Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Mike]

Is it just me or does it seem like it's taking a long time to identify the shooters at yesterday's Super Bowl rally in KC?

[Dr. Strangelove]

Barring longer-than-normal jury selection, Trump's hush money NYC case (the weakest of all the trials) will begin March 25. A hearing this morning went MUCH faster than expected with the Judge immediately denying Trump's motion to dismiss. He was lying when he said he was "forced" to be there today but he WILL have to attend every day of the trial and behave himself.

Donald Trump's New York hush-money trial will begin in 39 days with jury selection, a judge says - WHYY

[Dr. Strangelove]

Crash's buddies, the people who provided the basis for "2000 Mules", admitted in court yesterday that they have jack shit to back up their claims of fraud.

Conservative group tells judge it has no evidence to back its claims of Georgia ballot stuffing | AP News

[Mike]

[Hannibal]

Is it just me or does it seem like it's taking a long time to identify the shooters at yesterday's Super Bowl rally in KC?

Coulter’s Law is in effect.

[Mike]

Yep.

[Da Geezer]

How about a little good news? From today's WSJ:

The discovery of 2.34 billion metric tons of rare-earth elements near Wheatland, Wyo., signals the beginning of a new era in the competition for the raw materials that power the global economy. If wisely exploited, this find—estimated to be the richest in the world—will give the U.S. an unparalleled economic and geopolitical edge against China and Russia for the foreseeable future.

The lode at Halleck Creek has the potential to make the U.S. the world’s largest processor of the minerals used to make computer chips, smartphones and aircraft engines. Rare earths are fundamental to advanced economic manufacturing. They are also critical in all military technologies, and thus have become central to national security.

Yet traditionally they also were “dirty” to mine. Production tended to leave water pollution, toxic sludge and radioactive elements in its wake. Environmental concerns led U.S. companies to curtail domestic extraction, and as a result China became the world’s largest refiner of rare earths, accounting for as much as 95% of global production and supply in 2023. Despite a recent increase in refining outside China, the U.S., along with other leading manufacturing countries, relies on Chinese rare-earth exports. And reliance has meant vulnerability, as Beijing has used its near monopoly to bolster its own industries and put pressure on competitors.

The Halleck Creek find is reportedly high in two of the most in-demand rare earths, neodymium and praseodymium oxides, both of which are also low in radioactive byproducts. Exploiting the Wyoming find, along with other mines in Arizona and Nevada, could help power a new generation of American manufacturing, ensure a supply of military-critical materials, and further reduce American reliance on trade with China.

Rare earths are only part of the story of the North American continent’s natural abundance. Despite Biden administration rhetoric against drilling, the U.S. remains the world’s largest oil producer, with 44.4 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, and it exports more petroleum than it imports. And before President Biden moved to limit shipments of liquefied natural gas, the U.S. in 2023 was the world’s largest exporter of LNG. Similarly, the U.S. coal industry is the fourth-largest in the world, producing nearly 600 million short tons in 2022, and is far cleaner and environmentally safe than top producers China and India. U.S. timber and water resources are all but unmatched globally. The capacity to provide for much, if not most, of the country’s domestic energy needs gives the U.S. an unparalleled economic and geopolitical advantage.

Not all is well with the American natural-resource picture, however. For centuries it was the richness of American soil above all that drove settlement. The U.S. is still the world’s fourth-largest agricultural producer, and the world’s largest exporter of corn and fifth largest exporter of rice. Yet since the 1980s, U.S. farmland has dramatically shrunk because of urban expansion, consolidation and environmental regulations. Fruits and vegetables that could be grown domestically now must be imported from Mexico, Canada and other countries.

America’s six million farmers—2% of the population—remain hard pressed, as some 13 million acres of farmland disappeared from 2014 through 2021. In California’s rich Central Valley, another million acres is expected to go fallow over the next two decades to comply with new groundwater regulations—even as the Golden State pumps trillions of gallons of storm water into the Pacific Ocean due to similarly antigrowth regulations.

Smart resource regulation is of course necessary, but we know more today than we ever have about how to protect the environment while powering a diverse economy. If the U.S. refuses to press its natural advantages, it will cede global leadership to China. As crises rear up in Ukraine and the Middle East, Washington will have to ramp up all kinds of production for national defense while ensuring the American standard of living. Halleck Creek may one day be as familiar to Americans as the Comstock Lode or the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. Wise stewardship and bold exploitation of the unending bounty of America’s natural resources will help ensure another century of U.S. wealth and security.

Mr. Auslin is a historian at Stanford’s Hoover Institution.

[Mike]

Great news indeed! I wonder how long it will take for the federal government to declare it all off limits.

[Mike]

Oof.

[Mike]

According to the KC police chief a dispute led to the shooting yesterday. It seems one group of guns got into an argument with another group of guns, then they started discharging themselves wildly in a crowded plaza. No word yet on the suspects other than 2 of the 3 are juveniles.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Great news indeed! I wonder how long it will take for the federal government to declare it all off limits.

The "greens" will be out in force protesting the abuse of the land for profit. Fuck them.

[crashcourse]

yeah 2 fifteen year olds and a third adolescent got into it with two adults--may have went back to their car to get the weapons came back and started firing. yeah it doesn't fit the narrative

typical Saturday night in Chicago

[crashcourse]

so after the tik tok moment-- Joe is now films spots where he sits down and buys fried chicken for youngsters to eat and talk basketball

Now its coming out Biden was the one bringing up Beau during the special counsel interview

gee what a surprise

[Mike]

The prosecutors in the Georgia RICO case against Trump have a big problem on their hands. I hadn't been paying much attention to this story but court testimony today seems to indicate that Fani Willis, the Fulton County DA, and her former boyfriend, Nathan Wade, may have lied to the judge in the hearing to have them removed from the case. If they're removed, someone else would have to prosecute the case that they've spent over 2 years working on.

[iam416]

There's like one semi-legitimate case against DJT and that's the one in DC. The NY cases are ludicrous. The Georgia case is dubious. And the DC case at least has interference with government duties or something charge (no insurrection or treason, OBVIOUSLY).