Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

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

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Second rate reporter says what?

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

This really is a full service blog.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

In my day, never was longer.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Everybody saw this coming.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Who Doesn’t Enjoy Sleeping with A Friend?

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Who Doesn’t Enjoy Sleeping with A Friend?

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darkrose Alistair and Ogrded 2

From commentor Darkrose:

The massive orange one is Alistair; the tuxedo is Ogdred. For some reason, they seem to think they both fit on the smaller of the two cat beds.

***********
Apart from a little innuendo for breakfast — oh, and primaries in Kentucky & Oregon — what’s on the agenda for the day?

Reader Interactions

164Comments

  1. 1.

    Schlemazel Khan

    Is it safe to read comments now? Have the hilbots and bernwarriors trundled off to bed now?

  3. 3.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    NBC feature story on a beautiful rescue dog (broken jaw) who now runs a doggie treat food truck in Seattle (video)

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Meh. We are a little more subdued in the AM. At least until we get coffee.

  5. 5.

    TheMightyTrowel

    Alastair looks like my Gambit who’s a total love muffin and cuddle slut. Gingers are the best.

  6. 6.

    Schlemazel Khan

    Happy Syttende Mai to you all BTW.

    If you want to start a real fight in Minnesota you would say Syttende Mai is the celebration of Sweden giving Norway its freedom. Then stand back & watch the fireworks!

  7. 7.

    Poopyman

    I’m happy to see I missed last night’s shit show. Recent evening habits don’t include Balloon Juice as much as they once did.

    Not gonna comment on it. If some one else wants to start the poo flinging, fine. I don’t.

  10. 10.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    You may not recognize him, but this is David Letterman attending Friday’s State Dinner for Scandinavia. (photo)

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Stockley shot Smith, 24, in December 2011 after a suspected drug transaction and high-speed chase. State and federal prosecutors had filed no charges.

    After shooting at Smith’s car, Stockley and his partner, Officer Brian Bianchi, chased the victim at speeds over 80 mph. While in pursuit, the police SUV crashed, backed up and continued following Smith’s vehicle.

    During the chase, Stockley says, “going to kill this (expletive deleted), don’t you know it,” according to court documents filed Monday. As Smith’s car was slowing to a stop, Stockley tells Bianchi to “hit him right now,” at which point the driver slams the police SUV into Smith’s car. Court documents did not disclose the source of the quotes.

    Stockley then approached Smith’s car on the driver’s side and shot five times into the car, striking Smith with each shot. A gun was recovered from the victim’s car, but lab analysis revealed the presence of only Stockley’s DNA, according to the documents.

    Now charged with first degree murder.

    Joyce said in an interview Monday that Isom’s administration never formally presented her office with the case, and that Callahan’s office called her prosecutors to “informally review” the case at the end of 2012.

    “The video alone is not sufficient for charges, but it’s very concerning,” Joyce said, adding that she would not release the evidence because of the pending case. “As troubling as this case was, there was not sufficient evidence to file charges at that time,” she said.
    ……

    She said she had not personally seen the video until about three weeks ago, and was also unaware, until then, that forensic scientists found only Stockley’s DNA on the gun recovered from Smith’s car.
    “I feel like this case has gone as fast as it could have,” Joyce said.

    Yeah. Sure. Well, justice delayed but maybe not denied. Almost unbelievable the twists and turns of this case, the # of people, federal, state, and city involved in multiple investigations, that it took this long for charges to be filed. Almost unbelievable.

    The murder charge follows a public call by activists in late April demanding that Stockley, who is white, be charged with the murder of Smith, who is black. The Post-Dispatch and activists filed requests under Missouri’s Sunshine Law seeking documents, video and audio evidence associated with the case.

    Investigative materials regarding the shooting have been sealed under a protective order that city and state attorneys sought in 2012 as part of the settlement of the civil suit. The Post-Dispatch filed a motion in federal court Thursday to have the protective order lifted. Watkins agreed, but Attorney General Chris Koster’s office, who represented the police board and Stockley in the case, has not responded.

    The police board, which is now represented by the city due to a law change, said it would not oppose the Post-Dispatch’s request.

    Ah. I begin to see why. Also a new police chief who appears to take these things a little more seriously seems to have played a part.

  14. 14.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
    I saw a photo of Letterman from 1978 when he was a regular on Mary Tyler Moore’s variety show, looked as goofy as always but very recognizable.

    Thar show had an interesting cast:
    David Letterman, Swoosie Kurtz, Dick Shawn, Michael Keaton and Merrill Markoe (writer on the Late show w/Letterman)

    It bombed, too much talent I guess

  15. 15.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    On Morning Joe…Democrats need to PANIC!

    ETA: Joe and Mika haven’t shown up yet, they had a light night last night.

  16. 16.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    A whopper from Halperin, “if there’s anything that Republicans are strong on, it’s the economy”. (LMOA, cough, cough, LMAO).

  19. 19.

    Darkrose

    @TheMightyTrowel: He’s a doll. Makes a box of rocks look intelligent, tries to chew on plastic and has destroyed more power cords than I like to think about, but he’s an absolute sweetheart who just wants loves and pettings from his moms.

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Magic mushrooms have lifted severe depression in a dozen volunteers in a clinical trial, raising scientists’ hopes that the psychedelic experiences beloved of the Aztecs and the hippy counter-culture of the 1970s could one day become mainstream medicine.
    ….
    In spite of the outcome, the researchers urged people not to try magic mushrooms themselves.

    The lead author, Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, said: “Psychedelic drugs have potent psychological effects and are only given in our research when appropriate safeguards are in place, such as careful screening and professional therapeutic support.

    “I wouldn’t want members of the public thinking they can treat their own depressions by picking their own magic mushrooms. That kind of approach could be risky.”

    Yes…. Legions of aging hippies totally agree. It could be very risky indeed. This part cracked me up:

    However, the use of a placebo control, comparing those who use the drug with those who do not, will always be difficult, because it will be obvious who is having a psychedelic experience.

