We all have them. Those places we fondly remember. For many Minnesotans it is “ Up North”. Every summer my family would spend weekends at my Uncle & Aunt's cabin. It was great. With my cousins there I always had someone to hang out with. One of the iconic attractions in Minnesota is Gooseberry Falls. I went there with my family and with friends. While it is farther up north than the cabin it is part of those “Up North” memories.
We can talk about climate change over and over, but perhaps it is its effects that are up close and personal that will finally make the reality of it sink in. Minnesota, like so many other areas of the country, is in drought. As I've posted about before. So, what? Can't we just wait a bit and the rains will come back and everything will be fine? Possibly, if it doesn't go on too long. But what happens if it doesn't turn around? What happens if this change becomes permanent? What happens to the plants and wildlife? What happens, ultimately, to the people?
Gooseberry Falls, before, the short version.
Gooseberry Falls, before, the longer version with narration.
Gooseberry Falls, before with narration
Gooseberry Falls, 2021.
Is this really the world we want to leave for future generations? Gooseberry trickle?
135 comments:
Across the American midwest, deforestation has been associated with a drop in groundwater levels (which deleteriously affects spring-fed water features).
Has the area around Gooseberry Falls' feeding watershed been subjected to any significant loss of woodlands? (Or, even downstream--dropping the groundwater level just downstream can cause what was surface water to discover newly unused subterranean outlets which then siphon off the water and starve out the surface features.)
Gooseberry Falls is located in Gooseberry Falls State Park. I don't know what trees have already been lost there, but that is a vicious cycle to get into.
But people here are blaming the low water levels on the severe drought in much of the state.
The farmers are already feeling the effects, some selling off cattle and others worrying about their crops.
Looks like the "bi-partisan" infrastructure talks have stalled out. Politico
Luckily, the portion of Biden's agenda that dealt with climate change is in the "partisan" infrastructure bill that's still being negotiated with Manchin and Sinema.
Of course, they probably always were going nowhere, given some people's refusal to work across the isle.
Well, I suspect there will come a time when whatever we do regarding climate change won't matter.
Schumer's said he's going to hold the Senate in session until the "bi-partisan" infrastructure agreement is ready to present to the Senate. Ain't nobody goin' home for summer vacation (or summer campaigning for 2022) until the negotiators bring back their agreement to be voted upon. (Not said, but clear 'nuff, they can come back and announce their final failure, but they're gonna be there for one or the other--Schumer's playin' hardball here once again. And, as always, he may be bluffing. But, he wasn't last time.)
None of that has anything to do with advancing needed environmental legislation though. That's still awaiting the wholly partisan, Democrats only, negotiations for environmental protections that the Republicans will not join nor even acknowledge is necessary.
Schumer's said he's going to hold the Senate in session until the "bi-partisan" infrastructure agreement is ready to present to the Senate.
The only way to deal with unruly children is with a firm hand.
None of that has anything to do with advancing needed environmental legislation though.
Apparently it will take something more extreme than drought, high temps & flooding to advance that kind of legislation.
Well now, the "bi-partisan negotiators" responded to Schumer's threat to keep them in session through the heat of August (remembering that Washington D.C. was built on a drained swamp and the air there is very oppressive in August). They've reported back that they will have an agreement (the terms of which they are yet not sure), and it even passed it's first procedural vote in the Senate--escaping the threatened filibuster against even debating the yet to be completed and finally written bill.
They were worried that Schumer wasn't bluffing this time, just as he wasn't bluffing last time, and they gave him a vote so's they could escape D.C. in August and get back to campaigning and fundraising and other preferred August Senatorial activities. Seventeen Republicans voted to get the hell outta D.C. in August It remains to be seen how many will be there in support of the measure when the August recess is over.
(Trump is very displeased. His repeated invocations of his own"infrastructure week" plans became a running joke during his Presidency, and now here Biden is way further along at six months than Trump ever got in his entire four years. Biden ain't brought it home yet; it could easily flame out on him even after the first successful vote, but he's way further along than Trump ever was, and Trump is very displeased.)
(Environmental legislation still awaits the partisan negotiations with Manchin and Sinema that have yet to be seriously begun.)
Who is that person wearing the fake moustache?
The Covid-19 vaccine has become so polarizing that some people in Missouri are getting inoculated in secret for fear of backlash from their friends and family who oppose vaccination, a doctor told CNN on Wednesday.
How sad is that?
It remains to be seen how many will be there in support of the measure when the August recess is over.
Yes, indeed. Strong arm tactics only work so far on slippery politicians.
"…some people in Missouri are getting inoculated in secret…"
Staying publicly loyal to Trump and to tribe. The driving force behind the nihilism they exhibit, loyalty to Trump and to tribe.
(But, that loyalty can be faked--which may prove to be a surprise for the Trumpkan/Republican Party come the 2022 elections. It may be that the 'hidden voters', those who either lie to pollsters or just don't answer, may skew the polls back the other direction, against the Trumpkan/Republican candidates this next time. Just might be so if there's enough dead Trumpkins pile up in the meantime. We shall have to wait and see, but it just might be so.)
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I'm given to understand that Mike Lindell is pulling all his My Pillow advertising off of FoxNews on account of they won't also air his new political messages claiming that Trump won the 2020 election.
Just might be so if there's enough dead Trumpkins pile up in the meantime. We shall have to wait and see, but it just might be so.)
Maybe so.
But there are always the Mike Lindells out there who still don't have a clue.
*sigh*
Meanwhile there are people out here who are getting tired of the Great Unvaccinated screwing it up for everyone.
My county has now reached the point again where wearing masks is recommended.
Normality lasted one a few short weeks.
"Only" a few short weeks.
"Meanwhile there are people out here who are getting tired
of the Great Unvaccinated screwing it up for everyone."
Perhaps more important…. It appears that the dedicated Trumpkins/"the Great Unvaccinated" are finally beginning to get their heads around the idea that Biden ain't gonna force them to get vaccinated.
Instead, he's gonna let 'em get sick and die.
This ain't the end-game they'd planned on.
Vaccination rates among the Trumpkins are suddenly, noticably picking up (even 'round here)
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I took a nap after breakfast. (Or, I fell asleep; depends on how ya wanna describe it.) I was late getting around to my weekend beer run--combined with a little grocery shopping at Walmarts'. I'd say 70% + of their customers were wearing masks--that's higher than I'd expected. (It was one of the more "mask compliant" stores before--back when we had a county health Order in place--compliance varies I've noticed, according to location sometimes.)
I noticed yesterday that the powers that be have recently taken to reporting vaccination rates for the "eligible" population (local) rather than the general population. They gain a few percentage points that way. I suspect they're trying to create a 'bandwagon' effect and get more of the local, heavily Trumpkin population to accept vaccination that way. I'll wish them luck with that--whatever works.
