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Let there be snark.

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if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

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I really should read my own blog.

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… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

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Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

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

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Battle won, war still ongoing.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Trump’s deafening silence (Updated x2)

Trump’s deafening silence (Updated x2)

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The governor of Virginia has called a state of emergency, and cops are trying to clear the streets of Charlottesville of violent Nazi troublemakers. Senators are speaking up, some specifically calling out Trump, who is quick to react to acts of terrorism in other countries, for remaining silent during this shameful crisis in America.

Melania Trump issued a mealy-mouthed, both-sidesy statement via Twitter:

Racist shitbag David Duke calls the hate rally what is is:

Still nothing from Trump.

He’ll make a statement eventually — he has no choice. It’s possible his pea-brain is even now processing that this incident is too big for Twitter and he has to make a public statement on camera.

But it will either be as perfunctory and non-specific as the third Mrs. Trump’s in identifying the perpetrators, or maybe he’ll acknowledge the racism angle and remind us that he is “the least racist person you’ve ever met.”

He won’t say the only two words that would be truly meaningful under the circumstances: I’m sorry. (As valued commenter Brachiator noted, “I resign” would work just as well.)

UPDATE: So, he went with option #1 outlined above:

Shameful and wholly inadequate.

UPDATE 2: The shitgibbon tweets again:

“Sad.” Yeah. Sounds like the press conference will be about praising the cops, as someone predicted in an earlier thread (“all that we have done, and are doing, to make it better”), and possibly Trump sucking his own dick about any federal assistance made available to Virginia.

Trump will almost certainly utter another vague “can’t we all just get along” statement. But nobody hold your breath waiting for him to name-check Nazis, racists, bigots and white supremacists.

I was thinking of my grandfather earlier, watching that footage of Nazis waving their flags. My grandfather waded ashore on D-Day at Utah Beach, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and made it all the way to Berlin without a scratch, kicking fascist ass every step of the way.

And now, thanks to the votes of 62 million flaming assholes, many of whom are the children of WWII vets, Nazis are marching through the streets of an American city, newly emboldened. Fucking hell.

Reader Interactions

296Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    He’ll make a statement eventually — he has no choice.

    Yup

    Someone below said he’ll thank the police. If he had a lousy golf game though, he’ll blame Obama. This might be one tweet that Kelly might want to approve

  3. 3.

    Brachiator

    He won’t say the only two words that would be truly meaningful under the circumstances: I’m sorry.

    “I resign” would work just as well.

  4. 4.

    lamh36

    [email protected] will have something shortly on the white nationalist riot in Charlottesville, per source

    From Glenn Thrush

    Here again, my ‪prediction: WH issues statement with no outright condemnation but instead praise of police & local govt, & comment on counter protestors‬

  7. 7.

    dr. bloor

    He’ll make a statement eventually — he has no choice. It’s possible his pea-brain is even now processing that this incident is too big for Twitter and he has to make a public statement on camera.

    Give them time. Given their respective ages and propensity for alcohol, it’s going to take Trump, Sessions, and Bannon a while to finish their circle jerk before they come up with some mealy-mouth sorry-not-sorry statement.

  9. 9.

    Yarrow

    Reposted from previous thread:

    Melania never has had any right to tell the rest of us what to do. She sold herself for money when she married the racist shitbag. If that’s how she wants to live her life, whatever, her choice. She doesn’t get to then turn around and lecture the rest of us on morals and ethics. She’s a fraud.

  10. 10.

    CarolDuhart2

    Trump rode in on the bigot vote. If he says anything at all, I would rather it be bland and not pour oil on the fire.

  12. 12.

    lamh36

    We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!

    From Trump

  13. 13.

    Cheryl Rofer

    AANNNNNDDD! (TRUMPET FANFARE)

  14. 14.

    Yarrow

    These racists, white supremacists, fascists and Nazis are the GOP base. The Republican elected officials and candidates trying to pretend otherwise are lying. They need to face up to what their party is and deal with their own.

  17. 17.

    JPL

    Bill Clinton’s statement

    Even as we protect free speech and assembly, we must condemn hatred, violence and white supremacy

    Trump’s statement was stronger than I thought it would be, but Clinton at least identified the problem.

  18. 18.

    Hal

    All kinds of hate are bad! Like black lives matter. No different from the KKK amiright?!

    Just waiting for inevitable bullshit comparisons from right wingers.

  19. 19.

    Haydnseek

    @Yarrow: Exactly. “No good comes from violence.” I guess that’s why your pee hooker loving sugar daddy encouraged his minions to beat the shit out of protesters at every fucking one of his mini-Nuremberg rallies during the campaign.

  20. 20.

    Kay

    Just to remind everyone. Donald Trump spent an entire day last week attacking a Senator from Connecticut but neither he nor any of his low quality hires can spend 30 seconds denouncing this.

    They battle plenty. They’re quick to the guns when their own sorry asses are on the line. It’s just other people they can’t be bothered with.

    Maybe they’re golfing again, or selling gold club memberships for the Trump Family. They line up there with that clown like car salesman in front of a dealership. Is it worth it? When they went into “public service” did they imagine they’d be spending whole days promoting this sleazy family?

  21. 21.

    BBA

    I will state once again: I am against punching Nazis. If you have non-Nazis, like Richard Spencer and his fashy cosplayers, punching them is counterproductive and the wrong thing to do, no matter how good it feels.

    If you have actual Nazis, which we don’t, punching them won’t stop them. They are enemies of all humankind, and should be killed.

  23. 23.

    Schlemazel

    All that hate against the honest, hard working, real Americans just has to stop so they don’t feel they have to hold torchlight rallies to defend themselves!

  25. 25.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Donald did tweet a pathetic milquetoast “both sides” message.

