December 18, 2023

At the Monday Night Café...

 ... you can't talk about whatever you want.

No photos today. It was too windy for traipsing through the woods. But I hope you will nevertheless send me Amazon commissions by doing your shopping through the Althouse Portal.

61 comments:

Drago said...

Joke seen online; "How many Hamas terrorists are needed to screw in a lightbulb? Answer; Just one, but 25 photographers and 16,000 Palestinian deaths"

narciso said...

https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1736909259588124925

narciso said...

https://www.dossier.today/p/what-happens-when-america-no-longer

Will Cate said...

Windy here too. It's been much colder than normal in South Carolina this month. Predicted low here tomorrow morning is 26, cold-as-hell for these parts.

narciso said...

https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1736884051984646425

narciso said...

https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/1736625199259246813

narciso said...

https://www.wnd.com/2023/12/scarred-court-restores-girls-claims-injury-boys-athletics/

Narr said...

Can't talk about whatever we want? What can we talk about?

I'll mention that my computer mouse is dying, and I have been screen-touching all evening. Have never much liked that. Seems unsanitary somehow.

Ha. Mouse has revived.

Sydney said...

I have been watching various versions of A Christmas Carol these past few weeks. By no means have I watched them all, I've grown a little weary of the project, but my very most favorite is the 1935 version, (NOT the colorized version), but the original, available for free on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmQcRxqPELs
I love the way Scrooge is portrayed - not over the top like some of the other versions (looking at you, Allistar Sim and George C. Scott!) but yet his crimped soul in the beginning is portrayed well, and his happiness and joy on his conversion also very well done. Tiny Tim is not cloying like he is in so many of the other versions, and the Cratchetts live in a home that looks poor, not prosperous like the Alistair Simm version of the 1950's, or even the 1938 version with Reginald Owen. Highly recommend it, even though the film quality is a little poor.
Here are the versions I've watched:
1901 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY3ZgSHgdSM
1938 with Reginald Owen
1951 with Alistair Sim
1984 with George C. Scott
Scrooged with Bill Murray (My least favorite - too much yelling)
A Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol (Scrooge McDuck is too nice, except when he sends his fiance to the poor house because she is a half hour late with her rent.)
Bug's Bunny Christmas Carol (1979) - Didn't have the bite I expected from Loony Toons.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

NBC interviews young voters: ‘‘Almost every issue in my head that’s important to me ... I see a failure on Biden’s part"

Clyde said...

Clyde's Top 15 Favorite "New" Songs of 2023 - Part 4 of 16 - #13 - "Water in My Whiskey" - Gramps Morgan - Positive Vibrations (2021)

In the beginning of September, around the time Jimmy Buffett passed away, Amazon Music Unlimited started a daily My Mix, based on musical artists that the subscriber listens to. One of the first ones I got was based on Jimmy Buffett and similar musical acts. This song was on that My Mix list, and quickly became a favorite of mine. Gramps Morgan is a reggae singer, although this song is more of a reggae-crossover. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, and currently lives in Nashville.

There were three songs released as singles from the Positive Vibrations album, and strangely enough, this was not one of them. I've listened to the whole album, as well as some other albums by Morgan which were much more traditional reggae, but this song tops the list for me. "Don't put no water in my whiskey, mon, don't put that fire out!" ����

Gramps Morgan - Water in My Whiskey

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Via XTwitter: "Rep. Bennie Thompson admitted that he and Liz Cheney sent ‘evidence’ to GA DA Fani Willis, but he’s keeping it from @HouseGOP."

"He didn’t follow House rules and now he’s refusing to tell us which records he sent."

Evidence is emerging showing the persecution of Trump might be coordinated. If the people always crying about "our Democracy" genuinely cared about it, they would be very disturbed by this possibility.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Via XTwitter: Sheriff Lamb, of Pinal County, Arizona says the unvetted illegals coming into our country are given:

• A cell-phone
• A plane ticket to wherever they want to go
• A $5,000 VISA gift card

AS AMERICANS STRUGGLE - WE PAY FOR THEIR BS!

Clyde said...

Clyde's Top 15 Favorite "New" Songs of 2023 - Honorable Mentions (Part 3 of 5) - "Sun Burns Gold" - Maura Kennedy - The Kennedys - Retrospective (2012)

The Kennedys are Pete and Maura Kennedy, who met in Austin in 1992 when Pete was playing in Nanci Griffith's band. For their first date, they each drove 500 miles to meet at Buddy Holly's grave in Lubbock, Texas. I found their Retrospective album via one of the songs appearing on a Discovery Mix, and I thought it was quite good. I'm not exactly sure when this song was recorded, since the only album I found it on was in essence a greatest hits album. If you like this song, seek out the album and listen to the whole thing.

