force (I.e. shoot) that person. But that wouldn’t privilege them to shoot Ashli, unless she personally posed a lethal threat to the life of the officer, or some other person.

I am clarifying this a bit, because I do, on occasion, go out in public armed. What I have never had to do is draw a gun, and esp never had to point it at anyone. I have thus never put anyone in reasonable fear of imminent loss of life or great bodily injury to any human person. No matter how badly the Karens of this world think the mere carrying of a gun threatens them, if you don’t draw it, they cannot plausibly claim reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury. That said, an unholstered handgun can often act as a proxy for this level of fear. The moral here is that if you pull a gun on someone, and that wasn’t legally justified, expect to either be shot, or jailed.

That said, Ashli’s homicide was very likely not an execution or an assassination. That is because both terms imply premeditation. If you can’t make a good case for 1st Degree (premeditated) Murder, it probably wasn’t an execution or an assassination. My guess is that we are instead talking some sort of panic as the cause of this LEO shooting her, and if that is the case, we are probably more likely talking either a 2nd Degree (depraved heart/mind) Murder, or some level of Manslaughter. Still culpable homicide, but not premeditated 1st Degree Murder.; 4/1/21, 6:05 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/1/21, 6:08 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Mark:

Meanwhile, if you want examples of an overt racist mindset on an individual level

Race tells us very little of use on an "individual level." It's a description of a group, not any individual member of that group. It's a basic moral precept that you judge someone on their individual character and not their group affiliation.

, of making characterizations based entirely on race as biology

Race does not have to be "entirely" about biology to be substantially about biology. In biology, a race is defined as morphologically distinctive populations that have bred in geographic isolation from each other. If you saw a picture of a Dane, a Korean, a Congolese, and an American Indian, you could guess where on the globe their ancestors were living 500 years ago almost every time. Are to imagine that these effects were strictly limited to skin tone, hair texture, and bone structure and had no effect on all other organ systems (e.g. neurological, endocrine)? West Africans and East Africans look different. The latter group dominates long-distance running and the former sprinting. And that's true of West Africans living in West Africa, the Caribbean, or the USA. No relation to biology?

Discrepancies in social complexity and technological development existed in the 15th century before the era of colonialism even began. Despite some metallurgy, pre-Columbian Americas was practically a stone age society. Europeans were able to use their technological advantage to quickly conquer and subdue the Americas and later almost the entire African continent. Japan was able to industrialize and achieve Great Power status within 50 years.

In the post-war period, what countries have seen the most rapid industrialization and increased standard of living? Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Japanese do well in Japan, they do well in Europe, they do well in Latin America, and they do well in North America. Ethnic Chinese are a minority of the population in Thailand and Malaysia but dominate both countries economically. Malaysia has affirmative action for Malaysians, despite being the majority of the population. Meanwhile, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America continue to lag behind the Northern countries. Latin America itself is divided into a racial caste with Iberians at the top, mestizos and mulattos in the middle, and Native Americans and Africans at the bottom. A group of aboriginal Polynesians were able to produce greater civilization achievements on Easter Island a millennium ago than what Haiti can manage today. The Haitians have not been able to overcome the organizational complexity of managing a single urban environment.

and its associated inferiority or superiority,

I don't consider people with higher IQs than me superior to me, and I don't consider people with lower IQS than me inferior. The same is true of people who are stronger, taller, faster, better looking, and have more rhythm. None of that conveys moral worth.

there are a couple of screaming examples here in this comment thread.

Perhaps not as loudly as you first imagined.; 4/1/21, 6:17 PM
rehajm said...: Big assumption if typical bear spray has notable plumes

Yah. Part of the deterrent effect of bear spray is the color which may look like a wall to a bear. (I talked a bunch with a retired SF Yellowstone officer about the effectiveness of bear spray against an agitated grizzly. There was lots of discussion and not the definitive affirmative I was hoping for)...

