Traditional "Happy Fourth of July" Open Thread

I greeted a friend at a cocktail party last night with "Happy Fourth" and he replied "So now you're counting my drinks?"

Ba boom.

Comments

[henry]

Got there early eh TM!

Parade route in town is all set up, now to get more beer.

[Thomas Collins]

All men are created equal. What that means to me is that we all are on the same level of Creation, despite our varying skills and interests. And, being on the same level, when we form a government to secure our inalienable rights, the hired help (the governmental officials) must be held to account when they act contrary to that mandate. In addition, no country keeps its independence by treating the international system as a model UN. Those are my thoughts this Independence Day. But on a cheerier note, I hope you all have great food (whether you preferences fall to BBQ chicken or steak or hamburger, or to whole earth tofu dishes), and great beverages (from Jameson to cab to Bruichladdich to celery juice). Happy Fourth to all of JOMville.

[Cecil Turner]

I've been badmouthing George Will for the last couple weeks (and really think he ought to retire from panels where his slow and meandering responses are a distraction), but this article from earlier this week is worth reading (WaPo Opinion: Some GOP candidates becoming unhinged over gay marriage ruling):

Many conservatives detect in those five words a dismaying intimation of a “living Constitution” too malleable to limit government because it conforms to whatever shape serves transitory political and cultural impulses. Conservative wariness is wise. So too, however, is recognition that Chief Justice Warren was not wrong when, in a 1958 case concerning the Eighth Amendment’s proscriptions of “cruel and unusual punishments,” he said: “The amendment must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.”

I also think the conservative justices predicting court cases challenging the inevitable discrimination/free exercise clashes are correct, and that the pendulum will have to swing back. But the fundamental genius of the founders remains intact, and draconian measures proffered by some are not [yet] warranted.

[Thomas Collins]

Re CT's comments on George Will: I know Mr. Will is the subject of, let us say, a few dollops of criticism here. I'd like to make a personal comment on Mr. Will. My son, before he went to grad school, was Mr. Will's primary research assistant. From speaking to my son about his experience, I conclude that Mr. Will was an excellent boss. He was demanding and somewhat formal, and also treated my son with respect. It's a rare boss who successfully balances the necessity for formality with a genuine respect for employees. I find Mr. Will an interesting read, whether or not I agree with his thoughts in a particular piece. But I will always have a positive personal view of him due to the manner in which he conducted himself when my son was in his employ.

[Extraneus]

Hey, TC, do you have any insight into the level of involvement someone like Will has regarding the weekly pieces that need to be churned out? Do the staff assistants write the pieces, or suggest the topics?

[Extraneus]

Texas wants to bring its gold stockpile home, but where to put it?

AUSTIN, Texas – Forget Fort Knox or the Federal Reserve.

Texas has decided to keep its gold holdings within in its own borders. But what makes sense politically in such a sovereignty-loving place is creating a logistical conundrum.

Texas is the only state that owns an actual stockpile of gold. That's not just gold futures, but approximately 5,600 gold bars worth around $650 million. It's currently stored at a New York bank.

The Legislature's decision to bring its gold cache home was hailed by many conservatives who are suspicious of national government.

But the Texas comptroller's office is now trying to figure out how to create a depository, for which no funding was appropriated. The bill's sponsor says he hopes private companies will offer to open one in exchange for charging storage fees.

[narciso]

about that case:

http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/rule-of-law/judicial-activism/cases/trop-v-dulles

[Thomas Collins]

It's Mr. Will's thinking, Extraneus. Mr. Will directed what topics my son would research. It really is Mr. Will's show, like it or not.

I sometimes kid my son for abandoning the best job in the world for grad school. For a salary and benefits, his job was what I would like to do all day, namely, peruse the news. I realize that there are deadline pressures, but it seemed to me like a good gig.

[Thomas Collins]

Well, if Texas decides to become its own Westphalian state, repatriating its gold is a good move.

Not that I expect Texas to secede.

