I'm getting so sick of political ads that I actually get excited when I see personal injury attorney ads now.

Currelty I think politcal ads are the best/most realistic deterrant for streaming sports content, because if there's anything worse than political ads it's political ads for someone else's location.

I haven't seen any political ads so I guess I'm lucky. I do get an anti-trump mailing every couple of days from a purported never Trumper group.

Kentucky does statewide elections on the odd years - so we're up for governor, etc., in 2023. It's been pretty much nonstop political ads since 6-8 months before the 2022 election.

Part of it is historical ties. They were used to leverage Egypt, which was closely tied to the USSR during the cold war.

A significant amount of R and D takes place there for weapons and tech. There's an enormous number of tech companies that work out of or have partnerships with Israel.

They are still our closest middle east ally. Given the instability there, granted that's party caused by our own actions, it's nice to have someone to leverage against another countries, have a staging ground, or to share airspace and other resources with in the event of war in the region.

They test our weapons for us.

Israel was largely the reason Saddam was never able to get his hands on nukes.

We share intel.

In the end, what it largely comes down to, is the return on investment in the tech sector. Over 50% of Israel exports are high tech. It's basically become Silicon Valley on a country scale.

I think it's valid to reexamine and ask if it's all worth it, but you can't really say they don't bring anything to the table for us. Despite what the actual answer is to that question, there isn't a single person that is getting to the White House anytime within the next decade or two that has the balls or even the authority, really, to cut ties with Israel.

Another thing I'd add to that is that at Israel's relationship with the United States actually reigns in its response to various threats, and has deterred additional wars declared against Israel by actual states in the region. And creates a balance that generally reduces the odds of a nuclear World War 3. And while it's taken decades, the relationship between Israel and those other states has never been better.

And I think those states are now actually pretty content to have a lightning rod to deal with terrorists. If they're not blowing up Jews they're blowing up Arab states for being too moderate. Those states barely even execute gay people anymore, like Hamas does. Lord knows Egypt's never wanted to open its border to Gaza. In peacetime they ban young Palestinian men from coming through.

Remember that 9/11 was largely over our support of Israel's repressive regime. The thousands of lives lost in that event, the thousands more servicemen and women lost in wars fought over it, and the trillions in tax dollars that were spent. Not to mention the innocent civilian lives lost in the Middle East, the loss of civil liberties, and all the other negative stuff associated with it.

They don't fight alongside us in wars. And I'd question the value of their intelligence after 10/7. Let's not forget they (Netanyahu specifically!) were telling us Saddam had WMDs and was prone to strike with them any day now unless we invaded. They are far more involved than any other country in our elections, exceeding what we claimed Russia was trying to do.

While the high tech exports might be valuable (I'd wager investing the money we give them in tech would probably be just as valuable), I find it hard to believe that all the other negatives are worth that. At least with the Saudis you can point to the oil.

9/11 was largely about troops in the Muslim Holy Land because of the first Gulf War.

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I don't know many countries that would be willing to take in 2 million refugees at the drop of a hat. Especially when those refugees are largely women and children who don't have the skills or abilities to work.

As for the ban, it's because Egypt is a dictatorship. The current dictator athrew out the democratically elected leader who was friendly with the Muslim Brotherhood. It's just a dictator who the United States supports not wanting competition.

There were a lot of reasons, but Bin Laden made it clear that the Second Intifada and the US support of Israel during it was the trigger to launch the attacks.

They used that in propaganda, but they had no problem with US support of Israel when they were taking weapons and training from the US. It wasn't till the Gulf War did they turn against the US. To say that it was due to US support of Israel is some serious revisionist history and taking terrorist propaganda at face value.

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Propaganda is saying they did it because they hate our freedoms. Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were not concerned about the the public relations game.

And yes, the Gulf War did start this as it established troops in the region. Bin Laden's fatwa specifically talked about how this was done to destabilize the Arab world in support of Israel.

The guy spent a decade screaming about Israel and the US support of it. He talked a lot about the repression of Palestinians and it was the duty of every Muslim to jihad for their freedom. Maybe he lied about that and kept his real reasons a secret (maybe it was our freedoms?). But their reasoning was consistent and Israel was always at the top of the list.

To act like our alliance with Israel played no role in the attacks is re-writing history. I don't think either side disputes that.

