Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

So many bastards, so little time.

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

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

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

This fight is for everything.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

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

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

I was promised a recession.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

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

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The revolution will be supervised.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Kim Jung-Orange

Kim Jung-Orange

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I can scarcely recall what I imagined the internet would bring when it bloomed a generation ago. But my speculation about an interconnected future did not include reading the real-time rage-tweets of a malevolent clown while he pinches off a loaf in the White House throne room, having been placed there by traitors, racists, misogynists and assorted goddamned nitwits.

Nope. I did not see that coming.

I often wonder what good it does to repackage the more outrageous tweet-turds for your consideration, look at what the media says about them or discuss them with family and friends. Some days I just don’t bother. Some days, I wonder if it’s harmful to give the shitgibbon’s childish rants any energy and attention at all. And some days, I feel compelled to bear witness, even in a small and insignificant way.

This morning’s rage-tweets fall into the latter category, so even though several hours have passed since they dropped into the Twitter toilet bowl, here’s a representative (stool) sample:

There are several more in the same vein, which include allusions to “Crazy Bernie” and “Pocahantas” and additional ranting about “Crooked Hillary.” But this line is the most alarming: “Lets [sic] go FBI & Justice Dept.”

These are the ravings of a tinpot authoritarian. These are the rantings of an unhinged, predatory demagogue who is salivating at the prospect of using the apparatus of the United States government to conduct show trials and persecute political opponents. Trump expanded on the same idea in a radio interview [via CNN]:

“The saddest thing is that because I’m the President of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department, I am not supposed to be involved with the FBI. I look at what’s happening with the Justice Department. Well, why aren’t they going after Hillary Clinton with her emails and with her, the dossier? I’m very unhappy with it that the Justice Department isn’t going. I am not supposed to be doing the kind of things that I would love to be doing. And I am very frustrated by it.”

Should we be grateful that Trump seems to grasp that he’s “not supposed to” leverage the justice system to punish political enemies, however unfair he rates that restraint? Maybe. But given the fact that those agencies are headed up by his flunkies, the fact that he’s applying even more pressure on them to do his bidding is worrisome.

I think Cheryl’s post downstairs asks the following question in a different way: Will our institutions be sufficient to withstand the onslaught of this lunatic? I vacillate between optimism and pessimism, but this latest push has me worried.

As the Civil War began, Ulysses S. Grant said, “There are but two parties now: traitors and patriots.” There’s a good argument that the party that countenances rule by a manifestly unfit crackpot who was sleazed into office in part via the machinations of a hostile foreign power has already become a party of traitors. There can be no doubt about it if Trump succeeds in turning the DOJ and FBI into his own personal score-settling force and distraction circus.

Anyhoo, it seemed important, if futile, to note for the record that the president of the United States escalated his calls to turn this nation into a nuclear-armed banana republic today. The wonder — and perhaps the danger — is that it attracted comparatively little attention. We’re used to this shit now, and that’s not healthy.

Reader Interactions

178Comments

  1. 1.

    Mnemosyne

    I swear to fucking God, every one of yiz needs to run out and rent an obscure HBO movie with Judge Rinehold called Head Office, because the Pete Helmes character played by Eddie Albert is a goddamned clone of Trump, right down to an obsession with other people’s phone bills.

    ETA: A representative scene, with Michael O’Donoghue as one of the toadies:

    Pete Helmes: In the old days, I’d-a had that son of a bitch in cement and dumped into the river before you can say Henry Ford!

    Scott Dantley: Unfortunately, these are the post-Watergate ’80s.

    Pete Helmes: Well, then shoot him!

    Scott Dantley: Not a wise idea, sir.

    Pete Helmes: I’m one of the most powerful men in the world, and if I can’t have someone shot, then what the hell does it mean to have power anymore!

  2. 2.

    schrodingers_cat

    Anyhoo, it seemed important, if futile, to note for the record that the president of the United States escalated his calls to turn this nation into a nuclear-armed banana republic today.

    No it happened when he took office, in mid January of this year.

  3. 3.

    No Drought No More

    That’s just it, though, that’s the problem: I’ll never get used to it. Never have, never will.

  7. 7.

    jl

    I think Trump is laying on the evidence for an impeachment, conviction and removal from office.
    His ‘Cut Cut Cut Cut Plan’, or whatever he calls it has gotten much smaller, and it may have to shrink more to get through the Senate.
    I hope the big GOP donors are disappointed with their haul, and decide that Trump is politically expendable.

  8. 8.

    Patricia Kayden

    Well it wasn’t as if Trump didn’t exhibit fascist tendencies during the primary season. Remember him siccing his Nazi rally attendees to physically assault protesters? That should have been a hint as to how he would govern. His defense of White supremacists should have been enough to let us know that he’s not on our side unless we hate the people he hates. During one of the debates he talked about jailing “Crooked Hillary”. We’ve had all the clues for years about this jerk and yet too many of us voted for him or third parties so here we are.

    I suppose our only hope is that Mueller will indict enough folks in this regime, that it will collapse under its own sleaziness. Otherwise, we’re screwed.

  9. 9.

    Ryan

    I’m less worried about Trump than I am in the party and underlying dynamics that created him and the congress that aids and abets him. These statements alone are sufficient to prompt the crazy man clause, yet we won’t see any action on that front. I dunno, maybe when the nukes are in flight.

  10. 10.

    geg6

    And just like in the Civil War, the good guys have their Copperheads to deal with. And yes, I’m equating Bernie, EW and Donna Brazille with the Copperheads. Because they are. They aren’t on my side, for sure.

