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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / Repub Ratfvckery Open Thread: “This Is Why We Need Voter ID Laws!”

Repub Ratfvckery Open Thread: “This Is Why We Need Voter ID Laws!”

by Anne Laurie|  March 15, 201810:43 pm| 156 Comments

This post is in: Election 2018, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Republican Venality, All Too Normal, Blatant Liars and the Lies They Tell

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NBC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Possible Russian trolls try to register for Texas Democratic conventionhttps://t.co/pqcXoIIhib pic.twitter.com/xrWFbs2DFe

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 15, 2018

Next Saturday, March 24, hundreds of Texas Democratic Party activists will gather at the Austin Hyatt Regency to nominate candidates for political office in Travis County, a kick-off event leading up to the 2018 midterm elections.

But some people who tried to register will not be attending, among them Candida McGruder. Gustavo Chubb. Geraldo Tinsley. Vincent Amundson. Roxie Male.

That’s because these five individuals and 43 others who signed up to attend don’t appear to be Travis County residents, or Texans, or even Americans. They might not even be real people. They may be pranksters — or they may be Russian trolls, and their appearance in Texas could represent the first public example of foreign probing of the 2018 elections.

Five senior intelligence officers, two current and three former, say the case of the Texas 48 looks like Russian meddling. And they tell NBC News that despite the clumsiness of the failed registrations, the Texas case fits a pattern of Russian behavior seen in its covert operations…

Despite the ham-handedness that announces an obvious Russian origin, said Kanuck, who served as the first national intelligence officer for cyber issues at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from 2011 to 2016, the methods and even the in-your-face nature of the trolling fit the pattern of “a Russian strategic campaign to delegitimize the democratic electoral process.”

“I would speculate that Russia is testing the waters for possible interventions or disruptions in the future,” Kanuck said…

And sure enough, in just the top dozen replies to the original tweet…

That settles it, we need voter ID laws in every state.

We can’t have foreign nationals influencing our elections.

— Jeffrey Richman ☃️ (@jcrichman) March 15, 2018

Require ID/SSN. This is getting ridiculous.

— Jay Reditwright (@reditwright) March 15, 2018

Doesn’t matter, for Repub purposes, whether those commentors are co-conspirators or just misled bystanders — if it helps them divert the conversation from “who benefits from the actions of these Russian trolls?” to “AIEEE brown people voter fraud!”, it’s all to their advantage.

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Reader Interactions

156Comments

  1. 1.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 10:55 pm

    Where’s Alex Jones to scream “False flag by the Republicans!!!!!!”

    I crack myself up sometimes.

  2. 2.

    p.a.

    March 15, 2018 at 10:55 pm

    We can’t have foreign nationals influencing our elections.

    Sounds objectively pro-impeachment, n’est-ce pas?

  3. 3.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 10:56 pm

    Infiltration at all levels.

  4. 4.

    Ruckus

    March 15, 2018 at 10:56 pm

    Day by day I’m becoming more convinced that the entire republican party is just an extension of russia. What they want to do to this country sounds exactly like what current day russia is, a government like, by and for a modern day version of the mob.

  5. 5.

    Ken

    March 15, 2018 at 10:56 pm

    Hmm. “Richman” and “Reditwright”. Perhaps this is two-dimensional chess:

    1) Clumsily register with easily-detected fake names.

    2) Use that to call for stronger laws.

    (Of course it’s stupid, since the trolls got caught, meaning the existing process – you know, checking the name against the voter rolls, just like the election judges do – worked just fine at detecting the fraud.)

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    March 15, 2018 at 10:57 pm

    Call to arm poll workers in 3#&8230; 2… 1….

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    March 15, 2018 at 10:58 pm

    Code fix.

    Call to arm poll workers in 3… 2… 1….

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 11:00 pm

    @NotMax:
    I liked the first version — more arglebargle

  9. 9.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:00 pm

    @NotMax: With poll axes!
    http://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/texas-law-allows-open-carry-of-knives-swords

    New Texas law allows open carry of large knives, swords
    by Abby AldrichThursday, August 31st 2017

    AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — As of Sept. 1, Texas House Bill 1935 will allow knives and blades longer than 5 1/2 inches in public.

    Meaning, residents walking around with swords and daggers will not be breaking any laws.

    Phillip Watkins, owner of The Knife Guys, said the law is going to make it easier on people with jobs requiring the use of larger knives.

    “It’s going to make it easier for hunters and people that have professional jobs where they use over-sized knives for their particular tasks,” Watkins says, “like lawn care and chefs, or these traveling chefs going to festivals, and then your hunters that go hog hunting and carry a tougher knife than just your general public.”

    However, long knives will still not be allowed in locations including bars, colleges, correctional facilities, government buildings, hospitals, places of worship, polling places, public and private schools, secured areas in airports and sporting events.

    The Amarillo Police Department said it does not expect many issues to come from the new law. APD’s Public Information Officer Jeb Hilton said a lot of complaints came in about the open carry law when it was enacted and that there would be big issues stemming from it, yet there wasn’t.