  25. 25.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Darkrose: He’s a really funny guy, I really liked him saying that CA would be in play. The dude needs to go out on the comedy circuit.

  26. 26.

    Mustang Bobby

    I missed last night’s thread because I was entertaining a robocaller:

    ME: Hello?
    BOT (in a voice far too well-trained to be human) Hello! You have been selected to receive a free home security system at absolutely no charge. Are you the homeowner?
    ME: I have a question.
    BOT: Are you the homeowner?
    ME: I have a question.
    (Voice comes on the line; apparently human, to intercept such irregularities)
    VOICE: Yes?
    ME: What is the main ingredient in tomato soup?
    [Click.]
    By the way, it’s tomato puree (water and tomato paste).

    It’s the little amusements in life…

  28. 28.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Angelina Jolie slammed Donald Trump’s comments against Muslims on Monday – saying the billionaire’s stance did not match her vision of America.

    The actress and refugee envoy of the United Nations gave an impassioned plea for refugees at the BBC in London.

    She closed her eyes and shook her head in disapproval when someone asked her what she thought of Trump’s stance on Muslims, CNN reported.

    “To me, America is built on people from around the world coming together for freedoms, especially freedom of religion. So it’s hard to hear this is coming from someone who is pressing to be an American president”.

  30. 30.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud:

    polls are missing a major component of Trump supporters

    The clinically insane? No, that defines “Trump Supporter”.

  33. 33.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Susan Sarandon fight’n the class struggle from the French Riviera. (photo)

  36. 36.

    Betty Cracker

    Big old thunderstorm rolling toward me from the Gulf of Mexico this morning. The sky is an eerie reddish color.

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: I have dealt with depression all my life. Had one really bad episode after a series of deaths, a break up, etc. Took years to climb back out of that hole, a blank spot in my life, don’t even know how I got out of it. Scared the shit out of me to even think about falling back into it. The knowing, that the next time I might not survive it, is why I never will fall back into it. I see the edge approaching and I say, “No. Not this time.”

    At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

  42. 42.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    “Don’t you think my daughter’s hot? She’s hot, right?”, said Donald Trump to a complete stranger about his 16 year old daughter. (photo)

  44. 44.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Darkrose: i think our cats are related. Gambit is my slow cat. He’s still figuring out that it’s safe to walk on laps. He also likes to chew things but thankfully he prefers the kindling to plastic or cords.

  45. 45.

    Darkrose

    @sm*t cl*de: Exactly! It was my wife’s turn to name him, and she always picks Gorey-related names. Alistair was my turn, and I tend to go for name related to whatever fandom I’m in at the time. I was playing Dragon Age: Origins when we got him.

  46. 46.

    PurpleGirl

    Oh, how cute the kitties are. Yes, it does seem that they like to sleep in close contact in the smallest space possible. I’ve seen that on many kitten cams. They also like to sleep in strangest positions, ones you wouldn’t think would be comfortable. But like them.

  48. 48.

    PurpleGirl

    @Schlemazel Khan: That’s why I keep a kitten cam or two (or three) open in my other browser — fast movement to watching kittens and I leave behind me the political agita.

  49. 49.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    @Baud: they both seem kinda boring.

    I think an all female ticket would be a thunderclap; it would just blow the country’s collective imagination on what is possible.

    Anyways, we’ll know in approximately 60 days.

  50. 50.

    Joel

    @OzarkHillbilly: Considering that the go-to antidepressants are SSRI (seratonin reuptake inhibitors), it makes sense that the potent seratonin agonists (psilocybin and others) found in magic mushrooms would have a powerful antidepressant effect.

  53. 53.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    You should be worried. Ohio’s going to be tougher than many people think.

    @Schlemazel Khan:

    Yeah, I stopped reading when it turned to calling someone a troll just because they didn’t share that person’s opinion.

  54. 54.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    @burnspbesq:

    I read about the first three paragraphs of derp, and really resented the fact that Obama was too damned lazy to set up those FEMA re-education camps we were promised.

    Thanks a lot, Obama – you were too shiftless and stupid to follow through on your brilliantly fiendish plan…

  55. 55.

    divF

    @Schlemazel Khan: I once spent a one-quarter sabbatical at the University of Minnesota. I knew that I was in a different world when, on the local news, the major items were
    (1) The weather report was given for Norway, in honor of Syttende Mai;
    (2) A poor opening of walleye pike season (only the Governor had caught the limit);
    (3) The mosquito hatchings had reached the center of the state, and would get to the Twin Cites by Wednesday.

  66. 66.

    Baud

    @debbie:

    I like Perez. I like Warren, but don’t want her to leave the Senate. Same with Brown.

    I actually like Kaine also, but he does have a low key personality, and the Senate issue is there as well.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    I think Perez is a great pick. Sherrod Brown has said over and over that he loves his job and has no interest in the executive branch. I think he’s telling the truth and hope he is- it would be insane to take a liberal who wins a swing state out of the Senate. In terms of ideology/ geographic area, Sherrod Brown is valuable. He is the most liberal one can get in a 50/50 state.

    It won’t swing anyone in Ohio anyway- I think the VP pick is over-rated as far as changing minds.

  69. 69.

    divF

    @debbie: Brown and Warren are out, since a republican governor would name their replacement. Kaine is a senator from a purple state, even though the governor is a Dem (McAuliffe), and is thus also a risky choice.

    I like Perez the best, even though his resume is a little thin. Hickenlooper would presumably be the safest choice of the five. The reality is that the Dem bench at that level is thin, particularly if you exclude Senators.

  70. 70.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Punchy: I skimmed it, pretty much what you’d expect: end the Fed, Flat Tax, repeal the 17th amendment, one natural man-one natural woman marriages, get rid of abortion rights…

  72. 72.

