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Cliff Varnell

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    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted · Edited by Cliff Varnell

    25 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Yes, but Ginsburg and Sotomayor voted with the majority for parts of the majority decision? Why? What parts?

    We had a split SC vote, and then further fractures within those fault lines? 

    https://time.com/3445010/ruth-bader-ginsburg-citizens-united/

    https://www.vox.com/2016/7/11/12148066/ruth-bader-ginsburg-citizens-united

     

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    What does this mean?

    What was Part IV? 

    Majority Kennedy, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Alito; Thomas (all but Part IV); Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor (Part IV)
    Concurrence Roberts, joined by Alito
    Concurrence Scalia, joined by Alito; Thomas (in part)
    Concur/dissent Stevens, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
    Concur/dissent Thomas

    4 dissenting votes: Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Matthew Koch said:

    The places where mail in ballot reform happened (anti fortification) there seemed to be less weirdness. I watched Fetterman up 90% at the beginning of the night and Oz slowly caught up. (Kinda looked like the F curve happed at the beginning this time.)

    Matthew, that’s an unfair attack on the Republican-run Pennsylvania Legislature, and the decisions it made regarding state voting procedures.

    2 hours ago, Matthew Koch said:

    The same places that had weird stuff happen in 2020 had weird stuff happen this year as well like AZ.

    Another unwarranted attack on a majority Republican Legislature.

    Buck up, lad.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    57 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    CV-

    You seem to have a binary view of life: Someone must be in the Donk or 'Phant camp. 

    Right.  Since you are not saddled with a binary view, what disturbs you about Biden should also unsettle you about Trump.

    No?  You don’t find his frequently slurred speech and off-on-a-tangent, meandering delivery alarming?  How can that be, given your declared non-partisanship?

    57 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    To answer your question, Trump seems to have all his wits (such as they are), but IMHO his character and personality are not suited for the office, or any public office for that matter. 

    He claims he has a right to possess state secrets at his private residences.

    Doesn’t impress me as someone with a full set of marbles.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    18 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Long knives out for Joe Biden?

    From The Hill:

    OPINION>WHITE HOUSE

    THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

    Is a 25th Amendment removal in Joe Biden’s future?

    BY MERRILL MATTHEWS, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 11/01/22 12:00 PM ET

    Matthews concludes the Donks could not bear to do a 25th to Biden, especially to install Harris who has been playing the role of a middle-aged Space Cadet. 

    So...

    "More likely, I think, would be a full-court press by Democratic leaders to convince Biden not to run for reelection. How successful that effort would be is anyone’s guess. People in mental decline are often the last to concede the fact."

    ---30---

    Brutal.  

     

    A Blue Tuesday makes this moot.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Fancy Bear..but do not forget Cozy Bear! Cozy Bear also broke into the DNC computers (or maybe did). 

    https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/bears-midst-intrusion-democratic-national-committee/

    Who knows what this gibberish means?

    It means Fancy Bear penetrated the DNC computers and left them vulnerable to hacking by non-state actors.

    1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    You are forced to rely on what some cyber-guys say, who have been hired to find something out.

    Can a cyber-guy say, "Well, the DNC spend a ton of money on us, but we really don't know what happened. And false flag ops are common in this space, so we think data was exfiltrated but we are not sure, and really we are not sure by who." 

    They knew the Russians were involved in leaving the DNC e-mails vulnerable to hacking.

    1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Although...that is what they say.  

    Fine, say the Russians hacked the DNC. 

    In your mind, then the 2016 election was illegitimate? Many Donks are pressing that case, including HRC. 

    Why Hillary Lost:  

    #1 Kris Kobach’s Crosscheck voter purge program. https://www.gregpalast.com/crosscheck-overwhelmingly-purges-legitimate-voters/

    #2  James Comey re-opening the Clinton e-mail investigation even though the FBI knew the e-mails were duplicates.

    #3  Hillary was a poor candidate.

    #4  Bill went to say Hi to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who’s department was investigating Bill’s wife.  She had to recuse from the case, giving Comey a free hand to shiv the Hill 11 days out.

    #5  Trump turned cable news into a reality TV show and the big media companies loved the ratings and helped extend the show four years.

    #6  Roger Stone and Julian Assange.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Shawn Henry stated in his testimony that CrowdStrike had indicators of exfiltration (page 32 of the testimony):

    Shawn Henry eating his words, on advice of counsel?

