Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When we show up, we win.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

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

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

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Come on, man.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

The lights are all blinking red.

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

In my day, never was longer.

Republicans don’t trust women.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

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

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / Monday Morning Open Thread: Interesting Times

Monday Morning Open Thread: Interesting Times

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Just ran into a motto for our current moment: A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.

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264Comments

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Our farming is broken: We’ve bred them to their limit’: death rates surge for female pigs in the US

    The key in most livestock production is finding a balance between productivity and the health of the animals, said Grandin. “You have to figure out the optimal number of piglets these sows should have. One thing people have trouble with is asking what is optimal – not maximal, but optimal – when it comes to breeding.”

    For those pursuing a maximal approach, there are new products like the Hercules Arm, a $7,000 (£5,330) piece of machinery that went on the market in 2017. It is marketed as “a unique and revolutionary way to effortlessly remove … heavy dead pigs from stalls”.

  8. 8.

    Kay

    Right wing Dispatch endorses Cordray:

    Ohio voters have many important statewide offices to fill this fall, and no decision is more important than who will serve as Ohio’s next governor. After careful consideration of the two major-party contenders and their impressive public-service records, The Dispatch endorses Democrat Richard Cordray over Republican Mike DeWine.

    It doesn’t matter that much- newspaper editorials don’t- but they pegged DeWine as the “status quo” candidate and really hit him on health care which is exactly what Cordray is saying.

  11. 11.

    Bruce K

    Rage is one hell of a motivator, as I think someone else once said. I just hope it’s enough.

    I hope that the potential “blue wave” turns into a tsunami.

    I hope that on the morning of November 7th, the GOP power players in Washington feel as though a sentencing judge just said “may God have mercy on your soul” and banged down the gavel.

    I’ve cast my ballot (absentee). All I’ve got left is hope.

  12. 12.

    Immanentize

    Hello All.

    As Johnny Lydon (Johnny Rotten) says in the excellent song, Rise,
    “Anger is an Energy!”

    Which describes my state of mind. I spent all day. All day! Trying to fix a leaking kitchen faucet. Rebuilt the whole think (I thought) got it back together after supper and the hot water side of the combo cartridge is still leaking! And it’s a fancy pants faucet so who know where when if I can get a new cartridge. And then this morning the coffee maker broke.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    Probably difficult for the young’uns to grasp that Rayburn was an elected Democratic representative from Texas. (Rayburn served three non-consecutive terms as Speaker.)

    Trivia: Thomas Pomeroy, in 1869, had the shortest tenure as Speaker, lasting less than 24 hours.

    Also too, props as Speaker to Carl Albert, who maneuvered a political minefield during Watergate..

  17. 17.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Immanentize:

    Anger is an Energy!

    It’s getting our off-road trailer built.

    I’m in what an Ozzie called “living on the ‘ines’ – caffeine, nicotine, and adrenaline.

  20. 20.

    NotMax

    @Immanentize

    Believe it is Bill’s daughter who is currently visiting there.

    Trivia: Dutch colony in South America came this close to being named New Zeeland.

  21. 21.

    TS (the original)

    Woman on MJ supporting Kavanaugh – no woman should be supporting this man for a permanent appointment to SCOTUS.

  26. 26.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Stupid is as stupid does:

    Brexit is already costing the public purse £500m a week, new research has found – a stark contrast to the £350m “dividend” promised by the Leave campaign. The Centre for European Reform’s analysis also suggests that the government’s austerity drive would be on the way to completion had Britain voted to stay in the European Union.

    It shows that the UK economy is already 2.5% smaller than it would have been had Remain won the referendum. Public finances have been dented by £26bn a year, more than half of the defence budget. This translates to a penalty of £500m a week, a figure that is growing.

    The stark finding comes as the Tory conference begins in Birmingham, with Theresa May’s premiership under severe strain. The prime minister faces competing proposals from cabinet ministers over how she should resolve the Brexit impasse with the EU.

  29. 29.

    debbie

    @Kay:

    As uninfluential as The Dispatch has become, it’s telling that there was no mention of financial reform.

  32. 32.

    Ken

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    The prime minister faces competing proposals from cabinet ministers over how she should resolve the Brexit impasse with the EU.

    I suppose it’s too late* to say “screw this, Parliament is sovereign and can’t be bound by a referendum, I don’t care if it embarrasses my predecessor and the party, we’re not doing it.”

    * I mean in the sense that the EU withdrawal has been triggered, and the other European nations are proceeding.

  33. 33.

    Matt McIrvin

    “I’d rather use our energy affecting the election. When people hear talk about impeachment, they’re like: Well, what about me?”

    And yet, “Lock her up! Lock her up!” worked fine.

  37. 37.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    That’s what Cordray will be best on. It’s his issue. He used the AG’s office really effectively to go after frauds and scammers and corruption.

    He’s a smart lawyer in the best way. He uses existing law in practical, effective ways. As opposed to, you know, figuring out how to deceptively phrase an answer to avoid facts that he doesn’t like, like the lawyer we saw last week. Not smart like that.

  45. 45.

    Immanentize

    @satby: I thankfully have a back up one. But my regular coffee maker is a timer job so I not only woke up to no coffee but I had to hit the basement to haul the backup out.

  48. 48.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    Someone told me they are looking for him to “pull away” these next few weeks- which in Ohio means 5 points, so get used to it :)

    The ground effort in Ohio is a fucking mess, so if we win it won’t be because of superior organizational skills. It will be because of…magic.

  50. 50.

    Betty Cracker

    Rick Scott, who has been governor of Florida for eight years, is running as an “outsider” who will shake up DC. It’s true that Bill Nelson has been in DC forever. But it still seems weird that a politician who has been running the state for eight years is claiming the “change” banner. Oh well.

  51. 51.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’m reading a book by a friend (Black Swan Rising, Lisa Brackmann), and one of the characters is a reporter in CA. She says surfing dogs are what they send the newbies out to cover. I didn’t know it was a real thing!

  62. 62.

    Kay

    Michigan:

    The Promote the Vote question, which will be Proposal 3 on the ballot, would allow for voter registration up to the day of the election, allow people to get absentee ballots for no reason and allow straight-ticket voting. It got the most support in the poll with 70 perecent of those surveyed saying they’ll vote for the proposal, 25 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided.
    “It seems to be on the side of the angels,” Porn said. “The ballot language itself sells Proposal 3.”

    People like our approach to voting much more than they like the GOP approach to voting. The voter fraud bs gets tons of attention because of the loudmouths on the Right, but most people just want voting to be easy and accurate. Like any other state recording process.

  63. 63.

    Baud

    If Kavanaugh gets on, I’m going to file a brief in every criminal case before the Supreme Court arguing that the defendant was framed by the Clintons.

