October 6, 2022

Sunrise — 6:56.

IMG_3238D

39 comments:

wendybar said...

Obama himself said that he couldn't do it legally, that it is a temporary policy, but did it anyways, so Joe is blaming......MAGA REPUBLICANS for the mess Obama made purposely??

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11285157/Appeals-court-orders-look-revised-DACA.html

MartyH said...

I have to get this off my chest.

Here is a “Woe is me” article about inflation on CNN:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/04/opinions/inflation-high-prices-pandemic-stewart

The article recites a number of bad past decisions and equally bad prescriptions going forward.

First, the author retired, seemingly on a whim, during a pandemic, with only 14 years at her job. This was the most economically uncertain time this century!

The bad decisions pile on from there: a $4500 vet bill that she had to dig into savings and max out her credit card for. Her mom’s cat is on insulin. These are pets, not children!

She complains about having to make decisions based on economic realities-eating out less, buying less expensive food. She has to buy generics now. How can one live without mani-pedis? Going to matinees now? The horror!

Her proposed solutions compound the problem. She wants another stimulus check but does not recognize that it was the last round of spending that triggered the inflations she is complaining about. The “Inflation Reduction Act” that she lauds is expected to raise inflation in the short term, and Congress, being Congress, will never allow any longer term benefits to take effect. (largely, because people like her will demand another round of inflationary spending from Uncle Sam to counter the previous rounds of inflationary spending. Printing more money makes prices go down, you see.)

Raising the minimum wage will mean she gets to eat out less. (It also means lower employment, inflation, and/or business failures, starting with the smallest, weakest ones first.)

As for raising taxes on energy companies: according to Yahoo Finance, no energy company is in the Top 25 most profitable US companies:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/25-most-profitable-companies-much-210008598.html

The problem isn’t the oil companies-it’s that the administration is actively hostile to them.

Thanks for letting me vent…

Achilles said...

I am curious to see if Ann will comment on our newest Supreme Court justices opinions on the 14th amendment.

KBJ is going to make affirmative action look pretty bad it seems.

wildswan said...

Random Notes on the Ukraine war.

You can find the towns which the Ukrainian offensives are moving through by typing the names in Google Earth. Then you can see the terrain also.
You can translate Ukrainian and Russian Telegram and Twitter by highlighting the text, then using Google Translate.
The Institute for the Study of War site is run by those I consider [deleted]. However they do a good job of presenting the tactical war and of vetting wild internet rumors by geolocating pictures. They present Putin as a rational actor making best economic choices; I think he's an imperialist.
August 1914 by Solzhenitsyn presents a familiar situation in that back then there also was logistical chaos, a lengthy chain of command, Army promotions based on social ranking resulting in incompetence, indifference to the fate of the soldiers by their commanders, inability to grasp the battlefield situation, inability to make a decision to stop a hopeless war. It seems to me that's going on at present in the Kremlin and its sycophant nomenklatura has very little to do with the present - it's more like the Russian society of 1914. No other society in Europe is so much like what it was 100 years ago. The Kremlin fears and dreams especially have nothing to do with the activities of other societies existing in the present, even including Russian society which neglected the armed forces as determinedly as all other Europeans.** Only the other Europeans didn't neglect the armed forces and then try to invade with them.

*(except for the present Ukrainian Armed Forces and their tactics)
**(except the Ukrainians after 2014)

tim in vermont said...

In the novel about the Spanish Civil War, "For Whom the Bell Tolls," Hemingway describes the tactic of the communists, when taking over a village. They round up the businessmen and local politicians, call them "fascists," and lead them, in the case he describes, to a cliff. All of the poor people in the town are given implements, like flails, pitchforks, etc, and are forced to use them at gunpoint, to in turn force the "fascists" off the cliff to their deaths. The reason behind this was to give the villagers a sense of shared responsibility for the atrocity, to secure their loyalty. This is kind of how I feel, now, about them wanting us to vote.