I'd say 70% + of their customers were wearing masks--that's higher than I'd expected.
I was in Walmart on Friday. I saw mostly maskless people. Maybe only two or three were wearing masks, and one of them was me. From a low of 3 cases a day we are now in the 30's -40's in my county. We are now listed as one of the counties where wearing masks is recommended.
I just talked to my cousin in Florida who lives in a Senior building. One resident went to visit her family in Texas and came back infected with Covid. She happened to mention it while she was playing cards with some friends. She was not wearing a mask. They told her she had to quarantine. They are recommending the residents stay in their apartments. My cousin is vaccinated, but she is staying in her apartment.
I have been watching the Olympics. It has been a pleasant diversion, even with the empty stands.
Oh, one more use I have found for my masks was outside when I was watering. It helped with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Yes, it was that bad.
"I saw mostly maskless people."
I think we're somewhat deeper into the 4ᵗʰ (Delta) wave than you are.
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"She happened to mention it while she was playing cards
with some friends."
Fairly unfriendly way to treat ones friends.
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"I have been watching the Olympics."
I been avoiding them--although I do check in for the daily summaries.
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West Coast smoke was obvious here as a persistent, heavy haze, but it had been staying fairly high, not heavy enough at ground level to make me consider a mask while working outside.
Occasionally and all of a sudden there'd be the smell of acrid smoke, and I'd find myself looking around for "where's the fire" before I realize it's a thousand miles or more to the west of here.
This morning was different--blood red sun rising in the East. Sky tinted brown rather than yesterday's grayish tinge. It's here for real this morning.
I just got my second jab. That said all these lockdowns and mask mandates are insane. The French are now out protesting vaxx apartheid but y’all yanks are dormant. And we Swedes have already proven lock downs are counter productive.
Still many of y’all Yanks are hunkering at home afraid of a big w 0.00 something mortality rate. Sporting face masks that do nothing at all.
When did the people descended on Jim Crow become such utter pussies?
Marcus, btw
Still many of y’all Yanks are hunkering at home afraid of a big w 0.00 something mortality rate.
So why did you get the "jab" if you really believe that?
"She happened to mention it while she was playing cards
with some friends."
Fairly unfriendly way to treat ones friends.
You can say that again! Last my cousin heard she wasn't doing too well either.
It appears that DeSantis is threatening to cut off school funding if the schools make masks mandatory. Talk about an unfriendly way to treat Florida's children!
But maybe he and his family have gotten the vaccine and he doesn't really care.
"It appears that DeSantis is threatening to cut off school
funding…"
I've read that DeSantis' Presidential aspirations have taken a serious hit due to his stand on the coronavirus. (FYI--Marcus. DeSantis' public position on the virus approximates your own dubious level of enlightenment.)
DeSantis has probably done himself some good among the dedicated Trumpkins (not nearly enough to ever unseat Trump for the nomination, but enough to qualify as a distant second and a potential contender, in case Trump doesn't run again in 2024, and a potential Veep choice when Trump does run again). But, it's seen as a probably crippling liability for the general election. (Covid is rampaging through Florida now.)
Lynnette “ So why did you get the "jab" if you really believe that?”
So as lessen the risk I accidentally spread it to some voulnerable person who DO get seriously ill from it. Also to be allowed to travel. Myself I was never really worried about catching it, even though I did my best not to.
Late afternoon yesterday ('round 5:00 pm or so), I hit the very same grocery store that I'd stopped into early Saturday morning. (Sat Jul 31, 08:40 am ↑↑) Rare for me to be going into a grocery store so late in the day; I'm usually driving up when they open in the morning, but that's another subject entirely.
This time the customers were 70% + un-masked. Same store, different days, different times (lots busier later in the day as well, which is why I usually go at the crack of dawn).
Lynnette “ So why did you get the "jab" if you really believe that?”
Marcus So as lessen the risk I accidentally spread it to some voulnerable person who DO get seriously ill from it. Also to be allowed to travel.
Very sound reasoning. It is all we ask of the Great Unvaccinated. Just think a little about other people when they make their decisions. And think about regaining a more normal life, such as freedom to travel without any restrictions or fear.
This time the customers were 70% + un-masked. Same store, different days, different times (lots busier later in the day as well, which is why I usually go at the crack of dawn).
You are existing in both America's, the one that takes Covid seriously and the one that does not.
So, while I respected Andrew Cuomo's handling of the pandemic, I do not respect his sexual history in the work place. He should resign or if he refuses, maybe they can impeach him?
I really don't buy his generational excuses. He got away with it for years because previous generations did nothing to address the problem. They swept it under the rug.
"… maybe they can impeach him?"
I'm given to understand that's already 'in the works'. And he is being looked at for possible criminal prosecution in at least two New York counties.
(Reachin' out and grabbin' a handful of boob ain't some sort of 'generational' excess; that's not even close to being an excuse here.)
But, I'm not real upset about the Cuomo situation. New York is a long ways away; I didn't vote for him nor against him, and they're gonna drive him out pretty soon--he can resist a little or a lot, but they'll get 'im gone 'fore too long. His current intention looks to be to resist a lot, but they'll just impeach him for that. Republican voters can be made to look past this sorta shit by howling loudly 'nuff 'bout Socialists, or Muslims or Mexican Rapists, or (best) 'bout Liberal Democrats. But, Cuomo doesn't have a base of Republican voters he can call on. So, he's just SOL in the longer run. He doesn't seem to understand that just yet, but he'll have it explained to him during the impeachment proceedings.
Yesterday McConnell repeated his threat against raising the debt ceiling, saying again that no Republicans would vote for that. Precisely what he said was that "they [Democrats] won’t get our [Republican] help with the debt limit increase…."
Schumer appears to be ready and willing to call McConnell's bluff on this one. Schumer strong-armed a path through their efforts to delay the "bipartisan" infrastructure bill; he appears ready to call McConnell on this threat as well, to bring it up for a vote and dare them to go through with it.
The governor of Texas has called a second special session, beginning at noon tomorrow, to follow the special session that expires today. He's added a request for the legislature to remove the Texas legislative quorum requirements to the list of things he wants passed so that the Texas Republicans can pass anything they want any time they have a simple majority in the legislature. Put a stop to this quorum nonsense.
But don't they need a quorum for that?
"But don't they need a quorum for that?"
Only the one time.
I feel very alone when I go into a store now. I seem to be one of only a few people wearing masks, except for some businesses who have mandated their employees where them again. *sigh* Given our lower vaccination rate I doubt the are all vaccinated.
