Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

In after Baud. Damn.

He really is that stupid.

You cannot shame the shameless.

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“The Galactic Federation” Has Been In Contact With Israel & the US For Years: Retired Israeli General Decides To Light His Reputation On Fire

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"The Galactic Federation" Has Been In Contact With Israel & the US For Years: Retired Israeli General Decides To Light His Reputation On Fire

Oy vey…

From The Jerusalem Post (emphasis mine)

Has the State of Israel made contact with aliens?

According to retired Israeli general and current professor Haim Eshed, the answer is yes, but this has been kept a secret because “humanity isn’t ready.”

Speaking in an interview toYediot Aharonot, Eshed – who served as the head of Israel’s space security program for nearly 30 years and is a three-time recipient of the Israel Security Award – explained that Israel and the US have both been dealing with aliens for years.

And this by no means refers to immigrants, with Eshed clarifying the existence of a “Galactic Federation.”

The 87-year-old former space security chief gave further descriptions about exactly what sort of agreements have been made between the aliens and the US, which ostensibly have been made because they wish to research and understand “the fabric of the universe.” This cooperation includes a secret underground base on Mars, where there are American and alien representatives.

If true, this would coincide with US President Donald Trump’s creation of the Space Force as the fifth branch of the US armed forces, though it is unclear how long this sort of relationship, if any, has been going on between the US and its reported extraterrestrial allies.

But Eshed insists that Trump is aware of them, and that he was “on the verge” of disclosing their existence. However, the Galactic Federation reportedly stopped him from doing so, saying they wished to prevent mass hysteria since they felt humanity needed to “evolve and reach a stage where we will… understand what space and spaceships are,” Yediot Aharonot reported.

But sadly, we may never know the truth.

The Jerusalem Post was unable to reach out to this supposed Galactic Federation for comment.

Much more at the link, including the revelation that Eshed has a book to sell…

Also, if Eshed believes that anything could’ve kept Trump from talking about this, I have a bridge to sell you.

Regardless, this important breaking news from General Eshed does mean that we have to embed this obligatory video!

Open thread!

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On The Road After Dark – Skookum in Oly – The Wonderland Trail, Mount Rainier National Park – Part 2, Not The Mountain

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Skookum in Oly

For this Part 2 of my first On The Road post, here are 8 pictures from my Wonderland Trail hike with my brother in 2018, featuring 8 photos that are not the mountain.

This is a difficult hike, one that leaves a very lasting impression. It requires some level of physical fitness, no small amount of preparation, and even a little bit of luck. I planned ahead by leaving food caches at ranger stations at two locations along the route the week before. We finished up our hike just as the weather turned for the season.

My full trip report and all the pictures from this trip are posted at my blog here. Also on my blog are many trip reports with photos from hikes in the South Cascades of WA between Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams. It’s an amazing territory.

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On The Road After Dark - Skookum in Oly - The Wonderland Trail, Mount Rainier National Park - Part 2, Not The Mountain 7
Berkeley Park, Wonderland Trail, Mount Rainier National ParkSeptember 24, 2018

Day 1 – Lodi Creek bubbles out of the ground next to the trail.

Breaking: President-elect Biden Has Chosen GEN (ret) Lloyd Austin as His Nominee To Be the Next Secretary of Defense

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CNN has just reported that President-elect Biden has selected GEN (ret) Lloyd Austin to his Secretary of Defense.

President-elect Joe Biden has selected retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the former commander of US Central Command, to be his secretary of defense, a source familiar with the decision told CNN on Monday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first Black man to lead the Department of Defense.

In addition to serving as commander of United States Central Command, Austin previously served as the vice chief of staff of the Army.

Politico was first to report on Biden’s selection of Austin.

Austin would need a congressional waiver to be confirmed for the civilian post because he retired from active-duty service only four years ago. Federal law requires seven years of retirement from active duty before taking on the role.

I think this is selection is the result of the previous relationship that President-elect Biden has with GEN (ret) Austin. When President Obama decided to replace Secretary Mattis as the commanding general of US Central Command, he selected GEN (ret) Austin for that position. As the commanding general of the Geographic Combatant Command (GCC) with the most active area of responsibility (AOR), GEN (ret) Austin would have been in regular contact, often several times a day, with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and their senior national security advisors. As a result, President-elect Biden likely has a very good feel for GEN (ret) Austin and, as seems to be the case with almost every one of his selections so far, is going with senior, qualified, experienced people that he is comfortable with based on prior relationships. There was reporting several weeks ago that President-elect Biden did not have much of a personal relationship at all with Michelle Flournoy, who was being reported as the leading candidate for this nomination, and that this was an issue for the President-elect. The selection of GEN (ret) Austin would seem to confirm this.

