Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

You cannot shame the shameless.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

He really is that stupid.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

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

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

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

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

When they say they’re pro-life, they don’t mean yours.

You are here: Home / Politics / America / WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended

WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended

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WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended

WhitePeoplePalooza, doing business as The Virginia Citizen’s Defense League’s (VCDL) annual day of lobbying in Richmond, Virginia, has come to an end. Without, apparently any acts of extremist domestic terrorism.

Robert Evans (above), as well as Eve Ettinger and JJ McNabb have all the details in their twitter feeds.

The most depressing part is the result of discretion being the better part of valor. The counterprotestors, from legitimate civil rights groups to antifa stayed home because they couldn’t be sure they’d be safe. Some of that is they were unsure just who was going to show up and what kind of agro they’d encounter. The proud boys and patriot prayer and III%ers and OathKeepers and a bunch of other “patriot” and “militia” groups with a history of street violence did turn out. Including leadership, despite them being either wanted for arrest in other jurisdictions for violent behavior at previous events or being on bail awaiting trial for the same thing. And these groups, especially the OathKeepers, blew enough smoke on social media, that no one could be sure if they had law enforcement support for what they might do. As a result those who would oppose them stayed home or out of the way. While this meant that WhitePeoplePalooza ended with no violence, at least that I’ve seen reported, it also meant that if you can turn out enough white Christians in support of extreme positions who are heavily armed and make a lot of noise that they have law enforcement support, that you can prevent others from dissenting for fear of violence – both from the white Christian demonstrators and, possibly, from police allied with them. And that’s a problem.

And then there were these dipshits!

I’m pretty sure this guy isn’t Jewish, despite his outfit.

And this guy is definitely not an ancient Israelite. Also, why is Joe Stalin laying hands on the President in prayer?

Anyone know why Ice T is doing security for the InfoWars schmucks?

Here’s a better picture of this genius:

WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended 1

As for the doofus with the Barrett .50 cal, I don’t think the guy did much marching, just stood around posing for pictures. Those things aren’t light, they’re not ergonomic, and they’re not designed to be humped around all day. They’re a long range sniper rifle, though there are now better and lighter alternatives thanks to improvements in ballistics. Barretts weigh about 30 lbs depending on how they’re configured and customized. Comparatively, most AR pattern rifles weigh between 6 and 10 lbs depending on caliber and configuration. My guess is if he had to walk farther than a block carrying that thing he’d stroke out.

Obligatory:

WhitePeoplePalooza 2020 Has Ended 2

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

232Comments

  4. 4.

    patrick II

    Gomer Pyle has gained weight since his Mayberry days.  But what’s he doing with a .50 cal?

  5. 5.

    Adam L Silverman

    @patrick II: A tweet I couldn’t find reported that the doofus claims to be a FFL gun dealer from NY state, so he just brought it with him from inventory or something.

  6. 6.

    Patricia Kayden

    Kellyklan Conway says Dr Martin Luther King Jr would disapprove of the impeachment of the racist reality show host who spent 8 years trying to claim the first black president was illegitimate.— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) January 20, 2020

  8. 8.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    If dressing up in camo and carrying weapons gets their micro dicks hard why don’t they just enlist?  Free camo! Free weapons!  Because they are pussies that is why, every last one of them.  The very thought of being in a combat situation would make them shit their pants.

  9. 9.

    mrmoshpotato

    and they’re not designed to be humped around all day.

    But he probably humps it all day.  Gun-humping Trump trash.

  11. 11.

    mrmoshpotato

    Here’s an idea: Open carry (of your dick substitute) is allowed, but dudes must do it in the nude.

  12. 12.

    philpm

    .50 caliber guy has apparently never met a meal he wouldn’t eat.  I doubt he could run a block, gun or no gun.

  13. 13.

    oldster

    Glad that ended calmly.

    And now, I hope the VA legislature will ignore it and pass exactly the common-sense, popular, life-saving gun control measures that they intended to pass all along.

    To do anything else would just encourage the toddlers to have more tantrums.

  14. 14.

    Roger Moore

    Without, apparently any acts of extremist domestic terrorism.

    Possibly without any terrorist violence, but the entire display was a display of terrorist intimidation.

  15. 15.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Baud: For very broad definitions of “well-regulated” and “militia.”

    Oh sorry, I meant bullshit definitions.

  16. 16.

    Raven Onthill

    Historical croak on fascism, poverty, racism, and economics.

    I think we are in a time similar to the end of the Reconstruction, when the vast gains African-Americans made were largely wiped away by terrorism and the failure of the Federal government to protect their civil rights.

    The loss is not yet complete. Women, African-Americans, and other marginalized groups are not willingly ceding the civil rights gained in the 1960s and 1970s. People are fighting to preserve the social insurance programs developed in that period, as well as the Affordable Care Act. The outcome remains in doubt, and there is a new factor: the consequences of environmental destruction, especially global warming.

    It is important, therefore, to protect ourselves and preserve what we can. – https://adviceunasked.blogspot.com/2020/01/fascism-poverty-racism-economics.html

  20. 20.

