Tuesday, August 31, 2021
But How Will We Pay For It
That question never gets asked in this context, for some reason."The American people should hear this: 300 million dollars a day for two decades," President Biden says. "What have we lost as a consequence, in terms of opportunities? I refuse to continue a war that was no longer in the service of the vital national interests of our people." pic.twitter.com/dVGzobzAz7
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 31, 2021
About 3 Weeks From A Bunch Of Stories About Scary Terrorist Evacuees
Same reporters will switch from the weepy howcouldBidendothis stories to zomgtheyareallsuicidebombers stories.
They're Doing That All By Themselves
Thoughts And Prayers
(CNN)A prominent lawyer has not been appearing at recent court hearings on behalf of some of his nearly 20 US Capitol riot clients after reportedly becoming ill with Covid-19, the Department of Justice said in court filings in multiple cases on Monday.BUT....
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) August 31, 2021
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Our botched withdrawal is the punctuation mark on a general catastrophe, a failure so broad that it should demand purges in the Pentagon, the shamed retirement of innumerable hawkish talking heads, the razing of various NGOs and international-studies programs and the dissolution of countless consultancies and military contractors.
Monday, August 30, 2021
We Won Or We Think We Did
NEW: The last C-17 departed from Afghanistan at 3:29pm Kabul time and the last one has just cleared Afghan airspace, per the Pentagon. Gen. McKenzie: This "signifies the end of the military component" of the mission in Afghanistan.
— Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) August 30, 2021
Though I Missed Something
I knew there were a bunch of Republican hypocrites, of course, but I more thought that was just cynical bullshit. But, no, a lot of them actually believe it. A lot of them were enraged by Clinton's poll numbers for precisely that reason. The people are immoral!
Not a new thing, of course, elites imagining themselves to be superior in every way. Slip seamlessly from that to "we must bomb the shit out of brown people for feminism, and you're a big racist if you suggest it's wrong, and immoral if you hate Droney."
Sounds Bad
For comparison, the UK, which has high vaccination rates and basically no covid restrictions left, has had a high case level, comparable to the US (I'd guess the UK has a lot more testing so the US is actually worse, but that's another issue), but around 1/3 of the population-adjusted hospitalizations. Big obvious difference is in the UK the not-completely vaccinated population is mostly <30 as vaccine eligibility priority was mostly by age and without a lot of anti-vaxxers.Hospitalizations hit 100,000 in United States for first time since January https://t.co/a2jbXoi88u
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 26, 2021
They'll Be Dead, Champ
What's Politics
It's the curse of being very online. Once upon a time being very online was niche behavior, but now everybody is. Only weirdos knew the type of stuff we talked about on this very fine blog 15 years ago, only weirdos watched cable news, and now everybody has those narratives forced on them because they get it through facebook, or twitter, or their push notifications. Even without watching cable news, we're all sort of watching cable news.
For Democrats it's MSNBC/CNN type stuff, and for Republicans it's the alternative universe of Fox/internet media. I'm not saying being a well-informed citizen should only be for the few, I'm saying that most of this bullshit makes you less informed, not more, about things that matter.
Very sophisticated news consumers, like the readers of this very fine blog, can put it in its propert context, but for people less attuned to the broader conext, the bullshit is reality.
Well This Ends Badly
They usually choose the wrong side, however, when "elite" opinion is at odds with popular opinion, when they're trying beat us over the head with something.
Not that popular opinion is always correct of course, but nor is the collective brain trust of the Morning Joseph Green Room and the Politico/Axios/Punchbowl defense contractor lobbyist offices newsrooms.
My first lesson in this was Clinton impeachment and everything that led up to it. Poll after poll after poll after poll with Clinton's popularity just soaring through it all and this viewpoint was not reflected anywhere whatsoever in the nonstop coverage from every media outlet.
Sunday, August 29, 2021
Oh, Elon
The driver of a 2019 Tesla Model 3 told officers she was using Autopilot, Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system, when she collided with a police car and a Mercedes SUV Saturday morning around 5 a.m. ET in Orlando, Florida.Autopilot can never fail, it can only be failed.
The Rabid Lambs of the Internet
Cable news is going to do its thing, but "um, maybe war is bad?" actually gets more of a hearing than it did 20 years ago, as does "you're all a bunch of psychopathic warmongering fucks."
Not enough to keep that fucking paper from publishing pieces like, "Ron Desantis tried his best and it is totes not his fault that his plan to cull the herd had predictable results" and "It is objective science that the best option was to stay in Afghanistan forever, according to me, a reporter who has no opinions, and an unlabeled Raytheon board member." Enough to embarass them sometimes.
Saturday, August 28, 2021
Sounds Bad
A CDC-funded simulation projects that without masking or testing, up to 75 percent of children under 12 could be infected within three months.