Maura Kennedy - Sun Burns Gold

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

"Tucker Carlson Says There Are Two Stories That He is Really Scared to Cover

"One is the 2020 election and I think that I was far too dismissive of some of the claims made about it and I think there may be some merit to some of the wildest possible claims about that election..."

The second I'm not going to mention because it kind of dilutes the first one. By mentioning them together it unfairly lumps them in the unserious category. To my way of thinking, that's where UFOs belong, in the unserious category.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Sean Davies on the latest monument removal: "The destruction of the Reconciliation Monument is so much worse than mere iconoclasm, which is bad enough by itself. The only reason to make a scene of destroying a monument to the reconciliation of two sides who were at war with each other is to signal that reconciliation going forward will also not be tolerated." (boldface highlight mine)

Jupiter said...

" ... you can't talk about whatever you want."

But! But! I was all ready to unfold a complicated metaphor about -- well, I guess that would constitute "talking". Ok, Boss. My lips are sealed.

MadTownGuy said...

Sydney said...

"I have been watching various versions of A Christmas Carol these past few weeks..."

Not high art, yet well made, is Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, with lovely songs and a few poignant scenes.

ex-madtown girl said...

Sydney - If you haven’t seen it, I recommend the Muppet Christmas Carol, with Michael Caine as Scrooge. We watch it almost every year.

Old and slow said...

Is this "Hip Hop"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uee_mcxvrw

Is it colonialist?

Please show your work, or not...

Spoiler: it's white South African rap (of sorts). It also rocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cegdR0GiJl4

Either you already know what I'm talking about, or you should.

Jupiter said...

Alright. Since I can't talk about what I wanted to talk about - the metaphor of Harvard as a chicken-killing dog, and Claudine Gay as the stinking, dead chicken draped around its neck - I will have to disclose a somewhat less mature notion; that what we are witnessing, in the apparent unraveling of our social organization, is merely the popping of a genetic zit.

That is, we see a host of social proclivities that are clearly unsuited to the propagation of the species, which nonetheless are bursting forth in full rancid flower. Homosexuality, pedophilia, furries and blurries and a dozen different ways of inserting the square hole in the round peg. One has to wonder, why does the race harbor these dysfunctional cravings? Why are genes that predispose their exponents to die without issue, suddenly evident in grotesque profusion? Why are they even present in the gene pool?

It would seem ... that these genetic maladaptations have been masked, by social pressures that forced their exponents to behave in ways contrary to their predilection, and thus, favorable to their reproduction. And now those social pressures are weakened, or at least, held in abeyance, in certain locales, and the lid comes off, and the puss-filled boil bursts open. And drains.

Surely, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Old and slow said...

I like HER a lot...

Narayanan said...

r u hungry

Old and slow said...

Best ever white SA hip hop. No joke. Have a look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcXNPI-IPPM

Old and slow said...

Yolandi is the queen...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bdeizHM9OU

Old and slow said...

The original hip hop "music" It's left wing and all. Not black though.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oqBm43w12ZY

gadfly said...

Narr said...
Can't talk about whatever we want? What can we talk about?

I'll mention that my computer mouse is dying, and I have been screen-touching all evening. Have never much liked that. Seems unsanitary somehow.


Buy a trackball. I prefer an Elecom. I have watched folks with carpal tunnel and I don't want the pain and discomfort. Touch pads and touch screens are neither useful nor efficient.

Old and slow said...

More and more, 1970's skinheads sound like the good guys. Give this a listen.

Andy Is A Corporatist / Mindless Violence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQdyJM0OhSc&list=OLAK5uy_l-TuI2wdpztmRKzT7UdgB9sQNlSrspwiI&index=9

Crazy World said...

Our Country is being invaded. Merry Christmas!

Drago said...

Interesting view seen online by a dude name Mahmood:

"There are many reasons why none of the Arab countries want to take any Gazan "refugees".

1. They are traitors
2. They are troublemakers
3. They are Islamic terrorists
4. They are ungrateful
5. They will promote internal instability
6. But most importantly, because they are arseholes."

He probably should have added Murderous 7th Century Death Cult arseholes.