[glasater]

In 1984, as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Bill Bennett asked Pulitzer Prize winning columnist George Will for a list of ten books he thought every graduating high school student should have read– below is the column George Will wrote on that list, from the August 12, 1984 issue of The Washington Post:

It's a pretty good foundation.

[Porchlight]

I love George Will, even when I disagree with him. I'm not surprised at all to hear that he's a great boss.

Happy Independence Day, JOM! Even in dark days it's still the greatest country earth. May we be worthy of all the sacrifices made on our behalf.

[Jane]

Aren't all threads "open"around here?

[Threadkiller Mobynatious]

Nice to see Will picking The Federalist Papers.
What did John Jay have to say about foriegn influence?
http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed02.htm
http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed03.htm
http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed04.htm
http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed05.htm

Happy Fourth of July!

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

Peter,

Did you stop in Southampton for the parade? Hope traffic was good for you. Now that you are in Amangassett you are trapped and if you are going back Sunday, good luck:)

Photos from today's 4th of July Parade from my Facebook albums.

https://www.facebook.com/jack.lillywhite.5/media_set?set=a.233422400134554.1073741826.100004003880913&type=3&pnref=story

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

glasater,

No Dickents (Oliver Twist) or Longfellow? I wonder if we did this today if anyone would put The Qu'uran on that list?

[Frau Kotzig]

There's no one more foreign than the former Senator Conehead (D-south of France).

[glasater]

Wondered about Dickens also, JIB. My 6th grade teacher gave me a nicely illustrated Tale of Two Cities as some kind of reward. Read the book altho it was kind of a wade for me at that age but it got me hooked on the classics at an early age.

[Frau Witzbold]

harharharhar!

She (Hillary!) said Obama and her husband ("Put some ice on it") had both inherited a series of economic headaches when they entered office and urged voters to elect another Democrat "to continue the policies that actually work for the vast majority of Americans."

hahaha! {wiping eyes}

[glasater]

Our local historical societies/museums are promoting what our community was doing during WWII and I do a little volunteer photography for one of them.

Last evening we had a black professor from Eastern WA State U speak to us about the Triple Nickel outfit organized during WWII to counter the Japanese N American attack called Firefly or Fire Balloon

I'd never read about this story and the presentation was pretty interesting even tho the speaker was a mini Cornel Wilde - an aggrieved black man.

Anyway, I got a nice photo of the guy for the museum's promotion purposes.

[MarkO]

Wow, TC.

Happy 4th to all. Now to find that cherry bomb I kept from the 60's.

[rich@gmu]

afternoon all. hope everyone has a great 4th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71sinVU196c

[Frau Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika, hoch!]

A glorious Independence Day to all!

The centuries-old political and constitutional struggle over how this nation is to define and fulfill the ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence shows that this document is no dead letter. As Jefferson wrote in the missive published on July 4, 1826 – the very day he died—the Declaration laid bare “the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of god. [T]hese are grounds of hope for others. [F]or ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

For as long as Americans pay heed to Jefferson’s final exhortation, the Spirit of ’76 still lives.

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

Sure its a little corn but you need to hear more often, especially these days.

The Texas Tenors: God Bless the USA.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/daqwGRdRIsk?feature=player_detailpage

[boatbuilder]

Good for you and your son, TC, and I am glad to hear that George Will walks the walk.

One book I think should be required reading for all high school seniors (and they should read it again as college freshman) is David McCullough's "John Adams." It is much more than John and Abigail; it truly tells the story of how and why this country was founded.

[Miss Marple]

Here are the top 30 submitted by readers:

The “Top 30″ from persons writing to Bennett are: Shakespeare (especially “Macbeth” and “Hamlet”), American documents (the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Gettysburg Address), “Huckleberry Finn,” the Bible, Homer’s (“Odyssey,” “Iliad”), Dickens’ (“Great Expectations,” “Tale of Two Cities”), Plato’s “Republic,” John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath,” Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter,” Sophocles’ “Oedipus,” Melville’s “Moby Dick,” Orwell’s “1984,” Thoreau’s “Walden,” Robert Frost’s poems, Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” The Communist Manifesto, Aristotle’s “Politics,” Emily Dickinson’s poems, Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” Faulkner (several novels suggested), Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye,” Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America,” Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” Emerson (essays and poems), Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” Vergil’s “Aeneid.”

