The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”

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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Mar122022

March 13, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Edward Wong & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Russia asked China to give it military equipment and support for the war in Ukraine after ... Vladimir V. Putin began a full-scale invasion last month, according to U.S. officials. Russia has also asked China for additional economic assistance, to help counteract the battering its economy has taken from broad sanctions imposed by the United States and European and Asian nations, according to an official. American officials ... declined to discuss any reaction by China to the requests.... Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, is scheduled to meet on Monday in Rome with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's elite Politburo and director of the party's Central Foreign Affairs Commission. Mr. Sullivan intends to warn Mr. Yang about any future Chinese efforts to bolster Russia in its war or undercut Ukraine, the United States and their partners."

Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times: "Brent Renaud, an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed in Ukraine on Sunday while reporting in a suburb of the capital, Kyiv, according to Ukraine's Interior Ministry. Mr. Renaud, 50, had worked for a number of American news and media organizations in the past, including HBO, NBC and The New York Times. The Ukrainian authorities said he was killed in Irpin, a suburb that has been the site of intense shelling by Russian forces in recent days, but the details of his death were not immediately clear. Ukrainian officials said another journalist was wounded as well. At the time of his death Mr. Renaud was on assignment for Time Studios working on a 'project focused on the global refugee crisis,' according to a statement from Time executives." An AP story is here.

More Tucker, Please. David Corn of Mother Jones: "On March 3, as Russian military forces bombed Ukrainian cities as part of Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of his neighbor, the Kremlin sent out talking points to state-friendly media outlets with a request: Use more Tucker Carlson. 'It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine, [and] the defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally,' advises the 12-page document written in Russian. It sums up Carlson's position: 'Russia is only protecting its interests and security.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

In the name of God, let the cry of the suffering people be heard, and let the bombings and attacks stop. In the name of God, I ask you, stop this massacre. -- Pope Francis, St. Peter's Square, Sunday

The Washington Post's live updates Sunday on developments in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "At least 35 people were killed and 134 injured early Sunday when a barrage of Russian missiles slammed into a military facility in Western Ukraine about 15 miles from the border with Poland, a NATO member. The Yavoriv military range near Lviv, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, has for years been used for exercises by NATO troops and Ukrainians, with Americans on-site as recently as February.... The airstrike came a day after the Kremlin warned that it viewed Western weapons shipments as 'legitimate targets,' heightening the possibility of a direct conflict with the West. A convoy of Russian military vehicles was still about nine to 12 miles from central Kyiv, and making limited progress because of Ukrainian resistance and mechanical issues...." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates Sunday are here: "The base outside Lviv that was attacked by Russian forces early on Sunday was a key link between Ukraine's armed forces and Western militaries before the war -- and has become an important logistics hub and training center for foreign fighters since Russia's invasion began. A Ukrainian military official said that up to 1,000 foreign fighters were training at the base -- the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, which is also known as the Yavoriv military complex -- as part of the new International Legion that Ukraine has formed to help fight Russia." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sure looks as if Russia is asking for a hot war with NATO countries. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates Sunday are here.

David Stern, et al., of the Washington Post: "Russian forces continued to grind their way toward Ukrainian cities on Saturday, making limited gains in their attempts to surround Kyiv and capturing a minor city in the country's south. Despite mounting losses and stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces, Russia showed no signs of letting up, and ... Vladimir Putin rejected direct appeals from French and German leaders to de-escalate attacks. The humanitarian crisis is deepening across the country, with convoys of food and medicine still unable to reach hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped behind Russian lines in the southern city of Mariupol. Polish officials warned that they are running out of capacity to care for the over 1.5 million refugees who have streamed across its borders."

