Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Infrastructure week. at last.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

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

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

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

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

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

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Republicans in disarray!

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

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

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

We still have time to mess this up!

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

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

In my day, never was longer.

You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Don't Mourn, Organize / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Interesting Times

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Interesting Times

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As the expression goes: Not the Onion.

… We are working to schedule a March for Science on DC and across the United States. We have not settled on a date yet but will do so as quickly as possible and announce it here.

Although this will start with a march, we hope to use this as a starting point to take a stand for science in politics. Slashing funding and restricting scientists from communicating their findings (from tax-funded research!) with the public is absurd and cannot be allowed to stand as policy. This is a non-partisan issue that reaches far beyond people in the STEM fields and should concern anyone who believes in empirical research and science.

There are certain things that we accept as facts with no alternatives. The Earth is becoming warmer due to human action. The diversity of life arose by evolution. Politicians who devalue expertise risk making decisions that do not reflect reality and must be held accountable. An American government that ignores science to pursue ideological agendas endangers the world…

Much depends on the Parks Service calendar, of course… Be nice to have it on Pi Day, March 14th, but many people can only take the time on a weekend. March 12th is the start of Daylight Savings Time… Spring forward!…

Maybe they can use this as an anthem:

(The official video is awesome, also too.)

Reader Interactions

213Comments

  1. 1.

    Mary G

    We’re going to have to march for something every weekend for the next four years, but I am fired up by these brave people.

  2. 2.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Some morning thoughts:

    1. The banality of evil – most of the Nazi leadership consisted mediocre men, either in accomplishment or morals, sometimes both. I see Trump as the most mediocre of men, with no genuine accomplishment, and no moral core. What has fueled his rise is the cushion of wealth and the confidence that the wealth and white privilege imbued. He surrounds himself with similar figures, and they’re drawn in like moths to a flame – when the collapse happens, it will be atrocious.

    2. The more I think about it, I really like the idea of a Democratic congressional walkout during the State of the Union address, started by the women. Designate one to make up her mind about the point at when she stands up, turns her back, and makes her way out. The rest of the women join her, and after the women go, so do the men.

    Let him sputter and insult from the dais.

    It could become a defining moment in American history.

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The leaks will become a flood of “unauthorized releases of information”. They can try to skew the unemployment #s**, but several nameless bureaucrats deep in the bowels of the US Depts of Labor and/or Commerce and/or Treasury will leak the real #’s to several reporters.

    **pick your stat- it won’t matter

  7. 7.

    gene108

    Trump is terrified angry bureaucrats will start dishing about how incompetent his Cabinet picks are.

    And he and his crew are fascist assholes, who want to use government power to warp reality.

    I wonder, if we will have a jobs report next Friday?

  9. 9.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Couple of other thoughts on “the demoralization of Donald Trump”:

    He couldn’t handle protestors outside his rallies or a few hecklers in the crowd with good grace or humor, and his ego fractures at the notion that millions may despise him, his family and his ersatz “accomplishments”. Knowledge that millions despise him and view him as illegitimate likely keeps him from sleeping.

    Keep it up. Make him miserable. Make him work. Make him more unhinged with each and every moment so that the XXV option becomes apparent to even Ben Carson, or the KFC grease coating his pulmonary artery does it’s fine and useful work.

    Pence can be suffered. This guy? No.

  10. 10.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @NotMax:

    I thought about that, but decided that the act of exit leaves him even more unhinged and off his stride.

    You do it silently, and let the women lead. Gillibrand or Warren first.

  12. 12.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @NotMax:

    God, the would be even better, and played out on television – someone with a clear way of speaking – again, Liz Warren – could say “I am not going to sit here and be harangued and lied to by this (tyrant/idiot/narcissist/moral midget – pick a term). I am exiting this chamber, and you don’t have the guts to stop me.”

    Let her be “arrested” by capitol police in a stunning scene.

  13. 13.

    p.a.

    Imagine the backstabbing going on to avoid being the person who has to bring him bad news. My image is the goblin telling Voldemort about the Gringott’s breakin. Couldn’t happen to a nicer group of turds.

  15. 15.

    AxelFoley

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    2. The more I think about it, I really like the idea of a Democratic congressional walkout during the State of the Union address, started by the women. Designate one to make up her mind about the point at when she stands up, turns her back, and makes her way out. The rest of the women join her, and after the women go, so do the men.

    Let him sputter and insult from the dais.

    It could become a defining moment in American history

    I love this idea.

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: WTF would the Sergeant at Arms do to people who try to peacefully leave? Arrest them? I can just see some over testosteroned guard putting Tammy Duckworth in a chokehold. Yeah, that’ll look real good on TV the next morning.

  21. 21.

    Sam

    I think it is hilarious. Trump thinks he is going to control the communication of millions of Federal employees? Never going to happen. Sure, he can defund science. Yes, it will slow progress. Will it stop? Will it change the truth? We have seen this movie before. I give you Galileo.

    I’m a scientist. I work in a building full of scientists. All working for DoD. A lot of them were at the Women’s March, and they will all turn out for the scientists’ march. Fired up and ready to go.

  24. 24.

    SectionH

    You want a slogan?

    WATCH US RUN!
    Run for school boards!
    Run for district boards!
    Run for state rep seats.
    There you are. There we start.

    We Run.

  25. 25.

