Agosto 5, 2025

Sunrise — 5:32, 5:58, 6:58.

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Ipinaskil ni Ann Althouse sa 6:52 PM
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49 (na) komento:

Peachy ayon kay ...

Are the insane tantrum-left setting some of these fires? one wonders.

8/5/25, 6:53 PM
Lazarus ayon kay ...

Trump was up on the roof today.

No, that's not a way of breaking it to you slowly that he died.

8/5/25, 6:57 PM
Mason G ayon kay ...

Federal judges using AI to write their opinions?

Don't know about you but IMO, that seems... wrong.

8/5/25, 7:13 PM
Political Junkie ayon kay ...

Any Michigan folks here?

The Independent mayor of Detroit is running for Michigan Governor. He has been a very good mayor, from what I have read. Detroit has come back from the graveyard. He is a former Democrat.

Question - Could this be a case where an Independent helps Rs and the R willl will the Michigan governership?

Thanks.

8/5/25, 7:21 PM
RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Due to a foot injury over the weekend, I was able to watch more video yesterday and today. First DS9 - a very uneven series. But "Neccessary Evil" and "crossover" from Season 2 were very good.

Even better was David Attenboroughs "planet earth III". fantastic narration and camerawork.

In terms of books, I've been reading "Kiss me Deadly" - not a dull word or sentence so far and I'm half way done. Poor Mike Hammer, always a magnet for crazy dames and their problems.

8/5/25, 7:30 PM
Eva Marie ayon kay ...

Words like pedophile, Nazi, anti-Semite, racist are thrown around so unthinkingly.
Many years ago I watched John Ashcroft’s confirmation hearings. It was a marathon affair. One topic Democrats kept coming back to over and over again was an interview Ashcroft had given to some minor publication. Democrats said it was a racist magazine and did Ashcroft disavow this magazine. Ashcroft kept saying he knew nothing about the magazine, it was just a request he fulfilled. He kept saying he couldn’t disavow it, he knew nothing about it.
Finally John Kerry took pity on him. (I’m paraphrasing) He said, “John, we know you’re not a racist but all we want is to hear you say that it was a racist magazine. Just say it and we can wrap this up.”
John Ashcroft replied, “This is very important to me. I’d rather be falsely accused of being a racist than to falsely accuse someone else of being a racist.”
Something to think about.

8/5/25, 7:59 PM
Political Junkie ayon kay ...

Eva Marie at 759 - That is powerful. I remember when W nominated Ashcroft and Ralph Neas with People for The American Way went apoplectic. He said the world was coming to an end. Ashcroft was a good man who was crucified.

8/5/25, 8:23 PM
R C Belaire ayon kay ...

Political Junkie said...
Any Michigan folks here?

Me. I've watched Duggan since he became mayor and he's done a pretty credible job given what he had to work with. I pretty much vote R down the ballot, but Duggan will attract many Rs given what the MI Republican party has been serving up lately. Years ago his family was in Livonia MI politics and that's where I first encountered him. One wouldn't expect a white boy from the suburbs to be elected Detroit mayor, but he surprised many people.

8/5/25, 8:27 PM
Political Junkie ayon kay ...

Thanks R C Belaire. I just watched Duggan interview with Mark Halperin on Next Up. He is an impressive regular guy. Worth watching the MI Gov race.

8/5/25, 8:41 PM
hawkeyedjb ayon kay ...

Why I hate Republicans: Josh Hawley wants to send everyone $600 checks because tariffs are generating income for the government. The family can’t pay its bills and the credit cards are maxed out, but hey, Dad might get a raise! Let’s spend it!

8/5/25, 8:42 PM
Political Junkie ayon kay ...

hawkeyedjb - That infuriates me when I see it on X. Perotistas need to lead the charge. Balanced budget needs to be in the conversation.

8/5/25, 8:49 PM
walter ayon kay ...
Naalis ng may-ari ang komentong ito.
8/5/25, 8:59 PM
RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

John Ashcroft replied, “This is very important to me. I’d rather be falsely accused of being a racist than to falsely accuse someone else of being a racist.”

