Strange But True

Politico covers the meltdown of Team Biden's Plan for Afghanistan. They open with a reminder that a mere ten days the White House was celebrating its twin victories in the Senate on the bipartisan infrastructure and the Dems-Only Everything Else bill.

Yeah, that victory celebration went downhill.

And we'd expect Republicans to pounce on Biden's mis-statements, but the NY Times?

Comments

[Narciso]

missed it by that much,

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2021/08/taliban-puts-al-qaeda-linked-group-holding-us-daniel-greenfield/

we had seen iraq fall apart in the spring of 14, yemen fell to the houthis the next year,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

From last thread;
--I wonder if identifying the syndrome as a symptom of adrenaline addiction might be useful. Creating the illusion of an impending apocalyptic event has always been a useful political tool and the shift from now very dull SkyDragon nonsense to senseless Covidiocy is a fair illustration of political usage.--

No. It's dopamine addiction. The adrenalin is to create the fear and panic. The offer of a safe harbor to assuage their fears stimulates dopamine to make them feel nice and cozy. Progs aren't BASE jumpers, they're rats who will cross an electrified floor to push the little dopamine switch wired to their brain.

[Narciso]

remember when we concerned with a dozen hostages in the 80s, hold the sweet tea

https://www.memri.org/reports/hizbullah-secretary-general-hassan-nasrallah-us-withdrawal-afghanistan-lesson-american

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

This quote will never lose its value or applicability;

”The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

[Narciso]

cities were burning, cops were being executed, we had a fatality, this week from an incident that happened in the spring, 'it'll be fine' we had to focus on white rage, as sourced from a baldwin wannabe, and other ephemera, that served as a distraction,

[Narciso]

one puts too much stock in the times, they float every fad no matter how insane as wisdom, they discard centuries of common sense

https://amgreatness.com/2021/08/20/the-character-of-our-military-leadership/

[Jack Lillywhite]

This is one of their embarrassing decisions:

https://babylonbee.com/news/every-american-life-saved-after-chick-fil-a-put-in-charge-of-kabul-airport-evacuation

[Narciso]

an indelicate point

https://dossier.substack.com/p/the-mass-afghan-migration-wave-is

[Rick Ballard]

Ignatz,

Dopamine reaction is a much better descriptor of the addictive behavior. Thanks for the correction.

[Narciso]

in other kabuki news,

https://www.rebelnews.com/thousands_march_across_australia_against_lockdowns

[Old Lurker]

If you think of Adrenaline being "Cloward", and Dopamine being "Pivens", you will have the cause and effect sequence down pat.

[Narciso]

what agitated the twitter general

https://www.the-sun.com/news/3499828/sas-afghan-commandos-resistance-taliban/

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Glad everyone enjoys the Michael Smith posts.

[Narciso]

Indeed steph

https://mobile.twitter.com/AlexBerenson/status/1429119895896301577

[Rick Ballard]

OL,

At least the mad rush to get to the "papieren, bitte" stage seems to be getting stalled a bit. The Aussies and French are being quite noisy and blacks in the US seem to have remarkably little faith in their Dem plantation owners.

What happens when the supplemental UI checks run out on September 6?

[henry]

Supplemental UI checks?

Extended a couple months by decree.. just inside the SC decision OODA loop.

It works for rent.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Larry Correia
·
The same people who are saying pictures of Afghans falling off of planes “are not really bad optics” are the same people who wrote dozens of articles about the symbolism of a fly briefly landing on Mike Pence’s hair.

[clarice]

https://nypost.com/2021/08/21/afghanistan-proves-failed-generals-no-longer-care-about-winning/

[rse]

This is very good. https://amgreatness.com/2021/08/20/the-long-shadow-of-bushs-bushwa/

After showing such abject weakness on the world stage, I have a feeling we are going to have even more incidents that will make a mockery of all that rhetoric about religion of peace. Of course, back in 2001 few of us recognized just what a prick gwb 43 could be.

[rse]

From clarice's link above--

What’s needed now is a wholesale rethinking of the uses of the military that returns us to first principles. As William T. Sherman famously said, “War is cruelty. There’s no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”

It was another American fighting man, the great George S. Patton Jr. — who won his stars on the battlefield and not in the halls of Congress — who best exemplified how winners think.

Ordered in March 1945 to bypass the historic city of Trier in the Third Army’s lightning thrust into Germany because it was likely to take at least four divisions, Patton seized the town anyway: “Have taken Trier with two divisions. Do you want me to give it back?”