The New York Times' live updates of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine Saturday are here: "As Russian forces intensified their campaign of devastation aimed at cities and towns across Ukraine, including in the capital, Kyiv..., Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow on Saturday of terrorizing the nation in an attempt to break the will of the people. 'A war of annihilation,' he called it. Russian forces have not achieved anything resembling a strategic military victory since the first days of the war more than two weeks ago, and have turned to attempts to flatten whole sections of cities. Ukraine's military said on Saturday that all attempts by Russian forces to advance on any front had been stopped and that the Ukrainian forces had inflicted 'heavy losses in manpower and equipment.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The White House has approved an additional $200 million in arms and equipment for Ukraine, administration officials said on Saturday, responding to urgent requests from ... Volodymyr Zelensky for more aid to stave off the Russian invasion. The latest arms package, which officials say includes Javelin antitank missiles and Stinger antiaircraft missiles, follows a $350 million arms package that the Biden administration approved last month. Altogether, the administration has authorized $1.2 billion in weapons for Ukraine in the past year, officials said."

Claire Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The United States and allies have surged weapons to Ukraine in recent weeks in the face of the Russian invasion. Images of destroyed Russian tanks on social media have drawn attention to one particular weapon: the Javelin missile. The U.S. and other NATO countries sent more than 17,000 antitank weapons, including Javelin missiles, overland to Ukraine via Poland and Romania in the span of less than a week this month, the New York Times reported.... Weapons experts say the Javelin could prove particularly effective against Russian tanks.... Here's what to know about how they work and the role they could play."

<>Eaun McGovern of the Guardian: "Vladimir Putin did not show a willingness to end the war with Ukraine during a call on Saturday with French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz, a French presidency official said. Scholz and Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during the 75-minute phone call with ... Vladimir Putin, a German government spokesman added. Their demand echoed a statement made by Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, earlier on Saturday, who said negotiations must begin with a suspension of hostilities."

Marc Santora of the New York Times: The mayor of Melitopol, "Ivan Fyodorov, as his name suggests, is an ethnic Russian in a southern Ukrainian city where Russian is commonly spoken and where ties to Russia run deep. On Friday evening, Mr. Fyodorov had a bag thrown over his head and was dragged from a government office building by armed Russian soldiers, according to Ukrainian officials.... Since Russian forces captured his city in the first days of the war, he had encouraged resistance, earning him the support of the public and the ire of the occupying army. On Saturday, hundreds of his townspeople poured out into the streets in an expression of outrage and defiance, despite the presence of troops on their streets. 'Return the mayor!' they shouted.... 'Free the mayor!' But nearly as soon as people gathered, the Russians moved to shut them down, arresting a woman who they said had organized the demonstration, according to two witnesses and the woman's Facebook account. The episode is part of what Ukrainian officials say is a pattern of intimidation and repression that is growing more brutal." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ There is an updated & expanded NYT story here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Times of Israel & Agencies: "Russia has installed a 'new mayor' in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, after its elected mayor was kidnapped by Russian troops. The city, now under Russian control, is strategically located between Mariupol and Kherson. The Russians took it over quickly during the invasion, but there have been protests since.... The area's regional administration said a former member of the city council, Galina Danilchenko, is now the mayor. She was previously a member of the opposition on the council.... New York Times correspondent Neil MacFarquhar tweeted that Danilchenko was immediately denounced by regional officials as a 'traitor.'"

War Babies. Andrew Kramer & Maria Varenikova of the New York Times: "Down a dusty stairwell, hidden from the shelling that has become the grim background noise of Ukraine's capital..., there are 19 [babies], sleeping or cooing in neatly arranged cribs, fed regularly from tubs of baby formula.... The babies were born to surrogate mothers, with their biological parents still outside the country. Because of the war, the citizenship of the newborns is unclear, as is the question of who their legal guardians are, since under Ukrainian law their biological parents must be present to confirm their nationality. There is also the question of how, or if, they can possibly be taken to safety. Elsewhere, expectant surrogate mothers are trapped by the fighting. Couples abroad have no idea how they will pick up their babies.... Ukraine is one of relatively few countries that offer surrogacy services to foreigners."

Radio Free Europe: "The bodies of Russian soldiers killed in battle in Ukraine are filling up morgues in Belarus, local residents told RFE/RL. Russian soldiers killed in battle are being brought by truck to the morgues and then sent back to Russia by train or plane, residents said.... 'The number of bodies was unbelievably large. People at the Mozyr station were simply shocked by the number of bodies being put on the train,; a local resident in Mazyr told RFE/RL. The morgues in Homel and Naroulia are also filled up, according to local residents."

