Three Defense Department Employees Fired After Investigation Into Top-Secret Leaks

I don't know if these three people were among the leakers, but the White House is suggesting they are.

Before linking the story, I'll link Megyn Kelly's overview. She reports that back in March, some DoD personnel leaked top-secret military plans to NBC "News." The plans were to deploy additional US troops to the Panama Canal zone, as a contingency against Chinese aggression.

One would assume the leaks came from either the usual crop of anti-Trumpers... or hardcore isolationists who repudiate Trump's -- dare I call it this? -- moderate and nuanced take on the use of military power.

Yes, Trump is the moderate here, and he seems pretty much where I am: Yes, we must repudiate the neocons' lunatic claims about what the armed forces (which they've bravely resisted all actual contact with) can accomplish, their insane stated intentions to invade the world until it looks like Teaneck, NJ (or possibly better), and their juvenile, pathological imperative to feel like Men by sending actual men to fight pointless wars.

On the other hand: I do not want to embrace Ron Paul total isolationism, I do not want to do what Obama said we must do, which is to just "absorb" terror attacks without retaliation.

And that's what the hardcore isolationists want. And their attachment to MAGA is highly contingent -- they support MAGA only to the extent they can dictate Trump's foreign policy, and embrace simple bad-old-days peace-at-any-cost, Blame America First pacifism as the new "rightist" position of military force.

I didn't like this position when Noam Chomsky was pushing it, and I like it no better now that Tucker Carlson has embraced it in his new quasi-religious crusade.

Megyn Kelly sure suspects this leak was made to embarrass Trump and control him, and use NBC "News" as a co-conspirator in their plot to exercise a Bureaucrat's Veto over Trump's plans to rattle the saber a little in Panama.

The White House suggests it too.

Politico:

'Unconscionable': 3 former Pentagon officials say they don't know why they were fired
The ousted advisers, in their first public comments, praised the administration but made no mention of their former boss, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Megyn Kelly notes that the leakers are planting quotes in the media attacking Pete Hegseth, even though Hegseth is just executing Trump's foreign policy directives here.

Let me point out that this is a typical strategy of the Neo-Isolationists and Tucker Carlson personally: They know they cannot attack Trump himself, because he's far too popular with their own audience and he may just cut them off completely if they go after him.

So instead, they attack Trump's policies by attacking other people in the government for advancing them, pretending they don't know that these are Trump's policies.

The guy ran on a judicious and skeptical but tough -- he uses that word constantly -- use of military force in the world. the Neo-Isolationists don't like the "tough" part. They want zero use of the military overseas; they are dogmatically, nigh-religiously convicted of the idea that we cannot use military force except to repel an invasion.

They know the "tough" part of Trump's foreign policy comes directly from Trump's lips and is a foundational part of his political worldview, but instead of being honest and saying "We disagree with Trump here," they pretend that Trump's foreign policy is akshually being made by Pete Hegseth or whoever.

This is just dishonest. These are cowards masquerading as heroes. If you have a beef with Trump, say so, pussies.

Three top Pentagon advisers, who were fired this week after a leak investigation, said Saturday they had no idea why they were ousted.
Former senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the deputy Defense secretary's former chief of staff, said in an X post that they "have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of 'leaks' to begin with."
Their public comments about an "unconscionable" and false firing add to a tumultuous week for the Pentagon. Joe Kasper, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's chief of staff and the person who signed the memo authorizing the leak probe, left his role on Friday for a different position.
POLITICO reported this week that the advisers were under investigation for a series of leaks that included reports about Elon Musk's visit to the Pentagon, military plans for the Panama Canal, a second carrier headed to the Red Sea, and a pause in the collection of intelligence for Ukraine.
The former officials contradicted the allegations.
"Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door," the former Pentagon officials said in a statement posted to Caldwell's account.
They continued to express support for the "Trump-Vance Administration's mission to make the Pentagon great again," but did not mention Hegseth, with whom they'd worked closely.

Yes, they "support" Trump and Vance, but only to the extent that Trump and Vance adopt their Neo-Isolationist absolutism.

I'm starting to suspect I know where the leaks of Pete Hegseth's Signal chats are coming from.

After a weekend of headlines, the White House faced new questions about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and at least one Republican is now calling on him to resign. Some of this is related to Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to text operational details of military action. But as Lisa Desjardins reports, that is not the only issue.

Meanwhile, they're spreading the idea that Trump is looking to fire Hegseth -- which Trump himself calls "fake news."

The Pentagon is in "total chaos" and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is unlikely to remain in his role, according to its former top spokesperson, who painted a scene of dysfunction, backstabbing and continuous missteps at the highest levels of the department.
"The building is in disarray under Hegseth's leadership," John Ullyot wrote Sunday in a POLITICO Magazine opinion piece. "The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president -- who deserves better from his senior leadership."
Ullyot, who resigned from the Pentagon last week, described a department in collapse. He accused Hegseth's team of "falsehoods" about why three top officials were fired last week, saying they hadn't leaked sensitive information to the media. He chastised Pentagon officials for how they handled revelations that Hegseth shared sensitive military information in a Signal chat, and he pointed to other leaks that caused embarrassment to the administration.
The remarkable accusations by a former official -- who left only two days ago and insists he still supports the Trump administration's national security policies -- underscores the infighting and upheaval that has turned increasingly public in recent weeks.
But he also found himself in the center of several controversies that added to that chaos.

This reminds me of Andrew Sullivan's complete flip on George W. Bush. First Sullivan wrote "mash notes" to Bush -- crush notes. Then he turned on hims savagely.

Sullivan went from being absolutely confident that George W. Bush was right and perfect in all that he did to, overnight, becoming absolutely confident that George W. Bush was the devil with a drawl.

There was no "in between" period for Sullivan. He did not go into a period of doubt and reflection, where he might right "I admit that my former passions were not well-founded, and I'm in a state of doubt as I grope now to figure out what the truth is."

No, he want from being 100% sure of one position to being 100% of the exact opposite position nearly overnight.

Tucker Carlson is doing the same thing. Overnight he went from a firebreathing neocon warmonger who was attached at the sphincter to the Republican Establishment to being a firebreathing convert to the cause of Peace At Any Cost. There was never a period of doubt and questioning. He went right from one Received Truth to its exact opposite Received Truth.

My position on the use of force is a lot like Trump's 2017 position on Muslim immigration: We have to shut it down for a while until we can figure out "what the hell is going on." But I certainly have not become some kind of dogmatic leftwing shill claiming that countries have the right to attack us and our interests and we must never, ever attack them.

Or that the only real foreign policy problem we have to solve is... Israel. And the Neo-Isolationists never stop running their mouths about Israel. They've got nothing to say about the Houthis attacking American (and all other countries') ships, but damn, can they talk a blue streak about Israel's missile strikes against the Houthis.

Last week, someone in the administration leaked the news that Israel planned an attack on Iran's nukes, but Trump talked Netanyahu out of it.

Again, this is top-secret information, and it seems to be leaked by someone who is opposed to any use of force by the US or even a US ally, and someone who has very protective feelings about Iran and very antagonistic feelings towards Israel.

This a serious federal offense. The people doing the leaking are not heroes. They are criminals who think they're righteous.

Dan Caldwell was one of the strongest voices at the Pentagon opposing war with Iran. Then he was falsely accused of leaking classified documents and fired.

(0:00) Introduction
(1:10) What Would Happen if the US Went to War With Iran?
(9:13) The Real Reason the US Invaded Iraq… pic.twitter.com/JUktfTIySd
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 21, 2025

Posted by: Ace at 04:27 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Foist?

Posted by: Romeo13 at April 22, 2025 04:28 PM (QAkQ3)

2 SPONGE!!!

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at April 22, 2025 04:28 PM (Vqx30)

3 $#)(*^)(#%_(^*@!^, I only *skimmed* the content!!!

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at April 22, 2025 04:29 PM (Vqx30)

4 Hola

Posted by: Thanatopsis at April 22, 2025 04:29 PM (GYt5+)

5 If the Media raises a stink we will know it was the right three people.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:30 PM (jc0TO)

6 If you have any doubt about a government flack, fire them. We have too many already, and odds are high you are correct.

Trumps people should have small differences in what they give people to identify where leaks come from.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:30 PM (n7h9X)

7 There has been a consistent effort to sink Hegseth from the beginning. I take this as confirmation he is effective.

Posted by: steevy at April 22, 2025 04:30 PM (YwEeS)

8 >>Or that the only real foreign policy problem we have to solve is... Israel. And the Neo-Isolationists never stop running their mouths about Israel.

I wish someone with a platform would address the fact that our relationship with Israel is in no way a one-way street.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:30 PM (F30Ty)

9 It's a good start. There's still a lot more leakers.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at April 22, 2025 04:31 PM (N1tpc)

10 >>> their insane stated intentions to invade the world until it looks like Teaneck, NJ

Was Teaneck just a random city you picked, or is this some reference to the constant ethnic strife going on between the orthodox jews and brothers?

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:31 PM (uCjyK)

11 >>> 'Unconscionable': 3 former Pentagon officials say they don't know why they were fired

In a fair country precident would require a no-knock O'dark thirty raid with the MFM filming your wife in her undies filleted on the sidewalk.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 04:32 PM (/lPRQ)

12 9 It's a good start. There's still a lot more leakers.
Posted by: Formerly Virginian at April 22, 2025 04:31 PM (N1tpc)

They're dug in like ticks

Posted by: It's me donna at April 22, 2025 04:32 PM (VE6XX)

13 Tucker's CIA Roots are showing more and more.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:32 PM (F30Ty)

14 So, unnamed sources are attacking sources who are... not named?

Posted by: Romeo13 at April 22, 2025 04:33 PM (QAkQ3)

15 My foreign policy preference is, "Don't make me come down there/rubble don't make trouble."

Posted by: Rowsdower & Batman have had it up to HERE with these damn juggalos & still think Ray Epps is a fed a at April 22, 2025 04:33 PM (VkPYQ)

16 If the fired actually are innocent they would quietly let their lawyers quietly negotiate their case. That's obvious.
So making noise is how they continue to try to infict damage. The question now is are they lone wolves or someone's catspaw.

Posted by: torabora at April 22, 2025 04:33 PM (ereJz)

17 Ron Paul was for Mark and Reprisal.

You'd find a lot of "isolationists" that would be fine with nuking that stupid black rock in Mecca if we ever get attacked.

I remember Tucker being anti-war since at least 07.

Posted by: Kyle at April 22, 2025 04:34 PM (vBiNB)

18 >>> Tucker Carlson is doing the same thing. Overnight he went from a firebreathing neocon warmonger who was attached at the sphincter to the Republican Establishment to being a firebreathing convert to the cause of Peace At Any Cost. There was never a period of doubt and questioning. He went right from one Received Truth to its exact opposite Received Truth.

Also, I agree with both your view on Tucker Carlson, and on Tucker's seemingly latest evolution (screaming bow tie => neocon => non-interventionalist) on foreign affairs. But I also don't want Trump to keep this neo-con world police fiasco rolling.

So where does that leave me on the pussy scale? A quasi-pussy? A trans neo-vagina?

I kid, I'm fine with it.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:34 PM (uCjyK)

19 Woo Hoo!

Top Ten!!!!

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 04:34 PM (/lPRQ)

20 My foreign policy preference is, "Don't make me come down there/rubble don't make trouble."
Posted by: Rowsdower & Batman have had it up to HERE with these damn juggalos & still think Ray Epps is a fed a at April 22, 2025 04:33 PM (VkPYQ)

I was impressed that the last strike on the Houthi looked to be just that - large enough to make an impression, but we did not hang around drizzling in the area to have accidents or close calls Houthi can claim credit for.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:34 PM (n7h9X)

21 >>>Was Teaneck just a random city you picked, or is this some reference to the constant ethnic strife going on between the orthodox jews and brothers?

it was completely random. I was going to say Hartford Connecticut that that sounded too cliche. And I don't know if Hartford is nice or a hell hole like New Haven.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:34 PM (KRtlO)

22 Sullivan went from being absolutely confident that George W. Bush was right and perfect in all that he did to, overnight, becoming absolutely confident that George W. Bush was the devil with a drawl.

There was no "in between" period for Sullivan. He did not go into a period of doubt and reflection, where he might right "I admit that my former passions were not well-founded, and I'm in a state of doubt as I grope now to figure out what the truth is."

No, he want from being 100% sure of one position to being 100% of the exact opposite position nearly overnight.

In fairness, we can't blame the man for what he said after the spirochetes took over his brain.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:35 PM (jc0TO)

23 >>You'd find a lot of "isolationists" that would be fine with nuking that stupid black rock in Mecca if we ever get attacked.

IF?

How old are you? 12?

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:35 PM (F30Ty)

24 13 Tucker's CIA Roots are showing more and more.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:32 PM (F30Ty)

That was my favorite part of Tuckers interview with Putin. Putin made some pointed comment like "yes, I know you applied to work for the CIA. Right?" Then just kind of stared at him, with the rest of that accusation left unstated.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:35 PM (uCjyK)

25 Some report a different reason to go after Hegseth.

There are reports that Hegseth, Vance, and Tulsi all counsel negotiation over bombing Iran right now.

It may not be neo isolationists but the opposite.

US supposedly told Israel not to attack Iran right now as well which Netanyahu rejected.

Then there is the Deep State watching Ukraine slip away with us hanging back and dissing NATO.

So, we are watching shadows on a cave wall here unless we know exactly from insider information what is going on.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 04:35 PM (ctrM5)

26 Excellent post ace!!

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:35 PM (g47mK)

27
I think Tucker, at this point, will believe ANYTHING anti-government he's told, and the more wacky the better.

Posted by: Soothsayer at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (fWppX)

28 >>I don't know if Hartford is nice or a hell hole like New Haven.

Hartford is the Newark NJ of New Havens.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (F30Ty)

29 "Let me point out that this is a typical strategy of the Neo-Isolationists and Tucker Carlson personally: They know they cannot attack Trump himself, because he's far too popular with their own audience and he may just cut them off completely if they go after him.

So instead, they attack Trump's policies by attacking other people in the government for advancing them, pretending they don't know that these are Trump's policies."

Yes, that is exactly right.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (g47mK)

30 3 former Pentagon officials say they don't know why they were fired

Babylon Bee could have some fun with this...

"Leakers, Traitors and Spies Don't Understand Why Fired from Pentagon"...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (ynpvh)

31 Think what you will about Tucker Carlson (his simplistic moralizing is tiresome) but I suggest watching the entire interview with Caldwell. Not a lot of ambiguity there, and he points out that there is a lot of hostility toward Trump in the Pentagon, and he says who and why. I don't think Caldwell is the problem.

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (MZ+PY)

32 'Former senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the deputy Defense secretary's former chief of staff, said in an X post that they "have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of 'leaks' to begin with."'

If true, it probably prevents a suspect from surreptitiously sanitizing evidence. BleachBitting *everything* seems like a pretty obvious tell.

Posted by: Rowsdower & Batman have had it up to HERE with these damn juggalos & still think Ray Epps is a fed a at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (VkPYQ)

33 Tucker's CIA Roots are showing more and more.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:32 PM

I watched some Tucker last evening and I'm inclining back to thinking him a loon.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (jc0TO)

34 it was completely random. I was going to say Hartford Connecticut that that sounded too cliche. And I don't know if Hartford is nice or a hell hole like New Haven.
Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:34 PM (KRtlO)

Oh. It's a hellhole. New Haven at least has apizza. Hartford has the decaying remnants of insurance companies.

