We’ll just do a quick links, because I have to clean the whole house and I want to get started early.
1.) Jim Hoagland at the WaPo delivers a well-earned rimshot:
Two big questions hang over the new agreement to contain North Korea’s nuclear weapons program at its current level — whatever that level is.
Why has a secretive government addicted to power politics and flexing its military muscles abruptly turned to negotiations and peaceful compromise?
And why is North Korea doing the same?
Heh. I will go on record and state that is ‘teh funny.’
2.) You know how the right-wing blabosphere spends every day comparing Iraq to WWII? It’s silly and overstated, of course, but they like to make the comparison to Hussein and Nazis and so forth. At any rate, some vets speak up on how we treated Nazis and how we interrogated:
When about two dozen veterans got together yesterday for the first time since the 1940s, many of the proud men lamented the chasm between the way they conducted interrogations during the war and the harsh measures used today in questioning terrorism suspects.
Back then, they and their commanders wrestled with the morality of bugging prisoners’ cells with listening devices. They felt bad about censoring letters. They took prisoners out for steak dinners to soften them up. They played games with them.
“We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture,” said Henry Kolm, 90, an MIT physicist who had been assigned to play chess in Germany with Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess.
Blunt criticism of modern enemy interrogations was a common refrain at the ceremonies held beside the Potomac River near Alexandria. Across the river, President Bush defended his administration’s methods of detaining and questioning terrorism suspects during an Oval Office appearance.
***“We did it with a certain amount of respect and justice,” said John Gunther Dean, 81, who became a career Foreign Service officer and ambassador to Denmark.
The interrogators had standards that remain a source of pride and honor.
“During the many interrogations, I never laid hands on anyone,” said George Frenkel, 87, of Kensington. “We extracted information in a battle of the wits. I’m proud to say I never compromised my humanity.”
Oops. Throw the thrusters in reverse at Torture Apology HQ! We didn’t torture Nazis! Shift to alternate meme! For the time being, spread the word that these are old men who don’t understand the existential threat we are facing.
In fairness to the wingnuts, there was a scene in Saving Private Ryan where some Nazi soldiers surrendered but were shot on the spot.
3.) It appears we have a traitor at Fox News. Sean Hannity, who is on record stating that we wear lapel pins because we were attacked, apparently refuses to wear a lapel pin himself.
Off to Gitmo with the bastard.
4.) Speaking of Gitmo, it is Groundhog Day there – more career lawyers are quitting because of the politicization of the process by hand-picked officers:
People involved in the prosecutions, who spoke on condition of anonymity, have said that General Hartmann challenged Colonel Davis’s authority in August and pressed the prosecutors who worked for Colonel Davis to produce new charges against detainees quickly.
They said he also pushed the prosecutors to frame cases with bold terrorism accusations that would draw public attention to the military commission process, which has been one of the central legal strategies of the Bush administration. In some cases the prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty.
Through a spokeswoman, General Hartmann declined comment yesterday.
Colonel Davis filed a complaint against General Hartmann with Pentagon officials this fall saying that the general had exceeded his authority and created a conflict of interest by asserting control over the prosecutor’s office. Colonel Davis said it would be improper for General Hartmann to assess the adequacy of cases filed by prosecutors if the general had been involved in the decision to file those cases.
I am sure you are all shocked at this information.
5.) The Guardian tells us what to expect in the next few months as the Bush Admin tries to sell war with Iran:
What is becoming clearer is that the likely pretext for aggression against Iran has shifted from the possibility that Tehran might develop nuclear weapons to its role in supporting and allegedly arming the resistance in neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan. The administration is increasingly convinced that it will be far easier to convince the American public of the case for war on Iran if it’s seen as being about the protection of US troops rather than nuclear scaremongering from the people who brought you Saddam Hussein’s WMD. So the focus of the military plans has changed accordingly: from a wide-ranging bombing assault on Iran’s known and suspected nuclear sites to “surgical” strikes on the Revolutionary Guards, who the US claims are backing armed attacks on its occupation forces.
For my money, it would not surprise if Iran were interested in keeping Iraq, their border enemy, in chaos for a s long as possible. Makes sense to me. However, I have not seen any credible evidence that Iran actually is involved, and no detailed information to what level they are involved. All I have seen is anonymous military officers asserting that Iran is involved, and I have seen it become accepted conventional wisdom among some of the media elite and the wingnut blogosphere right. Clearly it is time to invade.