    The Dangerman

    Hmmm. Utah condoms with silly names or Infowars branded holsters; which is the more effective birth control?

  22. 22.

    germy

    a big reason the gun protest/cosplay is happening virginia today is because after a mass shooting in virginia beach last year that killed 12, the gop legislature sat on gun bills — doing nothing. dems took control of the legislature last year and are trying to save lives now.

    — Oliver Willis (@owillis) January 20, 2020

  25. 25.

    germy

    For all the talk of militia resistance and uprisings, such people are more likely to ally with government power in suppressing real opposition. We saw many like them in Russia, if less armed, such as Putin's pet biker gang. State-approved vigilantes are always useful tools. https://t.co/BvBrZhwklZ— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) January 20, 2020

  28. 28.

    Jay

    Now the dangerous time starts, as the Nazis wander around, armed, liquored up, looking for fights, or a “Lone Wolf” terrorist get’s “triggered” on his way home.

    As a terrorist action, it was highly effective. Even the cops were terrorized, ( or complicit).

  30. 30.

    smintheus

    That orange “SAVE” sticker on his sniper rifle looks like those “$0.99” stickers that discount record shops used to put on mediocre lps way back in the day. Jim Nabors Sings Songs of Uplift indeed.

  32. 32.

    Anotherlurker

    @philpm: My guess is that their fully erect “manhood” could successfully consummate with a .50 Cal. weapon.

    With so much room to spare.

  34. 34.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    As a result those who would oppose them stayed home or out of the way. While this meant that WhitePeoplePalooza ended with no violence, at least that I’ve seen reported, it also meant that if you can turn out enough white Christians in support of extreme positions who are heavily armed and make a lot of noise that they have law enforcement support, that you can prevent others from dissenting for fear of violence – both from the white Christian demonstrators and, possibly, from police allied with them. And that’s a problem.

    This is exactly why I can’t laugh at these people anymore

  35. 35.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jay:

    If the gun control bills pass as expected, their terrorist action was a failure.  At best it was winning a battle, then losing a war.

  38. 38.

    Redshift

    @oldster: And now, I hope the VA legislature will ignore it and pass exactly the common-sense, popular, life-saving gun control measures that they intended to pass all along.

    I’m confident they will. (They’ve already passed in committee in the Senate.)

    While today was a depressing display, from what I’ve seen, here is the score:

    On one side, ammosexuals spending a day threatening violence and getting their very-red county governments to declare they won’t go along with unconstitutional laws (which will only be trouble for them if they go with the ammosexuals’ “it’s unconstitutional because we say so” rather than the courts.”

    On the other side, Moms Demand have been an absolute army showing up for all the off-year elections, and Dems retook both chambers of the legislature while promising gun-control laws, so they know their voters are behind them.

  39. 39.

    Barbara

    It’s all word salad all the time.  A quote from one of the speeches as conveyed by WaPo:

    “Democrats in the state are demonstrating … unadulterated power without authority,” Erich Pratt, Senior Vice-President of Gun Owners of America, thundered during midday speeches in Capitol Square. He denounced “the party of gun control, the party of Nancy Pelosi, Charles Schumer,”

    Just in case you need or have forgotten the details: Immediately before the 2017 governor’s election, Republicans had a 66/34 advantage in the General Assembly, and a two-person advantage in the Senate.  In two short years, that is now a 54/46 Democratic advantage in the House, and a slightly smaller advantage in the Senate, which a lot of people think was gained at least in part because Republicans refused to even consider gun control measures put before it by Ralph Northam last summer. This has been attained in spite of ridiculous levels of gerrymandering (brought to you be Ed Gillespie) and the blackface and metoo scandals that have engulfed all three of the statewide elected Democratic officials.

    And these clowns scream that Democrats are exerting power “without authority.”  Which everyone with a working brain understands to mean anytime Democrats exert power.

  43. 43.

    Jay

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    if, and in the meantime, they terrorized the cops, the Legislators, the public, the surviving victims of gun violence, counterprotestors,

    they are going home, feeling pumped, empowered and untouchable,

    and the communities trust in Law Enforcement and the Rule of Law, which took a huge hit at Charlotteville, takes another big hit, as the Cops didn’t even show as convicted armed felons wandered the streets.

  46. 46.

    Mike G

    And of course a sea of Confederate flags from the people who sneer at the French as “surrender monkeys”.

  52. 52.

    Redshift

    My favorite gun-control measure was introduced by Delegate Dan Helmer, who I helped get elected this year. It would ban indoor gun ranges in buildings where more than 50 people work. I guessing it won’t pass, since it’s more important to get more effective measures through, but it’s a lovely FU to the NRA, which is next door to his district and has a gun range at its headquarters (which is an office building with other tenants.)

  53. 53.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Barbara:

    I truly don’t understand these people. They’ll go on and on about how Trump’s the president and we just have to respect his authoritah, but  popularly elected Democratic officals? Nope.

    I mean, what’s their thought processes here? Who do they think they are to be so flagrantly disrespecting the will of the people as expressed through the Virginia Legislature? Doesn’t it bother them that a demonstrable majority isn’t on their side? That goes for the Democratic-controlled US House as well.