  65. 65.

    Amir Khalid

    @Ken:
    Had Theresa May the common sense to do that, she would have done it long ago. But David Cameron promised the rightwing nutters of Britain to hold a referendum and be bound by it. And May decided when she took power to keep Cameron’s foolish promise, and protect the Conservative Party’s credibility, despite the obvious harm that that would do to the nation. She doesn’t realise that it’s much better to break a harmful campaign promise than to keep it.

  67. 67.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @debbie: Worried that tight polls in races is planned to prepare for many GOP wins as result of tampering with voting machines and vote counting. Plus ‘random, surprise’ precinct closings, not enough ballots, etc.

  72. 72.

    satby

    @Kay: best DVM I ever had to get a driver’s license from was MI; later I had to go to one in Kalamazoo for an apostille school record for one of the girls two years ago. Well run and efficient for a state run by a Tea-bagger governor. I think people expect that there in government interactions, kind of funny because they prefer not to pay taxes for it at the same time.

  76. 76.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    They hate our people.

    We have to work on voting in Pennsylvania. It’s archaic. My poor daughter is once again jumping thru hoops to vote there. She’ll be in Cleveland on election day and all she wants is an absentee ballot. It’s silly to make this so difficult. It doesn’t even make sense. They should thank the people who want to vote early. They’re thinking ahead and they want to get it done. Get 25% voted early and election day is less chaotic, less error-prone, less expensive. They’ll need fewer election day workers because the existing full-timers will process 25% in the course of their regular day. It’s almost malicious.

  78. 78.

    Kay

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    It IS the side of the angels! Small d democratic, efficient, modernized. What’s not to love? Hence, 70%.

    What happened was conservatives turned “voting” from being about VOTERS to being about THEM. It’s a state recording process. It should run right. It serves voters.

  79. 79.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Raven already knows this, but as PSA to BJ, let me say again, vertigo was the main symptom I had on the day before my heart attack. When I saw my doc afterwards, he said always go to the ER because he doesn’t have all the same equipment. My doc back in Iowa was located in a hospital like facility so that would have been ok.

  81. 81.

    SenyorDave

    So the outside counsel believes that the case against Kavanaugh is weak. Like it wasn’t a criteria for her being hired. And Kavanaugh isn’t being tried in criminal court. BTW, who leaked the article?

    From the article:

    “A ‘he said, she said’ case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that,” Mitchell writes in the memo, which the Washington Post and CNN obtained. “Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them. For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.”

  87. 87.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I’m off to rehab. I was annoyed there was no TV to watch while I sweated on the treadmill and stair stepper, but I’ve decided it’s a good thing. Everyone in there is a in cardiac recovery. We don’t need the BP spikes. Later.

  88. 88.

    Skepticat

    The GOP has no idea what they’ve done.

    Sssshhh … though that’s true in many more ways than one, don’t alert them.
    Just getting ready to leave a pet-friendly motel in Tuscaloosa (assuming I can herd the not-so-travel-friendly cats into the carriers) and will be in New Orleans soon.

  90. 90.

    Kraux Pas

    @Matt McIrvin:

    “I’d rather use our energy affecting the election. When people hear talk about impeachment, they’re like: Well, what about me?”

    And yet, “Lock her up! Lock her up!” worked fine.

    Because voters on the left care about how people are affected by the government, the right seems to care mostly about keeping down the “wrong” sorts of people.

  95. 95.

    MazeDancer

    @Immanentize:

    Consider an Aero-Presse as back-up. Can keep in a drawer or cupboard. Can also travel with it.

    Also you can put all the accoutrements in the basement. You just need the pusher and filters.

  98. 98.

    Betty Cracker

    @rikyrah: The anti-Gillum ads from DeSantis and wingnut PACs are so over the top. Pretty much all of the Republicans are screeching SOCIALISM! and PELOSI! nonstop. Sounds a bit desperate, TBH.

  100. 100.

    jimmiraybob

    Kavanaugh, I think twice in sworn testimony, threatened revenge against the Dems. I don’t see this discussed much. It seems to get blended in under the heading of “seething cauldron of resentment, partisan, angry and belligerent.” How is this not a focus of disqualification? A sworn threat?

  101. 101.

    MazeDancer

    Beginning to think that it’s not that the GOP don’t care that Kavanaugh isn’t a man of honor, it’s that they don’t believe there are any men of honor.

    All men abuse. All men lie, cheat, and steal when needed. Sure, on the outside, men pretend. But, inside, they’re all dawgs. Take what they want, do what they want.

    And some men are happy they don’t even have to pretend anymore. And are excited to yell, you go, bro, to men who will lie to defend what’s theirs. Shut up, girlie, men are going to be men.

    So, some white women are upset that their sons might get hurt for simply being what all men are.

  102. 102.

    Kraux Pas

    @jimmiraybob:

    Kavanaugh, I think twice in sworn testimony, threatened revenge against the Dems. I don’t see this discussed much. It seems to get blended in under the heading of “seething cauldron of resentment, partisan, angry and belligerent.” How is this not a focus of disqualification? A sworn threat?

    Wasn’t the entire raison d’etre of his nomination to be a partisan hack?

    Now I’m craving raisins and dates.

  104. 104.

    The Pale Scot

    @OzarkHillbilly: England’s done, the fourth horse has revealed itself. The morning BBC has a vid piece about the burgeoning K-Pop invasion. The yuts will be wearing cheap 60’s glam outfits and rejoicing to repetitive beats and chants. There’s no hope

  105. 105.

    Kraux Pas

    @MazeDancer:

    Beginning to think that it’s not that the GOP don’t care that Kavanaugh isn’t a man of honor, it’s that they don’t believe there are any men of honor.

    Not if you want to keep all the success to yourself.

    All men abuse. All men lie, cheat, and steal when needed. Sure, on the outside, men pretend. But, inside, they’re all dawgs. Take what they want, do what they want.

    They want this perception fed so it becomes this self-fulfilling prophecy as many people say “everyone does it,” thus creating a class of sociopaths that will look the other way when the others behave badly.

  108. 108.

    gbbalto

    @MazeDancer: @Immanentize: I use an AeroPress at work. Very pleased with it, easy to clean up. However, some grinders” espresso settings grind the coffee so fine that you can’t push the water through.

  110. 110.

    eric dorkin

    @SenyorDave: She is dead wrong. Credibility of the witness is the job of the finder of fact, and this is an easy case for preponderance. One lied; the other didn’t. As for a criminal trial, she is wrong too. The closing is simple: he lied about this, and he lied about this, and he lied about this, and he told you he didn’t do it. Little lies for things that dont matter mean big lies for things that do. Plus, they never impeached Dr. Ford at all. I would not blink to put this case in front of a civil or criminal jury.

