Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Come on, man.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

T R E 4 5 O N

This really is a full service blog.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

It’s the corruption, stupid.

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

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / At Least This Debate is Forever Over

At Least This Debate is Forever Over

by | 169 Comments

This post is in: ,

The one positive outcome of the ridiculously lenient sentence Manafort received yesterday is that it should forever end any fucking debate about whether or not our justice system is racist as fuck:

Judge Ellis is quite a piece of work. In 2009, when Democratic congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana famously got caught with 90-grand in cold, ill-gotten cash in his home freezer, Ellis threw the book at him, sentencing Jefferson to 13 years, the longest bid ever doled out to a congressman in a bribery case. Jefferson, it should be noted, was black.

It is. And it’s not just racist judges, because mandatory minimums tie the hands of fair judges. The end.

Reader Interactions

169Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    Phuck not second guessing Ellis. That was a bullshyt sentence and anyone can see that. Wouldn’t nobody Black get that kind of a sentence.???

  2. 2.

    chopper

    still pissed as fuck. gonna be for a long-ass time. whitey’s assurances about judge amy jackson’s upcoming sentence can suck it.

    feh.

  4. 4.

    The Midnight Lurker

    What is needed to rid ourselves of these fuckers?

    Legally, I mean.

    For now.

  6. 6.

    chopper

    it’s like saying “i mean hey, the judge gave dahmer only 12 months for murder but at least we nailed him on not keeping meat at a sufficient temperature for human consumption”

  8. 8.

    Mike in NC

    Will Manafort be permitted to decorate his cell with some of those expensive carpets and works of art he bought? How about a stereo system and a comfy recliner?

  9. 9.

    SFAW

    @rikyrah:

    Wouldn’t nobody Black get that kind of a sentence

    Sure they would. Why, “Judge” Ellis loves him some coloreds so much, he’d give a black man 15 of those sentences

    To be served consecutively, of course.

  10. 10.

    Gin & Tonic

    I know people are focused on the racism and the unequal justice angle, but I’m with Nichols, that what struck me the most was that utterly ignorant and tone-deaf “blameless.” Some of us have known of Manafort for many years, long, long before he appeared in the Trump orbit, and the guy has spent the last 40 years at the beck and call of some of the worst dictators of the 20th and 21st centuries. I have called him on these pages, more than once, a blood-soaked mercenary – for that is what he has spent his adult life being. A completely amoral and soulless being who *never* hesitated to make a buck off the misfortune of others, and who is as responsible for the deaths of the Maidan protesters as Yanukovych or the police who fired their weapons. I do wish to see him die impoverished and imprisoned, and can only hope that we will still be able to see that outcome.

  14. 14.

    geg6

    I’m still so fucking pissed I can barely keep myself from screaming. Fuck that fucking racist fuck Ellis. I have had so much rage since 2016 and this has just ratcheted it up to levels unseen.

    We are fucked. This country is fucked.

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    Hey Silverman,

    Are you going to write a post about Dolt45 stealing from the military pensions for his phucking wall?
    How is that even possible?

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @chopper:

    whitey’s assurances about judge amy jackson’s upcoming sentence can suck it.

    I know, I get it. Even if Judge Amy imposes the max she can and says “consecutive not concurrent, beeyotch,” that still doesn’t take away the fact that the Ellis sentencing yesterday was a fearful miscarriage of justice.

  17. 17.

    geg6

    @Gin & Tonic:

    The blameless shit IS part of the racism. Think of all the people of color in prison for long sentences for having drugs. Many have never done anything worse than carry some pot in their pasts. No one calls them blameless. No one gives dead young unarmed black men doing nothing illegal who are killed by cops the label blameless. Children brought to this country by their parents aren’t being treated as blameless. It’s all a part of it.

  18. 18.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @geg6:

    I love you. Think about your incredible life-saving niece, and the positive difference she’s going to make in this world.

    Deep breaths, calm thoughts, and {{{big hugs}}} to you. Hope your John is also recovering well.

  19. 19.

    Eolirin

    I think this whole thing has really changed my mind on manditory minimums. I now think we need them, specifically for white collar crimes.

