lucius septimius 8/16/2021 5:50:23 AM

1

So the real story is it's all Trumps fault and GOP pounces!!

Meanwhile no one in the WH has the slightest fucking idea what to say.  

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 5:57:24 AM

2

Reply to lucius septimius in 1:

What are you talking about?  Everything is going swimmingly,

https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-08-16/el-panico-a-los-talibanes-desata-el-caos-en-el-aeropuerto-de-kabul.html

(Spanish paper, just play the video)

buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 5:59:56 AM

3

NO DOUBT but ye are the People---your throne is above the King's. 
Whoso speaks in your presence must say acceptable things: 
Bowing the head in worship, bending the knee in fear---
Bringing the word well smoothen---such as a King should hear.
 
Fenced by your careful fathers, ringed by your leaden seas, 
Long did ye wake in quiet and long lie down at ease;
Till Ye said of Strife, "What is it?" of the Sword, "It is far from our ken";
Till ye made a sport of your shrunken hosts and a toy of your armèd men.
Ye stopped your ears to the warning---ye would neither look nor heed---
Ye set your leisure before their toil and your lusts above their need.
Because of your witless learning and your beasts of warren and chase,
Ye grudged your sons to their service and your fields for their camping-place.
Ye forced them glean in the highways the straw for the bricks they brought;
Ye forced them follow in byways the craft that ye never taught. 
Ye hampered and hindered and crippled; ye thrust out of sight and away
Those that would serve you for honour and those that served you for pay.
Then were the judgments loosened; then was your shame revealed,
At the hands of a little people, few but apt in the field.
Yet ye were saved by a remnant (and your land's long-suffering star),
When your strong men cheered in their millions while your 
         striplings went to the war.
Sons of the sheltered city---unmade, unhandled, unmeet---
Ye pushed them raw to the battle as ye picked them raw from the street.
And what did ye look they should compass? Warcraft learned in a breath,
Knowledge unto occasion at the first far view of Death?
So? And ye train your horses and the dogs ye feed and prize? 
How are the beasts more worthy than the souls, your sacrifice? 
But ye said, "Their valour shall show them"; but ye said, "The end is close."
And ye sent them comfits and pictures to help them harry your foes:
And ye vaunted your fathomless power, and ye flaunted your iron pride,
Ere ye fawned on the Younger Nations for the men who could shoot and ride!
Then ye returned to your trinkets; then ye contented your souls 
With the flannelled fools at the wicket or the muddied oafs at the goals.
Given to strong delusion, wholly believing a lie,
Ye saw that the land lay fenceless, and ye let the months go by 
Waiting some easy wonder, hoping some saving sign-
Idle---openly idle---in the lee of the forespent Line.
Idle---except for your boasting---and what is your boasting worth 
If ye grudge a year of service to the lordliest life on earth? 
Ancient, effortless, ordered, cycle on cycle set,
Life so long untroubled, that ye who inherit forget
It was not made with the mountains, it is not one with the deep. 
Men, not gods, devised it. Men, not gods, must keep.
Men, not children, servants, or kinsfolk called from afar,
But each man born in the Island broke to the matter of war. 
Soberly and by custom taken and trained for the same,
Each man born in the Island entered at youth to the game---
As it were almost cricket, not to be mastered in haste,
But after trial and labour, by temperance, living chaste. 
As it were almost cricket---as it were even your play, 
Weighed and pondered and worshipped, and practised day and day.
So ye shall bide sure-guarded when the restless lightnings wake 
In the womb of the blotting war-cloud, and the pallid nations quake.
So, at the haggard trumpets, instant your soul shall leap 
Forthright, accoutred, accepting---alert from the wells of sleep. 
So, at the threat ye shall summon---so at the need ye shall send
Men, not children or servants, tempered and taught to the end; 
Cleansed of servile panic, slow to dread or despise,
Humble because of knowledge, mighty by sacrifice. . . .
But ye say, "It will mar our comfort." Ye say, "It will minish our trade."
Do ye wait for the spattered shrapnel ere ye learn how a gun is laid?
For the low, red glare to southward when the raided coast-towns burn?
(Light ye shall have on that lesson, but little time to learn.) 
Will ye pitch some white pavilion, and lustily even the odds, 
With nets and hoops and mallets, with rackets and bats and rods 
Will the rabbit war with your foemen---the red deer horn them for hire?
Your kept cock-pheasant keep you?---he is master of many a shire, 
Arid, aloof, incurious, unthinking, unthanking, gelt,
Will ye loose your schools to flout them till their brow-beat columns melt?
Will ye pray them or preach them, or print them, or ballot them back from your shore?
Will your workmen issue a mandate to bid them strike no more? 
Will ye rise and dethrone your rulers? (Because ye were idle both?
Pride by Insolence chastened? Indolence purged by Sloth?) 
No doubt but ye are the People; who shall make you afraid? 
Also your gods are many; no doubt but your gods shall aid. 
Idols of greasy altars built for the body's ease;
Proud little brazen Baals and talking fetishes;
Teraphs of sept and party and wise wood-pavement gods---
These shall come down to the battle and snatch you from under the rods?
From the gusty, flickering gun-roll with viewless salvoes rent, 
And the pitted hail of the bullets that tell not whence they were sent.
When ye are ringed as with iron, when ye are scourged as with whips,
When the meat is yet in your belly, and the boast is yet on your lips;
When ye go forth at morning and the noon beholds you broke, 
Ere ye lie down at even, your remnant, under the yoke?