  111. 111.

    hueyplong

    I’m not sure a “good man” would have taken the jobs Kavanaugh has taken and enthusiastically performed over the years. Being a malignant misogynist is a feature, not a bug, for this party.

    [Note the offensive jobs he’s held are all pre-Trump. Trump is nothing more than current mainstream GOP “thought” dumbed down for the Limbaugh/Carlson, tractor pull/pro rasslin’ crowd for whom the quiet parts need not be quiet and for whom dog whistles are now a sign of being soft on the issues.]

  114. 114.

    Immanentize

    @eric dorkin: I am with you and the likelihood in a criminal rial would be that Kavanaugh would not testify (too risky).

    I still wonder if all the Republicans who do not believe Ford also do not believe the kids abused by priests?

  115. 115.

    hueyplong

    @eric dorkin: If I were a sexual predator, I’d strongly consider moving to Maricopa County, where prosecutorial discretion apparently precludes charging assaults not committed at a convenience store in front of a surveillance camera.

  116. 116.

    But her emails!!!

    @rikyrah:

    Like he is some kind of con man?
    Phuck Outta Here ? ?

    Progressive billionaires fall for Florida’s Gillum https://politi.co/2DIZ542 via @politico

    Can’t be sure, but this seems more like a reference to “Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line” than suggesting that Mayor Gillum is pulling some sort of con on wealthy democrats.

  117. 117.

    Immanentize

    Dear All,

    Why isn’t anyone in the media pointing out the Kavanaugh behaved just like Trump’s drunk and abusive father. Who Trump says he tries to be the opposite of?

  118. 118.

    rp

    @eric dorkin: But it’s even simpler than that. She’s assessing the merits of the case before any investigation has been done. In a criminal proceeding, that would be gross misconduct by a prosecutor.

  120. 120.

    Kraux Pas

    @rp: After getting too close to corroborating the allegations against Kavanaugh by going over his calendar, she must feel she needs to prove her worth to her Republican patrons.

  122. 122.

    sylvainsylvain

    @Immanentize:

    You could try Prague style next time-coffee grounds in the cup, then hot water. Milk, sugar next, if you like it that way. Give it a good stir, then wait a bit for the grounds to settle. Surprisingly effective. Trick is to not drink that last bit…

  123. 123.

    eric dorkin

    @rp: ironically, he would be the one needing an investigation to cross Dr. Ford, otherwise there would no evidence in hos favor at a trial. zero. i bet you coul dnot find one trial lawyer who would say that he or she could not annihilate him on the stand. My god, it would be epic and awesome. Plus, that temper! If if was a female lawyer and he got that mad at her, the jury might consider the death penalty. ;)

  124. 124.

    Mnemosyne

    @SenyorDave:

    Doesn’t she have any curiosity why she was pulled as soon as she started asking Kavanaugh about the July 1st party note on his calendar?

    And, yeah, Arpaio turned Maricopa County into a haven for rapists and child molesters because he told his sheriffs not to investigate those cases. That’s what ultimately brought him down, not the other corruption.

  125. 125.

    MazeDancer

    @gbbalto:

    However, some grinders” espresso settings grind the coffee so fine that you can’t push the water through.

    Counter-intuitively, Aero-presse suggests medium grind. Discovered this after failing a few times without RTFM.

    What I use is somewhere between medium and fine. But for fallback, people can use pretty much whatever they have, I think.

  128. 128.

    Spanky

    Per CNN:

    Flake says if FBI investigation finds Kavanaugh lied, nomination is over

    I doubt that whatever turns up will be clear-cut enough for Flake to make that call.

  129. 129.

    Immanentize

    @eric dorkin: I refer to that as Cowboy Coffee.

    I have lots of coffee making options — I have my fancy timed coffee maker that broke leaving me coffeeless this morning. I have a Bodum french press, an electric espresso maker, a stove-top espresso maker, and an aero press — actually that one is my son’s. And I have a back up drip coffee maker. Yes, we like coffee in our house.

  130. 130.

    Kay

    apropos of nothing, here is Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s high school yearbook entry

    This is how we want judges to be- “Pennsylvania school board representative” -” National Student Council delegate, District 4″

    Instead we got this decadent, screaming crazy person.

  132. 132.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Sad news from France this morning: the great singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour has died, age 94. R.I.P.

  136. 136.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Amir Khalid: You clearly haven’t been watching BBC’s Question Time. We won and we want out – now. No compromise, no surrender! Still gets enthusiastic claps and cheers from the audience. Even the slightest whiff of offering any quid pro quo to the EU bring excited denunciations about tyranny and ignoring the wishes of the people.

    Committed Brexiteers still offer out the fantasy of free trade deals with everyone and their mother and the Commonwealth will rush to our aid.Bring on the Blitz spirit!

    Some Brexiteers with some hold on reality are beginning to argue that it is better to be a beggar starving in rags but free than a silk clad, pampered slave of the EU.

    The best news is that during last Thursday’s programme David Dimbleby asked for a show of hands on those supporting a 2nd Referendum and about a third of the audience put their hands up. That’s a significant increase to what it would have been had he asked in July. People are beginning to see and understand what is going to happen. No-one knows what is going to happen next. There doesn’t seem to be a majority in support of ANY way forward in Parliament at this time. A real clusterfuck.

  137. 137.

    kindness

    I was apprehensive about reading the comments here. I was afraid I’d read folk saying Nancy is too old and we need young people to lead us.

    Congrats peoples. No one has said that. You decent folk here. imho Nancy is just right.

  139. 139.

    Amir Khalid

    @Spanky:
    If Jeff Flake hasn’t noticed the many obvious lies that Brett Kavanaugh has already told, I doubt he intends to notice any sign, however unmistakable it may be, that Kavanaugh is lying again.

  142. 142.

    Kraux Pas

    @kindness:

    I was apprehensive about reading the comments here. I was afraid I’d read folk saying Nancy is too old and we need young people to lead us.

    For youngish Representatives looking to make their name in a leadership role, there are plenty of fine jobs other than the very top slot. Doing so is a more plausible path to being speaker than playing into the right wing propaganda machine.

  143. 143.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    For those pursuing a maximal approach, there are new products like the Hercules Arm, a $7,000 (£5,330) piece of machinery that went on the market in 2017. It is marketed as “a unique and revolutionary way to effortlessly remove … heavy dead pigs from stalls”.

    Can we get one of these to use on Trump?

  144. 144.

    gene108

    @Immanentize:

    Why isn’t anyone in the media pointing out the Kavanaugh behaved just like Trump’s drunk and abusive father. Who Trump says he tries to be the opposite of?

    Never heard Trump say anything negative about his dad. I think he revers him.

