Here’s something that I find strange: why do the College Republicans from so many University of California schools think it’s a good idea to sponsor a talk by a neo-Nazi?
Passions started flaring around 4 p.m. between both sides on the Cal campus ahead of Yiannopoulos’ 8 p.m. speech. The event is sponsored by the Berkeley College Republicans. Extra police officers were called to monitor the event.
I understand the idea that anti-fascist demonstrations serve to help make people like Yiannopoulos famous, but….how does that help the cause of young Republicans? Unless these young Republicans are all neo-Nazis themselves of course. But that couldn’t be, right?
I think I’m with the Woodman about how to deal with Nazis:
EBT
Well Antifa lit some fireworks and he ran off home. UCLA also shitcanned his appearance tomorrow.
Factual fireworks. Just takes a few sparklers to scare away this little twit.
Cathy W
spite. since the appearance is funded by the school (through student fees), they’re making the hippies pay for their own punching.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
My favorite Warren Zevon song, along with all of my other favorite Warren Zevon songs.
ETA: What @efgoldman said.
BBA
I must dissent. It is never appropriate to punch a Nazi. The only appropriate thing to do with a Nazi is to shoot him in the head. Murder is a crime, sure, but it’s a greater crime to allow some people to live.
If you have any doubt whatsoever about killing him in cold blood, he isn’t a Nazi.
EBT
@BBA: My uncle lied about his age to go shoot Nazis in Europe, the least I can do is take a few practice swings.
Jeffro
@efgoldman:
That’s really it. At this point, Saint Reagan’s almost 2 decades in his grave…GOP kids have grown up with what, W as their president? Newt Gingrich as their long time speaker? McCain putting Palin on the ticket.
No wonder they don’t know what conservative means in ANY sense of the word…it really is Cleek’s Law, all the way down.
Jaker
I used to laugh at “Laurel & Hardy, but now I’m laughing at Donald Trump – because each new day he’s making another “Fine Mess”.
And as for his side-kick Barron, I keep asking myself when are the American people going to shout “OUT” with him?
And as for Pence, Ryan, And Mc Connell, I ask when did they become professional “Head Nodders”? Because that’s all they do now. Nod, Nod, Nod, Nod.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@BBA:
Invite the Nazis to your Soviet Golog 1946 LARP. I really don’t see the draw of the luzers of WWII.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
in calling for violence, Woody Allen shows he’s just as bad as the Nazis.
Both Sides!
/Libuerl Media
Mnemosyne
As has been noted before, any time you have a protest on the West Coast, there’s a good chance the Black Bloc assholes will show up.
And I know that the maxim is that the only antidote for bad speech is more speech, but the only way to counter the toxicity of Milo and his fellow travelers would be to make it an actual debate where the non-asshole side gets to immediately counter every word he speaks, including “and” and “the,” but would need to include a provision where Milo gets an electric shock when he doesn’t shut up after his time is up.
Doug!
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
So true.
Mary G
They have severe insecurity syndrome because they think, rightly, that almost everyone else on campus thinks they are sucking up to their daddies. So they stage these things so they can feel even more persecuted and put-upon and daddy will praise them for standing up to the dirty hippies.
Unfortunately, there are more than a few wanna-be Breitbarts and Bannons floating around who just want to burn it all down. They worship chaos and pray for violence to break out, and the anarchist idiots are happy to oblige.
FlyingToaster
When HerrDoktor Toaster read what the ACLU had raised last weekend, he quipped, “Okay, so we got the lawyers and the money. Now where are the guns?”
dm
Is it okay to link to the Old Great Orange Satan? Check out this very topical Annheuser-Busch ad for the Super Bowl.
Expect wingnut outrage at the politicization of beer and Super Bowl ads.
Does it really say “Social Justice Warrior Beer”?
toocanAnj
Just in case anyone is interested in a gofundme to buy a no vote from Pat Toomey. A little tongue in cheek, I think it is brilliant.
BBA
I’m a pacifist by nature. I’m just annoyed by the calls to casual violence. No, if you’re going to be violent you had better be absolutely goddamn sure it’s necessary, and if it is necessary, a punch isn’t going to do anything.
We’re not there yet. Yet.
Dog Dawg Damn
Reading about the Mexican and Australian PM calls, and oh man, it’s bad. Worse than I would have expected.
We’re in for a rough ride, I’m afraid.
FlyingToaster
@Mnemosyne:
Not just the west coast. At the Boston Women’s March, I had to walk about half a block next to one of those idiots. Black boots, black pants, black shirt, black poncho, black balaclava, carrying a black stick with a black flag. Everyone just tried to edge away from him.
oklahomo
Too bad a stray Molotov cocktail didn’t remove that atrocious hair of his from this plane of existence.
Kat
On a Nazi-related note…
The FBI has quietly investigated white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement
Bureau policies have been crafted to take into account the active presence of domestic extremists in U.S. police departments
Mnemosyne
@dm:
Did you see the Tylenol ad that was running around Christmastime? They went whole hog on the inclusiveness: interracial couples, gay couples proposing, disabled people, everything.
? Martin
I can answer that!
Two reasons:
1) UC takes free speech very seriously. Shouting down a speaker is considered a violation of UC policy and will be met with disciplinary action. Inviting controversial speakers is not discouraged.
2) The protests were probably welcomed by both the College Republicans and by Milo. Milo is what you get when you cross Donald Trump with the Westboro Baptist Church. So long as he gets his name on TV, he’s happy. He’s building his brand, and the College Republicans get to point to the violent, irresponsible liberals.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Brian Beutler is not alone in pointing out that Mark Salter actually knows people, he isn’t limited to trying to get through to staffers in three offices.
Timurid
I’m hearing that Spicer identified relatives of the dead SEAL by name?
That’s bad form in any case.. but with a guy who was involved in a train wreck with a bunch of civilian casualties and even rumors of a war crime (even if it wasn’t carried out by US personnel)?
The good news is that if Trump wants to get up to some Black Helicopter monkey business, pissing all over the intelligence and special operations communities is not a good way to start.
Amanda in the South Bay
@Kat: Did they investigate a certain US Senator from Alabama?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jeffro:
No, it was convicted felon pedophile Denny Hastert as their long time speaker.
