Althouse: At the Wednesday Night Café...

March 30, 2022

At the Wednesday Night Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

(No sunrise photo today. Sorry! It was raining.)

26 comments:

Lucien said...: If Judge Jackson had provided a three-word definition of "woman": "adult human female", do you suppose any Democrat Senators would vote agains her confirmation? Likewise, I don't think she would lose and Democrat votes if she said she thought discrimination based on race or sex is wrong.(But I don't think that's what she believes.); 3/30/22, 5:38 PM
Humperdink said...: Retired Lt. Colonel Douglas Macgregor has been a vocal opponent of the administration's handling of the Ukraine war. He has appeared on Tucker Carlson's show multiple times to voice those views. As a result, he has been harshly vilified by any and all swamp creatures. His military career was of particular interest to me. The following are excerpts from his wiki page:

> The Gulf War: "Macgregor designated Eagle Troop the main attack and positioned himself to the left of Eagle Troop. Eagle Troop Scouts subsequently followed Macgregor's tank through a minefield during which his crew destroyed two enemy tanks. As Macgregor was towards the front of the battle involved in shooting, he didn't "request artillery support or report events to superiors until the battle was virtually over, according to one of his superior officers."[2] The risks he undertook "could have been criticized had the fight turned ugly."

> "At a November 1993 exercise at the Army's National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, Lt. Col. Macgregor's unit vastly outperformed its peers against the "Opposition Force (OPFOR)." The series of five battles usually end in four losses and a draw for the visiting units; his unit won three, lost one, and drew one.[2] Macgregor's unit dispersed widely, took unconventional risks, and anticipated enemy movements."

> "Macgregor was a top Army thinker on innovation, according to journalist Thomas E. Ricks.[4] He "became prominent inside the Army" when he published Breaking the Phalanx, which argued for radical reforms.[4] Breaking the Phalanx was rare in that an active duty military author was challenging the status quo with detailed reform proposals for the reorganization of U.S. Army ground forces."

> "Many of Macgregor's colleagues thought his unconventional thinking may have harmed his chances for promotion.[2] While an Army NTC official called him "the best war fighter the Army has got," colleagues of Macgregor were concerned that "the Army is showing it prefers generals who are good at bureaucratic gamesmanship to ones who can think innovatively on the battlefield."[; 3/30/22, 5:40 PM
Wa St Blogger said...: On a previous thread:

Joe Smith Said:
There are real heroes in the world...

But they are not grade school teachers grooming children and hiding the effects from the parents in case anyone was thinking that.; 3/30/22, 5:47 PM
Achilles said...: Don't tell the regime drones.

Don't think. Just call people traitors.

It is what dumb people do.; 3/30/22, 6:09 PM
Narr said...: Macgregor is a full colonel.

He has always been an interesting guest on Tucker, and it's easy to see that he thinks very highly of himself and his opinions. When he said that the US military is not up to beating first-class enemies, I believed him, but when he said that the Russians had won in the Ukraine after the first week or so, I believed my eyes instead.

As for generals (and admirals), everyone wearing stars of rank is a political soldier, and the more stars the more political. That's the way it was designed, and the best warfighters and inside critics (Macgregor, Hackworth, etc) rarely make the cut.; 3/30/22, 6:21 PM
Humperdink said...: "When he (Macgregor) said that the US military is not up to beating first-class enemies ..."

I have not heard him say that, but I'll take your word for it.

"As for generals (and admirals), everyone wearing stars of rank is a political soldier, and the more stars the more political. That's the way it was designed ... "

That makes your first assertion more believable.; 3/30/22, 6:52 PM
Tomcc said...: I haven't seen the Aurora Borealis since I lived in Alaska; maybe tonight.; 3/30/22, 6:58 PM
Clyde said...: In a spring training game today, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals by a score of 29-8, which included a 15-run eighth inning. I read an article that noted that spring training records are kind of spotty, so they don't know if that was a record number of runs for a spring training game, but in only four regular season games in MLB history has a team scored 29 or more runs, and only in four regular season games has a team scored 15 or more runs in an inning (and none of the 15+ run innings came in those four 29 or more run games). So, there was something rather unique happening today.; 3/30/22, 7:17 PM
Readering said...: Just got an invitation from the Nixon Library to attend Bret Baier interviewing Robert O'Brien and Sean Penn together. Sign of end times? On Ukraine.; 3/30/22, 7:25 PM
Narr said...: More than once, before the Ukraine invasion, Col. M has been on Tucker to lament what he sees as the politicization and deprofessionalization of the US military, expressed in the opinion that while we can handle 3rd-world quasi-militaries, more serious conventional opponents were a different case.

I hope he's wrong but suspect he's right.; 3/30/22, 8:18 PM
tim in vermont said...: “ believed him, but when he said that the Russians had won in the Ukraine after the first week or so, I believed my eyes instead.”

Same people told you Hunters laptop was Russian disinformation and that Russiagate was real, unless you have been over in Ukraine, you are not believing your eyes, but these liars who want to drag us into it.; 3/30/22, 8:37 PM
rhhardin said...: Vaccine vials seem to have expiration dates that are hard, rather than "best by" dates.; 3/30/22, 8:43 PM
Joe Smith said...: So Joe promises Ukraine $500M in aid.

