October 13, 2025

A very dark sunrise — 6:37, 6:57.

IMG_4301

IMG_4303

Write about whatever you like in the comments.

119 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Actual rain this time.

rehajm said...

Spooky!

rehajm said...

I love this guy…Letitia’s arch enemy isn’t Trump it’s an accountant sitting at his kitchen table.

dwshelf said...

I like both pics! Ordinary, they are not.

rehajm said...

…dollars to donuts she keeps her law license…

Beasts of England said...

It was a dark and stormy morning…

n.n said...

The mist

Sleepy hollow

A headless jack ass riding

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Tenebrous. I love these.

Jamie said...

Send some of that rain our way in south Texas!

NKP said...

#1. Now, THAT’S a picture!

narciso said...

Wonderful landscapes

I think the strike in doha told the al thanis it was time to jettison hamas (at least publically) much like the botched mabhouh hit, well hamas stopped meeting in dubai after that dodnt they

Kakistocracy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Goetz von Berlichingen said...

Stormy skies here in CA Gold Country as well.

Came across this environmental survey company in Paso Robles, CA :https://www.althouseandmeade.com/

Thought you'd find it amusing. Maybe they have some cool chatzkies. Christmas IS coming up.
Goetz

narciso said...

https://x.com/omriceren/status/1977752577593811303

R C Belaire said...

#1 Looks like something Vermeer might have painted.

tcrosse said...

The first picture represents the Existential Threat to Our Democracy settling over Madison. Flee to Stoughton before it's too late.

Aggie said...

You know what these remind me of? That old thriller soap opera, Dark Shadows. Collins Castle should be there, in the background, with Barnabas in a high window.

Lazarus said...

Jack Nicholson also commented regretting Diane Keaton's passing. I thought he was sunk in dementia. Maybe this is what he's been paying press agents to deal with.

Aggie said...

Hey ! Is anybody going to comment on the Supreme Court's discussion of Humphrey Estate and its finding's effect on Trump's ability to remove unwanted administrators? Not seeing a lot about it, online.

RCOCEAN II said...

Just saw the "The Usual Suspects" (1995)- a well made but overly familiar paint by the number crime movie. Kevin Spacey does a good job in his "breakout role". But I've seen it all before, profanity, cool violence, betrayals, twists and turns. The film's lushly made but in spirit its the usual "dark and gritty". None of the other talented character actors have much charisma. So when they died I was "meh".

Also "Asia" - Narrated by richard Attenborough. Excellent nature series.

RCOCEAN II said...

There were some "rats" in "usual suspects" but I too was unfazed by them.

Jaq said...

That's all fine, but Israel only killed bodyguards, including a Qatari, and Trump thanked Qatar specifically for their help in working out this deal with Hamas, and Trump forced Netanyahu to apologize personally to the Emir. I know everybody cheered on Israel for the attack, but Trump was working on this deal, and it appears that Israel was trying to block it, kinetically, as they say. It's weird that people seem more loyal to Israel than Trump.

I think that Trump is like when Dad comes into the room, and your good for nothing Uncle Joe was playing poker, and had bet the family farm, and Dad has to take over the cards and responsibility for what has been bet so far by your addled, and dementia-ridden Uncle Joe, and he is doing the best he can in an imperfect world with the hand he was handed. And to break the analogy, the government is riddled with your demented uncle's friends, allies, and plain old cronies in corruption, working against Trump at every turn.

Saint Croix said...

That damn bobble off the glove into the wall unassisted double play was some wild shit. I swear, everybody was confused except the catcher.

My Dad and I are pulling for the Dodgers. I feel like this pennant race is going to be all seven games.

Narr said...

Youtube offered me a trailer for the movie "Satantango" (insert accents or diacriticals as you prefer) based on the book.

A couple of minutes was hard to take--seven hours sounds like a foretaste of hell. Like Bergman on Qualudes.

Old and slow said...

We've had as much rain in Arizona in the past 5 days as we had gotten since the year began.

Original Mike said...

"Actual rain this time."

0.25 mm, on the rooftop of Space Science.

Saint Croix said...