  11. 11.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @No Drought No More: I’m experiencing, perhaps, a chronic version of what you’re describing here. It wasn’t brought on by this president*, but it has gotten much worse mostly because of him.

    Briefly put, I’m suffering depersonalisation-derealisation disorder, which basically means I no longer feel any of my experiences are real, and I no longer feel real myself; I feel like a character in a book or TV show, and my experiences seem more like a video game than reality. It’s as though there’s a veil separating me from reality; beyond that, sometimes I feel like my consciousness has departed my body entirely.

    I must stress that Twitler himself didn’t incite this. It was brought on by an unexpected death in the family, which, according to the Merck Manual, is a common trigger of the disorder. But it’s gotten a lot worse because reality no longer feels believable; it’s too surreal. And that’s mostly Twitler’s fault.

    It’s taken an enormous toll on my productivity, and I have no idea how to cope with it. Oddly, I’m kind of disappointed it’s not depression or post-traumatic stress disorder; not to belittle those illnesses, as I’ve suffered greatly from both and at times have been borderline suicidal on account of depression, but I already have coping strategies for them, and the fact that I’ve recovered from both of them before means that I possess confidence that I’d be able to do it again. DP-DR is completely new to me; I still don’t even know that much about it, and certainly have no coping strategies for it.

    Anyhow, I felt it would be relevant to note just how flatly unbelievable I’m finding recent events.

  12. 12.

    ruemara

    This was so obvious during the campaign and post election that I fervently wished the Obamas and the Clintons were moving out of country. Why is anyone surprised?

    @geg6: They damned sure aren’t.

  14. 14.

    Damien

    And somehow liberals are unpatriotic. Sure.

    I fucking hope every Trump voter dies horribly. I hope they develop severe diabetes and can’t get medical care because of their own stupid fucking actions, and that they rot away piece by fucking piece until they’re as blind, useless and necrotic on the outside as they are on the inside.

    May they have to live with the scent of their own gangrenous limbs filling their nostrils until they finally die.

    And frankly im being generous

  16. 16.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Betty Cracker: The temperature in the cauldron was too hot for this frog the day the thoroughly incompetent person who traded in xenophobia, was elected President. I was physically ill since the week he was elected. I saw more doctors from January to June this year than I have in my entire life. It took until mid April for me to feel somewhat normal.

    ETA: What I am saying is that you may be feeling the heat now but the pot was quite hot for me the day he got elected.

  18. 18.

    jhtrotter

    But if you ignore the context, the 3rd tweet is absolutely correct, and I applaud dickhead for encouraging his own demise…

  19. 19.

    Patricia Kayden

    @ruemara: Unfortunately, that’s where this all is leading to. If Trump is not impeached or otherwise moved out of office, he may find a way to go after the Clintons (and maybe the Obamas as well). At that point, the Clintons would have to flee in exile until he leaves office. With the fake news such as Pizza Gate, the rubes are being riled up to hate the Clintons who sadly have been demonized by the Right and many on the extreme Left.

  22. 22.

    Matt McIrvin

    @ruemara: I am actually favorably surprised by the resilience of institutions compared to what I was expecting. All the nightmares I thought would occur rapidly after Inauguration Day may still come to pass; cultural resistance erodes as it goes on. But I thought the Congressional Republicans were going to be 100% on board with enabling the Trump agenda and that he’d set law enforcement against his opponents upon entry, and they’re all actually too feeble, divided and incompetent for that.

  23. 23.

    Patricia Kayden

    @But her emails!!!: If nothing happens to Trump and he gets Sessions to prosecute her for some nonsense or the other, yes I believe the Clintons would be in the right to leave the country until Trump is no longer in office. That may be farfetched but Trump being elected was once farfetched so I don’t know.

  25. 25.

    Brachiator

    @Betty Cracker:

    I think Cheryl’s post downstairs asks the following question in a different way: Will our institutions be sufficient to withstand the onslaught of this lunatic? I vacillate between optimism and pessimism, but this latest push has me worried.

    It’s not our institutions. It’s the citizens and the elected representatives.

    I suggested that we are developing an authoritarian democracy (or mobocracy). A small, misfit base, emboldened Trump and made him possible. They, as voters, had all the power and they totally ignored all the signs of his lack of ability to fulfill the office of president. They, as voters, simply did not care as Trump defied all the previous traditions which had been used to vet a candidate. They, as voters, declared that they simply did not care about conflicts of interest, ethics violations. They, as voters, found the Emoluments Clause to be too arcane and complex, and decided that a rich man who tries to get even richer while in public office to be no big thing, maybe even something to be desired.

    And of course, along the way, the Republicans ignored all of Trump’s tantrums, demands, refusals to follow past precedent and decide to throw in their lots with him. And I definitely recall some interview in which a smug Paul Ryan assured some reporter that the Constitution would always restrain Trump.

    And, of course, race and sexism. I don’t know. Maybe the public will wise up. But a good chunk seem to want a crazy white man who will put women and nonwhites in their place, and all they care about is the promise of good times to come, without any checks and balances, without accountability, without apology.

    You tell me it’s the institution,
    Well, you know,
    You better free your mind instead…

    Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
    Alright…

  26. 26.

    Chip Daniels

    Since January, I had to cut way back on my political blog reading and FB feeds.
    I don’t need any more outrage, I don’t need any more shock. Especially with recent revelations I wonder how many FB links I clicked on which were actually Russian troll farms.

    What I keep thinking is that the most essential ingredient of fascism, the first command of a tyrant is fear and distrust. Being afraid of each other, distrustful of institutions.

    And the first act of resistance is to refuse.

    In our case, its to boldly declare our lack of fear of immigrants, trust in our neighbors, and faith in institutions.
    Faith meaning to demand that Congress not flinch from its job.