    If he wants to be taken slightly seriously, he should IMMEDIATELY fire Bannon, Gorka, and Miller.

  26. 26.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    Take our country back? From who?! You’re in fucking charge! What does “taking our country back” actually look like? Mass deporting non-whites?

    Duke would shred the constitution in a second if it meant he could do that. What a POS. Glad there were more counter protesters than nazis today. Good job Charlottesville!

  28. 28.

    oatler.

    I noticed a lack of mention iin conservative outlets like Reason and Ricochet. I don’t think they’re ignoring it, just waiting for the Koch food processor to present acceptable versions to the cannon fodder base.
    “Were the Brownshirts German versions of the Boston Tea Party patriots?”

  31. 31.

    dr. bloor

    @BBA: They’re holding rallies by torchlight, yelling “blood and soil”, and being backed by armed paramilitary whose “cosplay” costumes include very expensive weapons with live rounds in them. What are they missing that prevents you from recognizing them as Nazis?

  32. 32.

    lamh36

    Alex Witt on @MSNBC now allowing the VA GOP rep turn this into an opposing sides don’t listen to one another bullshit!!!

  35. 35.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!
    1:19 PM – Aug 12, 2017

    He couldn’t even condemn Nazis by name? My god what a loser.

  36. 36.

    jharp

    let’s communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence.

    Fuck You Melania.

    It’s your fucking husband spreading the hate and violence.

    You two are vile human beings. The very worst of this earth.

  37. 37.

    Betty Cracker

    Here’s Trump being forceful and specific about terrorists who AREN’T his political base:

  38. 38.

    Caphilldcne

    After 40 years and a half trillion dollars the John Bircher sugar daddies of the Republic have managed to drag us back to the 30s.

  44. 44.

    Kay

    Here’s the President of the United States promoting his racist birther theory:

    “An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that @BarackObama’s birth certificate is a fraud.”

    Donald Trump doesn’t want to talk about it anymore but this is what launched his political career and the genesis matters- what happens matters. He came to power on a blatantly racist theme – it was key to his rise. They can all pretend this didn’t happen but it did happen- this is the source of their power.

    Obama launched with “there are no red states and blue states, but instead there is a United States” – one man came to power using unity and love and the other came to power using division and hate and that determined what came after. That’s what character is- it’s the grounding, the genesis, the bedrock. It matters because it’s what you build on.

  45. 45.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Dave C:
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_Soil

    Blood and Soil (German: Blut und Boden) refers to a racist ideology that focuses on ethnicity based on two factors, descent blood (of a folk) and territory. It celebrates the relationship of a people to the land they occupy and cultivate, and it places a high value on the virtues of rural living.

    The doctrine not only called for a “back to the land” approach and re-adoption of rural values; it held that German land was bound, perhaps mystically, to German blood.[8] Peasants were the Nazi cultural heroes, who held charge of German racial stock and German history—as when a memorial of a medieval peasant uprising was the occasion for a speech by Darré praising them as force and purifier of German history.[9] This would also lead them to understand the natural order better, and, in the end, only the man who worked the land really possessed it.[10] Urban culture was decried as a weakness, “asphalt culture”, that only the Führer’s will could eliminate — sometimes, as a code for Jewish influence.[11]

    It contributed to the Nazi ideal of a woman: a sturdy peasant, who worked the land and bore strong children, contributing to praise for athletic women tanned by outdoor work.[12] That country women gave birth to more children than city ones, also was a factor in the support.[13]

    Carl Schmitt argued that a people would develop laws appropriate to its “blood and soil” because authenticity required loyalty to the Volk over abstract universals.[14]

    Neues Volk displayed demographic charts to deplore the destruction of the generous Aryan families’ farmland and claiming that the Jews were eradicating traditional German peasantry.[15] Posters for schools depicted and deplored the flight of people from the countryside to the city.

  48. 48.

    d58826

    @lamh36: was about to make the same comment. Bothsidesism. It’s all the liberals fault.

    None of the Gooper are identifying the violence as coming from Neo-Nazis. None of them are placing the blame on the neo-nazi/Confederate die hards. The Gooper on MSNBC is saying they are not republicans or conservatives. Well maybe but they are Trump supporters. The same way they are completely ignoring the armed militias. But then they are all part of the GOP base. Everyone is opposed to hate but no one will address who the haters are.

  49. 49.

    Schlemazel

    @Dave C:
    In the original German “Blut und Boden” the phrase refers to a racist ideology that focuses on ethnicity based on two factors, descent (blood) and where you live (soil) It celebrates the relationship of a people to the land they occupy and work. It places a high value on the virtues of rural living.

    DOes any of that sound familiar?

  50. 50.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Betty Cracker: Yes. Some of the GOP statements are pretty good, more coming through now. But I’ve got to get some lunch and then head to Albuquerque, so my contributions will slow down.

    One thing: Our president and vice president can’t say Nazis are bad.

  52. 52.

    Yarrow

    @d58826:

    None of the Gooper are identifying the violence as coming from Neo-Nazis. None of them are placing the blame on the neo-nazi/Confederate die hards.

    Of course they aren’t. It would mean condemning themselves.

  55. 55.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    What’s the situation with the police in Charlottesville? Is there a reason they couldn’t have gotten reinforcements?

  56. 56.

    d58826

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Some of the GOP statements are pretty good,

    Unless they condemn the neo-nazi/alt-right mindset then the statements are no more meaningful than the usual ‘thoughts and prayers’ after a mass shooting

  58. 58.

    Chyron HR

    Well, it’s a shame that Nazis took over the country in a free election, but I think history will agree that it was more important to punish the Democrats for offering people free doughnuts.

  60. 60.

    Keith P.

    Now’s as good a time as any to re-watch the KKK Biddies match from “GLOW”. Marc Maron’s commentary is priceless.