No doubt but ye are the People---absolute, strong, and wise; 
Whatever your heart has desired ye have not withheld from your eyes.
On your own heads, in your own hands, the sin and the saving lies!

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 6:02:47 AM

4

In #2 Occasional Reader said: Everything is going swimmingly,

And if you don’t believe me, just ask Nancy Pelosi:

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/bryan-preston/2021/08/15/pelosi-commends-biden-in-carefully-worded-statement-on-the-obliteration-of-afghanistan-n1469718

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 6:07:28 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 3:

Wow.  Prescient, to say the least.

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 6:15:02 AM

6

Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 3:

While it is true that far too many people do not honor those serving us, the military does train and equip soldiers, sailors, and airmen well, and the fighters do a good job, but the wars are lost in Washington.

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 6:17:31 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 6:19:56 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 5:

One must make adjustments, of course---Kipling was writing about Britain, during the Boer War, and the cricket/hunting/shooting references don't quite fit in the US---but in the larger sense it still seems pretty relevant.

I first learned of this verse from George Orwell's essay on Kipling, in which he says, "One may disagree to the middle of one's bones with the political attitude implied in "The Islanders," but one cannot say that it is a frivolous attitude." Orwell's essay on Kipling is well worth reading; there is much to disagree with in it, for Orwell could not see that Kipling was attempting realism by reproducing lower-class accents in his writing, not mocking the lower classes, but it is still worth a read.

buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 6:22:20 AM

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In #6 Kosh's Shadow said: the military does train and equip soldiers, sailors, and airmen well, and the fighters do a good job, but the wars are lost in Washington.

From what one reads currently, the military is more interested in rooting out "white supremacists" and accommodating equity and diversity.  The wars are certainly lost in Washington, but they are lost as much by people like the new head of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, as they are by our civilian "leadership."

vxbush 8/16/2021 6:25:32 AM

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In #4 Occasional Reader said: And if you don’t believe me, just ask Nancy Pelosi:

I keep hoping there is a limit to her stupidity, and I keep being disappointed. The same goes for the VP, who keeps demonstrating how stupid she is minute by minute. 

This is why I have completely stopped looking at news over the weekend. I have no doubt that radical Islam is going to grow in strength and number and the UN will say useless platitudes of peace while it continues to support Islamic goals. 

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 6:27:56 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 9:

Thoroughly Modern Milley is fully prepared to deal with the threat of “white rage“.

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 6:28:42 AM

12

In #9 buzzsawmonkey said: From what one reads currently, the military is more interested in rooting out "white supremacists" and accommodating equity and diversity.

That came in with the Biden administration. There was a little of it earlier, but it takes time for the rot to spread.

buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 6:32:54 AM

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In #12 Kosh's Shadow said: That came in with the Biden administration. There was a little of it earlier, but it takes time for the rot to spread.