Objective Journalism Breaking Out All Over
(CNN)The GOP is divided over how hard -- and how quickly -- to go after President Joe Biden in the wake of Thursday's deadly attack on US troops at the Kabul airport.While a growing chorus of rank-and-file Republicans have called for Biden's resignation or impeachment over the administration's disastrous exit from Afghanistan, key leaders and others in the party have struck a more measured tone for the moment.
Friday, August 27, 2021
Acceptable Bigotry
What This Guy Said
I certainly don't think Trump does anything for the right reasons and imagine anything he accidentally does right will turn to shit, but the "oh no we can't possibly leave any of our sweet wars behind" reaction says a lot about everyone it is coming from. The "foreign policy community" has had 16 years to come up with some vaguely plausible story about what the fuck we're doing in Afghanistan (and almost 14 for Iraq) and they haven't even bothered to try because no one even asks them to anymore.Oh that was me, 2.5 years ago.I used to joke about Iraq that we will stay there until we kill the last person who wants us to leave, then we'll leave. Joke was on me. We'll never leave! Why? The only reason I'm left with at this point is because those mortgages in NoVa aren't going to pay themselves.
Dewormers
Pizzo
Tchen also co-founded with Kaplan a private consulting company, HABIT Advisors, which focused on advising companies about how to handle sexual harassment. The website for that firm was taken offline in recent weeks.Hire HABIT Advisors (run by me) to tell you how to deal with nasty organizations like Time's Up (also run by me).
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Time's Up
Important issues get taken over by the in crowd, and they look out for each other.NEWS: Time’s Up CEO Tina Tchen resigned Thursday, after new revelations about her organizations work with NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his sexual harassment scandals.
— michaelscherer (@michaelscherer) August 26, 2021
Mask'd
Sure having to wear them for extended periods while exerting yourself in the heat, for example, is actually an imposition. But slipping one on to go into the store? Just seeing somebody else wear one when you don't even have to?
I would also like life to go back to "normal" but that mask wearing has been held up to be some sort of indignity devised by Hitler has been bizarre.
But I Thought It Was Unconstitutional To Criticize Lawyers
A federal judge in Michigan has ordered that Sidney Powell, L. Lin Wood and seven other attorneys who filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election be disciplined, calling the suit “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”
Everybody Gets Rich
This was very, very, very good for the many fine mansion and boat owners in Northern Virginia. All the money, and little risk of anyone who mattered suggesting anything improper about it.
Those who claim (mostly liars, but some not) to be deeply concerned with the people of Afghanistan should've spent a bit more time worried about such things, instead of punching hippies.
Wings
The unwillingness to describe the GOP as is instead of pretending there are GOOD REPUBLICANS that will save us (then often elevating people like Trump's BFFs Chris Christie and Lindsey Graham as those people) is why we're here! Partly.The Trumpist-McCarthy wing of the GOP is criticizing Biden for leaving Afghan allies behind - but also for opening the US to refugees. Via @anniekarni https://t.co/NNB6vdr22D
— Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) August 25, 2021
I'm sure he means, like, Cheney and Kinzinger, but that's not really a 'wing.'
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
WAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR
It is also a task that the media has felt no obligation to undertake. Mainstream coverage of Kabul’s fall and its aftermath has been anything but circumspect. Attempts to weigh the benefits of America’s withdrawal (e.g., the humanitarian gains inherent to the cessation of 20 years of civil war) against its costs have been rare; attempts to judge Biden’s execution of that withdrawal against rigorous counterfactuals have been rarer still. Instead, ostensibly neutral correspondents and anchors have (1) openly editorialized against the White House’s policy; (2) assigned Biden near-total responsibility for the final collapse of the proto-failed state his predecessors had established; and then (3) reported on the potential political costs of Biden’s actions, as though they were not actively imposing those costs through their own speculations about just “how politically damaging” the president’s failures of “competence” and “empathy” would prove to be.
Push Polled
They tried as hard as they could to get the "right" answer, and still couldn't!Morning Consult/Politico poll today:
— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 25, 2021
Do you believe the U.S. should still withdraw its military presence in Afghanistan if it means it creates an opening for Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups to establish operations in Afghanistan?
45% — still withdraw
40% — don’t withdraw
Would you support withdrawing the troops from Afghanistan if it meant your dick would fall off? 45% yes/40% don't know.
Congressman, Sirrah, Have You No Shame???
Best to point out that the Republican party is just a bonfire of stupid evil, which it is. I know "we're" so used to it that it's just the natural order of things, but that kind of contempt is how the Republicans treat Democrats and everyone just pretends not to notice.
Legal Shitlibs
And Ian is much more "partisan" than most of his equivalents.one of the unfortunate things about legal journalists is that even the best ones have holes in their brains https://t.co/MqKNLgrB9R
— Law Boy, Esq. (@The_Law_Boy) August 25, 2021
You do not, ever, have to hand it to them.
