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Home » Open thread 1/22/24

Open thread 1/22/24

The New Neo Posted on by

This isn’t the sort of topic Sabine Hossenfelder ordinarily concentrates on; her usual bailywick is theoretical physics and also music at times.

She always brings a dry humor and wit to her subject matter. This time that subject matter is something a lot more personal:

Comments

Open thread 1/22/24 — 60 Comments

  1. So now that Desantis dropped out and Haley has not is there any chance all the “Ever Trumpers” will understand this means that Desantis was not a “deep state stooge/puppet?”

    If there is a Republican candidate who is a prop for the Deep State and/or Never Trump Republicans the machine would ensure that candidate stays in the race while the Trump lawfare operation plays out. So who is staying in the race while the Trump lawfare operation plays out? Not Ron Desantis. Gee! Maybe Ron Desantis was the real deal after all but Trump’s scorched earth tactics took him out of the race.

    It was literally dumbfounding to me, with an emphasis on “dumb” how quickly and relentlessly Trump and his supporters attacked Desantis after Desantis announced his campaign. Also, most of Trump’s anti-Desantis rhetoric was lies or absurd strawmen that had nothing to do with Desantis’ record, or Ron Desantis’ abilities.

    Do any of the Ever Trumpers have any explanation for how poorly Trump treated Jenna Ellis, one of his most ardent supporters who faced criminal charges for him? Or Kayleigh McEnany? Or Ron Desantis?

    Explain again how Trump is going to “drain the swamp” and defeat the Deep State when he randomly and viciously attacks all the competent people who support him? How is he going to build a team to do a nearly impossible task facing thousands (tens? hundreds? of thousands) in all levels of Federal government and the media working against him when he ruins the reputations of those who would be his best assets?

  2. A snippet of Trump’s speech in New Hampshire set to sappy music has been making the rounds. It’s a good video and it’s a good speech. I like most of the message.

    A question. Why didn’t Trump do any of that stuff when he was President and the Republicans controlled the Congress? Of the stuff listed in his speech I can give him some credit for immigration. He did a good job controlling the borders, although no Legislation was passed to deal with the millions of illegals already in the country. Also, we did have peace with North Korea, Iran, Russia didn’t invade Ukraine, Hamas didn’t attack Israel. Those are obviously hard things to pin down. Did Hamas care Trump was in office? Putin? The U.S. is providing a great deal of support to Ukraine and Israel under Biden. Would Trump have done more? Declared war against Russia?

    Who knows, but except for his comments in the speech about war and the U.S. border, he was ineffective in halting the laundry list of American woes he recites. So how/what can/will he do to change any of it now that he’s four years older, the opposition is better prepared and he is unlikely to have a majority in the Senate?

    But the words sound nice. Especially set to violins.

  3. I think that the key mistake that DeSantis made was showing his hand before Trump. He could likely have been the nominee if Trump didn’t run, and if he had waited, then he could likely have been the 2028 nominee. I think impatience did him in more than anything.

  4. The U.S. is providing a great deal of support to Ukraine and Israel under Biden.

    Leaving Ukraine aside, I cannot help but dispute your judgement regarding “a great deal of support” to Israel, unless support is to be understood as demanding Israel cease sovereign decision making and accede to US demands inimicable to Israeli security interests. The pose of “support” more nearly amounts to puppet-strings, and this by means of tangible resupply of ammunition stocks, missiles, airplane and helicopter parts, and so on. Israel isn’t following her natural strategic interests in Gaza, such as denying Hamas energy and fuel, food, medicines, etc., but caters to US demands for “humanitarian aid”, so-called.

    I much doubt Trump would be pressing demands on israel for a “two-state solution”, kicking the Abraham accords aside, nor yammering on about the Fatah PaliAuthority governing Gaza post-war. Nor tolerated Houthis lobbing missiles and drones in the Bab al Mandab for two months before taking significant counteraction. Nor funded Hezbollah through Lebanese cutouts, nor demanded Israel concede territories on the Lebanese border/waters. Nor sat on his hands as Iran drives to nuclear-weapons deployment.

