August 14, 2024

Sunrise — 5:54, 6:07, 6:08.

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80 comments:

Dave Begley said...

Native Nebraskan Tim Walz is conducting a rally in Omaha on Saturday. I will be attending. And I have a question.

Dave Begley said...

Andy McCarthy says Marchan will sentence Trump to prison on 9-18-24. Our Bastille moment if he does. Andy even discusses the SCOTUS case on presidential immunity. I can’t believe Marchan would be so stupid and lawless.

john mosby said...

Marchan could give Trump a custodial sentence, but with a report date of February 1, 2025. Kicks the can down the road. If Trump wins the election, NYS can’t enforce the sentence. If he loses, maybe Hochul will issue a state pardon or commutation, since the process was the punishment.

JSM

Jaq said...

Salmon Rushdie said of writing was that it was the author's job to create a hero, put him up a tree, and throw rocks at him, I mean if you want to make him truly heroic. It's like they can't help but make themselves part of Trump's campaign.

Inga said...

Donald Trump gave a speech at a rally in Asheville, North Carolina supposedly focused on the economy, as inflation falls below three per cent for the time since 2021. Republicans are imploring the former president to focus on key issues of concern to voters rather than personal attacks on Kamala Harris.

“Nevertheless, Trump veered in and out of his usual attacks and falsehoods before saying he would halve the cost of energy bills if re-elected without giving any specifics.”

Looks like Trump doesn’t like being asked to for pity sake to focus! Maybe he doesn’t really care if he wins this election or not.

Jaq said...

If they are able, they will make an example of him, for the next time the proles get the idea that they can have a leader. It's what the Spartans used to do to the Helots.

The helots were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia -Wikipedia

If any leaders, or even potential leaders, arose among the Helots, the Spartans would quickly kill them.

The ancient world contains all of history, the only thing that has changed is the tech.

Kakistocracy said...

^^ Trump's tariffs proposal is very old school and in fact was tried by old Herbert Hoover. It greatly exacerbated the Great Depression. This old learning escapes Trump and his very limited cognitive capacity at his advanced age.

Jaq said...

In the novel 1984, they just made up numbers too.

Jaq said...

Yes, we must crush the working class to fight inflation! Jobs must be sent overseas so that the people benefitting from all of the money printing are able to buy their BMWs and Mercedes and Land Rover Defenders while American auto workers "fight inflation" by being unemployed!

Workers who want wages that can keep up with the cost of living? Wreckers and hoarders, I say!

Jim at said...

It greatly exacerbated the Great Depression.

Horseshit. Even Keynesian economists admit it was FDR's policies that exacerbated and prolonged the Great Depression.

Besides, if Trump's tariffs were so bad, why didn't we find out during his first four years.

I swear. You idiots act like we don't already KNOW what Trump's policies will do. We saw it. Live. For four, fucking years.

I don't know why I even bother.

Jim at said...

Maybe you should shoot him again. See if he really, really wants the job.

Kakistocracy said...

It' hard enough to compete on a normal playing field, but Trump and the GOP lost 27 billion in agricultural exports in a little over 1 year with his tariff trade war with China. And Trump paid an extra 30 billion of taxpayers money at the same time to buy votes. Another tariff war as proposed by the GOP will certainly be disaster for farms and the economy. A swing of 30 billion in losses and 30 billion in taxpayer expenses in a net 60 billion loss to Americans.

Jaq said...

BTW, until the Biden presidency, 2% was the generally accepted target for inflation. My pension COLA caps out at 3%, so it has been shrinking over the past few years. Doing my part to "fight inflation"!

Kakistocracy said...

Would a "No tax on tips" rule apply to Supreme Court justices?

William50 said...

Never Forget that Joe said that Kamala was the last person in the room with him when this decision was made.

Taliban Shows Off Abandoned U.S. Equipment on Eve of Catastrophic Withdrawal anniversary

Link

Jaq said...

Yeah, let's do all of our economic analysis by looking at the economy through a soda straw. Let's ignore any other effects that the tariffs may have had on our economy, by bringing jobs back to the US.

Oh that's right, the strike breaking Democrats no longer care about America labor. Too costly! Rich is like the worst things about both the establishment Republican Party and the new anti-worker Democratic Party.

Jaq said...

It's an admitted fact by people who were in the room, Mika Brzezinski's dad, specifically, that we created and armed the Taliban and taught them how to take over Afghanistan, in 1979, in order to provoke a Soviet invasion. We wrecked the once beautiful country of Afghanistan and condemned it to decades of war, and now Taliban rule, and Instapundit is worried about a few toys we left behind.