Ashcroft was a loser. He let the D's use "racism" was as a weapon to attack him, and they used it to destroy him. And it took someone to "take pity on him" for him to finally get out it.

I'm sure Ashcroft would've died rather than be a "racist". LIke a said....a total loser. BTW, he's the guy who made Comey the Deputy AG.

8/5/25, 9:00 PM
walter ayon kay ...

Did Althouse compare the Texas Dems running away to Pritzgerland to Walker era WI Dems running to Tilted Kilt?

8/5/25, 9:00 PM
Caroline ayon kay ...

This afternoon was rainy and chilly in the Smokey mountains of North Carolina, where I am holed up with children and grands. I got to snuggle with the four year old and watch Cars. What a wonderful movie! All is right with the world.

8/5/25, 9:04 PM
RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

If you believe that the worst thing in the world is to be an "antisemite" or a "racist" then you're just asking for the Left to use that as a weapon to destroy you and enforce their agenda on everyone. The worst thing in the world? Yeah, I can think of a lotta things worse then "racism". What about letting the commies take over? What about open borders and 50 million Zulus moving to the USA? Or WW III? But better to die than be a "racist". Y'know like Ike, FDR, Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, etc. etc. etc. LOL!

8/5/25, 9:04 PM
RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Sessions and Ashcroft were peas in a pod. Two supposedly "Conservative" AG's that were too weak to actually fight the Left. I don't know what was up with Sessions. He stabbed Trump in the back, then left and tried to run for the Senate again. Was he a uniparty plant? I donno know.

Ashcroft refused to fight for anything conservative, then bailed out after 4 years, and never uttered a peep afterwards. Who knows what he was really trying to do.

8/5/25, 9:08 PM
RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Back to TV and DS9. Like I said, a very uneven show. Odo, Kira, Garrak, Quark, Kai winn, Gul Dukat, and Weyoun were very good. But the rest of the cast was very average unless they were put in the right situation or given a good script.

Much more of an ensemble show than TOS or TNG. It was hit or miss.

8/5/25, 9:12 PM
walter ayon kay ...

Iirc, Sessions simply met the deep state/wall of Hoax and hid.

8/5/25, 9:17 PM
Kakistocracy ayon kay ...

It's surprising that she was interviewed by Trump's former criminal defense lawyer, who arranged for her transfer to a comfortable federal prison after the interview. Conveniently, she avoided saying anything negative about the person who currently holds complete control over her life. Remarkable coincidence!

Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ Trump never did anything concerning around her: Sources ~ ABC News

8/5/25, 9:41 PM
Eva Marie ayon kay ...

@RCOCEAN II:
You’re assuming the Dems were correct in labeling the magazine or newsletter or whatever it was - that it was racist. I assume it wasn’t. Who knows but I certainly wouldn’t take any Democrat’s word for it without checking it for myself.
You’re assuming that John Kerry had Ashcroft’s best interests at heart. HA HA HA.
And you’re assuming the Democrat’s would have dropped the whole matter if Ashcroft had agreed with them. Again HA HA HA.
This is the mistake so many Republicans used to make. If we just go along with them this once, they’ll be reasonable. Again (for the sake of brevity) HA HA HA.
BTW Donald Trump made the same decision Ashcroft made when he answered the question about the demonstration in Charlottesville. He disavowed the racists who were there but the protesters on both side of the issue of the statues were fine people.
How effective Ashcroft was, I don’t know but I do remember that the Democrats and their minions in the press never stopped making fun of him. They never stopped. And he never stopped being John Ashcroft and for that, I admire him.

8/5/25, 9:48 PM
Che Dolf ayon kay ...

Remember the DOGE whiz kid nicknamed Big Balls that everyone in the media dumped on a few months ago?

"My friend Big Balls (@as400495) is a hero. I took this photo after Edward protected a young woman from an attempted carjacking by 8 thugs near Dupont Circle. Violence like this in the heart of DC is completely unacceptable."
- Marko Elez Aug 5, 2025

Althouse on February 7: "[DOGE staffer] Big Balls is Edward Coristine, and he's only 19 years old. So maybe you shouldn't be calling him that. You creeps."

No, he's earned his title.

