Althouse: Queen Anne's Lace in the wind at dawn.

July 17, 2023

Queen Anne's Lace in the wind at dawn.

693F6B7F-0717-4808-8C51-1E636DEE7B26_1_105_c

Open thread in the comments.

ADDED: The video version.

68 comments:

gilbar said...: does This surprise anyone? Any One, at all?
https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2023/07/17/transgender-ncaa-swimmer-lia-thomas-embraces-domestic-terror-group-antifa/
Thomas is seen in the photo wearing dark sunglasses and the Antifa shirt, reading “Antifa Super Solder,” along with a bondage-style, military-esque leather gear. He is also holding up his hand in a mock peace sign.; 7/17/23, 6:32 PM
Humperdink said...: A pro-Ukraine war commenter on another thread asserted: "If there were U.S. "advisors" in Ukraine it would have leaked out by now. This is the most transparent war ever, with everyone on both sides using cellphones."

I clearly disagree. I am curious as to who is training the Ukes on our weapon systems?; 7/17/23, 8:03 PM
Gahrie said...: I've heard that Thomas hooked up with another man pretending to be a woman, and that they consider themselves to be lesbians.; 7/17/23, 8:16 PM
farmgirl said...: Your title sounds like a line in a poem.
I picked Queen Ann’s lace from the roadside in August to put in my bridal bouquet. I especially chose stems w/bird’s nests(I call them) pretty sure they are unfurled blooms. So adorable.; 7/17/23, 8:17 PM
farmgirl said...: … super solder?; 7/17/23, 8:18 PM
Chuck said...: Here's one that seems like a setup for an Althouse blog post:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Relatives Condemn His Comments Once More (New York Times).

It's a two-fer for Althouse. A chance to perform a technical defense of RFKjr ("He didn't exactly say that COVID was intentionally engineered to spare Ashkenazy Jews; he was just asking questions...") As well as a chance to attack the non-MAGA Kennedys along with the NY Times.

Let me cut to the chase and suggest a better way for Kennedys to talk about their brother/cousin/father/uncle Bobby Junior. It might go something like this:

We have seen the reported remarks made by Bobby on the subject of the global pandemic. On a subject of such importance, any public figure's remarks need to be clear, well supported and carefully measured. Bobby's remarks, whatever he might have meant and whatever he intended to convey, failed on all counts.

It appears that Bobby's curious and carelessly chosen words (and here we quote Bobby) -- “COVID-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted...” -- have hurt and confused countless people. Bobby owes them all an apology, as well as an apology to all of the brave and hardworking medical professionals and first responders who have fought the pandemic. If Bobby is "just asking questions," we feel that he's done an unusually poor job of it.

Bobby does not speak for our family, and we wish to publicly distance ourselves, and particularly the charities which we have devoted ourselves to, including the Special Olympics, and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, from Bobby.

We are tired of Bobby's reckless commentaries on COVID, on vaccines, and on childhood illnesses. We are alarmed by Bobby's other political recklessness. It is regrettable that a statement of this nature needed to be issued. But we do so understanding that we could not remain silent in the face of Bobby's hurtful irresponsibility.

/s/Kerry Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy II, Joseph Kennedy III, et al; 7/17/23, 8:19 PM
Drago said...: LOL

Banned Commenter LLR-democratical and Violent Homosexual Rage Rape Fantasist Chuck is such a psycho.

I wonder if his, no doubt, exceedingly large team of therapists knows he spends time on Althouse blog posting the things he does?

That cannot be helping the therapy regime.; 7/17/23, 9:03 PM
Rocco said...: Oh, baby, you know what I like

[Queen Anne's] lace and a pretty face
And a ponytail hangin' down
A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk
Make the world go 'round

Ain't nothing in the world like a big-eyed girl
To make me act so funny, make me spend my money
Make me feel real loose like a long-necked goose
Like a girl, oh baby, that's a-what I like.

- The Big Bopper, 1958 [almost]; 7/17/23, 9:20 PM
Rocco said...: "Queen Anne's Lace in the wind at dawn."