    Darkrose

    I’m feeling pretty pessimistic. Warren voted to advance Carson’s nomination. Sanders is saying that he’ll work with Trump on trade. It feels like Dem leadership (and Bernie) is already set to cave, despite talking the talk on Saturday.

  28. 28.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Baud:

    Problem with audible interruptions is they’re seen as rude.

    Walkouts are polite.

  29. 29.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: they do not lock in congresscritters. That would make for even better theatre. You are already accepting our fascist future?

  30. 30.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @NotMax:

    The visuals of “locked in and forced to watch this idiot” would have a yuuuuuge effect on the self-perception of Americans as a “free” people, able to express themselves. Devastating on the international stage when Trump does his inevitable harangue of foreign states, too.

    There are consequences, but on balance, the benefits make us a far greater people.

  31. 31.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Darkrose:

    Nothing Sanders says matters. I think he’s drawing Democratic opposition next year, and even if he doesn’t, so long as we’re in a solid minority, I’m willing to support the R to get his ass gone.

    He’s a big part of why we’re here.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    @Immanetize

    It can be so ordered, however. These are not normal people and expecting them to act and react abnormally is now a given.

    Regardless, it’s all speculation as none of this is gonna happen.

  33. 33.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @amk: They staged a sit-in. IIRC Ryan had the cameras shut down**. Afterwards, I remember lots of threats but I do not recall any actual retaliation, and if there was any, it was well off camera.

    **or was that a vote with shenanigans? the gop has been pulling some epic stunts of late, it’s hard to keep track.

  34. 34.

    SectionH

    Never mind that shit. It was much too nice-making.

    We need a General Strike of ALL the US government agencies.

    ALL OF THEM, KATIE.

    No, srsly, NOTHING HAPPENS from any agency.

  36. 36.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: Ummm…. People go to prison for that kind of thing, especially when there is a fire and people can’t get out. In other words, no fucking way. That would be stupid beyond words.

    @NotMax: It can not be so ordered. I don’t care how much ‘power’ the Speaker has, if a Fire Marshall says “No.” it means No.

  40. 40.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Wonder if he’d order cameras shut down at SOTU?

    I have a strong suspicion that SOTU is going to be an epic shitshow. It will be the first time he speaks in front of a crowd where nearly half hate his fucking guts to the extent that would delay calling 911 if he had a coronary at the dais.

    Actually, I’m picturing that now:

    Donald sags at the podium, turns red and starts collapsing while gasping “I can’t breathe – call doctor”. Warren runs up and says “suck it up and walk it off, buttercup. What are you, some kind of loser pussy?”

  41. 41.

    amk

    The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

    On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

    mencken and orwell are fucking geniuses.

  42. 42.

    Kay

    Someone should ask the new AG if he believes that millions of people voted illegality.

    He has a lousy record on civil rights. The public deserve to know if he’s planning on doing his job and protecting voting rights. People need to plan ahead.

    Sessions enthusiastically backed Trump. Is Sessions a racist conspiracy theorist like President Trump? What does Sessions admire about Trump? The lying? The racism? Something else?

  46. 46.

    ThresherK

    @bystander: That’s a lot of throat lozenges!

    Fave sign seen:

    What do we want?

    EVIDENCE-BASED SCIENCE!

    When do we want it?

    AFTER PEER REVIEW!

  50. 50.

    Kay

    We need a numerical estimate on how many Sessions believed voted illegality and in which states. People can’t protect their own rights without better information on what the President and Attorney General believe. Trump said “3 to 5 million”. If 3 to 5 million are to be targeted for disenfranchisement we need to know where- state,county, precincts.

    Spicer said Trump believes this because of “information he has”. Is this like his birther beliefs where he claimed he had special, secret information? What are the administration plans to act on the President’s beliefs?

    If the President of the United States and his administration are accusing 3 to 5 million people of committing felony voter fraud obviously they have to investigate and prosecute that. Has President Trump spoken to Sessions about it? What did he say?

  51. 51.

    oldster

    If there is a march for scientists, then I’ll be there.

    Query: where can I find the best assembly of information detailing Trump’s ties to Russia?

    Could be in a newspaper or magazine, could be on a website (but not the Alex Jones of the left, please).

    Just some account that puts in one place the details about:
    Manafort’s work for Putin destabilizing Ukraine
    Trump’s meetings with Putin and his dealings with oligarchs
    Trump’s kids comments about Russian business dealings
    Flynn’s dinner with Putin
    Tillerson’s medal for being loyal to Putin
    and on and on

    Who has done the best round-up?

  52. 52.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Never having been there during session (or any other time for that matter), I do not know. What I do know is that such an arrangement is highly illegal anywhere else in the country. The # of things that can go wrong in 5 seconds is beyond counting (starting with “Oooops, I dropped the key” and then getting stomped to death by a hundred desperate people trying to get out).

    You can not lock doors so that people are unable to get out. You can not block doors so that people can’t get out. People die when these things are done.

  53. 53.

    dr. luba

    OT but it’s an open thread. Make your browsing much more pleasant with the Chrome “Make America Kittens Again” extension. Instead of the shitgibbon, your screen will display lovely pussies and moggies.

    It’s made my days ever more cheerful……and I no longer have the urge to stab my eyes out. Four stars.

  54. 54.

    Quinerly

    @Kay:
    NPR just reported on an early AM Trump tweet. He will order an investigation into voter fraud. Haven’t seen the tweet yet. In other news, the second US story all through the night on BBC was Trump’s tweet about Chicago and the National Guard.