Until we return to prizing our Shermans and Pattons over Milleys, expect more Afghanistans.

None of those current generals would risk pneumonia rather than wear a hat on a frigid day at a funeral for a colleague.

[clarice]

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/us-supreme-court-intervenes-in-remain-in-mexico-case-blocking-programs-revival_3958776.html
Routine hold until full court can consider.

[henry]

Another inside SC OODA loop win for Xiden.

[clarice]

Not necessarily, henry.

[matt - deplore me if you must]

For some reason David Bowie's song "The Man Who Sold the World" began running through my head. I am haunted now with the memories of 9/11 and how incredibly we have fallen into funk.

Biden has been disinvited from the 9/11 memorials.

Real criminals; Hillary, Hunter walk while people are held in federal jails for minor crimes. We now have our very own Lubyanka.

And Covid passports will be required at all federal checkpoints. yet while the number of cases has risen recently the number of deaths per capita have dropped tremendously.

The feds are chasing imaginary dissidents and nonexistent white supremacists while anarchists and marxists riot in the cities.

Instead of a war room to sort out the fiasco in Afghanistan there is a war room to gain passage of their suicidal spending bill.

And Joe is sulking in the Family Quarters because his master won't let him go to his beach house.

[Old Lurker]

Rick I think of your Italian experiences every time I opine that, you know, most of the world does not volunteer to pay the taxes their laws demand. There might come a time when otherwise honest, law abiding US citizens just say "Nope. No gonna pay that."

BTW, I saw that in 2020, 61% of Americans escaped paying ANY Income Tax. And the other 39% of us just get yelled at for not doing our fair share.

Nice to see you back.

[Davod]

Re SAS and 82nd Airborne at the airport.

Unless things have changed, the SAS Regiment is commanded by a Colonel, whereas, the 82nd Airborne is commanded by a Major General.

Which means the suggestion to SAS not to go outside the perimeter would have probably been an order, not a suggestion.

[henry]

Thanks Joe.

@nbcpolitics

JUST IN: The U.S. is tracking specific threats from ISIS against Kabul's airport and against Americans and others trying to leave Afghanistan, two defense officials say.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

We're coming to the point where we may have to hope no one is taking orders from our generals, including our own troops.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

If even a few Americans are killed in Kabul I don't see how Biden will not survive the event.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Drop the "not".

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Dopamine reaction is a much better descriptor of the addictive behavior.--

Probably should be spelled Dope-amine for our "reality based" fellow citizens.

The term "reality based" raises red flags in the same way as someone who is always telling you how honest he is or reminds you half a dozen times as you walk past the graveyard at night that he's not scared at all.

[henry]

Ig, we haven’t seen consequences anywhere for Dems. Cuomo gets to quit rather than face charges for crimes against humanity in consigning active Covid cases to nursing homes. Whitmer still reigns, as does VA Gov Sheets. The list is endless.

Biden complete his Welcome Back Carter term.

[Rick Ballard]

OL,

Tax evasion in Italy (and many other countries) is very much driven by the level of corruption in government from top to bottom. Hunter/Joe behavior being the rule rather than the exception. Getting "caught" just means you don't know the right people - or you didn't pay enough protection money to them.

IOW, it's not where we're headed, we've already arrived.

[MissMarple2]

Mo Brooks was imterviewedbout 15 minutes ago on RSBN. He will be introducing the President, and he is not at all nervous, because he says Trump is a regular guy who understands the people. He is fired up, even though it's starting to rain.

Back to watch on the TV, where I get a bigger picture.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Heh;

[Narciso]

donahue was the one that had last served as advisor to the afghan army, flaming a hillsdale student, over covid vaccinations, while ignoring the epidemic of suicides, which will likely increase do to this demoralizing event,

[Narciso]

that's right up there with is the pope catholic https/dailycaller.com/2021/08/21/tampa-florida-catholic-high-school-scarpo-academy-holy-names/

[Narciso]

of course the side bar was lowry saying 'biden has no credibility' duh, we knew that a year ago, when he was doing his vincent the chin act, 'the rubber meets the road' this is the burning smell you get,
when you have milley vannilli and languid lloyd austin at the top of your chain of command, with a modern dr. karenga determining promotional charts,

[Jack Lillywhite]