New Canaan, CT, would have been a good choice.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:37 PM (uCjyK)

35 Speaking of the Babylon Bee...
"Next Pope To Be Chosen Via Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course"

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at April 22, 2025 04:37 PM (ynpvh)

36 > I wish someone with a platform would address the fact that our relationship with Israel is in no way a one-way street.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:30 PM (F30Ty)

Israel is the only non-shithole country in the entire region.

While some of the shithole countries may be our temporary "allies", I think we should support non-shithole countries and encourage shithole countries to stop being shitholes, whether by carrot or stick.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at April 22, 2025 04:37 PM (W5ArC)

37 I saw Tucker's thing with Caldwell

no DUH there are loads of bad actors in the pentagon, but that round man is a weasel

and tuck is CIA

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:37 PM (Pv3Rg)

38 "Trump is great, we love Trump...but some people around him , oh boy.." that was exactly the kind of shite that mcgregor fellar was pushing. Another peace at any cost wakcjob.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:37 PM (g47mK)

39 Afternoon, All.

Damn, Megyn Kelly still looks good.

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:37 PM (77rzZ)

40 I watched some Tucker last evening and I'm inclining back to thinking him a loon.
Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (jc0TO)

He lost me with the UFO stuff

Posted by: It's me donna at April 22, 2025 04:37 PM (VE6XX)

41 >>>Think what you will about Tucker Carlson (his simplistic moralizing is tiresome) but I suggest watching the entire interview with Caldwell. Not a lot of ambiguity there, and he points out that there is a lot of hostility toward Trump in the Pentagon, and he says who and why. I don't think Caldwell is the problem.

maybe, but his firing seems to be related to leaking against Trump. I don't have any sympathy for the leakers, even if they claim, nominally, to be "MAGA."

We don't know these things, but Karoline Leavitt suggested that these firings are connected to the leaks.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:38 PM (KRtlO)

42 I saw Three leakers open for Three Lesbians at the Cow Palace.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at April 22, 2025 04:38 PM (nE5hF)

43 I watched some Tucker last evening and I'm inclining back to thinking him a loon.

it's great for tuck to seem like a "loon" because that will reflect badly on people like you and me

he's not a loon

he's a moby

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:38 PM (Pv3Rg)

44 I wonder if polygraphs were involved.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:38 PM (jc0TO)

45 >>Israel is the only non-shithole country in the entire region.

Sure. But it goes so far beyond that, it is insane.
I can barely think of another country we send aid to that does more in return for that aid.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:38 PM (F30Ty)

46 'Former senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the deputy Defense secretary's former chief of staff, said in an X post that they "have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of 'leaks' to begin with."'

If true, it probably prevents a suspect from surreptitiously sanitizing evidence. BleachBitting *everything* seems like a pretty obvious tell.
Posted by: Rowsdower & Batman have had it up to HERE with these damn juggalos & still think Ray Epps is a fed a at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (VkPYQ)

They don't have to tell you anything brother, except they want you OUT right now. There's plenty of people to take your job. If innocent and loyal, loyally go home and shut up.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:38 PM (n7h9X)

47 At NPR we have it on good authority that an unnamed source has indicated that a top official at the DOD notified NPR that an unnamed source has informed us that an unnamed official in the Trump cabinet knows the unnamed official who gave it to us on good authority.

This is NPR.

Posted by: NPR at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (+8MS3)

48 A bunker that was part of a former Belgian Nato site on the border to Luxembourg is currently up for sale for €375,000.

Located in the Courtil business park in Gouvy, the unusual property is hitting the market at a time when a current tense geopolitical climate - and higher level of preparedness for war - is bringing back the demand for private bunkers across Europe.

Posted by: SMOD at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (RHGPo)

49 I think Tucker, at this point, will believe ANYTHING anti-government he's told, and the more wacky the better.

Posted by: Soothsayer at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (fWppX)

In fairness to Tucker, though, what wacky anti-government story have you been told in the past, say, 20 years that hasn't turned out to be true?

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (ExV1e)

50 Hartford is the Newark NJ of New Havens.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (F30Ty)

Twice in one day I'm agreeing with you.

Next thing you know, I'll be saying "well, maybe buggery IS something worth looking in to"

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (uCjyK)

51 making noise is how they continue to try to infict damage. The question now is are they lone wolves or someone's catspaw.
==
The pentagon is a dumpster fire. It is a microcosm of the larger government problem. It is huge. Peopled by those who serve it, not us. Baroque in its complexity. Impervious to shame. And utterly confident in its entitlement.

Posted by: SMOD at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (DrGpr)

52 One of the guys got fired for being anti war with Iran.

Posted by: Boss Moss at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (MySZH)

53 They don't have to tell you anything brother, except they want you OUT right now. There's plenty of people to take your job. If innocent and loyal, loyally go home and shut up.

EXACTLY

well said OldCat

Caldwell is a weasel. a big fat weasel

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (Pv3Rg)

54 Any chance that any of the leaks and firings were a canary trap by Trump to find out who the enemies are in his inner circles?

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (p6zRz)

55 > nuking that stupid black rock in Mecca if we ever get attacked.

Confiscate it and embed it in a giant public urinal at Fort Bragg.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (W5ArC)

56 So where does that leave me on the pussy scale? A quasi-pussy? A trans neo-vagina?
-----

AOS style guide is mangina I think. Ace or Garrett can correct me if I am wrong.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (ctrM5)

57 Never forget Tucker giving cover to Hunter Biden and the 51 Intelligence Officials.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (F30Ty)

58 >>> He lost me with the UFO stuff

yeah he was just spamming out conspiracy theories

I kinda got where he was coming from -- at first. The Deep State has lied to us and convinced us of a false reality. It is therefore important to question everything you think you know and try to establish what is real and what is just Deep State propaganda.

But Tucker Carlson seems to have taken this to mean "anything the 'powers that be' say must be false, and therefore, the exact opposite must be true." The "Powers That Be" say that UFOs aren't alien craft, therefore, they must be.

This is like Dry Drunk "thinking." Where you just keep veering from one extreme to the other.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (KRtlO)

59 Should be charged with giving away information and arrested

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (ypFCm)

60 In fairness to Tucker, though, what wacky anti-government story have you been told in the past, say, 20 years that hasn't turned out to be true?
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (ExV1e)

I think he's mostly right in his latest iteration of his media persona, I just don't trust anyone who changes his view points completely every time he gets a new job. Especially when his last job was being a VERY LOUD propagandist for his most recent view points.

Maybe the next evolution of Tucker will be a televangelist.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (uCjyK)

61 One of the guys got fired for being anti war with Iran.
Posted by: Boss Moss at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (MySZH)

Why trust him on this subject?

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (n7h9X)

62 Israel is the only non-shithole country in the entire region.

Turkey was decent back in the day, i.e., pre-Erdogan. Not completely first-world like Israel, but pretty close.

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (77rzZ)

63 Oh. It's a hellhole. New Haven at least has apizza. Hartford has the decaying remnants of insurance companies.
________________

I take it New Haven and Hartford are diverse?

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (YqDXo)

64 57 Never forget Tucker giving cover to Hunter Biden and the 51 Intelligence Officials.

thank you Garrett!

yep

and of course, personally haranguing Trump into that "two week shutdown" op

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (Pv3Rg)

65 The Bee has added MS13 to LGBTQMS13.

Posted by: Boss Moss at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (MySZH)

66 "Yes, we must repudiate the neocons' lunatic claims about what the armed forces (which they've bravely resisted all actual contact with) can accomplish, their insane stated intentions to invade the world until it looks like Teaneck, NJ (or possibly better), and their juvenile, pathological imperative to feel like Men by sending actual men to fight pointless wars."

ALSO

"But I certainly have not become some kind of dogmatic leftwing shill claiming that countries have the right to attack us and our interests and we must never, ever attack them.

Or that the only real foreign policy problem we have to solve is... Israel. And the Neo-Isolationists never stop running their mouths about Israel. They've got nothing to say about the Houthis attacking American (and all other countries') ships, but damn, can they talk a blue streak about Israel's missile strikes against the Houthis."

In other words: "Where the hell is my cake? It was sitting right here until I ate it."

Posted by: Common Sense Translation Services at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (LRGrN)

67 Israel aid is really loan guarantees, right? We don't send them money. More like guarantee that they repay what they borrow from other places. And part of payback for that sweet guarantee is that they use those loans to buy our planes and stuff!

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (g47mK)

68 21 >>>Was Teaneck just a random city you picked, or is this some reference to the constant ethnic strife going on between the orthodox jews and brothers?

it was completely random. I was going to say Hartford Connecticut that that sounded too cliche. And I don't know if Hartford is nice or a hell hole like New Haven.
Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:34 PM (KRtlO)

Teaneck is actually a pretty nice suburb, from what I remember of sitting shiva over there years ago. Hartford particularly great (like most state capital towns), but Trinity College - where Tucker went to college - is there. Trinity is nice.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (FBY9a)

69 Sullivan turned on Bush because Bush halfheartedly supported the Defense of Marriage act; that's all it took. Sullivan's principles are completely tied to his asshole and everything gay.

I'm in the same boat as you Ace. I served in the Army, and I do not want our guys deployed somewhere for no discernible reason and with ROEs that will get them killed. However, the US does have interests that need protecting, and if we don't hinder China, no one else will either.

Posted by: UGAdawg at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (se/Tc)

70 Strawmanning the argument, I see.

If there is such a thing as neo-isolationism, it's not based on pacifism. It's based on not going out and looking for trouble.

There's quite a bit of space between letting terrorist come over here and terrorize (like Biden was doing, like Europe is doing), and thinking that bombing the Hooties is just dumb.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (dGCAG)

71 >>Next thing you know, I'll be saying "well, maybe buggery IS something worth looking in to"

Since you are most definitely a Bottom...

Buggery is something that looks into YOU.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (F30Ty)

72 AOS style guide is mangina I think. Ace or Garrett can correct me if I am wrong.
Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (ctrM5)

Shit, I had it as "bussy" or "boy pussy". I will update my records.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (uCjyK)

73 the Neo-Isolationists don't like the "tough" part. They want zero use of the military overseas; they are dogmatically, nigh-religiously convicted of the idea that we cannot use military force except to repel an invasion.

I consider myself a neo-isolationist to a large extent for a variety of reasons. But, yes, like Punxsutawney Phil, we must occasionally emerge from our hole and murder someone. That said, we've been way too complacent about the exercise of military force, and we ought to ask hard questions every time it is proposed. I doubt we can be too skeptical or reluctant, given how deranged our foreign and military polices have been of late.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (y+qgR)

74 @DataRepublican
Reminder: When @Beard_Vet pressed Don Bacon about his silence on the swatting of conservative influencers, Bacon refused to respond, citing Beard_Vet's past failure to sufficiently condemn protesters who had shown up at Bacon's home.

Nebraskans, Don Bacon won't stand up for you unless you stand up for him first.

Posted by: olddog in mo at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (hoCmQ)

75 >>>44 I wonder if polygraphs were involved.

MK said the DOD announced that polygraphs would be given. Though she said she didn't know if that was their real plan, or a ruse -- if you announce polygraphs, the first people to object to the polygraphs may be your culprits.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (KRtlO)

76 Let me point out that this is a typical strategy of the Neo-Isolationists and Tucker Carlson personally:

Carlson’s daddy was CIA. Tucker affects that weird hyena laugh that is just extra. Makes me think he’s LARPing True Con hood.

Posted by: kallisto at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (kJyOb)

77 Anyone who owes their job in the DOD to Obama or GW should be fired, effective immediately.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (tT6L1) at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (tT6L1)

78 Oh, I remember that business with Hunter! He said something like "I know him , he is/was my neighbor, and sure he has problems , but not a bad man!"

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (g47mK)

79 62 Israel is the only non-shithole country in the entire region.

Turkey was decent back in the day, i.e., pre-Erdogan. Not completely first-world like Israel, but pretty close.

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (77rzZ)

Yet it's highest court is run by rabid leftists who cling to power like...rabid leftists.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (ynpvh)

80 54 Any chance that any of the leaks and firings were a canary trap by Trump to find out who the enemies are in his inner circles?
Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at April 22, 2025 04:39 PM (p6zRz)
-------------

I thought the leak regarding Elon seeing China war plans was exactly that.

Posted by: WisRich at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (G0vdT)

81 Tucker Carlson is doing the same thing. Overnight he went from a firebreathing neocon warmonger who was attached at the sphincter to the Republican Establishment to being a firebreathing convert to the cause of Peace At Any Cost.

It does have something to do with the US losing every military conflict its been involved in for decades...

I don't want American troops deployed anywhere if they aren't given a RoE to win...

Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (t0Rmr)

82 If you take what Caldwell said in the interview at face value, (and I'm not saying you should) he makes some good points. He has not been asked to take a polygraph. He was not asked for his phone. He was allowed access to secret information up until the very second he was escorted from the building. He has not been told that he is suspected of leaking and he has not been charged with anything. He also suggested that if your looking for leakers, you might look at Susan Rice, who is still on the Pentagon's board.

Posted by: Frasier Crane at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (bNf8H)

83 78 Oh, I remember that business with Hunter! He said something like "I know him , he is/was my neighbor, and sure he has problems , but not a bad man!"

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (g47mK)

No, not bad, very bad.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (ynpvh)

84 Tucker Carlson just likes to hear himself talk. His political positions mean less than James Carville's, which is to say, not a damned thing. He has a perpetual scowl on his face trying to look as if he is trying to understand what his guest is saying, but it is more like your dog turning his head when he hears a question, and about as productive. At least he got rid of the pretentious bow ties.

Posted by: tcn in AK at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (a4NoL)

85 >>It's a hellhole. New Haven at least has apizza.

New Haven also has The Banque. Really amazing food back in the day (90s).

Also, LOADED with hot young women every night.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (F30Ty)

86 I remember learning in grade school that "isolationism" meant eschewing foreign relationships & trade. Now it just seems to indicate a reluctance to use the military proactively (and an insult, apparently). Not sure the word "isolationism" is a good descriptor of that philosophy.

Posted by: wat at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (Dk542)

87 Double naught spies!!

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (F6NET)

88 Canary Trap

Somewhere in the Afterlife, Tom Clancy is smiling.

Posted by: Anna Puma at April 22, 2025 04:44 PM (HTwBY)

89 Teaneck might be the most Jewish town in NJ.

https://tinyurl.com/4axyuu8s

Posted by: The Truth at April 22, 2025 04:44 PM (LRGrN)

90 > Buggery is something that looks into YOU.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (F30Ty)

I'd like to find a hole somewhere,
In a patch of wiry hair,
Tight grip, well-lubed, nice squeak
Oh.... wouldn't it be buggery?

Posted by: My Fairy Lady at April 22, 2025 04:44 PM (W5ArC)

91 And then there is Bridgeport

https://youtu.be/5Hna5V27kac

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at April 22, 2025 04:44 PM (WuYf/)

92 Bacon refused to respond, citing Beard_Vet's past failure to sufficiently condemn protesters who had shown up at Bacon's home.
---------------

Sufficiently condemn? Bacon will never condemn swatting of right wing influencers, then, if that's the standard.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (tT6L1) at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (tT6L1)

93 Way back in the day, I used to see similar reports during the Reagan administration to let Reagan be Reagan when a lot of it was infighting within the administration as to which faction's policy would be adopted.

Didn't see that as much in the Globo Homo administrations of the Bushes simply because most of teh GOPe in those administrations agreed.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (ctrM5)

94 Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (ynpvh)

Hey, Dude! How are you?