  22. 22.

    Gin & Tonic

    Switching gears, has anyone seen the film Zimna Wojna (Cold War)? It debuted at Cannes last year, and was one of the Oscar nominees this year.

  23. 23.

    scav

    Shit, we have an entire task force devoted to seeing if prospective Americans lied on their applications so they can be tossed out of the country entirely, but if a white wealthy Republican lies to the FBI, he’s blameless and thus worthy of reuced sentence. Greatness Reborn!

  24. 24.

    SRW1

    @debbie:

    My head almost exploded at that “leading a blameless life.”

    Sort of reminded me of a certain Marie Antoinette. Alas, a tumbrel and Madame G are not in his future.

  26. 26.

    Ocotillo

    Is Ellis signaling to the Trumpers to run cases through his jurisdiction for the desired results?

  28. 28.

    lamh36

    smh…as someone said… wesely snipes got what 3 years for 1 count of misdemeanor tax evasion

    Jussie Smollett gonna serve more time than Manafort, and he didn’t even sell out his country…for money

  31. 31.

    Aleta

    @The Midnight Lurker:
    I picture it like an infestation of insects. They’re always been around, but their numbers were manageable. Then the environment changes to encourage faster multiplying, and now their numbers and the damage are way out of control. It takes a long time, and a constant fight against every stage of their growth (eggs, larvae, adults, and breeding rate as influenced by environment).

  32. 32.

    Redshift

    @lamh36:

    John Kelly Unloads: Working for Trump Was Awful, and His Wall Is Stupid

    Tell us you weren’t the one implementing racist policies at DHS and sincerely apologize to Frederica Wilson for your lies and smears, Kelly, and you might begin to be on the road to redeeming your reputation.

    Until then, what lamh36 said.

  33. 33.

    dexwood

    @Aleta:
    Guess we need a republican roach motel. Now that I think about it, that would be the trump hotel in D.C. Too bad they’re allowed to check out.

  34. 34.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lamh36:

    John Kelly Unloads: Working for Trump Was Awful, and His Wall Is Stupid

    Dear John Kelly:

    Your timing fucking sucks.

    Love, Subaru Diane

  35. 35.

    MomSense

    @geg6:

    Same here. The only thing that stops me from screaming, besides scaring my dog, is the fear that I might not be able to stop.

    On the same day that Ellis delivered that insulting farce of a sentence, I helped my mom do her taxes. She’s in her 80s and itemizes because she spends so much Fucking money on medical expenses. Well she lost the personal exemption and the tax for her jumped from $250 last year to $750 this year. Her gross is only $23,000. People who had adjusted gross income under $10,000 got fucked with the tax scam. She also found out that the refraction tests she needs four times a year for her eye disease are no longer covered by Medicare. And that motherfucker Manafort got away with stealing and laundering hundreds of millions of dollars.

    I’m ready to bring out the fucking guillotines. This abuse has to stop.

  36. 36.

    Aleta

    There’s a quote in the story about Ellis.
    Told by Lamar White, Jr. ‏@LamarWhiteJr

    Judge Ellis is the same guy who Lamar White, Jr. @LamarWhiteJr
    sentenced U.S. Rep. Bill Jefferson to thirteen years in prison for corruption.

    What’s the difference between Manafort and Jefferson? Hmmmm…. gee, I wonder.

    The sentence handed down in Jefferson’s case was the longest ever given to a member of Congress.

    Jefferson is best known for keeping $90K in cash in his freezer. Ironically, that charge didn’t stick. He was convicted of related crimes, and ironically, the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States ensured he ultimately got out… after eight years.

    Before sentencing him to 13 years:

    “Judge T.S. Ellis III told Jefferson that he has ‘led an extraordinary life and has accomplished a great deal.’ But he added: ‘It makes this event all the sadder for me and many people.'”

  38. 38.

    MomSense

    @lamh36:

    Then why the hell did he do it? This is just a Fucking ploy to rehabilitate his reputation now that he revealed himself to be a lying, racist piece of shit.

