Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Mike]

My body my choice only works when a Prog says it works.

Remember that.

STFU and get your jabs.

[THE_WIZARD_]

That is the Prog stance and there is ZERO negotiations.

It's their body and the guvmint has ZERO rights to dictate what she (or he I guess) can do with a live almost born fetus.

Now when the Progs want YOU to inject a needle into your arm....they feel you have ZERO choice over your body.

See how that works?

[Dr. Strangelove]

Sending them to Martha's Vineyard sure hit a nerve. It's been at the top of my feeds all day and has elicited opinions from coast to coast. Which, of course, is exactly the point.

The point was for DeSantis to get attention for himself. To get likes and congrats from cloddish folks who praise him for owning the libs yet again

Also, DeSantis sent a plane to TEXAS to pick these folks up, confirmed by Gov. Abbott. They weren't from Florida. They were lured onto the plane with lies about where they were going and that there were jobs awaiting them. He hired and sent a videographer, presumably so he can use the footage in campaign ads.

Arizona and Texas have been bussing people for a while but I've never heard that they had to trick people into leaving before.

Whatever. I'm just beside myself with rage over this. DeSantis sure owned me good.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I don't agree with Abrams. But I've made the choice that if I have to tolerate one group of extremists over the other, I prefer the "step right up and get yer abortion" crowd over the ""Oh your 12 year old was raped by a 55 year old pedophile? You must regard her pregnancy as a great BLESSING!!" group

[Mike]

The point was for DeSantis to get attention for himself. To get likes and congrats from cloddish folks who praise him for owning the libs yet again

Also, DeSantis sent a plane to TEXAS to pick these folks up, confirmed by Gov. Abbott. They weren't from Florida. They were lured onto the plane with lies about where they were going and that there were jobs awaiting them. He hired and sent a videographer, presumably so he can use the footage in campaign ads.

Arizona and Texas have been bussing people for a while but I've never heard that they had to trick people into leaving before.

Whatever. I'm just beside myself with rage over this. DeSantis sure owned me good.

No. The point is to draw attention to the crisis and give "sanctuary" cities and states a taste of their own medicine. They seem to hate it when the other side fights back. The Biden administration also sent SEVENTY planeloads of migrants to Florida in the middle of the night. So turnabout is fair play. And honestly, I don't care that they were lied to. Who told them it was a good idea to sneak into the country in the first place? The joke's gonna be on them again when they find out that the progressive left in this country loves the same policies that ruined Venezuela.

[Jeff Buchanan]

At the risk of posting the controversil (yep, no one does that here - heh), Both Pfizer and Moderna have produced a bi-valent mRNA COVID vaccine that is being recommended by the CDC (and you can snicker at that if you like) for high-risk groups (we should all know who that is, now). Bivalent means it has been tested and works to prevent serious illness and the spread of existing Ba.1 and emerging Ba.5 omicron variants. When they claim it prevents spread that claim is based on the principle less shedding virus = less transmission. IOW, the claim is not out of someone's ass. This is a FACT.

Generaly if you are under 50 and healthy, don't go rush out and get it although you can as Walgreens and CVS won't turn you away if you make an appointment for a jab and show up for it. If you are over 50 the recommendation is to go get one. I remain neutral in that particular fight. Get one if it is for you, don't if it isn't but know the facts. The imporant ones are that it works to prevent COVID disease and serious illness from it. FACT. Another benefit may be it protects against Long COVID which has as one of it's important causes - high viral load (see above). The US is getting to the place where there is a shit ton of immunity flating around at various levels. I felt 3-6 months ago the US had reached an endemic state. It is definately there now with the predicted rise of new cases of Ba.5 that never happened. There's no harm in getting more immunity.... and don't listen to people that claim Bill Gates is having micro-schips inserted into your arm at the injection site and other such crap.