The Crack Emcee said...

My comments about Zionism are all that showed up today. Nothing else. Some of my comments haven't been showing up for about a week. For instance, I made a few on the post about Australian wine - none of them showed up for almost 24 hours. I kinda don't mind, just thought you oughtta know (despite what other's say, I don't think what we do here matters to many people, if at all. That's what makes claims I'm trying to "save the planet," or in a fight for the oppressed, so bizarre: what do my accusers imagine is happening here?). My top story for the day?

"Inside horrifying world of the Nullo castration cult whose followers use amateur 'cutters' or even vets to remove their private parts inspired by Japanese artist who sold his penis and testicles to eat for £800"

I think it sums up humanity's current trajectory quite nicely.

The Crack Emcee said...

Vivek Ramaswamy told CNN's Van Jones to "Just shut the f*ck up" and he got major media coverage for it. Norman Finklestein said the exact same thing to Marianne Williamson - at about the same time - nothing. Conclusion?

Snarky presidential candidates dissing CNN anchors-who-cry-a-lot are more newsworthy than Gaza scholars dissing "airhead" presidential candidates over the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

Kate said...

@Sydney -- You haven't watched "Scrooge" with Albert Finney! The music is fun. Finney is his own age, a young man, for the flashbacks and in make-up for the old man parts. He is our favorite of the Scrooges. It's high cheese, but solid on the basics.

gadfly said...

If the U.S. Army which operates Arlington National Cemetary wants to remove the Confederate Memorial from the National Cemetary, what will happen to the Custis-Lee Mansion which is part of the National Park Service and sits within the Arlington Estates - the former residence of Robert E. Lee. Arlington Estates is the main part of the cemetery.

On Nov. 25, 1963, SP7 Keith Clark stood on the slope just below the Custis-Lee Mansion above the original JFK gravesite to sound Taps at President John F. Kennedy's funeral - "Day is done, Gone the Sun" and suddenly he missed note #6 one level too high, and those of us watching at the cemetery along with the nation glued to television will never forget the poignant ending to the funeral.

wendybar said...


Brandon Straka
@BrandonStraka
🚨VICTORY!!!🚨
I have WON the J6 civil case against me by the corrupt, lying, leftist Soros-funded DC nonprofit lawfirm Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (
@LawyersComm
).

Over 2 years ago I was served in a civil lawsuit by 8 black and brown Capitol Police officers whom I’ve never met, had no contact with on J6, and whom I was not even within proximity of.

They sued me under the KKK Act, alleging that I engaged in a white supremacist attack on black and brown police officers, that I caused their “injuries” (which included being pepper sprayed, and becoming “exhausted”) and conspired to encroach on their civil rights.

Almost every detail and allegation against me was a lie. In fact I’ll say: a KNOWN lie.

Knowing that I committed no violence on J6, and didn’t encourage anybody else to either, this lawsuit alleged that I “violently” breached the barricades of the Capitol and proceeding to attack police officers- including the plaintiffs.

The case entered discovery, where we gathered evidence that conclusively showed that none of these officers were even on the side of the building I was on during my brief time on Capitol grounds. One of the plaintiffs was in Maryland at the time I was there.

This case cost me well into 6 figures to defend, and hundreds and hundreds of hours of my time- which is, of course, the whole point.

The left has weaponized our legal system, turning Democrat majority districts into a playground where they can abuse the process to harm those who get in the way of their political agendas.

But this case was even too preposterous for the DC courts, and after years of fighting-

I have won.

This is a much needed victory for truth, for decency, and for even a shred of restoration of our faith that justice still exists within corners of our legal system.

I thank you all who helped support me through this battle. Your support got me through- and my victory is your victory.

Please share this victory with everyone you know, and God bless you all.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1736823382232948946

wendybar said...

Must be nice to have a police escort, without a permit, to disrupt everyday Americans lives with your preprinted signs and fake outrage.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/12/pro-palestine-rioters-disrupt-travel-grand-central-port-authority-bus-terminal-and-penn-station-in-new-york-city/#comments

wendybar said...

Must be nice to get a police escort, without a permit, whilst you disrupt everyday working Americans work day...Some animals are more equal than others, I guess. They ALWAYS are.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/12/pro-palestine-rioters-disrupt-travel-grand-central-port-authority-bus-terminal-and-penn-station-in-new-york-city/#comments

wendybar said...