  39. 39.

    burnspbesq

    @Mike in NC:

    Will Manafort be permitted to decorate his cell with some of those expensive carpets and works of art he bought? How about a stereo system and a comfy recliner?

    When the IRS gets done assessing civil penalties for willful failure to file FBARs, Manafort won’t have enough money to buy an Egg McMuffin.

  42. 42.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @lamh36: I’ll skim the article later, but IIRC it was just about a year ago that Lindsey Graham convinced trump to accept a bipartisan compromise on immigration that included money for border improvements that he could call a wall. He was all excited about signing something Obama never did and getting a photo op, etc (Let’s leave aside for the moment that the then Speaker almost certainly would not have brought said compromise to the House floor). All the reporting at the time said it was Kelly and that dead-eyed cretin Miller (Stephen?) who got The Beast all riled up the point he was rambling about shithole countries and blew the whole thing up. And what others have said about Frederica Wilson (and let’s not forget, from that same rant, the Khan family sacrificing their Gold Star status, per the self appointed High Priest), Rob Porter (“women used to be held sacred in this country”), etc.
    So yeah, fuck John Kelly. I’m always ambivalent about Lawrence O’Donnell, but damn he had Kelly’s number right off and his seething contempt for the Boston Irish bully he recognized was a thing of beauty.

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    O/T, but I’m seeing reports that Trump spent much of the day “autographing” Bibles for tornado victims in Alabama.

    He can sign whatever he wants, of course, but I believe the correct term in this case would be “inscribe.” The term “autograph” implies that one is the author of the book in question….

    Oh. Wait.

  46. 46.

    plato

    This is a country with a justice system where a perennial tax cheat, money launderer, serial adulterer, scamming con man and a child rapist did all these crimes right in the public eye for decades and still got feted & elected to the topmost post just because he was white. So, not a surprise at all that yet another corrupt judge got yet another white criminal off the hook.

  48. 48.

    Duane

    Ellis does know how to coin a phrase. “An otherwise blameless life” is even better than “with notable exception.”
    Ellis must think Manafort was the second coming of JFC. He’s an idiot that should be kicked out on his rascist ass.

  53. 53.

    Roger Moore

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I know people are focused on the racism and the unequal justice angle, but I’m with Nichols, that what struck me the most was that utterly ignorant and tone-deaf “blameless.”

    Honestly, I think this is the core part of the sentencing. Giving aid and support to dictators around the world just isn’t a big deal in Judge Ellis’s book. As long as he was just providing PR cover and election advice, rather than pulling the trigger or giving orders to shoot, he was just trying to earn a buck.

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SiubhanDuinne: O/T, but I’m seeing reports that Trump spent much of the day “autographing” Bibles for tornado victims in Alabama.

    Isn’t this some kind of blasphemy? I realize their real religion is white supremacy and he is their pope, but… is this really not too much for somebody on their side? Fucking really?
    /rhetorical

  60. 60.

    Steve in the ATL

    @SiubhanDuinne: merde! Reminds me that I have never seen the wine list at your Local; it’s always just been “I’ll have what she’s having!” but without all the When Harry Met Sally stuff every time

  61. 61.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    and then there’s this asshole

    Jonahan Martin @ jmartNYT
    Loudest and most sustained ovation of night – followed by a BERNIE, BERNIE chant – after he says that no matter the negative ads and attempts to stop him he will pass Medicare for All

    @ mattyglesia Retweeted Jonathan Martin
    … how?

    and Yglesias is actually Bernie-curious. The replies to MY are equal parts snark and sincere “Because he’s Bernie!” comments, but no one mentions “Look out the window, Mitch”. Once again, I’m tempted to sign up for that infernal swamp
    and then there’s this one, which could just as easily be snarky as sincere

    Quintus Haterius @ QuintusHaterius
    He would simply Try, unlike secret Republican Barack Obama

    The capital T makes me think it’s sincere.

  62. 62.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I can’t answer your first question. It’s Alabama (shrug emoticon).

    As to the second, I am an atheist, but with a strong Presbyterian/Episcopalian background, and I find it offensive.

    ETA: By the way, huge props for spelling “sacrilegious” correctly. So few do.

