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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Republicans in disarray!

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Monday While-We’re-Waiting Open Thread

Monday While-We’re-Waiting Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  November 24, 20145:14 pm| 249 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Assholes, Flash Mob of Hate

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Tanned, rested, ready. RT @EWErickson: Dick Cheney for SecDef!

— daveweigel (@daveweigel) November 24, 2014

Matt Yglesias, at Vox, points out the new Wingnut Wurlitzer meme:

Conservative pundits who didn’t like the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the US Senate in 2013 also didn’t like Obama’s deportation relief through executive action. They object to both the content of the president’s action and to the process through which it happened. A process that is being described not as a somewhat unusual pushing of the envelope, but as roughly akin to overthrowing the democratic constitutional order through military force in order to establish a brutal Latin American dictator…

There are many things one could say about this comparison, starting with the fact that unlike a proper caudillo such as Augusto Pinochet, Obama hasn’t had thousands of people detained and tortured without trial. Or, indeed, that it was actually Obama’s predecessor who was having people detained and tortured without trial. But perhaps the strangest thing about it is that when American conservatives analogize Obama to a Hispanophone military dictator, we are meant to understand this a criticism when the historical reality is that American conservatives have generally been quite enthusiastic about caudillos…

Indeed, thanks to the miracle of modern-day traffic recirculation methods, old National Review content singing Pinochet’s praises falls directly adjacent to complaints about Obama’s caudillismo…

Pictorial evidence at the link — NSWE (Not safe while eating).

***********
Apart from the Ferguson countdown, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

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Reader Interactions

249Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    November 24, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    Dick Cheney for SecDef!

    It _would_ be sort of hilarious to watch the conservatives tie themselves into rhetorical knots figuring out how to oppose Obama if he made that decision, but all things considered …no.

  2. 2.

    skerry

    November 24, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    I just saw TBogg’s take on Guiliani. I’d like to see this happen.

    TBogg ‏ @tbogg 13 minutes ago
    Every time Giuliani talks about cops he should probably be asked about Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo. Just to watch him go into 9/11 mode.

    It was a lovely day in the mid-Atlantic. Prepping to leave for S. Texas ahead of the predicted rain/snow event on Wednesday.

  3. 3.

    KG

    November 24, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    i’ve never understood the “he’s a dictator” shit. i mean, i just don’t get it. i’m fairly sure i understand what dictatorships look like. they typically don’t have multi-party electoral systems, people generally can’t criticize the dictatorship in public (or in private). people, particularly political opponents, disappear or have sham trials before being shot.

  4. 4.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    November 24, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    I’m waffling between securing the domicile against the black rioting horde or joining them.

  5. 5.

    WereBear

    November 24, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    Indeed, thanks to the miracle of modern-day traffic recirculation methods, old National Review content singing Pinochet’s praises falls directly adjacent to complaints about Obama’s caudillismo…

    Bwahahaha!

    There are Internet Gods.

  6. 6.

    MattF

    November 24, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    Tsk. Stoopid liberals keep trying to make logical sense of what conservatives say. “But you’re contradicting yourself!!” And if contradicting yourself makes their little ids warm and hard, that’s just what they’ll do.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    I’ll throw a brick in support from the hostile semi-white burbs of NoVA. But where? Into the woods behind the house?

    It was 74 today. Got the back yard done today; tomorrow is front yard (much smaller). I think it might be drizzling now … out on deck w glass of Malbec and sweet dog belonging to my neighbors.

  8. 8.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    Dick Cheney probably can’t travel. Someone, somewhere is waiting to apprehend his ass and deliver him to The Hague. And may that happen.

    Not that he’d be qualified to be SecDef anyway. Sanity is a strong requirement. Not creating your own world.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    @KG:

    If Obama the Dictator did not exist, conservatives would have to invent him.

  10. 10.

    SatanicPanic

    November 24, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    @KG: Shut up, that’s why.

  11. 11.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    @Baud: Which is what they done did.

  12. 12.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    @Baud: They did invent him. They also invented the Muslim, socialist, fascist leader. He’s a crappy socialist though. The stock market is sky high.

    Omnes beat me.. darn it

  13. 13.

    Mike in NC

    November 24, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    Before he appointed himself Vice President, serial draft dodger Dick Cheney decided he was an outstanding choice to be Secretary of Defense. Only in America.

  14. 14.

    JGabriel

    November 24, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    Dave Weigel:

    Tanned, rested, ready. RT @EWErickson: Dick Cheney for SecDef!

    If we’re talking about Dick Cheney, shouldn’t that be: Sallow, pulse-less, ready to devour babies.

  15. 15.

    Randy P

    November 24, 2014 at 5:42 pm

    @KG: You’re obviously not reading the clause in the Constitution that explains the President’s powers only exist if the President is a Republican

  16. 16.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 5:44 pm

    @JPL:

    Apparently, he’s a lousy dictator too, given all the freedoms everyone still has.

  17. 17.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    Am I alone in thinking that it’s strange to have to wait for the announcement. Are they hoping there will be hundreds in the streets in Ferguson before they announce?

  18. 18.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    @Baud: He still is going to take their guns though.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    @JPL:

    Absolutely. I expect the number of guns taken will go up four fold in these last two years.

  20. 20.

    Mike J

    November 24, 2014 at 5:55 pm

    @JPL:

    He still is going to take their guns though.

    Remember when they were upset about Fast & Furious, the scandal being that the FBI didn’t arrest people who legally bought guns?

  21. 21.

    Howard Beale IV

    November 24, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Problem is that the hordes needed to be taught about asymmetric warfare.

  22. 22.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    @Mike J: Homeless folks buying dozens of guns on the border of AZ and Mexico, with cash. Yup.. I remember that one.

  23. 23.

    Howard Beale IV

    November 24, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    KLM strikes again-but this time, it’s the real deal.

  24. 24.

    JGabriel

    November 24, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    @KG:

    i’m fairly sure i understand what dictatorships look like. they typically don’t have multi-party electoral systems, people generally can’t criticize the dictatorship in public (or in private). people, particularly political opponents, disappear or have sham trials before being shot.

    Obama makes conservative political careers disappear by forcing them, through outrage, to say things like:

    I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen. – Richard Mourdock

    I’m hoping that we’re not getting to Second Amendment remedies. I hope the vote will be the cure for the Harry Reid problems. – Shannon Angle

    I’m ready for the ‘gotcha’ questions and they’re already starting to come. And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan I’m going to say, you know, I don’t know. Do you know? – Herman Cain

    They [China] have indicated that they’re trying to develop nuclear capability … – Herman Cain

    I am not a witch. – Christine O’Donnell

    I saw the young man over there with eggs Benedict, with hollandaise sauce. And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce in hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise. – Mitt Romney

    I went to a number of women’s groups and said: ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women. – Mitt Romney

    If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. – Todd Akin

    No Republicans ever would have ever made such career-ending comments, if Obama hadn’t made them angry. Ipso facto: President Obama is a dictator.