  56. 56.

    Central Planning

    @bystander: I like that idea too. Perhaps shout “Liar!” for 3 lies but stay in the chamber. On the 4th, walk out yelling “Too many lies!” Best of both worlds!

  58. 58.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Baud:

    Doesn’t matter – he’s killing us with his “centrist Democrats are the real enemies” messaging.

    And it does good to lay waste to his political career and scatter the ashes, as a lesson to others so disposed.

  59. 59.

    AMinNC

    So a scientist-friend of mine (at Duke) was just talking about how he was incredibly pissed off at the latest Trump actions. I asked him if he thought this would fire up a lot of his colleagues to become more politically engaged, and he said he really thought it likely. Then I wake up to learn about the planned Scientists March in mid-March (shared the WaPo story linked above with him on FB). If we can have well-attended local marches every month or so, this will really mess with Trump, and hopefully scare the pants off GOP Congressional and state-level reps.
    March – The march for science and reality
    April – Tax Day March (I’d say this one should be about a couple of things – 1. Pressure Trump to release tax returns, which foregrounds conflicts of interest. 2. Stresses that taxes pay for public goods, the commonwealth: schools, parks, food inspection, disease research, Social Security, roads, etc that benefit ALL of us. 3. Highlight the unfairness of a tax code/economic system that privileges wealth over work.
    May – Summer is Coming Climate March

    You get the idea. I know it may lead to “protest fatigue” but being visible and vocal is going to be important.

  61. 61.

    debbie

    Wherever Trump travels, there should be people carrying signs saying, “No One Likes You.” Imagine his reaction!

  62. 62.

    Kay

    If targeted minority groups have to raise private funds and hire private lawyers to enforce federal law and protect their right to vote, shouldn’t we be able bill the Trump Administration? Why should we have to pay twice? We’re already paying Trump’s low quality hires to do that work. If they won’t do it has to be done by private sector lawyers and that costs money. It’s like a tax on the targeted voters, and they have enough to worry about without paying two sets of lawyers to do the same work.

  63. 63.

    Iowa Old Lady

    I can’t let go of the image of National Guard in the streets of a city. If you’ve never been there, it’s terrifying. In 1968, I was working a summer job in downtown Detroit when the riot happened and the Guard was deployed. So these young guys in camo, carrying huge guns, and driving vehicles you’ve only in the news are now on the streets where I’m walking to the office.

  64. 64.

    Quinerly

    The tweet this AM that Trump has asked for the voter fraud investigation was a 4:10AM. Someone is definitely NOT functioning on little sleep. First tweet of the AM.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    I’m looking forward to the propaganda fest at the SOTU. The President of the United States will have an hour to spread his lies far and wide. This is state-issued propaganda and you’re all paying for it. President Trump isn’t paying for it and either is the Republican Party. These are all public employees on the public dime.

  70. 70.

    Iowa Old Lady

    I don’t understand how Federal agencies can halt communication with anyone but the administration and still do their jobs. Their jobs involve interacting with the public. HHS, frex, sends out regulations on human subject research and then audits institutions to see if they’re complying. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood what’s now banned since I just skimmed headlines.

  71. 71.

    satby

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I agree. The kids who did swing to Clinton for the election are now getting a constant stream of bullshit updates from Wilmer about how he’s leading the glorious revolution all by his lonely self in the Senate. As if only he and not Warren, Booker, Franken, Schumer, Durbin, or anyone else on the D side is even there. And they’re falling for it no matter how I try to educate them (younger relatives).
    I seriously hate that backstabbing fucker.

  72. 72.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: I heart Claire this morn:

    Sen. Claire McCaskill pressed Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) on Tuesday at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on what he would do if Trump asked him to issue false data.

    McCaskill, who is ranking member of the committee, asked Mulvaney if he would resign in such a situation.

    Mulvaney, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, said that he believes “very firmly in real numbers.”

    “My job is to tell the President the truth. My job is to tell you the truth,” he said.

    “What if he tells you to say something other than the truth. Do you resign at that point?” McCaskill asked.

    “I don’t imagine the President of the United States would tell me to lie,” Mulvaney said.

    “I beg your pardon!” McCaskill said, raising her voice. “He told Sean Spicer to go out there and say things that were demonstrably untrue.”

    “My value in this job is my credibility when it comes to numbers,” Mulvaney said. “I don’t plan on exposing myself to claims of hypocrisy.”

  75. 75.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    I don’t understand how Federal agencies can halt communication with anyone but the administration and still do their jobs.

    I see you have divined their nefarious plans: They can’t.

  77. 77.

    Kay

    @Quinerly:

    I welcome President Trump’s and the Republican Party’s investigation of 3 to 5 million individual voters. Launch the inquisition. The last time Sessions targeted AA voters they won. Sessions had all the power and resources and the AA voters STILL won. Trump and Sessions will lose this time too. I suppose we should worry about fake prosecutions though, since the President and his administration blithely accused 5 million people of felony voter fraud. Who knows how irrational they are? Their beliefs aren’t based on facts. Will their investigations and prosecutions be based on facts?

  80. 80.

    Quinerly

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    This might be the earliest tweet so far. Seems to be from the Android. Do we think the phone is even secure? OK, do we think he can even last 6 months at this rate?

  81. 81.