Tax evasion in Belgium is their National sport.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Ig, we haven’t seen consequences anywhere for Dems. Cuomo gets to quit rather than face charges for crimes against humanity in consigning active Covid cases to nursing homes.-

henry,
I didn't mean Joe wouldn't survive as in he would do the honorable thing and eat an overdose of paste. I meant he'll be quietly eased out and for the exact same reason Cuomo was; not because the Dems care whether they did anything wrong. Being a Dem means never having to say you're sorry. Catcher's mitt was pushed out because he was costing the party revenue and votes and causing it embarrassment.
If any number of Americans die because of this debacle the party isn't going to leave the Frightened Blue Hen in place until he comes up with an even bigger one to single handedly destroy the party. That the Taliban knows they benefit having this demented dunce in office is probably the greatest factor that has kept our citizens alive this long.

[Narciso]

reindeer games, and missing the point

https://www.revolver.news/2021/08/new-york-times-covid-vaccine-hit-piece-reveals-russia-disinformation-scam/

[jimmyk]

“What happens when the supplemental UI checks run out on September 6?”

There will be a vote to extend them till December 6, and 19 Republicans in the Senate will help it pass. (Speaking of dopamine addiction….)

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Businessweak with some pathetically stupid skydragon propaganda;
These methane hunters are racing to change the course of global warming.
"Frackers in America’s largest oil field are letting massive amounts of methane spill into the atmosphere. These scientists and activists are trying to find the leaks and get them plugged before they cook the planet further."

Why don't they just end the charade and change their name to Antibizmarkey?

[Narciso]

it's doomberg now, like belloq before the ark

remind me henry, chiang and his green gang had crushed mao's forces in 1927, and one long march a depression and the japanese army later, they had won the whole jackpot in a little over 20 years,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

From Bloomberg via Alex Berenson;
There's growing concern that vaccinated people may be more vulnerable to serious illness from the Covid delta variant than previously thought.

You don't say. Over/under on when the headline "There's growing concern ADE will render the vaccines worse than nothing in the long run just as many of the voices nearly silenced by us and our friends have been saying all along" will emerge?

[Narciso]

did this transfer

https://gab.com/SteveDeace

[Narciso]

this is bad enough

https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2021/08/20/no-mr-president-al-qaeda-not-gone-from-afghanistan/

[Narciso]

never mind

https://tinyurl.com/2zr3tfvd

[Narciso]

sure why not?

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-supreme-court-intervenes-in-remain-in-mexico-case-blocking-programs-revival_3958776.html?fbclid=IwAR2xPwhpVHzWPREHVClMDcLrTSwm1J7AokUo-xArR1S_xwO2HtyKqTdpVyQ

[clarice]

narciso, Alito just entered a stay until the full court can hear the case. Standard in a case like this.

[henry]

Narciso, on clearing the Japanese army: Mao fought; Chiang grifted. So it was Mao’s army vs Chiang’s “I wasn’t supposed to deposit those training checks and sell the rifles?”

[henry]

Clarice, I still believe that standard is being used as a weapon by the left.

[Narciso]

of course it is, the process is the punishment, or 'the beatings will continue till morale improves'

https://u.osu.edu/mclc/2016/07/02/truth-of-mao-zedongs-collusion-with-the-japanese-army-1/

[Jack Lillywhite]

I read a book, that for some reason, I can find, that described Afghanistan from a traveler in the 1980’s. It was Euro sophisticated, more secular, no travel restriction, (in fact, they made promotional travel posters), but here we are.

I don’t think there is enough of that to screw us.

[Davod]

Henry. I wonder if the"Mao fought Chiang grifted," was pushed by the same sort of person, who was based in Cairo and did the same to the conservative forces in Yugoslavia. That guy was a communist working for the Brits, not that they knew it at the time.

[henry]

JiB, I knew a guy in the 80s that wanted to hike the Himalayas. Afghanistan, Pakistan, no problem. India part of Kashmir, the Indian army put him on a plane back to the US. They didn’t want any witnesses to whatever they were up to.

