Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Everybody saw this coming.

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

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

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

“But what about the lurkers?”

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

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

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

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

Nothing worth doing is easy.

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

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Sunday Evening Open Thread: Saying the Quiet Parts Out Loud

Sunday Evening Open Thread: Saying the Quiet Parts Out Loud

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Even the Most Racist Guy in Congress can’t avoid the Trump Reverse-Midas touch. The Sun-King joke is waaaaaay off-brand for Steve “Pig Muck” King, who was campaigning on an I love the poorly educated, they’re my base! platform back when DJ’s daddy was still an aspiring reality-show host.

***********

Apart from pointing & jeering, what’s on the agenda as we wrap up the weekend?

Reader Interactions

204Comments

  3. 3.

    Ruckus

    I wonder if the photographer set up that shot or it was just blind luck. What’s more, do you think that either of them would notice the sign, or are they just that stupid?

    ETA Speaking of stupid…… when I clicked on the post my browser went to the second pic and I didn’t scroll up to see the original.

  4. 4.

    Adria McDowell

    Currently watching Rob Portman flim flam/bamboozle/cha cha cha his way out of answering Chuck Todd’s softballs on Press the Meat.

    Portman is a liar. Sooooo full of shit.

  10. 10.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @Major Major Major Major: I’d realized some time last week that of all the many, many columnists I’ve hated over the years, the ones I’ve positively detested the most fit this description – Ethan Epstein (True/Slant’s local rightwing troll back when it was a thing; he now writes for The Weekly Standard); Brendan O’Neill (and really anyone at Sp!ked), and Jack Shafer (Reuters only provided a temporary reprieve).

  12. 12.

    Corner Stone

    God but I hate Chuck Todd. First among equals when it comes time for the wall.
    And I have no idea how Claire McCaskill is going to be a Senator much longer. She gamed every voodoo priestess in existence to get Akin as her foe last time. What is she going to sell her soul for this go round?

  15. 15.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @Major Major Major Major: The thing is, Ken Silverstein was nowhere near this insane even three, two years ago. Finding him like this (and indeed, a lot of the lefties I read in my early teens) is like bidding farewell to your high school friends on good terms, then meeting up again right after college to find out that they’re all convicted serial pool shitters. I would advise you not to read the Hack List entries.

    And the Observer’s even-the-leftist Michael Sainato is writing for WB, because of course the Observer’s even-the-leftist Michael Sainato is writing for WB.

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    Tweety, Amy Walters, Eliana Johnson and Al Cardenas. Three right wingers and Chris Matthews. Sheesh.

  21. 21.

    mai naem mobile

    Did they serve the best chocolate cake as dessert at the AHole Peasant Dinner? With one scoop of vanilla ice cream?

  29. 29.

    Baud

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): We lost of Roosevelt Democrats in the seventies when we embraced civil rights. We’re going through something similar again now that minorities are gaining political equivalency within the Party. Nothing you can do about it. It’s beyond the reach of reason.

  30. 30.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Corner Stone: She said the same thing the last time I had the misfortune to watch her on the Snooze Hour. They were talking about the LV shooting then. If she is going to repeat the same tired wisdom over and over again why do they even invite her. Oh and she and Tamara Keith were giggling, about the partisan divide, when the bodies were not even cold.

  32. 32.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Fair Economist: I did adjust the color on the foreground to be a bit more yellow and less blue for just the darker tones(I used the new range masking). The color of the sky was just lowering highlights which I do with almost every picture.

  33. 33.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: Sully thinks T is going to win in 2020 because Ds like immigrants too much. Of course, now that he is a citizen, the fat bastard doesn’t care that BP is rounding up 10 year old sick girls from their hospital beds.

  34. 34.

    Betsy

    Which is worse, shooting your actual friends right in the face accidentally? Or actively hunting strangers as long as they’re the working class?

