Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Infrastructure week. at last.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Hot air and ill-informed banter

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

He really is that stupid.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

The willow is too close to the house.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

The revolution will be supervised.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Let’s finish the job.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

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

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Righteous Rant Deserves Elevation

Righteous Rant Deserves Elevation

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This post is in: ,

My niece sent this to me.  Have you seen the Trumpkin?

Righteous Rant Deserves Elevation

A righteous rant like this deserves elevation.

Ella in New Mexico: (in an earlier thread)

Nobody with a firing brain cell did not know the truth about the deadliness of the Coronavirus when these conversations were being taped by Woodward.

The only people who refused to believe all the scientists and doctors and the smart people and deny all the images of death and grief and destruction on the screens right in front of their faces were die hard Trump Culters or Republican sociopaths who short-sitedly valued the “economy” over the needs of Americans.(Which tanked even worse than it could have. And those people actually took plenty of precautions because, fuck, dying from COVID is what the little people do.)

At some point we have to hold The Stupids accountable for choosing to ignore what the vast majority of the rest of us decided was the right thing to do. Trump included. THEY caused the deaths of many, many innocent people and even now are persisting in places like ND/SD not because Bob Woodward didn’t immediately release his tapes in March but because they are fucking, God-damned stupid people.

I love what we do in NM with these folks: tell them to STFU and put on the mask or GTFO of my business, restaurant, gym or clinic. We fine or shut down businesses who give the Gov’s orders the finger. We’re persisting with our rules even though were at an R0 of 0.75. Mostly because we’ve got the whiny Red parts of our state acting like this is either a hoax or the fucking end of the world because they have to wear a mask to Walmart, so Gov. Lujan is being absolutely merciless in her refusal to release restrictions. I. LOVE. IT.

At some point a few weeks ago, I just stopped agonizing over what this Governor or that Legislator or those cities did or did not do in response to the Coronavirus and focused on what my community and state was doing. Because I don’t give any more fucks about these people. What kind of “Rugged Independence” is it that you’ll literally do a 180 degree reversal your beliefs just because the Great Orange MAGA Man has declared it to be the New Truth?

Every step of the way on Corona, Trump has revealed himself as the complete and utter failure we all knew he is. Every stupid decision, every news conference where he told people to inject bleach, every loud mouthed demand for a state or a city or a sports team to “OPEN NOW!!” has lead to the giant lead in the polls for Biden, and in a sad, tragic way, it had to happen for us to get rid of this demon. God forbid he’d have done a marginally decent job and just let the smart people handle this, we’d be looking at a shoo-in this fall.

The rest of us are the sane ones. They’re the minority. Fuck them. We owe them NOTHING. And when this is over they should get absolutely NO MERCY. Their party needs to be run so deep into the ground it never finds its way out of the swirling hot magma at the center of the Earth

Thank you for allowing me to vent.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

109Comments

  1. 1.

    Kent

    I was streaming NPR Morning Edition in the car this morning as I was picking up my daughter and they were talking about Bloomberg just now dropping $100 million into the presidential campaign in Florida and how that is freaking out the Trump campaign.    Anyone know the details?   Would be good news if true.

  2. 2.

    Ruckus

    Ella’s rant is beautiful. A rant for the ages.

    I imagine I can speak for a lot of people when I say, “Damn, I wish I’d written that!”

  4. 4.

    Ella in New Mexico

    OMG I’m so honored. Seriously, sometimes feel like we’re all just screaming sanity into the ears of a buncha deaf people.

    Until I come here, to Balloon Juice. One of the few places I still feel there exists a normal.

    Thanks, Watergirl. And thanks to each and every one of the BJ family for creating such a cool, smart, intelligent space to return to, day in an day out.
    <3 <3 <3

  5. 5.

    Kent

    @WaterGirl: They have no path to victory without winning Florida.  None.  You gotta start peeling off blue states like MN, CO, and NV if you lose Florida.

  7. 7.

    pamelabrown53

    Thank you for elevating Ella’s righteous rant! When I read it I thought: “This deserves comment of the week…or something”.

    P.S. Wonder if there’s a pattern for the “Trumpkin”. It’s awesome.