6.) ‘Eers v. ‘Cuse- 12 pm. Go ‘Eers!
7.) Marion Jones fessed up to using steroids (something that was apparently common knowledge), and faces the loss of her medals, financial ruin, and jailtime. I watched her tearful apology yesterday, and I feel bad for her. I don’t know why we are spending all this money and time and energy investigating steroid use in sports, but, the real crime is to her teammates on the relay who will also lose their medals. Such a shame.
8.) Don’t forget our game from yesterday – the competition started at midnight last night. Who will be the big winner? NRO? Red State?
jake
1. One member of Al Quaida is worse than a dozen Nazis!
2. Al Q members are brown!2. With all due respect, those proud veterans are old and just don’t remember the Jack Baueresque techniques they used to tear the truth out of the Nazis!
3. Unless they’re phony soldiers in which case they aren’t due any respect at all!
4. Um…Look! Iran! (Or Hilary or Obama…)
Take your pick.
Maybe if Saudi Arabia tells Iran to stop being copycats. Oh, sorry. I forgot we’re not supposed to talk about the many … tourists … yeah! Tourists who bring much needed business to Iraq. Your average US Congresscretin can only buy so many $5 rugs.
RSA
When I look at the angular neon patterns partially visible behind Hannity in the September/October shots, I think, “The graphic designers at Fox should really take better care that their work isn’t so suggestive of other angular political symbols.” Maybe it’s just me.
benjoya
why? iran and iraq were only enemies because saddam invaded. iran likes the current iraqi government better than any in memory. all the big shi’ia leaders (except sadr) lived in iran when saddam was in power. i’m sure iran would like us out of iraq — who wouldn’t? — but this idea that iranian foreign policy is built around making us look bad is the kind of narcissism that led people to think that saddam and osama were in cahoots. amazing what some people will swallow.
Josh
Today is German-American Day. It’s also Get Organized Week, Eat Country Ham Month, Car Care Month and Dental Hygiene Month.
canuckistani
Nazis never wanted our womenfolk to wear burqas!
Punchy
Two points I’d comment on, with the first fodder for some discussion:
1) I thought the military concluded that the only way to attack Iran was all-out (via the AF, not an invasion, but all-out nonetheless) b/c the reasoning was, without overwhelming force, Iran would respond. Iran was going to close the Straits, interrupt supply chains in Iraq, and other clandestine activities. So is this “surgical” strikes just supposed to get Iran to respond, so that the U.S. can claim the right to nuke them, or are these small strikes all the US plans to go with?
2) Are you serious that all the relay members of her team lose their medals, too? HOLY FUCK is that unfair. That’s just insane. They’re really gunna gank those 4 golds, swipe the silvers from the runner-ups, and then hand them the golds, SEVEN YEARS LATER? Wow. Suddenly a bunch of nobodies who took 4th are getting an Olympic medal?
sidereal
Hey, could you have taken 4th? I’d come in 6th at best, so those guys in 4th have my respect.
That is unfortunate, but I’d say the real, real crime is against those people she beat who followed the rules and lost for it. (Assuming there were any)
Kilgore Trout
Q for those knowledgeable about warfare: If the proposed target is the Revolutionary Guard as opposed to nuclear facilities, does that call more for an all-out ground invasion rather than airstrikes? Again, I know nothing about this, so I’m just thinking out loud, but aren’t personnel easier to move and hide from an airstrike than nuclear facilities, meaning if you want to neutralize the Guard, you gotta go in and find them? Seems like this might be all implied in the quotes around “surgical” in the original.
So might the shifting rationale for war be less about selling it to the public (not that they care if we approve) and more about creating an excuse for a regime-changing invasion, while appearing to do just the opposite?
Punchy
What’s really sad is that I’m only half-snarky to suggest we’d be forced to invade using members of the Coast Guard and maybe some intrepid Boy Scouts…
liberal
This article in the New York Review of Books discusses examples of the Allies (including the Western Allies) didn’t treat the Germans so well after WWII.
I read it in the hardcopy; sorry; e-copy is behind paywall, though the linked page does have an abstract.