    Your answer will reveal whether you now miss George W Bush, or not

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Baud: The danger is that Obama’s “coalition of the ascendant” may have been Obama-based, and not a real base for Democrats moving forward. They certainly didn’t turn out at the state and local level while the GOP consolidated a ludicrous amount of power.

  38. 38.

    Chyron HR

    I’m curious how Junior is supposed to defend the second amendment when he’s not a judge or a legislator, nor does he hold any actual position in the White House.

    By which I actually mean that I’m curious how long until they start literally calling Trump’s kids “prince” and “princess”.

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    Wolf Man down, The Mummy up next. They’re setting up and testing the theremin now. Monster movie fest at 1927 era movie palace. Cold and would like a blanket, but it’s pouring and my car is blocks away.

    What is scaring you tonight?

    Am eagerly awaiting the Mueller reveal tomorrow.

  44. 44.

    Corner Stone

    @Elizabelle:

    Am eagerly awaiting the Mueller reveal tomorrow.

    Me too, but am starting to feel like I hope John S. Dingleberry III has his lawyer close and waiting.

  45. 45.

    Elizabelle

    Earlier today was not scary. Appearance in Richmond VA by Kamala Harris, Eric Holder, and Lt Gov candidate Justin Fairfax, w current and candidate Attorney General Mark Herring.

  49. 49.

    Baud

    The Hill

    Hillary Clinton on Saturday night took a swipe at Fox News for its frequent criticism of her presidential campaign despite the fact that she lost to President Trump.

    “It does strike me that, in the last few days at least, Fox News seems to think that’s where I live, in the White House,” Clinton said at a dinner for the Human Rights Campaign held in Washington, D.C. “Because they spend a disproportionate amount of their time talking about impeaching me.”

    “So, look, if they want to make a trade, I’d be more than willing,” she joked. “I would have much preferred to have come to the dinner tonight from a slightly closer residence.”

  50. 50.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @Major Major Major Major: I should note “conservat-ish” is more along the eyes of “conservatism, with a twist:”

    • Epstein was an Obama-voting Reed College grad who only became conservative once True/Slant more firmly adopted a left-liberal ideological bent. Epstein’s posts were otherwise straightforward – if totally incoherent – Republican stuff, but his major twist written in that know-it-all voice where you could tell he meant not a goddamn word of what he said.
    • Brendan O’Neill’s twist is that though his posts are most identifiably conservative, he was for the longest time an employee of libertarian/”futurist” Sp!ked, successor of the nominally left British publication Living Marxism (shut down due to genocide denialist fraud). And it’s not even personally-held conservatism but “say the exact opposite of whatever’s popular FREEZE PEACH” – but he did condemn Trump while he was running, so there’s that.
    • Jack Shafer’s twist is that he’s libertarian, of course.

    The commonality between all these men is that their writing style is glib, shit-eating bad faith – and I’ve always considered that nihilism especially morally repugnant.

  51. 51.

    Elizabelle

    Good turnout, even though light rain. (Indoor event, but spilled into courtyard.)

    I like when elections used to be merely competitive, and not terrifying. GOP in charge scarier than these B&W monsters.

  53. 53.

    Gravenstone

    @Elizabelle: No guarantee it’s tomorrow. Could be as soon as Monday, not a certainty that it will be. Of course, the longer before any reveal, the more psychotic Trump grows.

  59. 59.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: I know. The big guns. Telegenic. They ate at Mamma J’s before. (popular soul food restaurant before, long wait). Would have loved to be there when they arrived. Excitement for brunch.

  61. 61.

    Suzanne

    I have a sinus headache, so I have bee laying around in my PJs most of the day. Chilling on the couch with the dog and some Miles Davis. A very nice day.

  68. 68.

    p.a.

    Oh no. I think I’m in Goateed-Spock-Universe: my economic anxiety is making me hate white people! (And orange people person.)