  61. 61.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Wow, Pence is so concise, so elegant yet direct… IN SAYING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE!

    Empty f*@#ing suit.

  62. 62.

    BBA

    @dr. bloor: Honestly? Because I’m a coward, and I’m not prepared to engage in mass murder of my enemies, even these pathetic specimens who barely qualify as human.

    And because they’re even more cowardly than I am, and they know it.

  65. 65.

    Chris

    @Brachiator:

    Oh, hell no. That’s way too easy.

    No, what he should say is, in fact, “I’m sorry.”

    Followed by the more specific “I’m sorry that I chose to ride a wave of violent racism into the White House, I’m sorry that I spent a year and a half of campaigning giving these people the biggest platform they’ve had in over half a century, and I’m sorry that I’ve spent half a year since my election giving them cover as they force themselves into the mainstream.”

    Then followed by “our Jewish, Hispanic, black and Muslim fellow citizens are our fellow citizens, full stop. They are not less American or less deserving of our protection than a tenth-generation Appalachian white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. I am sorry that I built an entire presidential campaign around the notion that they were, and the people in Charlotte who still believe that notion are wrong and dangerous.”

    And then, followed by this;

    “Effective immediately, I am directing the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to make the surveillance and investigation of white supremacist and extreme-right-wing militant movements their highest priority. These movements and the violence they promote have been on the rise for a decade now, and they deserve as much attention as we give to jihadist terrorism.

    Effective immediately, I am firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka, and several more of my advisers. These people are racial supremacists who support and promote the aforementioned ideologies, and the American people, particularly those who that their beliefs single out as targets, have a right to expect that such people are not making national policy, much as they would if these people were Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

    Effective immediately, I am rescinding my instructions to ICE and CBP directing them to sweep up as many illegal immigrants as possible, rescinding my executive orders targeting refugees and immigrants from certain Muslim countries, and rescinding my decision to build a border wall with Mexico. Those projects were ridiculous scams, which do nothing to make us safer, do much to embolden the aforementioned racist and violent ideologues, and consume resources that could be much better spent fighting them and the other real threats to our citizenry and our democracy.”

    That’s what Trump would say, if he somehow had woken up on the right side of the bed and miraculously become a good person, and if he actually wanted to do the right thing and begin atoning for his past behavior to date.

    Never happen, of course.

  67. 67.

    Schlemazel

    @trollhattan:
    Yeah, it is almost as if he could imagine what it is like to not be white enough!

    Republicans only feel their own pain, they can’t imagine the suffering of others

  68. 68.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @BBA:
    I support punching Nazis. It took some thought, since I generally am strongly against political violence. What I decided on is that this is not merely a case of free but unpleasant political speech. First, people whose policy is genocide are starting to get real political influence. That at least calls for strong reactions. But it’s not my main argument. What really convinces me that physical violence against these people is acceptable is that they are not merely engaging in speech or politics. They are waging organized campaigns of intimidation, harassment, and occasional outright harm. They are directly tied to Gamergate, for one example. The proper way to deal with such things is to get the authorities to, but the authorities have made it plain they either do not care or mildly support the Nazis. They will continue to inflict as much harm as they think they can get away with, so they need to be made afraid.

    @dr. bloor:
    They’re also giving Nazi salutes.

  69. 69.

    dr. bloor

    @BBA: Advocating or acting violently against them does not necessarily follow from acknowledging them to be Nazis.

    As for cowardice, that doesn’t exclude them from being Nazis. It’s a sine qua non of Nazism.

  72. 72.

    debbie

    If I did Twitter and I had followers, I’d tweet this to Trump: You did this. YOU.

    See how his bots like that.

  75. 75.

    d58826

    Even some of the D’s are giving Der Fuhrer credit for a strong statement. But where are all of the ‘enter group name’ must condemn this type of statements. If a Muslim runs a red light there are demands that the Muslim community condemn running red lights. Obama had to disavow the statements of Rev. Wright but these guys are getting a pass on being singled out by name. At least little Mario named names. This is domestic terrorism and should be labeled as such.

  80. 80.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @lamh36:
    What a horror show. Hope whoever was caught. From those pictures, it looks like the car has been surrounded

  81. 81.

    Shalimar

    Why do I get the feeling that Trump’s “one” we should come together as includes the Nazis?

  82. 82.

    different-church-lady

    UPDATE: So, he went with option #1 outlined above:

    Within a few days he’ll also use option 2.

  83. 83.

    d58826

    Kelly O on MSNBC is noting that Der Fuhrer/Flotus/Paul Ryan managed to make statements w/o mentioning race and or the Nazi mindset. Every one is opposed to HATE. I’ll bet even the neo-nazis are opposed to HATE.

  86. 86.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Dave C: It’s a Nazi term…about how rural Germans are the true Germans, not those urbanized masses. Original German: Blut und Boden.

  87. 87.

    different-church-lady

    CNN makes a (non) funny:

    Trump urges unity, condemns hate in response to ‘alt-right’ Virginia protests

    Yes, of course it’s entirely predictable he would condemn the “hate” coming from anti-Nazis.

    (Yes, I know that’s not what CNN meant, just interesting one could read it that way.)

  88. 88.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    @Kay: And broadly calling Mexicans “Bad Hombres” and rapists was one of his first major campaign moments. And Muslims, and BLM, and women. But yeah, he’s totes against “hatred”…eyeroll

  89. 89.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Mnemosyne:
    That’s another reason open carry is a bad idea. I’m assuming impersonating a National Guardsman is a crime, yes?

  90. 90.

    different-church-lady

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    U.S is greatest when we join together & oppose those seeking to divide us.

    Ah, nice to see Pence make a statement against Trump at long last!

  91. 91.