Better than pistols in the wind at dawn.; 7/17/23, 9:21 PM
Caroline said...: Queen Anne’s lace is charming but invasive. A team of botanists at white rock lake park in Dallas has been trying to eradicate it for a couple of years. Chokes out the native prairie stuff.; 7/17/23, 9:29 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Humperdink (8:03pm):

1. If you're going to quote another commenter's words and criticize them, basic decency requires you to say whose words you are quoting (mine) and where he said them ("Wildflowers at Dawn", 5th post below this one).

2. If you're going to ask questions like "who is training the Ukes on our weapon systems?", you should first try to find out for yourself. An obvious Bing search like "training Ukrainian soldiers" will immediately tell you that 18,000 have been trained in the U.K., that the U.S. trained 90-100 Ukrainians to fire Patriot missiles at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, and that 150 Florida National Guard soldiers were training Ukrainians in western Ukraine, until just before Russia invaded, at which point, out of an "abundance of caution", the trainers were moved to Grafenwoehr, Germany, where they continued to train Ukrainians. All this and much more just on the first page of Bing results.

I've heard that the Netherlands - still pissed over the murder of 198 of their citizens nine years ago today, when Russian soldiers pretending to be Donbas insurgents shot down a Malaysian airliner - will be the first country to train Ukrainian pilots to fly their surplus F-16s. Many other countries are also training Ukrainians in various skills. Much of this was done in Ukraine between Russia's first invasion and the second, but it's all being done outside the country now.

In the future, please do your own homework. And name your adversaries.; 7/17/23, 9:29 PM
chickelit said...: Who are the other Kennedy’s purporting to speak for RFK,Jr.?

And where is Weevil? There is a questionable comment at 8:03 which is not 100% pro-Ukrainian. He’s better jump on it. At least Zero Hedge wasn’t quoted.; 7/17/23, 9:49 PM
chickelit said...: Shorter Kerry Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy II, Joseph Kennedy III, et al:

Bobby, shut up and keep your head down.; 7/17/23, 9:53 PM
Rafe said...: You call it “Queen Anne’s Lace”.

How beautiful.

But you can’t fool me.

I know that’s chigger weed.

- Rafe; 7/17/23, 10:07 PM
Owen said...: farmgirl: I had the same reaction to AA's title.

Queen Anne's Lace in the wind at dawn:
There seems so little to be going on--
The kiss of day, the brush of air
Surround the moment trembling there--
Yet all is real, completely so,
Just hard to know, because so slow.; 7/17/23, 11:41 PM
Jupiter said...: Chuck, Chuck!

It's so hard to understand you, with that big dick in your mouth!

Spit it out, Chuck. What are you tryin' to say? Spit it out!; 7/18/23, 12:26 AM
Jupiter said...: I am pondering on these times. We seem to have a substantial subpopulation, arising whence I know not, of Americans who feel a definite antipathy to the whole idea of continuing the human project. Abortion? Check! Non-procreative sex? Check! Self-indulgent unproductive life strategies? Check, check, check!

OK, this seems like a self-correcting aberration. I won't live to see their exit, but my kids won't need to deal with their genes. Ta-ta.

But then, I ask myself, wouldn't it make sense to be the Amish? Their numbers are doubling every decade. I don't know if they're particularly meek, but they sure seem poised to inherit the Earth. Except ...; 7/18/23, 12:33 AM
Jupiter said...: I just can't turn my back on the ... the American project. Is it failed? If a society that cuts the balls off of its male children is not failed, then failure is not even possible. Our society stinks of massive failure. But is there really nothing to be salvaged from the wreck? Was it all waste, vanity or worse? And even if it is failed, then what? It's a Hell of great continent.; 7/18/23, 12:40 AM
Jupiter said...: "Here's one that seems like a setup for an Althouse blog post:"

Chuckles, there are contractors who will install a hardwood floor in your home, with a particle-board substrate. Once you've got that laid down, and finished, you can nail your dick to the floor. You're going to want to use several nails, and you're going to want to pre-drill the holes, just 1/16th of an inch smaller than the nails you use. That way, the wood won't split, and the nails won't bend, but no way are they going to pull out. Trust me, Chuckles, this is going to work. Then set the place on fire, and, Voi-fucking-la! Problem solved!; 7/18/23, 12:49 AM
tim in vermont said...: They do tell us the truth, in a "Bizzaro World" way.