    His older brother Fred, Jr. was a drunk, who didn’t fall in line with Fred, Sr.’s vision for what his eldest son should do, and watching Fred. Jr. drink himself to an early grave got Donald to avoid booze.

    Do you have a source about Fred, Sr. being a drunk?

    Was Fred Sr. emotionally abusive? Probably. But that isn’t something his surviving kids seem to complain about the old man.

  145. 145.

    jonas

    Other than get the ACA passed and possess a vagina, what has Pelosi done to become the bete-noir of all bete-noires for the Right? I guess I don’t hang around enough wingers to really get a sense of why they hate her so much, but it’s just odd. We all agree Paul Ryan sucks, but I don’t think anyone in the last couple of cycles ran ads where a picture of Ryan suddenly turns dark and horns spring from his head and menacing voice-over talks about how Republican candidate Bob Taylor “voted with Ryan 90% of the time!” or something.

  146. 146.

    Kay

    @zhena gogolia:

    Shut up! It’s a MERITOCRACY, got it? You have to believe or the magic spell doesn’t work.

    You’ll get the second rate Garland and like it.

    My husband was making me laugh this weekend imitating Kavanaugh. He’s a really good mimic. I was like “can you…” and he’d say “NO, how dare you, do you KNOW who I AM?”

  147. 147.

    Immanentize

    @gene108: Maybe it was the older brother, but I’m sure I read something somewhere about papa….

    I’ll look later, but the argument remains, just about his older brother.

    I will add, Justice Thurgood Marshall pretty much drank himself to death. It was a huge tragedy, He lived to be 85, but those last few years on the court were not good ones.

  148. 148.

    Immanentize

    @jonas:

    what has Pelosi done to become the bete-noir of all bete-noires for the Right?

    Pelosi is effective, which is enough to make the sad sorry GOP very angry indeed. Although I hear they like beer.

  149. 149.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Immanentize: also, there is still a solid chunk of the right for whom “San Francisco liberal” is still an effective dog whistle

  150. 150.

    Kay

    Honestly we need to use a little nuance with this “old” thing. Pelosi isn’t “old” because she stays current. She was one of the first national politicians to get that people were drowning with college costs- 14 years ago. I don’t care about the numerical age. I DO care if they have some idea about what’s going on in the world and if they’re responsive to changing conditions. She is.

    Tim Ryan was born in 1973 and he’s old. He isn’t actually responsive to current issues and conditions for people. He harkens back to this olde-timey Democrat that doesn’t speak to huge sections of our base.

  151. 151.

    germy

    So much attention is paid to the deplorables. So many interviews, so many panel discussions.

    Has anyone sought out the disenchanted? For example, Otto Warmbier’s parents. Are they still on Team Trump after his loving remarks about North Korea? How about those little freedom girls ( I don’t remember the name of their dance troupe ) who performed with such enthusiasm during the campaign. Are they still onboard? Did they ever get paid?

  154. 154.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    ActBlue @ actblue
    By yesterday’s midnight deadline small-dollar donors had made over 300,000 individual donations adding up to over $16.8 MILLION for campaigns and organizations using ActBlue, making it the biggest day ever on our platform.
    6:32 AM – 1 Oct 2018

  155. 155.

    Tony Jay

    @Sloane Ranger:

    Question Time has been unwatchable pantomime for years, but has become so much worse since the Referendum. Whoever does the booking seems to think that the best kind of political panel consists of, 1) Extreme Brexiteer, supporting No-Deal/Clean Break/Reconquer the Angevin Empire, 2) Spokesman for Tory Government, also supporting Brexit, 3) Sneering pro-Brexit opinion-bot from The Telegraph/The Mail/The Times, 4) The Right Reverend Linus Humbleworth, Bishop of Somewhere-Leafy, representing Nice White God Who Bloody Well Cares But Isn’t Comfortable Getting Involved In Politics, 5) L’il Pugnacious, bemused South London rapper who thinks everyone else on the panel is a dick and talks the most sense, 6) Some Lib-Dem, representing no-one at all. 7) Whichever Labour official managed to climb through a toilet window and sneak onto the set only to be told “Oh, did we forget to invite someone from the Opposition? Sit over here between the Brexiteer and the Right-Wing columnist so they can belittle and shout over you.”

    Every single week. With an audience drawn almost exclusively from local Conservative Clubs and the regional branches of the English Defence League. It’s simply unwatchable, which might explain why Dimbleby is moving on to pastures new.

  156. 156.

    Kraux Pas

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    also, there is still a solid chunk of the right for whom “San Francisco liberal” is still an effective dog whistle

    San Francisco as a punchline not needing a set-up has more cultural cachet than you suggest. This is one of the premiere “everybody knows” narratives that afflicts the left and even has penetrated a decent chunk of the moderate left.

    If we want to discuss problems in San Francisco, how ’bout them housing prices?

  157. 157.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: I am no fan of Tim Ryan — he seems like everything wrong with aspects of the “old” Democratic party. No energy, a chip on his shoulder, really not willing to work very hard, yet wants to be coronated leader of the House.

    “Dago red wine” still pisses me right off. It is that casual racist/sexist crap I can no longer abide. (Although I do try to be Dude-like).

  158. 158.

    Amir Khalid

    @gene108:

    Was Fred Sr. emotionally abusive? Probably. But that isn’t something his surviving kids seem to complain about the old man.

    Sadly, people have a sometimes surprising capacity to rationalise away the painful parts of their upbringing: “Yeah, the old man slapped me around/put me down every chance he got. But I turned out okay, so he couldn’t have been that bad after all, right?”

  159. 159.

    feebog

    @eric dorkin:

    I agree a case could be made. Certainly his lies about the high school yearbook could be used to impeach his denials. But I would want a lot more investigation. I am fascinated by the July 1 date on his calendar. Exactly where did Timmy live? Was the house two stories as Dr. Ford remembers? How about interviewing all the other friends mentioned on the calendar to see what they remember. Also, interviewing Dr. Ford’s family members might well narrow down the time frame. Did they go on vacation that summer? Any other significant events that might refresh Dr. Ford’s memory. And just when did Judge work at Safeway, since Dr. Ford puts her encounter with him about six weeks after the assault.

  161. 161.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Immanentize: LOL – today, the scariest thing about San Francisco is the cost of housing (because so many people want to live there). Woooaahhh – scary!

  162. 162.

    Martin

    @kindness:

    I was apprehensive about reading the comments here. I was afraid I’d read folk saying Nancy is too old and we need young people to lead us.

    I wouldn’t consider Pelosi too old (and I support her as speaker), however, the moment we’re having right now is Democrats really coming home to intersectionality. We’re finally getting that supportive men aren’t a replacement for actual representation by women. That only women can properly speak to and highlight women’s issues (note that Kavanaugh had that ‘blackout’ interaction with Klobacher and not one of the men).