    —–

    Nota bene: When I typed Republican comments into the Bing search engine, it’s top auto-complete offer was Republican comments on women.

  25. 25.

    Mike J

    November 24, 2014 at 6:07 pm

    @JPL: But the purchases were legal. Had the feds seized the weapons republicans would have been complaining about the guns grabbers ignoring the rule of law.

  26. 26.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    @Mike J: That’s some catch, that Catch 22.

  27. 27.

    Trollhattan

    November 24, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    We now know that all of Cassidy’s letter has been preserved for posterity, so how about the long-lost texts between Elizabeth Bennet and her mother?

  28. 28.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: If I were the fed, I’d remove all agents from AZ and say you are on your own, state rights and all.

  29. 29.

    Howard Beale IV

    November 24, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    Sad news from Como Zoo – a bay lowland gorilla born a few days ago has died.

  30. 30.

    skerry

    November 24, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    Ted Cruz has nominated Joe Lieberman for SecDef

    “One strong option would be former Senator Joe Lieberman, a member of the president’s own party with deep experience and unshakable commitment to the security of the United States,” according to Cruz. “I urge the President to give him full and fair consideration for this critical position.”

    ETA: Darren Wilson Grand Jury announcement at 8pm CT per prosecutor’s office.

  31. 31.

    Cacti

    November 24, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    The funniest thing about the complaints of “amnesty” is that the POTUS has plenary authority under his Article II pardon power to issue a blanket amnesty for undocumented immigrants, if he chose to do so.

  32. 32.

    Patrick

    November 24, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    A process that is being described not as a somewhat unusual pushing of the envelope, but as roughly akin to overthrowing the democratic constitutional order through military force in order to establish a brutal Latin American dictator…

    If Obama really was a dictator, FoxNews, conservatives, the entire GOP would be in prison if they spoke their mind. Last time I checked they are still free to say whatever the hell they want. Thus, we have no dictator.

    Furthermore, if the GOP hates Obama’s executive action so much, then all they need to do is to win the next Presidential election (which is less than two years away). That’s all they need to do to get it overturned. Instead, they keep ranting about impeachment, jail time for Obama, govt shutdown, dictatorship and what have you.

    It just boggles the mind…

  33. 33.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    @skerry:

    Obama left the Democratic Party for the Connecticut for Lieberman Party?

  34. 34.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30145265

    An “extremely complex” and “stealthy” spying program has been stealing data from ISPs, energy companies, airlines and research-and-development labs, a security company has said.

    With a “degree of technical competence rarely seen”, Regin had probably taken years to develop, Symantec said.

    And a nation state may have written it to serve its spying agencies’ needs.

    The program had been used in “systematic spying campaigns” over the past six years, Symantec said.

    Aimed at Windows users, Regin slowly infiltrated its targets, taking care at each stage to hide its tracks, the company said.

    “Many components of Regin remain undiscovered and additional functionality and versions may exist,” it added.

  35. 35.

    GregB

    November 24, 2014 at 6:23 pm

    He’s a tyrannical weak lame duck dictator!

  36. 36.

    Turgidson

    November 24, 2014 at 6:23 pm

    @skerry:

    Ha. Tailgunner Ted Cruz would then turn around and question Holy Joe about his past dealings with known America-hater Al Gore before filibustering his nomination.

    Fortunately I think Obama would rather stab himself in the eye than nominate Joementum.

  37. 37.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 6:24 pm

    @skerry:

    If Lieberman has any decency…

    Well, he wouldn’t be Lieberman.

  38. 38.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 6:24 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Do both! Lock up the house and go join the riot!

  39. 39.

    The Dangerman

    November 24, 2014 at 6:26 pm

    Agenda for the evening? As a Dodgers fan, I’m pondering how many Designated Hitters the Red Sox are going to have in their starting lineup next year. Hanley Ramirez can’t play 3rd and if they thought Manny was fun in Left Field, just wait until they get a gander at Hanley.

    That said, Hanley is a hell of a hitter when healthy.

  40. 40.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 6:26 pm

    @skerry: I don’t have the skills necessary to change the caption but this picture came to mind.
    http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=kykpj&s=6#.VHO-h4vF9y4

  41. 41.

    Patrick

    November 24, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    @skerry:

    This, along with his unwavering support for the idiotic Iraq war, should disqualify Lieberman.

    In an interview with Newsmax.TV, Lieberman described Sen. John McCain’s former running mate as “warm and likable,” and warned her opponents not to dismiss her or what she has to say. The Connecticut senator, who left the Democratic Party and is now an independent, said “everybody should listen” to her.

  42. 42.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    @JPL: No, they’re hoping they’ll all be at Walmart this Friday.

    I myself will be at work. My entire dept. is female but for 2 guys. Most of the girls wanted to shop and the guys both have out of town family so I volunteered. Nice peaceful day + brownie points!

  43. 43.

    Howard Beale IV

    November 24, 2014 at 6:29 pm

    @Morzer: This particular piece of spycraft is pretty nasty, and it took no prisoners, either. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if it wans’t Chinese in origin, given that some of its targets. China has had a particularly nasty hard-on against Microsost, so it wouldn’t surprise me of it wasn’t the PLA that was behind this.

  44. 44.

    Trollhattan

    November 24, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    @skerry: Jesus, why didn’t he go whole hog and nominate Bibi?

  45. 45.

    fleeting expletive

    November 24, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    I did something today that I don’t remember ever doing before–I called a local tv station to complain about a terribly biased and stupid news report aired on Saturday night right after the SNLclassic segment. The tease from the anchor was “Has Obama’s immigration policy made (our city’s) police department’s job more difficult?” Whut?

    The actual report was about an elderly hispanic man who apparently remained in jail for a fairly long period of time, maybe days, because the police didn’t understand him. They interviewed a cop, I didn’t catch his rank, but he was white. He actually said that a lot of people around here speak Spanish, “maybe we should learn some”. So, Obama’s fault, then, according to the news.

    I looked up the city’s statistics, the SMSA is 67% anglo, 17% hispanic. The PD is 84% white and 5% Hispanic, and there are 1000 cops. So there are 50 Hispanic officers and surely a great many of the other 950 are bilingual. No one thought to find a bilingual cop or at least an interpreter? I was polite on the phone but emphatic that I didn’t appreciate the slant on what was supposed to be straight news reporting and that the station seemed to miss the entire meaning of the incident.