    Amir Khalid

    Trump’s tweet is anodyne if you look only at what it says. If you look at who’s saying it, it stinks of hypocrisy.

  92. 92.

    Betty Cracker

    @debbie: Here’s what I tweeted at the mofo:

    (Not that it’ll do any good. But it makes me feel better.)

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @d58826: Kelly O on MSNBC is noting that Der Fuhrer/Flotus/Paul Ryan managed to make statements w/o mentioning race

    props to her, usually anchorbots, especially of the paler hue, are reluctant to acknowledge race in any way

    it’s like talking about the leaky pipe on a burning house, but I think we’ve confirmed that his staff sometimes tweets in his name from a different device, it’s weird that Kellyanne Conway decided to tweet out for The Second Lady instead of in The Rough Beast’s name

    good god, someone drove a car into the crowd– gonna take a breath before I say it was deliberate, but it’s hard to imagine it’s not

  94. 94.

    d58826

    Just a reminder – about 8 years ago Homeland Security came out with two reports on domestic terrorism. One detailed the risks from the left and the other from the right. The RWNJ media went ballistic over the report about the right. Homeland security promptly folded and withdrew the report on rightwing terrorism. .

  95. 95.

    debbie

    Unbelievable that Trump would pick this occasion to be the first time to keep his mouth shut.

  96. 96.

    Schlemazel

    @debbie:
    taking your approach I just tweeted this to him
    David Duke says they are there supporting YOU and fulfilling YOUR promise – YOU made them believe this is OK.

    as if that will make a difference

    EDIT: I see BC got there first but I’d like to see the asshole buried in these tweets

  102. 102.

    Roger Moore

    @Schlemazel:

    All that hate against the honest, hard working, real Americans just has to stop so they don’t feel they have to hold torchlight rallies to defend themselves!

    I can feel their economic anxiety from here in California.

  103. 103.

    Schlemazel

    @debbie:
    Not the first time, he has done it before. For instance when the Muslim community center got bombed in Minneapolis

  104. 104.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    From Cole’s twitter feed:

    Ronna McDanielVerified account @GOPChairwoman
    The hate & bigotry on display in #charlottesville is dangerous & cowardly.

    Jim Himes‏Verified account @ jahimes 1h1 hour ago
    It’s not cowardly, Ronna. They’re marching openly without masks. They are empowered. Now let’s talk about HOW and WHY they are empowered.

    Ms McDaniel, née Romney, recently hired a birther to be an official spokesperson for the RNC. Her uncle brought trump in to make robocalls in Michigan and Ohio.

  107. 107.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jane Chong‏ @ chongathon 41m41 minutes ago
    Just a reminder that this is what @POTUS tweeted after the protests that triggered cancellation of Milo Yiannopoulos’s speech at Berkeley:

    Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

  108. 108.

    smintheus

    There is no place for this kind of violence in America.

    Which kinds of violence are acceptable, then?

  111. 111.

    Schlemazel

    @Roger Moore:
    That whole economic anxiety thing could be cured if we just allowed them to own slaves again. Make the Confederacy Great Again

  114. 114.

    BBA

    @Schlemazel: Fuck. I recant. These are Nazis. KILL EVERY LAST FUCKING ONE OF THEM.

    And then plead guilty to murder, because as terrible a crime that is, it is a greater crime to let a Nazi live.

  117. 117.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Am in Bedminster for meetings & press conference on V.A. & all that we have done, and are doing, to make it better-but Charlottesville sad!

    the vile despicable oaf is choosing this moment to brag about his imaginary accomplishments

  118. 118.

    Chris

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    I’m currently re-reading Paxton’s book on Vichy France, and that same theme (of the rugged honesty of the rural man versus the untrustworthy teeming urban masses) has already come through a few times. Actually, it’s depressing just how much of the book is perfectly relatable from a United-States-2017 point of view.

  119. 119.

    Shalimar

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sounds like at least one Fox News fan was paying attention to reports from Europe about ISIS truck drivers driving into crowds. Copying terrorist tactics from other terrorists.

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Chris: the romantic and to no small extent race-based fetishizing of the “Heartland” has been floating around for as long as I’ve been following politics– some Americans are more American than other Americans. Gets ginned up with every primary campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire

  121. 121.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Matthew Yglesias‏Verified account @ mattyglesias 7m7 minutes ago
    Back in June, Trump’s DHS decided to cancel planned spending on deradicalizing violent white nationalists.

  123. 123.

    lamh36

    there is footage on Twitter of the car ramming into protestor lane and other cars…and you can see someone basically crushed between 2 cars!!!

  124. 124.

    mike in dc

    This will get much worse before it gets (much) better. So long as Steve Bannon, Seb Gorka, Michael Anton, Stephen Miller and Jeff Sessions are in this administration, white supremacism specifically will not be condemned.

  125. 125.

    Librarian

    This latest incident is on Water St, which is on the south side of downtown, one block south of the downtown mall and 2 blocks south of Lee Park. It’s some way from where most of the action was earlier.

  126. 126.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    The Ape is going to speak at 3 pm eastern. I’m sure KAC is typing furiously and carefully, and we’ll see one of his patented readings straight from the page in his unique hostage-video-cum-second-grader-called-on-to-read-aloud style

  127. 127.

    Mnemosyne

    @Schlemazel:

    I realize this makes me a bad person, but I’m just glad it was one of their side who decided to be murderous and not one of ours reacting stupidly.

    Those poor people. I hope the local hospital stayed staffed up even if they canceled the elective surgeries so they’re prepared for the influx of victims.

  130. 130.

    FlipYrWhig

    Betty I think VA in that second tweet is “Veterans Administration” not “Virginia.”

  131. 131.