    Baud

    @divF:

    At least Massachusetts has a quick special election, so the governor’s replacement would be temporary.

  76. 76.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud:

    Some in Clintonworld say the Colorado governor’s name should be on any short list. For starters, a win in Colorado would cement the race for Clinton. Hickenlooper has also been a loyal soldier to Clinton during the primary, particularly when his state voted for Sanders by nearly 20 percentage points. Clinton and Hickenlooper spent time together in April when she attended a fundraiser at his home. Insiders say if he doesn’t get a nod for VP, Clinton will likely consider him for a cabinet position, should she be elected.

    @debbie: It’s The Hill. Inside politics at it’s most drab.

  78. 78.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Clinton and Hickenlooper spent time together in April when she attended a fundraiser at his home. I

    What the hell type of rationale is that?

  79. 79.

    debbie

    @Baud: @Kay: @divF:

    I had already discounted Brown and Warren. The others do seem a bit safe. I don’t know who, but it would probably help unity to come up with an inspired pick. Hate the Bernbros all you want, but you’re going to need them not only to vote but to share your excitement for the Clinton ticket.

  80. 80.

    PurpleGirl

    Plans for today — fix a lamp that broke last week. And clean out my fridge of science projects. and then take a nap. Also check the kitten cams, especially see Marina is going to have her kittens today.

  81. 81.

    Baud

    @debbie: Berniebros are a lost cause. The majority of Bernie supporters, however, need to be brought on board.

  82. 82.

    divF

    @Baud: I don’t think this represents a qualification, but an indicator.

    It’s The Hill. I’d sooner use the entrails of a chicken for political prognostication.

  86. 86.

    divF

    @debbie:
    @Baud:
    The need to get the Bernie supporters on board is one of the reasons I like Perez – he has quite good lefty cred.

  87. 87.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    I don’t “hate” the “Berniebros”. I don’t even accept “Berniebros” as a category of people :)

    Democrats in leadership love Hickenlooper. They were promoting him like crazy at the ’08 convention. He was the Mayor of Denver ( which is where it was) but the non-televised part was like The Hickenlooper Show.

    If I were a betting woman I’d put money on Hickenlooper, although I prefer Perez.

  89. 89.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Data released by the FBI show that 2015 was one of the safest years for law enforcement officers in more than a decade.

    The preliminary numbers report that 37 US police officers (41 including those from Puerto Rico) were intentionally killed by suspects in the line of duty in 2015, a decrease of 20% from 2014 and the second-lowest total in the past 12 years.

    The data seem to undermine concerns that increased criticism of police, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, has fostered a “war on cops”.

    But but but …..

    Chuck Canterbury, president of the national Fraternal Order of Police, said he found the FBI data unconvincing. “I think they’re going up,” he said, citing the 17 officers killed by intentional gunfire so far in 2016. “This year’s numbers are up versus last year’s, and in 2015 there seemed to be quite a few towards the end of the year.”

    The FBI data include any non-accidental deaths of officers in the line of duty. All the officers killed in 2016 were killed either by gunshot, or by a suspect intentionally striking them with a vehicle.
    ….
    If this rate of fatal incidents held steady for the rest of the year, 48 officers would be killed: an increase from 2015 and the same number as 2014.

    Yeah, unskew those numbers.

    Harris said: “The truth is we really don’t know what has driven officer deaths down to this point, because there are fewer of them than there used to be. “But we can make some educated guesses, among those: better training and better policies and protocols.”

  90. 90.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    I don’t even accept “Berniebros” as a category of people

    Jeez, Kay. I don’t like the Bros, but I wouldn’t dehumanize them like that.

  92. 92.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    I think we’ll be able to look to the VP pick for a hint of how the Clinton people feel about the campaign- if it’s a “newer” Democrat (more centrist, VA or Colorado, basically higher income/ college educated voters ) then they’re betting more on that CO/VA map and less on a map that relies upon OH. Ideally they would want both- 2 routes are better than 1- but latinos have no real relevance in OH as far as carrying the state- there just aren’t enough of them.

    I feel like Perez meets about every requirement- labor, Latino, AA (he is a voting rights warrior) but no one listens to me :)

  93. 93.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Okay, Baud, clearer, I thought “Berniebros” was bullshit. It’s as much bullshit as “Clinton supporters are older females”. Both attacks were unnecessary and untrue.

  95. 95.

    amk

    spiro who, shrub sr, quail, darth – rethugs seemed happy about those ‘inspiring’ veeps unlike the dems, who need pickmeups for each and every political choice. Sheesh.

  96. 96.

    Schlemazel

    @divF:
    it has gotten a lot more diverse since my youth. We have the largest Hmong population in the US and one of the largest East African refugee communities. The state is no longer the Aryan bastion it was

    But speaking of weather – many TV stations in Canada give the weather reports for Florida ever day. Apparently half the country spends time there

  97. 97.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I don’t care that much. I don’t think the VP matters unless it’s disastrous- Sarah Palin. I actually thought Biden got too much credit for (supposedly) “validating” Obama in OH and PA. Obama was popular in his own right and Democrats rejected Biden when he ran for Prez. I think people like Chris Matthews needed proof of their lunch bucket theory so they turned Biden into workingman, which he never was.

  100. 100.

    Weaselone

    @Kay:

    Biden probably matters in a lot of areas, but as far as the campaigns went, he was valuable in 2008 in assuaging the democratic establishment and very concerned beltway media regarding Obama’s lack of experience. In 2012 he basically capped any bounce Romney would have gotten off from Obama’s poor first debate showing by trouncing Ryan in the VP debate to the extent that even my father was retreating memes about an old man beating up a young guy on TV.

    Realistically, whoever Hillary picks as VP isn’t going to hand her victory in a couple of key states. It’s more likely to fit into some kind of positive narrative that bolsters her chances in November. It could be someone that gets played as on olive branch to Bernie supporters or demonstrates her commitment to the minority voters that turned out for her. It could be used to address a criticism. Someone who has a more dovish reputation to counter the warmonger charges, or someone with unimpeachable credentials on tackling Wall Street corruption for example.