I did ask at a Five Guys where I stopped for a burger the other day if the employees were all vaccinated as none were wearing masks. The girl who took my order said "no", rather emphatically. I was almost tempted to walk out, but I had already paid for my order. So I asked the manager if that was the case, and he said he was vaccinated and he didn't ask his employees. I really didn't mean to give him a hard time, I really was just curious. I told him that I was vaccinated too but was wearing a mask because the cases were rising again.
Unfortunately it is people like those at Five Guys who will continue to spread the virus, because they are not taking it seriously.
Only the one time.
Gotta make sure that one time doesn't happen...
"I feel very alone when I go into a store now."
Shoot for feeling superior and only the barest little bit condescending. Works for me. (Although, as I think I've mentioned before, I'm also back to avoiding situations that involve interacting with waiters and waitresses.)
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"Gotta make sure that one time doesn't happen..."
Gonna be hard to pull off. Much easier to just call another consecutive special session, and then another, and then another, than to spend all those consecutive weeks "hiding out" in plain sight in Washington D.C., away from home and from ones livelihood.
(Texan legislators are paid only a nominal sum, as the position is considered "part time". They are obliged to have a real world source of income to survive. The Texas Governor has, of course, already ordered they not be paid even that nominal fee--not too much pain there for them, but their staffs are full-time, and he cut of payment for their staffs as well. Probably illegal, even under Texas law, but by the time they get it to the Texas Supreme Court it won't matter--the staffers will have had to find new jobs already.)
New report out today from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It's the first new full report since (I believe) 2013. Its conclusion: This is real folks, and it's here already; and it's worse than they'd expected it to be this soon.
They agree with Lynnette--ain't nothin' gonna stop it from coming, 'cause it's here already.
(That's a PDF version up there ↑↑)
...but their staffs are full-time, and he cut of payment for their staffs as well.
I really hope his hardball tactics come back to bite him. I didn't like when we had a bully for president and I don't like that they are proliferating in our other elected offices. As far as I am concerned he and DeSantis can immigrate to Hungary, if Orban would let them in.
New report out today from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
I had heard that.
They agree with Lynnette--ain't nothin' gonna stop it from coming, 'cause it's here already.
One of those times when I really didn't want to be right. But, really, all one has to do is look!
Perhaps there will be a massive volcanic eruption that will blanket the Earth with ash, cooling the temperature? A rather strange thing to wish for, though. And probably temporary.
I will have to read that tonight.
We actually got a few scattered showers over the weekend end. Enough to give me an inch of rain. My yard and trees were smiling this morning.
I skimmed the report. Depressing. Judging by our inability to unite to fight a pandemic we will never unite to fight climate change. We might as well resign ourselves to being toast.
I also listened to an interview on CNN with AOC. She is a very intelligent woman. I can see why so many people are afraid of her. Give her enough time and she may rival RBG in her impact on our country. I may not always agree with her, but she has a good heart.
"I didn't like when we had a bully for president…"
Trump's anti-social behavior turned out to be an irresistible draw for the dedicated Trumpkins. They eagerly forgave his inability to deliver on his campaign promises and forgave his inability to govern, just so they could enjoy having a truly anti-social, total bastard in the White House.
When he couldn't deliver on his campaign promises he could still deliver on that. Turned out to be all that was necessary, quite enough in and of itself to gather them into a dedicated and dangerous anti-American political cult.
(I've still not figured out how he knew that'd be enough. Maybe he just got lucky, but I don't think that's all there was to it. Somehow he recognized their longing for a revolutionary fascist leader, someone who'd torch the Constitution and leave the country in ashes; he saw that desire widespread among them when nobody else seemed to see it.)
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"We might as well resign ourselves to being toast."
Our children will find it difficult to forgive us for resigning ourselves to what will become their inheritance. (Won't improve their prospects even a little bit, but they'll cuss us just the same.)
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I find Ms. Ocasio-Cortez to be too often impractical. I don't find that quality any more endearing coming from left-wing ideologues than from right-wing ideologues, although she surely acts much less often out of actual malice. (However, I do not contest your judgement about her native intelligence level.)
Andrew Cuomo resigned.
Our children will find it difficult to forgive us for resigning ourselves to what will become their inheritance. (Won't improve their prospects even a little bit, but they'll cuss us just the same.)
I think they already are, cussing us that is. Well, if I was truly resigned to becoming toast I probably wouldn't be talking about climate change so much. I am still doing little things to try to do my part. But it will take more than me.
I find Ms. Ocasio-Cortez to be too often impractical.
I think a lot of idealists are. But I think she is smart enough that if valid arguments are made she might listen. Universal health care is nice, but how do we pay for it without causing other problems?
But I could be wrong. Some people can dig in their heels and refuse to work with anyone.
At least I found her likable.
Looks like somebody explained "impeachment" to Governor Cuomo.
There are women who are attracted to power, even if the guy looks harsh and ethnic (as does Cuomo). If he'd just stuck to groping the ones who gave him "come ahead" signals (gotta been plenty 'nuff of those) he'd be serving out his third term as governor, maybe running for a fourth term when the time comes.
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The Senate has passed the "bipartisan" infrastructure bill they'd been working on. It now has to pass in the House, but that seems to be a pretty safe bet. (Assuming the Senate manages to also pass Biden's proposed partisan infrastructure bill--otherwise, failure there may, conceivably threaten final passage of the "bipartisan" bill as well. Probably shouldn't, but it might.)
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"I am still doing little things to try to do my part."
Yeah, that sounds better, doesn't it? We can do what we can.
Funny how Governor nipple piercings went from savior of the nation, prospective future President and Emmy award winner to brought down greasball sleeeze panty rubber in a matter of a few months. LOL @ that.
Let’s see how long it takes y’all to realize CiC hair sniffer and kiddy toucher is actually so old and confused he really couldn’t be trusted to run a toaster oven, no less a nation, no less the still most important nation on earth.
"I'm not real upset about the Cuomo situation."
Lee C. @ Thu Aug 05, 06:41 am ↑↑
Successful trolling requires you use better bait.
Obama knew years ago. “you don’t have to do this Joe” was not just Obama trying to save Biden from a troublesome job, it was Obama knowing Biden was far, far, from up to it, having done that tough job himself.
Why are you responding to your own posts Lee and who are you aiming your comments at?
Your sudden renewal of interest in Biden have anything to do with his recent success in getting his "bipartisan" infrastructure legislation through the Senate? (I figure news of that has probably penetrated the Swedish neo-fascist underground just about now.)
Hey Lee, have you started to wear a face mask and a surgical shield when you sit in front of your computer at home? BC I heard them there wiruses could just jump outta the screen and infect y’all. Fauchi said it so it’s evidently true, seeing as all things Fauchi says are gospel.
Seems I must have hit a nerve with that note 'bout Biden's recent legislative success. Your segue was way too rushed for me to have not noticed your eagerness for a new topic.
