Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

It looks like winning debates is a black job!

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

“They not like us!” (that’s for sure!)

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Bark louder, little dog.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

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

Monday While-We’re-Waiting Open Thread

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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?

Reader Interactions

249Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    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

    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

    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

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

  5. 5.

    WereBear

    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

    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

    @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

    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.

  12. 12.

    JPL

    @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

    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

    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

    @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

  17. 17.

    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?

  20. 20.

    Mike J

    @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?

  24. 24.

    JGabriel

    @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

    @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.

  30. 30.

    skerry

    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

    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

    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…

  34. 34.

    Morzer

    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.

  36. 36.

    Turgidson

    @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.

  39. 39.

    The Dangerman

    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.

  41. 41.

    Patrick

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  45. 45.

    fleeting expletive

    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

    @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.

  49. 49.

    Laertes

    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.

  51. 51.

    another Holocene human

    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

    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

    @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

    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.

  60. 60.

    Morzer

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

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

  64. 64.

    Patrick

    @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.

  66. 66.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    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

    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).

  70. 70.

    Litlebritdifrnt

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

  72. 72.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

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

  77. 77.

    Tree With Water

    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.

  81. 81.

    Amir Khalid

    @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

    @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.

  85. 85.

    John 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

    @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

    @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.

  89. 89.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  93. 93.

    Denali

    @litlebritdifrt,

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

  95. 95.

    ? Martin

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

  96. 96.

    bago

    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

    @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.

  100. 100.

    Morzer

    @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.

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Morzer:

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

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

  108. 108.

    JPL

    @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.

  110. 110.

    Morzer

    @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

    @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

    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

    @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.

  121. 121.

    Morzer

    @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

    @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.

  124. 124.

    Karen in GA

    @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.)

  126. 126.

    Mike E

    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’.

  128. 128.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @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?

  132. 132.

    Morzer

    @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.

  134. 134.

    MomSense

    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.

  137. 137.

    Brian R.

    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

    @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

    @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.

  141. 141.

    Morzer

    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

    @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

    @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}}}.

  147. 147.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @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.

  150. 150.

    Morzer

    @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.

  154. 154.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @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

    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.

  163. 163.

    Elizabelle

    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

    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)

  168. 168.

    Violet

    @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.

  171. 171.

    Morzer

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  175. 175.

    BillinGlendaleCA

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

  178. 178.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @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

    @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

    @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

    @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

    @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.)

  188. 188.

    raven

    @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.

  191. 191.

    Violet

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  197. 197.

    skerry

    @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

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  204. 204.

    SatanicPanic

    @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.

  206. 206.

    Pogonip

    @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.

  209. 209.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @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)

    @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. ;-)

  214. 214.

    Violet

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  218. 218.

    lamh36

    ‏@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.

  222. 222.

    David in NY

    @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.

  226. 226.

    janeform

    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.

  232. 232.

    Rob

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

    Indeed.

  238. 238.

    trollhattan

    @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!

  240. 240.

    Elizabelle

    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

    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?

  244. 244.

    Elizabelle

    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

    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

  248. 248.

    Morzer

    @kc:

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

  249. 249.

    ezra abrams

    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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