When Hillary said "resist," what she was really saying is "don't resist." Donald Trump is leading the resistance to their plans.

When the Democrats said they were "saving democracy," they were in fact holding a pillow over its face.

They say things that make us think that they are stupid because if they carry them out, their policies will inevitably harm us, but the fact is that they know, for example, that electric cars are a poor substitute for gas powered cars for large numbers of Americans, and they don't care. Lots of Democrats in cities don't understand the freedom to live one's life that a gas car confers, so Democrats consider the arguments about "loss of freedom" to be just so much nonsense, but the ruling cabal *wants* to take away our right to travel freely. This is why they came down so hard on the Canadian truckers. "Who are these guys to demand the right of travel within their own country? We better nip this in the bud, right now!"

"Don't resist, resistance is futile." - What the Borg Queen Hillary was actually saying.; 7/18/23, 4:36 AM
tim in vermont said...: If the Kennedys are against Bobby Jr, that just raises his stock in my estimation. Only a lifelong Republican could imagine that what the Kennedy family thinks is somehow important.; 7/18/23, 4:37 AM
wendybar said...: The Kennedy's are so special. They were okay with Uncle Teddy killing a young girl, leaving her to die whilst he went home and went to bed, and they were okay with their Uncle and Father boffing whomever they wanted right in their wives faces. What honorable Progressives they are!! NOW they are dissing a family member??; 7/18/23, 4:49 AM
wendybar said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/18/23, 4:50 AM
wendybar said...: Not to mention, they were standing behind their rapist cousin William Kennedy Smith, and murderer of Martha Moxley, Michael Skakel. Never heard ONE of them condemning any of the above.; 7/18/23, 4:52 AM
tim in vermont said...: I love the Queen Anne's lace time of summer, but here in Vermont, over the past decade, it's become smothered by Russian parsnip, which grows about a foot taller, if you want to fight against exponential growth in numbers, you can pull out the Russian parsnip, or mow it down before it goes to seed, to protect the Queen Anne's lace, but it's a losing battle over time. I now let the Queen Anne's lace invade my flower garden, rather than pulling it up.; 7/18/23, 4:56 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Here's one that seems like a setup for an Althouse blog post"

I've already blogged this story, minus the Kerry Kennedy et al. contribution. What does she add that you find so compelling?

I guess I wonder who drafted this and who's behind pushing it forward.; 7/18/23, 4:58 AM
Humperdink said...: I mentioned on another thread the Korean, Viet Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars were a waste of the blood/lives of our military forces. A fellow commenter responded: "South Korea is in fact a thriving democracy, though it took a couple of decades to develop into one. Iraq is on the same trajectory and would be a lot further along if Iran were not doing its worst to stop them ... "

Funny how he/she failed to mention North Korea and our thousands of troops still guarding the 38th parallel. And have been for 70years or so. What a victory! Nor does he mention Afghanistan. A continue disaster. Iraq on track to be a democracy??? Democracies in the middle east are rare, so rare in fact there is only one - that would Israel.; 7/18/23, 5:15 AM
BudBrown said...: Beautiful. Birds sound happy. Maybe they ate the butterflies.; 7/18/23, 5:31 AM
tim maguire said...: Humperdink said.... I am curious as to who is training the Ukes on our weapon systems?

The countries providing them. They’re not just leaving billions of dollars in advanced equipment on Ukraine’s doorstep. They want to make sure it will be used effectively. Otherwise, why bother?; 7/18/23, 5:40 AM
Chuck said...: Well, Althouse, when one's main claim to fame is the last name “Kennedy,” and all the other Kennedys are disowning you, it undercuts your message a bit.

But as for “who drafted this and who’s behind pushing it forward,” the answer is me. Me, along with Soros, and Fauci, and the Rothschilds, Big Pharma, the Ashkenazy Jews, the fake news media, the Deep State, Antifa, Ray Epps, Christopher Wray, and of course the Marxists and the communists and the fascists.