  5. I left to leave the sufferers alone. Seriously though, I’ve gone back and literally watched her series from start until now.

    She has views I agree and disagree with and her delivery is “quaint” but I greatly enjoy her series, especially the ones where she talks about theoretical physics being off-rails.

  7. Not the first time i notice michael curtiz version of the charge of the light brigade where they try to come up with a pretext for raglans category error by tying it to the Indian mutiny which happened subsequently not before

    Yes this theft happened in plain sight with the full cooperation from honorable men like bill barr and ladies name escapes me now the company director

    We know what happened with matt whitaker they piled on him more than pee wee football

    Trump pushed an immigration pause ryan and turtle had the vapors he warned putin with actions the team around pence the dni who was indianas other senator reacted like he was stealing candy then there was that never endjng durge for yorick i mean khashoggi

    It seems every betrayal every injury of the body politic the media accepts with plaudits and a smile

  8. Im surprised they havent teed up a light brigade film curiously the first time i heard the poem was in the falcon in the snowman where timothy hutton recites ironically as boyce (the film i think inspired aldrich ames treason although i cant prove it)

    Boyce was more the snowden 1.0 the clever functionary who found a reason for treason because pine gap but it could have been wounded knee or attica what excuse they need it could be

  9. sdferr and Barry Meislin,

    Trump’s rhetoric implies the world’s baddies would not dare have made a move if he were in office. That may be accurate regarding Russia, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan… Who knows, but even if I cede Trump that point it doesn’t seem to apply to Gaza and Hamas. The operation was planned for years and I think it was strictly a factor of preparedness and timing. Israel is powerful enough to level Gaza and destroy Hamas with or without help from America or anyone else. And Hamas knew that. Regarding the horrific, inhumane attack on October 7, I don’t think Hamas cared who was President of the U.S.

    Also, I don’t argue with the points you make about Biden’s administration and their many idiotic policy statements regarding the region since October 7. I think a Trump administration would be more steadfast in its verbal support of Israel. But how could the response on the ground be any worse for Hamas or the Gaza region?

    To be clear, I agree Trump’s foreign policy and actions were much better for Israel and the region than Biden’s, however, unfortunately, this Hamas attack and how it was planned and executed seemed to be something Hamas was preparing for and willing to carry out according to this timeframe, regardless of who was leading which foreign country.

  10. And while we weren’t looking…
    (…not that this is surprising, mind you….)
    “Worsening Situation in Cuba Sees Dictatorship Crack Down, Economy Crumble;
    “Human rights advocates accuse the EU of continuing to support the regime.”—
    https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/worsening-situation-in-cuba-sees-dictatorship-crack-down-economy-crumble/

    But, but, but…why would the EU support Cuba, which aside from cracking down on anti-regime dissent—kinda like “Biden”, actually—also provides support for Putin in his Ukraine “adventure”?

    (Hey, maybe Orban and Fico should learn Spanish, grow mustaches and don military fatigues…)
    https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/the-european-parliaments-newest-target-slovakias-robert-fico/ )

  11. Well DeSantis is out.

    Here is a guy that has shown real competence in running Florida and understands that the bureaucratic quagmire in Washington must really be reduced in size.
    Yet this was not good enough to allow him to gain any traction amongst republican voters

    There is something wrong about the way candidates are selected to run for office and ultimately prevail in the general election.
    A candidates policies oft times appear to be secondary to his/her appearance and other personality traits, though I don’t know how to get around this.

    Maybe all debates should be formatted as were the Lincoln-Douglas debates, in which the candidates views were predominant, not how they physically looked or spoke or smiled .

  12. Trump’s administration had effective economic sanctions against the actual enemy nation Iran, progressively squeezing the Mullahs into a deathtrap (had the sanctions been continued) by the end of that first term — all immediately abandoned by the ObamaMalleyBidenBlinkenSullivan regime, saving the IRI from overthrow from within, all to the region’s peril. I’m not interested in a dispute over mere rhetoric here. It’s effective action we ought to pay attention to since we don’t aim to be putzes, as ObamaMalleyBidenBlinkenSullivan wish for us.