  72. 72.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):

    libertarian/”futurist” Sp!ked, successor of the nominally left British publication Living Marxism

    If I recall correctly, the associated organization was called the Revolutionary Communist Party (but was not the same as the ridiculous US Maoist outfit by the same name). It was a really weird transformation.

  79. 79.

    JGabriel

    Steve King’s Bud Day Peasant Hunt

    Wait, was it really called that? Or is it just one of the more telling Freudian slips of all time?

  80. 80.

    bmoak

    I see Real True Progressive Nina Turner is on the TeeVee claiming that Hillary sold 20% of all U.S Uranium to Russia for a big bribe.

  86. 86.

    Suzanne

    @HeleninEire: Oh, so a total fucking mess, but ended up turning out all right. The service will send you two sizes of the same dress so you can choose which one fits better. So the dress was supposed to be delivered on Friday, and then it never showed up, and I called them and they tracked the package, and it was stuck at the FedEx depot about a mile from my house. The service called FedEx and arranged for it to be picked up directly. So Mr. Suzanne went and got it while I was getting my hair done. Got home, opened the package, and tried on the smaller size. It fit everywhere but was exceedingly tight in the boobs (I am disproportionately large in that area and am hoping to get a reduction, but that is a different discussion). So I went to try on the larger size…..only to find out that they had accidentally sent me a larger size of a different dress. And that different dress was horrible. Shapeless sack of shit with a dumb ruffle. And too big. So I ended up wearing the smaller size of the dress that I originally picked out, and Spawn the Elder came through….I had bought her a package of those pasty things for her homecoming dress, and there was an extra pair in there, so I was able to go without a bra. The night went well. Donated $100 to the hospital (our county safety net hospital, which cares for refugees and undocumented immigrants—and SuzMom, when SuzMom needed a three-day psychiatric hold). Saw lots of colleagues and friends. Didn’t spill on myself or stick my foot in my mouth. Pictures of the dress on Facebook. I am not doing a lot of deep breathing. Hah.

  87. 87.

    jeffreyw

    @Gravenstone:

    No guarantee it’s tomorrow.

    That’s what I was thinking, might not drop tomorrow. It would be delicious if they were just trying to smoke out a leaker and they perp walk some DOJ flunky instead.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    @Gin & Tonic: Nah, I’m serious. Depending on what she actually said. But if it’s as reported and he sticks with her, then we shouldn’t let up, win or lose.

  92. 92.

    lgerard

    @Elizabelle:

    I like the waiting, waiting, waiting for Trump. Turn those screws.

    A sound truck in front of the White House with the Jaws theme on a loop would be a nice touch

  93. 93.

    HeleninEire

    Also too. Watching this back and forth.

    Love South America. Love it to death.

    Then come visit.

  100. 100.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:
    How do so many people who have no idea how the world works or that there are people besides themselves that they share the planet with, how do they continue to breath on their own? Autonomic response can’t be that good can it? Have their brains morphed them into twitter levels of thought where it’s not the depth/strength/accuracy of thought but only the speed of response that’s important? This is what is meant by modern day thought? I may have to rethink my desire to not get off this ride until it runs out of track.

  104. 104.

    Baud

    @bmoak: Ok thanks. That’s bullshit, but standard bullshit you often hear from that set. I wouldn’t escalate that to calling for her firing. But it shouldn’t be forgotten either.

  105. 105.

    Baud

    @Ruckus: The societies of the world seems to be morphing into clans in which the only standard for leadership is promoting the clan’s distinguishing dogmas. Higher level values, like a grasp of reality, are deprecated.

  106. 106.

    Chyron HR

    @bmoak:

    I think it’s “curious” that a self-proclaimed champion of the white working class would lose her race in Ohio by 20 points. But that’s just me.

  107. 107.

    Silent no more

    Took my dad (who has Alzheimer’s) out for Chinese food. Kept having to remind him to use a fork to eat his food. He was a college professor, it’s so hard to watch him fade away.

