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Home » Open thread 2/22/23

Open thread 2/22/23

The New Neo Posted on by

This is me asleep in a hammock, with Gerard’s hat over my eyes to shield me from the sun. He took the photo many years ago, in Florida:

Comments

Open thread 2/22/23 — 57 Comments

  1. If it’s not an apple, it’s a hat?
    Who IS that masked woman!!

    File under: “Far from the Madding Crowd”…

  2. Could use some of that Sun right now. Woke up to about 4 inches of snow, again, and 9 degrees. That will most likely be the high for the day, going down to maybe -9 tonight. I’m in Front Range CO, N of Denver. Having a cup of coffee (sorry it’s instant) then off to shovel the Climate Change.

  7. bullitt, from the preceding thread, was someone that was mugged by reality, in stalin’s Russia, he was a subsequent figure in the founding of the cia, he was on the board of ARAMCO, fwiw

  9. Nice picture.

    I haven’t paid much attention to the Georgia Grand Jury stuff about the 2020 election. However, I saw this AP story linked at Citizen Free Press. There is also a video link showing the Jury Foreperson, Emily Kohrs, talking to CNN. I won’t link, because she comes across as a bad stereotype in the video, and I recommend reading the other comments she makes in the AP story until seeking and watching the video to see what she is like actually speaking.

    A few quotes from the AP story that bother me:
    She also enjoyed learning about the inner workings of the White House from Cassidy Hutchinson, who Kohrs said was much more forthcoming than her old boss, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
    Cassidy Hutchinson is the lady that testified under oath to Congress that Trump was travelling in “the beast” on Jan. 6th (he wasn’t using the Cadillac Limo, but in a SUV) and that Trump lunged at the Secret Service agent to change direction from the White House to the Capitol (impossible to do in the Cadillac, and improbable to do from the backseat of the SUV in the manner she described). Yet Emily thought Cassidy was forthcoming.

    When witnesses refused to answer almost every question, the lawyers would engage in what Kohrs came to think of as “show and tell.” The lawyers would show video of the person appearing on television or testifying before the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, periodically asking the witness to confirm certain things. Then the scratching of pens on paper could be heard as jurors tallied how many times the person invoked the Fifth Amendment.

    So jurors were assuming bad faith when invoking the Fifth Amendment?

    At least one person who resisted answering questions became much more cooperative when prosecutors offered him immunity in front of the jurors, Kohrs said.

    That seems like a problem.

  13. Mystery solved.
    (We know why “POTUS” took the train to Poland.)
    https://nypost.com/2023/02/22/biden-stumbles-up-air-force-one-stairs-again-leaving-poland/

    + Bonus:
    If it saves ’em from “Biden”doctrination, then it must, by definition be “RACIST”.
    (You were wondering why Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams “don’t have enough money” to support charter schools???)
    “Resisting the growth of charter schools is racist…”
    https://nypost.com/2023/02/22/black-nyc-charter-students-outperform-public-counterparts/

  14. Yes, I noticed the colorful necklace too. The hat is a lovely symbol of sharing and togetherness.

  16. Mike Plaiss,

    Yep, he’s going to make things interesting. Hitting all the right notes, at least for me. I doubt the GOPe is going to let him go anywhere. I wouldn’t mind him, and keeping DeSantis for ourselves here in Florida.

  18. Here in Nebraska, one of the biggest scandals in Nebraska history is going uncovered by the media. Nebraska Medicine, one of the states biggest employers and advertisers, is conducting medical experiments on children.

  21. I watched Vivek Ramaswamy on Tucker last night. He’s saying all the right things. And saying them clearly. If he doesn’t win the nomination (and I doubt he will), he should certainly be in line for a cabinet post. He is so clear and unequivocal about American ideals and fighting back against affirmative action dressed up as DEI. More power to him.

    More here:
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vivek-ramaswamy-repeal-affirmative-action-without-apology-day-1-elected-president

  22. Mike Plaiss, physicsguy…I love Vivek Ramaswamy. I’ve read his books and he’s a smart guy, + he doesn’t just say this and that is wrong, but offers solutions that actually sound practical. I’d vote for him in a heartbeat. But yeah, probably no chance. But doesn’t it just roll off the tongue? President Ramaswamy. 🙂

    He was born the same year as my oldest son, the English prof.

  23. I like the photo composition, but alas no more of a clue than the apple clue

    Somewhere in Neo’s collection is a photo of Gerard with an apple in front of his mouth.

  24. Over at Legal Insurrection, there’s an announcement: “TV TONIGHT — Professor Jacobson will be on TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT to announce the launch of the Equal Protection Project.”

    I assume LI means today, 2/22/23.

  27. Fullmoon: “Neighbor’s son in Navy, leave canceled, prepare for deployment.”

    This was very common during the 50s, 60s and 70s. I was recalled to active duty in 1960 as a result of a need for enhanced readiness.