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (77rzZ)

95 >>Israel aid is really loan guarantees, right?

Yes.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (F30Ty)

96 Tucker Carlson is sowing division. Bleep him and his screechy faux laugh straight to h3ll

Posted by: kallisto at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (kJyOb)

97 Lots of speculation that the receiver of Caldwell's leaks was Tucker Carlson.

The podcast between the two feels highly performative/scripted, and contains plenty of nondenial denials.

Posted by: Bitcoin Fixes Everything at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (V6W16)

98 Carlson asked Caldwell about polygraph. He said he was not given one.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (g47mK)

99 "But I certainly have not become some kind of dogmatic leftwing shill claiming that countries have the right to attack us and our interests and we must never, ever attack them."

But they aren't even that principled. I can respectfully disagree with peaceniks; it's naive and dangerous, but I can understand the principle. Establishment Democrats are against any war waged by a Republican president that could serve US interests. They are for pointless interventions that doesn't affect anyone they know like Libya, or the Balkans, or Ukraine. Their sons will never fight, so why should they give a fuck?

Posted by: UGAdawg at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (se/Tc)

100 Best case is to let your enemies identify themselves and expend their resources to its limits and then we come in a fuck them up. We never need to be the first to fight. Its how we ended up the Super Power. Let's go with a winning strategy not the janitor in a barrel - always first and always hated.

Posted by: Pudinhead at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (pZ64F)

101 "Three Defense Department Employees Fired After Investigation Into Top-Secret Leaks...."

Yet we have been assured repeatedly by the left and the media that the deep state does not exist.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (e5NfL)

102 I take it New Haven and Hartford are diverse?
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (YqDXo)

Yeah, but like in the actual meaning of the word.

Very ethnic neighborhoods now. 20 years ago, they were absolute shit holes with massive black populations. Hartford had some hispanic gangs, but they were mostly on the west side of town.

Now immigrants from around the world have moved in, and they're carving out their own little shithole parts of the cities.

New Haven has had a bit of a come back in recent years, it's no longer as ... unsafe feeling at night.

Bridgeport and Hartford are still very unsafe feeling at night.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (uCjyK)

103 "My position on the use of force is a lot like Trump's 2017 position on Muslim immigration: We have to shut it down for a while until we can figure out "what the hell is going on." But I certainly have not become some kind of dogmatic leftwing shill claiming that countries have the right to attack us and our interests and we must never, ever attack them."

I'm fine with that on the forever war, but I don't need time to figure out what is going on with the muslim invasion.

We are importing a conquering force, (our "elite") thinking that they're just the same as Polish Catholics.

They aren't. They won't be. And it won't end well.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (N1tpc)

104 Especially when his last job was being a VERY LOUD propagandist for his most recent view points.

Maybe the next evolution of Tucker will be a televangelist.
Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (uCjyK)

That's funny, I could have sworn he was fired from his last job precisely because he was NOT willing to propagandize for the ruling class.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (dGCAG)

105 58 >>> He lost me with the UFO stuff

yeah he was just spamming out conspiracy theories

I kinda got where he was coming from -- at first. The Deep State has lied to us and convinced us of a false reality. It is therefore important to question everything you think you know and try to establish what is real and what is just Deep State propaganda.

But Tucker Carlson seems to have taken this to mean "anything the 'powers that be' say must be false, and therefore, the exact opposite must be true." The "Powers That Be" say that UFOs aren't alien craft, therefore, they must be.

This is like Dry Drunk "thinking." Where you just keep veering from one extreme to the other.
Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:40 PM (KRtlO)

Considering that Tucker hasn't had a drink in over two decades (according to a radio interview I heard between him and Charlie Kirk), you may be closer to the mark than you write.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (FBY9a)

106 Oh, I remember that business with Hunter! He said something like "I know him , he is/was my neighbor, and sure he has problems , but not a bad man!"
Posted by: runner
__________

One of them wrote a college admissions letter for a relative of the other. Can't remember the details.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (UBKzV)

107 I missed the last Thread, but searched the comments for "Subaru".

The Horde did not disappoint.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (0sNs1)

108 There's quite a bit of space between letting terrorist come over here and terrorize (like Biden was doing, like Europe is doing), and thinking that bombing the Hooties is just dumb.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (dGCAG)

There's no problem with bombing the Houthis - its the way the armed forces seem to think bombing forever can solve all problems. If the H's have stuff you want to blow up and people to kill, aircraft can do that fine. And when its done you then leave and consider the rubble.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (n7h9X)

109 You know the best way to prove you really were the leakers?

Go to the media, any media, and whine that you don't know why you were fired.

You know what a man, who honesty didn't know why he was fired, and who honestly still supports Trump would do?
Keep his damned mouth shut.
Work your contacts in private to clear your name.
Or move on.

Because what they did was give ammo to the left (and GOPe) to attack Trump.
And they knew damned good and well that was what would happen if they went to ANY media.

Because they were the leakers.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (+3+7z)

110 Tucker is weird.

He is not always wrong, but when he is, he is spectacularly wrong.

The same goes with him being right. When he is, he is spectacularly right. The the weird part. He doesn't seem to inhabit much middle ground. Maybe that's the schitck to draw attention when you are running your own network on Twitter.

I am not interested in him as a leader. He is a performer.

Posted by: Tucker is entertaining at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (DrGpr)

111 All my best stuff gets willowed:

288 The problem with the electron is same particle everywhere only it turns into a positron while traveling backwards in time so as to eventually be everywhere and everywhen is that there would have to be as much antimatter as matter in the universe, a fifty/fifty split in fact. This, thank God, is not the case, although it is the simplest way to do things naively. Antimatter and matter should not mix unless you want annihilation and gamma rays, lots and lots of gamma rays.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (g/Chl)

112 Israel aid is really loan guarantees, right?
________________

A loan guarantee is in fact a loan, just someone else actually supplying the cash temporarily.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (YqDXo)

113 >>And then there is Bridgeport

My Great Grandmother owned an Italian Market in Bridgeport.

First place I ever played pinball.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (F30Ty)

114 @DataRepublican
Reminder: When @Beard_Vet pressed Don Bacon about his silence on the swatting of conservative influencers, Bacon refused to respond, citing Beard_Vet's past failure to sufficiently condemn protesters who had shown up at Bacon's home.

Nebraskans, Don Bacon won't stand up for you unless you stand up for him first.
Posted by: olddog in mo at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (hoCmQ)

This is unsurprising. There are precious few people in the upper echelons of government who give the tiniest of fucks about you other than as a means to an end.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (ExV1e)

115 I really meant nothing by "Teaneck." It's just a town that popped into my head.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (KRtlO)

116 I see the US flags are at half-staff for Pope Frankie.

Not sure how I feel about that.

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (77rzZ)

117 > Turkey was decent back in the day, i.e., pre-Erdogan. Not completely first-world like Israel, but pretty close.
Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (77rzZ)

True. I too wouldn't put them up with Israel, but for the region, not too bad.

They've abandoned the legacy of Ataturk. For close to a century Turkish politics were basically a) have free elections until b) the psycho mullahs win, whereupon c) the military rounds up all the mullahs and shoots them. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Seemed to work for them.

Posted by: My Fairy Lady at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (W5ArC)

118 Notice in Carlson's tweet he says Caldwell was falsely accused of leaking "classified" documents. But he doesn't deny other information was leaked. That is intentionally deceptive.

Posted by: Bitcoin Fixes Everything at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (V6W16)

119 Yet it's highest court is run by rabid leftists who cling to power like...rabid leftists.
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia)
------
Israeli Supreme Court is far worse than ours about shamelessly trying to interfere in governing the country.

Big power fight over Shin Bet security services and a supposed plot there to depose Netanyahu.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (ctrM5)

120 19 =/= top 10

Posted by: Just missed at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (7snkl)

121 Blue is not good for the eyes.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 22, 2025 04:48 PM (CL4hu)

122 115 I really meant nothing by "Teaneck." It's just a town that popped into my head.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (KRtlO)

I know. Teaneck just has one of those names, like Podunk.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at April 22, 2025 04:48 PM (FBY9a)

123 First place I ever played pinball.
Posted by: garrett

But, where's the first place you ever played pickleball?

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:48 PM (77rzZ)

124
Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey!
Delaware, Delaware man (Delaware man)
I've got to be a Delaware man
I've got to be a Delaware, Delaware man, yeah
I've got to be a Delaware!
Alright!

Posted by: The Democrat People at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (0sNs1)

125 Since you are most definitely a Bottom...

Buggery is something that looks into YOU.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (F30Ty)

Garrett, stop flirting with me. I'm blushing!

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (uCjyK)

126 >>>Considering that Tucker hasn't had a drink in over two decades (according to a radio interview I heard between him and Charlie Kirk), you may be closer to the mark than you write.

yeah I was getting at that. Dan Riehl used to describe "Dry Drunks" that way, that they're sober but they still have the changeable emotions they had from a decade or two of drunkenness. I forget who he used to say it of, but he would say "He's a Dry Drunk!!!"

Riehl also used to tell me about the palace intrigues of Corwyn and McConnell and that claque scheming against the base (I think he got a lot of this from his pal Mark Levin) and I didn't really listen much because back then I was like "Let's just be one big team, why do we have to have these fights?"

But he was right, obviously.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (KRtlO)

127 Blue is not good for the eyes.
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 22, 2025 04:48 PM (CL4hu)
--------------

Why? It allows me to see in low light conditions when most people would be blind.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (tT6L1) at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (tT6L1)

128 > I know. Teaneck just has one of those names, like Podunk.
Posted by: Darrell Harris at April 22, 2025 04:48 PM (FBY9a)

We never get any respect.

Posted by: Hamtramck at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (W5ArC)

129 Nebraskans, Don Bacon won't stand up for you unless you stand up for him first.
Posted by: olddog in mo at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (hoCmQ)

This is unsurprising. There are precious few people in the upper echelons of government who give the tiniest of fucks about you other than as a means to an end.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic
-----
Don Bacon is a particularly obnoxious piggy in Congress. About as principled as a monk in a whorehouse.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (ctrM5)

130 Trump and his aides apparently have cleaned out all the stables as of yet. Susan Rice being anywhere near government, even if is largely ceremonial, is bad . Clear them out

Posted by: Smell the Glove at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (6TePA)

131 118 Notice in Carlson's tweet he says Caldwell was falsely accused of leaking "classified" documents. But he doesn't deny other information was leaked. That is intentionally deceptive.
Posted by: Bitcoin Fixes Everything at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (V6W16)

Look, I’m just gonna go ahead and say it. He’s an op

Posted by: kallisto at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (q6XPQ)

132 I know. Teaneck just has one of those names, like Podunk.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at April 22, 2025 04:48 PM (FBY9a)
______________

Or Milpitas.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (YqDXo)

133 First place I ever played pinball.
Posted by: garrett

But, where's the first place you ever played pickleball?
Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:48 PM (77rzZ)

I play with pickles and balls

Posted by: Kyane West at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (NtVYv)

134 I've been accused of being one of these 'Isolationists'... but the derogatory terms used, don't change my basic belief on what our Strategy should be.

We should NOT be deployed all over the world, using our Blood and Treasure defending other countries....

We certainly should not be occupying multiple foreign nations, and doing Color Revolutions...

We should have a VERY strong military, that, when we are actually threatened, goes in full bore and destroys that enemy Nation... no middle ground... Declare WAR, or don't...

But this middle ground where we have combat troops in operations all over the world... FOR DECADES... clearly aint working... especially when our Politicians give away any Military victories we do have.

Posted by: Romeo13 at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (QAkQ3)

135 >>But, where's the first place you ever played pickleball?

Never played.

Though I do ride past a pickleball facility on my 25 (and 50) mile road bike routes.

Is it just Paddleball? Or, am I wrong there?

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (F30Ty)

136 I consider myself a neo-isolationist to a large extent for a variety of reasons. But, yes, like Punxsutawney Phil, we must occasionally emerge from our hole and murder someone. That said, we've been way too complacent about the exercise of military force, and we ought to ask hard questions every time it is proposed. I doubt we can be too skeptical or reluctant, given how deranged our foreign and military polices have been of late.
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at April 22, 2025 04:42 PM (y+qgR)

It's a similar question to be asked, to the one that is asked about education, health care and so many other things:

We're spending all this money, has it done any amount of good?

When it comes to our perpetual wars, the answer is a big fat resounding no. And yet these very same people keep thinking the next bombing run, the next regime change, the next major war is going to fix everything.

After a while it just looks like all you want to do is kill as many people as you can.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (dGCAG)

137 Israel aid is really loan guarantees, right?
________________

A loan guarantee is in fact a loan, just someone else actually supplying the cash temporarily.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM

So in essence, we co-sign the loan they use to buy a car from us.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (jc0TO)

138 Raises hand.

Posted by: Cucamonga at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (W5ArC)

139 Israel aid is really loan guarantees, right?

Yes.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (F30Ty)

aha!

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (g47mK)

140 That's funny, I could have sworn he was fired from his last job precisely because he was NOT willing to propagandize for the ruling class.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (dGCAG)

That's his claim, I believe.

Who knows?

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:51 PM (uCjyK)

141 Riehl also used to tell me about the palace intrigues of Corwyn and McConnell and that claque scheming against the base (I think he got a lot of this from his pal Mark Levin) and I didn't really listen much because back then I was like "Let's just be one big team, why do we have to have these fights?"

But he was right, obviously.

Posted by: Ace
=====
Riehl World News for the win. I was sorry to see the horrible health that spiraled for Riehl to the point of abandoning his blog. Guy deserves to be remembered.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 04:51 PM (ctrM5)

142 >>I'm blushing!

Just tell Ace you are having hot flashes, if he asks.

I can't take another week of self pity and drama out of that guy.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:51 PM (F30Ty)

143 The rabid animals at the Pentagon are striking out and I believe ultimately will not be successful but it won't be pretty. Add to this the Democrat media and politicians that lie like cheap rugs.

Not believing Caldwell. Something wrong with how he telegraphs his concerns.

Posted by: Cheri at April 22, 2025 04:51 PM (oiNtH)

144 like Biden was doing, like Europe is doing), and thinking that bombing the Hooties is just dumb.
===
Was it? I dunno what was done. Have those pirate holes boarded or sank any more ships since then? I don't know. I get that top gun missions don't solve complicated geopolitical issues. But sometimes you gotta deliver a beat down. Id rather it came from the sky than from boots on the ground in the horn of Africa....

Posted by: But i don't know much bout it at April 22, 2025 04:51 PM (DrGpr)

145 Garrett, stop flirting with me. I'm blushing!
Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (uCjyK)

Wait…is this another HQ romance in bloom? I think the odds on these situations are not good, but best wishes to you lovebirds anyway 💋

Posted by: kallisto at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (q6XPQ)

146 Ron Johnson, who I previously thought had good judgment, is now saying that maybe 9/11 was an inside job all along.

Well, I will certainly look at the evidence, if there is any, but I am getting very worried that the current mode of the right's "thinking" is just embracing old leftwing talking points from the depths of DU and Daily Kos and saying "Yup, these are now our dogmas going forward."

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (KRtlO)

147 So in essence, we co-sign the loan they use to buy a car from us.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (jc0TO)
_______________

Exactly. If you co-sign a loan to someone, that impairs your own credit rating, as creditors to be safe just assume you'll end up paying it off.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (YqDXo)

148 Ahhhh, better, thanks.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (CL4hu)

149 ut they aren't even that principled. I can respectfully disagree with peaceniks; it's naive and dangerous, but I can understand the principle. Establishment Democrats are against any war waged by a Republican president that could serve US interests. They are for pointless interventions that doesn't affect anyone they know like Libya, or the Balkans, or Ukraine. Their sons will never fight, so why should they give a fuck?
Posted by: UGAdawg at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (se/Tc)

Its all red arrows on the map bullshit. They have a map of the world with Russia as threatening red and pretend that toppling Kazakhstan or Mongolia means shit in the global sense. They can put a pin in the map and think it matters.