I'd point out that the West Point grad who was an open advocate for communism made the news during the Trump administration, and that there were intimations/foreshadowings of the PC nonsense in the military during the Obama years.

buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 6:33:33 AM

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In #11 Occasional Reader said: Thoroughly Modern Milley

Heh.

vxbush 8/16/2021 6:41:52 AM

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In #13 buzzsawmonkey said: I'd point out that the West Point grad who was an open advocate for communism made the news during the Trump administration, and that there were intimations/foreshadowings of the PC nonsense in the military during the Obama years.

As I understood it, Obama made a point of getting rid of any conservative (capable) voices in the military during his 8 years in office. Biden is simply reaping the harvest of that, and enough was done that Trump couldn't undo. 

doppelganglander 8/16/2021 6:58:52 AM

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Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 7:00:46 AM

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In #16 doppelganglander said: was planned to give the country to the Taliban without appearing to do so.

Obviously our leaving Afghanistan was planned. But no, I don’t think this cluster fuck of a withdrawal was planned. This is sheer incompetence.

buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 7:00:55 AM

18

I would cross over the deepest ocean

Only in flight from Taliban...

---traditional

lucius septimius 8/16/2021 7:27:41 AM

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China is already boasting that our abandonment of Afghanistan is a sign of what will happen when they cross the Straits.

JCM 8/16/2021 7:41:23 AM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 19:

They are not wrong.

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 8:13:59 AM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 19:

Source?

buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 8:15:40 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 8:16:01 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 8:25:44 AM

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A Servant When He Reigneth

---Rudyard Kipling

"For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear. For a servant when he reigneth, and a fool when he is filled with meat; for an odious woman when she is married, and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress." 

---Proverbs 30: 21-22-23.

Three things make earth unquiet
And four she cannot brook
The godly Agur counted them
And put them in a book---
Those Four Tremendous Curses
With which mankind is cursed;
But a Servant when He Reigneth
Old Agur entered first.

An Handmaid that is Mistress
We need not call upon.
A Fool when he is full of Meat
Will fall asleep anon.
An Odious Woman Married
May bear a babe and mend;
But a Servant when He Reigneth
Is Confusion to the end.

His feet are swift to tumult,
His hands are slow to toil,
His ears are deaf to reason,
His lips are loud in broil.
He knows no use for power
Except to show his might.
He gives no heed to judgment
Unless it prove him right.

Because he served a master
Before his Kingship came,
And hid in all disaster
Behind his master's name,
So, when his Folly opens
The unnecessary hells,
A Servant when He Reigneth
Throws the blame on some one else.

His vows are lightly spoken,
His faith is hard to bind,
His trust is easy broken,
He fears his fellow-kind.
The nearest mob will move him
To break the pledge he gave---
Oh, a Servant when he Reigneth
Is more than ever slave!

vxbush 8/16/2021 9:03:17 AM

26

In #19 lucius septimius said: China is already boasting that our abandonment of Afghanistan is a sign of what will happen when they cross the Straits.

More evidence that the "leadership" in the White House is anything but. Anyone with any experience in geopolitics could have fully expected this move. 

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 9:21:06 AM

27

In #26 vxbush said: Anyone with any experience in geopolitics could have fully expected this move. 

Or as said in this article on PJM:

... Joe Biden and his merry band of puppet masters were completely blindsided by events in Afghanistan that even the drunkest of armchair diplomats were predicting.

This, my friends, is what happens when you have an administration that governs by what it thinks will make it seem cool on Twitter. They liked to complain about Trump and social media, but the Biden kids just want to be the prettiest ones at Twitter prom.

It’s not just us Rightwing Nutjobs who are dismayed by all that is going on. Team Drools even lost Designated Fluffer Jake Tapper on this one.

When the Democrats can’t count on CNN to run interference for them you know things are bad.

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 9:22:01 AM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 27:

Forgot this line

The January 6 horn hat Capitol guy looks more sane every day.

vxbush 8/16/2021 9:31:38 AM

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In #28 Kosh's Shadow said: The January 6 horn hat Capitol guy looks more sane every day.

Man, how sad is that? 