  27. 27.

    Mike J

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I am actually favorably surprised by the resilience of institutions compared to what I was expecting.

    I hope there are people watching and noting what;s being done to each and every agency, making a list of things to roll back on day one of a non-corrupt administration. It will literally be 100 pages long for State alone, and every department will need to be fixed.

  28. 28.

    JGabriel

    Betty Cracker @ Top:

    I can scarcely recall what I imagined the internet would bring when it bloomed a generation ago. But my speculation about an interconnected future did not include reading the real-time rage-tweets of a malevolent clown while he pinches off a loaf in the White House throne room … These are the ravings of a tinpot authoritarian.

    Or … wait for it … a Shitpot Authoritarian.

    Or Pottypot Authoritarian? Poop Pot Authoritarian? Crackpot Authoritarian? Turdbowl Authoritarian?

  29. 29.

    Boatboy_srq

    @Patricia Kayden: The tRumpeta were the libertarian version of the SA: all the brownshirtiness, none of the organization. Enables all the bad behavior, and also the “lone wolf” No-True-Scotsmanism when one of them goes “too far”.

  30. 30.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Yep, as far as their incompetence goes, god bless that mess.

    Unfortunately, they’re infesting government positions. And spreading.

    And we really do need a government that works.

  31. 31.

    Humdog

    @schrodingers_cat:
    I hope your trips to the doctors proved helpful. I know how awful it is to start to feel physically better then realize the sick feelings are sticking with you because of what is going on in the world outside of your health. I had hoped feeling better would actually mean feeling better about lots of things.

  32. 32.

    eric

    I can handle the real stories of corruption and our failed institutions. As painful as they are, they are grounded in reality. What drives me “nuts” are the BS stories manufacturing white rage. The people throwing gasoline on the fire of white resentment to gain a (temporary) political advantage. Those “stories” are far more troubling to my ears.

  33. 33.

    jl

    @But her emails!!!: Unless the Trumpsters can subvert the federal justice system, HRC doesn’t need to flee. Trump is using the Big Lie against any target of convenience, along with the GOP.

    There is no evidence that there was any corrupt influence in the Uranium One deal. Only thing there is issue of appearances when Clinton Foundation and Bill Clinton took some contributions from people who could conceivably had an interest. But no evidence at all there was any connection.

    Brazile hasn’t documented her really inflammatory charges about supposed ‘rigging’ of Dem primary. Until she does so, we need to to suspend judgement. And even if documented, I don’t see how it would have changed the outcome.

    Trump, Trumpsters and GOP will manufacture BS to after any target of convenience as needed. Will be whomever runs against GOP in 2020, whether Trump runs or not. Unless some hard documented evidence comes up that can be taken seriously, just keep on attacking Trump, Trumpsters and GOP (aka, the ‘GROMP’ complex of rottenness).

    I was a BS mega-donor (several contribution of 27 whole dollars). The whole idea that the DNC was rigged in some legally suspicious way is BS. The very idea of the lawsuit against the DNC is BS. Hell, Sanders laid out the obvious fact that HRC, being the ‘establishment’ candidate, had an advantage in pretty much all of his campaign solicitations. It’s all BS.

    Unless and until some real evidence comes up (and we have zero, so far), just attack GROMP nonstop.

    And, anyway, it is reactionary GOP legislation and reactionary SCOTUS decisions that made a lot of bad looking stuff legal, Attack that, don’t get side tracked by taking the BS that GROMP pumps out seriously.

  34. 34.

    ruemara

    @But her emails!!!: I don’t think she would, because I think they’re used to a level of insane and aren’t aware that this is very different. Also, both the Clintons and the Obamas believe in an America I don’t.

  35. 35.

    terben

    Jailing Hillary was one of Trump’s core election promises. Every day that Hillary is not in jail reminds us of the utter failure of the Trump junta. These tweets show how much it burn in his guts and what passes for the brains of the people who voted for him. We should constantly be asking these losers, ‘Is Hillary in jail yet? What’s keeping you?

  36. 36.

    oatler.

    Trump’s on fire, burning to death as he rages. He’s in a lot of pain as he screams and burns but what could we do besides let him burn to death?

  40. 40.

    Major Major Major Major

    Oddly enough, I feel much sturdier mentally now than I did a few months ago. I think that everything has gotten so completely terrible in the outside world that it’s really forced me to cut back on bad habits or, like, die.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    Burning HRC in effigy on the Great Lawn in 3… 2… 1…

    “Damn it, Kelly, shut up and give me a match!”

  43. 43.

    stinger

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): That’s generally my feeling too. True, there’s seldom a day when I don’t want to run around shrieking at the horror and shame of it all. But I do (mostly) feel confident that our institutions are staffed by (mostly) honorable, decent human beings who would not carry out his lunatic commands.

  44. 44.

    jl

    @terben: Trump doesn’t care. When it’s not to his advantage to beat up on HRC, he says it’s not important, and implies it was all just a Trump campaign gimmick anyway, nothing more. Very much like the dumb Trump Wall (which even Trump considered a dumb idea until he realized it charge up his base).

    When Democratic candidates X, Y and Z and etc. emerge who can win Senate, House seats in 2018 and 2020, and presidency in 2020, HRC and BS will be forgotten and the new people will get exactly the same treatment.

  45. 45.

    Barbara

    @Chip Daniels: Well said. I do not dwell much on Facebook and on Twitter only follow people whose work I have read in actual publications. As for Trump — he was always like this — the kind of person who would take a full page ad out in the NYT to advocate for the death penalty for five African American teenagers who later turned out to be innocent of the crime they were convicted of. But he still insists they should be in prison.