But yah, if there was a clear mist it was mace or one of those handheld capsasin sprays but not something designed for a bear...; 4/1/21, 6:24 PM
320Busdriver said...: Boy....Delta Air sure looks stupid for attempting to placate all the dishonest brokers painting the GA voting law as racist.
Photo ID reqd to fly= AOK
Photo ID reqd to vote= RACIST!

so much dishonesty over what this law really represents. It's only a bad law if you're trying to push for legalizing cheating.; 4/1/21, 6:41 PM
Joe Smith said...: "Boy....Delta Air sure looks stupid for attempting to placate all the dishonest brokers painting the GA voting law as racist.
Photo ID reqd to fly= AOK
Photo ID reqd to vote= RACIST!"

Talk about an own goal...really didn't think this one through.

At least you don't need ID to buy a Coke (without Jack, of course)...; 4/1/21, 6:52 PM
Gahrie said...: It's a basic moral precept that you judge someone on their individual character and not their group affiliation.

Well it used to be....; 4/1/21, 6:55 PM
Michael K said...: My guess is that we are instead talking some sort of panic as the cause of this LEO shooting her, and if that is the case, we are probably more likely talking either a 2nd Degree (depraved heart/mind) Murder, or some level of Manslaughter. Still culpable homicide, but not premeditated 1st Degree Murder.

I have seen rumors that the shooter is a Brazilian black immigrant with a record of Trump hate in social media. I agree it is not first degree but anger and hate might be a factor.; 4/1/21, 7:17 PM
wildswan said...: There's book called The Rising Tide of Color Against White World Supremacy published in 1920. And there's another book called The Passing of the Great Race published in 1916. As a result of these books and other agitation based on similar eugenic concerns the Johnson Immigration Act of 1924 was passed, its purpose being to restrict entrance to the United States primarily to those of Anglo-Saxon or Nordic descent. Russian Jews, Italians and other "lesser whites" as well as those of African descent were excluded. Around the same time and for the same eugenic reasons, President Woodrow Wilson segregated the civil service. This is the original meaning of "white supremacy."
In the same period IQ tests were developed and in the post war period they were expanded and used by a group of social scientists based in eugenic societies and funded by the Pioneer Fund (Cyril Burt, Arthur Jensen, HJ Eysenck, Chris Brand) to make claims of scientific proof of a genetic race-based deficiency affecting a majority of African-Americans. This is the second meaning of white supremacy.
This suffered a setback when it was shown that Cyril Burt, the foundational scholar in the field and cited all, had committed scientific fraud and had no scientific basis for his claims. Yet the Pioneer Fund paid for more "research" and in the Nineties the same claims were made by Charles Murray using the new "research." A fierce battle ensued centering on the fact that the data for the new/old claims was hidden and only the massaged statistical results were published. The eugenics societies then left that battlefield and moved on to behavior genetics where their social "scientists" are making a similar claim about behavior as made about IQ. And Charles Murray is meanwhile publishing a new book making the same old Bell Curve arguments.
But up until now there haven't been many social scientists from the black community playing a role in this dispute which has been about that community and which has influenced how many regard it. And that, I think, is the third meaning of white supremacy. We'll never again have a long, long, dispute about poverty or crime or anything else in the black community where their voices aren't heard. Black Lives Matter.
But the only thing is, you know, I wonder when I hear the voice of Foucault or Derrida or other French philosophers whether I am really hearing the authentic voice of inner city Milwaukee any more than when I hear Murray talking.; 4/1/21, 7:33 PM
madAsHell said...: Fox News is branching into game shows. In the fall, they will be introducing a show called "Are you smarter than Joe Biden?".

No, seriously!!......I read this in the NYT!!; 4/1/21, 7:45 PM
Mark said...: My guess is that we are instead talking some sort of panic as the cause of this LEO shooting her

That would be my take on it. All the more reason to take the officer's weapon away from him forever and remove him from law enforcement forever.

