The Frankish Reich

A circular argument. The State of Florida creates the law and the regulations, and is now saying certain local school library collections are in violation of that law. Again: leave local issues to local control.

That's probably correct. But my point is a different one: should the State legislature and the Governor be involved in what a local school wants to carry in its library collection? Traditionally, the answer - and particularly the Republican/conservative answer - would be that these are issues to be decided by the local community since they know what's best for themselves.

I know this guy is a lawyer, or I guess a retired lawyer. But maybe not a criminal lawyer, since part of this is just flat-out "I failed the Bar Exam" wrong." He says that of all the "overt acts" charged, only two were actually criminal acts. THAT'S NOT WHAT "OVERT ACTS" MEANS. Here's a pretty standard definition: An overt act is some type of action by any of the co-conspirators to further the overall goal of the conspiracy. This is what prosecutors must prove in order to show that the alleged conspiracy was more than just some discussion or a scheme that mostly existed in the co-conspirator’s minds. The overt act itself does not need to be unlawful in any way. The act only needs to be a concrete step towards carrying out the scheme, the act does not need to actually accomplish the goal of the alleged conspiracy. It is also important to note that all alleged co-conspirators are legally accountable for any overt acts by any of the parties that are reasonably foreseeable. For example, if two people have a discussion and agreement about printing counterfeit money, then one conspirator buying a printing press can qualify as an overt act of the conspiracy. The actions of one conspirator buying a printing press will place criminal liability on everyone involved in the conspiracy. A conspirator can also be held accountable for any actions that were made by others before the conspirator entered the conspiracy if they were late to the party.

My issue with the Florida law: local control used to be a core Republican issue. Miami Beach public schools are no doubt different than Naples public schools. If Miami Beach parents, through their school board and parent organizations, have no issue with certain books being in their school libraries, why is the Governor in Tallahassee telling them they must remove them?

Hiding in plain sight: Dawson Knox. He's looked ready to break out into the top tier of NFL TEs for a couple years now. I think it happens this season.

Week 1 vs. Bills: "Rodgers is back! The Jets are a real contender." Week 11 at Bills: "And the 39 year old hobbled Rodgers is no match for the 34 year old rejuvenated Von."

I like the cryin' in my beer old stuff. So maybe he's onto something. (I do appreciate the implied insight of Gotta Get Sober. Kind of the Margaritaville ending where it changes to "but I know, it's my own damn fault.") What I can't stand is the new slick pop country that looks like one of those refrigerator magnet poem-making kits: Workin' With My Hands. Gettin' Dirty. Truck. Small Town. Date Night. Five O'Clock. Rinse, Repeat.

Other than what I see here, I have no idea who this guy is. But his song list here tells a story of self pity: All the Rich Men in DC have the Gold. Meanwhile, I Ain't Gotta a Dollar. I Want to Go Home to Virginia and need to Get Sober. Sounds like a plan.

Wasn’t that Micheal (sic) Ray Richardson? He of the famously misspelled first name? Tremendous talent, never got his act together.

Sounds like a campaign slogan to me … Eight is Enough

Does Vivek have kids? Because to me, 8 years old = 2nd grade. I thought I heard here that talking about anything related to sex with a 2nd grader was per se "grooming."

I don't know about you but those CAPITAL LETTERS are pretty convincing.

I have to admit this is true. I don't like that it's true, but that doesn't make it false. Trump doesn't win - or even come close to winning - in 2016 unless a lot of independent/Democratic voters vote for him.

Which leaves the U.S. Fed's rate at 5.5%. Which is 7 full percentage points lower than Russia's new ruble rate. Or 2.5 times higher. But other than that, I guess they're really in the same league.

Keep on like that and he's gonna IGNORE YOU and proceed to tag you half a dozen times a day to prove it.