  54. 54.

    debbie

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Very good! I hope that hits FB so I can innocently share it for the benefit of the RWNJs I know.

    The proud boys and patriot prayer and III%ers and OathKeepers and a bunch of other “patriot” and “militia” groups with a history of street violence did turn out.

    What is the 3% these 111%ers think they have? I’m stumped.

  57. 57.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jay:

    they are going home, feeling pumped, empowered and untouchable,

    Nope.  The moment the law passes, they will feel like helpless, angry children who are now scared because unlike this demonstration, if they try it again they’ll be breaking the law.  The 1% who were already breaking the law know without the 99% who only did it because they felt completely safe, they aren’t completely safe.  This is a movement of extreme chickenshits.  If the law passes, they lost.  Period.  They have gained no momentum, and shown their asses as losers.

  59. 59.

    joel hanes

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    why don’t they just enlist?

    If they were in the military, they’d have to take orders.  And obey those orders.

    These guys never matured past “you’re not the boss of me”.

    They’d hate military discipline and good order.

  61. 61.

    Brachiator

    While having a late breakfast, I talked to some fellow diners about MLK and Malcolm X.

    As long as these dopes acted nicely, they were irrelevant, so I paid no attention to them.

  63. 63.

    Barbara

    @Jay: I think you cannot imagine the sense of dread that people had after the mayhem in Charlottesville.  On the one hand, the idea that these armed charlatans can show up and intimidate everyone including the state into backing down or being too afraid to engage in counterprotests is upsetting.  On the other hand, it happened and they are gone and there is no “legacy” event for them to rally around.  The legislature and the governor have to move ahead, and I think that’s the true test.

  65. 65.

    Jay

    @Baud:

    this strain of domestic terrorist has killed more Americans since 9/11 than all other foreign and domestic terrorists combined, by a factor of 100.

    had they been any other strain of domestic or foreign terrorist, other than “white”, drone strikes would have been used on todays rally.

    yeah, in many ways, (cosplay, logic, their politics, their looks) they can be mocked, and are easy to mock,

    but they are terrorists, they kill Americans, they are entrenched in the Courts, Government, Law Enforcement and the Military, are becoming more empowered and more radicalized every year, and soon, will control the ReThug Party,

    Dumph was treated as a joke too, and not taken seriously.

  69. 69.

    Adam L Silverman

    @debbie: I didn’t make that, like the one within the post itself up top, I swiped it off the Internet a year or so ago.

  70. 70.

    trollhattan

    @Redshift:

    There are non-zero odds that occupying a building with an indoor gun range exposes you to considerable airborne lead. I’d sure as hell pass on the opportunity, even before considering who I’m sharing the space with.

  71. 71.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @joel hanes:

    If they were in the military, they’d have to take orders. And obey those orders.

    And endure hardship.  And be shot at.  This is a movement of chickenshits.  That defines the movement.  They want the guns because they are terrified petty bullies who wet themselves at the slightest resistance.  They have had their chances, plural, many of them, to prove that they are anything else.  They have dropped the ball and scurried and hidden every time.

  72. 72.

    Barbara

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Their thought process incorporates without admitting that they count more than you and I do, and certainly more than people with dark skin.  They are the real Americans.  Only people who represent them have real authority.

  73. 73.

    Jay

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I’m not safe in Canada. This particular virus has gone international and “certain Foreign Governments” have decided to use it as a form of biological warfare.

    Because of our Gun Laws, and my Genetic Privilege, I am “safer” than many others, in many other places, but some of the people I know and care about, both here, in the US and abroad, live in great danger every day from this virus.

  75. 75.

    Baud

    @Jay:

    For every real white nationalist terrorist, there are thousands of pathetic white guys who lead empty dickless lives. Don’t elevate them to the warrior class.

  77. 77.

    Jay

    @debbie:

    III%’ers have adopted the myth that only 3% of the Colonials fought for the Revolution in the American Revolution, as their “name”.

    III%’ers also almost exclusively recruit amongst retired and current Law Enforcement and Military personell.

  78. 78.

    Kent

    I haven’t really followed this that closely but from news reports it seems a considerable percentage of the wack jobs were out-of-state nuts from up and down the eastern seaboard.  Basically because today was a 3-day weekend.  I don’t really see them being able to sustain this sort of thing long term while the state legislature is in session with just local folk

    I don’t really know anything about the VA legislature.  But I gotta imagine that the majority who rode into office recently on a platform of addressing gun violence are not going to be thrown off their game but a bunch of gun nuts from places like WV and PA.

  81. 81.

    Kay

    Kathryn Watson
    @kathrynw5
    ·1h
    Trump and Pence made a very trip to the MLK memorial, a stop that wasn’t on his public schedule today. Stood in front of the statue for less than a minute.

    Photo is just weird. What surprises me about the Trump people is how they can’t do the simplest things normally and respectfully. It really isn’t hard, these ceremonial duties. You just have to show up and behave decently. No one expects any of them to make a stirring speech or show real emotion- the standards couldn’t be lower and yet, it’s just all wrong, always. Can’t they hire coaches or something? Tutors in normal behavior?