    “Most people in Texas carry a knife,” Hilton says, “and it is going to be a little bit of a shock to see someone carrying a machete or sword around, but once the law gets out and people know that, that’s okay, I don’t think we will get a lot of calls on it.”

    Watkins said the law is going to make people feel more relaxed.

    “Look at the open carry law,” Watkins said. “When they passed that, everybody thought it would be like the Wild West, but it isn’t and it’s going to be the same thing with this. It’s going to be people more comfortable about doing what they have already been doing.”

    If residents plan on carrying, Hilton says he suggests looking into the law, in order to know where you can and cannot carry. He adds businesses have the right to ask people to leave, if carrying on their property.

    “If there is a business that doesn’t want you carrying in there and asks you to leave, they can do that,” Hilton said. “That’s their right as a business owner. [APD] cannot come out and enforce anything other then making you leave. But, know where you are going to be going, especially if you’re going to be carrying a larger knife or sword.”

    APD wants to remind the public that residents can call if they notice any suspicious activity with people carrying the weapons.

    “If you see somebody and they are carrying a weapon in a non-threatening manner, there is probably no reason to call the police,” Hilton said. “But if somebody is out making a show, has the sword pulled out making threatening moves to people, definitely give the police a call.”

    Minors will still be unable to possess knives over 5 1/2 inches unless they are in a car, watercraft or supervised by a parent or legal guardian.

  10. 10.

    Corner Stone

    March 15, 2018 at 11:02 pm

    I suggest we get someone to meet with Putin and tell him, quite sternly, to “knock it off”.

  11. 11.

    hellslittlestangel

    March 15, 2018 at 11:05 pm

    Well, I’m impressed that Republicans didn’t say that the solution is to cut taxes.

  12. 12.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 11:06 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Reason # 4289 why I have — frequently — suggested that all the RWNJs be relocated to Nuevo Aztlan Tejas Texas, wall them all in, rename it Dumbfuckistan, and reclaim it when they’re done killing themselves.

    Naturally, current Texans of good will will not be required to stay. (Maybe set up Austin as a latter-day West Berlin? Dunno.)

  13. 13.

    hellslittlestangel

    March 15, 2018 at 11:07 pm

    @Corner Stone: Sounds like a job for John McCain. He’d even tell him to “cut out the bullshit.”

  14. 14.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 11:08 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    I suggest we get someone to meet with Putin and tell him, quite sternly, to “knock it off”.

    I know just the guy, but he’s too busy furrowing his brow ever-so-deeply, and yukking it up with his pal Lindsey.

    ETA: Note to self: learn to type faster.

  15. 15.

    hellslittlestangel

    March 15, 2018 at 11:10 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    “Most people in Texas carry a knife,” Hilton says, “and it is going to be a little bit of a shock to see someone carrying a machete or sword around, but once the law gets out and people know that, that’s okay, I don’t think we will get a lot of calls on it.”

    It’s sure to scare tourists at first, but eventually you won’t hear from them about it. And you’ll have the Alamo all to yourselves, at last!

  16. 16.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 11:10 pm

    @hellslittlestangel:

    Well, I’m impressed that Republicans didn’t say that the solution is to cut taxes.

    Yet.

  17. 17.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et Al.)

    March 15, 2018 at 11:13 pm

    I fucking hate these fucking fuckwad.

  18. 18.

    hellslittlestangel

    March 15, 2018 at 11:13 pm

    @SFAW: It will come right after the Armed Poll Watchers Act.

  19. 19.

    Ruckus

    March 15, 2018 at 11:14 pm

    @SFAW:
    How are you going to pay for all this if you don’t cut taxes?
    It’s Alice in Government Land.

  20. 20.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:16 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Infiltration at all levels.

    A more delicate phrase than your usual.

    Or is there a real difference? Such as infiltration or filtration of stormwater treatment?

  21. 21.

    chris

    March 15, 2018 at 11:17 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Truly surprising that some student of the blade hasn’t run into a constitutional scholar with a Glock. Yet.

  22. 22.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:19 pm

    @Corner Stone: Perhaps Pence can visit and show them his Stern Face. It wouldn’t require him to talk, so win-win.

  23. 23.

    Corner Stone

    March 15, 2018 at 11:21 pm

    @frosty: Maybe he could shake his head slowly side to side with a tight grimace/smile on his visage for impact.

  24. 24.

    Jeffro

    March 15, 2018 at 11:21 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: did y’all see that WaPo article about the guy who got sliced and diced by his girlfriend, because she thought he was cheating on her (when he wasn’t spending 12 hours a day playing video games)?

    Sheesh. One more thing I have to warn my pre-teen about: “Be sure to check under the bed for a samurai sword”

  25. 25.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:22 pm

    @hellslittlestangel:

    you’ll have the Alamo all to yourselves,

    When we were at the Alamo 3 years ago, some asshole was walking around with an AR-15 (or clone) on a sling. None of the people in line were enthusiastic about it, to say the least. I wouldn’t live in Texas on a bet.

  26. 26.

    Old Dan and Little Anne

    March 15, 2018 at 11:22 pm

    That’s not a knife. This is a knife.