In my suburban/country high school of 1966, 90% of these titles were on the curriculum. I am not exaggerating.

[henry]

Same with my high school in 77.

[Miss Marple]

henry,

I am going to ask my grandson, who took AP classes, how many of these he has read.

[Captain Hate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbUsNeyNDJ0

[Captain Hate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRKuQHpSvvk

[Captain Hate]

I've never doubted that Will is a nice person to know or work for.

[Frau Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika, hoch!]

JiB - Texas Tenors rule!
CH - love the Braxton link.

[Captain Hate]

Glad to hear it Frau. I recently say a young guitarist, Mary Halvorson, who has known and played with Brax for half of her 34 years.

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

With sharks in the news and me here in Peter Benchley's setting for Jaws and celebrating our countries birthday, its appropriate to post Quint's U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue:

Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss): You were on the Indianapolis?

Brody (Roy Scheider): What happened?

Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, chief. It was comin' back, from the island of Tinian to Laytee, just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen footer. You know how you know that when you're in the water, chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know... was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's... kinda like ol' squares in battle like a, you see on a calendar, like the battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark comes to the nearest man and that man, he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces.
Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men! I don't know how many sharks, maybe a thousand! I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin' chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, boson's mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He's a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

BTW, someone asked on the other thread about a good movie for the 4th. Its been a tradition in our house to play "1776" the musical each 4th. Don't have the DVD with us here in Southampton so I guess we'll stick with Independence Day. But "1776" is fun espeically if you have tweens and/or teens.

[daddy]

In today's America you have to go back 30 years to find music that expresses love of country, unless it's Country.

Danoso,

Yesterday I heard on some Talk Radio Show, that Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" was written, then stuck in a drawer for 20 years before being pulled out and given to Kate Smith to sing.

Googling Mark Steyn, who I know to be an expert on American Musical History, I found this interesting history of the tune:

MARK STEYN ON IRVING BERLIN’S “GOD BLESS AMERICA”

Interesting to read why Irving Berlin didn't release it in 1918.

[daddy]

Since I see that RSE is touring Montecello, it reminds me of this wonderful old video featuring the "Inventor Of The Internet":

Vice President Al Gore Visits Montecello: " Who are these people?"

[Miss Marple]

daddy,

I bought "Song for the Season" and read it before giving it to my son, who always is interested in music.

I love Steyn's work on Broadway and popular music. When I am sort of down, it helps to read some of those stories. The Sinatra stories are great!

[daddy]

On the Legal Battle that may ensue on this murdering Mexican Illegal immigrant, FOX News just played this clip of a woman identified as "The Chief Counsel for The San Francisco Sheriff's Department":

Freya Horne: "When he came here he came because he had outstanding criminal charges here which were marijuana related, possession, or possession for sale or sales of marijuana. Those charges were dismissed the next day."

FOX News Host: When that happened the San Francisco Sheriff's Department let Sanchez go...

[daddy]

I love Steyn's work on Broadway and popular music. When I am sort of down, it helps to read some of those stories. The Sinatra stories are great!

Me too, Miss M.

I love the music and the stories, and it's wonderful to see how much of a passion this has been for Mark Steyn for so many years.

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

daddy,

I don't know if you ever watched the old Bing Crosby Invitaition at Pebble Beach back in the 60's and 70's but their theme song was "Straight Down the Fairway" which Bing sang. It was written by Sammy Kahn.

When Bing approached Sammy about writing a song for his "clambake", Sammy responded, "Bing, I am a Russian Jew, what the hell do I know about golf?". And Bing responded that all you need to know is to hit it "Straight down the fairway."

And that is how you get unforgetable songs.

[JeanD]

daddy,

Thanks for that interesting Mark Steyn piece. The song is a blessing, and Steyn is a gem.