  13. Thanks for the video. My daughter, who is severely gluten-intolerant, is also very much bothered by sugar alcohols — erythritol, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, and so on.

  14. Rufus, you seem to be forgetting all that money that “Biden” has gifted the Mullahs—which, funnily enough, “trickles down”(!) to Hezbullah and the Houthis—not to mention all the money that “Biden” has gifted the PA…and ultimately, Hamas.

    And if Hamas proudly insists that the planning for this grand operation took all of two years, let’s see now, Oct. 7, 2023, two years…well, you do the math…

    In the end, though, it matters far less that Trump’s foreign policy was more robust. It matters far more that Trump’s domestic policy supported America and Americans…
    (The curious thing, though, is that if you love your country, your foreign policy will generally follow suit; but if you want to see it destroyed—sorry, transformed—then you will craft your foreign policy to support the destruction, confusion, chaos and crisis—in short, the Hell—you crave.)

  17. Buck Throckmorton has a piece up about EVs at ace of spades. I happened to be in Chicago when the national story about weather related EV charging difficulties broke.

    I don’t disagree with any of the coverage, or Buck’s reporting, but I noticed all of the coverage I saw in Chicago seemed to focus on “Teslas.” The cold temperature issues are not unique to Teslas, they apply to all electric vehicles (even the lead-acid batteries in internal combustion vehicles). I lived there 19 years and I can attest that this is not the first winter Chicago has been cold. 🙂
    Toronto, Calgary, Minneapolis, Berlin, Oslo… Lots of big cities in cold climates with electric cars suffering range and charging issues. I have a friend in Missouri who got rid of his Leaf years ago after seeing how much his range dropped in Winter, and Missouri isn’t typically brutally cold for long stretches.

    Listening to the reporting in Chicago last week it seemed like reporting added the brand name, “Tesla” whenever possible. Interesting that we never saw this coverage before Elon Musk bought Twitter.

  18. Oh yes indeed, those German toilets…

    (If SoP’s aliens ever make it over, they will have much to ponder, at least in Germany, not that I’m not saying that they’re already, um, embedded amongst us…)

  19. OTOH, if the whole point of EVs is to get people off the roads—then they’re, undeniably, a rip-roaring success!
    (Besides, just think of all the “books” you could “hear” or languages you could learn while waiting for your baby to charge…)

    BTW, they focus on Teslas because Musk—that very sharp thorn in the side of “Biden”—must be taken down. By any means possible/necessary/available…

  20. Season 2 of Reacher is out on Amazon Prime. I’ve watched it twice already. You could call it just an action thriller, but it’s competently written and the characters are fun and have arcs. Which makes it exceptional by today’s standards.

    It’s old-school good-vs-evil red-blooded American entertainment. Naturally Forbes:

    –“‘Reacher’ Season 2 Is Now Officially One Of The Worst Shows On TV”
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2024/01/07/reacher-season-2-is-now-officially-one-of-the-worst-shows-on-tv/?sh=4d4f39f02168

    However, in its time Reacher Season 1 was the best performing show on Amazon Prime. Reacher S1 beat Amazon’s “Rings of Power” — a Lord of the Rings spin-off, much-ballyhooed while also hated for turning Lady Galadriel into another shrewish, one-dimensional, girl-boss character. RoP had a billion-dollar budget; Reacher not so much.

    Someone here recommended Reacher some years ago. H/T!

  21. She sure as hell found a lot of highly processed junk food when she went through her cabinets.

    Cookies, and cakes, and candies, and snack bars. LOL

  22. Well, I inadvertently skied to my car this morning and almost took a dive onto some rocks. Fortunately, my frantic flailing saved me any damages.

    Stay careful, everyone.

  23. We just starting watching a new series on ACORN. It is “Monsieur Spade”. It is Sam Spade in France starting in 1955 to 1963. Actually, flashbacks to 1955. It stars Clive Owen. It is very good, well written, crisp dialogue. I think it is also on Paramount +.