Objective Reporting Breaking Out All Over
If only Afghanistan was as awesome as World War II, when [checks wikipedia] 400K US troops died, many tens of millions in Europe died, but it had a lovely ending and made us all feel good.Quite a sad contrast with the images dominating the news today. https://t.co/DaWS1R5LGu
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) August 24, 2021
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Your Moment of Zen
How could a humble Virginia Little League parent have done such a thing? https://t.co/ArB2j2xmxt pic.twitter.com/7MDvoFefPf
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) August 24, 2021
America's Worst Democrats
His/their schtick is not popular.
A good window into all of this is provided by Rep. Susan Wild. She is one of the Democratic “frontliners” and faces a tough reelection campaign in her district outside Philadelphia.I bet this gang of wankers is confused, as this type of behavior usually leads to them being portrayed as The Only Responsible Democrats In Washington (Or Anywhere), portrayed as heroes. The True Sons and Daughters Of Joseph Lieberman. Not going as it's supposed to.In an interview, Wild was blunt about the folly of the conservative Democrats, who are led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. Wild said their strategy has become “stupid" and that it’s “time to fold.”
This is revealing in a larger way, because Wild once agreed with the thinking of the conservative Democrats. They want an immediate stand-alone vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate. They hope to present this as a big win right now, without it getting entangled with the politics of the larger $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.
The Start Of An Ever Closer Union
Business leaders had said that forcing them to meet new UK rules, which will at first duplicate EU product standards, would come with significant cost at a delicate moment for the economy.We can have our own standards! that no one else will accept.CE markings are required for a wide range of consumer products, from laptops to table lamps and hairdryers.
Ministers argue the UKCA mark will allow the UK to control its goods regulations while maintaining high safety standards. However, many businesses say the changes will force them to fill in reams of additional paperwork or make changes to their production lines, as manufacturers selling goods in both the EU and the UK will be forced to follow two regimes.
Obviously the goal was to not actually maintain the same high stafety standards, becasuse Regulation Is Bad, but when the consequence is France won't let you sell your shit...
Diner Safaris
Very few political reporters actually listen to what "the people" have to say, and come at these type of things with a pre-scripted narrative they slot some quotes into. Don't know why their publications bother with the travel budgets.
The other frustrating thing is, of course, that they spent four years focusing on the support for an unpopular president, instead of his critics and victims.
Dave's joking and Marin County isn't really representative of Biden' s support, but if they ever do start the Biden "Diner Safaris," they will focus on wealthy white people in fancy places because, well, that's The Narrative.President's approval rating below 50%. You know what that means: Trips to Biden Country to ask Biden voters why they still support him.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) August 23, 2021
Googling "diners" in Marin County brb
(Dave actually does actually talk to voters and listen to them).
What's It All About Then
Clap Louder! The only thing stopping glorious democratic utopias from emerging are the Negative Nancies with their treasonous blogs! Stop being a downer! The schools! The painted schools!
Obviously what it was all about was a willingness to sacrifice entire populations in part to score political points and Own The Left, back before we called it Owning The Left. I mean, we could see you all doing it, publicly, in the pages of our finest periodicals and on premier Sunday television public affairs shows. We could see that none of you cared one bit the people in Afghanistan and Iraq or anywhere else.
After 2 decades of studiously ignoring the reality of what "we" created and presided over in Afghanistan, failing to ever bother to even mention the ongoing carnage and immense corruption, don't expect me to believe any of you give a shit now.
There are people who care, of course, but they aren't the Blob Guys In Suits from the Raytheon Sponsored Think Tank on the Boeing Sponsored Premier Public Affairs Television Program. Or their numerous journalist friends.
Monday, August 23, 2021
In Our Own Base Killing Our Own D00dz
It is a weird strategy!NBC News poll: 88% of Democrats say they're already vaccinated for Covid-19, while 55% of Republicans say they're already vaccinated for Covid-19.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) August 23, 2021
Oh, Rudy
NEW YORK, Aug 23 (Reuters) - A former associate of Rudolph Giuliani is expected to plead guilty in a U.S. campaign finance case, potentially increasing legal pressure on the onetime lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump.A "change of plea" hearing for Igor Fruman, which normally signals a forthcoming guilty plea, is scheduled for Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan, court records on Monday showed.
Bye Cuomo
Only Biden Can End The War
Sure Guys
Britain’s defense secretary, Ben Wallace, and some British generals had been vocal in their criticism of the American policy, dating back to Mr. Trump’s outreach to the Taliban and his initial announcement of an American withdrawal in February 2020.Mr. Wallace has said Britain sounded out other NATO members about the possibility of organizing a stabilization force in Afghanistan after the United States left. That idea went nowhere, and even if it had, security experts said a NATO force without American participation would never have been sufficient to hold off the Taliban insurgency, given the massive air power required.
Objective Reporting Breaking Out All Over
This isn't even opinion, it's advocacy. A DEFINITE NO NO (supposedly).Dear White House staff, please share the below polling to @POTUS. He said he had not seen it yet. https://t.co/dW09nTjQeX
— Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) August 22, 2021
A Little Reminder For The Kids Today
Everyone pretending to be an expert, reporters just echoing their favorite blob sources, the wails of WE MUST DO SOMETHING where something means "bomb the shit out of people and occupy a country forever" because no other something counts, the privileging of the most destructive warmongers and the exclusion of any other voices, etc... etc...