Certain people (libs agumented by the liberally biased press) are complaining that the at risk, disadvantaged minorities who should be getting the updated bivalent vaccine won't have access to it. Bull shit. This is the same thing as whoever is complaining I can't vote because .... name any of several reasons that are most of the time excuses. Distribution is adequate and focused on pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS. These are everywhere and don't tell me you can't get a ride to one. Don't tell me they cost too much, for most they are free. Health departments have them too.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Apparently Russian propaganda has started pushing a new line that NATO and not Ukrainians are doing all the fighting. This is supposed to be less embarrassing than admitting Russians are retreating from the Ukrainians themselves. The guy near the end even mocks this a bit and gets angrily cut off by the other presenters.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Re DSL's post, as well, the man himself has seemingly stepped back from some of his vitriolic military rhetoric that he unabashedly advanced just before and shortly after his invasion started. This morning In a news conference in Uzbekistan at the conclusion of a regional summit observers and analysts poured over his remarks made publically following his on the side meetings with Xi, Modi and Ergodan. Most think that in diplomatic language all three told him he was creating unnecessary global instability. Modi told him, "this is not the time for war." Xi's spokespeople were much more circumspect but any ringing endorsement of his war in Ukraine that Putin might have thought he might get, didn't happen.

In response to the upsurge in cruise missile attacks on Ukrainin infrastrucure, Putin claimed that Ukraine was attempting to carry out “terrorist acts” inside Russia and “to damage our civilian infrastructure.” “We are, indeed, responding rather restrainedly, but that’s for the time being,” Putin said. “The Russian armed forces delivered a couple of sensitive blows there. Well, what about that? We will assume that these are warning strikes. If the situation continues to develop in this way, the answer will be more serious.” IMMO, this is almost laughable as more of the Bahgdad Bob in him comes out. Putin can escalate but there are certain risks in that course namely the involvement of NATO in some retalliatory way that might involve supplying Ukraine with longer range HIMARs ammunition - something Putin said yesterday - a bit preemptively it might seen - is a "red line" the US should not cross. If they do, they will become a party to the conflict .... fuck, they already are.

Here's what the Russia watchers are saying has changed:

• No mention of de-nazification - a cornerstone of Russia's reason presented to it's citizens for invading Ukraine and the implied ouster by force of the Zelenski government.
• No nulear saber rattling.
• Specifically stated that the “main goal” of his invasion was limited to taking control of the entire Donbas region in the country’s east.
• He implied that his General Staff see other regions as being of secondary importance.
• That would be the Karkiv, Mykoliv and Kherson provinces parts of which remain but fleetingly occupied by Russians.
• Focus is now on the Donetsk and Luhansank provinces. Not too distantly, he stated that he would take the entirety of Ukraine back to mother Russia. Gone.

Observers believe Xi asked Putin directly, "what are your objectives?" Above is probably what he told him wrt that question. This is a far cry from what he set out to do in February. Aside from analysis being done by the British MoD and ISW, what is actually happening on the ground is hard to determine. The public watching this war know that the Russians have pulled back across the Seversky Donets river that runs NW to SE in the Kharkiv province with the Ukrainians in pursuit and still advancing in the face of a disorganized Russian pull-back.

Also Ukrainians are applying pressure on the E banks of the Dnieper and Inuulets rivers that runs to the SSE in the Kherson province. Both of these rivers are natural geographic barriers to military operations for both sides. No military analysts I'm reading think Putin can gain and hold the entire Donbas (Luhansk and Donetsk provinces). Currently Russia controls only about 1/2 of the Donetsk province and his forces are pulling back in the Luhansk province along with previously installed Russian administrators. There are reports that LNR and DNR soldiers - mostly reservists - fear a Ukrainian advance after getting spanked. It seems certain battalions in these forces have been disbanded and whatever is left of them are being redeployed to be absorbed by other units. This never works as dificult integration just exacerbates already low morale.