Trumps inner team seems mostly unpolluted with that nonsense - he seems to be drawing a circle around the Americas.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (n7h9X)

150 Andrew Sullivan and his "milky loads" has returned to these august shores.

Posted by: Max Power at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (q177U)

151 Andi Sullivan used to be a daily read.

I knew he was going to be trouble to the right when he went gonzo insane on the cause of firing Trent Lott, because praising Strom Thurmand at his birthday was 1,020% proof he was a rotten racist, head to toe.

Now, there were a shitload of reasons to get rid of Lott.
But kowtowing to the left over bs racism claims was exactly the wrong tact.

Milky Power Glutes can fuck off forever.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (+3+7z)

152 lol kallisto

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (Pv3Rg)

153 I don't want American troops deployed anywhere if they aren't given a RoE to win...
Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (t0Rmr)

My requirements for the use of force...

- In our hemisphere, you can "contain" all the shit you want.
- Outside our hemisphere, you must define specific and finite US interests that are being protected.
- In any case, no restrictions - other than WMD - may be placed on the military in order to complete the assigned task as quickly, safely (for US personnel), and violently as possible.

I do not consider paying for Europe's defense, or "containing" China around the globe, or keeping open sea lanes vital to other people but not us to be sufficient reason to risk US forces or spend US dollars.

If that makes me a neo-isolationist pussy... so be it.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (ExV1e)

154 Raises hand.
Posted by: Cucamonga at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM

Pfft. You were in a popular song.

https://tinyurl.com/83fvd7ce

Posted by: Jan and Dean at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (0sNs1)

155 What the hell happened to Tucker Carlson? He went from being prescient...to "undependable" in record time.

Posted by: Crusader at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (TN0g+)

156 I think it involves pickles.

Posted by: And vinegar at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (nW302)

157 >>Wait…is this another HQ romance in bloom? I think the odds on these situations are not good, but best wishes to you lovebirds anyway

'Sister-Bottoms', coming soon to the A&E Network.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (F30Ty)

158 I always liked Truth or Consequences, NM.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (g/Chl)

159 Andi Sullivan used to be a daily read.

==

Yeah...that was before my time....

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (g47mK)

160 >
We never get any respect.
Posted by: Hamtramck at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (W5ArC)

Shit, just learned from Wikipedia (so grain of salt is in order) that since the '70s Hamtramck has gone from 90% Polish to majority Muslim.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at April 22, 2025 04:54 PM (W5ArC)

161 He also suggested that if your looking for leakers, you might look at Susan Rice, who is still on the Pentagon's board.
Posted by: Frasier Crane

Rice should be deported back to her native home.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 04:54 PM (/lPRQ)

162 What you describe is a lot like what goes on here in the aos comments IMHO. It's frequently an all or nothing paradigm.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 22, 2025 04:54 PM (VofaG)

163 Tucker Carlson just likes to hear himself talk. His political positions mean less than James Carville's, which is to say, not a damned thing. He has a perpetual scowl on his face trying to look as if he is trying to understand what his guest is saying, but it is more like your dog turning his head when he hears a question, and about as productive. At least he got rid of the pretentious bow ties.
Posted by: tcn in AK at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (a4NoL)

I find the incredulous "wow, I've never heard such a thing and am totally ready to believe whatever you say" look he gets from time to time to be a deal killer.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 04:54 PM (ExV1e)

164 Though I do ride past a pickleball facility on my 25 (and 50) mile road bike routes.

Is it just Paddleball? Or, am I wrong there?
Posted by: garrett

If Maryland Man Doof hasn't been deported yet, you could ask him.

If he has been deported, I suggest that you contact Sen. Van Hollan's office.

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:54 PM (77rzZ)

165 But sometimes you gotta deliver a beat down. Id rather it came from the sky than from boots on the ground in the horn of Africa....
Posted by: But i don't know much bout it at April 22, 2025 04:51 PM (DrGpr)

You could do a similar thing there too - send in a brigade of Marines, trash the place, demo the port and ....here's the difference ... you pull everyone back out and go away. Let them do the nation building.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:54 PM (n7h9X)

166 67 Israel aid is really loan guarantees, right? We don't send them money. More like guarantee that they repay what they borrow from other places. And part of payback for that sweet guarantee is that they use those loans to buy our planes and stuff!
Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:41 PM (g47mK)

-----------------------------------------

Yep, that's exactly how it works. The borrower always pays the lender back.

Say, you wouldn't be interested in buying several gently used solar panels would you?

Posted by: Solyndra at April 22, 2025 04:55 PM (LRGrN)

167 116 I see the US flags are at half-staff for Pope Frankie.

Not sure how I feel about that.
Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (77rzZ)

The BF told me about this. I was kind of surprised, but if that’s what POTUS wants, go for it.

Posted by: kallisto at April 22, 2025 04:55 PM (q6XPQ)

168 >>>155 What the hell happened to Tucker Carlson? He went from being prescient...to "undependable" in record time.

I think it started with an intense disillusion with all the lies of the Deep State and the whole CIA false reality, and deciding he would abandon his old assumptions and examine things from first principles to figure out what's really going on.

Which is a good plan.

But I think he then got frustrated about missing his old 100% certainty on everything so he ended the "period of re-examination" in weeks and just decided, like George Costanza, that if everything he used to believe was wrong, the Opposite, no matter how bizarre, must be right.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:55 PM (KRtlO)

169 Isn't Susan Rice Trilateral Comission?

Posted by: Boss Moss at April 22, 2025 04:56 PM (MySZH)

170 >>Ron Johnson, who I previously thought had good judgment, is now saying that maybe 9/11 was an inside job all along.

The Building 7 thing is retarded if you ever set foot in the World Trade Center facility.

Bunch of retards who think Building 7 stood apart from the Trade Center Towers because they can't imagine subterranean architecture they can't see.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 04:56 PM (F30Ty)

171 The Metcalf murder case gets more insane.

The dead teen's father got escorted out by cops from the Anthony press conference. Then his house got SWAT'd. And now he has quit his real estate job to protect his coworkers.

But he still wants to go full 'kumbayah' with Anthony's family.

Posted by: Anna Puma at April 22, 2025 04:56 PM (HTwBY)

172 155 What the hell happened to Tucker Carlson? He went from being prescient...to "undependable" in record time.
Posted by: Crusader at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (TN0g+)

My tin foil hat theory?

He's been on the CIA payroll his whole adult life and spouts whatever propaganda he's told to spout that day.

Today he's on the side of the "working man" and is a "thought leader" for the white working class "Reagan Republican" types.

Tomorrow? We'll have to wait and see!

That doesn't mean that what he's saying is wrong, just that... there does seem to be shifting agendas behind what he says. And some might think those agendas were not born in his brain.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:56 PM (uCjyK)

173 96 Tucker Carlson is sowing division. Bleep him and his screechy faux laugh straight to h3ll

Posted by: kallisto at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (kJyOb)

-------------

Wifey hates his laugh and also believes it is faux.

Posted by: ShainS --Waking Up Early is White Supremacy at April 22, 2025 04:56 PM (SLQOB)

174 But I think he then got frustrated about missing his old 100% certainty on everything so he ended the "period of re-examination" in weeks and just decided, like George Costanza, that if everything he used to believe was wrong, the Opposite, no matter how bizarre, must be right.

well THAT approach is a sure sign of experience and deep wisdom!

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:56 PM (Pv3Rg)

175 Miss me yet?

Posted by: Jeb! (pronounced Heb!) at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (0sNs1)

176 Yep, that's exactly how it works. The borrower always pays the lender back.

Say, you wouldn't be interested in buying several gently used solar panels would you?
Posted by: Solyndra at April 22, 2025 04:55 PM (LRGrN)

I am sure you have point. I am just not interested.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (g47mK)

177 >>>He has a perpetual scowl on his face trying to look as if he is trying to understand what his guest is saying, but it is more like your dog turning his head when he hears a question, and about as productive.

the fake mocking chuckle is annoying. I also think you can read certain things into it. He uses the fake mocking chuckle to express ideas he's not yet brave enough to speak aloud.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (KRtlO)

178 Or Milpitas.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (YqDXo)

Multipas?

Posted by: Leelu Dallas at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (N1tpc)

179 Andrew Sullivan was really good back in the late 90s/early aughts.

But his gayness eventually took over, and hijacked everything else.

As gayness is wont to do.

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (77rzZ)

180 Late to the party: I just read Ace's last post about the Tesla vandal. It is especially infuriating when you consider the guy sentenced to 16 years in prison for burning a pride flag.

Posted by: 496 at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (Qn9hv)

181 170 >>Ron Johnson, who I previously thought had good judgment, is now saying that maybe 9/11 was an inside job all along.

ah! another goofball self identifies

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (Pv3Rg)

182 >>>Andrew Sullivan was really good back in the late 90s/early aughts

but was he though?

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (KRtlO)

183 We never get any respect.
Posted by: Hamtramck at April 22, 2025 04:49 PM (W5ArC)

Don't worry, it will be changed to Mecca soon.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (N1tpc)

184 >>Well, I will certainly look at the evidence, if there is any, but I am getting very worried that the current mode of the right's "thinking" is just embracing old leftwing talking points from the depths of DU and Daily Kos and saying "Yup, these are now our dogmas going forward."

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 04:52 PM (KRtlO)
___
Hopefully it's just a temporary overcorrection from decades of being lied to. After a while, you begin to question everything, especially when what you were told were wild conspiracy theories was actually happening.

Posted by: Frasier Crane at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (bNf8H)

185 This is classic Ace, I am particularly fond of the AS Freakout meter.

Andrew Sullivan Will Stop Blogging "In the Near Future"

https://ace.mu.nu/archives/354622.php

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (jc0TO)

186 118 Notice in Carlson's tweet he says Caldwell was falsely accused of leaking "classified" documents. But he doesn't deny other information was leaked. That is intentionally deceptive.
Posted by: Bitcoin Fixes Everything at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (V6W16)

Having worked for the DoD, I can say that we were admonished daily to not speak to those who did not have clearance to hear. Didn't really matter what you would speak about, because any detail could compromise just about any project. And most of our projects did not meet the threshold for even Secret let alone Top Secret stuff, just For Official Use Only.

Somehow, the lower down folks managed to keep their lips zipped. It appears only the climbers think they have the right to flap their cakeholes. They really need to go to jail, since I would have for very much less.

The difference is that I gave a damn.

Posted by: tcn in AK at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (a4NoL)

187 152 lol kallisto
Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM (Pv3Rg)

I looked into that Magic Molecule you talked about. Sounds promising!

Posted by: kallisto at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (q6XPQ)

188 Yes, the building 7 and firemen hearing "explosions". Ever hear water heater explode?

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (g47mK)

189 Was thinking on way home, the guy who stole Kristi Noem's handbag most likely didn't wear that Surgery mask the whole time, and can't be many restaurants without cameras everywhere.

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (ypFCm)

190 ah! another goofball self identifies
Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (Pv3Rg)

I don't think it's goofball to have some ... questions ... about the official story of 9/11.

I'd say at the VERY least, our good friends in Saudi Arabia have some explaining to do.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (uCjyK)

191 Leakers? I call them The Yellow Underpants Brigade.

Posted by: zombie at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (pMi6S)

192 One would be well advised to hold political pundits in the same vein as one does politicians.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (VofaG)

193 I am sure you have point. I am just not interested.
Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (g47mK)

-------------------------------------

You know what my point is, you're just afraid to type the words.

Posted by: Solyndra at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (LRGrN)

194 all this money, has it done any amount of good?

Well nobody has to put a "What'll Saddam do then"? in any decision tree.

Posted by: DaveA at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (FhXTo)

195 Late to the party: I just read Ace's last post about the Tesla vandal. It is especially infuriating when you consider the guy sentenced to 16 years in prison for burning a pride flag.
Posted by: 496 at April 22, 2025 04:57 PM (Qn9hv)

Or the guy with multiple felonies for doing a donut on a street "pride" flag.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (N1tpc)

196 The dead teen's father got escorted out by cops from the Anthony press conference. Then his house got SWAT'd. And now he has quit his real estate job to protect his coworkers.
_____

Who is he protecting his coworkers from? Is he racist, maybe?

Posted by: Chuck Martel at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (Dv3i1)

197 Andi Sullivan used to be a daily read.

I respectfully disagree.

He's always been a lunatic whose entire world view was premised on treating his lower colon like a lady's reproductive organs.

In the 90s and a little afterward, certain "conservatives" were in this craving-respectability phase, particularly on gay issues, and wanted to show they weren't icky like Rick Santorum et al. So they heaped adoration on this hysterical sodomite as a kind of virtue signal. But he was always nuts.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (y+qgR)

198 I looked into that Magic Molecule you talked about. Sounds promising!

I always keep it around! and make the kids have it on hand

awesome for bug bites, stings, eczema, acne, poison ivy and other rashes ... cuts, swelling...

it's unbelievable

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (Pv3Rg)

199 They've abandoned the legacy of Ataturk. For close to a century Turkish politics were basically a) have free elections until b) the psycho mullahs win, whereupon c) the military rounds up all the mullahs and shoots them. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Seemed to work for them.

Posted by: My Fairy Lady at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM

If is was not for the Turkish military the country of Turkey would be the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world dwarfing iran's efforts.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (e5NfL)

200 My litmus test is thus:

When some party out there takes hostages, and then realizes there are Americans in the mix, the lackey who took them gets shot in the head on the spot, and the leader who has the hostages immediately sets them loose with an apology and a gift basket of various teas and hummus.

Posted by: Orson at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (dIske)

201 Or Milpitas.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara

Cucamonga.

Posted by: Cheri at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (oiNtH)

202 >>>Hopefully it's just a temporary overcorrection from decades of being lied to. After a while, you begin to question everything, especially when what you were told were wild conspiracy theories was actually happening.

yes... and I hope that some of the people who've gone temporarily mad return to sanity.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (KRtlO)

203 Military force, is for going into places, breaking shit, killing people, then coming back home.

See ww2, Okinawa as a prime example of this.

The pansy ass neo-faggots want pretend global war where our military has to stand there while shitbag barbarians count coup before they can even shoot back.

Fuck these neo-faggot fuckwits (sorry real fuckwits, ya got lumped in with them).

Posted by: BifBewalski at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (MsrgL)

204 Andrew Sullivan was really good back in the late 90s/early aughts

but was he though?
Posted by: Ace

I liked reading his stuff, generally. He was buds with Chris Hitchens, whom I also enjoyed, generally, until his atheism took center stage like Sullivan's gayness. I think they even showed up together on some TV talk show in that era.

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (77rzZ)

205 188 Yes, the building 7 and firemen hearing "explosions". Ever hear water heater explode?
Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 04:58 PM (g47mK)

No, I've never heard a water heater explode.

Explain it to me. In simple words, preferably.

You have a several hundred gallon tank full of water, heated by a furnace (or in downtown Manhattan, likely heated by Con Ed supplied steam). Obviously it has the proper overflow and pressure relief valves.

What does that sound like when it explodes, and what caused it to explode?