    It felt good to do it, not that it makes a flea’s ass bit of difference.

  46. 46.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    November 24, 2014 at 6:34 pm

    @Patrick: I am trying to wrap my head around Obama being a “King” and a “Dictator” at the same time as being “timid” and “ineffectual”, when it comes to foreign policy. At what point do we call out the Republicans as being totally and utterly bi-polar on this issue.

  47. 47.

    shelley

    November 24, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    “Tanned?” More like licked by the fires of Hell.

  48. 48.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: See funny comment from GregB above.

  49. 49.

    Laertes

    November 24, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    Watched 10 seconds of the livestream.

    Nixon: “While none of us knows what that decision will be…” *click*

    Immediately closed the window. Done listening. I give you 10 seconds, and you use it to shovel horseshit on me. Why should I give you another 10? Fuck off, Nixon. That was an insulting and pointless lie.

  50. 50.

    SatanicPanic

    November 24, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    @Patrick: if he didn’t follow up with- “cause this lady is nuts” then that is a very damning quote indeed

  51. 51.

    another Holocene human

    November 24, 2014 at 6:39 pm

    Why do I come off my weekends feeling sad depressed and unable to face life?

    It’s like weekend affective disorder.

    At least my laundry has been whupped into submission.

  52. 52.

    jibeaux

    November 24, 2014 at 6:39 pm

    I’m kinda bummed because I’m underemployed and was really interested in a job I interviewed for, and they told me a decision “by this week”, and I basically did the modern equivalent of waiting forlornly by the phone all day. I know it doesn’t necessarily mean anything yet, but I’d just like to know one way or the other.
    other than that, just need to do a trial stuffing run and make the Mama Stamberg cranberry relish that my husband adores.

  53. 53.

    RaflW

    November 24, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    @JPL:

    Am I alone in thinking that it’s strange to have to wait for the announcement. Are they hoping there will be hundreds in the streets in Ferguson before they announce?

    Well, some folks are noticing

    So, visibly escalate militarization, communicate in every way people should be afraid OF not FOR protestors, & announce GJ decision @ night.— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 24, 2014

    And then claim it is justice-seeking people who foment violence. Perfect.— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 24, 2014

    She goes on to say (and I agree) This is what’s called a fucking set-up.

  54. 54.

    Jacel

    November 24, 2014 at 6:43 pm

    While We’re Waiting? I didn’t know the rest of the country, besides San Francisco, was waiting nervously today to hear if Pablo Sandoval really signed with the Red Sox.

  55. 55.

    Amir Khalid

    November 24, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    @SatanicPanic:
    Sarah Palin is ignorant, lazy, greedy, and lacking in class; but she isn’t nuts.

  56. 56.

    Cacti

    November 24, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    Once again, The Onion is painfully accurate…

    Heavy Police Presence in Ferguson to Ensure Residents Adequately Provoked

  57. 57.

    divF

    November 24, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    @Jacel: Sandoval to Boston is a done deal, according to the sfgate.com front page.

  58. 58.

    Amir Khalid

    November 24, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    Some depressing news from Malaysia. I expect an effort to censor YouTube for Malaysians will be futile as well as contrary to the spirit of the internet.

  59. 59.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 24, 2014 at 6:47 pm

    @Jacel: Boston-area people may have been waiting nervously, too.

  60. 60.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    I wonder whether Obama might consider Jim Webb to replace Hagel?

    Just a wild speculation, but it wouldn’t be his worst option IMHO.

  61. 61.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    I hope they never censor you from Balloon Juice, Amir.

  62. 62.

    C.V Danes

    November 24, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    There are many things one could say about this comparison…

    …first being that wingnuts do not have a firm grasp of hyperbole…

  63. 63.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    Nuts are, after all, good for you. Almonds, walnuts, brazils… ah,what wonderful things they are.

  64. 64.

    Patrick

    November 24, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I am trying to wrap my head around Obama being a “King” and a “Dictator” at the same time as being “timid” and “ineffectual”, when it comes to foreign policy. At what point do we call out the Republicans as being totally and utterly bi-polar on this issue.

    In the beginning of Obama’s presidency I was more than willing to listen to the GOP and whatever criticism they might have of Obama. But they were never serious. It’s like the boy who cried wolf. I gave up after their racist birth certificate whining.

  65. 65.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    @Baud:

    If they did, I would cancel my subscription immediately.

  66. 66.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    November 24, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    My dear friend, indeed the longest standing friend I ever had in the US an assistant district attorney died today from a cancer that she had been fighting for two years. My heart is broken, she had two young boys 18 and 16, her husband, her high school sweetheart is a butcher. She was always the breadwinner of the family and I do not know how Tim is going to be able to support the family with her gone. I cannot fathom how she is gone and yet so many miserable people who are pieces of shit are alive. I hate the world today.

  67. 67.

    The Dangerman

    November 24, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    I’ve heard Sandoval to Boston is a done deal, too; at least as a 3rd Baseman, he’s serviceable (who turns into fucking Brooks Robinson come playoff time), though I thought he’d end up as a DH (same applied to Hanley Ramirez, but Big Pappi has a couple years left in him).

  68. 68.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    @Morzer:

    Your subscription to the Internet, Balloon Juice, or Malaysia?

  69. 69.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    @Baud:

    All of them, Katie.

    Ooopsies!

  70. 70.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    November 24, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    @Patrick: Oh the birfers were so much fun back then, now Orly Taitiz it settling for suing Obama about Ebola deportations or something.

  71. 71.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I am sorry for your loss and that of the family. I hope they can pull together and get through as a family.

  72. 72.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 24, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Maybe not nuts, exactly, but really dumb in addition to being ignorant. She’s not only incurious, she’s dim.

  73. 73.

    Mike in NC

    November 24, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    @Morzer: Webb quit as SECNAV after some mild criticism was directed his way. Extremely thin-skinned guy.

  74. 74.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 24, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I’m so terribly sorry. A big loss for you and for the family your friend leaves behind. All of you are in my thoughts.

  75. 75.

    skerry

    November 24, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I am so sorry for your loss. I hope her family has adequate assets (life insurance?). So very sad for her husband and boys.

  76. 76.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Very sorry for your loss. That is really tough.

  77. 77.

    Tree With Water

    November 24, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    The grand jury has reached a decision. OK, fine. But why wait until the sun sets to announce the decision? Why not wait until the early morning? I’ll tell you why. The bastards are priming the pump.

  78. 78.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    In from a long day on the water. Caught a nice, legal, redfish and a nice black drum so it’s fish for din!

  79. 79.

    beltane

    November 24, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    @Tree With Water: Waiting for cover of night.

