Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

A consequence of cucumbers

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

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

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Consistently wrong since 2002

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

You are here: Home / Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Sunday Evening Open Thread: Handicapping The First Debate

Sunday Evening Open Thread: Handicapping The First Debate

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In the opposite corner…


Strut, little man, strut. I’d place a small bet on the chance the Oval Office Occupant finds an excuse to skip the debate, except that he’s physically incapable of not showing up when there’s a big enough media spotlight.

Reader Interactions

282Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Jesus people. Trump is master debater, and Joe is senile. Trump will walk all over him.

    Do we not set expectations low anymore?

  4. 4.

    Mary G

    Early in the primary Uncle Joe challenged a couple of hard hat heckler MAGAt’s to a push up contest. I want that. So, so much. Dare him to do it, and while he’s blathering away looking for a good attack, just drop and do like ten. You know he can’t match even one.

  5. 5.

    West of the Rockies

    It’s basically the same story as always: a Republican gets to fling shit and scream, and the Democrat has to be the reasonable adult, otherwise (s)he has debased his self.

  6. 6.

    MazeDancer

    Joe Biden mincemeated Paul Ryan. Shredded. Pantsed. Name a verb, Joe did it.

    And speaking of verbs, let us not forget a noun, a verb, 9/11.

    Goodness knows how many “one-liners” Joe has been given by the bet writers in Hollywood.

    And, yes, speaking as a pacifist, hope, if called for, Joe decks Trump. Donald doesn’t have COVID, Joe is perfectly safe to lay one on him

  7. 7.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    I watched the Comey movie.

    The first part is dull.  It covers the Clinton investigation and since Comey had script approval the narrative is favorable to him.

    The second part is hilarious, showing Dump as an ignorant, illiterate slob and Flynn as a dumb, corrupt low-life.

  8. 8.

    Brachiator

    Fuck, technically speaking, there shouldn’t even be any debates. Trump is a corrupt fool and liar who has nothing to say and cannot defend his evil power grab.

    I’m not counting on the moderators to ask any interesting questions.

    In my ideal world, Biden would say, “Trump is a liar and is full of shit. Vote for me. Goodnight and God Bless America.”

  10. 10.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Brachiator: In my ideal world, Biden would say, “Trump is a liar and is full of shit. Vote for me. Goodnight and God Bless America.  Oh, can you smell what The Rock is cooking!”

     

    /fixed

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    ‘Donald Trump, just a few days ago, gave himself an A or A plus for how he handled the virus crisis. I wonder whether the families of the over two hundred thousand Americans who fell to the virus agree with that grade. I wonder whether the millions of Americans who are still out of work because it’s not safe to go back on the job agree with that grade. I wonder whether millions of parents whose kids can’t go back into their schools agree with that grade.’

    Take the lie, and turn it back on him.

  12. 12.

    JaneE

    If Trump wants a drug test for Joe, he should be willing to pee in the cup on camera, preferably naked so no tubing can be hidden, and the camera should follow the sample all the way through getting the test results.  If they have to show some machine just sitting and processing for an hour, do not let that sample out of your sight.  Multiple cameras, just in case.  And do the same with a second sample after the debate too.  Even then I would not trust the results if they came back clean.

    If nothing else, we would know what drugs he is taking for medicinal purposes.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    Biden should exert dominance right out the gate and take a piss on Trump’s leg during his opening statement.

  15. 15.

    MattF

    Trump’s gonna wing it. He thought that the bananapants ‘news conference’ he just had was debate prep. And actual debate prep is work, so…

  18. 18.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    I’m pretty sure the following is a quote I stole from someone here:

    Debate questions regarding “dementia”:

    “Mr Trump, please spell ‘cat'”

    “Mr Biden, please solve the Navier-Stokes equation.”

    I won’t watch the debate because the “moderators” will do nothing but enrage me.

  19. 19.

    cain

    I had this weird dream where Trump shot Joe at the debate and then claimed it was fake news and that he cannot be held be held responsible then he went and appealed to the supreme court that murdering his opponent and being able to get away from it was executive privilege. He then comes into the Capitol Building and had a standing ovation from the Republicans.

    I hate this timeline.

    ETA – McConnell then tries to allow the Senate vote on a new Democratic candidate but didn’t tell the Democrats and they elect Joe Lieberman.

  25. 25.

    hells littlest angel

    Biden shouldn’t attack Trump, but just tease him until he develops an eating disorder dies of a stroke.

  28. 28.

    Chyron HR

    “Blah blah blah blah Sleepy Joe…”

    “Two hundred thousand Americans died of Coronavirus while you spent all year jerking off about playground insults on Twitter.  Why did you even show up for the debate if you can’t even bother to pretend to be President?”

  32. 32.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    So, without coming across as arrogant and slimy? I agree. Who was that Dem rep from Florida who was a darling of lefties? His name escapes me. He was “clever”

  34. 34.

    TS (the original)

    The media is now full of reports on trump refusing to leave when defeated and SCOTUS determining who is president. So obvious they know trump will be defeated but sure want him to stay. Their man in the white house.

  36. 36.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    #TrumpIsBroke

    Is the top trending phrase on the twitter machine

     

    eta:  also trending “#LockHimUp”  “#750dollars”  “Al Capone”  “#DonTheCon” “Fraud”

  38. 38.

    Repatriated

    @JaneE:

    If Trump wants a drug test for Joe, he should be willing to pee in the cup on camera, preferably naked so no tubing can be hidden, and the camera should follow the sample all the way through getting the test results. If they have to show some machine just sitting and processing for an hour, do not let that sample out of your sight. Multiple cameras, just in case. And do the same with a second sample after the debate too. Even then I would not trust the results if they came back clean.

    If nothing else, we would know what drugs he is taking for medicinal purposes.

    I’m pretty sure Trump’s “out” is that the reported results would have to exclude prescribed medications “as a matter of national security”. Whether they’re legitimately prescribed, and by who, is a separate matter…

  41. 41.

    CatFacts

    Biden’s team must be happy about the timing of the NYT tax returns piece. Trump’s likely to be wide awake and rage-tweeting for the next 48 hours straight. Increases the chances he handles the debate badly, yeah?

  44. 44.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    That was his name! I knew it started with an “A”; I guessed “Al”

    He sure disappeared, didn’t he? I’m surprised he was still a rep until 2017

  45. 45.

    Anonymous At Work

    “Donald, feel free to call me Joe.” would serve Biden very well as the first words.  Friendly, personable, and Donnie hates being called by his first name.  Donnie going mean after that would look like Donald threw Biden’s kindness in his face.

  47. 47.

    Kay

    Biden didn’t do it but he probably could have talked about Hunter’s addiction problems. Anyone who thinks a drug addicted grown child is a deal breaker hasn’t spent much time in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania the last 10 years. There are a LOT of people who deal with this. My middle son has lost 5 to overdoses out of his high school graduating class and it’s a small school. They would not judge him for that.

  48. 48.

    Baud

    @CatFacts:

    Biden’s first response at the debate is that Trump should have released his tax returns in 2016, and that he should do so now.  Then we can debate whether it’s fair for Trump to pay no taxes while hard working Americans pay more.

  49. 49.

    dmsilev

    The Post has another Trump base safari piece today, which isn’t a particularly interesting entry in the genre except for the headline photograph, which is quite something. They went to one of these boat parade things, the organizer of which apparently gets off on Horatio Hornblower cosplay. Even has a (replica?) cannon to shoot off.

  51. 51.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): Actually, that reminds me of when I was working in the Metropolitan Police Library and we had a Chief Inspector use exactly that excuse as to why he couldn’t return a book he borrowed.:)

    Personally, I think that Biden should come out swinging (not literally) from the start. Dominate the space, refer to Trump as Donnie in a kind of patronising tone of voice. It will really get to Trump.

  52. 52.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Sam Stein
    @samstein
    · 1h
    This may be the most damaging graph.
    “In 2017, the president’s $750 contribution to the operations of the U.S. government was dwarfed by the $15,598 he or his companies paid in Panama, the $145,400 in India and the $156,824 in the Philippines.”

    Ooof. Use that.

  53. 53.

    James E Powell

    Yesterday, I think, I proposed three potential outcomes of Tuesday night:

    1. Trump scores some points and the press/media goes into a Comeback Kid frenzy,
    2. Biden scores some points and Trump’s approval drops three to five points for a week, or
    3. nothing happens and there’s no change in the polls.

    I fear the first, hope for the second, and fully expect the third.

  55. 55.

    Kay

    Having a white collar criminal President plays right into my crusade to crack down on white collar crime.

    “Fewer guns, more calculators”

  56. 56.

    Quinerly

    @Baud: a few years ago, my Poco went to doggie daycare a few times. It was mostly for socialization. ?Almost every time I would get a report of a new, younger male dog being there. Poco would walk right up to the new male, raise his leg, and piss on him. We weren’t asked back after he did it to a napping new dog who had just been groomed and was only there because owner was delayed picking him up. Well coiffed Airedale. Thanks for reminding me of that memory.

  59. 59.

    MisterForkbeard

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: This is basically how I assumed it would go.

