Althouse: At the Sunrise Café...

October 13, 2022

At the Sunrise Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

41 comments:

Humperdink said...: Recall the good days when inflation was 1.5%, mortgage rates were 2%, baby formula was available. That would be the Trump presidency. That was also the time frame when the lefties were spouting off about Trump starting a nuclear exchange. My what a difference a few years makes. Or difference in political parties.; 10/13/22, 7:23 PM
Big Mike said...: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caught Hell from her constituents at her town hall meeting. She seems to have been surprised that her constituents, who reside in the center of New York City, are upset to be at ground zero of a probable target city in the event of a nuclear war with Russia.

Ocasio-Cortez claims that the attendees were “rude.” Note that she didn’t say they’re wrong, i.e., that she opposes Joe Biden flirting with nuclear Armageddon, just that they did not tug at their forelocks and bow down before their masters. I guess being a Progressive includes a willingness to disappear in a microsecond in a nuclear fireball.; 10/13/22, 7:42 PM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: I woke up with a bad case of Covid this morning. Yesterday, I felt as good as I have felt in years and I was ready to run a trail 30k on Saturday. I awakened with a runny nose, headache, vague chest pain, achiness, slight nausea, and I was damp from fever. I rarely get headaches but I have with Covid so I was pretty sure I had it. I was at Urgent Care at 11:30 a.m. and they verified the Covid. In addition to some little cough pearls and and ab albuterol inhaler, I was prescribed Paxlovid which the NP said 80-85% of people are having good results from. Good results meaning the easing of symptoms.

I got worse this afternoon. My fever cycled back and forth and my chest ached like I have never felt before. It was starting to concern me but then it suddenly subsided. I have done a full round of the meds today. The Paxlovid is taken three pills at a time, twice a day for five days. I expect this to pass quickly and not interfere with my retreat in Jamaica that I leave for Oct. 22nd. However, I did buy travel insurance just in case something like this happened, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.; 10/13/22, 7:56 PM
Humperdink said...: And to think Fetterman is a heartbeat away from assuming the governorship of Pennsylvania.; 10/13/22, 7:59 PM
Political Junkie said...: In the last decade or two there has been more straight party voting. I am curious to see how PA, GA, OH, WI, AZ, NV go for Gov and Sen.

Can R Dewine (OH) win by 15%, and JD lose?
Can R Kemp (GA) beat Blob by 8%, and Walker lose?
Can D Shapiro (PA) win by 15%, and Oz win?
Can R Lake (AZ) win by 4%, and Masters lose by 5%?
And lastly, can R Johnson (WI) win by 5% and R gov candidate still lose?

I worry. We shall see.; 10/13/22, 8:11 PM
farmgirl said...: My daughter &her boyfriend had Covid- and son and his wife… similar symptoms but no meds other than OTC. May you be well quickly.

I like the sunrise composition. Lovely.; 10/13/22, 8:54 PM
Narr said...: Before I forget again--talk of a Russian breakup reminds me of Clemenceau's quip about Germany: he loved Germany so much he wanted to see more of them.

Which isn't to say that Russia as we understand it can't undergo another Time of Troubles and lose some territory. Not to Poles or Swedes or Germans or Ukrainians, but to the Chinese, whose memories and grievances match Russia's.; 10/13/22, 9:22 PM
Flat Tire said...: A bit of Maxfield Parrish in this photo.; 10/13/22, 10:22 PM
Lurker21 said...: An article in the NYT says that Fetterman is disabled and needs technology to function, but big deal, lots of people are. But the problem is that there isn't a technology that could enable Fetterman to make wise choices. The larger problem is that senators and representatives have more or less become machines, only voting for what the party wants.