Cathy Free of the Washington Post: In "three days and only five hours of sleep ... two Harvard teens, Avi Schiffmann and Marco Burstein..., [developed and] launched Ukraine Take Shelter, a [Web]site in 12 languages where Ukrainian refugees fleeing war can immediately find hosts with spare rooms, unused resort condos, mother-in-law apartments and school dormitories.... 'What we've done is put out a super fast, stripped-down version of Airbnb,' he said. In the first week, more than 4,000 potential hosts around the world, including in the United States, have offered a place to stay through Ukraine Take Shelter, said Schiffmann, noting that the number of hosts grows each day."

Hanan Razek & Ilya Barabanov of BBC News: "Social media channels and private messaging groups are being used in Russia to recruit a new brigade of mercenaries to fight in Ukraine alongside the army, the BBC has learned. The BBC has spoken to a serving mercenary and a former fighter with close links to one of Russia's leading mercenary organisations, who have shared details of the recruitment campaign. The serving mercenary said many veterans of the secretive Wagner organisation were contacted on a private Telegram group a few weeks before the start of the war. They were invited to a 'picnic in Ukraine'.... The message appeals to 'those with criminal records, debts, banned from mercenary groups or without an external passport' to apply. The message also included that 'those from the Russian-occupied areas of Luhansk and Donetsk republics and Crimea - cordially invited'."

Marie: I have been listening to experts lamenting that there is no easy exit from Putin's horrific war on Ukraine. Some have suggested terrible outcomes. I despair, as would anyone. Now, finally, someone comes up with a low-cost, life-saving solution. In yesterday's comments thread, RAS wrote, "Maybe we can send Rudy and the pillow guy to Russia to convince Putin that he has actually already won the war. It was such a massive success and everyone was so impressed by how big and strong Russia is now." In Russia's closed-loop propaganda media world, where millions of people already believe there is no war, RAS's sensible solution could work!


Ginni Thomas' Husband Worried Politics Could Taint Supreme Court. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "The US supreme court could 'at some point' become 'compromised' by politics, said Clarence Thomas -- one of six conservatives on the nine-member court after Republicans denied Barack Obama a nomination then rammed three new justices through during the hard-right presidency of Donald Trump. 'You can cavalierly talk about packing or stacking the court,' said Thomas, whose wife, Ginni Thomas, has come under extensive scrutiny for work for rightwing groups including supporting Trump's attempts to overturn an election. '... At some point the institution is going to be compromised.' Thomas was speaking at a hotel in Salt Lake City on Friday."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Steve Bousquet of the Orlando Sun-Sentinel: "Elections police. Thought police. Censoring teachers. Banning books -- then cynically calling it parental involvement. Welcome to America's culture war capital. This is no longer the Florida where you chose to go to college, launch a new career or retire. The place is virtually unrecognizable. After riding Donald Trump's coattails to the Governor's Mansion, Ron DeSantis has built a national cult following, but it comes at a steep cost to the rest of us. The Sunshine State has become a very mean place and it could get meaner." Firewalled. ~~~

~~~ Marie: While the Republican-controlled state legislature was busy passing anti-social bills at Governor Ron's behest, they couldn't seem to find the time to get together on an essential bill that could save lives. ~~~

~~~ Jon Schuppe of NBC News: "In the nine months since 98 people died in the collapse of a Surfside, Florida, condominium, state lawmakers have pledged to pass measures that could help avoid a similar disaster. On Friday, they failed. Negotiations between the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, both controlled by Republicans, broke down, with the two sides unable to agree on a bill that would require inspections of aging condo buildings and mandate that condo boards conduct studies to determine how much they need to set aside for repairs. The talks were undone by a disagreement over how much flexibility to give condo owners in the funding of those reserves."