I would not be surprised to see Russia redeploy its troops in Kherson to Donetsk and fortify Crimea. This Chechan fella who is supposed to be a fearsome warrior and whomever he can dig up to fight with him will join the fray. When Putin was asked under what conditions “dialogue” with Ukraine would be possible, Mr. Putin responded: “The first condition is that they agree. They don’t want to.” There has been some reporting on what this means. The bottom line is that Zelenski and Putin are miles apart on what each wants and I doubt the recent setbacks for the Russians at the hands of the Ukrainians is going to change that. Slug fest ensues until someone yields. That may be a while, IMO.

[lineygoblue]

No. The point is to draw attention to the crisis and give "sanctuary" cities and states a taste of their own medicine. They seem to hate it when the other side fights back. The Biden administration also sent SEVENTY planeloads of migrants to Florida in the middle of the night. So turnabout is fair play. And honestly, I don't care that they were lied to. Who told them it was a good idea to sneak into the country in the first place? The joke's gonna be on them again when they find out that the progressive left in this country loves the same policies that ruined Venezuela.

Post of the week.

Well said, Mike.

[Dr. Strangelove]

very conservative 5th district upholds Texas’ social media law that’s very similar to the Florida one. As he mentions the decision is sort of moot; the Supreme Court has already enjoined the law from taking effect. This junk was always likely to be decided there. 5th circuit is likelier than not to be reversed

[lineygoblue]

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Joe's got himself a new girlfriend.

... well, .. at least he's not holding Gilchrist's hand ....

... and, of course, Stupidnow is just there for the pictures ...

Gretch should have worn the blue dress. Shows those 'birthin' hips' and all that.

Her costume mistress needs a good scolding.

[Jeff Buchanan]

In an update to yesterday's post on Ukraine related events - mostly about the pouring over of what Putin's public remarks he gave on Friday at the close of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) - the western press is characterizing the meetings Putin held on the side with Xi and Modi as a slam from both of them. He wanted tacit support but got nothing in that regard from Xi and just short of outright condemnation of Putin's war from India's Modi.

Putin likes to see himself as a strong man and player on the global stage and not at all weakened or isolated by the west. That image that he works to foster has taken a big hit. Xi is probably not happy he's tied himself to a what looks like at this point a loser. Here in the west we're only getting one side. There's a natural MSM reporting bias for doom and gloom and in this case the target is Putin, his army and Russia. Take that into consideration but as far as Putin creating positive narratives around his bare knuckled aggression in Ukraine, the opposite is happening. Even inside Russian state controlled media, there's grumbling. Hawt-takes indicate Russian C&C and leadership is in crisis mode and the pre-supposed invincibility of Russian armed forces is getting pantsed.

How this worsening narrative and characterization of Putin's war in Ukraine impacts any kind of negotiations going forward is hard to say. There is no outward indication that the Russians are about to pack-up and leave Ukraine entirely. OTH, over the last two weeks depictions of chaotic withdrawals of Russian forces back into Russia or further SE into the Luhansk province doesn't paint a pretty picture for Putin. Then there is the strong western MSM narrative of the Russian army's cruelty and disregard for human life that has been ongoing for months. It's a reality Putin's propagandists are having a hard time overcoming. Visual scenes of the death and destruction at the hands of the Russians along with abandoned and crumpled Russian tanks are ugly

For Ukraine, it's all about building leverage for future negotiations. The Zelenski government, despite it's bold pronouncements about liberating every square inch of Ukraine territory from Russian occupation, knows that isn't going to happen short term. Both governments are playing a long game. We haven't reached the end of the first half yet but it looks like the Ukrainians have the ball and are about to score putting them ahead. I can visualize Putin in the locker room with his "players" at the half. Roll the Adolph Hitler parody. Team Russia will come out and play hard in the third.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Feels a bit morbid to talk about arms sales in the context of the war but consider what it's been doing to the reputation of Russian equipment and weapons. And we aren't even sending the Ukrainians our top of the line, most-advanced stuff. In most cases it's tech that's one or two generations old.

[THE_WIZARD_]

...

[lineygoblue]

More beach renovations to Martha's Vineyard

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