  101. 101.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay: VP picks are way over rated electoral politics, but they can make a difference in an administration, see: Bush/Cheney

  104. 104.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    it promotes objectification and it creates an unhealthy body ideal which no regular person could possibly meet, which in turn damages self esteem, especially among the young and it sparks dangerous appetite disorders with too many.

  108. 108.

    PurpleGirl

    @Schlemazel: Yup, a lot of Canadians spend the winter in places like Fort Lauderdale. They are snow birds. In fact many restaurants and stores have signs, menus and such in both English and French,

  109. 109.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    If I were a betting woman I’d put money on Hickenlooper, although I prefer Perez.

    I love Perez.

    Good public servant. Consistently on the side of what’s good and right.

    He pretty much rebuilt the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department from scratch.

  112. 112.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    I feel like Perez meets about every requirement- labor, Latino, AA (he is a voting rights warrior) but no one listens to me :)

    Voting rights, fair housing…he has the bonafides.

    He’s the real deal.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    Anyone here watch Orphan Black?

    I have enjoyed this season for the most part.

    I think that the clones are wrong for not bringing Krystal in and telling her the truth.

    This is the second time that she’s rolled up on an entity that would do the clones harm, and she continues to be left in the dark. That’s wrong of them. Sure, she peddles in ‘ out there’ conspiracy theories, and even though the truth is insane, she’d be better protected, if only to know that she’s not alone. I understand why MK did what she did to Ferdinand, even if I disagreed with it. MK is too lone wolf – not dependable. Krystal would be dependable.

  116. 116.

    rikyrah

    Congressional Republicans balk at taking Zika threat seriously
    05/17/16 08:00 AM
    By Steve Benen
    It’s been three months since the White House, working in coordination with the CDC and public-health experts, first sent Congress a $1.9 emergency budget request to address the Zika virus threat. The Republican majority has spent every week since looking for an excuse to do nothing.

    The good news is, House GOP leaders unveiled their proposal yesterday to address the emergency. The bad news is, the Republican bill is practically a punch-line to a bad joke. The Hill reported:
    House Republicans on Monday introduced a bill to provide $622 million in additional funding to fight the Zika virus this year.

    The measure is fully paid for, in part by shifting over unspent money that was intended to fight Ebola, the House Appropriations Committee said. The House is likely to vote on the bill, which would provide a fraction of the $1.9 billion requested by the White House, this week.
    Keep in mind, Senate Republicans endorsed a $1.1 billion emergency package last week, which falls far short of what the administration and public-health experts believe is necessary. But the House GOP sees that bill as too generous, so Republicans in the lower chamber cut that total roughly in half.

  117. 117.

    LAO

    To those who share my “love” of all things Bundy, I see the government has responded to Ammon’s motion to dismiss. I know what I’ll be doing when I get into the office today.

    And yes, I know, I need to get a life.

  118. 118.

    rikyrah

    The enthusiastic embrace of ignorance
    05/17/16 08:40 AM
    By Steve Benen

    President Obama delivered a powerful commencement address at Rutgers University over the weekend, taking some time to celebrate knowledge and intellectual pursuits. “Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science – these are good things,” the president said, implicitly reminding those who may have forgotten. “These are qualities you want in people making policy.”

    He added, “Class of 2016, let me be as clear as I can be. In politics, and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not ‘keeping it real,’ or ‘telling it like it is.’ That’s not challenging ‘political correctness.’ That’s just not knowing what you’re talking about.”

    Donald Trump heard this and apparently took it personally. The presumptive Republican nominee responded last night with arguably the most important tweet of the 2016 presidential campaign to date:

    “ ‘In politics, and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.’ This is a primary reason that President Obama is the worst president in U.S. history!”

    I assumed someone would eventually tell the GOP candidate why this was unintentionally hilarious, prompting him to take it down, but as of this morning, Trump’s message remains online.

    In case it’s not blisteringly obvious, candidates for national office generally don’t argue publicly that ignorance is a virtue. But Donald Trump is a different kind of candidate, offering an enthusiastic, albeit unconventional, embrace of ignorance.

  119. 119.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @burnspbesq: Whoo boy:

    • “We support the adoption of human embryos and the banning of human embryo trafficking.”

    • “We oppose mandatory pre-school and kindergarten.”

    • “Legislators shall prohibit reproductive health care services, including counseling, referrals, and distribution of condoms and contraception through public schools.”

    • “We support the return to the precious metal standard for the United States dollar.”

    • “We support the repeal of the Community Reinvestment Act.”

    • “We support building a high wall with a wide gate in order to prevent illicit border crossings without preventing legal border crossings as one part of a complete border security plan. The wall will only be built where it is deemed effective and cost-efficient.”

    That’s a hoot.

  120. 120.

    rikyrah

    Huh?

    HUH?

    Republican senator draws parallel between his campaign, 9/11
    05/16/16 11:20 AM
    By Steve Benen
    Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is among this year’s most vulnerable incumbents, so it’s tempting to assume he’d be extra cautious when making his pitch to voters. If this Politico report is any indication, the Wisconsin Republican is going in the opposite direction.

    Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson on Saturday compared the 2016 election to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying he is “panicked” about this “consequential” year.

    Johnson was speaking this weekend at the Wisconsin Republican Party convention in Green Bay, and he made the comments as he was telling those who attended the function the story of Flight 93 – the airliner that ultimately crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001. The crash occurred after the passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers rather than have the plane continue toward the hijackers’ intended target.

    According to the Associated Press’ account, Johnson told Republicans, “We’ve all heard Todd Beamer’s iconic words ‘Let’s roll,’” referring to United Flight 93. “How American is that? We have a job to do, let’s roll up our shirt sleeves. Let’s get it done.”