Post-9/11 was 5+ years of this, on steroids and LSD.
Sunday, August 22, 2021
He'll Never Do That Again
Former President Donald Trump was booed at a rally on Saturday in Alabama after telling supporters they should get vaccinated."And you know what? I believe totally in your freedoms. I do. You've got to do what you have to do," Trump said. "But, I recommend: take the vaccines. I did it. It's good. Take the vaccines."
Some boos rang out from the rally crowd, who were largely maskless.
Saturday, August 21, 2021
Nothing More Awesome Than War
As Judd Legum writes at Popular Information, big outlets have almost exclusively turned to critics of the Afghanistan withdrawal in their coverage, and in virtually every case people who supported the invasion and occupation. A public relations specialist told Popular Information that TV bookers were straight-up refusing to have anyone on who supports the decision to withdraw. Indeed, as Eric Alterman writes at The American Prospect, many people now being given a platform to hector Biden about his supposed failures were not only directly involved in the catastrophically bungled occupation but were revealed in The Washington Post's "Afghanistan Papers" to have blatantly lied to the public about how well it was going. The Post itself is not innocent either — a recent David Ignatius op-ed compared Biden's team ending a war to the infamous Vietnam-era "best and the brightest" who started one.
Ivermectin
Straight Outta 2001
hE's tAlKiNg tO oUr EnEMIesBiden says US in constant contact with Taliban to get safe passage to airport. So, US asking former enemy, the Taliban, to please allow us to get our people out while they take the country.
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) August 20, 2021
Friday, August 20, 2021
Mysteries
Asymmetries
The Left can't even get that treatment when its views are, actually, the clear majority view (Forever war in Afghanistan is bad).
I'm Kilroy
(any time the shit is about to hit the fan for some reason, or Elon's out of money, he makes up some bullshit for the gullible press and his fans)THIS JUST HAPPENED I’M NOT KIDDING$TSLAQ pic.twitter.com/Ayc9KemaUI
— TC (poorly dancing robot) (@TESLAcharts) August 20, 2021
Seems Bad
The pandemic has reached another crisis stage. The number of new infections in Florida continues its record-breaking spike, with an average last week of more than 21,600 per day, the third consecutive weekly record. Deaths also spiked recently, and Florida had 15,441 COVID-19 patients in the hospital Friday, the highest level of hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic.High hospitalizations are there because a significant number of not-young people are unvaccinated.
Young people can get sick, too, of course, just less likely to be severe.
How To Talk To Your Anti-Vax MAGA Relatives
Thursday, August 19, 2021
He Ain't Perfect, But Certainly An Improvement
STEPHANOPOULOS: Beyond Americans, what do we owe the Afghans who are left behind, particularly Afghan women who are facing the prospect of subjugation again?BIDEN: As many as we can get out, we should. For example, I had a meeting today for a couple hours in the Situation Room just below here. There are Afghan women outside the gate. I told 'em, "Get 'em on the planes. Get them out. Get them out. Get their families out if you can."
But here's the deal, George. The idea that we're able to deal with the rights of women around the world by military force is not rational. Not rational. Look what's happened to the Uighurs in western China. Look what's happening in other parts of the world.
Look what's happenin' in, you know, in-- in the Congo. I mean, there are a lotta places where women are being subjugated. The way to deal with that is not with a military invasion. The way to deal with that is putting economic, diplomatic, and national pre-- international pressure on them to change their behavior.
And They Arrived At That Conclusion All By Themselves
WASHINGTON (AP) — AP-NORC poll: Roughly two-thirds of Americans say they don't think the war in Afghanistan was worth fighting.
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) August 19, 2021
Fucking Hell
Local news outlets confirm that this is a photo of people sick with COVID-19 waiting for Regeneron treatment at the Downtown Jacksonville library.
— Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) August 19, 2021
If you have serious symptoms of COVID, it’s not time to wait at a monoclonal antibody pop up. Please get to the hospital. https://t.co/ApVBWZCQoB
Lying Ghouls
Afghanistan was a nuisance that got in the way of their true exciting plan, Iraq, and until about 12 days ago almost none of these people could even name the (ex-)president of Afghanistan. And while I don't like the rhetoric about the people of Afghanistan being "unwilling to fight," or whatever, that the guy fled the country with $200 million bucks in his socks at the first opportunity does say quite a bit about what "we" had built there. Expecting people to get killed for corrupt leaders like that is more than a little ridiculous. Yes there are broader implications.
You Had One Job
Too many times, I’ve witnessed the US military attempt to dutifully carry out difficult & dangerous missions left to them by the miscalculations of civilian leaders.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) August 18, 2021
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Wanker Caucus
Even if the Biden agenda is genuinely unpopular with their voters (doubtful but ok), spending months talking about the Failed Biden Presidency is going to be much more damaging to them.