    Chris

    @Shalimar:

    Is it bad that one of my reactions to this is “please, please be a Nazi who drove into a crowd of antifascist protesters, and not the other way around?” The latter is exactly what the MSM and GOP would want to let them sweep the entire Nazi march under the carpet and plaster the airwaves with coverage of the dangerous left-wing anarchist and how the real story here is that yes, Nazis are bad, but the left has gone murderously insane with their Nazi Derangement Syndrome!

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Yeah. Sadly, this stuff is consistent all around the globe.

  132. 132.

    lamh36

    Video on CNN showing car plowing into counter protestors and then reversing…seems VERY intent

  133. 133.

    Another Scott

    @FlipYrWhig: Virginia voted for Hillary so we’re (effectively) dead to him.

    That’s the way his tiny brain works.

    (sigh)

    Fingers crossed for the injured…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    One of John McCain’s lieutenants, now with Kasich

    John Weaver‏ @ JWGOP
    Trump, Pence & Sessions need to denounce these white supremacist nationalist cowards. I’m expecting silence, which equates to support.
    And General Kelly could send a strong signal by firing Gorka today.

  139. 139.

    sukabi

    @d58826: it was a study that was undertaken by W’s DHS and was released shortly after O’s inauguration…of course they lost their shit.

  144. 144.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Bradley P. Moss, Esq‏Verified account @ BradMossEsq 45m45 minutes ago
    People were marching with torches chanting that us Jews will not replace them and this is all you have to say?

    trump has, IIANM, three Jewish grandchildren

  147. 147.

    lamh36

    @Major Major Major Major:

    there is footage on Twitter of the car ramming into protestor lane and other cars…and you can see someone basically crushed between 2 cars!!!

    the charger hit another car and hat car smashed into a van and i saw someone between the 2nd car and the van

  149. 149.

    Shalimar

    @Chris: If it’s bad, then a lot of us are bad for having the same thought. We learned a long time ago, before I was even born from Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers, authority is at least passively on the white supremacy side and any violence from us will give them an excuse to crack down even more.

  150. 150.

    Chris

    @Mnemosyne:

    I realize this makes me a bad person, but I’m just glad it was one of their side who decided to be murderous and not one of ours reacting stupidly.

    Oh, that’s definite? Okay.

    Yeah, no, I know exactly what you mean. Given the quality of our elites in general, and the piece of shit in the White House specifically, this is absolutely the kind of thing I worry about too. I’ve been scared for months of what would happen if another 9/11 happened while he was in the White House, and he then used it to bulldoze past dozens of legal and political roadblocks to implement more of his racist shit.

  152. 152.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    Sole good thing about it being on video: there’s no way they’re not going to be able to find the guy. Every cop in every state within driving distance has photos of the car, the driver, and the license plate number by now.

    He’s going to prison for a long, long time.

  154. 154.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    Just watched the video of the car. I hope they catch him and try him on everything in the book. It’s becoming a day where I hate (even more than usual) segments of our society.

  157. 157.

    Shalimar

    @schrodingers_cat: Kelly is a moderating influence. Trump is a hurricane of destructiveness. Kelly is holding up one of those portable fans trying to create winds to hold him back, but there is only so much one man with a tiny fan can do.

  158. 158.

    efgoldman

    It is, of course, just coincidence that they chose a day when there were no UVa students in Charlottsville. The counter protest would have been massive.

  162. 162.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    the fuck?

    Dean Seal‏ @ JDeanSeal
    “White male, 50s, grey hair. Subject believes he is the reincarnation of Thomas Jefferson.”

  163. 163.

    Yarrow

    @Mnemosyne: Yeah, hopefully the recipes will allow for that. When you get them, post again and maybe people can answer some more specific questions and help you with planning.

  164. 164.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    I was saying that last night as well. Though given that the Nazi assholes have turned murderous, the parents of those students are probably very grateful that school hasn’t started yet.

  167. 167.

    Jeffro

    Whoa – David Duke tweeting back at Trumpov ” it was white Americans who put you into office”

  169. 169.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Another Scott:
    Jesus. Nothing really graphic in the one video I watched, but the front end of that Charger was destroyed. The guy had to have been going fast. And then he backed up and got the hell out of there. No doubt in my mind it was intentional.

  170. 170.

    Chris

    @efgoldman:

    A few years ago, the Westboro Baptist Church decided to hold a protest on the campus of my alma mater. (AU). It’s fairly infamous for its liberal/activist spirit, and specifically when it comes to gay rights, so I can only assume that they had picked out that target carefully for maximum offensiveness. A counterprotest was planned, and I decided to at least stop by.

    As it turned out, I spent the first five or ten minutes on campus wandering around what seemed to just be a massive liberal convention, wondering “where the fuck are the Baptists?” When I finally found them, they were this tiny cordoned-off handful of people, a drop of homophobes in an ocean of liberals. Nobody was even shouting at them or really paying attention to them by the time I came by: the closest I saw to interactions with them were the people walking up and taking pictures like they were animals in a zoo.

    Which in the end, of course, is far more satisfying than anything that could possibly have been shouted at them.

  171. 171.

    lamh36

    @Jeffro:

    I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…

  172. 172.

    Betty Cracker

    According to TV journalists on Twitter, Trump will address the situation in Charlottesville on camera soon — maybe he’ll then go on to brag about stuff his minions are doing at the V.A. He’s just that tacky and self-aggrandizing. CNN is showing an empty podium on an inset right now.

  174. 174.

    GregB

    Has AG Sessions announced charges of jaywalking and assault on a car against the crash victims yet?

    Heckuva job America.

  175. 175.

    JPL

    @lamh36: Well Duke is right..

    Even though I spoke against the Vietnam War, I never joined an organized protest. At this stage of my life, I’m ready.

  177. 177.