  8. 8.

    reid

    Yes.  I live in Santa Fe, NM and I’m glad that I live in a sensible blue state.  I see the occasional outbursts of rural, far-right loonies (or the divisive idiocy of Steve Pearce) and wince, but we’re mostly all right.

  9. 9.

    The Other Bob

    Yes Ella!  And fuck all the “acceptable Republicans” who clutch their pearls now, but created the conditions for Trump by running on Willie Horton ads, running to save “marriage” and enabling those in Congress and the party who enable Trump.

  15. 15.

    Mousebumples

    Got a mailing from the Republican Party of Wisconsin yesterday, “reminding” me to vote for my R US House member with my absentee vote. WI-08 is R+7, and lean Republican from what I can find online.

    I’d love to flip the seat (an area State Senator is running, but i figured they more recruited her to flip it after redistricting in 2022,and to introduce her to the wider district this year), and it makes me wonder if she’s got a chance?

  17. 17.

    pamelabrown53

    @WaterGirl:

    I think I’d use shredded raffia (or maybe corn silk) for the hair? I suppose I could try to print the picture to use as reference: the caricature is so spot on, it negates any guesswork. We know it’s Trump!

  18. 18.

    raven

    @Mousebumples: There was just a post on my FB that said if you “Return To Sender” with those it costs the sender a lot for the return

     

    Hi, if you’re getting these large black mailers from the Senate Leadership Foundation slagging Jon Ossof, tape a note saying ‘return to sender’ and put it back in the mailbox. These groups get charged a ton by the Post Office to process returns.

  19. 19.

    JPL

    From the Washington Post

    Bloomberg made the decision to focus his final election spending on Florida last week, after news reports that Trump had considered spending as much as $100 million of his own money in the final weeks of the campaign, Bloomberg’s advisers said. Presented with several options on how to make good on an earlier promise to help elect Biden, Bloomberg decided that a narrow focus on Florida was the best use of his money.

  20. 20.

    Florida Frog

    Anybody else getting mailings from the Center for Voter Information? Mr. frog and I got letters saying we might not be legally registered because we recently moved (we updated our address with the SOE before we unpacked the coffee cups).  The letter has a partially filled out voter registration form that doesn’t look quite like the ones I have used in voter registration drives. It doesn’t request all the information. Scam, yes?

  21. 21.

    laura

    • I’ll believe Bloomberg drops 100 large in Florida when it actually happens. His talk has been cheap and his follow through nonexistent. Until then “don’t tax me bro” can take a seat.
  22. 22.

    pamelabrown53

    @JPL:

    100 mil. is a big chunk of change for 1 state. Wonder how it will be spent. Hopefully, a sizable amount will be GOTV efforts, poll monitoring and money for legal challenges. Obama carried the state twice so we know the votes are there!

  24. 24.

    Ksmiami

    @Ruckus: Exactly- just because fauxvangelicals and Magats want to drag us back into caves to divine the future from chicken bones instead of scientists, doesn’t mean we have to follow them in their ignorance. Fuck fair and balanced- They’re fucking wrong and stupid and we’re right. Bury them.

  26. 26.

    pamelabrown53

    @laura:

    I’d believe Bloomberg’s pledge of 100 mil. before I’d believe Trump’s: “Maybe I’ll spend  a 100 mil. of my own money”, BS.

    I really doubt there would be such a specific announcement if Bloomberg wasn’t committed. Why not wait to shoot the gift horse if he reneges?

  27. 27.

    Kay

    Will Saletan
    @saletan
    · 3h
    Trump’s ex-deputy DNI Sue Gordon on FTN, on Trump saying “They’re trying to rig this election” and “Every one of these races was a fraud”: “That message—that you can’t trust our system, that you can’t trust the vote … is exactly what the Russians particularly hope to achieve.”

    I may never get over that the Republican Party tried to turn this country into Russia. Anyone who says they would have guessed that is lying. Their model for this country is Putin’s Russia. That’s what they hope to achieve. I love the assumption behind it too- that they’ll be the ruling kleptocrats. Extreme stupidity and greed combined with insane levels of arrogance.