  109. 109.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:
    I know of 2 women who had reduction and both of them thought it was one of the best things they’d ever done. They’d lived half to most of their adult lives before and had thought about it but never done anything about it. They were both amazed at the results. Just saying. YMMV.

  110. 110.

    bmoak

    @Chyron HR:

    Yeah, but she lost that election before she saw the light and became a Real True Progressive. She only lost that race because neoliberal fake Dems like the Clintons supported and campaigned for her.

  113. 113.

    Suzanne

    @Ruckus: I really want to get it done. My mom offered to pay for it when I was a teenager, but I wanted to wait until I was done with having kids. Now I’ll have to pay for it myself, since my insurance won’t. It’s like $20K. Maybe after I pay off my car.

  117. 117.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Silent no more:

    So sorry, Silent… that must be heart wrenching. Mine left with full faculties, but I will never forget the sound of my father’s death rattle.

  118. 118.

    debbie

    @Suzanne:

    I had it done when I was in my 30s. It won’t last forever and if you gain weight, that’s where the weight will go.

  119. 119.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:
    Ouch$
    That’s a bit steep. My friend who had it done, I can not imagine she paid that much but then it’s been maybe 14 yrs. The other had BC and told the docs to just take them both, she didn’t want to have to go through what her mom did, living with one. Afterwards she wondered why she’d never done it before.

  123. 123.

    Suzanne

    @debbie: That’s what I’ve heard. I have the genes for this on all sides. My mom’s aunt got it done and said it was the best thing she ever did. She definitely said it changed over years but that it was still much more comfortable.

  124. 124.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Baud:

    The societies of the world seems to be morphing into clans in which the only standard for leadership is promoting the clan’s distinguishing dogmas. Higher level values, like a grasp of reality, are deprecated.

    It’s basically what Fukuyama has been saying during his “oops” tour for the last fifteen years or so.

  127. 127.

    Suzanne

    @Ruckus: I have said that if I ever have breast cancer, I want them both gone and I might not get reconstructive surgery, either. My cousin’s wife has BRCA1 and she had them removed last year, and she said the reconstruction was painful and she can’t sleep on her stomach and there’s no sensation in the fake boobs anyway. That sounds terrible.

  128. 128.

    Ruckus

    @Adria McDowell:
    A very good friend told me what to expect, his mom had been afflicted. One of the best worst things anyone has ever done for me. It helped beyond belief to have an understanding and warning. Getting old isn’t easy. Reversing infancy is worse.

  130. 130.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:
    Most men have lived without them for their entire lives. Some of them even have gotten over not having them. Others grew them for reasons that pass understanding.

  131. 131.

    Gin & Tonic

    I’m starting to feel as if I’ve overdone it with the weight work at the gym today. Yesterday’s bike ride was fine. Today’s workout is … not as fine.

  133. 133.

    Ruckus

    @Gin & Tonic:
    It always takes longer to build than it does to tear down. Applies to everything I’ve ever seen, buildings, humans, governments……..

  135. 135.

    Felonius Monk

    @jeffreyw:

    Chili tonight, warmed over tomorrow.

    Is that a blop of chipotle spinkled sour cream at the top of the dish? Looks good, jeffreyw. Got an extra bowl? :)

  140. 140.

    Gin & Tonic

    @raven: Yeah. I’ve been working on strength training since about the end of September. Rode my bicycle for the first time yesterday, did about 10 miles and everything felt fine. Today I did some work with free weights and I may have tried to advance a little too much. I’m sure my physical therapist will yell at me on Tuesday. But it’s been seven months, and I’m getting pretty fucking tired of this.

  146. 146.

    Suzanne

    @debbie: Not agony by any means, just constant discomfort. I have a hooked spine from bad posture as a teenager since I was larger than most women by the time I was 13. Low back discomfort from time to time, struggle with clothes fitting, struggle with sports and activities, etc. If the pain was severe, insurance would cover it, but since I’m not abjectly miserable, it’s “elective”.