  125. 125.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Schlemazel:

    But speaking of weather – many TV stations in Canada give the weather reports for Florida ever day. Apparently half the country spends time there

    It’s down to half now?

  126. 126.

    Miss Bianca

    @divF: Hickenlooper not the safest choice for us in CO, thank you. The chances of a RWNJ becoming our next Governor are not small. I think the “safest” choice is that guy Cordray everyone was buzzing about a few days ago, myself.

  127. 127.

    rikyrah

    May 16, 2016 4:00 PM
    Thanks to Republicans, We Now Have Two Dysfunctional Branches of Government
    By Nancy LeTourneau

    Today, the Supreme Court decided to not decide in the case of Zubik v. Burwell. Dahlia Lithwick gives us the scoop.

    Zubik v. Burwell, the religious challenge to the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act, could well have been this year’s Hobby Lobby—a fight to the death about whether religious employers could withhold certain contraception from employees based on the employers religious objections. But instead of ruling on the merits of the case, or breaking any new ground at all on the pitched battle between a woman’s right to seamless contraceptive coverage and the religious objections of her boss, the Supreme Court simply sent the case back to the lower courts Monday, with an unsigned order asking the courts of appeals to attempt to work it out, based on some extra briefing that parties did after the case was argued in March.

    Two things seem pretty clear: (1) the current court was 4/4 on this case, and (2) if Justice Scalia were still alive, this case would have gone the wrong way for those who support women’s reproductive freedom.

    But it’s also hard to miss the connection between the current deadlock in the Supreme Court and the ongoing dysfunction we’re witnessing in Congress. The former is a result of Republican’s refusal to even consider President Obama’s nominee to the high court and the latter is a due to their unwillingness to negotiate and compromise. That leaves us with only one functioning branch of the federal government – the executive. This is no way to run a democracy. And it’s also why elections matter.

  128. 128.

    ruemara

    @Kay: OK, the Clinton thing is untrue, but how you can say there’s no such thing as Berniebros at this time, I don’t know. Obviously the abuse hurling protestors and online stalking is fictional then.

    @rikyrah: sadly, I’ve given up on catching up with Orphan Black. No time. I’ll catch it on the synopsis.

    Thanks for the cat pictures. They look like my two long passed kittens, Butter (ginger) & Smudge (tuxedo). Butter thought his butt should be on Smudge for always.

  130. 130.

    rikyrah

    uh huh
    uh huh

    ………….

    The fallout from Nevada’s Democratic unrest
    05/17/16 09:23 AM
    By Steve Benen
    In contemporary politics, when there are reports of partisan activists making death threats, throwing chairs, and scrawling ugly messages on walls, it’s easy to assume Donald Trump supporters are responsible. But in Nevada, it’s actually Bernie Sanders’ proponents.

    …………………

    If state party officials were, in fact, responsible for genuine abuses at the convention, perhaps some of the outrage would at least be understandable, but Jon Ralston, Nevada’s top political reporter, published a piece late yesterday saying that the opposite is true.

    Despite their social media frothing and self-righteous screeds, the facts reveal that the Sanders folks disregarded rules, then when shown the truth, attacked organizers and party officials as tools of a conspiracy to defraud the senator of what was never rightfully his in the first place.

    Instead of acknowledging they were out-organized by a Clinton campaign chastened by county convention results and reanimated to cement the caucus numbers at the Paris, the Sanders folks have decided to cry conflagration in a crowded building, without regard to what they burn down in the process.

    Last night, the state party also lodged a formal complaint with the Democratic National Committee against the Sanders campaign. It concluded:

    “The people who fostered, encouraged, and gained from the unsettling scenes at the Nevada State Democratic Convention bring dishonor and discredit to our state and national parties. Having seen up close the lack of conscience or concern for the ramifications of their actions – indeed, the glee with which they engaged in such destructive behavior – we expect similar tactics at the National Convention in July.”

  131. 131.

    aimai

    @rikyrah: We had to save this season until my older daughter came home from college,and now the 11th grader is too busy for binge watching, so we have only seen the first four episodes. I’m so confused, I don’t have time to critique anything. Hope we manage to binge watch the rest soon. And then: the Americans.

  132. 132.

    Linnaeus

    Since folks are sharing links, I’ll share one:

    How free market ideology perverts the vocabulary of democracy:

    Why is there no outcry about these oligarchical and aristocratic methods? Is it because plutocrats have power over the mechanisms of representation and repression? Is it, in short, about power? In my view, power can’t explain why voters are so enthusiastically voting for the very people who promise the least democratic outcomes. Nor are Americans knowingly rejecting democratic ideals. Instead, I see an anti-democratic ideology at work, inverting the meaning of democratic vocabulary and transforming it into propaganda.

  133. 133.

    aimai

    @Kay: I think the amount of poutrage over some random people calling some other random people a marginally insulting name, like “berniebros” or–the lastest “Bernie Fans” in a twitter post is just jaw droppingly stupid. I’m sorry to tell you that but its true. I don’t care if people call Hillary supporters Hillbots or whatever. Its just not an important issue in the campaign. And the fact that Bernie’s supporters have coalesced around these and other identity politics grievances, trying to turn random observations about their behavior into some kind of grand insult worthy of revolt against a brutal establishment is just risible.

    Specific, actual, Bernie supporters, of many ages and sexes, but particularly older white male supporters, have engaged in gamergater like/bro like behavior. It may be insulting to other bernie supporters that they get tarred with the same brush, but its not some kind of enormous thought crime that people looking at behavior like we are seeing online and in person at the Paris Hotel, are calling out this horrendous behavior.

  134. 134.

    J R in WV

    @burnspbesq:

    Now what did I ever do to you to give you the idea that it would be a good thing for me to see that? i thought we had a good relationship, two minds that rarely meet but don’t throw flaming gobs of shite at one another, either!