Ohio. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "For decades, Isaiah Andrews has maintained his innocence in the 1974 murder of his wife, unaware that the key to his exoneration was buried in the archives of the Cleveland Division of Police. The Cleveland police's decision to withhold crucial information in the case resurfaced on Thursday, when an Ohio court determined that Mr. Andrews, now 84, had been wrongfully imprisoned for 45 years. Mr. Andrews, who is sick and uses a wheelchair, has been free since May 2020. He was later found not guilty at a second jury trial in October, but the court had to declare him wrongfully imprisoned so he could seek damages from the State of Ohio." (Also linked yesterday.)

South Carolina Congressional Race. Lexi Lonas of the Hill: "Republican Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.) slammed former President Trump in a statement on Saturday following the former president's rally in South Carolina, calling him 'a would-be tyrant.' At the rally, Trump said Rice is a 'disaster' and 'total fool' and criticized the congressman for voting to impeach him following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Rice was one of 10 GOP House members to vote for impeachment at the time. Rice's primary opponent, South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry (R), who was endorsed by Trump last month, also spoke at the event. In a statement following the rally, Rice hit back at Trump, saying the former president was in South Carolina 'because, like no one else I've ever met, he is consumed by spite,' according to local CBS affiliate WBTW."

Way Beyond

Iraq. Qassim Abdul-Zahra of the AP: "As many as 12 missiles struck Iraq's northern city of Irbil on Sunday near the U.S. consulate, Iraqi security officials said. A U.S. defense official said missiles had been launched at the city from neighboring Iran. No injuries were reported. Officials in Iraq and the U.S. gave different accounts of the strike and the damage it caused.... [A] U.S. defense official said it was still not certain exactly how many missiles were fired and exactly where they landed."

Saudi Arabia. Reuters, via the Guardian: "Saudi Arabia has executed 81 men over the past 24 hours, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian national, on charges including terrorism and holding 'deviant beliefs', state news agency SPA said on Saturday. The number dwarfed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020. 'These individuals ... were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children,' SPA said, citing a statement from the interior ministry. 'Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organisations, such as Isis (Islamic State), al-Qaeda and the Houthis,' it added."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (10)

And here, all this time, I thought Clarence Thomas had no sense of humor...

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/nyregion/russian-ukrainian-orthodox-churches.html. My morning's question was, "What's the Russian Orthodox church have to say about this war?" These blokes don't look like they will come out of this war with anything other than an enormous PR black eye. Tax Religions fully.

Yes, Ken. It looks like Ginni's husband feels his clock running out and has to get his one cent in.

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered Commentercitizen625

A CRACK IN THE SYSTEM:

As our concentration is on the war in Ukraine, life in the U.S. continues to flourish or fumble depending on your point of view. For instance:

In "Goddamn Mississippi" Toby Price, an assistant principal, was filling in for a guest (who didn't show up) scheduled to read to a group of second graders over Zoom. The book he grabbed, one of his favorites, was "I Need a New Butt," about a young boy who suddenly notices a problem with his butt––it has a crack. It's a "Funny, silly book that can help teach kids that reading can be fun." And anyone who has had experience with this age group knows they love anything scatological ––it goes with the territory.

Well–––sorry to report that poor Price was given the heave-ho––fired on the spot. Find out why and rage like I have. This banning of books, this absolute looney license to seemingly protect the young from what? Fill in the blank.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mississippi-school-i-need-a-new-butt-firing_n_622cb25ae4b0317d0a316ea3

RE: The Pin Point Georgia on my mind guy and his missus. Ken's remark is perfect––-it's so good to laugh!

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterP.D. Pepe

P.D.

Reading a book my older son gave me (he holds dear the delusion that I'm still educable).

"The Coddling of the American Mind," which (mostly intelligently) attacks what its authors call "safetyism" and learned "fragility," and what I call our new, destructive definition of freedom that is based entirely on what I feel.

Not think. No, never. Feel.

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Polish MiG29s, Ukraine NoFly, GOP Senators:

Reported a few days ago, 40 GOP senators (that's 80% of them, a big number) signed a letter to the President urging that the U.S. assist the Poles transfer old MiGs to Ukraine. Some of these folks also say that NATO (= USAF) should establish a NoFly over Ukraine.

Which proves that these folks are really ignorant, and that they have no staff or advisers competent in basic military strategy or logistics.