  63. 63.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Steve in the ATL: it’s always just been “I’ll have what she’s having!” but without all the When Harry Met Sally stuff every time

    just some of the time?

  64. 64.

    Aleta

    FWIW, not necessarily connected but …

    From Bloomberg, two stories

    March 5, Aon Weighs All-Share Bid for $24 B Rival Willis Towers
    March 6, A $24 Billion Insurance Deal Dies in Less Than 24 Hours

    From Wapo on March 5 via NYT

    New York state regulators have subpoenaed documents from the Trump Organization’s insurance broker, following testimony from President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen that Trump exaggerated his wealth to insurance companies.

    A spokeswoman for Aon PLC, Trump’s London-based broker, confirmed Tuesday that her company had received a subpoena from New York’s Department of Financial Services. …

    March 7, w/ links to older stories, a 20+ thread
    Will Bunch @Will_Bunch

    2. This week, the House Judiciary Committee dropped a bombshell on Trump World when it requested info from 81 players like Trump’s campaign, the Trump Org, his sons, his son-in-law, etc.

    Hard to believe but one name should be added to the list. America: Meet Pamela J. Newman

    3. Pamela Newman is little known outside of the insurance world – where she’s a star. She rose through the ranks to become an executive veep at one of the world’s biggest firms, Aon.

    She also had a superstar client: Donald J. Trump.

    
4. In the mid-2000s, Trump did a very dumb thing (shocking, huh?). He was infuriated over a book by @TimOBrien alleged Trump’s net worth was much, much lower than Trump claimed — so he sued. Which allowed O’Brien’s lawyers to conduct discovery.



    5. This included a rare chance to review some of Trump’s financial records, where the lawyers learned that in 2005, Trump had received $18.3 million from an insurance carrier, brokered by Aon Plc. The money was for damage to Mar-a-Lago and other Florida properties,


    6. O’Brien’s lawyers deposed Trump in 2007. He admitted that not all of the money had been plowed back into Mar-a-Lago, even though he insisted “the hurricane really did tremendous damage.”
    … …
    12, The only relevant permits, according to the AP, were for $3,000 (!) in repairs to outdoor lights and for vacuuming sand from a swimming pool. Officials like town planners and historians who were there for the storm were shocked to learn of Trump’s claim.

    13, The AP tracked down the insurance adjuster, Hank Stein of VeriClaim, who struggled to remember any details but did believe there was some water damage from observation windows that blew open.

    14. All of this raises questions about Aon Plc. and their role in this. The AP actually failed to learn the identity of the insurer whose name is on the check, but Trump said in the deposition the lead broker involved in obtaining the payment was Aon’s Pamela Newman.
    … …
    17. Newman was the absolute FIRST person, ever, to donate to Trump’s presidential campaign. Her check for $2,700 — the maximum — arrived 2 weeks BEFORE Trump came down the escalator and announced he was running



    18. Newman also hosted a fundraiser for Trump, according to Bloomberg News, and she later gave a whopping $25,000 to the Make America Great Again PAC. …

    19. One more thing about Trump and AON — his presidential campaign spent more than $300,000 on insurance with the company
    …
    23. But why didn’t Florida authorities follow up on the AP’s report in 2016? The attorney general at the time was Pam Biondi, who famously received a $25,000 donation from Trump and failed to investigate multiple claims about Trump University

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steve in the ATL:

    it’s always just been “I’ll have what she’s having!” but without all the When Harry Met Sally stuff every time

    Uh unh nope not even

  68. 68.

    Steve in the ATL

    Question for B-J voodoo/hoodoo/santeria practitioners: this morning I found the body of an adult rabbit in my front yard, minus the head. Did someone put a hex on us? If so, what kind?

    Question for B-J mafia: is it possible that an underachieving mobster was trying to intimidate one of my neighbors and left a rabbit head in their bed and simply discarded the body in my yard (note: dumping an animal body in a neighbor’s yard totally violates the HOA regs, so I will need to file a complaint if this is what happened)?