    If we want african americans to be reliable democratic votes, then we have to hand power to african americans. If we want women to be reliable democratic votes, then we have to hand power to women. If we want young people to be reliable democratic votes, then we have to hand power to young people. At the very least, there needs to be a demonstration of this to young people. Pelosi is pretty good about speaking to issues that affect young people, but there needs to be the visual of young people having a say.

  164. 164.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Amir Khalid: Yeah, the old man slapped me around/put me down every chance he got

    That story about trump slapping Fredo in front of all his dorm mates because he wanted to wear a team jersey to a baseball game? I absolutely believe that’s true, and that it’s not the only time he slapped his sons around.

  166. 166.

    Kay

    The confusion about testimony as evidence is interesting. Testimony is evidence. You can say it isn’t enough evidence or it isn’t reliable or it’s discredited but a person saying what happened to them is evidence.

    My juvenile clients do this- they say “well, it’s just me saying it” – some of them say “it’s hearsay” and I used to think it was an indication that they were subservient- why wouldn’t we believe what they say? They don’t need a more reliable witness to tell what happened to them. Their word is as good as anyone else’s- it’s not like we dismiss it out of hand and say “get me an important person- someone with some credibility!” One person is as good as another- were they there? Okay, then! Speak.

    But now I realize there are whole vast swathes of the population who believe they can’t even testify to what happened to them. They can!

    Would we like a video record and extensive documentation? Sure. But they can certainly offer evidence and then people judge whether it’s credible.

  170. 170.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    how hard do you think Zuckerberg et al are fighting to keep rightwing bias out of his platform?

    Kara Swisher @ karaswisher
    Going to DC dinner parties this weekend & despite all the real issues w/tech, alls I got asked about is what does facebook think about spouses of two top DC execs (Joel Kaplan and Kevin Martin) being in ads for Kavanaugh airing in DC. FB sources say it’s not under its control.

    Matthew Yglesias @ mattyglesias
    Facebook decided it wanted to cozy up to the Republican Party by hiring some Republican Party operatives. They’ve been rewarded with a large tax cut, a permissive regulatory environment, and continued bad-faith attacks from the right.

    But it’s all under Facebook’s control.

  171. 171.

    kindness

    @Martin: You know you just did it. I think the Democratic Party is already pretty inclusive wrt the make up of it’s representatives. I don’t support a rule where representation has to mirror the population. Especially leaders. Leaders rise up on their own back legs and lead. No one is a legacy hire here (unlike Kavanaugh with Republicans). Democrats expect Democrats to represent everyone in their party, not just the people they look like.

    So I’m sorry you feel the way you do. I just don’t agree with the stridency of your statements.

  173. 173.

    Miss Bianca

    @Tony Jay: OK, this whole paragraph made LOL. You could be describing an American news show, except they wouldn’t even bother with the rapper and the opposition pols.

  175. 175.

    joel hanes

    @jonas:

    what has Pelosi done to become the bete-noir of all bete-noires for the Right?

    Her district is San Francisco, which is a synonym in wingnut-ese for every kind of license and perversity.
    This makes dog-whistles such as “San Francisco values” (racial and gender diversity, acceptance and even celebration of out LGBT, activist government, mulitculturalism) work really well.

  177. 177.

    Kay

    And there’s a recognition of this, in our history. That some people were treated as if they were more credible than others when recounting events not because they have earned that credibility but just because they’re higher status people. It was like you needed 2 women or 3 black people to equal one white male witness. This was a real thing! So it’s disturbing to see so many people just blithely go along with it.

    “Oh, I could never speak to what happened to me! THAT’S completely invalid. Duh.” The justice system would grind to a screeching halt if this were actually true.

  179. 179.

    Brachiator

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It shows that the UK economy is already 2.5% smaller than it would have been had Remain won the referendum. Public finances have been dented by £26bn a year, more than half of the defence budget. This translates to a penalty of £500m a week, a figure that is growing.

    The stark finding comes as the Tory conference begins in Birmingham, with Theresa May’s premiership under severe strain. The prime minister faces competing proposals from cabinet ministers over how she should resolve the Brexit impasse with the EU.

    Strangely enough, British politicians seem to be doing nothing about BREXIT. They think that the EU will be lenient and come up with a last minute deal that is favorable to the UK.

    Meanwhile, the Conservatives make feeble noise about displacing Theresa May, even though no one can say how they would do anything better.

    The Labour Party is being stupid in a different way. They have shown remarkable unity in not offering a clear opinion about BREXIT. They just keep saying “elect us and we will take care of it.” They recently held their party conference, and still kept mum about anything about BREXIT, other than pointing out how the Conservatives screwed up. Jeremy Corbyn is on record as being a Euro-skeptic, and has said little to enlighten anyone. He is reminding me of Bernie Sanders. He is an old school socialist who has not changed his fundamental views in 30 years even though the world around him ain’t the same and has new problems that must be dealt with.

  181. 181.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: Manusmriti or the Hindu Leveticus has gems like that. A Brahmin’s testimony is better than a shudra’s and so on. And a male (of any caste) is considered more credible than a female (of any caste)

  183. 183.

    The Pale Scot

    @Sloane Ranger:

    No-one knows what is going to happen next. There doesn’t seem to be a majority in support of ANY way forward in Parliament at this time.

    The UK government is too disorganized, all the parties are proposing pipe dreams. In a couple of weeks it will be too late to reach an agreement, and a completely unfettered hard exit will take place. As planes are grounded and medicine deliveries grind to halt. The Brexiteers will still be insisting that in spite of EU treaties and laws they are going to make “great deals” with individual EU countries, just wait. As the EU accounting laws lapse the Russian government/mobsters will finish the execution of a huge tax fraud and criminal money moves from Cyprus and other compromised banks to London and then back to offshore tax havens. Eu laws will have lapsed, the UK laws are weak, and in a couple of days the criminals that have funded Brexit will have accomplished what they wanted and will disappear. The ERG and other think tanks will close and Rees-Moggs types will have left the country. This all started when the EU began to implement plans to shut down tax haven’s access to the Western banking system, two months after that, the Brexit campaign began.

    It’s all about the Elizabeth’s

  184. 184.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m in there. The texts and emails are annoying. “It’s Nancy Pelosi. Barack asked. Hillary asked. Now I’m asking again”. But I don’t care. Let ’em annoy me. I’ve hit the donate button half a dozen times this weekend to help them and others hit their numbers.

  185. 185.

    Kay

    @Just One More Canuck:

    Another low quality hire is all I have to say. There’s only so many of those you can have before the entity itself becomes garbage. They’re riding on fumes at the SCOTUS now. This will tank them.

    I’m baffled by the idea that “institutions” could have completely separate and inviolate “credibility” apart from the people who make them up. I just don’t think that’s true. I think one could absolutely deplete that accrued credibility and start running in the red.