  29. 29.

    jl

    I don’t understand what’s going on in Europe. Spain does have a serious outbreak which is burdening some regional health systems. But in France, the huge increase in cases seems due to huge increases in testing. The increase in confirmed casts started about two months ago, but in contrast to Spain, very little change in the mortality rate. The mortality rate in France looks identical to other countries that have not had comparable increases in cases. After almost two months, there should be an increase in the mortality rate.
    The increase in cases in most European countries seems to to along with a comparable increase in tests. So what is going on? Increase in cases mostly among very young, so hasn’t hit vulnerable groups yet? Their contact tracing programs are very good and quarantining the cases very early? I read a news item that said that RNA fragments hang around in the body far longer than previously thought, and tests are so sensitive they are picking up people who have already recovered. Maybe that is part of the explanation. The news piece said the vast majority of cases detected by tests that are calibrated to be very sensitive may be of recovered cases.
    If anyone has read anything about it, please post a comment.

    Edit: actually, in most of Western Europe, the increases in cases seem to be driven mostly by increases in testing. You can download the data from Our World and Data and run the numbers. The outbreaks that are producing a lot of hospitalizations and deaths are in the Balkins, but I haven’t seen them mentioned in the news.

  30. 30.

    Ruckus

    @pamelabrown53:

    He did spend a bit of his own money to run, before he got kicked to the curb. So MAYBE it’s possible. I’d bet that 50 mil in FL and a couple of mil in 25 other states might be a bit more productive but what do I know, I work in millionths not millions. (Precision machinist humor)

  31. 31.

    The Moar You Know

    The letter has a partially filled out voter registration form that doesn’t look quite like the ones I have used in voter registration drives. It doesn’t request all the information. Scam, yes?

    @Florida Frog: why chance it? Go to your local registrars office and get the proper forms.

     

    ETA:  they seem legit but these days you just never know.

  32. 32.

    evodevo

    @raven:  Note from a postal worker here: it won’t be returned unless it has an endorsement on the mailpiece somewhere that says: Address Service requested; Return Service requested; or something similar. if it says “standard mail” in the right hand corner, it will just be thrown out/recycled by us. NOW, if it has a “business reply” indicia on the front, THE SENDER has to pay the return postage, and in that case you get your revenge lol

  34. 34.

    Elizabelle

    @Ella in New Mexico: 

    Love your rant, Ella. And well done, New Mexico, with being sane about COVID avoidance practices. (Land that believes in science, as well as enchantment.) Take issue, though, with your comment

    God forbid he’d have done a marginally decent job and just let the smart people handle this, we’d be looking at a shoo-in this fall.

    I don’t agree with that at all. I do not know why that sentiment is going around. Guessing it’s rightwingers/Republicans who want to pretend the COVID sabotage is a sad spot in an otherwise acceptable presidency.

    The callous disrespect of the Black Lives Matter protests? And fomenting violence by lying about them? The impeachment trial that did not agree to hear witnesses, and drew only one Republican vote on one count? The wildfires that Trump could not give a fuck about? Sabotaging the Post Office? All the grifters, tearing all our government agencies and public lands to pieces?

    Packing the courts? William Barr and all the other ridiculously awful people in the administration? Saying outright the press is a danger to democracy? Ejecting journalists and abusing them at his Nuremberg style rallies?

    Using his own properties to grift the government at every turn? Flying down to Florida or another Trump property every chance he gets, and overbilling the Secret Service and government for the travel costs? During a pandemic, too, when individuals are not getting economic support and healthcare, because the GOP does not want to set that precedent?

    I don’t think Trump was cruising to victory at all, except for the “China Virus.” I think that is a complete lie.

    We actually are not a 50/50 country. More like 60/40, very honestly. But it behooves the liars and their media mouthpieces to act like we’re right on the line. I don’t think we should repeat that shit, because it helps to validate it.

    That said, we have to work like never before for a Blue Wave that will make Trump’s upcoming election stealing impossible.

  36. 36.

    LuciaMia

    I hope some of that Bloomberg money will go towards paying those fees that will keep people from voting.

  37. 37.

    JPL

    @Ruckus: I think he is sending a message to trump in FL because that is where trump is registered to vote.   Twenty-five mil in Arizona could help.