99% of the time, you got the bases loaded, one out, and you hit a shot to the warning track, it’s an automatic run. Tonight it’s an unassisted double play, nobody scores, and the umpires need 5 minutes to figure out what the hell happened.

Mason G said...

I don't know about "unassisted", somebody threw the ball to the catcher for a force at the plate for the second out. The catcher did get the third out all on his own at third base, which probably doesn't happen very often.

Saint Croix said...

I have never taken the horse tranquilizer — Bill Cosby says it’s fine — but I suspect Persona on Qualudes would really freak me out.

Dave Begley said...

Creighton alum in LF for Brewers.

Aggie said...

How was there a force play at the plate, if the fly ball was caught? Pardon an ignorant question - the video doesn't show whether he tagged up at third or not, but in what case would it be a force play?

Canadian Bumblepuppy said...

That was a weird play.

Horrible Thanksgiving weekend for me. Leafs lost twice to Detroit and Bluejays lost twice to Seattle. Good luck Brewers!

Saint Croix said...

You are right, Mason, the Bobbler definitely helped out.

Saint Croix said...

Aggie, we suspect that the ball hit the wall. That’s like a bounce on the ground.

Dave Begley said...

Creighton alum owns the Dodgers.

Saint Croix said...

Took us 10 minutes to come up with that hypothesis.

Aggie said...

Ah: Rule 5.09(a)(1). Runners may leave their bases the instant the first fielder touches the ball... But if he caught the ball on the fly, then it bounced off the wall, but returned to his glove and he kept it (never touched the ground), isn't the batter called 'out'? Hence no 'force play'? I guess not.

Aggie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mason G said...

"How was there a force play at the plate, if the fly ball was caught?"

The fly ball bounced out of the fielder's glove, hit the wall and then he caught it. So- not a catch.

Saint Croix said...

Aggie, the commentators never figured it out, either. And we might be wrong. The ignorance is widespread. We’re all confused. Except the catcher.

Saint Croix said...

And Mason!

Aggie said...

The Catcher proceeded to trot over to third and tagged the bag to force the other base runner out, too. Almost a leisurely 2 outs before the announcers caught on. Catchers bags an unassisted double play with 2 force-outs.

Saint Croix said...

I haven’t man-splained in years.

Felt good!

Mason G said...

"The fly ball bounced out of the fielder's glove, hit the wall and then he caught it. So- not a catch."

I'm not so sure about this now. According to grok:

"In your scenario, if the ball hits the fielder's glove, then the fence, and is caught before hitting the ground, it is a valid catch, and the batter is out, assuming the fielder maintains secure possession and the ball remains in flight."

Saint Croix said...

NYT confirms. Ball hit the wall.

Saint Croix said...

In the future, the umpires will ask the AI, the computer will rule, badly, and fans will riot.

My new theory is that we have stupid AI in order to make human authorities look smarter.

Aggie said...

Grok is the kid that got picked last. What Grok doesn't know, it makes up. I'm pretty sure the rules say that hitting the wall equals hitting the ground, i.e. when a fielder catches a ball off the wall he still has to throw for an out.

Saint Croix said...

This pitcher duel is super fast. Top of the 9th. We’re way under 3 hours

Saint Croix said...

Brew Crew pulled their starter. Oops.

Kakistocracy said...

Trump says that Obama could have gotten the October 7th hostages released during his presidency, raising new concerns about Biden's memory and cognition.

Saint Croix said...

Google “Dodger double play”. The headlines are fun.

Saint Croix said...

I love the Japanese invasion into the Major Leagues. Super cool. We are truly a World Series.

Saint Croix said...

The world would be so different if Castro kept playing baseball.

Yancey Ward said...

I hate to tell you this, Bich, but Obama was almost surely calling the shots in Biden's fake presidency.

Saint Croix said...

Tying run at the plate.

Saint Croix said...

No way, Yancey! Obama was out of office and impotent. For proof I offer the summer of ‘24.

Saint Croix said...

Oh shit. Brewers are threatening. I need to sleep, damn it.

Saint Croix said...

His splitter is brutal

Saint Croix said...

Walk. Tying run on 3rd. Winning run on first.

Saint Croix said...

And they yanked their closer. Damn.

Yancey Ward said...

