Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

Comments

[not guilty]

Folk wisdom teaches that the nut doesn't fall far from the tree. One nut named Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., however, has shown that he is decidedly the exception.

Cutting back on childhood immunizations?? WTF??

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/us/politics/rfk-vaccines-hhs-trump.html&quot; rel="nofollow

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-vaccine-advisers-not-babies-153428052.html?.tsrc=1340&ncid=crm_-1285232-20251205-561--A&bt_user_id=BeArHzNbxl3yYk4YEtF7gik%2FRx4r%2BK4wGZWY2c35UYvG0XazSIRJEl5AouybeIsMI%2FGTDz55VOkf3UIQQ86Ot0EXgODsDifG7iBWcPButWEkQ2qILXK0aPA8tkzVVQM2&bt_ts=1764953330307

What does the self-styled "pro-life" crowd think of having a Health and Human Services Secretary who is pro-measles? Or does that simply not matter, because it doesn't involve interfering with the sex lives of women who are not too unattractive to get laid?

[Dr. Ed 2]

What the jackbooted fascism of Covid did was raise legitimate questions about all vaccines, questions which ought to have been asked long ago.

The era of blindly trusting big pharma is over, even if it does de-facto own the media.

[not guilty]

Trusting Big Pharma? Didn't he pass away in 2021? https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/media/rush-limbaugh-obituary/

And he was many things, but trustworthy was not one of them.

[Michael P]

RFK Jr has been an antivax nut since long before COVID: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_Immunity

He was a very poor choice to lead HHS.

[Dr. Ed 2]

A loose cannon is not always a bad thing.

[Michael P]

I wouldn't mind having a loose cannon behind literal enemy lines, but I struggle to see when it would be desirable on my side or (regardless of partisan control) my government.

[not guilty]

CNN is reporting that the accused pipe bomber has told FBI investigators that he believed the 2020 election was stolen.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/accused-dc-pipe-bomber-told-144231367.html?.tsrc=1340&ncid=crm_-1285232-20251205-560--A&bt_user_id=k9ZSzKQhGu86r5cJqxF718oXB4hWkwwrR1vwpmQSOrZIXayzjHOtcAhN7CYBdjUSHpENhKQNI5Nn0iUkAgX9Fc%2FCZx386eseFl6JdpdbKT5sT47jfqZ3jGJOtGNr8jfK&bt_ts=1764952610240

What are the odds that he is trying to set up a request for a preemptive pardon from Donald Trump?

[David Nieporent]

Pop quiz: the lunatics who identified a former capitol hill police officer as the culprit based on phrenology "gait analysis" will:

a) Admit their insanity and apologize;
b) Double down and claim that this arrest is a coverup;
c) Pretend that they never accused the woman; or
d) blame Biden.

[Kazinski]

I did of course post a link, I also said:

"for entertainment purposes only".

Were you not entertained?

The Biden-Shokin posts I will stand by forever though.

As Joe himself said "Sonofabitch he got fired".

[Kazinski]

CNN is also reporting that the pipe bomber started buying components for his pipe bomb in 2019.

"In 2019 and 2020, Cole purchased multiple items consistent with the components used to make the bombs at Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe’s and Micro Center stores, according to the affidavit."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/05/us/brian-cole-jr-fbi-investigation

He couldn't have known there would be contentions about the election when he made the first overt act.

When you want to make a pipe bomb, any excuse will do.

But the real question is why someone who wants to make a pipe bomb for well over a year, decides to make a pipe bomb that he knows can never explode then deploy it where it will get the absolute maximum attention possible.

Seems an ego thing, not a political act.

[Michael P]

He couldn't have known there would be contentions about the election when he made the first overt act.

"there would be contentions" should have been a no-brainer, but yes, he could not rely on the specific contentions to rationalize his previous-year purchases.

It is curious that the bombs have been reported to have such shoddy design and construction, such as using kitchen timers that normally run for less than an hour. Did he intend the bombs to go off overnight? Did he never test his design? Did he just build them very poorly?

Buying lots of parts over a long time period suggests that he intended to build actual bombs rather than scary fakes, but if he was incompetent a bomb-builder as it seems, why wasn't he similarly incompetent at covering his tracks (considering the almost five-year delay in arresting him)?

