To lighten the mood today:
We did a thing with the story on the giant teddy bear sprinting onto an Air Force base. https://t.co/7yxgNjxI60 pic.twitter.com/CFRB12Q3YQ
— J.D. Simkins (@simkinsjourno) October 5, 2018
The Air Force may have called the incident a training exercise, but a Build-A-Bear on steroids made waves on social media this week after strolling up to the Sheppard Air Force Base entrance and blessing the gate guards with a hodgepodge of heaven-sent dance moves before making a break for the bare necessities of base access and a life of aiming high.
“Wherever I wander, wherever I roam. I couldn’t be fonder of my big home.”
Unfortunately, Mark Wahlberg’s thunder buddy for life didn’t wander very far onto the Wichita Falls, Texas, installation before drawing unwanted attention.
After finishing a dance traditionally accepted as a greeting in stuffed bear culture, the adorable teddy took off, nimbly weaving through traffic barriers and cones with the grace of a thousand ancient Mesopotamian belly dancers before graciously moving onto the sidewalk to avoid blocking traffic.
Stunned to the point of paralysis by the bear jig, a transfixed guard eventually snapped out of the bear dance trance as the teddy dashed down the road.
You must click over to watch the video for a good giggle.
Take care of yourself today.
I had a good conversation with a campaign aide for CO4 and it helped take the edge off. Karen McCormack is in an impossible race, but we are going to fight for her. Thanks to PostCard Patriots for pointing me in the right direction to be as helpful as I can be.
Open thread
rikyrah
Van Dyke found GUILTY of Second Degree Murder.
Also 16 counts of aggravated battery – one for each shot.
Don’t tell me that elections don’t matter.
This case wouldn’t have gone to court if Anita Alvarez was still in office.
Major Major Major Major
Hehe, thanks for this. I saw SG retweet it but was too rage-locked into the Twitter app to click out.
TaMara (HFG)
@rikyrah: A little bittersweet good news. Should have been first degree. But at least something for Laquan’s family.
TaMara (HFG)
And Susan Collins is announcing her decision. I can’t bear (no pun) to listen. I’ll let you guys tell me later.
SiubhanDuinne
oh fuck she’s gonna vote for the rapist isn’t she
SiubhanDuinne
goddamn goddamn godammit all to fucking HELL
FUCK
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Yep. Once Flake folded this morning, she lost her top cover.
Dorothy A. Winsor
PSA: Amazon has a preposterously long delivery time for THE WIND READER–1-2 months. If you order directly from Inspired Quill, my editor swears it will come within 2 weeks. Someone I told on FB ordered right away and says the IQ price is about the same even allowing for shipping. Sometimes publishing is a hell hole
SiubhanDuinne
FUCK
YOU
SUSAN
COLLINS
schrodingers_cat
She must never win another election again.
Corner Stone
@SiubhanDuinne: I wish she would just do it and stop fucking with us.
HeleninEire
@SiubhanDuinne: Yeah. She’s gonna vote yes.
Paul W.
Oh yeah, she’s voting for him. Bullshit about Roe v Wade, ignoring his temperament during hearings.
Time to get out the pitchforks.
Corner Stone
I love how she thinks unlimited power is going to constrain Kavanaugh in his decisions moving forward.
Major Major Major Major
I’m shocked to find republican voting happening by this consistently republican republican.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne: that’s what I’m getting.
if so, we fight on. Get to know Jerry Nadler
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
So it doesn’t matter one tiny mushroom-shaped fuck what Manchin does now.
Corner Stone
Now putting on the kneepads for Trump.
chopper
well surprise, surprise, collins fucks us all over.
Bobby Thomson
Apparently she’s going full Kavanaugh, too.
We need to recruit for her seat yesterday. If there is a credible candidate at those levels of funding, she will retire.
Baud
At least we’ll have a 40 year in your face reminder about the importance of elections now.
lafcolleen
Chicago was bracing itself for the outcome of police officer Jason Van Dyke’s murder trial. verdict just announced – guilty of the 2nd degree murder of Laquan McDonald.
Thank God for this verdict.
MazeDancer
Happy to be of service, TaMara.
We’re all going to have to write harder. PostCardPatriots.com
Collins just cited Kavanaugh’s wonderful dissent upholding the ACA.
She deserves every piece of shame she gets every day for the rest of her life.
Corner Stone
Don’t you fucking compare RBG to that fucking scum Kavanaugh! Fuck you!
debbie
I can’t even tell what her point is.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
but then all the cameras would move on to Joe Manchin. He doesn’t even want them. Susan Collins is thoughtful! She talked to him for hours! She read things! Everyone look at Susan.