I just watched the weird double play- that was just piss poor base coaching by the Dodgers- no excuse for not plating a run on that play even if you thought he had caught the fly ball.

BudBrown said...

moment of truth....no...next moment

Saint Croix said...

Loaded the damn bases. Three walks in the ninth. Damn!

Saint Croix said...

Woo

Yancey Ward said...

Well, that ending sucked.

Saint Croix said...

That pitch was super high

Saint Croix said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mason G said...

Ok- so grok is wrong. Probably not the first time.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Reddit: VP JD trolls Pocahontas.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Reddit: Male Privilege 😉

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Reddit: "...little boy was left behind in the middle of the desert by human traffickers because he couldn't keep up"

Jim at said...

Kevin Spacey does a good job in his "breakout role".

Am watching Se7en for the xx time and noticed - and maybe I'm the last one TO notice - Kevin Spacey's name doesn't show up in the opening credits.

Yancey Ward said...

Jim, I never watched the credits that closely but it makes sense- he doesn't show up in the movie, as I remember it, until the end.

Yancey Ward said...

I liked Se7en a lot- a great thriller, however, I have never rewatched it because it is so gruesome and disturbing.

Jim at said...

My wife and I've watched it so many times, "What's in the booxxx," is a running joke.

Especially at Christmas.

gadfly said...

The Citizens United case ruling pushed by John Roberts and Sam Alito was the culmination of far-right 50-year master plan to deregulate the campaign finance system and legalize corruption. What started as an illegal and fictional incendiary memo from soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell became two landmark rulings: one equating money with constitutionally protected speech and another extending personhood rights to corporations.

Although Citizens United unleashed a 28-fold increase in election spending, the ruling preserved the legality of campaign contribution limits. But they could now be destroyed by aiming to reverse a 2001 Supreme Court ruling and eliminate restrictions on political parties’ coordinated spending with candidates. If those rules are killed off, party committees could become pass-through conduits for big donors to circumvent donation limits and deliver much larger payments in support of lawmakers who can reward them with government favors.

Along these lines, the Supreme Court has already declared that a public official reaping a payment from the recipient of government contracts is not engaging in illegal bribery, but is merely accepting a legal “gratuity.” Taken together, the story is as sordid as it seems: As some justices were secretly accepting gifts from billionaires, they used these cases to rule that the real problem in American politics is not egregious corruption, but instead overly stringent anti-corruption laws.

Now we know why Border Czar Tom Homan has not been charged with accepting a $50K bribe from undercover FBI agents.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/jd-vance-right-plan-billionaires-elections-1235445122/

Disparity of Cult said...

"Wow. Democrat Mayor of Chicago refuses to answer a simple question about an illegal who bashed a woman’s head into the sidewalk & raped her."

But he can then joke around about the traffic.

https://x.com/DerrickEvans4WV/status/1975715791682347050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1975715791682347050%7Ctwgr%5E0c90614da199dfd084bf9e84ab3a610d7749589c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Finstapundit.com%2F749534%2F

Jim at said...

Gadfly: "What's in the booxxx?"

Tom Homan's bribe.

Humperdink said...

Headline: “ When Trump Won the Presidency, They Stopped Spitting on Me” – Former Hostage Tells How Hamas was Scared of Trump” (Gateway Pundit)

Why am I not surprised.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/10/when-trump-won-presidency-they-stopped-spitting-me/

Big Mike said...

“Humphrey’s Executor” is gone, and Richard Trumka, Jr., will be right behind. I guess we will get to keep our gas stoves after all. Thank you, Supreme Court. Thank you, Donald Trump.

planetgeo said...

The Dodgers of the regular season are not the same as the Dodgers of the playoffs.

planetgeo said...

Loved the chiaroscuro sunrise images. Caravaggio with iPhone.

Meade said...

What a glorious day for world peace and prosperity. October 13, 2025. Thank you to all who helped elect President Donald J. Trump.

Humperdink said...

Can any lefties on this site visualize Biden or Kamala executing what Trump just did in Gaza? It’s laughable to even consider it. And yet the aforementioned lefties would still vote for this hapless pair today.

Leland said...