We're hours away from dusk, but I hear quite a few of my neighbors setting off some "practice" fireworks already.

The dog is in the house and will probably shelter-in-place for the foreseeable future. No walk for us. ;)

[Extraneus]

Matt Stonie tops Joey Chestnut in hot dog eating contest

Stonie, 23, who finished second last year, downed 62 hot dogs and buns, beating Chestnut by two. Both are from San Jose, California.

As thousands of spectators observed the eaters on an elevated stage, the next closest competitor ate 35 hot dogs.

...

The men's contest came more than an hour after the women competed, with defending champion Miki Sudo capturing first place with a flourish that emphasized strategy rather than condiments.

The Las Vegas woman ate 38 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes to claim the title for the second straight year, along with the $10,000 that comes with it.

She downed four more wieners than last year and bested Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas of Alexandria, Virginia, who devoured 31 hot dogs.

[Extraneus]

Trump stands by statements on Mexican illegal immigrants, surprised by backlash

Republican presidential candidate and real estate mogul Donald Trump on Saturday stood by statements he made recently that too many illegal immigrants from Mexico are criminals, but said he was surprised by the backlash and that his comments are causing financial concerns.

“The crime is raging and it’s violent. And if you talk about it, it’s racist,” Trump told Fox News, days after a purported illegal Mexican immigrant deported five previous times allegedly killed a woman in San Francisco.

Trump first made his inflammatory remarks during his non-scripted, June 16 presidential announcement speech.

“When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best,” he said during the announcement. “They're not sending you, they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting."

Since then, a list of businesses have announced plans to cut ties with Trump’s vast business empire, while fellow Republican candidates and others have questioned Trump’s remarks.

[Jane]

Hey Daddy,

I'm wearing my Moose's Tooth T-shirt. I love it!

[Extraneus]

“What do you say to the family of Kathryn Steinle in CA who was viciously killed b/c we can’t secure our border? Stand up for US,” Trump tweeted.

Federal officials said local authorities repeatedly released Sanchez, who was in their custody as recently as this year.

On Saturday, Trump said Rubio was “weak on immigration” and that fellow GOP White House candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry “could have done a lot more.”

He praised what he considers fellow candidate and Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz’s tough immigration stance, calling him “very brave.”

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

Chinese brokerage houses to begin buying shares on Monday and not sell their own.

[pagar]

John Wayne !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFv-fqQ9D_Y&feature=youtu.be

[daddy]

Thanks, Jack.

Just watched a Bing version of that tune on Youtube. Didn't know the song but it sounds catchy and fun, with some clever lyrics;

it went straight down the middle
Where it wound up is a riddle
But it went straight down the middle far away

Plus the pictures of Bing and Bob Hope paint a fun moment in the life in America.

[daddy]

Oops. Let me try a Mulligan with that post:)

Here's the version I was watching: Bing Crosby - Straight Down The Middle

[Extraneus]

The announcements came as the government has been scrambling to halt the steepest plunge in the Shanghai stock market in nearly a quarter-century. Share prices have fallen nearly a third since June 12, erasing more than $2 trillion of value and inflicting immediate hardship on millions of families who not only invested their savings but also borrowed heavily at steep interest rates to buy more shares.

Families borrowing to by more shares? That sounds so 1920s.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Trump needs to keep banging on this rather than the GOPe cowards sucking the Chamber of Commerce tit.

[Extraneus]

Official statistics suggest that loans to investors for stock purchases climbed ninefold in mainland China over the last two years and were supplemented by widespread lending by informal financial companies at annual interest rates exceeding 20 percent.

[rich@gmu]

Posted by: Captain Hate on the iPhone | July 04, 2015 at 05:25 PM

Here here!!!

[rich@gmu]

Yikes on that bubble popping. Can only imagine what our betters will do to prop it up?

[Jack is Back (Again)!]

CH,

I thihk Trump calculated his Mexican invective to suck Rubio, Perry and other competitors into defending the immigration (legal or illegal, it makes no diff to emotional voters). Another reason he is more dangerous politically than CT and others give him credit for. I am not a Trump fan but he is playing the knee jerk crowd better than the others.