  27. 27.

    Corner Stone

    March 15, 2018 at 11:23 pm

    @chris: I have known more than a few people who went to prison for a long stretch for using a blade to “defend” themselves. Almost always, emphasis on “almost”, if they had used a gun they would have been no-billed or never even referred.

  28. 28.

    matt

    March 15, 2018 at 11:23 pm

    Smells of a coordinated campaign.

  29. 29.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:24 pm

    @hellslittlestangel:

    Well, I’m impressed that Republicans didn’t say that the solution is to cut taxes.

    What’s the best sword for that? Claymore? Saber? Katana?

  30. 30.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:24 pm

    @frosty: Some of the ladies were unhappy with the gendered connotations of penetration at all levels. So I’m trying to be more thoughtful.

  31. 31.

    Amir Khalid

    March 15, 2018 at 11:25 pm

    @hellslittlestangel:
    These people need to make up their minds. Are they cosplaying as the Punisher or Crocodile Dundee?

  32. 32.

    mai naem mobile

    March 15, 2018 at 11:26 pm

    Jist saw on the teevee that Orange Lumpy Asshole is thinking about nominating Fucks and Friends’ Peter Hegseth to Sec. Of VA. Seriously ,what the fuckity fuck? The guy is a moron. M.O.R.O.N. What’s next? Mark Harmon as his Nat Sec Advisor? Patrick Dempsey as Surgeon General?

  33. 33.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:26 pm

    @Corner Stone: I’m not sure we want Pence to go to Defcon 2. Let’s stick with the steely eyed glare for the moment.

  34. 34.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:27 pm

    @chris: Why not both?
    https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/4/4c/Warlord_Vol_1_26.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090112144843

  35. 35.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:29 pm

    @Jeffro: I saw it. I’ve been saving it for a late night post.

  36. 36.

    debbie

    March 15, 2018 at 11:29 pm

    Mr. Reditwright (ha ha, very droll) up top only has three followers. Another bot?

  37. 37.

    Davebo

    March 15, 2018 at 11:29 pm

    The last time the U of Houston Coogs won a NCAA tournament game I was a day or two away for leaving for boot camp.

    I watched them lose to Patrick Ewing and Georgetown at a USO facility on a layover on my way.

    Finally!

  38. 38.

    debbie

    March 15, 2018 at 11:31 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Hell hath no fury…

  39. 39.

    chris

    March 15, 2018 at 11:32 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    a few people who went to prison for a long stretch for using a blade

    How odd. So it’s better to shoot than cut? More “manly” or something maybe?

  40. 40.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:32 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Yes, agreed. There were also many snarky replies at the phrase, even though it may be accurate and accepted within your milieu.

  41. 41.

    SFBayAreaGal

    March 15, 2018 at 11:33 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Wow, that’s an old title.

  42. 42.

    Steeplejack

    March 15, 2018 at 11:33 pm

    @frosty:

    I think he is responding (rightly) to concerns raised by Cheryl Rofer in a post several weeks ago about the (ridiculous) sexualization of foreign policy/​defense rhetoric.

    I applaud the change.

    @Adam L Silverman:

    “Some of the ladies were unhappy . . .”

    Please don’t start digging yourself a hole.

  43. 43.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    Are they cosplaying as the Punisher or Crocodile Dundee?

    Porque no los dos?

    or, for you:

    Warum denn die Beide nicht? [Bitte, verzeihe mir my shitty grammar.)

  44. 44.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    March 15, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    @chris: More “manly” or something maybe?

    Pretty much, since (and hence) there is no National Knife Association.

  45. 45.

    chris

    March 15, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Haha, yes. I was expecting Deadpool.

  46. 46.

    gene108

    March 15, 2018 at 11:35 pm

    My uncle (mom’s older brother) passed a way a week ago. He was in the hospital for a couple of weeks prior, but it was surprising he landed up in the hospital in the first place, so it came as a shock to all of us.

    Anyway, I am staying with my mom this week. It has hit her pretty hard. They were close.

    I put a load of laundry from the washer to my mom’s dryer and every few minutes the I hear the dryer tumble and then buzz. Like it wants me to get,out of bed at this hour and take the clothes out of it. But I don’t want to get out of bed.

    I find the whole thing perplexing. It is a war of the wills between me and the dryer. Do I stay in bed, listening to the dryer turn on and buzz or do I break down and take my clothes out?

  47. 47.

    Corner Stone

    March 15, 2018 at 11:36 pm

    @chris: I’m not a defense attorney. But from what I have been told from many sources is that the pictures and results of death by knife create a foundationally visceral and emotional reaction that bullet holes just do not.

  48. 48.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:37 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    the (ridiculous) sexualization of foreign policy/​defense rhetoric.

    Yeah, that was something of an eye opener, wasn’t it? Cosplay at all levels.

  49. 49.

    Jeffro

    March 15, 2018 at 11:37 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: I think the lessons are twofold:

    1) Never let your girlfriend leave scratches that your other girlfriend can see, wonder about, and decide that a samurai sword can resolve

    2) Always feel around the edge of the bed for any samurai weapons that might be taped there.

    I guess, also too and threefold

    3) Think about doing something with your life other than playing video games for 12-13 hours a day. Karma is still karma…

  50. 50.

    Corner Stone

    March 15, 2018 at 11:38 pm

    @gene108: I suspect you used the wrong setting.

  51. 51.

    frosty

    March 15, 2018 at 11:40 pm

    @gene108: Is your dryer connected to the internet? Have the Russian bots hacked it and taken it over?

    Note to self: turn dryer off before going to bed. Ours has the same annoying feature. Why can’t they just let my clothes sit there and wrinkle like in the Olden Days?

  52. 52.

    Corner Stone

    March 15, 2018 at 11:40 pm

    @Jeffro: And as Eddie Murphy found out in Harlem Nights…always check under the pillow in her boudoir.

  53. 53.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 11:40 pm

    @gene108:

    Condolences to you and your mom, sounds like it would be a little traumatic for her.

    [Dryer thing: put some clothes back in the washer (to hold them temporarily), see if the behavior of the dryer improves.]

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    March 15, 2018 at 11:42 pm

    @SFAW:

    Okay, for everybody who wants to throw around the currently trendy phrase, it’s “Por qué no los dos?”

    Because porque means “because.” “Porque no los dos” = “Because not both.” Fail.

  55. 55.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:42 pm

    Breaking: First Russian diplomat expelled from the UK: pic.twitter.com/78xmLzO5no

    — Have I Got News For You (@haveigotnews) March 15, 2018

  56. 56.

    chris

    March 15, 2018 at 11:43 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    there is no National Knife Association

    Oh yeah? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuisWWHdc3Q

  57. 57.

    Yarrow

    March 15, 2018 at 11:43 pm

    @gene108: Sorry for your loss. Get out of bed and turn off the damn dryer. It could keep doing that all night.

  58. 58.

    Corner Stone

    March 15, 2018 at 11:44 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Thanks, Schindler.

  59. 59.

    Steeplejack

    March 15, 2018 at 11:44 pm

    @gene108:

    Sorry to hear about your uncle. Can’t help you on the dryer. I’d turn it off and deal with it in the morning. Unless there’s something in there you need dry to start the day.

  60. 60.

    gene108

    March 15, 2018 at 11:46 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Probably.

    @frosty:

    Not connected to the internet, thankfully. “Smart” appliances scare me because, I think one of two things will happen, either the Russians* will hack my fridge and wreak havoc on me or the appliances will gain consciousness and go all SkyNet on us.

    * Despite my fantasies, all this shot connected to the internet helped enable a large scale DDOS attack on the east coast a couple of years back, because the security settings aren’t good and hackers can get your Internet of Things device to ping the fuck out of a DNS provider, if they feel like it.

  61. 61.

    Yarrow

    March 15, 2018 at 11:46 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Funny!

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    March 15, 2018 at 11:46 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Fail.

    Thanks for the correction. The especially embarrassing part is that I used to speak Spanish reasonably well. Forty years ago, but still …

    Damn.

  63. 63.

    danielx

    March 15, 2018 at 11:47 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    From available evidence, the only prohibited edge/point-wise things in my fair state are ballistic knives and throwing stars. There is no prohibition on carrying any sharp pointy thing, concealed or openly. I have not noticed anyone carrying swords, etc, outside Renaissance fairs and the like. I own a couple of swords, and it has never been a temptation to haul them around in public; enough people think I’m a nutbar for owning them. Note: not that I can’t think of a few people who deserve to lose their heads….

    On the other hand, this isn’t Texas. I have no doubt that there will be people carrying anything you can think of because reasons.

  64. 64.

    Steeplejack

    March 15, 2018 at 11:48 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    ETA: The load might be unbalanced.

  65. 65.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 15, 2018 at 11:49 pm

    Just leaving this here.

  66. 66.

    gene108

    March 15, 2018 at 11:49 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Just got my clothes out.

    In this battle of man versus machine, the machine won ??

  67. 67.

    chris

    March 15, 2018 at 11:49 pm

    @Corner Stone: That’s just weird. But it is Texas…

  68. 68.

    Yarrow

    March 15, 2018 at 11:52 pm

    @gene108: It was the smart thing to do. Dryers are one of the most common causes of house fires. I never run my dryer unless I’m in the house and awake. Turn everything off before bed.

  69. 69.

    gene108

    March 15, 2018 at 11:53 pm

    @SFAW:

    [Dryer thing: put some clothes back in the washer (to hold them temporarily), see if the behavior of the dryer improves.]

    The dryer has been properly scolded and will do better next time. No reason for it to be jealous of the washing machine getting all the clothes.

  70. 70.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 15, 2018 at 11:53 pm

    Random question to someone knowledgeable:
    Assuming the “Star wars” program had somehow been possible, what would have resulted?

  71. 71.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:54 pm

    @SFBayAreaGal: Nothing like the classics!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iv53eiGnl8&list=PLDr_scSDlDpXSuCMkZJJoPnQi0jAPXuJJ&index=2

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:55 pm

    @Steeplejack: Apparently you can’t even please one person some of the time…

  73. 73.

    danielx

    March 15, 2018 at 11:57 pm

    @chris:

    From what I have heard (never done either, praise jeebus), it takes a different kind of head to use a blade instead of gun. Anyone who can stab or cut somebody can use a gun to shoot somebody, but the converse is not always true. Yeah, I know it’s a blanket statement, but it makes sense to me.

  74. 74.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 15, 2018 at 11:57 pm

    @gene108: My sincerest condolences on your loss.

  75. 75.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:00 am

    @Steeplejack: How many other languages do you plan to be pedantic in?//

    Asking for pretty much everyone.

    ETA the sarc tags.

  76. 76.

    gene108

    March 16, 2018 at 12:00 am

    @SFAW:

    Condolences to you and your mom, sounds like it would be a little traumatic for her.

    It is hard. This is first of her siblings to pass away. She is getting better. One of my cousins created a What’sApp group for the family, so it helped all of us commiserate, even though we are are in different parts of the country and world.

    Thank you for your condolences.

  77. 77.

    gene108

    March 16, 2018 at 12:01 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Thank you.

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack

    March 16, 2018 at 12:02 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    As I said, I approved your change. But c’mon, man, “some of the ladies” is just tone-deaf.

  79. 79.

    danielx

    March 16, 2018 at 12:03 am

    @Jeffro:

    If I recall correctly, there was an article a couple of years ago in the post about some deal where some Georgetown students were menaced by a one man home invasion by a lone gunman (nyuck nyuck). Another roommate who was a Georgetown grad student and (evidently) a martial arts student intervened by cutting off the invader’s hand with a katana. He ended up dying from shock and blood loss…

  80. 80.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:03 am

    @Corner Stone: Come on, that was funny.

  81. 81.

    Davebo

    March 16, 2018 at 12:03 am

    @Adam L Silverman: But will McMaster be expelled?

  82. 82.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:03 am

    @Adam L Silverman:Deleted as poorly aimed.

  83. 83.

    danielx

    March 16, 2018 at 12:04 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    How many other languages do you plan to be pedantic in?

    Asking for pretty much everyone.

    How many do you want?

  84. 84.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:06 am

    @Steeplejack: In how many other languages do you plan to be pedantic, please?

  85. 85.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:06 am

    @danielx: The ballistic knife, Spetzaz’s weapon of last resort!
    http://weaponsman.com/?p=24823

  86. 86.

    Steeplejack

    March 16, 2018 at 12:07 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Well, it’s fairly “pedantic” for someone to spice up their comments with quotes from a foreign language in the first place. If they are going to do that, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to ask them to get it right. If they can’t, maybe they need to stay out of the deep end.

  87. 87.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:07 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    As the purveyor of the doubleplusungood Spanish grammar, I was actually not bothered by the correction.

    I was bothered that I needed correction, however. (Or, “that my grammar needed to be corrected,” to be more precise.)

  88. 88.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:09 am

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: The destruction of Alderan.

  89. 89.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:10 am

    @Adam L Silverman
    @Steeplejack:

    JFC, will the two of you get a room, or take it outside, or something?

  90. 90.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:11 am

    @Steeplejack: Given that the people complaining were women, it was a factually accurate statement.

  91. 91.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:11 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    In how many other languages do you plan to be pedantic, please?

    Your pedantry is something, up with which I will not put.

  92. 92.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:11 am

    @danielx: We have a dojo at Georgetown.

  93. 93.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:12 am

    @Davebo: I have no idea.

  94. 94.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:13 am

    @Steeplejack: I went back and added the sarc tags just so you and everyone else were sure I was not being serious.

  95. 95.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:13 am

    @SFAW: Okay then. I am off to bed.

  96. 96.

    Corner Stone

    March 16, 2018 at 12:14 am

    @SFAW: What’s your problem? This is a real life demonstration of the Unstoppable Pedant vs the Immovable Typo.
    This.Is.Science!

  97. 97.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    March 16, 2018 at 12:14 am

    Maggie Haberman @ maggieNYT
    Trump is done with McMaster and has been for some time. McMaster is also essentially saying “screw it” and not pushing to stay. But four admin sources say this anti-McMaster push is led much more by Kelly than Trump right now
    Kelly sees McMaster as being aligned with administration officials who undermined Tillerson with Trump. Kelly has been openly critical of the decision to fire Tillerson all week.
    McMaster was said by many ppl in the White House to be gone as soon as tomorrow – again, timing accelerated by Kelly. But, as Trump often does, a media story can push him away from where he was leaning in the first place and all around him end up tarred.

    what about the feathers?

  98. 98.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:15 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Amazing how well (and good) Zombie Fernando Rey looks

  99. 99.

    Brooklyn Dodger

    March 16, 2018 at 12:15 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Todas las lenguas, Katie.

  100. 100.

    piratedan

    March 16, 2018 at 12:15 am

    anyone taking bets that McMaster is replaced by Bolton all so he can help instigate a shooting war so they can try and “distract” everyone (i.e. The Media) from the Mueller Investigation and cajole the MSM to rally around the President because we’re now in a “shooting war” and can’t “afford” for the country to be divided?

  101. 101.

    Doug R

    March 16, 2018 at 12:17 am

    Where’s Heywood Jablomie?

  102. 102.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:17 am

    @Corner Stone:

    What’s your problem?

    Why, how NICE of you to assume (or so it seems) that I have only one! Others might disagree with your (apparent) estimate, however.

  103. 103.

    Corner Stone

    March 16, 2018 at 12:18 am

    @SFAW: I’m just a scientist, man. Studying my samples.

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:20 am

    @piratedan:

    Whatever DID happen to that Harken Oil investigation by the SEC in mid-2001?

  105. 105.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 16, 2018 at 12:23 am

    @SFAW:
    Omnes doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. Don’t sweat it.
    @Adam L Silverman:
    Ha ha. Would force fields projected into space break any treaties? I’m having trouble finding info on this (considering how impossible it is). ICBMs travel in a sub-orbital flight path. I wonder if satellites would be better than ground stations?

  106. 106.

    Doug R

    March 16, 2018 at 12:23 am

    @Adam L Silverman: Fixed it for ya

  107. 107.

    Jay

    March 16, 2018 at 12:28 am

    @Yarrow:

    It’s the lint accumulation in the vent line, and the fact that almost everybody uses the expandable foil thingy, or the beer can guage aluminum ducting, even on gas dryers.

    All dryers should be vented using 16 guage galvanised steel ventung, with a few turns as possible.

    All dryer vents should be cleaned out annually to prevent build up.

  108. 108.

    Steeplejack

    March 16, 2018 at 12:29 am

    @Corner Stone:

    Filed for future reference.

  109. 109.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    March 16, 2018 at 12:29 am

    All this talk about the dryer reminds me of the X Files episode that aired over here the other night. Mulder and Scully are terrorized by all of the computery type things in their homes because Mulder refused to tip the robot chef in an automated restaurant. It was a very funny look at how much that kind of stuff has taken over our lives.

  110. 110.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:30 am

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:You don’ t get the joke.

  111. 111.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:34 am

    @SFAW: I am a bad person. Or some thing.

  112. 112.

    Yarrow

    March 16, 2018 at 12:35 am

    @Jay: Yep. And not everyone does that. Since gene108 is at his mom’s house and it isn’t his dryer he may not know how often she cleans it. Better to be safe.

  113. 113.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 16, 2018 at 12:38 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    I don’t know. You never seem to understand when I’m just lightheartedly messing with you.

  114. 114.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:40 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You don’ t get the joke.

    He’s young, can’t expect him to get the more subtle ones.

    Or the not-so-subtle ones? Let’s find out:

    “A preposition is a word you never end a sentence with.”

  115. 115.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:43 am

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: .Why should I?

  116. 116.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:43 am

    OK, so my reply to Omnes (around #114) is in moderation? Don’t notice any of the forbidden words, but maybe I’m having a senior moment.

  117. 117.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 16, 2018 at 12:47 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    I guess unless I make it super obvious, it can be hard.

  118. 118.

    Honus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:50 am

    @Davebo: they beat UVA in OT 48-49.

  119. 119.

    Steeplejack

    March 16, 2018 at 12:53 am

    @SFAW:

    Pro tip: If you make this comment—the “Hey, why did I get moderated?” one—a reply to the comment that did get moderated, once it shows up people will be able to navigate back to it from the link in this one. Almost guaranteed that the original comment will not be #114.

  120. 120.

    Mike J

    March 16, 2018 at 12:53 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I got tsk’ed at for saying San Jose was my favorite airport in and out of which to fly.

  121. 121.

    Honus

    March 16, 2018 at 12:55 am

    @Davebo: you’ll like this:

    https://deadspin.com/for-kelvin-sampson-and-north-carolinas-native-americans-1823714256

  122. 122.

    Aleta

    March 16, 2018 at 12:56 am

    @gene108: If you have reason to suspect the Russians, don’t go down there.
    (Doctored photos, doctored organ theft. No telling what.)

    eta I was too late.

  123. 123.

    NotMax

    March 16, 2018 at 12:56 am

    re: above

    Smart appliances still far from smart enough to learn to shut the hell up.

  124. 124.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 16, 2018 at 12:58 am

    @gene108:
    I’ve always feared that the internet of things could be used to kill people Final Destination-style. That and spy on people.

  125. 125.

    Repatriated

    March 16, 2018 at 12:58 am

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
    1. Increased likelihood of a Soviet first strike before the system was in place.
    2. Increased Soviet reliance on submarine-launched missiles, likely with an emphasis on cruise missiles.

    All that assumes the system was seen to be effective.

  126. 126.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 12:59 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Good point. Hadn’t occurred to me. The 114-comment was more for Adam’s benefit, assuming he’s still here.

    As far as the whether-people-can-navigate-easily-back-to-the-mod’ed-comment thing: doesn’t really matter to me. The comment has replies within it, linking to the pertinent comments from Omnes and Goku. It’s a standalone, so to speak.

  127. 127.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2018 at 12:59 am

    @SFAW: I freed it.

    But I’m racking out in a few minutes, so you all will be on your own.

  128. 128.

    Chris T.

    March 16, 2018 at 1:00 am

    ¿por que no ambos?

  129. 129.

    NotMax

    March 16, 2018 at 1:01 am

    Watching the Valerian movie on Amazon Prime.

    Visuals are luscious*. Otherwise, B movie. If only the lead actor didn’t look like he’s 14.

    *Bonus points for the, um, adult club pole dancer scene.

  130. 130.

    NotMax

    March 16, 2018 at 1:04 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Here ya go. The House That Spied On Me

  131. 131.

    Peale

    March 16, 2018 at 1:10 am

    @NotMax: one of the weirdest endings to a movie, though. At least for me. Watch out. You are about to be hit and hit hard with a moral.

  132. 132.

    Steeplejack

    March 16, 2018 at 1:12 am

    @SFAW:

    [. . .] doesn’t really matter to me.

    It’s a convenience for readers who might want to go back and see what you wrote without having to scroll around trying to pinpoint how long ago the comment was posted. Could be anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on front-pager attention.

  133. 133.

    NotMax

    March 16, 2018 at 1:13 am

    @Peale

    Have some past familiarity with the long running comics series.

  134. 134.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 1:13 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Much obliged. I gotta knock off soon, too, so I probably won’t get into any more trouble. Tonight, that is.

  135. 135.

    Yutsano

    March 16, 2018 at 1:26 am

    @SFAW: FYI: warum nicht Beide works just as well. Especially since it’s less formal.

    Aber deine Grammatik ist nicht so scheißig.

  136. 136.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 1:28 am

    @Steeplejack:

    And, interestingly enough, the comment-in-question has appeared (thanks to Adam) at #114. Be that as it may, although my commenting here undoubtedly has something to do with a need for attention at some level, I don’t have any illusions that my comments are so fucking important that people need to find them later, etc., etc.

    That being said: not sure why you’ve suddenly developed this need to correct everything (so to speak) I’ve written on this thread. I don’t recall busting your stones at any time in the past — since I generally appreciate your comments — so I’m (tentatively) assuming you’re not trying to settle some old score. If I’m wrong about that, then feel free to continue “settling up.” But if this is just because of the “porque” vs “por que” thing — about which I said “Thanks for the correction” — and the ensuing other things I wrote which you didn’t like (or at least, felt the need to correct), then you might consider dialing it back a little.

  137. 137.

    lgerard

    March 16, 2018 at 1:29 am

    Gustavo Chubb is my new porn name

  138. 138.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 1:30 am

    @Yutsano:

    Vielen dank for the correction.

    Meine Grossmutter would be less-than-thrilled at my mangling.

  139. 139.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 1:31 am

    @lgerard:

    I will NOT ask what your old name was.

  140. 140.

    Doug R

    March 16, 2018 at 1:34 am

    @NotMax:

    Watching the Valerian movie on Amazon Prime.

    I couldn’t believe Cara Delivigne wasn’t the worst thing in it after stinking up Suicide Squad. That honor was reserved for Dane De Haan.
    That alt dimension bazaar was kind of cool, but there’s a decent hour and a half movie hiding in the 2 hours 17 minute run time.
    Rihanna is a delight every minute she’s onscreen, though.

  141. 141.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    March 16, 2018 at 1:49 am

    @NotMax:
    Thanks. I’ll read that tommorow morning.

    Good night :)

  142. 142.

    NotMax

    March 16, 2018 at 1:57 am

    @Doug R

    Nice to see that Hawaiian shirts will never go out of style.

    :)

  143. 143.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    March 16, 2018 at 2:05 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    New Texas law allows open carry of large knives, swords

    I am never, ever, ever going to Texas.

    And I was born there.

    (Also Florida, Oklahoma, Alafuckingbama, Colorado-except-Boulder, Eastern Washington … )

  144. 144.

    p.a.

    March 16, 2018 at 2:30 am

    Maybe Texas just wants to become a destination for the enormous Punic and Peloponnesian War reenactor market?

  145. 145.

    Aleta

    March 16, 2018 at 2:53 am

    Here’s a post from January on gendered language, militarized language, gender assumptions and foreign policy. Lots of thoughts and positive comments by men and women. Some gay and straight perspectives. But in fact, no complaining.

  146. 146.

    Aleta

    March 16, 2018 at 4:18 am

    “The internment of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans is no laughing matter, @SecretaryZinke,” tweeted Hirono, the first U.S. senator born in Japan and the first Asian-American woman elected to the chamber.