  80. 80.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 7:02 pm

    @RaflW: Thank you for that link. It really is a set up.

  81. 81.

    Amir Khalid

    November 24, 2014 at 7:04 pm

    @Mike in NC:
    Is that so? He shouldn’t be running for President then. A Presidential candidate faces a constant stream of strong criticism, much of it pulled out of his opponents’ asses. Webb would always be one unfair dig away from a campaign-ending public explosion of rage.

  82. 82.

    SatanicPanic

    November 24, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I meant more in a – damn this is bananas! – sense than as a clinical diagnosis. Though some of that stuff about she believes about prayer warriors and being attacked by demons wouldn’t be out of place on a wearable sandwich board. And her speech patterns are maybe some form of aphasia? I don’t know, I’m just spitballing.

  83. 83.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    @Tree With Water:

    The bastards are priming the pump.

    Why do you think that McCulloch, et al., want a riot?

  84. 84.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    I had forgotten that, if I ever knew it. Oh well, add another one to the pile of reasons why Webb should not be president.

  85. 85.

    John PM

    November 24, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    @dmsilev: I would support Dick Cheney for Defense Secretary only if his first assignment were to go to Iraq and negotiate with ISIS.

  86. 86.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I’m sorry. Raising a glass to your fine friend. Terrible loss for her husband, sons, you, everyone who loved her.

    Some people do not live long enough, but make a big difference while they are here.

  87. 87.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    @SatanicPanic:

    I’d say the bizarre decision to quit on her governorship, plus her extreme vindictiveness in office would support the idea that Palin is not exactly well-adjusted to reality.

  88. 88.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I’m so sorry.

  89. 89.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    November 24, 2014 at 7:10 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: @Violet:

    They had a big close catholic family who were always close, despite all the fights, I remember when Rene and Katie (who both worked for me as an office manager) were fighting about Katie getting married, from what I understand the family were basically in denial, about her illness, they refused to believe that she was going to die. I suppose I also refused to believe that she was going to die. I was proved wrong and I am as mad as hell about it.

  90. 90.

    Liberty60

    November 24, 2014 at 7:10 pm

    @Baud:

    If Obama the Dictator did not exist, conservatives would have to invent him

    Wasn’t it Jamell Bouie who said that the image of Clint Eastwood lecturing the empty chair was the perfect metaphor for conservatives- “An elderly white man yelling at an imaginary Negro” or something like that.

  91. 91.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 24, 2014 at 7:10 pm

    @raven: Damn! Fresh seafood… I’m jealous. Meanwhile, the daughter’s in-law’s plans for T-day fell thru and now I am faced with spending a full day with rich, over privileged, white people** for an entire 4-6 hr period on Thursday.

    Sucks to be me.

    ** They really are nice people, they just don’t understand how the road was paved for them long before they were born. However, they have been warned: Politics are not on the list of acceptable subjects for discussion. I am not wound just quite right.

  92. 92.

    rlrr

    November 24, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    @Baud:

    If Obama the Dictator did not exist, conservatives would have to invent him.

    Which is exactly what they did.

  93. 93.

    Denali

    November 24, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    @litlebritdifrt,

    So sad when we have to say goodbye to special loved friends. Cherish your memories.

  94. 94.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    @Mike in NC: He’s a pig.

  95. 95.

    ? Martin

    November 24, 2014 at 7:13 pm

    I wonder if St Louis whites have bought enough ammunition to keep racial tensions from becoming too inflamed?

  96. 96.

    bago

    November 24, 2014 at 7:13 pm

    The number one killer of my friends so far hasn’t been cancer or heart disease, but white dudes with guns. If we could control the white dudes with guns problem, america would be a stronger nation. With the “fewer people bleeding out and dying because they appear to be allergic to kinetically excited lead” thing going on.

  97. 97.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 24, 2014 at 7:15 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I do not know how Tim is going to be able to support the family with her gone.

    He will do it with love, fortitude, and family.**

    **Family is not limited to blood.

  98. 98.

    ? Martin

    November 24, 2014 at 7:16 pm

    Announcement will be made at 9PM ET according to news.

  99. 99.

    WereBear

    November 24, 2014 at 7:16 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I’m really sorry for the loss. What a sad thing.

  100. 100.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    @raven:

    So, what we need in the next Defense Secretary is a stable, well-adjusted white man (because Beltway media needs a big white daddy to tuck them up at night), preferably a veteran, preferably a recovered Republican, preferably from a red(dish) state….

    Damn, I think I have almost argued myself into nominating John Cole!

    We can spin the nude mopping as lovable rustic eccentricity.

  101. 101.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    November 24, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    @Denali: She was one of my earliest friends in the US, I am gutted.

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    @Morzer:

    Damn, I think I have almost argued myself into nominating John Cole!

    Didn’t you say “stable, well-adjusted?”

  103. 103.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: Oh, a buddy on FB told me it was black drum not a sheepshead!

  104. 104.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 24, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    @? Martin: Ida know, but from what I hear plywood is a precious commodity.

  105. 105.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Well, as compared to Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Sarah Palin … yes, stable and well-adjusted.

  106. 106.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 24, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    @Morzer: I was gonna nominate Raven.

  107. 107.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:24 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I would pay money to see “Gone Fishing!” tacked up on the DefSec door.

  108. 108.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 7:24 pm

    @Morzer: We can spin the nude mopping as lovable rustic eccentricity. My goodness he could run for office and use that theme with a banjo in the background.

  109. 109.

    Major Major Major Major

    November 24, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    I’m excited to learn whether or not darren wilson is a ham sandwich

  110. 110.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    @JPL:

    It would certainly make campaign rallies more interesting and the slogan “Drop your drawers and grab a mop!” would get some attention right from the get-go. Might even shorten it to “Drop and mop!”

  111. 111.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 24, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    @raven: Did it come out of the water today? WHO CARES!!!!????

    Seriously, I have eaten 5 minute old, under cooked, fish/crawdads/turtles/leeches/slugs/minnows/ that tasted better than anything I got at a supermarket.

    Enjoy.

  112. 112.

    Mary G

    November 24, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    I am home in the blessed quiet of my own house, with my cats. My friend Maureen fed them every day for almost five weeks and never saw them. They came right out for me at snack time.

  113. 113.

    beltane

    November 24, 2014 at 7:32 pm

    @Mary G: It’s good to be home! My mother had cats who lived to be 21 and 22 who I never saw except through the window. They always hid when company came over.

  114. 114.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 24, 2014 at 7:33 pm

    @Morzer: It would pay triple in saved/lost defense spending.

  115. 115.

    beltane

    November 24, 2014 at 7:33 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I am very sorry. There is nothing good that can be said about this.