    Cold War II may finally have been recognized by the DOD and maybe even Biden and Co. I hope the importance of being combat ready will supplant the DEI/CRT programs.

    The “end of history” didn’t last all that long.

  28. Hey, Fukuyama can write a new book!
    “The End of the End of History and the Last Straw”…

  30. om for the win!
    Well done sir.

    PS…Boss I hope you were entrusted with that hat…or something similar?

  31. John Guilfoyle:

    I’m pretty sure that particular hat perished in the Paradise fire. However, Gerard had bought some replacement hats over the years. I took a few of them from the apartment and brought them back to my place. I’m going to get a few hat hooks to hang them on.

  32. I don’t know what the legal difference is between regular and special grand juries, but on the surface it looks like the Georgia special jury are special ed graduates who ride a short bus to and from hearings.

    I also don’t know which episode number this is of “We’ve got him THIS time! No, really. THIS TIME FOR SURE!”

    The lack of self awareness and inability of these people to look in a mirror is astonishing.

  33. I know this is not Facebook or Instagram or TikTok or anything remotely like them, and I don’t want anything to change. But I kind of wish I could post a heart, or a like, or a care, or one of those darned things anyway, to this endearing photo.

  35. Mrs Whatsit:

    Thanks!

    As far as the heart symbol goes, it can be done. For example, ♥

    I did that by entering the ampersand, then (without a space between) the word hearts, and then (again with no space) a semi-colon.

  36. I’m going to get a few hat hooks to hang them on. –neo

    Ooo. Iambic (with a tiny cheat on “going.”) Plus g and h consonance. Nice.

    All that sonnet practice pays off. 🙂

  37. Skip, I think you’re being a little too pessimistic. Consider: with this photo, we now have the chin, one corner of the mouth, and a part of a cheekbone!
    The necklace and top were a fine combination.

  40. Molly Brown:

    It’s actually some sort of synthetic material made to look like sea glass. And it does look like sea glass.

  41. Still stuck on Johnny Hallyday. The “French Elvis,” as I have mentioned.

    I thought his name was a Frenchification of “Holiday.” To keep the French from pronouncing it as “oh-lee-day.”

    But no, he had taken the last name from his cousin-in-law, Lee Halliday, a dancer who had taught Hallyday rock dance moves. Then the record company misspelled his name on his first release (wouldn’t you know) so he kept the name, Hallyday.

    Hallyday had quite the range from 50s Elvis rock to early 60s ye-ye to late 60s Hendrix psychedelia (Hendrix opened for Johnny on one tour) to romantic French pop to soulful literate songs like this one:
    _______________________

    Something of Tennessee

    “To you other weak men and wonderful
    Who put so much grace to withdraw from the game
    There must be a hand on your shoulder
    Pushes you towards life, this soft and light hand”

    (from Tennessee Williams, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” — Margaret’s last words to Brick)

    We all have something in us of Tennessee
    This desire to prolong the night
    This crazy desire to live another life
    This dream in us with his own words

    –Johnny Hallyday, “Quelque chose de Tennessee” (1985)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67syApKV-UE
    _______________________

    From the title I expected it to be a questionable French-country-rock-fusion song. I sure got that wrong.

    This became one of Hallyday’s most cherished songs. After Hallyday died in 2017, it was back in the charts for four weeks. I wish our Elvis had lived long enough to reach a song like this.

  42. From his NY Times obit:
    ________________________________

    Few in the United States had, or have, heard of Johnny Hallyday, the rock star known as the Elvis of France, who died this week at the age of 74. But, as the French public relations guru Gilles Paquet once said, “In France, since 1945, there have been three stars: de Gaulle, Brigitte Bardot and Johnny Hallyday.”

    –“The Star Power of Johnny Hallyday (Jimi Hendrix Was His Opening Act)”
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/07/arts/music/johnny-hallyday-interview-jimi-hendrix.html

  43. @ Fullmoon on February 22, 2023 at 3:23 pm said:
    “Neighbor’s son in Navy, leave canceled, prepare for deployment.”

    Maybe someone in the right circles is following Austin Bay.
    https://strategypage.com/on_point/2023022121641.aspx

    On Point: Weaponizing Everything, Including Lawyers and Balloons: China’s 1999 Manual for Defeating America
    …
    The balloon wasn’t just blowing in the wind. Its calculated military itinerary tells reasonable Americans and Canadians — reasonable being a qualifier that excludes media influencers and politicians bribed or blackmailed by communist China — that the balloon was spying on critical North American defense installations.

    Which means it had a War Mission. Note I did not write “pre-War”; I wrote “War.”
    …
    At the bottom line, communist China is fighting a war to dominate the world. In pursuit of that goal the Chinese state has weaponized every technology, media and means of personal and organizational interaction,

    Informed minds assure us the study titled “Unrestricted Warfare” and published by the People’s Liberation Army in February 1999 isn’t a war plan. I’ll agree it isn’t a step-by-step plan, but it is a thoughtful and deadly intellectual guidebook China’s communist leaders are using to defeat the U.S. and establish a Chinese-mandated international order.