  85. 85.

    Jay

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    they have their 2nd Amendment Sanctuary Cities and Counties. They have their “Constitutional Sheriffs” that have taken an oath to not uphold the laws if enforced. They have County Governments organizing and paying for “militia” training.

     

    Their biggest hope is that these laws will result in another Ruby Ridge, a Waco, followed by an Oaklahoma City and then, “ the Boogaloo”.

    It’s not just the far left tankies who have seized on the idea that repression will be the seed of a revolt followed by a utopian existence.

  86. 86.

    debbie

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Guess they never got past the headline of whatever article they were reading.

    It turns out that the 80,000 number bandied about was the number of pension files and bounty-land warrant applications. It doesn’t include all in the Continental Army, militia or other units, or those who served but didn’t file for a pension or bounty-land warrant application.

  90. 90.

    Redshift

    @Jay:

    Dumph was treated as a joke too, and not taken seriously.

    We’ve been kicking their asses at the ballot box for the past three years here in Virginia. We are taking them seriously where it counts, mocking is just gravy.

  93. 93.

    Roger Moore

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    The core thing is that Democrats can’t get elected without depending on minority voters, and that makes them inherently illegitimate in the eyes of the right.  That means they don’t have to respect elected Democrats, but we have to respect them when they get elected.  IOW, they only support democracy when they win.

  95. 95.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Ladyraxterinok: Happy Birthday Eve!

    Tomorrow is also BillinGlendaleCA’s birthday and mine, though I’m not 80 and he’s younger than I.

    Wishing you a fabulous day and many happy returns.

  96. 96.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jay:

    Their biggest hope is that these laws will result in another Ruby Ridge, a Waco, followed by an Oaklahoma City and then, “ the Boogaloo”.

    And they’ve been pushing this for decades.  They have had their chances.  If the refuge occupation didn’t do it, it’s not happening.  What actually does happen is that slowly but steadily their political opponents have gotten increasingly pissed off, and the militia movements have been proven to be a bad joke.  Lone wolf terrorists are what they’ve got.  They’re too cowardly and disorganized for more.  If the gun control laws pass there will be a lot of whining and the laws will settle in and be obeyed.  They lose.

  99. 99.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie:

    What is the 3% these 111%ers think they have? I’m stumped.

    It’s based on a claim that only 3% of the population served in the Revolutionary War, so they can mount a successful revolution with only 3% of the population.  Of course this ignores a lot of stuff:

    1. The 3% number is the fraction of the population that actually took up arms; active support for independence was quite a bit higher than that, with a substantial fraction of the remainder of the population being more or less indifferent.
    2. The Revolution only worked with massive foreign aid.  Given the size of the American economy today, there’s nobody out there that can provide that level of assistance.
    3. 3% of the population is still around 10 million people.  These assholes would have trouble rounding up the ~100,000 people that made up 3% of the population in 1776, much less 100 times that many today.

    IOW, it’s another one of these racist right-wing fantasies about how they could totally take over the country if we don’t give them what they want.

  102. 102.

    Kent

    @germy:@debbie:  The one who called the gun control law “unconstitutional” and vowed not to enforce it?

    Here in WA the state attorney general informed our local sheriffs who were threatening the same, that they could be held PERSONALLY liable and negligent if someone requests a red flag action on a psycho with a gun and they refuse.  Most of this 2nd Amendment posturing by local sheriffs died down when they realized that they could all find themselves on the pointy ends of multi-million dollar lawsuits and that the state wouldn’t protect them if they refused to do their fucking jobs.  This is America.  Do you REALLY want to trust your career and life savings to the proposition that gun nuts won’t do crazy shit with their guns?

    I expect things will shake out similarly in VA.  The first time some Cletus sheriff in a backwater town refuses to enforce a red flag court order and someone gets hurt he will find his ass the target of a massive lawsuit that he will lose for obvious negligence and failure to do his job.

  103. 103.

    Kraux Pas

    Discussion with my faux libertarian Trump loving friend earlier this week. (Paraphrased due to non-eidetic memory)

    Him: When everyone in VA shows up with their guns, no way will they pass this law.

    Me: So it’s ok to threaten elected officials with violence?

    Him: That’s what the second amendment is for. No one supports this.

    Me: Not true. The founding fathers didn’t pass a Constitution providing for government by a band of roving hooligans. And those VA dems were just elected, their first majority in decades.

    Him: Well they’ll lose it. Did you know the Hooligans or Houlihans were an actual family in Ireland?

  106. 106.

    germy

    What seems to be happening in Virginia is that they are being overrun with ducks but no one wants to talk about the ducks because other ducks might get upset, so now ducks are everywhere, ducking things up.

    Now, replace "ducks" with "ignorant gun fetishists,"

    — William K. Wolfrum (@Wolfrum) January 20, 2020

  111. 111.