I disagree with the last sentence. Trump has very significant support in a number of demographics. Having said that, Trump's supporters here should stop and think about what these numbers mean. Are they consistent with a belief that the downtrodden masses support Biden and the Dems because they are the functional equivalent of "commies?" It seems to me that the proletariat is pretty Trumpy. Why? As your resident capitalist who enjoys playing Marxist Analyst for such things, allow me to explain: Trumpism is the new opiate of the people. He is the most self-interested capitalist we have ever had in the White House. He has been quoted as criticizing his minions as looking "low class." His signature achievement as President, with control of both houses of congress? A tax cut that overwhelmingly benefited wealthy people like himself. He is an old fashioned country club Republican beneath the combover and spray-on tan. He is so country club that he actually owns the country clubs. He governed (to the extent his short attention span edicts can be called "governing") as Mitt Romney. The bs salesmanship that works on the poorly educated is everything else he focuses on. Keeping America from becoming browner by limiting immigration, including of the legal kind, even though his country clubs enthusiastically enjoyed the benefits provided by illegal workers. Pretending to be a Christian (Q. When did he last attend church?) and some weird kind of libertine adult-film-actress-screwing (for money) defender of the faith. Defender of the "I'm a guy who works with his hands for a living" common man who hasn't driven anything other than a golf cart for decades or flown commercially for just as long. Marx and his followers told us that this is exactly what the capitalists will do - deflect your attention, get you to focus on unimportant crap so you don't recognize just how deeply his short fingers are banging you.

There's "athletic" and then there's "freak of nature athlete." Richardson looks like he's in the latter camp. To me it looks like his floor is going to be a Justin Fields 2022 type, able to at least win some games solely based on that athleticism. In other words, not a bust. Whether he can make it to the next level and actually become a polished QB like Allen is a different question.

Huh? Wouldn't they be increasing supply and keeping oil/gas cheap to keep the West addicted to oil? If the price of oil rises, the higher-priced renewables become more competitive.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/03/business/energy-environment/saudi-arabia-oil-production-cut.html Our friends, the Saudis.

I think I watched at least some of every Broncos game last year (which has to do with where I live, not with entertainment value), and I came to the conclusion that the best player on a horrid Broncos offense last year was Latavius Murray. How he managed to grind out positive yardage week after week on that offense was kind of amazing. Aging RBs sometimes lose it fast, but last year he looked like the same guy that he was in his prime. I predict he plays a significant positive role this year.

But that kind of risk is also why Treasuries were downgraded. My general point: far, far too many people get their one-sided view of the news from sites/feeds that exist for the sole purpose of spitting out political hot takes that get clicks. So "Fitch downgrades treasuries" is immediately spun into "Bond rating agencies to Biden: Your Economy is a Wreck." Or from the other side: "Republicans Played With Fire in the Debt Ceiling Crisis, Now We Will All Pay More to Borrow." Too easy.

The gods only know what caused this change of heart.

All of these comments show the danger of people living in their respective righty/lefty information bubbles. The quoted items here are all secondary sources with strong political biases. So you're reading spin, not news. https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/fitch-downgrades-united-states-long-term-ratings-to-aa-from-aaa-outlook-stable-01-08-2023 Growing government debt burden. This reflects increased spending of course, but also Fitch's analysis that a recession (and decreased tax revenues) is likely. Blame? Both parties. Trump tax cuts and spending, Biden spending. I will say the blame tilts toward Democrats. Medium-term fiscal challenges unaddressed. This is the "pretend Social Security and Medicare solvency isn't a problem." Blame? Both parties. Equally. Erosion of governance. Lots of things going on here, but the immediate cause? The debt ceiling standoff. After all, Fitch is rating bonds to give investors some indication of the likelihood of default, and we came way too close for comfort to default a couple months ago. Blame: heavily weighted toward Republicans, some of whom (Trump) cavalierly said "so let the U.S. government default." Fed tightening. This raises the cost of borrowing, including by the U.S. Government. Blame? Neither party, as the Fed is independent. Was that so hard? Four bullet points. Fair summary. No stupid spin.

Had to look that one up - I like it!

Oh, that's already happened. I think they go with"deep state" rather than "commie" given the obviously capitalist leanings. But they don't seem terribly clear on the dividing line.