I'm not doing it for myself; I'm doing it for the people. Because I am the only one who can do it.; 7/18/23, 5:48 AM
tim in vermont said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/18/23, 6:02 AM
tim in vermont said...: I wonder what Janet Yellen went to China, literally on bended knee, to ask for. What favor did she beg of China?

It's kind of interesting that we are spending about the same amount of money in interest on our national debt as we are on Social Security. Every time interest rates rise, it gets worse, and if interest rated don't rise, well, we get hammered with inflation.; 7/18/23, 6:02 AM
Chuck said...: In slightly less-Kennedy news, there are two new essays that are thoroughly essential reading, and exquisitely wonderful when read together.

FIRST, Private GOP Polling Data Reveals Why DeSantis’ Campaign Is Sputtering The Florida governor wanted to unseat Trump in part by harnessing voters' rage over Covid and vaccines. Internal data reveal that's a losing bet. By Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley.
Title says it all. A fascinating inside look at what internal polling across several campaigns is saying about Desanctimonious' bet onbuilding a campaign around opposing Covid mandates and vaccines. And how, in the face of losing results on that strategy, Ron is still hanging on to it. Polling suggests that MAGAworld has lost interest in everything Covid, including anti-vaccinism and anti-mandatism.

That leads to the SECOND essay. Tim Miller posting just this morning in The Bulwark. A completely brilliant column about the podcasting adventure that is Candace Owens. President Candace: The MAGA mom vlogger-in-chief might just be Trump’s most natural apprentice. This one is just a pure joy to read; and it dovetails so beautifully with the polling data about how MAGA has lost interest in anti-lockdownism. Bookends to the limits, such as they are, of MAGA consciousness. Neatly divided genderwise between the male (Desanctimonious' macho appeal to anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown tough guys) and female (Candace Owens' exhaustion with all of the dispiriting criminal law details of Trump's prosecutions when there are Brazilian Butt Lifts plaguing the nation.)

Read them both.; 7/18/23, 6:27 AM
wendybar said...: "When was the last time you saw anything in the legacy media demanding a solution to:

The Supreme Court leak
The pipe bomber who left his or her handiwork outside the DNC and RNC and January 6, 2021. Considering the vast amount of investigative resources spent identifying grannies who were close to the US Capitol then, it is distinctly odd that no progress has been made.
And now, the White House cocaine discovery, which has been “wrapped up” as unsolvable by the Secret Service, thereby forever tainting that once-revered organization as a source of political hackery. Stand by for any further curiosity from conservative media to be tarred as a “conspiracy theory.”
The memory holing of these mysteries is yet another sign that we have become a banana republic. I am so old that I remember when we were a democratic republic.
Oh, and by the way, what ever happened to all those recordings that Jeffrey Epstein made of his guests?"

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/07/emunsolved_mysteriesem_dc_edition.html; 7/18/23, 6:57 AM
Ann Althouse said...: By the way, never use boldface like what you see above. Use your words to be compelling. You're stealing from my control of the visual aesthetics of my blog. I will delete things like that in the future. It's okay to boldface a word or phrase, but to boldface a big block of text is obtuse and wrong.; 7/18/23, 7:04 AM
Humperdink said...: @Tim Maguire. I agree the “countries providing them” are training the Ukes on the weapons but where? To think we have no training personnel on site is a bit naive. Maybe you are not suggesting that.; 7/18/23, 7:05 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I don't like the concocted non-news of somebody's family putting out a statement. Someone rounded them up and drafted the letter. I'd blog a news story about that. Otherwise, we can judge RFK Jr.'s statement on its own, and I already did that. I don't need family members to help me read something.; 7/18/23, 7:06 AM
Drago said...: LLR-democratical and Violent Homosexual Rage Rape Fantasist Chuck: "Here's one that seems like a setup for an Althouse blog post"

Althouse: "I've already blogged this story, minus the Kerry Kennedy et al. contribution. What does she add that you find so compelling?

I guess I wonder who drafted this and who's behind pushing it forward."