    Question for B-J Louisiana/Arkansas/Mississippi/Alabama residents or natives: when I went to my mailbox this evening, the headless rabbit was gone. Is it likely that one of my neighbors is making stew tonight (grilling is unlikely as it’s been raining a bit)?

    Question for B-J legal eagles: if one of my neighbors took the headless rabbit from my yard and cooked it, am I entitled to a portion of the food? Or “vittles” might be the more appropriate term.

    TIA!

  69. 69.

    chopper

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    it isn’t blasphemy if you worship trump and republicanism, which to be fair is what the vast majority of these shitbirds actually look up to.

    i mean what, you think any of these fucksmellers ever actually read the red letter bible? come the fuck on.

  72. 72.

    Jay

    @Aleta:

    It’s not insurance fraud if Aon Plc is a willing partner in the grift.

    It is probably tax fraud, and shareholder fraud.

  76. 76.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Gin & Tonic: I have handled cases involving deer, pigs, and dogs, but never rabbits, so this is way outside my area of expertise. And all of the animals in my cases had heads.

  77. 77.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I guess this is kind of a victory. It’s not like CNN wasn’t gonna hire someone of her ilk to shill for The Beast

    @ samstein
    Sam Stein Retweeted Sarah Isgur
    No longer an editor —>
    Sarah Isgur @ whignewtons
    It’s been a great vacation but I am back on twitter! And news: I will go to CNN as a Political Analyst instead. Will start next month on air and on line. See y’all soon!

    MSNBC seems to have mostly given up on the temptation to attempt Fox-Lite (we’ll see how the next two years go…. bleach), but Zucker can’t seem to let go of the dream

  78. 78.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Unlike my opponents, I will promise to abolish the Senate!

    He would simply Try, unlike secret Republican Barack Obama.

    This guy. Bernie Bros can’t count to 60. Sanders has no excuse, he works with these Republicans – he knows he won’t have the votes to pass M4A though the Senate!

    Under President Obama, Congress passed sweeping BFD health care reform in March 2010 (we’re nearing the 9th anniversary of the ACA’s passage). Good luck getting Medicare for All through the Senate by 2022, Bernie //

  80. 80.

    Jay

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Some hawks and large owls decapitate their prey, before flying off to a safe perch to consume it. Often, with larger prey, in an urban or treed environment, the larger mass of some prey and the difficult conditions of taking off from a ground start, causes them to drop the prey.

    Sometimes, if they can do a safe “swoop” they will come back for the prey.

    Often, other predators both domestic and wild, will retrieve the lost prey.

  82. 82.

    Dan B

    @Mary G: Sen. Flowers us how I feel about Judge Ellis’ decorum. Manafort was so deferential to the fine judge. Manafort enabled so many muderous dictators he deserves a special prize. Juanita Jean endorses trash possum cellmates and 24/7 accordians. I’d like solitary with 24/7 tapes of Manafort’s clients speeches and music of their victims’ loved ones choice. Then again Sen. Flowers’ rant on endless repeat might suffice.

  83. 83.

    Aleta

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: You know, in 2012 Bernie was interviewed saying he thought ‘we’ should primary Pres Obama ‘to keep him from going all the way to the right.’

    Since then I’ve thought that’s how he sees his role (in history!). Plans to enact policies are not so much his concern. His purpose (and what he tries to take sole credit for, which is a lie) is only to move the D party to the left. Damage to candidates and party … pshaw.

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Harris had to backpedal from her call to abolish private insurance, I think Booker and Warren have gotten very vague on M4A (which they should have done from the start, Klobuchar’s flat out against it. I don’t know if anyone has stayed awake long enough to ask Hickenlooper, but I doubt he ‘s on board. But he’s convinced himself and his cultists that the only thing standing in the way of single payer is…. I don’t know. Hillary? Obama?

  86. 86.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Jay: you know, that’s probably what happened. There are hawks and owls here, and they may outnumber the voodoo/hoodoo/santeria/mafia types in my genteel suburb.

  87. 87.

    JaySinWA

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon:

    This guy. Bernie Bros can’t count to 60. Sanders has no excuse, he works with these Republicans – he knows he won’t have the votes to pass M4A though the Senate!

    You know that 60 vote thing isn’t written in stone, and even if it were Bernie would just rend it asunder.

  89. 89.

    Ruckus

    @JaySinWA:
    I’d like to see the magic wand that BS thinks he has. Because I can see no other explanation for his bullshit.

  91. 91.

    Kirk Spencer

    @burnspbesq: While I know the possibility exists at this point I’ll believe it when I see it. Don’t forget that the thumb on the scale belongs to Rettig.

  92. 92.

    Amir Khalid

    The one positive outcome of the ridiculously lenient sentence Manafort received yesterday is that it should forever end any fucking debate about whether or not our justice system is racist as fuck:

    There are people in your country, some of them with power over the justice system, who believe it is not racist enough.

  93. 93.

    Aleta

    @Steve in the ATL: NAL but as a citizen:
    Question 4: Leave those neighbors alone.
    3. Don’t eat their ‘stew.’

    A weasel will kill at the animal’s head (may drink some blood?) and leave the body. Then come back to bury it for later. They make such a waste in a chicken coop because they leave everyone slaughtered instead of taking one to eat at a time. If there’s any chance you have fishers in your area, keep your cat in and warn the neighbors. Say no to the stew though.

  94. 94.

    JaySinWA

    @Ruckus: I have no interest in Berie’s “Wand”. To each his own I guess. ETA now I am visualizing that as a McNaughton painting. Ew.

  98. 98.

    PST

    @Jay:

    It’s not insurance fraud if Aon Plc is a willing partner in the grift.

    Yes it is. An insurance broker is the agent of the insured party and is not the one footing the bill.

  99. 99.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: My bible is inscribed “To (my name) upon the occasion of her Christening. (Aunt’s name) ” followed by the date.

    I’m C of E and I don’t think my Aunt would have done this if she had believed it was sacrilegious. Of course, just sitting there and signing bibles like an author on a book tour…

  100. 100.

    Dan B

    @Steve in the ATL: These revelations throw my image of you completely off. You only exist in airports. There is no “yard”. There is no “HOA”.

    Santeria Flowers screams, “Are you going to barbeque me?”

    I rest my curse… errr, case.

  101. 101.

    Aleta

    @ Steve in the ATL @Aleta: I don’t think there are fishers (the weasley kind) in GA though. Also depends on when you saw it first. Hawks like red-tailed ones hunt in the day, owls at night, weasels at night I think.

  104. 104.

    Jay

    @Aleta:

    Some predators have a “conversation of death” with their prey. Body language and other “signalling”. It is theorized that this is why predators often slaughter some domestic animals far beyond what is needed, but do not with wild animals, even in confinement. It is also theorized that this is why with a guard animal, dogs, lamas, donkeys, ducks, geese, you might lose one of the flock or herd to predation, but never the whole flock or herd.

    Around here we have mink, martins, least weasels, black footed ferrets and fishers. People who raise chickens either have weasel proof enclosures, mixed flocks, ( chickens, geese, ducks) or other guard animals.

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    As I said yesterday, by that standard Ted Bundy led an almost blameless life until he was arrested for murder. He was even a registered Republican. ?

  111. 111.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MomSense: Bell rung by the Beatitudes

    (“beaned” would work better there, but Subaru Diane got there first)

  113. 113.

    Jay

    @PST:

    Up here, an Insurance Broker sells Insurance. They represent the Insurance Companies, ( underwriters), can also be an Insurance Company. Depending on the arrangements with the Insurance Company, they may or may not be involved in the claims process. Most large Insurance Companies manage their own Claims process and valuation.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aon_(company)

  114. 114.

    Another Scott

    Charlie Pierce:

    I am very glad that this week ended with an incredible outbreak of hilarious low comedy, courtesy of our friends at the Miami Herald. You may recall that Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, recently was busted for allegedly engaging in what Myles would have called “nasty gymnastiness” at a strip-mall massage parlor in Florida. The establishment in question, which is now being investigated for human-trafficking among other crimes, was founded by a woman named Li Yang. And, as the Herald reports, Li Yang ran in the highest circles of the MAGA-thon. And, glory be, there’s art.