[henry]

Davod. More likely FDR via Harry Hopkins (Stalin’s man?). Stillwell had overall US command, my grandfather was sent posthaste after VE Day to sort out logistics in China. His book, “Rice, Roads, and Robbery” was suppressed by the USG. Might be able to find it at the Eisenhower Library in his papers. He saw the grift and tried to stop / fix it. The stories he told me growing up described his activity “retrogressing” US military assets as giving the local warlord an airport instead of returning the 10 ft thick concrete runways to rice patties as contemplated in the leases. He hinted at, and I now understand that transferring airports, planes, tanks, railroads that couldn’t be shipped back to the US made Chicago look like a kindergarten. It offended him, yet he never blamed Stillwell. Chiang, the Soongs, I wish I could ask what he thought about those characters. (Mao stayed north until the US left, so my grandfather never met him).

[Narciso]

well the indians fought three wars with pakistan, well four if you count that skirmish around 99, largely over kashmir, but not exclusively,

[Jack Lillywhite]

Henry,

Same here. College friend, gap year for MD school, got forcible removed and exported to Paris.

Lucky bastard

[Narciso]

now the indians are more trustworthy on balance then the pakistani army,

https://rsbnetwork.com/video/president-donald-trump-rally-live-in-cullman-al-8-21-21/

[Narciso]

@julia mcfarlane

Just in: ABC confirms WSJ reporting that US airlines have been put on notice that the Civil Reserve Air Fleet could be activated-meaning commercial airlines could be compelled to assist Afghan evacuation efforts from airbases hosting evacuees around the world. More

[Marlene]

Good evening JOM! We spent the day driving driving thru the biggest sh*t show of traffic we've ever seen. Yes, it is a Saturday in August. After last summer and Covid, it is good to see so many people on vacation. But this morning after visiting hubby's mother in southern Maine, we then headed to southern NH to visit my mother. There was a 10 mile back -up between the York toll booth and the Maine/NH bridge. It is obvious that vacationers left early to get home before the storm. After we left NH, the traffic on 95/495/290/90/84 was at a standstill. Unbelievable. We also saw hundreds of utility trucks heading east on 84 in preparation for the storm. What a day!

[Narciso]

so they would moving inland, not out to the coast, what am I missing?

[suburbangal]

Narciso--as a Holy Names alumna (not Tampa) these people seem to know little of Holy Names history, They ran one of the most successful African mission schools (the first native African Bishop was one of their students) and at least one school in DC (in the 50s) that was almost entirely populated by blacks.
On a more direct note, in the interests of equity, etc, the two white MEN who are apparently running things ought to resign as they are clearly a patriarchy enforcing their ideas on the nuns' teaching order and the women in the school.

[Marlene]

Narciso, the utility trucks? Depending on where the trucks came from, we think they were going to the CT coast or maybe up to Boston.
The volume of traffic was unreal. Cars packed with gear, RVs, trucks towing campers and boats.

[Narciso]

good to know, I would have thought they would be driving away from the coast,

[Rocco]

I think those heading to the coast are pulling boats and securing summer homes and such.