Mnemosyne
@FlyingToaster:
Yes, but out here there’s enough of a critical mass of them that they can really cause trouble. IIRC, when Oakland communities were trying to do Black Lives Matter and other police protests, they had to have action plans for how they would surround the Black Bloc assholes to prevent them from starting a riot.
jl
they do it 4 the LULZ
Edit: hope I used that term correctly. I suspect that word is old hat now, but it is probably true.
cmorenc
CNN’s focus on shiny objects (literally) like a moth to a flame is on display in their coverage of the Berkeley protests – some jackass set fire to a mobile light fixture via its gasoline-powered generator, and CNN’s cameras have been fixated on that fire ever since it began, and then on the handful of kerchief-masked black-clothes rioters grabbing metal fence sections to smash out windows in the building, rather than the huge crowd that showed up to protest the speaker, as if all of the demonstrators were on board with the handful of actual rioters.
Hard to say whether the masked black-clothed rioters causing wanton damage are far-left anarchists or else alt-right thug allies of the cancelled speaker.
However, the implication should be clear: our so-far peaceful women’s march and anti-Trump protests are unfortunately vulnerable to spoilage by a small minority of deliberately destructive radicals – and it’s hard to distinguish whether they are radical anarchist leftists or else the work of deliberate alt-right saboteurs. Either way, we’ve got to be ready to deal with these assholes when they show up in our midst. It was in significant part due to idiots like this that Nixon was able to foment hostility toward anti-war protesters in the 1960s.
FilibusterEverything
That Woody Allen clip is more brutal on the NYTimes reading totebaggers than the Nazis.
Jaker
It’s a good job Donald Trump refused his pay; because he’s bleedin’ not worth “Any”!
? Martin
@Mnemosyne: Yep. Oakland anarchists are a real challenge.
Jeffro
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Both?
I mean, this is quite possibly something: modern conservatives below a certain age know nothing but being ignorant, assholes, or ignorant assholes because that’s all they’ve ever known. That IS their definition of conservatism: reflexive jackass opposition to whatever Democrats are trying to do to make the country better.
Of course, there I go again, reminiscing of a time when conservatism ever meant something beyond racism and servicing the 1%. AS. IF.
Doug!
@FilibusterEverything:
And rightly so.
Major Major Major Major
…because they’re neo-Nazis?
Mnemosyne
@cmorenc:
As alluded to above, this is when we need to get together with, say, Black churches in Oakland and say, Hey, how do you guys counteract these assholes when they show up? And then follow their advice.
Omnes Omnibus
@Major Major Major Major: Nah, that couldn’t be it.
Mnemosyne
@Omnes Omnibus:
@Major Major Major Major:
It’s the economic anxiety, stoopid!
Kat
@Amanda in the South Bay:
I was wondering if they failed to investigate Comey.
? Martin
The best thing about the Mexico call by Trump is the ethnic slur casually dropped in there.
I miss the days when the news was largely settled by dinner, and didn’t keep rolling for the next 3 hours every single night.
oklahomo
@Mnemosyne: The American Taliban need their faces rubbed in this neo-Nazi shit. They have helped elect a Nazi-enabler, and they applaud evil as long as it pisses off the libtards. Some goes for the economically anxious.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Sounds like, however they voted, people in the military are not happy with Trump after 13 days
Mark Salter, John Weaver and Rick Wilson– top advisors to about every GOP candidate of the last twenty years– are talking about the 25th amendment.
Trump cancelled his Harley-Davidson appearance.
People are saying canceling the UK state visit is a bridge too far for the British government, but does either government want massive demos in London, with creative British signage (and Trump apparently already picking a fight over which royal will receive him– he wants Will and Harry, because he thinks Charles will lecture him on climate).
Quite a honeymoon.
ET
Milo is the best they can do? I suppose name recognition and the fact that he is social media savvy are points in his favor for members of a party that struggle with that. But then most of them were weaned on the toxic stew of the GOP that maybe their expectations are such that they don’t understand how bad he really is.
ET
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: whoever in the British government put this visit forward- particularly when it seems that they like these official visits to happen after a year or so has passed- should be fired. They put the Queen and the government in a bad position no matter what they do.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The army can have Harry someplace else – halfway up a mountain in Wales, for example. Will can have the mumps.
Jaker
@cmorenc:
Well said, but you can be sure that your President (Alternative Facts) Trump will blame the Liberals to his base “Faces”.
PS. Did Trump give Putin (carte blanche) to start the Ukraine War again? Because that’s what Putin is doing today in Eastern Ukraine.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
This is from after the phone call with the Australian PM. The “illegal immigrants” he’s babbling about? Refugees.
JordanRules
So the folks at UC are just like screw it, you can invite anyone because of free speech and no other factors are considered? Seems naive and stupid to me. Might as well yell fire in the venue too.
Mnemosyne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
He probably also wants Will and Harry because he knows they’re friends with the Obamas and he wants to rub their faces in the fact that he won, because he’s an asshole like that.
I think Will is still assigned to helicopter search-and-rescue, so he can be called out on an urgent one of those.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: he wants Will and Harry so he can talk about how much he wanted to bang their mom.
Omnes Omnibus
@JordanRules: The University did not invite him. The College Republicans did.
Jaker
@Kat:
No, Comey got to keep his job & got a big kiss & cuddle from the Alternative Leader.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JordanRules: The University of California, Berkeley was the home of the “Free Speech Movement” in the 60’s, they* still take it quite seriously.
*As Martin noted above, all the campus’s take it seriously.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Omnes Omnibus: @Mnemosyne: They oughta send Princess Ann. I saw her live once. She’ll make him piss himself. I bet Phillip is afraid of her.
Karen
@efgoldman:
It also crosses the line from protesting to vandalism to death threats.
Protest should never get violent, that’s what they’re triggering us into so the media can dismiss us or make us into crazy, unhinged liberals.
eemom
He found him in Mombassa, in a bar room drinking gin.
Think I’ll limit my comments to lyrics from now on. Everything else sucks too much.
Timurid
The Yemen fiasco is now leaking like the Titanic. This is my shocked face.
? Martin
@JordanRules:
Pretty much. A risk assessment is usually conducted and the sponsor may be asked to hire additional security at their expense. Not sure how this one slipped through.