The Laxalt family saga reminds me of something out of Shakespeare, or Dallas, or Dynasty, or Knives Out, or the Windsors: half the family is determined that no one with the bar sinister on their escutcheon should have grandpa's Senate seat. I especially wonder about Aunt Kevin, because ... well ... what else have people been talking about all year ...; 10/14/22, 12:04 AM
narciso said...: Going back to parkland everyone from the school board to the fbi knew he was a bomb willing to go off; 10/14/22, 12:34 AM
Baceseras said...: Play along, sing along, get up and dance, or just listen : best version of Brasil Pandeiro. Smiles; 10/14/22, 1:42 AM
Jaq said...: I am sure that the Russian Federation will meekly accept being broken up and will simply stop fighting and send us Putin’s head on a platter and then allow us to choose its next leader. I hope we get something for our crushed 401Ks, I am sure we will all be cut in on Russia’s vast mineral wealth.

Or maybe, now hear me out, the climate obsessed tech oligarchs in the US, who control our media and pick our president, want every large project in the world to require the approval of their puppet in Washington, which is what eliminating Russia as a great power would mean.

Bill Clinton had this brain wave to shift US debt from mostly long term to mostly short term to allow him to spend more money without increasing the deficit. Of course this move meant that any serious increases in interest rates would hit our budget like a hammer. We have two options, of course hyperinflation to make the debts go away, or massive tax increases and spending cuts to keep paying it down. If China is going to be sweeping up ruined empires, it is as likely to be ours, but let’s keep sending uncountable billions to Ukraine.; 10/14/22, 5:18 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Great tune and great picture. I'd like to sing along but I can't remember the words!; 10/14/22, 5:24 AM
Humperdink said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/14/22, 5:31 AM
Humperdink said...: (Tampa Bay head coach Todd) Bowles was asked about his relationship with Steelers coach Tomlin and being one of four Black head coaches in the NFL,

White ESPN reporter: “You and Mike Tomlin are two of the few Black head coaches in the league. I wonder what your relationship is like with him.”

Bowles: “I have a very good relationship with Tomlin. We don’t look at what color we are when we coach against each other. We just know each other. I have a lot of very good white friends that coach in this league as well. I don’t think it’s a big deal as far as us coaching against each other. I think it’s normal.”

Bowles added, “We coach ball. We don’t look at color.”

Bowles went on: “Well, when you say ‘see you guys’ and look like them and grew up like them, means that we are oddballs to begin with. And I think the minute you guys stop making a big deal about it, everybody else will.”

Look for NFL commissioner, His Wokeness, Roger Goodell to bring the hammer down on Bowles.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/must-see-buccaneers-head-coach-todd-bowles-asked-blackness-woke-liberal-reporters-delivers-humiliating-response/; 10/14/22, 5:41 AM
iowan2 said...: Have you all heard?

That Rail Strike Biden "White Knighted", by facilitating a contract?

Didn't happen.

Biden negotiated the negotiation wouldn't happen until after the Election. One union has already rejected the contract. It seems all Biden negotiated was an agreement that no unions would go out on strike until Congress came back into session after the mid term election.

All Biden can do is lie. We are told we should assume incompetence, rather than evil, is the source of these FUBAR's....Nope. They are pure evil. Nobody can be this stupid.; 10/14/22, 6:04 AM
wendybar said...: Just another case the FBI is covering up for, for the Progressive Clinton party....It is definately time to get rid of the corrupt FBI who knew about the Parkland shooter, the Sandy Hook Shooter and tons of others, and did NOTHING about them, because they are spending too much time covering up corruption for the left and setting up Trump for a downfall. And WE ALL KNOW it is true.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/fbi-court-ordered-turn-documents-seth-rich-14-days-ago-reason-refusing-request/; 10/14/22, 6:10 AM
Jaq said...: I am trying too remember the last great power that fell without a world war. Germany took two.; 10/14/22, 6:21 AM
wendybar said...: So, is this because the Bidens owe Ukraine or what???

"The Independent Sentinel reported, "The U.S. just approved another $13+ billion for Ukraine after they gave them $1.1 billion and hundreds of millions in weapons the two weeks before. Mr. Zelensky now wants $38 billion to cover their budget deficit, salaries of doctors and teachers, welfare, and pensions. In other words, we will pay their government workers. It sounds like a shakedown. He asked for $33 billion in August."