    “Counsel just reminded me that, as it relates to the DNC, we have indicators that data was exfiltrated. We did not have concrete evidence that data was exfiltrated from the DNC, but we have indicators that it was exfiltrated."

    There are times when we can see data exfiltrated, and we can say conclusively. But in this case, it appears it was set up to be exfiltrated, but we just don't have the evidence that says it actually was. 

    4 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    ---30---

    This is from Crowdstrike's own website. 

    Indicators but no concrete evidence? 

    Their conclusion was that the exfiltration was “set up.”  That’s a penetration apart from the actual exfiltration.

    4 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    And..

    "Do you have a comment about the allegation that Russia stole Democratic Party emails from John Podesta and then passed them to WikiLeaks? 

    CrowdStrike was not involved in investigating John Podesta’s email leaks. Henry says on page 62 of this testimony, he “has no relationship with them [the Podesta emails].”

    So what?

    4 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    ---30---

    Well, maybe you are tech guy, and this makes sense to you. 

     

    I’m waiting for an argument that Fancy Bear didn’t set up the exfiltration.  

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    CV-

    I suspect Russiagate was hoax-witch-hunt, in part as I respect the opinions of Matt Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald,

    Greenwald loved Citizen’s United, making billions of dark dollars “free speech”, amplifying the political power of the mega-rich.  Taibbi thought the big unexplored story of the 2016 campaign was Uranium One, a bureaucrat non-entity.

    Both full of sht as a Yuletide turkey.  They both claim there was no hostile penetration of the DNC but Crowdstrike found Fancy Bear set up the exfiltration.  Can Greenwald and Taibbi offer a technical rebuttal?

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    and in my reading of the rather weak Mueller Report.

    Read the whole thing cover to cover?

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Aaron Mate also calls Russiagate a hoax, although he tends to be quick to judge. 

    So what?  Can any of your heroes offer a technical rebuttal to Crowdstrike’s conclusion that Fancy Bear penetrated the DNC?

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    There is a lot in the Mueller report that is not confirmed, and a lot about meetings being held between people, as if the meeting alone confirms guilt. Old standby words such as "linked" and "tied" are used. 

    In some ways, the Mueller Report is like the Warren Commission: It is essentially a prosecution, without a defense. Allegations are easy to make. Other and possibly exculpatory narratives are not presented or explored. 

    As I have many times, I presume people innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, after public trial with adequate defense counsel. 

    Recently, both the Durham targets, and now more recently Tom Barrack, have been exonerated, after a public prosecutor dragged them into court and made serious allegations. 

    So, we should believe Trump guilty, based on what are not even charges? 

    This is not a bias on my part. I am not biased by being skeptical or reserved about charges or investigations presented by prosecutors or government bodies. 

    You admit your thinking is shaped by 3 guys.  Sounds like a painful case of confirmation bias to me.

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    How do you rate the objectivity of the Warren Commission?

    In 1964, it was regarded as the most august body ever assembled in the US. 

    Let's see how things play out in court. 

    Let’s avoid the pitfalls of hero worship and do our own research and thinking.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    If you say so.

    I do not know who are Crowdstrike and Fancy Bear, and if their allegations or denials are true or false. 

    And yet you routinely refer to RussiaGate as a “hoax.”  Conclusions prior to investigation. 

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    My layman's understanding is that sophisticated hackers plant a false trail leading back to patsy, so to speak (think LHO).

    And so you automatically conclude such is the case with RussiaGate?  You call it a hoax on the basis of nothing but your own bias.

    11 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Then there are false flag ops. So it goes.

    And a dead hacker? 

    Assange said his sources were non-state actors who feared for their lives.  I think there’s a better chance one of the JFK shooters is still alive than Roger Stone’s IT  guy.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted · Edited by Cliff Varnell

    33 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    I understand nothing. 

    My confirmation bias: There has to be guilt beyond reasonable doubt, proven in a court of law, in public.

    For what?

    Crowdstrike said Fancy Bear set the DNC e-mails up for exfiltration, but there’s no proof the e-mails were exfiltrated.

    But RussiaGate Deniers claim there was no hostile penetration of the DNC at all.

    If you have a counter-argument that Fancy Bear did not set up the exfiltration let’s hear it.

    33 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

     

     

    For LHO, for Tom Barrack, for those guys Durham was prosecuting. 

    Durham was a bust out.  You didn’t hear?  It was in all the papers...