    Mary G

    God. I had to stop eating my lunch because I am nauseous. I am having flashbacks to the 60s. We seemed to have come a bit along the arc of the moral universe, but all the hate and evil was just hiding, biding its time to re-emerge when the Republican party had done enough work to re-legitimize it.

  182. 182.

    Jeffro

    @lamh36: I am trying hard to imagine what the GOP would be demanding right now if the equivalent had happened on the left … mass hari-kiri by every Dem under 60? Somehow I think they would actually ask for more

  183. 183.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major:
    It’s horrible. I hoped that the US was going to be a bastion against a resurgence of European authoritarianism, but sadly it seems it’s the reverse

  184. 184.

    HeleninEire

    Here’s a perspective from 3100 miles away. And I admit I am not seeing it live on TV.
    Dunno if they’re showing it here. Not watching. And I hope to FSM that no one gets seriously hurt.

    BUT….

    I think its a good thing that America is seeing this. I like that the fucking Nazi’s are showing their true colors. Just like it was a good thing that America saw the dogs and fire hoses in the 60’s.

    But then again; I am safe.

  185. 185.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    good god

    Charlottesville DSA‏ @ CvilleDSA
    Congressman @ RepTomGarrett met with Jason Kessler, the white supremacist who organized the event that led to tonight’s Nazi torch rallly

  187. 187.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    trump has veterans, including two African-Americans, on stage for his reaction to a racist terrorist attack

  188. 188.

    jl

    Hope El Trujmpo remembers to give the wifey a little thanks for doing the heavy lifting on the public condemnation so things didn’t get awkiward for him( though that was fairly weak sauce, and not really that heavy a lift, but the sort of thing expected of First Lady, but also the best we can hope for from Trump Land).

    I wonder if FLOTS wrote her own tweet. Compere the language to El Trumpo’s. Sad!

    I wonder if the media will ever get around to inquiring about the fetid fascist pus that is oozing through the Trump administration, and why Trump puts up with it, or whether he is a true believer. Democratic presidents and politicians have routinely eaten GOP and corporate media shit questioning whether they are ‘real Americans’ because they eat certain foods, or come from a weird ‘foreign’ state like Hawaii. But not a word from the cowards about the outrageous fascist, racist, bigot and xenophobic bullcrap that romps through the Trump administration.

  194. 194.

    Betty Cracker

    @jl: It appears he had those folks on hand as props for a pre-planned self-congratulatory statement on the work his minions have done to improve Veteran Administration services. Now he kinda has to address the Nazi violence in Charlottesville too.

  198. 198.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Trentrunner: @Chris: that may be standard stuff– it’s always hard to tell in trump time– but I would think, especially given the chance that someone was killed, there ought to be some time between the two events, even just ten minutes

    Hallie JacksonVerified account @ HallieJackson
    Hard to overstate what a critical moment this will be for the president. Nation’s watching. Word choice matters.

    Simon Maloy‏Verified account @ SimonMaloy 9m9 minutes ago
    the moment more than outmatches the man
    will a pathologically self-focused lout who lives without accountability and relies on impossibly low expectations nail it in the clutch????

  200. 200.

    Kathleen

    @debbie: MSNBC’s resident Right Wing Terrorist expert (don’t remember his name) who has been dealing with these Nazis for 35 years as LEO said it’s the boldest move they’ve made in a long time and the purpose is to evoke the Nuremberg rallies. He said it’s quite a significant development – indicates how emboldened they feel now.

  206. 206.

    Gelfling 545

    @JPL: I was in college 68 to 74 so I attended a few in my time but nothing like this year. Told my daughter we need higher quality materials in our protest signs as they’re getting so much use.

  212. 212.

    Betty Cracker

    What a disgraceful statement. He explicitly disavowed his own culpability in the first sentence. Then sucked his own dick about Foxconn and the low unemployment rate. I wish I was kidding.

  216. 216.

    mouse tolliver

    I’m screaming at the TV like a crazy person. Fuck off with this “all sides” bullshit. I don’t see any dead Nazis at this Klan rally.

  217. 217.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Mnemosyne: On the recipes, take a look at the freezer cooking recipe collections at New Leaf Wellness. Not for recipes per se, but people have been reporting good results using her system of pre-chopping and freezing for short periods.

    Personally, when my energy allows, I try to chop and freeze everything shortly after it comes into the house. I’m slowly converting to Pyrex Snapware containers instead of freezer bags. They’re the most space-efficient rigid freezer containers I’ve found.

  220. 220.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker: @lamh36: Yes. Yes, he did. And he said it’s “not about Donald Trump or Barack Obama.”

    my god, I bet he sees Obama laughing at him out of the corner of his eye in every empty chair and around every corner in the White House

  224. 224.

    Kay

    I’m at my golf club cashing in on my presidency so let me take a moment to lecture you all about bigotry, which I found politically useful from 2010 to today, but will now mouth some bullshit about.

    He discredits this message. Maybe he should have just stayed on the golf course after all.

    I hope Trump’s attorney general isn’t in charge of the investigation. Isn’t there some career person who is still credible on law enforcement at the DOJ? I bet there are a lot of good staff lawyers. Put one of them in front of cameras. No one will believe anything Jeff Sessions says about racism. He’s not credible.

  225. 225.

    Ruckus

    Guns, running people down with cars, and we are supposed to do what?
    So I’m assuming that it’s on then?

  227. 227.

    mouse tolliver

    In such a hurry to avoid questions he tried to leave the signing ceremony without actually signing anything.

  228. 228.

    MomSense

    Oh my god. I just saw what happened and dolt45s completely insufficient and BS statement.

    Why did the police let these Nazis terrorize Charlottesville?

    Will they get permits the next time? I certainly hope not.

