What works of alleged fiction describe the present best in your view?
Break Them Up, Then Handcuff Them
A Conservative Civil Rights Movement to End Internet Segregation | Frontpage Mag
The United States is no longer suffering a political crisis because of businesses denying services to black people. Instead the political crisis is caused powerful monopolies engaging in political discrimination.
There are two paths forward here, it seems to me, one keyed on “monopoly,” and the other on “political discrimination.”
I’ve got no problem with amending the Civil Rights Act to prohibit political discrimination.
And, as does Glenn Reynolds, I’d like to see the vast tech monopolies broken up under Sherman and its descendants, for the general good of the nation.
Don’t Be Silly
Will Oberlin Learn Its Lesson? | Power Line
As long as this kind of ideological pedagogy permeates the Oberlin curriculum, they won’t learn a thing. Make them pay every penny of the punitive damages. Then set up a table selling donuts just off campus.
Did Hitler “learn his lesson” as his Nazi armies experienced defeat after defeat?
No, it took burning his city down around his ears before he finally gagged on a cyanide sundae with a bullet on top.
I expect it will take something similar with the countless bunkers of liberal fascism infecting the American body politic.
Henry Hears a Who
Henry Cybulski says:
Hey, Kenny, Barry, how about those Toronto Raptors?
Also, three cheers for the St. Louis Blues.
Two sports firsts. Gotta love it!
That’s all very nice and all, but how about Justin Rose with a birdie on 18 to tie the Open round record for Pebble Beach, a 6 under 65! Tiger still in the hunt at -1, but his game was not sharp and he had to scramble to make par on a bunch of holes where he hit bad shots. There’s a ton of players 5 under as well. I wouldn’t guess the rest of Open will be as score happy though, once those Pebble Beach winds start kicking up. Some of the players were wearing long sleeves! In California! In June!
Plus a record amount of Eagles for an Open were recorded. At least 15 last I heard as I watched the broadcast.
WooHoo, I love the Blues! Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton…
Wait, what?
Hockey?!!
…Never Mind.
Thanks!
Nice of these gibbering morons to make commercials for the GOP campaigns in 2020, eh?
Sure, We’ll Get Right On That
Office of Special Counsel Recommends Kellyanne Conway’s Removal
The Office of Special Counsel determined Thursday that White House senior aide Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act and is “recommending her removal from federal service.”
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees working in the executive branch– minus the president and vice president – from wading in divisive political waters and using their position to overtly engage in political campaign activities.
On Thursday, the Office of the Special Counsel labeled Conway a “repeat offender” of the Hatch Act and recommended her “removal from federal service.”
Conway found herself under fire for remarks she made about then-Alabama senate candidate Doug Jones in November 2017. She described him as “weak on crime” and “terrible for property owners” during an appearance on Fox and Friends. However, she did not explicitly state support for Jones’ challenger, Roy Moore.
LOLFuckOff.
At least that would be my answer, if I were Trump.
Yes, Well, I Think We Knew That Already
Iran responsible for ‘blatant assault’ on oil tankers in Gulf of Oman, Mike Pompeo says | Fox News
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Iran for the “blatant assault” on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier Thursday.
In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Pompeo said: “This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication.”
He charged that Iran was working to disrupt the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz and this is a deliberate part of a campaign to escalate tension, adding that the U.S. would defend its forces and interests in the region, although he did not elaborate.
The enemies of America will claim that Iran dindonufin, it’s all a plot from the Great Satan to “ratchet up tensions.”
I think we should ratchet up tensions by sinking a few ships.
Of course we’ll have to wait. For some odd reason, there is no aircraft carrier anywhere near this place.
UPDATE: A suggestion, with plenty of precedent:
Naval History Blog » Blog Archive » Operation Praying Mantis, 18 April 1988
On 14 April 1988, watchstanders aboard USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) sighted three mines floating approximately half of a mile from the ship. Twenty minutes after the first sighting, as Samuel B. Roberts was backing clear of the minefield, she struck a submerged mine. The explosive device tore a 21-foot hole in the hull, causing extensive fires and flooding. Ten Sailors were injured in the attack. Only the heroic efforts of the ship’s crew, working feverishly for seven straight hours, saved the vessel from sinking. Four days later, forces of the Joint Task Force Middle East (JTFME) executed the American response to the attack: Operation Praying Mantis. The operation called for the destruction of two oil platforms being used by Iran to coordinate attacks on merchant shipping. On 18 April, the coalition air and surface units not only destroyed the oil rigs but also various Iranian units attempting to counter-attack U.S. forces. By the end of the battle, U.S. air and surface units had sunk or severely damaged half of Iran’s operational fleet. Navy aircraft and the destroyer Joseph Strauss (DDG 16) sank the frigate Sahand (F 74) with harpoon missiles and laser-guided bombs.