    You just don’t get to ride on the credibility of people who came before you forever. You need to make a deposit.

  187. 187.

    Mike J

    Sitting in the waiting room at Swedish while dad is getting surgificated. In a few hours he’ll be an android with a mechanical knee.

    Low risk surgery, but annoying recovery. Hopefully less pain when he’s done though.

  189. 189.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Immanentize: Absolutely. Our politics may be a giant mess and economic ruin just around the corner but our universities are still among the best in the world!

    It’s old, which probably means it’s well endowed and in Scotland, which voted Remain and is, therefore, civilised.

  193. 193.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    We just saw it. Black people have been saying for 100 years that police were wantonly murdering them. Nothing happened until we all got cell phones. They weren’t believed. At all. Actually it was even worse because the witness was dead.

  194. 194.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    On the way home, NPR had as guests two women who work with sexual abuse survivors. People were calling in, some describing their experiences, some asking why Ford took so long to come forward. (duh) The host asked if the events of last week would make people less likely to come forward, having seen how credible Ford is and yet how thoroughly the Rs dismissed her and went to the some other guy did it defense The guests said outrage might drive some people to report, but they said it was indeed likely others would be less willing.

  195. 195.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: yeah, people always complain about the gloom-and-doom emails, but they seem to work

    I don’t mind emails, but just last week I started getting texts from campaigns, and I really don’t like that

  197. 197.

    gbbalto

    @MazeDancer: Whre I get my coffee, they use the second finest setting. Some commercial grinders don’t seem to have the right setting at all.

  198. 198.

    Tony Jay

    @Brachiator:

    Corbyn is on record as being 70/30 in favour of Remain, which is about right given the EU’s many faults.

    And other than being white, silver-haired and middle-aged there’s very little similarity between the two men. For one thing Corbyn actually won the leadership of his Party, twice. And he’s got a long and well-documented history of being on the right side of most of the big issues, which no one can say about Wilmer.

    I know the Corbyn/Sanders thing is popular amongst people who don’t like Wilmer but, IMHO, it’s facile and incredibly lazy. YMMV.

  201. 201.

    Sloane Ranger

    @The Pale Scot: It’s certainly about weakening and splitting the West. There is evidence of Russians supporting and financing the Bexit campaign.

    Apparently Mr Rees-Mogg, MP for the 18th century, has already moved money to Dublin, although when it was brought up he said that this was just part of his Asset Management’s company’s normal activities.

  202. 202.

    gwangung

    @Tony Jay:

    And he’s got a long and well-documented history of being on the right side of most of the big issues

    Hm, I think that’s not enough. Being on the right side and having workable solutions is where you want to be.

    And perhaps that’s where the parallel is better…being on the right side and having operational programs to implement is what you should be after.

  203. 203.

    Sister Golden Bear

    This has been making the rounds of my Facebook feed and seems dead on.

    CW for survivors of sexual assault….
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    I think I understand now why I am so upset about this case. I tried to sleep last night and all I kept thinking is why are they trying to “ram him” through despite the majority of the women saying “no,” and “please stop,” and “wait”… and in that very question I found the answer. It was so simple and alarming.

    They are literally playing out on the national stage and in real time what it feels like to be overpowered. They won’t take no for an answer. They won’t listen or slow down. They won’t stop. They more we say no, the more angry they get. The more we ask them to stop, the more entitled they feel. This is, I think, is what is affecting me and countless other women.

    We are being overpowered despite us being in the majority and asking rightfully that they stop or wait. They are saying no and the more we beg, the more aggressive they are getting. Until finally, they plan on “ramming” through this nomination while we are supposed to just take it.

    This is what is affecting me. This — I think — is what is affecting most women. This overpowering, entitled and demeaning attack on our body politic.

    Us: Please stop
    Them: No
    Us: Wait
    Them: No
    Us: STOP
    Them: NOOOOOOOOO
    Us: Crying
    Them: Angry, yelling, ramming

    This is why I am upset.

  204. 204.

    Barbara

    @Tony Jay: The most thoughtful appraisals of EU problems raise the issue that there is very little that individual countries can do to change policies that they believe are unsuited to their circumstances, that it is an unsustainable model for democratic countries to find themselves subject to the power of officials who have no democratic or electoral accountability. The response, to leave, is of course disproportionate to the complaint, given the benefit of EU participation, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be some kind of intermediate position. The willingness of pro-Brexiteers to downplay the benefits of the EU for the UK is positively stupid. I was on a cruise a few years ago and was seated at dinner with a couple who voted to leave, and every one of their four children was working in a different EU country, or had done so in the past. All they could talk about were Polish women crowding the maternity ward in English hospitals. They did agree that David Cameron was a moron for proposing the referendum.

  205. 205.

    SoupCatcher

    @joel hanes:

    This makes dog-whistles such as “San Francisco values” (racial and gender diversity, acceptance and even celebration of out LGBT, activist government, mulitculturalism) work really well.

    I love her response to that line of attack, from a recent profile piece. She said that of course she subscribes to the values of St. Francis, and then listed them and talked about how the Democratic Party’s platform reflects those values.

  207. 207.

    Miss Bianca

    @Sister Golden Bear: Yeah, yowch. I think this captures the dynamic perfectly. No wonder so many of us have been feeling so traumatized by this event – I mean, personally traumatized. I haven’t been able to do any real work for a week, at least.

  208. 208.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Tony Jay: It’s certainly not what it once was. I especially hate it when someone stops speaking and then pauses waiting for the round of applause but I think you can still get a feeling for local opinion on the topics of the day from it.

    I’m old enough to remember Robin Day hosting it and you had serious politicians and genuine debates then.

  212. 212.

    Martin

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Well, San Francisco is illustrative of a host of bigger problems, of which housing is just an example. The housing problem is really a byproduct of a set of attitudes and bureaucracy run amok. They have allowed a direct democracy to take control over what needs to be representative, and they take an attitude that the city can only change if there is zero negative impact, as defined by the people being impacted. The result is a populist city, where those who are entrenched have complete authority over those who are not.

    When it comes to housing, having community boards have veto power over housing plans is absurd. That’s why we elect representatives. That’s what city councils are for. The people who have housing cannot have veto authority over those that don’t. We accuse the GOP of FYIGM, but San Francisco proves that liberals are every bit as willing to go down the very same path. A housing development was just voted down because it would increase shade on a day care by 14%, and ‘children need sunlight to thrive’. Yeah, and they need to not live in their car as well. You can solve the sunlight problem in 100 different ways, but there’s only one solution to the housing problem. This is not the city looking out for the people in need, rather it’s looking out for the people that have everything and using some untouchable class (children) as a shield to keep out the people in need.