[Kazinski]

The reported details are he used components that could be used as a pipe bomb, but they were not assembled in a fashion that any competent person would ever expect them to explode. When there aren't wires that go from the timer to the detonator, then you aren't really trying.

Which is a good thing.
.

[not guilty]

Mr. Cole buying supplies during 2019 and 2020 is consistent with the averments of the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1420196/dl?inline

Just as his now kvetching about the 2020 election being stolen is consistent with sucking up to Donald Trump in anticipation of seeking a pardon.

[Kazinski]

Seeking a pardon after Trump already lost?

You aren't really that stupid are you?

Or are you strategizing his insanity defense?

[Dr. Ed 2]

I'm thinking more NGI, NG.

There were (and are) people so far to the left that they make no distinction between Brandon & Trump. Many of them consider the entire system to be corrupt.

I think that's what this guy is. if you think that the election itself is illegitimate, it doesn't matter who runs, let alone wins.

[not guilty]

Per 18 U.S.C. § 17:

(a) Affirmative Defense.—
It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under any Federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts. Mental disease or defect does not otherwise constitute a defense.

(b) Burden of Proof.—
The defendant has the burden of proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence.

Planning the offense for well over a year, as well as assembling the bomb components in advance and placing them in multiple locations on the day before Congress was to certify the electoral count, is inconsistent with an insanity defense. Kvetching about the election results more than five years after the election may indicate an unbalanced personality, but it does not advance any planned insanity claim.

[Commenter_XY]

Quite low, near zero = What are the odds that he is trying to set up a request for a preemptive pardon from Donald Trump?

Brian Cole needs a psych evaluation.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Will he argue that the recent election-related pardon handed down by Trump applies to him?

("as well for any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting
fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 Presidential Election")

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-11-14/pdf/2025-19928.pdf

[Michael P]

Probably. It would be no stupider than most of the other things you people argue.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Schumer's going for a THREE year largess tells me he has given up on the 2026 election and is thinking of 2028.

If Trump was what the left claims he is, he would make a deal with Schumer -- deport AOC and Omar in exchange for silence on this. So what if Occasional Cortex was actually born here...

[Stephen Lathrop]

The Guardian today reports that the Trump administration has acted to bar H1-B visas for foreigners who have practiced editing to exclude Trump/MAGA lies from publications—which Secretary of State Rubio has characterized as. "censorship." A quote from the article:

According to NPR, which said the memo was sent to US foreign stations on Tuesday, diplomatic officials are instructed to turn down visa applications from anybody who worked on factchecking, content moderation “or other activities the Trump administration considers ‘censorship’ of Americans’ speech”.

They must scrutinize for evidence an applicant’s work history, including going through their LinkedIn profiles and other social media accounts, and looking for mentions in media articles of “activities including combatting misinformation, disinformation or false narratives, content moderation, compliance, and trust and safety”.

[Kazinski]

They are also going to start limiting work permits to 18 months rather than 5 years for temporary visa holders.

Sounds like a good idea.

[Dr. Ed 2]

If there are 80,000 Somalis in Minnesota, and half are here illegally via some sort of visa fraud, that's 40,000 to go.

Then there is the Manhattan Institute's investigation of fraud in Minnesota -- all linked from here: https://www.city-journal.org/article/minnesota-somali-fraud-al-shabaab-terrorists-immigration-welfare

"The Somali fraud rings have sent huge sums in remittances, or money transfers, from Minnesota to Somalia. According to reports, an estimated 40 percent of households in Somalia get remittances from abroad. In 2023 alone, the Somali diaspora sent back $1.7 billion—more than the Somali government’s budget for that year. [emphasis added]

The fraud from Minnesota alone exceeds the country's total budget.

[Dr. Ed 2]

The direct url for the above quote is:
https://www.city-journal.org/article/minnesota-welfare-fraud-somalia-al-shabaab

And this is just Minnesota -- not mentioned is all the fraud in Maine.
Lewiston, once a French-Canadian city has become South Central LA, with children carrying rifles on the streets and the rest.