The FBI thought they were stinging Tom Homan, but they don’t know the law. You can only bribe an official or expected official. So either the FBI either knew Trump would win the election or Tom Homan couldn’t be bribed. The rest is a $50,000 gift by the Biden Administration.

The crime here is the FBI attempting to entrap members of the opposition party to prevent them from holding office. That is why we elected an Administration to clean house in the FBI.

Also, another topic that Gadfly posts in which he is ignorant. No surprise.

Humperdink said...

gadfly said: “ Along these lines, the Supreme Court has already declared that a public official reaping a payment from the recipient of government contracts is not engaging in illegal bribery, but is merely accepting a legal “gratuity.”

If that’s the case why is former senator “Gold Bar” Bob Menendez resting comfortably in a federal penitentiary?

Saint Croix said...

Hamas was "very scared of Trump."

"They wanted Kamala to be elected."

A hostage speaks.

Saint Croix said...

"they stopped spitting on me"

Christopher B said...

a public official Bullshite. As I understand the timeline, the FBI tried to compromise Homan even before the election. He was a private citizen. Leland has it right. Another example of the FBI trying to pull the same stunt they did with Gen. Flynn.

Demolish the damm Hoover building and salt the earth.

Hassayamper said...

Now we know why Border Czar Tom Homan has not been charged with accepting a $50K bribe from undercover FBI agents.

He won’t be charged because he was a private citizen accepting a retainer for his private consulting business, like about 10,000 former politicians and their cronies do every day in D.C.

This was just one more political dirty trick by the Biden DOJ on their way out the door.

Kakistocracy said...

US treasury secretary accuses Beijing of trying to damage global economy; silver hits record high ~ The Guardian

"US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has accused China of trying to hurt the world’s economy after Beijing imposed sweeping export controls on rare earths and critical minerals, hitting global supply chains."

“This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them,” Bessent said on Monday.

The kid with matches blames paper for being combustible.

When one has a weak hand, gives it zero thought and bluffs impulsively .…This habit of accusing others of being responsible for your own actions is becoming very tiring.

Saint Croix said...

Trump says that Obama could have gotten the October 7th hostages released during his presidency, raising new concerns about Biden's memory and cognition.

Kak, you confused Biden with Trump in your comment. You meant to say "Trump" again, and you said "Biden" instead.

Raising new concerns about your memory and cognition.

I'm joking, of course.

But, seriously, maybe give Trump a day, huh? Give him the polite golf clap, at least.

Beasts of England said...

How exciting to start the day seeing that Gadfly has linked a Rolling Stone article to bolster a political argument! I may have to go back to bed and start again… lol

MadTownGuy said...

Old and slow said...
"We've had as much rain in Arizona in the past 5 days as we had gotten since the year began."

Seems like AZ and NM have had a lot more floods than normal over the last couple of years. Ruidoso NM has had several in a row. Weird.

Peachy said...

The FBI manufactured the "Whitmer Kidnapping!" that never occurred. What did occur was entrapment by the corrupt FBI.

rhhardin said...

The left always has the ultimate take-down, originally written by Marx, that there are mistaken explanations (listed), but in fact it was circumstances that made is possible for this fool to pull off what could not be done before. Worth reading for the concision that's no longer found in writing:

"Of the writings dealing with the same subject at approximately the same time as mine, only two deserve notice: Victor Hugo's Napoleon le Petit and Proudhon's Coup d'Etat. Victor Hugo confines himself to bitter and witty invective against the responsible producer of the coup d'etat. The event itself appears in his work like a bolt from the blue. He sees in it only the violent act of a single individual. He does not notice that he makes this individual great instead of little by ascribing to him a personal power of initiative unparalleled in world history. Proudhon, for his part, seeks to represent the coup dbetat as the result of an antecedent historical development. Inadvertently, however, his historical construction of the coup d'etat becomes a historical apologia for its hero. Thus he falls into the error of our so-called objective historians. I, on the contrary, demonstrate how the class struggle in France created circumstances and relationships that made it possible for a grotesque mediocrity to play a hero's part."


Jaq said...

"The FBI manufactured the "Whitmer Kidnapping!"