    This is why Democrats oppose gerrymandering – because heterogeneous districts are features – it forces representatives to balance the needs of different classes of people, or else they get voted out. But San Francisco doesn’t believe in that. The people that are on the margins (basically anyone earning less than $200K that don’t own property) have no say, and they’re being forced out of the community and jobs in order to provide 14% more sunlight to a handful of children.

    San Francisco wants to be thought of as a very liberal city, but holy shit can they be the most conservative, non-inclusive assholes when they want to be. Housing policy can be very straightforward if you apply a handful of general principles, look at where negative incentives exist, and then leave it the fuck alone to operate.

  213. 213.

    The Pale Scot

    @Sloane Ranger: Weakening the West is an Haddon. I think that the real function is to get Russian crime money out from under the sanctions imposed on Russian financials. The first week of a hard Brexit is going to be crazy, and well placed bribes will get the money out of oligarch ownership and into the massive offshore darkpool. Think the “French are breaking out” circa 1780.

  214. 214.

    Tony Jay

    @gwangung:

    I’d argue that Corbyn’s Labour does have workable solutions. The Party Manifesto is out there, and viewed outside of the lens of the pro-Conservative media reads pretty much as a centre-left policy document that would be run-of-the-mill across much of Europe.

    It’s also worth noting that the last time the British Electorate got a look at actual Labour Party policies they liked them so much the Party came back from a double figure polling deficit and humiliated every prognosticator and political expert in the country. Given another couple of weeks of campaigning I’m still convinced they’d have won a narrow majority. As it stands, there’s only one Party in Britain that’s eager for and confident about another General Election, and it’s not the Tories.

  216. 216.

    A Ghost To Most

    @The Pale Scot: No, we just spend a lot of time up in the mountains, often near or above treeline on very rough “roads”. We plan on overlanding around the West when my wife retires. A hardsided cabin and a toilet are enough to allow us to stop almost anywhere. The trailer has the same wheel/tire combo at the 4Runner, so extra spares.

    It’s also our escape plan.

  217. 217.

    randy khan

    @SenyorDave:

    That document is a real piece of work. Luckily, nobody cares about it, even Collins, Flake, and Murkowski. (They won’t use it to justify their votes – if they vote for him, it will be based on the FBI investigation, such as it may be.)

  219. 219.

    oldgold

    @J R in WV:

    What did I make up? What is strident about my comment?

    Pelosi will be a drag on Democratic candidates in pink and purple Districts.

    The good news is that it looks like it will not be as much of a drag as the GOP had hoped for.

    https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/15/politics/pelosi-doesnt-matter-in-midterms/index.html

    And, before everyone starts attacking me, I agree that she is a master legislator who has done an excellent job leading House Democrats.

  220. 220.

    Tony Jay

    @Barbara:

    There’s certainly an argument to be had about national sovereignty within a multi-national association that has to have rules all members abide by, but if Brexit goes ahead we’re not going to be part of it, just a warning of how not to conduct it.

    Also, it’s worth noting that Britain, with all of our opt-outs and suchlike occupies just the intermediate position you’ve described and – still – fell prey to hate mongers and propagandists describing us as “slaves to Brussels” when, if I remember correctly, the actual record shows that Britain voted against only 2% of the EU’s various regulations. We got our way the vast majority of the time, but you wouldn’t know that from the ‘debate’ in our media.

  224. 224.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    OT: I’m listening to the NPR show 1A– stands for First Amendment– and the male host has two male law professors, a former Scalia clerk from Vanderbilt and Jeffrey Rosen, who has always struck me as a conservative, if not an openly partisan Republican

  225. 225.

    Sloane Ranger

    @The Pale Scot: I think it’s the other way round. Damaging the West is the purpose and moving money illegally just a fringe benefit.

    I agree that a hard Brexit will lead to 2- 4 weeks of absolute chaos in which anything could happen.

  226. 226.

    Fair Economist

    @Spanky:

    Flake says if FBI investigation finds Kavanaugh lied, nomination is over

    I doubt that whatever turns up will be clear-cut enough for Flake to make that call.

    That gives him an out. We already know Kavanaugh perjured himself on a number of issues including using stolen documents and involvement on the Pryor nomination.

    IMO Flake really wants Kavanaugh to withdraw (so they can nominate a cleaner candidate). He doesn’t want to vote for or against for political reasons. He’s doing his best to apply pressure.

  229. 229.

    Fair Economist

    @Martin:

    The people who have housing cannot have veto authority over those that don’t. We accuse the GOP of FYIGM, but San Francisco proves that liberals are every bit as willing to go down the very same path.

    Amen!

  230. 230.

    Miss Bianca

    @oldgold: A lot of people appear to be tired of your two-note braying about Mueller and Pelosi. (“Democrats are DOOMED unless Mueller adheres to my fantasy timeline and we dump the old broad!”)

    That’s why they start looking for delicious pie in your comments.

  232. 232.

    Brachiator

    @Tony Jay:

    Corbyn is on record as being 70/30 in favour of Remain, which is about right given the EU’s many faults.

    What does this mean? Would Labour want a new vote (which) or deal with current reality?

    And other than being white, silver-haired and middle-aged there’s very little similarity between the two men. For one thing Corbyn actually won the leadership of his Party, twice. And he’s got a long and well-documented history of being on the right side of most of the big issues, which no one can say about Wilmer.

    Corbyn has been “on the right side of issues,” but actual policy proposals, where offered, are unworkable or ridiculously expensive. Corbyn is as strangely insensitive to anti-semitism as Bernie is to racism. Maybe this stems from their belief that socialism is the answer to all problems.

    But yes, it is an essential difference that Corbyn is the officially elected leader of the Labour Party.

    ETA: With all this, I think that Corbyn is much more admirable and substantial than Sanders.

  233. 233.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Brachiator:
    I agree. At least Corbyn actually put some work into getting his position instead of Carpetbagger Bernie trying to leapfrog ahead of everyone else and expecting to be crowned when primaries didn’t go his way

  234. 234.

    Mnemosyne

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Yep. And we’ve reached that scary moment when we realize that the person forcing us to do something we don’t want not only doesn’t care that we don’t want it, but they’re forcing it on us just to show that they have the power to do it and we can’t stop them.

    At this point, it’s not even about getting an ultra-conservative on the court to overturn Roe v Wade along with 50 years of progress. It’s about forcing this specific rapey political hack on us just to show us who’s boss.

  236. 236.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Fair Economist: I hope you’re right. I think if I were Collins, Murkowski and a bunch of others less obvious, I would want to avoid this vote, but I’m seeing conflicting reports that Collins, at least, approved the WH’s shenanigans with limiting the scope of the probe. Kinda weird to me how badly she wants to get to yes. Has she got some kind of partisan Stockholm syndrome with trump?