    Lurking Canadian

    @Baud: If they walk out (which they should) and Ryan orders the doors locked (which I doubt) that’s when they should completely lose their shit, start up some kind of chant on the general theme of “this is not how we do things in America!” and (peacefully) surround the dais and shout over Trump. If Ryan locks them in, it’s a Constitutional crisis and it’s for keeps.

    What I think Congressional Dems should do is go on strike. Send one Rep and one Senator each day to the chamber, with orders to repeat the same talking points over and over (shame on you, the President’s a nutcase, shame on you, the President’s a nutcase) while the rest of the Dem contigent is either on the steps talking to reporters, or in their home state/district campaigning for 2018.

    One of the lessons we learned during the Obama years is that cloture requires an affirmative 60 votes in favour. You don’t need 40 votes against. One D is all you need so McConnell loses a bunch of cloture votes 53-1.

    Things are not normal in America. That needs to be the message.

  82. 82.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Baud:

    I thought Our Progressive Betters hated her for her impurities, which makes me appreciate her more.

  85. 85.

    Kay

    I love the shock and dismay that Trump hired a pack of liars. Of course he did. He’s a bad hire and he hires people like himself. They’ll all be crap. Trump is using his own judgment. It’s garbage so his hires are garbage. It can’t work any other way.

  89. 89.

    Quinerly

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Thanks for posting. She’s the best we can get in Missouri. A St. Louis purity pony was bashing her on another thread yesterday. She’s not my favorite but I did host a “Cocktails for Claire” at my home when she ran. They were big in St. Louis and I guess all over the state. We have got to pick our battles. She knows it and I think she comes off great on camera and in interviews. In related news, you could have hugged her, too, at the march if you hadn’t drunk so much damn coffee at Billie’s Fine Foods beforehand.?

  90. 90.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Kay:

    Say it often, say it loud, say it proud – he’s that fuckin’ guy. He’s the home builder or renovation guy who took the deposit, started the work, pulled the first draw, and then you realize that the work is slow and shoddy, done by third rate subs. When you confront him, he blames you and complains that his estimate wasn’t high enough to get the job done the way contemplated, and needs to be renegotiated.

    THAT is what Trump is, and why I despise him.

  91. 91.

    NotMax

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Congress is exempt from enforcement of local regulations. For example, no fire escapes required on the exterior of the Capitol.

    Look, I’m not suggesting this will occur, merely putting out that there is nothing preventing it. Standing, backs turned, in the chamber avoids escalation to physical confrontation.

  92. 92.

    Quinerly

    @debbie:
    I’m normally a 5 AM riser but for the last 10 days on “Trump Time.” Another reason I wish him dead. Yes,I said it. I really want him to suffer.

  93. 93.

    cmorenc

    @gene108:

    And he and his crew are fascist assholes, who want to use government power to warp reality.

    I wonder, if we will have a jobs report next Friday?

    You won’t believe what a great job report will be released Friday, it’ll be so great you’ll get tired of what great job reports those will be.

  94. 94.

    Quinerly

    Ohio SOS, who is a Republican, pushing back hard on this 4:10 AM Trump tweet calling for a voter fraud investigation

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Oh, and nowhere did I say lock the doors (that was someone else). I specifically said block the doors.

    There do exist jail cells in the basement at least nominally under the purview of the sergeants-at-arms. Using them would be ugly, autocratic and heavy-handed almost beyond belief, but you can bet your last simoleon the “lock ’em up” crowd would cheer.

  96. 96.

    Ohio Mom

    @Kay: Kay, I’ve been waiting for you. Can you give me some insight about Sherrod Brown’s vote for Carson? Why? What do we get in return for going along? I mean, I still adore Sherrod, this isn’t going to change that. But I am puzzled.

  97. 97.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Quinerly: I agree with Claire on policy somewhere between 60-70% of the time. But I have always admired and respected her. One tough broad (to be polite, my oldest Sis would have used the other “B” word) does not mince her words and won’t let anyone weasel their way out of a question.

  98. 98.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    This isn’t a coupe so much as Trump and his Trumpkins are trying to run the Federal government like a company. Clueless idiots.

  99. 99.

    Tokyokie

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Although I agree he is that guy, it’s more succinct to say he never negotiated a deal with anybody that he planned to honor. But the morons who voted to stick it to the uppity black guy will have to learn the hard way that they were providing a “mandate” to this psychotic spawn of mammon to slash their Social Security and Medicare and end federally funded medical research.

  100. 100.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: I too doubt that anything will happen, I’m just saying that actually putting people’s lives in danger (which is what locking the doors would do) is an escalation far beyond any physical altercation. And would be absolutely disastrous politics to boot. (“Not only is Paul Ryan taking away our freedom of speech he is endangering everyone in the process!”)

    At most I can see a few Reps (no Senators) boycotting the affair.

    ETA: Also I can see the people who are actually responsible for the safety of all in attendance resigning. I can’t see anyone with half a brain in a position of responsibility going along with it.

  101. 101.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Tokyokie:

    I’m thinking that Trump may actually be Peak Wingnut incarnate. The Wingularity, into which all of the shibboleths and dogma of Wingnutism are concentrated.

  102. 102.

    D58826

    @Kay: In the careful what you wish for dept – what happens if the investigation shows that there was voter fraud/Russian hacking in PA/WI/MI and it tipped the outcome to Trump rather than Hillary? :-)

  104. 104.

    Percysowner

    @NotMax:

    Slightest whiff of such a thing taking place and Ryan will pre-instruct the sergeant-at-arms to block the doors

    That would be an interesting visual. Duly elected women and eventually men being held against their will.