[Kazinski]

Reason is reporting:

"European Union slaps Elon Musk on the wrist: As of today, X became the first company to be fined (to the tune of $140 million) under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) for violations including the platform's "deceptive design" that allows users to mislead others about who they really are as well as prohibited advertising practices and refusal to provide researchers with access to public data."

I think we need to put at least another 140 million in tariffs on the EU. I would pick one country in particular for the extra tariffs, French Wine, German Cars, Italian Ham, or Belgium chocolates, to really isolate the pain. Or perhaps 140 million of tariffs on every one of this sectors.

[Commenter_XY]

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2025/12/05/eu-fines-elon-musks-x-140-million-for-not-following-censorship-law/

Agree on tariff response, but target the EU organization in Brussels with the 140MM tariff (to be divided amongst all EU members). Do that enough, and we might see more 'Brexit' responses.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Can a Member of Congress be deported by ICE?

I'm thinking of Rep Omar (D-Somalia) and while the bleep would hit the fan if Trump had the guts to do it, if she's here illegally, if she got here via visa fraud, then she should go back.

It once was the case that immigrants were glad to be here, and were more patriotic than anyone else. I'm thinking of elderly Cambodians proudly pointing to the American flag on the wall and my not having the heart to tell them that the stars actually go on the left (i.e. they had it backwards).

If these immigrants don't like it here -- fine, let's buy them plane tickets home.

[Commenter_XY]

No, she cannot.

We already have CBP home: free airline ticket home + 1,000 cash.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Also, the Guardian reports that a British medical journal has formally retracted a decades-old article which endorsed the cancer safety of glyphosate weed killer.

The headline from an article originally published in something called, "Retraction Watch:"

Glyphosate safety article retracted eight years after Monsanto ghostwriting revealed in court

Google that to read the details.

The linked article says this: "The now-retracted article appeared in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology,"

The Retraction Watch article does not allege any new data to make a case that glyphosate does cause cancer. It instead details court allegations that Monsanto corrupted the authorship of the original article—which has been among the most-cited papers on the fraught topic of glyphosate safety. The article generalizes to say the paper was, "ghost written," by Monsanto, and published under the names of 3 ostensibly-independent medical researchers, two of whom are now dead. The third has not returned queries.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Grrrrrr........

[Stephen Lathrop]

My personal take is that this disclosure is barely relevant, except to plaintiffs suing over questions of human health. The larger question of glyphosate ecological safety remains easy to answer: it makes no ecological difference whether a chemical agent designed to kill everything in a farm filed except the crop does that by one mechanism orby another.

Whether a toad, or a bird, or an insect, for instance, dies by direct poisoning, or because its entire chain of sustenance has been wiped out, is a question with the same ecological answer either way. It will always be an ecological catastrophe to raise crops that way.

[Dr. Ed 2]

And then there is this:
Harvard Law School visiting professor Carlos Portugal Gouvea—who told authorities he fired a pellet rifle outside a synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur "to hunt rats"—agreed to self-deport after ICE arrested him Wednesday.

Does anyone other than Ilya want to try to explain why he shouldn't be deported? Or -- well -- Whiskey Tango Foxtrot....

This man is anti-gun, an anti-gun activist, and takes what is not much less lethal than a .22 rifle (and what was legally defined & regulated as a "firearm" until 1994) into an urban environment (Brookline is surrounded by Boston, and would be part of Boston were it in the same county) to "shoot rats"? outside a synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur? In Massachusetts?!?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot???

https://freebeacon.com/campus/rat-hunting-harvard-law-professor-agrees-to-self-deport-after-firing-pellet-gun-near-synagogue-during-yom-kippur/

[Kazinski]

Current NFL playoff percentages
AFC:

1.Patriots (11-2) >99%
2. Broncos (10-2) 99%
3. Jaguars (8-4) 79%
4. Ravens (6-6) 69%
5. Chargers (8-4) 61%
6. Colts (8-4) 72%
7. Bills (8-4) 90%

NFC

1. Bears (9-3) 76%
2. Rams (9-3) 96%
3. Eagles (8-4) 95%
4. Buccaneers (7-5) 84%
5. Seahawks (9-3) 93%
6. Packers (8-3-1) 89%
7. 49ers (9-4) 90%

Pretty wild that the current #1 seed Bears have the lowest chance of making the Playoffs of any of the top 7 NFC teams.