  46. 46.

    Major Major Major Major

    The Democratic Party on facebook just started a live video about the VA election. They stopped it while I was commenting “Go Northam!”, probably technical difficulties, but these were the other comments there at the time:

    “Hillary says she doesn’t remember rigging the primary elections” (3 Likes)
    “RIGGED”
    “you guys know the people in charge of the “rigging” aren’t there now….”
    “I’ll give $27 a month if you get rid of superdelegates and have open primaries.”

    This always makes me think of the scene from Rushmore where the kid shakes his head and says “with friends like you who needs friends.”

  47. 47.

    MJS

    This is the ranting of the cornered incompetent. He is becoming a joke to an increasing number of people. His pronouncements, no matter what the topic, are increasingly inconsequential. He is truly Shit Midas, so his calls for anything to happen will at worst lead to nothing, at best lead to the exact opposite of what he’s calling for.

  48. 48.

    GregB

    So, Trump is in a fulminating rage over his feckless ability to become an instant tyrant.

    How is he going to handle himself on the world stage this coming trip?

    Will it become more and more apparent that he’s a tripwire to global conflagration?

    Plus he’ll be rubbing elbows with a paxk of autocrats. What will they tell him?

  49. 49.

    sam

    on the subject of Russian troll farms:i spent the morning with the ceo of graphika, a leading co tracking and mapping these farms.

    they were set up years ago. they are on the 3rd generation. they are at work constantly. they target right wing and left wing. twitter, especially, does nothing and fb not much better.

    i think thwy have permanently polarized our society and have many willing american participants.

    the ceo said they didnt work as well in germany, because germans tend to respect institutions.

    we evidently do not and are more prone to confirmation bias.

    this, imo, is the biggest threat facing the country. we are under attack and nobody cares, in fact the prez supports it. how is that not treason?

  52. 52.

    gene108

    The media still doesn’t take Trump seriously. There’s a lot of “he’s just saying that to get attention, he’ll never do it”, with regards to Trump coverage.

  54. 54.

    waspuppet

    Some days, I wonder if it’s harmful to give the shitgibbon’s childish rants any energy and attention at all.

    In 1993, a lotta “smart, sensible” liberals told me to just ignore Rush Limbaugh and he’d just dry up and blow away. I’m fairly certain that didn’t work. You’re doing God’s work here.

  57. 57.

    Chris

    Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn’t looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems..

    This is nice in a meta kind of way for illustrating Trump’s worldview: “Everybody” means “Donald Trump,” because in his world, that is everybody.

  58. 58.

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

    Remember when Samantha Bee tried asserting that “being an asshole” is not an impeachable offense over the summer in some segment she did where she interviewed anti-Trump protesters?
    Did anyone ever call her out on that and did she ever acknowledge she was wrong? Too lazy to google.

  60. 60.

    Elie

    I believe that Moeller has the goods on the Trump syndicate and will roll it out in increasing connections and severity over the next months. I don’t think it will be stoppable and this group (and perhaps some of the legislature) will be caught in it. While that is good news, I believe that Trump is and will be extremely dangerous during this period. We know also that we cannot count on anyone to stay his hand — whether in the White House or legislature. We are in danger and the citizens getting out in the street may be a portion of the defense. I am sure he will try to fire Moeller but I don’t think it will matter — all the shit is gonna come out and the scope of it and the people involved will require action. It may touch some Democrats in unexpected ways. This regime is in some ways an a-political crime syndicate whose members are not about running our governance but about building wealth and control by certain elites. Moeller has the job of the century — maybe of the time since the Civil War — in front of him. We will have to figure out how to help him…..

  61. 61.

    Chris

    There are several more in the same vein, which include allusions to “Crazy Bernie” and “Pocahantas” and additional ranting about “Crooked Hillary.” But this line is the most alarming: “Lets [sic] go FBI & Justice Dept.”

    The thing that makes it even more surreal is that that comment was attached to the “Hillary paid for the primary” comment. Even if she did… how would that be any of the DOJ/FBI’s jurisdictional concerns? Political parties aren’t democracies. How they choose to nominate their candidates isn’t regulated by the constitution. Hillary Clinton could literally have paid to have it renamed “the Hillary Clinton Party” and replace its charter with a statement that she and only she will be its presidential candidate, and unless I’m missing something, that would still be legal.

  63. 63.

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

    @waspuppet:
    We’ve reached a point where Rush Limbaugh is scared of Trump. He mentioned a few weeks back on his show that Trump didn’t have any right to tell employees of a private of a company as POTUS what to do.

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    OT:

    Instantly premiered high in the rankings for next possible pick for Dolt 45 cabinet.

    Authorities say a western New York town official has been cited for trying to bury his defunct auto repair garage in a hole. Source

  69. 69.

    Elie

    Betty, I believe his tweets today are signaling that he will have increasing temptation and impulse to get into the fray. I believe that many in Moeller and the FBI also expect it….

  70. 70.

    Brachiator

    I love this Gizmodo story about Canada’s Governor General giving a speech that takes down climate change deniers

    Speaking at a science conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Canada’s newly appointed governor general, Julie Payette, directed some harsh comments towards climate skeptics, astrologists, and believers of “divine intervention.” Critics complained that it’s not the governor general’s place to get involved in such matters, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended the speech.

    While we have an ignorant shitgibbon as our leader, the Canadian Governor General is not only a *gasp* woman, she’s a goddam engineer and former astronaut.

    That Julie Payette, 54, would be a such staunch supporter of science is hardly a surprise. The computer and electrical engineer flew on two Space Shuttle missions (in 1999 and 2009), logging 25 total days in space. She was appointed governor general on July 13th, 2017 by the Trudeau government, and she hasn’t wasted time in making her mark—particularly when it comes to the promotion of science.

    At this week’s Canadian Science Policy Conference, Payette argued for greater public acceptance of science, saying it’s time for Canadians step away from false beliefs such as astrology and divine intervention, while speaking out against people who insist that human activity isn’t responsible for climate change.

    Even Canada has its share of conservative nutburgers, evangelicals, etc., but at least the heads of state are having none of it.

    Oh, Canada!

  73. 73.

    MJS

    @waspuppet: Since Limbaugh came on the national scene, Democrats have won the popular vote in all but one presidential election. He can and should be ignored. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, and the obsolete electoral college process should not.

  74. 74.

    RSA

    Nope. I did not see that coming.

    No one saw it coming, as far as I know. The early Internet pioneers were amazing, forward-looking scientists, engineers, and technologists, but not so great on the socio-techical side of things.

  76. 76.

    Chris

    @(((CassandraLeo))):

    I think that’s increasingly the entire party’s approach to the world. “Collective solipsism,” as O’Brien put it in 1984. Reality is what they want it to be.

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I liked it better in the original French. Or maybe that should be the original Galactic Basic, since Star Wars happened “a long time ago…”

  77. 77.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Major Major Major Major: I feel sorry for Northam and Herring who now probably are dealing with the fall out from Brazile and Warren’s mutterings when they’re in tight races in Virginia. Hope they’re able to squeak out a win despite this nonsense.

  81. 81.

    Major Major Major Major

    @RSA: I don’t know, define “early Internet”.

    @sam: Right, but Germany has a much weaker populist right than we do, partly due to a major ideological culling following a minor incident in the 1940’s. So it’s harder to tribalize.

  82. 82.

    JMG

    @Patricia Kayden: Nobody except political journalists and the maybe two percent of the population that is as politically engaged as the folks on this board cares about Brazile and Warren’s statements. Few of those even know about it.

  83. 83.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I think that everything has gotten so completely terrible in the outside world that it’s really forced me to cut back on bad habits or, like, die.

    I will resist making a joke here.

  84. 84.

    sam

    followup: it is fundamentally an attack on the country as a whole, not a political party or the government. Sure it is more efficient when aided by the prez, but they would be at it if Hilz was prez. because it works.

  85. 85.

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

    @sam:
    Russia is just taking advantage of divisions that already existed in our society and are widening them. The result: no one will be happy no matter who is in charge.

  89. 89.

    Aleta

    Perhaps every candidate for Prez should take exams (govt, world, science, education system and essays) and apply for a security clearance and background check during the primary. Publish exam answers and security clearance rating. Might weed the shady and the ‘indifferent to knowledge’ ones out of the primary season too. Questions submitted from all sides. Plumbers and electricians and pilots take tests, child care workers get licenses, and businesses require background checks — fits right in with ‘run govt like a business.’

    Also I think that TV ads should be free (since the public owns the airwaves, or used to) and candidates given equal amounts of air time, but no buys.

    I know: dream on.

  91. 91.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @Chris: I’d forgotten that phrase. Goddammit, Orwell didn’t write that novel as an instruction manual.

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I think I agree with her, TBH. Bush 43 shouldn’t have been impeached because he was an asshole; he should’ve been impeached for lying to the country to start an illegal war and committing war crimes while prosecuting it. Reagan shouldn’t have been impeached for being an asshole; he should’ve been impeached for Iran-Contra and his other fuckery in Central America and elsewhere. Nixon shouldn’t have been impeached for being an asshole; he should’ve been impeached for Watergate, COINTELPRO, his treason over the Vietnam peace talks, and so on. Same goes for Twitler. His violations of the emoluments clause, treasonous collaboration with Russia, flagrant violations of Constitutional powers (pardons, damaging comments on ongoing court cases, etc.), serial sex crimes, etc. give us plenty of reasons to impeach beyond “he’s an asshole.”

  93. 93.

    Betty Cracker

    @MJS: And in that same time period, wingnuts have taken over school boards, county commission seats, state houses, etc., paving the way for gerrymandering, state-level voter suppression, etc. Thanks in part to Limbaugh’s efforts in keeping the base perpetually riled up. If the gasbag should be ignored now, it’s only because he’s been supplanted by Fox News, Breitbart and Russian trolls as the primary purveyor of mindless outrage.

  96. 96.

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

    @(((CassandraLeo))):
    I agree too. It’s just technically speaking, she was wrong. Congress could impeach Trump for wearing shitty suits if they decided that was an “impeachable offense”. I want him impeached because I think he’s mentally unstable.

  97. 97.

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

    @TenguPhule:

    I’ll give even odds that NK has a nasty surprise waiting for him when he hits South Korea.

    What kind of surprise? Knowing you, the lethal kind?

  98. 98.

    Chris

    @(((CassandraLeo))):

    No, he wrote it as a warning about what he was afraid the world might become, or might already be becoming. But apparently some people looked at the book and said “hey, wait, we like that world!”

  100. 100.

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

    @Chris:
    The truly scary thing was that Inner Party members were just as much slaves to the system as anybody else was if O’Brian is to be believed. There would be no internal coups or revolutions. Nothing would ever change until the resources started to run out or an outside event like an asteroid hit.

  102. 102.

    RSA

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I don’t know, define “early Internet”.

    I’m thinking of J. C. R. Licklider, Douglas Engelbart, Ted Nelson, and the more computer-science-y people they inspired. I love their visions of the future, but reality turned out to be messier.

  103. 103.

    JR

    @JMG: about a half dozen huge events have happened since. This is one aspect of life in the trump era for better or worse.

  105. 105.

    SatanicPanic

    I’m not really too confident in my predictions after 2016, but Hillary or Obama being jailed seems really out there.

  107. 107.

    jl

    @TS: ” Nobody in US politics has got the same treatment as HRC – and it is doubtful that anyone ever will. ”

    I agree, if you include the news media.
    But GROMP will make it race if some Democratic candidates emerge that can lean their clock. Probably key the attacks to HRC. “Even worse than Crooked Hillary!” And of course, won’t make a speck of difference if the only thing these future Dem candidates ever did was burp loud in an elevator. GROMP will just make up as many Big Lies as fast as they can.

  109. 109.

    TenguPhule

    @SatanicPanic:

    I’m not really too confident in my predictions after 2016, but Hillary or Obama being jailed seems really out there.

    Not that this is stopping the Republican faithful from demanding it anyway.

  113. 113.

    Mnemosyne

    @(((CassandraLeo))):

    Well, that sounds not fun in the least. I hope they’re able to figure out a treatment for you soon, or at least help you come up with some coping strategies. It’s never fun to have a rare disorder that no one seems to know how to treat.

  114. 114.

    Chris

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

    Funny thing is, that was always the part I found least plausible about 1984 – that Big Brother doesn’t exist and that all the Inner Party members are just as much slaves to the system as anybody else. It would mean that nobody’s actually benefiting from the terror. How does that even work? Countries that live under that kind of hysteria in real life do have at least one person benefiting and guiding the whole thing (Stalin, Mao, whichever Kim is in charge); that’s the point. And when those people die, the system usually (though not always, see North Korea) settles down into a more ordinary, corrupt and decadent, you-don’t-tell-on-me-I-don’t-tell-on-you kind of setup.

    The modern GOP seems to be struggling to prove me wrong. It helps that they live in a system that has far fewer demands than Ingsoc does; the Sole Commandment is that you have to pledge allegiance to the tribe and punch outwards a lot. Most of the grand corruption that comes with autocratic political classes is tolerated in this case because it’s openly celebrated; they don’t need to hide it behind a pretense of virtue or efficiency like the Nazis and Communists did because the ideology tells us over and over that they deserve the decadence and that it’s actually a proof of virtue and accomplishment. As for crimethink, well, their big shots do it plenty often, but as long as they don’t disobey the Sole Commandment – go out and punch some liberals, loudly and publicly – it’s not that big a deal.

  115. 115.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Should we be grateful that Trump seems to grasp that he’s “not supposed to” leverage the justice system to punish political enemies, however unfair he rates that restraint? Maybe

    I rather suspect Trump’s whining is because he got told no by both Justic and the FBI.

  116. 116.

    TenguPhule

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

    What kind of surprise?

    No idea. But after all the noise Trump has made and given that the North Koreans have not forgotten their history with the buildup to Gulf War II, the temptation to fuck with Trump when he’s within arm’s reach of them has to be damn near irresistible. Especially since the new Kim has shown he’s not afraid to strike unconventionally. I mean seriously, using a TV prank as cover for an assassination with chemical weapons was right out of a bad conspiracy novel.

    Not sure if its going to be for range or effect. But its almost certainly going to beard Trump’s goat.

  117. 117.

    Mnemosyne

    @quakerinabasement:

    “Beware the furniture movers. People see them coming and they shit.”

    Though it’s Rinehold’s day in the complaints department that’s my favorite. “Scientists for A Free Poland Against Whaling!”

  118. 118.

    TS

    @jl: It is unbelievably partisan that a republican who attacks women in words & actions and fails every norm of political action can be elected President but a democrat has to be cleaner than the driven snow to stand for dog catcher. How this has happened is well beyond my power of understanding.

    There are thousands of such examples among GOP politicians yet it is aways the democrats who are attacked. I assume it relates to democrats hitting own goals (as per the latest by Sen Warren) while the GOP believe their own can do no wrong. The hypocrisy is only exceeded by their egos.

  120. 120.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: His mental instability is another great reason for his impeachment (though I think it’s a better one for a 25A removal). I agree that “high crimes and misdemeanors” is an extremely vague phrase without a clear meaning. I just think if we go down the road of saying it’s OK to remove people over subjective character judgements, it won’t end well for us. I consider “mentally unstable” to be a different category since there are at least a lot of psychological professionals making the same judgement, so it seems less subjective.

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: OTOH, Thomas Pynchon pointed out that the Newspeak appendix is written in English and in past tense, implying either that the Party eventually fell or that there are outside parts of the Anglosphere that aren’t under its control. We really only have the Party’s word to take about anything regarding conditions outside Airstrip One, and for that matter, a lot of what we know about conditions within Airstrip One also comes from Party sources. For obvious reasons, they can’t be considered reliable expositors about any of this.

  121. 121.

    TenguPhule

    @(((CassandraLeo))):

    I just think if we go down the road of saying it’s OK to remove people over subjective character judgements, it won’t end well for us.

    Too late, that lamp was rubbed when they tried to impeach Clinton.

  122. 122.

    Aleta

    ‘At some point the Justice Department, and the FBI, must do what is right and proper.’

    This shift in tone is the Rep theme introducing a blitz of the candidates picked by the Heritage Society for federal judgeships and to go on local ballots. (Do something! to help Trump carry out his agenda to make America safe.) Rejecting these guys is going to be a huge battle.

  124. 124.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @Mnemosyne: Missed this earlier; thanks. I suspect this disorder may end up becoming more common precisely for the factors I outlined above; while I hope it doesn’t, since it sucks, one potential upside if it does would be increased awareness, research, and literature on the disorder, which may end up making it easier to deal with. On the plus side for me, another commenter at LGM also has the disorder & said she’ll message me with some advice about it soon

  125. 125.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Mnemosyne: Doesn’t Head Office start with Pete Helmes boasting about how he started out with only a few million dollars in his pocket and then worked his way up? Considering when it was made they very likely had Trump in mind with Helmes.

  126. 126.

    JMG

    @Davebo: Do you know what the ratings for cable news are? They are pathetic.Top-rated shows like Hannity and Maddow get like 2-3 million people. That’s less than one percent of the population. The average American would be hard pressed to tell you if their state representative was a Republican or a Democrat. Apathy and poor citizenship are the bane of the country, not media.

  127. 127.

    Chris

    @JMG:

    I’m mostly worried about Northam ever since he decided to criticize sanctuary cities and the DFA decided to un-endorse him, which seems like exactly the kind of hiccup that, this late in the game and in a race this close, might be all it takes for the bad guys to pull it off.

  129. 129.

    SatanicPanic

    @JMG: That doesn’t really give the whole picture though. Maybe not everyone watches Hannity, but the guy who does is loudly and frequently telling everyone around him about stuff that Hannity says. And everyone guys like Rush Limbaugh are water-cooler conversations in a lot of these places. The bubble these people live in is so all-encompassing that not everyone has to be tuning in all the time.

  130. 130.

    Duane

    Electorally, our country is being ruled by the majority of the south and their sympathisers. Traitors to our values in 1865, traitors today.

  132. 132.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @SatanicPanic: Good point. In the same way, the FTFNYT has a much greater reach than simply the people who read it, though it’s even more extreme in their case; most local news broadcasts take their cues from its reporting, and a ton of people still watch the local news (source: I work in TV ratings). This is, incidentally, one reason I’m so alarmed about Sinclair. Fox’s bias is probably overt by now to anyone who isn’t a partisan, but a lot of people still trust their local news anchors and don’t possess the political awareness to detect spin from them.

  137. 137.

    Mnemosyne

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Yep, he came to town with only $43 million in his pocket, so he’s totally a self-made man!

    Since the movie was made in the mid-1980s, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump was one of the models for his character, though Albert is a lot older. Trump’s bestie Don King even inexplicably shows up, FFS!

  140. 140.

    SatanicPanic

    @(((CassandraLeo))): I try to console myself with the fact that local news has always been garbage- more concerned with scaring people than covering things that are actually important. But their move to insert stupid propaganda is unnerving.

  142. 142.

    rikyrah

    @Patricia Kayden:
    I wish that racist muthaphucka would try to charge Hillary with something.
    I SO can’t wait for that bus to run over his azz. It’s coming, Attorney General White Citizens Council. It’s coming.

  146. 146.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Completely O/T. Will likely post again in future threads tonight.

    *******

    I emailed efg a couple of times during the past week or so — since a few days after he went into hospital. Have not heard back, but unearthed home phone # just now and left voicemail message for him and mrs efg, both of whom I’ve met a couple of times IRL. Left detailed message, the gist of which was how much he is loved and missed by the jackals. Obviously I will report back if and when I get a return call. Just wanted to update y’all.

  149. 149.

    jl

    @JWR: ” Times they are a’changing. ” Yeah, Trumps in trouble, he ain’t seeing 40 percent in approval polls again, and the dishonesty of his flunkies is well documented.

    And BTW, if you go to Josh Marshall’s twitter, you will see a series of tweets with documents relating to Brazile’s charges. I don’t think what is on paper so far fully backs her up. It ain’t pretty, but apparently the DNC was broke and that wasn’t pretty.

    From what I can tell, HRC wanted assurances that DNC would seamlessly coordinate with her campaign organization (in return for her getting DNC out of hock) during general.election.

    Anyway, no evidence of illegality here, and if this is it, I think Brazile overstated her charges. Who knows why. Maybe positioning herself to keep a big position at DNC after intra-party negotiations on new system are over?

    I don’t think there is anything here, and no reason not to bash GROMP for Big lies on it, when they yell their Big Lies. Just as no reason not to yell Big Lies on Uranium One, which, for example did not give Russia control over 20% of US uranium, let alone ship it to Russia (edit: actually, far less than one percent of uranium supply to US was involved). No evidence HRC had anything to do with the decision and lots of evidence that she had nothing to do with it. Call Big Lies the Big Lies that they are and don’t apologize or explain anything that doesn’t merit it on its own terms.

    Remember, Trujmp, Trumpsters and GOP will move their smear campaign on to the next targets as soon as they appear on the horizon.

  151. 151.

    JWR

    @Mike in NC:

    That was Trump lying again to the “failing” New York Times.

    I don’t think he knew the extent of the troubles his shenanigans would cause. After all, he was preznit now, and everybody knows that “when the president does it…” ;-)

  157. 157.

    JWR

    @jl: Yes to what you’ve said. And as JM notes today,

    “rigged” is a highly, highly loaded word”

    , and to hear it being tossed around so casually, (hey, just like Trump and Bernie! did), is quite irritating.

  158. 158.

    danielx

    I must say that the leading para of this post falls under the heading of things I wish I’d written or said.

    Thanks, Betty.

  159. 159.

    danielx

    @JWR:

    His former campaign manager hadn’t been indicted back then; he didn’t need to emit primal screams on a frequent basis.

  161. 161.

    zzyzx

    @Chris: I think the one reason why it’s vaguely plausible is that the back story to 1984 has WWII ending with more wars including many nuclear attacks. At some point people are going to be desperate.