    33 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    If the above is supposed to prove something, anything, pro- or anti-Trump, beyond reasonable doubt....I miss it. 

     

    Julian Assange told Dutch TV he had nothing to say about his sources except to say they were non-state actors and they were paranoid because of what happened to Seth Rich.

    Wanna-be “deep state analysts” claim Seth Rich was Assange’s source, meaning Julian Assange is a l-i-a-r??

    No.  Fancy Bear set the e-mails up, a non-state IT actor exfiltrated them.  The e-mails were given to Assange.  

    Roger Stone was found guilty of perjury when he denied visiting Assange.  Makes him a suspect.

    Good chance the IT ace he hired (allegedly) for the job is dead.  Look what happened to Seth Rich.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    A confirmation bias test.

    If you cannot process the information in bold, and only seize upon the passage under-lined, you’re a RussiaGate Denier.

    Crowdstrike prez Shawn Henry before the House Dec 5, 2017: 

    MR. SCHIFF: lt provides in the report on 2016, April 22nd, data staged for exfiltration by the Fancy Bear actor.

    MR.HENRY: Yes, sir.  So that, again, staged for, sure which, I mean, there’s not -- the analogy I used with Mr. Stewart earlier was we don't have video of it happening, but there are indicators that it happened. There are times when we can see data exfiltrated, and we can say conclusively. But in this case, it appears it was set up to be exfiltrated, but we just don't have the evidence that says it actually was. 

     

    C.I.A. Man

    in JFK Assassination Debate

    Posted · Edited by Cliff Varnell

     

    8 hours ago, Lori Spencer said:

    “Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon” blew my mind when I first read it many moons ago. McGowan connected all those microdots into a story that was quite a trip in itself! 

    As rocknroll history it’s bunk.

    The Counter Culture was not born in Laurel Canyon.  Frank Zappa, David Crosby, John Denny and Jim Morrison didn’t start the Counter Culture.

    Ken Kesey, the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and Bill Graham started the Counter Culture in San Francisco in 1965.  LA was a year behind.

    With the 13th Floor Elevators, Austin had more of an impact on the Counter Culture than LA.

    Laurel Canyon gave birth to MOR.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Ben Cole wrote: “Better to tax imports, better to tax property, better to tax inherited wealth.”

    Yes.

    Well, the import issue could take a book, but try reading Michael Pettis' "Trade Wars are Class Wars."  

    IMHO, "free" global trade will always work to undercut employee classes. The US employee class was particularly exposed to this, due to high wages (well, before, in the 1960s. Not now). 

    So yes, tariffs on imports. Property is another good target---the supply is restricted by property owners, who vote for NIMBY. As a proud SanFranner, you must know this. Talk about price gouging. Last I looked, you need $2,500 monthly to rent a so-so apartment in Los Angeles. 

    I’m the luckiest mofo in Frisco!  (”Frisco” is acceptable, “San Fran” déclassé).  Seriously.  Gotta roomy one bedroom pad I converted to two, one block from Golden Gate Park, half-block off Haight St.. My rent has gone up less than $24 in 33+ years.  Gavin Newsome got me very affordable health care when he was mayor.

    SF is kinda socialist.

    1 minute ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Inherited wealth, in general, was not earned through hard work. Some countries have had success with land reform. I am not 100% solid on this, but probably higher inheritance taxes are fine. 

    Taxes on productive enterprises---less so, IMHO. They tend to get passed on to consumers anyway. I like people and organizations who make goods (a corporate shill!). OK, oil companies are making money. Other years it might be the windmill guys. Then dairy farmers. 

    I would like to see a cartel of oil-buying nations. Why not?

    Just IMHO. 

    Fair enough.

    The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

    in Political Discussions

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Well...not sure about this.

    I think the Donks got out on the wrong side of the bed by demonizing productive enterprises, and forgetting people who work for a living.  

    Ben Cole wrote: “Better to tax imports, better to tax property, better to tax inherited wealth.”

    Care to square that circle?

    14 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    I am not here to lionize the oil industry, or any industry. But productive people and capital working to bring product to market are not the bad guys.

    Price gougers aren’t bad guys?

    14 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    Whenever I see Donk messaging, it seems like it is aimed at upper-class Manhattanites....

    When do *you* ever see Dem messaging when it’s not filtered thru right wing narratives?

    14 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

    I actually believe in higher taxes in general on fossil fuels...

    probably the best way to reduce consumption...

    One party addresses the issue, no matter how imperfectly.

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