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (uCjyK)

206 There's no problem with bombing the Houthis - its the way the armed forces seem to think bombing forever can solve all problems. If the H's have stuff you want to blow up and people to kill, aircraft can do that fine. And when its done you then leave and consider the rubble.
Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 04:46 PM (n7h9X)

Essentially Yemen was bombed like crazy for about a decade, with us supplying most of the bombs. It accomplished exactly jack.

Now the Hooties are firing at ships, regardless of origin, if those ships are supplying Israel. Most of what is getting hit are Euro ships.

We're only getting American ships hit because we're there. If we weren't, we wouldn't.

So... we're accomplishing nothing, we're there for no good reason, and we're killing indiscriminately. Because that's what we do.

So much for Trump as the anti-war president.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:01 PM (dGCAG)

207 yes... and I hope that some of the people who've gone temporarily mad return to sanity.

lol ace they'd have to get off X to do that tho

Posted by: Black Orchid at April 22, 2025 05:01 PM (Pv3Rg)

208 We're spending all this money, has it done any amount of good?

When it comes to our perpetual wars, the answer is a big fat resounding no. And yet these very same people keep thinking the next bombing run, the next regime change, the next major war is going to fix everything.

After a while it just looks like all you want to do is kill as many people as you can.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (dGCAG)

https://youtu.be/MpybogxYGsI

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:01 PM (ExV1e)

209 Formerly Virginian at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM
Good point

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 05:01 PM (ypFCm)

210 the fake mocking chuckle is annoying. I also think you can read certain things into it. He uses the fake mocking chuckle to express ideas he's not yet brave enough to speak aloud.
Posted by: Ace

Eh, I wrote Tucker off as a lightweight from his CNN crossfire days and never paid much attention to him later on whatever he did or whatever platform he was on. Since I did not watch TV news after about 2006 or so, he was easy to avoid.

Robert Novak on Crossfire, was the real journalist deal back then, and he was by far better informed and better connected. Would leave Tom Braden sputtering in rage all the time.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:01 PM (ctrM5)

211 But I think he then got frustrated about missing his old 100% certainty on everything so he ended the "period of re-examination" in weeks and just decided, like George Costanza, that if everything he used to believe was wrong, the Opposite, no matter how bizarre, must be right.
__________________

Classic leftist thought that if one option is bad, another must be good. It apparently doesn't occur to them that ALL of the options could be bad, just to varying extents.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 05:02 PM (YqDXo)

212 In the 90s and a little afterward, certain "conservatives" were in this craving-respectability phase, particularly on gay issues, and wanted to show they weren't icky like Rick Santorum et al. So they heaped adoration on this hysterical sodomite as a kind of virtue signal. But he was always nuts.
Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (y+qgR)

They still do this. Just with new gay grifters. Remember Milo?

They do the same thing with any black person who pretends to be vaguely right-wing, to show that “Dems are the real racists.” See: Candace Owens.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:02 PM (l3YAf)

213 >>>In the 90s and a little afterward, certain "conservatives" were in this craving-respectability phase, particularly on gay issues, and wanted to show they weren't icky like Rick Santorum et al. So they heaped adoration on this hysterical sodomite as a kind of virtue signal. But he was always nuts.

He was always just gales of hyperemotional language without much useful grappling with issues. Noah Rothman does the same thing now. Everything is this super-menstrual polemic. There's never any reason, it's all just emotional Calls to Crusade.

One crusade after another and another and another and another.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 05:02 PM (KRtlO)

214 Andrew Sullivan was really good back in the late 90s/early aughts

but was he though?
---
Eh, he wasn't.

Even when I read him I was always like get to the point already and quit repeating yourself.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (+3+7z)

215 We should have a VERY strong military, that, when we are actually threatened, goes in full bore and destroys that enemy Nation... no middle ground... Declare WAR, or don't...

But this middle ground where we have combat troops in operations all over the world... FOR DECADES... clearly aint working... especially when our Politicians give away any Military victories we do have.
Posted by: Romeo13 at April 22, 2025 04:50 PM (QAkQ3)

If we want to have nationbuilding as a policy, we can't use the army. Their mission is the exact opposite. You can be successful at it, Rome certainly was for a thousand years, but they had a doctrine for it. They tended to co-opt the old ruling class, or most of it and crushed the remainder. And after a while most of the area though of themselves as Roman.

Obviously, what we have done in all the occupations, even Europe, has been a massive failure, with every one of them taking up policies opposed to democracy like the EU. Until we have a nationbuilding department with sensible doctrines I'm against occupations.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (n7h9X)

216 >>>They still do this. Just with new gay grifters. Remember Milo?

I was off that bus very quickly. But yes, I do remember the Sudden Ubiquity of an outrageously gay British troll.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (KRtlO)

217 Ace, going to do Hoggs 'breakdown' on ABC (Insty words, not mine. Just saw it.)

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (kPhls)

218 If is was not for the Turkish military the country of Turkey would be the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world dwarfing iran's efforts.
_____

It wasn't always thus.
-Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians

Posted by: Chuck Martel at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (Dv3i1)

219 I am filled with heartache.

Posted by: Andrew Sullivan at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (jc0TO)

220 Or Milpitas.
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara

Cucamonga.
Posted by: Cheri at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM

Please. See #154.

Posted by: Jan and Dean at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (0sNs1)

221 What the hell happened to Tucker Carlson? He went from being prescient...to "undependable" in record time.

Posted by: Crusader at April 22, 2025 04:53 PM

He became another walter kronkite. Instead of reporting the news, he became the news and started trying to shape the narrative instead of just reporting on it. IOW he became famous and fell for the hype.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (e5NfL)

222 That's a hell of a nic, ace.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (kPhls)

223 masks dropping fast

Posted by: Francis at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (bbuBP)

224 >>What does that sound like when it explodes, and what caused it to explode?

A Bomb.

Either a gas leak, or boiling water.

Go google up a map of the Trade Center Complex. There is/was an entire small city underneath.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (F30Ty)

225 I always keep it around! and make the kids have it on hand

awesome for bug bites, stings, eczema, acne, poison ivy and other rashes ... cuts, swelling...

it's unbelievable
Posted by: Black Orchid

Ooh, going to try some. Thanks

Posted by: Cheri at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (oiNtH)

226 : I just read Ace's last post about the Tesla vandal. It is especially infuriating when you consider the guy sentenced to 16 years in prison for burning a pride flag.
=
This is the cultural revolution American style. Chirp your tires driving over a gay pride crosswalk and you get jail time.

Posted by: They mean to rule at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (DrGpr)

227 also, semen.

Posted by: Andrew Sullivan at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (jc0TO)

228 That's funny, I could have sworn he was fired from his last job precisely because he was NOT willing to propagandize for the ruling class.

That's because people don't listen. They just want things to be what they want them to be, and not change. Tucker is CIA. Tucker is a loon. UFOs! How many times does the government have to fuck them over before they understand the people running it are not your friends?

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (MZ+PY)

229 But enough about me!

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (LRGrN)

230 That's using your head!

Woman poses as ICE agent to kidnap ex's wife

-
He was going for Hot Tamale but she was more Almond Joy, you know, feeling like a nut.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (L/fGl)

231 I see the US flags are at half-staff for Pope Frankie.

Not sure how I feel about that.
Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 04:47 PM (77rzZ)

Respect the office if you can't respect the man.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (ExV1e)

232 Military force, is for going into places, breaking shit, killing people, then coming back home.

See ww2, Okinawa as a prime example of this.
Posted by: BifBewalski at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (MsrgL)
-------------------------------------------

This would be the same WW2 that resulted in American occupations of the conquered enemy countries, with massive post-war military commitments that are still in place today?

Posted by: Zombie Breitbart at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (7u4Q/)

233 Or the guy with multiple felonies for doing a donut on a street "pride" flag.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at April 22, 2025 04:59 PM (N1tpc)
______________

I believe the style guide specifies "fag flag" for that.

Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (YqDXo)

234 I do not consider paying for Europe's defense, or "containing" China around the globe, or keeping open sea lanes vital to other people but not us to be sufficient reason to risk US forces or spend US dollars.

If that makes me a neo-isolationist pussy... so be it.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic

Maybe if we charged other countries for 'safe passage' their tone will change.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (/lPRQ)

235 >>>Eh, I wrote Tucker off as a lightweight from his CNN crossfire days and never paid much attention to him later on whatever he did or whatever platform he was on. Since I did not watch TV news after about 2006 or so, he was easy to avoid.

that was my take, until his late-period Truth Telling phase on Fox, when he was saying things that needed to be said, many of which were unsayable/ "not respectable."

But now he seems to just be farming engagement from conspiracy theorists of every stripe.

With conspiracy theories, I always think, everyone gets a pass on one or two conspiracy theories.

but if you believe ALL the conspiracy theories, well, I think your thinking is buggy.

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (KRtlO)

236 We're at war with a domestic enemy. Trump needs to have a reckoning with his illusions about healing and unity or returning to anything like politics as usual. He's a wartime president.

Posted by: Ordinary American at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (h/ffs)

237 I only have watched Tucker Carlson clips, never sat through a whole show, even when he was on Fox. He's been hit and miss for as long as I've been paying attention to him, which isn't much. You're not in the 'search for TRUTH' by wading through the swamp lands of aliens, 9/11 troofers, and the Loch Ness Monster or whatever the hell is stuck in Carlson's craw this week. You're just looking for clicks. Meh.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at April 22, 2025 05:06 PM (sAmhv)

238 Joint Commission is here.

Oh. Frabjuous joy.

Killmenow

Posted by: nurse ratched at April 22, 2025 05:06 PM (8nL0V)

239 Explain it to me. In simple words, preferably.

You have a several hundred gallon tank full of water, heated by a furnace (or in downtown Manhattan, likely heated by Con Ed supplied steam). Obviously it has the proper overflow and pressure relief valves.

What does that sound like when it explodes, and what caused it to explode?
Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 05:00 PM (uCjyK)

Heat boils the water in it to steam, and it launches like a rocket and goes up hundreds of feet. Happens every so often in houses. Mythbusters did one on one of their shows.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:06 PM (n7h9X)

240 >>Ace, going to do Hoggs 'breakdown' on ABC (Insty words, not mine. Just saw it.)

I didn't know about it, thanks for alerting me!

Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 05:07 PM (KRtlO)

241 Legal Insurrection- Gavin Greusome sues DOGE over AmeriCorp cuts

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 05:07 PM (ypFCm)

242 Ever hear water heater explode?

Water heaters can't explode because the water keeps them cool. -- Rosie O'Donnell

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:07 PM (ExV1e)

243 Ace, don't forget that David Hogg is a Harvard graduate.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (0sNs1)

244 That's funny, I could have sworn he was fired from his last job precisely because he was NOT willing to propagandize for the ruling class.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 04:45 PM (dGCAG)

That's his claim, I believe.

Who knows?
Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 04:51 PM (uCjyK)

The evidence would suggest it. He was showing J6 video, he was not willing to toe the line on Covid or Ukraine.

If there's some 4D chess thing going on, it went over my head.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (dGCAG)

245 So much for Trump as the anti-war president.
Posted by: BurtTC
=======
You would be wrong. The Houthis are getting their supply from Iran specifically to fck with world oil commerce and destabilize Egypt among other places. They are not a country but more akin to bandits as no country recognizes them as the legitimate government of Yemen.

Yemen's history is full of fights between the highlands and the lowlands tribes similar to Somaliland. The lowlands dealt with commerce a lot more than the highlands and the highlands got their kicks from banditry and raiding. Then there are differences. The Houthis in particular are Shiite, most Yemenese are Sunni.

So when Houthis fired off some drones and missiles at US warships among others, it was NOT them doing it but rather doing it because Iran wanted them to. They are equivalent to shitheads like Ham Ass, He's Blown Up, and lobbing missiles throughout the Middle East.

Houthis earned their spanking thoroughly and bunker busting bombs being used to go after their underground bunkers was also a warning to Iran. We can touch you in your underground ratholes.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (ctrM5)

246 I wonder if Tucker will have someone on who in 1989 definitely saw Elvis...

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (g47mK)

247 >>We're only getting American ships hit because we're there. If we weren't, we wouldn't.

It sits one of the 5 largest/busiest shipping routes in the world.

You would have to be pretty stupid to assert that US Ships should not/would not be there.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (F30Ty)

248 Where the hell was Sulli-boy always going on about?

Like he found a reason in almost every other post to say "when I was with my boyfriend at" whatever place?

Providence or some shit dipper destination.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (+3+7z)

249 - In any case, no restrictions - other than WMD - may be placed on the military in order to complete the assigned task as quickly, safely (for US personnel), and violently as possible.

One of the things we seen now is our enemy hiding his military assets among his civilian population, and then our RoE demanding we expose our soldiers to greater threat to minimize enemy civilian losses.

Not only is exposing the men under your command to greater risk to protect the enemy *evil* this whole means of prosecuting war is counter productive - why would Hamas, AQ, or ISIS feel any needs to give in to our terms if we are essentially giving them American soldiers to kill at little cost to their leaders and population?

Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (t0Rmr)

250 DEWs can't melt steel.

Posted by: Boss Moss Sub Mariner at April 22, 2025 05:09 PM (MySZH)

251 excellent new nic, Ace!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at April 22, 2025 05:09 PM (/Ghsb)

252 But now he seems to just be farming engagement from conspiracy theorists of every stripe.

With conspiracy theories, I always think, everyone gets a pass on one or two conspiracy theories.

but if you believe ALL the conspiracy theories, well, I think your thinking is buggy.
Posted by: Ace
========
I consider Tucker on par with Joe Rogan. Infotainer.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:09 PM (ctrM5)

253 I do not consider paying for Europe's defense, or "containing" China around the globe, or keeping open sea lanes vital to other people but not us to be sufficient reason to risk US forces or spend US dollars.

If that makes me a neo-isolationist pussy... so be it.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic

Maybe if we charged other countries for 'safe passage' their tone will change.
Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (/lPRQ)

Freedom of the seas in the Red Sea is a protection for Europe. We don't need it for shipments to Israel, which use the Med. We only need Europe until we settle Ukraine or walk away and hand it to them. They seem to be joining Ukraine as enemies of US Policy.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:10 PM (n7h9X)

254 Just in the last week I think, he (Carlson) had the 9/11 guy, and the pentagon leaks guy.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:10 PM (g47mK)

255 If we want to have nationbuilding as a policy, we can't use the army. Their mission is the exact opposite. You can be successful at it, Rome certainly was for a thousand years, but they had a doctrine for it. They tended to co-opt the old ruling class, or most of it and crushed the remainder. And after a while most of the area though of themselves as Roman.
Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:03 PM (n7h9X)

We tried the Roman model but the locals never came to think of themselves as homo.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:11 PM (ExV1e)

256 > Heat boils the water in it to steam, and it launches like a rocket and goes up hundreds of feet. Happens every so often in houses. Mythbusters did one on one of their shows.
Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:06 PM (n7h9X)

They've been known to penetrate several storys of concrete floors.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at April 22, 2025 05:11 PM (W5ArC)

257 Tucker is somewhat of a professional. Rogan is a MMA guy who got famous from COVID lockdowns.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:12 PM (g47mK)

258 but if you believe ALL the conspiracy theories, well, I think your thinking is buggy.
Posted by: Ace

Uh oh. Big Weather has gotten to ace.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls at April 22, 2025 05:12 PM (y+qgR)

259 You would have to be pretty stupid to assert that US Ships should not/would not be there.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (F30Ty)

We don't have many cargo ships. US Products aren't often going to Europe the long way around. We could lend some ships to Europe if they want to hang out in the Red Sea.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:12 PM (n7h9X)

260 I do not consider paying for Europe's defense, or "containing" China around the globe, or keeping open sea lanes vital to other people but not us to be sufficient reason to risk US forces or spend US dollars.