Ya know, that probably didn't even qualify as a segue (way too rushed, no appreciable setup at all). I probably should have just labeled it a "switch".
I could give less than whatever about Biden. I’m not fool enough to believe he’s calling any shots anyway.
As for the withdrawal in Afghanistan, I’m for it. Yes there will be hardship when the Taliban take over but if they do now after 20 years or later after 30 years they were always gonna win in the end. So good on Biden for following Trumps plan on that.
Infrastructure in the USA I have to tell you is out of my scope of interest. Prolly you do need heavy investment in your major airports BC I have rarely seen as bleak and depressing transportation hubs anywhere in the world as in the US. I mean you don’t have to aspire to Singapore or Shiphol in Amsterdam, but you could at least try to compete with Bangkok or Helsinki.
As it stands today US airports are a step above Cambodia, which is the only airports I have been to bleaker than LAX, Newark or JFK.
Not ONE airport in Western Europe is that shady and uncomfortable. Many in Asia are far superior. I bet ALL in China are, although that’s a guess.
US public works are a shambles, and if the Dems want to spend 3,5 Billion fixing them I say it’s about time. But I am questioning where they will find the money for it and I do question how well that money will be spent.
It's pattern Republican Presidential behavior to agree to a military withdrawal during his successor's term of office. Nothing new there. (You'll perhaps remember that Dubya agreed to withdraw from Iraq during Obama's first year in office.) Trump didn't think that one up--it's pattern behavior. (Although, In Trump's case it's perhaps more of a surrender than it was a "withdrawal".)
As for the infrastructure--some of our best airports don't cater to international travelers. But, even so, yeah, we do need to do some upgrades. (Trumps' repeated invocations of his newest 'infrastructure week' initiatives became something of a running joke. Trump couldn't keep his mind on the subject for even a short week--so it always seemed like a new idea to him. I don't think he ever understood what the laughter was about. And yet Biden got it done his first six months.)
LAX is a freaking zoo. If you didn’t know you were in an airport you’d think you were in a thirld refugee camp. And I’m not only saying that bc half of the people there look like refugees but the facilities are really third world in their own.
San Fransisco Airport, granted, was OK. Not European or top Asian levels but better than third world countries at least.
Lee, BIDEN has not done any 6 months. He’s done maybe 14 days and snoozed the rest of it. He has a team governing for him but as it stands today you have NO president.
Not to worry, the Government will roll on anyways.
My guess is you have very little knowledge of how Biden passes his days. He's a hell of a lot more active than Trump ever was--Biden still works out on a regular schedule; Trump took a golf cart to the dinner table and painted his face with orange chalk paint to fill in the wrinkles.
(Always amuses me to watch the Trumpkins ignore Trump's dialy makeup regimen and omnipresent golf cart while denouncing Biden the bicyclist as "too old".)
"dialy" ≈ daily
I hear OHare is supposed to be an OK Airport and that’s a main domestic hub, the biggest domestic hub I seem to recall. I’ve never been there so maybe it’s A-ok, but I HAVE flown from three of your main International hubs: Newark, JFK, LAX. And they are really like something out of a Cold War eastern variety of Airports (sans guns, I did go behind the Iron curtain back in the day and they sported lots of guns - even tanks)
Oh I could tell y’all stuff of my first trip to Romania when Cheachescu was still in charge. I got my severe hatred for Communism right there at age 16. The way the vast majority of the people lived. It was really insane. I could do a whole blog post about it if Lynnette would let me…. And if I cared to bother.
Well, you make my point there: O'Hare caters to domestic travel and is "an OK" airport. San Francisco is much better that LA International.
We have a local airport (way other side of the county, thankfully) that just got rebuilt; gutted, expanded, and entirely refurbished just in the last couple of years, although there's still only the two landing strips.
Still Lee, the greatest economy in the world, the nation to build the first skyscrapers, the culture influencer beyond any other nation, you should really have at least decent international airports, shouldn’t you?
I mean I know the Soviet way was always to portray greatness outwards even if a mile away they lived in squalor. Like the freeway from western Vienna to eastern Bukarest was a showcase for the Soviets so they made it really wide and nice and covered the stretch with mansions, most just empty shells meant for show.
It’s now kinda like you keep your domestic hubs nice to let your own people keep believening all is well and meanwhile the edges are crumbling.
"…you should really have at least decent international airports,
shouldn’t you?"
Yeah, one would think so. But, instead we had Trump, and before him all those other Republicans (most of whom are defending now the Senate filibuster and their power to keep Democrats from 'taxing and spending') who promised that cutting taxes on the very wealthy would magically increase the government's tax intake.
I seem to recall that you favored Trump, and also favor the rest of the Republican clan who're even now deep into that magical thinking about how cutting taxes on the very rich will somehow pay for the improvements you noticed we need.
My guess is you have very little knowledge of how Biden passes his days. He's a hell of a lot more active than Trump ever was--Biden still works out on a regular schedule; Trump took a golf cart to the dinner table and painted his face with orange chalk paint to fill in the wrinkles.
ROFL!
I collected on my bet that Biden would still be in office after 6 months. I now have a bet on that he will complete his term.
As for the withdrawal in Afghanistan, I’m for it.
So nice of you to welcome the coming refugees to Sweden. :) I can see that you might want to plump up your population, given the low birth rate.
Got my garage floor fixed yesterday. I asked if he thought it was worth it and he said he has seen where water has seeped through holes like that and eroded the foundation blocks underneath. He had one job where he had to excavate down to the foundation and shore it up, because it was just crumbling away. So if I have prevented that then I will call it good.
Forgot...it's actually $3.5 trillion, not billion.
"So if I have prevented that then I will call it good."
I have yet to see a breach in concrete repair itself. Most lead, eventually, to further deterioration. I didn't see your developing hole, but, from your description I'd say you should probably "call it good" that you made the repairs fairly early.
Biggest mistake of Biden's presidency so far...withdrawing from Afghanistan.
"Biggest mistake of Biden's presidency so far...with-
drawing from Afghanistan."
That may indeed prove to be his biggest domestic political mistake so far; American political memories tend to be that short-term. (I rather doubt that hangin' in there another twenty years would have changed the outcome in Afghanistan or alter the challenges to come for the Afghan population.)
But, that's why recent Republican Presidents always agree to an American military withdrawal from a conflict situation during their successor's term in office. They figure folks will forget they signed the agreement, and will blame their successor for it instead. (Trump had actually agreed to an American withdrawal by the 1st of May; Biden delayed it until August.)
Looking at your comment here, I'd hazard a guess that this particular political maneuver has worked well enough once again.
(In the case of Richard Nixon, prototype for this particular American Presidential political gambit, Nixon dragged out the Paris Peace Talks until he'd secured his own reëlection for a second term, and only then ordered up the military withdrawal, although the final fall of Saigon didn't actually occur until his successor, Gerald Ford, was in office.)