The federal health care program for Indians is broke.

The Social Security and Medicare trust funds are going broke.

The money was not there for the wall.

But here we are bending over backwards for a corruptistan so that Biden can look tough after surrendering Afghanistan."

H/T Don Surber; 10/14/22, 6:23 AM
wendybar said...: It all boils down to this....

https://nypost.com/2022/10/13/the-fbi-framed-trump-and-saved-hunter-biden-its-time-to-clean-house-for-good/; 10/14/22, 6:32 AM
Jefferson's Revenge said...: Wendybar- Blackmail on a national scale? More importantly, when we have an R house and hopefully Senate, are there investigations into Biden/Ukraine connections or does the national security state scare the hell out of the newly installed Rs and do they then let this slowly evaporate as they did the IRS Tea Party investigations?; 10/14/22, 6:46 AM
wendybar said...: I DESPISE these people. What the F*ck is wrong with them?? THEY are the problem in the world today. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11315449/Just-Stop-Oil-activists-throw-tomato-soup-Van-Goghs-Sunflowers.html; 10/14/22, 7:12 AM
wendybar said...: Jeffersons Revenge... Republicans always cave. They will do NOTHING, unless Trump is voted in as President again. Anybody else, and all of this corruption goes down the rabbit hole and is forgotten, and the corruption will go on and on...as it has forever.; 10/14/22, 7:36 AM
tim maguire said...: Political Junkie said...In the last decade or two there has been more straight party voting.

Americans are behaving more like voters in parliamentary systems--where you vote for a party; the specific candidate is incidental.

I mostly blame the media, which treats politics as a good vs. evil struggle, with Dems in the role of good. In the struggle against evil, ignoring nearly any shortcoming by good is necessary. They do nothing to educate people about the issues, the merits and flaws of particular policies, they have no appreciation for the benefits of divided government--where each side reins in the other sides' crazies.

Social media gets some blame by giving the fringe exaggerated influence, and the educational system no longer teaches civics so citizens are ignorant of the government their votes influence, but mostly the fault lies with the mainstream media.; 10/14/22, 7:52 AM
~ Gordon Pasha said...: Nice spot for a duck blind.; 10/14/22, 8:17 AM
tim maguire said...: wendybar said...I DESPISE these people

Years ago, when I lived in a more "artistic" environment, I despised the performance artists because the world was their canvas--they felt they had a right to do whatever they wanted wherever they wanted, to disrupt anybody else's activity no matter how hard that other person had worked on what they were doing. Because that's their art.

The activists have taken on that attitude--their cause is SO VERY IMPORTANT that everything can be put in service to their cause. If throwing tomato soup on a priceless masterpiece gets their cause in the papers, then it's worth it. Because nothing in the world is so important as what is important to them today.

That's why it's so easy to picture them shoving Jews into ovens. Because they would.; 10/14/22, 8:29 AM
Owen said...: Iowan2 @ 6:04: You say Biden asked the RR unions to delay any strike until after the midterms. He tried the same thing with the Saudis and the cut in oil supply. And of course we all remember 0bama’s hot mic moment with Medvedev explaining he would have more flexibility after his “last election.”

Maybe the Republicans also kick the can, but the Democrats clearly have mastered the move.; 10/14/22, 8:40 AM
Jaq said...: Wait until the SPR spigot shuts off after the mid-terms. Are you Democrats ok with this kind of election manipulation from a man who purports to be president of all Americans? Putting his personal political fortunes above the interests of our nation as a whole?

“Apres les mid-terms, la deluge!”; 10/14/22, 8:59 AM
wendybar said...: Lauren Boebart has the perfect comeback for AOC. She IS Sandy Pelosi.
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1580693459895099393?s=20&t=m1W6k7Jng4ApGPs7QiWM2Q; 10/14/22, 9:02 AM
Jaq said...: SPR at lowest level in 40 years after Democrats bragged about preventing Trump from topping it off at $24 a barrel, and we are planning to implement a shipping embargo on Russian crude. Boy, it sure would have been nice to have a full SPR before trying that.