I used to think, too many hurricanes in Florida. I jinxed myself. I'm as ready as I'll ever be for Henri. I don't think it's going to be too bad if it's a category 1 when it hits. But stay safe if you're in it's path and have a safe trip Marlene.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Michael Smith
·
Stepping back and taking a look at the motive force behind most political and socioeconomic efforts and policies today, we often find there is a common denominator. Unfortunately for most Americans, that force is not a desire by the ruling class to improve the lives of people by increasing wages, providing more safety or livability, or to solve some long-term problem that has great public consequences.
Sadly, that motive force is most often something far more insidious.
It is called moral blackmail.
Moral blackmail is a process by which the blackmailer schemes to induce guilt in an innocent person. It is also used to convince a person to commit a lesser offense to prevent a more serious offense from occurring. Most often it begins by saying, "If you allow (or do not allow) a particular thing to happen, you are responsible for the outcome, and it will forever be on your conscience. You do not want to carry THAT burden for the rest of your life, do you?"
This form of blackmail is used all the time with issues like welfare (I guess you just want your grandmother do die of hunger when Social Security goes bankrupt and you surely hate the homeless.), illegal immigration (Are you so cruel you want Guatemalan babies to be eaten by coyotes in the desert?), public services (If you do not agree to additional funding for the fire department, your neighbor’s house will burn and it will be your fault.) and tax policy (If you do not approve the new property taxes, your local elementary school will not be able to replace the swing set and little Jill might accidently hang herself. Want that on your conscience?) and most recently, it has been aggressively deployed in the arenas of both public health and race relations.
Masking and vaccinations during the recent “pandemic” are easily understood examples. Absent of any evidence other than conventional wisdom and wishes, the general wearing of face coverings (masks, cloth gaiters, etc.) has transitioned from scientific disagreement to a cultural panic. If you do not wear a mask or demand every child wear one at school, you are literally a murderer, the same with getting vaccinated – if you choose not to take the poke, you are no better than a serial killer (even though, if the vaccines really work, the vaxxed have no risk from the unvaccinated).
Who wants to carry the weight of being a secret assassin around with them 24/7/3625, right? Nobody wants to infect someone’s grandfather or second grader, do they?
The attempts at mask/vaccination guilt trips are ubiquitous and omnipresent, but taken as a whole, the public health-based moral blackmail is chump change as compared to the one that presents the most opportunity for damage to civil society and social cohesion.
That one is Critical Race Theory.
CRT is example of moral blackmail on steroids. It is not just about hanging a flailing, live albatross of guilt around your neck, this goes much deeper. This process goes something like this:
1. Every system in America has been, is now and will always be racist, therefore, because
2. The systems were created by white people, whites are eternally guilty of racism.
3. Correcting the systems so that they protect equality is not good enough, so
4. The systems must be either tilted in favor of black Americans, or
5. The control over those systems must be given over to black Americans, so
6. The systems can be used to punish white Americans until such time as black Americans are satisfied the moral debt has been repaid.
7. But no matter how much you apologize, kneel, pay, and say what they want you to say, the blackmailers will never be satisfied.
Imagine your child has been kidnapped and the kidnappers call you and say they want a ransom. You ask how much they want, and they reply, “We don’t know, just start giving us money and we will tell you when it is enough. We will give your kid back when we are satisfied.” Now imagine how impossible your situation would be if the law enforcement units of government were not only aware of the kidnapping, but in on it as well.
That is CRT in a nutshell.
CRT is state sanctioned moral blackmail by master criminals.
The New Jersey Waste Disposal cartel (i.e. the Jersey mob) is nothing compared to the size of this “you have a nice life, be a shame if something happened to it” action.
There is a reason that activists, social justice warriors, community organizers and politicians use this technique – it works – and it is especially effective in slices of society inhabited by people with low self-esteem, lacking self-confidence and who are conflict avoidant. These are people who think “Maybe I AM a racist”, “Why would they call me a racist if I were not?” or would prefer just pay for the blackmailers to go away rather than fight, even when they are 100% innocent – and know that they are.
Not a single American white person alive today has ever owned a slave that came to North America in the Atlantic slave trade and no black American alive today has ever been a slave via the slave trade. Tradition and common sense inform us that none of us are individually or corporately responsible for the sins of our ancestors.
And yet, the blackmailers never go away. They are always searching for a new angle – and for the same reason governments do not negotiate with terrorists, no one should give in to moral blackmail. Once the terrorist or blackmailer is rewarded, there is absolutely no incentive to stop.
Another characteristic of the manipulation of moral blackmail is this: it is always about money.
Always.
Every perceived slight or grievance has a price tag attached – but the fact is that there is never enough money. The asking price in any situation is never fixed and in most, a final tally is never discussed.
If you give in and pay, you should always understand that it is only a down payment, never a final one.
Blackmailers always come back.
As WOPR (the computer in the 1983 movie “WarGames”) told David (Matthew Broderick), “The only way to win is not to play.”

[MissMarple2]

The rally is introducing Trump with the opening speech by George C. Scott, from "Patton".

HA!Leftist heads exploding everywhere.

[Melinda]

DJT playing George C Scott’s “Patton” speech at rally?

[Pinandpuller]

Just checking in to say that things are pretty bad generally here in Middle Tennessee. Out in front of my house this morning looked it like the one and only time I crossed the Ohio river.

I don’t know any people personally who have died or drowned. A neighbor stopped in and said his sister lost everything in the flash flood a ways West.

About all I can say is, any preparations that you can make are great, but by no means should you think that it’s ever enough. And believe me, the preaching is coming from inside the house.

Pray for Tennessee, pray for America and pray for each other. As bad as it is it’s going to get worse.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

James Dodd
·
Want to know just how racist America is?
A bunch of brown people, with little to no access to the internet, the media, are handing their children through razor wire to total, complete strangers, because those strangers are Americans.
Their entire worldview of America, and Americans came from one place: American servicemen and women.
It didn't come from CNN. It didn't come from some garbage politician. It didn't come from blacktifa. It didn't come from some yellow rag like the new york times.
It came from the decency, the compassion, the caring of our men and women in uniform.
That was the face of this country.
It wasn't "white rage" they saw.
It was a total stranger wearing the American uniform of our armed services that they had come to know and trust.
And they handed their child through razor wire to them, hoping beyond hope that that child would have the chance to become like them.