  39. 39.

    pamelabrown53

    @Ruckus: :)

    Well, I say he spends a 100 mil. in Florida, then if we run into trouble in any of our must-win states, he spends 25 mil. more! It’s not like he can’t afford it.

  43. 43.

    Scout211

    @The Moar You Know:

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-florida-elections-supervisors-warn-about-mailings-20200515-brh7mmo2svhtloyagf76fkybme-story.html

    I found articles online from news sources in lots of different states about this organization.  They also have an official site.

    It appears that they are trying to help voters but have outdated voter information and send out very deceptive and confusing mailings that looks official.  Scam?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

    Link and Antonacci said that causes confusion among voters who wonder if something’s wrong with their registrations or anger among people who get what they think are official-looking mailings to the address of someone who’s dead.

    “Each time these deceptive mailers are sent, our office is inundated with terrified voters who are concerned that their personal information has been compromised and are wrongly shared and they are especially upset when — as it happens all too frequently — the data used by this shadow group is wrong and thereby causes further alarm,” Antonacci said.

    The organizations describe their efforts as “the nation’s largest and most rigorously researched mail-based voter registration and turnout program.”

    In an emailed response to an inquiry about the Florida election supervisors’ warning letter, the Voter Participation Center’s founder and board chairwoman Page Gardner said that especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic “mail-based voter registration efforts have never been more important. VPC and CVI run the nation’s largest mail-based voter registration program, and our work is crucial today. We are significantly increasing our efforts during the coronavirus crisis.”

    Gardner said her organization’s mail efforts “will fill a void” created by the inability of groups to conduct in-person registration efforts, especially for people without reliable internet service or who don’t trust the internet for something as important as voting issues.

    Contentious history

    The organizations have a history of contentious relationships with elections officials in Florida.

  44. 44.

    LuciaMia

    Trump had considered spending as much as $100 million of his own money in the final weeks of the campaign,

    As the cliche goes, “dont hold your breath…”

  45. 45.

    lowtechcyclist

    Nobody with a firing brain cell did not know the truth about the deadliness of the Coronavirus when these conversations were being taped by Woodward.

    That was on February 7.  Few Americans were thinking much at all about the coronavirus at that point.

    Publishing this interview immediately would have been a pretty serious wake-up call. Trump being Trump, he’d still have done nothing, and left the response up to the states and localities.  But when you think about how hard just the greater NYC area was hit in March and April – it’s always been clear that if Andrew Cuomo had woken up to the threat just a couple weeks earlier, it would have saved thousands of lives, quite possibly tens of thousands.  This might’ve done the trick.

    So yeah, I regard Bob Woodward as a member in good standing of the Mass Murderers Club that includes Trump and his entire Administration, and every Republican in Congress.

  46. 46.

    Marcopolo

    @Kent:  I won’t spit on a $100 million dollar campaign infusion but… getting $100 million dollars 50 days before the freaking election is so so so much less useful than $100 million 5 months before the election or $50 million with that much time.  Time to recruit staffers, to organize, to develop relationships, etc…  Maybe there will be some way for the money to be used to hire & train minimally competent folks to do voter outreach to all the diverse FL communities, to make sure folks are registered, to make sure that people know how to vote & get to their polling places (or vote by mail) including transportation but I’m pretty sure the vast vast majority will go towards buying airtime to run ads that will really not persuade many people.

    I mean fuck, if Bloomberg was as smart as I was told he was he’d have committed that $100 million a long time ago (see March 2020) to keeping all of his folks employed and working on campaigns up and down the ticket.  Christ, what an asshole.

    Okay, that’s my mini rant today.

    Also, I just gave money to the Wisconsin Dems (yeah, I also give them an automatic monthly donation but that didn’t seem to count) so I could watch the cast reading of the Princess Bride in 3 1/2 hours.  Looking forward to that.

  47. 47.

    Geoduck

    Already noted, but again, the Shaitgibbon was never a “shoo-in” to win. He might still slime out another razor-thin electoral college win, but he just barely got in the first time against, literally, the most hated woman in America, and he’s done nothing but burn bridges since then. He’s going to lose the popular vote at least by an even wider margin this time.

    Still, again, always, get out and vote.

  48. 48.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @JPL: as much as $100 million of his own money

    Why does anyone still pretend to believe that money exists or that he has ever spent a dime from his own pocket?

  49. 49.

    Eunicecycle

    @evodevo: I found out that was true when I had my dad’s mail coming to my house and after he died, thought I could just write “return to sender” on his mail. Our mailman stopped by one day and told me that didn’t work so quit doing it! He was nice about it, though.

  50. 50.

    A Ghost to Most

    @Marcopolo: Perhaps he was waiting to see where his help was really needed. I appreciate every person on our side at this moment, not just the people whose politics align with mine. Saving democracy will take more than just your friends.

  54. 54.

    dexwood

    Thank you, Ella! Lujan, my gov, too, has been fantastic throughout this whole thing and it’s been great to see judges come down on her side against stupid Republican lawsuits.

  56. 56.

    Marcopolo

    @pamelabrown53:   That’s the catch.  If you’re a FL ex-felon you may or may not owe fines/fees.  It could be to the state or a local jurisdiction.  The state has set up no mechanism for figuring out & telling ex-felons whether they owe money or not and if so what amount.  So the question the ex-felons face is are they going to go vote and risk getting thrown back in prison cause you know they have been flagged in the system for special attention if they vote.  That’s some catch that Catch-22.

    Also, if there are any jackals out there with more knowledge of the actual court arguments my understanding is this issue of payment limbo for the ex-felons was not highlighted during arguments for this last ruling.  Is that correct?  Seems crazy to me but I am guessing it was part of the R legislatures plans all along.

  58. 58.

    Kent

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:Why does anyone still pretend to believe that money exists or that he has ever spent a dime from his own pocket?

    It will exist.  He will be busy taking $100 million of other people’s money in terms of campaign funds and turning it into his own money through graft and funneling it all through his properties and companies.

  59. 59.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @laura: same. I want to know for sure Bloomberg  has actually donated the money and to whom,  otherwise it’s just hot air.

  61. 61.

    VeniceRiley

    The only things you can do with money like that this late is buy up all the AD space leaving your opponent no place to play, do registrations and GOTV. I hope what he’s actually doing is lying and forcing Trump to panic and play defense there, which will keep him from spending in other states. I hope Bloobug drops 40 million on florida and 60 everywhere else.

  62. 62.

    Marcopolo

    @debbie:   This is not true.  I have run campaigns.   You have a ton of different productive options for spending money at the start through the middle of campaigns.  One of the smartest things that has the biggest payoff is setting up relationships with allied groups and organizations, get your grassroots fundraising game up and running ASAP, and developing your volunteer network so it is as robust as possible two months out (elections are about locating supporters, figuring out the best way to communicate with them, and to use that info to get them to the polls).  Those options narrow the closer you get to the actual election until the last few weeks your last option is shoveling money into paid media (or I guess you could set up a fund to help folks get to the polls).

    Remember, the Emily in Emily’s List stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast.

  64. 64.

    opiejeanne

    @Elizabelle: Thank you. I was thinking the same but you said it very well, that he was not going to cruise to re-election if not for his mishandling of the pandemic.

    And yes, we still need to do everything we can to make the election a tidal wave for Biden and the down-ticket candidates.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: There’s nothing a guy like Bloomberg wants more than control.  A flat amount committed to early – the campaign could spend that where they think it’s needed.

    100 million now, a directed amount, for Florida, gives Bloomberg control.  He also gets to be the hero if we win Florida.

  66. 66.

    the pollyanna from hell

    Go righteous! and go rant!

    but

    trolley car ethical dilemmas are not found in modern human nature under competent leadership off the battlefield, and even lifeboat problems become more rare every year. That’s progress, that’s living in community and caring for each other. Even if we accept that we are living on an active battlefield, and each our own general making strategic judgements with universal effect, information is incomplete and causation is chaotic. If the disaster I foresee were certain, then 200,000 lives might be worth paying to prevent it. It had to be because it is now past. At no point did it have to be.

    The Battle of Trump’s Virus is the largest single battle in American history. The dead are heroes of uncertainty, not calculated trolley victims. Today I am still uncertain, but I would rejoice in the death of Trump by Covid on the chance of saving a few tens of thousands, even if that increased the chance of throwing the election to Pence. The English language is not ready for these subtle distinctions.

    Off topic, I object to the multiplication of acronyms. I don’t want to memorize CFSG, I want to see it in full: Cheeto Faced Shit Gibbon every time.

  67. 67.

    opiejeanne

    @LuciaMia: That would be great if they knew how much they owed. Florida doesn’t have to tell them an exact number, which makes it difficult to pay off.

  71. 71.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ruckus:

    I imagine I can speak for a lot of people when I say, “Damn, I wish I’d written that!”

    You certainly speak for me! Righteous rant.

  72. 72.

    pamelabrown53

    @LuciaMia:

    Florida VOTERS voted to reinstate felons’ voting rights. (I was one of the majority voters).

    This is why we need to flip state governments: the republicans are working overtime to over ride the will of the voters.

    I don’t understand folks need to denigrate the state and everyone in it. I find it hurtful and demoralizing.

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie:  Totally agree.

    Having run multiple campaigns, Bloomberg surely knows that early money is gold.

    I was just pointing out a reason why a person like Bloomberg would what until now.

  82. 82.

    Florida Frog

    @The Moar You Know: don’t need to in our case.  Updating our voter info was the first thing we did when we moved. Nice and easy online. But that letter sure seems designed to confuse a casual voter. Just wondering if something like this is making the rounds in other states.

  83. 83.

    Benw

    @opiejeanne: AND if you pay what your best guess is what you owe and vote, and they find some other fines later, they can prosecute you for a felony!! It’s super fucked up

  84. 84.

    Kent

    @JPL:@WaterGirl:  I think you’re right.   Maybe he wants a seat at the table.   Ambassador might be okay, but that’s it.

    Probably gunning for Secretary of Treasury if he want an administration position at all.  Or maybe a less busy job like Council of Economic Advisors.

    Ambassadors actually have to do real work.  Bloomberg can wine and dine in London or Paris any day he wants.  He doesn’t need an ambassador’s job to do that.

    More likely he wants to have a big say on the transition team and who Biden appoints to various important positions.  That’s where the real power lies.

  85. 85.

    J R in WV

    Just want to chip in and join the crowd, a wonderful rant on Drumpf from New Mexico. Wife and I have wished more than once that we had done our western winter camp in NM rather than AZ, although AZ seems to be turning around.

    Have been switching between NFL football and the WWW, am I the only person who thinks Brady’s resting face is a sneer? Never mind, just a stray thought that blew across my mind.

    I don’t think Woodward’s delay in sharing Trump’s confession matters, and it may help with the tempo of the election campaign.

  86. 86.

    Aleta

    @Florida Frog:  Yes my dog got one, filled out with his name and address along with a note that they would be checking in a few weeks to see if he’d registered yet or not.   Our mail processing plant has been flooded with them.   That “gotv” organization has a reputation for being careless.   They claimed to be working for Dems in 2016.  They exist as a DC nonprofit.

  88. 88.

    Ruckus

    @JPL:

    He’s got billions for telling people about other people’s billions and how to get more billions.

    He really doesn’t need or deserve anything else. He doesn’t need control or praise or a blowjob. He’s gotten/taken more than his fair share in the bargain a long time ago. 100 mil is pocket change to him. He wants to be a good citizen, fine. He wants to get praise and glory for stepping in late, fuck him.

    I’m not really accepting of the uber wealthy buying what they think society owes them for being uber wealthy.

  89. 89.

    catclub

    @pamelabrown53: Hopefully, a sizable amount will be GOTV efforts, poll monitoring and money for legal challenges.

     

    aren’t those exactly the kind of thing that require coordination with the candidate’s campaign, and are hence illegal. uncoordinated ads are more likely.

  90. 90.

    Nora

    @gwangung:  That’s got to be unconstitutional.  It’s a poll tax, and worse than a mere poll tax, because the amount could be anything the official says, and the ex convict could never be sure of paying it off.

    Why don’t the people of Florida vote out those slimeballs?  The people spoke quite clearly in that amendment, and the Republicans are going out of their way to thwart their will.

  91. 91.

    Kent

    @Ruckus: Of course you are 100% correct.  But if Bloomberg wins Florida for Biden he’s going to get a seat at the table.  That’s how the world works.