  116. 116.

    Karen in GA

    November 24, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I’m so sorry. Keeping your friend’s family, and you, in my thoughts.

  117. 117.

    Karen in GA

    November 24, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    @Mary G: Welcome home!

  118. 118.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    @Mary G: Welcome home! Glad you are well enough to be home.

  119. 119.

    Manyakitty

    November 24, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: That sucks. Sorry. Peace and love to all.

  120. 120.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 24, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Nope. Pastrami.

  121. 121.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    @Mary G:

    Glad you are home and enjoying feline friendship again. When I first met Madame Morzer, I had to go to my sister’s wedding. I went out a week in advance to help prepare things – and the cat remained under the bed, refused to emerge except at night to eat and generally indicated extreme disapproval of the new human. Madame Morzer was sufficiently upset by this that she went through a large bottle of vodka in the course of the week. There followed a decade of immense mutual affection until the noblest cat that ever lived succumbed to lymphoma. Such is the way of cats.

  122. 122.

    Tree With Water

    November 24, 2014 at 7:38 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well, I could as well ask you to first answer my question. Why on earth accounts for the decision to wail until dark to announce the decision? I do believe sinister forces within the GOP would welcome rioting. The same sinister forces that plotted and unleashed the Iraq War, the most recent in their blood stained history.

  123. 123.

    Major Major Major Major

    November 24, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: Figures.

  124. 124.

    Karen in GA

    November 24, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    I’m pondering how many Designated Hitters the Red Sox are going to have

    For a second I thought you said Designated Hitlers. The game sure has changed since I was a kid.

    (Although Marge Schott, though, so there was that.)

  125. 125.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:41 pm

    @Karen in GA:

    Designated Hitlers

    All the Schicklgrubers you can eat for just one Schilling.

  126. 126.

    Mike E

    November 24, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    This week of meh will continue on thru the holiday since there’s no stopping this midlife crisis that has gripped the nation, my family, friends and, of course, yours truly. So I’ll be staying put. Moar turkey for me! Or sumptin’.

  127. 127.

    SatanicPanic

    November 24, 2014 at 7:46 pm

    @Tree With Water: complaining about a riot is easier than explaining why you let a cop shoot an unarmed teen

  128. 128.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    @Tree With Water: Well, Nixon and McCulloch are both Democrats, so I doubt that it is some sinister ploy by the GOP to launch a riot. Also, one reason to delay the announcement is that a decision that resulted in an indictment cannot be made public until the indicted person has been taken into custody. I am not saying this is likely to be the reason, but it is on the table as a possibility.

    So, why do you think these officials want a riot?

  129. 129.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: So they have the opportunity to look like “law and order Democrats” and can peel off some white people votes?

  130. 130.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    @Violet: Intentionally provoking a riot so that one can put it down is something that I just cannot grok.

  131. 131.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    @Mary G:

    Welcome home! I join your cats in saying I hope you stay there a good long while, in good health.

  132. 132.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Do you grok intentionally provoking a fight with a union so you can break the union? I don’t think Nixon wants to provoke a fight here, but there are plenty of politicians who want nothing more than a staged conflict against the designated Other. Hell, that’s the story of Scott Walker’s whole career.

  133. 133.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 7:57 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: We ate the redfish tonight and it was A LOT! The girl made spoonbread and and vegetable medley with turnips, brussell sprouts and sweet taters.

  134. 134.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    I think that this feeling has been building since before the elections when I was hearing so many insane and disturbingly callous things in my persuasion and GOTV calls. As a consequence, I am feeling so much anguish about our politics.

    I feel like my house is on fire and my kids are trapped inside. The news on climate change is disastrous and our elected leaders and media are so occupied by bullshit that we can’t address this challenge we face.

    I’m trying to do what I can but it’s exhausting. Every week I pack backpacks with food for schoolchildren so that they will have something to eat over the weekends. The people who do this are some of the funniest, kindest human beings you could ever hope to meet. Meanwhile the head of our DHHS here in Maine is lobbying legislators to toughen up food stamp laws because Mainers are ‘sick of welfare’. Faring well is a good thing. Children who are not hungry or stressed out because they are hungry is a very good thing.

    And now we wait for the Ferguson decision. I wish I had more confidence in our justice system but I feel like the fix has been in from the start. We have hundreds of years of structural racism to justify.

    There is so much meanness and greed. It doesn’t have to be this way. I’m tired of pointing and mocking while the world burns but I don’t know what else to do.

  135. 135.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 24, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I’m so sorry for your loss, and of course for her family’s as well.

  136. 136.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    @Morzer: Yeah, I can grok that. The problem with a riot is that can’t be controlled. It’s playing with fire.

  137. 137.

    Brian R.

    November 24, 2014 at 8:01 pm

    So … Wes Clark anyone?

    I’d love to see the GOP try to stall that nomination, and he’d be great in office.

  138. 138.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:03 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yes and no. If you stack the deck enough, you can ensure that any riot is contained fairly quickly in a relatively small community like Ferguson. The question is whether you want it to be over quickly, or to be seen as a tough man restoring order despite huge challenges.

  139. 139.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 8:03 pm

    @MomSense:

    Good comment. You are not wrong to feel that way. More like, astute.

    I am hoping this grand jury did the right thing. I can not bet, one way or another.

  140. 140.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 24, 2014 at 8:06 pm

    @Brian R.: I was thinking Wes Clark too.

  141. 141.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    The Even Madder Cruz is whipping up “Christian” hysteria:

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rafael-cruz-christians-take-back-society

    Rafael Cruz, father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), last week said that Christians need to “take back society” from “the progressives.”

    “The blood of 57 million babies is crying out to God, just like the blood of Abel cried out to God. But you know, what we need to do is turn the tables on the progressives,” the elder Cruz said in an interview with bishop E.W. Jackson, according to audio posted by the Raw Story.

    Cruz said that the real “war on women” is abortion.

    “Fifty-seven million mothers are walking around with the emotional scars of abortion, that only Jesus can heal. That’s the real war on women, we need to turn it on them. When they talk to you about the ‘right to choose’ who chooses for that baby?” he asked.

    He then charged that “pro-choice” should really be called “pro-murder.”

    He then called on Christians to get involved in politics and restore Christian teachings in the U.S.

  142. 142.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    @Brian R.: I’d like that, though it probably won’t happen. I don’t want him to appoint a sitting Senator because of the Scott Brown syndrome that I have.

  143. 143.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 24, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I’m glad you are acknowledging your anger. Because it fucking sucks and it isn’t fair and there is every reason for you to be furious at this untimely loss. I hope you’ll accept a long-distance virtual {{{hug}}}.