Panic or intentional, he has no business being in law enforcement.; 4/1/21, 7:49 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/1/21, 8:04 PM
n.n said...: My guess is that we are instead talking some sort of panic as the cause of this LEO shooting her

Shooting her, perhaps. Shooting to kill, no. The guy was trained and certified. There is no evidence that she posed an imminent, let alone immediate threat, and he shot her while she was in a precarious position, further negating any possibility of risk. Did the "riots"... stampede precede or follow this event?; 4/1/21, 8:09 PM
Ken B said...: UW-Madison is telling Althouse to up her game https://twitter.com/Smith_Surge/status/1377778970586931203/photo/1; 4/1/21, 8:14 PM
narciso said...: I think wilson moved on this from the getgo, long before of those books were published.; 4/1/21, 8:38 PM
J. Farmer said...: @wildswan:

But the only thing is, you know, I wonder when I hear the voice of Foucault or Derrida or other French philosophers whether I am really hearing the authentic voice of inner city Milwaukee any more than when I hear Murray talking.

If race has no biological meaning, then why is it important in matching bone marrow recipients with donors?

The problem with the scientific racism of the late 19th century is that even if it was completely empirically sound, it still wouldn't justify forced sterilization and certainly not murder. We recognize intellectual and developmental disabilities in this country without having to march the sufferers into gas chambers.; 4/1/21, 9:03 PM
rightguy said...: George Floyd was foaming at the mouth prior to and during his being pinned to the ground by Mr, Chauvin. A common cause of foaming at the mouth is pulmonary edema (filling of lung air spaces by fluid), and indeed GF had bilateral pulmonary edema at post mortem exam.

An uncommon, but potentially fatal, complication of fentanyl overdose is "non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema" : "Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema is a rare but potentially fatal complication of opioid overdose that must be recognized and managed promptly. The typical presentation includes persistent hypoxia and radiographic findings of bilateral pulmonary infiltrates. Previous studies of pulmonary edema associated with opioids have focused on heroin and not considered drugs such as fentanyl, which make up an increasingly large proportion of the illicit drug supply in BC."/BCMJ, vol. 61 , No. 6 , July August 2019 , Pages 256-259

In view of the lack of post mortem findings of asphyxiation (no cutanous, mucosal, or conjunctival petechiae), non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema secondary to fentanyl OD is plausibly a primary cause of death. I would say that this possibility must be excluded to have a valid case of murder/manslaughter.; 4/1/21, 9:31 PM
tim in vermont said...: Steel +145%
Lumber +126%
Oil +80%
Soybeans +71%
Corn _69%
Copper +50%
Silver +38%
Cotton +35%
Coffee +34%
Wheat +25%
FAO Food Index +25%
Cattle +21%
Bitcoin +470%
Stock Market +23%
Home Values + 8%
Hourly Wages +5%
Money Supply Up +24%

Reported Inflation +1% - Reddit Investor; 4/1/21, 9:32 PM
tim in vermont said...: Autopsies can uphold white supremacy They have long provided scientific and medical excuses for white killings of nonwhite people Stephen Jackson holds George Floyd's daughter Gianna, 6, and stands.... - Washington Post; 4/1/21, 9:34 PM
The Godfather said...: You have to understand: The story line is that Jan. 6 was an "armed insurrection against our democracy". Trump was impeached for that a few days later. If there was no armed insurrection then all Trump did was give a speech.
Big Problem: The insurrectionists weren't armed. Oh sure, there were people carrying American flags (even one I saw with a Confederate flag) on poles that could have been used as weapons, but apparently they WEREN'T. These were right-wingers who, we've been told, walk around with AR-15 machine guns all the time. Yet not a shot was fired.
Well, yes, one shot was fired, but it wasn't by an insurrectionist but by some kind of plain clothes cop working for the Congress. He shot and killed an unarmed middle-aged woman. It's amazing that in Washington, DC, the leak capital of the world, we still don't know his name.
But it will eventually come out, and it simply won't do to have the story of Jan. 6 end up with the only killing being by a defender of Congress. So they came up with the story of Officer Sicknick being killed by someone throwing a fire extinguisher at him. For weeks we heard that story, and over and over we saw a video of some protesters throwing a fire extinguisher -- not at Officer Sicknick, but still it gave you the idea that something like this MIGHT have happened and MIGHT have killed him.
Only it turns out it didn't. So now we come to the "bear spray". Is "bear spray" deadly to human beings? I don't know. I checked several kinds of bear spray on Amazon and none had a warning that they were deadly to humans. I think if I were trying to kill someone, I'd use what the unnamed officer used to kill Ashli Babbit:
A gun.; 4/1/21, 10:11 PM
madAsHell said...: Shooting her, perhaps. Shooting to kill, no.