  24. My neighbor owns two Evs — a Nissan Leaf and a Tesla. He says he’s having no trouble with them in the cold snap, because he’s smart enough to know how to manage them. He thinks a quite a few of the ones running out of charge in northern cities may be Uber drivers, who tend to drive down to practically zero and then go fill up. However, I did point out to him that our version of “really cold” is not nearly as cold as say, Chicago or Minneapolis.

  25. Let those who wish to purchase EVs do so. Let those who do not not. There is no need for abusive regulatory regimes, government as venture capitalist, tax preferences &c.

  27. Kate,

    One of the big problems at the Chicago charging stations was queuing. In sub-zero temperatures the vast majority of users were not going to sit with their cars while they charge; especially when running the internal heater makes charging take longer. So people would connect the car to the charging station and leave, often not returning when the charging was complete. The charging stations queue people based on expected charging times, so this would cause delays and confusion.

    In other words, the software engineers designing the app to queue for charging didn’t take human behavior into account. When it’s below zero outside people will not/cannot sit with their cars while charging and will often return long after the charge is complete; extending wait times.

  28. Regarding EV range, the range estimate you see when you park at the airport when it’s 50 degrees will be markedly less when you return in -10 degree temperatures. An even greater impact is the added load of running the cabin’s internal heater and other necessary accessories in inclement weather (defroster, car seat warmers, windshield wipers…).

  29. I think that Biden is playing a dangerous game with his actions in the Israel vs. Hamas war.

    He seems to be- somewhat supporting Israel’s efforts to win this war, while “trying to negotiate a peace”-between the two sides of the war.

    I believe- [that Hamas is fighting-and-willing-to-die…to harm Israel…+ maybe hamas’ goal is also- to drive Israel out of [all the land in the Middle East] that it can.

    I also believe that Israel’s govt. is attempting to [drive hamas totally out of Gaza, in this war…and it sees that action as a [Israel is doing this war to survive]-type of action.

    (I think that hamas is a terrorist group, in case people are wondering.)

    It looks like NEITHER side in this war will listen to negotiations for peace, even if those negotiations come from: The US govt., Biden, NATO, or from anyone else.

    I wonder what positive things do Biden, or his staff- think they can accomplish, with their actions in that war.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68045247

  30. I was going to skip the video because I thought it was about the combination of sugary items and alcohol. But that was quite interesting.

    I noticed that over the decades I’ve developed an intolerance to palm oils. In my younger years it was not a problem, but now I’ve noticed that a certain ice cream or candy bar may have palm oil in it, which I sometimes don’t notice until after I’ve consumed it.

  31. the EV is a solution to a question no one really asked, its a nice niche product, but it does serve a landmass that’s three thousand miles across, where mass public transportation is neither feasable nor desirable, in addition to the unsafe spaces they have made the urban centers

    hamas is just a proxy for salafi forces like the Taliban like Boko Haram in West Africa, it’s about conquest, about submission to the will of Allah, currently Qatar is the base for the Salafi, having taken the march from the Saudis, in a partnership with Turkey, for second place,

    funny thing about that first season of reacher, it’s based on a novel that was in French in a local library, and I grokked as much as possible, when I read it ten years ago, it was the first novel,

    from what I can gather, the second iteration, changed who the antagonist was in this offering because it was politically incorrect if you get my meaning, so that plus some clunky dialogue that was not in the original might be the problem, they did a similar thing in the movie sequel

  32. Barry @ 12:13pm,

    I’m not defending the Biden administration. I think most of its foreign policy is idiotic, including funding Iran. I’m just making a minor point about Trump claiming certain world actors would have behaved differently last year if he were in office. The heinous acts of October 7th seem to me like the acts of 9/11. A long term, coordinated plan designed around training and readiness based on years (decades) of grievances and not centered on two years of one U.S. administration’s policies.

    Again, I don’t think it mattered who was the President of the U.S., but I have read some Hamas leaders cite the Abraham accords and the Trump administration’s weakening of Hamas and Iran as additional, motivating catalysts. It’s hard for me to imagine a scenario where Hamas would have hesitated to act out their plan, even if Trump were in office. They knew Israel would react massively. That was even part of their plan. Having a stronger President, like Trump, only adds to the likelihood of a decisive pushback by Israel, which is what Hamas wanted in order to foster animosity towards Israel.