  144. 144.

    kc

    November 24, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    I’m betting there’s an indictment.

  145. 145.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 24, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    @Morzer: Darrel Gates tried that here in LA, it didn’t work.

  146. 146.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 8:08 pm

    @Morzer: It’s time for him to go back to Cuba and continue his fine work with Castro.

  147. 147.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    November 24, 2014 at 8:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: They don’t really shy from playing with fire. And as Morzer notes, it can be contained in a relatively small community but they may prefer to let it spiral and show themselves to be the bullies they are tough guys who quelled the violence.

  148. 148.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    @JPL: Someone needs to do the three-minute-motherfucker on his narrow ass.

  149. 149.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 8:11 pm

    @Morzer:

    This year, on a Very Special Christmas with the Cruzes….

  150. 150.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:11 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    I did specify relatively small community – which would rule LA out. I think it’s a damnably stupid thing to do, but too many politicians think short-term only, encouraged by our cretinous media.

  151. 151.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 24, 2014 at 8:12 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Containment doesn’t work, see Los Angeles, 1992.

  152. 152.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:13 pm

    @Baud:

    Guest appearance by Fox News Multiple Personality Sarah Palin….

  153. 153.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I’m so sorry. I wish I had the right words to say or that there was something I could do to help. Sending you my sympathy and a big hug.

  154. 154.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 24, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    @Morzer: That would only work if Ferguson was an isolated community, it’s part of a metro area. In 1992, LAPD thought they could go hands off in the Crenshaw area. Didn’t work.

  155. 155.

    lamh36

    November 24, 2014 at 8:17 pm

    I see the family of Mike Brown has asked for a 4 1/2 minute moment of silence after the grand jury decision is read, regardless of the decision.

  156. 156.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:18 pm

    @Mary G:

    So happy to hear that you are home. Best wishes for continued recovery.

  157. 157.

    Darkrose

    November 24, 2014 at 8:18 pm

    @Jacel: I am sad. Pablo was a good Giant, and he’ll be hard to replace.

  158. 158.

    JGabriel

    November 24, 2014 at 8:18 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: My condolences on you loss, Litlebritdifrnt.

  159. 159.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 8:19 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Basically, I just can’t get my head around such a mindset. If they wanted to have a shitload of cops on the street and then later claim that the heavy police presence prevented trouble, I could understand that kind of cynical logic.

  160. 160.

    Darkrose

    November 24, 2014 at 8:19 pm

    @The Dangerman: It’s that “when healthy” part that’s the problem. Seriously, the guy goes on the DL if someone looks at him funny.

  161. 161.

    cmm

    November 24, 2014 at 8:20 pm

    Waiting, waiting. Don’t think anything will happen around here but everyone is concerned.

  162. 162.

    Darkrose

    November 24, 2014 at 8:20 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I’m very sorry for your loss.

  163. 163.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    I feel so tense; cannot imagine what it’s like in Ferguson.

    Will we hear rightwingers shrieking if the officer is indicted?

    And what charges can the grand jury bring?

  164. 164.

    lamh36

    November 24, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    All this BULLSHIT all for just a chance at a tiral. Not even a fucking conviction, just a fucking day in court for the killer of Mike Brown.

    Regardless of the decision (and ya’ll know what we expect), I feel the need to go to my sister’s and hug the hell out of my 16 year old nephew! And then head to my cousin’s house to hold on tight to my 2 godsons (18 & 14)

  165. 165.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    @efgoldman:

    HA! Honestly it was tougher to deal with the Cutler supporters than the tea party fools.

  166. 166.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yes and no. Ferguson is on the edge of the bigger area, so relatively easy to isolate – and has a fairly small fraction of the total population.

  167. 167.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:23 pm

    @MomSense:

    Jay Cutler still has supporters?

  168. 168.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 8:24 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Not sure they’ve thought it through that clearly. There are a lot of forces at play–people with aspirations to higher office who wants to have a career-making moment, people looking at reelection, people who want to do the right thing, people who are scared of black people, etc., etc. All of those various people have input and want some result. That doesn’t mean they definitely want a riot, but they may want to have the opportunity to look “tough” and show off their law and order side.

  169. 169.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 8:24 pm

    @Morzer: Packer fans like him.

  170. 170.

    JPL

    November 24, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    @raven: In a perfect world, one of the MSM would mention what Cruz’s dad was running from.

  171. 171.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    @Violet:

    It certainly doesn’t hurt a politician to advertise himself as the tough but fair daddy who stopped those people from rioting.

    I have seen a lot of criticism of Jay Nixon from people on the ground in Ferguson. They say that he talks about engaging with the community – but he doesn’t actually do anything.

  172. 172.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    @Violet: Sure, and I agree with that, but the person of whom I originally asked the question was implying that the people in charge are doing things specifically to start a something bad and I was wondering why s/he thought that.

  173. 173.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    @Morzer:

    I think he was my back up QB on one of my fantasy teams years ago. I don’t even know if he’s still playing. He would certainly be a better governor than LePage.

  174. 174.

    lamh36

    November 24, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    No words. RT @justinjm1: NYT: Wilson lawyers arranged for phone call if indicted. No phone call tonight…

    https://twitter.com/tracyvs/status/537052757703020545

  175. 175.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 24, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    @Morzer: I disagree, there don’t seem to be any natural obstacles to spillover into other surrounding communities or St. Louis proper.

  176. 176.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The best defense is a Jay Cutler offense on the other side of the ball.

  177. 177.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    @lamh36: If accurate, that is not good news.

  178. 178.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    November 24, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    @Mike in NC: That’s not the way I remember it. He was an advocate for the “600 ship Navy” and was quite upset when cuts were made.

    (Googlie-goo…)

    LA Times, 1988:

    WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary James H. Webb Jr. announced his resignation Monday in protest over the Pentagon’s scaled-down fiscal 1989 budget request, saying that he could neither defend the spending plan before Congress nor support Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci, who overruled him recently in ordering the decommissioning of 16 Navy ships.

    “Since I became Navy secretary last year, I have stated . . . frequently my belief that the force levels of our sea services remain minimal and must not be reduced,” Webb said in his resignation letter to President Reagan.

    “Since recommendations to that effect were rejected by your secretary of defense, I am unable to support him personally or to defend this amended budget,” he added.