Really???

Yeah.....that's not what I learned in firearms training.; 4/1/21, 10:14 PM
n.n said...: According to UDAP Industries, creators of Pepper Power bear spray, the specific potency of pepper spray depends on the level of active ingredients in each product. Bear deterrents have a spray range of up to 30 feet and contain between 1.0 and 2.0 percent of active CRC, a compound derived from hot chili peppers.

The Pepper Spray store explains that human pepper spray typically contains approximately 1.33 percent active CRC. While the CRC levels are in the same range, the main difference between human defense pepper spray and bear spray is that bear pepper spray must first be tested and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure the products are humane.
What Are the Effects of Bear Spray on Humans?; 4/1/21, 10:17 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/1/21, 10:20 PM
n.n said...: "Shooting her, perhaps. Shooting to kill, no."

Really???

Yeah.....that's not what I learned in firearms training.

The context is that panic was a motive for him to shoot her.

The guy was trained and certified. There is no evidence that she posed an imminent, let alone immediate threat, and he shot her while she was in a precarious position, further negating any possibility of risk.; 4/1/21, 10:22 PM
Mark said...: Race tells us very little of use on an "individual level."

I wasn't talking about the race of the victims of racism. I was talking about the individual of the racist.

I was speaking of an individual commenting here spewing racist theories based on biology.; 4/1/21, 10:42 PM
walter said...: How's Gaga's survivor of Dogsurrection?; 4/1/21, 10:43 PM
Joe Smith said...: Fox News is branching into game shows. In the fall, they will be introducing a show called "Are you smarter than Joe Biden?".

You sure the title isn't 'Is Joe Biden smarter than a 3rd grader?'; 4/1/21, 11:56 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Mark:

I wasn't talking about the race of the victims of racism. I was talking about the individual of the racist.

I was speaking of an individual commenting here spewing racist theories based on biology.

"Spewing" is a weird word to describe something you've read. In any event, calling something "racist" is meaningless. It's either correct or incorrect. If it's t he latter, why is it incorrect? Calling it "racist" is no more useful than calling it "fat" or "ugly."

Jerry Coyne, progressive liberal, professor emeritus University of Chicago, Alum of William & Mary, PhD at Harvard, literally wrote the book on Speciation: "I do think that human races exist in the sense that biologists apply the term to animals, though I don’t think the genetic differences between those races are profound, nor do I think there is a finite and easily delimitable number of human races."

Richard Dawkins, Baliol College, traditional Labour voter, major figure in evolutionary biology, atheist/humanist crusader: "However small the racial partition of total variation may be, if such racial characteristics as there are highly correlated with other racial characteristics, they are by definition informative, and therefore of taxonomic significance."

Now I'll concede I'm a horrible, evil person who spews racist things. Nobody's perfect. But what are Coyne, Dawkins, and myself getting wrong?; 4/2/21, 12:16 AM
walter said...: informative in what practical sense and of what "taxonomic significance"?
Taxonomic being typically applied speciefically.; 4/2/21, 12:52 AM
StephenFearby said...: Fodder for the Babylon Bee...