Vlad isn't any more or enemy then the EU are our friends so no dollars for Europe. They have a large enough GDP/population to launch a war of choice with him if they want anyway, though perhaps we should note if either of them goes nuclear we will against the launcher as well (and really, its the Brits that would start that crap...)

China? That's a bit more of a concern. But...we should have some pretty heavy demands on Japan, SK, and Taiwan to make sure *they* are paying for most of their defense, either with their own military budgets or paying for our troops there. Oh, and our RoE better include destroying the Three Rivers Dam and every coastal city via naval bombardment as the start of the conflict - I don't want to hear David French or his ilk talking about the sacred need to send a million American boys to die within China's borders.

Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 05:13 PM (t0Rmr)

261 Maybe if we charged other countries for 'safe passage' their tone will change.
Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (/lPRQ)

I seem to recall Trump including the expense of our military keeping other countries safe as a portion of the trade imbalance but I may have dreamed that.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:13 PM (ExV1e)

262 With conspiracy theories, I always think, everyone gets a pass on one or two conspiracy theories.

but if you believe ALL the conspiracy theories, well, I think your thinking is buggy.
Posted by: Ace, King Astronaut of the Fuck Rocket at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (KRtlO)

But how do you know which ones are real, and which ones aren't?

If you start with the assumption that SOME of them are real, and the people in power are in on it, then it's safer to just believe ALL of them.

Until one or another is proven false. Until then, yeah. They're lying to us. About everything.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:13 PM (dGCAG)

263 We tried the Roman model but the locals never came to think of themselves as homo.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:11 PM (ExV1e)

Yeah, cross going homo in Islam areas off the list of things an occupation force should be doing.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (n7h9X)

264 but the locals never came to think of themselves as homo.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:11 PM

Not twue!

Posted by: The Castro at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (0sNs1)

265 Shout out to toby928 who gave me a tip on the FWP thread Sunday on resetting safety valve on my propane tank by going to yewtube. 2 different methods. Second one worked.

Posted by: olddog in mo at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (hoCmQ)

266 Heat boils the water in it to steam, and it launches like a rocket and goes up hundreds of feet. Happens every so often in houses. Mythbusters did one on one of their shows.
Posted by: Oldcat
_______

Boiler explosions happened on ships all the time. But for whatever reason, I've never heard of a locomotive boiler explosion. Sure it's probably happened.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (UBKzV)

267 So much for Trump as the anti-war president.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:01 PM (dGCAG)

Yeah, he never was. He hasn’t ended the war in Ukraine, either. (Or, more accurately, ended our involvement. I could give a shit which group of Slavs lays claim to which muddy cow pasture.)

But he’s better than the alternatives. It’s been known since 2017 that Trump is not serious about most of what he promises, but he’s much better than the alternative.

Vance is better still. He seems to realize that there’s zero American interest in bombing the Houthis. We’re just protecting Euro shipping companies and Israel, neither of whom I have the slightest interest in.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (l3YAf)

268 It's not just Water Heaters, either.

Ever been adjacent to a Service Panel that goes? Or, a series of Transformers?

We had a Service Room blow up in a building in Newark. The only thing left of the Electrician was his smoldering shoes, some charcoal and the shadow of his body, burnt into the drywall.

Everyone in the 7 story building heard it go.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (F30Ty)

269 Not wanting a war doesn't mean you let opponents run amuk attacking friendly countries

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (ypFCm)

270 There has been a consistent effort to sink Hegseth from the beginning. I take this as confirmation he is effective.
Posted by: steevy at April 22, 2025 04:30 PM (YwEeS)

Exactly!

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 22, 2025 05:15 PM (8zz6B)

271 >>> 261 Maybe if we charged other countries for 'safe passage' their tone will change.
Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 05:05 PM (/lPRQ)

I seem to recall Trump including the expense of our military keeping other countries safe as a portion of the trade imbalance but I may have dreamed that.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:13 PM (ExV1e)

OrangeManBad should announce he's raising the EU tariff to 30% to cover the cost of our recent operations.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at April 22, 2025 05:15 PM (Vqx30)

272 but if you believe ALL the conspiracy theories, well, I think your thinking is buggy.

The problem here is that a number of big, recent "conspiracy theories" have proven true - COVID came from the Wuhan lab and Tony Fauci's flunkies were behind it.

This makes it easy to believe other conspiracy theories since you've already caught the government in a bald face lie - why wouldn't they lie about other things?

And we saw this in the communist countries where people knew their governments were lying about many things and eventually assumed they were lying about almost everything...

Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (t0Rmr)

273 This would be the same WW2 that resulted in American occupations of the conquered enemy countries, with massive post-war military commitments that are still in place today?

Posted by: Zombie Breitbart

I conveniently forgot we had stuff and peeps there until you called me on it. Dang it. Only kinda half right.

Posted by: BifBewalski at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (MsrgL)

274 But for whatever reason, I've never heard of a locomotive boiler explosion. Sure it's probably happened.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (UBKzV)

Happened plenty. Was one of the biggest dangers of running a boiler.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (l3YAf)

275 Second one worked.
Posted by: olddog in mo at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM

Good. When did that hi-flow safety valve become a thing? I don't remember it from the olden days.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (jc0TO)

276 Yes, the building 7 and firemen hearing "explosions". Ever hear water heater explode?
Posted by: runner

If you heard a large structural member fail you would think it was an explosion.
Used to work in a lab breaking shit. The strong stuff often fails explosively.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (/lPRQ)

277 257 Tucker is somewhat of a professional. Rogan is a MMA guy who got famous from COVID lockdowns.
Posted by: runner

Did some acting too (NewsRadio?).

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (sAmhv)

278 dammit

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (jc0TO)

279 Not only is exposing the men under your command to greater risk to protect the enemy *evil* this whole means of prosecuting war is counter productive - why would Hamas, AQ, or ISIS feel any needs to give in to our terms if we are essentially giving them American soldiers to kill at little cost to their leaders and population?
Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (t0Rmr)

Well that is the crux. If the troops are attacking, then the leaders should be paying the cost, and their foot soldiers too. If they hang out for a decade doing nothing, that's a mistake.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:17 PM (n7h9X)

280 I didn't play the games, but I guess there's a big plot twist in "The Last of Us."

Oh well.

I wasn't going to watch season 2 anyway as 1 was already full of pointless, illogical annoying shit.
-love is love
- grl power!
- religious folk are evil
etc.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at April 22, 2025 05:17 PM (+3+7z)

281 China? That's a bit more of a concern. But...we should have some pretty heavy demands on Japan, SK, and Taiwan to make sure *they* are paying for most of their defense, either with their own military budgets or paying for our troops there. Oh, and our RoE better include destroying the Three Rivers Dam and every coastal city via naval bombardment as the start of the conflict - I don't want to hear David French or his ilk talking about the sacred need to send a million American boys to die within China's borders.
Posted by: 18-1

I have some advice for Taiwan, Japan, and the PI. Undersea drones. Far cheaper to build drones, build anti ship missiles, etc. to hit the Chinese naval ships from all positions if they are stupid enough to try to invade those nations.

Taiwan also has the ultimate kill shot to Xi which is taking out Three Gorges. The risk is Xi or his successor goes nuclear at that point because his regime is probably done.

Ukraine pretty much destroyed the Black Sea Fleet with that and Russians built better ships than the Chinese have.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:17 PM (ctrM5)

282 It sits one of the 5 largest/busiest shipping routes in the world.

You would have to be pretty stupid to assert that US Ships should not/would not be there.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:08 PM (F30Ty)

Which isn't what I said, but whatever.

No, it's NOT true that the area is vital to American shipping routes. It's just not.

It is to Israel though. And Europe.

But we're the ones doing the bombing.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:17 PM (dGCAG)

283 >>> 268 It's not just Water Heaters, either.

Ever been adjacent to a Service Panel that goes? Or, a series of Transformers?

We had a Service Room blow up in a building in Newark. The only thing left of the Electrician was his smoldering shoes, some charcoal and the shadow of his body, burnt into the drywall.

Everyone in the 7 story building heard it go.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (F30Ty)

:O

*crosses 'electrician' off list of potential jobs*

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at April 22, 2025 05:18 PM (Vqx30)

284 I look at necessary use of military force in the same way I look at using force in my personal life.

Except I'm more of the military strength at this point of Croatia.

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at April 22, 2025 05:18 PM (VofaG)

285 A Bomb.

Either a gas leak, or boiling water.

Go google up a map of the Trade Center Complex. There is/was an entire small city underneath.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:04 PM (F30Ty)

I'm aware.

And I'm not saying it didn't happen.

But the "OBVIOUSLY the government was completely truthful about 9/11, I read an article in National Review in 2003!" are just as bad as the "OBVIOUSLY George Bush told Dick Cheney to fly a remote controlled missile in to the twin towers".

I haven't spent enough time reading either sides claims to really have a strong opinion.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 05:18 PM (uCjyK)

286 257 Tucker is somewhat of a professional. Rogan is a MMA guy who got famous from COVID lockdowns.
Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:12 PM (g47mK)

Rogan was the biggest podcaster in the US (and likely the world) by at least 2018. He far pre-dated COVID.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (uCjyK)

287 One of the things we seen now is our enemy hiding his military assets among his civilian population, and then our RoE demanding we expose our soldiers to greater threat to minimize enemy civilian losses.

Which is stupid. Prolonging the conflict places greater danger on civilians. If we were to go to war with a country, I'll use Canada** as an example as people are more likely familiar with it, better to absolutely flatten Toronto and end the conflict in 6 months than to pussyfoot around and continue it going for 20 years.

** I do not presently endorse going to war with Canada

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (ExV1e)

288 dammit
Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM

Janet!

Posted by: Brad Majors at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (0sNs1)

289 That Houthi bullshit added to already bad inflation. You can't disrupt 30% of global trade and not see global consequences. Supply chain is a complicated thing.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (g47mK)

290 Regardless, Grump928(C) or toby928, thanks.

Posted by: olddog in mo at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (hoCmQ)

291 I disfavor bombing nuclear facilities in a nation that poses no threat to the United States.

I also disfavor escalating involvement against a nuclear power so that Blackrock can secure some mineral rights in a tinpot dictator nation that is of no strategic importance to the defense of the United States.

Posted by: Hardcore Isolationist at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (SutOF)

292 "have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of 'leaks' to begin with."

I'm going to go out on a limb and say is was something to do with "Not doing your job". I know that's a foreign concept to a government worker, but it's your new reality.

And on the bright side, that's a $300,000 (at the absolute minimum) reduction in federal payroll.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at April 22, 2025 05:20 PM (hB7mE)

293 The secret is you don't listen to Tucker because you care what he thinks, he is just a talking face.
You listen to Tucker to hear what his guests say. Some are interesting, some I don't listen to.

Tucker is a neocon with spooky connections and a swampy background, who made the mistake of looking into the eyes of people who were being killed and destroyed by neocon ideals. You have to take that into consideration, along with his stock expression of "Border collie trying to figure out how you are doing pivot tables in Excel"

Posted by: Kindltot at April 22, 2025 05:20 PM (D7oie)

294 Oh and usually you can tease out the truth of various conspiracy theories by examining what would it mean if they were true?

So...take the aliens thing, that the US government either has ongoing trade with aliens or recovered a damaged alien ship.

Well if either were true you'd expect sudden scientific advancement with big gaps in progress - and if you look at the various notable improvements in tech over the last couple of decades they all have these trails were you can see how researchers went from A to B to C to D to now E...

Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 05:20 PM (t0Rmr)

295 I also disfavor escalating involvement against a nuclear power so that Blackrock can secure some mineral rights in a tinpot dictator nation that is of no strategic importance to the defense of the United States.
Posted by: Hardcore Isolationist at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (SutOF)

So, "My country right or wrong" is NOT your guiding principal here?

Posted by: Kindltot at April 22, 2025 05:21 PM (D7oie)

296 It's not just Water Heaters, either.

Ever been adjacent to a Service Panel that goes? Or, a series of Transformers?

We had a Service Room blow up in a building in Newark. The only thing left of the Electrician was his smoldering shoes, some charcoal and the shadow of his body, burnt into the drywall.

Everyone in the 7 story building heard it go.
Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (F30Ty)

Was walking down the street through an industrial park after lunch and there was a loud bang and a blast of air blew the front doors open and off with a fountain of paper. Read later a tank of compressed gas (air, or something) had its top knocked off and the tank rattled about and the gas popped the doors. Think someone was killed.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:21 PM (n7h9X)

297 >>I haven't spent enough time reading either sides claims to really have a strong opinion.

Like I said, checkout the actual blow up maps of the Complex.

You can't have a reasonable idea of what was there without looking. It was that expansive and that complex.

The only reason I know that so well is being in Demolition in NY/NJ through the 80s and 90s. We had several opportunities to bid jobs within the complex and worked on several smaller complexes in the region.

It's a warren of services and businesses underground. Including Electric, Gas, Water Mains, Trains, Subways...the list is endless.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:21 PM (F30Ty)

298
This would be the same WW2 that resulted in American occupations of the conquered enemy countries, with massive post-war military commitments that are still in place today?
Posted by: Zombie Breitbart

The Marsha Plan

Posted by: Jan Brady at April 22, 2025 05:21 PM (63Dwl)

299 >> No, it's NOT true that the area is vital to American shipping routes. It's just not.

Also, even if it were, why are taxpayers subsidizing global trade by protecting international shipping? Shouldn’t the costs be borne by those doing the shipping.

Part of what gutted industry in this country and caused gay consumerist communism to take root was that it was pretty low-risk to ship jobs overseas when the Navy guaranteed their safety.

And then all of those vessels foreign-flagged so they could avoid U.S. taxes. What a joke.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:22 PM (l3YAf)

300 Yeah, he never was. He hasn’t ended the war in Ukraine, either. (Or, more accurately, ended our involvement. I could give a shit which group of Slavs lays claim to which muddy cow pasture.)

But he’s better than the alternatives. It’s been known since 2017 that Trump is not serious about most of what he promises, but he’s much better than the alternative.

Vance is better still. He seems to realize that there’s zero American interest in bombing the Houthis. We’re just protecting Euro shipping companies and Israel, neither of whom I have the slightest interest in.
Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:14 PM (l3YAf)

I believe he garnered a lot of votes from people who believed him.

You and I might know better, but there are plenty of people asking why we're still supplying Ukraine. Which we are.

As for the Hooties, I'm just going to say, long after Trump is out of office, the Hooties will still be there, doing whatever the hell they want. They are quite the resilient bunch.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:23 PM (dGCAG)

301 ** I do not presently endorse going to war with Canada
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (ExV1e)

Liberation of West Canada.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:23 PM (n7h9X)

302 Look up train wrecks, a boiler explosion picture you would be amazed how destruction it can do

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 05:23 PM (ypFCm)

303
Posted by: 18-1 at April 22, 2025 05:16 PM (t0Rmr)

The government has been caught lying about so many things so many times, that it's really hard to trust them about anything.

And I don't think it's a sign of disordered thinking to have questions about incredibly implausible things. Like the official story on 9/11 is that one of the hijackers passports was found, intact, on the streets of lower Manhattan.

Possible? I guess. But... ya know?

We know the Gulf of Tonkin incident was, at best, a mistake, and much more likely a false flag. The USS Maine incident.