    […]

    The 600 ship Navy was a boondoggle, as was much of the Reagan buildup. But resigning over serious policy disputes is the way things are supposed to work.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  179. 179.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    he SLF was comprised mostly of former members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), which had collapsed the previous summer due to internal dissent at its national convention. It was deeply ironic that the February 17 demonstration was organized to protest the Chicago Seven trial, since the Chicago defendants had also been indicted for conspiracy in planning protests during the August 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago — an event which also turned violent. The Seattle event, along with several others nationwide that same day, was called “The Day After” (TDA) in anticipation of the verdict. The violence in Seattle occurred despite the SLF’s stated wishes for a peaceful demonstration. The SLF had in fact been created as a non-violent alternative to the Weathermen, the SDS-derived radical organization that openly advocated violent tactics against the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, the SLF was blamed for the February 17 riot, and the indictments thus followed.

    It was supposed to be a huge deal nation-wide but it didn’t really develop.

    https://radsearem.wordpress.com/tag/chicago-seven/

  180. 180.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 8:31 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well, neither I nor anyone else can say what that commenter was thinking, but we can offer our own thoughts on the subject. That’s what I was doing.

  181. 181.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:32 pm

    @raven:

    The local SDS chapter used to meet in our basement. I don’t remember it because I was too young but my parents remember all the stories.

  182. 182.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 8:32 pm

    @Morzer: I would support that just to hear him yell at the stenography corps, “I hate you all!”

    Is actual stenography used anymore? I graduated right after dictaphones became widely popular so I never used it much, only for my own private note- taking. The only things I really remember now are, the teacher was a ring-tailed bitch, and whoever wrote the textbook really loved the phrase, “modern metered mail.”. (Ring-tailed bitch, if you’re out there reading this-go take a flying leap into a nice big pile of manure. I still hate you and I bet everyone else does too.)

  183. 183.

    Steeplejack

    November 24, 2014 at 8:33 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    “A riot is an ugly thing.”

  184. 184.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:33 pm

    @Morzer:

    So true. So painfully true.

  185. 185.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:34 pm

    A story worth seeing in itself, but especially for the wonderful image of Andrew Cuomo:

    http://tinyurl.com/n59mdak

  186. 186.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:35 pm

    @MomSense: I’m sure it’s all in the fed’s records. I’ve located a bunch of stuff on VVAW meetings at our house in FOI documents.

  187. 187.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    I agree that resignation over serious policy disagreements is legitimate, but the episode would lead me to question Webb’s judgment of policy.

  188. 188.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    @Steeplejack: I read a lot of shit here about all that “pitchfork and torches” hooey. If someone hasn’t been in a real riot they don’t know what the fuck they are asking for.

  189. 189.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    @Morzer: He’s a pig.

  190. 190.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: My condolences to you and the family.

  191. 191.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    @lamh36: From the actual NYT blog linked in that tweet, more detail:

    A person close to Officer Wilson said that by 5 p.m. Central time, the officer had not received a call from the prosecutor’s office informing him of an indictment.

    Officer Wilson’s lawyers had previously made arrangements with the prosecutor’s office planning for the possibility that he would be indicted. If the grand jury returned an indictment, Officer Wilson was expecting to receive a phone call asking him to turn himself in.

    Officer Wilson was planning to voluntarily surrender if he was indicted. So far, he has not been asked to do so, the person close to him said.

    That’s the only mention of “phone” on that blog. I searched the page. Something could have changed by now.

  192. 192.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:39 pm

    @raven:

    So we can assume that the Great Jim Webb will not be your candidate of choice? Or are you simply endorsing him as a good bacon source?

  193. 193.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    November 24, 2014 at 8:39 pm

    @Morzer: I would support a Webb appointment just to see him square off with McCain during the hearings. Webb would give as good as he got, and he has a much firmer grip on reality.

    I liked Webb in the Senate, I think he made a lot of votes that were probably very uncomfortable for him. I was puzzled to hear the supposed populist who switched parties because of Iraq make noises about the need for bipartisanship and cooperation. The two things that got the greatest bipartisan cooperations in the last twenty years were the Iraq War and the repeal of Glass-Stegal. I’m not opposed to bipartisanship in principle, it’s frequently necessary for reasons of math or politics, but it lacks something as an ideal in an of itself.

  194. 194.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:41 pm

    @raven:

    Oh yeah we definitely had a file. My dad was the CO and anti war adviser at Kent State.

  195. 195.

    Steeplejack

    November 24, 2014 at 8:42 pm

    @raven:

    There might be a little hyperventilating going on.

  196. 196.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:42 pm

    @MomSense: Oh yea, I remember now.

  197. 197.

    skerry

    November 24, 2014 at 8:44 pm

    @Morzer: I’m hearing that crowds are gathering in different places in the metro area – not just in Ferguson. Large crowd in Shaw where Vonderitt Myers was shot and at Clayton courthouse in addition to street where Mike Brown was killed.

  198. 198.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:44 pm

    @raven:

    Having invoked pitchforks, torches, and knitting needles a few times here, I can tell you that it was in frustration. All of my activism has been of the intentionally non-violent variety.

  199. 199.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 8:45 pm

    @Violet: A site called Gateway Pundit says they have a leak that there will be no indictment. Which I guess will be the cue for the Justice Dept. to step in and charge the cop with civil rights violations.

  200. 200.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:46 pm

    @Pogonip:

    A site called Gateway Pundit

    That’s probably the most polite way in which it has been referred to in these parts for many a long year.

  201. 201.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    November 24, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    @efgoldman: Reminded me of this….

    :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  202. 202.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    @MomSense: People like you are often the one’s who get the shit kicked out of them in “street actions”.

  203. 203.

    GregB

    November 24, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    @raven:

    Yeah, the unleashing of a mob is pretty much the worst thing in the world.

    Google some pictures. Fun times.

  204. 204.

    SatanicPanic

    November 24, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    @Pogonip: Betty pointed out earlier that while Jim Hoft is a dunce and is a known faker of facts, he may be right. Not because someone actually leaked to him though, because I would be shocked if he weren’t just making that up.

  205. 205.

    lamh36

    November 24, 2014 at 8:49 pm

    @Violet: they are saying that Wilson hasn’t gotten the call that he would have gotten if he had been indicted.

  206. 206.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 8:49 pm

    @raven: Boy, you got that right. Towards the end of WW II there was some rioting in Italy. My father says he’d a hundred times rather face a disciplined army than a rioting mob.

  207. 207.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    @Pogonip: Gateway Pundit is Jim Hoft (a.k.a. the Dumbest Man on the Internet). He may be correct on this, but if so it is due to the stopped clock factor rather than inside info.

  208. 208.

    SatanicPanic

    November 24, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    @Morzer: “dumbest man on the internet” is not a title given lightly

    ETA- jinx!

  209. 209.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    November 24, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    @Morzer: Isn’t that the site run by the stupidest man on the internets?

    ETA: I sit corrected, “Dumbest Man on the Internets”.