We used to have adults managing things. Then the Democrats took over. Rinse, lather, repeat. 

doppelganglander 8/16/2021 10:35:03 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 26:

This is why I am suspicious. A ten-year-old could have figured this out. Everyone in Washington warned against a precipitous withdrawal. Yet Biden (or rather his puppet master) did it anyway. Who really made the decision and why?

vxbush 8/16/2021 10:50:04 AM

31

In #30 doppelganglander said: This is why I am suspicious. A ten-year-old could have figured this out. Everyone in Washington warned against a precipitous withdrawal. Yet Biden (or rather his puppet master) did it anyway. Who really made the decision and why?

I would assume someone with sympathies towards the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 12:17:37 PM

32

Wife was copying pages from a law book and got slightly burned from the heat coming from the laser printer. Smelled burning. Unplugged it; she can use the scanner function but disabled printing.

Canon printer. They only take calls during business hours; at least an hour wait time. Have a "protection plan" but they don't cover until out of warranty. 2 years old, must have 3 year warranty.

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 12:56:26 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 32:
Got through to Canon; they will replace the printer

vxbush 8/16/2021 1:34:28 PM

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In #33 Kosh's Shadow said: Got through to Canon; they will replace the printer

That's good news. 

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 1:50:26 PM

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Reply to vxbush in 34:

They ship a new one FedEx; I have to put the old one in that box and send it back (they pay shipping both ways)

BUT it is 70 lbs - didn't realize that when I got it and tried to carry it myself. It is large enough that it is quite awkward, too.

I was sore for months. 

I will have to see if FedEx will pick it up instead of taking it to a FedEx location. They might charge something.

Then there is the medieval delivery service - FeudalEx - they have an arrangement where the package is carried over an armored horseman - over knight delivery.

vxbush 8/16/2021 2:16:13 PM

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In #35 Kosh's Shadow said: Then there is the medieval delivery service - FeudalEx - they have an arrangement where the package is carried over an armored horseman - over knight delivery.

Oh, I want to hear the delivery knight give his speech. 

"Yea, verily, thou hast received a parcel from the artificial scribes."

Yes, printers can be a bear. The guys in my department are pretty good to help me when I complain about trying to unbox such things. Xerox printers are also notorious for being three times bigger than they probably need to be.

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 2:23:25 PM

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Reply to vxbush in 36:

I ignored the marking on the box showing it should be lifted by two people.

This one does not have a lot of empty space, but it is a color laser printer, so takes 4 cartridges.

BTW, a set of four high capacity cartridges costs 2x the printer. The regular cartridges hold so little toner you can watch the toner gauge go down.

We got so much in Staples rewards from the printer and toner that I got an ink jet printer and a good (about $125 list) chair for combined under $50

buzzsawmonkey 8/16/2021 2:33:23 PM

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"Af a ghanistan is better than none."

---Joe Biden

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 2:37:29 PM

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In #30 doppelganglander said: Who really made the decision

It depends, what exactly do you mean by “the“ decision?

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 2:40:57 PM

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Check out the big brain on Nancy Pelosi:

“

• “The president was not willing to enter a third decade of conflict and surge in thousands of more troops to fight a civil war that Afghanistan wouldn’t fight for themselves.””

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 2:53:50 PM

41

So instead of helicopters being pushed off the deck of a US aircraft carrier, apparently we have Afghan civilians climbing into the wheel wells of departing aircraft, and then falling to their deaths. I’m not sure that’s an improvement.

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 2:56:44 PM

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Biden‘s speech could be summarized as follows:

https://youtu.be/A2eAT2sgISA

Occasional Reader 8/16/2021 3:23:17 PM

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doppelganglander 8/16/2021 3:43:17 PM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 39:

More of a series of decisions, I suppose, to pull out in such a disorganized fashion - sending troops home while there were still American civilians on the ground, failing to make arrangements to help Afghan translators, the last-minute scramble to destroy computers and paper documents, leaving a couple billion dollars worth of equipment for the Taliban to use, that sort of thing.

Kosh's Shadow 8/16/2021 3:43:32 PM

45

As for the good news, the printer didn't catch on fire and burn us and the house down, and Canon is replacing it

Funny thing is, the previous one (different Canon model) did the same thing - overheated- but the support person said he'd never heard of that happening. I did tell him it happened to the previous one, and I believe that he could see all the Canon products we've registered.