    Too detailed to summarize; worth taking the time to read.

  44. Mark another square on your Arkancide bingo card:

    Arkansas police rule death of Epstein-linked Clinton aide a suicide

    Arkansas authorities have ruled the death of former Bill Clinton adviser Mark Middleton a suicide, according to a report released nine months after his death.

    The crime scene was complicated, but the victim’s history adds up to a familiar outcome.

    Hanging from a tree by an extension cord + gunshot wound to the chest but no gun found + signed Epstein into the Clinton White House several times + flew on Epstein’s “Lolita Express”.

    The sloppy staging was deliberate. Getting an official ruling of “suicide” sends a message and adds to the mystique.

  46. Seemed to do the trick:
    “Report: Buttigieg Will Visit Ohio Train Disaster Site on Thursday;
    “20 days after the train derailed and spilled dangerous chemicals.”—
    https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/02/report-buttigieg-will-visit-ohio-train-disaster-site-on-thursday/

    Believe it when I see it….
    (After first blaming Trump and then blaming the railroad company, maybe he’ll be saved by the weather…and blame that!)
    https://nypost.com/2023/02/23/flights-canceled-highways-closed-as-winter-storm-wallops-us/

  47. Meanwhile, Sam Brinton strikes again: he’s been seen wearing custom-made clothes stolen from a Houston fashion designer’s luggage in 2018:

    https://nypost.com/2023/02/22/fashion-designer-claims-sam-brinton-wore-her-stolen-clothes/

    “Khamsin’s bag vanished from the Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on March 9, 2018, after she flew into the capital for an event where she was to put her clothes on display. . . . However, after the bag disappeared she was unable to participate. Her husband filed reports with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department and filed a claim with Delta Airlines, which is the airline Khamsin used to fly from Houston to DC. The bag was never recovered.”

  48. The people of East Palestine are angry.
    (No , actually, they’re furious.)
    ” ‘We Don’t Know What We Are Breathing’: A Report from East Palestine;
    “A train derailment and chemical explosion that ripped through an Ohio town earlier this month has left locals feeling sick, angry—and completely abandoned.”—
    https://www.thefp.com/p/we-dont-know-what-we-are-breathing
    H/T Powerline blog.

    Seems like a good time for “POTUS” to give another “UNITY” talk…

  50. This is outrageous. It’s nasty, vile, and vicious.

    This is evil. There isn’t any way that a moral person can support this. Or even minimize the moral culpability of those who do it.

    All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Making excuses for the perpetrators of evil by minimizing the horror of what they do is far worse than doing “nothing”.

    https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-new-normal-persecuting-an-expert-witness-because-he-testified-for-the-defense-in-a-political-charged-trial/

    Big Brother is evil. Big Brother is here. And he won’t be defeated as long as people refuse to see who and what he is.

  51. Meanwhile, a Christian college in Kentucky, Asbury University, became the unexpected host to a Christian revival — or something, some don’t like calling it a revival — after a dozen students lingered after a chapel service on Feb. 8.

    Then didn’t leave, as more and more people poured in, overwhelming the surrounding town of 6000 people for two weeks.

    Christians came from all over the country and the world, even from Finland, to take part in the whatever.
    _______________________________

    “Whether you call this a revival, a renewal, an awakening, or an outpouring, what we have experienced on our campus these last few weeks is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life,” President Brown [of Asbury University] said in a video statement.

    https://people.com/human-interest/revival-christian-university-moves-two-weeks-overwhelming-kentucky-town/
    _______________________________

    So two weeks later they are now moving the services off-campus. I wish them the best.
    _______________________________

    The wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

    –John 3:8

  52. “I did that by entering the ampersand, then (without a space between) the word hearts, and then (again with no space) a semi-colon.”
    ♥

    It works! Thanks for the tip, Neo. Here are some hearts for that photo:

    ♥ ♥ ♥

  53. There is a long tedious story of how computer text evolved from all-caps “ABC…” and “0123…” plus punctuation to a backwards-compatible, extensible system which handles most of the world’s scripts.

    We now have Unicode, which solved a very messy problem rather well.

  54. Oh really?

    I second Mrs Whatsit!

    Now, see if I too can use the magic & send to dear Neo:
    ♥

    Hmmm. What other words work?

    A heartfelt sweet photo, and memories I’m sure, Neo.

  55. Banned lizard
    I saw the “suicide” news and had the same chilling thoughts.
    Clintons’ curse continues.

  56. Mike Plaiss and others mentioning Vivek Ramaswamy:
    I saw him on Tucker, and was also impressed.
    Was already familiar with him. His pro-America, anti-woke books are on my reading list.
    And his securities — DRLL, and STRV (etf) — on my radar.
    Seems he could or should one day be POTUS. And I definitely agree he would be a very valuable person in anyone’s cabinet!!
    He reminds me of Elon Musk, in good ways. But even better.

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