London Times April 2nd

Pandemic is a great blessing, Michelle Obama tells girls

'Michelle Obama has told British girls that they should see the pandemic “as a great blessing” because it is teaching them how to get through something “uncomfortable and unpredictable”.

She spoke for an hour on a video call to current and former students from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School (EGA) in Islington and Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, to mark the publication of the younger reader edition of her memoir Becoming.

The former first lady discussed the impact of Covid-19, as well as mentorship, sisterhood, motivation and leadership. She said that the girls should see the pandemic as an opportunity for growth. “I would view this as a great blessing to all of you, right. Because right now you’re learning how to get through something hard and uncomfortable and unpredictable,” she said...'; 4/2/21, 1:55 AM
Joe Smith said...: "I was speaking of an individual commenting here spewing racist theories based on biology."

Farmer can fight his own battles, but I see him as a dispassionate observer...

Sometimes right and sometimes wrong, but I don't sense any ill intent.

We disagree on a lot of things, but he's not evil...; 4/2/21, 2:03 AM
J. Farmer said...: @walter:

informative in what practical sense and of what "taxonomic significance"?
Taxonomic being typically applied speciefically.

My apologies for the lack of context, but I was trying to avoid pasting a large chunk of text. It's from Dawkins' book The Ancestor's Tale under the chapter "The Grasshopper's Tale" and gives Dawkins' view on the biological validity of race.

I only cited Coyne and Dawkins to demonstrate that people with left-wing political and cultural values and a commitment to secular humanist positions can have the opinion that race has some biological significance. Race as a biological concept is often dismissed as quackery, analogous to phrenology or flat earth, and an opinion no serious professional holds.; 4/2/21, 4:50 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Joe Smith:

Sometimes right and sometimes wrong, but I don't sense any ill intent.

We disagree on a lot of things, but he's not evil...

I appreciate the kind words, but I just have to say that even if I was evil, it would make no difference. The validity of an argument has no connection to the character of the person making it. It could just as easily be anonymous. It could be someone reading a script. The person making the argument doesn't even have to believe it himself. An argument would get the same critique if it was delivered by a sadist or a saint. Of course, the entire point of the ad hominem is that it isn't an argument but a diversion. It says there is no point in having an argument, that the person making it isn't worth responding to.

This tactic is well-known to conservatives. Critiques of social justice positions invariably invite denouncements as racist, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes, transphobes, Islamophobes, yada yada yada. Republicans rightfully criticizes this tactic unless it's a criticism of Israel, then they get called an anti-Semite or a self-hating Jew. It's all an effort to enforce a range of acceptable opinion through social and emotional pressure. A declaration that one is guilty of thoughtcrime.; 4/2/21, 5:15 AM
tim in vermont said...: Can anybody tell me what the meaning of "a presentation" is in the context of 18th century Britain? Is it a sinecure? A guaranteed income? I get the feeling that it is a lifetime job as a vicar, but I am not sure. I guess it doesn't matter to understanding the story I am reading, but I am curious. Of course web searches are useless. I guess I should buy an unlinkable OED.; 4/2/21, 6:23 AM
tim in vermont said...: $90 bucks a year, wow. maybe I will just buy the hardcopy and spare myself the annual woke updates. Let's see...

"n our latest update, including gender pay gap, me-too, essential worker, and ally."

Yeah, I will go with the hardcopy, used if I can find it.; 4/2/21, 6:27 AM
rehajm said...: Delta bitched about Georgia's voting law so Georgia Republicans voted to remove a Delta tax break. I'm sure Delta will get to keep it and then rub the Republicans nose in it but you gotta admire the attempt at fighting back...; 4/2/21, 6:59 AM
Breezy said...: Why would Delta get to keep the tax break?

I’m glad the legislature moved quickly to do this as it hopefully discourages more spreading of the bad info by other woke-threatened corporations.; 4/2/21, 7:04 AM
rehajm said...: Why would Delta get to keep the tax break

The action will likely die in the GA senate; 4/2/21, 7:06 AM
Humperdink said...: I just don't get woke companies like Delta. I have a small distribution business. Roughly 300 business customers. I am highly political, but I keep those views to myself, unless I am sure the customer is like-minded. These executive are just stooopid. "Get woke, go broke" should be part of their corporate logo.; 4/2/21, 7:20 AM
Humperdink said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/2/21, 7:20 AM
rehajm said...: So far there's been no downside for companies like Delta to go full brat woke...and the companies know they can make the woke declarations then not follow through once the attention dies down.

Ask Disney if they still film in Georgia...; 4/2/21, 7:32 AM
Fernandinande said...: "But what are Coyne ... getting wrong?"

I read his blog daily, and to me Coyne exemplifies the many smart academics who are nearly always wrong about human beings; he's several times used the word 'odious' to describe ideas similar yours (and mine).; 4/2/21, 8:19 AM
Robert Marshall said...: In response to my question asking for examples of systemic racism . . .

J. Farmer: "Here's a more concrete example. Automation, globalization, and mass immigration have all disproportionately harmed those at the lower end of the IQ distribution. About 15% of whites have IQs under 85. Half of blacks do."

That's not something that can be attributed to a social system; it's a statement of fact about IQ distribution amongst racial groups. People who write about that fact, like Charles Murray, are relentlessly savaged as racists, by people who claim that cognitive underperformance by blacks is really caused by systemic racism.

But that argument gets you nowhere, in terms of solving the problem. You can't solve a problem unless you can discuss its causes without being condemned for doing so.

Additionally, calling it systemic RACISM is wrong, because the system doesn't care about the race of the people being measured for cognitive performance. The system would reward a high IQ black person more than a low IQ white person, because it is the IQ that matters, not the skin color. So calling this "systemic racism" is really just a diversion from the real problem.; 4/2/21, 8:37 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Humperdink:

These executive are just stooopid. "Get woke, go broke" should be part of their corporate logo.

Who's more woke, the white upper-class or the white working-class? Who's richer?

The writing's on the wall whether Republicans want to read it or not. The white working-class is on a long-term decline. It's already a minority of the population. Opioids, alcoholism, and suicides are dragging down the life expectancy rate. Dropping out of the labor market, going on SSI, getting a pain pill addiction, and dropping dead at home in your 50s are the habits of a defeated people. Take a look at Native American communities for a dramatic presentation. Methamphetamine is wiping at whatever alcohol misses.

The white working-class has been watching itself become a minority group in real time. Its cultural values have been scrubbed from the public square, pushed out of academia, media, and the corporate world, and replaced by a hegemonic cultural left that is not only alien to traditionalism but hostile, too. For one last public humiliation, the white working-class are met at their nadir by biracial dyke "academics" lecturing them about white privilege and white supremacy.

Oh, never mind, let's just talk about how old and dumb Joe Biden is some more.; 4/2/21, 8:45 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Why would Delta get to keep the tax break

“The action will likely die in the GA senate”

Actually, it appears that the GA senate has adjourned for the year.; 4/2/21, 8:56 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Robert Marshall:

In response to my question asking for examples of systemic racism . . .

J. Farmer: "Here's a more concrete example. Automation, globalization, and mass immigration have all disproportionately harmed those at the lower end of the IQ distribution. About 15% of whites have IQs under 85. Half of blacks do."

That's not something that can be attributed to a social system; it's a statement of fact about IQ distribution amongst racial groups.

"Automation, globalization, and mass immigration" can't be attributed to a social system? Adopting policies that will disproportionately harm lower IQ people is pretty much insuring that at least 1/3 of the black population will experience permanent economic insecurity and little social mobility while also being lectured about personal responsibility.

Additionally, calling it systemic RACISM is wrong, because the system doesn't care about the race of the people being measured for cognitive performance.