The main building of the Iranian Sassan oil platform burns after being hit by a BGM-71 Tube-launched, Optically-guided, Wire-guided (TOW) missile fired from a Marine AH-1 Cobra helicopter
A laser-guided bomb dropped from a Navy A-6 Intruder disabled frigate Sabalan (F 73), and Standard missiles launched from the cruiser Wainwright (CG 28) and frigates Bagley (FF 1069) and Simpson (FFG 56) destroyed the 147-foot missile patrol boat Joshan (P 225). In further combat A-6s sank one Boghammer high-speed patrol boat and neutralized four more of these Swedish-made speedboats. One Marine AH-1T Sea Cobra crashed from undetermined causes, resulting in the loss of two air crew. Operation Praying Mantis proved a milestone in naval history. For the first time since World War II, U.S. naval forces and supporting aircraft fought a major surface action against a determined enemy. The operation also demonstrated America’s unwavering commitment to protecting oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf and the principle of freedom of navigation.
Sure works for me.
Good News From Oberlin (Of All Places)
The jury just rendered its verdict on punitive damages in the Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College case.
Daniel McGraw, our reporter in the courtroom, reports that in addition to the $11.2 million compensatory damages awarded last Friday, the jury awarded a total of $33 million in punitive damages, which will probably be reduced by the court to $22 million because of the state law cap at twice compensatory (it’s not an absolute cap, but probably will apply here). That brings the total damages to $33 million. We will have the breakdown soon. The jury also awarded attorney’s fees, to be determined by the judge.
This from Legal Insurrection, which has been all over this case right from the start.
Ace pointed out something yesterday that may have had a bearing:
The defense argued that students would be harmed by a large verdict because the college might have to cut back on grants given to students. (Source: Legal Insurrection)
Some chutzpah there. It was the kids Oberlin “unleashed” on the hapless Morgans who caused this outcome, so claiming that it is the kids who will be hurt by the judgment doesn’t seem like an excuse, it seems like a fair outcome.
Oberlin is a college town, in fact, was founded to be a home for Oberlin College. 47% of its households are “non-family” – which I think means students, although am not positive about this. It is fairly obvious from whence springs arrogance of the College administration, though, I suspect they enjoy significant political clout, as is the case in so many of these one horse midwestern college towns, moreso since these places were gutted of an industrial counterbalance by the Rust Belting of the region.
And I can tell you that in most of these places, while Gown may regard the locals as regretfully deplorable, Town more than returns the low opinions.
Since small town midwesterners are mostly polite folk, burning the campus to the ground was probably considered by most (though not all) to be out of the question. This judicial outcome is the best alternate they could come up with.
And We Have Ignition
And now, in comments that threaten to ignite tensions between the two countries, a US defence (sic – 5 layers of editors) official told CBS News that it is “highly likely Iran caused these attacks”.
The source also dismissed the Islamic Republic’s earlier claim that they had rescued all the crew members from both ships branding the report “patently false.”
“Threaten to ignite tensions between the two countries?”
Between Iran and the US, you mean?
First, I’d say that torpedoing or otherwise blowing up our tankers is literally “igniting” tension.
Second, which illiterate ignoramus asshole hiding under a rock is unaware of the already existing “tensions” between Iran and the US?
I guess there are some currently writing for the UK Sun (a Murdoch Newscorp rag, by the way).
Forget It
Biden leads Trump by ‘landslide proportions’ in new national poll | TheHill
Yeah. Poll of “voters.” No internals published.
Junk poll.
UPDATE: Okay, found the party ID data:
REGISTERED VOTERS PARTY IDENTIFICATION
Republican 31%
Democrat 33
Independent 28
Other/DK/NA 8
A Warning for Taiwan
Hong Kong police fire rubber bullets as extradition bill protests turn to chaos – Reuters
British Prime Minister Theresa May said extradition rules in Hong Kong had to respect the rights and freedoms set out in the 1984 Sino-British agreement on Hong Kong’s future.
“We are concerned about potential effects of these proposals particularly obviously given the large number of British citizens there are in Hong Kong,” May told parliament.
“But it is vital that those extradition arrangements in Hong Kong are in line with the rights and freedoms that were set down in the Sino-British joint declaration.”
On the day the Union Jack was lowered over Hong Kong, I knew that eventually China would totally subsume the former city-state into the Great Chines Borg.
None of this surprises me. It was inevitable from the day England pulled out.
