Althouse: At the Milkweed Café...

July 11, 2026

At the Milkweed Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

17 comments:

Leland said...: It is a beautiful summer day. I hope the Althouse commentariat and Meadhouse are enjoying it wherever they are.; 7/11/26, 9:42 AM
Original Mike said...: Milkweed not nearly that far along in northern Wisconsin. I haven't even noticed it yet on our daily walks.; 7/11/26, 9:54 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: This is the big day in the world cup. England v. Norway and Argentina v. Switzerland. About to watch the Wimbleton Women Singles. What a great sports day.; 7/11/26, 10:08 AM
NKP said...: I'd like to register a big F U to the notion that e-commerce is of benefit to consumers.

I say that as someone who knows all the local UPS and FedEx delivery drivers by name. Not to mention, uses online resources day-and-night to find and book travel for my clients.

It certainly makes it less expensive tor sellers to move product and deal with guestions and complaints. That money goes straight to their bottom lines. Good huh? Not for the consumer. Time saved by business is time spent by you. If your time is worth anything to you... it's a hidden tax.

Last week I had a major identity hack that threatened a lot of my assets. I did all the right things in response and most everything is "secure" again.

I began the process with contacting my main bank on the pbone; spent many hours online and had three physical meetings with executives at the bank. During the process. probably spent 2-4 hours-a-day, over a six-day period, ON HOLD.

In spite of listening to the menu carefully (as options have changed), I usually ended-up talking with a nice but difficult to understand person who offered to transfer me to another department. This is not always a one-transfer process and, as likely as not, you eventually realize you're on a dead line.

Maybe go make yourself a nice big Martini to replace the coffee that long-ago went cold. Or go find one of those pills your dentist gave you the last time you had a tooth pulled. Take a deep breath and re-strart the process...

Jusr when I thought I had my financial life back in order, I get an unsolicted call from T-Mobile, a company I've been with for years and been very pleased with. Some nice lady started talking about their wonderful wireless internet service.

I informed her I already had it and she replied there were new options that offered MORE! Next thing you know, she's asking for me to verify this and that. I know. Big Red Flag. I had no doubt it was a legit call but I scolded her for demanding me to verify info that was right in front of her. I was informed it was for my own protection (company policy) and, suddenly, there's a supervisiorj on the phone confirming this.

I said it was nice they had a corporate policy and system to verify me but I had no comparable system to verify them. The supervisior's last pitch was that if I didn't verify my info, they could not sell me the service without an activation fee.

I said I wasn't shopping for the service and that I did not appreciate an unsolicited sales call. End of conversation.

Two minutes later I get a text from the company saying they were hopeful their representative was able to answer all my questions about the new-and-improved internet service and that the sale would be ending soon.

AAaaarrgh!!!!!!!!!!!!! There ought to be a law.

I'd also like to see ALL hackers (including mischevious kids), charged and put on a hacker ID list (like sex offenders). When you add-up the cost of this activity, it is probably in the trillions.; 7/11/26, 10:39 AM
NKP said...: Another soccer weenie heard from. The fix is in for Argentina. It's a Messi thing.; 7/11/26, 10:42 AM
Original Mike said...: "I said it was nice they had a corporate policy and system to verify me but I had no comparable system to verify them."

Exactly. They ask you to provide the exact same information an identity thief would ask for. How are we supposed to tell the difference?; 7/11/26, 10:54 AM
Original Mike said...: Democratic Socialists platform

1. ABOLISH the Senate
2. Give 100% of illegal aliens and noncitizens AMNESTY
3. REPLACE the President and Supreme Court with a subordinate to Congress
4. Defund and destroy the Department of War and our military; 7/11/26, 11:03 AM
MadTownGuy said...: Judge Hannah Dugan was fined $5,000 for obstructing ICE. No prison time, no probation.; 7/11/26, 11:21 AM
Original Mike said...: Inside the DSA tent, former organizer Evan Barker recalls witnessing "a daily bashing of white people, animosity for the 'deplorables' who voted for Trump, deep hatred of men, and an obsession with race that infiltrated every conversation, policy proposal, and objective."; 7/11/26, 11:28 AM
Saint Croix said...: OM, thanks for that Evan Barker reference. I had never heard of her before.

