Althouse: At the Thursday Night Café...

January 23, 2025

At the Thursday Night Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

53 comments:

MadisonMan said...: I noticed it was light out past 5 today. Hurray!!; 1/23/25, 7:06 PM
rhhardin said...: I was checking out Handel's Dixit Dominus's because there are very difficult mini-solos for soprano, alto, tenor and bass in the first movement that nobody seems to nail. The best for soprano and alto is the National Chorus of Korea, I guess because they're small and fast, and maybe taekwondo experience helps too.

The opening portrait shows a remarkable line-up of breasts not found in Western tradition. One of them seems to be a ringer on close inspection.; 1/23/25, 7:18 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: WAIT A MINUTE...what is going on EGGS are heading toward $5.00 a dozen, gas is going up and the Ukraine/Russian war is still going on. I was told the new guy in White House said he would stop that in 24 hours and drop the price of groceris,very simple? WTF ...were we lied to? Judges,Cops and Preachers got their socks on wrong feet after all this ...time to just stand back and stand by. cmon MERIKA your looking shakey.; 1/23/25, 7:25 PM
MadTownGuy said...: Love it or hate it, a southern icon may be coming to Oak Creek, Wisconsin:
Buc-ee's.; 1/23/25, 7:30 PM
ga6 said...: what is petrol retail in Hanoi?; 1/23/25, 7:44 PM
Leland said...: Well done sticking with the blog theme today of providing bullshit commentary about Trump.; 1/23/25, 8:05 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: We had a couple Buc-ee's built near me, in the NW Chicago suburbs. After a few years they changed to a brand called, "Casey's", which I guess is based in Iowa.; 1/23/25, 8:08 PM
Enigma said...: Will the Kennedy records finally, actually be released?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declassification-of-records-concerning-the-assassinations-of-president-john-f-kenned/; 1/23/25, 8:17 PM
Christopher B said...: That's pretty wild, Vault, because Casey's in Iowa is usually a small-town one-stop shop rather than a monster stop like Buc-ee's; 1/23/25, 8:26 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Now that eggs have reached an all-time high under Trump we’ve moved on to other topics.; 1/23/25, 8:28 PM
Whiskeybum said...: Disinformation. Just paid 3.79 for a dozen eggs; gas was 2.89/gallon. And who told you the misinformation that the Russia/Ukraine war would be over in 24 hrs.? It will take more like 2 weeks - Trump is already on it, and Zelenskyy is already indicating that he’s on board.; 1/23/25, 8:38 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: I've never been to a Buc-ee's in the south, but the Casey's here just took over their spaces without changing the footprint. The stores aren't nearly as big as some of the videos I've seen of Buc-ees online.; 1/23/25, 8:45 PM
Merny11 said...: Ok I love Buckys - the BEST travel stop; 1/23/25, 8:54 PM
walter said...: Trump bump for Richweed as Lefty stoners go twice baked.; 1/23/25, 9:00 PM
Disparity of Cult said...: Midwest Fine Dining

https://youtube.com/shorts/X0lJ9spAqSA?feature=shared; 1/23/25, 9:31 PM
Iman said...: “Kak 'n' Dink” soon on the Cartoon Network.; 1/23/25, 10:03 PM
Jupiter said...: Not too late to leap to your death from some nearby high point, Dink. Once we transport you to the camps, that option won't be available. Best to get in ahead of the rush!; 1/23/25, 10:13 PM
Mason G said...: This'll keep the internet busy for a while...

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Orders Declassification of JFK, RFK, and MLK Assassination Files

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-orders-declassification-of-jfk-rfk-and-mlk-assassination-files/

Specifically, the Order directs the Director of National Intelligence and other appropriate officials to:
(1) Present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F. Kennedy assassination records; and
(2) Immediately review the records relating to the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations and present a plan for their full and complete release within 45 days.; 1/23/25, 10:15 PM
Big Mike said...: Hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, who were released from Hamas custody on Sunday, reported that they had been held in a U.N. refugee camp at some point during their captivity, according to Israel’s Channel 13. Details were not given as to what camps they were held in, when, or for how long.