[henry]

Rich, what do you think the TPP is for?

[rich@gmu]

>>>“If it’s only 120 billion renminbi, to be honest, it’s too small,” said Hao Hong, the chief strategist of the Bank of Communications International, the global finance unit of China’s fifth-largest bank. “But if you can add leverage on top of it, that could support the large-cap, blue-chip stocks.”<<<

It is different this time ... really, really different.

[daddy]

Well in honor of you jane, I just put on my Sturbridge Tea Party T-Shirt, (which fits perfect BTW), and if the skies don't open up I expect I'll wear it on the dog walk today.

Halley update please, and if Amy took her for vacation to the North Carolina coast to swim with sharks I'm gonna' be PO'ed.

[rich@gmu]

>>>Rich, what do you think the TPP is for?

Posted by: henry | July 04, 2015 at 05:31 PM<<<

to import 3rd world brainiacs to do the work American's can't, won't, &c &c do ... the Chamber and the Ford Foundation are hard at work writing it.

[rich@gmu]

damn I'm playing into Trump's hands ...

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

JiB, Trump is providing a tutorial that the GOPe Finishing School doesn't cover.

[Rick Ballard]

Rich,

ISTM the Shanghai market has worked through "gradually" and is moving to "then suddenly". It certainly has a long way to go before it makes contact with reality. It's still up 83% YoY - losing another 40% would only make reality discernible at a great distance.

[rich@gmu]

ripped from the headlines:

Trump's immigration comments hurting GOP, Romney says

Thanks Mitt.

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

--It is different this time ... really, really different.-

Yeah, rich, I found that "give me a leverage long enough and I'll wreck the world" comment comically idiotic.

I noted a day or two ago they allowed real estate to be used as collateral on stocks to prop up prices, which seems rather like sending the Titanic to pick up the survivors of the Lusitania.

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

Hey Mitt, losing in 2012 hurt a bit more, knucklehead.

[rich@gmu]

Rick-

did China recently relax margin requirements or listing requirements on the exchange because it looks to have only been in the last few months it was off to the races?

the "then suddenly" part always hurts the most. kinda like a car wreck right before you get broadsided ... you have just enough time to whisper "this is gonna hurt.

glad to see you back more often here. hope your place is finished.

[sbw]

Mitt who?

[sbw]

NYT who?

[rich@gmu]

sorry Iggy, missed your last comment before I posted my question.

had also thought their re market was in meltdown too.

[Frau Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika, hoch!]

From the NR Codevilla article:

“To learn who rules over you, find out whom you are not allowed to criticize.”
— Voltaire

[Extraneus]

Illegal Mexicans rule over us?

Uh oh.

[Jane]

Halley update please, and if Amy took her for vacation to the North Carolina coast to swim with sharks I'm gonna' be PO'ed.

Hailey is doing great, was sick for about 4 days - after a night in the hospital they proclaimed it 'something going around".

Now the most interesting part - the 240 beat heart rate. Mary's sister is a gyno (as Obama would say) and explained the problem that neither Mary the cardo or the pediatrician could make understandable.

You know those things you put on your finger to get your heart rate? Well apparently they get confused and crack up. So a sick kid might have a 120 beat heart rate. Apparently that can confuse the thimble thingy and it soars over the moon - up to double e.g. 240 beats per minute. And at this point everyone thinks that is what happened. Obviously Mary will monitor going forward.

Amy still thinks it was tick related because the medication worked.

No sharks - white water rafting and a bunch of other boat things in a lake in Maine. But you do realize that if Hailey encountered a shark, it would be eating out of her hand in 26 seconds.

[(A)Nuther Bub]

(legal or illegal, it makes no diff to emotional voters).