Meanwhile this is the nonsense the Republicans are wasting time on:

106 Republicans voted to defund the entire office of the Vice President of the United States. Amendment sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins R-GA. pic.twitter.com/Glo2HHIU9Z

— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) November 8, 2023

So Republicans continue to lose election after election and their solution: Go even crazier, that's what Americans want!

How much funding does the Vice Presidential Office really need though?

How much does it currently get?

Compared to the whole Federal budget? About what you spend on a stick of gum, if that.

Just another day in DC:


Feds charge three with running high-end brothels allegedly frequented by politicians - POLITICO

I'm not an expert, but $350-$600 seems to be on the low end of the sex-worker spectrum. When you have been hearing about the "$1,000 a night call-girl" since the Heidi Fleiss days decades ago, it seems like there has been a pretty big price reduction in that market.

Damn Biden ruining everything!

Wiki says $2.6 million. About 100 employees.

Why does the office need a hundred employees? Why should it cover any more than Kamala Harris's salary and a couple bucks for an uber in case she needs to cast the tie breaking vote in the senate?

Capitalism.

With the apps & social media nowadays, more competition and ease of access.

The New York Times says the average session with a prostitute is about $150.

Just buying a dinner for my girlfriend seems like a bargain in comparison. Now I just hope she doesn't find out I was googling how much a prostitute costs.

A little competition never hurts.

"How can I fudge a Google search?"

That's only $26k per employee, so I'm guessing that figure is wrong.

I'm still waiting for the "my last prostitute cost me...." post.


Edit: Just to add that just seems ridiculously low. I could see a street walker being on the low end of price scale and probably something simple like $100 or even $50, but someone who has a place of business in a high-end apartment or hotel couldn't possibly charge less than the room cost a day, right? It just seems like the math doesn't work. Women who work in the higher end of the industry generally do it because the money is good (again, not on the low end where it usually for drugs or a pimp). You would to burn through a large number of men a night to make $150 a session worthwhile.

I blame Biden for prostitute inflation! These prices are CA-RAAAAAZY!!

You'd think with Hunter he'd make sure to suppress hooker prices for his own pockets.

The obvious answer is that's what NYT reporters pay for their "level of escorts".

I'm sure the politicians, lawyers etc. pay more for their escorts.

It does make me wish they would legalize it just for the commercials alone.
"Crazy Eddie has the happy ending deals for you! Finish in 10 minutes or your next 10 minutes are free!"

Uh... For most guys seeking these services, the guarantee should be "Last at least 35 seconds or your next visit is free! "

Anyone dumb enough to fill out an intake form for a prostitute deserves whatever punishment they end up getting.

I think they charge extra for that.

It is called "screening." It is actually very common practice now that prostitutes require identification, social media verification, etc. to protect themselves. And men do it because they want to get laid. At least that is what the Reddit for sex workers say. They also agree that the price range is more low end.

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Well done, well done.

Once in a while a mini-prostitution ring in town will be broken up. And based on the photos and ages of the perps and Johns involved in that, and the places where it's happening, there's different categories of this, and plenty of transactions that bring the average price way down.

Manchin isn't running for Senate so that's a guaranteed GOP pickup.

He was dead meat anyway (won in '18 by 3 in a very blue election). With Trump on the ballot in '24, he'd lose by 20. Better to retire now undefeated.

He is going to run for President.

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Good luck. Maybe he pulls some red votes but most of the blue voters in my circle have had literally all they can stand from Manchin.

Hopefully he announces he has built his own spaceship and launches off into space never to be heard from again.

I wonder about that. People may think of him as a "moderate moderate", but he always hit me as just a fully bought shill for the coal industry. Will he have any appeal to the anti-Trump conservatives?

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Who will Dems blame without Manchin and Sinema to be their scapegoats?

Given the Senate map for next year, "Being a minority of 46-47 seats" will probably suffice.

Republicans

Depends on if anyone else in the party allows themselves to obviously be bought by a major lobbyist that doesn’t align with the party line and then hold up every piece of legislation to make sure that the lobbyist that bought them gets what it wants as a concession to pass whatever the party wants to pass. Ideally there wouldn’t be one.

My hope would be that neither party would have to deal with this crap.

No real understanding of the issue, but bad things are happening in the Sudan.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2...r-monitors-say

Also read another article where the Myanmar "rebels" are having success against the junta forces. Around the Chinese border.