Kakistocracy said...

"Many people say that the only reason the stock market is up is because people think I am going to win. But there was one day a couple of weeks ago when they were not thinking that and you saw what happened" ~ Donald Trump in Asheville NC

Trump thinking he controls the stock market is next level ridiculous. This perspective might appeal to his base, emphasizing his perceived impact on the economy, but it's not how economists or market analysts typically view stock market fluctuations.

@ Jim: Tariffs are paid for by American consumers.

Kakistocracy said...

Wisconsin Democrats say defeat of GOP amendments bodes well for November ~ WPR

Mark said...

Sounds like a blast for you. Enjoy not asking the question

Mark said...

Tammy got more votes than the GOP Senate candidates did if you add them together, despite it being a competitive GOP primary.

Hovde is about to flush a lot of money down the toilet.
He and his unfortunate mustache will head back to California in November

Inga said...

The blue wave is coming…

Maynard said...

Inga, Rich and Mark are working it like an old stripper who only gets one dollar bills.

I love the smell of lefty flopsweat in the morning (or any time). It smells like ... victory!

YoungHegelian said...

The US Government has a sad history of leaving behind yuuuge arm caches. The equipment we left behind in South Vietnam was at the time the 4th largest arsenal in the world. Arm sales for parts to US allies and to other commie nations for study and intelligence of US capabilities was for many years afterwards the chief source of foreign currency sales for Communist Vietnam.

wild chicken said...

Wow I just got polled by Rasmussen. It was a robo thing that took about 20 minutes. Really thorough.

Fifth survey I've taken this month. I must be on a list.

boatbuilder said...

Well it's Andy McCarthy, so maybe not. But I can certainly believe Marchan would be that lawless, if whoever is running the Democrat cartel tells him to.

effinayright said...

Igna-ramus, you doofus: it's the inflation UNDER BIDEN UP TO NOW that ordinary people are most suffering from. A "slowing" of inflation will not benefit them---or anyone else, for that matter. Everyone ---except for COLA welfare recipients--will still paying more than under Trump.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Apparently It's not just Althouse that finds this stuff funny

Original Mike said...

Inga said…"Donald Trump gave a speech at a rally in Asheville, North Carolina supposedly focused on the economy, as inflation falls below three per cent for the time since 2021.

Inflation is not 3%

Drago said...

Inga does not understand how inflation works. What a surprise!

The 3% is simply a slowing of the rate of inflation increase on top of the massive inflationary price increases that already exist thanks to the Harris/dementia admin.

Drago said...

Inga does not understand how inflation works. What a surprise!

The 3% is simply a slowing of the rate of inflation increase on top of the massive inflationary price increases that already exist thanks to the Harris/dementia admin.

boatbuilder said...

Seems like someone is admitting that inflation has been REALLY HIGH for the entirety of the Biden Administration. No? But we've been told all along that was just a Republican talking point.

rhhardin said...

The inflation wasn't Biden's fault anyway. It was nobody producing and everybody consuming in the pandemic. The inflation is working out the aftereffects. The Fed moreover is doing the right thing, withdrawing dollars from the economy and burning them so that they don't chase goods bidding up their price.

Biden's policies were moronic, reducing production with stupid regulation, which didn't help; those Trump can fix. The rest, he can't fix.

effinayright said...

No, but "taxes on inane Althouse comments by Mark, Rich [Mark Rich?] , Inga, Left Bank, Ms. Vicky. gadfly, howard, and Freder" would make Miss Ann and Meade fabulously wealthy.

effinayright said...

Heh. They also offer a Megan Kelly hat, for $5 less.

https://eletees.com/product/megyn-kelly-make-women-female-again-hat/

Why? coz they know how easy it is for Zen Master Level Ingas to part unthinkingly with their money.

Inga,will you wear your cap around town NOW ? In your supermarket NOW?

In the animal shelter where you pick up a new kitty every mont, NOW?

heh

Carol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
wild chicken said...

Got polled AGAIN, this time about an Initiative, ranked choice voting which gets a big NO from me..

Kakistocracy said...

DB writes: "Andy McCarthy says Marchan will sentence Trump to prison on 9-18-24."

The nature of the offense for which Trump has been convicted, a typical defendant, first-time offender as elderly as Trump is with this non-violent crime, it would be ordinary to have a non-custodial sentence here.

Kakistocracy said...