Then we're just back to hereditary aristocracy. Your position in a socioeconomic stratum is determined by cognitive traits that are relatively fixed by mid-adolescence and have a large genetic component. Is it just inevitable that the top 0.1% will accumulate a massive amount of wealth and power in the world?; 4/2/21, 9:07 AM
Joe Smith said...: "but he's not evil..."

Unclear wording...should have been 'he has no evil intent.'; 4/2/21, 9:25 AM
Humperdink said...: Farmer said: "The white working-class is on a long-term decline. It's already a minority of the population. Opioids, alcoholism, and suicides are dragging down the life expectancy rate. Dropping out of the labor market, going on SSI, getting a pain pill addiction, and dropping dead at home in your 50s are the habits of a defeated people."

That's a rather sweeping generalization. I would disagree those are the causes of the white working class's decline. They contribute of course, but not the major cause. Dropping out of the labor market? Why would someone quit a good paying job? How about the loss of manufacturing jobs to turd world countries? Or the rise of the government working class which has stifled growth? Why is Virginia a blue state now? The government's answer: Learn to code. Go to Home Depot on a Saturday morning and survey the parking lot. It's filled with immigrants willing to pound nails, finish drywall and lay block.

The answers are complicated and go beyond what you have asserted.; 4/2/21, 9:36 AM
tim in vermont said...: My brother is a chamber of commerce type Republican. He says that white millennials just simply do not want to work at jobs that Hispanics are more than happy to do and do well. It's more than just holding down the cost of labor, although that's part of the support for high immigration. He has real world longitudinal experience of hiring factory workers over decades. He will tell you that treated fairly, white workers a decade or more ago would outwork just about anybody. It's simply not true anymore. I think that the American Indian analogy is a good one. Their culture was destroyed, their values were destroyed, probably inevitably, and now they are in a state of dependent despair in a lot of cases. Now our culture is being destroyed, our sense of values.

I feel like we are in for an era of hyperinflation and who knows what will be left over when that burns out.; 4/2/21, 10:02 AM
Humperdink said...: Fully expected the price of gold to be rising dramatically. Surprised it hasn't happened. Smells of manipulation.; 4/2/21, 10:29 AM
DavidUW said...: Fully expected the price of gold to be rising dramatically. Surprised it hasn't happened. Smells of manipulation.
>>
Gold drops with higher interest rates.; 4/2/21, 10:55 AM
Humperdink said...: Gold is also a hedge against inflation/value of the dollar.

Comment from above:

Steel +145%
Lumber +126%
Oil +80%
Soybeans +71%
Corn _69%
Copper +50%
Silver +38%
Cotton +35%
Coffee +34%
Wheat +25%
FAO Food Index +25%
Cattle +21%; 4/2/21, 11:53 AM
Michael K said...: He has real world longitudinal experience of hiring factory workers over decades. He will tell you that treated fairly, white workers a decade or more ago would outwork just about anybody. It's simply not true anymore.

I've been told that, too. I have read that many new workers don't show up the second day. It's a real problem. Today I had a new HVAC system installed. They took out the old one, which was working but 20 years old. They replaced the old one with a new one in 4 hours. Both workers have heavy accents that are probably Hispanic. Hard workers. Summer is coming in Tucson and I didn't want to risk a breakdown midsummer.; 4/2/21, 5:14 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger rehajm said...
Why would Delta get to keep the tax break

The action will likely die in the GA senate

It will be interesting to see. think the Senate is in recess, maybe the end of the term.; 4/2/21, 5:16 PM
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you can email him if you need his assistance in your relationship or anything. CONTACT HIM NOW FOR SOLUTION TO ALL YOUR PROBLEMS; 4/2/21, 5:35 PM
DavidUW said...: Gold is also a hedge against inflation/value of the dollar.
>>
It is a poor one.

The tightest correlation is between gold price and negative real interest rates.

In other words, you want to buy gold when interest rates are low/declining and < rising inflation. If you do it after the fact, you get whipsawed by interest rates rising as the markets smell inflation.; 4/2/21, 6:25 PM