Oh, just because I think it a mistake doesn't mean I regret voting for Biden. Not at all. I would vote for him again if it meant keeping the crazies out of power.
I would have thought it a mistake if Trump had finished it too, just maybe not the biggest mistake of his presidency.
Unfortunately I think it will have detrimental consequences for that whole region. And ultimately the rest of the world. Unless we can find another way to neutralize the Taliban. Sorry but I don't think not speaking to them or sanctions will work. They will find a way to circumvent that. Maybe we can lure the Russians back into that quagmire, or perhaps the Chinese?
"Unfortunately I think it will have detrimental consequences for
that whole region."
That may well be so. But, I don't see that another 20 years of American military commitment shows any probability of changing anything, except for the timing of those "unfortunate consequences".
And I didn't notice you offering any reasonable expectation for a different outcome later.
Junkies keep taking the drug to avoid the inevitable "unfortunate consequences" of withdrawal sickness. What else ya got to offer except that kind of avoidance, for the time being at least?
Lynette, “ Biggest mistake of Biden's presidency so far...withdrawing from Afghanistan. ”
What do you think he should’ve done then?
It’s pretty obvious the Afghan people are much more in line with the Taliban than they are with “western values”. That is why district after district fall to the Taliban. They have the support of the people.
There is simply NO WAY the Taliban could reclaim governance of Afghanistan if they were not more supported by the people than the occupying forces are.
The Soviets tried it for 10 years, y’all tried it for 20 years and non of y’all could make a dent.
I say it’s time to them just sort out their own mess..
The morning news tells me that the Taliban have "entered" Kandahar. They're now demanding the "peaceful surrender" of the capital.
And we don't have all our people out yet.
Don't usually see MotherJones doing a book review. (At least, I seldom run across the mention of one.) But they've done one (link above ↑↑) on How the Word Is Passed: Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America" which, as its title suggests, deals with the legacy and aftermath of slavery rather more than the slave years themselves.
Looks kinda interesting.
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And an Op-Ed from Robert Reich in TheGuardian. I don't often link to Reich, who's a flaming liberal, but he's also a trained economist, and this is a fairly concise and clear explanation of the economic danger posed by today's income and wealth inequalities (never mind the social dangers).
Lee
“The morning news tells me that the Taliban have "entered" Kandahar. They're now demanding the "peaceful surrender" of the capital.”
That tells me that the actual support for the Taliban has been and still is much greater than reported. It’s said that 85 percent oppose them. But if you have 85 percent and billions upon billions of military hardware, how is it even possible to lose against those diehard 15%?
The fact is more probably that the vast majority of Afghan males are more in line with the Taliban than they are in line with western liberal values. And in such a society women’s opinions matter not at all bc they have no means to assert themselves through violence.
So what we have here is a de facto “democratic” way of just turning 20 years of an aborration back to what it was always meant to be. Like it or hate it but that’s the way it was and will be.
Maybe in a couple hundred years from now the Afghans will decide to give women a right to vote and some liberties, but it was never gonna happen at gunpoint from whatever foreigner. Now that the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the mighty USA all have tried and failed - can’t we just come together and accept the obvious fact that it’s a no-go to try to impose other ideologies than their own on Afghans?
The Taliban are now in Kabul and the President of Afghanistan has fled the country.
Unfortunately there was never going to be a good solution for Afghanistan and our involvement in it. I think it was always only going to be the lesser of worst cases.
As Marcus points out the Taliban were never going to support liberal western values. But I do believe other Afghans do. Yes, they rolled over easily, but I don't believe that was because they fundamentally hold all of the beliefs of the Taliban.
Over the past 20 years the women of Afghanistan have made progress in achieving more independence in their lives, which like the women of Iran before them under the Ayatollahs, they will find very difficult to give up.
But as Marcus pointed out women do not use violence to achieve their goals, like men. And that is part of the reason the Afghans rolled so easily. In many cases they had no good choice. Be killed or run. As one commentator on CNN pointed out there is also the motivation to fight. The Taliban, like them or not, are fighting for a belief, rather like American Revolutionaries in the past, unlike the Afghan army, which is fighting for money.
Biden is right in the sense that the Afghans need to fight for their freedom. Real change for that country needs to come from within. I believe that we could have played a roll in helping to achieve that. But it would have necessitated really listening to Afghans who would have worked with us. I don't know that we did that. The women were key, but now they will be marginalized as before.
So, yes, the way we withdrew was, I believe, a mistake. We basically told the Afghans that they were on their own. And they couldn't stand up to the Taliban's underground erosion of confidence in a different future for Afghanistan.
The Taliban are still a danger to us and the world. As one member of the Taliban said when he was interviewed just the other day in the middle of one of the cities that they had taken over, their goal is not only the spread of their religion in Afghanistan, but the world as well. Yes, it might be all talk, but it is still dangerous talk.
I think all of this should have been and could have been foreseen by the Biden administration. A grave mistake in my book.
Folks tend to forget their politics on foreign affairs as well as domestically. So, I think a brief review is in order.
The Baby Bush administration diverted their attention from Afghanistan to Iraq because they had a long history of hating on Saddam and they wanted to "finish the job" that Bush ꜱʀ. left unfinished (to their way of thinking--actually Bush ꜱʀ. had left Saddam in place intentionally)
But, one of the chief arguments they made (and the one that swayed me to supporting the war against Saddam) was that Afghanistan wasn't a likely prospect for building a Muslim democracy. Afghanistan was, well, it was Afghanistan. (And the British weren't the first to fail there. Alexander the Great broke his army in Afganistan as well. He pulled back out and tried to go south through India, but he was too weakened, militarily, by Afghanistan and never made it across India either and after failing to get across there as well, he turned back towards home; didn't live to make it home either.)
But, after Dubya's administration thoroughly botched the job of rebuilding Iraq as model 'democratic' Muslim government (major incompetence displayed there), suddenly the holding pattern in Afghanistan was the target of America's would-be nation builders again.
Obama was too timid to put an end to it. Biden was right; Obama got "jammed" by the generals. Dubya wouldn't pull out 'cause he didn't want to "lose" two wars in Asia. Obama didn't pull out 'cause he didn't want to go up against the generals and lose politically here at home. Same for Trump, although he did negotiate a surrender to take place after his campaign for a second term.
Biden at least has the guts to finally lance that boil. It doesn't sit well with the generals. It doesn't sit well with the bleeding hearts. It doesn't sit well with the neo-con, nation builders who've wormed their way into foreign policy positions during Dubya's administration (and a few even later).