"I"m a Democrat who hates Democrats" has long been an electoral strategy for some, and while you can point to a couple who manage to make it work, I do not think the electoral outcomes of the past 20 years show that it is a particularly winning one. Sink or swim together, mostly.
And it's one thing to set yourself apart from Those Other Democrats when they're out of power, but "we run the government and we are fucking awful, vote to re-elect me!" is pretty stupid.
Bad People
Watch out DeSantis, Abbott is winning the pandemic now!
Sources
Journalists who cared about the people of Afghanistan would've been highlighting the "lighting money on fire" corruption and ineptitude of the past 20 years, not parroting the bullshit of their elite military and blob sources.
Access journalists quite obviously hate the other ones, as they just ignore what they do, and at times actively undermine it. They make their sources and reporting look bad, after all.A reporter expresses concern about maintaining a military presence near Tajikistan pic.twitter.com/sWxK6nu0QO
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 17, 2021
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Let Them All In
I'm not a particularly generous person. I'm not offering to house anybody. But if they buy up all the other houses on my block and fill them up with people from Afghanistan, that's fine with me.
Sounds Bad
BOULDER, Colo. — Low water in the Colorado River’s largest reservoir triggered the first-ever federal declaration of a shortage on Monday, a bleak marker of the effects of climate change in the drought-stricken American West and the imperiled future of a critical water source for 40 million people in seven states.
What A Long Strange Trip It's Been
At least the Vietnam generation had the excuse that some hippie stole their girlfriend. I don't know what excuse the Morning Josephs of our discourse have.
We Didn't Think It Would Happen So Fast
The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.The obvious point being they knew it would happen, they just figured there'd be some shooting after they pulled out, not a 'peaceful' handover while they were still doing it.
This makes the military and the blob and all the war loving journalists look extra silly, but better to hand over power like they did than have a brief bloody civil war then hand it over, which seems to have been "the plan."
Monday, August 16, 2021
Thoughts And Prayers
Most days during the coronavirus pandemic, Cardinal Raymond L. Burke could be found strolling down the streets of Rome maskless and carrying rosary beads. The 73-year-old conservative cardinal was an early critic of social distancing and, later, an unabashed skeptic of the vaccine.On Tuesday, Burke announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, the cardinal is in a hospital bed in his native Wisconsin, breathing with the help of a ventilator.
“Doctors are encouraged by his progress,” Burke’s press team tweeted Saturday night. "[His Eminence] faithfully prayed the Rosary for those suffering from the virus. … Let us now pray the Rosary for him.”
Oh, Elon
Basically, the "self-driving" Teslas don't see stopped vehicles in front of them when they're traveling at 60MPH, so they hit ambulances and cop cars at accident sites. That kind of thing.* NHTSA SAYS SINCE JANUARY 2018 IT HAS IDENTIFIED 11 CRASHES IN WHICH TESLA MODELS "HAVE ENCOUNTERED FIRST RESPONDER SCENES AND SUBSEQUENTLY STRUCK ONE OR MORE VEHICLES INVOLVED WITH THOSE SCENES"@Reuters https://t.co/obd8m9TEYU
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) August 16, 2021
Pretend To Love Them Over There
The general anti-immigrant sentiment of our objective press (constant freaking out about THE BORDER) makes their expressed concerns transparently absurd, as well, as you can't feed xenophobia selectively without predictable consequences. There are always individuals with such motives, of course, but they're mostly marks.
Many Reporters Will Still Pretend To Believe Their Outrage
Even though it contradicts 5 minutes ago, and is incoherent even without that.New: Republican Party has removed a page from their website bragging about Trump’s deal with the Taliban that committed Biden to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Afghanistan — and led to the fall of Kabul today.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) August 15, 2021
Of course 20 years of "peeance and freeance" was incoherent from day 1, so...
Was That The Plan
The best you can say about TWENTY DAMN YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN is that the military succeeded very well in achieving their goal of making Afghanistan dependent on their presence, and running to journalists every time that presence was threatened by politicians.So over 20 years our generals trained/supplied the Afghan army in a way to assure they could never function on their own and the US Army could never leave. https://t.co/mGqNLEsBTg
— Jon Walker (@JonWalkerDC) August 15, 2021
For some reason, WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN DOING, THEN is not the next question out of his mouth.The failure to anticipate the rapid fall of afghan cities, including kabul, is a huge US intelligence failure. I know some US mil commanders anticipated it. They told me. Yet somehow their voices were not heard.
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) August 15, 2021
I don't know why, precisely, "the military" was so desperate to stay in Afghanistan, but I suspect the answer to that is not so good!
Sunday, August 15, 2021
Perspectives
Thoughts and Prayers
WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT) — NC Rep. Keith Kidwell, who serves District 79 and Beaufort County, announced on Friday that he is in the hospital after his wife was diagnosed with COVID-19. It has since been learned both have been diagnosed with the coronavirus....