[Rocco]

Amen Pin, prayers up.

nite all

[Catsmeat]

Oh, Pin, I'm praying for you! And your neighbors!
And I'm remembering how little attention the national media paid the horrific floods in Nashville in 2010, so I am fearing that the Biden crowd won't care...but we care!

Had my first bit of horse paste a week ago adjusted of course for my weight (a tube is one dose for a 1,250 pound horse). The TASTE as such is anodyne, but good heavens, the hideous texture--liking having a longish strip of vaseline. I went and chugged a jigger Grand Marnier, which fixed things, but folks should have something as markedly full of good taste on hand for using this stuff. Week later, no sign I ever took it, then or now, good or bad. So let's say that's good.

Again, praying for you and your fields, Pin.

[Neo]

Hospitalizations in Hawaii are up 854% in 2 months and have reached an all-time high despite one of the longest mask mandates and highest vaccination rates in the country but the good news is that experts and the media are squarely focused on ignoring this and forcing masks on 2 year olds.
You're not hearing about this because the media can’t blame masks, vaccines, Trump voters or Republicans for this data.

[MissMarple2]

Melinda,

Yes - the entire speech in front of that giant American flag. I laughed out loud as I thought how angry it must have made the Woke crowd.

Then he talked about Wokeness.

Said woke means you are a loser, and everything woke turns to shit. Yep, he said that.

Lots of other stuff. RSBN had the whole rally. Mo Brooks told everyone it was the second coming of Donald Trump. I do not think the left liked that, either.

Great speech, HUGE rally. RSBH will have it on Rumble and will show the crowd size. Amazing!

I wonder if someone on his staff reads this site.

[jim nj]

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/031340.shtml?rainqpf#contents

11PM update on Henri

Henri isn't near North Jersey, but its pushed a rain front through the area. My phone just delivered a Flash Flood watch warning effective to 2:15 AM.

Looking at the larger radar I noticed that storm in Pin's area. It seems to be just sitting there. Now slowly moving off to the south.

[Melinda]

That sounds like a fun rally.

[jim nj]

Mel,

I watched. It was.

[jim nj]

Because of Henri evacuations are being ordered in parts of NY, CT and RI.

I hope Biden isn't involved in the planning process.

[jim nj]

Wouldn't it be cool if Biden closed the southern border because we need more room for all the Afghani's?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Too bad some of that rain isn't headed out this way.

[jim nj]

Henri seems to be aimed straight at Long Island right now.

The last time that happened, if I remember correctly, was about 30-35 years ago. I was on a week's vacation in Seaside Heights, NJ, down the shore. A hurricane with a similar predicted offshore (to NJ) track came up in the middle of the week. The motel owners offered me a refund if I wanted to leave, but told me they were staying. I was young and maybe not that smart so I stayed.

When the storm passed I was out walking up and down on the boardwalk. Walking in one direction the wind was so strong that I had to lean into it big time. If the wind had suddenly stopped I would have fallen on my face.

Turning to walk back the other way, every time I picked up a foot the wind blew my leg beyond my usual stride.

It was fun - until the rain started. I don't know what the wind velocity was, but it came in sideways. And so did the rain. It was the first time in my life that rain hurt. Right in the face.

The storm abated in the late afternoon, early evening, and things quickly opened up again. The next day was absolutely beautiful.

[jim nj]

"It was fun - until the rain started."

And I suppose that's the same way a lot of people experience their first hurricane or tropical storm. "Hey, let's do that again."

All we need is a lot more liquor than usual. Not me. Just a few miles difference in the storm track and you're toast.

I give great credit to reporters who travel into storms to feed an eyewitness report on live TV. It makes the storms seem like something violent, yet tame enough to withstand. And I'd like to know what's going on.

But one of them getting knocked on their ass by an errant wind borne sheet of plywood on live TV might be more useful to the general public.

[jim nj]

Years later, in 1998, I was in Seaside Heights again for a week. Right around this time of year and the Toms River, NJ, Little League team, right across Barnegat Bay from there, was in the Little League finals.

