Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Second rate reporter says what?

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Everybody saw this coming.

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

I was promised a recession.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

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“woke” is the new caravan.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Everyone Loves A Parade!

Everyone Loves A Parade!

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A self-absorbed autocrat is planning a military parade for his capital. “We’re going to show the people as we build up our military,” he said. Heavy equipment on the streets and aircraft overhead.

 

Oh wait. It is unclear what role he would play, whether he may perhaps serve as a grandmaster or observe the spectacle from a reviewing stand.

 

Moving right along…

It’s – you guessed it – our own American President wanting to do the most American thing ever, show people that his, um, military is bigger than everyone else’s. He’s been stewing about this ever since Emmanuel Macron bested him at the handshake game and then threw THE BEST MILITARY PARADE EVAH for Trump and Melania. And North Korea may be planning one for Thursday, to get their own jump on the Olympics.

 

Open thread!

 

Reader Interactions

250Comments

  2. 2.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    so Jim Mattis, the last domino in the “thank god for the generals!” theory, goes down to flatter Field Marshall Bone Spurs

  3. 3.

    JPL

    The odds that Cadet Bone Spurs ever attended a Memorial Day Parade or a July 4th parade are slim. He has only become aware of the military now, because he thinks that the generals are his.

  4. 4.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    Change the voice/accent and look but keep everything else and our current POTUS is totally Kim Jong Ill from Team America: World Police

  6. 6.

    clay

    Didn’t he bring this idea up before? Sometime near the inauguration, perhaps? I remember discussing it around here, and someone (Adam?) said that the streets of D.C. wouldn’t be able to handle the weight of the military equipment, so it was a non-starter.

  13. 13.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Cheryl Rofer: Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.”

    The Mexican army. Doi!

    ETA: according to some internet protocols, I owe Baud a Coke. Or a mango-kiwi Lacroix

  17. 17.

    Nicole

    And this is inspired by the Bastille Day parade. His ignorance of history boggles my mind. How’s about someone encourage him to start comparing himself to Louis XVI? That would be equal parts hilarious and encouraging, seeing how things worked out for Louis and his family.

  20. 20.

    chris

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “thank god for the generals.”

    The big takeaway from year one is that the key people who joined Trump, who took top jobs, were all like him. The notion that there were people taking the job out of a sense of service or advancement was wrong. They have all showed themselves to be fundamentally like him.— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) 6 February 2018

    Also:

    2/ In some cases, it is in ideology. In other cases it’s in a more general mindset and character type. But everyone of them is like him. Which frankly makes perfect sense. Kelly is the best example.

  21. 21.

    raven

    @clay:

    Marston Mat, properly pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP), is standardized, perforated steel matting material originally developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the rapid construction of temporary runways and landing strips (also misspelled as Marsden matting). “

  25. 25.

    MomSense

    Well it looks like we now have confirmation that Kim Jung Orange does in fact have a micro peni$.

  28. 28.

    billcoop4

    If this parade happens, I am afraid we are going to have to toss our sons and daughters under the bus in a massive act of rejection. We cannot protest the parade normally. We have to do something different, and that includes turning our backs on those who serve (but since it might be an illegal order, we might be able to make something happen).

    Really would love someone with an understanding of the DC laws and how they play with an order from the CinC of the Armed Forces to have some elements thereof march down the municipal streets of DC. Ugh.

    BC

  29. 29.

    clay

    @raven: Oof, sorry. I hope you don’t think I was trying to make light of the disease. I just didn’t know what the context for psp was.

  32. 32.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I must confess that I kindda like that ideal and maybe they could have the done it to the theme of Hell March, you see on YouTube. Of all the countries you see, I think India has the coolest.

  33. 33.

    Ohio Mom

    Well, people are always comparing Trump to a toddler, and one of the most effective behavior management techniques for toddlers is distracting them.

    Maybe the Pentagon will be happy to oblige because a Trump involved in parade planning details is a Trump not involved in egging on North Korea or whatever other hair is up his ass.

  34. 34.

    mike in dc

    Seems like the proper place to hold a parade would be a military airstrip designed for heavy aircraft. It could handle tanks and whatnot. But DC seems particularly unsuited for it. Have no idea what major city is closest to an Army base that has actual tanks. It also seems like any meaningfully large military parade would cost millions, possibly tens of millions, of dollars and make us look like every evil caricature of America ever.

  35. 35.

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

    Speaking of the Olympics: Is there a way to watch CBCs coverage. NBC’s sucks.

  37. 37.

    Patricia Kayden

    Massive protests should be planned in D.C. for that day. This is fascism. Republicans are scheming to slash funding for domestic programs and yet want to waste millions of tax payer money on a military parade to please Dear Leader? Really, dudes? Arghhhh.

  40. 40.

    bystander

    Anwar Sadat liked military parades. Just saying.

    How’s about someone encourage him to start comparing himself to Louis XVI? That would be equal parts hilarious and encouraging, seeing how things worked out for Louis and his family.

    I’m detecting a subtle trend.

  41. 41.

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

    @billcoop4:
    Perhaps someone could pull a “tankman” style of protest by walking in front of the row of Abrams tanks, blocking their path. Doubt that would work nowadays. Too obsessed with security and whatnot.

  42. 42.

    NotMax

    But- but- our military is woefully inadequate, unprepared and grossly underfunded. Dolt 45 said so. How can they afford this?

  46. 46.

    Cheryl Rofer

    In this thread, Alexander Clarkson, a professor at Kings College London, posts videos from military parades across Europe.

  49. 49.

    Gaffer

    Can’t wait to see the US military, all branches, Goose Stepping through DC. My father and his whole generation rolling over in their graves. They may be the zombies rising from the dead over this.

  51. 51.

    The Dangerman

    @MomSense:

    ….confirmation that Kim Jung Orange does in fact have a micro peni$.

    Can’t we just have a Congressional Resolution that says that KJO is hung like a Grizzly and be done with it? If they are gonna put out Press Releases that Trump is 6’4″ and 239, it’s just a small step to the bear thing. Far cheaper than a parade.

  52. 52.

    mike in dc

    You know, there are people who collect “vintage” tanks and airplanes. Maybe a parade of Panzers, Panthers and Tigers, with overflights by Messerschmitts and Stukas would set the right tone.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    Can we just get Marvel/Disney to green screen some shit, turn it into some computer game and give Trump a gold plated set of VR goggles so he can watch it?

    ETA. I can just imagine the guest list for this thing. Putin, but no Democrats.

    Also, wasn’t Obama supposed to be the military dictator? Trump – all banana republic dipped in gold paint.

  59. 59.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @mike in dc: one of the lower profile Koch brothers, Bill I believe, keeps a bunch of tanks and maybe other stuff on a “ranch” somewhere in Colorado.

    also

    Soldier Jane @ sgtjanedoe
    Literally no one in the military wants to do this.

    It has nothing to do with Trump.

    It has everything to do with the fact that marching in formation SUUUUCKS and no one wants to practice for this bullshit for days on end.

    And it’s going to cost so much money ??

  60. 60.

    Shana

    @clay: that’s my recollection too. Military equipment rolling down Constitution Ave., which was JUST repaved, would tear it up.

  63. 63.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    @Ohio Mom: This is what I was thinking. I don’t think it’s a great idea, but better this than he launches any kind of attack on North Korea.

  64. 64.

    PaulWartenberg

    I’m feeling utterly sick about this.

    if trump gets his parade, any nobody shows up to protest him, he’s gonna turn it around and accuse his haters of being un-American traitors.

    if trump gets his parade and people show up just for the troops, he’s gonna try to turn it into a suck-up fest to honor himself much like what he does at his damn Cabinet meetings.

    Mueller? YOU NEED TO F-CKING HURRY UP AND SEND THE INDICTMENTS IN TO THE DOJ TO ARREST THAT SH-TGIBBON.

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    This is nauseating. This is Russia. This is nauseating. Let’s borrow Lenin’s tomb for the day, right?

    Пойдем на танки!

  70. 70.

    zhena gogolia

    This is nauseating. This is Russia. This is nauseating. Let’s borrow Lenin’s tomb for the day, right?

  71. 71.

    gene108

    @chris:

    Part of the “thank god for the generals” is that they had some experience running large governmental units, albeit in the military. They were somewhat qualified to run the DoD, DHS, and the NSA.

    What does Ben Carson know about housing policy, Betsy DeVos about education, Rick Perry about energy, and then you have guys like Pruitt and Zinske, who are actively trying to undermine their departments missions.

    I mean at some level it was H.R. McMasters running the NSA or Steve Bannon, who originally had a position in the NSA.

    But there is no one, who will moderate Trump. They are all in agreement or they are just running their own cons.

    Am glad people have finally stopped giving anyone associated with Trump the benefit of the doubt.

  75. 75.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I agree about formations being a pain in the Butt. Go to YouTube and see how the Chinese do it. Frankly I think they’re just actors who do all that marching because how today’s spend any time training on other stuff like defense?

  93. 93.

    Villago Delenda Est

    America has had military parades, but they are rarely displays of hardware. Just marching troops with an overflight, at most. For one thing, it’s hard to maneuver an aircraft carrier down the streets of DC, which leaves the Navy out. I don’t think we have any more large missiles to parade to make up for the tiny dick of the CINC. Moving around tanks and howitzers is a pain in the ass, and expensive, not even counting the damage done to city street surfaces.

  94. 94.

    gene108

    Maybe someone could buy the streets of the parade route, became the City of D.C. decides to sell them, for some reason. Then declare marching on his property violated the 3rd Amendment. There are very few lawsuits regarding the 3rd Amendment. It’s about time we get some court rulings on a strict interpretation of the 3rd versus expansive views of what it means.

    Also, In my opinion it is the most successful Amendment, because troops are not quartered in people’s houses, without the owners permission.

  95. 95.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    We already have the military in every fucking parade, plus at every sporting event. Do soccer matches in France begin with their military marching out onto the field with a flag to sing the national anthem?

  96. 96.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The good sergeant is correct. Parades suck, and only happen for change of command ceremonies, and Donald had his. The troops will not like this, especially when it’s on the whim of some draft dodging lackwit.

  97. 97.

    efgoldman

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

    Perhaps someone could pull a “tankman” style of protest by walking in front of the row of Abrams tanks, blocking their path

    Unfortunately not practical. Even unarmed, pretty much any tracked military vehicle squash you like a bug. Don’t want to lose any possible Dem voters.

  98. 98.

    JPL

    @MomSense: I mentioned before that the young man who walks him wanted to teach him how dogs are suppose to pee, and I said good luck with that. That young man is twelve now, and has just accepted the fact.
    Finch would be great in a parade with other dogs, cuz you know he’d have to mark his territory a lot.

  99. 99.

    Brachiator

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I thought American Conservatives hated being like Europe.

    The queen of England has been known to throw a hell of a parade. Trump should ask for some advice. Cuba and Venezuela have been known to put on quite a show.

  100. 100.

    Gravenstone

    @Betty Cracker: I was thinking about Sadat when I got inspired. I know there is absolutely zero chance of this happening (career ender if not outright lethal), but I’d laugh if this boondoggle 1) occurs and 2) if the tanks passing in review were to in unison slew their turrets to the review stand then “waggle” their main guns. Trump would either shit himself (along with everyone else up there) – or think they were saluting his pompous ass. On second thought, never mind…

  102. 102.

    mike in dc

    To be fair, we do have airshows which display military aircraft, and SF has Fleet Week. But a military parade of the May Day variety is straight up in-American. Just too fascist-y for us.

  103. 103.

    Davebo

    @Mnemosyne:

    Every time they drag that giant flag onto the field they are in direct violation of the US Flag Code (Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code (4 U.S.C. § 1 et seq))

    But no one seems to care. Merica!

  106. 106.

    Mnemosyne

    @mike in dc:

    We have a goddamned military flyover of THE MOTHERFUCKING ROSE PARADE. Plus multiple military bands in the parade itself.

    Jesus fucking Christ.

  108. 108.

    Davebo

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    I dunno. In boot camp I was in the State Flags ceremonial company and we went out and did several parades in the Chicago area. Once got to go to a VFW hall afterwards and it was pretty sweet having old guys buy you a beer while in basic training.

  110. 110.

    gene108

    @Mnemosyne:

    We already have the military in every fucking parade, plus at every sporting event.

    You gotta do something to attract the next generation to fight in the Forever Wars we are currently engaged in.

  112. 112.

    MomSense

    @JPL:

    I know an Irish Setter who does the same thing. He is really hyper and easily distracted so I always assumed it was just that he didn’t want to miss something by stopping to pee.

  113. 113.

    Iron City

    @debbie: @debbie:
    No, DC can do very little about it when Congress tells them what to do. And it doesn’t seem that Congress could stand up to a Trump organized one car motorcade.
    .

  114. 114.

    efgoldman

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    To be fair, with the exception of Germany pretty much every EU country holds a military parade on its national day.

    Sure, we do too. In most towns. Six fire trucks, a couple of floats, probably a local national guard unit, a local VA unit, the high school and middle school bands, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, local politicians and their families..
    Something a little grander in the major cities.
    The town in RI which claims to have the oldest July 4 parade has the biggest one. They hold a drum corps (top corps!) competition the night before and all the corps march in the parade the next day
    In Boston, they read the Declaration from the balcony of the Old State House (in costume and character) and have a parade, but the big action is the Boston Pops/fireworks concert that night

  115. 115.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: And I can tell that my hairdresser in Paonia CO, who was a town council member, garnered a lot of cheers *and* boos when he stood in front of the Koch tank that rolled down the main drag during the Cherry Days (Fourth of July) parade one year.

  116. 116.

    mike in dc

    I will accept the military parade, in exchange for a complete pullout from Afghanistan. Will happily cheer for our troops coming home for good at last.

  117. 117.

    Mnemosyne

    @gene108:

    You have no idea how relieved I was that my 18-year-old nephew had a previously undetected medical issue that prevented him from enlisting in the Marines in 2016.

  118. 118.

    guachi

    As an actual service member can I just say, “Fuck this shit”?

    I mean, we already have a day to honor veterans and it’s conveniently called Veterans Day.

  120. 120.

    Chyron HR

    The important thing is that we keep hounding Chelesa Clinton and her baby Damien so that neither of them ever try to run for President.

  121. 121.

    dmsilev

    So, let’s ask the question this way: What actual mission won’t be done or hardware won’t be bought in order to pay for this sop to Trump’s ego? Or, is he planning on having the Pentagon go to Congress and ask for a supplemental appropriation to cover Presidential Dick Waving Day?

  123. 123.

    Davebo

    To be fair things like the Blue Angels and that other lesser squadron the Air Force sends out are just recruiting tools. I’ve got no problem with that.

  125. 125.

    KickBoxBanana

    A self-absorbed autocrat…

    Yes he is, as is the leader of N. Korea.

    Honestly, I think twitler is probably worse. Kim Jong is US educated and apparently no dummy. No never see him spewing the kind of nonsense twitler does. These statements are issued by the department of propaganda. He does it for domestic consumption to maintain his grip on power. If Twitler had free reign like Kim Jong does I believe that he is capable of being much worse.

  134. 134.

    JPL

    @MomSense: Finch actually walks on his front legs erect while peeing. His back legs are in the air. The only time I’ve seen him walking on his back legs is when I’m cooking bacon. I assume he was raised by circus folks.

  136. 136.

    NotMax

    @gene108

    Was just about to opine that it’s an exercise in ego fapping.

    Might include giant posters hung from every lamppost of Dolt 45’s head photoshopped on to Rambo’s body.

  137. 137.

    efgoldman

    @guachi:

    I mean, we already have a day to honor veterans and it’s conveniently called Veterans Day.

    And a day to honor the war dead, and that’s conveniently called Memorial Day.
    Which doesn’t stop local TV news from conflating the two EVERY FUCKING YEAR

  138. 138.

    Shana

    @debbie: I would imagine so. DC has enough issues that having to repave countless streets, shut down major parts of the city to get them in, and then out, would immobilize the city for a day or more.

  139. 139.

    Davebo

    Are we all sufficiently dispelled of the notion that General Kelly is a moderating influence on the President douchebag?

    The guy is truly a dick with ears.

  141. 141.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @KickBoxBanana: His name is Kim Jong Un; the Un part is not a middle name*. Also, IIRC he was educated in Switzerland.

    *Why do I care? My wife’s Korean given name is Yun Sook, and she hated being called Yun so much that she changed her name when she became a citizen.

  144. 144.

    p.a.

    Slip him a mickey, slap some VR goggles on him, and Matrix him for the rest of his fucking term. Dense is as bad politically, but less popular, which is a plus, and we’d be free of this infantilism.

  147. 147.

    efgoldman

    @Davebo:

    I thought both were buy a new car or mattress day.

    In New England, that’s traditionally President’s day (nee Washington’s Birthday)

  148. 148.

    Gravenstone

    @schrodingers_cat: An irregular bone growth that causes irritation and pain in the surrounding tissue. Also, the convenient excuse that Cadet Bone Spurs used when seeking a deferment from the Vietnam era draft.

    eta: although in later years he could never remember exactly which foot was supposedly afflicted with those nagging spurs.

  149. 149.

    Davebo

    Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) has nine Dem’s lined up to take her seat. Once the primary is over toss some cash to the winner. She’s desperate and that’s a seat that can easily be taken.

  153. 153.

    Tazj

    @Brachiator:

    Also, wasn’t Obama supposed to be a military dictator?

    No, don’t you remember Obama hates the military. So, he was just a dictator and the anti-Christ.

  155. 155.

    JPL

    @MomSense: Because of his stanch, he was rejected from a local parade for a candidate that I volunteered for. They felt the little ones would be damaged.

    I do think that he is better suited for a trump parade.

  156. 156.

    Hungry Joe

    It’s just a matter of time before Trump starts strutting around in a general’s uniform. He’d look quite smashing in some of the designs Hermann Goering came up with. Goering’s old duds would probably fit, too. Do you suppose any museums still have … ?

  160. 160.

    efgoldman

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Because the local TV news people are fucking morons, that’s why.

    Yeah, that about nails it. These are not young newbies, either. Veteran newsies who’ve been in the market, sometimes for decades.

  165. 165.

    Ruckus

    @Gravenstone:
    I also like that they seemed to have resolved themselves. And that’s amazing, I had to have surgery to remove the bone spurs in my shoulder. And no they didn’t hurt, just limited my range of motion. I wonder who took the x rays that showed the spurs that he supposedly had?

  166. 166.

    randy khan

    @Davebo:

    She’s probably most desperate to find her next job. One reason she has 9 prospective opponents is that she looks dead.

  169. 169.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Garry Kasparov @ Kasparov63
    Trump wants a Soviet-style military parade, something weak leaders do to try to look strong.

  171. 171.

    Hungry Joe

    Tom Dunphy, aka General Waste More Land, was an anti-war street performer in Berkeley in the late ’60s/early ’70s. His uniform included numerous medals and ribbons, toy jet fighters on his epaulettes, and a toy jet bomber on the visor of his cap. He’d appear with General Hershey Bar. I think Dunphy is still around, though no longer in character.

  175. 175.

    B.B.A.

    Earlier it was mentioned that Scott Walker has refused to call special elections for vacant state legislature seats, leaving them empty rather than risk losing Republican control.

    You know who else is doing this? “Democratic” governor Andrew Cuomo. And he’s doing it to maintain Republican control of the State Senate because god-knows-why.

    I mean, sure I’ll hold my nose and vote for him in the general election, and if he somehow manages to become our candidate in 2020, but in the meantime I’m team CUOMO IS WORSE THAN PATAKI HE SOLD US OUT.

  184. 184.

    Mnemosyne

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    I recently discovered that a historical process I had in my novel as taking a few weeks at most could take up to two years.

    Good thing I hadn’t started revising chapter 3 yet since it’s something that has to be fixed in chapter 2. Argh.

    (People who are sufficiently curious can email me, but it involves the Court of Chancery and the House of Lords in 1815 England, so it’s not something that’s interesting for a general audience.)

  185. 185.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): I was a patient last year after my arm surgery, and was a caregiver last month when my wife got ill and was hospitalized with some stuff that took a while to figure out. I can tell you unequivocally that it’s easier to be the patient, as I’m sure you’re finding out.