Is the border dispute over a Russian speaking enclave on the other side of the world really worth this?; 10/14/22, 9:09 AM
Jefferson's Revenge said...: Wendybar- If everything depends on Trump getting elected we are screwed anyway. The minute one person defines a movement it's not about ideas. It's about the person. Also, no joke, if it comes to that he just gets Epsteined anyway. I frighteningly believe that if they are desperate enough they can get to anyone now. And will do so.

That doesn't mean he was not a good President. He just can't be the only answer.; 10/14/22, 9:11 AM
Rusty said...: Wendybar said' "The Social Security and Medicare trust funds are going broke."
That's OK. I'll take what they owe me federal property. Their choice. I'll make it work.~ Gordon Pasha said...
"Nice spot for a duck blind."
My thoughts exactly.; 10/14/22, 9:14 AM
Jaq said...: Elon Musk is now on Ukraine’s. really not joking, kill list, same as that Darya girl was.; 10/14/22, 9:19 AM
Original Mike said...: "Nice spot for a duck blind."

When I walk down to our pier, the ducks paddle over to great me.

Blind? You guys are hunting in the wrong place.; 10/14/22, 10:12 AM
Original Mike said...: Argh. Greet me.; 10/14/22, 10:24 AM
Rusty said...: Original Mike said...
"Nice spot for a duck blind."

"When I walk down to our pier, the ducks paddle over to great me."
That's because they are fed. Once the season starts it doesn't take too many close calls before they will run away from you.; 10/14/22, 12:05 PM
Jaq said...: LOL, Sweden sent a sub to investigate the NS sabotage, and won't tell Germany what they found. Too "highly classified," I guess nobody in Germany has high enough clearance.

BERLIN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Sweden has rejected plans for a joint investigation with Denmark and Germany of the recent ruptures of Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, German weekly Spiegel reported on Friday, citing German security sources.

Sweden has determined that it could not share findings of its investigation with other states for security reasons, the report said.

You know, if europeans found out who really did it, it might blow up the whole coalition. If it were Russia, it would be on all western news channels 24X7 and 5X5.; 10/14/22, 12:25 PM
Original Mike said...: "That's because they are fed. Once the season starts it doesn't take too many close calls before they will run away from you."

Nope, they're still flocking to me. They trust me, and with good reason. Though they don't seem to learn that I won't feed them. Others do, I guess.; 10/14/22, 4:18 PM
wildswan said...: The Ukraine war is a turning point and it's a struggle to understand it. It's very hard to understand it in relation to US politics but my explanation to myself is that it is a turning point in a time of change. Frozen situations - former empires and areas of influence and political domains and historic animosities - are melting under pressure and bending, splitting and twisting into new shapes, like frozen tectonic plates slipping and grinding past each other. We're in a political upheaval and the war simply sharpens the issue. The central question to understand is: what is the objection to Trump? If half the country supports him why can't the other half accept him? He's the symbol of a change no one really understands and since the left is in power it is the left opposing him as leader of change with their lefty self-righteousness and "we can't be wrong" outlook. "Drag Queens Uber Alles." I think not. But why do they do it?
But war has changed too. The war is using new weapons, developed under Trump as he mentioned when he was leaving, such as attack drones and satellite reconnaissance, anti-tank weapons manned by individuals, long range precision rockets like HIMARS. Along with social media and platoon-level hand-held computers They mean that the rear areas are dangerous as well as the frontlines and the whole battlefield can be seen at once as it was in the past up till the end of the 19C. Moreover propaganda is a part of the battle. What will make the West run away? Talk of Armageddon. So Putin talks of Armageddon. He would do it, yes, but he's saying he'd do it if Russia was invaded. No one's going to invade. But the talk is a battle maneuver.

But meanwhile, by fighting back Ukraine has shown that the Russian Army is not the WW II Red Army. And it has shown that Trump was right when he said that Europe should not depend on Russian oil because Russia is interested in territorial conquest partly achieved by using oil and shutoffs as leverage. And it has shown that Trump was right when he said Europe had to start to invest in defending itself.