Kidwell has been vocal about not wearing a mask. He is the chief sponsor of House Bill 572, which would not allow Gov. Roy Cooper to issue an executive order to require vaccination. The bill passed the NC House in May but has not moved further in the NC Senate.
The Moderate Rebels
Pockets
Objective Reporting Breaking Out All Over
It wasn't Barbara Lee who put her faith in The Generals and the military contractors and the Saudi-funded think tank ghouls despite some very good reporting in some of our premier newspaper outlets.Jalalabad gone, only Kabul left.
— Declan Walsh (@declanwalsh) August 15, 2021
For those who lamented ‘forever wars’ - is the phrase anything more than a comforting cop-out for epic failures of policy and the imagination? - here’s what the end looks like. https://t.co/tlyS2JRa1N
Saturday, August 14, 2021
Afternoon Thread
on the eve of the US military leaving Afghanistan, shout out to the slimiest WoT headline of all time pic.twitter.com/1mpHwB4FJt
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) August 14, 2021
Pretending to Care About Women In Afghanistan
(After Kashoggi's brutal murder there was a general pause in that funding stream, but I suspect it's back)
Friday, August 13, 2021
It Was A Tie
So What Did You Do Wrong
Obedient Dogs
8 Can't Wait
Despite specific and clear knowledge, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams and other top department leaders failed for years to investigate a controversial challenge coin circulating among the ranks that celebrated officers shooting a protester in the groin with a pepper ball, according to an outside investigation obtained by ABC15.The investigation was completed by Ballard Spahr, a law firm hired to look into the matter after an ABC15 report exposed the coin’s existence and its ties to hate speech. The law firm also was hired to probe Phoenix’s role in charging protesters as a criminal street gang.
The Lives Of Foreigners
The cost of any "humanitarian intervention" that doesn't involve invasion and occupation is basically couch quarters. If your concern was helping people you would be advocating for literally anything else.
"We" aren't even interested in doing humanitarian interventions in Mississippi or Los Angeles. Tom Friedman is dumb and says horrifying things, but the basic "fuck it, nothing we can do" view was correct 11 year ago!
Chasing EVs
Not everyone wants to live in MANHATTAN, but plenty of evidence people do want to live in neighborhoods where every single trip doesn't require the use of an automobile. Infill and minor land use policy changes can costlessly increase that.
Maybe I'm wrong, so, then, why not both dot gif?
Every time a giant park-n-ride lot is built next to a light rail station, a polar bear dies.
Thursday, August 12, 2021
Grand Old Police Blotter
Anton Lazzaro, a young Republican strategist and former congressional campaign manager in Minnesota, was arrested on underage sex trafficking charges Thursday morning, according to federal law enforcement.
Only 468K To Go
Notable if only because I'd say the general belief for decades, which drove both state and city policy, was that managed decline of the residential population was inevitable and irreversible. Will the last one out turn off the lights!
PizzaGaetz
As the federal investigation into Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz continues into the summer, sources tell ABC News that Gaetz's one-time wingman has been steadily providing information and handing over potential evidence that could implicate the Florida congressman and others in the sprawling probe.Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, as part of his ongoing cooperation with prosecutors, has provided investigators with years of Venmo and Cash App transactions and thousands of photos and videos, as well as access to personal social media accounts, sources said.
Poor Little Rich Boy
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Sounds Bad
Byung J. Pak, a former U.S. attorney in Atlanta, told congressional investigators on Wednesday that his abrupt resignation in January had been prompted by Justice Department officials’ warning that President Donald J. Trump intended to fire him for refusing to say that widespread voter fraud had been found in Georgia, according to a person familiar with his testimony.
Transit Projects Imagined By People Who Don't Use Mass Transit (And Still Won't)
Gov. Cuomo’s resignation led to an outcry among Port Authority staffers who want the agency’s top officials to halt his controversial proposal to build an AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport.”For too long, Gov. Cuomo and his staff have repeatedly pushed the agency to make non-transparent, politically motivated decisions, including decisions that squander the trust and money of our bondholders, customers, and the general public,” said a letter sent to Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton on Tuesday by dozens of staffers.
Free To Be Just Like Me
Though it seems to be a broader thing, beyond the extreme glibertarians. A big convergence of preaching the joys of INDIVIDUALISM and embracing a ridiculous faux-meritocratic model of society. Free to what you want to be, but you'd better be just like me, otherwise failure and misery are on you, loser! Choose correctly, or else!
Every Little Bit Helps
Normal person: yes, I'm vaccinated, but my kids aren't and I keep wearing masks in shops, in part to model behavior for my children, and sometimes I leave them on outside because pulling it on and off, for myself and my kids, is more trouble than it's worth and oh WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A YEAR AND I DON'T THINK I NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS OBVIOUS SIMPLE FUCKING THING
Snotty media elites desperate to bring balance back by blaming the libs and the Smartest Boys On The Internet: wow, these people just hate fucking life, want to wear masks and live in a lockdown of their own creation forever, I hate them. They're fucking crazy and want us all to be miserable and THEY HATE SCIENCE I DO NOTHING WITHOUT SCIENCE I AM SCIENCE
Biden CDC: take off your masks if you are vaccinated, please keep them on if you haven't been, I see no problems with these instructions.
