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You are here: Home / I think you make yourself a victim almost every single day

I think you make yourself a victim almost every single day

by | 142 Comments

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This is a good piece by Adam Serwer. And what he’s saying about the FBI is true of all of institutions, especially the media:

Republicans, insulated from the potential backlash by the very “law and order” voters who put them in office, are willing to attack the FBI publicly as a covert political tool of Democrats in a way that the opposition party simply is not.

That asymmetry means that the FBI often responds to Republican or conservative criticism differently than it responds to criticism from Democrats. As I wrote in May, the FBI’s attempts to shield its reputation for political independence from conservative criticism has resulted in its actual political independence being compromised. Comey’s July 2016 press conference excoriating Clinton, and his subsequent public letter announcing the investigation had been reopened, were attempts to pre-empt conservative criticism that the FBI was biased. Several FBI officials have been demoted or pushed out of the bureau because their actions or views might be taken as biased by Trump officials or their allies. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose Justice Department oversees the FBI, has been largely silent in the face of the conservative attacks, despite his frequent jeremiads against alleged liberal demonization of law enforcement. Behind the scenes, rather than defend the bureau’s independence, he has urged Trump’s hand-picked FBI Director Chris Wray to acquiesce to the president’s public denunciations of FBI officials.

What do to about this? You probably know what I think: if the media and the FBI cave in every time a conservative hits them, liberals need to start hitting them too. That will never happen, but it would be good if the totebagging masses started to understand the dynamic that’s at play right now.

(h/t Hawerchuk)

And let’s try to reach our goal for Conor Lamb in PA-18 today.

Goal Thermometer

Reader Interactions

142Comments

  1. 1.

    Waldo

    Fair points, but I don’t see how liberals benefit from taking shots at the FBI while they are under attack from the right. You know: The enemy of my enemy etc.

  2. 2.

    NCSteve

    When Republicans are leveling the city we all live in with an unrestricted artillery bombardment, the correct response isn’t for Democrats to launch their own unrestricted artillery bombardment on the city. The correct response is a counter-battery shoot. Because helping Republicans level the city and kill all of us is the opposite of help.

  3. 3.

    cain

    That’s because liberals are obsessed with fairness and equality. One doesn’t usually play dirty and we don’t usually elect officials who play that way. That’s not true of the other side. They are literally Decepticons.

    BTW, tried to engage in a convo on twitterh, and the fool responded back with an @ICE.gov. He was a latino too.

  4. 4.

    elm

    @Waldo: @NCSteve: The criticisms are not what does damage to the FBI. It’s the FBI’s decision to respond to those criticisms that does damage.

    Insults and accusations and rhetorical attacks are not the same as bullets, artillery, and bombs. The FBI has shown that it responds to criticism by attempting to appease its critics. Liberals should take equal advantage of that. If the media and FBI dislike it, they can show some spine and stand up for themselves.

  5. 5.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Waldo: I don’t think in this particular case, it’s too hard to keep repeating, “Yes the FBI interfered in the election. It was James Comey, a week before the election, and he put trump’s jiggly ass in the Oval Office.” Even some MSMers say that. I don’t think there’s much purchase in making comments about J Edgar Hoover at this point.

    That asymmetry means that the FBI often responds to Republican or conservative criticism differently than it responds to criticism from Democrats.

    also, and not unrelated, the media

  7. 7.

    elm

    @Tenar Arha: This! The FBI and the media and governors and agency heads and investigators, etc… are all adults who are responsible for their own behavior and for handling criticism. Tepid responses from liberals aren’t helping us.

    Facts and consensus are great within liberal/left spheres, but they don’t seem to have value when interacting with professional centrists and are worthless when interfacing with the right wing.

  8. 8.

    oatler.

    @Waldo: “Enemy of my enemy…” doesn’t work so well for those of us old enough to remember COINTELPRO and Fred Hampton.

  9. 9.

    Ramiah Ariya

    When the right-wing attacks the media, it is not to correct its reporting of the truth – but to justify the creation of a nakedly false information network. When the right-wing attacks the FBI it is not to correct it, but to justify using it for partisan means in the near-future. When, in the near future, that happens, and someone questions that political use of FBI, the right wing would simply ask “what about Nunes memo” – and that would be sufficient for 99% of Independents and Republican voters.
    The right have become experts in building arguments that justify or give cover to their voters who vote for pure tribalism. From “All Lives Matter” to “Good guy with a gun” they have figured out how to bring all discussion to a stand still. Their voters enjoy this immensely.

  12. 12.

    terraformer

    It’s difficult being generally respectful, friendly, and/or affable when it is used against you, and particularly, when your opposition gets what it wants by being generally disrespectful, unfriendly, and/or, well, dicks.

    But such is the democratic party, by and large. These good qualities begin in the home, demonstrated by family members and friends, which often leads to dare I say “being a good person.” Most of the folks on the other side must have had a pretty shitty upbringing.

  13. 13.

    Gator90

    Democrats have the vice of their virtues. We simply aren’t willing or able to lie without embarrassment, then aggressively double and triple down on every lie, as the Republicans do every day. That’s how we got the myth of the “liberal media” and how we’re now getting the myth of the “liberal FBI.”

  14. 14.

    elm

    @Gator90: As a group, we aren’t willing to tell the truth without wrongheaded appeals to fairness.

    The FBI fucked up all over during the 2016 election. Comey interfered by pushing the false narrative about Clinton’s emails and by refusing to acknowledge Kremlin interference on behalf of Trump.

    Those are true and useful, but there are many people on the nominal left who can’t bring themselves to say that without throwing more criticism at Democrats and Clinton.

  15. 15.

    Kryptik

    The problem is when Dems get vocal and direct about their complaints, said complaints are usually met with…aggressive dismissal and or cries of foul or partisanship, which usually is followed by a mass pile-on against the left as a whole for being super-massive censoring Ess Jay Dubs or some bullshit like that.

    That’s the problem here: even if we took the exact same gameplay as the right, just with our own pet issues instead of theirs, the reaction would absolutely not be the same. We’d get crucified for doing even 1% of what they’re doing now. It’s not just lack of vociferousness that’s the problem, but the fact that the massive double standard leads the GOP to get away with shit we never could. There’s a reason why the acronym “IOKIYAR” was coined. It’s a rigged fucking playing field from the start, and no about of getting into the dirt is actually going to fix that when the refs are going to put the boots to you immediately.

  16. 16.

    elm

    @Kryptik: The right wing didn’t build that apparatus overnight. They built that partisanship brick by brick over decades. The left will have to apply a comparable effort to counteract it.

    It’s an unfair playing field because our opponents have been working the refs. We can do the same. It may not make the refs “fair”, but fairness is a second order concern.

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Tenar Arha:

    Holy shit! I don’t believe I’ve given “Goofus and Gallant” even a passing thought in at least 65 years. Past, blast from.

  18. 18.

    Kryptik

    @elm:

    But that’s just the thing. They built that apparatus, but by abusing assumptions of good faith and objectivity that were there at the time. We’re not going to get that benefit of the doubt. We already get the almost exact opposite, and attempts to redirect the conversation usually end up with further entrenchment and scorn from the media folks who decide ‘maybe the GOP is really right on this’ on a default basis.

    The situations are about as absurdly unbalanced as they could possibly be

  20. 20.

    rikyrah

    Democrats aim to make 2018 wave count

    Eric Holder, former U.S. attorney general and chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about working against Republican gerrymandering to re-balance voting districts so that Democratic victories mean proportionate Democratic representation.
    Feb.07.2018

  23. 23.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    This stuff about Porter and Kushner working with secret information despite having no clearances is insane. I know someone who worked on clearances when Obama first came into office in 2008. Among others, this person’s team vetted the WH cook.

    ETA: If I was a reporter, I’d be looking at Kelly for history of domestic abuse. He’s dismissing it awfully easily.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MattF:

    Would it be terribly, terribly wrong of me to hope that Mike Pence meets a bunch of people who neglected to wash their hands after using the toilet?

  26. 26.

    rikyrah

    Republican sabotage efforts fail to derail ‘Obamacare’ enrollment
    02/08/18 08:40 AM
    By Steve Benen
    As regular readers know, Donald Trump’s efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act’s open-enrollment period were hardly subtle. The administration cut the enrollment window for consumers in half, curtailed outreach programs, and dramatically scaled back advertising campaigns.

    Making matters worse, the president himself kept telling the public that the law is “dead,” while taking policy steps that forced premiums higher. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently published a list tracking each of the actions Trump World has taken to “sabotage the ACA by destabilizing private insurance markets or reversing the law’s historic gains in health coverage” – and the list wasn’t short.

    But if the Republican White House hoped this year’s ACA enrollment period would kill off “Obamacare,” it’s going to be disappointed.

    About 11.8 million people signed up for an insurance plan through Obamacare in the 2018 enrollment period, according to a new report, a small 3.7 percent drop from the 12.2 million who enrolled in 2017.

    The new data was released Wednesday by the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy, which researches health care issues.

  28. 28.

    rikyrah

    Hamilton 68 has been tracking Russian bots/influence networks now for six months straight — I sat down with their team to discuss how bot activity has evolved. Here’s what they’ve noticed: https://t.co/pk2BqS7DZH

    — Tim Mak (@timkmak) February 8, 2018

  29. 29.

    rikyrah

    WBEZ’s “Making Obama” podcast examines the former president’s life before the White House, and the role Chicago played getting him there https://t.co/8iLWjAlPqb pic.twitter.com/jc60VBE6D6

    — Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) February 7, 2018

  30. 30.

    rikyrah

    Applications are now open for the Obama Foundation Summer 2018 Internship—an opportunity for students to work closely with our team to support our mission. Apply here, or share this link with a friend: https://t.co/QOq4Pe4Kiv pic.twitter.com/VLMRE33O8Q

    — The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) February 6, 2018

  31. 31.

    rikyrah

    LarryO’s Opening Segment from Last Night:

    THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O’DONNELL 2/7/18
    Lawrence: Why one punch wasn’t enough for John Kelly
    The White House and Chief of Staff John Kelly defended Trump aide Rob Porter even after ex-wives accused Porter of domestic abuse, using photo evidence in one case, before changing course late Wednesday. Lawrence O’Donnell asks why the W.H. and Kelly took so long?

  33. 33.

    Immanentize

    @cain: I love the idea of overlaying their adverts/speeches/etc. with a Decepticon mark…. Some enterprising programmer must be able to figure out a way to do this.

  34. 34.

    rikyrah

    Rob Porter controversy is ‘going to be hard to explain away’
    02/08/18 10:04 AM
    By Steve Benen

    At first blush, yesterday’s developments at the White House may have seemed relatively straightforward. Staff secretary Rob Porter, facing allegations that he was physically abusive toward both of his ex-wives, announced his resignation, even while insisting the claims are untrue.
    But if you watched last night’s show, you know there’s more to this one. Indeed, Rachel explained that this is a story that’s “going to be hard to explain away.”

    In his capacity as the staff secretary in the West Wing, Porter was an Oval Office gatekeeper, responsible for, among thing, screening every document that reached the president’s desk. That meant Porter needed a security clearance, which required an FBI background check.

    The Washington Post reported that the FBI spoke to both of his ex-wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennie Willoughby, who relayed their alleged experiences with Porter.

    Willoughby and Holderness said they talked to the FBI about Porter twice last year, once in late January and then again months later. Willoughby provided the contact information for the FBI agent she spoke with, who declined to comment when reached Wednesday. Holderness said that when the FBI asked her whether Porter was vulnerable to blackmail, she answered affirmatively, because of the number of people aware of his abusive behavior.

    “I thought by sharing my story with the FBI he wouldn’t be put in that post,” Holderness said.

  36. 36.

    rikyrah

    Devumi and Me: Bernie Sanders’ Unexplained Connection to a Shady Media Company

    On October 23rd of this past year, I published an article on Bernie Sanders’ social media presence on Twitter. The crux of the article was the simple, undeniable fact that a large portion of Sanders’ followers on Twitter were, in fact, bots. This wasn’t a conjecture on my part but rather was done via a free website called TwitterAudit that runs algorithms on samples of 5,000 followers to determine their validity. Based on this simple search, it was determined that 61%, or roughly 4.9 million of Bernie Sanders’ followers were fake, giving him one of the worst ratios of any celebrity, media personnel, or politician on Twitter. My essay called into question whether the senator knew of this and, if so, why didn’t he take any steps to remove his fake followers when it was something that could have been done very easily through a simple, uncumbersome process.

    This past week may have provided us an answer to that question.

    Last Saturday, The New York Times published an article on a social media company called Devumi, which specializes in the artificial inflation of Twitter followers for celebrities, athletes, pundits, and yes, politicians. By creating fake profiles attached with real photos, Devumi has been able to create as many as 48 million fake users, roughly 15% of the entire Twitterverse. Devumi’s nearly 200,000 person clientele include these aforementioned attention-seekers but can also include those buying followers’ on others behalf. Of the three kinds of bots most prevalent on Twitter, the one that most would benefit these clients would be amplification bots, those that retweet information or articles about the client in question. These bots would then retweet another series of bots and so on and so on until that article was being spread far and wide over Twitter. By doing this, clients of Devumi could easily expand their influence on social media by spreading the narrative they wanted to be most available to the Twitterverse.

    In the week since the article posted, I decided to revisit the Twitter Audit feature to reassess Senator Sanders’ social media presence. As of today, Sanders’ Twitter profile now has a 61% authenticity rating, an increase of 22% from mid-October. In addition, the number of fake followers from Sanders’ account has decreased from 4.9 million in October to 3.4 million today. For those keeping score at home, that represents 1.5 million fake followers that just so happened to disappear from Bernie Sanders’ Twitter account at exactly the same time as The New York Times article came out regarding the fake purchasing of Twitter profiles by Devumi customers.

  37. 37.

    gene108

    It’s not complicated. Conservatives have spent billions of dollars, over the last 45 years to tilt the playing field to their advantage.

    Think tanks, and their associated wingnut-welfare sinecures, media outlets, “grassroots” groups like Americans for Prosperity, etc. are paid to make sure government, media, and anything independent bows down the conservative agenda.

    They are also very focused on their policy goals, no matter how unpopular they are or how much damage they will cause.

    Liberals lack both the focus and money to compete to influence the larger public debate or intimidate a government agency to fearing them.

    When we came closer to universal coverage than ever before, in 2010, liberals were the first to declare it wasn’t good enough. Hell, in 2016, when Obamacare had reduced the uninsured rates significantly, despite relentless efforts to undermine, from John Roberts decision that Medicaid expansion was optional, to the House suing the Obama Administration over some provision, in 2014, to the 60+ times the House voted to repeal it, a large chunk of would be Democratic supporters were pissed off because Obamacare wasn’t perfect, costs – premiums and deductibles – were still too expensive for many people, and therefore they demanded single payer or bust.

    Second, what Republicans are doing, by intimidating the FBI, the media, etc. isn’t healthy for the country long-term or even in the short-term.

  38. 38.

    ruemara

    First comment on this from a Bernie-bro: “Schiff is as bad as Nunes. They’re both ideologically hidebound.”

    Some people are so far up their own colons they have noses coming out of their necks.

  39. 39.

    rikyrah

    First comment on this from a Bernie-bro: “Schiff is as bad as Nunes. They’re both ideologically hidebound.”

    Get the ENTIRE PHUCK OUTTA HERE!

  40. 40.

    charluckles

    @rikyrah:

    I find this terrifying. Using large numbers of bots to alter public opinion seems like something only in it’s infancy.

  41. 41.

    Frank McCormick

    The squeaky wheel/grease metaphor has been in full effect for a quite a while. In my personal and professional life I push back (or just plain ignore) when I can. However, busy powers-that-be often intervene “I don’t want hear it. Just do it and shut them up.”

  42. 42.

    lollipopguild

    @ruemara: When this country is as dead as a doornail they can carve on our countries grave marker “Died of both sides”. The Gop has no problem having Russia help them win an election and is now working to make the FBI into the GOP’s KGB. But it is all the Democrats fault.

  43. 43.

    BruceFromOhio

    …it would be good if the totebagging masses started to understand the dynamic that’s at play right now.

    perhaps, but without understanding the underlying Rovian philosophy, it’s another game of whack-a-mole and inconsequential. Why? Because the Republican ideology of party-before-country means any institution is a target:

    – Twist it to suit your own purposes
    – If it can’t be twisted so, break it so no one else can use it
    – Attack, project, accuse and deceive in every action

    Rove perfected this in elections for Texas judges, and it is now hard-coded into Republican ideology for all time. The assault on the FBI and DOJ is just another day in the Republican jungle.

  45. 45.

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

    @Kryptik:

    actually going to fix that when the refs are going to put the boots to you immediately.

    What if the refs were intimidated?

  46. 46.

    burnspbesq

    @oatler.:

    Don’t be a prisoner of your memories. Nothing you say or do about the FBI today is going to bring Fred Hampton back to life.

    Today it’s ICE, not the FBI, ithat s the lawless enemy.

    Eyes on the ball.

  47. 47.

    BruceFromOhio

    @gene108:

    Second, what Republicans are doing, by intimidating the FBI, the media, etc. isn’t healthy for the country long-term or even in the short-term.

    Agreed, and I’ll emphasize that it’s really, really BAD for civilization in general. This slide continues to the detriment of all.

  48. 48.

    ruemara

    @gene108: We have the money. We don’t have the focus or the will. In a way, because we fragment over some really small divergences, we are even more selfish than they are. They as a group will unite to get even one thing done. The left won’t. Not can’t, simply won’t.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    @viaCristiano
    Omarosa says she tried to tone down Trump’s tweeting, but was “attacked” by other White House staffers. Asked if U.S. will be okay under Trump: “It’s not going to be okay.”

    I agree with Omarosa.

  51. 51.

    trollhattan

    @burnspbesq:
    Some subset of Wilmerites are manufactured imaginary people. We are left to guess what fraction of total Wilmerites that may be–my guess is at least 2x what we suspect.

    As a disruptive tactic they’re pretty darn effective.

  52. 52.

    Brachiator

    if the media and the FBI cave in every time a conservative hits them, liberals need to start hitting them too.

    I’m not seeing the FBI and the media as equivalent here. Trump and the Republicans can attack the FBI, undermine its authority, and fire and demote personnel. Liberals could only criticize the agency.

    Whining about the media is a waste of time.

  53. 53.

    Patricia Kayden

    @NCSteve: Great analogy. Republicans are attempting to discredit the FBI to cover up its collusion with Russia. Democrats need to protect the FBI so that it’s findings can be considered credible enough to take action against this lawless administration. There’s no reason to join in with Republicans in destroying the FBI to our detriment.

  54. 54.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: Weren’t people applauding Kelly for how he got rid of Scaramucci and Omarosa? Kelly likes his bigots to be more presentable like this Porter dude and the Nielsen woman, you know the northern European types his boss seems to prefer.

  55. 55.

    Kay

    “I’d like to say it’s not my problem, but I can’t say that because it’s bad.”

    Bad. Very bad. And she should know!

  56. 56.

    trollhattan

    @Kay:
    #1 I don’t buy
    #2 I do buy
    #3 Well, duh

    She’s trying to remain relevant. Let’s see her strive via good works, otherwise buh-bye.

  59. 59.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I never applauded Kelly. Worship of generals makes me nervous. I thought the Petraeus sainthood was awful too. Another one they put up on a pedestal who came crashing down.

    You’re right though- Kelly does seem to prefer…Norwegians :)

  61. 61.

    The Moar You Know

    We have the money. We don’t have the focus or the will. In a way, because we fragment over some really small divergences, we are even more selfish than they are. They as a group will unite to get even one thing done. The left won’t. Not can’t, simply won’t.

    @ruemara: This stung, and then I realized it was 100% true – and that’s why it stings. We’d rather be right than win, every time.

  63. 63.

    ruemara

    @Kay: She’s horrible, Kay. There’s a reason she was not beloved or respected by the black community even before this disaster. She knew they were horrible, she just didn’t think they’d be horrible to her, since she’s been a good sycophant. Being correct in her assessment just means she’s worse than you’d have thought as cluelessness provides some excuse.

  64. 64.

    Ksmiami

    @The Moar You Know: I think the focus on winning over youth is misguided- it takes so much effort and it yields inconsistent results. We need to focus on upping urban and suburban participation and youth will follow

  65. 65.

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

    @Kay: Now she’s starring on celebrity Big Brother, fiddling while Rome burns.

  66. 66.

    Kay

    @ruemara:

    It might not be okay, though. I think that’s important to grapple with. Maybe a coin flip at this point, okay/not okay.

    There were never any guarantees this enterprise would just keep rolling along. Has a certain momentum, like a big ship, but one can’t count on that forever.

  68. 68.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Whining about the media is a waste of time.

    But whining about how T is going to fire Mueller is super useful?

    Wasn’t there a recent story about how Trump wanted to fire Mueller and was held back by his attorneys? Or was that fake news?

    Also, my general view here is that we can only watch to see what happens. But you seem to want to believe that any opinion that is not a full throated affirmation of the coming Democratic Party sweep is defeatism.

  69. 69.

    rikyrah

    The Revolutionary Power Of Black Panther

    Marvel’s new movie marks a major milestone

    By JAMIL SMITH

    ………………………….

    This is one of the many reasons Black Panther is significant. What seems like just another entry in an endless parade of super­hero movies is actually something much bigger. It hasn’t even hit theaters yet and its cultural footprint is already enormous. It’s a movie about what it means to be black in both America and Africa—and, more broadly, in the world. Rather than dodge complicated themes about race and identity, the film grapples head-on with the issues affecting modern-day black life. It is also incredibly entertaining, filled with timely comedy, sharply choreographed action and gorgeously lit people of all colors. “You have superhero films that are gritty dramas or action comedies,” director Ryan Coogler tells TIME. But this movie, he says, tackles another important genre: “Superhero films that deal with issues of being of African descent.”

    ………………

    Black Panther is the 18th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise that has made $13.5 billion at the global box office over the past 10 years. (Marvel is owned by Disney.) It may be the first mega­budget movie—not just about superheroes, but about anyone—to have an African-American director and a predominantly black cast. Hollywood has never produced a blockbuster this splendidly black.

    The movie, out Feb. 16, comes as the entertain­ment industry is wrestling with its toxic treatment of women and persons of color. This rapidly expanding reckoning—one that reflects the importance of representation in our culture—is long overdue. Black Panther is poised to prove to Hollywood that African-American narratives have the power to generate profits from all audiences. And, more important, that making movies about black lives is part of showing that they matter.

    The invitation to the Black Panther premiere read “Royal attire requested.” Yet no one showed up to the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard on Jan. 29 looking like an extra from a British costume drama. On display instead were crowns of a different sort—ascending head wraps made of various African fabrics. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o wore her natural hair tightly wrapped above a resplendent bejeweled purple gown. Men, including star Chadwick Boseman and Coogler, wore Afrocentric patterns and clothing, dashikis and boubous. Co-star Daniel Kaluuya, an Oscar nominee for his star turn in Get Out, arrived wearing a kanzu, the formal tunic of his Ugandan ancestry.

    After the Obama era, perhaps none of this should feel groundbreaking. But it does. In the midst of a regressive cultural and political moment fueled in part by the white-nativist movement, the very existence of Black Panther feels like resistance. Its themes challenge institutional bias, its characters take unsubtle digs at oppressors, and its narrative includes prismatic perspectives on black life and tradition. The fact that Black Panther is excellent only helps.

    ………………………..

    Back when the film was announced, in 2014, nobody knew that it would be released into the fraught climate of President Trump’s America—where a thriving black future seems more difficult to see. Trump’s reaction to the Charlottesville chaos last summer equated those protesting racism with violent neo-Nazis defending a statue honoring a Confederate general. Immigrants from Mexico, Central America and predominantly Muslim countries are some of the President’s most frequent scapegoats. So what does it mean to see this film, a vision of unmitigated black excellence, in a moment when the Commander in Chief reportedly, in a recent meeting, dismissed the 54 nations of Africa as “sh-thole countries”?

    As is typical of the climate we’re in, Black Panther is already running into its share of trolls—including a Facebook group that sought, unsuccessfully, to flood the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with negative ratings of the film. That Black Panther signifies a threat to some is unsurprising. A fictional African King with the technological war power to destroy you—or, worse, the wealth to buy your land—may not please someone who just wants to consume the latest Marvel chapter without deeper political consideration. Black Panther is emblematic of the most productive responses to bigotry: rather than going for hearts and minds of racists, it celebrates what those who choose to prohibit equal representation and rights are ignoring, willfully or not. They are missing out on the full possibility of the world and the very America they seek to make “great.” They cannot stop this representation of it. When considering the folks who preemptively hate Black Panther and seek to stop it from influencing American culture, I echo the response that the movie’s hero T’Challa is known to give when warned of those who seek to invade his home country: Let them try.

  70. 70.

    raven

    @schrodingers_cat: We watched the potato famine episode of “Victoria” last night and they painted a very favorable picture of her in terms of the British response. Without looking I told my bride that you would have a fit. When I looked it up I was right. . . as were you.

  73. 73.

    rikyrah

    @schrodingers_cat:

    @Kay: Weren’t people applauding Kelly for how he got rid of Scaramucci and Omarosa? Kelly likes his bigots to be more presentable like this Porter dude and the Nielsen woman, you know the northern European types his boss seems to prefer.

    Not me.

    Those applauding Kelly are the same folks desperate for any sign of normalcy in this WH. That’s why they could look past his odious and lying attack on Congresswoman Wilson.

    That’s how they looked past his disgusting attack on DREAMERS just this week.

    The curve for unqualified White Men is REAL.
    We will forever have these receipts.

    Don’t want, and will never accept criticism of a Decent Non-White politician again, from this bunch of muthaphuckas. They receipts- they are being collected.

  74. 74.

    ruemara

    @rikyrah: Yes, to all of that.
    Just yes. And the fact that Omarosa was the nanny in charge of Tweeting Toddler, that just says it all.

  75. 75.

    Kay

    @Citizen_X:

    I don’t hate the celebrity Trumpsters as much as the Trumpsters who pretend they’re serious- and have real power.

    I’ll trade ya three Omarosa’s for one Sessions. Throw in a Mooch, but take Sessions.

  76. 76.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Brachiator:

    Wasn’t there a recent story about how Trump wanted to fire Mueller and was held back by his attorneys? Or was that fake news?

    We know that’s what the President would try to do and he didn’t disappoint. However, endless speculation of M’s firing and negative consequences for Ds but none for Rs no matter what happens is what gets me.

    Also, my general view here is that we can only watch to see what happens.

    Yes, and we can also affect some change at a micro level. I am convincing every GC holder I know personally to apply for citizenship.

    But you seem to t to believe that any opinion that is not a full throated affirmation of the coming Democratic Party sweep is defeatism.

    Where did I say that? I am not into speculation either positive (D sweep) or negative (that’s M’s firing is a done deal). No one, including me knows what’s going to happen with 100% certainty. Speculation doesn’t interest me much.

  79. 79.

    schrodingers_cat

    @raven: The whitewashing of the British Empire in these soapy Brit dramas is barf inducing. I haven’t yet tabulated the numbers but the death toll on Victoria’s watch is easily comparable to the death toll in WWII. But it was the 19 th century and outside Europe (except Ireland) so it is all good, I guess.

  80. 80.

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

    @Kay:
    I only like to watch guilty pleasures like Hell’s Kitchen. Gordon Ramsey is a cool dude. I wish that show would focus more on the food and less on the manufactured drama.

  82. 82.

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

    @schrodingers_cat:
    Hey, if you told the real story people would hate Victoria. The protag has to be at least a little likeable. Since this is real history, character development isn’t an option.

  84. 84.

    bystander

    It just struck me that one of the best parts of Pelosi’s speech yesterday is that the Freedom Caucasians who vote against the budget can then be labeled “Nancy’s Puppets.” She tells them how to vote, and they do it.

  85. 85.

    gene108

    @ruemara:

    We have the money. We don’t have the focus or the will. In a way, because we fragment over some really small divergences, we are even more selfish than they are. They as a group will unite to get even one thing done. The left won’t. Not can’t, simply won’t.

    The money isn’t equal. Sure we can fund candidates this year, with many small donations, to match or beat what Republicans have raised, but we sure as fuck can’t create liberal media outlets to compete with the American Spectator, The Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, and the National Review, let alone take on Fox News or fund think tanks to the same level as conservatives.

    The reason conservatives are more united is because they are authoritarians at heart. The boss gives the orders, you obey and when its your turn you get to be the boss. So a Koch brother, Mercer, any megachurch televangelist, et. al. tell them what they need to do and they happily obey, because they know who the boss is.

    Liberals, especially the lefty-left, seem to eschew that sort of top-down control, which is needed in any organization. Look at the freak-out over the mythical powers attributed to the DNC in 2016, by many on the lefty-left.

    But I think you are right about the left being selfish, because they would rather be right and morally pure than do what it takes to win.

  86. 86.

    TenguPhule

    @Aimai:

    i would like the dems to run on cleaning house at the fbi and state and…well… everywhere. Attack the corruption and the corrupters.

    And I’m sure the naturally Republican leaning people there will be perfectly happy to cooperate…oh wait.

    Dancing around the obvious. Short of Civil War, we need outside intervention to fix our country. Canada can occupy us for the next decade or so to try and civilize us to international standards.

  87. 87.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Well, OK, but could we please hit them for stuff that’s not made up outrage of the day bullshit?

    Like Harry Truman said, “I don’t give them hell. I tell the truth and they THINK it’s hell.”

  88. 88.

    raven

    @schrodingers_cat: We’re watching the Crown too and this is it for Claire Foy, next year will be Olivia Colman. What’s interesting is to see Foy as a fucking Nazi in Upstairs Downstairs!

  92. 92.

    raven

    @schrodingers_cat: We’ve enjoyed the Crown, she was also good in Little Dorrit. He role in Upstairs is not unlike that of Margaret in the Crown except for the Nazi part, PARTYYYY!

  93. 93.

    TenguPhule

    @elm:

    It’s an unfair playing field because our opponents have been working the refs.

    Wrong.

    Its not just the refs. The fuckers are playing Calvin Ball and plain just making whatever shit up they want to justify anything they want to do. Laws, regulations, unspoken norms, traditions, all those things we rely on to keep things civilized and work things out peacefully, the GOP doesn’t give a shit about it. For them, all of this exists only to be exploited against their enemies and the only rules are don’t get caught with convicting evidence and never ever accept the blame.

    Until the Republicans face real consequences for this, this isn’t going to change.

    And simply voting them out isn’t real enough for them.

