Afghanistan, Biden Blame, GOP, Bush, Anti‑Vax Costs, Dental HIPPA, Racism

  • Hackwhackers provides a clear picture of the top two issues this week: COVID and Afghanistan.
     
  • Darrell Michaels of Unabashedly American really hates our President for his criminally incompetent handling of Afghanistan policy.
     
    Darrell is a longtime friend, so I felt compelled to respond on his site.
     
    It is true I’m elderly and I have learned not to completely trust what I read.
     
    Perhaps news reports on which I rely are wrong. They say Mr. Trump withdrew 83% of our forces in the last few months of his administration. As I understand it, that drawdown from 15,000 to 2500 was completed 5 days before Mr. Biden became President Biden.
     
    During that almost-transition, Mr. Trump ordered his administration to share no information with Biden or his people about the troop reduction or about anything else.
     
    Prior to the election Mr. Trump pressured the government of Afghanistan to release all 5,000 Taliban prisoners they were holding.
     
    As early as April, I read accounts that the Taliban seemed to be gaining a lot of ground. I do see a connection to the troop reduction and the massive Taliban release.
     
    I understand there existed a program of expedited immigration for those who risked their lives to help American troops. Emerging accounts now indicate that, within the Trump administration, Stephen Miller and others devised methods of red tape delay and bureaucratic obstruction. They deliberately sabotaged the rescue program.
     
    They were highly motivated by nativist ideology, especially against non-white immigrants and Muslim refugees, all of whom they see as culturally inferior. They were unswayed by reports of pro-American heroism by those refugees.
     
    We do know that a substantial proportion of conservatives are actively propagating against the refugees about whom Darrell and I share anxious concern.
     
    I suggested my friend’s anger might better be directed toward them.
     
    I asked Darrell if all that reporting is wrong.
     
    There seem to have been more recent developments reporters have been holding back for security reasons. We are now learning about rescue and transport operations into and out of Taliban areas. So I suggested we may want to wait for a more complete picture.
     
    I shared my elderly perspective that there is no orderly way to lose a war.
     
    And I asked my friend to tell me where my information is incorrect.
     
    I have known Darrell for years. I am confident he will post an informed, probably snarky, and very very conservative answer.
    Let’s track this.
     
  • Tommy Christopher reports on conservative condemnation of President Biden for suggesting the Taliban transformed themselves to a more tolerant posture.
     
    Seems Biden was directly asked if the Taliban have changed. He answered NO but speculated they are under pressure because they want to appear legitimate.
     
    ABC, bless their hearts, published a clip with the entire question and answer, but included a transcript that left out the word “No.”
     
    See how losing a single word can transform Biden’s unequivocal No into the Yes that never was?
     
    Nice, ABC.
     
  • Infidel753 sees the Taliban victory, complete with religious absolutism with rules and standards imposed on any who remain unwilling, as a tragic triumph for religion.
     
  • In Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson covers the under-covered aspect, just coming into central play, of the Taliban takeover: money.
     
  • Nojo explains how so very much of our struggle in the Middle East comes from our addiction to immediate drama at the expense of the rest of the story, the backstory, the whole story.
     
  • Laura Ingraham speaks from her perch on the Fox Network, asking viewers if they really want to accept responsibility for welcoming thousands of invading refugees from Afghanistan.
     
    Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged goes step by step as if talking to a small child, explaining to poor Laura how adult responsibility actually works in the moral universe.
     
  • Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit has a thought about Republicans who are angry about Afghanistan.

  • Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson explains why he is a dreamer.

  • At The Onion, former President George W. Bush spends sleepless nights wondering if he might be to blame for the long-term collapse of the Texas Rangers.
     
  • North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz suggests one seldom mentioned lesson from the Taliban triumph: that America can still become the next Afghanistan.
     
    We nearly watched it happen.
     
  • I have a thought on unvaccinated rights:

  • Nan’s Notebook recognizes the “personal freedom” argument on COVID prevention that overwhelms the better angels of the nature of some of our fellow citizens. But she’s doesn’t have any handle at all on their further aggressive demands on the rest of us.
     
  • At The Moderate Voice Robert Levine points out who really pays for the unvaccinated (guess) and proposes at least some of the financial burden be shifted to those refusing vaccines.
     
  • Must be embarrassing to the Fox Network that the COVID hoax turned out to be real, and that various alternate drugs are ineffective: the anti-mosquito bite drug, the cow dewormer, others. But at least that is in the past. We can forgive, at least those of us certain that our redeemer lives.
     
    Well, News Corpse has been watching. Fox folks are on the air telling Fox viewers that booster shots are just a money making scheme. You don’t need that silly immunization.
     
    So much for lessons learned from hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. More snake oil, coming right up.
     
  • tengrain who expresses a talent for needle-sharp, funny, intense sarcasm at Mock Paper Scissors has news of the escalating war between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and local school districts over whether children should be protected from COVID variants.
     
  • There are times we all can benefit occasional guidance from those wiser than ourselves. Andy Borowitz reports as Florida’s kindergartners offer to explain the mask issue to Governor DeSantis.
     
  • M. Bouffant at Web of Evil seems to have trouble searching his heart for any iota of sympathy as another anti-vaxxer dies of COVID.
     
  • driftglass tells wingnuts that all their sacrifices have paid off. They have proven their point. They can stop owning us now.
     