If I’m right and she does vote yes, that fund hits $3 million by next Friday.
chopper
@debbie:
you’d think she’d have something better considering she made such a big spectacle of her decision.
FlipYrWhig
@debbie: I’m not watching but isn’t the point of all Susan Collins speeches “Look at me, I’m the very thoughtful Susan Collins!”
SiubhanDuinne
@Corner Stone:
Was just about to post the same thing. Not interested in all your stupid justifications, Susie Q. Not interested in your “inch-at-a-time-amputation” rhetoric. Say it, shut the fuck up, get the fuck out. Susan Collins is dead to me.
schrodingers_cat
@debbie: Its a fuck you to all women in the United States.
eemom
What the fuck is she on about??
chopper
seriously, she is just the fucking worst.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@eemom: herself
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Not unless Coons somehow convinces Flake to vote no tomorrow. And even Coons thinks that’s unlikely.
Humdog
@rikyrah: This is a victory for justice. Thanks for the update.
Major Major Major Major
Well, this ain’t gonna be the mental health break thread I was hoping for. I’m out. (Not a criticism.)
eemom
Is she a fucking sock puppet for trump??
Baud
@Major Major Major Major:
That’s a thing?
TenguPhule
@SiubhanDuinne:
If he gives Kav the fig leaf of “bipartisan approval” he is dead to the Democratic Party.
eemom
THIS IS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT YOU STUPID BITCH
Corner Stone
This is the same woman that smiled when McConnell flat lied to her about promised future votes. She’s not very bright but she knows her voters are even more stupid.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
You and Cole seem to think the US federal government is going to survive this shit.
Baud
@TenguPhule: Yes.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
I think the popular term for them is pet posts.
NotMax
The bane from Maine votes mainly without brain.
narya
@rikyrah: So glad about this, as are my coworkers .. .
TenguPhule
@Baud: Its not. This is where it all starts to implode.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Can you see the jail your son will be in till 2020? I wonder if there’s anyone in Alaska whose opinion Murkowski gives less of a shit about?
also, too
Paul W.
@TenguPhule: while I’ve disagreed with you on all sorts of stuff, as a mostly lurker, this is 100% true.
With Kavanaugh on the court we are headed to a modern day civil war.
Baud
@TenguPhule: ok
Corner Stone
HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Precedent. On this Supreme Court. GMAFB
TenguPhule
@debbie:
Susan Collins would like to be governor of Maine and then the first female president.
Quinerly
Anybody know anything about the rumor that a Dem won’t be around for the final vote?
And fuck Susan Collins.
Wonder if she and Murkowski will remain friends….
Dorothy A. Winsor
I can’t tell. Did Collins actually say which way she was voting? Or is she still blathering?
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I’m not watching. I assumed from comments here that she announced.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
This x 156,000,000
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@TenguPhule: then she should’ve quite the Senate, or at least the GOP, a year ago.
We are headed for House Judiciary hearings starring Don McGahn, Ed Whelan, Bill Burck, Christopher Wray and Rod Rosenstein.
bemused
Eric Boehlert tweeted, this is one of the best unicorn speeches ever.
eclare
@SiubhanDuinne: Absolutely. It’s also a fuck you to anyone who cares about the environment, civil rights, rule of law, etc., but it’s a really big fuck you to women.
Humdog
Will more money be raised in thank you to Heitkamp than fuck you to Collins?
I bet fuck you gets more donations, what say you?
eemom
It would be strange if she spent 8 hours lauding Kav’s judicial bona fides and then said “but I’m gonna vote no anyway because he’s a rapist and a liar,” but who knows.
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Well, Sarah’s house number is 2018 so she’s probably telling the truth.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
She plans to run for Governor of Maine potentially, right? Could that fund be repurposed for any gubernatorial candidate against her if she does run for Maine Governor?
eemom
You fucking WHORE
debbie
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Still blathering. With no end in sight.
Quinerly
@Baud: She hasn’t gotten there yet. She’s talking about what a centrist the wanna be rapist is.
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: Senator Daines who is one of the Republican senators from Montana will not be in DC tomorrow as it is his daughter’s wedding back in Montana.
Adam L Silverman
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Still blathering.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@TenguPhule:
There’s more of us than there are of them. Something else will rise from the ashes should that come to pass, if we fight for it. Minority rule is not sustainable.
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Dont’ forget Leonard Leo.
TenguPhule
@Paul W.: I think Hawaii has a fair chance of seceding quickly and getting adopted by Japan. One of the few advantages of being an island in the middle of an Ocean.
mali muso
So where’s the link to that fund for her opposition? I am ready to donate.