  229. 229.

    d58826

    So the VA will provide world class medical care to our veterans. Sen Heller was one of the people pushing the legislation. Just to be clear I don’t object to anything in the bill but why are these same people trying so hard to take medical care away from 23 million non-veterans.
    And Der Fuhrer would not condemn white supremacists by name.

  230. 230.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Mnemosyne: I cook for the entire week on the weekend, just make salad at the last minute. I usually try to make at least two entrees, one dish with beans or legumes, two veggie sides, two starches (pasta, rice, couscous etc). And then I mix and match. I also make a bunch of sauces, dips and chutneys and have a well stocked pantry and freezer.

  231. 231.

    p.a.

    Can’t wait for his next presser (2019 maybe?) and a MSM reporter to ask him why his and his party’s victory has so energized fascists. Then Charlize Theron will show up at my door in a Cat’lic schoolgirl uniform professing undying love. And a pony.

  232. 232.

    jl

    @Betty Cracker: It It is about the racist, fascist goofballs and reactionary lunatics that infest the Trump administration, and Trump oratory and policies. And it IS, in a bad way, about Obama. But Trump can’t talk about that. To his great discredit.

  236. 236.

    Yarrow

    I saw a moment of the speech. He called over some other guy to say the names of two representatives that I guess helped somehow. That guy stepped to the mic, said the names, then stepped back. Trump said, “See! I can do it.” WTF?

  237. 237.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Matthew Miller‏Verified account @ matthewamiller 1m1 minute ago
    Trump never calls out white supremacists for the same reason he never criticizes Putin: he welcomes their support and knows he needs it.

    Brian Fallon‏Verified account @ brianefallon 10m10 minutes ago
    The President is “all lives matter”-ing a Nazi -fueled incident of domestic terrorism.

  238. 238.

    trollhattan

    @p.a.:
    Had to hold out for the pony, didn’t you. Can I interest you in one Naomi Watts for one Charlize? Let’s talk!

  239. 239.

    JPL

    @Yarrow: You did not miss him denouncing racism or white nationalism. Unemployment is low and there’s bigotry on both sides.

  240. 240.

    bemused

    @JPL:

    You can tell he doesn’t want to talk about Charlottesville and segues into his “accomplishments”. He’s indifferent to the tragedy and the fascist violence. It’s supposed to all be about him, all the time.
    I expect this from him but it’s a punch to the stomach every time.

  242. 242.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    @lamh36:

    AG Sessions: “We stand united behind the President in condemning the violence in Charlottesville and any message of hate and intolerance.”

    Except all the messages of hate that we, ourselves spew 24/7

  245. 245.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    and from the man who made the ad morphing Max Cleland into Saddam Hussein, who should know

    Rick Wilson‏Verified account @ TheRickWilson 10m10 minutes ago
    ‘Many sides” is the gold medal of dog whistles

  246. 246.

    d58826

    Kelly O of MSNBC is saying Trump doesn’t like to condemn white supremacists. Maybe we should declare Hitler’s birthday a national holiday.

  247. 247.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:
    This is not a road show.
    This is not terrorism.
    This is open warfare. And it was supported by the person that’s president to get elected. And it’s being sanctioned by our president, against it’s own citizens. You can’t call it by any other name.
    It’s warfare. Full stop.

  248. 248.

    Kathleen

    @raven: Thank you. He was excellent. Didn’t hesitate to call them Nazis, Klan, etc., and emphasized how dangerous and violent they are and have been. Alex Witt acted like she couldn’t wait to get him off.

    ETA I never usually watch MSNBC or any “news” prgramming so it’s kind of interesting to me to see what is being aired. MSNBC does seem to be pretty straightforward, though they’re earnestly making sure they point out “both sides” are condemning this.

  249. 249.

    Gelfling 545

    @d58826:
    “And Der Fuhrer would not condemn white supremacists by name.”
    Well David Duke showed him who’s boss.

  250. 250.

    Hellbastard

    “There is no place for this kind of violence in America… except at my campaign rallies… at my prodding. Otherwise, there’s no place for it.”

  252. 252.

    Mike in NC

    What are the odds that David Duke gets invited to lunch at the White People’s House next week?

  256. 256.

    El Caganer

    @d58826: Wonder if anybody else in Our Liberal Media is going to bring this up. Won’t hold my breath waiting for it. “Many sides?” WTF? So the Klan and the American Friends Service Committee are same-same, just two of the “many sides?” What a load of bullshit. How very Presidential.

  259. 259.

    Ruckus

    @bemused:
    Like I said, It’s On.
    The first open attack and then that’s your declaration of war, right there.
    It may not have been an army marching into Poland, but the difference is semantics not substance.

  260. 260.

    Adria McDowell

    Okay, epic rant coming. Sorry.

    The other day, my husband got mad at me because Dolt was on TV, and I yelled at it, and said “I can’t wait to until you die.” He thought that was inappropriate to say in front of a five year old.

    FUCK. THAT.

    Donald Trump is the new Hitler. You can disagree if you want, but there are too damn many similarities between the rise of Hitler and the rise of Trump. This shit will not stop until Trump and Co. are frog marched out of the WH and the halls of power, and until America has a frank sit down with itself about racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism. With these jokers in power that shit ?? will ?? not ?? happen.

    Children of color need to learn eventually that not everyone is nice, not everyone is gonna be their friend, and that some people will actively- whether directly or through neglect- try to hurt them or their families. Waiting until they are deporting you or your family, shooting up your house, burning crosses on your lawn, or bombing your school or place of worship is NOT THE TIME. The same can be said for Jewish kids and LGBT kids or the children of same. The Nazis/KKK/alt-right are stoking the fires of violence, and kids need to know who to avoid at all costs. Nothing good will come from any interaction with these folks.

    So fuck that, and fuck these assholes. My sweet kiddo is gonna learn who to stay away from, for her own safety, and the safety of her future friends. Now is not the time to keep them ignorant. Charlottesville is one more warning shot, and I, for one, am gonna heed it.