  187. 187.

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

    @Mnemosyne:

    I recently discovered that a historical process I had in my novel as taking a few weeks at most could take up to two years.

    Is it common knowledge? Does it violate suspension of disbelief? You could get away with it. Wouldn’t be the first time a writer used artistic license to make a better story.

  190. 190.

    Bupalos

    @Cheryl Rofer: well we fucking don’t. No fucking way. Haven’t. Don’t. Won’t.

    Maybe we can do a daca style deal. Trump throws his support to Medicare for all, free higher ed, and universal family leave, and then he gets to play pretend like the dumb fucking todler he is with our killing machines.

  191. 191.

    feathers

    @efgoldman: In my younger days, I went to a party where there was a young gentleman who was a senior at a local university. *cough, Northeastern, cough* He saw himself as a total hotshot, looking to become a political reporter. We asked him about the upcoming primary for the Mass governors race. He didn’t know about it. We thought that was just sad, but with a bit of further discussion, we discovered he did not know what a primary was. That there was an election to decide who gets in the main election. He thought that was really cool, and was glad to find out about it. Really scary. Don’t think I ever saw him on air, but I’ve never forgotten. Of course, could be that all of his professors and fellow students thought he was a complete idiot and he was barely scraping through his classes, but….

  202. 202.

    efgoldman

    @feathers:

    Of course, could be that all of his professors and fellow students thought he was a complete idiot

    All of a piece with the educated people many of us know, who bitch about politics, local government, taxes, schools….
    Then can’t be assed to vote. And the guy I’m thinking of, I knew in the 70s.

  206. 206.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: Ha! Bleak House is the first thing I thought of! As in, “Bring it, Mnem – my favorite Dickens is Bleak House!”

    btw, I wish to apologize for my general churlishness last night. Having been forcibly acquainted again today on FB with the nihilistic loony left among my acquaintance, I am inclined to feel *far* more charitable towards the gentlemen who wrote that article. At least they *are* telling people to vote for Democrats, unlike these folks, who are still blaming Democrats for fucking *everything*. At least they believe in the system still, and can see clearly that Democrats *are* worth voting for, in contrast to Republicans.

  209. 209.

    Bobby Thomson

    @Gin & Tonic: back when she had a party leadership job, she always gave her neighboring Florida Republicans a pass. At least that was just personal nepotism. Cuomo is doing it because he’s a Chris Wallace type who runs as a Democrat to get elected.

  211. 211.

    Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

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

    1. How would I do this?

    There are a lot of VPN services out there, I picked up Nord VPN It’s highly rated and seems like a good balance between security (based in Panama), Cost, speed, and number of exit points. VPNs are very useful for just general security (ESPECIALLY if you are using a public or untrusted Wi-Fi) and not giving your ISP any more information than you have to. Realize that anything that goes through a VPN gets a performance hit.

    2. Is that legal?

    Not for watching the Olympics out of the US zone with the DMCA on the books (Probably). Although individual enforcement rates are really low unless you get unlucky or try to personally monetize it. But you have been warned.

  213. 213.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Miss Bianca: @Omnes Omnibus: Ha! Bleak House is the first thing I thought of! As in, “Bring it, Mnem – my favorite Dickens is Bleak House!”

    You and Inspector Morse, you’re in good company. I found it a hard slog. Loved the BBC adaptation of a few years ago. Charles Dance was far scarier as Mr Tulkinghorn than as Tywin Lannister

  216. 216.

    WaterGirl

    I just got home and read about this. I am absolutely horrified and I feel kind of sick physically. This cannot be real. Just horrifying. I can’t decide if I admire your ability to joke about this, or if I am appalled by it. I am feeling a bit of the shock I felt on election night.

  222. 222.

    SFAW

    @wmd:

    Tiananmen square?

    Paul Ryan on the teevee
    “Shocked” by the deaths that took place in D.C.
    It seems strange that he should be offended
    The same results come from his Tax Bill

    Fuckemall

  229. 229.