I'm not convinced that any of the top 7 AFC seeds will make the Superbowl, my pick would be the Texans, or possibly the Bills at #7.

For the NFC, I'd just pick a slip out of a hat between the Packers, Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks.

Defense wins Championships, unless its the Bills, then its offense.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Kazinski — I doubt the Bills will even be a favorite against the Patriots at home. I think the tougher question in the AFC is whether the Patriots or the Broncos become the number one seed. It currently seems unlikely that any other teams have a shot at that.

The Broncos, who will likely finish with the tie breaker against the Patriots, have only one road game left against a plausible opponent. At home, in thin air, at the end of the season, the Broncos have always proved nearly unbeatable. You watch opposing linemen on the bench, struggling to get air between rotations.

I doubt the Broncos would beat the Patriots at Gillette, and I doubt the Patriots could beat the Broncos in Denver. That makes me think that to have a chance at the Super Bowl, the Patriots need to win out, and hope the Broncos lose one or more, so the tie breaker does not figure in the outcome.

If that happens, then I think the Patriots will be favorites against any teams in the AFC. They would need to win only two games at home, after an initial bye. No other team in the AFC is so favorably positioned. That makes the Patriot's upcoming post-bye-week confrontation against the Bills look like a must win for the Patriots, whose road to the Super Bowl will otherwise likely run through Denver.

By the way, barring injury, Patriot quarterback Drake Maye looks like the real deal. He continues to improve. Earlier sack-prone choices seem not to happen so much anymore.

Maye is not Tom Brady, but he has already shown better accuracy with the long pass than Brady ever had. That makes the Patriots lightning-strike dangerous against any opponent. I think they might turn out a plausible Super Bowl favorite.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Kazinski — By the way, I think by your own criteria, you might be wise to put just two slips in that NFC hat: the Rams and the Seahawks. They seem to have proved themselves the defensive elite of the conference.

[Kazinski]

Funny that. If the Seahawks beat the Rams in two weeks on Dec 18, that means the 49ers could take the NFC West on the last weekend of the season.

All three of them have 9 wins, but the Niners have an extra loss.

If they all end up 12-4 the 49ers will have the tiebreakers, I think.

[Kazinski]

Correction, if they all end up 13-4.

[Kazinski]

Honestly I would have to question the motivation of anyone who would file a lawsuit like this:

"The city of Asheville must pay five white residents who filed a federal lawsuit claiming they were racially discriminated against when they were rejected from a volunteer board that advises the city on equity, according to a news release from a Western North Carolina group. WNC Citizens for Equality said the Human Relations Commission of Asheville posted application forms indicating “white persons were automatically excluded from serving unless they could prove a ‘plus factor,’” such as being gay or transgender or living in public housing."

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article313367040.html

Would you really want to be part of that circle jerk?

[Dr. Ed 2]

Having to live with what it produces -- yes....

[Michael P]

I've heard that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere", and governments tend to look to that kind of board for policy advice. Becoming a member of such a board is one way to speak up against bad policies advocate by other such boards.

[Commenter_XY]

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/12/05/federal-judge-orders-epstein-grand-jury-transcripts-unsealed/

Took long enough. Still more to go.

[Dr. Ed 2]

And proof that "Dumb" is only half a word: https://freebeacon.com/democrats/proud-of-my-alma-mater-dem-senate-candidate-mallory-mcmorrow-praised-white-privilege-seminar-that-included-trip-to-racially-segregated-conference/

"White Privilege" in Kentucky. Yea....

[Kazinski]

Hobie is an enthusiastic supporter of White privilege in Cleveland.

[JoeFromtheBronx]

"Trump’s Security Strategy Focuses on Profit, Not Spreading Democracy

President Trump’s new National Security Strategy describes a country that is focused on doing business and reducing migration while avoiding passing judgment on authoritarians."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/us/politics/trump-national-security-strategy.html

Proud to be an American!

More here:

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-5-2025?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2

I would rather not be on this road to perdition.

[Commenter_XY]

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/climate-change-nature-study/2025/12/05/id/1237288/

Oooops. Where are the Climate Covidians?