  105. 105.

    NotMax

    @OzrkHillbilly

    At this point, as there is no requirement he be physically present, am wondering if he’ll even bother to make the trip across the mall. Maybe opt for a jumbotron to be installed so he can give the address from the Oval Office. Or have Jared show up in person and read it.

  107. 107.

    Peale

    @D58826: my guess is that the “investigation” will rely heavily on looking at whatever stands out as the new Acorn. Groups promoting Hispanic involvement in public life and te SIEU.

  108. 108.

    cmorenc

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    @Quinerly: Trump said during the campaign that he only sleeps 4 hours a night, must be the Peruvian Marching Powder.

    You know who else notably slept only 4 hours a night (or less?) Bill Clinton. Of course, the similarities end right there, except for the appetite to go pussy-chasing with women not his wife.

  109. 109.

    magurakurin

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    He’s a big part of why we’re here.

    I know I’ll get roasted for this but there is a question gnawing on me like “a splinter in my mind.” Was Sanders all in on the grift? I mean Devine worked for Yanukovych same as Manafort…and we never did see Bernie’s tax returns…and they did hack into the Clinton side of the DNC data tools. I hate Bernie Sanders, regardless of my CT issues.

    And the Dems should just all plug in earphones into their phones and slouch back in their chairs like high school goth kids and play Candy Crush the whole time through the SOTU speech.

  110. 110.

    NotMax

    @Percysowner

    Duly elected women and eventually men being held against their will.

    Technically that is already a duty of the office of the sergeant-at-arms, although supposedly to be used to compel (physically if necessary) members to get to the floor to vote.

  111. 111.

    SFAW

    @D58826:

    In the careful what you wish for dept – what happens if the investigation shows that there was voter fraud/Russian hacking in PA/WI/MI and it tipped the outcome to Trump rather than Hillary?

    As if the “investigators” will “find evidence” of anything other than Hitlary coordinating the whole thing. In fact, I’d be surprised/amazed if the result were anything BUT something like that. Especially with Bannon running things.

    Bannon-a Republic? Getting closer every day.

  112. 112.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: Blocking or locking, both are illegal and highly dangerous and get people killed. It is a distinction with out a difference in law.

    As to the fact that there are no fire escapes on the Capitol, that is because the fire escapes are internal stairwells with fire doors.

  113. 113.

    Belafon

    I think it will have to happen sooner than Pi Day. That’s a 1.5 months from now. That’s a lot of time for Trump and Company to do damage and change the subject. Better for them to march in the next couple of weeks, and use it as a starting point to organize.

  115. 115.

    Xantar

    OK, I have an actual action item and I’m serious enough to put time and energy into it:

    I want to gather signatures demanding that Trump release his tax returns. I know there’s a petition on the White House website, but I’m talking about physical ones.

    And I want to have them delivered to the White House on April 15.

    I’m still brainstorming, but I welcome your ideas. I think this has broad appeal and is easy to understand. I intend to ask CREW to help with this. Who else?

  116. 116.

    maurinsky

    @debbie:

    I’ve been singing the following ditty (to the tune of We Hate You Conrad from Bye Bye Birdie):

    We hate you Donald, oh yes we do!
    We don’t hate anyone, as much as you!
    And at the mid-terms, GOP IS THROUGH!
    Oh, Donald, we hate you!

  117. 117.

    Percysowner

    @NotMax: I didn’t say it wasn’t legal, just that it would make one heck of a picture on the next day’s news. Also, too, the SOTU is NOT holding a vote, so that reason to compel them to appear doesn’t exist.

    Frankly it doesn’t matter, they aren’t going to walk out. We are in the “pretend this is normal” stage of the Presidency. If they are going to fight back, Democrats are going to hold their fire for the important fights, not break convention. We’ve always been too polite about these things

    [email protected]magurakurin:

    I know I’ll get roasted for this but there is a question gnawing on me like “a splinter in my mind.” Was Sanders all in on the grift? I mean Devine worked for Yanukovych same as Manafort…and we never did see Bernie’s tax returns…and they did hack into the Clinton side of the DNC data tools. I hate Bernie Sanders, regardless of my CT issues.

    I doubt it and I’m no Bernie fan. I think he really is a true believer who got caught up in the praise and attention that he got with his campaign and convinced himself that he was the savior of the (white male) working class.

  118. 118.

    NotMax

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Again, not illegal in this case as the D,C, Fire Marshal has no explicit authority there beyond suggestion (which is followed as a matter of course) and local and many federal regulations do not apply as Congress has exempted itself from them.

  119. 119.

    SFAW

    @Timurid:

    If the door is blocked they could all just stay standing at their seats… with their backs turned to the President.

    I was going to suggest something like this, but realized that, unlike Worf, Deadbeat Shitgibbon has no honor. Or honesty. Or class. Or intelligence.

  121. 121.

    JMG

    1. Until well into the 20th century, the State of the Union message was sent to Congress in written form and recited by the Clerk of the House.
    2. My home town, Wilmington, Delaware, was occupied by the National Guard for a YEAR in the late ’60s after some African American guys in a tough pool room beat the snot out of a couple of FBI agents. Governor sent Guard in and then kind of forgot about it. Effect on crime rate was zero.

  122. 122.

    Quinerly

    Pull up “The Netherlands Welcome Trump In His Own Words” on YouTube. You won’t regret it. Second much needed laugh of the AM.