What the Poles want is to give the MiGs to the U.S. by flying them to Ramstein, the big U.S. base in Germany. Then sign over the titles to the U.S., which would at some point sign them over to Ukraine.

Those planes would not be in fly-away condition, despite the best efforts and intentions of the generous Poles. (Not so generous: they want the U.S. to give them F16s as replacements for their old MiGs). And the USAF doesn't have the parts, tools and compatible ammunition and control systems that go with whatever weaponry is mounted on those MiGs. It is also unlikely that all the MiGs have the same standardized systems. Expect variability and, 30 years after the Warsaw Pact folded, lots of kluged-in duct tape make-dos.

So those planes would sit at Ramstein for weeks or months getting flight and combat ready. But let's say they can roll out quickly -- where can they go? EVERY runway in Ukraine, and EVERY aircraft maintenance facility, is dialed in to Russia's cruise missiles. The Russians can't move convoys, but they can deliver HE on target from the air. Any MiG29 would be a target in the air, and a sitting duck when it landed in Ukraine. So these planes would be lost after one or two sorties.

That probability would lead proponents of the transfer to argue that The MiGs should fly out of NATO airstrips (or autobahns? Those broad straight freeways were built to double as emergency runways). That would put NATO right into the war.

The same with NoFly. Establishing No Fly would require NATO (again, USAF) to shut down any anti-aircraft system that could threaten NATO or Ukrainian aircraft, which would involve killing lots of people in Byelrus and Russia. Again, NATO would enter the war.

So far so good, since we are pretty sure that our conventional stuff can knock out Russia's at an acceptable loss rate.

But it is 99% certain that Russia would revert to tactical and intermediate range nuclear weapons if it was losing. And while there are those who believe that nuclear use can be contained at the battlefield level, most of those who believe that have never been in combat, and don't quite get it.

Which brings me back to the 40 senators. They clearly are incompetent in protecting the strategic interests of the United States. It is pretty sorry. Eight decades of nuclear threat management have not made any impression on their concept of war, which seems pretty 19th century.

Here's their letter:

https://www.ernst.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/27f1a32f-aa03-460b-a6da-05fd93b251a0/EEAC805CD285FCBD6B3AE1C0ED6869A0.2022-03-10-final-ernst-ukraine-letter-to-biden.pdf

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

Ken: When I was getting my masters in "Marriage and Family Therapy" I had a professor who was ruthless about the "feel"--"think" business. So many of her students would say, "I feel that..." and she'd storm like a wild wind and shout: "You bloody well better start using the word "THINK"––-I don't care how you feel. She, by the way, would write on many of our papers, "Bull" when she spotted it. She pressed us hard to cut the crap and cautioned us as therapists to leave "our shit" outside the door and if we couldn't do that we had no business being therapists.

By the way–--good for your son––and may I add, my sons also, THINK we are still educable.

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterP.D. Pepe

Patrick: thanks for that and yes, indeed, it's pretty scary but then not surprising that we have minds like those senators who obviously "feel" instead of "think" through the process and danger.

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterP.D. Pepe

The senators' letter: the news reports said 40 signed, but I counted 42.

Absent are: Blunt (MO); Hagerty (TN); Inhofe (OK); Moran (KS); Lee (UT); Lummis (WY); Paul (KY); Rounds (SD)

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

@Patrick: While Tommy Potato Head & Ron Johnson are almost certainly clueless, I expect many of those 40 GOP senators signed onto the letter as a bluff. They'd be horrified if the U.S. "assisted" in a transfer by taking ownership of the rusty MIGs before signing them over to Ukraine, then giving Poland some shiny new F16s as "replacements." The senators know Biden and the deciders at the Pentagon are not dumb enough to participate in such a deal, The senators just want to show off their macho-macho muscle & their recently-minted solidarity with Ukraine.

March 13, 2022 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

To think, feel, believe, know... I did not fully appreciate the nuanced meaning of those words until I studied another language where there were distinct verbs to express the different connotations (just as English has). Word usage matters.

March 13, 2022 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed
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