Not Even Trump
Limbaugh: Here’s Why Trump Should Start Going To California | Daily Wire
“Establishing a safe parking program in California’s most populated cities and having at least one in each county will provide a safe place for vehicle dwelling,” the author of Assembly Bill 891 told CBS Sacramento this week. “These programs can be overseen and controlled by local entities, they will result in these vehicles being moved away from nightly street parking and into designated lots, and create a sense of normalcy for individuals who are living out of their vehicles. The goal of this measure is to help transition these individuals into more stable and permanent housing.”
The above is just one example of the insanity that now grips much of California by the throat.
Limbaugh’s thesis is that Trump (and maybe other) national GOP figures should start visiting California and highlighting the insanity. He points out that the Democrats can never do anything like that, because all of the insanity springs from Democrat theory and policy.
But I’m not sure that even Trump can make any hay here. Sure, there are a lot of people who aren’t at all happy about California’s multiple maladies, but I’ve never detected any significant belief among those who live in the worst parts that any change is possible. Most protest by simply leaving, as I did.
The problem is that California is (by deliberate intention) becoming a feudal society, to a great extent. The state powers are importing two vast invasive armies – illegal aliens, and homeless persons. Both are to a much greater extent than normal residents on the state for succor, safety, and support. The state provides all of this by vast, institutionalized wealth transfers, which are, of course, vicious spirals that will eventually kill the Golden Geese along with the Golden State.
But liberal fascists don’t think that way. They have no concept that what can’t go on will stop. “It hasn’t stopped yet, therefore it never will” is the unspoken mantra that guides their world view.
I doubt that even Trump can crack that level of irrationality. Only collapse might – and note I said “might” – do that.
Still, what does he have to lose?
Some People Did Something
Attackers destroy Qurans, break windows at 2 mosques in Germany
Attackers threw rocks at a mosque in the central German city of Kassel on Sunday while some 50 Qurans – the holy book of Islam – were damaged in another attack on a mosque in northwest Bremen.
There’s no explanation other than racism given for the attacks. Alleged attacks, I should say, given the site reporting the news.
But, hey, it could have been worse. Those horrid, racist, native Germans could have been going around raping and murdering young Islamic girls as they came home from school. Except, of course, for the difficulty in finding young Islamic girls among the “migrants”, given that 67-83% (estimates vary and I couldn’t find original sources with hard numbers) of the “refugees” are healthy men of working, or military, age.
We Are So Cucked
Pete Buttigieg: America Under Donald Trump More Like Russia
Buttigieg also alleged that rising white nationalism was more dangerous than radical Islamic terrorism.
“In the past decade, more Americans have been killed in America by right-wing extremists than by those inspired by Al Qaeda and ISIS,” he said. “We need to acknowledge this threat too, and redirect appropriate resources to combat right-wing extremism and violent white nationalism.”
Okay. Buttplug, you live in Indiana, home of Trump’s Vice President, and ostensibly a hotbed of right-wing “extremists,” as demonstrated by the state being a bright red one.
So far, near as I can tell, you’ve experienced no actual danger whatsoever based on the fact that you are openly gay, and married to another man.
Take that roadshow over to Iran or Saudi Arabia, and let me know if you’d like to revise your danger estimates just a bit.
“No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.”
― Samuel Adams
Just In: Mashed
Fake Libertarian Justin Amash Steps Down from the Freedom Caucus
We’ve never seen such an invasive, aggressive, anti-democratic, illegal effort to derail a presidential campaign and rig a presidential election before, all based on a “dossier” so flimsy and absurd that it’s possible that the perpetrators may face jail time.
And yet the fake “libertarians” and “conservatarians” approve of these police state gestapo tactics while simultaneously clutching their pearls that this Trump character might be some kind of… authoritarian.
It’s all about immigration. They are open borders zealots but do not want to publicly admit this, so they confabulate reasons unrelated to immigration to claim that Trump is unfit for office.
They’re liars and grifters and should be driven out of public office and frankly public life. If you cannot admit your actual political position — what the fuck are you doing in politics? Who needs you to pollute the public debate with diversions and deceit?
I’m not so sure Amash is a “fake” Libertarian. A lot of big-L Libs seem perfectly okay with government doing nasty stuff, as long as it’s nasty stuff they want to see done. That’s why a lot of them blarter on about “muh principlzzz.
Scott Adams Thinks…
That AOC is a persuader at Donald Trump’s level:
He does point out one thing that has consistently bothered me, because it reeks of cognitive dissonance, a good giveaway that persuasion is at work: She has a degree in economics from a decent university.
Adams also draws some disturbing, and even worrisome, parallels between AOC and Trump.
OTOH, she has acted the idiot so often in public I really don’t know what to think.
UPDATE: Signs and portents: