Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans in disarray!

Second rate reporter says what?

Let there be snark.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickle?”

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

People are complicated. Love is not.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

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

This blog will pay for itself.

The revolution will be supervised.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

No one could have predicted…

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

He really is that stupid.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

You are here: Home / Economics / Grifters Gonna Grift / Repub Venality Open Thread: The Gang That Couldn’t Loot Straight

Repub Venality Open Thread: The Gang That Couldn’t Loot Straight

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  2. 2.

    different-church-lady

    Trump: “Well, I have no idea.”

    Very likely the first truthful thing he’s said in his entire term.

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    From downstairs. OT.

    Just came across the newswires that fire is approaching Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara, CA.

  11. 11.

    Jay

    Today was the worst and most violent far-right rally I have ever seen in Portland. It completely eclipsed the ones that happened every couple of months since 2016, involved people pulling guns and beating people on the ground. The police stood blocks away and did nothing.— Shane Burley (@shane_burley1) August 22, 2020

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    All else I can say it that it was a rip ‘n’ read announcement inserted into a live radio program I’m listening to.

  14. 14.

    Jay

    Tusitala “Tiny” Toese is not only directing the line in Portland violation of his probation, but he also has an active warrant out for violating his probation.Meanwhile, the police do nothing but brutalize counterprotesters. https://t.co/GYjdBg4YZp pic.twitter.com/C8hKeTrzLO— AntiFash Gordon (@AntiFashGordon) August 22, 2020

    And right on schedule, the cops come out to protect fascists and ignore Tiny violating his probation. https://t.co/1yOCLT5Ys7— AntiFash Gordon (@AntiFashGordon) August 22, 2020

  15. 15.

    Another Scott

    257-150: House passes Democrats' legislation to halt changes to US Postal Service operations and provide $25B in emergency funding for the USPS during COVID-19 pandemic. 26 House Republicans voted Yes. The Delivering for America Act now heads to Senate. WH opposes the bill. pic.twitter.com/zSAJXeSJ5X

    — Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) August 22, 2020

    (via RepDonBeyer)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  18. 18.

    NoraLenderbee

    Webcams on Mt Hamilton:

    https://mthamilton.ucolick.org/hamcam/

    Hamcam #2 shows the observatory and the hillside below it that burned.

    And Origuy said in the thread downstairs:

    The fire crews in the Mt Hamilton area are using Lick Observatory as a staging area. I follow @lickobservatory on Instagram. It seems to be updated the most. As of this morning, it looked in good shape. The fire has been moving east, toward Interstate 5. That area is very remote.

  19. 19.

    Ken

    @Jay: I think the Senate came back, or at least enough of it to question Dejoy.  Or polish him with their tongues, in the case of the Republican committee members.  But you’re probably right about the bill.

  20. 20.

    Jay

    They flee back to the IRS building for cover. But federal agents seem unwilling to provide it. Denied the protection of the cops, the right wing shieldwall breaks up entirely and flees in separate directions. pic.twitter.com/RImK1I9tb7— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) August 22, 2020

  21. 21.

    Origuy

    @NoraLenderbee: Thanks for bringing that to this thread. I have a habit of posting to dead threads. On the webcam page, if you click on “Daily Movie” for Webcam 2, you get a time-lapse movie of yesterday’s activity. You can see a small fire just over the ridge that was quickly put out.

  22. 22.

    trollhattan

    @moops:

    Best as I can tell the SCU Lightning Complex covers most of Mt Hamilton @ 292k acres and 10% containment. From sat images the north-facing slope leading to the observatory is wooded and other slopes are more open, so perhaps less fuel.

  26. 26.

    RSA

    “President Trump has not been involved with Steve Bannon since the campaign and the early part of the Administration, and he does not know the people involved with this project.”

    Also, we have always been at war with Eastasia. It’s weird to think that Orwell wrote 1984 as a satire. I generally dismiss science fiction fans when they say SF predicts the future, but certainly some of it comes close.

  29. 29.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    The Republican led Intelligence Committee send criminal referrals to DOJ on Uday and Chemical Jay

     

    Leaders of the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee last year made criminal referrals of Donald Trump Jr., presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and several other associates of President Donald Trump over suspicions that they might have lied to the panel, according to multiple reports.

    ***

    Leaders of the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee last year made criminal referrals of Donald Trump Jr., presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and several other associates of President Donald Trump over suspicions that they might have lied to the panel, according to multiple reports.

    Come February, Attorney General Sally Yates will be paraphrasing Oprah Winrey: “You get an indictment!; and you get an indictment!; and you get an indictment; and you get an indictment!; and you get an indictment!”

  32. 32.

    TS (the original)

    So Kris Kobach has just discovered that anyone who works for trump can be thrown under the bus.  Presumably no one else will heed the warning because ???? Surely they can’t all be that stupid. but they all seem to think “not me not me”

  35. 35.

    Yutsano

    @TS (the original): They really don’t care. They all think they’ll get taken care of after the Orange Menace sells them out. And so far all of them have been. How else did Hope Hicks get a 7 digit bank account after leaving the first time?

  36. 36.

    CliosFanBoy

    @TS (the original): Surely they can’t all be that stupid.

     

    Hard to believe, but yes, yes they can.  Remember when a judge told Kolbach basically to go back to law school?

  37. 37.

    Ken

    @RSA: Methinks he doth protest too much.  Odds that the investigation will turn up payments to Trump himself, or Don Jr.?

    It would be more convincing if he sued them, claiming mis-use of his image and falsified quotes. They were advertising “Trump approved” with his picture within the last month, weren’t they?

  42. 42.

    Jay

    BREAKING: White House takes away FDA authority to regulate COVID tests. It’s August, de-regulating & politically meddling are not what FDA needs right now.More soon. Follow if interested.— Andy Slavitt @ ? (@ASlavitt) August 21, 2020

  45. 45.

    debbie

    Thirty-one Biden signs on my thirty-minute walk just now. Maybe five or six yards have both Biden and Biden-Harris signs.

  49. 49.

    debbie

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    There are also tons of signs for BLM, for high-school graduates, for saving high-school arts classes, for healthcare workers, the police, etc. I love all the signage, but people have begun to complain.

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: A couple of days ago Mr. Silverman was justifiably vehement in his condemnation of the eight republican Senate Intelligence Commitee members who voted to acquit trump at the end of the impeachment trial. But I have to give some credit to Senate Intelligence Commitee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC), insider trading and all. The criminal referrals you cited never would have been made without his OK, nor could there have been the Intelligence Commitee investigation or the 1000 page report. Burr could have swept the Russian involvement under the rug like the other relevant republican chairmen did, and ranking Minority member Mark Warner and the other Democrats couldn’t have done a thing about it.                                             I remember another time Burr bucked the party line, in the 2010 lame duck session, when Congress finally rescinded the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and allowed  gay people to serve openly in the military. Burr was one of I think five Republican senators to support the change, and the only one from the South. I’m not trying to persuade anyone that Burr is a good person, just saying that as far as I’m concerned he’s not all bad.

  52. 52.

    Jay

    BREAKING: A few minutes ago Alexey Navalny arrived at Charite Hospital in Berlin in stable condition. The German authorities weren’t messing around. Check out the convoy of ambulances and security vehicles looking after his safety https://t.co/A0FudvyE3c— Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) August 22, 2020

  55. 55.

    Jay

    Fascinating thing in the QAnon sphere today: Major Q influencers are calling all of these Q rallies, some drawing hundreds of people, a "false flag," likely because the signs, messages and backlash are humiliating when presented IRL. They insist this is an online-only movement.— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 22, 2020

  58. 58.

    craigie

    I seem to recall that most of Reagan’s cabinet was indicted at one time or another, so this is all very much on-brand for the GOP.

  59. 59.

    Ken

    @Jay: By an amusing coincidence, I’m watching Hammer Films Curse of Frankenstein (Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee) on Svengoolie right now.  Two hundred years since that metaphor hit the pages, over a hundred since the first film adaptation, and people still think they can control the monsters they create.

  60. 60.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Elizabelle was posting about it extensively last night, but probably at a time that doesn’t work for you, given your exotic time zone and everything.

    It’s such lovely news. I hope the little cub stays safe and healthy. IIRC, the naming ceremony occurs when the baby is 100 days old — I guess by then the zookeepers know it has a better than average chance of survival.

  61. 61.

    JPL

    Breaking the Washington Post has tapes of conversations that Mary Trump had with her aunt.   It doesn’t paint a rosy picture about trump and his sister.   It does back up every thing in her book.    I’m a tad uneasy about taping someone without permission though.    link

  62. 62.

    zhena gogolia

    Yeah, what ever happened to Lev Parnas? Forgot all about that guy. (in Meidas Touch ad)

  63. 63.

    Ken

    @Jay: The Sweet Meteor of Death is still active online, and I see it’s running for president (slogan: “Just end it already”). I fear though that it’s not taking the race seriously, it seems to be just a scam to sell a bunch of bumper stickers and branded merchandise —

    (pardon me a moment)

    I’ve just been informed that there is precedent for such a campaign.

  67. 67.

    Adam L Silverman

    @craigie: And the Attorney General who arranged for their pardons in the Bush 41 administration was some guy named Barr.

  68. 68.

    RaflW

    @Jay: What is increasingly clear in places like Portland (and Minneapolis, where I live): The police kinda sorta tolerated the liberal mayors and city councils, but built themselves up out of white supremacist sympathizers and have run amok.

    At this point, defunding them is the polite option.

  69. 69.

    Adam L Silverman

    @JPL:

    I’m a tad uneasy about taping someone without permission though.

    You are never going to make it as a mercenary human intelligence operator with that attitude!

  70. 70.

    Reboot

    @Another Scott: I just looked twice at the roll call on this bill on govtrack.us and didn’t see any Repub yes  votes the way Caplan said in his tweet. There were abstentions,though–do those somehow count as Repub yes votes?

  71. 71.

    Adam L Silverman

    @zhena gogolia: Under indictment in the Southern District of New York, along with Fruman, and one other guy. The investigation is ongoing and because of the pandemic the start of the trial is on hold till January if I recall correctly.

  73. 73.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Frosty Fred: I’m helping my boss with a notional scenario for a training exercise. About half the major crises we’ve imagined to happen in 8 years to drive the scenario have happened in the past three weeks.

    Earlier today we discussed adding a paragraph about trucks delivering large amounts of Krugerrands, diamonds, and bearer bonds to our houses to see what happens.

  74. 74.

    Jay

    @Ken:

    I don’t try to control the Monsters I create. I just try to set them free in the world to find their own way, with the best guidance I can give them.

    some, are still in touch, even in a time of Covid.

  76. 76.

    Adam L Silverman

    @JPL: I haven’t had a chance to listen to them yet. Given that her aunt was involved in an ongoing criminal conspiracy with her brothers, one of whom is the President of the United States while she was a sitting Federal judge to defraud the City of New York, the State of New York, and the US government in regard to Trump Organization taxes, as well as defrauding Mary Trump and her brother in regard to the inheritance from their grandfather, I’m perfectly okay with it.

  78. 78.

    RaflW

    @Geminid: Burr is the sort of shitty Republican I think many of us had gotten used to pre-Obama-presidency. Who could, under duress, think about the greater good (if it didn’t cost tax dollars).
    That he hasn’t collapsed entirely is really telling regarding basically everyone except, occasionally, mittens.

  82. 82.

    TS (the original)

    @JPL:

    I’m a tad uneasy about taping someone without permission though

    I gather it is legal in NY & I have little doubt that the president* has probably used that fact to his advantage. It adds to the credibility of Mary’s book & explains how trump NEVER allows anyone to forget a favor.

  83. 83.

    frosty

    @debbie: Lucky you. My neighbor put a flag up so now there are 12 Trump signs on my loop to the PO Box and back. And an “Impeach (Governor) Wolf”. No Biden, of course.

    The flag is precious. “Trump 2020. No More Bullshit.”

  84. 84.

    Adam L Silverman

    @JPL: LORDY!!!! THERE ARE TAPES!!!!!!

    Scene: tomorrow’s press gaggle as the President leaves his golf club in Virginia:
     
    Yamiche Alcindor: Mr President, have you heard the tapes of your sister, former Federal appellate Judge Marianne Trump Barry that your niece made? Where she calls you a liar? And asks how anyone religious can support you?
     
    The President: First, you’re a nasty woman and that’s a nasty question! As for, what did you say her name was? Marianne Barry? I don’t really know her. She’s never been part of my campaign or my administration. She might have brought coffee once or twice, but I can’t say that I really know her or recall her very much at all.
  85. 85.

    Barbara

    @JPL: If it was in New York, New York is a one party state. My daughter started taping conversations with her landlords in New York after they refused to acknowledge commitments and statements they had previously made.  Boy were they pissed when she played the tape for them after they denied that they had promised to do certain things.

  86. 86.

    Jay

    @Kent:

    LMFAO, “ protesting wrong”.

    when the Nazi’s are gunning you down at the Polling Booth, remember your both sides bullshit.

    Of course, “we” are coming out for a “fight”, because things are so fucked up that we have to fight for the “norms” that were accepted for 50 years, and are being done away with.

    Fuck you comfortable white suburban milquetoast and the Prius you rode it on. What the fuck have you done for the babies in cages or the Cop Murdered BIPOC?

    Fucking nothing.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    @Reboot: The official records often lag a bit.

    The Caplan tweet has a screen shot of the vote.  26 GOP yes.  (Abstentions are in the NV column.)

    HTH.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  89. 89.

    Yutsano

    @TS (the original): It depends on the state. There are states where only one party needs to consent and states where it requires two. I live in Washington state and we require that both parties agree to be recorded. But New York only requires one.

  94. 94.

    JPL

    @gwangung: I don’t know that and neither to you.

    Earlier I was going through the city Comprehensive Plan and there was a section on community policing.  You can always do more to reach out, but when a recent high school graduate organized a BLM march, the police were there to make sure the roads were clear so they could do so.

    There are good cops, and there are bad cops and the goal is weed out the bad ones, by offering higher pay and benefits.

  95. 95.

    Kent

    @Jay: Who’s “we”   Aren’t you Canadian?   I’ve spent half my life in Portland.

    These people brawling on the street today are a bunch of white right-wing thugs from out of town and a bunch of white anarchist thugs, many also from out of town.

    The actual BLM protests in Portland are completely separate.  And yes, I was at a bunch of them with my daughter.

    What do you actually want the police to do here?  Go in with tear gas and rubber bullets and arrest everyone?

    And no, I’m not particularly worried about Nazi’s gunning for me when I vote by mail in November (well….drop my ballot off at the red box in front of my post office).

    The real Nazis are the ones in the White House trying to dismantle the postal service and everything else.  Not some unemployed street thugs from Battle Ground WA living in their parent’s basements.  Get a grip.

  97. 97.

    Chetan Murthy

    @JPL: Given what her father’s siblings did to him (and to her own siblings), I’d have *no* compunction.  Assholes, all of them, the lot of them.  And that’s got nothing to do with what her uncle’s done to our country.  Nothing.  Just intra-family score-settling, fuck, I’d be so uninterested in their welfare.

    ETA: wasn’t it her brother, who was ill, and Shitlord held that over her head b/c of the probate or something?  Jesus, what a monster. All monsters.

  100. 100.

    lumpkin

    he does not know the people involved with this project.”

    I think this frequent incantation is another manifestation of his object permanence pathology.

  102. 102.

    TS (the original)

    @Yutsano:

    I understand that – but as I said it is legal in NY. I doubt Mary would have released the tapes if it was not, given she knows the trump family likes to litigate every last thing.

  103. 103.

    Another Scott

    @lumpkin: Yup.  He seems to think saying “I don’t know him/her, I’ve never met him/her” is a magical incantation that will protect him from any legal consequences.

    It’s quite pathetic.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  105. 105.

    Subsole

    @frosty: So, as someone with family in uniform, what will it take to get them to stand against the nazis? Because that really, really needs to happen. And it’s not. At least not that us civvies can see.

    Not trying to pick a fight or take a side here. Hoping for a different perspective.

  110. 110.

    Jay

    @frosty:

    if the Cops aren’t actively purging their ranks of murderers, abusers, the corrupt , the Nazi’s, Union Heads who are out of control,

    then they are also Nazi’s.

    Of the 72 Cops in 2020 who were “whistle blowers”, 12 are dead, ( murdered, no investigations) , 60 were fired.

    Guess you never heard of Serpico.

  111. 111.

    Subsole

    @gwangung: I read somewhere that the real issue is most places have white supremacist laws. Doesn’t matter if the cops are good going in; pay people to enforce cryptonazism, you eventually bend them into cryptonazis.

    Not saying we shouldn’t fire the bad ones, but I think the real battlefield is changing the laws to remove the structural ur-fascism. If we don’t fix the foundation, it’ll just be slapping bandaids on a decapitation victim.

    I have no idea what the situation looks like inside the departments. May all be bollocks for all I know. But it sounds reasonable.

  112. 112.

    Ken

    @Adam L Silverman: I dunno if the science holds up, though. A comet passing the earth causes wolf-men and sorcerors? And civilization falls except for the two-piece bathing suit?

  114. 114.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Was hoping the jackals here at Balloon Juice could help me out with a question. I’m doing an art project of sorts (well, commission an artist, anyway). It’s going to be feudal Japan/Edo period themed and I was researching the court dress that the Japanese monarchy have worn for centuries. I came across the jūnihitoe (meaning “twelve layers”) , which is what Japanese noblewomen and ladies-in-waiting wore at the imperial court. A modified version is still worn today for special ceremonies, such as an enthronement of the Emperor.

    With all of that being said, I noticed that golden headpiece thing that all of the women, including the Empress, wear during ceremonies. It has a cool design and for the life of me I can’t find out any information about it. Does anybody happen to know what it’s called and what symbolism it’s design has, if anything?

  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Jay: And fuck you for encouraging violence in the streets in a different country.  You’re a voyeur.

  118. 118.

    Yutsano

    @Subsole: Part of it (probably most of it) is the academy training. The fact that you can get released to the streets after 9 months when the instructors infect you with a kill or be killed philosophy has to warp any mind. I understand Washington State Patrol training is quite different. It emphasises interaction that focuses more on deescalation over downright hostility. I have to research more but I think it also includes racial bias training. I haven’t heard of any incidents involving the WSP in that regard.

  128. 128.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    “He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this.”

    – Maryanne Trump Barry on her brother, Donald Trump

  131. 131.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman:

    as well as defrauding Mary Trump and her brother in regard to the inheritance from their grandfather, I’m perfectly okay with it.

    And Mary Trump says it was Aunt Maryann, who considers herself a devout Catholic (convert) who, having consulted her catechism and her faith, hit on the plan to use Mary’s seriously ill infant nephew and his health insurance as a club to get Freddie’s children to settle their suit against old Fred’s will

  132. 132.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Baud: Leo is best remembered for signing/teaming Mr Ed and Sandy Koufax (video).  Ed could run like a horse.

  134. 134.

    Another Scott

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): https://royalhats.wordpress.com/tag/princess-kako/page/3/?iframe=true&preview=true%2Ffeed%2F

    The Imperial princesses also wore the traditional junihitoe with Crown Princess Kiko in shades of red, pink, orange, gold, white and purple, with a top robe in slate navy and the others in layers of green, navy, red, burgundy, yellow and white with a top robe in royal purple. Each wore the traditional spiky gold headpieces atop the costume’s dramatic hairstyle.

    Not very informative, huh. :-/

    They’re not https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunokakushi

    This is traditionally worn to veil the bride’s horns of jealousy, ego and selfishness. It also symbolizes the bride’s resolve to become a gentle and obedient wife.[1][2]

    ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  135. 135.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Never mind, I found it on my own. The name for Japanese women’s hair ornaments in general is kanzashi. The type you’re describing are called Ogi-bira kanzashi or princess kanzashi. But as far as I can tell, they were not specifically worn as part of the Jūnihitoe costume. What you’re seeing is the empress’s crown or tiara.

    Here’s a full description of the Jūnihitoe costume. Notice there’s no tiara or headpiece:

    https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-costume-of-edo-period-japanese-women-kyoto-prefectural-library-and-archives/1QKy99wNZFNvLw?hl=en

    And here’s a full run down on Japanese imperial women headpieces:

    http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/p/japan.html

  136. 136.

    debbie

    @frosty:

    My favorite sign says, “We Are So Screwed; Everyone Sucks 2020” — Not that I agree with the sentiment, but it cracked me up the first time I saw it. There are also a couple of “Dump Trump” and “Trump Sucks,” but I didn’t include them in my Biden sign count, like I didn’t count the “Love Trumps Hate” signs.

  139. 139.

    The Moar You Know

    NEW: NASA predicts an asteroid will pass close to Earth the day before the election— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) August 22, 2020

    @Jay: Six feet in diameter. Will burn up high in the atmosphere if it “hits” Earth. No sweet meteor release of death, guys, sorry.

  140. 140.

    Anotherlurker

    @Subsole: The culture of police racism  must be broken up by re-organizing the PDs and re-distributing some of their responsibilities . For example, having specially trained social workers dealing with domestic situations and interactions with the mentally ill.

    There is a culture of racism .  My nephew is a Sargent with narcotics ,NYPD. He has nearly 20 years in.  I remember vividly that soon after he graduated from the Academy and was assigned to a precinct, he started to throw around the “N Word”.   He didn’t learn it from my brother or SIL, he learned it from NYPD culture.

    At one point he was my heir.  Soon after his conversion to bigot, I replaced him as beneficiary with my best friends son.

  141. 141.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: reminds me of one I saw late in the Bush years: “I MISS IKE” in big bold letters, and then in smaller letter underneath, “hell, I miss Harry”. I’m guessing that was a Bush>?>Obama voter

  142. 142.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Keith P.: It is, that’s the specific name for that type of crown/headpiece. I couldn’t find the specific name. Well done!

  146. 146.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Keith P.:

    That looks like it’s it! Thanks! Nothing really comes up when I plug saishi into Google, though

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Thanks Adam! I figured it was a crown or tiara of some sort but every time type “empress of Japan crown” on Google images it would bring back results of european-style crowns

  147. 147.

    rikyrah

    NEWS: Joe Biden's campaign and the DNC raised $70 million during the convention. Other stats:— 122M people watched, including 35M streams. Another 128M views across Biden/convention social— 1.1 million people texted 30330— 700K uniques on IWillVotehttps://t.co/iIroALN2LX— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) August 21, 2020

  148. 148.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @debbie: My favorite sign says, “We Are So Screwed; Everyone Sucks 2020”

    I can’t stand those or anything of the type.  That cynical, above it all attitude is dangerous.  I am as prone to hipster detachment as anyone, but I really think we need a rebirth of Biden-esque sincerity and earnestness.  Cynicism among decent people gives the bad ones a pass.

  150. 150.

    Ken

    @rikyrah: I’m kind of surprised the insurance companies carrying the liability policies for these institutions haven’t said “no you will not be opening, and if you do your coverage is cancelled.” Maybe it’s something David Anderson could address.

  151. 151.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL:

    From the linked story:

    Under New York law, it is legal to tape a conversation with the consent of one party, which in this case was Mary Trump.

  152. 152.

    The Moar You Know

    And fuck you for encouraging violence in the streets in a different country. You’re a voyeur.

    @Omnes Omnibus: The “different country” is not Canada, I suspect.

  153. 153.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): If you go through and actually read the specific instructions, not at Wikipedia, for what goes into Jūnihitoe costume, there’s no mention of a headpiece. There is a description of shaving the eyebrows, having fake ones painted on high up the forehead after the face is painted white with makeup as was the style at the time, and then long hair arranged in a specific manner or, if one is doing this today and doesn’t have long hair, than a wig is used. No mention of a headpiece and the images in that first link I provided up above of the empress in Jūnihitoe costume also does not have her wearing a headpiece.

  155. 155.

    Parfigliano

    @frosty: cops are scum who willing lie in order to protect their brother cops.  The law of averages and statistics say your family members are same

  157. 157.

    Ken

    @Adam L Silverman: I thought we’d established Hunter Biden had developed the COVID-19 virus with the Chinese, using Hillary’s Ukrainian servers to run the protein-folding calculations?  Now you’re saying David Anderson was also involved? That throws off my whole scenario, I need more thumbtacks and both red and green string.

  159. 159.

    rikyrah

    BREAKING: White House takes away FDA authority to regulate COVID tests. It’s August, de-regulating & politically meddling are not what FDA needs right now.More soon. Follow if interested.— Andy Slavitt @ ? (@ASlavitt) August 21, 2020

    THREAD

  160. 160.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    uptick in keyboard revolutionaries tonight? reminds me of a shapeshifting troll who sometimes pretended to be a hyperconnected insider, at others a rabble-rousing radical ready to take to the streets to keep it real, man. I’ve been thinking he’d start poking his head up as November drew closer

  163. 163.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Ken: protein-folding

    That makes me think….  Could you get me an egg white omelette with mushrooms, green peppers, and onions?  Oh, and could you add some yolks, ham, and cheese?

  164. 164.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Oh I realize that. I was just curious about the history and symbolism behind it. I thought it was an interesting design. I plan on incorporating it into the art piece

  166. 166.

    debbie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I really think we need a rebirth of Biden-esque sincerity and earnestness.

    I don’t see how we get back to that; Pandora’s box can’t be closed after it’s been opened.

  169. 169.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @debbie: I don’t see how we get back to that; Pandora’s box can’t be closed after it’s been opened.

    Not with that attitude, we can’t.

  170. 170.

    Adam L Silverman

    @gwangung: @Subsole: @Jay: @Parfigliano: I’m going to say this once and once only:
    KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF!!!!

    There are, in fact, good cops. There are, without a doubt, bad cops. There are a whole bunch who just want to get through the day and go along to get along. I’ve taught hundreds of cops. As a criminology professor and doing inservice and continuing education. I’ve taught local cops, state cops, and Federal cops, as well as correction officers. I’ve dated a cop. One of my closest friends is a supervisory officer and doesn’t tolerate any of the stuff that you, me, and him are all so correctly concerned with.

    What the bad cops and the indifferent cops that go along to get along, as well as the to low recruiting standards, the lack of proper vetting for continuing education instructors and the material they teach, and the overall problems with law enforcement unions, which were originally started in South Carolina to protect plantation patrolmen and fugitive slave catchers, ARE NOT IS FROSTY’S OR FROSTY’S RELATIVES’ FAULT! NOR IS IT FROSTY’S RESPONSIBILITY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ISSUES! AND FROSTY DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE HAMMERED BECAUSE HE HAS RELATIVES THAT ARE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND WHO, TAKING HIM AT HIS WORD, ARE GOOD PEOPLE!

    If anyone hammers him one more time, I’m banning that person. You have been warned!

  175. 175.

    Patricia Kayden

    Meidas Touch’s ad has me smiling widely. Who’s next, indeed.  Trump is very consistent in having poor judgment in associates. Everyone in his inner circle is a crook or racist. This is what he calls “the best people”.

  177. 177.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    That was goblue72.

    I didn’t want to summon him, like Beetelgeuse or that woman who would appear in your bathroom mirror at midnight if you lit a candle and thrice spake her name

  178. 178.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Emma from FL: That’s the default term used today, but in that period they were worn by geisha, not the empress. Unless, of course, the empress was a geisha. I’m not judging here or anything…

  183. 183.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Adam L Silverman: Adam, with respect, I think you’re biased.

    We’re talking about officers *sworn* to uphold the law.  And we’ve seen enough lawlessness, enough out-and-out fascism coming from cops *everywhere* in our country, that the idea that some “good cop” hasn’t seen a a ton of it, is laughable.  And these cops are *sworn* to uphold the law.  *sworn*.

    So this good cop — he hasn’t turned his fellow officers in, has he?  For breaking the law?  Breaking the law under color of authority?

     

    Because unless that’s the case, or this cop has the *good*, *good* fortune to work in a department completely void of any bad cops whatsoever, then, well, it follows that, they’ve broken their oath, too.

     

    Tell me where I’m wrong.  Oh, and the argument that these guys are just trying to do their -job- ( “get thru the day” ) doesn’t really cut it: we’re talking about swearing oaths to uphold the law, and then breaking those oaths.

  189. 189.

    Adam L Silverman

    @frosty: OT: You have email. Provided the email you use to comment here is a legit and working email. If it isn’t, then the ether has email.

  194. 194.

    Ken

    @Adam L Silverman: Aha, quite without your realizing it, I have cleverly discovered nearly half the background incidents of your  training scenario.

    Kidding aside, how do those work?  I don’t mean the details of the scenario you’re creating, but how are they used?  Is it like a war game where you present the first incident, the trainees say how they’d react, then you hit them with another event?  (So are you being paid for roleplaying?)

  201. 201.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Ken: Yep, it’s desk top wargaming. We give them the baseline, all the background, a starter set of orders, then at specific points we make injects of new information, new developments, etc.

  203. 203.

    Kay

    The White House Rose Garden has been spruced up in time for its moment in the campaign spotlight.
    First lady Melania Trump will deliver her Republican National Convention speech Tuesday night from the garden, famous for its close proximity to the Oval Office. The three weeks of work on the garden, which was done in the spirit of its original 1962 design, were showcased to reporters on Saturday.

    Of course! They redid it solely to provide a backdrop for one of the Trump family members.
    She’s as bad as the rest of them- and don’t scold me that she’s only a spouse – I don’t care who she is or how she got there. She’s as bad as the rest of them.
    If he’s re-elected we’ll all be paying for Melania’s insanely expensive backdrop, because they’ll demand favors from the Trump Family, the benefit of which will far exceed the shrubs they bought.

    Take, take, take. They’re fucking deadbeats, the lot of them.

  209. 209.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Chetan Murthy: No, you didn’t. The point is to stop harassing Frosty. The comment isn’t meant as a comprehensive discussion of law enforcement reform, why it is or isn’t necessary, how to do it, etc.

  210. 210.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia: Mary thought Fred was worth about $30M. The aunts and uncles could have paid her and her brother off for a tiny, tiny percentage of what they actually got. Instead, they threatened to kill a baby. Their great-nephew.

  221. 221.

    Kay

    In return for billions in lost tax revenue, Americans got some shrubs and a sidewalk “donated” by Trump cronies.

  222. 222.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Adam L Silverman:  “I cannot understand how people can still call themselves Christians and not be furious adversaries of Hitler’s regime.” — Henning Von Tresckow

    Just change “Hitler” to “Trump” and it’s updated for the 21st Century.

  224. 224.

    Ken

    @joel hanes: I would think both. That way you can cross-check their reports, and don’t have to depend on either Nunes or Barr being loyal.

    Wait, sorry, I just watched Adam’s clips of The Question and am in the wrong mindset. With Trump it wouldn’t matter how many messengers are involved, he only remembers the one that says the nicest things about him.  So it could still be both, or even more – Washington has no shortage of sycophants.

  227. 227.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Kay:

    Hey Kay! Was hoping I could get your take on this article:

    Ohio Republicans try to regroup in crucial state for Trump

    Relevant bits:

    Democrats have seen progress since Trump faced Clinton in the 2018 mid-term voting and 2019 local elections, including in key suburban areas. Trump’s call Wednesday to boycott Akron-based Goodyear Tire while inaccurately claiming the company had announced a ban of MAGA hats gives the party new material as it tries to return struggling blue-collar workers to the fold who Trump did surprisingly well with in 2016.

    Jane Timkin, the Republican Party chairwoman who ousted an ally of former Gov. John Kasich for that job, was dismissive of Kasich’s speech endorsing Biden at the DNC and expects momentum to build for Trump.

    “I feel pretty good,” she told The Associated Press. “The president has a 95% approval rating among Republicans and, aside from folks like John Kasich, who was a never-Trumper, I think the rest of the party is very united and excited about re-electing President Trump.” A June 28 Quinnipiac University poll placed the figure at 92% among Ohio registered voters, with 93% of Democrats favoring Biden and independents divided 44% for Trump and 40% for Biden.

    […]

    Kyle Kondik, an analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics who wrote the 2016 book about Ohio presidential politics “The Bellwether,” said it remains to be seen whether Kasich will sway fellow Republicans. Kasich carried Ohio over Trump in 2016, but his presidential primary challenge soon ran out of steam.

    “I think Kasich represents a lot of his friends and neighbors (in suburban Columbus) who probably feel the same way he does,” Kondik said. “They’ve just seen enough.”

    Kondik also said it’s too soon to predict whether Trump’s assault on Goodyear Tire & Rubber, an integral part of Akron’s “Rubber Capital” history, will cost him among northeast Ohio auto industry voters who backed Trump in 2016. Four years ago, a single remark by Clinton — that the transition to clean energy meant “we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” — damaged her performance in Ohio’s coal country in eastern Ohio where she had been running well.

    […]

    Kondik commented, though, that such controversies seem to bounce off Trump like, well, rubber.

    “So many things happen on a day-to-day basis that you think might move voters, and they really don’t,” Kondik said.

    Timkin brushed it off, saying the president was “calling out a policy” over free speech concerns.

    She also called “Democrat-manufactured” the uproar over Trump’s mail policy, which drew a letter from Republican Attorney General Dave Yost to Trump warning that “radical changes” would “place the solvency of the Post Office above the legitimacy of the Government itself.”

    And she doesn’t think the bribery scandal that led to federal charges this summer against then-Ohio Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder will resonate with voters Nov. 3.

    Kondik thinks Trump is still favored to win Ohio, but faces a “significantly closer” race than before. Democrats note even without winning Ohio, they are forcing Trump to use resources and time that could have gone to other battlegrounds to defend it.

    I realize a lot of what Timkin says is whistling past the graveyard, but that poll showing independents favoring Trump 45 to Biden’s 40 concerns me. And I hate that that Klondike guy is so dismissive of anything having an effect on Trump’s chances in Ohio

  232. 232.

    Anotherlurker

    @Subsole:  Its the culture of NYPD. You are the rookie. The best way to get accepted is to show that you think the Skells are less than human. That makes you the newbie who gets what the real lay of the land is. It is acceptance. Parrot every every conventional view of the “us vs them” , police mindset, it will make things much easier in your career.
    I tried to talk to him about it, but of course, I just couldn’t understand, according to my nephew. I tried for approximately 10 years to understand, before I gave up, but all I saw was the ugly reality of the police mindset..

  234. 234.

    Kay

    Just in terms of the universe, I find it hard to believe one Trump family member will be able to save us from the rest of the Trump family. I wish they would all go back to the NY gossip pages. They’re all horrible and I don’t want to be involved in their fucked up family anymore. They all deserve one another and any one of them would have burned through whatever Fred robbed by now anyway, just like Donald did. Nothing good is going to come about because of the efforts of any of them. Not a one of them had given anything back, to anyone, and the debt is too big now for them to ever pay it back. 170,000 people are dead. Is there a point where the Trumps will stop destroying things and just go away? How much would we need to pay them to go away? Whatever it is, it’s cheap compared to the damage they do.

  238. 238.

    Ken

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I’d think the arrest of the Ohio speaker for corruption would be a larger issue for Ohio Republicans.

    Egads, google tells me that was less than a month ago. I hope some psychological research is being done on “Trump time” – or maybe it’s “covid time”?  Definitely needs research to figure out why so many people say their sense of time is messed up.

  244. 244.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    von Treskow and the other members of the July Plot remind me more than a little of the Never Trumpers.  At the same time, I do not denigrate their courage.

    Yeah, it’s important to remember that the members of the July Plot were still German nationalists/militarists. They had more in common with Hitler than they did Roosevelt or Churchill. Still, they weren’t Nazis. As long as the Never Trumpers keep directing their fire at Trump and the GOP enablers, I’m ok with that

  247. 247.

    NotMax

    File under “Yeah, right.” Amazon’s tracking page telling me an item ordered this past Thursday will arrive here this coming Tuesday. At the same time it’s telling me as of an hour ago that it has not shipped yet.

  248. 248.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Ken:

    I’d think the arrest of the Ohio speaker for corruption would be a larger issue for Ohio Republicans.

    Yeah, especially considering how he’s refused to resign

  249. 249.

    Kay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    I don’t think anyone thinks Biden will win Ohio unless it’s a really big wave. Did you think he would?

    IMO the way to think about Ohio this cycle is to use it as a measure for PA and MI. If Ohio’s even then PA and MI are at least +5 Biden. If Biden is up 5 in Ohio then Ohio no longer matters, because if Ohio is up 5, Biden will win the election with or without it. It’s a must-win for Donald Trump. It’s not a must-win for Joe Biden.

  252. 252.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @NotMax:

    I hadn’t really thought of the impact that might be had on Hawaii and other overseas territories with the US mail service being sabotaged

  253. 253.

    rikyrah

    A number of GOP Senators have signed onto the House bill, but McConnell wants to play the cynical game he always plays, which is he kills the bill, but they've taken the right "stand" on the issue. They are all in on doing nothing together. Don't get fooled by their posturing. https://t.co/lfe25aRndc— Neera -Wear a Mask -Tanden (@neeratanden) August 23, 2020

  254. 254.

    Kay

    @Hoppie:

    I just knew there was a wholly selfish reason for doing it, and there it is. They need a backdrop for her three minutes of reciting nonsense slogans, like “be best”.

    There’s only ONE “best” Melania, you dope. Everyone being “best” doesn’t make any sense. Can they read? She really couldn’t put two words together in a coherent order?

  256. 256.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Actually, von Treskow was originally a Nazi.  Further, a lot of what the July plot people were interested in trying to protect was the honor of the German Army.  Hitler gave them power and glory and they were willing to overlook some “unpleasantness” as a cost.  As Hitler started chewing up the army, calling for it to commit rather than just overlook war crimes, and, worst of all, losing, their views changed.  Because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves, I will not argue that their conversions weren’t real, but, fuck man, it took a lot to get them there.

  260. 260.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Ah. That I don’t know. I haven’t read that deeply into the history of Japan or the imperial monarchy. I’m not even sure if that first link is contemporary artwork. I know for a fact that Japanese royalty have worn that particular headpiece/crown since the 1870s during special occasions such as enthronement ceremonies for sure, since there’s photographic evidence. I’ve seen various illustrations of historical empress regnants that wear similar head wear

  261. 261.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Yutsano: Jeffery Combs is the only actor who pulled off playing two different alien species in back to back scenes on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. More often than not, the craft people did not realize that they were dealing with the same actor, in different makeup, on the set.

  262. 262.

    Kay

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Well, I know, but Biden would be insane to run a campaign around denying Trump Ohio. That is just the most incredibly round about way of thinking about it, and for some reason Ohio Democrats insist on looking at it that way. If they carry Ohio that means they already won enough to win the race. It’s no longer a tipping point state. If they do this right we never get to the scenario that involves “denying Trump Ohio”. Their time and energy is better spent in MI and PA. If they want a “reach” state they have two southern states that are a better investment.

  263. 263.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Omnes Omnibus: 

    Actually, von Treskow was originally a Nazi.

    So was that Schindler fellow. It improved one’s fortunes in the country, even if you did not agree on all the more vile positions. I would put more weight on what von Treskow did or overlooked than his party membership.

  265. 265.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves, I will not argue that their conversions weren’t real, but, fuck man, it took a lot to get them there.

    I’d be tempted to say that while that’s great, they overlooked a lot of horrible shit, including the deaths millions of innocent people in the Holocaust, the death of German democracy, as well as setting into motion the subjugation of much of eastern Europe under the Soviets for 44 years, including half Germany

  266. 266.

    Kay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    I do agree with them that Kasich won’t make a bit of difference in Ohio. The suburban upper income people who are his biggest fans wouldn’t be voters who would need permission to abandon Donald Trump – if they’re disillusioned with Trump they got there without John Kasich leading them. I think he wildly overestimates his influence in this state- he didn’t “moderate” Republicans when he was in office. They basically ignored him and got loonier and further Right thru his entire tenure. If he couldn’t do it as governor and de facto leader of the state Party when he was governor  he sure as hell can’t do it now, out of office.

  267. 267.

    Feathers

    Just to get back on topic, intrigued by the speculation that Bannon getting nabbed on Guo’s yacht may have something to do with Jho Low’s trying to curry favor with international law enforcement and China by getting Guo extradited back to China. Thread

    Saw this tweet right after watching the episode on the 1MBD scandal, where Jho Low stole billions from the Malaysian government, with the help of the prime minister.

    Does this seem realistic or just the wall of conspiracy trail photos getting jumbled? I realized I wanted to throw the word “shipping” in there, because at a certain point following all of this can feel like a fandom.

  268. 268.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Kay:

    I don’t think anyone thinks Biden will win Ohio unless it’s a really big wave. Did you think he would?

    IMO the way to think about Ohio this cycle is to use it as a measure for PA and MI. If Ohio’s even then PA and MI are at least +5 Biden. If Biden is up 5 in Ohio then Ohio no longer matters, because if Ohio is up 5, Biden will win the election with or without it. It’s a must-win for Donald Trump. It’s not a must-win for Joe Biden.

    I was hoping that Biden might squeak out a win by like 1 percent or something. That’s a good way of looking at Ohio though

  272. 272.

    Feathers

    @NotMax: This means Amazon has a shipper arranged, who has said they will deliver Tuesday. That shipper has not actually picked up the package from the warehouse yet.
    Amazon’s logistics went to shit when they brought delivery in house. Without FedEx or UPS tracking, there is no accountability for delivery or lost packages. I don’t even have Prime anymore. And I used to get everything through prime.

  274. 274.

    Kay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    It is a good way! :)

    The Ohio Democrats are annoying me TODAY because they spend so much time and energy bugging me about yard signs. My car was damaged by hail so I had to get it repaired so had a loaner car- I’m telling you this because my car thus wasn’t in the law office parking lot so a local Democrat came in to berate my assistant about yard signs thinking I wasn’t there, because he’s too chicken to berate me. But I was there! And I heard him and came out and ripped his head off for being rude to my assistant.

    I ma not going to survive the next months. I am going to strangle one of them.

  277. 277.

    dnfree

    @Feathers: interesting. Is that what happened to Amazon delivery?  Ours is usually very reliable, but recently we had an item sold by a third party but fulfilled by Amazon. It seemed to just get lost in the warehouse. They made me request a refund and then reorder and I hope that didn’t cost the vendor anything, since Amazon was clearly at fault.  It took days to clear up.

  278. 278.

    NotMax

    @Feathers

    95% of the stuff I’ve received from Amazon came via USPS.

    Prime is more than worth it for me for the no additional charge shipment costs, as shipping to Hawaii costs an arm, a leg and an additional random body part. Plus the extensive video streaming library.

  279. 279.

    Kay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    But yesterday, after this altercation I started in my own law office, someone else (finally) told me a good reason for yard signs. They’re important because people take cues from other people and they want to belong. So if they see yard signs that means there’s a group they can identify with, and they want that.

    So I’m going along with the yard sign fetish. That sounds plausible to me. They can have as many yard signs as they want.

  280. 280.

    Sister Golden Bear

    On a happy note, today’s smoke has blown away and I’m watching a webcast of the first live burlesque show since quarantine.

    Performers are either solo or at social distance in a large club, so everyone should be safe, and both MCs are wearing masks. Sparkly masks of course.

    Free—although donations are gratefully accepted, since we’re trying to keep one of SF’s independent clubs alive—in case anyone is interested in checking out burlesque.

  281. 281.

    Yutsano

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:  I’m not as happy with them right now. I ordered an item last Sunday, expecting it Tuesday the 18th. Amazon just put it out for shipping to arrive on the 25th. With no explanation for the delay. I don’t feel like calling a customer service drone about it so I’m just gonna live with it for now especially since this is the first time in a while this has happened. But I’m still not a happy clam.

  284. 284.

    Kay

    I know people see Mary Trump as brave but aren’t you tired of being manipulated by this family?

    I’m just so, so sick of them dominating the entire country – to me it’s like whether it’s malicious or intended to be helpful, I don;t care. I want them to stop and just go back to suing (and hating) each other, privately. Just keep whatever vengeance they’ve spent lifetimes nursing INSIDE the family. How did this happen, that we got trapped inside their horrible family and can we get out?

    I find it impossible to be generous to any of them, even generous enough to listen to any of them. What would be enough for these people?  Haven’t they taken enough from us?

  286. 286.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Kay:

    Hah! Wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to strangle that guy. Sounds like a craven ass

    @Kay:

    Sounds reasonable! I had an AP Government and Honors World History HS teacher who had political yard signs from several presidential campaigns posted on the walls of his classroom

  288. 288.

    Feathers

    @Amir Khalid: The best guess seems to be that he’s somewhere in China. I had read about him before, but it was strange seeing this tweet directly after watching the Malaysia episode of DIRTY MONEY on Netflix.
    Have you seen it? Is it available in Malaysia? There is a lot of footage of Najib and his followers. He gives a lot of explanations as to why all his actions were completely innocent, but they don’t seem believable. This came out before the verdicts.

  289. 289.

    Aleta

    @Adam L Silverman: Sorry, but that’s  not correct.  (Look up kanzashi.)

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  As Emma says, it’s a type of kanzashi.  In the early periods (maybe Jomon, and during Nara and Heian) they were stick-like, and then different shapes of ornaments evolved as hairstyles got more complicated.  The type Masako wore for the marriage and inauguration ceremonies (and Michiko wore earlier) is I think called saishi.  The idea behind the sticks is interesting if you look it up.  (Feel free to correct this  if you find accurate info.)

  291. 291.

    Sab

    @Kay: Ohio is irrelevant in presidential politics. I am giving to my state rep ( Emilia Sykes.) I want her to have a future.

    Also I am worried about Tim Ryan. His opponent is is truly horrible. He used t1o only have odd weirdo opposition. This time he has a well funded Republican RWNJ who is truly a Nut Job.

    Ryan has finally become sane on guns and abortion so I can live with him. He is listening less to his white Catholic grandfather and more to his elementary school teacher wife, so that is good.

  292. 292.

    Kay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Next week we will be treated to SIX members of the Trump Family bellowing at us for hours at the Trump Family Convention, while one member of the Trump Family denounces them and we’ll hear from yet another one who was secretly recorded. EIGHT. We’re now up to 8.

    We’ve been taken hostage by this horrible family and I for one say let’s pay them a handsome sum as ransom and maybe they’ll all go away. They were fighting over 30 million for 30 years? Just give it to them. It’s cheap compared to what they have cost us.

  293. 293.

    Kay

    @Sab:

    Two Ohio R House members voted for the D post office bill, which amused me. They know destroying the post office was idiotic. I suspect they’re getting calls. I certainly hope so.

  296. 296.

    James E Powell

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    I realize a lot of what Timkin says is whistling past the graveyard, but that poll showing independents favoring Trump 45 to Biden’s 40 concerns me.

    I’d like to see more than one poll before I’d be convinced Independents are leaning toward Trump.

  298. 298.

    sgrAstar

    @Jay: 
    “Fuck you comfortable white suburban milquetoast and the Prius you rode it on. What the fuck have you done for the babies in cages or the Cop Murdered BIPOC?”

    So, Jay. I can’t stand the sanctimony and selfrighteousness in this comment. Tell us what YOU have done! Awaiting enlightenment.

    ?

  299. 299.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Sab:

    I’m not worried about Tim Ryan. His district is like 7+ D leaning. His R opponent is odious though

  300. 300.

    Hoppie

    @Kay: Back in 2008, we home-made a “That One” sign.  After a day, the across-the-street neighbor asked where we’d gotten it, said we’d made it ourselves, and made one for him.  More regular Obama signs sprouted in the neighborhood later.  I think it helps.  (Lexington, KY FYI)

  301. 301.

    Yutsano

    @sgrAstar:  Jay is Canadian. Pretty much all he can do is snipe from the sidelines. Which is a bit of a dick move since I didn’t shove Harper down any Canadian throats.

  302. 302.

    Aleta

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:   As you know,  the ‘noble’ people’s costumes … kimono, hairsticks and the written names for them…  also all came from Korea.  Along with noble pastimes like writing. And their court traditions, like poetry … and on and on … The Korea part was left out for a long time b/c of horrendous prejudice, to pretend it all came directly from China…  as I’m sure you know.

  303. 303.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Hoppie: Knew Zelazny in the early seventies; he left us much too early.

    Concur. I mt Roger a few times in the 70s before he moved from Baltimore to Santa Fe. Not just a wickedly fine writer, a genuinely nice guy. (I have a couple of reminiscences…)

  305. 305.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Kay:

    Like the never trumpers, I’m willing to accept Mary Trump’s help in causing chaos and division among the Trumps

    I’ll definitely not watch the GOP convention

  306. 306.

    sdhays

    @Kay: On that fateful night in 2016, my most selfish thought was “OMG I’m going to have to hear this piece of shit and about this piece of shit and his shitty family for another 4 years!”  I was so looking forward to being “post Trump”, but, alas, it was not to be.

  307. 307.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Kay: Biden would be insane to run a campaign around denying Trump Ohio. That is just the most incredibly round about way of thinking about it, and for some reason Ohio Democrats insist on looking at it that way.

    Well, true, but considering it’s a must-win for Cheeto Benito, there’s something to be said in favor of making him dump in funds & flunkies to defend it. I certainly wouldn’t spend major resources there, just enough to promote unease (if possible cranked up to fullblown panic) in Ohio Thuglican ranks. An electoral Doolittle raid, if you will. (Even if you won’t…:^D)

  309. 309.

    frosty

    @Kay: 

    They were fighting over 30 million for 30 years? Just give it to them. It’s cheap compared to what they have cost us.

    Brilliant idea!

  312. 312.

    Aleta

    Did everyone else they asked to speak turn them down?  Was it because T took the 10 p.m. slot for himself every night ?  (real) Or the nondisclosure agreement if they get covid after being forced to be maskless? (jk)  Or having to turn over their phones for the entire  top secret four days ? (jk)

    This part is real, from NYT:

    Two producers of “The Apprentice,” where Mr. Trump rose to TV stardom, are involved in the planning. Sadoux Kim, a longtime deputy to the “Apprentice” creator Mark Burnett, is a lead consultant on the production. Mr. Kim once served as a Miss Universe judge when Mr. Trump owned the pageant. Chuck LaBella, a former NBC entertainment executive who helped produce “The Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump,” is also on the payroll.

     

     

    Trump … plans to directly address the nation in prime-time on each of the convention’s four nights. …A stage has been built at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, a neo-Classical event space where most of the speakers will address a live audience. Current regulations in Washington prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people; Republican aides say they have hired “Covid experts” to determine how many onlookers can enter the auditorium and what audience participation could look like.

    …

    The list of speakers is heavy on the president’s relatives and White House staff members, including Dan Scavino, Mr. Trump’s former caddy who is now deputy chief of staff for communications …. The lineup also includes Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Missouri couple that toted weapons at Black protesters and have since become right-wing media stars, and Nicholas Sandmann, the Kentucky teenager who sued news outlets over coverage of his encounter last year with a Native American protester in Washington.
    …
    A “Democrats For Trump” segment is planned, though the participants remain a closely guarded secret.

    … Pence will appear on Wednesday from Fort McHenry in Maryland, the site of a battle in the War of 1812 that inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

    …

    Trump aides said that the White House venues being used are considered part of the residence, and therefore are authorized for political use. Some of Mr. Trump’s aides privately scoff at the Hatch Act and say they take pride in violating its regulations.

     

    The team is consulting with Mr. Kim, who served as Mr. Burnett’s head of business development for about a decade, earning production credits on “The Celebrity Apprentice” and “The Voice.”  Mr. Kim, whose production firm has received $54,274 in payments from the Republican Party’s convention committee, has a relatively low profile in the TV industry. Several producers who worked on “The Apprentice” said last week they had never heard of him. In 2010, he served as a judge for the Miss Universe pageant, with an official bio saying he “negotiates, packages and manages deals with brands and agencies” for Mr. Burnett’s programs.

    Chuck LaBella, the other consultant, has a long relationship with Mr. Trump dating to his time as a talent wrangler on “The Apprentice”; he also worked on pageants for Miss Universe and Miss USA. He was linked to Mr. Trump’s inner circle after Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, steered Mr. LaBella to Keith Davidson for legal work. Mr. Davidson was the Hollywood lawyer who negotiated payments on behalf of two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump.

    A company owned by Mr. LaBella has received $81,603 in payments from the Republican convention committee, according to financial disclosure reports.

  315. 315.

    Ian

    @Chetan Murthy: 
    Being sworn to uphold the law includes the ones you don’t like, and doesn’t give you carte blache to run around arresting everyone everywhere for anything.

    Jeeze. The cops don’t follow procedure and they (rightfully) get slammed. Now you want some cop from bugfuck middle of nowwhere to go around arresting every other cop? Is a judge going to sign off on any of this?

    Lets try this one out for size. If all these half good cops you think arn’t following their oaths just up and said fuck it, we quit, this is too corrupt, who would be left in the police?

    So there are a couple of points where I would say your not being very reasonable about how the world works.

  316. 316.

    JoyceH

    @Aleta: “A “Democrats For Trump” segment is planned, though the participants remain a closely guarded secret.”

    When I saw all those Republicans at the DNC endorsing Biden, I KNEW that Trump would demand something similar. Who wants to bet that the Democrats endorsing Trump will include no one that any of us have ever heard of?

  321. 321.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    A “Democrats For Trump” segment is planned, though the participants remain a closely guarded secret.

    Blagojevich

  322. 322.

    SFAW

    @clay:

    The most jarring part of that video/ad? That “Doctor” Rand Paul does not know how to pronounce “fiefdom.”

    Wait, did I say “jarring”? I meant “unsurprising.” Unless he was talking about the domain controlled by Barney Fife — then I withdraw my comment.

  324. 324.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Kay: …a good reason for yard signs. They’re important because people take cues from other people and they want to belong. So if they see yard signs that means there’s a group they can identify with, and they want that.

    I’d kinda turn this upside-down: If they don’t see things like lawn signs, they get this uneasy feeling that they’re the only person in the area that supports the candidate, & they start thinking everyone else knows something they don’t.

    This is especially significant for local campaigns where the candidate isn’t widely known. In 1974 I managed the campaign of an unknown 20something for the MD House of Delegates – we never had more than 20 volunteers and damn little $$$ (we threw a crab feast to make most of it). We budgeted for 3 main items: leaflets, lawn signs, and one billboard. We walked the district door to door, more than once, with the candidate knocking on doors right beside us. We put up few lawn signs relative to the very well-funded incumbents, but enough so the voters took us seriously. And on Primary Day (the Democratic primary, in those longlost daze, was the only important election in that district) we placed a volunteer at as many polling places as possible, with leaflets and lawn signs – to reinforce the notion that our guy was a viable candidate & a vote for him wouldn’t be wasted.

    And goddamn if we didn’t win! First crack in the local Democratic machine in more than an effing generation!

  326. 326.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Hoppie: Um…no idea who Jay & Alice are/were. I was kind of on the respectable fringe of BSFS. Interesting memories of the Easter weekend Balticons at the Hunt Valley Inn. Do the names Applesusan or Wheeler ring a bell?

    (One year I stumbled into the writers’ suite at Disclave in the Sheraton-Park & sitting on a bed watched Alexei Panshin harangue Zelazny in the doorway. No matter how nasty AP got, Roger just nodded & mildly replied he might have a point. Me, I wish I had gone up to Roger & said, See that window over there? How ’bout we stuff this arsehole through it?)

  327. 327.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: I think Biden CAN win Ohio. His chances are probably below 50%. But the poll aggregate on 538 basically has it even, and would probably show Biden ahead now if it wasn’t making historical lean adjustments.

    But, you’re right–Biden can win the election without Ohio, whereas if Trump loses it it means he’s toast.

  328. 328.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: Yard signs are also an indication that people in the neighborhood aren’t afraid to show their support for the candidate. That’s why they get vandalized and stolen–because if they’re not, that means you can publicly support candidate X and no harm will come to you.

  329. 329.

    J R in WV

    @Parfigliano:

    cops are scum who willing lie [sic] in order to protect their brother cops. The law of averages and statistics say your family members are same [sic]

    Surely there are some cops as you describe; just as surely there are many who are not, yet understand that if they go to far against the standards of the crooked cops they will be “accidently” killed in the line of duty. Others just keep their heads down and do the best job they can.

    I have a family member who is in law enforcement… one of my best friends is a retired senior LEO who was more like a uniformed social worker, even after getting shot once when he and a partner ran into some guys trying to steal a van at a used car lot for a (poorly) planned bank job the next day.

    Your inability to write two sentences with proper grammar shows your intellectual level.The sort of grammatical errors you make indicate you are not an English speaker, perhaps recently hired to comment on blogs to raise hostility levels in a foreign country?

    This whole thread is showing off a number of commenters who are about to become small graphics of pastry, or perhaps a sack of Sea Lion Chow. That fellow from Canada, who seems to want to foment violent social unrest here in another country is another.

  330. 330.

    J R in WV

    @dnfree:

    @Parfigliano: neither the law of averages nor statistics proves any such thing. Really. Why would you assert that?

    Because Parfigliano is an agent of a foreign power trying to sow division right here in B-J City…also now a bag of sea lion chow!

  333. 333.

    J R in WV

    @sgrAstar:

    So, Jay. I can’t stand the sanctimony and selfrighteousness in this comment. Tell us what YOU have done! Awaiting enlightenment.

    Jay is Canadian, all he feels any urge to do is castigate those of us in America who are actually giving a shit about Trump. Just pie him, I did!

  334. 334.

    ballerat

    @frosty: Nazis or collaborators at this point. It’s only the degree that is debatable.

    You have some painful truths to face regarding what you thought you knew about those family members.

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