We live in a military empire and our votes have no say. If you say we don't, I ask you how it is that the latest sanctions against Russia require all Russian oil to be paid for in US dollars, not even dollars or euros, and for sanctions to be invoked against anybody who tries to work around these sanctions?

They keep us squabbling over nonsense and divide us against each other. I wish they would just be honest about it, you know, have an "Empire Day" instead of V-J day, and make it a national holiday, like the Brits used to do. Maybe we could even honor the old empire, like the Romans honored the Greeks, and make it on St Georges Day.

BTW: Castro famously used the book as a "how to" in taking over the island of Cuba, and he and his officers used to read it over and over and discuss it in their camps, Castro was only a lawyer, after all, what did he know about communist revolutions? But I guess that's because Hemingway was a blowhard fraud. Anyway, Hemingway became quite uncomfortable with the hero worship coming out of Cuba after the revolution. Say what you will, the novel was authentic, as was A Farewell to Arms.

BUMBLE BEE said...

SHHHH! - https://nypost.com/2022/10/04/fbi-tracked-aretha-franklin-for-40-years-docs/

Now do MLK

BUMBLE BEE said...

Wait till the military replenishment bill comes due... Trillions.
Wail till Emergency Petroleum Reserve replenishment bill comes due... Trillions
Like the Dems said... "Do It To The Children"...
Epstein approved that message.
And Bill Clinton
And Bill Gates

wendybar said...

As Joe depletes our EMERGENCY Stockpile of oil, for an emergency HE caused, just remember....Democrats hate you and WANT you to pay higher prices so they can usher in their electric vehicle boondoggle that we don't have the energy for. TRUMP was trying to build it up. They tore it down...just like the statues they hate.


https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/10/putins-puppet-2020-chuck-schumer-democrats-blocked-trumps-proposal-buy-american-oil-24-barrel-crushed-american-energy-producers-giant-gift-putin/

Narr said...

Good commentary, 'wildswan' at 939. Perhaps Russia is fated always to lag behind--from the Mongol Yoke to the Red Straightjacket centuries later, something keeps them on the margins (besides their historically determined ethno-national-spiritual character itself).

OTOH we have developed an imperial class ourselves, corrupt, completely divorced from the way most of us live, and as determined to arrange the world to their whim as any in our history. And the hacktream media studiously ignore the evidence.

Tony Bob Ulinski? Didn't he kick for the old Alaska Goldrush back in the 80s?



Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If you are fat… obese let’s say. Does that mean you have more blood in your body than someone who is not obese?

I’m looking for hidden obese privileges. Not being obese myself, I wander if they have more blood to donate.

wendybar said...

Probably a Progressive Antifa who tore down American statues and got away with it. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11288181/US-tourist-smashes-two-ancient-Vatican-busts-told-Pope-Francis.html

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Oh, excellent OPEC says they don't have enough profits, let's cut production 2 million barrels a day, Saudis laughing all the way to the bank (more $$$$). Looks like more time on my bike and now maybe my COLA raise for 2023 will go back up to around 11% instead of 8.5%(handicapped find out in 7 days) still biggest increase in my almost 15 years of collecting Soc Sec. Empty the reserves Joe what are you saving it for, it's the end of the world (this week) any way. C'mon man. Hey ya get lemons make lemonade just don't whine or in other words previously stated, don't be grumpy!

Original Mike said...

"Oh, excellent OPEC says they don't have enough profits, let's cut production 2 million barrels a day, Saudis laughing all the way to the bank (more $$$$)."

Biden calls Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state, then asks them to pump more oil for us because we have stopped pumping our own. And somehow the Saudis didn't go for that. Huh.

gadfly said...

So the question before the house is: Why does it matter if Biden opens the gates to permit Venezuelan oil to be shipped to the U.S. and Europe when the South American country is a member of OPEC+ which has lowered its total shipments by 2 million bbl/day?

This ain't an oil supply problem, folks.

Josephbleau said...

“Tony Bob Ulinski? Didn't he kick for the old Alaska Goldrush back in the 80s?”

Well, the gold stampede was in ‘98 so he must have took up early to get a good claim!

pacwest said...

We just got through with a fall trip in northern Wisconson, mostly the Ironwood and Cable areas. 90-100% peak. Wow. Just wow. A little bit less red maple maybe, but it outshone New England's in most regards. If you near the area just do it.

tim in vermont said...

How did Bucca really happen? Did Western observers get in there the first few days after the Ukrainians took over? Did they ever talk to anybody without Ukrainian minders present?

"We are hunting them down, and shooting them like pigs."

In our names with our money. This is why genocide is always top of mind with the Ukrainians. Ukrainians consider Russians a subhuman mongrel race of Mongols and Finns, "Orcs."

exhelodrvr1 said...

wildswan,
vcdgf555, defmon3, trenttelenko, iaponomarenko are the four places I get most of my info on the fighting in Ukraine. They often retweet the ISW info. They are pro-Ukrainian, but are careful to provide accurate info.

Original Mike said...

You have to build your refinery to the type of crude oil you expect to receive. Gulf coast refineries are set up for refining heavy crude, such as is sourced from Venezuela. Venezuela is a thug nation and we don't like buying from thug nations. Oh well, what's to be done? What bad luck.

"What's that?" "Canada's on the line?" "They have a MILLION barrels a day of heavy crude they want to ship us down a shiny new pipeline?" "That's awesome! Now we don't have to kowtow to that thug Maduro." "Bring it on!"

"What's that?" "WE cancelled the pipeline?" "What bad luck." "Get Maduro back on the line."

"What's that? He won't sell us his oil?" "We are so unlucky."

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Canada has signed a contract with the World Economic Forum for the Known Traveler Digital ID.

link to tweet

What happens when facts start to sound like conspiracy theories?

Via Small Dead Animals.

n.n said...

Is the Ukrainian-paramilitary axis aborting Russians or Ukrainians (Russian-Ukrainians?) that have been under assault for over eight years by the regimes in Kiev? If the latter, then it is indeed a poor convention for Russian peacekeepers.

n.n said...

Ukrainians consider Russians a subhuman mongrel race

They're not alone. On the Diversity [dogma], Inequity, and Exclusion (DIE) scale, Russians are People of White (PoW) for social justice purposes, but not European, and not Asian, lives deemed not viable, who could be easily aborted without a "burden" of evidence in the modern model.

Dave Begley said...

Sen. Ben Sasse of NE to resign from the Senate. I think the Governor appoints a successor. No election. The way it will go down is that Jim Pillen will become Governor and he will appoint the current Governor, Pete Ricketts, to replace Sasse.

Oddly enough, Pete is hosting a steak fry this weekend with both of S. Carolina's Senators in attendance.

Michael K said...

This ain't an oil supply problem, folks.

The voice of delusion. Democrat delusion, I might add.

Howard said...

Ukrainians are fighting mostly with weapons that the retreating Russians have left on the battlefield. No special training required.

Howard said...

Venezuela may be a thug Nation but they didn't attack us on 9/11 like the Saudi Arabians did.

Beasts of England said...

Some dude named David Hookstead left this little gem on Twitter:

‘I’m not saying Wisconsin can steal Nick Saban away from Alabama, but given our great academics and outstanding campus, we should at least call to gauge his interest.’

Yeah, give him a shout. And if he takes the job, at least he won’t let the football recruiting program be dormant for eight months. Whoopsie!

Howard said...

I can't wait to try the new adult happy meal at McDonald's. It's only 1,300 calories. Just a snack really.

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

"Ukrainians consider Russians a subhuman mongrel race of Mongols and Finns, "Orcs.""

The feeling is quite mutual. Holodomors don't create themselves, ya know. The Russians still consider their genocide against the Ukes completely justified, at least when they're not denying it.

Ann Althouse said...

I just found out the double butterburger at Culver’s is only 560 calories.

Original Mike said...

"I just found out the double butterburger at Culver’s is only 560 calories."

That leaves room for a Curderburger!

rhhardin said...

Boca extra spicy soy chicken patty isn't bad, nuke and eat. 140 calories. The only bearable Boca patty I've found though.

rhhardin said...

Checking out my new emergency hotspot capablility (2 GB/$10) on the last day before its month was up, normal blog reading and bank account checking runs 250Mb, so it would last 8 days when my DSL goes out. It takes two weeks to fix the DSL so I'd have to refresh the limit once if that happened. It's nice to have a way to pay bills now when the phone breaks though.

Original Mike said...

it's baffling that we are begging other nations, nations who are not our friends, to pump more oil when we know we can pump our own. Glenn Reynolds has an explanation that rings true: "It’s just a question of whether the money goes to Saudis, Russians or Venezuelans or to Americans.…And I suspect that’s the real problem. The domestic oil industry enriches people — and states — Democrats don’t like. Money going to Saudis, Russians or Venezuelans is one thing, but money going to Texans, Oklahomans or South Dakotans is another. Truth is, red states and their inhabitants rank higher on the administration’s enemies list than do shady foreign nations."

Carol said...

I'm a sucker for the Double Char Broil at the local C store.

No idea what's in the patties. Could be pure soy.

Lurker21 said...

Interesting article from a few months back in the New Criterion: On the growing class of “intellectuals.”

Our postmodern society, a world of fabulous frauds, owes its crazed condition to a historically unique circumstance: the existence within it of a huge, autocephalous class of intellectuals. This oddity derives from two further anomalies. First is the production, in unprecedented numbers—both absolutely and relatively—of people who possess university degrees, regard themselves as intellectually sophisticated, and either work in higher education or take their lead from those who do. Second is a willingness to allow academics to build for themselves positions of near-institutional impregnability. Although not generally remarked upon, these twined peculiarities of the Western thought-world—its growth to vast disproportion and the heavy entrenchment of its academic core—comprise the taproot of our deepening delirium.


I'm not so keen on the tone or on the comparison of "mind-workers" with prostitutes later on, but there is something in what he is saying about our present condition.

Rusty said...

DINKY DAU 45 said...
Why are you not happy? You voted for this. Isn't this what you wanted?

Lurker21 said...

Interesting article from a few months back in the New Criterion: On the growing class of “intellectuals.”

Our postmodern society, a world of fabulous frauds, owes its crazed condition to a historically unique circumstance: the existence within it of a huge, autocephalous class of intellectuals. This oddity derives from two further anomalies. First is the production, in unprecedented numbers—both absolutely and relatively—of people who possess university degrees, regard themselves as intellectually sophisticated, and either work in higher education or take their lead from those who do. Second is a willingness to allow academics to build for themselves positions of near-institutional impregnability. Although not generally remarked upon, these twined peculiarities of the Western thought-world—its growth to vast disproportion and the heavy entrenchment of its academic core—comprise the taproot of our deepening delirium.


I'm not so keen on the tone or on the comparison of "mind-workers" with prostitutes later on, but there is something in what he is saying about our present condition.

Lurker21 said...

Interesting article from a few months back in the New Criterion: On the growing class of “intellectuals.”

Our postmodern society, a world of fabulous frauds, owes its crazed condition to a historically unique circumstance: the existence within it of a huge, autocephalous class of intellectuals. This oddity derives from two further anomalies. First is the production, in unprecedented numbers—both absolutely and relatively—of people who possess university degrees, regard themselves as intellectually sophisticated, and either work in higher education or take their lead from those who do. Second is a willingness to allow academics to build for themselves positions of near-institutional impregnability. Although not generally remarked upon, these twined peculiarities of the Western thought-world—its growth to vast disproportion and the heavy entrenchment of its academic core—comprise the taproot of our deepening delirium.


I'm not so keen on the tone or on the comparison of "mind-workers" with prostitutes later on, but there is something in what he is saying about our present condition.