Also keep in mind that Berkeley is a VERY small campus. Many, many things ‘at Berkeley’ are actually in the city and outside of the campus jurisdiction. I haven’t paid close enough attention to where this was being held. On my campus pretty much everything is actually on the campus and campus police are involved. Gives us quite a bit more control over things. To give a sense of perspective, Berkeley (oldest) campus is 100 acres, UCLA (2nd oldest) is 150 acres. The 1960s campuses are generally around 1000-1500 acres. The newest campus UC Merced is 17,500 acres. That’s the size of the city of Santa Monica. The goal is to take more and more levels of control over the campus by hosting more and more things on it. Merced is proposed to have their own power, water treatment, etc.
Cacti
In the interest of free speech, I suggest that any sympathetic alt-righters invite Milo to address their church in the near future. ;-)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@? Martin: UCLA is the smallest campus* at 411 acres, Berkeley is larger because the campus extends out in the hills behind the campus proper.
*Not counting UCSF and Hastings Law School.
Major Major Major Major
@Timurid: Is being a horrible commander-in-chief illegal?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: “If the President does it, it’s not illegal.”
oklahomo
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: This should completely mortify any sane person, that they have to know he’s bragged about “almost nailing Princess Diana”, and he still wants a face to face with them. Any member of the Royal Family should refuse to meet with him. Hell, state the reason bluntly.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think we have a winner.
Karen
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Mike Pence is a theocrat and would be worse than Trump.
JordanRules
@Omnes Omnibus: I assumed the University had to approve. My bad if that is not the case. My intent was not crystal clear wrt invite vs. approve.
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yup, and it was much appreciated by and needed for many groups I respect who did a lot of the work we needed for social justice progress. I’ve got family that planted their black power flags in the bay during that era.
danielx
@Karen:
Crazy? No. Unhinged? Yes, and it’s lasted for 84 days, why do you ask?
ETA: “Mike Pence is a theocrat and would be worse than Trump.”
Policy wise, I can’t see that he’d be much worse, and I doubt that he’d be as likely to get us into wars based on whim, gratuitous insult, impulse or just unthinking stupidity.
Which is not to say he is a desirable alternative, but sometimes you have no option but the least bad of a bunch of bad alternatives. At this point I’m thinking in terms of losing as few lives as possible.
Major Major Major Major
@Karen: This conclusion is… not true.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
the Australia thing gets better and better. I heard the call was less than half the scheduled hour, but here’s how it ended
@Karen: He’s dumb, ordinarily dumb, and a true believer, and would be easier to fight on normal terms. Fake theocrat Trump got us Scalia Jr, DeVos, Sessions, Price (probably)…..
Omnes Omnibus
@Major Major Major Major: Just horrible in a different way.
BBA
@Karen: He passes the low bar of not being a complete fucking psychopath.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Is it normal for military sources to be talking to the press like that and making their Commander-in-Chief look bad?
Canadian Shield
I don’t understand the violent protest and shutting down of speakers at a University. It’s the stuff that empowers and enriches the Milo’s of the world and plays bad with the Rubes (TRANS-HIPPY RIOTS!). It just reinforces their misguided opinions on academea and why they love their Trump. Let these people speak, engage, and then debate. They are in power now, we need to MLK this. We are in a ‘we had two steps forward, now it’s three steps back’ reality and we need to make converts. Fight where appropriate, Milo at a College is not ‘burn shit down protest’ worthy. The next war, anti lbtg law, or anti abortion battle might be. We are not in Obama days anymore, pick your battles wisely.
Omnes Omnibus
@BBA: Yep, he is simply a theocratic asshole.
Timurid
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
NO.
PhoenixRising
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Philip? Philip’s horses are afraid of her. In fact, her own horses are afraid of her. That would be a show I’d sell 100 tickets to: Little Fingers meets Princess Anne. Someone’s going home in a sling if he gets handsy.
Omnes Omnibus
@Canadian Shield: Were you ever a college student – or an 18-22 year old? Were black block assholes there, piggybacking on legit protests? Were Milo’s fellow travelers there stirring up shit?
japa21
@Karen: The damage Pence might do could be reversed. At the rate Trump is going, there may be no ability to turn back.
PhoenixRising
I was on the fence in December about whether Pence would be as bad or worse. But he’s not bloodthirsty or delusional, so now that Trump has shown us his stuff, I’m willing to fight for the upgrade.
25th, impeachment is better. His supporters are going to crap themselves regardless, but I think the fact-finding aspect of an impeachment trial would be beneficial to moving the argument out of ‘the party did him in’ and ‘backroom deals’ by forcing things into the news stream.
SgrAstar
@efgoldman: Yep, what efgoldman says.
Mnemosyne
@Karen:
Not to pile on, but right now our options are Theocratic Asshole and Crazy Guy Starting Multiple Wars.
If we can’t flip Congress in 2018, we’re fucked.
FlyingToaster
@eemom: I went home with a waitress, the way I always do
How was I to know, she was with the Russians too.
Lavocat
Wait for it … is it because they’re all excitable boys?
Timurid
@Karen: He would try. But when institutions stopped him, he would shrug and say, “Well, I tried.”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Nuclear arms in the Middle East
Israel’s attacking the Iraqis
The Syrians are mad at the Lebanese
And Bagdad do whatever she please
FlyingToaster
@Omnes Omnibus:
Or cops just deciding to riot, a la Chicago 68? It’s no joke how many of the reich wing have infiltrated police departments.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Karen:
It’s starting to be hard to see how now after this Yemen and yelling foreign leaders
Peale
@Mnemosyne: I do think we need some bad stuff that affects Trump voters to happen first before we can break this fever. Sorry. But this isn’t about winning per se. Its about NOT DOING THIS AGAIN!
I’d be more hopeful about taking back the house. But I assume the regular “Republicans Are Doing Bad Things, So Let’s Punish the Democrats” contingent are out there.
japa21
@PhoenixRising: My biggest concern with impeachment is the length of time it takes. Trump is unstable enough to go real nuclear just out of spite.
JordanRules
@Canadian Shield: Nope, they need to be better people. Not sure how to debate my right to exist other than to say your ideas have no merit, are so abhorrent, dangerous and uncivil that they have no place in society. I feel like that’s all been said repeatedly so now it’s time to shut them down, say they need to do better and keep advancing progressive education.
Either we’ve established a belief in human rights for all or we haven’t, but I’m not really seeing a benefit from repeatedly allowing the extreme ideological speech that leads to human extermination.
Omnes Omnibus
@FlyingToaster: Different song, but on the money. One never suspects the waitresses.
Mnemosyne
@Peale:
As I was saying in another thread, we basically need to hang a big “FAIL!” sign around the Republicans’ necks. Point out over and over and over again how many things they fucked up and couldn’t fix.