But, finally it's done. I'll be judging it later for whether it was done competently. But, it was gonna hurt no matter how well it was done, so I'm not gonna judge the competence of the lancing operation right in the middle of the sharp pains it created. Wait 'til the waves of pain have passed and I'll look at it then and judge the competence of the lancing operation.
But, I'm pleased it's been done. Nobody had a clue how to "win" that job of "taming Afghanistan", a job that never should have been undertaken in the first place. (We got bin Laden ten years ago--should have begun pulling out right after that. That was Obama's chance to do it, but he wimped out.)
Lynnette, you have to acknowledge that any “power” or “say so” of women in any society were ever granted by men. And only in certain. Regions It’s , in the scope of mankind, not such such a strange thing the Taliban propose.
"I'll be judging it later for whether it was done competently."
I think this is enough later. No show of American competence there in Kabul (although the American Embassy is already evacuated--that was fast). I know the military leaders didn't want to do this, but that's no excuse for doing it so poorly. Now it's a matter of whom to blame. (No doubt now; Biden will discover this to be the biggest mistake of his first six months. My question is whether the blame is most properly laid on Biden and his White House, or on his generals (or, less likely) on the CIA and the NSC. Biden will get the popular blame for it, no matter which way I decide my question, but I'm still curious how they came up so thoroughly 'not ready'.)
"No doubt now; Biden will discover this to be the biggest mistake of
his first six months."
↑↑
I'd meant to qualify that, but forgot to go back and fill it in. More properly it should have read as: "No doubt now; Biden will discover this to be the biggest domestic political mistake of his first six months."
No show of American competence there in Kabul...
No. But I think it goes back to their misconception that they could trust the Taliban. That was foolish from the start. They did not prepare for a worst case scenario.
Biden will discover this to be the biggest domestic political mistake of his first six months."
I think I may disagree with that. As horrific as the images at the airport are, of Afghans clinging to the side of a US military plane, Americans just don't have Afghanistan on their radar. They are preoccupied with their own circumstances. No, I think this is a foreign affairs mistake on the part of Biden. That is one area that I have not always agreed with Biden on. But realistically speaking Trump would have done no better.
Lynnette, you have to acknowledge that any “power” or “say so” of women in any society were ever granted by men.
lol! Now those are fighting words! Obviously you are not married. I would say that women actually have a great deal of power in society. They are the people who do the majority of raising future generations. Unfortunately for Afghanistan 20 years of a different kind of education for men and boys wasn't quite enough to counteract the fear that the Taliban provoke.
in the scope of mankind, not such such a strange thing the Taliban propose.
What the Taliban propose is going back to an era where women are treated like chattel. Their country will stagnate. Women have played key rolls in helping mankind advance. While I may have issues with Russia at times, even they are smarter than that!
Btw, apparently one of the Taliban in Kabul made mention to the press that he had been in Gitmo for 8 years. Perhaps a harbinger of things to come?
"I think this is a foreign affairs mistake on the part of Biden."
'Fraid I'll have to disagree with that right back at ya.
It'll make almost no difference in America's upcoming decisions or options in the international arena. We were already highly unlikely to embark on any more "nation-building' excursions. (There are enough neo-cons left to set up a loud howling 'bout the Afghan withdrawal; and, of course, a lot of Republicans partisans who're eager, desperate even, to get something negative to finally stick to Joe Biden, but not nearly enough of either to have influenced American foreign policy going forward.)
Nor will it make much difference in the future decisions of America's enemies, frenemies, and competitors. (It'd be different if they'd clearly foreseen the almost instantaneous evaporation of the Afghan government and its military forces. Then they'd know they know some things we don't know. But, they didn't see it coming either--except, perhaps for the Taliban, and they weren't tellin' anybody lest the word get out in advance that they'd been cuttin' deals under the table with the Afghan government forces and military leaders ever since Trump announced America's surrender back early last year.)
N.B. The Republican National Committee has finally (today) taken down its web page praising Trump's "historic peace agreement with the Taliban." Newsweek They're thinkin' that'd be likely to interfere with them raggin' on Biden 'bout it. Probably would too.
Nope, the major impact will be to Biden's domestic political standing. And, while this is almost certainly Biden's "biggest domestic political mistake of his first six months", that's on account of he's been on an unbroken, almost unimpeded, string of political successes so far. It don't take a very big mistake to be the "biggest" one so far.
As for what impact it'll eventually have on Biden's reëlection chances: I'd remind all who'll read this that Ronald Reagan got 241 American Marines killed and bunches more mangled in the Beruit barracks bombing in 1983, whereupon he panicked and bailed out of Lebanon. And then he got himself reëlected in a landslide almost exactly one year later.
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Biden's scheduled to "address the nation" on the Afghanistan mess at 4:45 CDT today.
Looks like Biden's gonna come on-air at closer to 3:00 pm CDT today. Just got the NBC News "Special Report" music played at me.
I guess we will just have to disagree on which type of mistake this will turn out to be.
But if I were one of the many businesses that are so desperate for people who want to work, I think I would grab some of those Afghan refugees that may make it to this count ry while there are some left. I'm guessing they would be happy for a job. Amd would probably be hard workers.
Dang cell phone. Hard to type with one finger.
My laptop is on the fritz.
"I guess we will just have to disagree…"
That appears to be the case, for now.
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Bluetooth keyboards can solve the problem of typing on tiny cell phone screens. Link for info and explanation for that; option # 2. They run from $8-$10 for compact (7-8 inch length) models to $100 for top-of-the-line, backlit full-sized keyboards (lots of acceptable fullsized keyboards in the $25-$40 range as well). Twenty minutes googling "bluetooth keyboards" and you'll know enough to make a reasonably informed choice. (And, I'll answer questions if I think I know the answer.)
I look at it as a backup option in case my laptop goes on the fritz.
Probably the best speech I heard from Biden. In part bc he managed to give a lengthy speech without too much stumbling. But also bc it was the plain truth. A hard pill to swallow for many I’m sure but Biden spoke the truth.
Possibly he could have done things to make the exit less chaotic but I feel it’s unfair to put that on him, as he surely got memos telling him it’d take the Taliban 1-3 more months to capture Kabul. How is he then supposed to figure it’d take 24 hours? That surprised everyone, likely even the Taliban.
I’m no real fan of Joe but I really don’t see what he could’ve done much different here. And I think concluding the draw out that Trump started was indeed the right thing to do.
Lynnette
“ But if I were one of the many businesses that are so desperate for people who want to work, I think I would grab some of those Afghan refugees that may make it to this count ry while there are some left. I'm guessing they would be happy for a job. Amd would probably be hard workers.”
Better hope then that you don’t get the likes of those we got here. Illiterate so they are pretty useless in a high tech economy but rapey, very very gang-rapey. The raspiest bunch of all wannabe rapists we’ve ever got here.