It has become clear that Banned Commenter LLR-democratical Chuck has added a 3rd purpose in posting at Althouse blog in addition to his explicitly articulated other 2 purposes which he bragged about quite extensively, which are:

-Smearing and lying about conservatives and Trump
- Driving a wedge between Althouse and her readers

The 3rd purpose appearing to be nothing more than acting as a long winded advertiser hawking the wares of left wing blog sites such as the leftist billionaire funded The Bulwark on Althouse blog.

I suppose this is a pathetic variation of purpose number 2 which Chuck may believe will help him achieve purpose number 1 as well.

Chuck might as well just add a profile picture of himself wearing a sandwich board reading: "Please Leave Althouse Blog And Visit My Left Wing Blog Site Favorites!"

And since Chuck has come out very, very passionately in favor of the radical trans and sexual grooming of young children agenda, including the over the top sexualized drag shows for small children, Chuck could maintain his anonymous identity at Althouse blog, where he has been banned, by dressing in drag while sporting the sandwich board in his photo!

Now that's what David French would really call a blessing of liberty!; 7/18/23, 7:28 AM
Big Mike said...: Better than pistols in the wind at dawn.

Depends on how good a shot you are.; 7/18/23, 7:33 AM
Gahrie said...: Funny how he/she failed to mention North Korea and our thousands of troops still guarding the 38th parallel. And have been for 70years or so. What a victory!

We still have tens of thousands of military personnel stationed across Europe and in Japan nearly 80 years later...does that mean we lost WW II?; 7/18/23, 7:38 AM
rehajm said...: I don't like the concocted non-news of somebody's family putting out a statement

Disagree- the story has value as the propaganda of the day. It is insight about what the propagandists are thinking is important- we have to do something about RFKJ. It is also one more data point of the corruptive coordination with fellow liberals in government.; 7/18/23, 7:41 AM
tim in vermont said...: Queen Anne was something of a patron saint to the Palatine refugees whom she protected when in London and provided land for in colonial New York, where the flower is ubiquitous. I have always assumed that the flower was named to honor her out of gratitude by those settlers.; 7/18/23, 8:02 AM
Humperdink said...: I said: "Funny how he/she failed to mention North Korea and our thousands of troops still guarding the 38th parallel. And have been for 70years or so. What a victory!"

Gahrie responded: "We still have tens of thousands of military personnel stationed across Europe and in Japan nearly 80 years later...does that mean we lost WW II?"

So you are saying the Korean War was a victory for the US? Who knew?

BTW it would appear to me that having troops guarding the 38th parallel is a bit different than having troops, in say, Manheim, Germany. Maybe I'm wrong.; 7/18/23, 8:20 AM
Drago said...: tim in vermont: "Queen Anne was something of a patron saint to the Palatine refugees..."

You can't be a refugee from a place that never existed.

I guess Queen Anne fell for Emperor Hadrian's vicious joke as well.; 7/18/23, 8:22 AM
Big Mike said...: By the way, never use boldface like what you see above. Use your words to be compelling. You're stealing from my control of the visual aesthetics of my blog.

@Alhouse, don’t you recognize what that particular commentator is doing? Are your sons so old you’ve forgotten the “terrible twos”? Next he’ll push the boundaries until you respond angain, and after that he’ll probe to see whether he can push them a bit. That plus the whining and tantrums. Just remember what worked when you were a young mother.; 7/18/23, 8:25 AM
Humperdink said...: Speaking of the US's previous abject failures in nation building (read: no democracies), has anyone checked out the opposition political parties in Ukraine? Shazam, they have been banned.

Love this headline: "Ukraine Bans Political Opposition"

"Not just pro-Russian political parties, but individual dissidents, have been dealt with harshly by Ukrainian law and Ukrainian mobs."

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/ukraine-bans-political-opposition/; 7/18/23, 8:34 AM
wendybar said...: "Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., expressed outrage over new revelations that recently-retired ex-NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci is privy to a taxpayer-reimbursed security detail.
“HHS actually came back to us and said they haven’t been paying for it since January. But then we discovered that Fox did a Freedom of Information Act and a judge forced them to say that, well, while HHS wasn’t directly funding it, the US Marshals were funding it,” he said.
The senator said Fauci’s wealth increased 30% during the pandemic, and that he should be able to afford his own security without expending taxpayer funds.
“So it’s a terrible example of the government lying to its representatives and to the people. But also, why is a retired guy, the only retired official I know of that gets this kind of treatment is a former president,” Paul added.