IMHO António Guterres has a lot to answer for.; 1/23/25, 10:23 PM
Jaq said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/23/25, 10:48 PM
Jaq said...: I just had my hot tub moved and the electrician wired it with one of these new breakers, and it trips way more than you would think. I had to winterize the tub just to leave for a couple of weeks because I couldn't take the risk of it tripping and the tub freezing. It sucks. I am wondering if I can replace the breaker with an old style one myself of the kind that the electrician is no longer allowed to use. But the article is right, if you can't trust your EV to charge overnight, it definitely reduces the value of it; what if you used a lot of miles the day before and you end up with not enough miles to get to work or something.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/national-electric-code-revision-threatens-ev-charging/; 1/23/25, 10:58 PM
Original Mike said...: Ruin all the things.; 1/23/25, 11:06 PM
Jay Vogt said...: Love it and Hate it! All of those ever oddly named Kum & Go stations have been purchased and will be renamed Maverik stations this year. Didn't take long to figure that one out.; 1/23/25, 11:08 PM
rehajm said...: …half our panel would trip in an electrical storm. An electrician came and installed different breakers and it doesn’t happen anymore. With the newer afci standards some brands are more sensitive than others…; 1/23/25, 11:27 PM
rehajm said...: Did you see that Boston Haitian guy cussing out Trump when they picked him up? They all know the score don’t they? I was hoping Michelle Wu would interfere and they would haul her in, too. Those lefties are all about principles until they can’t get away with their shit anymore…; 1/23/25, 11:43 PM
Disparity of Cult said...: Zounds, what mounds!; 1/23/25, 11:54 PM
Gospace said...: As expected, the first judge to hear a challenge to birthright citizenship wouldn't even hear any arguments- because it's RIGHT IN THE CONSTITUTION!

Perhaps he can explain why American Samoans, born in American Samoa, part of the United States of America, are not citizens, but merely US nationals. And furthermore, may not become commissioned officer in our armed forces. All duly certified and approved by precious Supreme Court decisions- with approval from the American Samoa government which wants it that way.

But it's RIGHT IN THE CONSTITUTION! with no exceptions, and he refused to hear any of the government's argument.

It's more then obvious many or our judges have never actually read the Constitution, and fail to understand much of it. And as a result, issue contradictory opinions. Like banning sawed off shotguns because they're not a weapon of war, and banning fully automatic (or select fire) weapons because they are a weapon of war.... Both those opinions are still in full force. The idea is- the American people should be armed as well as the average infantryman is. That's the whole purpose behind the 2nd amendment.

Got off track there. Congress could, and should, step in with defining terms in the 14th amendment. As I pointed out on Facebook today to a PhD in political science, as opposed to my mere BS, under his interpretation of birthright citizenship the CHICOMs could fill a cruise ship with pregnant women in their 8th month, sail it through US territorial waters- as long as those waters aren't Swain Island or American Samoa, under right of innocent passage maritime law, fly an American OB on board to assist in all the births- and document them as births in the USA filed with the nearest state board of health, and sail back to China with a boatload of new American citizens. Does anyone actually think that was the purpose of the 14th amendment? It's absurd, but the law if there is absolute birthright citizenship, period, end of discussion, no debate allowed. Because it's RIGHT IN THE CONSTITUTION!

And a question with no answer from him yet. A Chinese national drops a baby while visiting American Samoa. Samoans born on Samoa aren't US Citizens- a question that's already been to the Supreme Court How about a baby born to a non-Samoan? Couldn't find the American Samoa law on that. But based on Samoan law- the baby is not Samoan unless the mother is Samoan... Under US law- would the newborn be a US national but not a citizen like Samoans? That's not what the 14th amendment says...

Ann- you're an actual lawyer. What would be the status of a baby born on American Samoa to a non-Samoan non-American mother with an unknown or non-Samoan or non-Samoan father? Or are you as clueless as I am as to the answer for that?; 1/24/25, 2:28 AM
Kate said...: "Zounds" is a contraction: God's wounds. Pronounced "zoo-nds".; 1/24/25, 2:47 AM
wendybar said...: It's ALL you need to know about these Progressive REPUBLICANS that should change their party to Progressive Democrats because they are the furthest things from Republicans today.

🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸
@mrddmia
·
Follow
Remember, @SenatorCollins and @lisamurkowski were the only 2 Senate Republicans to vote for the dude on the left and vote against the dude on the right.
🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸
@mrddmia
Democrats:

A mentally unstable man is qualified to serve as the 4-star admiral in charge of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Also Democrats:

An Ivy League educated, war-fighting, Bronze Star-winning Army officer is (somehow) unqualified to lead the Pentagon.

https://x.com/mrddmia/status/1882523375907827811; 1/24/25, 3:24 AM
Narayanan said...: Trump 4d chess strategy = eggs too expensive to throw at him!!!; 1/24/25, 3:40 AM
Narayanan said...: did not know; 1/24/25, 3:50 AM
Narayanan said...: do Samoans get/use US Passports? that is Holy Grail in this distracting discussion!!!; 1/24/25, 3:53 AM
wendybar said...: Sounds to me like the Progressive parents are the ones who have the problem...and some of them ARE in therapy over their kids being MAGA. This article is hilarious. It shows how mentally ill Progressives have become, and how they can't understand how EVERYBODY doesn't think EXACTLY like they do. They think something is wrong with everyone else. THEY are the ones in therapy!!!! Telling them how privileged they are, whilst they see who the real privilege is going to, whilst the left beat the drum on hating men, you can see WHY these kids were smart enough to leave the plantation...

When Your Son Goes MAGA
Some liberal parents face a new, unexpected challenge: how to talk to their children who voted for Donald J. Trump.
https://archive.is/z7gJw; 1/24/25, 4:08 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I noticed it was light out past 5 today. Hurray!!"

Darkmonth and second-to-Darkmonth are now over. The darkest 2-month period of the year is over. We're now into the third darkest period, meaning a 15-day stretch (the other half of third darkest is in the fall). In less than 2 weeks, we will exit the entire season of dark and enter the 3-month season of equality (the period with the spring equinox at the center).

The rate of change in light is now faster, with the daylight gaining over 2 minutes a day. In the darkest part of the year, the change in light each day is under 1 minute.; 1/24/25, 4:50 AM
Lawnerd said...: All the winning since Monday is making me too happy! Trump has exceeded my expectations in his first week.; 1/24/25, 5:21 AM
Lawnerd said...: This what living in Wisconsin does to our thinking. January isn’t bad because the days are getting longer. Never mind the -25o temps.; 1/24/25, 5:23 AM
Lawnerd said...: No not merely symbolic. Useless pieces of shit in government have been fired or lost their security clearances. That is not merely symbolic troll,; 1/24/25, 5:25 AM
Christopher B said...: @Narayanan, looking over the Wiki page, I would say yes.

I think the American Samoan's status is probably the best argument you can make that claims the 14th Amendment+Kim Wong Ark forces the US government to recognize jus soli citizenship are wrong. The US has had undisputed control the territory of American Samoa since the early 1900s though the islands have maintained a high degree of local governance. Multiple acts of Congress dealing with immigration and citizenship have been enacted in that time, and nobody has ever thought that people born on American Samoa are automatically citizens of the United States because of the 14th Amendment.

The 14th Amendment was passed to ensure that former slaves and their descendants, who were lawful residents of the United States, could not be retroactively denied citizenship with the technical claim their ancestors never applied for naturalization.; 1/24/25, 5:27 AM
Lawnerd said...: Jan 6 protesters released from jail, ask them how symbolic this is, Troll.; 1/24/25, 5:28 AM
rehajm said...: lol The FL I-95 stops are crazy. Boat race circling for a pump, bathroom line, bumping into everyone. We were nobo from Orlando and planned to stop in Daytona but we ‘had’ to stop sooner. Wawa kept us on the lead lap…; 1/24/25, 5:43 AM
rehajm said...: Kum & Go? Haha. Now see if they can do something about Town Pump…; 1/24/25, 5:45 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Wall Street will stymie Donald Trump’s US oil surge plan, say shale bosses ~ Financial Times
"Output set to rise more slowly under new president than during Joe Biden’s term"

Lower oil prices so oil companies are incentivized to drill more. Um. Am I missing something here?

The funniest part in all this is that according to Trump all trade and decisions in the world are presumably done by some singular public entity, which can be instructed how to behave. :) Europe buy more goods, oil industry drill more oil... Very simple indeed... Central planning -- he’s the world’s last Soviet.