Me: uh, guys, have you seen the Delta cases in the UK?
Stop Doing This
Thoughts and Prayers
Right-wing radio host Marc Bernier, who has spoken out at length against the coronavirus vaccine, has been hospitalized with COVID-19.At least he (apparently) was honest about it, unlike Tucker and the rest of vaccinated anti-vaxxers.
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Happy Hour Thread
Cuomo Was Bad
Bill Hemmer Had A Prominent Role On CNN For 10 Years
Apparently, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer thinks Karl Marx wrote Mein Kampf.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 10, 2021
"I remember 20 years old going to Trier, Germany and trying to find the home of Karl Marx cuz, y'know, 1848 -- he wrote Mein Kampf. I want to know what it's all about." pic.twitter.com/9sa6inGqpi
Hey They Voted For The Thing (Not That It Matters)
Winning The Pandemic
Long Covid
Lots of people with an altered life.
An elite media just filled with smug sociopaths.
(again, for the back, whether or not there's much direct benefit of vaccinated people wearing masks, removing any cultural pressure to wear them, in fact exerting the opposite, had easily predictable consequences)
tHeSe dEciSiOnS cAn't Be PoLitical
Your "political opponents" should indeed be prosecuted if they were doing crimes, and only the next administration is likely to do that.
If Hillary Clinton was doing crimes, they should've locked her up!
Monday, August 09, 2021
Do Stuff
Sure they won't be perfect or enough. Much to do! But that will be something.
We'll see!
Nudge
Uber, but for management, or something.
So, maybe in language those people can understand: it's fine to remove masks mandates, but why the insistence on nudging (hah, there I said it!) people to rip theirs off even if they wanted to wear them?
The smart play was to remove the mandates, to the extent that they existed, but used your special Sunstein Superpowers to NUDGE people to wear them anyway.
Sounds Bad
Human activity is changing the Earth’s climate in ways “unprecedented” in thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, with some of the changes now inevitable and “irreversible”, climate scientists have warned.The other entitled fantasy that is bonkers is the Elysium fantasy. The billionaires can probably enjoy their dictatorship, but I'm not sure about a civilization ending catastrophe. I suppose with a bit of very smart planning they can survive for awhile, but it won't be all that much fun, will it?Within the next two decades, temperatures are likely to rise by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, breaching the ambition of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and bringing widespread devastation and extreme weather.
Probably Has A CNN Show Lined Up
Horrible people just fail upwards.
The top aide to New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo resigned on Sunday night after the release last week of a searing report by the state attorney general’s office that detailed her role in an effort to discredit a former aide who accused Cuomo of harassment.
I'll Be At The Adult Table, Right?
A reasonable thing for the billionaires to believe. Not their lickspittles who will have to keep pleasing their fickle insane masters.
Sunday, August 08, 2021
What Won't They Do To Own The Libs
However, occasionally they do hit on something...
A Pandemic of the Unvaccinated
BATON ROUGE, La. — More than 3,000 Louisiana children tested positive for the coronavirus in just a few days' time.
Have You Tried Reducing Turnover
I can't speak to the details of all chains, of course, but what I did witness was tremendous pressure on managers to do just that, because what else were they for? Or, at least, what else did they do that could be measured and that they could judged by?
Labor costs are wages/etc., not the extra unclocked time the manager puts in for hiring. My manager at one establishment I worked for basically worked 16 hour days so she could have one fewer person on staff so the spreadsheet looked better. That's how you got promoted up to corporate.
Aside from constant costs of dealing with turnover, the customer service quality of course plunges, but that isn't as easily measured.
It Can Happen Here
Generally presenting the story of DC as reporters would like it to be, instead of as it is... has not been good!
Saturday, August 07, 2021
Existential Crisis
A dejected looking Coons complains he won’t be able to attend a family wedding today because of Hagerty’s objections to voting on amendments.
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) August 7, 2021
“When even senators like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are agreeing we should wrap this up, you have to question what purpose does this serve”
Lunch Thread
Manchin is a skilled older politician from an entirely different era who is ill suited for the changing times
— Jon Walker (@JonWalkerDC) July 30, 2021
Sinema seems to be the victim of a Freaky Friday accident and somewhere there is a very angry 9 year old trying trick her to drink from the magic cup again https://t.co/tcz8OSPn1f
Might Say Some Mean Things About Tom Friedman's Pals
Nearly 1,800 Americans directly affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are opposing President Joe Biden’s participation in any memorial events this year unless he upholds his pledge to declassify U.S. government evidence that they believe may show a link between Saudi Arabian leaders and the attacks.Or not. Release the docs!