GEN (ret) Austin is more than qualified and capable to run the Department of Defense. But, as CNN reported, he has only been retired for four years and will, as a result, require the same waiver from Congress that Secretary Mattis required. Hopefully, unlike Secretary Mattis, GEN (ret) Austin will be able to overcome a 40 plus year career’s worth of conditioning to be overly deferential to the President as commander in chief of the military. Given that he has a very different personality and temperament than Secretary Mattis, and that President-elect Biden is, in many ways, the polar opposite of Trump, this will hopefully not be a problem for the Biden administration as it was for the Trump administration.

Open thread!

Full disclosure: I know GEN (ret) Austin, but not well. I met him in Iraq in 2008 when he was the Commanding General of 10th Mountain Division. The brigade combat team my team was assigned to had been split off from the rest of 1st Armored Division in Multi-National Division North and sent south and east of Baghdad to Multi-National Division Central. 10th Mountain Division fortunately took over Multi-National Division Central two months into our deployment. I met GEN Austin when he came to our FOB as part of his initial battlefield circulation. I was introduced to him, he spoke to me for about 90 seconds, and my part of his briefing lasted about two minutes tops. I also provided support to him when he was the Commanding General of CENTCOM via his Command Sergeant Major, who was my point of contact in the CENTCOM command group. He might recognize my name, but if I was standing next to him he would most likely not know me from Adam and I am Adam!

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Open Thread (and Tom Levenson 8 pm Zoom Reminder)

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Open Thread.

I’ve been away from the blog for most of the day, the only thing I’ve seen is the sad news about Penelope Pearl.  What’s been happening on the political front?

⭐️

And one last reminder about the Tom Levenson zoom about his book at 8pm BLOG TIME (aka Eastern).

We are opening the “doors” at 7:30 for conversation as people arrive, and then the event program starts at 8.

So if you’re thinking “oh shit, I meant to sign up for that” or if you are wondering if it’s too late, it’s not.

If you’re interested in joining us, send me email and I’ll send you the link.  Time gets away from all of us these days, so I will watch this thread and my email for any late deciders.

 

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Monday Evening Open Thread: Bill ‘Ever Lower’ Barr Attempts to Sand Off the Fingerprints

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Any of the blog’s legal experts want to cite the correct terminology for Bygones be begones / Water under the bridge?

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Sportsball Open Thread: Concerning Qatar’s 2022 World Cup

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CNN has the European qualification draw chart from this afternoon.

Ran across this interview while doing my nightly coronavirus-related news search:

… Early in the pandemic that forced the cancellation of the European Championship and Olympics this year, Qatar was concerned about the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the first World Cup to be staged in the Middle East.

Across the world sports have resumed in front of limited or no crowds, but the vaccines have provided hope that crowds can return in large numbers from next year.

“The introduction of the vaccine and the rollout of the vaccine, it’s definitely good news for everybody,” 2022 World Cup chief executive Nasser Al-Khater said in an interview with the AP. “Everybody’s looking forward to going back to some sort of normalcy in life and especially in sports as well…

European nations on Monday will discover their path to securing one of 13 spots in the tournament when the qualifying draw is staged at FIFA HQ in Zurich. The pandemic has prevented the event being staged in the host nation as would usually happen before a World Cup…

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I Don’t Want To Tell You This…

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I debated, but figured eventually I’d have to share. It’s a very sad day in flock today.

When I went to let the ducks out this morning, Penelope had passed during the night. She was fine yesterday, but a little lethargic when I put her to bed last night. I checked her out before bed, no sign of injury, no discharge from eyes or nose – so no virus. My hope was she’d rebound by morning. It will remain a mystery, but am keeping a close eye on Maddie and Mabel in case it was something viral.

She was more an exuberant puppy than duck and the yard will be quieter without her and my mornings will be a bit less happy without her demanding I pick her up and give her scritches.

As I told John this a.m., ducks are rather fragile. One of the reasons I was happy to adopt Penelope-Pearl was because I thought Mabel seemed frail since her rescue and I was worried about Maddie being a single duck. Single ducks are unhealthy ducks. And that doesn’t take into account predators and diseases spread by wild birds and squirrels, who all think duck food is fair game. Having them means you understand life happens unexpectedly and you roll with it. I’m taking my cues from Maddie and Mabel who are enjoying the life they have today.

We are all a little sad here today. But sweet story – once I’d taken care of things outside, I was trying to sit and have a cup of coffee. Emma and Bixby would not have that. Bixby was glued to my chest (you probably aren’t surprised that it’s near impossible to drink a cup of coffee with a Great Dane “comforting” you) while Emma sat on my keyboard, occasionally swatting at the Beast – condolences and illnesses are her territory, she was not happy to have Bixby interfering.

Always someone here to make me smile.

 

 

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