    But no, you throw the TX GOP Permanent Platform at me, while I’m drinking my first cuppa coffee. Is it funny? You know, in that bad funny way?

  135. 135.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Baud: Don’t think anyone thought to take a photo, at least not after I arrived ~17:45 (#6 out of 10-11). Given my dumbassphone’s 1.2Mp joke of a camera, it never occurred to me.

    ETA: Otherwise not all that much to report. Fado’s is so unsoundproofed that you couldn’t hear anyone >5 ft away so things devolved to conversations between 3 or 4 folks.

  136. 136.

    D58826

    As the nominee somebody is going to feel the Bern:

    Vermont college that Bernie Sanders’s wife once led is closing

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/05/16/vermont-college-that-bernie-sanderss-wife-once-led-is-closing/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202

    And while the following link is to an attack ad from his 2014 re-election campaign that 200k severance package Jane received certainly meets the qualifications of – if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it is a golden parachute

    Attack Ad Hits Sanders With Charge of ‘Golden Parachute’

    I though Bernie was opposed to wall street golden parachutes? Oh well what is good for me is bad for thee I guess. You think the Donald won’t bring this up if Bernie is the nominee. It certainly throws a bit of dust on the white knights armor.
    http://digital.vpr.net/post/attack-ad-hits-sanders-charge-golden-parachute?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202#stream/0

    And Bernie seems to have the same problem with math that the GOP has :

    Sanders is making fantastical promises that are unfeasible. Eventually someone has to pay the bills for his promised “revolution.” Studies published last week by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center and the Urban Institute concluded that Sanders’s plans are short a total of more than $18 trillion over a decade. “His programs would cost the federal government about $33 trillion over that period … yet he has put forward just $15 trillion in new taxes,” Wonkblog’s Max Ehrenfreund explained

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/09/the-17-trillion-problem-with-bernie-sanderss-health-care-plan-2/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202

    There are a couple of other items on the

    such as

    Jane Sanders holds a doctorate in Leadership and Policy Studies from the Union Institute, a nontraditional school that critics sometimes call a diploma mill. Union made national headlines during the 2012 campaign because Marcus Bachmann, husband of then-Representative Michele Bachmann, also received his doctorate there

    OOPs politics does make strange bed fellows

    and

    CNN: A loan application that Jane signed apparently overstated the amount of pledged donations Burlington College had when acquiring the land. The school took a $6.7 million loan. The Vermont Journalism Trust first reported last year that she told People’s United Bank that the college had $2.6 million in pledged donations to support the purchase: “The college, however, received only $676,000 in actual donations from 2010 through 2014 … Burlington College also cited a $1 million bequest as a pledged donation that would be paid out over six years, even though the money would only be available after the donor’s death.”

    No reason a socialist can use the corrupt system to her advantage.
    http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/jane-sanders-burlington-college/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202

    The Washington Free Beacon reported in January that, when Jane was president, the college also enrolled students at a woodworking school run by her daughter and spent more than half a million dollars on the endeavor, which ended not long after she left.

    keeping it in the family
    http://freebeacon.com/politics/sanders-and-wife-steered-campaign-nonprofit-money-to-family-and-friends/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202

    Jane has also profited off Bernie’s campaigns: She received $91,020 between 2002 and 2004 for “consultation” and to negotiate the purchase of television and radio time-slots for Sanders’ advertisements, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported in 2006.

    No wonder she doesn’t want to release the family tax returns.
    http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/datelinedc/s_479239.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202

    So what does it all prove – Bernie and Jane are just like any other political family – skeletons in the closet, looking out for number 1 and making sure friends and family are not forgotten when it comes time to divide up the political spoils. Now maybe this is just ‘small time’ corruption in comparison to the ‘BIG TIME corrupt Clintons’ but then the Sanders were playing in a very small pond. Imagine what they could have done in New York. I’m sure all of this was known to the Clinton campaign and they just chose, for strategic reasons, to keep it quiet. The GOP will be more than happy to spread the word and Bernie will spend the entire campaign trying to explain it all away.

    Most of this come from

    You are receiving this email because you signed up for the The Daily 202 newsletter or were registered on washingtonpost.com. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here

    which I get in my e-mail but havn’t figured out how to inmclude as a link

  137. 137.

    Shell

    Yesterday was so beautiful here, if windy and, still, chilly. But today we’re back to gray, gloom and more rain. I can’t believe they’re still talking about a rain deficit.

  139. 139.

    Kay

    @aimai:

    I honestly see it on both sides. Not you! i actually like my new name of cassandra! :)

    I AM a little worried about November. I see some weakness in the Democratic coalition, just as a practical matter. I think it’s much less united than people think, and that was masked by the insane meltdown in the GOP. It’s not Clinton’s fault- it’s just fractious and disunited for a number of reasons.

    I think there was a rush on both sides to define the other and it wasn’t helpful. It’s politics, it’s adversarial- I have no problem with that. i just don’t see either side as holding the higher ground on name-calling and pushing huge narratives.

  140. 140.

    HinTN

    Alistair looks just like (color and size) our friend’s neighbor’s cat, whose name is Mac ‘n’ Cheese

  141. 141.

    Miss Bianca

    @Kay: I’m listening. Also, I’m praying that her VP pick is *not* Hickenlooper. Perez would be fine by me!

  142. 142.

    Iowa Old Lady

    I’ve said before that I find it useful sometimes to put on my mom hat when I’m talking about people’s actions. Right now, the part of the Mom Handbook that’s more useful is the one you consult when you say, “Sonny, you did wrong,” and Sonny says “Susie up the street did worse!” and you say “I’m not talking about Susie. I’m talking about you.”

  143. 143.

    MomSense

    @rikyrah:

    Interesting. I’m not sure how I feel about it at this point so I’m just along for the ride and continuing to marvel at how one actress can create so many distinct and interesting characters at the same time.