Didn't he promise them $1B just a few days ago?

Is congress passing laws to authorize this spending?

Or does the president now have a multi-billion dollar slush fund of taxpayers' money to dole out as he wishes?; 3/30/22, 8:58 PM
Humperdink said...: It is being reported Vogue magazine has awarded the US military first place in maternity flight design. Style, ease of entry, and color scheme were the major criteria in the competition. There were no second or third place awards. It should be noted that China did not submit an entry. (sarc); 3/30/22, 9:15 PM
Narr said...: tim, I didn't cite what "some people" told me, and unless you've been over in Ukraine you're believing something other than your own eyes as much as I am.

Your entire second paragraph is arrogant, and proves only that you see every situation and comment through your personal political lens. What do "some people" have to do with my independent informed judgement of the situation, gathered from sources other than "some people"?

And since I was reporting on FOX coverage, why introduce those who believed "some people" when I concluded long ago that "some people" were lying about the laptop and collusion on my own, without Tucker's help?

Or yours.; 3/30/22, 9:44 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: I never wondered whether Disney was based in FL or CA, but I know now.; 3/31/22, 12:59 AM
Rt41Rebel said...: Trump calls for Putin to release Biden dealings, and the MSM has to cover it because Trump and Putin. Trump really is playing 4D chess.; 3/31/22, 1:09 AM
rhhardin said...: An inverted yield curve (short bonds paying higher interest than long bonds) is now announced as portending a recession. This announcement tends to un-invert the yield curve.

Fed action to fight inflation raises short term rates, and since that's seen as fighting inflation, it lowers long term rates, that is, it inverts the yield curve. This used to be characterized as taking away the punch bowl.; 3/31/22, 2:32 AM
wendybar said...: So Hillary and the DNC got a little slap on the wrist for lying to us for over 5 years about their funding of the fake Russian Dossier, and nobody is reporting on it?? She SHOULD be in prison, but justice in this country is dead.; 3/31/22, 5:24 AM
tim in vermont said...: Time will tell who is right on this, but Fox News is a joke, that we know already. We Americans live in a blizzard of disinformation, which it's almost impossible, maybe is impossible, to see through. You do have to ask yourself why that convoy wasn't destroyed, for example, it's because the Russians had air superiority already. Why weren't the Ukrainians able to provide help to Mariupol when the soldiers there were begging for it, because they couldn't. Look at Scott Ridder's thread on "Big Arrow War" for a different take on the war. It is a pointless war that didn't need to happen.

I am sorry I offended you, because I respect your opinions and almost always agree with your takes, so my apology is 'It's just that son of a bitch Biden and his goddamn war."; 3/31/22, 5:26 AM
Humperdink said...: Let's not lose sight what precipitated this war - the catastrophic blunder by the wizards of smart in the Biden administration. That is, sowing seeds of Ukraine joining NATO. Putin needed a buffer but Winken, Blinken and Nod said forget it chump. Now the pro-war neocons are pounding their chests (and will cash in to their war chests). This will not end well.

Putin needs to save face. The US should be leading the peace talks, but no, let's escalate.; 3/31/22, 6:50 AM
tim maguire said...: Lucien said...If Judge Jackson had provided a three-word definition of "woman": "adult human female", do you suppose any Democrat Senators would vote agains her confirmation?

It's all kabuki. The nominee is asked gotcha questions and gives evasive answers; one side setting traps and the other side dodging. Jackson's answers indicate she's not good at the game. I'm ok with that, I'm even prepared to say it's a good thing.; 3/31/22, 6:57 AM
Rusty said...: tim in vermont
You don't withdraw when you're winning.; 3/31/22, 9:27 AM
Narr said...: Sort of apology sort of accepted. We can move on.

If FOX is a joke, that makes it just like every other network. I cited Col. M's opinion as he presented it on Tucker only a week or so in; this morning retired 3-star Kellogg tells Dana Perino that Putin has screwed himself.

Which joke FOX commentator is right? Neither? Both? The same can be asked of every other talking head expert.

Why wasn't the convoy attacked? Maybe because the Ukes thought it was bait for their air assets. Maybe because the Ukes were aware of the command, control, and logistics problems of the Russian forces and had the patience to see the next move.

Which turned out to be long-range artillery and missiles and some air strikes, all of which add to the chaos and misery without advancing any discernible operational goals, and if history is any guide will solidify the Ukes, not defeat them.

I'm not going to debate who shouldawouldacoulda. Putin's gambit has created its own dynamics, which apparently now includes calling up 130k conscripts.; 3/31/22, 10:51 AM
Rusty said...: " Putin's gambit has created its own dynamics, which apparently now includes calling up 130k conscripts."
This will not end well. If the current batch of conscripts are any indication.; 3/31/22, 2:04 PM
Josephbleau said...: "Fed action to fight inflation raises short term rates, and since that's seen as fighting inflation, it lowers long term rates, that is, it inverts the yield curve. This used to be characterized as taking away the punch bowl."

As a future retiree I am comfortable with a large recession or depression, lets lower prices for a while. I was hired to a f100 company in '79 and prospered thru many recessions by providing value. What! isn't it the employers job to provide you with value?; 3/31/22, 8:55 PM