The Other Steve
If Bush were to invade Iran, the next day would see Impeachment papers drawn up in Congress. Not to mention a good many Generals would resign rather than command.
Nobody could possibly be that stupid. Can they?
Tsulagi
“A battle of the wits.” Well, I guess that explains why the admin quickly ran up the surrender flag on that one.
In addition to these men, maybe not to the extent of steak dinners, in Europe General Patton made sure POWs and civilian detainees were well treated. Phony soldiers, the lot of them! They don’t see the big picture. Not like the real men of today who dutifully make the pilgrimage to Rush’s ass to see the big picture therein. What do you see up there, Uncle Jimbo? Another corner?
BTW, I think you mentioned Andrew Bacevich was your active duty battalion commander. If you haven’t seen it, he has a good analysis of Petraeus here in The American Conservative.
The Other Steve
The vast majority of this came from the Russians.
A Washington Post review is not kind, claiming the author does very little to substantiate claims, and does not place things in proper context.
The Other Steve
Interesting article.
Bubblegum Tate
Damn, you beat me to it. Still, the wingnuts will have to fire up the ol’ motorized goalposts to try to keep the Iraq = WWII meme they love so much.
TenguPhule
Think about who we’re talking about here.
Of course they’re that stupid. Nothing short of a gun shoved in his face is going to get Bush to stop.
He’s going to go right on pissing on everyone for another 15 months and do it because he can.
TenguPhule
If we had anyone left with brains in the Pentagon, yes.
Which is why they’re planning to use pure airpower to try and take out Iran’s forces. Which of course will give Iran absolute freedom in how it chooses to respond since Bush will have broken pretty much every law of war and we all know how the Republicans insist that those who don’t follow the rules don’t get to be protected by them.
A lot of people are going to die, hopefully Iran will make sure Bush and Cheney are among them.
Suzanne
“would be a cool time for “fiscal conservatives” to gut police departments that only exist as daycare for men”
Warning: rhetorical question ahead.
How much of society exists for this purpose? It’s astonishing. The older I get, the more I see how many of our institutions are designed, maybe not expressly for, but with an objective of “keeping young men out of trouble” or propping up mediocre men because “they have families” who ostensibly depend on them.
Baud
I read that CBS is rewriting the TV show S.W.A.T. to have the team playing foosball the whole episode.
They said they wanted to make the show more realistic.
Suzanne
This is off-topic, but I am excited, so I am going to share! We got our new outdoor furniture this week, and Mr. Suzanne, who is simultaneously “frugal” and exceedingly particular, says he really likes it. More than the last stuff, even. Considering that I got it on sale, I am calling that a win. I have been looking now for decor items, including a rug and pillows to replace the ones that got destroyed. Last night, we went to Costco, and they had outdoor rugs for $80, and they had nice-looking outdoor pillows for $10. We seem to be landing on a neutral palette with lime green-cobalt blue accents. Works for me. I think I am going to look for a blue side table and a blue glazed accent planter, and then call it a finished project.
I have enjoyed every morning coffee and every dinner out here this week. It’s just great.
Baud
‘@Suzanne
Suzanne
‘@Baud
It is amazing how quickly that dude destroyed a lot of stuff. When I think back on it, it’s almost unbelievable. The truth that it takes much more effort and time and resources to build than to destroy has definitely manifested in this case.
Baud
‘@Suzanne
>>it takes much more effort and time and resources to build than to destroy
____________
Advantage: Conservatives
Shalimar
So it seems Uvalde police are experiencing the same kind of threats that Salvador Ramos routinely made against teenage girls online, but police are actually getting protection from other officers. It turns out we can do something about these threats when we care about the victims.
Dorothy A Winsor
‘@Suzanne
That sounds like a really pretty color scheme.
debbie
‘@ Suzanne: The new set-up sounds really wonderful! I hope you and your family really enjoy it.
As for the NRA, we’ve tried it their way many times and did nothing; it’s time we try something else and see if it helps. Can’t be any worse than the current situation.
debbie
I’m reposting this Twitter thread I came across last night from an older sibling of students at the school who paints a different picture of the town of Uvalde than Abbott et al. appear to be depicting.
https://twitter.com/deenoonandraws/status/1529871163312201728?s=21&t=9UE_s0g5QJG5cjBuInqVNw
mali muso
‘@Suzanne, we have also had some great finds at Costco for outfitting the house and patio. Great to hear you are recovering your space and peace.