Whitmer and Walz both seemed to be trying out the new tools that the Democrats have been employing, false flags, encouraging violence, then pinning it on the other side. What happened in Minneapolis was remarkably similar to the regime change operations we do worldwide with USAID money and "National Endowment for Democracy" money. They have been trying to bring these regime change techniques home, and to destroy opposition permanently.

Remember though, the only country where we would never do a regime change operation is Ukraine, even though John McCain was hanging out in the crowd at Maidan Square giving speeches about changing the democratically elected government, and not through voting them out.

Jaq said...

If Democrats had gotten their way after J6, the Republican Party would have been all but destroyed.

Jaq said...

"Give him the polite golf clap, at least."

Kak i's a Chorus influencer, almost certainly. He has to earn his paycheck. I think that the only issues he discusses here authentically are economic.

Jaq said...

Is gadfly still going on about that thing that happened during the Biden Administration? Why, exactly, would Trump cover for one of Biden's guys?

Eva Marie said...

“Am watching Se7en for the xx time and noticed - and maybe I'm the last one TO notice - Kevin Spacey's name doesn't show up in the opening credits.”
That was at Spacey’s insistence. The studio wanted to give him top billing with Brad Pit but Spacey thought it would give away the plot line.

Saint Croix said...

Spacey thought it would give away the plot line.

That's a classy move. Putting art ahead of self.

Jaq said...

The Female Domination of Literature Has Become Ridiculous

Remember, "diversity" excludes straight white men, and isn't literature better today than it was in the 90s? It's working... right?

Jaq said...

"Why won't boys read the books chosen for them by the white middle-class left leaning women who buy the manuscripts?"

Saint Croix said...

I don't remember what happened to Spacey. I know there were allegations, and the last season of House of Cards was cancelled. He's always been a pretty good villain. (The original British show is better, Ian Richardson is fantastic).

Anyway, I just found out, he has not been convicted of anything. And at Cannes, he came out swinging.

Contrast Vanity Fair.

"Disgraced actor."

I don't know if these me 2 types realize how harsh and judgmental they sound. Priggish. Conservative. Right-wing. Like blue bloods from Boston in 1848. (I haven't actually read the book Vanity Fair, but it would be really cool if it was about blue bloods from Boston in 1848).

Sex assault is bad, sex harassment is bad, all these things are bad. But an accusation that is not true is also bad. Really bad. Liberals used to know this. The me 2 movement has no idea. "Believe all women, and believe anybody who accuses anybody of anything."

narciso said...

Oh noes what ever shall i do (,read in the scottish brogue of critical drinker

narciso said...

Ian richardson was magnificent michael dobbs initially killed him off in the books

narciso said...

I dont trust the qataris any more than i trust the saudis

Jaq said...

Genre literature is where the action is.

Saint Croix said...

"disgraced" and "fallen from grace" are both religious terms, Vanity Fair. Do you know this? Did you pray on your article before you wrote it? Did you ask God for knowledge of the truth? Did God reveal the truth to you? How do you know he's guilty?

I don't know. But I'm going to presume innocence, because that's what we do in our country, until you are convicted of a crime by a jury of 12. (And don't get me started on the Supreme Court reducing the size of the jury to allow states to make criminal convictions easier).

narciso said...

Vanity fair is hot garbage which pretended they hadnt enabled weinstein in their glossy pages

narciso said...

Actually set in regency england like belgravia

boatbuilder said...

If you can catch a ball off the wall for an out, the games in Fenway would be much less interesting.

narciso said...

Chinas indifference killed a million people in this country there probably isnt a single town that wasnt affected by their sciencd experiment

Howard said...

So the origin of Grace is from the Greek pagans. Just like the story of Christ was derived from Egyptian mythology.

Greek connection: In the context of the New Testament, "grace" is the translation of the Greek word charis, which also means "favor," "kindness," and "goodwill". Both charis and gratia share a common Proto-Indo-European root (gʷerH-) related to "praise" or "favor".

Cappy said...

Watery tarts distributing swords randomly is no basis for a government,

narciso said...

Except the original kings were the most successful warlord

Iman said...

Well said, Meade @5:09am!

narciso said...

So say we all (i hated the amorality of the battle star remake)

Post a Comment

Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 2 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith.