Nick Church

[The Sting @TheStingisBack]

Some classic Chevy Chase lines from Fletch, which is 41 today.
Under the laughs, it’s a tight, well-built detective story: drug trafficking, murder-for-hire, and a film-noir backbone; just brighter, with punchy one-liners.
Might rent it tonight. I’ll charge it to the Underhills.

[Nick Church @nmc445]

A Famous Math Problem Stumped Humans for 80 Years. AI Just Cracked It. @wsj https://t.co/A6GBDIf3zB

[Kimberley Strassel @KimStrassel]

The GOP Wants to Tax Your Car https://t.co/LDQwhoc47x

[Brian Sullivan @SullyCNBC]

To be fair, many smart people don’t fully understand taxes and effective (post deduction) tax rates.

Years ago a friend was arguing with me that he paid “25% in federal income taxes .. a higher rate than Warren Buffett”

Roughly knowing his economic situation,
I told him that after deductions he prob pays about 5% .. and if he paid more he needs a new tax preparer.

He got all huffy until his wife - who actually did their taxes - confirmed their after deduction federal income tax rate was 3%

Not only is there a lot of confusion around effective tax rates, but there’s also some misinformation always out there because people confuse or combine fed income tax rates with state, Social Security and Medicare taxes.

You don’t have to believe me. The nonpartisan @TaxFoundation has done great work on this.

[@amuse @amuse]

https://t.co/E9HCA7JkUg

[Nick Church @nmc445]

@timliddy @golfweek Loved that course, especially in the early fall. I miss that short game practice area.

[Andy Kessler @andykessler]

Too many of our youth hate billionaires but sure enjoy iPhones and Starbucks’s Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. They buy gunk on Goop and go gaga for Gwyneth Paltrow (worth $200 million), who recently slammed "superrich white dudes."
https://t.co/uwnpZfmJ33

[WKU Baseball @WKU_Baseball]

Hello, @SportsCenter 👋😎

@ParkerColey2 with the 2-for-1 #SCTop10 double feature 🎥

[Nick Church @nmc445]

A Modest Proposal for a Better Ballpark https://t.co/KFWibKAAnd

[Nick Church @nmc445]

@bobkevoian may he rest in peace. 🙏🏼 to @BobsFunGirl

@chickmcgee1 @Kristileenews @bobandtom

Damn, this one hurts

[Nick Church @nmc445]

Justice Thomas: Progressives vs. the Declaration https://t.co/cqak9ImI4x via @WSJopinion

[Montreal Expos @Montreal_Expos]

We have sent a notice to cease & desist to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Having rain fall inside a stadium with a closed retractable roof is the intellectual property of the Montreal Expos.

[Dan Pompei @danpompei]

"Football's a better world because of him." My farewell to Coach Mac. Free to read. https://t.co/NAh4ewBbZm

[Ian Miles Cheong @ianmiles]

You’re allowed to wave Hamas flags. Hezbollah flags. Flags of the USSR. IRGC flags. ISIS flags. Gay pride flags. But don’t you dare wave the British flag or a police officer will confiscate it and arrest you for incitement and racism.

Welcome to the UK.

[John LeFevre @JohnLeFevre]

A wildlife bridge:

Colorado California
$15 million cost $120 million cost+
1 year to build 4 years+

[Nick Church @nmc445]

See the seemingly magical science behind quantum computing https://t.co/8kkpQCSLwp via @WSJ

[Dr. Brian L. Cox @BrianCox_RLTW]

Retired Army JAG here. And former infantry soldier & officer. And current law professor.

And YOU are full of shit.

No quarter ORDERS do violate #LOAC. Giving that order is a war crime even if it's not carried out.

But that is NOT an order @SecWar @PeteHegseth gave. And that is why you are full of shit.

See, I've also trained hundreds of soldiers on LOAC in the applied context. Thousands, actually. And I've advised commanders & decision makers on LOAC in combat, in Afghanistan as Chief of International & Operational Law for CJTF-101/RC-E (OEF XIV).

That's why I know the difference between what SECWAR said in a press briefing yesterday & a war crime. Apparently you don't - so I'll do you a favor & spell it out for you step by step, in simple language that you'll hopefully understand.

Let's start off with what Hegseth ACTUALLY said:

"It's a mess for them. Who's in charge? Iran may not even know. With every passing hour, we know and we know they know, that the military capabilities of their evil regime are crumbling. They can barely communicate, let alone coordinate; they're confused and we know it.

Our response? We will keep pressing. We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

(https://t.co/5DSRnR9sM2)

Alright, if we consider this "no quarter" observation in context, we see Hegseth's intent is to convey that @DeptofWar is going to exert max pressure on our adversary. We know their military capabilities "are crumbling" & we're not going to back off. Keep pushing, keep advancing.

"No quarter. No mercy."

See, content & intent are important. This is how we differentiate political rhetoric from war crime. Reality from...bullshit.

If we go all the way back to Hague, II (1899) & Hague, IV (1907), the Regulations annexed to both Conventions make it forbidden, "To declare that no quarter will be given" (pic 1, from Hague, IV).

Seems legit, right? Isn't that what SECWAR just "declared"? Well, if LOAC development stopped at 1907, maybe you could make that argument.

But, it didn't. In negotiations for later treaties, delegates decided to be more clear about what exactly that prohibition should entail.

So, next we'll consider 2 later treaties 🇺🇸 hasn't ratified but we were deeply involved in shaping - Additional Protocol I (1977) to 1949 Geneva Conventions & Rome Statute @IntlCrimCourt (1998).

As we'll see below, these sources confirm Hegseth's political rhetoric is NOT a LOAC violation or war crime...and US DoW doctrine is consistent with relevant text of these treaties.

Let's start with AP I. As we see from art. 40, this treaty clarifies (7 decades after Hague IV), "It is prohibited to ORDER that there shall be no survivors, to THREATEN an adversary therewith or to CONDUCT hostilities on this basis" (pic 2).

So, 3 specific verbs to highlight + 1 condition. No ordering, threatening, or conducting (verbs) armed hostilities under condition(s) of NO SURVIVORS.

Now, reach all the way back in your memory - like 2 minutes ago - when you read actual text of Hegseth's remarks.

Do you genuinely believe SECWAR just ordered or threatened there will be no survivors, even if an enemy IRGC member tries to surrender - or that we are now as a result conducting hostilities on that basis? Be honest.

Of course not. And no one in the military is going to hear/read his remarks and think, "SECWAR just ordered me to take no prisoners." Seriously.

Moving on from AP I, art. 8(2)(b)(xii) of Rome Statute essentially copies text of Hague IV, art. 23(d) to make "declaring no quarter will be given" a war crime (not pictured). BUT the elements of crimes follows AP I (pic 3), as does DoD Law of War Manual (pic 4).

Yes, actual no quarter ORDERS do violate LOAC. Just the order alone is a war crime.

But max pressure political rhetoric is not the same as an ORDER "that there shall be no survivors."

Which means Sec Hegseth's comments are neither LOAC violation nor war crime. Which also means Rep Vindman is full of 💩.

[Nick Church @nmc445]

@ColtKnost Damn.

[Nick Church @nmc445]

@chadmumm And torture sitting in middle school seeing golfers on the back nine of the Blackhorse course.