    Redshift

    @Kraux Pas:

    Me: Not true. The founding fathers didn’t pass a Constitution providing for government by a band of roving hooligans.

    Yeah, the reality is that George Washington personally led a militia to put down an armed anti-tax rebellion, but these yahoos still believe that the intended purpose of the 2nd Amendment is to protect their right to rebel and that taxes are illegitimate.

  113. 113.

    Kraux Pas

    @Redshift: Yeah, the reality is that George Washington personally led a militia to put down an armed anti-tax rebellion

    I wonder which of those militias was more well-regulated.

  115. 115.

    Jay

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    what actually happens is that the strategy they enacted in the 90’s gets enacted. A “radicalized” “lone wolf” conducts a mass murder event, and because of “plausible deniability”, (and other factors, like whiteness, non-enforcement), the recruiters are free to recruit, radicalize, train and provide tactics.

     

    In a decade, they have gone from one “lone wolf” event every few years, to several a month. They have gone from single, targetted murders, to “random” mass murders, to the point that they kill every year, more Americans than all other terrorists combined, by a factor of ten.

    They have gotten to the point, where belatedly, some branchs of Law Enforcement are actively monitoring them and arresting them for plots, “in advance” rather than focusing all their energy on trans radical feminist animal rights protectors.

    Things we thought were dead and gone in the 90’s, like Nazis, Segregationists, Measles, Polio, Lead, are all back with a vengance.

  118. 118.

    Jay

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    nope, fought Nazis in the 80’s. Had a close friend murdered in November in Toronto by one of these Reich Wing Ammosexuals of muddy Politics.

    It’s easy to dismiss and mock the “Gun Nutz” of the various persuasions if you are living a comfortable life of privlege far removed from their insanity, and have no loved ones in their crosshairs.

  119. 119.

    Martin

    Not sure if that had any effect of getting lawmakers to reconsider gun control laws, but pretty sure CA legislators are watching and thinking we’re on the right track.

  121. 121.

    chris

    Local Virginia news. Link.

    Estimated firearm sales totaled 73,849 last month, a 47% increase over December 2018, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, citing mandatory criminal background checks on Virginia gun buyers.

  125. 125.

    Jay

    @Kent:

    only where he/she is not protected by County Insurance. Where protected by insurance, it’s the taxpayers who pay the liability costs or rogue LEO, not the LEO or their Organizations.

    Arpaio cost Maricopa County Taxpayers more than $140 million over the years, one of the biggest County expenses, roughly 7% of the entire County budget every year, and yet, they kept electing him.

  130. 130.

    Jay

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    it’s your life, live it how you want. Hopefully, you will continue to be blessed by not personally ever be discomfited by the Reich Wing.

    It must be lovely to treat everything other than pedantry and shit posting as a joke.

  136. 136.

    philostopher

    @Kent:

    This was true in Charlottesville, as well. Most of the worst offenders – from the felons who beat up the guy with pipes on the street to the jackass who murdered Heather Heyer – were from Ohio. The ones who beat the guy with the pipe were performing their “Hillbilly Elegy,” I guess – they were from Butler County, so they would have been neighbors of J.D. Vance. The car murderer was from Toledo. And when Dayton was visited by the KKK last summer for a march, they weren’t local KKK, they were from Indiana. Hate feels compelled to export itself, I guess.

  137. 137.

    Kathleen

    @Roger Moore: The core thing is that Democrats can’t get elected without depending on minority voters, and that makes them inherently illegitimate in the eyes of the right

    Mainstream media hold same views. Democrats are maligned, mocked and hated because African Americans and woman hold powerful positions.
    And don’t even get me started on why “The Left” targets them for the same reasons.

  145. 145.

    Adam

    Even though it was photoshopped, you have to admit that’s a pretty cool picture of Borat saving Trump.

  148. 148.

    burnspbesq

    Someone on Twitter referred to today’s festivities as “Incels on Parade,” and that seems dead-on to me.

  151. 151.

    Roger Moore

    @Kathleen:

    Mainstream media hold same views. Democrats are maligned, mocked and hated because African Americans and woman hold powerful positions.

    I remember shortly after Obama was elected, one of the talking heads on NPR was saying something about people questioning Obama’s legitimacy because he hadn’t won a majority of the white vote.  I’m sure that same person would have denied being racist, and they would never say that minority votes shouldn’t count.  But they can’t recognize that demanding that one win a majority of the white vote to be truly legitimate is exactly the same thing as saying that minority votes shouldn’t count.

  152. 152.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore:

    But they can’t recognize that demanding that one win a majority of the white vote to be truly legitimate is exactly the same thing as saying that minority votes shouldn’t count.

    Maybe they think that only 3/5 of the black vote should count….

  154. 154.

    Patricia Kayden

    It’s no exaggeration to say the future of our nation depends on a fair Senate trial. Yet all most Senate Republicans can think about is how to simultaneously satisfy Trump’s deluded base AND rational moderates in order to hold onto power. Here’s an idea: just do the right thing!— Evan McMullin (@EvanMcMullin) January 21, 2020

  157. 157.