We know about the plan JFK did not put in to place -- Operation Northwoods. That was a plan involving shooting down remote controlled civilian planes, blame Castro, and use that as an excuse to invade Cuba. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 05:24 PM (uCjyK)

304
So...take the aliens thing, that the US government either has ongoing trade with aliens or recovered a damaged alien ship.

Trump is going to put 30% tariffs on Zantar 7.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at April 22, 2025 05:24 PM (63Dwl)

305 Atta was a Syrian architect, btw.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:24 PM (g47mK)

306 "It sits one of the 5 largest/busiest shipping routes in the world. You would have to be pretty stupid to assert that US Ships should not/would not be there."

Maybe the German Navy could handle the job? (/s)

But really, it is a BIG problem for Europe, not so much US, so who pays for protection? imo we have to force countries that depend on our protection to pay us, or we go back to being the policeman for the world, for free.

Same in the Pacific ... the Quad (Japan, Aussies, India, USA) should have a lot more support from the other three parts. (and a few other more local nations)

Posted by: illiniwek at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (Cus5s)

307 I take it New Haven and Hartford are diverse?
Posted by: Deplorable Jay Guevara

Worse. They're Progressive

Posted by: FeatherBlade at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (hB7mE)

308 The general issue is what happens when. Soemboey becomes disillusioned with a meta they believed in. Some then question everything and take a more pragmatic tact. Others like Sullivan or Carlson, and clearly Carlson did not flip with the same speed as the dishonest Sullivan, is they flip modes altogether and find themselves holding the reverse perspectives finding the first one sinful and a bed of lies that are to be avoided at all costs... mostly no longer wanting to be a part of somebody else's game.

Posted by: Former mass resident at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (9DrOL)

309 All too often, "National Interests," means multi-national corporate interests, and the US military are the enforcer.

Posted by: davidt at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (i0F8b)

310 286 257 Tucker is somewhat of a professional. Rogan is a MMA guy who got famous from COVID lockdowns.
Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:12 PM (g47mK)

Rogan was the biggest podcaster in the US (and likely the world) by at least 2018. He far pre-dated COVID.
Posted by: Harry Paratestes
================
The task of both or even their shoddy competitors in the cable news and alphabets is to keep you watching or listening. That is how they make their money. NO watch, no money.

But quite simply, the information density is not there in listening or in watching tv. A 60 minute newscast has less information (words) than the front page of the NYT or the WSJ because most used to be able to read faster than they absorb verbal information and it would be extremely boring TV/Radio to simply have someone read the front page of the NYT/WSJ or pick your favorite old time paper.

So news since the decline of newspapers has become both visual in the case of TV and audible (radio and tv) which essentially constrain the amount of information either platform can give the watcher/listener.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (ctrM5)

311 I disfavor bombing nuclear facilities in a nation that poses no threat to the United States.

Posted by: Hardcore Isolationist at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM

England and France breathe a sigh of relief.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (jc0TO)

312 Is it okay to oppose military responses because we are terrible at it?

Posted by: Oglebay at April 22, 2025 05:26 PM (2ap+5)

313 NEWS ALERT! The pope is still dead.

Posted by: Dr Pork Chops & Bacons at April 22, 2025 05:26 PM (g8Ew8)

314 Don't be so hasty discounting a war with Canada, there might be some good advantages in that

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 05:26 PM (ypFCm)

315 >> I believe he garnered a lot of votes from people who believed him.

Hasn’t every President since Reagan (or even before?) promised to end the Forever Wars and the Gay Empire? And they’ve all kept it going.

GWB ran against nation-building. Obama against the GWoT. Trump ran against many of the gay wars. Biden ran against starting WWIII. All ended up doing the opposite.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (l3YAf)

316 On YouTube you can watch video ofvthe Pope to be sure he is still dead

Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (ypFCm)

317
Liberation of West Canada.
Posted by: Oldcat
---------

West Canada isn't much different than WA. Except, maybe, less violent.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (CL4hu)

318 You and I might know better, but there are plenty of people asking why we're still supplying Ukraine. Which we are.

Is Trump supplying Ukraine or is there still shit in the pipeline from four months ago?

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (ExV1e)

319 Ukraine pretty much destroyed the Black Sea Fleet with that and Russians built better ships than the Chinese have.
Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:17 PM (ctrM5)

Aside from knocking out the Moskva, which might have been sabotage, Ukraine did nothing of importance to the Black Sea Fleet. Russia just pulled them back once the last of the Ukrainian boats was sunk.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:28 PM (n7h9X)

320 So, "My country right or wrong" is NOT your guiding principal here?

Posted by: Kindltot at April 22, 2025 05:21 PM (D7oie)

As a hardcore isolationist, (really the hardest of core-type, TBH) I prefer Trump's military use follow the most radical of positions called "The position he campaigned on".

Posted by: Hardcore Isolationist at April 22, 2025 05:28 PM (SutOF)

321 MK is correct - going through a persons work ID of what they have printed, have on their PC, emails, DM's, phone call logs, etc. can tell you a lot. I am a low level nothing in the government but can't print a grocery list at work without using my fed.gov ID to do it. Do a full forensic IT job and a polygraph.

Posted by: Cheri at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (oiNtH)

322 Many of us burned by the neocons have swung hard the other way. Maybe too hard. I hate Iran, but it's dug in like a tick. Let them stew in their own shit, and grind their proxies into dust with air power when needed.

And all Connecticut cities are like Omega.Man. Be off by sundown because that's when the monsters come out.

Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (wBaIH)

323 OK, so you want to talk WWII. I thought this was interesting. News from June 1945 contains several interesting stories but my favorite is helicopters being used on floating aircraft repair stations. 10 minute video.

https://shorturl.at/HjOoh

I knew helicopters were being developed during WWII but did not know they were actually operational

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Soldier of the Persistence at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (L/fGl)

324 NEWS ALERT! The pope is still dead.
Posted by: Dr Pork Chops & Bacons at April 22, 2025 05:26 PM

The Vatican maintains that his condition is stable.

Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (jc0TO)

325 I disfavor bombing nuclear facilities in a nation that poses no threat to the United States.

Posted by: Hardcore Isolationist at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM

England and France breathe a sigh of relief.
Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (jc0TO)

Not so fast there. England and France are bigger enemies to Americans’ freedoms than Putin. Remember that the US gov’t launders its disinformation through Five Eyes and uses foreign powers to justify censoring us.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (l3YAf)

326 We know about the plan JFK did not put in to place -- Operation Northwoods. That was a plan involving shooting down remote controlled civilian planes, blame Castro, and use that as an excuse to invade Cuba. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Posted by: Harry Paratestes at April 22, 2025 05:24 PM (uCjyK)

Hmmm. That's really not a bad idea.

Posted by: Dr Pork Chops & Bacons at April 22, 2025 05:30 PM (g8Ew8)

327 War, man. Old politicians and old weapons manufacturers get rich; young people get dead.

Posted by: Oglebay at April 22, 2025 05:30 PM (2ap+5)

328 All too often, "National Interests," means multi-national corporate interests, and the US military are the enforcer.
Posted by: davidt at April 22, 2025 05:25 PM (i0F8b)

That, and keeping members of the Deep State from being revealed as crooks and liars.

Why can't we have that unredacted document, asks Congress?

National security interest.

Oh, ok.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:30 PM (dGCAG)

329 You and I might know better, but there are plenty of people asking why we're still supplying Ukraine. Which we are.

Is Trump supplying Ukraine or is there still shit in the pipeline from four months ago?
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (ExV1e)

Biden shipped a lot of crap out, probably denuding our own stores for military action on land.

Trump has at times been giving firing information for strikes after he came in office . He seems much cooler on deep strikes than Bidens clowns.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:30 PM (n7h9X)

330 As for the Hooties, I'm just going to say, long after Trump is out of office, the Hooties will still be there, doing whatever the hell they want. They are quite the resilient bunch.
Posted by: BurtTC
=====
They will be back to buggering goats, etc. if Iran is not around to supply them to threaten the Saudis, Israelis, and ships in the Red Sea. Houthis have no civilizational values other than goats, marrying cousins, raiding, and killing each other. About like their Somali cousins across the border. At least the Somalis finally learned not to screw with shipping after getting their asses shot off.

Simply put, most of the world is not civilized and only by the dint of importing some from foreigners with an axe to grind, most of them will happily carry on as their ancestors did and achieving the same results. Not all cultures are equal nor of equal value and that goes for the rest of humanity as well.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:30 PM (ctrM5)

331 >>And all Connecticut cities are like Omega.Man. Be off by sundown because that's when the monsters come out.

But there's only like 3-4 where you can get an excellent Sicilian Style Pizza.

Posted by: garrett at April 22, 2025 05:31 PM (F30Ty)

332 Aside from knocking out the Moskva, which might have been sabotage, Ukraine did nothing of importance to the Black Sea Fleet. Russia just pulled them back once the last of the Ukrainian boats was sunk.
Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:28 PM (n7h9X)

I believe Ukraine sank, or severely damaged, two WW2 era ships. A patrol boat and a landing craft.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:31 PM (ExV1e)

333 313 The Pope is still dead.

Dude, hold my beer.
— Zombie Gene Hackman

Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 05:31 PM (77rzZ)

334 You and I might know better, but there are plenty of people asking why we're still supplying Ukraine. Which we are.
----------
Is Trump supplying Ukraine or is there still shit in the pipeline from four months ago?
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (ExV1e)

Some of both, I believe. And we still have men over there.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:32 PM (dGCAG)

335 Not so fast there. England and France are bigger enemies to Americans’ freedoms than Putin. Remember that the US gov’t launders its disinformation through Five Eyes and uses foreign powers to justify censoring us.
Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (l3YAf)

Im sure their people are also queering the information heavily on their own as well. UK in particular seems to want another Crimean War.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:32 PM (n7h9X)

336 Ow, shit I stubbed my toe!

I suspect my coffee table has ties to Iran and China! We must go to war!

Posted by: Boomertard at April 22, 2025 05:32 PM (SutOF)

337
Sullivan went from being absolutely confident that George W. Bush was right and perfect in all that he did to, overnight, becoming absolutely confident that George W. Bush was the devil with a drawl.

---------

A mystery. A Mike Loads mystery.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at April 22, 2025 05:32 PM (DOcg9)

338 Which is stupid. Prolonging the conflict places greater danger on civilians. If we were to go to war with a country, I'll use Canada** as an example as people are more likely familiar with it, better to absolutely flatten Toronto and end the conflict in 6 months than to pussyfoot around and continue it going for 20 years.

** I do not presently endorse going to war with Canada
Posted by: I used to have a different nic

====

But would not actively oppose, right?

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 22, 2025 05:33 PM (/lPRQ)

339
Trump is going to put 30% tariffs on Zantar 7.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr

This means that three titted green alien whores are gonna cost more than $20, and NOT the same as downtown?

Good news for the local crack whore local # 243.

Posted by: BifBewalski at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (MsrgL)

340 NEWS ALERT! The pope is still dead.
Posted by: Dr Pork Chops & Bacons at April 22, 2025 05:26 PM

The Vatican maintains that his condition is stable.
Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (jc0TO)

On the bright side, he wrestled that pesky pneumonia to a draw.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (dGCAG)

341 Not so fast there. England and France are bigger enemies to Americans’ freedoms than Putin. Remember that the US gov’t launders its disinformation through Five Eyes and uses foreign powers to justify censoring us.
Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (l3YAf)

Also, Putin has already said, "You want REE? Russia has that shit and we'll gladly sell it to you."

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (ExV1e)

342 32

If true, it probably prevents a suspect from surreptitiously sanitizing evidence. BleachBitting *everything* seems like a pretty obvious tell.

Posted by: Rowsdower & Batman have had it up to HERE with these damn juggalos & still think Ray Epps is a fed a at April 22, 2025 04:36 PM (VkPYQ)
----
Surely a guilty suspect already knows what info needs wiping?
Anyway it's almost impossible to erase anything digital - backups, copies of emails in others' accounts, etc.

Posted by: Ciampino - let's find out at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (sPQoU)

343 329 You and I might know better, but there are plenty of people asking why we're still supplying Ukraine. Which we are.

Is Trump supplying Ukraine or is there still shit in the pipeline from four months ago?
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (ExV1e)

Biden shipped a lot of crap out, probably denuding our own stores for military action on land.

Trump has at times been giving firing information for strikes after he came in office . He seems much cooler on deep strikes than Bidens clowns.
Posted by: Oldcat

Trump is simply wanting both Vlad and Z Man to come to peace so he can ignore the place again. So, it comes to the point of either allowing Putin to take over the rest of Ukraine as it is buckling fast which will definitely destabilize the region even more than a neutered Ukraine would or doing the very least to keep Z man in the game until Putin gets tired of it.

Oil price declines will put more pain on Russia as inflation is exploding there along with interest rates so his leverage on Russia is economic, Trump's leverage on Ukraine is survival.

In the long run, I think Ukraine is toast. Not a serious country.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (ctrM5)

344 Any calls from Penguin Island?

Posted by: Boss Moss Sub Mariner at April 22, 2025 05:35 PM (MySZH)

345 Dude, hold my beer.
— Zombie Gene Hackman
Posted by: Bulg at April 22, 2025 05:31 PM (77rzZ)

You can't hold your beer!

Cuz the rats ate out your tummy.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:35 PM (dGCAG)

346 Aside from knocking out the Moskva, which might have been sabotage, Ukraine did nothing of importance to the Black Sea Fleet. Russia just pulled them back once the last of the Ukrainian boats was sunk.
Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:28 PM (n7h9X)

I believe Ukraine sank, or severely damaged, two WW2 era ships. A patrol boat and a landing craft.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:31 PM (ExV1e)

I don't know about those 2, but a sub was hit and repaired as well. Not a great exchange for about 100 modern missiles. The entire thing was a big nothingburger that was propagandized to the max. Its Russia's missiles that makes the area a no-go zone. When Russia wants a max bombardment they sail in, fire, and sail back out.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:35 PM (n7h9X)

347 UK in particular seems to want another Crimean War.

I read once that they're almost out of the metal they use for the Victoria Cross. Maybe they think Russia still uses brass cannons.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:36 PM (ExV1e)

348 Ow, shit I stubbed my toe!

I suspect my coffee table has ties to Iran and China! We must go to war!
Posted by: Boomertard at April 22, 2025 05:32 PM

Yes ... well ... err ... um ... quite.

Those bastards!

Posted by: IKEA at April 22, 2025 05:36 PM (jc0TO)

349 Oil price declines will put more pain on Russia as inflation is exploding there along with interest rates so his leverage on Russia is economic, Trump's leverage on Ukraine is survival.

In the long run, I think Ukraine is toast. Not a serious country.
Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (ctrM5)

I figure it gets partitioned in the end. Russia gets what it wants, and buffer regions as needed, and other bits are eaten by neighbors. The Nazis can be independent in the far West. Putin even mentioned that in a speech years back.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:37 PM (n7h9X)

350 The UK has Delusions of Grander. It's a condition...

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:37 PM (g47mK)

351 Ow, shit I stubbed my toe!

I suspect my coffee table has ties to Iran and China! We must go to war!
Posted by: Boomertard at April 22, 2025 05:32 PM

Yes ... well ... err ... um ... quite.