  123. 123.

    gene108

    @NotMax:

    Or have Jared show up in person and read it.

    Early Presidents never read their SOTU speeches to Congress. They had someone else do it. I’m not sure, when the custom changed.

  124. 124.

    NotMax

    @Percysowner

    Nowhere is it laid out the the duty to compel is to be exercised only in the case of a vote. That is the accepted norm, but we have seen such norms felled like trees at Tunguska.

  125. 125.

    Interrobang

    Hi, folks — speaking as a Canadian, we’ve already done this War on Science thing, for 9 years under Harper (yimach shemo). You guys should read this Twitter thread by Michael Oman-Reagan, an anthropologist from Memorial University in Newfoundland, who was on the front lines while all of this was going on. Also take a look at this absolutely enormous compendium of links detailing all the attacks the Harper government made on science and scientists while in office, to get a better idea of the scope and scale of the damage these people can do once they get into power. (And you guys have way more of a scientific apparatus than we do.) Also, take a look at this article at Al Jazeera about what happened when Harper canned the long-form census, and then think about why Canadians were overjoyed (and only too happy to participate, to the point of breaking the census website) to get it back. Information matters to running a modern democracy. And since everyone in Trump’s anticabinet are basically against modernity and democracy, they’re going to try to break it as much as they can. Ceiling Cat help you, because you’re so going to need it.

  128. 128.

    Another Scott

    A few things…

    1) I know of at least one place in the federal government (part of DoD) where all official communications with the public (and the Congress) have to go through the official “public affairs” office. It’s been that way for a long time. It doesn’t prevent work getting done, the use of official Twitter/Facebook accounts, or Congress having oversight.

    2) Given #1, this could be spun as “speaking with one voice, going through channels” and the like. It could be innocuous.

    2a) But given the people around Donnie, we know that it won’t be. At a minimum, it will be used to slow down responses to the public and Congress by these agencies. More likely, it will be used to muzzle the agencies and impose a non-science based outlook on them.

    2b) We have to be prepared for them trying to spin this as normal and no big deal. It isn’t. Running civilian agencies as if they’re part of the Pentagon is bad for our democracy. But let’s not use up the strong language now that we will need later.

    3) Things like this were used to try to muzzle James Hansen at Columbia. It didn’t work. We can fight this battle again, and win again.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  130. 130.

    Betty

    Isn’t it time to organize a Families March to address the attack on environmental protection and public education, etc.?

  133. 133.

    gene108

    @Quinerly:

    Sessions and Trump are not going after Ohio. Ohio voted the right way. They are going after CA, where Hillary had a big win and that put her over the top in the popular vote count.

    They may take shots at rolling back Latino voting in TX to make sure it stays deep red and NV, to try to flip it for Repiblicans.

  134. 134.

    A Ghost To Most

    need an anthem for a Science March?

    Astrophysics at our fingertips
    We’re standing at the summit
    And some man with a joystick
    Lands a rocket on a comet
    We’re living in an age
    Where limitations are forgotten
    The outer edges move and dazzle us
    But the core is something rotten
    And we’re standing on the precipice
    Of prejudice and fear
    We trust science just as long
    As it tells us what we want to hear
    We want our truths all fair and balanced
    As long as our notions lie within it
    There’s no sunlight in our asses
    And our heads are stuck up in it
    And our heroes may be rapists
    Who watch us while we dream
    But don’t look to me for answers
    Cuz I don’t know what it means

    What it means?
    What it means?

  136. 136.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Two things I’ll drop right here.

    1. What would “Feds in Chicago” due to a set of targeted killings related to drug business disputes (but no widespread violence) actually LOOK like? Seems to me it would be a curfew with zero investigatory authority – and would spark huge riots.

    2. Saying it here first – he’s nominating his sister to SCOTUS. He’s that stupid.

  137. 137.

    danielx

    I have to back away from daily outrage for a while……bp was 180/110 at clinic yesterday and they weren’t going to let me go until it came down after administering some clonidine. This won’t do.

  143. 143.

    Applejinx

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    Nothing Sanders says matters. I think he’s drawing Democratic opposition next year, and even if he doesn’t, so long as we’re in a solid minority, I’m willing to support the R to get his ass gone.

    Gosh, it seems kind of funny to be talking about supporting Republicans. Are you sure that is the hill you want to die on?

    Oh, wait, you suggest supporting Republicans to stop Democrats being too left wing. That sounds just splendid. See you at the polls, Quisling.

  144. 144.

    NotMax

    @Ohio Mom

    Prepare to feel short.

    The tallest men in the world live in the Netherlands, and the tallest women call Latvia home, according to the largest study ever done on people’s heights. Source

  146. 146.

    danielx

    @Ohio Mom:

    Oh yes…new meds, go back in a couple of weeks. Could be worse, nurse said she’d seen someone come in at 250/180. Surprised the person wasn’t bleeding through their pores.

  147. 147.

    Jeffro

    @Baud:

    I’m going to add paid naptime to my 2020 platform.

    OMG. That rustling sound you hear is me already stuffing envelopes for you!

  148. 148.

    Jeffro

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    Saying it here first – he’s nominating his sister to SCOTUS. He’s that stupid.

    I think it’s National Review that has a piece up saying he’s going to go with a guy on the same circuit as his sister because a) the sister can vouch for him, b) he’s very pro-police, and c) he has that “central casting” look. All of which I believe.