But of course you suffer under the illusion that you can take an Afghan born and steeped in Afghan culture to the west and just as he passes the border you’ll have a nice and docile little liberal.
Well let me ask you Lynnette, if you passed the border to Afghanistan would you don a burka and be willing to stone your sister to death bc she looked longingly at the boy next door?
Why, if you would not change your mindset to that of an Afghan based on geography to you imagine Afghans do so just by entering the west?
Pro tip: they want our welfare, they never had any care for our customs.
Pew research about the beliefs of Afghans:
https://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-beliefs-about-sharia/
Muslims that say sharia is the revealed word of God:
Afghanistan 73 %
Muslims that say sharia has a single interpretation:
Afghanistan 67 %
Muslims who favor making Islamic law the official law of the country:
Afghanistan 99 %
Should sharia apply to both muslims and non-muslims?
Afghanistan 61 %
Should religious judges decide family or property disputes?
Afghanistan 78 %
Do you favor corporal punishment for crimes such as theft?
Afghanistan 81 %
Stoning as punishment for adultery:
Afghanistan 85 %
Death penalty for leaving islam:
Afghanistan 79 %
So, Lynnette, with them there numbers in mind isn’t it pretty obvious why the Taliban took over so easily? They have majority support, simple as that. There is no way a 70-80 thousand militia could ever win over a 300 thousand army armed and backed by the USA unless the former was supported by a clear majority. And that’s not to say they have to love the Taliban, just saying they prefer them over y’all.
Just look at this clip
https://twitter.com/erbmjha/status/1427596262618984449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1427596262618984449%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailystormer.su%2Ff09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989df09f989d%2F
That’s not just the Taliban, that’s the majority of Afghans.
"And that’s not to say they have to love the Taliban, just
saying they prefer them over y’all."
We were going home and they, the 300,000 Afghan government soldiers, knew that. Long as we stayed, the soldiers stayed on the job (more or less--lots more less than more--serious "ghost" soldiers problems and problems with desertions after payday).
They were choosing between the Taliban and the remaining behind Afghan government of Ashraf Ghani (who, incidentally, is currently enjoying sanctuary in Tajikistan; I was expecting maybe Switzerland to be close to his money).
And, the Taliban were not surprised. Probably the only ones who weren't. They been cuttin' deals with Afghan government military leaders and with military units in the field ever since Trump announced we were cuttin' out. (In fact, they'd done a deal with the Trump administration to not embarrass him by attacking American installations and soldiers during his reëlection campaign. They were still whaling the shit outta many of the Afghan government troops though, concentrating on units out in their hinterlands, and we were mostly staying out of that except for air support. A little quid pro quo there.)
Lee
“ We were going home and they, the 300,000 Afghan government soldiers, knew that. Long as we stayed, the soldiers stayed on the job ”
Bc you had soldiers there protecting them, and you gave them money - not bc they suddenly bacame HBTQ liberals fighting for the freedoms of women.
Are you kidding me? This whole human rights struggle was always a no go. Afghans are gonna be Afghans. Give em 2000 years and they might get to the point of women having a say so, but never ever at the point of a gun. Not in this age.
I didn't bring up anything resembling "this whole human rights struggle…". I did mention the desertions after payday and the "ghost" soldiers (soldiers carried on the books so the commanding officers could pocket the pay they were supposedly getting).
And I also pointed out that the grunt soldiers were choosing between defending the Afghan government of Ashraf Ghani and giving their weapons over to the Taliban and going home to look for more productive work. (The Afghan government forces didn't "flee" as it's often described. They just handed over their weapons to the Taliban who showed up to load 'em up as had been previously agreed upon, and then they calmly walked home; or took a bus--the Taliban were handing out small money to cover the cost of getting home--made the whole process easier and more seamless.)
For the most part the Taliban didn't take prisoners. But, they did quite often provide bus fare home.
So, Lee, maybe we can agree on ONE thing? Nation building in Afghanistan is a no go.
Just that one thing, regardless of whether it was Bush, Obama, Trump or Biden.
The USA and it’s western allies were never, ever, equipped to turn Afghanistan into a society resembling a western one.
"…never, ever, equipped to turn Afghanistan…"
Well, supposedly that's one of the reasons we turned to invading Iraq. First of all, Saddam deserved it, and second, Iraq was sold as a solid prospect for "nation-building" in a Muslim society--which Afghanistan most definitely was not.
However, they botched the job in Iraq (maybe it was doomed from the beginning as well), and so the neo-cons reversed themselves and declared Afghanistan a fit place to do "nation-building" after all.
Lee,
“For the most part the Taliban didn't take prisoners. But, they did quite often provide bus fare home.”
I have no idea how this will play out but still you have to acknowledge the Taliban are controlling their ground forces, they are saying they want to take over wo bloodshed, they have given “amnesty” to the former government. they are saying they will never again allow terrorists to plot from their lands.
I don’t know if they’re liars but I kinda think they are true to their word. IDK but they just seem like diehard, lunatic, backwards savege, but in the end quite trustworthy. We’ll see.
"…and so the neo-cons reversed themselves and declared Afghanistan a fit place to do 'nation-building' after all." It was not.
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"I kinda think they are true to their word."
I harbor no such illusions. We may well have to chase them out of Kabul again, sometime in the future. But, give the Afghan people a few years under Taliban rule and they'll be ready for a change again. Probably won't be any harder next time than last time.
And, as Biden pointed out, the terrorist threat has metastasized. It's no longer concentrated in the Hindu Kush Mountains (translates as "killer of Hindus" not "belongs to Hindus".). It's decentralized now.
I don’t think so Lee. I think what the Taliban ever wanted was to string up the Bauchi-Bachi fuckers, beat their women into submission and maybe fondle a goat or two. They were never ever behind any international terrorism plots. When AQ, out of Afghanistan did 9/11 I think the Taliban has zero to do with it. They were then bound by Islamic law and pashtunwali (Pashtun law for guests) NOT to give AQ up.
But that was then. You’d have to assume even these backwards cave dwellers can learn. And their MAIN goal is to simply be left alone. And they do know now that AQ and the likes might bring on their temporary, or final, demise. So you’d have to imagine the Taliban will not see AQ as an asset.
"Should sharia apply to both muslims and non-muslims?
"Afghanistan 61 %"
↑↑
You can bet your ass the percentage among just the Taliban is much higher.
Bluetooth keyboards can solve the problem of typing on tiny cell phone screens.
Thank you! I never would have thought of that.
But of course you suffer under the illusion that you can take an Afghan born and steeped in Afghan culture to the west and just as he passes the border you’ll have a nice and docile little liberal.
No, I don't, actually. No one else who has come here has automatically left their culture at the door. But that doesn't mean they can't blend into the existing culture. And many, if not most, do. Commit a crime? Deport them. We do have that law on our books.