Donald Trump promises an ‘economic boom’ if he wins US election ~ WSJ

Not enough. I want promises of unicorns before I consider voting for a candidate. Trump really is living in the land of rainbows and unicorns. He thinks things will come true if he just says them.

effinayright said...

Idiot! Last time he said them...they happened.

Breezy said...

I listened to a lot of the speech today so I didn’t have to rely on a journalist to tell me what to think about it.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Video: American College of Pediatricians says 'ENOUGH'

Hint - video about "gender affirming care".

JaimeRoberto said...

The Fed's inflation target is 3%. While 3% is better than it had been, it's still nothing to crow about.

TickTock said...

The trolls on the Althouse blog are posting more frequently. I think the big donations from Steve Jobs widow are upping the troll payments as well as the Harris YouTube ads.

Gospace said...

So are taxes paid by businesses,

Gospace said...

The targeted inflation rate by law is zero. As the Fed openly pursues a rate of 1-3% in clear violation of the law. With no consequences to them- just to us.

ANY inflation eventually leads to economic ruin. Simply takes longer at 3% then 10% or higher.

Maybe the government should handle it's own money supply rather then establish a bank to do so...

Michael McNeil said...

FYI: If you don't want to see comments nested, read them by opening the date link at the bottom of the original posting. It looks like this (e.g.):

Posted by Ann Althouse at 6:20 PM 74 comments

Click on the “6:20 PM” (or whatever the time is) and read the comments from there.

Michael McNeil said...

I'd actually been doing it (going into the blog comments) that way (via the date link) for the last 20+ years that I've been reading this blog—because that's how blogs generally set things up (during the age of blogs) and therefore that's how one did it. But nowadays folks are often not that familiar with blogs, so it's worth mentioning the method explicitly.

Mark said...

Trump is in his #winning phase.

effinayright said...

Musk said last night with Trump that humans start to experience discomfort and headaches at a CO2 concentration of 1,000 ppm.

Does anyone know where he got this figure? I can't find any peer-reviewed study with a statstically signifiant sample size, and controlled to exclude other variables, that offers such a result.

Will someone point me to such a study or studies?

p.s. ballistic missile submariners work routinely at 3,000 to 5,000 ppm.

walter said...

I thought of Rich when i walked to my car last night in hotel parking lot. There was a pricey Jeep parked in lot with windows closed but still spilling out an impressive amount of Cannabis smell. Probably fresh purchase from the Ivy Hall dispensary nearby. Gotta get that customer, Rich. Economics.

JaimeRoberto said...

Arg. I meant to say the target is 2%.

Gospace said...

A few will get headaches at that low a level. Most won't. OTOH- if I got a headache I knew CO was above normal limits, and it would be really bad if it got to the max allowed... But submariners breath all kinds of fumes that others don't. And our clothes carried a odor referred to as "submarine smell". Our dog alerted on a father who came to pick up his son staying overnight at our house. My wife asked "Are you a submariner?" He was- and he had my smell on him. The dog didn't like that...

Gospace said...

On an entirely different subject, many blogs and other media have mentioned the Russian railway system is nearing a breaking point. The straw that breaks it may very well be the Kursk incursion. Russian rails aren't accepting shipments from Belarus going east... Apparently the rails are currently prioritizing military movements towards Kursk. Ukraine cutting the rail lines there will have a huge impact on Russian logistics.

wendybar said...

No wonder why you voted for Obama and Biden. And will vote for Kamalalabingbang

gadfly said...

So our Nebraska nabob is not really a lawyer, or else he would understand that the hush-money trial was decided by jurors, not Judge Merchan - who has little choice but to sentence within the bounds of NY felony law.

gadfly said...

The NY Times has critically reviewed a planned economy-focused VP Harris speech not yet made but scheduled for Friday in Raleigh, N.C., Kamala Harris is expected to reboot the administration’s economic agenda, according to four people familiar with Ms. Harris’s plans. They said she would lay out a relatively light-on-detail approach. It will shift emphasis from Mr. Biden’s focus on job creation and made-in-America manufacturing while attempting to rein in the cost of living. But it will rarely break from Mr. Biden on substance.

But we had to await reporting from the LATimes to find out about Trump's big economic agenda made before 2055 people in Asheville. Donald Trump made little effort to stay on message at the NC rally that his campaign declared to be his big economic address, in which he mixed pledges to slash energy prices and “unleash economic abundance” with familiar off-script tangents on Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ laugh, the mechanics of wind energy and President Biden’s son.

wendybar said...