In summary, Trump continues to display his long opinion, short fact bias.; 1/24/25, 6:09 AM
Mr. Forward said...: Here's some "short facts" for you.
"Stellantis said it would build a new midsize pickup truck at the recently shuttered Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant. Stellantis previously ended production at Belvidere for the Jeep Cherokee SUV, angering UAW representatives and workers. Now Stellantis said it will return approximately 1,500 UAW members to work, a reversal of the move by former CEO Carlos Tavares, who resigned in early December.
In addition, the company will move forward with plans to build the next-generation Dodge Durango SUV at its Detroit Assembly Complex. There had been rumors that Stellantis would move Durango production to Canada.
Stellantis also confirmed new investments at its Toledo assembly plant, where the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator are built, which will result in additional tech and more product features for those vehicles. Last month, Stellantis also changed plans to lay off workers at the plant, reversing a scheme to cut a shift at the plant." Yahoo Finance; 1/24/25, 6:45 AM
MadisonMan said...: If you fly into Pago Pago, you do go through customs there. Similarly, if you fly Pago to Honolulu, you go through customs on arrival.; 1/24/25, 7:06 AM
boatbuilder said...: Not only that, the weather sucks. When is he going to fix that?
(Maybe he just fixed global warming).; 1/24/25, 7:42 AM
boatbuilder said...: They are working on the logistics of having all the DEI leaders lined up, blindfolded and shot, and all the transpeople thrown from the summit of McKinley, Derve. These things take time. A little patience is in order.; 1/24/25, 7:51 AM
Leland said...: As someone that actually works in the industry and tasked with developing new hydrocarbon fields; I'm seeing a shift from funding low carbon projects that don't work without subsidies back to hydrocarbon projects that do.

Unfortunately, I get it. Some poorly educated people have nothing but the mainstream media news outlets to inform them. They get fed nothing but disinformation and then pass it around like bots to waste other people's time.

Also, I suspect Financial Times is comparing "output set to rise" from the recovery of the lack of demand from the Covid pandemic in which progressives shutdown economies the world over, to an increase in GDP that's comparable over a longer scale of time. Does the Financial Times explain how Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act actually improved the economy by spending $1.2 trillion to only deliver 8 EV charging stations, no rural internet access, and 1600ft of high-speed rail in California? How much money is Trump asking Congress to spend to cause a growth in US oil production? None. Trump is simply removing barriers to this growth.; 1/24/25, 8:05 AM
Original Mike said...: Time to head to the southern hemisphere, where it's getting darker.; 1/24/25, 8:09 AM
john mosby said...: Prof: “we will exit the season of dark and enter the season of equality”

Was that in Trump’s inaugural address?

Maybe the original March inauguration date was for astronomical reasons…

JSM; 1/24/25, 8:42 AM
MadTownGuy said...: From <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1882406209187409976?t=dQMKGS3G54ausw3yUudhfw&s=19>Elon Musk</a>:

"Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations!

Some people will Goebbels anything down!

Stop Gőring your enemies!

His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler!

Bet you did nazi that coming..."; 1/24/25, 8:53 AM
Kakistocracy said...: King Canute is out and about ordering the tides this way and that!

My bet is with the tide!; 1/24/25, 9:32 AM
Kakistocracy said...: @ Leland: Try reading the article. It doesn't claim that there will not be an increase. The point is that Trump pretended that there was an issue with oil production which he would unlock, but actually it has risen more under Biden than it is predicted to do under Trump — that is not unlocking anything.

You cannot oil glut your way to $2 gas. That will drive some of these oil producers into bankruptcy.

OPEC has 6mmbd in reserve capacity. There is a LNG glut coming. AI will increase demand but I don’t see that increasing oil demand, more gas. And if deregulation increases US production it will be a small effect on 20% of the global market.

Long time since Econ 101 at Wharton….; 1/24/25, 9:41 AM
Kakistocracy said...: @Mr Forward: Why is the simple message political? That increasing supply will lower prices, which is the intent to begin with. That, in turn, will make oil production unprofitable for US producers.
Why can you not see past the silly rhetoric of Trump?; 1/24/25, 9:44 AM