Friday, August 06, 2021
Gold Star From The Hall Monitor
Senate Dems touting a list of "fun facts” saying that so far this year the Senate "has already voted on more amendments than any of the previous four years under Republican leadership” — 73 amendments, 22 of which have been on the bipartisan infrastructure bill
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) August 6, 2021
Coddled Snowflakes
Don't get the idea that we can't hurt the fee fees of people who refuse to get vaccinated.
They're All Bad
I forget when exactly this was - probably during the debt ceiling nonsense - but the communication was something along the lines of, "sure, the Tea Party are nuts but we're pretty sure House Leadership [Boehner, Cantor, Kevin McCarthy] don't want to blow up the world, so this will be fine."
Jerbs
No worries, though, big chances to screw it up in the coming months!
Pandemic Of The Unvaccinated
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In a sign that the delta variant is affecting more children on a daily basis, an 11-month-old girl from the Houston area had to be airlifted to Temple because no pediatric hospitals in Houston would accept her as a transfer patient."She needed to be intubated immediately because she was having seizures," said Patricia Darnauer, the administrator for LBJ Hospital. "We looked at all five major pediatric hospital groups and none [had beds] available."
It Takes A Village
The report laid bare how Mr. Cuomo had come to rely on a small band of advisers — not just his closest government aides, but also a handful of outside loyalists, even consulting leaders of groups dedicated to supporting gay rights and victims of sexual harassment. Many of those allies helped fine-tune his public response to the allegations and, in the most troubling instance, helped to spearhead a campaign to stymie them.Especially, of course, people supposedly acting on behalf of other interests.Mr. Cuomo sought counsel from former administration officials like Alphonso David, now the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest L.G.B.T.Q. political lobbying organization in the country; Tina Tchen, who heads Time’s Up, a group that supports victims of sexual harassment; Roberta A. Kaplan, who runs its Legal Defense Fund; and the governor’s brother, Chris Cuomo.
“Ms. Kaplan read the letter to the head of the advocacy group Times Up [sic], and both of them allegedly suggested that, without the statements about Ms. Boylan’s interactions with male colleagues, the letter was fine,” according to page 109 of the report. “Ms. DeRosa reported back to the Governor that Ms. Kaplan and the head of Times Up thought the letter was okay with some changes, as did [Cuomo ally Steven] Cohen, but everyone else thought it was a bad idea.”...
Though she appears to portray herself as a champion of women, writing in a recent tweet that “Haven’t you heard? Women aren’t allowed to be mad or fight — being tough and direct makes you a ‘bitch,’ ” the report portrays DeRosa as helping to cultivate a “toxic” workplace for young female staffers. ... The report states that Cuomo himself dubbed DeRosa and other members of his inner circle “mean girls.”
Jobs Day
+943K 5.4% unemlpoyment (never post on a phone)
Morning Thread
Thursday, August 05, 2021
The People Who Matter
Don't Make Me Like You, Pete
Why is $TSLA @elonmusk absent from today's White House event on #electricvehicles?
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 5, 2021
"I'm not sure. What I know is you are seeing so many leaders in industry," says @SecretaryPete pic.twitter.com/Buv06fMiPm
Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2021
How Are The Divorce Negotiations Going, Bill
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has admitted he made "a huge mistake" in spending time with sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.Mr Gates told CNN he had "several dinners" about a philanthropy project that did not emerge, and should not have given him "credibility".
The Fever Will Break
The true nature of this diagnosis, and its pitfalls, are now evident. At its core, the idea was that once Donald Trump — who ferociously stoked cultural conflict around covid at every opportunity — faded away and his grip on GOP voters weakened, consensus could emerge around the idea of working together toward the common good of defeating covid.But Trump has not faded away. Worse, some Republicans have themselves escalated the Trumpist project of fomenting relentless conflict around covid. Hopefully they'll learn - again! - but tick tick tick time runs out.
Speaking of Takes
For various reasons (space, tastes, habits, nice sunny weather for your clothes line in some countries), not everybody has them, but you can get a tumble condensing dryer for a couple hundred bucks anywhere. Work as well as any venting dryer, just gotta empty the tray every few times.This is the adorable thing about Europe, all these little countries that are like “look at me, I have pretty high GDP per capita,” and then nobody actually owns a machine that makes clothing dry. It’s so cute! https://t.co/Gq8FYKu1QQ
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) August 5, 2021
Take Brain
Yes, Nate, nobody had thought about this before you had an epiphany on the can.What an odd thing to say.
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) August 5, 2021
First, this is common knowledge in epidemiology, not a brilliant discovery on your part.
Second, I even referenced my source, who sent me a DM about this prior to your post—which, given that I don't follow you, I hadn't seen.https://t.co/XZMaEoAHhn
Wednesday, August 04, 2021
Leroy
How the treated him as Speaker is one thing, but more than that it's been 20 years since he's held elected office, and, well...