    Sometime during the party at Trump’s West Palm Beach country club, the president turned in his chair to look over his right shoulder, smiling for a photo with two women at a table behind him. The woman who snapped the blurry Super Bowl selfie with the president was Li Yang, 45, a self-made entrepreneur from China who started a chain of Asian day spas in South Florida. Over the years, these establishments — many of which operate under the name Tokyo Day Spas — have gained a reputation for offering sexual services. Nineteen days after Trump and Yang posed together while rooting for the Patriots, authorities would charge Kraft with soliciting prostitution at a spa in Jupiter that Yang had founded more than a decade earlier.

    There’s a lot of art.

    Before the 2016 general election, Yang offered no evidence of political engagement. She hadn’t voted in 10 years, records showed. But she has now become a fixture at Republican political events up and down the East Coast. Her Facebook is covered in photos of herself standing with President Trump, his two sons, Eric and Donald Jr., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, Sarah Palin, the president’s campaign manager and an assortment of other high-level Republican operators she has met at charity events, political fundraisers and galas, many of which require hefty donations to attend. She sometimes carries a rhinestone encrusted MAGA clutch purse.

    […]

    Least surprising thing in the world.

    They’re all in on the grift. All of them.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  115. 115.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Sloane Ranger:

    Yup, that’s the difference. We have a family bible with four generations’ worth of family handwriting listing births, marriages, and deaths. Names and dates. That is normal and respectful.

    What isn’t normal or respectful is Trump (or anyone, really) taking his golden Sharpie and scrawling his autograph on the leatherette covers like a common rock star. This is really mean of me, but I’ll bet 3/4 of those folks are already putting their autotrumped scripture up for auction on eBay. The rest are thinking “priceless family heirloom.”

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Raven: that top one where s/he’s in flight so cool, looking right at you!

    and that red-eyed one is the Santeria demon that delivered a hex on Steve

  121. 121.

    Jay

    @raven:

    Crows will often mob owls and hawks, just for the thrill of being assholes. That’s how we often see Owls, trying to roost through the day. See what the crows are trying to mob.

  122. 122.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    I’d like to see the magic wand that BS thinks he has.

    No. No, you don’t. You really don’t. ? ?

  123. 123.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Honus: @Steve in the ATL: I have a strict rule to never take a case involving animals. But then I’m from west Virginia.

    Wise decision, I hear Ziffel v Douglas is still dragging on in Hooterville Circuit Court

  131. 131.

    Aleta

    @Jay: Here we also have long tail weasels, said to need to eat almost constantly, to kill a lot at one time (cleaning out nests of rats/mice/chipmunks/birds) and to bury a lot of food near their nest for later.

  133. 133.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jay:

    Crows will often mob owls and hawks, just for the thrill of being assholes.

    Oops, wrong glasses. Read that as “Cows will often…” and was upset that you were calling them assholes. But now, all is serene.

  137. 137.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Dan B: “home” is really just a theoretical place where, if it existed, I would stash my wife and kids and dogs and cats and docking station.

  139. 139.

    Bill Arnold

    @Steve in the ATL:
    Yeah, Great Horned Owls in particular are fond of brains.
    Crows hate ’em in part because (well, evolved hatred and some culture, though it is not well studied AFAIK) they eat the brains of roosting crows. You have nightmares, crows have to worry about genuine brain-eating night terrors.

  143. 143.

    Aleta

    @Another Scott: A nice close up with Matt Gaetz and a more dignified one with Gorka. Photos with sons DJ and Er but not with Iva and Tiff, and not with Jared. How strange.

  148. 148.

    Steeplejack

    @JaySinWA:

    Left McNaughton painting: Bernie parting the Red Sea, with a supporting cast of current pols admiring, teeth-gnashing or about to be engulfed in the returning waters.

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The ones I knew were quite sweet. There were only six of them: Alice, Bossy, Flower were some of them. One of them had a sweet little boy-calf one year. His name was Skeezix. He was adorable and delicious.