As we get invaded, the politicals are fighting over spending more of our money on everything BUT...


Bill Melugin
@BillMelugin_

BREAKING: Video from a contact on the ground in Eagle Pass, TX right now shows a mass of thousands of migrants waiting to be processed by Border Patrol after they crossed illegally today. I’ve spent hundreds of days there over the last 2+ years and I’ve never seen it like this.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1736928008433537100

The Crack Emcee said...

A bit o' Mystic Mayhem by Yours Truly, coming in at just under a half hour, in true Punk fashion.

Enjoy.

Ann Althouse said...

"... you can't talk about whatever you want."

LOL. Sorry. You know, "can't talk" and "can talk" are virtually homophones (and homophone typos are very easy to make).

wendybar said...

Obama "IS" KJP


https://twitter.com/i/status/1736726175387369586

wendybar said...


Julie Kelly — "Does Judge Beryl Howell work for the Democrat Party.?? "

Sure seems like it!! But then, who doesn't anymore??


Julie Kelly 🇺🇸
@julie_kelly2

Last month, Judge Beryl Howell won an award from a women’s lawyers group. She was introduced by Loretta Lynch, shared the stage with deputy AG Lisa Monaco.

She gave a shout out to Sally Yates and Andrew Weissmann:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1736743366186955108.html#google_vignette

gadfly said...

wendybar published a brag from Brian Straka that he somehow won his illegal entry into the Capital on Jan 6.

Not so. Back in Sept. 2021, Straka agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Engaging in Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in the Capitol Building or Grounds. At sentencing, he avoided jail time and instead received 90 days of home confinement and three years' probation.

Straka provided "significant information" about pro-Trump "Stop The Steal" organizers including Ali Alexander, Amy and Kylie Kremer, and Cindy Chafian. Prosecutors said Straka provided investigators with a voicemail he had received from another Jan. 6 defendant, and that evidence was "valuable in the government's prosecution." In another instance, the records say Straka helped identify yet another potential suspect who "was not previously identified by the FBI."

At sentencing, Trump-appointed Judge Friedrich had given Straka credit for his cooperation with law enforcement.

According to a statement of offense, Straka signed and agreed to as part of his plea, he yelled "go, go, go" as members of the mob tried to enter the building, and said "Take it, take it," after rioters grabbed a shield from a police officer. Straka never entered the Capitol building and left shortly afterward.

"I want to apologize to all members of the Capitol Police whose safety was put in danger by the unruly mob, in particular the police officer whose shield can be seen in my video being grabbed by members of the crowd," Straka told the court.

rehajm said...

Blogger The Crack Emcee said...
A bit o' Mystic Mayhem by Yours Truly, coming in at just under a half hour, in true Punk fashion.

Enjoy.


Thank you Crack. I am…

Humperdink said...

Re: Senator Ben Cardin's aide posting a porn video for all the world to view. We've come a long way from "Don't ask, don't tell" have we not? That's why they label themselves progressives.

Breezy said...

So is the second person in that Senate room sex video also employed by the Senate in some way? Should he be outed as well? And/or fired and/or charged? It’s curious this person is literally ghosted in the news reports. Perhaps he’s more well-known.

Mr. Forward said...

After 9/11 everybody thought we needed to make some changes. Was "Wide Open Border" on anybody's list?

tim maguire said...

Ann Althouse said..."... you can't talk about whatever you want."

LOL. Sorry.


Some typos are better than the real thing. I laughed when I read it.

tim maguire said...

Mr. Forward said...After 9/11 everybody thought we needed to make some changes. Was "Wide Open Border" on anybody's list?

Who needs to stop terrorists at the border when you can sexually assault everybody at the airport?

stlcdr said...

“…trapezing through the woods…” how odd.

Mr. Majestyk said...

Gadfly, wendybar's post a civil case. You are referring to a criminal case.

Jamie said...

these genetic maladaptations have been masked, by social pressures that forced their exponents to behave in ways contrary to their predilection, and thus, favorable to their reproduction. And now those social pressures are weakened, or at least, held in abeyance, in certain locales, and the lid comes off, and the puss-filled boil bursts open.

I think, if these non-reproduction-oriented predilections are in fact genetic, that we will be seeing fewer of them. It's very clear that the first part of your analogy is right on - gay people used to reproduce, willy-nilly, to hide their orientation. Now, not as much, even though it is certainly possible and even pretty easy for a lesbian to reproduce, and while a gay man needs to find a surrogate to carry his child, they are readily available for money and some for altruism.