Sadly, this Yemen raid looks like a good example of Republican incompetence getting people killed, including women and children.
oklahomo
@efgoldman: I think from what I’ve seen that it’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Omnes Omnibus
@JordanRules: Where would you draw the line and who would you have do it?
danielx
@BBA:
Exactly. Pence is a not-very-bright theocratic asshole, and that’s from someone who had the exceedingly dubious pleasure of putting up with him as governor for four years. But he does not exhibit symptoms of active mental illness and isn’t the walking collection of personality disorders that Trump appears to be. Pence is something less than brilliant, but he has enough political shrewdness to recognize that being known for untruths, being a deadbeat and having a gift for gratuitous insult is not path to long term prosperity for himself or anyone else.
Which, again, is far from an endorsement of Pence or any other Republican. They are all scumbags without a scrap of integrity, it’s just that some of them have a much better survival instinct than Trump. Political survival and survival in its most literal sense at this point….
Jaker
Trump won’t make it to his visit to the Queen because far right & fake newsman Steve Barron will have taken over & will say to the Queen, “Ma’am, free speech is out”…oh and I’m taking over the Palace.
Or the better plan would be to impeach Trump & send Barron to China?!
Kat
Well that didn’t take long!
Yesterday The Intercept posted its revelation that The FBI has quietly investigated white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement.
And today, Reuters reports Trump to focus counter-extremism program solely on Islam – sources
Mnemosyne
@JordanRules:
Agreed. I don’t really see what “free speech” goal is reached by allowing people like Milo to go around saying that there’s nothing wrong with genocide. I mean, really, we’re supposed to have a fucking debate about whether genocide is good or bad? We’re supposed to let the pro-genocide crowd have their say before we make up our minds on that issue?
Major Major Major Major
@Omnes Omnibus: whenever I pursue this line of questioning on Facebook people call me a Nazi enabler. Apparently special pleading is allowed for nazism.
oklahomo
@Jaker: Barron is the young son. Bannon is the derelict shitcreep working to burn the place down.
Mike J
@? Martin:
In Seattle, one of Milo’s cultists shot a peaceful protester and precisely jack shit was said about it. In Berkeley, a lamp post gave its life and it’s the end of the fucking world.
Kat
@Jaker:
Which is one of the reasons I wondered whether he had been investigated for White Supremacist ties or leanings – or been blackmailed by them.
hilts
@Karen:
I’m prepared to take my chances with Mike Pence because Trump is uniquely bat shit crazy and has the impulse control of a 5 year old.
Mnemosyne
@Omnes Omnibus:
I would draw the line at advocating genocide. Stating that you think specific groups of people should be slaughtered should be enough to say that public venues can refuse to let you appear there.
Holocaust deniers would fall into that same group.
JordanRules
@Omnes Omnibus: It’s a tall order for sure, but maybe start with international orgs that study speech, autocratic trends and the like. It would be super complex like the agreements that make up treaties and trade deals. I think it’s doable.
Omnes Omnibus
@Major Major Major Major: Many people would have banned Malcolm X if they could have. Having neo-Nazis speak is the price we pay for having Malcolm speak. It is how free speech works.*
*Not meaning to lecture you.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Timurid: I didn’t think so. Damn.
I remember when the Iraq war was starting to look bad even to some of the true believers. IIRC, it was a big deal that John Murtha started speaking up, wasn’t it? I remember reading that he had the trust of military higher ups, so if he was speaking up it was because military figures were complaining to him — it was their way of making their displeasure known. Okay, they were going public in a roundabout way, but they were doing it by taking their grievances to an elected representative just like any other citizen would, which is what they’re supposed to do, if I understand correctly.
I don’t remember them speaking directly to the press like this, even anonymously. This is bad on a number of levels.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman:
I think I’ve heard that one before.
Groucho48
Just saw this on KOS…
Might be time to suck it up and watch some CNN. At least we won’t be stuck listening to any Trump Administration folks…
danielx
Interview with Matt Taibbi in Vox…..going to have to get a copy of Insane Clown President.
Exactly so….for a lot of Trump voters it wasn’t a matter of thought, it was getting a charge from being part of the biggest ‘fuck you’ to a power structure since 1776. As to their thoughts of ‘how could he make things any worse?’ They are in the process of, or shortly will be, finding out the difference between bad and worse is much, much bigger than the difference between good and better. For that matter, bigger than the difference between good and bad.
Example: George W. Bush’s administration was overall bad over an eight year period. Trump’s administration is approaching apocalyptic, and he’s been in office for two fucking weeks.
Peale
@hilts: Yeah. But we never really vetted Pence. Can we subject him to some extreme vetting before handing him the keys? Maybe send him to a camp first and make him apply for access to the keys and provide documentation. Think of it as applying for a visa.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne: Let me get lawyerly: define each word and show how it is applicable in any individual case and context. One can’t.
@JordanRules: I don’t.
Peale
@Groucho48: You know, CNN, you might take this as an opportunity to differentiate yourself as the only network that doesn’t shout at people and book shouty guests. The one that reports news and doesn’t just dwell on the same two stories shouted out for a “news cycle.” Hire the guys at Vice. Only get breathless when something is really important so that we’re not confused.
Yarrow
Australian news:
Edit: There’s video. The Australian reporter says that Turnbull said Trump was a bully and to deal with a bully you have to push back, so he did.
Mnemosyne
@Omnes Omnibus:
I would love to hear a context in which you think it’s okay to say that a specific group of people should be mass murdered. Not a Malcolm X-ish the chickens have come home to roost that some people might interpret that way, but someone saying, We should round up all the Muslims in the US and kill them.
danielx
y@Omnes Omnibus:
Except for Illinois Nazis….I hate Illinois Nazis.
Mnemosyne
@efgoldman:
Also, this.
SgrAstar
@Canadian Shield:
As has been mentioned above, the violent protestors were black bloc anarchists, few if any of whom are connected to UC Berkeley. The anarchists were breaking the plate glass windows of the MLK student union and the police felt that Milo was in danger. Hence the cancellation. The black bloc is a scourge in the Bay Area; special techniques are needed to combat them. There were plenty of police but it looks like there weren’t enough. UGH.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: Tend to agree, unfortunately* the way the world works, that opportunity will present itself sooner rather than later.