Inga....let JD explain it for you since you are too dumb to realize the left is lying to you again.....
https://twitter.com/i/status/1823796814610366961

gilbar said...

be interesting to hear what Dr We Evil says about this..
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/nord-stream-pipeline-explosion-real-story-da24839c?mod=hp_lead_pos7
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially approved the plan, according to one officer who participated and three people familiar with it. But later, when the CIA learned of it and asked the Ukrainian president to pull the plug, he ordered a halt, those people said.

Zelensky’s commander in chief, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, who was leading the effort, nonetheless forged ahead.

Jaq said...

LOL, I got a warning not to look at your link.

Jaq said...

I like how Germany issued an arrest warrant for the Polish citizen who they think planted the explosives, and Poland is refusing to honor it.

Kakistocracy said...

Trump is now talking a 20% tariff on all imports. That will mean widespread reprisals from all trading nations. The farm sector will not survive without huge bailouts, and even then for small holdings it will be very tight. His last tariffs cost US taxpayers $60 billion to bail out the farmers he drove bankrupt.
Seems like Montana should be a swing state.

Jaq said...

How have the chip sanctions on China that Biden put in place worked out? We now created a protected market for Chinese chips and shut our own makers out of the Chinese market. How have sanctions against Russia worked out? Oh, they just seized the intellection property of the companies that broke contracts with them and left them hanging, and now Russian companies serve those markets. Not to mention that those oligarchs who were draining capital out of Russia for us? We place capital controls on them from the outside, and now they have to keep that money in Russia and invest it there.

Oh, I forgot, none of that counts because St Joe did them.

Jaq said...

We also created a protected market for machine tools for China, shutting Europe out of that market, and I guess the play is that we think that the Chinese are not smart enough to catch up with our tech lead.

Jersey Fled said...

All these years and people still don’t understand Trump. Didn’t anyone read his book? Your first gambit is to get the other guy off his comfortable perch so you can get to the real work of doing a deal. How do you think he got Europe to start meeting their commitments to NATO?

Don’t negotiate with Trump unless you understand the game.

Rusty said...

And then , Rich FDR (your saint) doubles down and his policies extendeed the depression until late 1938 or 39 when 'Lend Lease' took effect. IOWs Hitler ended our depression.

Kakistocracy said...

Trump understands as much about trade as any man could who doesn’t read and doesn’t listen.

Dr Weevil said...

Someone who wants to know my opinion about something should address me by my chosen pseudonym. Not doing so makes G.I.L.B.A.R. look like an asshole.

I will however answer his stupid and dishonest implied question. I have never claimed to know who blew up the pipeline, and have mocked those who claimed they did. I know 'tim in vermont' has asserted as fact that the U.S. did it, and I think G.I.L.B.A.R. did too. If it turns out it was Ukraine, I'm not the one who has shown himself a gullible fool.

Nor do we know for sure now. A WSJ article proves only that (a) Ukraine blew up the pipeline, or (b) some people really want us to believe that, and have gone to a lot of trouble to convince WSJ.

As Twitterer 'Darth Putin' (@DarthPutinKGB) puts it (link):

"There’s a gas pipeline running *right thru* Ukraine which supplies Russian gas and Ukraine has left it undamaged.

"Instead they blew up Nordstream 2, saving Russian billions of $ in fines cos it’s a force majeure, just as a Russian military deep sea dive boat was right next to it"

In his replies, @woltemade adds:

"Russia has blown up their own pipelines 3 times during the 2 Georgian wars...to get out of contractual obligations, by blaming Georgia and to put pressure on the people."

Does that mean Russia did it? I don't know, and neither does G.I.L.B.A.R. or 'tim in vermont'. But it means that their frequent claim that they couldn't have was and still is a lie and a fraud.

One Fine Day said...

So Gadfly shows his ignorance by stating that the trial was "decided by jurors" when it was not - it was decided by Marchan and his not permitting exculpatory evidence, intentionally mutilating the law in his instructions to the jury, and excluding of certain witnesses for the defense in the trial. It's nice that Gadfly is so low-information that he believes the corrupt political show trial was decided by anyone other than the Dem Machine.

All of these America-hating trolls repeat Dem talking points is making open threads almost unreadable.

One Fine Day said...

Which means he's about a thousand times more knowledgeable than the woman who brought us double digit inflation, massive fentanyl overdoses (leading to shortened lifespans in US adult populations), and massive increases in the cost of energy.

Kakistocracy said...