8/5/25, 10:06 PM
Eva Marie ayon kay ...
Naalis ng may-ari ang komentong ito.
8/5/25, 10:09 PM
Yancey Ward ayon kay ...

Poor little Bich- he is so sure there is a Trump-pedo pony in all that pile shit and he is going to keep digging at it for years in frustration.

8/5/25, 10:19 PM
Iman ayon kay ...

kakscheisser®

8/6/25, 12:06 AM
Eva Marie ayon kay ...

Again @RCOCEAN II
“If you believe that the worst thing in the world is to be an ‘antisemite’ or a ‘racist’ then you're just asking for the Left to use that as a weapon to destroy you and enforce their agenda on everyone.”
What you said is exactly what Ashcroft said. Ashcroft said he’d rather be called names than call other people names just because the Democrats want him to.
Also, I don’t recall a time where you accused anyone of being a racist etc. So I think you agree with Ashcroft more than you’re aware of.

8/6/25, 1:44 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit ayon kay ...

If republicans were running away from their legislative duties in order to stop democrats from redistricting and carving up more democratic seats in their state legislature, democrats would just change the quorum rules and go ahead without the the runaway republicans anyway.

Republicans just lack balls, never mind votes.

8/6/25, 2:15 AM
Bruce Hayden ayon kay ...

Since one of our resident leftists mentioned Epstein, something new, that is really old, came out again, about him. He got a super sweetheart deal from the FL USA in his previous federal deal. The USA, Acosta, who was later the Sec of Labor, when questioned about it, said it was above his paygrade, which meant orders from DC. This was apparently from when Mueller was Director of the FBI. He was told, essentially that Epstein was an intelligence asset.

He could have been CIA, but they aren’t supposed to be doing that sort of thing within CONTUS. Or Massad (where Maxwell’s father worked, as she likely did too), but that would have been a big favor to them. Or, I think most likely to get the backing of the AG/DAG, the FBI. And that most likely means then, our friends in the Counterintelligence Division. Yes, the same group that ran the Midyear Exam and Crossfire Hurricane investigations.

And, (probably not coincidentally) the same group at the FBI under investigation by FBI D Patel and DD Bongino. And where those burn bags came from. And who ran the MAL raid, and failed to declassify the binder of documents on RussiaGate, despite Trumps formal order (in writing, with photographs) to do so. And hid their files in the FBI case management system with a secret classification designation. Etc.

So, should it surprise anyone that Epstein is being rolled out at this point, when the FBI’s CD, who likely ran him and Maxwell as a honeypot, is fighting for its life? After all, his usefulness to them ended with his supposed suicide. Notice also that the discovery of a bunch of the evidence involving Epstein miraculously appeared at the same time as the discovery of the hidden room of burnbags and secret classification of RussiaGate case files - very likely because it all came from essentially the same place - FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

And, note, finally, that if the FBI had had any real dirt on Trump, via Epstein, they would have used it long ago, in self preservation. Which suggests to me that their relationship was just as Trump suggests - fairly innocent. Two billionaires who ran in the same social circles, both with homes in NYC and Palm Springs.

8/6/25, 3:09 AM
Bruce Hayden ayon kay ...

Should have added that what makes sense to me is that Epstein was an FBI asset, while Maxwell was Massad. They slept together, on occasion, but they seem to have mostly worked together, running their international honeypot.

8/6/25, 3:14 AM
buwaya ayon kay ...

My ancestral fishing village - my grandfathers hometown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGIABv-a9zM&pp=ygUJZWxhbnR4b2Jl
We lived there for a time while my father was working and travelling in Europe (he was a machinery dealer and was constantly on the road). My grandfathers house is in the second row by the left side breakwater. We used to fish from there, but we mostly caught octopus - which my grandma insisted on cooking. Octopus, squid, fish and liver made a frugal and healthy diet, but I'll pass on that part of nostalgia. Some people got moray eels there, which is a hard pass, imho. In my day this was a commercial fishing village (the name means "the anchovy") and the harbor was full of the smaller sort of Biscay fishing boats, and yes the whole place smelled very strongly of fish. We moved back to Manila in 1967. These days its mostly summer homes used by the families of former residents, etc. Hence all the recreational boats. The video is of a nice summer day; but winter gales here can be very scary, and if you think these breakwaters are overbuilt - no, they're not.