  34. miguel cervantes @ 3:24pm,

    If only there were some form of economic system that would allow products to be developed freely and their success or failure could be calculated by hundreds of millions of individual consumers making independent choices in real time based on their independent observations of market conditions and their own, available resources. Almost like an “invisible hand” determining the correct supply and pricing of products based on consumer demand.

    Gosh, it’s a shame no such system exists. In its absence we are lucky to have geniuses in Congress and government agencies to decide such things for us!

    “Workers of the world, Unite! Dyslexics of the world, Untie! Our enlightened leaders prepare a glorious future for us!”

  35. well when you mandate a product people don’t need, you reach this conclusion,

    lets review, this regime has put the hurt on the kingdom and the emirates, it has gone out of it’s way to make it a rival, conversely it has expedited in every conceivable way, revenue sources for Iran, it forced the kingdom to remove patriot batteries, it funded Hamas and the so called Authority, to the tune of 120 billion dollars, it dropped sanctions on the Houthis, who admittedly have a grievance against the Kingdom that goes back 80 years, and against Israel, because they really really hate Jews, one common element was this khashoggi character, who was bin laden’s publicist, who shared similar sympathies with Robert Malley, the where’s Waldo of this regime, his charlie mccarthy is ian bremmer of the international crisis group

    khashoggi employed by Prince Talal, who has decidedly divided sympathies on the matter of Islamism, for instance he funded the middle east studies programs at Harvard and Georgetown to cite too loci of anti israeli, sentiment,yes he also supported raids against islamic state, but here’s the important part much of the infrastructure, that supported Al Queda, the Golden Chain are also his allies,
    they were most of the players detained in the Ritz hotel in 2017, for a time, he was on the outs under trump but he has recovered most of his properties, and all of his influence,
    (allegedly through his directorship with Citibank, he had a role in picking the Obama cabinet)

  36. Iran KNOWS that “Biden” has their back.
    Hezbullah KNOWS that “Biden” has their back.
    The Houthis KNOW that “Biden” has their back.
    Hamas KNOWS that “Biden” has their back.
    Abu Mazen KNOWS that “Biden” has his back.

    When TSHTF, “Biden” has to go into Optics Crisis Management Mode, which is meant to conceal all of the above, at least as much as possible.
    And “he”‘s been pedaling fast furiously to PROVE to the world that not only is “he” Israel’s great defender but that the ONLY way to resolve this mess is the equivalent (or Round 2, if you will) of Obama’s masterpiece, UNR 2334 (though to be sure, Russiagate wasn’t too shabby either….)

    Meanwhile, Blinken can pull out his “I lost relatives in the Holocaust” credentials to PROVE to Israel and the larger community that he can be relied upon…

    Next question.

  37. “I’m not defending the Biden administration.”

    Oh-kaaaay. So I can take it that you don’t stand by the proposition written above that “the US is providing a great deal of support to Israel under Biden” then? ‘Cause it’s not a proposition “defending” Biden, as such, but just a momentary lapse of acuity or some such thing?

  39. sdferr,

    I like most all (all?) of your comments. I am not trying to pick a fight. This is certainly nothing personal on my end. We may be talking about two different things. I have been clear; I don’t like the Biden Administration’s foreign policy. I think they are playing a dangerous game regarding support for Israel. There is financial and military support (https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2023-10-10/how-much-aid-does-the-u-s-give-to-israel) but Democrat voters on the far Left are stating insane things about Israel and the Biden administration appears to also be trying to appease them. Personally, I think Joe Biden is a fan of Israel. I don’t recall him ever opposing our nation’s support of Israel. Obama, Jarret and Rice? No. They obviously despise Israel and some regiment of their administration is still in power and running some things in Biden’s administration.

    My sole point in this thread is Donald J. Trump stating that October 7th would not have happened if he were in office. I disagree with that statement. I think Hamas would have acted when they did regardless of the U.S. President and, as evidence, I’m offering statements made by Hamas leaders and the fact that Israel’s response to the attacks has been quick, decisive and nearly total. Would Israel’s war to remove Hamas influence from Gaza been any more forceful were Trump in office?