  238. 238.

    Kay

    @Spanky:

    I don’t think they can confirm him. When the heat of battle cools down a little they’ll figure out a way to get rid of him. They’re all probably calmed down now and reality is setting in. It isn’t the allegation- it’s how he handled himself in a bad situation. Not well.

    I could absolutely be wrong but I think I he took himself out of the running with his response. We’ll see.

  239. 239.

    Tony Jay

    @Sloane Ranger:

    Agreed. It’s not even remotely a political debate programme. It’s a podium for celebrity extremists and wannabe ministers. Pointless and actively damaging. A bit like Brexit itself.

  241. 241.

    Kay

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Whatever the GOP leadership think of liars, however cynical they are about that, Kavanaugh’s classmates are coming out and saying he’s a liar.

    It isn’t the drinking. It’s that they were there at the time and they listened to him lie under oath. THEY still believe he has a duty to tell the truth, and that’s what most people will believe. Judicial temperament is a real thing. It’s an actual job requirement.

  242. 242.

    bemused

    @Kay:

    This! “You need to make a deposit”. I love your excellent, common sense comments and this one applies to so many of our institutions and entities. Republicans only want to make withdrawals.

  243. 243.

    Miss Bianca

    @Kay: I lurk on the Lawyers, Guns and Money blog, and one of the points a commenter there made really struck me (I’m paraphrasing): Can you imagine how Judge Kavanaugh would have responded to someone acting *in his courtroom* the way he did before the Senate? – shouting, arrogant, disrespectful, constantly blustering “I’m innocent!”, getting weepy and hysterical? Do you think he would have put up with crap like that for an instant? Not bloody likely!

  245. 245.

    Kay

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Opening statements aren’t evidence and you’re allowed to overstate your case, so maybe that’s what happened. Lawyers are narrow thinkers and they follow the track they know. But he’s not a litigator and this wasn’t “his case”. It was him. HE, his whole self, was at issue.

    He was terrible counsel for himself. The allegation wasn’t the test he had to pass. The test was how he handled it.

  248. 248.

    C Stars

    Haven’t read all the comments, but on the enthusiasm front, I was motivated to finally do some textbanking this week. I’ve done postcarding and attended fundraising events, but haven’t been able to bring myself to have any “real time” interactions with potential voters until the Kavanaugh debacle set a fire under my bum. There were people phonebanking and texting like mad, packed into the house that was hosting the event. So yes, anecdotally it feels like a lot more energy.

  249. 249.

    Mel

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Thanks for this information. It really could save a life. So many times, women’s heart attack symptoms are ignored or misdiagnosed b/c they are often not the “classic” symptoms.

    I’m so thankful that your doctors diagnosed correctly!

  250. 250.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Kay: Over the weekend, Adam Silverman used the phrase “too cute by half” to characterize the super-restricted FBI investigation, and expressed the opinion that it would blow up on the Republicans. I hope that’s true, and I hope that the FBI hears these stories and considers documented perjury to be part of the charter of their investigation.

  251. 251.

    Mnemosyne

    @Kay:

    Kavanaugh’s testimony convinced me that he remembers doing this to Christine Blasey Ford and is trying to brazen it out by lying about every little detail. If she says he was drunk, he claims he only drinks beer. If she says that he and Judge tried to force her into a “devil’s triangle” threesome (two men and one woman), he claims that “devil’s triangle” means something else. If she names specific people or places, he claims he doesn’t know them even though they appear on the calendar that he himself provided to the committee around the date that she claims she was attacked.

    He has to lie about everything and claim it’s the opposite of what she says because otherwise his entire story unravels. And he knows it.

    He didn’t do this in some kind of blackout state. He remembers doing it. He’s just pissed that she came forward.

  252. 252.

    hueyplong

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Kind of difficult for us to forget that a decent number of the Mueller charges to date have been for lying to investigators, which apparently every single one of the Trump/Putin minions did, at least initially.

    So, yes, lying under oath is supposed to be a thing.

  253. 253.

    Fair Economist

    @Mnemosyne: Also telling Whelan about the other guy actually at the party according to his own calendar. I wonder if there is a code for successful rape attempts in the calendar? It would explain why he kept it.

  256. 256.

    Neldob

    This level of anger against those who are destroying our republic needs to be kept up for the next 50 years.

  258. 258.

    Ruckus

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    I text them back and tell them to stop. It seems to work, has so far. The emails? Those don’t stop. Ever. They do however multiply like bunnies. I routinely get 30-50 a day now. It was half that 2 yrs ago. But it’s effective for them so they aren’t stopping at all.

  259. 259.

    WaterGirl

    @Ruckus: Every time I have unsubscribed to a campaign, they have stopped. I wonder why we are having such different experiences.

  260. 260.

    J R in WV

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    NPR’s new show 1A is right wing propaganda most of the time. No pretense of both-sides, just the one true side, the conservative side. A terrible thing to impose on people who would rather hear real news and commentary from people who aren’t supporting fascism.

    Ben Witt of Brookings and Lawfare went on record on September 8 that “Judge” Kavanaugh is an honorable man, and that there was no point in attempting to gin up some phony perjury accusations against the honorable man. Now, here we are 3 weeks later, with an FBI investigation, obvious perjury, rape and exposure accusations that seem to hold all the water, obvious drunken fool testimony and evidence. Mr Witt looks more the fool than “Judge” Kavanaugh at this point.

  261. 261.

    WaterGirl

    @J R in WV: Benjamin Wittes is a total fucking coward for not come out again, now, after the hearings, and taking a stand.

    He either still supports Kavanaugh, or he doesn’t, or he is torn. Once a person like Wittes came out with the original huge support of Kavenaugh, if Wittes has any integrity, he needs to announce where he stands at now. Otherwise, he’s just a total fucking partisan coward with no integrity, so why should I read his website?

  263. 263.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:
    The only one’s that have stopped are the CA republican ones. That may be the way I informed them that I didn’t want to see their emails. I seem to recall the words bullshit, assholes, never in my life will I vote for a fucking republican…….
    Stuff like that may have gotten their attention.

  264. 264.

    Kay

    andrew kaczynski ?
    ‏Verified account
    @KFILE
    2h2 hours ago
    More andrew kaczynski ? Retweeted andrew kaczynski ?
    I called former House Speaker @NewtGingrich – who spread the unfounded Seth Rich claim on Fox News – to ask if he would also retract his statements. When I said the word “Seth Rich” he said “goodbye” and hung up.

    They all invented this bullshit. They had to be court ordered to retract this incredibly sleazy lie about a young man who died and couldn’t defend himself.

    If Newt Gingrich repeats it do we then know it’s a lie? How does one even judge their credibility? No, safest bet is “lying”. Again.

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