  149. 149.

    Peale

    @NotMax: yes. In my experience, the Dutch are these giant lanky men. When I’m there I meetings I’m often the shortest guy in the room and I’m 6’1″

  150. 150.

    Quinerly

    @Ohio Mom:
    I have been fighting the gloom with humor the last couple of days. Started a Book of Faces thread with #alternativefacts with friends posting. The ball got rolling with mine: “I am a famous White singer. You might have heard of me. My name is Beyoncé and I live in my 2 bedroom Ford Escape by the river. I am 26 and was born in 1961….” We built the thread from there. It’s just amazing that I never knew I had a friend who has an cheese export business on the moon and another who attends pro life rallies with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Phyllis Schlafly. Kidding aside, a friend’s wife just died before Christmas, he participated in the #alternativefacts FB back and forth last night. Said it was the first time he had laughed in months. “Book of Faces being used for good, not evil.”

  151. 151.

    Jeffro

    Btw folks Evan McMullin and his former running mate have a new site and Twitter account up, @StandUpRepublic He’s been more on-point than most national Dems.

  152. 152.

    Betty Cracker

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: “That fucking guy” is exactly right. I think the only hit I’ve scored thus far on my idiot Trumpster relatives was when I said, “You trusted a real estate developer?!?” Even Bible-humping gomers in rural Florida know those guys are the scum of the earth. They paused for just about a full second before the ritual, “But Hillary…” — instead of the customary nanosecond. That’s how I knew I’d hit pay dirt.

  153. 153.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Peale: Let’s not forget the Dutch women… Wooooooohoooooo…. Yowzayowzayowza.

    Yes I am a sexist pig, why do you ask?

  155. 155.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Applejinx:

    I’ll put it like this: What has Sanders(Peace Be Unto Him) done for anyone on the left leaning side in the last two years?

    He did, however, lend a mighty hand of support to Trump and House Republicans in messaging.

    The level of bile I have for him is off the charts.

  160. 160.

    Seth Owen

    @AMinNC: In the 1960s we had YEARS of protests. I wouldn’t worry about protest fatigue anytime soon. Especially as the shitgibbon seems determined to give people new reasons to be pissed on a daily basis. He’ll get ‘fatigued’ long before we will.

  161. 161.

    Major Major Major Major

    @germy: I saw that headline and the lede (they’re doing some sort of ‘Crossfire’-style ‘best frenemies’ crap it looks like?), and… it’s times like this that I let the interrobang (‽) tattooed on my arm do the talking.

  168. 168.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    Saying it here first – he’s nominating his sister to SCOTUS. He’s that stupid.

    I really doubt it — not that he’s not that stupid, because he is — but his sister MaryAnne Trump Barry is almost 80. I can’t see even T nominating someone that old. Much more likely to go for a young or middle-aged RWNJ who can do decades and decades of damage rather than only a few years’ worth.

  171. 171.

    Major Major Major Major

    We should stop calling the speech that Trump will give to a joint session of Congress next month a ‘State of the Union’ address since it’s not. Call it by its real name (an address to a joint session of congress) or something even less official-sounding than a ‘State of the Union’ (like ‘not a State of the Union’), it’ll piss him off.

  172. 172.

    magurakurin

    @Applejinx: fuck Bernie. He is 74. He’ll be 76 come the next election. If he were a serious person he would already have a younger person in mind to take his place. But he doesn’t. Not a soul. There isn’t a single political figure not currently on Social Security in Vermont that Bernie can bring forward and help get elected? Sanders says he will run as a Democrat. I hope he faces a primary challenge. Does that make me a quisling, too? Because let’s not forget Bernie wanted someone (but not him for some reason) to primary Obama.

    fuck Bernie.

  175. 175.

    Betty Cracker

    @SiubhanDuinne: Agreed; not only is Trump’s sister older, she’s a woman, and therefore less than a full citizen. Saw an an NRO analysis of the judges reputedly on the shortlist, and the wingnut analyst was seriously — and without due horror — discussing the judges’ physiques and hair quality as factors Trump will consider. Does anyone doubt it?

  176. 176.

    CaseyL

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    The level of bile I have for him is off the charts.

    Me too. BUT. But but but – do not vote for a GOPer. Never ever vote for a GOPer.

    Knock Wilmer out in the primary. Get a real D on the ballot. If you can’t do that, then vote for Wilmer, even though he’s a despicable tool, because a GOPer will be worse. (Unless it’s a Dem running as a GOPer for the pure purpose of beating Wilmer, with an implicit promise to caucus and vote with the D’s, in which case go for it.)

    Another thing you can do is put pressure on the local Democratic Party to only field one candidate in the general election. Multiple Dems run in the general election way too damn often. They split the vote and the GOPer wins.

  180. 180.

    magurakurin

    @germy: I remember seeing a few weeks ago that Obama had said that he was planning on doing just that: looking for and helping rising young stars. Sanders? crickets.

  181. 181.

    Jim Parene

    I am sorry that the following question is off topic. However, I trust the knowledge and perspectives of Juicers.
    I have been writing my elected Federal Reps., Rubio, Buchanon and Nelson, once/week. I have been mailing my concerns to their local offices.
    My question is: Are the local offices a better contact point or should I be mailing to the D.C. offices? Thanks. JP.

  183. 183.

    germy

    @magurakurin:

    I remember seeing a few weeks ago that Obama had said that he was planning on doing just that: looking for and helping rising young stars. Sanders? crickets.