“So I have no idea why this bureaucrat still has a limo driver security detail.”"

https://nypost.com/2023/07/18/rand-paul-lambasts-fauci-for-getting-treated-like-a-president-with-taxpayer-funded-security/; 7/18/23, 9:38 AM
Drago said...: Humperdink: "Speaking of the US's previous abject failures in nation building (read: no democracies), has anyone checked out the opposition political parties in Ukraine? Shazam, they have been banned."

Political parties have been banned.
Opposition leaders thrown in jail.
Elections "suspended" indefinitely.
Churches closed.
Religious leaders arrested.
All media brought under state control.
No opposing voices allowed.

These are things that apparently needed to happen in Ukraine to "save democracy".; 7/18/23, 9:48 AM
tim in vermont said...: "You can't be a refugee from a place that never existed."

Must have been a mass delusion that their homes and farms were ravaged by warfare.; 7/18/23, 11:04 AM
Gahrie said...: So you are saying the Korean War was a victory for the US? Who knew?

It contained the spread of Communism, which was U.S. policy at the time, and it saved South Korea from being conquered by North Korea, so yes, I consider that a victory.

I bet the South Koreans do too.; 7/18/23, 12:00 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Drago (7:41am) needs to tell us whether he was making a very obscure joke, or doesn't know that Palatines and Palestinians are entirely different peoples, and the refugees Queen Anne was helping were the former. Palatines live in the Palatinate, which is actually two widely separated areas of Germany. The Lower Palatinate is the southeast quarter of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), while the Upper Palatinate is in eastern Bavaria along the Czech border. Most Pennsylvania Dutch are descended from Palatines - lower, I think.; 7/18/23, 12:01 PM
Gahrie said...: BTW it would appear to me that having troops guarding the 38th parallel is a bit different than having troops, in say, Manheim, Germany. Maybe I'm wrong.

Their missions were identical, prevent a country from being invaded by an aggressive Communist neighbor.; 7/18/23, 12:01 PM
gadfly said...: When Eddie Murphy was in the cast of “Saturday Night Live”, one of his characters was his interpretation of what an adult Buckwheat from “Our Gang” comedies would have been like, especially singing. One skit featured a commercial for a “Buckwheat” sings album that featured several popular songs, but in “Buckwheat” words that were close to the real ones. “Unce, Tice, Fee Times A Mady” was “Buckwheat’s” version of “Three Times A Lady”.

Donald Trump cried in his Coke about Jack Smith's notification that any false response could end up as indictment #3. Our "smartest" president somehow believes that Jack Smith and the DOJ broke the law on January 6.

“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment,”

He knows damn well that another day added will not change anything. But Donnie gets credit for being able to add up the time left before indictment #3 happens in addition to whatever happens today in Aileen Cannon's meeting at the Fort Pierce courthouse.; 7/18/23, 12:06 PM
Narr said...: "You can't be a refugee from a place that never existed."

'Must have been a mass delusion that their homes and farms were ravaged by warfare.'

The Palatine Delusion. Sounds like a Ludlum title.; 7/18/23, 12:10 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: What you posted, Althouse, sure looks like Queen Anne's Lace, but around here we also have giant hogweed -- the same, only much bigger. Something you don't wanna touch. At all.; 7/18/23, 12:43 PM
Humperdink said...: A victory in Korea would mean one Korea, not two, with one threatening the other with nukes. Everyone defines there own victory I guess; 7/18/23, 1:17 PM
Drago said...: Dr Weevil: "Drago (7:41am) needs to tell us whether he was making a very obscure joke..."

Ironically, I did not include the Emily Litella"-lead in of "What's all this I'm hearing about..." because I thought THAT would too obscure.

Just goes to show ya.; 7/18/23, 2:21 PM
Dr Weevil said...: I'm beginning to wonder whether Humperdink, Candide, gilbar, and tim in vermont are four different people, or three, or two, or maybe even one.