SiubhanDuinne
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Still blathering, but if she does end up announcing that she’s a Nay vote, I will eat an entire unabridged set of Encyclopædia Britannica.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
the only interesting thing about this is her desperate need to keep the camera on herself while she blathers
This was a joke on the Office, the one time Michael Scott knew he had info everybody wanted, he refused to tell them so they’d keep listening to him
TenguPhule
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
In the long term, but in the long term everyone is dead.
Look at apartheid africa for how a minority rule can be forced in the short term. It doesn’t have to work for long, just long enough to smash and grab and get out.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne:
That would be the most amazing troll ever though.
Corner Stone
You can not believe Dr Ford and also believe Kavanaugh. You can’t.
Mart
Collins jabbering praise of the unhinged black out rapist (I am being kind) made me hyper tense in about forty seconds and had to change to music.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman: I know that. CNN was reporting a rumor about a Dem. Several other commenters have also brought it up in other threads. I’m wondering if Manchin will be a no show and he and the father of the bride will cancel each other out. Doesn’t that give Pence the tie breaking vote?
Repatriated
Sen. Warren found proof in the FBI report that Kavanaugh perjured himself, but cannot reveal what it was. Assuming the Democrats retake the House in November, they should be able to subpoena that report and make at least that part of it public.
They could do it now, but the question is whether the GOP could get 2/3 to expel whoever leaked it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
oh man, she’s doubling down against Ford. My previous opinion of Collins was too high! I didn’t think that was possible
ETA: I’m half ready to fly to Portland to chant SHAME at her next time she goes home. I wonder if she as any idea of the whirlwind she’s reaping
Corner Stone
Collins is now playing the role of Trump on the Senate floor.
SiubhanDuinne
@TenguPhule:
How does that saying go? The one that starts with BWAHAHAHAHAHAH (gasp) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Corner Stone
Collins is just straight up saying, “FUCK YOU WOMEN!!!!”
Paul W.
@Corner Stone: This. OMFG why is she still talking.
Mart
@Corner Stone: @Corner Stone: “FUCK YOU AMERICA!!!!” Ha! Edit works.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve always thought Collins was a moron, albeit with that lizard brained instinct for self preservation pols learn, but how did no one in her staff stop her from dragging this on for so long, and from getting into the gutter?
Corner Stone
This “person” should not be allowed to show her face in public for the rest of her life.
eemom
So it is a done deal now right? I am too furious to think straight, never mind count.
Starfish
I have been participating in the Win-the-Fourth (WTF) Colorado superPAC since early on because why would anyone not? Defeating Ken Buck was a whimsical goal at first, but McCormick has done a fine job in going for it.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
It would. I would stand on her dining table and sing “You’re the Top.” Gladly.
Corner Stone
Shut up and get the fuck off my screen before Deadline White House is supposed to start.
SiubhanDuinne
And there it is.
Chris
@Paul W.:
Even McCain limited his grandstand to a thumbs down. She’s been milking this for a fucking hour.
SiubhanDuinne
I couldn’t get through to any of Collins’ offices earlier today. I’m not even going to make the attempt right now.
Probably just as well. I’d be guaranteed to invite a visit from the Secret Service, as intemperate as I’m feeling right now.
NotMax
@Repatriated
There is such a thing as Congressional Immunity*. Warren would in theory be given cover**.
*Relevant excerpt from Article I, Section 6, Clause 1:
**Also in theory she’d become eligible to be censured or expelled, but where in the hierarchy of privilege and operation the immunity clause falls has never been unequivocally addressed.
jacy
Manchin announces he will vote yes. Who is more chickenshit, Collins or Manchin? Discuss.
Ruckus
@jacy:
How can one be more than 100% chickenshit?
FlipYrWhig
@Ruckus: 10 pounds of chickenshit in a 5 pound bag?
Chris
@jacy:
GOD.
Manchin. He knows better.
TenguPhule
@jacy:
Manchin by a mile.
We know Collins was always a political whore.
Starfish
People are hitting the website to donate to Collins’ future opponent so hard that it gives server errors.
J R in WV
Guys, remember that this was not the confirmation vote, this was the cloture vote, to force the actual vote for or against confirmation. I’m not expecting it, but Manchin, slimy tho he is, could vote differently in the actual confirmation vote whenever it happens.
I was once placed in a position where then Gov Manchin and I were forced to shake hands. It was terrible, he looked at me, bearded hippie that I am, and had a fixed politician’s grin on his face, that became more forced as we touched hands. What a goon.