*I say unfortunately since fellow Americans will needlessly die due to Dolt 45’s incompetence.
sigaba
@ET: I don’t know why any serious person would invite Milo to speak anywhere– he’s not really an expert on anything, Indont think he’s written a book. He’s basically just a Breitbart commenter who’s willing to show his face. Inviting him to speak is simply provocation.
amk
@danielx: wasn’t taibbi the one who was pissing and moaning about how the dems were in cahoots with wallstreet or some such bs?
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Talk to the College Republicans. If they followed procedures, they get a venue at the college. Viewpoint neutral rules. The Uni can’t really say no. That is how the 1st Amendment works.
Canadian Shield
@JordanRules:
better people, right to exist. That’s the point, your words are 2015 words. This is Trump town now, I’m horrified but i’m almost 50 so i know what the cold war was like. The Social Justice Warrior movement was put on hold the moment he got power. You don’t spend your limited powder on @#!$ Milo, shit is real and we need to grow the base. This is not done with bullcrap shouting down of speakers at a College. We need to rapdily educate the electorate here. Open debate on the government and constitutional rights
Omnes Omnibus
@danielx: Everyone hates Illinois Nazis.
Mnemosyne
@sigaba:
He’s famous for stalking actress Leslie Jones on Twitter and saying things that were so racist and misogynist that he got a lifetime ban.
As stated above by efgoldman, Twitter is under no obligation to give him a platform to spew his garbage in the name of “free speech.” Let him pass out flyers on a street corner.
Karen
@japa21:
Okay you all convinced me.
So how would the 25th Amendment work? Would Congress have to pass legislation or declare it? And could they get rid of Nazi-boy Bannon since he’s writing the is the real power behind the “throne?” As long as he’s there, getting rid of Trump won’t matter.
Timurid
Shots fired (the metaphorical kind, for now at least).
sigaba
@Mnemosyne: Except Twitter knows they’d probably be slapped with a bullshit anti-trust lawsuit if they shut him down. All of these dudes had blocks on their account until after the election.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne:
I would never say that it okay to say that, and I am insulted that you would think I might. I have only said that it is legal for someone to do so. Legal =/= Okay.
JordanRules
@Omnes Omnibus: Humans have come up with complex solutions to complex problem so I have hope that it could be done. I obviously don’t think the will is there to do it and it reinforces the righteousness of those who benefit from that unwillingness.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: Twitter’s a private enterprise and are not bound by the 1st Amendment, the University of California is part of the state and is bound by the 1st Amendment.
sigaba
And for the record I don’t advocate punches or bullets for Nazis. Cream pies are the best.
amk
@Karen: If the corrupt cong critters can get rid of the bumbling dictator, why it would be so hard to get rid of his bumbling minions?
Yarrow
@Timurid: Christ. I saw your ALL CAPS and my adrenaline shot up. Tensions are high. I don’t like seeing that phrase even with immediate qualification.
Jaker
Why wasn’t Bannon vetted at least before getting to sit in on National Security Council meetings…especially when he is as Far Right as he is? Can anyone explain this?
Doesn’t anyone care?
Omnes Omnibus
@JordanRules: Which exact speech would you ban? How would you decide? Who gets to make the choice?
Mnemosyne
@sigaba:
Twitter did give him a lifetime ban. Seriously, that’s the source of his current fame: he was such a ginormous asshole so persistently that Twitter felt compelled to ban him.
@Omnes Omnibus:
I don’t think it should be legal to advocate genocide. We already have libel and slander laws and very few people seem to think that those should be vacated in the name of free speech.
I don’t think that making it illegal to say that specific groups of people should be mass murdered would go against the spirit of the First Amendment.
Farthestnorth
Hong Kong is up for grabs
London is full of Arabs
We could be in Palestine
Overrun by a Chinese line
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Canadian Shield:
I think the ideal response would be to completely, utterly ignore him. If no one showed up except the dozen or so College Republican dorks who think they’re being edgy and championing Freedumb! by inviting him, he and they would run out of oxygen right quick. That’s going to happen just as soon as my cat learns to drive.
Having once been a 19-year-old hothead (not anymore, but regrettably well past my 20th year), I understand there’s no way in hell to resist the temptation he represents, and to rationalize giving in to it by saying you’re standing up for justice.
Also, remind me to share my Molotov cocktail recipe.
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I have a problem with property that my tax dollars help pay for being used as a platform to advocate genocide.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne: Great, define each term. Explain how they interact in context. Welcome to the practice of law.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: Well, there are some rules. The whole “fire in a crowded theater” argument that dangerous speech isn’t protected. Who decides what is dangerous is the question.
Jaker
@oklahomo:
Barron…was a misprint and I feel Donald is over my shoulder making me do it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Farthestnorth: EC!
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne:
Far right evangelical Christianists believe abortion is murder and all the abortions in the US equal genocide. So you might not like the argument if it were used to stop pro-choice speakers.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: Yes, I know.
Canadian Shield
@Mnemosyne:
He’s more famous on the Internet (like, a lot, with the pepe crowd) and now with Liberal colleges having riots where he was scheduled. The damage is that it reinforces the Trump message that elites (socialists, black panthers, social justice warriors, people that want to take your coal jobs away!) are shutting down dialog because they know they are wrong! I get the firehoses and dogs for civil rights, its wasted on Milo talking at your school. It’s feeding the opposition like Trumps immigration policy feeds terrorism.
JordanRules
@Omnes Omnibus: It’s super complex, counselor. I know you don’t even expect me to answer that so I’m not sure what you’re angling at here.
Sorry I’m not a 1A or 2A absolutist.
Jaker
Get rid of Pence too…he’s as bad as Trump…but in a slier way. The swamp of crocodiles there now should be completely refilled with humane honest caring human beings. I take it you have some left?!
Yarrow
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I agree. Just ignore him. No one shows up. He needs that attention to keep going. Don’t give it to him.
Mnemosyne
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
Unfortunately, even at a school as vauntedly liberal as UC Berkeley, there are still more than enough asshole conservatives and other assorted Deplorables to fill the theater.
I lean more towards the Skokie Solution. The American Nazi Party famously won their case in court, but what almost no one remembers is that the citizens of Skokie then arranged a counter-protest so big that the Nazis chickened out and did a smaller march somewhere else.