    During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing earlier in the day, Zinke was pressed by Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii), a fourth-generation Japanese-American, to commit to refunding a National Park Service program that offers grants toward the preservation of confinement camps where Japanese-Americans were held during World War II.
    “Are you committed to continue to grant programs that are identified, I believe, as the Japanese American Confinement Sites grants program which were funded in 2017? Will we see them funded again in 2018?” Hanabusa asked.
    “Oh, konnichiwa,” Zinke replied, deploying a Japanese greeting typically used in midday.
    After a brief silence, Hanabusa corrected Zinke, using the Japanese greeting for “good morning.”
    “I think it’s still ‘ohayo gozaimasu,’ but that‘s OK,” she said.
    Zinke’s remark later drew scrutiny from the Hawaii senator online.
    “What you thought was a clever response to @RepHanabusa was flippant & juvenile,” Hirono wrote on Twitter.
    After the brief exchange at the hearing, Zinke said funding for the grants “probably got caught up” by larger 2018 budgetary items, and vowed to work with Hanabusa on the matter.
    “I will look at it and I will work with you on it because I think it is important,” Zinke told her.
    Hanabusa, who said her two grandparents were subjected to internment, framed the program as a necessity during the hearing.
    “I sit before you the granddaughter of two internees, both of my grandfathers were interned during World War II,” Hanabusa said. “It is essential that we as a nation recognize our darkest moments so that we don’t have them repeat again.”

    -Politico

    Zinke was before the House Natural Resources Committee to discuss the president’s proposed fiscal year 2019 budget plan for the U.S. Department of the Interior, whose more than 70,000 employees maintain national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges and other public lands.

    And Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, wanted to know about a number of deep cuts to programs.

    In particular, the Hawaii Congresswoman asked Zinke about a plan to zero out a $2 million in grants to institutions that help preserve Japanese-American internment camps in Hawaii and on the mainland.

    -Hawaii News Now

  147. 147.

    Matt McIrvin

    March 16, 2018 at 9:11 am

    @SFAW: Texas has a quite large population of people on Our Side. Wouldn’t it be easier to use Wyoming? Hardly anyone lives there, and those that do are nearly all RWNJs already.

  148. 148.

    Matt McIrvin

    March 16, 2018 at 9:25 am

    (…We could separate out the Western part, with the Wind River Reservation and Yellowstone.)

  149. 149.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2018 at 9:28 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    You make some good points. I guess I figured that it would be easier to (temporarily, until the dust clears) separate Texas from the United States — in other words, have it at the edge of civilization, rather than in the middle (so to speak) of the country. And I do realize that Texas demographics have been changing. And we’d be able to get rid of the Cheneys more easily, so there’s that.

    Hmmm. Might need to revise my “plan.” Thanks!

    ETA: Just saw your modification proposal. Makes sense.

  150. 150.

    d58826

    March 16, 2018 at 10:46 am

    It seems to me, with so much being done on line and the need to show id in so many places, we need a strong secure photo ID (probably based on SSN) that every one has, starting at birth. It should be secure and easy to obtain in the sense that the physical locations are easy to get to (i.e. photo id locations in malls rather than the much rarer DMV office). If that is the case then showing photo id to vote should not be a hassle because every one has the id.
    That of course defeats the purpose of a photo id requirement since even the OTHER will have one.

  151. 151.

    Uncle Cosmo

    March 16, 2018 at 11:04 am

    @gene108: War Of The Whirl….pool.

    Next load, find the little knob that turns on the buzzer notification, and turn it off. Man over MacHinery, ees so EZ!

  152. 152.

    Uncle Cosmo

    March 16, 2018 at 11:10 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    The destruction of Alderan Basketball.

    FTFY! :D

    (Google up a vid of the complete version of Hardware Wars & view for comprehension…)

  153. 153.

    Uncle Cosmo

    March 16, 2018 at 11:53 am

    @d58826: Good idea so long as we make sure everyone gets ID painlessly. (Of course the fundanazis will scream about “the mark of the beast” or somesuch, but hey, in the great tradition of Lenny Bruce, unscrew’em.)

    IIRC Dad applied for SSNs for me & Lil Bro practically the minute he was born – my first SS card (which may still be in <strike.some junk drawer my uncategorized archives) will itself be eligible for Medicare in the near future (& will probably need it to repair the creases & tears…).

  154. 154.

    Uncle Cosmo

    March 16, 2018 at 11:57 am

    And now I do not have permission to edit, i.e., fix, #153 supra. FYWP! (If some FPer would be so kind as to strike out “some junk drawer” & remove the extraneous crap…)

  155. 155.

    J R in WV

    March 16, 2018 at 4:39 pm

    @frosty:

    Good friend’s father was about to visit the Alamao. He was a colonel in the USAF, in full dress uniform. Outdoors, that requires (does NOT suggest, requires) him to wear a full dress cover (aka hat).

    But then a “Texas Ranger” guarding the Alamo (from what we will leave to the imagination of the readers!) confronted him and demanded that Col. Friend remove his hat to honor those who died in the defense of the holy shrine Alamo. With evident willingness to attack/arrest serving Colonel in full dress uniform, and total unwillingness to hear that military regulations required the hat.

    He left the Alamo, and Texas soon after. I hate Texas. I will never see my brother again, as he won’t be leaving Texas, and I won’t be going there. Yes, RWNJ, why do you ask?

  156. 156.

    WhyKnot241

    March 16, 2018 at 8:51 pm

    Somehow we need to light a fire under “The Media” to light a fire under Trump by demanding, on a daily basis, to do something about the f*vking Russians!

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