    As Bush Jr and Trump have proven, evil only has to win once.

  94. 94.

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

    @schrodingers_cat:
    I’ve heard that. He’s even a lot calmer in the US version of Kitchen Nightmares.
    @schrodingers_cat:

    Additionally, it makes for an interesting story, showing her when she was just starting out as a ruler and all the growing pains that comes with. I’ve only seen the first few episodes of Victoria. I’ve liked it so far, but I really do think it’s a shame if the writers are whitewashing her, like her reaponse to the Potato Famine. Doing so gives people a distorted picture of history.

  95. 95.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    However, endless speculation of M’s firing and negative consequences for Ds but none for Rs no matter what happens is what gets me.

    If I speculated endlessly about Mueller’s firing, you might have a point. As it is, you unfairly lump me in with other posters. Why?

    And I have never claimed that Mueller’s firing would have negative consequences for Democrats, but none for Republicans. Never. You are simply making things up.

    I have no problem with defending my positions, but there’s not much point in my reacting to things I have never said or arguments that do not represent my views in any way.

  96. 96.

    zhena gogolia

    @raven: @schrodingers_cat:

    I saw something that said people in England were shattered by the potato famine episode of Victoria because they had no idea it was so bad. Can that possibly be true?

    Yes, they continued to whitewash Victoria, but at least they had some truly evil English politicians and clergymen and even the butler.

  99. 99.

    Brachiator

    @raven:

    We’re watching the Crown too and this is it for Claire Foy, next year will be Olivia Colman.

    Loved Claire Foy in Little Doritt, which was the first thing I ever saw her in. Later, I also loved her in Wolf Hall.

    Tremendous talent.

  100. 100.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Brachiator:

    If I speculated endlessly about Mueller’s firing, you might have a point. As it is, you unfairly lump me in with other posters. Why?

    And I have never claimed that Mueller’s firing would have negative consequences for Democrats, but none for Republicans. Never. You are simply making things up.

    I was making a general exasperated observation. I am sorry, that it came across as singling you out for an attack.
    ETA: FWIW I think we are in agreement about 90% of the time if not more.

  103. 103.

    gene108

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

    I’ve liked it so far, but I really do think it’s a shame if the writers are whitewashing her, like her reaponse to Potato Famine.

    The British response to the Potato Famine was awful*. This is one reason the famine was so bad and killed so many people and forced so many people to flee to America for a chance at not starving to death. Ireland lost between 20% to 25% of its population to starvation and emigration.

    Here’s the wikipedia on it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)

    * Britain’s general response to any famine, anywhere in the world, was always awful, which is why so many millions died because of their indifference and incompetence.

  105. 105.

    Brachiator

    @zhena gogolia:

    Her performance in the execution of Anne Boleyn was shattering.

    Agreed. And I went back and compared her to Anne in the old Masterpiece Theater series, The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

  106. 106.

    raven

    @schrodingers_cat: When you google Victoria and the potato famine you get reviews of the show and they are pretty firm in making that point about the British public. Didn’t they ever wonder WHY the Irish sided with the Nazi’s?

    eta or the IRA anyway

  107. 107.

    dww44

    @TenguPhule:I don’t know about the alternate universe that so many of the Trump supporters/GOP voters inhabit. They fill the pages of my newspaper with far out conspiracy theories and continue to label (with proof, you know) Obama as the worst President ever. They mindlessly share borderline conspiracy theories from conservative sites on Facebook and apparently they actually think these are really big stories. Many of those supporting and sharing are contemporaries from a different era whom I never would have believed would traffic in and condone this stuff. Political alignments are iincreasingly tribal choices. Not rational and informed ones.

    I only know that we have to focus, fight, and elect more of us and claw back some influence and power at all levels of government. I’m done with appeasing these folks who damn well were educated to know and think better.

  110. 110.

    rikyrah

    The Plum Line Opinion
    Republicans want to turn the entire country into Oklahoma
    By Paul Waldman February 8 at 1:26 PM

    ………………………………………………………………..

    Like many states controlled by Republicans, Oklahoma has for some time been putting the GOP theory into practice: low taxes, little regulation and weak social spending. On the tax front, it has been particularly aggressive, since state law mandates that no tax increase can pass without a three-quarters majority in the state legislature. This has created a one-way ratchet, in which any tax cut is effectively permanent and taxes can only go down.

    And has it produced the boundless prosperity Republicans predict? Well, no. In fact, the state is now in a full-blown fiscal crisis. Here’s a summary of the situation from NPR:

    Riding high on the oil boom of the late 2000s, the state followed the Kansas model and slashed taxes. But the promised prosperity never came. In many cases, it was just the opposite.

    Around 20 percent of Oklahoma’s schools now hold classes just four days a week. Last year, highway patrol officers were given a mileage limit because the state couldn’t afford to put gas in their tanks. Medicaid provider rates have been cut to the point that rural nursing homes and hospitals are closing, and the prisons are so full that the director of corrections says they’re on the brink of a crisis.

    Just to reiterate: The state has so little money that 1 in 5 schools is open only four days a week. Gov. Mary Fallin and Republicans in the state legislature are debating a plan to increase taxes to try to address some of these problems, including giving a raise to teachers. Which is sorely needed, because Oklahoma pays its teachers less than any other state in the country.

    That’s not to mention the other problems the state could be addressing, but isn’t. For instance, like many Republican states, Oklahoma refused to accept the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid, and partly as a result it ranks eighth on the list of states with the highest proportion of its population without health insurance.

    So if you suddenly became governor of a state somewhere, would you say, “We really need to duplicate what they did in Oklahoma”? Before you answer, consider that Oklahoma ranks 43rd in household income. And if you look at that list, you’ll find that of the top 10 states with the highest income, seven are strong Democratic states, two are states where Democrats and Republicans share power (Virginia and New Hampshire), and only one, Alaska, could be described as a red state. At the other end, nine of the 10 poorest states are Republican-controlled (New Mexico is the exception), where somehow their genius governing model has failed to produce the results they predict.

  112. 112.

    trollhattan

    They’re not sending their best.

    CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Thursday told a Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Illinois that she hoped he would lose after he denied the Holocaust and became visibly angry at her. In an interview on CNN’s New Day, Camerota noted that Arthur Jones was poised to take the Republican nomination for 3rd Congressional District because he is running unopposed.