T-5 before shutdown.

I don't understand why he proposed 2-tiers with 2 different extension end dates

Johnson announced his pitch to avoid a shutdown. It's already hitting a wall. - POLITICO

It was some deal were the first part that runs out early are the items that will likley to be easy to fund and come to an agreement on. The second part is the harder stuff, and he is hoping to be able to get a better consensus with his party by then to stand firm against the Dems. That is the supposed theory anyway. The pro-Shut Down side of his party is not buying it.

Seems like a "Horses already out of the barn" kind of thing:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it's adopting an ethics code as the justices face criticism over undisclosed travel and gifts.

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) November 13, 2023

Shouldn’t have taken so long

Unless there is some enforcement mechanism then it will be useless.

Any real enforcement mechanism would require a Constitutional Amendment.

It's pretty amazing (and shows how out of touch these folks are) when nearly every job in the country requires some COI reporting and enforcement...except for the Supreme Court.

Also, how can they enforce it when they don't even enforce the redrawing of districts that they have ordered?

T-4

Will another clean CR get the Dems votes?

I’m surprised I don’t see Yellen in the news more often (Google says last time was 5 days ago)

Some (tentatively) good news on T-3.

Democrats look ready to ride to Johnson's rescue - POLITICO
The Dems rationale ...

House Republican accuses "bully" McCarthy of elbowing him in back

Burchett just broke the first rule about Republican Congressional Fight Club.

And now Matt Gaetz is calling for an ethics commission investigation about the incident.

Shut down averted at least through the New Year. 92 Republicans abd 2 Dens vote against the CR.

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Didn't McCarthy threaten someone else awhile back and then backed down when that person said "sure, let's fight"? Huge pussy move to jab someone and then scurry away behind your security.

Did anyone mention the new Speaker and his son monitor each other's porn viewing habits?

Mike Johnson Said He and His Son Monitor Each Other’s Porn Usage, and Yeah, It’s Exactly as Weird as It Sounds | Vanity Fair

Don't worry - I'm sure that story has a happy ending.

Bravo, Ksyrup.

Eric Swalwell:

Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenges Teamsters head to a fight: Video | AP News

How about we just set a ring or octagon in the Capitol rotunda and just let these folks go at it?

I'd put all my money on the Teamsters head beating the hell out of a Senator.

Apparently that Senator used to be an MMA fighter?

I felt better about his chances when I was thinking Sen. Mullin was the stereotypical bar fightin' country boy than finding out he was a MMA fighter after I looked up his MMA career.

According to a couple of MMA reference sites, he is 3-0. His congressional bio says he was 5-0. Two of the wins were against a guy who had a career W/L record of 1-11. His bio also stated that he was in the National Hall of Fame which is true. He did get a scholarship to go to Missouri Valley College but he's no Kurt Angle as a Hall of Famer.

GRIT award

Even if Mullin could win an MMA fight I still take the Teamster in a no-rules fisticuff.

Markwayne will make mincemeat out to Sean in a fight. But he'll end up in cement soon after.


Teamster Sean



vs

Senator Markwayne

Interesting situation with the anti-Israel squad. I'm sure Jeffries is getting pressure from the Jewish PACs also. Jeffries has a fine balancing act here.

Progressives facing primary challenges over Israel demand more help from Jeffries - POLITICO
Not convinced easier path to 218 though.

I can easily see Santos backtracking on his pledge to not seek re-election, so I really hope he gets expelled.

George Santos announces he won’t seek reelection following damning Ethics Committee report | CNN Politics

I don't see any of their districts going red. The worse that happens is a more moderate Dem wins the nomination. The only way those seat flip is if they run third party.


Edit: They as much as admit that. Their argument is money spent defending the incumbents could better be spent on other competitive races.

None of those people will lose their seat. 80% of the party supports a ceasefire, so Jeffries is in the extreme minority. The idea you're going to target an incumbent on an issue where they support the popular stance is silly.

I think it's more a threat that they have to toe the line with Israel if they want to continue to get donations from AIPAC and the defense industry.

lol

#Blinken's reaction to the old man calling #XiJinping a dictator.#Biden pic.twitter.com/tj3ICNY4Vs

— Syricide (@Syricide) November 16, 2023

No idea how this will play out and by when, but really interesting battle re: Ukraine for border/asylum concessions.