    And I won’t shed a single tear over a Nazi death. My grandfather didn’t, so why should I?

  261. 261.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @El Caganer: Maggie Haberman‏Verified account @ maggieNYT 27m27 minutes ago
    The ultimate “both sides”
    Hallie JacksonVerified account @ HallieJackson
    “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides. On many sides.” [email protected] POTUS

  262. 262.

    jl

    Might be time for some polite inquiries to the chickenshits in the media regarding their cowardice about discussing the reactionary pus that runs through the administration, and the odd patterns in what Trump ‘likes’ to do and not do.

  264. 264.

    Czar Chasm

    I live just southeast of Charlottesville, and went to the gas station near my home: The attendant there was starting a smudging ritual (she’s Wiccan), because she has been getting nothing but heavy hearts from everyone that’s stopped in today. It got much worse for her after the vehicular assault (1 dead, 19 injured).

    There is currently an ad hoc memorial service going on right now in a park near all of today’s shenanigans (McGuffey Park). The mood in town is very dark right now, with a lot of people apprehensive about what might happen tonight.

  266. 266.

    Chris

    @Adria McDowell:

    I only disagree in the most nitpicky way with you. Trump isn’t the new Hitler, he’s the Mussolini to Putin’s Hitler. But I second the sentiment.

  268. 268.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I never for a moment forget who these people are, who they worked for and who and what they will work for again, but I’m fascinated by the gap between GOP operatives and their clients in elected office. I wonder if those clients don’t look at their sidekicks and feel shame. Okay, I don’t really wonder.

    Ana Navarro‏Verified account @ananavarro 4m4 minutes ago
    This is not “many sides”. It’s White Supremacist Terrorism. The President of the United States does not have the spine to say so. Shameful.
    @ ananavarro goes off: “Dammit, Donald Trump, call a spade a spade … call them out by name

    “

  270. 270.

    d58826

    Cavanugh is really ripping Der Fuhrer. He said that Trump’s statement was very weak and there were alt-right types on the President’s staff. He is also talking about how violent these neo-nazi’s are.

  271. 271.

    bemused

    Jim Cavanagh saying on msnbc Trump has to come out more forcibly on white supremacy, white nationalists. He won’t. He’s scared of them and Putin and also is in tune with them.

  272. 272.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @bemused: and all the reporters who nodded and moved on when some trumpling said they supported him because they were tired of “political correctness”. I don’t know that I ever saw one of those mouth-breather I mean (excuse my momentary lapse into elitism) heartlanders challenged on that shit.

  273. 273.

    JPL

    @d58826: She also mentioned that he’s no comfortable in these types of situations. She didn’t look comfortable having to report about the asshole.

  274. 274.

    trollhattan

    @Ruckus:
    Can’t disagree, just want to emphasize this filth can only sew seeds on fertile soil and I’ll do everything to salt the earth before yielding them a square yard.

  275. 275.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I don’t know how to do clean posts of retweets, but

    Shaun Kenney‏ :
    Jeff Uphoff @ juphoff
    “…on many sides.”
    Fuck you.

    Shaun Kenney Retweeted Jeff Uphoff
    So I wasn’t the only one who thought that?

    Shaun Kenney is the former executive director of the VA state Republican Party

  277. 277.

    d58826

    MSNBC is talking about how they shipped cops into Ferguson to keep the ‘peace’, along with tanks, from multiple states and yet here they seem to have caught flatfooted.

    John Roberts is also say that the president has to say more about this. That he can’t pass it off with the weak statement and then switching back to his ‘look how great I am’ speech.

  281. 281.

    Ruckus

    @bemused:
    He’s not just in tune with them. He is one of them. These are his people. No one else wants to follow him, but these people he nurtured his entire campaign. These are his people. People have asked who would follow this asshole, now you see who they are. This country has done nothing to counter the hate, in fact the hate has been used for over 40 yrs to get republicans elected. This is the result of that. Donald Trump and the nazis are the result of that decades long conservative hate campaign. They own this, and we can never let them forget it. Some of them will want to. Some of them will be outraged by this. But we can never let them forget this and what it has meant to our country. Germany didn’t, but we did.

  282. 282.

    Betty Cracker

    I’m pleasantly surprised by the MSM figures calling Trump out for his mealy-mouthed, disgraceful statement.

  283. 283.

    Schlemazel

    @debbie:
    Sorry, had to run errends. The torches were also a Nazi thing although they didn’t start nor own it it was just a way mobs showed the way in the dark. I assume Tikki torches were just what a suburban asshole has easy access to. None of them have a clue how torches used to be made.

  286. 286.

    Geeno

    @BBA: See – I disagree, we have real Nazis in our midst who must be destroyed. That is NOT a hypothetical anymore Stop acting like it is..

  288. 288.

    Shana

    Just checking in to say daughter came through the protests OK and is on her way back to NoVA after acting as a legal observer for the protests. She did text me about the report of a car running over some people an hour or so before I started hearing about it on the news.

  291. 291.

    Kathleen

    @El Caganer: Just popped into MSNBC and had to turn it off after 3 minutes. Heavy “both sides” pall hung over coverage. Can’t wait to hear the scripts on tomorrow’s talk shows. Oh wait. I won’t hear them because I refuse to watch them.

  292. 292.

    Kathleen

    @jl: Fuck being polite to them. They’re just as soulless and ghoulish as the Thugs. They are Exhibit A illustrating the banality of evil.

  294. 294.

    Ksmiami

    @BBA: they are lower than pond scum, irredeemable, and useless to society- As Tito said to his partisans on cutting down the nazi occupiers in Yugoslavia:leave no nazi alive as they would do the same to you.

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