What I think is that most of those who are desperate to flee are looking for safety, a better life and maybe, just maybe, a little peace. They deserve a chance.
Sadly, so do those left behind.
I do not think we, the United States, will ever be good at building someone else's country for them. Realistically the only thing we could do is provide opportunity for those in country who want change to achieve it. I do believe that there was a start in Afghanistan. Twenty years is a long time for people to get used to something different. The Taliban may find these are their easiest days.
I hope for the sake of those who remain behind that the Taliban's "all inclusive" Islam is just that. But, unlike Marcus, I do not trust them at all. Their swift takeover of Afghanistan has show they are not to be trusted.
Perhaps the Russians will have an easier time dealing with them. As long as the Taliban do not spread their version of Islam to the Motherland, of course.
We may well have to chase them out of Kabul again, sometime in the future.
There is that possibility, it the Taliban have not learned that they can only press us so far.
So you’d have to imagine the Taliban will not see AQ as an asset.
Oh, I suspect, that they would be quite fine with working with AQ, especially if it gets them some advantage over the infidels.
Really??
The FBI Denver field office has joined a Colorado district attorney's investigation into the County Clerk's office and how voting machine logins from the county wound up in a QAnon-affiliated video, an FBI spokeswoman told CNN.
Voting machine logins from Mesa County were featured in an August 3 video posted on a QAnon-affiliated Telegram channel about 2020 election fraud claims.
In a press conference last week, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold blamed Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters for the leak, saying the secretary of state's office could not establish a verifiable chain of custody for the machines, and that Peters brought a "non-employee" to a May 25 "trusted build" meeting where closely guarded voting machine login credentials were visible to attendees. Griswold said her employees had been misled to believe that the "non-employee" in question was a county employee.
"Really??"
With a cameo by Mike Lindell.
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In-house Op-Ed in the WashingtonPost by Jennifer Rubin, one time conservative Republican who wrote for Pajamas Media, and The Weekly Standard among other conservative outlets. She's openly claiming to be a Democrat now, thanks to the Republican Party's embrace of Donald Trump, whom she despises (but, pointedly "NOT" a "Bernie Sanders" type Democrat), but little else has changed. She writes on Biden's decision to complete Trump's withdrawal agreement from Afghanistan and on its currently hideous video output.
Don't know just how much of this column I agree with, probably more than I'd disagree with, but she's not being ideological here. She makes points worth considering, so I recommend the article "for consideration".
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"As we watch the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan, let us
first dispense with the fantasy that the United States was
maintaining the peace there with just a few thousand
troops and that this situation could have been managed
with this small commitment. For the past couple of years, it
looked that way to Americans because Washington had
made a deal with the Taliban and, as a result, the Taliban
was deliberately not attacking U.S. and coalition forces.
"For the Afghans themselves, the war was intensifying. ***"
Fareed Zacharia writing in the WashingtonPost
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And Thomas Friedman tells us that the Taliban's future, trying to actually govern in Afghanistan, is probably not quite as rosey as their recent past.
Not Friedman's nomenclature here, but it's much easier (and much more fun) to be attacking the Afghan government than it is to be the Afghan government. (Although being the Afghan government is much more profitable--this difference between work and play persists, even in Afghanistan.)
The Taliban seem to have forgotten this.
(All three articles are fairly short and readable in a couple of minutes.)
You guys must watch this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBsX2mMs6TA
Not Friedman's nomenclature here, but it's much easier (and much more fun) to be attacking the Afghan government than it is to be the Afghan government.
Yes, part of why I said they may find this to be their easiest days. But I suspect they will reach out to like minded people, or at least like minded in opposition to the US. We will probably see more Russian, and maybe even Chinese, involvement in Afghanistan. At least as far as the Taliban will tolerate infidels. As you mentioned, Lee, there is money to be made in Afghanistan. Corruption will still flourish. It just may look a little different.
I believe my computer's amputation was successful. It's touch screen kind of went crazy, so I had it disabled. But I may end up having to replace it at some point.
I will take a peak at the links tonight.
In the end, perhaps it is those Americans who fought in Afghanistan, and their families, who really have the right to express an opinion on whether we should have remained or left. I don't know if there is any poll asking them. I would be curious to see.
"…touch screen…I had it disabled."
That oughta work too.
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"…perhaps it is those Americans who fought…who really have the
right to express an opinion…"
Just a passing thought I presume, but you might want to revisit its memory briefly. Make certain it has properly and fully passed away.
(Although, I think there is some polling data out there--I seem to recall passing it by with just a glance. If I remember where, I'll go back to it and look at it for real. You keep an eye out, you might find it before I remember where I saw it--assuming, of course, that I remember.)
Funny thing. Just imagine the current withdrawal from Ahghanistan happening under Trump. How the media would be howling. How Lee C and Lynnette would be howling with them.
It’s really funny to watch their insecure and stunted reactions now.
Hey, Jeffrey! Are you still around? What’s your take on these blinkered ideologues?
"Just imagine the current withdrawal from Ahghanistan happening
under Trump."
You didn't notice either one of us complaining when Trump announced his intention to withdraw entirely by the 1st of May. Went the whole year, neither of us bitched 'bout it. Biden extended the time for withdrawal until August; neither of us bitched 'bout it then either. Why would we have started "howling" later?
When are you going to quit living in that fantasy world where you think you get to assign our political positions to us? (Nobody else lives there with you--all those people you think are in there--they all mirages--reflected images of your own imagination getting lost in its own mists.)
By the way, this: "Why would we have started 'howling' later?"
That was a rhetorical question; it was not an invitation for you to indulge in another round of scoping out imaginary images in the mists floating through your mind.
FoxNews hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham have all been promoting a horse medication (for horse worms) known as Ivermectin (freely available at feed stores and farm supply stores all across the Old South where the worms it protects against are endemic).
Seventy percent of the calls to the poison control hotline in Mississippi are now concerning Ivermectin poisoning. (Probably equally high in other Republican states in The South, but the figures are not being released.)
So they trust "snake oil" over a proven vaccine that can offer substantial protection?
Stupid is as stupid does. Phil Valentine, conservative talk show host, has died of Covid-19.
Funny thing. Just imagine the current withdrawal from Ahghanistan happening under Trump. How the media would be howling. How Lee C and Lynnette would be howling with them.
Actually, I think the media is howling and I have speculated on whether or not this was a mistake by Biden. But, that was a knee jerk reaction to the tragedy of the Afghan people. I do not run a large, diverse country with other problems that need to be addressed. In short, perhaps I do not have enough information to make an informed decision and will have to wait and see how all of this pans out.
And things have changed a lot from 20 years ago. They will continue to do so.
At least we are hearing from Biden frequently.
Had to correct a typo.
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