    I do think Trump’s administration was a much better friend and ally to Israel. Again, I don’t like Biden’s administration. I think he’s a weasel. I think his administration is full of weasels. But what would be different regarding October 7th and the aftermath in Gaza if Trump were in office? The administration’s rhetoric would be different, but what would be physically different? More buildings leveled? More Hamas leaders found and killed sooner? I’m not being pedantic. I’m honestly trying to figure out where we are disagreeing.

    We both believe Biden’s foreign policy is worse than Trump’s. We both think Trump was a great friend to Israel. Is it that you believe Trump would have prevented October 7? Is it that you believe Trump would have declared war on Hamas after October 7? Is it that you believe Trump would have launched missiles into or put ground troops in Gaza after October 7?

  40. we had appointees in the trump administration that did everything in their power to block islamists not only in the levant but south asia and other places, the ones who were installed are traitors to humanity in all but name, every calamity one could imagine, and some that haven’t come true yet have come about, or every front foreign and domestic, they are enemies to our police to our soldiers to law abiding citizens of all hues and persuastions,

  41. I’ve not imagined any “pick a fight” at all, Rufus. So rest easy there.

    I have disagreed with your judgement of the Biden operation.

    I suppose I ought to disagree about your proffered counterfactual hypothetical –Trump in office ’21-’24, wholly different outcomes — though I won’t take Trump’s rhetoric as a basis, in part because I simply don’t pay any attention to him these days (it’s campaign season) and in part because I’m not his man (on the whole I prefer to think about the coming spring training season; signings — Cionel Perez today!, rosters, staffing decisions, etc.) — and finally, it’s not about Trump for me: It’s about the Jews, their survival, prosperity in their own land and so on.

    So yes, I’m of the mind that Trump would have made an enormous difference in Hamas’ calculus; that their trainers and suppliers the IRGC and mullahbosses would have put the kibosh on this attack in this hypothetical time we’re imagining.

    But that’s the kind of thing we’ll never know, nor of a sort to expend much energy upon. As to the rest of your proffers? A simple no, thanks. I’ll leave it there.

  42. sdferr,

    I agree on all you wrote (except for one thing). I especially agree with this, “… it’s not about Trump for me: It’s about the Jews, their survival, prosperity in their own land …”

    I disagree that Trump would have made a difference in Hamas’ calculus. Look at how quickly protests like the George Floyd debacle surfaced during the Trump Presidency. Hamas’ goons here in the U.S. would have gladly staged the same, idiotic, anti-Jewish marches and protests if Trump were in office. I think it could even be worse because the Democrats could play even looser with their opinions; like they did during the George Floyd protests, so the protesters would be even bolder if Trump were in office. They are, after all, on the Left.

    But, sadly, as you wrote, we will never know. And it’s a very, very minor thing.
    Trump and Biden’s reputations are nothing compared to the suffering of the Jewish people on October 7.

    And, unfortunately, spring training brings me no relief. I am a White Sox fan and there is no joy in Mudville.

  44. RTF, that’s an excellent piece by Markowicz. As you say, Christians need to heed this also. Are churches about scripture and faith and (if applicable) sacrament? Or are they extensions of one or the other political parties? There is some overlap when some public policies are clearly contradictory to faith teachings. But in many cases the leftist agenda items become the religion. Time to leave such a congregation and find a more faithful one.

  45. I left The Episcopal Church (TEC, somehow I find the acronym funny) on that account. I wanted to worship and communicate with fellow Christians about Jesus. They wanted to take progressive political action and attack conservatives.

  46. I had an interesting argument with Chat today about a new academic fad: translanguaging.

    I’m looking into the state of linguistic research in language acquisition. There’s surprisingly little on what really works or how different methods stack up.

    So Chat starts burbling about translanguaging as a bold new program. Thankfully it’s not about transgender … yet.