Those bastards!
Posted by: IKEA at April 22, 2025 05:36 PM (jc0TO)

Still more evidence than the Deep State gives.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:38 PM (n7h9X)

352 Shouldn't it be a Vampire Chuck Cross now?

Posted by: Boss Moss Sub Mariner at April 22, 2025 05:38 PM (MySZH)

353 Yes ... well ... err ... um ... quite.

Those bastards!
Posted by: IKEA at April 22, 2025 05:36 PM (jc0TO)

Excellent point. Why the whole world isn't united in taking down the Swedes, I'll never know.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:38 PM (dGCAG)

354 Looks like I missed a spirited post…. was it full of energetic discourse??

Posted by: tubal at April 22, 2025 05:38 PM (PCK5/)

355 So... we're accomplishing nothing, we're there for no good reason, and we're killing indiscriminately. Because that's what we do.

So much for Trump as the anti-war president.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:01 PM (dGCAG)

———

We have to maintain freedom of the seas for the whole world. It’s in the Constitution or something.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at April 22, 2025 05:38 PM (Vh9CX)

356 I read once that they're almost out of the metal they use for the Victoria Cross. Maybe they think Russia still uses brass cannons.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:36 PM (ExV1e)

They might have more church bells to lend.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:39 PM (n7h9X)

357 In the long run, I think Ukraine is toast.
Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (ctrM5)

We just need about another hundred thousand dead Ukrainian men so the "migrants" we send there will be able to rape the Ukrainian women in peace. -- the EU

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:39 PM (ExV1e)

358 UK in particular seems to want another Crimean War.

Only this time it'll be The Charge of the Light in the Loafers Brigade.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at April 22, 2025 05:40 PM (W6d+C)

359 I figure it gets partitioned in the end. Russia gets what it wants, and buffer regions as needed, and other bits are eaten by neighbors. The Nazis can be independent in the far West. Putin even mentioned that in a speech years back.
Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:37 PM (n7h9X)

Would be interesting... in the "I really couldn't care less" way, if the partition happens, everyone settles in, and once the dust is no longer flying, Russia goes to where the Nazzies are holed up, and just blasts them to oblivion.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:40 PM (dGCAG)

360 Excellent point. Why the whole world isn't united in taking down the Swedes, I'll never know.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:38 PM (dGCAG)

They were - that was what the middle of the 30 years war was about, shooting the Swedes out of Germany.

Then the Russians had to clean up Charles XII at Poltava

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:40 PM (n7h9X)

361 Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Posted by: Boss Moss Sub Mariner at April 22, 2025 05:41 PM (MySZH)

362
At least the Somalis finally learned not to screw with shipping after getting their asses shot off.

They moved to Maine, Minnesota and Ohio.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at April 22, 2025 05:41 PM (63Dwl)

363 Chicken Ke'ev doesn't sound anywhere near as appetizing as Chicken Kiev.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at April 22, 2025 05:42 PM (W6d+C)

364 We have to maintain freedom of the seas for the whole world. It’s in the Constitution or something.
Posted by: MAGA_Ken at April 22, 2025 05:38 PM (Vh9CX)

I keep waiting for the sea people to rise up out of the depths of the ocean, with their sophisticated alien tech, which renders all our weapons obsolete, and say:

"Hey, would you people keep it down up here, we're trying to get some sleep!"

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:42 PM (dGCAG)

365 Would be interesting... in the "I really couldn't care less" way, if the partition happens, everyone settles in, and once the dust is no longer flying, Russia goes to where the Nazzies are holed up, and just blasts them to oblivion.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:40 PM (dGCAG)

They did a lot of that in year 1, taking Azov's stronghold city. The other strong area is far to the West in the Carpathians which I doubt they will bother going for.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:43 PM (n7h9X)

366 Aside from knocking out the Moskva, which might have been sabotage, Ukraine did nothing of importance to the Black Sea Fleet. Russia just pulled them back once the last of the Ukrainian boats was sunk.
Posted by: Oldcat
=======
We will agree to disagree. Essentially the Russian navy is moribund and that is likely to continue. Russian could not use it to outflank the Ukrainians to get Odessa because it would have probably lost what navy it had. Meanwhile Ukraine went asymmetric at sea which means the Russians risked trading ships instead of cheap drones and missiles.

This is certainly not a reason to continue the Ukraine nonsense but Russia showed its weakness in this war and there are a lot of its neighbors with ill will toward Russia taking in lessons.

Simply put, Russia's best option is if China continues its demographic march downward because I don't think Siberia, etc. are defensible anymore without going nuclear with unpredictable consequences.

Regardless of the justifications going back and forth over Ukraine, they have converted all their western neighbors into disliking them at best, and hating them at worst. Pyrrhic victory for them.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:43 PM (ctrM5)

367 362 Hah? Ohio took in Somalis? Lemme guess... Toledo, Cleveland and Akron?

Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov at April 22, 2025 05:44 PM (wBaIH)

368 LOL, Klaus Schwab now being investigated for financial misconduct.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at April 22, 2025 05:44 PM (+3+7z)

369 Video tapes? Keystroke logs? Patriot Act? Pffft. More Chardonnay?

Posted by: Deplorable Minion at April 22, 2025 05:45 PM (QSrLX)

370 Would be interesting... in the "I really couldn't care less" way, if the partition happens, everyone settles in, and once the dust is no longer flying, Russia goes to where the Nazzies are holed up, and just blasts them to oblivion.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:40 PM (dGCAG)

They did a lot of that in year 1, taking Azov's stronghold city. The other strong area is far to the West in the Carpathians which I doubt they will bother going for.
Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:43 PM (n7h9X)

If they do, it will only be due to Pootin really REALLY hating the Nazzies.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:45 PM (dGCAG)

371 Anyone who wants aweak defeated helpless Russia is not thinking clearly, or deeply.

Posted by: tubal at April 22, 2025 05:46 PM (PCK5/)

372 At least the Somalis finally learned not to screw with shipping after getting their asses shot off.

They moved to Maine, Minnesota and Ohio.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr.
=======
Well, the pickings are easier from welfare, crime, and grifting from Dem politicians in those states.

I blame GHWB for their pestilent appearance here and overall involvement of the US in Somalia. IN their case, they weren't even pirates when he sent US troops there just so the UN could distribute food (at least that is the cover story). Then Billy Jeff got some killed with his unique style of useless military actions.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:46 PM (ctrM5)

373 LOL, Klaus Schwab now being investigated for financial misconduct.
Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at April 22, 2025 05:44 PM (+3+7z)

No flippin' way!

Oh well, if you can't trust the WEF/NWO, who can you trust.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:46 PM (dGCAG)

374 Regardless of the justifications going back and forth over Ukraine, they have converted all their western neighbors into disliking them at best, and hating them at worst. Pyrrhic victory for them.

The western neighbors who pushed their "defensive" alliance to the borders of Russia and overthrew the government of Ukraine? The western neighbors who refused to allow Russia into the EU, or NATO? Those western neighbors?

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:46 PM (ExV1e)

375 Nood. Chynah.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:47 PM (ExV1e)

376 NIH says it will deny all research funding to institutions that boycott Israel or maintain DEI practices.

https://tinyurl.com/342yshra

Posted by: Meade Lux Lewis, Domestic Terrorist at April 22, 2025 05:47 PM (paSBy)

377 better to absolutely flatten Toronto and end the conflict in 6 months than to pussyfoot around and continue it going for 20 years.

** I do not presently endorse going to war with Canada
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:19 PM (ExV1e)

Throw in Ottawa and Montreal, and we can talk.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 22, 2025 05:47 PM (8zz6B)

378 It's very easy to look up the Russian Black Sea complement. 7 Submarines, 41 warships. 5 guided missile frigates, 9 guided missile corvettes, 4 landing ships (large), patrol ship, mine sweeps etc. So the rumors of ukes destroying the all of Russian Navy in the Black Sea are highly exaggerated.

Posted by: runner at April 22, 2025 05:48 PM (g47mK)

379 Not that it matters and I'm super late here, but I guess on the scale of Dick Cheney to Ron Paul I lean a little more toward Ron Paul than Trump does.

I'm still not an isolationist and I think projecting American power overseas and maintaining the freedom of navigation using the biggest and most powerful Navy in the world a very important thing.

I also think that we should think more than twice about the dipshit-ass conflicts we find to get involved in in order to whip out the ol' wedding tackle so everyone can marvel at its size.

Posted by: ballistic at April 22, 2025 05:48 PM (6R2Yy)

380 313 NEWS ALERT! The pope is still dead.

i won't believe it until garrett morris shouts it at me.

Posted by: anachronda at April 22, 2025 05:49 PM (v3pYe)

381 China is too much of a pussy to invade anyone. They infiltrate and undermine like the Dirty Commie Yellow Bastards they are.

Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov at April 22, 2025 05:49 PM (wBaIH)

382 We will agree to disagree. Essentially the Russian navy is moribund and that is likely to continue. Russian could not use it to outflank the Ukrainians to get Odessa because it would have probably lost what navy it had. Meanwhile Ukraine went asymmetric at sea which means the Russians risked trading ships instead of cheap drones and missiles.

=======

A good portion of Russia's mass missile attacks on infastruture comes from the Navy's missile carrier craft. These happen every few weeks or so.

A seaborne invasion of Odessa isn't in the cards and never was. They don't have sealift, and the Dnepr is too big to cross easily for a land invasion. They could never supply the troop there. This is why the pulled back behind the river in the first place, Ukraine's missiles could damage the supply line to Kherson. They will get it after the Ukr army dissolves, or in a peace settlement.

An option I thought of was to make Odessa an open city. Otherwise no way Russia lets NATO put a base there.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:49 PM (n7h9X)

383 They moved to Maine, Minnesota and Ohio.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr.

A bunch of them in Greeley, Colorado.

Posted by: Pug Mahon at April 22, 2025 05:49 PM (0aYVJ)

384 "Klaus Schwab now being investigated for financial misconduct."

This was inevitable as the Sun rising. There is much much more.

Posted by: fd at April 22, 2025 05:50 PM (vFG9F)

385 Then Billy Jeff got some killed with his unique style of useless military actions.
Posted by: whig
---

Then he imported a shit load of them to Minnesota.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 22, 2025 05:51 PM (CL4hu)

386 Tuckers change of heart was not overnight. I watch all the time and it was a slow burn. Same for me.

Posted by: ethan saunders at April 22, 2025 05:51 PM (ysKxY)

387 On YouTube you can watch video ofvthe Pope to be sure he is still dead
Posted by: Skip at April 22, 2025 05:27 PM (ypFCm)

Are they poking him with a stick?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 22, 2025 05:51 PM (8zz6B)

388 371 Anyone who wants aweak defeated helpless Russia is not thinking clearly, or deeply.
Posted by: tubal
-----------
Want has nothing to do with foreign affairs. Basically, when you invade other countries, regardless of the virtues, it always sets off unintended consequences.

Putin could have clearly bombed the shit out of the Ukrainian positions around the two disputed provinces that were shelling their ethnic compatriots but he decided for a decapitation and strike and invasion as some large strategic gesture. Russia will pay for it in lost business abroad, hostility from their Western neighbors, and economic damage to their economy. Their turn toward the dubious Iranians and China for succor is likely to come back and bite them in the ass as well.

I could say the same for our idiotic excursions to Iraq or Afghanistan. We destabilized the Middle East and empowered Iran, got a bunch of good soldiers killed, and spent over a trillion at least with far better use at home.

Invasions suck. Even when you appear to win, you often lose in the end. The only caveat is at times, invasion is the least worst option of bad choices.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:52 PM (ctrM5)

389 340 NEWS ALERT! The pope is still dead.
Posted by: Dr Pork Chops & Bacons at April 22, 2025 05:26 PM

The Vatican maintains that his condition is stable.
Posted by: toby928 at April 22, 2025 05:29 PM (jc0TO)

On the bright side, he wrestled that pesky pneumonia to a draw.
Posted by: BurtTC at April 22, 2025 05:34 PM (dGCAG)

Geez, dudes, give the guy 48 hours or so. At least wait until they embalm his bulbous ass.

Posted by: tcn in AK at April 22, 2025 05:52 PM (a4NoL)

390 Tap three times on the forehead with a silver hammer.

Hellooooo

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 22, 2025 05:52 PM (CL4hu)

391 A few years ago when I was still teaching, my students liked to razz me with the latest internet conspiracy theory that the Earth was flat. I would always reply with Aristotle’s proof that the shadow of the Earth that we see on the Moon in an eclipse was always circular and only one shape always casts a circular shadow no matter the orientation and that’s a sphere. One year I heard a gasp, female, from the class. I guess the point sunk home. Do people push these lies to just undermine belief in everything?

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 22, 2025 05:53 PM (g/Chl)

392 Regardless of the justifications going back and forth over Ukraine, they have converted all their western neighbors into disliking them at best, and hating them at worst. Pyrrhic victory for them.

The western neighbors who pushed their "defensive" alliance to the borders of Russia and overthrew the government of Ukraine? The western neighbors who refused to allow Russia into the EU, or NATO? Those western neighbors?
Posted by: I used to have a different nic at April 22, 2025 05:46 PM (ExV1e)

One of the interesting things on the far side is that Russia seems to be abandoning trying to make EU relations work out. They are looking to the East and South and land routes instead. They may not give Germany the best rates on gas and oil going forward.

Posted by: Oldcat at April 22, 2025 05:53 PM (n7h9X)

393 Then he imported a shit load of them to Minnesota.
Posted by: Braenyard
=====
Would likely not happened if we never went there in the first place.

Back in the Cold War, Somalia (and Yemen) were considered strategic by the Russians and US for control over the Red Sea. So N. Yemen became a US client state and Somalia became a Russian one. Soviets collapsed and Somaliland had no use for its dictator asshole and commenced happily in killing each other just like Ethiopia and Eritrea decided to renew their mutual hatred of each other.

2/3rds of the world is composed of people that gladly kill each other for entertainment and a bit of loot. Sort of like our inner cities. We should not import them to the US when we already have a violent crime problem from existing populations.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 05:55 PM (ctrM5)

394 82
He also suggested that if your looking for leakers, you might look at Susan Rice, who is still on the Pentagon's board.

Posted by: Frasier Crane at April 22, 2025 04:43 PM (bNf8H)
----
Unbelievable. How can this be?

Posted by: Ciampino - keeping your enemies close? at April 22, 2025 06:00 PM (sPQoU)

395 The western neighbors who pushed their "defensive" alliance to the borders of Russia and overthrew the government of Ukraine?
Posted by: I used to have a different nic
=======
Wars are history's bastard children caused by a bunch of mutual provocations culminating in destruction. Like assholes, every country has red lines, etc. and at the end of the day, it is for the invading country to carefully consider if it was worth it.

What people say at the time is not necessarily how they would have done it if they could have rolled back time to do it again. I think Putin honestly thought thru humor him FSB reports that his fellow Slavs would fall to their knees and welcome him as savior.

We thought so of the Iraqis way back when ourselves. We were fooling ourselves as did Putin.

So, at the end of the day, is a bit of land buffer that useful when you have more or less caused all your past enemies like the Poles, Finns, Swedes, etc. to rearm. Not really seeing the upside for the Russians here militarily and definitely not on the commercial end. The Russian cutoff of cheap gas threat is dead now as a result--customers went elsewhere.

Posted by: whig at April 22, 2025 06:02 PM (ctrM5)

396 Intercourse, PA Right down the road from Bird-in-Hand and Paradise.

Look it up.

Posted by: UnAmish at April 22, 2025 06:35 PM (xverI)

397 If it's in Politico, it's NeverTrump.

Posted by: setnaffa at April 22, 2025 06:39 PM (dKSNq)

398 I'm gone to tell my little brother, that he should also pay a quick visit this
webpage on regular basis to get updated from hottest
reports.

Posted by: Buy Cash App Accounts at April 23, 2025 05:35 PM (Yj21R)

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