  163. 163.

    dogwood

    @jl:
    You’ve mentioned a couple of times we should wait to see if anything was illegal. The DNC and RNC are not government agencies. Signing joint fundraising agreements is not against the law. They try to raise money and do some coordination with candidates. I would imagine there is easier coordination with candidates that are eager to work cooperatively. That was never Bernie Sanders. And the DNC does not run the primaries or caucuses; state parties have that responsibility. I wouldn’t blame Donna Brazile for holding a grudge against Hillary. The ‘08 Clinton campaign wanted the DNC to change the rules re Michigan and Florida and hand her the nomination. That was an ugly end to a campaign that went on too long. So I think Brazile is tuned to interpret Hillary’s action unfavorably. But the story about election rigging in 2016 has always been fake.

  164. 164.

    jl

    @dogwood: ” You’ve mentioned a couple of times we should wait to see if anything was illegal. ”

    That is a lot stronger than I meant to say. I mean, always possible that something totally unexpected pops up. Maybe Hillary barged into the DNC with a machine gun and made them do something. Who knows for a million percent sure?. But that is extremely unlikely. I should worded it more carefully.

    So, I didn’t mean to say that we should wait a second until we call the Trumpsters out for Big Lies. They have told patent Big Lies about Uranium One, and a Big Lie on some supposedly ‘crooked’ HRC/DNC deal. No need to wait on anything to call a Big Lie a Big Lie.

    Edit: If I typed something like ‘need to wait’ and it seemed like it applied to the HRC/DNC deal, that was a mistake on my part. No doubt all that stuff was lawyered up to the max, on both sides.

  165. 165.

    SFAW

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Trump Threatens To Fire Jeff Sessions If He Won’t Investigate Hillary Clinton. This is the fascism we are dealing with, folks.

    This, finally, will be the proverbial straw that breaks the back of the Republican resistance to impeaching him.
    .
    .
    .

    God, I crack myself up sometimes.

  166. 166.

    Matt McIrvin

    @jl:

    Yeah, Trumps in trouble, he ain’t seeing 40 percent in approval polls again

    Wrong, he’s seeing it today. I think the New York attack gave him a bump up of a few points.

  167. 167.

    ruemara

    @JMG: They don’t know Brazille. But they are repeating that the primaries were rigged and the DNC is corrupt and we’re in this because the Dems wouldn’t let a qualified candidate have a fair shot, so why should they vote. We can’t afford one likely voter sitting things out. Brazille and Warren are doing the devil’s work for the devil’s pay.

  168. 168.

    jl

    @dogwood: And I am suspending judgment on the 2016 primary and DNC until I can read an authoritative account. So much going on with DWS, and who wanted her in and out, and fights among various interests.

    Thing is, how many people care about it? Not many, unless some Democrats start explaining and apologizing for stuff that doesn’t need it, and that is just based on timid mistake that every BS lie needs to answered in detail. I supported Sanders in the primary, but I think that business about the primaries being ‘rigged’ is complete BS. I have no patience for it.

    And no one cares, and I just have to hope the various factions in the Democratic party can work good reforms that will produce better campaigns the future.

  169. 169.

    Fair Economist

    @jl:

    I don’t think what is on paper so far fully backs her up.

    Um, no. The paper refutes Brazille. The 2015 document had no provision for the HRC campaign having veto power over DNC actions. The 2016 document, signed after Clinton had the nomination, did (as it should). Brazille is just wrong.

  173. 173.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Mike J: The top several levels of the State Department are basically going to have to be constructed from scratch. With luck they can hire back a bunch of people who quit or were fired when Trump came in.

  174. 174.

    TriassicSands

    Everybody is asking…

    Gee, maybe a slight exaggeration. Let’s see, some, probably very small, percentage of his base might be asking such questions, but I doubt if anyone who isn’t a fully-committed Trumpist is even remotely interested in spontaneously asking about the “emails” or “Podesta” or anything else that Trump thinks is vital to his own future. Even they probably need the Idiot-in-Chief to constantly remind them.

    If Trump were to have a massive stroke while rage-tweeting, it would be both satisfying (to most of the world) and utterly appropriate. “Everyone” could then say, “At least he died doing what he loved.”

  175. 175.

    Thoughtful David

    @TS:
    Yes, they have no actual morals or values; they only believe they should be in charge. Therefore, what to us looks like hypocrisy, to them isn’t, it’s just a tool to go for what they want. So those of us actually hobbled by having morals are always at a disadvantage. We hold their side AND our side to high standards. They only (hypocritically) hold our side to high standards, and their side can do what it wants.

  176. 176.

    SFAW

    @dogwood:

    I wouldn’t blame Donna Brazile for holding a grudge against Hillary.

    Nor would I. I mean, Hillary, after she got done killing Vince Foster (with her bare hands!), single-handedly killed Al Gore’s 2000 campaign, and made it look like Brazile was involved.

  177. 177.

    Gretchen

    Thank you, Betty, for the Grant quote. It’s making me crazy that people can talk about Confederates or Robert E. Lee without using the word “traitor”. People who complain that kneeling football players disrespect the troops, are fine with traitors firing on US troops at Fort Sumpter, and spending 4 years trying to kill as many members of the US Army as possible. That’s some massive cognitive dissonance there.

  178. 178.

    fuckwit

    @(((CassandraLeo))): I actually love that feeling. I don’t get it often, but when I do it’s the safest, most comforting thing in the world to me. Some people take K to induce that kind of disassociation, though I haven’t tried that. It’s a very common reaction to grief or stress, a kind of shock. I’m very sorry that it’s been persistent and unpleasant enough to mess with your life. I can offer some hope that it will get away once you’ve processed the grief. There also may be drugs available that’d help. I hope you have good medical coverage and are getting good care.

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