So I would say that what’s needed is an even larger (but more peaceful) protest. Let Milo and his followers see how vastly outnumbered they are just by the sheer number of people protesting against them. Let them see how few followers they actually have.
sigaba
@Jaker: Let is never lose sight of the fact that Pence is just a Fort Wayne media market right wing radio host who managed to swing his way into a senate seat.
Fun factoid, in the deliverables contract for the movie I’m finishing the producer has to provide a “Pence Letter” and a summary of all “Pence Scenes.” A Pence scene is a sex scene; a Pence letter certified that all the actors were over 18 and depicting characters over 18. Pornograhpers have to collect this information automatically, but as this film isn’t porn, the Pence amendment makes the 18. USC 2257 apply to ALL films.
Millard Filmore
More dominance play by Trump:
twitter.com/domjoly/status/826888856108675072/video/1
Gian
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
honeymoon?
prima nocte
or however the spelling is supposed to be
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
Except that pro-choice advocates don’t actually say that every pregnancy should be aborted, while advocates of genocide like Milo actually say that Muslims should be mass murdered.
And let’s not even get into the fact that the people who claim that abortion is “genocide” are only upset because they think white women get too many abortions, so they’re killing off the white race.
Felonius Monk
Maybe it has already been mentioned:
Canadian Shield
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
Exactly! We need to educate the younger generation on when you need to demonstrate, i think the 8 years of Obama has damaged the young left on what serious shit is. They don’t when and where to protest
sigaba
Oh and by the way Trump’s getting people killed all the sudden.
Also-
OBAMA ATE MY HOMEWORK.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Mnemosyne:
Agree wholeheartedly – but you and I both know that the black bloc will not let that happen. I worked in Oakland for many years, including throughout the Occupy movement, and saw that shit up close. No amount of planning, cooperation, policing, self-policing, or any other tactic helped. I despair of ever seeing a peaceful mass protest in Berkeley or Oakland. I honestly don’t know what would be effective short of turning Nazi tactics on them.
Mnemosyne
@Omnes Omnibus:
Well, we could start with the UN’s Genocide Convention.
Of course, the US decided to conveniently exempt themselves from big chunks of it, because reasons.
Yarrow
@Felonius Monk: Wait, what? A military vehicle flying TRUMP flags? WTF?
Edit: Okay, I just looked it up. Wow. I hope the military disciplines them.
Jaker
Never take free speech for granted; never grant it to those who want to take it from you. And most of all never get TIRED of speaking & hearing it. You can always put the bits you don’t like into your brains dustbin. (My go at a “quote”.)
GregB
Can we assume Trump authorized this botched Yemen raid while Tweeting about Saturday Night Live and singing Lee Greenwood tunes to a mirror?
He din’t need no intelligence reports because, like Fredo Corleone, he’s smart.
Mnemosyne
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
How did the Women’s March go in Oakland? Maybe you need the Pussyhat Squad to show up en masse.
But I’m sure it didn’t help that this event started after dark. The administration should have insisted that it be a lunchtime event. Makes it harder (but not impossible) for the Black Bloc to fuck with it.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: I’m not saying it would be used logically. Just saying it could be used.
Dog Dawg Damn
I just realized “Jeffrey Lord Haw-Haw” is the best nym ever.
JordanRules
@Canadian Shield: Plenty do and have been protesting the right stuff. You’re getting into what appears to me as a strain of respectability politics where our side has to be perfect and fight against perceptions that are inevitable and part of the oppressive cycle. We won’t be perfect in our fight and you’re a fragile ally if you expect that and only brace for how they’ll react instead of affirming what we know is right repeatedly (while always trying to get better at tactics and strategy). Nazis are bad, full stop.
Mnemosyne
@Felonius Monk:
Well, I hope they enjoy knowing that Trump got one of their own killed in his botched operation. Nice job, assholes, and I hope you knew the guy who was KIA.
@sigaba:
“The raid was delayed for operational reasons.” Like, um, because somebody with some actual knowledge thought it might be a bad idea due to some kind of change on the ground or new information?
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
At that point, we would be so far into Republic of Gilead territory that it wouldn’t matter much anyway.
Mike J
@sigaba: DOD said yes, Obama said no was the dream op for Trumpsters. Not like they had to worry about anybody talking about it in the media if it went wrong, but if it went well it would be the only thing on TV.
Mary G
@Yarrow: I’d put pretty good odds on a petulant tweet about kangaroos, tacos, and losers at about 4:30 a.m. EST.
Canadian Shield
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
If there’s a ‘Black Bloc’ problem, then dont create a big protest where they can make it worse. Sure, I’m an old White Canadian guy and you can shrug it off. The US has now devolved but there’s still an MLK day. There is not a Malcolm X day. I think the moral arc of history is still bending to justice, there’s just a tangerine kink in it now. Protest the shit that needs protest, when it’s not important you’re just giving strength to your enemies. IMHO
Mnemosyne
@Mike J:
And then it went really wrong and now the media is talking about it anyway. Whoops!
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
I had a ‘screw it moment’, says MEP who held sign up behind Nigel Farage
I definitely need to have more “screw it moments.” To be followed by “screw it glasses of wine.”
Mnemosyne
@Canadian Shield:
To be fair, a Malcolm X Day gets complicated by the fact that he was murdered on Elijah Muhammad’s orders.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Canadian Shield:
OK.
Jaker
Now the mornings coming over my night
So from you all…I better take flight
For the angels around me suggest
I call it a day & get some rest
Before it’s completely “Mornin'”
JordanRules
From one of Joy’s tweets, I get the feeling she might be a little aggy about Tamron and Roker being replaced by Megyn Kelly.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: Yeah, probably true. Some of those folks are really out there. They’re not that far off that anyway in their own communities.
@Mary G: Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne:
They are?
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Mnemosyne:
I marched in SF, where I live, but I heard nothing but positive things about the Oakland march. I suspect your point about it being a daytime event is a big part of the reason – and most of it was around the lake, not downtown, with slightly fewer tempting windows to smash. Even the black bloc dickheads have some sense that smashing stuff + lots of kids nearby + women who look like your mom or sister + broad daylight = too much trouble.
I hate those assholes. Whenever some get arrested, it inevitably turns out that they are mostly (not entirely) white kids from rich suburbs with little to no connection to any cause. Breaking stuff is fun and daddy’s money will get them off the hook.
Mnemosyne
@Major Major Major Major:
Reuters is.
And I have a feeling that his sneaky trip to meet the dead SEAL’s return without the Press Corpse in tow is not going to make them happy.
IOW, developing.
Redshift
@Jaker: Because the thing that’s supposed to stop a president from doing something like that is a sense of shame, and Trump doesn’t have one.
Seriously, this is what we’re talking about norms being violated. There’s no way for anyone to force the president to vet an appointee to the NSC, because any sane president should want to vet appointees.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
Gah, forgot to misspell the P*hat word and now I’m in moderation. I can haz out pleze?
Mnemosyne
@JordanRules:
Rumor is that Joy’s show is next on the chopping block. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of the conditions for CNN to get Trump’s talking heads back.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: This is still the only place I’ve seen people talking about it, but I’ll wait.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: Joy Reid is on MSNBC, so I don’t think her show being cancelled has much to do with CNN getting Trump’s people back. But who knows with that crowd.
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
Well, that’s what I get for never watching cable news.
Still, the rumor someone posted earlier is that her show is going to be canceled in the next two weeks.
Mnemosyne
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
I wanted to see your comment, but I have a cold and I have to go to bed now. ?
JordanRules
“The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion”
– Frederick Douglass
So glad he’s back. ;)
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Mnemosyne: Just for you (everybody else look away):
I marched in SF, where I live, but I heard nothing but positive things about the Oakland march. I suspect your point about it being a daytime event is a big part of the reason – and most of it was around the lake, not downtown, with slightly fewer tempting windows to smash. Even the black bloc dickheads have some sense that smashing stuff + lots of kids nearby + women who look like your mom or sister + broad daylight = too much trouble.
I hate those assholes. Whenever some get arrested, it inevitably turns out that they are mostly (not entirely) white kids from rich suburbs with little to no connection to any cause. Breaking stuff is fun and daddy’s money will get them off the hook.
Hope you feel better quickly.
Yarrow
Well, isn’t this special.
So his “Fascism Forever” club “shows the depth of Gorsuch’s right-wing credentials.” Sure, they’re totally not the same thing at all, fascism and conservatism.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
Ok, since we seem to (maybe) have a couple of lawyers listening in right now, I have a question. (I am not a Lawyer).
First if a popular radio host, call him person R, says multiple times, over several days, that person X is a threat to the country and somebody should “2nd amendement them”, publicly, on the radio, where millions of people who listen to him hear it.
Then random person Y ups and shoots person X. Person Y is caught, and is it is found in the investigation that he targeted X specifically because radio host R publicly has said he was a clear and immediate threat to the country. Wouldn’t radio host R be in some way criminally liable to the murder?
As far as I understand it, the getaway driver of a bank robbery is still liable for murder if one of the other robbers accidentally kills a bystander, even if he never entered the bank, and never carried a weapon. How is radio host R different?
Mnemosyne
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
I stayed up a few minutes longer just in case. ?
Yes, I think it’s daylight that makes it harder for the black bloc to operate — they usually pull their crap under cover of darkness. We don’t get them down here in LA very often, probably because of our sucky public transportation system. I drove for 90 minutes and paid $22 to go protest at LAX the other night — it was worth it to me, but not as easy as taking BART would be for a black bloc type.
Darkrose
@Canadian Shield: My Black History Month wish is for white folks to stop throwing MLK in people’s faces, especially if all you know is the fluffy friendly version and conveniently ignore the fact that the man was murdered.
Mnemosyne
@Darkrose:
Strangely, Trump’s horrible speech seems to be bringing the closet Frederick Douglass fans out in force today. I think I’ve seen more (and more different) quotes of his than usual. Thanks, Donny!
Mike J
JordanRules
@Yarrow: Was waiting for another source, but hooo boy if this is true…..well, hell, all I think I can be hopeful for is maybe more on our side will get ready and stay ready. Trumpkins will be cool with it of course.
@Darkrose: Bloop!
Aussie Sheila
Re Black Blok protesters
In my youth I was a member of a very left wing party in Oz. One that had a lot of influence in the TU movement where I am still an official.
These clowns (BB) and their type were always understood to be 60% plus provacateurs, planted by our state police Special Branch or our ASIO (your FBI).
Sturdy workers were always planted between the main demo and these clowns, and they were never ever allowed to get close to, or interfere with, the main action.
I have no patience with violent anarchists. They lack a sufficient and plausible theory of the State and it’s power, and they are never there for the long hard haul of radical reform. F$&@k them.
As for a professional fascist provacateur like Milo, the best way to deal with that little pissant, is to ignore him and his callow wanna be fascist following, and the next day hold a massive anti-fascist rally, that includes as wide a group as possible.
I am afraid that I think this stuff is now transcending normal student politics.
With the kind of politics now in the ascendant in the US more radical and wiser heads should prevail, and provocations like these idiots should be dealt with.
I also agree that Milo and his pathetic fanboys should not be prevented from meeting or speaking. Just crush them with a big, inclusive and laughing demo either the next day, or the same day, in a way which draws attention away from them and onto the anti fascist demo.
I hate BB types. They are always infiltrated by spies and coppers, and at best they are simply privileged AHoles ‘playing’ at revolution. They are a danger to the movement.
Timurid
@JordanRules:
Obama’s time machine is finally paying off!
Yarrow
@JordanRules: If you click through they have photos of the yearbook with pictures of him and captions showing he’s the founder and president of the group. Looks pretty legit.
Redshift
@Aussie Sheila:
The annoying thing here is that they don’t have to get close to the main action. They can stay at the edge, break some windows, get arrested, and the news cameras will be all over them. The only thing that seems to prevent that is if the main demo is huge enough that it has to be the big story.
JordanRules
@Yarrow: Had already seen the yearbook stuff, wasn’t sure if it was related to the new revelation of a Fascist Forever club. Kissinger quote was already foul and scary enough, but yeah I expect more ugliness to be revealed, just want an additional source too.
TenguPhule
@BBA: I give it less then 90 days before we’re not only up there, but calling for more ammunition.
TenguPhule
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]: 1st amendment. The prosecution has to prove to the jury’s satisfaction that the radio speaker’s words were directly linked to the crime. Which can be very hard with some creative weasel wording by the speaker. Short of directing like an actual mob hit i.e. “Don’t use an axe to whack him, especially not the one located in the closet to your left…no, your other left.” its damn near impossible to get a conviction that survives appeal.
TenguPhule
@efgoldman: Have you forgotten how stupid Republicans are? They blame Katrina on President Obama.