    #SummersOnTheFarm

  157. 157.

    zhena gogolia

    Based on my non-BJ-reading acquaintances and friends, the phrase “otherwise blameless life” has penetrated the NPR-CNN-whatever bubble. Everybody has been quoting it to me all day long with disgusted expressions.

  158. 158.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Aleta:

    Yes. I like cows very much. The ones I’ve known have all been placid, slightly curious, mostly docile creatures. They responded well to kindness.

  161. 161.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Steve in the ATL:

    if one of my neighbors took the headless rabbit from my yard and cooked it, am I entitled to a portion of the food? Or “vittles” might be the more appropriate term

    Late (as usual) but in my (not GA licensed) opinion you are, though it may not suit your culinary tastes. Also, too, you are often too subtle.

  162. 162.

    Jay

    @Aleta:

    “said to”. All the members of the weasel family have highly efficient metabolisms. They freak a lot of people out however, and have for a very long time, so there’s a lot of myths and slanders out there about them. They actually kill a lot less than urban cats.

    For example, if a Least Weasel kills 2 voles in a day, that’s a great hunting day. It will eat everything but the head on one, and stash the rest near the nest, for the next day.

    A momma Least Weasel will need 2-4 voles a day to feed her brood of up to 8. My best Least Weasel storie is:

    Sitting on the front steps one summer morning, and realizing that a Momma Least Weasel had stashed her kits under the Compost cart for safety while she was out hunting. With in 15 minutes they had grown accustomed to me and stopped squeaking and sticking their heads out, to coming out, wrestling and chasing each other. They figured out there was another Compost Cart on the other side of the stairs, and took turns racing from the shelter of one, to the other, across my feet. Then they decided that the space between my right foot and left foot was the perfect place to wrestle, because they could hide behind one foot, periscoping to see if a sibling was coming, ( ambush), then use my foot as a “King of the Castle” leap position. After about 40 minutes of this, they got tired, retreated back under the Compost Cart for a nap, and I went back inside with my mug of cold coffee.

  163. 163.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yup. I don’t eat veal now, haven’t for years, but I learned at an early age about the source of the food we eat.

    Best meal I ever had on that Michigan farm, though, was a horrid, mean old rooster who was as big as I was and orders of magnitude more self-confident. He would fly at me and peck at me every time I went to gather eggs in the henhouse. I hated that feathered fucker as much as I’ve ever hated any living creature until November 8, 2016.

    Anyhow, for whatever reason, the farmer and his wife decided it was time to despatch him. I watched with glee as the farmer chopped the rooster’s head off (bloodthirsty little bitch that I was!) I watched in awe as the headless rooster ran around the slaughter yard for several minutes. And once he stopped moving, it was I who picked him up by the feet and dipped him repeatedly in a pail of boiling hot water to loosen the pin feathers.

    Nothing went to waste. Bones, visceral organs and feet were boiled into a stock for later use. But that night we had chicken and dumplings. He was a tough old bird, and probably not all that tasty, but I was so glad he was dead I ate every bite. I’ve never enjoyed a chicken dinner more. Seventy or so years ago

  166. 166.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SiubhanDuinne: He was a tough old bird, and probably not all that tasty,

    Your story made me laugh and reminded me both of a scene from Lonesome Dove (I guess that’ll teach him to peck me!) and this moment from the old Two Fat Ladies cooking show where they explain the origins of coq au vin, which I remembered as going on a bit longer.

  167. 167.

    sgrAstar

    @raven: wow! That owl is incredible! I hear them at night around my house, but almost never see them. :(

  168. 168.

    Sab

    @geg6: Nobody was screaming, except his lawyer, when Jefferson got sentenced. So it’s hard to complain credibly when Manafort gets off light.

    We need to scream when black perps get hammered. We won’t ever come close to a fair system if they can’t count on us screaming about injustice.

  169. 169.

    Sab

    @Jay: I love how you have issues with actual animals. Deer: “assholes didn’t care” . All cows, not just bulls are assholes.

    Miss my grandfather who grew up on a dairy farm in PA and died when I was 6.
    Never got to discuss this with him. I know he would have had strong opinions.

    ETA: you excluded dairy cows

Comments are closed.