Even people unfamiliar with the area were following their progress. And the they won the final game and were World Champions.

This year they're back at Williamsport. I watched the game on ABC today. They were 1-0 in their bracket and playing a CT team. Down 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth, they scored 8 runs, including a grand slam.

What a comeback. CT failed to answer and the final score was 11-4.

[jim nj]

Watching the weather radar, heavy bands of rain are pushing through southern and central NJ, Philadelphia and PA.

[jim nj]

I am up to late, perhaps, and this is Allahpundit, but...

https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2021/08/21/reporter-british-troops-say-the-scene-at-kabul-airport-now-is-the-worst-thing-theyve-seen-in-their-careers-n410583

[jim nj]

https://hotair.com/headlines/2021/08/21/you-wouldnt-get-your-chemotherapy-at-a-feed-store-n410518

When veterinarians are less influenced by propaganda you might.

[jim nj]

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2021/08/21/trump-skewers-biden-at-massive-rally-in-alabama-with-a-little-help-from-patton-n431018

[jim nj]

https://redstate.com/jenniferoo/2021/08/21/telegraph-uk-destroys-the-u-s-media-for-enabling-biden-while-biden-whines-about-suddenly-hawkish-media-n430901

Blistering.

[jim nj]

Looking at the conditions outside of the Kabul airport, that base is essentially useless to us now.

The embassy has been evacuated. The people we wish to rescue can't safely approach it with all of the non-SIV refugee Afghans surrounding it.

It's like the Taliban are using that refugee horde like a barricade.

They should have kept the embassy open as a place for Americans to rally to to be helicoptered out of.

Early-arriving Marines at the airport should have been rushed to the embassy.

What kind of deal traded the sovereignty of the embassy for permission to occupy the airport?

Like I said, I'm up too late, but giving up the embassy, which, by international law, is sovereign US territory and legally defensible with force as a bastion of the US strikes me as a capitulation by the Dept. of State.

If I was running the DOD I'd want a veto power over that abdication.

[jim nj]

nytol

[MissMarple2]

Good morning, all.

The Telegraph
@Telegraph
·
1m
💰 The US economy is already slowing before the recovery from Covid is complete, economists have warned ahead of a critical meeting of central bankers this week.

[MissMarple2]

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/fully-vaccinated-jesse-jackson-hospitalized-covid-19

According to John Soloman, Jackson was vaccinated in January.

[MissMarple2]

PART of the crowd in Alabama last night. As more pictures show up, I will post them.

[MissMarple2]

https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/live-news/hurricane-henri-long-island-new-york-new-england-live-updates/1003782

"As Henri bears down on the coast of southern New England, one power company in Connecticut is warning that hundreds of thousands of customers may lose power and may not come back on the grid for up to 3 weeks. In a press release issued on Saturday, Connecticut power company Eversource declared an Emergency Response Plan Level 2. The company estimates between 50 and 69 percent of its 1.25 million customers may lose power as a result of Henri. And if that news isn't grim enough, the company estimates that power restoration could take anywhere from 8 to 21 days. According to the press release, "thousands of trees could come down during this hurricane, further complicating power restoration efforts." With this timeline, it is not out of the question that some customers could be out of power into the Labor Day weekend. AccuWeather forecasters predict a significant portion of southern New England will experience power outages as a result of Henri. "

[MissMarple2]

The Telegraph
@Telegraph
·
28m
Airlines pay the company for each hour that each of its engines spends in the air. Rolls’ income has therefore collapsed during the pandemic but will recover once long-haul travel picks up.
========================
The Telegraph is touting Rolls Royce as a "buy".

Pay for each mile travelled? Who is paying for airlines to bring Afghan refugees out if the Civilian Aircraft law is invoked and airlines in the US have to contribute from their fleets?

Are US taxpayers going to be contributing to the Rolls Royce recovery? How much stock do the Murdochs own?

[MissMarple2]

Styxhexenhammer666
@Styx666Official
·
39m
Bidens gun policy in the USA: You don't need more than ten bullets. And 5.56 rifles are scary. Just use a shotgun.

In Afghanistan: Hey guyz here's some full auto M16s, some .50 cal machine guns, RPGs, drones, rifle plates, eh how about a few helicopters? APCs? Yeah!

[MissMarple2]

WOW! https://t.co/kHGCVGBzLy

— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) August 22, 2021

Link goes to a Dan Scavino video of the crowd at the rally.