    Ohio Mom

    What’s the Jewish cos-play about, I wonder. Is that a new thing? It’s weird and offensive to me as a Jew.

    On a happier note, Birthday greetings to all you January babies!

  158. 158.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, I see.

    I saw a white guy in a pick up today who had a very large cloth flag planted to his tailgate.  That kind of behavior is really unusual where I live.  And I couldn’t figure it out what was triggering him (no black NFL player had recently taken a knee).   But now I see, it was white-trash-palooza day.

  160. 160.

    Kent

    @Jay:

    only where he/she is not protected by County Insurance. Where protected by insurance, it’s the taxpayers who pay the liability costs or rogue LEO, not the LEO or their Organizations.

    Arpaio cost Maricopa County Taxpayers more than $140 million over the years, one of the biggest County expenses, roughly 7% of the entire County budget every year, and yet, they kept electing him.

    Except that no sane insurance policy is going to cover malfeasance by county employees.  If state law says that they have to do X and they defy state law and refuse.  Then bad shit happens, that is almost certainly not going to be covered by insurance.  The county is going to be hung out to dry if they refuse to enforce red flag laws and someone gets hurt or killed

    These rural counties are either going to bankrupt themselves like Maracopa Co. or saner heads will prevail and they will quietly start enforcing the law like they are supposed to.

  163. 163.

    Ruckus

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    This is what I tweeted out.

    You want to be a badass go enlist and prove it. If all you want to do is parade around “thinking” you are a badass, you most assuredly are not. The military is waiting – Army 18885502769 Marines text 627463 Navy 18008726289 AF 18004238723

  165. 165.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Ohio Mom: Part of the Christian Zionist thing. Actually overlaps with the Christian Identity movement, which is the religious side of the Aryan Nations. Basically that Christians are Abrahamic and, as such, at least of spiritual Jewish descent if not actual Jews. The Christian Zionist idea is that Christians are the real Jews because Jews are theologically wrong by not accepting Jesus as Christ. The Christian Identity concept goes much farther, it is fully rooted in Anglo-Israelitism, which states that the lost tribes of Israel weren’t lost, they sailed out of the Mediterranean, up the coast of Europe, down the Thames, and founded the ancient city of Londinium, which is now London. Those today who claim to be Jews are, at best, a debased descent of the tribe of Judah. Christian Identity theology takes this even further by asserting that Jews are actually descendants of Eve and Satan, who mated in the garden of Eden. This is grafted on to the rest of the Anglo-Israelite concept.

  166. 166.

    Adam L Silverman

    @chris: That’s not what this guy is. You don’t wear the talit katan (little prayer shawl) outside your clothes like that. This is either a Jew for Jesus, a Messianic Jew, or a Christian Zionist.

  170. 170.

    chris

    @Adam L Silverman: Cool, thanks for the lesson. I think I knew that about the prayer shawl but it’s been a long time since my American high school days.

    Also, JPFO does seem a little bit out there. “America’s most aggressive defender of firearms ownership.”

  171. 171.

    Khef

    The dude with the 50 cal probably can’t go #2 w/o wet wipes.  BUT he is dead on as John Candy’s stunt double in 1941!

  174. 174.

    Another Scott

    As expected, Moscow Mitch is trying to rush the Senate trial.

    As soon as Senator McConnell offers this resolution, I will be offering amendments to address the many flaws in this deeply unfair proposal and to subpoena the witnesses and documents we have requested.

    pic.twitter.com/g25Xl8RTmU— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 21, 2020

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  179. 179.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: And McConnell has the 51 votes to do whatever he wants to do. Schumer can submit whatever amendments he likes, he doesn’t have the votes. Simply, McConnell has the high ground and all the ammunition and weapons. Schumer does not.

  183. 183.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Raven Onthill: Since I borrowed all three of the Sherman pics/memes – the one at the top of the post and the two in the comments – when I saw them posted over the past couple of years on social media, please go right ahead.

  184. 184.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Moscow Mitch is obviously trying to push it through as quickly as possible, but people are paying attention and letting us all know that his statements that it’s going to be just like Clinton’s process is bunkum.

    For comparison’s sake, here are the 1999 Clinton trial rules, in which the whole House record was admitted into evidence upfront.

    I’d point people in particular the these two sentences in relation to the points above. https://t.co/9N9UEyjVBp pic.twitter.com/eJOG3q2Uxj— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 21, 2020

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  185. 185.

    James E Powell

    @Roger Moore:

    The core thing is that Democrats can’t get elected without depending on minority voters, and that makes them inherently illegitimate in the eyes of the right.

    And the Village and the NYT and CNN and the Sunday Shows . . .

  186. 186.

    Viva BrisVegas

    I wonder what percentage of these bozos could have been charged for brandishing their weapon in public under Virginia Code 18.2-282 ?

  187. 187.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Also, why is Joe Stalin laying hands on the President in prayer?

    That’s the Wing Nut Event Horizon right there. It’s nothing but In the Conservative Bubble Memes all the time now that the rest of can barely make sense of.