  144. 144.

    Kay

    I went to dinner with my book club last night- they’re 80% GOP- and I would just like you to know they have nothing on the gender/bathroom issue. They’re incoherently and hugely opposed to the US Dep of Ed warning, but none of them can articulate why.

    They were like “people will attack people in bathrooms!” and I said “but that’s illegal and it’s still illegal” and then it just went to swearing at Obama under their breath :)

  145. 145.

    rikyrah

    @MomSense:

    Interesting. I’m not sure how I feel about it at this point so I’m just along for the ride and continuing to marvel at how one actress can create so many distinct and interesting characters at the same time

    I know that the creators of the show wake up everyday and say, ‘thank you higher power for Tatiana Meslany seeing the advertisement of our audition’.

    They can’t believe their luck. The entire show is based upon us believing that these are distinct characters and Tatiana has done that.

    They got the equivalent of lightening in a bottle when they found her.

  146. 146.

    Kay

    One of them came up with this risky scenario- girl who identifies as boy goes into boy’s bathroom at school, gets beat up.

    But kids aren’t allowed to beat anyone up at school for any reason – sometimes they do but they get suspended. I don’t know why this instance of possible beating up would be particularly egregious or special.

  147. 147.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    They were like “people will attack people in bathrooms!” and I said “but that’s illegal and it’s still illegal” and then it just went to swearing at Obama under their breath :)

    Kay,

    I wonder…is there ANYTHING that they find positive about the President?

    Like, he’s a good husband and a good father?

    They might not like his policies, but is there nothing good about POTUS for him?

    What about FLOTUS?

  148. 148.

    Cat48

    I hope Obama/Hillary together can get Hispanics & Blacks out & maybe Bernie could gotv the younger folks. I’m scared too since the Orangeman is going to attack Clinton personally during debates. It makes me sick…..

  149. 149.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    What about FLOTUS?

    Healthy food in schools and exercise. These are the elusive “college educated moderates”. They approve of healthy food and exercise for children. Kasich’s wife pushes the same thing, which probably helps. I actually love Michelle Obama’s food thing, because the untold story there is that she was opposed by people who make a lot of money selling garbage food to children. That’s what GOP House members were upset about. They could give a shit whether kids eat kale or not.

  151. 151.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    While the Let’s Move! initiative was still being shaped in late 2009, the Obama administration began parallel negotiations with the biggest players in the food industry. As word spread that the first lady had nutrition and childhood obesity in her sights, lobbying shops across Washington barraged their White House contacts with meeting requests to learn more about the new administration’s intentions toward their business. “You had a number of food companies who were scared to death,” recalled Sean McBride, a food industry consultant who at the time worked for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a powerful trade group. “The impetus to bow to it … to collaborate was very high.”

    These people would literally kill children if they weren’t stopped :)

    Kids could be 500 pounds and wheezing and they’d STILL be shoving garbage at them. School lunches were like frozen pizza with a side of fries. Just appalling.

  152. 152.

    LAO

    @Kay:

    One of them came up with this risky scenario- girl who identifies as boy goes into boy’s bathroom at school, gets beat up.

    Its sad (not Trump Sad!) that the impulse isn’t to teach our children not to be hateful, little bullys.

  154. 154.

    Matt McIrvin

    @rikyrah:

    What about FLOTUS?

    The stuff aimed at Michelle is usually where the really hardcore racism comes out.

    Even the softer forms of racism, actually. Older white liberals have told me that Barack is all right but Michelle’s pursuit of racial grievances is way too radical, that when she talks about black youth she just doesn’t see that poor whites have it just as bad. Which is bizarre to me, given the fairly anodyne things she actually says in public; it’s the persistence of the whole “Stokely Carmichael in a dress” notion, I guess.

  155. 155.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: Besides, what actually seems to be happening is mostly that the opposition to this is inspiring people to harass women who go to women’s bathrooms while having short hair.

  156. 156.

    Kay

    @LAO:

    I feel like Dr. Seuss with these people “can you hit him in a dress?” “not in a dress not at the mess, not in a house not with a mouse..”

    No hitting, no attacking, no assault. That covers all of it.

  157. 157.

    LAO

    @Kay: I’m going to memorize that — I like it and will use it. But, since I live in the Bluest of blue states, in one of the bluest cities — I’m afraid I will not get the chance to use it.

    I’ve said it here before, the “Great Bathroom Freakout of 2016” boggles me. I’ve been using public women’s restrooms for many, many years and I have never seen a stranger’s genitalia. I assume I’m doing it wrong.

  158. 158.

    Kay

    @LAO:

    I’m not that sympathetic to people who want “privacy” in public places. I knew I wasn’t in my home bathroom.

  159. 159.

    Aimai

    @rikyrah: yes. Ask them why a father who famously dotes on his daughters and wife would be putting them at risk? Talk about how teenagers who are vulnerable to being picked on need safe spaces and restroom access like anyone else. Slso piint out that if we want our college age kids to be competitive internationally they are going to have to relax and learn to handle modern bathroom etiquette.

  160. 160.

    Bob In Portland

    I came across a photocopy of Covert Action Information Bulletin from 1990 on the internet. It happens to go into many topics that I find myself butting heads over with the villagers here.

    I realize that most of the people here have a looping defense mechanism to remain pure and separated from information that does not conform with their rigid views of reality. (Deny, demand proof, ignore proof, deny.) CAIB was a publication by Lou Wolf and a number of ex-CIA agents, like Agee, about various semi-illegal CIA operations and US foreign policy.

    It’s got articles on the Free Congress Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy, two organizations used to penetrate Eastern European political structures, generally with reactionaries and former collaborators with Nazis. If anyone here wants to understand my point of view regarding the US and Ukraine, it’s a good place to start. I am afraid that the most ardent villagers will ignore the information.

    Also, there is a copy of the original publication of Carl Oglesby’s “Treaty of Fort Hunt” which explains the American absorption of Reinhard Gehlen’s operation at the end of WWII.