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @the pollyanna from hell:

    Off topic, I object to the multiplication of acronyms. I don’t want to memorize CFSG, I want to see it in full: Cheeto Faced Shit Gibbon every time.

    Laughing Out Loud. As a matter of fact, Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off.

  93. 93.

    catclub

    @pamelabrown53: From what I understand is paying the fees is problematic when the amount can’t be ascertained.

     

    I bet they will claim attempted bribery if you overpay. It is catch22 all the way down.

  94. 94.

    catclub

    @Nora: The people spoke quite clearly in that amendment, and the Republicans are going out of their way to thwart their will.

     

    why does a dog lick his balls? because he can.

  95. 95.

    J R in WV

    @Kent:

    Sneer makes anyone ugly in my book, including him and his wife.

    He is good at his craft, but seems like a real prick in real life.

  96. 96.

    Tehanu

    I treasure Vicente Fox, ex-President of Mexico, for what he called Dump:  Last year’s rotting Halloween pumpkin.

  97. 97.

    bcwbcw

    @Florida Frog:   It’s real and apparently intended to support voting but the group screwed up details in a bunch of the forms in their mailings which is really bad…..

  98. 98.

    bcwbcw

    The picture should also point out that Trumpkin, in addition to being hollow is also yellow on the inside and will turn into a moldy smelly mess at the end of October.

  102. 102.

    scott (the other one)

    For some time now I have thought that a tiny thing which has had a big and negative impact on our country is the universally acknowledged truism that saying “I told you so” is a terrible offense.

    The result is that people who argued that smoking is good for you, or washing hands before surgery is fine, or climate change isn’t real, or tax cuts for the rich help the middle-class, still get listened to, and still keep spreading their terrible, terrible ideas.

    Bring the hell back “I TOLD YOU SO.”

  104. 104.

    TomatoQueen

    @bcwbcw:  They pulled this stunt in 2016 in Northern VA, and did it again about a month ago, getting themselves on local news. Having seen the mail pieces both times, and with this latest news out of Florida, I am inclined to think it’s one of Adam’s black ops.

  105. 105.

    glory b

    @pamelabrown53: Yes, the court (otherwise known as TRUMP APPOINTEES) majority did a double screw over, former felons have to pay all fees, penalties,  victim restitution,  etc., but the state is not obligated to quote an amount they can rely on to be accurate.

    Remeber, if they register and vote, the state can come back later, tell them the amount paid is incorrect, and potentially charge them with voter fraud. I feel for them, but it’s too risky.

    Fun (I guess) fact, my father, a black man who grew up in pre civil rights Florida, thought that “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was the national anthem until he was in high school. He was playing football, was told to stand for the national anthem, and didn’t recognize the song (Star Spangled Banner) being played.

  106. 106.

    Chris Johnson

    @Marcopolo: I’m pretty sure what motivates his asshole-ishness is that Biden is not banishing Liz Warren from the party.

    It’s pretty clear that the Dems are prepared to act on behalf of the people: maybe not in a way that would thrill Rose Twitter, but it’s ‘all hands on deck’. That seems reasonable.

    And I see parallels between Trump and Bloomberg, bigtime (except Trump lies about having far too much money, and Bloomberg actually does). So Bloomberg has this problem: he wants to extort the Democrats to kick Warren, Sanders etc. to the curb. He would like it NOT to be all hands on deck, he wants it to be only his own buddies and to throw away all the progressives.

    And shit’s a bit more serious than that, so it’s a nonstarter: he’ll be making it plain that he needs to see overtures, in particular that they need to shit on Warren publically before he will even help, and this is rightly getting absolutely nowhere.

    And so, either he sits out the whole election without helping (and ends up either enabling fascism AND being on the losing side, or being persona non grata with Warren types the insiders), or he comes up with some kind of token support that will prevent him being totally blackballed by the party. And even this, he’s gonna drag his feet on, because everything has a price and this guy absolutely demands that the Democrats operate the way he wants them to.

    Fuck him. We’ll see how dumb and arrogant he is, after the ridiculous stunt of him literally trying to be the nominee. Does our billionaires learn?

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