8/6/25, 5:17 AM
Humperdink ayon kay ...

From Wiki: “The term gerrymandering is a portmanteau of a salamander and Elbridge Gerry,[a][5] Vice President of the United States at the time of his death, who, as governor of Massachusetts in 1812, signed a bill that created a partisan district in the Boston area that was compared to the shape of a mythological salamander.”

I would encourage our resident lefties to google up a map of the congressional districts in Illinois. You will see a skinny district running up through the center of the state in the shape of a ….. salamander.

8/6/25, 5:30 AM
john mosby ayon kay ...

Buwaya - that is great. Someone needs to do a book called How the Basques Saved Civilization. You guys keep turning up everywhere. Or is there already a book you can recommend?

RR
JSM

8/6/25, 5:30 AM
buwaya ayon kay ...

"The Basque Histiry of the World", Kurlansky

8/6/25, 5:40 AM
The Vault Dweller ayon kay ...

Apparently Jim Acosta did an "interview" with an AI persona of a 17 year old victim in the Parkland School shooting 7 years ago. Acosta interviews AI.

8/6/25, 5:49 AM
john mosby ayon kay ...

Kurlansky: the author of Cod, which I also haven't read but have heard good things about. Thanks!

RR
JSM

8/6/25, 5:50 AM
Kakistocracy ayon kay ...

@ Mr Hayden:
There are plenty of bad actors in politics, however, on balance, most don't go on vacations or develop long-term relationships with a child sex-trafficker who has been credibly involved in hundreds if not more than a thousand cases of abuse. The fact that the trafficker also had ties to at least one intelligence agency and was effectively protected for years by major political figures is another issue. This isn't like some politician steering a few million dollars to friends, families, and political supporters, or engaging in more routine acts of political patronage. When we talk about a violation of the public trust, there are degrees of difference that matter.

The reality is that sometimes conspiracies are also true and there are "hidden power networks". Anyone who even spends a little time looking at the Epstein case — seeing how things were reported not just in one moment — but over the course of decades has to wonder. Maybe it was just an incredibly coincidental turn of history that the person who was initially involved in overseeing the case -- Bill Barr — who was involved in a sleazy cover-up involving Iran-Contra, also happened to have a father who helped Epstein get his first job at the Dalton School forty years earlier (at a time when Epstein only had a high school degree). These are documented facts.

Epstein's association with Robert Maxwell's daughter -- another person with close ties to intelligence agencies — is another one of those "coincidences" that just seems way too rich to be a historical accident.

Do rich and powerful people engage in egregious misbehavior and then use their social networks to protect themselves? Is that a "conspiracy" or is it just a fact? In this particular instance, why were rich and powerful people around Epstein willing to put their names and reputations on the line to ensure that Epstein received incredibly lenient treatment? e.g. actions that the DOJ even flagged in its review of the Epstein case in 2020.

The child abuse aspects of this case are not in dispute either. Why did this one person receive such an absurd level of protection and such lenient treatment? Let's begin with that fact. Why were so many people involved in that lenient treatment rewarded with future political advancement, rather than having their careers absolutely destroyed, as would be the case in any other normal professional sphere?

It is pretty obvious why this case hits close to home for Trump. Bondi was Attorney General in Florida at a time when Epstein's activities were open and notorious, and she did nothing. In Trump's first term, he rewarded Alex Acosta with a cabinet position (Acosta was involved in the initial prosecution of Epstein when he was a US Attorney and provided an agreement with incredibly favorable release terms for Epstein that was largely seen as a farce).

Only a fool would believe that Trump has any interest in "protecting the innocent". The same is true with other politicians who maintained a close relationship with Epstein through the years. I'm sure there are Trump supporters who will try to rationalize what is going on. But I suspect this is one of those cases where there are going to be many who start to see Trump with clearer eyes going forward. Trump has always been sleazy, which is one reason he was able to maintain a close relationship for years with Epstein. He and Bill Clinton probably maintained the same close relationship for years for the same reasons. Even if they didn't actively engage in the kind of abuse Epstein was involved in, they were almost certainly aware of what was going on. Trump even alluded to it as well in previous comments about how Epstein "liked them young”.

8/6/25, 6:05 AM
Kakistocracy ayon kay ...
Naalis ng may-ari ang komentong ito.
8/6/25, 6:16 AM
Clyde ayon kay ...

Interesting video, Buwaya. Very picturesque.

8/6/25, 6:34 AM
Leland ayon kay ...

Many politicians engage in unethical behavior, but most do not vacation or maintain long-term relationships with a child sex trafficker credibly linked to hundreds, if not thousands, of abuse cases

Indeed, that’s why Bill and Hillary are being subpoenaed to explain themselves. And look at their relationship with Weinstein.

As for many politicians “do not vacation”, hard to believe that in Texas right now. Where did all the Democrats go? They on vacation instead of doing their job?

8/6/25, 7:03 AM
Old and slow ayon kay ...

Buwaya, thanks for the book suggestion. I really enjoyed Cod, so I just ordered the Kurlansky book.

8/6/25, 7:18 AM
RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Israeli PM and Presidents stayed with Epstein while they were in NYC. Epstein constantly flew to Israel. he wasn't "FBI" lol. He was Mossad.

8/6/25, 7:31 AM
Josephbleau ayon kay ...

I see more and more that assembling factual rebuttals to what are in fact emotional reactions and assumed moral scruples misses the point. Statistics have no purchase on the righteously affronted.

I really no longer see argumentation to be useful. In the Epstein case Trump enemies are willing to burn down their own house hoping for another chance at him. Like the earlier Russiagate but very much more scorched earth.

Bald faced accusations that just must be true because we know Trump is so bad just disgust most people of thought. But they will never go away.

Old politicians have a use, they can be thrown under the bus so you can appear fair. Soon Bill and Hillary, Schumer and Polosi will be cast out just to remove the stench. The NYT and Maddow will start casually condemning them saying they are as evil as Trump.

8/6/25, 8:22 AM
Josephbleau ayon kay ...

What is my answer? Go do what you think is best and have the joy of it. And don’t care about the noise.

8/6/25, 8:30 AM
Narr ayon kay ...

Yes to Kurlansky, and add "Paper" to the pile. I haven't read his book about 1968.

8/6/25, 8:53 AM
Kakistocracy ayon kay ...

After Hillary Clinton's loss in 2016, it was widely reported that a core segment of Clinton donors started backing Harris and trying to raise her profile in advance of the 2020 election cycle (Harris and no one else). Given all the baggage that Bill Clinton carries, the Democrats still made a point of having him appear at the 2024 convention. There are still many people in the Clinton universe who have major influence over party control who will never disavow Bill Clinton. Larry Summers who also maintained a close relationship with Epstein has been welcomed by the same political circles.

If it was so incredibly easy for the party to separate itself from the Clintons and Epstein, it would have been done. Yet they didn't. The question kind of answers itself as to the "why" and also why it is so incredibly important now to actually get some separation from that political family, and the people who have defended Bill Clinton and rationalized his own conduct for decades.

8/6/25, 9:09 AM
Rusty ayon kay ...

All that rhetoric from the kaki phage without a shred of proof.

8/6/25, 9:25 AM
john mosby ayon kay ...

Narr: does Kurlansky's Paper answer a question that has been bugging me for years: why wasn't the printing press invented much earlier?

All the basic ingredients, plus the concept of repetitive strikes of a reverse image, existed basically since history started. Yet no one put them all together until the 1400s. I ask every expert I run into, and have never gotten a fully reasoned explanation.

RR
JSM

8/6/25, 10:12 AM
DINKY DAU 45 ayon kay ...

hope you dont plan on a new APPLE IPHONE any time soon.India now 50% tariffs.. I hate APPLE ANYWAY nothing better than a DROID!

8/6/25, 10:45 AM
Narr ayon kay ...

@JSM--I don't recall how Kurlansky handled the question; it has been decades since I read the book. Will take a look later if the book is where I think it is.

IIRC the Chinese and Koreans were getting close but I think that's common knowledge.

8/6/25, 10:51 AM

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