    Should also be noted that being catcalled at (at middle school age) while out with my church youth group or out with my mom/grandparents is a special kind of hell.

  148. 148.

    raven

    @Gin & Tonic: I’ve fractured my leg in 18 places, broken my 6th thoracic vertebrae, dislocated and almost lost my pinky, broken my collar bone, nose and wrist. I ain’t nobody’s mom but I know from injuries and rehab.

  150. 150.

    sharl

    @bmoak: Weigel screen-capped a transcript of what Nina Turner said on CNN – tweet here. The full (rush) transcript is here.

    Turner’s actual answer was bad enough as it is, and gave the “issue” credibility it doesn’t deserve. As far as I can tell, she is paid to be a regular commentator on CNN, so ignorance of big current political issues is no excuse, especially on this bullshit uranium story being peddled by GOP surrogates and officials. The story and the people behind it have been debunked thoroughly, going back months.

    Joy Ann Reid did a superb job taking down a GOP mouthpiece on this issue. Turner should watch the video of that and take notes.

    (edited)

  154. 154.

    Gin & Tonic

    @raven: Ain’t my first rodeo either. I’ve fractured femur, humerus and radius, with screws and plates in two places. But I also recall how antsy you got when you had to lay off the swimming.

  156. 156.

    Ruckus

    @raven:
    Also my list is not nearly as extensive, my body is collecting it’s dues and falling (slowly?) apart, I think just to spite me.

  158. 158.

    raven

    @Ruckus: Most of mine was before I was 25. My shattered leg was in 8th grease and didn’t keep me out of the Army. Of course it wasn’t as bad as bone spurs.

  160. 160.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @raven:

    Of course it wasn’t as bad as bone spurs.

    Did you know the doctor who gave Donald his deferment excuse was the father of his current doctor, who worked at Area 51?

  163. 163.

    Ruckus

    @raven:

    Of course it wasn’t as bad as bone spurs.

    I think that’s non existent bone spurs. I say this because I had a torn rotator cuff and after yrs of PT could still not lift my arm away from my body more that about 15 deg. Doc went in with the scope and said the muscle was fine but the bone spurs were stopping my shoulder from working. So they can be a thing.
    Howfuckingever if 50 yrs later bone spurs in the feet don’t keep you from walking and they still aren’t enough of an issue to be operated on then I call bullshit.
    But you knew that.

  170. 170.

    Ruckus

    In the navy we used to have a derogatory term, pud. As in he’s a pud, or a dick. And speaking of military terms, the first twitter showed this as Steve King’s bud day. I couldn’t help read it as “Steve King’s pud day.” It’s just so much more fitting.

  172. 172.

    raven

    @Ruckus:

    Did you know that there might be 80 Sears Catalog mail-order houses in Villa Park? Many people saw the kits offered by Sears during the 1920’s through the 1940’s as an opportunity to join the ranks of homeowners. A few weeks after the customer selected a home and placed the order, two railway boxcars that contained about 30,000 pieces of house – everything from doorknobs and carved stairways, to varnish and shingles – would arrive at the nearest train depot. In Villa Park, the drop off was at the Great Western railroad siding near the former Ovaltine factory.

  174. 174.

    frosty

    @Ruckus:

    2400 miles and still same architecture. And remarkably similar.

    By mid-century, if not earlier, a lot of houses were designed out of a plan book, so they look common everywhere. Not to mention kit houses like the ones from Sears that were built all over the country.
    ETA: and what raven said.

  179. 179.

    Duane

    @Adria McDowell: I saw Portman on MTP this morning. I’ve read about him, but he’s truly awful, in so many ways. How could anyone vote for him? Needs to crawl back to the sewer and remain there.