    “It is shocking to hear how vocally unapologetic you are about your racism,” Camerota told Jones. “Are you a Nazi?”

    “I don’t call myself a Nazi, I call myself an American patriot and statesmen,” Jones insisted.

    The CNN host noted that Jones had been part of anti-Semitic groups for over 40 years, that he attends Nazi rallies and was part of the White People’s Party.

    “You dress in Nazi garb and you celebrate Hitler’s birth day,” Camerota explained. “You’re a Nazi.”

    For his part, Jones insisted that he no longer a member of Nazi organizations.

    “I haven’t belonged to one since about 1990,” he said.

    As the interview continued, Jones became combative, refusing to let Camerota finish questions. At one point, he referred to the Holocaust as an “extortion racket” and a “scam.”

    I’m sure some of them are good people. Good for Camerota for holding this monster’s feet to the fire. What the hell, Illinois? Skokie much?

  114. 114.

    Thaddeu

    Against an extreme philosophy of “my side, right or wrong”, decency and fairness does not work. It requires a response in kind.

    The only response to the GOP is to utterly destroy it. Any attempt to reform it will only embolden it. Because decency against extremism is perceived as weakness of the opposition and the superiority of the extremist cause. You don’t negotiate with terrorists.

    Winning is not enough. You have to win power and destroy them once you get power.

  115. 115.

    raven

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Many commended the episode for finally portraying the devastating horrors of the Irish famine on British TV screens for the first time. Much praise was heaped onto screenwriter Daisy Goodwin for not shying away from the rather unpalatable role played that the British landlords and government played in the disaster. However, the portrayal of Queen Victoria, quite commonly known as The Famine Queen throughout Ireland and who was depicted as berating her government ministers for not doing enough to help the Irish, did draw some criticism.

    “There is no evidence that she had any real compassion for the Irish people in any way,” said historian Christine Kinealy, founding director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University.

  118. 118.

    zhena gogolia

    @schrodingers_cat:

    The writer is apparently a direct descendant of the English clergyman depicted in the episode, who starts a soup kitchen and dies of typhus contracted in helping the starving.

  119. 119.

    Brachiator

    @zhena gogolia: Many upper class Brits hated the Irish and didn’t much care what happened to them. The reaction in America wasn’t much better.

    Gone to America

    Throughout the Famine years, nearly a million Irish arrived in the United States. Famine immigrants were the first big wave of poor refugees ever to arrive in the U.S. and Americans were simply overwhelmed. Upon arrival in America, the Irish found the going to be quite tough. With no one to help them, they immediately settled into the lowest rung of society and waged a daily battle for survival.

    The roughest welcome of all would be in Boston, Massachusetts, an Anglo-Saxon city with a population of about 115,000. It was a place run by descendants of English Puritans, men who could proudly recite their lineage back to 1620 and the Mayflower ship. Now, some two hundred thirty years later, their city was undergoing nothing short of an unwanted “social revolution” as described by Ephraim Peabody, member of an old Yankee family. In 1847, the first big year of Famine emigration, the city was swamped with 37,000 Irish Catholics arriving by sea and land.

    Proper Bostonians pointed and laughed at the first Irish immigrants stepping off ships wearing clothes twenty years out of fashion. They watched as the newly arrived Irishmen settled with their families into enclaves that became exclusively Irish near the Boston waterfront along Batterymarch and Broad Streets, then in the North End section and in East Boston. Irishmen took any unskilled jobs they could find such as cleaning yards and stables, unloading ships, and pushing carts.

    And once again, they fell victim to unscrupulous landlords. This time it was Boston landlords who sub-divided former Yankee dwellings into cheap housing, charging Irish families up to $1.50 a week to live in a single nine-by-eleven foot room with no water, sanitation, ventilation or daylight….

    A Boston Committee of Internal Health studying the situation described the resulting Irish slum as “a perfect hive of human beings, without comforts and mostly without common necessaries; in many cases huddled together like brutes, without regard to age or sex or sense of decency. Under such circumstances self-respect, forethought, all the high and noble virtues soon die out, and sullen indifference and despair or disorder, intemperance and utter degradation reign supreme.”

    Funny how the GOP wants to make America bigoted again with respect to current immigrants.

    Naked link from my mobile browser.

    http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/america.htm

  120. 120.

    TenguPhule

    @dww44:

    I only know that we have to focus, fight, and elect more of us and claw back some influence and power at all levels of government. I’m done with appeasing these folks who damn well were educated to know and think better.

    We did it in 2008. It still wasn’t enough.

    Assuming we win against the odds, the Russian meddling, the Republican voting fraud, we’re going to find ourselves right back there with interparty divisions as every Democratic Senator/Representative demands their personal agenda gets carried out first. Assuming we can get past the demands of assholes like Manchin demanding their own tributes for being the “deciding vote” for any legislation to pass (and let’s not kid ourselves, the marginal votes are going to be complete pains in the ass in any majority) and the desire to “go back to normal” is going to be the true test of Pelosi and Schumer. Voting isn’t enough. The Democratic political leadership needs to actually use the power given to them by the voters effectively and decisively. All the things we want to happen have to be carried out by them and I am not as confident as many here are that the needed measures will be done or go far enough. “Bipartisanship” is a hell of a drug. And remember, the GOP are much much better at gumming shit up as a vocal minority then we are.

    And the vast majority of our voting public is stupid and/or ignorant. I don’t trust the mushy middle not to do something stupid in 2020 because Democrats in Congress haven’t fixed everything in 2019.

  122. 122.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    And the vast majority of our voting public is stupid and/or ignorant. I don’t trust the mushy middle not to do something stupid in 2020 because Democrats in Congress haven’t fixed everything in 2019.

    Why blame only the “mushy middle?” The committed left can be just as stupid.

    I take your point, but maybe you cast your net of blame too widely. Last time I checked, for example, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in her contest against Trump.

  123. 123.

    NCSteve

    @elm: Republicans are trying to turn the FBI into the Republican Gestapo. Democrats aren’t going to do themselves, us or the country any favors by trying to turn it into the Democratic Gestapo.

  124. 124.

    TenguPhule

    @Brachiator:

    Why blame only the “mushy middle?” The committed left can be just as stupid.