But with the drive to reproduce subsumed under the drive to have the kind of sex you like, how many non-heterosexual people will decide to have genetically related children? Especially when gay people lean so heavily left and so much of the leftist world seems to view having children as ranging from flat-out irresponsible to financially stupid to soooo un-fun?

The big fat question out there, though, is still - is sexual orientation genetic?

Jamie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Iman said...

That’s Senator Bendover Cardin, Humperdinck!

MadisonMan said...

Every December I re-read Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Just through Belle's husband seeing Scrooge just before Marley died.

Original Mike said...

Blogger stlcdr said...
“…trapezing through the woods…” how odd."


Maybe it's a midwest thing. I've heard “…trapezing through the woods…" my entire life.

Enigma said...

@Jamie "The big fat question out there, though, is still - is sexual orientation genetic?"

From what I've read, no, not genetic. It may follow from exposure to cross-sex hormones before birth and still mostly biological determinism, so perhaps impossible to change. Other people (e.g., bohemians) experiment and/or play the field so it's not a sexual orientation so much as opportunism for indulgence, companionship, physical pleasure, etc.

Research on sexual orientation has been fully politicized since the 1970s, so it's hard to get a 'straight' answer. Some bio-oriented sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296090/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenatal_hormones_and_sexual_orientation

Biology works through random mutations and after-the-fact functional adaptations. Two-sex reproduction is fundamental and unchangeable for us and many species. In contrast, human cultures and activities are shaped by wealth and idleness. Those with food and shelter get bored and seek entertainment. They become Romans. When the basics are covered they look to sports, art, sex, music, safaris, and finding sadistic pleasure in the suffering of others (war, torture, child abuse, etc.).

Robert Cook said...

"I have been watching various versions of A Christmas Carol these past few weeks. By no means have I watched them all, I've grown a little weary of the project, but my very most favorite is the 1935 version, (NOT the colorized version), but the original, available for free on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmQcRxqPELs"

I've always been partial to the animated MR. MAGOO CHRISTMAS CAROL, first aired in 1962, I believe, when I was seven years old. I like the songs in it.

Robert Cook said...

"Maybe it's a midwest thing. I've heard “…trapezing through the woods…" my entire life."

A mispronunciation of "traipsing."

Robert Cook said...

"'@Jamie The big fat question out there, though, is still - is sexual orientation genetic?'

"From what I've read, no, not genetic. It may follow from exposure to cross-sex hormones before birth and still mostly biological determinism, so perhaps impossible to change. Other people (e.g., bohemians) experiment and/or play the field so it's not a sexual orientation so much as opportunism for indulgence, companionship, physical pleasure, etc.

"Two-sex reproduction is fundamental and unchangeable for us and many species. In contrast, human cultures and activities are shaped by wealth and idleness. Those with food and shelter get bored and seek entertainment. They become Romans. When the basics are covered they look to sports, art, sex, music, safaris, and finding sadistic pleasure in the suffering of others (war, torture, child abuse, etc.)."


It's not known how homosexuality develops, and some people just seem to be fluid and interested in sexual experiences with any person they find attractive, male or female, (e.g., the "bohemians" referred to above). However, just based on observation of people as they live in the world, it seems to me that homosexuals are innately inclined thus from birth, just as heterosexuals are (uncontroversially) innately inclined from birth toward opposite sex attraction and activity. The notion still held by many that otherwise heterosexual people would just "decide," as if a whim, once they hit puberty to pursue romantic and sexual pairing with same sex partners, or that they do so out of jaded "boredom"--despite all the opprobrium and negative consequences that have long accrued to those who "choose homosexuality"--is ludicrous and willfully obtuse. I know someone with a son who is just 18. I remember him when he was mere months old. From the earliest days after he grew out of his infancy he was noticeably effeminate and it struck us he might be gay, which, as it turns out, he is. There were identical twin boys a year ahead of me in high school. They both came out as gay after high school. No such anecdotal observation is "proof" of anything, of course, but I am convinced that one's sexual orientation is, in most cases, innate from birth, whatever the (yet unknown) biological mechanism may be the determining factor.

The Crack Emcee said...

rehajm said...

"Thank you Crack. I am…"

The album, and individual tracks, for "Mystic Mayhem" are now for sale through bandcamp. You can still hear the whole album (for free) on Soundcloud. There could be a LOT more rock on the way.