  210. 210.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    November 24, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    @Pogonip:

    Morzer beat me to it, but Gateway Pundit is, to put it kindly, one of the right wing’s favorite puke funnels for catapulting bullshit into the mainstream media.

    I can put it less kindly, if you like. ;-)

  211. 211.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The only reason Jim Hoft is still alive is because the body doesn’t require intelligent thought to go on functioning.

  212. 212.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:53 pm

    @raven:

    We were shot at back in the day. My mom was pregnant at the time.

  213. 213.

    raven

    November 24, 2014 at 8:55 pm

    @MomSense: shot, not shot at

  214. 214.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    @lamh36: I understand that. What I’m saying is that the NYT blog that was linked in the tweet, the only mention of “phone” on that blog is what I quoted, which was at 5 p.m. Something could have changed in the ensuing time.

    There could be other information since then that they are referring to, but that’s not in the blog they linked.

  215. 215.

    Han

    November 24, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Sorry to hear about your friend. I may have missed someone else mentioning it, but if not thought I would. Your friend and her husband may or may not have planned out fiscally how to replace one of their salaries if one of them died, but at minimum the 16yo child will qualify for Social Security Survivor’s Benefits. Possibly the husband too, depending on his age. I don’t know how much it will be, but it’s based on prior income. After my SIL died of cancer a year and a half ago, my brother applied and mentioned he was surprised how much his youngest received. It was a huge relief as they weren’t exactly high income, and the crappy insurance meant medical bills ate most of what they had.

  216. 216.

    Pogonip

    November 24, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): That’s OK, I believe you. Wasn’t familiar with the site, myself; somebody e-mailed the blurb to me so I passed it on. I skip a lot of the political stuff here because it subtracts valuable reading time from recipes, horticulture, dogs at buffets, and modern metered mail.

  217. 217.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    @raven:

    Well fortunately they missed.

  218. 218.

    lamh36

    November 24, 2014 at 9:00 pm

    ‏@RonAllenNBC 3m3 minutes ago
    Prosecutors say they will release documents from grand jury / previously said they’d only do that if not trial and no indictment @NBCNews

    So this means no indictment.

  219. 219.

    Steve from Antioch

    November 24, 2014 at 9:00 pm

    Some of you people need to get a hobby.

  220. 220.

    GregB

    November 24, 2014 at 9:01 pm

    On the lighter side. The Zoot Suit Riots did lead to a pretty swinging tune by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Which is clearly the creepiest band name ever.

  221. 221.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 9:04 pm

    @Steve from Antioch:

    What do you think Balloon-Juice is, kemosabe?

  222. 222.

    David in NY

    November 24, 2014 at 9:05 pm

    @Pogonip: I think Civil Rights violation is unlikely. Requires a specific intent not present here, I think. If the State doesn’t act, then I think there’s no criminal case. Might be an interesting civil suit, however.

  223. 223.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 9:06 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    I can put it less kindly, if you like. ;-)

    This I would like to see.

  224. 224.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 9:06 pm

    @lamh36: Pete Williams on MSNBC is also saying he’s guessing there’s no indictment based on that.

  225. 225.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 9:06 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): How was the interview?

  226. 226.

    janeform

    November 24, 2014 at 9:09 pm

    I’m watching local news coverage. Anchor is going into detail about what happens to protesters if they get arrested — taken to jail, fingerprinted, no bond, and released, and if arrested again the same thing happens, and what kind of charges people were arrested on “last time” back in August. Sickening.

  227. 227.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 24, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    They aren’t rushing to get the word out.

  228. 228.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 9:11 pm

    @Morzer:

    A lifestyle choice.

  229. 229.

    Karen in GA

    November 24, 2014 at 9:15 pm

    Here it is.

  230. 230.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 9:16 pm

    deepest sympathies to family of Michael Brown … but don’t look for any justice here.

  231. 231.

    Baud

    November 24, 2014 at 9:17 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Yep.

  232. 232.

    Rob

    November 24, 2014 at 9:17 pm

    @Elizabelle:
    “deepest sympathies to family of Michael Brown … but don’t look for any justice here.”

    Indeed.

  233. 233.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 9:17 pm

    whitewash. unfounded concern in the black community. uh huh

  234. 234.

    MomSense

    November 24, 2014 at 9:17 pm

    Ugh.

  235. 235.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Pretty much sums it up.

  236. 236.

    Violet

    November 24, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    Talk about dragging this out. Ugh.

  237. 237.

    Karen in GA

    November 24, 2014 at 9:20 pm

    This isn’t going well. And it’s going worse and worse as I type this comment.

  238. 238.

    trollhattan

    November 24, 2014 at 9:21 pm

    @Darkrose:
    Gotta admit, as a coda to his Giants career, catching the Series’ final out then flopping on his back will be impossible to beat. Panda Power!

  239. 239.

    Darkrose

    November 24, 2014 at 9:21 pm

    No surprise. Wish there had been.

  240. 240.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    He doesn’t think much of the community, does he? They’re on social media, they can’t tell their stories straight. He’s pointing out how the police evidence always tailed with the physical evidence. Which the police were in charge of, no?

    Physical evidence, physical evidence…. drinking game.

  241. 241.

    catatonia

    November 24, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    This is rather despicable, to massage the issue by an extended soliloquy trying to paper over the gaping issues with this … “police action. ”

    Why not just come out and say what the GJ findings were?

  242. 242.

    skerry

    November 24, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    Social media killed Mike Brown

  243. 243.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 9:24 pm

    Betty Cracker’s put up a fresh thread.

  244. 244.

    Elizabelle

    November 24, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    Purpose of a Grand Jury is to Separate fact from fiction.

    And the black community is all fiction. Addled by social media and cable tv. jeebus.

  245. 245.

    trollhattan

    November 24, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    Miami Herald writer Joseph Goodman asked, “I wonder how much more overtime the cops make in St Louis for an announcement at night compared to during the day?”

    Indoozle

  246. 246.

    Rob

    November 24, 2014 at 9:26 pm

    @Elizabelle #249
    Exactly.

  247. 247.

    kc

    November 24, 2014 at 9:30 pm

    @kc:

    Welp, guess I was wrong.

  248. 248.

    Morzer

    November 24, 2014 at 9:31 pm

    @kc:

    For your next investment of credibility, could I suggest gambling on the Jets coming back to beat the Bills?

  249. 249.

    ezra abrams

    November 28, 2014 at 4:32 pm

    Perhaps we could convene a jury of people whose family members were killed by drones, and ask them about Caudolismoism
    Or we could ask the victims of Pakistan’s ISI what they think of our support for the Paki gov’t

    I mean, ain’t no one that perfect

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