Chalk me up as an emotional voter. Legal or illegal, they are nearly all from Mexico or Central America, and have identical demographic profiles. The legals are dependable Democratic votes, just as their illegal fellows will be as soon as the administration can confer legality on them. Both the legals and illegals are, in the main, low-skilled and poorly educated. A significant portion of the legals get here through family unification which permits the legal 'anchor' to bring in parents, siblings, siblings' spouses and children, etc., etc. What standards do they have to meet? Nothing that's enforced. Yes, they are supposed to be of good moral character and understand English but we know that in practice those matters aren't investigated or enforced. Legal or illegal, the ultimate effect on our country of continuing massive immigration from Mexico and Central America will be the same. Adios America.

[henry]

Rich, I saw an explanation yesterday that had a special hedge fund layer that allowed Chinese consumers to buy leverage with prepackaged loans (including real estate as collateral). The system was designed to ignore margin requirements by inserting tiers -- much as trusts used to work here before anti-trust laws.

[Marlene]

Local news is reporting that Mitt will be meeting with Jeb in Kennebunkport next week. Sorry, don't hurt the messenger. :) Maybe they are holding a summer session of GOPe finishing school.

[henry]

From a lurking follower* of these things:

In China, they're referred to as Wealth Management Products. Sold by State Sponsored banks and entities with posted rates of return, but little else behind the curtain. No prospecti, no "controlling legal authority" other than your local party official. All Ponzi, all the time, near as I can tell, and I've been looking for a number of years. Much of it went into the commodity rehypothecation scam.

*from you one where.

[rich@gmu]

Extraneus-

the rock, paper, scissors of race is a bit more expansive than just illegal Mexicans.

and if beasts is lurking I'm listening to superunknown (cheers!)

[Frau Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika, hoch!]

Ext - Voltaire did *not* mean Amos and Andy. I think Sandra "I'm not a slut" Fluke and the Mattress Maid fit the bill.

[rich@gmu]

dang it Marlene you were supposed to put a stop to that!

thanks secret lurker too for the above via henry.

[Extraneus]

Well, like Rick says, they were up almost 150% YoY before they dropped 30%. I'd take that! (And sell.)

[rich@gmu]

if the government would let you sell.

[Extraneus]

Haley’s Charleston response, Confederate flag stand spark VP talk

Haley, an Indian-American and the state’s first female governor, insists her call to remove the flag was deeply personal and beyond politics, repeatedly telling reporters she couldn’t “look her children in the face” while allowing the flag to fly.

Er...

[glasater]

Good Gravy Marie!

Ignatz's 4:53 link is something:

The announcements came as the government has been scrambling to halt the steepest plunge in the Shanghai stock market in nearly a quarter-century. Share prices have fallen nearly a third since June 12, erasing more than $2 trillion of value and inflicting immediate hardship on millions of families who not only invested their savings but also borrowed heavily at steep interest rates to buy more shares.

[glasater]

Oops!

Ext and I like the same paragraph :-)

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

What China has going for it, as Spengler often notes, is a vast, largely rural population still being absorbed into the urban growth centers.
Unfortunately that just makes them able to keep even more plates spinning longer than seems possible, but ALL state and central bank distorted economies blow up eventually.

[Extraneus]

Juleanne Glover, who has worked on Republican presidential campaigns for Arizona Sen. John McCain and Steve Forbes and is now a senior adviser for the international firm Teneo Strategy, agrees that Haley could be a top vice presidential pick.

But she also argues Haley could play a far bigger role in the White House race that would begin much earlier than when candidates pick a running mate in summer 2016.

Glover suggested Tuesday that Haley’s backing and physical presence at campaign stops across early-voting South Carolina could make or break a candidate’s White House bid and that her voice on such topics as women’s issues, education reform and long-term immigration policy could “create a platform for 2016.”

“She could play a pivotal role in all of these issues and in the future of the party,” Glover said. “She’s an American success story with a biographical narrative that lends itself to a larger, inspirational story. Friends who know her well have always been evangelical about her potential. They are not surprised.”

[Rick Ballard]

Rich,

You have to toss in the Chinese habit of forming informal "investment" (betting) pools on top of Henry's and Mystery Lurker's explanations. The PBOC would like to cool off the speculative fever caused by the loose money binge used to prop the "managed" economy fantasy.