Today my kiddo has her first ballet recital. The rehearsal last week was hilarious, with her and the other tiny girls in tutus skipping merrily around the stage somewhat heedless to the choreography. Looking forward to small and meaningful joys like this.
Suzanne
‘@Shalimar
So on a related note, I obviously support red-flag laws. One of the important details, though, is who is allowed to report the person. Do you have to be family or a close friend? Is it anonymous or is it legally discoverable? Do you get an order of protection (which police don’t have to actually enforce, BTW)? The reason I am thinking about this a lot is that often these shooters seem to have family who are almost as bad as they are. Adam Lanza’s mom actually bought him those guns. I have had the displeasure in my life of being in some sort of relationship with a few people who I would have certainly reported, if there was a social infrastructure to do so.
Suzanne
‘@ mali muso
There is very little that’s more entertaining than the little kid dance recital, soccer game, or Christmas pageant. Seriously, I still remember antics and laugh from events back when I was a teenager. Just hilarious. Enjoy.
NotMax
Appearance of morning thread is the traditional signal of incipient beddy-bye time here.
:)
Not all that sleepy at the moment, however. Took the new vehicle out for s short spin of maybe 5 miles, local streets and highway, at midnight simply to see how well the headlights function and what the interior lighting looks like at night. They’re quite impressive. Don’t do much night time driving anymore so purposely chose a time when the roads would be nearly empty to begin to become accustomed to driving it in the dark.
debbie
‘@ Suzanne: There’s an interview with this shooter’s mother (somewhere on Twitter) who said her son had his reasons. I believe the grandmother was the caretaker due to the mother’s issues, but jesus.
Raven
So it took cops from the evil federal government to stop the killer.
Suzanne
‘@debbie
Yeah, I don’t like the idea that only family can report. First of all, it’s too small a group. No one will report anyone if it’s easy to identify the reporter. It puts that person in danger. And family is usually too small a group. Also, families are too close to be objective observers of danger, because they probably (understandably) also see the person that they love. But on the other side, family is also where a lot of this shitty behavior is learned or at least fostered.
BellyCat
‘@Suzanne
“The older I get, the more I see how many of our institutions are designed, maybe not expressly for, but with an objective of “keeping young men out of trouble” or propping up mediocre men because “they have families” who ostensibly depend on them.”
Slight disagreement here because this could read as reverse gender discrimination. The Powers That Be seek to maintain power and eliminate disruption or opposition. The fact that TPTB are mostly aging males is a byproduct of the past. The gender is incidental. I’ve had the pleasure of TPTB controlled by both genders (in academia) and it can be equally toxic.
Vertical structures are the problem. Not the gender (entirely).
Dorothy A Winsor
Someone on here yesterday asked how to counter the R narrative about Chicago & gun laws lot working etc. Here’s a good article with facts
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/us/politics/fact-check-trump-cruz-nra.html?referringSource=articleShare
“There were more gun murders in Chicago than in any other U.S. city in 2020, fueling the perception that it is the gun violence capital of the country. But Chicago is also the third-largest city in the country. Adjusted by population, the gun homicide rate was 25.2 per 100,000, the 26th highest in the country in 2020, according to data compiled by the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The three cities with the highest gun homicide rates — Jackson, Miss.; Gary, Ind.; and St. Louis — had rates double that of Chicago’s or more. All are in states with more permissive gun laws than Illinois.
Chicago’s reputation for having the strictest gun control measures in the country is outdated. Mr. Cruz cited the city’s handgun ban — without noting that the Supreme Court nullified the ban in 2010. An appeals court also struck down a ban on carrying concealed weapons in Illinois in 2012, and the state began allowing possession of concealed guns in 2013 as part of the court decision.
Today, Illinois has tougher restrictions than most states, but it does not lead the pack, ranking No. 6 in Everytown’s assessment of the strength of state gun control laws, and No. 8 in a report card released by the Giffords Law Center, another gun control group. Conversely, the state ranked No. 41 in an assessment on gun rights from the libertarian Cato Institute.”