    The difference between an egomaniac and someone who really wants to contribute to progress.

  185. 185.

    henqiguai

    @WereBear(#76): re: the scientists’ march

    I wonder what hats the scientists will wear…

    Propellar-bearing beanies. What else?

    ETA: I see SFAW at #84 got there first (and with the correct spelling). Damn you fast readers and typist.

  187. 187.

    Ohio Mom

    Senator Portman’s staff seems to have stopped answering the phones. I tried each city, got a recording, wrote him an email, and tried all the offices again.

    I did discover a place on his page where he asks people to tell their stories about how “Obamacare” has affected them, starting with how much more we are all paying.

    I started the letter off with, “First of all, it’s the ACA, Bobby-boy (see, mean nick names are mean). Okay, Senator Portman, here goes:”

    Anyway, if anyone else has a good ACA story, even if you are not from Ohio, and a couple of minutes to spare, you can go over there to share.

  191. 191.

    Ohio Mom

    @Jim Parene: oh, mail it to all their offices, all over their state and DC. What harm could that do? It’s not like we live in the age of carbon paper, postage is cheap, and maybe one of their doofus interns will read your words and get half a clue. Not that your words aren’t worth several clues, I’m referring to their comprehension levels.

  192. 192.

    germy

    As congressional Republicans prepare to gather in Philadelphia for their annual retreat, they are dealing with an irritation that has become familiar over the past year and a half: Donald Trump.

  193. 193.

    Kay

    The President of the United States will now spend the day ranting about a conspiracy theory involving 5 million ordinary people that he has accused of felony voter fraud.

    He’s an embarrassment. He harms the standing of the whole country every time he opens his big mouth.

    If Jeff Sessions had any decency or pride in his work he’d come out and defend US voters from the President’s attacks. Sessions is already failing. Another corrupt coward.

  194. 194.

    Major Major Major Major

    @danielx:

    From everything I have ever heard and read about his business practices, he regards a signed contract as a starting point in negotiations.

    Which is of course the antithesis of everything you want from somebody tasked with executing the law.

  197. 197.

    danielx

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Pretty much…I wish I could find the link for a description of his tractics from someone who had actually been involved in negotiations with him. But it went about like this: you work things out in a lunch meeting paid for by Trump, who is, or acts like, a charming and civilized human being. You agree to do something (worked out in contractual detail) for which he will pay you a million dollars (notional number). You do it and send him a bill. No response. You attempt to contact him and after several attempts, reach him in person to say hey, about my money? His screaming response is that you didn’t do what you said you would do (in spite of all evidence to the contrary) and that consequently you owe him $200,000 because reasons and that he is going to bury you in lawyers until you pay. You are stunned that the charming guy has turned into a demon and eventually end up settling for him paying you $600,000, which he regards as a victory.

    Lather, rinse repeat. He is not a man of his word.

  199. 199.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Jim Parene:

    Are the local offices a better contact point or should I be mailing to the D.C. offices?

    I went with a group of friends to Senator Udall’s local office yesterday. We asked a similar question to the staffer who met with us. His response was that phone calls are the best medium for communication – especially for rapid response issues – and it doesn’t matter which office you call. The message gets conveyed just the same.

  201. 201.

    Mike in DC

    Greenpeace climbed a giant crane in DC and hung a banner reading “RESIST” from it. Make Activism Great Again!

  202. 202.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Betty Cracker:

    Saw an an NRO analysis of the judges reputedly on the shortlist, and the wingnut analyst was seriously — and without due horror — discussing the judges’ physiques and hair quality as factors Trump will consider. Does anyone doubt it?

    I don’t doubt it for a nanosecond, but I can still be hocked and shorrified.

  205. 205.

    Citizen_X

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    You can not lock doors so that people are unable to get out. You can not block doors so that people can’t get out. People die when these things are done.

    Of course, the Red Wedding started with them locking the doors. Just saying.

  208. 208.

    Lizzy L

    @Jim Parene: I have been told that the local office is the place to call if you need help with a local issue, but if you’re talking about a vote or a matter of policy, either office will do.

  210. 210.

    J R in WV

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    @debbie:

    During the riots and Kent State disturbances you speak of, the millitary’s main battle tank was the M60 Patton, which weighed just over 50 tons.

    Today, the main battle tank is the M1 Abrams, which weighs 72 tons. This would destroy the roads anywhere it was deployed. The damaged pavement would need to be broken up, removed, and replaced, which would cost millions, or more, depending on where they were deployed.

    They would probably use lighter armored personnel carrier-type vehicles today, which are also equipped with weapons and armor proof against civilian weaponry.

  211. 211.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @debbie:

    Wherever Trump travels, there should be people carrying signs saying, “No One Likes You.” Imagine his reaction!

    “Even Your Children Don’t REALLY Like You.”

  213. 213.

    Debbie1

    @Darkrose: I hate to tell you but not only has Bernie praised Trump on killing the TPP and volunteered to work w/ Trump on trade, but he has prematurely praised him on the great accomplishment of “winning” the presidency (Russian style). Also, after hounding Hillary (aka: History’s Greatest Monster) for only pledging to raise the federal minimum wage to $12.50 (Bernie wanted it raised to $15.00); soon after Trump’s “win,” Bernie said he’d be glad to work w/ Trump to raise it to $10 bucks. I guess what I’m saying is, don’t count on him.

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