They're gonna need bigger EXIT signs.

[GUS]

I hear Haley has just "a little" Indian in her.

[GUS]

Just watched 2 minutes of ABC NEWS. Did you peeps know that MOST AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE and HELIOOOOOOCOPTERS are run by ......COMMIE DRUM ROLL........

FOR PROFIT COMPANIES.

ABC ALWAYS BEEN COMMIE

[Extraneus]

Just enough for an inspirational biographical narrative, Gus.

[rich@gmu]

hum Teneo have heard that name before ... guess Huma was too busy for comment?

[henry]

Gus, those ABC twits figure out ABC, like its competitors, is a FOR PROFIT COMPANY? Or are they as short of clue as Stephy is of riding a roller coaster?

[Extraneus]

I think they meant "not part of the government," Henry.

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Stephy would have such a frowny face at Cedar Point.

[Extraneus]

July 4 crowds ignore call to boycott Georgia park over Confederate flag

Bobbie Smith of Fitzgerald, Georgia, who was camping at Stone Mountain with her family, called the boycott call "just stupid."

“This whole park is a Confederate memorial. If you don’t have the flag here, where on Earth would you put it?” she said.

[Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz]

Typically thoughtful and valuable Spengler column on Obergefell.
Well worth reading for a perspective you won't get anywhere else these days.

[GUS]

Henry, how on earth could ABC make a profit? And if they did, why don't the give that profit to TRANSGENDERED HOMELESS or sumpin'.

[jimmyk]

Or are they as short of clue as Stephy is of riding a roller coaster?

Did ABC note that profit is overhead, as our genius President has pointed out?

[rich@gmu]

thanks Rick.

wonder (kidding, not really)when we are going to get a weepy Friedman piece proclaiming the glorious Chinese success.

any word on DoT. hope he is doing well and a Happy 4th to him and his family if he's lurking.

[daddy]

Fellow Trump Racist, Susan Estrich now on FOX, speaking on the release of the Illegal Alien murderer:

FOX Host: Now, a lot of questions about so called "Sanctuary City's" like San Francisco, which don't recognize Federal Immigration Law. let's run those questions now by Susan Estrich, Professor of Law and Political Science at USC...

Estritch: ...I read this and I thought "This just can't be." I know enough instances of Domestic Abuse in particular, where police don't check because of this "Sanctuary" business, and women end up getting beaten over and over,... and a guy who should never be in this country, who should't ever see the light of day, murders her, and we're supposed to be so high and mighty that we don't even examine his immigration statue? He has no right to be in this country.

Host: ...What are your thoughts on "Sanctuary City's?"

Estrich: I was opposed to the Arizona Law that said we could stop and ask people for ID, simply on the basis of the color of their skin. I don't believe anybody should be subject to any police inquiry because the color of their skin, but what we're talking about here is someone who we know has committed a crime. Now why should you be able to commit a crime, be convicted of a crime, a crime for which an American citizen would be imprisoned, and we don't check your status to make sure you have any business being in this country? That to me, I'm sorry to say, it doesn't protect immigrants, immigrants are often the targets of these people. It protects the guilty at the expense of the innocent.

Host: It doesn't protect Americans who are supposed to be here, who are legally here.

Estrich: Correct.

Host: So where does the buck stop Susan. Who should be held responsible, and who should bring about necessary changes for a system that is clearly defunct? Are we going to hear pushback from groups like the ACLU?

Estrich: Yes. We will hear pushback. I believe, since I teach Constitutional Law so I have a basis for believing, that Congress has the power, in it's power to regulate Interstate Commerce and the Public Welfare, that Congress has the power and needs to use the power to ensure that Immigration Laws like other Laws, are enforced at every level. We can't let this story fade away, we can't let this girl be forgotten. If nothing else we owe it to her, and to her family, to make sure we change our policies at the federal Level so that it never happens again.
-----------------------------

I am amazed at how stupid I am being a non-Lawyer. I assumed that it was the Executive Branch of Govt that faithfully executed the Laws of the Country, not the Congress.