⬆️ Trump has little to say policy-wise, his rhetoric has always been heavy on platitudes and personal attacks and light on policy. The guy ran an $8T deficit. Biden is $4T.
Borrowing and spending is the DT playbook for 'boom.'

gilbar said...

"There’s a gas pipeline running *right thru* Ukraine which supplies Russian gas and Ukraine has left it undamaged.

YES, they mentioned that in the WSJ article (which you are TOO SMART to read)
The Ukraine is Earning BILLIONS on that pipeline

Ann Althouse said...


"Apparently It's not just Althouse that finds this stuff funny...."

Ha ha. And thanks for remembering

MadTownGuy said...

This land ain't your land,
This land ain't my land,
It's government land,
So stay off their land...

American tourists visiting national landmarks less safe after Parks Police quietly neglected

"As left-wing leaders around the country pushed a movement to "defund" their local police departments, the U.S. Park Police (USPP) quietly saw staffing levels drop and a strain on resources behind the scenes as one of the country's oldest law enforcement agencies continues to ask for more resources, according to union leaders.

The agency, which primarily safeguards national monuments in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and San Francisco, is at its lowest staffing level since 1975, according to Ken Spencer, chairman of the United States Park Police Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

"At the officer level, it feels like it's almost deliberate, how bad they let our staffing get," he told Fox News Digital. "Days off are always canceled. Leave is canceled frequently. And the day-to-day operations [are] just absolutely unsafe for the mission that we have."

...

Neither the Interior Department nor the NPS immediately responded to requests for comment. The FOP previously said both agencies have "stood in the way" of the legislation.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., sent a fiery letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Friday demanding she produce more resources for the USPP after an anti-Israel "mob of thousands" burned U.S. flags, vandalized landmarks and assaulted officers at Columbus Plaza in a violent July 24 protest that broke out in response to Israeli Prime MInister Bejamin Netanyahu's visit to Capitol Hill.

"It is with grave concern that I write to you once again about your failure to adequately address the criminal, violent actions of pro-terror, anti-Israel protesters on federal property," he wrote. "For the second time in two months, [USPP] officers have been left with inadequate resources and insufficient numbers of officers to defend the public and protect federal property from a malicious mob.
"

Dr Weevil said...

G.I.L.B.A.R. (the G is for 'Granny Porn') is apparently TOO SMART to know that I can't read the WSJ article, since I don't have a subscription.

And too stupid to acknowledge that he (I'm pretty sure) and 'tim in vermont' (absolutely) were assuring us that it was an absolute fact that the US blew up the pipeline, while I have said all along, and still say, that I don't know who did it, and neither do they, and that Russia cannot be ruled out. If Ukraine did it, they were in fact wrong to blame the US, and I was right to express doubt. A bit of humility would be in order.

Has G.I.L.B.A.R. (the I is for 'Incest') checked to see if Russia did in fact blow up their own pipeline to Georgia? Or to see if having Nordstream 2 blown up by unknown persons would in fact have saved them billions in contractual penalties they would have had to pay if they had just turned off the spigot and refused to deliver gas? Of course not: that's what an honest, intelligent, and decent person would have done.

Jamie said...

Trump has said he considers tariffs to be a tool in the foreign policy toolkit - therefore not a solution to economic ills domestically, except very short term. I know some workers in American manufacturing think tariffs are primarily to benefit them, but they are presumably not very economically sophisticated - just as Harris's "anti price gouging" thing and Biden's rent control thing are not very economically sophisticated.

Jamie said...

The All-In Podcast guys were talking about how the current push to redefine an acceptable rate of inflation as 3% was essentially a surrender to the fact that we're not getting back to 2% anytime soon. So it's the equivalent of Biden's and Harris's redefining a "good" economy as one in which labor force participation is dropping, gig jobs are taking the place of full-time jobs, and people are working two or more jobs, so that yay, unemployment is down.

Jamie said...

The All-In Podcast guys were talking about how the current push to redefine an acceptable rate of inflation as 3% was essentially a surrender to the fact that we're not getting back to 2% anytime soon. So it's the equivalent of Biden's and Harris's redefining a "good" economy as one in which labor force participation is dropping, gig jobs are taking the place of full-time jobs, and people are working two or more jobs, so that yay, unemployment is down.

Jamie said...

Or you could have your student loans, that you took out with your eyes wide open, discharged, for instance. Those billionaires will fund it via a wealth tax that will never ever apply to people with less than a billion dollars in wealth.

What promises are you looking forward to? The protection of democracy, maybe, from the party that's done everything in its power to undermine it over the past - what, eight years?

Jamie said...

Thank God.