J R in WV
@Karen:
I don’t think Pence would start a war with Mexico, nor Australia, would he? Perhaps with Yemen, maybe with Iran, but Mexico and Australia? That’s crazy. 25th Amendment crazy.
Aussie Sheila
@J R in WV:
tRump’s twitter tantrum is not being taken lightly here by the VSP of our centrist US alliance establishment. They are beside themselves.
The US alliance is accepted here up to the point of being dragged into war, whereupon it quickly takes on the aroma of a prawn in the sun. The election of 45 has damaged the US ‘brand’ here, and this contretemps has merely hardened the widespread view that the US is ‘mad’, and quite unlike us. It is a mistake for usians to believe that the US and Oz are culturally similar. They are in superficial ways, but there is a deep gulf between the peoples of the two countries in relation to how a society should be ordered, and a healthy understanding here that US precepts about the world and how it should be run are more about its values than the values of its satraps afar.
J R in WV
Let me say something about the 25th amendment vrs impeachment. If the VP Mike Pence and a majority of the cabinet (which is only 5 or 6 people so far) declare the President is not fit for office, at that moment, Mr Trump is no longer in power. Therefore he cannot start a war abroad, although he may be able to start a civil war.
Then it becomes more difficult than impeachment, as the “not fit” side needs a 2/3rds majority in both houses, where impeachment only needs a 50% + 1 in the House and 2/3rds in the Senate.
The important difference is that in impeachment, technically, Mr Trump would remain president until the Senate convicts him of high crimes and misdemeanors. So he may be able to start foreign wars between the beginning and the end of the impeachment process, unless that process takes only an hour.
Which was not the case when Nixon was impeached. The first step of impeachment in the House of Representatives took, like weeks IIRC. Committee hearings, then a “trial” on the House floor.
Of course, after being impeached by the House, Nixon avoided the second half of that process, not being “convicted” by the Senate due to his resignation. I will always believe that VP Ford promised Nixon that he would be pardoned after resignation to prevent Nixon from being held criminally responsible for the illegal actions and cover-up directed by Nixon’s office.
So I suspect that the 25th amendment process may be used to remove Trump from his position or power. The sooner the better.
AnotherBruce
@FlyingToaster: Jesus, even I flipped a couple Benjis towards the ACLU. I meant it to only be one, and I was a little shocked at my bank statement. But clearly God wanted me to contribute til it hurts so I got over it.
Chet Murthy
@Omnes Omnibus: -well- …. sure, it’s merely legal ,not “ok”. But in similar fashion, can we not understand that while it’s not legal, it -is- (possibly) socially positive to (ahem) punch Nazis?
I’m not saying this real well. But the POINT of these Nazis, is that they abuse the norms of civilized society, to further their aims of destroying same. So sure, we civilized folks don’t -legitimize- violence aimed at these jokers, but we don’t exactly boo and despise it, either.
Going back to Malcolm X for a second, I think it’s relevant to note that, back then, it ain’t like Malcolm got treated like Milo today. Civil rights protestors were attacked by both the official forces, and lots of self-deputized gangs. By which I mean that, if you -really- wanna argue that the right comparison is Milo // Malcolm, you’re really arguing that it’s OK for a lot, a lot of state violence to be sent Milo’s way. Because that’s what really happened, right?
I’m not a big fan of these violent demos myself. I’d rather see, say, the next day a rally for impeaching Trump and sending Bannon to Russia,with a show trial complete with bill of particulars, etc, etc.
But that’s not really on the cards, is it?
And frankly: it’s not reasonable to allow people to publicly advocate genocide. It ISN’T. I don’t give a damn about free speech. The Germans have rules about these as well as other affronts to civil society // democracy, specificaly because of the damage that can result from normalizing such speech.
Chet Murthy
@Yarrow: Yeah, and they’re steaming hypocrites. Let’s see ’em argue for 1st-degree murder sentences for any woman who is caught terminating a pregnancy. Let’s see ’em argue for manslaughter for any miscarriage where there’s reason to think the mother’s behaviour was ap partial cause.
They never do. They’re steaming hypocrites.
Felixmoronia
@J R in WV: One of the better things with the 25A remedy is that Pence will only become acting President and never hold the title of Pres.
Chet Murthy
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]: OH Oh oh, I know the answer to this one! “Because Rush Limbaugh can do no wrong!” Or was it Bill O’reilly. I forget which one it was, who encouraged the murderer of tha abortion doctor.
Kat
@Mnemosyne:
I think it’s illegal for the press to film/photograph the return to the US of dead military personnel.
EBT
@Omnes Omnibus: Let’s raise taxes versus let’s lower taxes is a debate. Let’s raise taxes versus let’s burn all the jews is a beating.
opiejeanne
@Major Major Major Major: NY Times had an article online, and they said in the article that WaPo had reported on it first.
SRW1
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Will would mean Kate, and Kate might still be bummed about Trump’s twitter meddling after those nude pics of her appeared. Anybody know whether she is in command of a decent death stare?
Chet Murthy
@SRW1:
Paging our FLOTUS Michelle Obama to the white courtesy phone for a message ….
The Truffle
@JordanRules: It sounds like the protestors were outside anarchist/agitators, not students. You know, similar to the masked people who trashed a Starbucks on Inauguration Day. I don’t get why this Mellow Yellow guy hasn’t gone back to the UK already. We have enough far-right types here in the US; we don’t need another one.
Oh, and as for free speech: I’m all for loud and nonviolent protests. If you’re going to invite a professional troll, expect protests.
Meanwhile, Cracked is the best. This is a great piece on protestors and false equivalency crap.
No One You Know
@Jaker: Bobbleheads! I wish I had the skillz to do an animated GIF…Trump shouting and stabbing the air with His Almighty Finger, hair flopping, and the Bobblehead Buddies on either side.
No One You Know
@cmorenc: I’m starting to think that protests that are female-driven and dominated would be a great way to put misogyny on display. Seriously. The optics for Black Bloc intimidation would look a lot worse if it showed Black Bloc v. pink kitty hats…
JMS
The best punishment would be to have the event and only have a few people show up. Like it’s a boring lecture or township zoning board meeting. And someone should take pictures of how poorly attended it is. Not sure how to do that–maybe offer good counterprogramming to attract the type of people who would attend? But sending the message that nobody cares enough to bother and that makes them pathetic would piss them off.
Miss Bianca
@Timurid: Butbutbutbut…EMAILS!! Benghazi!!