Whatever, Humperdink continues his swinish refusal to name his opponent (me) and continues to misrepresent what I have written. On the previous thread ("Wildflowers at Dawn", 5 posts down) he asked "What did we gain in Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan? Are these countries thriving democracies?" South Korea is in fact a thriving and prosperous democracy, enriching the rest of the world with high-quality cars, electronics, movies, and more. "What about North Korea?" he asks. What about it? We were defending South Korea from a North Korean invasion, and did so successfully. We would in fact have liberated North Korea if China hadn't intervened with hundreds of thousands of troops. But South Korea is free, with roughly the same border as before - a little further north on the east, a little further south on the west. And North Korea has given the world nothing in the past 70 years except a horrible example of just how brutal and inhuman communist dictatorships can be. Whether the Korean War was worth the cost in lives is an unanswerable apples-and-oranges question. That it in fact did a great deal of good for South Korea and the world is undeniable.

A lot of ignorant people, some of them in these comments, like to pretend that the U.S. hasn't won a war since World War II, and that we shouldn't even try because U.S. intervention always makes things worse. This is of course false as a generalization: South Korea, Panama, and Grenada are all democracies because the U.S. military liberated them, arguably the Dominican Republic as well. There are certainly instances where it is true, most notoriously Libya, totally wrecked by Obama and Hillary. And any attempt to keep a country free that fails (Vietnam, Afghanistan) obviously does little or no good and a lot of harm.

His statement "Nor does he mention Afghanistan" (5:15am) is a lie. He mentioned four specific countries, I talked about two by name (Korea and Iraq) and then wrote "As for the others", clearly referring to the other two: Vietnam and Afghanistan.; 7/18/23, 2:33 PM
Dr Weevil said...: (continued from previous)

Humperdink also continues to pretend (7:05am) that it would be "naive" to suppose that we are not training Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that we were doing so before the second Russian invasion in 2023, and that we and other nations have been training them outside Ukraine since then. There is absolutely zero evidence of any US or NATO trainers inside Ukraine since then. Still less is there any evidence of the kind of "advisors" we had in Vietnam, who were in fact combat soldiers. The will to believe is strong in this one.

Then he insists (8:34pm) that he "Love[s] this headline: 'Ukraine Bans Political Opposition'". He obviously wants us to believe that all political opposition has been banned. This is false. A quick check of Wikipedia would have told him that Ukraine had 132 political parties in 2015, that Zelensky banned 11 parties a few weeks after the 2022 invasion, but only 2 of those had any members in Parliament, and that there are still 8 different parties in Parliament: Zelensky's (237 seats), two that support his party (18 seats each), three that oppose him (27+24+20=71 seats), two unaligned parties and a bunch of independent representatives (22+18+21=61). All this and much more in the Wikipedia 'Verkhovna Rada' article. In the 'Political Parties in Ukraine' article you will read "Ukraine's election law forbids outside financing of political parties or campaigns." Do you think any of the banned parties were receiving Russian money? I do.

In any case, it is not unheard of for a democracy to ban a party in war-time, if that party supports the enemy. Churchill had Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists, locked up during World War II, and most people think that was a reasonable thing to do. Does Humperdink?

As for the "individual dissidents" who have been "dealt with harshly", does that include the guy who called in the coordinates of Pizza Ria restaurant in Kramatorsk a few weeks ago so the Russians could hit it with a missile and murder 13 civilians? Victims included one of the best Ukrainian writers and 14-year-old twin girls. The man arrested by police was accused of walking by to make sure the place was plenty crowded so he could assure the Russians their missile wouldn't be wasted. Were the police a little rough when they shoved him in their paddy wagon? If so, who cares?; 7/18/23, 2:35 PM
Drago said...: Dr Weevil: "Most Pennsylvania Dutch are descended from Palatines - lower, I think."

My paternal grandmother was...at least that is what our family has been led to believe by the ancestry sleuths, though that is point of contention between several distant family members.; 7/18/23, 2:35 PM
Humperdink said...: @Dr Weevil. Just a tip, volume doesn't win debates.

