Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

The jury literally has a bell they can ring to force Trump to show up on command. Greatest thing ever!

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

This blog will pay for itself.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

He really is that stupid.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

The words do not have to be perfect.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

In my day, never was longer.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Don't Agonize - Organize / Friday Morning Open Thread: Readership Capture

Friday Morning Open Thread: Readership Capture

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In before the Friday News Dump, assuming we get another one here in mid-August…

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In support of Marcia Blackburn’s opponent:

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Reader Interactions

219Comments

  10. 10.

    satby

    @Baud: INORITE? Plus nyms sticking.

    Happy Friday all!

    Put me down as neck punching the next person saying Pelosi should go.
    And as I tell every idiot who proposes it, we already have term limits. We call them elections.

  11. 11.

    raven

    It looks like my fishing trip in Rhode Island is going to get washed out for the second time!

  15. 15.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Mary G:

    Only downside is that he is nearly 46, which would give him a limited run as Bond.

    Unless he goes the full Tom Cruise.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    Heads up that Saturday is Gary Cooper day on TCM. Unfortunately including The Fountainhead.

    Repeating –

    Rained to beat the band Thursday so settled in with a movie on Amazon Prime. A weird one. Weird, though, in a good, albeit skewed way. Danish film, Men & Chicken. Shortest synopsis: Boy, and you thought your family was strange….

  20. 20.

    Gozer

    The parental units are visiting Casa Gozer for a couple of days. They’re both very solid liberals but have that irritating tote-bagger tendency towards the all-views-should-have-equal-time viewpoint which annoys me to no end.
    Dad loves to spar politically with his neighbors but given how extremely right wing they are (the congressional rep is Ron fucking DeSantis) I wonder why the fuck even engage?

    They’re all older, mostly white, and very, very conservative and he’ll engage with them as though they have something worthwhile to contribute to the convo. They don’t.

  24. 24.

    Cermet

    Hell, I remember well when Connery was James Bond and Elba would be not just a good Bond but most likely the best – including Connery – who, to date, really defined the role.

  28. 28.

    JPL

    The local morning news crew on CBS approved overwhelmingly of Idris as Bond. He’d be great.

    @Baud:Even a bad Baud would be better than trump.

  30. 30.

    Cermet

    @raven: As someone is fairly knowledgeable with many areas of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and material science I am somewhat aware they are movies. Not exactly sure what you are getting at with your comment but either you need coffee or more sleep.

  33. 33.

    rikyrah

    Let me give a standing ovation for Nancy Smash.

    If you want to replace her. Then get the votes…
    Until then…

    STFU and stop your whining??

  35. 35.

    Derelict

    The amount of hate toward Nancy Pelosi coming from the Left is a powerful testament to the propaganda about her churned out by the Right.
    I’m continually amazed by the number of Democrats I know who say Nancy has to be replaced, and when you ask them why, you get one of two answers: “People hate Nancy Pelosi” and “She’s old and has been there too long.” These are both Rightwing talking points, and if you drill down on either of them, you get non-answers.
    Do people hate Nancy? “Well, that’s what I’ve heard.”
    She’s been there too long? Can you name any other politician who should step down for having been there too long? “No.”

  39. 39.

    RedDirtGirl

    Can’t not put this link here, unless, of course, I actually am not able to figure out how to put this link here…

  42. 42.

    RedDirtGirl

    Fuck it! Headline at my other favorite website, Pajiba:
    Idris Elba is the James Bond of Giving Head, Also May Be the Actual James Bond

  45. 45.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @NotMax:

    Interesting factoid – in Fleming’s book, Pussy Galore and her flyers were lesbian.

  47. 47.

    gene108

    @Gozer:

    Parents sounds like my mom. I don’t think people realize how slanted the media is towards framing things with a right-wing tilt.

  48. 48.

    debbie

    @raven:

    My brothers used to play Odd Job with frisbees, flinging them and trying to cut off each other’s limbs. I refused to play that game.

  51. 51.

    oldster

    I don’t know what Elba’s got, but apparently women find him attractive.

    I found this out when reading youTube comments on his appearances as Stringer Bell. They, uh, admire him.

    And I am seriously, seriously, under-reporting the nature and import of their comments. I mean, these were the comments of a slavering horde of female lechers, and it is a hilarious read. E.g.:
    “oh my goodness I can’t get enough of this ❤scene? Idris is the sexiest piece of man I have ever laid eyes on ?he makes me cream on myself just watching this, lol ?❤?”

    So, I think anyone who has doubts about casting him as James Bond is either a moron, a racist, or a 68-year old straight guy who never figured out what women find attractive, e.g. me.

    The guy is clearly a star. He will make an awesome Bond. RIP Stringer Bell

  54. 54.

    Frankensteinbeck

    As I have mentioned many times, the press hates Pelosi, even the liberal elements like Maddow. They will turn over every rock to find a Democrat to say something that they can describe as being against her. They are fools. Nancy’s caucus will stampede to rename her Speaker.

    The Left are thick with misogyny, so it’s no surprise they attack her at every opportunity.

    The totebagger’s view is not that Nancy should step down, it’s that they’ve heard she’s unpopular and other people want her to step down. Important difference.

    What interests me is this tidbit about Senator Hirono. Everyone who says they’re disappointed Democrats don’t speak up, remember this. She’s been doing this since day one AND YOU NEVER HEARD. Elected Democrats say the things you want. The press has no interest in reporting it.