  • HIPPA has become the duct tape of irresponsible resistance to common sense:

  • Justin Hodges, of the Palmer Report, brings us the verbal attack on Black people by the Lt. Governor of Texas, blaming them for the COVID surge. Justin wonders if this is simply another justification for state actions designed to make voting harder for African Americans. Seems people of color are diseased and so don’t deserve the same rights as everyone else.
     
  • Court reasoning is sometimes beyond the understanding of mere mortals:

  • Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara looks to the Constitution and says state legislatures can overrule voters and choose Presidential electors directly. But the popular vote is the preferred method everywhere, so nothing to worry about. Electors will undoubtedly still be chosen by voters.
     
    On the other hand, I notice legislators in some states are seizing counting procedures so they don’t have to actually choose the electors. They can choose the votes that are counted instead.
     
    Nothing wrong with state legislators controlling electors, he says. You see, state legislators are themselves chosen by voters.
     
    So democracy is saved after all.
     
  • Dave Dubya reviews the rightist attacks on Representative Ilhan Omar. Seems she hates America because she does not care for those who defend “white heritage” from non-white invaders. The accusation is that she hates White people because she doesn’t like white supremacy.
     
    Dave suggests this is all a pattern of projection.
     
    Could be.
     
    I detect an occasional logical pattern:

    • The premise is that racism no longer exists in America in any meaningful sense, having been mitigated by the abolition of slavery, then eradicated with Civil Rights laws beginning in 1964.
    • Those who oppose racism are aware that racism no longer exists.
    • Therefore they are themselves racist or, at least, race-baiters looking for some payoff from the race card.
       

    But I’m elderly, and Dave is pretty sharp. He could be right.
     

  • If we have learned anything from Confederate statuary it is the rabid devotion conservatives have to remembering all of our historic heritage:

  • So the Trump-Barr Justice Department targeted protesters for bogus charges after George Floyd’s murder? Imani Gandy, for some unknown reason, is unsurprised.
     
  • Amazing what we can learn from scripture:

  • So Apple has new technology automatically included in their software to detect child pornography. YAY!! Another step to protect innocent children.
     
    But Cato’s Julian Sanchez, on his podcast, expresses some cautious reservations about CSAM software.
     
  • MadMikesAmerica says climate change has increased so much that something historically strange is happening in Greenland.
     
  • Good News! John Scalzi at Whatever has a new electric powered truck.
     
    Bad News! There seems to be an infrastructure problem.
     
  • Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger looks at the polls and finds that most Americans are concerned about terrorism and have a pretty good idea from what country the most danger is coming.
     
  • Another peaceful tourist is arrested:

  • CalicoJack in The Psy of Life analyzes a few conspiracy theories, starting with one that is completely true.
     
  • Mad bombers deserve our support at the ballot box, if they hate Biden:

  • Scotties Toy Box provides a quick summary of the current condition of the Republican party.
     
  • Representative Dan Crenshaw gets heckled and booed at a political party function. Frances Langum sees it as Republican disarray.
     
    Maybe she’s right. I see it as a increasingly unified extremism.
     
    Representative Crenshaw’s offense was to suggest that President Biden was actually elected.
     
  • PZ Myers notices a couple of verbal ticks that can help quickly identify a junk-science creationist.
     
  • In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, Bruce wants to celebrate having reached 35,000 comments on his site. Yay! But has that joy been ruined by a terrible coincidence.
     
  • The mini-controversy surrounding Jeopardy: ended as Mike Richards withdrew as host. Ant Farmer’s Almanac tells us who has been chosen to fill the spot.
     
  • The Journal of Improbable Research reports on a strange sort of robotic problem: people get weirded out when humanoid robots are too damn realistic. Researchers in Germany are on the case, studying possible solutions.
     
    Getting this straight.
    The robots all those experts have been investing their effort in to make look more human,
    now gives you the willies because it looks too human.
     
  • “Girly Girl” from the UK has some specific guidance on how to please your man. WooHoo! @momwino98 has a reasonable reaction.
     

    @momwino98

    ##duet with @girlygirluk Just stop….##tiktokmom ##foryourpage ##stop ##realworld ##equalpartners

    ♬ original sound – _ritikaaaa

  • Reductress helps, bringing you five sexy fragrances that will trigger his asthma.
     
  • Reading habits:


– Podcasts –
 

One thought on “Afghanistan, Biden Blame, GOP, Bush, Anti‑Vax Costs, Dental HIPPA, Racism”

  1. Burr:
    “I detect an occasional logical pattern:
    The premise is that racism no longer exists in America in any meaningful sense, having been mitigated by the abolition of slavery, then eradicated with Civil Rights laws beginning in 1964.
    Those who oppose racism are aware that racism no longer exists.
    Therefore they are themselves racist or, at least, race-baiters looking for some payoff from the race card.

    But I’m elderly, and Dave is pretty sharp. He could be right.”
    ~~~

    I don’t know. The more I consider systemic denial of systemic racism might actually be systemic racism, the more I get confused. No wonder the study of racism and its effects is a Marxist assault on our freedom. It’s best we ban the 1619 Project and anything that looks like CRT.

    And while we’re at it, let’s ban masks and vaccines.

    It’s just patriotic, unabashedly American, common sense.

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