Re: The continuing Ukraine fiasco. I suspect your mind will not be changed until you see the first mushroom cloud.; 7/18/23, 6:25 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Humperdink:
Just a tip for you: avoid ambiguous language. Do you mean "volume" as if I've been shouting? No all-caps in my posts, and very few exclamation points. Or do you mean I've written a lot of words? I write as many words as it takes to refute any falsehoods I see. A simple falsehood can be stated in far fewer words than it takes to show that it is false. That so many falsehoods are posted here on Ukraine is not my fault.

My mind will of course be changed when someone offers convincing evidence to change it. You don't seem to want to try.

By the way, Cambodian experts are training Ukrainians to clear minefields. Where? Partly in Cambodia, mostly in Poland, not in Ukraine. Just one more bit of evidence.; 7/18/23, 7:35 PM
Michael K said...: I agree that Korea was worth the war and Vietnam could have been a success if we had not intervened so heavy handedly. Afghanistan has been useless since Alexander and Iraq was a mistake, certainly once we tried "nation building." Gulf War I was OK although the armistice was botched by General Schwarzkopf.; 7/18/23, 9:25 PM
Humperdink said...: Korean victory? I need to check my Oxford dictionary regarding the word "stalemate". Maybe I'm wrong.; 7/19/23, 5:19 AM
Gahrie said...: Korean victory? I need to check my Oxford dictionary regarding the word "stalemate". Maybe I'm wrong.

Defeating a North Korean invasion and preserving South Koran independence was indeed a victory. If the war had been begun by the US or South Korea with the intention of destroying North Korea you would have a point. But it wasn't. Since our precise policy at the time was containment, a stalemate was in fact a victory for us. Would freeing North Korea and China from communism be preferable? Sure, but that was never anyone's goal but McArthur, and he ended up getting fired because of it.; 7/19/23, 11:00 AM
Dr Weevil said...: Like a common troll, Humperdink keeps harping on a matter of interpretation - whether the Korean War was won, tied, or lost - while avoiding the actual points of contention. Will he ever answer my objections in my 2:33 and 2:35 posts? Will he even tell me what he meant (6:25pm) by the "volume" of my posts? All signs point to no.

Conclusion: I should have written "As a common troll": "like" implies a mere resemblance, "as" states that he is an actual member of the class "troll".; 7/19/23, 3:31 PM
Humperdink said...: @Dr. Weevil. Thank you for your kind response. Lets face it, you will not be satisfied until the last drop of blood is extracted from both sides. Of course you are expecting Putin to come begging for peace prior to that occurrence. It could happen, but I doubt it. In war there are no sure things. Myself? I am hoping someone will initiate peace talks.

Regarding you labelling me a common troll, coming from someone with your intellect, I take that as a supreme compliment. Being labelled an uncommon troll, of course, would be much better. You may want to consider that. Thanks again!; 7/19/23, 5:15 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Humperdink:
I called you a troll because you act like one. You have yet to acknowledge that South Korea is in fact a thriving democracy, that I did in fact mention Afghanistan, though not by name, that there is absolutely zero evidence that US or NATO troops are training Ukrainians inside Ukraine and a great deal against it, that Zelenskyy has not in fact banned all or most political opposition, and that democracies do in fact ban political parties that support the enemy in wartime without ceasing to be democracies, as Churchill did the British Union of Fascists. What is your problem? It looks like you are incapable of arguing honestly, which makes you a troll.

And now you add more lies: "last drop of blood . . . from both sides"? No, I want a quick Ukrainian victory that will save lives on both sides. Some in Washington seem to like the idea of an eternal war, but they are complete swine who will not get their wish, though they are increasing the number of Ukrainian casualties by delaying the delivery of promised weapons.

Will someone "initiate peace talks"? Putin and his propagandists have made it quite clear that they're not interested in genuine peace talks, and openly say that they'd like a temporary ceasefire so they can catch their breath, rearm, train more troops, and attack Ukraine again. Nor do I expect "Putin to come begging for peace": I expect Putin to be deposed and quite likely killed either before or shortly after the Russian front line collapses, which is likely to happen in the next month or two.; 7/19/23, 7:18 PM