    I think it goes; Putin is the White Savior from the Sub Human hordes of blacks in tan suits, Isis decapitation squads and mean women who won’t date Real American Alpha Males (think the plot of the book The Iron Dream here) Putin is Stalin’s heir, Putin (at lest the American Right has convinced themselves) approves of Trump,  so it goes to follow that Stalin has had a post-mortum conversion back to Christianity and is now blessing Trump (heck, according to the Right one of the Four Housemen of the Atheist Apocalypse Christopher Hitchens converted to Christianity after Hitchens died, so why not Stalin?)

    And Adam, you might want to consider your professional background is failing you here. All the work you have been done has been directed at groups who are using some strategy to achieve a goal.  There is a logic to their actions. This is just basically internet trolling let lose on the streets. Scaring people is the only goal these amo-sexuals have in mind.  You got to think like like a lazy, not very bright, drunk frat boi to understand these people.

    I mean seriously, who lobbies their representatives with guns?  That more likely to convince the public we need more gun control laws.

    This is my take on the “Only 3% fought in the Revolution” meme with them; the Ammo Sexuals like it because they can tell themselves that when the fighting starts they can stay on the side lines and the someone else will do the dying and suffering for the cause.  Just like every war since Vietnam.

  191. 191.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: Again, all that matters is whether or not McConnell has the votes. That’s it. He knows that process arguments don’t move the needle with the vast majority of Americans. He knows that the news media, even if it complains, will just move on to the next shiny object and not pay attention to McConnell, because McConnell is boring. It doesn’t matter that he’s lying. It doesn’t matter that he’s not doing what he said he was going to do. All that matters, all that has ever mattered, is whether or not he has the votes. And he has, as far as everyone has reported, the votes to do whatever he wants.

  194. 194.

    Daddio7

    Ad hominem much, “In other words, we know how many white dudes are insecure about their dick size now.” Plus the snarky cartoon. Some of the guys they showed on the news looked like they could arm wrestle a grizzly bear and win.

  197. 197.

    The Pale Scot

    Yo Adam,

    Worrying article at Political Animal by a retired G2 about ground’s security at McDill. His Russian wife and her son weren’t Id’d at the entrance, and then they walked all over the base and up to the door at Centcom. Bloody nuts. I guess the zoomies were all at one of their faith meetings. He put this in context of Iran’s proxies looking for soft targets. I think the Persians are likely to keep it in theater myself. If anything the Sauds are who I’d hit and hard

  198. 198.

    Another Scott

    @Viva BrisVegas: It looks like the cops were holding back, probably to try to prevent some sort of altercation that got “out of hand”.

    The only arrest apparently was of a woman who didn’t adjust her face scarf after supposedly being warned to do so 2 times prior.

    (Unless things have changed, it’s illegal to wear a face mask in public in Virginia (except on Halloween, and probably for other exceptions).)

    Still…

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  199. 199.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Daddio7: More seriously, if the crowds that assembled and marched and were caught on all those videos in Richmond today were African American or Hispanics or Asian Americans, especially from SE Asia, or Muslims, or some combination and they were geared up like that, wearing masks, and openly carrying a variety of sidearms and long guns, even if they were physically fit and looked like they could arm wrestle a grizzly bear, do you honestly think the news media coverage, the police response, and the political response would be the same?

    Of course it wouldn’t. Take your hurt fee fees somewhere else.

  201. 201.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman: McConnell can control (to a great extent) what happens in the Senate.  Film at 11.

    He can’t control everyone’s reactions to what he does in the Senate.

    Schumer and the rest of the Democrats will be playing to public opinion.  Us throwing up our hands and saying Moscow Mitch will win no matter what we do isn’t helpful.

    The prize is the election and coat-tails in November.  How we all react to Moscow Mitch’s tactics, and GOP Senators’ behavior, will help determine that future.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  204. 204.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: The vast majority of Americans are not watching. And are not going to be watching. All of us here are hyperaware of this stuff, but that isn’t the case with the majority of Americans.

  205. 205.

    The Pale Scot

    What all of these yahoos miss is if you have a mortgage, a bank account or credit cards, the government doesn’t have to hunt you down, it just freezes that shit and you’re dead in the water. Can’t buy a bus ticket without ID for christ sake. Without credit you have to walk into the store to pay for gas. It was tough staying off the radar 20 years ago, it’s impossible now. The NSA has reams of credit card info generated from there, which can be linked to social media whenever they feel it’s necessary Really surprised that the armed gits covering their faces weren’t made to remove their masks. I guess gait recognition software makes that redundant.

  207. 207.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman: NPR’s going to broadcasting the trial “gavel to gavel”.  I doubt they’ll be the only ones covering it.

    Anything that help turns the “mushy middle” toward our side is a good thing, and us helping to strengthen the memes can’t hurt either.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  208. 208.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): They regard white votes as legitimate votes, and not the rest. Their philosophical justification, on the rare occasions that they state it explicitly, is sort of a “majority of the majority” intuition–if most Americans are white then it can’t be right for someone who doesn’t carry white people to govern.

    Once you realize that, it’s a consistent, if antidemocratic and loathsome, worldview. Republicans have a substantial majority of the white vote, in Virginia and nationwide; Democrats win with the help of nonwhite votes. So, they figure, Democratic rule isn’t legitimate.

  210. 210.

    Matt McIrvin

    @The Pale Scot:

    Can’t buy a bus ticket without ID for christ sake. Without credit you have to walk into the store to pay for gas.

    Well, you could always try robbing the store with your gun. If you’re as pasty-faced as these guys are you might even have a high chance of surviving, though you probably couldn’t keep it going for very long.

  211. 211.

    sdhays

    I have to give the Snooze Hour some credit tonight. They did interview several ammosexuals and let them say their stupid shit, but at the end they explicitly stated that the laws that the Virginia legislature is passing all have overwhelming support in polls of Virginia voters.

    Terrorist intimidation and talking tough about their “sanctuary cities” doesn’t actually represent a groundswell. They’re losing, and they’re just now realizing it.

    Let us savor!

  217. 217.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: There will not be gavel to gavel televised coverage. McConnell controls the video and audio in the chamber. He’s got C-Span pissed off because his media rules for the trial took away their control of their cameras. He will turn them on and off as he pleases. If he decides that only the President’s defense is televised, then only the President’s defense will be televised.

    This is not hard to understand. McConnell controls the Senate under the Senate rules. And as long as he has 51 votes, and as far as has been reported so far, he has those 51 votes, he can do anything he wants to do. If he wants Adam Schiff to have to make his presentations while wearing an evening gown, then Schiff will have to wear an evening gown. If he wants Nadler to have to make his case while wearing a gold lame speedo and flip flops, then Nadler will have to wear a gold lame speedo and flip flops.

  219. 219.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Amir Khalid: Now that is a question worthy of significant jurisprudential discussion. If I’m remembering my fiq, taqlid, and sunna correctly, Muslims are the perfected ahl al din, people of justice. Jews and Christians are also ahl al din, but their versions of the al din, have become corrupted in one form or another. So, technically…

  221. 221.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Again, Moscow Mitch can (mostly) control what goes on in the Senate. But he cannot and will not control everything about what happens this week and for the duration of the Trial.

    E.g.

    The Senate Impeachment Trial of President Trump begins Tuesday, January 21 and WFYI will bring you live coverage on all platforms. This week’s proceedings will start at 1 p.m. every day.

    The PBS NewsHour will provide live coverage from 12:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the proceedings every day through Jan. 24. This will air on WFYI 3 and livestreamed here on wfyi.org.

    NPR’s special live coverage will be hosted by Mary Louise Kelly beginning at noon each day.

    HTH!! ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  223. 223.

    JanieM

    @Another Scott: Yes, my question was more or less rhetorical. So: wearing a mask for religious purposes is not okay, but swaggering around carrying weapons of war is.

    What a f-ed up country this is.

    I don’t think we have a law like that in Maine; I’ve never heard of it, and google turns up nothing. If nothing else, the snowmobilers wouldn’t stand for it. Nor would a lot of other people who prefer to have their faces covered in below-zero wind chills.

  224. 224.

    Amir Khalid

    @Adam L Silverman:

    If he wants Adam Schiff to have to make his presentations while wearing an evening gown, then Schiff will have to wear an evening gown. If he wants Nadler to have to make his case while wearing a gold lame speedo and flip flops, then Nadler will have to wear a gold lame speedo and flip flops.

    For goodness’ sake, Adam, don’t give him any ideas …

  225. 225.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: WFYI and the PBS Newshour do not control the Senate. Senator McConnell controls the Senate. They can say whatever they want, they have no actual control.

  227. 227.

    Bill Arnold

    We’ll need to be shrill about “sham trial” and synonyms until the election. Won’t be hard with the reported rules. I mean those of us who have served on a jury have never been asked to pay attention to arguments for back to back 12 hour days. If any of it is not broadcast and recorded, then that’s another argument for sham-ness. etc.
    I expect to break some friendships about this, sadly.

  228. 228.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Another Scott: …yeah, reading around some more, it appears to me that the phrase “with the intent to conceal his identity” is the key thing here: that would exclude religious modesty wear not intended to conceal identity. It’s odd, though, that some non-religious cases are explicitly excluded even though they also involve no intent to conceal identity

    These guys, though, they’d fall clearly under the intent of the law (which was aimed at the Klan) so I don’t think what they were doing was legal.

  229. 229.

    Aleta

    @Adam L Silverman:  I don’t think he’s talking about “white” but about the habitual ways we insult men — verbal insults of their physical appearance or calling them wimps, scared, weak, impotent, girly.  Which doesn’t get at the truth of what’s wrong with the picture..

  230. 230.

    Procopius

    @Kay:

    Can’t they hire coaches or something? Tutors in normal behavior?

    It’s like Trump’s ill-fitting off-the-rack suits. His reasoningseems to be: since he has a perfect physique it’s up to the suit manufacturers to make them so they fit him. It would be humiliating to hire a tailor to adjust the suit to his perfect body and it is an imposition on his good nature to require him to spend money on that. Or something.

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