Basically, still talking but still aways apart. Joe's going to have to concede some but how much?

Tough border negotiations endanger Ukraine aid - POLITICO

The GOP Senate has their 1-pager memo on what they want. Hint: stronger asylum restrictions + border wall

https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo..._one_pager.pdf

I have a better idea: expel all GOP politicians to Somalia and replace them with asylum seekers.

No idea what the big deal is with Pandas. They just sleep.


What appropriate symbolic gift can US give back in return?

Maybe cattle?

Guns

Diabetes?

Well, we are doing that for the "real" China.


We are already doing that also, albeit generationally slowly, with KFC, McDonalds and other fast food

Moms For Liberty. They have so many who don't have a prior engagement now....

I think COVID is always in style...

But regifting is so gauche...

And who said bi-partisanship is dead?

Nearly 60 new House members say they will vote to expel Santos - Live Updates - POLITICO


Only 5 have been expelled. The most recent was in 2002.

List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded - Wikipedia

He has a press conference scheduled for Nov. 30. I have a feeling he sees the blood in the water.

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We actually sent them Musk Oxen decades ago as a return gift for the Pandas. There's a whole thing with "panda diplomacy" between China and most of the world.

Thanks, did not know. Read up more on it.


Basically, musk oxen don't do well in China.

There was an explosion reported in the building of the Atlanta offices Sen. Jon Ossoff. Reports of injuries but there has been no further information. There are other law offices there, so it might not be related.

Interesting article from Politico but it doesn't do any analysis of how it might impact 2024 ... possible seats gained/lost for Dems/Rep.

House and Senate retirements affect 2024 election for control of Congress - POLITICO

Biden confuses Taylor Swift with Britney Spears in remarks on his 81st birthday

Biden's done.

He just lost the Swifties.

Everybody hates Biden, but 48 out of 50 governors have positive net approval ratings.

At least Biden finally called it "price gouging" out loud instead of letting the media continue to ding him for "inflation." Unfortunately there's notl real bipartisan way to fix it since Republicans only care about gaining power instead of actually helping people by going after these companies.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/27/whit...mics-wins.html

Biden has multiple times called for higher corporate tax rates, while Trump gave them a huge tax cut. I just don't understand why corporations, who used the excuse of inflation to raise prices that made them record profits, wouldn't want to help Biden get re-elected.

Again, Kroger and Publix are posting record profits, which is their job. So what can be done since we know it's not the cost of goods but rather the greed of corporations? I heard somebody once say that corporations were people too. Maybe we can ask them nicely to lower their prices, or hope they'll do it for the good of the country.

I mean, they managed not to price gouge over the previous 100 years. What has changed in the last 20 years? It's almost like.its the rise of a particular type of politics that emphasizes wealth over all.

I was just reading an article on why Diet Coke has gotten so high, and the answer was because it can. Inflation didn't affect sales numbers, so it proved they could raise prices without consequences. Coke just now is saying they have probably hit the upper wall and won't likely raise the price more anytime soon, but they have no intention of lowering it. They have moved their profit margin up to double digits and aren't going to let it go back down.
That is true across all grocery prices. Sales stayed steady as the prices soared. Now that cost has come down, they see no reason not to continue with the same prices or even to continue to raise some. It is how a free market works, yet somehow the government gets the blame for it.

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I don't believe there was a magical time when companies priced products cheaper even though people would happily pay more for just as much of the same thing.

Consumer spending has kept everything afloat, but, that won't last forever.

There wasn't. But no one was going to run up the price while the competition didn't for fear of losing market share. The inflation run allowed companies cover to run prices up and see how much the market actually will bear. Now, no one wants to be the first to give up that sweet, sweet profit margin. I mean Coke openly admitted that is what they are doing in their latest shareholder meeting, and Pepsi said in theirs that they feel they still have room to increase prices/profit margins in the coming year. Unless people stop buying in bulk, they aren't dropping prices. The people are getting hurt by it the most are consumers, and they seem to be only placing the blame on Washington. Corporations continue to cash in.

On consumer spending, I expect that the crash is likely come from the higher-end items. Already the car market is declining. I imagine high end electronics will continue to slide as well. As a larger percentage of income is having to be spent on food and housing (which among lower incomes was already a much larger part of their budget), it is the discretionary and entertainment segments that will probably be hit first.