    But it’s plenty stupid on its own. To start, it only applies to teaching a new language to students who are already bilingual or better. Apparently, there is a crying need to attend to the sadly neglected class of multilingual students. Chat says:
    ___________________________________________

    In practical terms, translanguaging involves using a blend of languages in the classroom to facilitate learning. For instance, a teacher might explain a concept in English but allow students to discuss it among themselves in their native language. Or, learners might read a text in one language and write a response in another. This approach acknowledges that language skills are interconnected and that using all available linguistic resources can enhance comprehension and learning. It’s about moving away from the rigid separation of languages in education and embracing a more fluid use of language that reflects how people naturally communicate, especially in multilingual contexts.
    ___________________________________________

    Groovy. I push back for a while. Chat begins talking about “diversity” and dropped this beauty:
    ___________________________________________

    The incorporation of diverse educational approaches like translanguaging in language teaching can be seen as part of broader efforts to make education more inclusive and responsive to the needs of all learners.
    ___________________________________________

    Bah.

    Thanks for listening.

  47. Rufus, do you mean to tell me that there are American Catholics who care enough about the Pope to have a schism? And not just ignore the Pope and the Vatican like we usually do?

  48. huxley,

    I’m not officially bi or tri lingual, but I often use German and Spanish words (and Latin) where I find them more effective than their English equivalents. Especially when there isn’t an English equivalent. Most people I know who know some vocabulary in another language do this. For example, I almost never say, “My God” in English (except when in church). I like, “Dios mio” or “Mein Gott im Himmel” better. On the rare occasions when I need to use a word for excrement as an adjective or interjection I’ll use the German or French equivalents. And so on. It seems a lot of folks prefer, “merde” to the English and I hear it used often. Also, “entrez vous” is so much more fun and polite sounding than, “come in.” Ipso facto, ergo, quid pro quo…

    Oh, and of course Yiddish is fantastic in many situations!

  49. JFM,

    That’s funny, and true.

    However, unfortunately, the current Pope seems to want a schism. He’s coming out strong against parishes that like to practice the Latin Mass and other, pre-Vatican II customs.

  50. Rufus:

    My great aunt used to say, in moments of exasperation, Scheiße in der Luft!

    Lately I’ve been known to toss around bits of French. Entre nous.

    We’re translanguaging!

  51. That said, count me firmly on board with learning a new language. Not because you’re a boring monolingual American. I have no problem with that.

    But because it’s a beautiful, transformative experience. Humbling too.
    __________________________________

    Learn a new language, gain a new soul.

    –Czech proverb
    __________________________________

    There are even brain imaging studies which show learning a language changes your brain and evidence it delays dementia by four to five years. (I’m counting on it!)

  53. huxley,

    There is also the phrase of: “Himmel och pannkaka”.

    I think that is Swedish for: “Heaven and pancakes!”

    I think it is a Swedish phrase, used like:

    “Oh my goodness!”…said in a happy way, or- “Oh wow!”

    There is also a 1958 or 1959, Swedish film, named: “Himmel och pannkaka” .

  54. neo,

    I had noted that when I read your post last year. It was also one of my dear mother-in-law’s common sayings when she found something exasperating or absurd (her son-in-law often fitting both categories).

  56. Rufus is “bi” (or even “tri”), Huxley is “trans”…
    WTH has been going on here!!??

  57. @ Rufus > “When it’s below zero outside people will not/cannot sit with their cars while charging and will often return long after the charge is complete”

    I can’t dispute the rationality of that behavior, but if they are leaving their car plugged in, how are they getting away from and back to the charging stations? Are they all located in the vicinity of a mall or coffee shop or something?

    Not getting an EV anytime soon (like, never), but just curious.

  58. Regarding language, my husband and I immigrated to Israel decades ago. Our English is peppered with Hebrew expressions. Or, as my husband says, we’ve become inarticulate in two languages. ?

  59. AesopFan,

    This was in Chicago and based on the images I saw there were apartments and condos in the background. However, in such severe weather I imagine some of the people did have others drive a separate car (almost certainly internal combustion) to meet them at the charging station and take them home to safety and warmth while the car was charging. Which would also mean one would need a ride back and coordinating that almost certainly means the electrical vehicle will be left at the charger long after the charging is complete.

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