  57. 57.

    ArchTeryx

    If Idris Elba ends up James Bond I would celebrate. Heck, I might be encouraged to go watch a James Bond movie for the first time in forever. And I’m white as winter snow in the forest.

    That guy is bad. ass. Great actor. Almost like a modern-day Lawrence Fishburne. I would be ALL over him as James Bond.

    And that it’d drive the cracker fanbois into a collective aneurysm would be just the whipped cream on the sundae.

  59. 59.

    Betty Cracker

    As far as I’m concerned, the bottom line on Pelosi is this: Forcing her to retire wouldn’t garner votes for Democrats. Seriously, is there supposed to be some pool of Fox News-watching goobers who are open to voting for a Democrat but won’t for fear that Pelosi will again get the gavel? Show me that goddamned herd of unicorns, and then we can talk about sidelining one of the most effective political leaders of her generation.

  61. 61.

    Lapassionara

    @Frankensteinbeck: I remember when Tom Daschle was supposedly the worst majority leader ever and the source of all that was bad. How did that work out? Now we really do have a terrible majority leader and no criticism of him seems to get traction. This is a long standing tactic of the right. Why does anyone on the left do anything to amplify their message? And good morning everyone.

  62. 62.

    Another Scott

    @Frankensteinbeck: +1

    Why Democrats should want to pick their leaders based on Teabagger talking points has always been a puzzle to me.

    And it’s one of the things that I have never been able to talk with J about. She’s still a huge Wilmer fan and still rails against the Corruption™ in the Democratic Party. If I point out to her that she’s using GOP talking points to attack Democrats, well, well let’s just say that we don’t talk about party politics much these days.

    (sigh)

    Nancy isn’t as sharp as she used to be, but she’s still a great leader who knows how to run the House and get things done. She’s got my support as long as she wants the job, and as long as there’s nobody better. And at the moment, there’s nobody better.

    Have a good Friday, everyone! 88 days to go. We can do this, and we must!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  65. 65.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Judge orders US to bring back asylum seekers deported while court was hearing case

    A federal judge ordered the government to return an asylum-seeking mother and her daughter to the US after the Trump administration revealed in a Thursday court hearing that they had sent the migrants to Central America while the court was still considering their case. The judge, Emmet Sullivan, said it was unacceptable the government had deported the family and threatened to hold the US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in contempt if the situation was not resolved.

    “This is pretty outrageous,” Sullivan said. “That someone seeking justice in US court is spirited away while her attorneys are arguing for justice for her? I’m not happy about this at all,” he continued. “This is not acceptable.”

    The dramatic hearing was part of a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies filed on Tuesday, alleging the Trump administration was unfairly preventing thousands of migrants fleeing violence in Central America from seeking asylum in the US. The ACLU said the government had on Wednesday assured the court that no plaintiff in the case would be deported before midnight on Thursday.

    “This disregard for commitments made to the court and the life or death circumstances that these immigrant women and children are facing is beyond unacceptable,” the ACLU said in a statement.

    In court on Thursday, Sullivan also temporarily blocked the US from deporting plaintiffs in the lawsuit, most of whom are women fleeing sexual abuse and gang violence.

  70. 70.

    Amir Khalid

    I think it was Daniel Craig who first publicly suggested casting a black James Bond. And Idris Elba was always the first to come to mind: he’s got the physical presence, the sex appeal, the acting chops, the name recognition, and an English accent he doesn’t need to fake. All that and — this deserves to be noted — this is a time when the idea of a black actor playing the most British of superheroes is not outlandish any more.

  75. 75.

    Matt

    Kudos to Sen Hirono for the effort, but let’s be real: these people are being nominated because they’re OK with working for a professional liar. They’re likely liars as well – we’ve already seen Kavanaugh blithely repeat administration bullshit in news conferences. Asking questions under oath doesn’t mean shit unless it’s backed up with perjury prosecutions.

  80. 80.

    Another Scott

    @Betty Cracker: It’s just my impression on seeing a couple of her semi-regular press conferences on C-SPAN over the last year or two. I could be wrong – I’m not her biographer. ;-)

    If it’s offensive, then I withdraw that part of my comment.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  81. 81.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Matt:

    Asking questions under oath doesn’t mean shit unless it’s backed up with perjury prosecutions.

    Or impeachment proceedings if credible accusations arise later, which is the point.

  82. 82.

    Honus

    @Betty Cracker: again, exactly. It’s republcans that hate Nancy Pelosi. There’s no big democratic constituency that will mobilize if Pelosi steps down. Harry Truman said it and it’s still true: given the choice between a fake republican and real republican, republicans will vote for the real republican every time.

  86. 86.

    Jeffro

    More of this, please: Michelle Goldberg notes that The Pragmatic Left is Winning

    …[post-primaries], it was strange to see headlines in the following days arguing that the left wing of the Democratic Party had hit a wall. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s movement failed to deliver any stunners Tuesday night,” said CNN. “Down Goes Socialism,” announced Politico Magazine, despite the fact that Tlaib’s victory doubles the D.S.A.’s likely representation in Congress. “Socialist torchbearers flame out in key races, despite blitz by Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez,” said a Fox News headline.