    True. Lots of the entitled fucks sat out the 2010 elections with the resulting consequences. But it would be uncivil to call for their beatings until their sanity improves.

  125. 125.

    TenguPhule

    @NCSteve:

    Democrats aren’t going to do themselves, us or the country any favors by trying to turn it into the Democratic Gestapo.

    Pffft. Its never going to turn into a Democratic Gestapo. If only because most of the people hired there reflexively don’t like Democrats. They’ll never like us, but we want them to fucking respect us.

  127. 127.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Binte Dil new number released from Padmavaat

    Very interesting song, very moving. I enjoyed reading the comments and reactions to the song.

    I think I understand the context, but would enjoy reading a paraphrase of the lyrics.

  128. 128.

    Tenar Arha

    @Brachiator: Yeah, the bigotry of Boston is a long term thing, that even & especially in the early 20th century ended up biting the whole country in the caboose. Check out the inscription on this plaque in Faneuil Hall.

    ETA If I’m unclear: NB the insistence of naming not just the origin but the religious affiliation by specifying “French Huguenot” for an early civic booster on a plaque from 1908.

  129. 129.

    elm

    @TenguPhule: Indeed. Pointing out their bad behavior puts pressure on them to not behave in ways that get them criticized.

    Comey fucked up by interfering in the 2016 election to Trump’s advantage.

    The FBI has many people with a variety of opinions. It’s a mistake to treat it as a monolith with one single interest.

    The FBI deserves criticism when it is weak and fucks up.

    There is a 0% chance he FBI will become a liberal institution. They will wrongly spy on environmental and civil liberties groups for the foreseeable future. We can criticize them when they neglect to monitor violent right wing groups.

  131. 131.

    Brachiator

    Fun story about the official GOP propaganda channel and its reaction to the recently dismissed White House aide.

    Porter’s name was not mentioned during Fox News’ prime-time lineup, which is stacked with pro-Trump commentators like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.

    And Porter wasn’t brought up once by Thursday during “Fox & Friends,” President Trump’s favorite morning show. Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared on the show as a guest, but the hosts of the show didn’t ask her a single question about Porter.

    Conservative owned and dominated media happily slant and censor the news. People who consume this are uninformed and want to be uninformed.

  133. 133.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Brachiator:

    And Porter wasn’t brought up once by Thursday during “Fox & Friends,” President Trump’s favorite morning show. Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared on the show as a guest, but the hosts of the show didn’t ask her a single question about Porter.

    So you’re saying Trump knows nothing about Porter’s resignation nor the underlying reasons, and probably just assumes he’s out sick with the flu for a day or so.

  134. 134.

    Brachiator

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    So you’re saying Trump knows nothing about Porter’s resignation nor the underlying reasons, and probably just assumes he’s out sick with the flu for a day or so.

    Ha! So sad that this might actually be true.

  136. 136.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Brachiator: Beloved of my heart is in Egypt,
    So I am presenting a flower in your service, my king

    *Malik Kafur was Khilji’s right hand man. He headed successful campaigns in the southern India on the behalf of the Delhi Sultanate. There is speculation that they were lovers. He is also suspected of killing Khilji and taking over. He was not accepted by the other Turkic nobles as the king.

    ETA: The Urdu used is laced heavily with Persian and an archaic form which is bit difficult for me to understand completely.

  138. 138.

    MisterForkbeard

    @SiubhanDuinne: Why are we assuming that Trump knows Porter at all? He was just a coffee boy, right? Completely unimportant. May even have just been a volunteer.

    More seriously, I’m not sure Trump cares or knows at all. Porter was “the help” and didn’t have enough influence to merit Trump’s attention, nor a high enough public profile for Trump to crave his attention. Other than bonding over assaulting women I don’t think there’s much reason for Trump to remember him, given Trump’s own personality.

  140. 140.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Malik Kafur was Khilji’s right hand man. He headed successful campaigns in the southern India on the behalf of the Delhi Sultanate. There is speculation that they were lovers.

    The hints of homoeroticism were surprising at first, but very well done.

  141. 141.

    J R in WV

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

    OK, here are some facts about food exports from Ireland to England during the worst of the famine, 1847, known still today as Black ’47, from:

    Dr. Christine Kinealy, a fellow at the University of Liverpool and the author of two scholarly texts on the Irish Famine…

    Dr. Kinealy’s most recent work is documented in the spring, 1998 issue of “History Ireland”. She states that almost 4,000 vessels carried food from Ireland to the ports of Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool and London during 1847, when 400,000 Irish men, women and children died of starvation and related diseases. The food was shipped under guard from the most famine-stricken parts of Ireland: Ballina, Ballyshannon, Bantry, Dingle, Killala, Kilrush, Limerick, Sligo, Tralee and Westport.

    During the first nine months of “Black ’47” the export of grain-derived alcohol from Ireland to England included the following: 874,170 gallons of porter, 278,658 gallons of Guinness, and 183,392 gallons of whiskey.

    The total amount of grain-derived alcohol exported from Ireland in just nine months of Black’47 is 1,336,220 gallons!

    A wide variety of commodities left Ireland during 1847, including peas, beans, onions, rabbits, salmon, oysters, herring, lard, honey, tongues, animal skins, rags, shoes, soap, glue and seed.

    The most shocking export figures concern butter. Butter was shipped in firkins, each one holding nine gallons. In the first nine months of 1847, 56,557 firkins were exported from Ireland to Bristol, and 34,852 firkins were shipped to Liverpool. That works out to be 822,681 gallons of butter exported to England from Ireland during nine months of the worst year of “famine”.

    Regarding the 183,392 gallons of whiskey, you get less than three gallons (2.8 or so) per bushel of grain. It varies by grain type, which also varies pounds of grain per bushel, so YMMV. But over a million gallons of alcohol exported in 9 months of Black ’47 will run around 300,000 bushels of grains. That’s a lot of foodstuff in my book.

  142. 142.

    angler

    Excellent post until you linked fighting fire with fire to donating for Connor Lamb. There are a lot of good reasons to give him money. I’ve donated because I want to swing a seat to the D’s. But I have no illusions that he is going to bring the fight to the FBI. Lamb is going try and distance himself from liberalism in everyday, and non-pocketbook issues like the rule of law are a gimme. We need to elect him given the current dynamics of his district but he is going to disappoint in the fight.

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