Here she is, in her own words, in the Free Press. Outstanding journalism!

"Back in June 2018, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated a veteran incumbent in New York, it sent an earthquake through the party. Panicked, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee enacted an official “blacklisting” policy to prevent future upsets, barring from future work any consultant caught working for someone trying to primary a sitting Democratic incumbent.

I was one of those consultants. The establishment had all kinds of tricks to keep us at bay. They’d tell donors not to give money to us, they’d recruit candidates to run against progressives as spoilers, and they’d block endorsements of our candidates, even from supposedly progressive politicians.

I remember feeling immensely angry and bitter. But while the policy was designed to intimidate operatives like me from helping progressive insurgents, it backfired: By isolating us from the party’s infrastructure, it forced us to build our own. We trained each other, we recruited our own donors to back us, and we created an extremely strong network of groups and consultants to elect far-left candidates.

It worked. Today’s hard left may masquerade as a grassroots, organic movement, but there is now major funding behind many of its most radical candidates. Donor networks like “Way to Win,” for example, promote far-left campaigns at their conferences and via email lists, introducing candidates to mainstream Democratic donors and helping infuse their campaigns with cash. The wealthy Soros family has backed some of the most incendiary “Squad” members and causes. Meanwhile, the very same operatives involved in earlier iterations of the Squad now have a decade of experience. These are not the “crazy activists” you see fighting online; they are highly competent, skilled and, for the most part, keep a low profile. They’ve now built an entire ecosystem that runs parallel to the official Democratic apparatus—equipped with their own consultant network, endorsing organizations, donors and, yes, billionaires who back them. This is not a right-wing conspiracy. I have the receipts."; 7/11/26, 11:52 AM
Aggie said...: David Hearne - the crackpot former Olympian kayaker that was caught ripping up the reflecting pool - has had his first hearing, I guess. You know what's remarkable? His lawyer, that's what.

Yes, his stalwart defense team is headed up by Norm Eisen, who spoke on behalf of his client at a press conference. Now isn't that remarkable? A common citizen, rating a defense team like that. Gee, only in Amerika, amirite?; 7/11/26, 2:28 PM
Mason G said...: "If your time is worth anything to you... it's a hidden tax."

I'm on my third credit card in two years due to unauthorized charges compromising the accounts. To their credit, the credit card company is the one who noticed the charges and asked me if I had made them.

None of this cost me any money, but the time needed to sort things out is not insignificant, and it's time I can never get back.; 7/11/26, 2:31 PM
jim said...: Smell the milkweed, one of the nicest flower scents; 7/11/26, 3:12 PM
hanuman_prodigious_leaper said...: Norway want Israel banned from soccer!!; 7/11/26, 6:48 PM
hanuman_prodigious_leaper said...: Norway’s other World Cup campaign: Getting Israel kicked out of soccer
The Scandinavian country is playing a long game in the Middle East, using institutional pressure rather than fan protest or outspoken players to get Israel suspended from FIFA.; 7/11/26, 6:55 PM
hanuman_prodigious_leaper said...: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/11/world-cup-2026/norway-israel-fifa-gaza-institutional-pressure-protest-00993896; 7/11/26, 6:56 PM
boatbuilder said...: Yes, credit card hacking/fraud is a big problem. But if you pay by check, you are subject to "check-washing," which can really screw things up. Thieves steal your checks from the mail, change the payee and the amount, and cash the checks.
You then need to cancel all your outstanding checks, close your account, figure out what bills you have paid by check and contact/notify the payees, open a new account and order new checks, etc. We had it happen to us. I am convinced that the mail was stolen by a postal employee.
We no longer pay by check unless we can hand-deliver the check.; 7/12/26, 8:37 AM