    I presume, like other articles I’ve linked to, that most BJers will continue to protect themselves from threats to their agreed-upon understanding of the world and ignore this.

    However, from an historical point of view, this was information available back in 1990 whose circulation has been hindered by our incurious mainstream media. It’s there for you. Twenty-five years old.

    There is also an article about CIA involvement in the S&L scandal.

    Hopefully, some of the dissenters from the standard BJ mindset will have the courage to just read the articles.

    Here.

  161. 161.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Bob In Portland:

    I realize that most of the people here have a looping defense mechanism to remain pure and separated from information that does not conform with their rigid views of reality.

    “Most of the people”, I suspect, includes Bob in Portland. I asked last night, but got no response. I am curious. Have you read anyone who does not conform to *your* rigid view of reality? Have you read Conquest, or Applebaum, or Snyder? Solzhenitsyn? Orlando Figes?

  162. 162.

    Bob In Portland

    @Gin & Tonic: Oh, to a large extent I think everyone has the same defense mechanism.

    As far as Applebaum, she is married to a Polish politician and has been part of the NED/FCF infiltration of Eastern Europe on behalf of our corporatists (which is why I recommended the link to the issue of CAIB from 1990). I used to read her at Slate, but she’s easily understood as part of the Clinton/Nuland/PNAC core at the State Department. As far as Conquest, there are a number of books with Conquest in the title, I’m not sure of your reference. The inclusion of Solzhenitsyn seems to indicate that you want me to read anti-communist versions of history. I have no disagreement that Stalin was an awful person and was responsible for a lot of deaths, as were Andrew Jackson, and a number of other more recent American presidents. Historically, eastern Europe has been conquered and reconquered by its neighbors multiple times, most recently by the Soviets after WWII. In the thirties General Petain saluted Nazi Germany as a “cordon sanitaire” against communism. After WWII the Soviet Union tried to do the same with eastern Europe. Neither was successful in the long run.

    Unfortunately, most of current regimes in eastern Europe are connected to the late eighties/early nineties infiltration of those governments by the residua of old fascist movements reintroduced by the US. Stirring up historical grievances to advance the agenda of others is bad in my book. That’s why this is so important to read in order to understand my opinions on Ukraine.

    My bottom line is that while those countries formerly behind the Iron Curtain should be free of imposition of government from the outside, pushing all Soviet influence out and reintroducing the fascist residua is not only not good for the many minorities within each country, it is dangerous for world peace. Yesterday one of the BJers was having a vigorous imagining of going to war against Russia (not a particularly good idea, mutual assured destruction and all). When the US backed the Maidan coup, it unleashed a lot of fascists who, having been raised to hate Russians, was immediately at war with the half of the people, ethnic Russians, who constituted what was the former Ukraine.

    Was I “overalarmed” by this fascist coup? Well, because we cannot predict the future most of my dire predictions did not happen. Yet. The coup government of Ukraine, in attacking Donbass (and that’s what happened), created this mess with the encouragement of the US. It is unlikely that Ukraine will ever be reunited. The talk of and attempts at ethnic cleansing will be hard to forget by the people of Donbass.

    Likewise, Russia’s seizure of Crimea won’t be reversed. First, like Donbass it is majority ethnic Russian and has a long history as an integral part of Russia, so with the exception of perhaps some in the Tatar community most Crimeans are happy with the current status. Second, Crimea is strategic for Russia. The Russians will not surrender it to a country that is anti-Russian and collaborating with the US against Russia.

    The Tatar community was used extensively during WWII by the Nazis to kill ethnic Russians. After WWII Stalin relocated most Tatars to Khazakstan (if I recall correctly) and subsequently a sizeable group moved back to the area. The US’s use of Salafist revolutionaries (mostly through the House of Saud), such as in Afghanistan and Chechnya, was apparently on the drawing board for Crimea, as a revival of the Nazi ethnic warfare. It hasn’t been successful yet and most likely won’t be with the number of Russian forces based there.

    Ukraine can still create mischief for Russia. As long as Russian natural gas passes across its territory Ukraine will be valuable as a weapon in the US’s war to control energy and energy markets. Also, western corporations are apparently securing large tracts of farmland for use as a breadbasket for European markets. It should be noted that western industrial farming generally destroys private farms. Otherwise, Ukraine is now a broken state, its bones being picked by the west. Will further fracturing occur? If it’s in the West’s interests.

    One thing you should understand. While you and other BJers can create your reality by ignoring dissenting opinions, a dissenter finds it more more difficult to ignore the MSM. It’s there. So the slight difference is that I am aware of this information as well as what is repeated in the mainstream. That’s my advantage over most BJers.

  164. 164.

    Bob In Portland

    @Gin & Tonic: Not quite. I’ve read Applebaum, as I mentioned above. I also read a collection of poetry by Solzhenitsyn Have you read Russ Bellant? Have you read anything of what I linked to?

    You claim to have read my link to The Nation interview with Russ Bellant, and critiqued it, but I have no recollection of that. So do you believe that the US worked with Nazi/fascist residua in eastern Europe or do you not? I don’t expect an answer, which seems to indicate that your bubble is being protected. So you’re still at a disadvantage.

    And thus you again resist another dialogue because of fear that your version of reality can’t withstand alternate opinions.

    I am reminded of Mnem and her refusal to accept that JFK was murdered in a coup. The problem with accepting that is that it leads to all sorts of problems with the current state of affairs, like your inability to understand American uses of the Nazi residua, to include in Ukraine. If JFK was murdered in a coup, what happened to those who supported it? Where are they and their heirs now? Likewise, by admitting that the US imported Nazis and fascists into the US after WWII and have used them and their children to infiltrate eastern Europe, your glorious revolution becomes something less. You can’t handle the truth.

    I hope that some of the dissidents here read and consider them.

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