    In part, this spin might just be the inevitable backlash to Ocasio-Cortez’s sudden celebrity. Her primary victory was thrilling and hard-earned, and she’s a charismatic and rousing spokeswoman for her values. But her overnight anointment as the new face of the Democratic Party has created absurdly outsize expectations of her power as kingmaker.

    In truth, there’s nothing surprising about left-wing candidates losing their primaries. The happy surprise is how many are winning. Unsexy as it sounds, the real story of progressive politics right now is the steady accumulation of victories — some small, some major — thanks to a welcome and unaccustomed outbreak of left-wing pragmatism…

    …It’s true that several candidates endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders lost on Tuesday, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s gubernatorial primary and Brent Welder in a congressional primary in Kansas. But it’s testament to how far left the Democratic Party’s center of gravity has moved that the winners in those two races — Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan and Sharice Davids in Kansas — could be considered establishment.

    Whitmer supports a $15 minimum wage, marijuana legalization and statewide universal preschool. Davids, a Native American lesbian, former mixed martial arts fighter and lawyer, is running as a bad-ass feminist. One of her ads shows her training in a boxing gym. “It’s 2018, and women, Native Americans, gay people, the unemployed and underemployed have to fight like hell just to survive,” she says. “And it’s clear, Trump and the Republicans in Washington don’t give a damn.”

    It’s certainly true that Davids’s campaign put more emphasis on identity and representation, while Welder, a 2016 Sanders delegate, stressed populist economics. The Democratic Party will likely be weighing the precise balance between those progressive priorities for a long time. But the point is, they are all progressive priorities. After Davids’s victory, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted her congratulations: “Your win is an incredible inspiration to so many, myself included.”

    “Democrats in disarray” is a take that writes itself, but not every disagreement is a war.

  87. 87.

    Heidi Mom

    @evodevo: Amen to that. As Raven suggested up above, he’s great in every role, regardless of the quality of the movie (but honestly I liked Molly’s Game). Even bundled up in a parka, as he was in 90% of The Mountain Between Us (and his character kept the dog!).

  88. 88.

    A Ghost To Most

    All this talk about the next Speaker is just shit-stirring from the right and the Wilmerites. Dismissive contempt is called for.

  90. 90.

    Jeffro

    Btw for those who can stand yet another look at Trumpov voters, that, um, New York paper does have an interesting interactive – you can take a shot a guessing the make up of Trumpov’s coalition, the degree of their enthusiasm for him, etc.

    (seriously! normally I would skip this kind of shit too, but it is interesting and worth remembering a couple of things, like…)

    …47 percent of Mr. Trump’s voters were women. And though he struggled among affluent college-educated whites for a Republican, he still won 44 percent of voters making more than $150,000 per year, according to the Pew data, and nearly 40 percent of college-educated white voters.

    Perhaps surprisingly, Mr. Trump’s voters were about as likely as the supporters of other recent Republican nominees to hold a college degree.

    How did the number of white working-class Republican voters stay so constant? Republicans have been winning a progressively larger share of white voters without a degree, but the group is shrinking over all. The result is that the two trends have basically canceled each other out.

    White, non-college voters did break strongly for Mr. Trump …

    …At the same time, Republicans have lost ground among college-educated and nonwhite voters, but those groups have been growing as a share of the electorate. So oddly, a room full of Trump voters would be similar to a room full of George W. Bush voters, at least based on their race and education.

    A room full of Democrats, on the other hand, would look a lot different. The party is doing increasingly well among growing portions of the electorate, and worse among the shrinking number of white working-class voters. Over all for Democrats, white voters without a degree have fallen from 43 percent of John Kerry’s voters to 26 percent of Hillary Clinton’s.

    And this:

    Mr. Trump’s coalition was enough to win a presidential election in large part because white working-class voters were overrepresented in the presidential battleground states. That’s not so true in the most vulnerable Republican-held House districts.

    At the same time, white voters without a college degree typically turn out in smaller numbers in midterm elections. And turnout among college-educated voters has been unusually high in special and general elections held since Mr. Trump won the presidency.

    If the patterns hold, the combination of a better-educated battleground and lower turnout among less educated voters could mean that House control is decided in districts where college-educated voters make up around 47 percent of voters, rather than the 34 percent share of such voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016, according to Upshot estimates based on census data.

  91. 91.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jeffro:

    it’s testament to how far left the Democratic Party’s center of gravity has moved

    Which happened during Obama’s presidency, probably both as a result of him and as the change from the ground up that got him elected. We do keep moving. Hillary was the most liberal candidate in Celestia knows how long, not that anybody bothered to take a look at her platform. More liberal than Sanders, who was only on the left of her economically, and only on a few points – and even then it was only an argument of details. I think horror at the GOP is moving everyone who is not seriously racist leftwards, and I’m totally fine with that.

  93. 93.

    Soprano2

    I wish Democrats wouldn’t echo Republican talking points, which is what they’re doing when they say Pelosi needs to go. “Younger” and “better” are two different things, and I have yet to see anyone make the argument that a younger leader would be better or more effective. It’s always about how the right attacks her, which is actually a strength – the fact that they attack her says she’s effective! That should make Democrats want her more – that’s how Republicans would react. Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about how old Mitch McConnell is? Good lord, he’s ancient, yet you never hear anyone say he should step aside for a younger leader. (That’s because he’s a man, and effective!) I think a lot of the Democratic complaining about Pelois has a tinge of misogyny, and just not liking to see an older woman on the public stage.

  94. 94.

    Baud

    @Soprano2: I remember when people kept talking about Hillary’s age, until the older Sanders and Trump became her chief rivals, and then they stopped talking about age.

  95. 95.

    Another Scott

    @Jeffro: Not shooting the messenger, but…

    Mr. Trump’s coalition was enough to win a presidential election in large part because white working-class voters were overrepresented in the presidential battleground states. That’s not so true in the most vulnerable Republican-held House districts.

    (Emphasis added.)

    False.

    Hillary had nearly 3M more votes than Trump.

    Trump “won” because of Comey and because of the Electoral College.

    Yeah, that’s the system we have and Trump got more EC votes. But he won because of a fluke and because of Comey (and Vlad’s Minions), not because of some grand strategy or that his “coalition” was somehow larger than her’s. It wasn’t.

    (sigh)

    I wasn’t a fan originally, but I’m thinking that the National Popular Vote is probably on to something, and probably the only way (short of a Constitutional Amendment) to ensure that the will of the population as a whole is respected. The Electoral College failed us and should be abolished or worked-around…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  96. 96.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Now this is embarrassing:

    German police have rescued a man after he called for help saying a baby squirrel would not leave him alone. Emergency services received a call on Thursday from the man, who claimed he was being chased down the street by the tiny animal. Police in Karlsruhe said the unnamed man called them in desperation after he was unable to shake off the small rodent. Officers sent a patrol car out to investigate and arrived to find the chase still in full flow. But the drama ended suddenly when the squirrel, apparently exhausted by its exertions, lay down abruptly and fell asleep.

    Men used to take on saber tooth tigers and bring down mastodons. Face it guys, we just ain’t what we used to be.

  97. 97.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    We can work with Bad 2020! We’ll get you a red leather jacket. I’ll teach you to moonwalk. You can make your entrance moonwalking to MJ’s Bad. When he sings “Who’s Bad” you’ll do a spin and grab your crotch. Poco will bark and your supporters will cheer wildly.

  100. 100.

    germy

    [Omarosa] also claims that she personally witnessed Trump use racial epithets about the White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s husband George Conway, who is half Filipino. “Would you look at this George Conway article?” she quotes the president as saying. “F**ing FLIP! Disloyal! Fucking Goo-goo.”

    Both flip and goo-goo are terms of racial abuse for Filipinos.

  102. 102.

    kindness

    I have a hard time believing that actual Democrats would want to replace Nancy Pelosi. I love Nancy Pelosi. The folks out there who think another face won’t get the same treatment Fox gives Nancy are deluded. They aren’t actual Democrats, they are lunies. Why is it they remind me of BernieBros who think burning it all down is a good place to start? Isn’t that just a left version of Trump? Morans I tell ya, morans.

  104. 104.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @oldgold: It will have absolutely zero effect on 435 house races. Outside of her own district, people are not voting for or against her, in fact she isn’t even on the ballot.

  105. 105.

    MomSense

    @raven:

    I was thinking that it must be blowing if they are canceling the trip or Rhode Islanders have turned into wusses.

  106. 106.

    NotoriousJRT

    @satby:
    And as I tell every idiot who proposes it, we already have term limits. We call them elections.
    Thank you. I do this, as well, but admittedly to little or no effect.

    Term limits: Democracy for lazy fucks (and frustrated folks, I know).

  107. 107.

    debit

    @Soprano2: I really question who these Democrats are. It’s so exhausting pushing back against everyone else, when you have to do it to your own supposed allies too it just begins to feel hopeless. Which is the point; to demoralize and wear us down. We can’t let it.

  108. 108.

    MomSense

    @Honus:

    It’s republcans that hate Nancy Pelosi.

    Sadly, it’s also the Rose Zombies. May I add for the record that the arrogance of these low info morans rivals the worst of the tea partiers.

    Fuckem

  109. 109.

    oldgold

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Well, a lot of people playing the game in the field, both Democrats and Republicans, believe differently and are running their campaigns accordingly.

  111. 111.

    jeffreyw

    Nancy is the best leader the house has seen in a long time. I am not mystified as to why some folks don’t like that – they don’t have Democratic or democratic interests in mind.

  112. 112.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @oldgold: Apparently you have difficulty in telling the difference between campaign rhetoric and House leadership votes.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: Pretty please, with icing on top, as we used to say when we were kids.

    Which is kinda weird, when I think about it, because I don’t even like frosting and we never called it icing.

    Still, Idris as Bond, YES! Think Meg Ryan in the restaurant scene in When Harry Met Sally for the enthusiasm level of my YES!

  118. 118.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @oldgold: Also, I don’t give a rat’s ass what Republicans think, say, or do concerning Nancy. Their hatred for her is long, deep, and rooted in the fact that she beats them like a rented mule. The fact that you buy into their bullshit makes me wonder what else of theirs you buy into.

  119. 119.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @oldgold: In my opinion less likely. Our candidates in purple and pink districts seem to agree.

    What are “pink” districts?

  120. 120.

    Quinerly

    @MomSense: Poco is down(ward facing dog ?) with this strategy! He did a bit of early morning beach campaigning… Got his message out to 4 fishermen. He’s rocking his post surgery red tee shirt at Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Technically, I guess we need a blue one, though. Baud/Poco 2020!!! 6

  121. 121.

    germy

    The people who say Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein are too old to be in leadership positions are the same people trying to force us to accept 76 year old Bernie Sanders as Lord and Savior of the Democratic Party.
    — Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) August 10, 2018

  123. 123.

    Jeffro

    @Another Scott: Couldn’t agree more about getting rid of the EC. In theory, these electors should have recoiled at ratifying Trumpov’s “win” and would have put Hillary in office. In practice, they are all just partisan hacks and are no safeguard at all. Away with it.

  126. 126.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I never saw a Daniel Craig bond. Did he have “menace”? Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan sure as hell didn’t. The idea of a menacing Bond does seem far more interesting

  130. 130.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jeffro: I thought it might be some reference to the rising (in the twitter-view) DSA-types.

    I will say, the MSM does think the Pelosi question is the most important one out there, they love “gotcha” moments, and it does make a candidate look evasive if they don’t have a quick, forceful answer, and that’s not good video whatever the subject. It’s something they should practice beforehand if they want to do national TV

  132. 132.

    Wapiti

    @Derelict:

    She’s been there too long? Can you name any other politician who should step down for having been there too long? “No.”

    I start with “Who should replace her?” (Steny Hoyer is an obvious response, but he’s a year older than Pelosi. So I can come back with, “Is age the problem, or that she’s an effective woman?”)

  136. 136.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    I remember when people kept talking about Hillary’s age, until the older Sanders and Trump became her chief rivals, and then they stopped talking about age.

    They just switched to her “overall health” and “stamina”. Same thing, different package.

  140. 140.

    germy

    Omarosa secretly recorded Trump in the White House. What could he have said that’s worse than what he’s said on camerapublicly? I doubt his fans will care, unless it’s the sound of himsucking the blood out of a white baby.
    — Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) August 9, 2018

  141. 141.

    oldgold

    In my view a pink district is a district that is less than plus 5 Republican. Others may set the mark at a different level.

  142. 142.

    MomSense

    @Quinerly:

    I love hearing about your travels with Poco. Talk about all dogs go to heaven – that’s what his life must feel like now.

  143. 143.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Craig definitely has menace, which is why he’s my favorite Bond. IMO, Connery set the standard — his bond is urbane and witty AND a bad-ass, equally at home at a fancy soiree in a dinner jacket or clubbing some villain over the head with a wrench on an industrial catwalk. Craig pulls that off too. Brosnan and Moore did not, IMO; the former looked like he was on his way to the prom in the dinner jacket, and the latter wasn’t a convincing bad-ass.

  144. 144.

    Yutsano

    I’m gonna keep saying it people.

    Nancy Pelosi is a nonna. Nonnas get shit done. Nonnas get shit done even in their 90s. When she was the Speaker she got ACA passed among other important legislation. She knows how to count numbers, who to let go, and who to corral. She;s the best fucking choice for Speaker period until she grooms a replacement. Which isn’t going to be Tim Ryan.

  145. 145.

    Platonailedit

    @germy:

    I wonder what Omarosa thinks her ‘market’ is for her kiss and tell book. Dems, who don’t give a shite about her or the racist rethugs?

  146. 146.

    hueyplong

    I am tired of Republicans and trolls telling us who should lead Democrats. The day Pelosi announced an intention not to seek the speakership would be the day Fox concentrated its fire on the bitchez about to head committees.

    I will drop my support for Pelosi the day John Lewis tells me to do so, and not one day before.

  147. 147.

    Jeffro

    @oldgold: That’s a pretty good place to make the distinction. Pink, red, scarlet. What would that be on our side: baby blue, blue, and navy? Good shorthand.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I will say, the MSM does think the Pelosi question is the most important one out there

    They just can’t help themselves – anything to make it look closer than it is, anything to promote those old “Dems in disarray!” cliches, etc etc. Meanwhile we STILL don’t know what Trumpov said to his handler in Helsinki, what the Russians are up to for the 2018 elections, or if/when the remaining 500 or so border-separated kids are going to be returned to their families.

  148. 148.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    Speaking of dance, I’m so sorry your ankle is giving you trouble with your balance. I’m wondering if it’s worth getting your ears checked to make sure you don’t have something else going on that isn’t the ankle at all. Also, working with an exercise ball might be helpful. Just sitting on it, putting one leg out in front at a time and using your abdominals to keep yourself balanced and level may help. Exercising and walking in front of a mirror can help, too. You can see if your hips and shoulders are even – we develop a strange gait and alignment when we use crutches or a walking cast.

  150. 150.

    Jeffro

    btw it looks like Twitler is at it again w/ the NFL bullshit. He must think he owns the league or something – he’s telling them to quit protesting or be suspended without pay. No, really.

    Looking forward to a Democratic president telling NASCAR drivers or hockey players what to do, or else they’re going to not get paid. LOLOL

  153. 153.

    tobie

    @Frankensteinbeck: Amen. The problem is that the term “progressive” has been coopted by one wing of the party. I like Michelle Goldberg but her column would be considerably more honest if she acknowledged that.

  154. 154.

    J R in WV

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Ya’ll know who could BE James, James Bond?

    I know this tall athletic fellow from Chicago. Actually, he’s FROM Hawai’i but has made his life in Chicago. Well, and in Washington. I think he could be James Bond as well as any actor could. What was that guy’s name….. it will come to me.

  155. 155.

    Amir Khalid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    Yes, Craig’s Bond does have menace about him — more than any of his predecessors, I would say. He’s very much a man on the edge. He also seems to have untreated PTSD stemming from a violent past as well as from being in a job that involves plenty of violence. Whereas none of this seemed to weigh on the other Bonds at all.

  156. 156.

    Jeffro

    @J R in WV: That’s bold…just floating that rumor in a few InfoWars comments sections could cause MASS wingnutz’ heads to explode.

    Sort of like a rapture effect…only instead of disappearing into thin air, random white guys’ noggins would just KA-BAM and then, well, there wouldn’t be those particular RWNJs around anymore…which frankly would be quite rapturous ;)

  157. 157.

    tobie

    @kindness: I said it on a thread yesterday that the problem is that Pelosi has been hillaryized. This means that the attacks on her are wildly inconsistent, come from all sides, and are generally introduced after the fact to justify a preexisting hate. You will hear she’s too old and ineffective, she’s too involved with everything, she’s too liberal, she’s too conservative, she’s too weak, she’s too strong. Bernistas hate her because they want to take over the party and she’s a force to contend with; Republicans hate her because she gets shit done.

  158. 158.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @oldgold: Sometimes here the orthodoxy gets in the way of thinking .

    Oh fercrissake. You trot out this whiny, obnoxious self-importance every time someone challenges one of your would-be bold(!) and independent statements. You made up a vague term and were asked to define it. Don’t try to play the unheralded prophet– martyred by the reply button!– because you’re too fucking lazy to type out your arguments.

  159. 159.

    Amir Khalid

    @J R in WV:
    One, that guy you’re thinking of is American. He’d never get the accent right. Two, he’s at an age when actors should retire from playing James Bond. Three, no one would buy him as a womaniser.

  160. 160.

    kindness

    @oldgold: “Sometimes here the orthodoxy gets in the way of thinking .”

    Dude that ain’t orthodoxy. You seem confused. Suggesting we boot the most effective Speaker the House has seen in a couple score of years without a reason that isn’t approved by A) Republican trolls or B) BernieBros (who are almost the very same thing) then you don’t have an actual argument. You share a beef with fucking trolls who want to see us lose. Damn buddy. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.

  161. 161.

    Miss Bianca

    Oh please, oh please…*I* Haven’t seen a James Bond movie since Roger Moore, and I would *definitely* run to the theater to go see Idris as James Bond!

  164. 164.

    Amir Khalid

    @kindness:
    Oldgold is the commenter who keeps himself on the verge of panic because OMG Mueller hasn’t indicted Trump yet and OMG the midterm elections are almost here and where is that indictment OMFG!

  165. 165.

    scav

    Shouldn’t the only people with a say in who’s their leader be the team being lead, namely the ones actually putting butts on chairs in Congress? Not everything in govt is a freaking national popularity contest for voted most popular cheerleader.

  166. 166.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Krugman on Pelosi:

    The GOP's success in demonizing Nancy Pelosi is remarkable and depressing. By any standard I can think of she's been the most effective legislative leader in decades, instrumental in defending Social Security and expanding health care 1/
    — Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) August 10, 2018

  167. 167.

    H.E.Wolf

    It’s been said before (and better than I can) – all this sneering at women in public office who are tooooo ooooold and should step down to let other (younger, male-er) people take their place and do a better job… ignores the fact that, as a rule, it takes women longer than men to reach the same point in their careers.

    Women in Pelosi’s generation had enormous barriers and delays to overcome, compared to their male cohort. They got where they are now by being so clearly more qualified (and lucky – that, too) that they couldn’t be stopped altogether.

    The resentment toward these (and many other) accomplished and canny senior women, and the sneers at their agedness, would wear me down if I were in their shoes.

  168. 168.

    oldgold

    Look, to win the House we are going to have to bring Districts that have not had a Democratic Represenative for a decade or more. These particular Districts are not Pelosi friendly.

    The professionals who are trying to elect Democrats in these pink and purple Districts have, for the most part, instructed their candidates to separate themselves from Pelosi. Conversely, the professionals trying to help Republicans hold on in these battleground Districts are instructing their candidates to tie their opponents to Pelosi.

    I trust the professionals know what they are doing.

  172. 172.

    The Pale Scot

    @JPL: Luther’s on Netflix, including the 4th season that I haven’t let myself watch yet, just holding onto the anticipation

  174. 174.

    gwangung

    @oldgold:

    Look, to win the House we are going to have to bring Districts that have not had a Democratic Represenative for a decade or more. These particular Districts are not Pelosi friendly.

    Pelosi isn’t running in those districts, genius.

    You’re remarkably dim for a commentator on politics. Perhaps you should get a job at FOX.

  176. 176.

    Amir Khalid

    @oldgold:
    Your position is that Mueller should expedite indictments because that would help the Democratic party. In effect, you want him to act like a Democratic party operative; he is not one, and should not be.

  177. 177.

    Martin

    Wait, Mazie has asked 100 largely white men in positions of power if they’ve sexually harassed anyone and 100 said ‘no’? I guarantee at least ⅓ of them are lying, and would not be surprised if it was ⅔ or more. There’s just no way.

  180. 180.

    oldgold

    @kindness:

    Intensity matters a great deal in off-year elections. The GOP is using Pelosi to ratchet up intensity so as to bring their marginal voters to the polls.

  181. 181.

    Gelfling 545

    @oldgold: They are not voting on Pelosi. They are voting on Trump or specific issues. Go out now and ask a few people what the Speaker of The House does. Or the Minority Leader. Unless you have an unusual range of acquaintances, few will know or care.

  182. 182.

    Neldob

    Going after Pelosi is like the War on Christmas, a complete Right Wing red herring. It’s outrageous (and I haven’t even finished my coffee). Mitch McConnell should step down, he threatens our democracy and is too extreme. Dump McConnell!

  183. 183.

    Amir Khalid

    @oldgold:
    Come off it. If Republicans didn’t have Nancy Pelosi to demonise, they’d pick on somebody else. It would be cowardly of Democratic Congressional leaders to stand down just because Republicans were coming at them. Republicans always come at Democratic leaders. Pelosi has stood her ground and led her caucus well — better than Paul Ryan could dream of leading his. I for one am unconvinced by your argument that her unpopularity is a drag on the party. She is just not infamous enough to manage that.

  184. 184.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    @Gelfling 545: I’d be curious to know how many local reporters ask House candidates about Pelosi. I’m sure some do, since a lot of journalists get their idea of savvy from people like Tweety. But all national reporters are going to, and House candidates going on political cable looking to raise their profiles and/or money (which I assume is why they do it), and I do think those candidates are stupid if they’re not preparing for that question

    “You’re asking me to decide on an election that has been called yet. I don’t know who the candidates for Speaker will be, or what their platforms will be. The people in my district want to know how I’m going to vote to save them from going bankrupt if someone in their family gets cancer. They want to know what I’m going to do stop Paul Ryan from privatizing Social Security. They want to know if I’m going to bring checks and balances back to Washington….”
    The cable-bots will try to stop that answer, they’ll interrupt, they’ll smirk about evasiveness. The trick is to keep talking. Easy for me to say. I doubt I could do it. I’d get flustered. But it’s an important part of the job, if they see going on cable political TeeVee as part of their job.

  185. 185.

    oldgold

    @Amir Khalid:

    No, if she were to step down around October 1, they would not have enough time to brand the next Democratic leader.

    For me. this is all about winning in November. That is what matters.

  186. 186.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    @Neldob: another good point, if you have someone willing and able to mix it up with the TV anchor. “You know who I’m not going to vote for as Speaker? Kevin McCarthy, who said in June of 2016 [or whenever it was] that Donald Trump was being paid off by Russia. For Republican Y who said on X date that we need to raise the eligibility age for Medicare….

    @Amir Khalid: Come off it. If Republicans didn’t have Nancy Pelosi to demonise, they’d pick on somebody else.

    It’s Maxine Waters, and they’re already doing it. I’m sure trump will start mangling the name of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez before long

  189. 189.

    Miss Bianca

    @oldgold: you know what? Fuck off with that shit. Seriously, just fuck off. Fuck off with your Mueller panic, fuck off with your “pundit on the street sez Nancy Pelosi is too old/too female/too effective at her job for these delicate Democrats”. FUCK OFF WITH IT. It’s bullshit, and you should be ashamed of yourself for spreading it. Unless you’re getting paid to spread it, and even then, there are more honest ways of earning a ruble.

  191. 191.

    MomSense

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    @Amir Khalid: Come off it. If Republicans didn’t have Nancy Pelosi to demonise, they’d pick on somebody else.

    It’s Maxine Waters, and they’re already doing it. I’m sure trump will start mangling the name of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez before long

    It used to be Barney Frank. Every Republican ad in 2010 was scary voice saying “Democratic candidate fill in the blank voted with Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank 90 whatever % of the time. Tell Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank that they’re not right for fill in the blank flyovertownfuckistan and not right for America”
    Let’s look at how Republicans win elections – lies, lazy and/or complicit media, demonizing, and voter suppression. Throw in oligarch money and conspiracy to defraud the United States with a foreign adversary and you get our current political nightmare.

  193. 193.

    Aleta

    I’m thinking about a Bond who would have enough range and fluidity to be seductive to enemy spies of any identity, orientation, etc. So much more interesting plot-wise, scene-wise, world-wise.

  194. 194.

    Aleta

    Cool! An edit option came up in a most inviting way. Name sticking, imaginary fireworks display. Sending flower+catnip bud bouquet to MM and husband and Sam.

  196. 196.

    Aleta

    @MomSense: Shows how big a threat Pelosi and Waters are to them.

    One thing I haven’t seen Pelosi critics mention (though they may have) is who they suggest to replace her level of experience, mentoring and intelligence. It’s a critical moment for all three, this second half of the T administration, as the GOP tries to turn those ‘exec orders’ and deregulations and lists of judges into realities. To me right now this is more important than required adherence to a single set of priorities.

  198. 198.

    oldgold

    @The Moar You Know:

    What is that? A Democrat that has view different than yours concerning whether Pelosi as leader of the House Democrats helps or hurts us in November? Burn that damnable heretic!

  199. 199.

    James E Powell

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist:

    Republicans run on hatred, ignorance, and bigotry. The people they demonize give their followers names & faces for the narrative.

    None of it would work if not for the press/media who promote these narratives and protect them with euphemisms like conservative, values voter, economic anxiety, etc. None of it would work if not for the fact that a very large percentage of white Americans are hateful bigots.

  201. 201.

    Woodrow/Asim

    @oldgold: Bottom line — you have to think past winning in Nov.

    First, Pelosi would have to resign ASAP, in order for voters to “get the news” and have any impact, whatsoever.

    Second, even if she did that, I sincerely doubt anyone is only voting R because of Pelosi. What others are trying to explain is that she, like Clinton, like Obama, are positioned in the Right-Wing Media as a series of myths. You get rid of one myth, they’ll pull another out in a week and have their folks furious over them in 2.

    The anger over Pelosi is just one of many aspects of the anger around Democrats, and Liberalism.

    And that leads to the Third point. Pelosi is, as many have pointed out, highly effective in her role. The GOP, in fact, is floundering around actual legislative ability, outside of McConnell (and he cheats a LOT) because they have a shallow, inexperienced bench that prioritizes rhetoric.

    If we take the House back in Nov, we’ll have work to do that will be unimaginable, and unprecedented in terms of recovering America — even the run-up to our Civil War didn’t pose the challenges a Democratic-led house would have if it’s the only non-GOP corner of gov’t when the next session of Congress is sworn in.

    This is exactly the time for someone like Pelosi, who knows the ropes and how to pull them to get shit done. This is the true fear of the GOP, that she’ll hamstring not only Trump, but their efforts to keep pushing any kind of “conservative” agenda.

    A Pelosi replacement is unlikely to have her level of experience. In a situation like what we have today, that is an easy path to utter disaster for the Party — and for America.

    Let’s not allow shallow hate, that would just transfer to the next target as soon as Pelosi stepped down, to derail us from a solid and wise course of action to provide as much change and stability, as possible.

  203. 203.

    gwangung

    @oldgold: A creationist has a different view than me on evolution and geology. Doesn’t make them correct in any way.

    Funny thing, though….they’re the ones with the tendency to burn people….

  205. 205.

    oldgold

    @Woodrow/Asim:

    I appreciate your thoughtful and cogent response to my position.

    I agree with you that Pelosi has been a very competent leader. In May, when I last argued this point, I agreed that Pelosi was correct in saying she was a “master legislator.”

    That expressed, I believe that having her as the House Democratic Leader is going to hurt us in key battleground Districts this November. Will it be enough to deny us a majority? I do not know, but all things considered, I would prefer not to risk it.

    Most simply put, my risk/reward calculus is different than yours.

  206. 206.

    bemused

    @germy:

    Racist trump, shocking, not. Omarosa and that whole trump crowd are such back stabbers but I don’t doubt he said that. I did learn some new, to me, racial slurs. I really had never heard those two slurs before and neither had my spouse. I guess we don’t hang out with the “best” crowd. Evidently trump knows every racial slur that exists which only proves he can’t be possibly be a racist/

  207. 207.

    JWL

    It’s all make believe, for crying out loud. Other actors do with Bond what Cate Blanchett did with Bob Dylan, if not half as well. Actors will keep fucking the 007 franchise chicken until the cows come home or people stop paying to watch them do it.

  208. 208.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Amir Khalid: James Bond is half-Scottish, half-Swiss and an absolutely unregenerate sexist bastard according to the originator, Ian Fleming. The early Connery films like Goldfinger and Dr. No ran with that character, the later movies cleaned up his act somewhat and gave him a British/English accent. The comic caper movies (Moonraker, The Man With The Golden Gun) got rid of the edginess completely.

    By now the Bond franchise is far removed from its origins in terms of character and motivations so putting Idris Elba into the role is not really a big step despite not being faithful to the source material.

  211. 211.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @stinger: Thanks. I was going minimalist here, just change things that the atmosphere was causing…remove the yellowish/green cast(think of the moon towards the horizon) and lighten up the area in the upper portion to bring out the stars.

  212. 212.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Uncle Cosmo: Actually, this was a bit of a change in philosophy on how I process the image. I see quite a few Milky Way pics from really good photographers and some have quite a bit of color cast or no color at all. I guess that’s OK, but I’m not there. I want to get to a more accurate color…not too much red or magenta and less yellow and green at the horizon. I guess the thing that got me here were two photos in a Guarding piece that someone linked to here: one of the Milky Way shot in Malibu that was devoid of color and the “color Moon”.

  214. 214.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @oldmold: “In my view”–???? “Your view” is limited to the polyps in your colon. And only then if someone shoves a flashlight deep into your navel..

  215. 215.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @oldmold:

    For me. this is all about posting like a panic-striken attention-starved whiny-arse dumber-than-a-box-of-rocks shithead.

    FTFY.

  217. 217.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: Interesting thought about the ears, I will keep that in mind. She has me practicing standing on one foot, not holding on to anything. Same on the other foot. I am WAY worse standing on the ankle that was broken. I totally suck at that.

    She also has me doing what she calls “tandem heel to toe”, and again, I am worse when the “bad” ankle is the foot in back. But I am already getting better at those after just 3 days, so I have high hopes. Once I get a little better, I’m supposed to look up, down, to the right and to the left, going to the middle in between and holding everything for 5 seconds. As soon as I turn my head now, I start to topple. :-) Maybe next week!

    I’m already walking better, and I’ve only had 2 appointments, plus a few days of exercises.

  219. 219.

    WaterGirl

    @Amir Khalid: Thanks for writing that. I was just wondering to myself why I had oldgold pied – since I can’t see his posts, I needed your reminder.

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