Betty Cracker
‘@debbie: someone who loves the shooter’s parents should tell them to stop making comments to the media. I don’t think they have any bad intent, but by all accounts, they’re both highly dysfunctional addicts who are/were shitty parents and bear some of the blame, so they should refrain from opening their mouths in public except to apologize.
Kay
debbie May 28, 2022 at 8:58 AM
It’s interesting and if SHE doesn’t support these politicians or policies I can understand why she feels helpless, but Uvalde is a very Republican town- 60% for Trump and a GOP House member – so in this case they are getting the gun policy they voted for.
It’s only 15,000 people so if it went 60% Dem it might not have mattered for Abbott and it wouldn’t have mattered for Trump carrying Texas but they can’t really say they are being held hostage- most voters there are voting for people who gut gun regulations.
El Paso could say they are being held hostage- they vote 67% Dem- but Uvalde is a place that votes Republican.
Dorothy A Winsor
Open thread? I had an EKG on Thursday because my cardiologist detected a heart murmur and wanted to know how serious it was. The results came back “minor,” so that’s good.
Raven
Kay Catholics
Baud
‘@Kay
40% of Uvalde is being held hostage.
@Dorothy A Winsor
Dorothy A Winsor
‘@Raven
How are you feeling today?
Kay
Raven May 28, 2022 at 9:26 AM
Sure, but maybe “rural” is a better indicator because I imagine El Paso – 80% Latino- is pretty Catholic too.
OzarkHillbilly
Dorothy A Winsor May 28, 2022 at 9:25 AM
Nice to know you’re gonna be with us a little longer.
Baud
‘@raven
>>Kay Catholics
______________
I initially thought that was an order of Catholics like the Jesuits that I hadn’t heard of.
Raven
DW. The sore throat has passed and I’m in day 5. It’’s driving me fucking nuts having my wife walk around in her mask talking to me like I can hear her. I can’t hear her WITHOUT a mask even with my hearing aid! In summary, I never felt badly except for the sore throat and the anitviral seems to work. Thanks
Raven
Kay, yea, could be.
Kay
Dayton police shot and killed the Dayton shooter within one minute of the first shots fired, which was backed up by bodycam footage of the 5 police officers who confronted him – they stopped him before he even entered the bar – 9 dead but it would have been a lot more- and they were widely praised for good work so we really can tell good police work from bad police work.
No one has to pick “pro police” or “anti police” – it’s a false choice that people operating in bad faith are presenting- we can recognize and reward good work and punish bad work without getting into that at all.
bad work
sab
OT Our metroparks is having a native plant festival today, with activities and vendors of native plants. Location is at a former golf course that they bought and restored to native grass and plants.
debbie
‘@ Dorothy A Winsor: Great news!
Amir Khalid
Test:
Diego Maradona konnte alles mit einem Fußball.
Dorothy A Winsor
Cole tweeted that BJ is back. Is that just a test or are we really ready to go home?
https://twitter.com/Johngcole/status/1530543216373772288
Raven
William Lopez, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan who studies fear in immigrant communities, immediately worried about the anxieties undocumented parents might experience. “Border Patrol also on the scene,” he wrote in a widely shared tweet on Tuesday afternoon. “I pray for those parents fearing that their kids are dead and debating whether or not they’ll be arrested if they go to find out.”
Gin & Tonic
‘@DAW – Follow up, he says Tuesday.
WaterGirl
Tuesday is the day we plan to go home to a SHELL of Balloon Juice.
We have the banner and the balloon guy. And the comment system, though I’m not entirely sure it’s functioning normally. We have tags that could rotate, but no tags. No pie filter. No forms.
It’s pretty much just the banner with the balloon guy, the comment system and tags that can rotate, but no tags.
But if they could only find 3 things, those are the 3 things I would have asked for.
I will put up a post later. Tuesday will be the day we go back.
Gin & Tonic
‘@WaterGirl – If we go back Tuesday, what day can we start complaining about the new/old site?
NotMax
‘@Gin & Tonic
Start early and avoid the rush.
;)
OzarkHillbilly
Gin & Tonic May 28, 2022 at 9:59 AM
We stopped?
CaseyL
‘@WaterGirl – That’s great news! It’ll be like moving back into the house in mid-remodel.
sdhays
‘@Dorothy A Winsor – Your link doesn’t work for me, and I still get the temporary page. Must have been premature.