Our money and weapons should be accounted for but it's absurd to think that the Ukrainians fought the Russian Army to a standstill and then into a retreat (see below) while using our money and weapons for some other corrupt purpose. They used what was sent for its purpose and that is better shown by Ukrainian success over the Russians than by any accounting system.

When the Ukraine fought back, 800,000 Russians left Russia and when the Ukraine forced Russia to mobilize another 300,000 left. For whatever reason oil and gas oligarchs have died and 7 Russian Generals have been killed in action in the Ukraine. The leaders of the General Staff and the FSB have changed. On the battlefield, the Ukrainians have used their own weapons plus those we sent to permanently remove from battle over 60,000 Russian soldiers (killed, seriously injured, POW) and there are more thousands of wounded. That's about a third of the initial invasion force. The Ukrainians sunk the flagship of the Black Sea fleet, destroyed the main Crimean naval airfield, bombed the Kerch bridge and pushed the Russians out of Kiev (the north), out of Kharkiv (the northeast), and now the Russians are moving their civilians out of Kherson (the south).; 10/14/22, 7:50 PM
wildswan said...: The Ukraine war is a turning point and it's a struggle to understand it. It's very hard to understand it in relation to US politics but my explanation to myself is that it is a turning point in a time of change. Frozen situations - former empires and areas of influence and political domains and historic animosities - are melting under pressure and bending, splitting and twisting into new shapes, like frozen tectonic plates slipping and grinding past each other. We're in a political upheaval and the war simply sharpens the issue. The central question to understand is: what is the objection to Trump? If half the country supports him why can't the other half accept him? He's the symbol of a change no one really understands and since the left is in power it is the left opposing him as leader of change with their lefty self-righteousness and "we can't be wrong" outlook. "Drag Queens Uber Alles." I think not. But why do they do it?
But war has changed too. The war is using new weapons, developed under Trump as he mentioned when he was leaving, such as attack drones and satellite reconnaissance, anti-tank weapons manned by individuals, long range precision rockets like HIMARS. Along with social media and platoon-level hand-held computers They mean that the rear areas are dangerous as well as the frontlines and the whole battlefield can be seen at once as it was in the past up till the end of the 19C. Moreover propaganda is a part of the battle. What will make the West run away? Talk of Armageddon. So Putin talks of Armageddon. He would do it, yes, but he's saying he'd do it if Russia was invaded. No one's going to invade. But the talk is a battle maneuver.

But meanwhile, by fighting back Ukraine has shown that the Russian Army is not the WW II Red Army. And it has shown that Trump was right when he said that Europe should not depend on Russian oil because Russia is interested in territorial conquest partly achieved by using oil and shutoffs as leverage. And it has shown that Trump was right when he said Europe had to start to invest in defending itself.

Our money and weapons should be accounted for but it's absurd to think that the Ukrainians fought the Russian Army to a standstill and then into a retreat (see below) while using our money and weapons for some other corrupt purpose. They used what was sent for its purpose and that is better shown by Ukrainian success over the Russians than by any accounting system.

When the Ukraine fought back, 800,000 Russians left Russia and when the Ukraine forced Russia to mobilize another 300,000 left. For whatever reason oil and gas oligarchs have died and 7 Russian Generals have been killed in action in the Ukraine. The leaders of the General Staff and the FSB have changed. On the battlefield, the Ukrainians have used their own weapons plus those we sent to permanently remove from battle over 60,000 Russian soldiers (killed, seriously injured, POW) and there are more thousands of wounded. That's about a third of the initial invasion force. The Ukrainians sunk the flagship of the Black Sea fleet, destroyed the main Crimean naval airfield, bombed the Kerch bridge and pushed the Russians out of Kiev (the north), out of Kharkiv (the northeast), and now the Russians are moving their civilians out of Kherson (the south).; 10/14/22, 7:50 PM
Narr said...: Prof van Creveld's latest on use of nukes is worth reading.; 10/14/22, 8:18 PM