  181. 181.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @raven: Seems like they needed some work on the geography of the area when they named the place, teh Google Maps show it’s south of Chicago.
    (I actually did know there was a City of East Chicago.)

  183. 183.

    raven

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Just a little bit south of Saskatoon
    Pick my guitar for board and room
    Met a little girl, her name was June
    A little bit south of Saskatoon

    Read more: Sonny James – A Little Bit South Of Saskatoon Lyrics | MetroLyrics

  184. 184.

    Ruckus

    @raven:
    @frosty:
    This house was a lot older than mid century. Probably build in the very late 1800s or less likely, very early 1900s. When it was built it was the wealthy bedroom community for downtown LA. South central is the area known as Watts and it was starting to be pretty run down by the 1960s. The business that my dad started and that I owned for 15 yrs was about a mile from the area. And no it wasn’t any better. A lot has been revitalized and looks a lot different now.

  186. 186.

    sharl

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): LOL, an excellent point. Where was my head?!? I guess I concentrate so much on online media these days that I forget just how many folks watch TV – I stopped some years ago – and that the “attention economy” isn’t new with Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Those outfits have taken something that’s been around for decades and put it on steroids via proprietary algorithms and “free” distribution.* But the core problem ain’t new.

    *Your calling me out on this very legitimate point motivated me to finally watch Zeynep Tufekci’s very good – and VERY chilling – recent TED talk, “We’re building a dystopia just to make people click on ads” (23 minutes).

  187. 187.

    dp

    As an allegedly rich gun nut, I’d expect Junior to be outfitted with one of the fancy English doubles for a pheasant hunt, like a Purdey or Holland & Holland, or at least one of the nice Spanish knock-offs, like an AyA. But no, he goes with apparently Wal-Mart quality autoloader, complete with synthetic (rather than wood) stock. These people.

  190. 190.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @dp: Shit, I’ve got a 12-bore side-by-side Lefever that I inherited from a grandfather.

    Money doesn’t buy taste.

  191. 191.

    Gretchen

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): You’re right about the Chelsea Clinton test -my brother brings her up about once a week. If I say she’s a private citizen who’s not running for anything, he says “Just wait”. And he’s still on Hillary’s crimes that have gotten people killed, but can’t tell me what those crimes are. You know, crimes!

  192. 192.

    Gretchen

    @Suzanne: I know someone who jumped through a lot of hoops but got insurance to pay for some of it. She got doctors and therapists saying that it was causing her back problems and such and that PT wasn’t helping.

  194. 194.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @Gretchen: Chelsea’s a perfectly nice woman with no apparent political aspirations. Anyone seriously clutching their pearls over Chelsea either a) has a basically Republican view of the Clintons and/or b) is laughably misogynist.

    Supporting a prospective Biden run over Clinton is also a handy tell as to sexism.

  195. 195.

    Steeplejack

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Where is “outside,” unless it’s some Cheneyesque undisclosed location?

    Here in NoVA it’s 47°, and, until a little while ago, we had some pretty gusty winds, 25-35 mph. Pleasant autumn weather.

  197. 197.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Steeplejack: Southern New England. Still fairly warm at 63, but the wind is sustained at 20-30 and it’s raining at 1.5″/hr right now. Have both a high wind warning and a flood warning, and had a brownout five minutes ago.

  199. 199.

    SWMBO

    @Suzanne: My daughter is jumping through hoops to get reduction surgery. She had to jump through hoops to get her tubes tied in her early thirties. She has no kids and doesn’t really want any. It still took years to convince the doctor to do it. She’s now trying for breast reduction and she’s had to go through tests, pt, etc. to get this far. She is an F cup and has at least 1 inch deep indents in her shoulders from the bra straps. She has to get the insurance to pay for it so it’s “hold up another hoop”.

  200. 200.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @bmoak: Yet the deal only involved the Russian firm making money on uranium that had no export license, therefore could not be “sold to the Russians”.

    The whole thing is utter bullshit.

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