NotMax
‘@CaseyL
“Jeeze. Who picked the new wallpaper? Ray Charles?”
//
jackmac
(Somewhat) restored BJ back on Tuesday! Great news!
OzarkHillbilly
CaseyL May 28, 2022 at 10:11 AM
I did ADA rebuilds on fast food restaurants after their grandfather clauses started running out, for several years. It always amazed me, and to be honest *made me rethink my fast food eating*, but a lot of them chose to keep their drive thru open. We’d put up a plastic curtain and seal up the kitchen as best we could but there was no way we could keep all the dust out. It always finds a way thru.
Anything to make a buck.
** some of the things I found… uck.
narya
I have a fantasy: that the leadership of the Uvalde police department commit to cooperating thoroughly and fully with an outside investigative team, after which they will resign and devote themselves full-time to working toward gun safety, including an assault weapons ban.
Meanwhile, getting ready to head to Indy. Not sure how I feel about being in a crowd, but I’ll be wearing my N95 (in turn 4). We’ll see what dining options exist. We’re staying in a hotel tonight and tomorrow night, about an hour from the track; there appear to be brewpubs nearby, preferably with outdoor eating. We’re also willing to get takeout and bring it back to the room.
Dorothy A Winsor
Baud, OH, Debbie: Thanks for the kind words
@Narya: Mr DAW is a racing fan too, and this is obviously a big weekend between Indy and Monaco. Have a good time.
Scout211
I don’t know if this has been posted yet, but Bizbudding filed their lawsuit against 365 data centers yesterday. Here is a listing of the lawsuit but you have to get an account to read or download it.
The summary from law.com, which also requires an account to read the whole thing.
The suit, backed by Glancy Prongay & Murray and Morgan & Morgan, alleges that 365 Data Centers failed to take reasonable and necessary precautions to detect, prevent and mitigate cyberattacks. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 3:22-cv-00715, Bizbudding, Inc.
ETA. The link to the filing broke the margin so I deleted it. Let me try again.
Above is the district court link. Hopefully this will not break the margin.
edit by WG: Link removed, but I am adding this information to a front-page post where I can add the link without breaking anything. :-)
Scout211
Oh no! I broke the margin again. Please can you fix it WaterGirl or Anne Laurie?
sorry!
Suzanne
‘@DAW
Good news! FYI I have apparently had a minor heart murmur my whole life and I didn’t even know about it until I was like 20. And apparently that’s really common and it’s nothing to worry about at all. I think they call it “functional”.
Quiltingfool
‘@Ozark Hillbilly: In re doing construction work at restaurants. My hubby was a floor installer for many years. He did a floor installation at a highly regarded local restaurant. When they were moving some coolers they thought the owners had put green indoor-outdoor carpet inside the food refrigerator. Upon closer examination, they realized the carpet was a very thick layer of green mold/algae. This wasn’t the only gross thing found in the kitchen area.
OTOH, he did talk about one lake bar/restaurant that would shut down for a week so they could thoroughly clean the fryers, stoves, etc.
Delivery folks and others who have to do work in restaurant kitchens have lots of stories!
J R in WV
Regarding heart murmurs, in the early 1940s when every able-bodied male in the S was entering the military, my dad enlisted in a program that allowed him to complete his current year at WVU. After which he rode a 1930s-style bus across the state to Huntington to an induction center.
During the physical before his induction the doctor listened to his heart for a long time, and then called another Dr over to also listen. “I think he has a heart murmur!’ the first doc told the second doc. Dad asked “Is that a good thing, doc?”
Yes it was! After that Dad was 4F, the only male member of all my family on both sides not to go off to war in the 1940s. He lived to be 80 with nary a heart issue all his life.
StringOnAStick
Covid and moving to a new state where we didn’t have any established favorite restaurants put an end to our going out to eat, and we haven’t felt much desire to change that. I know eating out is a important perk for a lot of folks, so I’m not judging. It has saved us enough money to go all organic and grass fed in our purchases for home consumption though.
As for heart murmurs, I’ve had one forever and I’m quite active. I look at it as a test of a health care provider’s hearing because only about 1 in 3 ever hear it or comment about it.