    PJ

    @clay: @raven: @?BillinGlendaleCA: @billcoop4: The DC government, serving at the mercy of Congress, short of a lawsuit that they would probably lose, cannot prevent the Federal government from doing things in the District. (A few years ago, Congress overturned the results of a referendum which would have legalized medical marijuana.) The “We’re #1!” victory parade after the First Gulf War left tank tracks an inch or two deep in Constitution Avenue. Though the DC government had warned the military this would happen, but of course the military and the Feds refused to pay to have it repaired, so it remained that way for several years.

  231. 231.

    SFAW

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    It was the first thing that came to mind, vis-a-vis tanks running over protesters.

    I feel bad, sullying her art with that evil motherfucker’s name.

  234. 234.

    BC in Illinois

    @PJ:

    The DC government, serving at the mercy of Congress, short of a lawsuit that they would probably lose, cannot prevent the Federal government from doing things in the District.

    But we could change that. The DC Statehood Song.

  235. 235.

    Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

    @Gin & Tonic: That is always a concern when you use any VPN, the eternal question of who do you trust.
    Nord is based out of Panama, which mitigates direct NSA/US Gov/Great Power shenanigans. It also has high reviews across multiple different reviewers. You could try making your VPN network yourself, but how much do you trust the server farms you rent from?

    It would be lovely if IT security was a perfect binary. Unless you are willing to go to, and pay for, major government levels of security (and not even that is not mathematically secure), you will never have perfect security. You make things as difficult as possible, and make it more useful to hack somebody else than yourself.

  237. 237.

    lgerard

    Perhaps they could conjure up some white sheets and re-enact the 1925 Ku Klux Klan march down Pennsylvania Avenue.

    I’m sure MAGA supporters would love that.

  238. 238.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Matt McIrvin: The usual white supremacist scum are planning some sort of online blitz to lower the Rotten Tomatoes rating of Black Panther. It’s driving them batshit the advance box office and praise the film is earning.

  245. 245.

    Origuy

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I use a VPN called Tunnelbear to watch the BBC. They have servers in about 20 countries, including Canada. I just checked and I can get cbc.ca streaming.

    Mostly I watch history documentaries on BBC. I’ve been watching one called A Stitch in Time, presented by a fashion historian. They take a costume from a painting and recreate it in period materials, also talking about the subject.

  246. 246.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Short version: I didn’t realize that inheriting money and/or property and inheriting a title were two completely separate things requiring two different processes. Proving your identity in order to inherit money/property did not guarantee that those same proofs would be adequate to convince the House of Lords to let you inherit the title.

    I never did read Bleak House, and now I’m wondering if I should.

  247. 247.

    No One You Know

    @Mnemosyne: Rock on! I’m trying to figure out how long it takes to travel 300 miles by riverboat in 1576, and I’m running out of Great Courses episodes and books to consult. (There are geographic and political complications, naturally.)

  248. 248.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    The whole point of a Roman Triumph is that the Emperor has to defeat some enemy first. Not even Little-Boots had the gall to stage a Triumph for himself without at least a pretence of a victory.

    …and it had to be a real enemy, too. Defeating some pissante non-threatening tribe of Gauls was only worth an Ovatio.

  249. 249.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    The outrage and accusations of “treason” during his Ovatio ceremony, and now the demands for a Triumph… all this could be explained if someone gave Trump a Golden Books edition of Suetonius’ “Lives of the Caesars”, and he somehow got the idea that Caligula was the hero.

  250. 250.

    Dev Null

    @235 (sorry, my browser is doing odd things):

    No experience with ProtonVPN, but it’s kinda-sorta associated with ProtonMail in Switzerland, which is reputed to be good at security (and goes thru periodic security audits.)

    Security is never black and white, but I’d bet on a VPN provider vs. an ISP host. You can easily switch to a different VPN provider. Switching to a different ISP (for Internet access, I mean) is more difficult. Put differently, one key reason to use a VPN is to prevent your ISP from data-mining your web traffic and emails.

    Not that a VPN is likely to be a panacea should the intel community take an interest in you.

    It’s folklore, but would be surprising if not true, that the intel community puts more effort into watching encrypted overseas connections (most but not all VPNs encrypt) than into watching unencrypted connections.

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