    The parts with Trump are going to be pretty truthful. The parts about the Hillary investigations are mostly going to be Comey hagiography and ignore that he fucked up monumentally and repeatedly for no reason.

  61. 61.

    Gary K

    It was a gorgeous early autumn day yesterday in Holmes County, Ohio, so I saddled up for a long bike ride along the rail trail. After 12 miles, needing of course to eventually return the way I came, I had to decide whether to push on to the next town of Fredericksburg. Yeah, I went for it. The first surprise was an Ohio Historical Marker that can only be seen from the trail, honoring William Moore McCulloch. I had never heard of him, but the sign indicated that he was a Republican congressman vital to the passage of the major civil rights laws in the 60s. (Where has that party gone?) But the real reward for my extra mileage was to find, at the very end of the trail, a Trump rally.

  63. 63.

    Kay

    Rick Wilson
    @TheRickWilson
    ·11m
    TRUMP SUPPORTERS: “I just want a manly, robust alpha-male silverback gorilla who reeks of pure testosterone and spends $72,000 for hair styling.”

    72,000 for hair styling. Earns every penny, that poor stylist. Yuck.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    @MazeDancer: I was just thinking last night that it’s to everyone’s credit that the writer who wrote “noun, a verb, and 9/11” never publicly took credit.

    Possibly not even privately, because it’s such a great line, you know people would share the name if they knew it.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: With this news, I am now on team “I’m not sure T will show up for the debate”.

    The man is a total fucking coward, there’s no way he will be willing to face debate questions about this on Tuesday.

  75. 75.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @MisterForkbeard: It trashed Lisa Page by slut shaming her and it trashed Peter Strzok implying he delayed a warrant of Anthony Weiner’s lap top to help Clinton.

    They also show the NY FBI office had a limited, narrow warrant to search Weiner’s lap top for sexting texts but instead they immediately used the scandal as cover to intentionally  search for any Hillary material without a warrant.   But they fail to explain how a warrantless search and non plain view search is illegal and the average viewer isn’t going to understand.

  76. 76.

    Ajabu

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    Damn you show off mofos on BJ. A quiet Sunday evening then you got my old musician ass looking up physics equations. All right, Mr. know it all, what degree of a scale is a Locrian mode built from?

    And no looking it up…

  78. 78.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl: It really is a lose/lose for him, isn’t it?  Still he needs a game changer and a debate can provide it.  If he shows up, he is going to be trying for a KO every time he speaks.  One thing Biden can do well is counter punch.  It could really be ugly – in the best possible way.

  79. 79.

    dmsilev

    @WaterGirl: Not showing up would probably be even worse for him. ‘Trump the coward’ would be the story of the next couple of weeks, and there really aren’t all that many weeks left.

  82. 82.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Ajabu: Look, man, if you’re a musician and you don’t know, I am not sure we can do much to help you.  Learn your craft, man.

  84. 84.

    James E Powell

    @dmsilev:

    the organizer of which apparently gets off on Horatio Hornblower cosplay.

    I feel like I could go for that. The Horatio Hornblower books were the beginning of my serious reading as a child. I went from there to the Bounty Trilogy, Two Years Before the Mast, Melville, Conrad.

  86. 86.

    Mike in DC

    Biden has to look out for gotcha questions from Chris Wallace and not let himself get drawn off course by personal attacks from Trump.  If he does that, he wins this fairly easily, and this election is probably over.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @Kay: I’m not sure about that.  People like my sister who never pay attention until the last minute… they do watch the debates.  At least some of them.

    I agree that primary debates are for people like us.

  92. 92.

    Princess

    One of the things that is impossible to factor in is the effect of this tax news NYT story on Trump’s moral. He has to be feel furious, shamed, exposed, and scared right now. Someone who knows more about narcissists than I do could guess how it might affect him to have his vulnerabilities exposed two days before the debate.

  93. 93.

    Mary G

    Biden campaign on President Trump’s attempts to make up a drug test policy for the upcoming presidential debate:
    Joe Biden “intends to deliver his debate answers in words. If the president thinks his best case is made in urine he can have at it.” (1/2)

    — MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 27, 2020

    "We’d expect nothing less from Donald Trump, who pissed away the chance to protect the lives of 200K Americans when he didn't make a plan to stop COVID-19." (2/2)— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 27, 2020

  94. 94.

    Wag

    @Baud:

    You’re right.
    At the start of the debate, Joe should walk out on the stage, pull out a cup, pee into it, hand the cup to Chris Wallace, and hand a second cup to Trump.

  98. 98.

    James E Powell

    @frosty:

    Back when I lived in Ohio, I would ride that Cuyahoga Valley trail all the time. I’d pick it up out of the Brecksville Metro Park and head south to Peninsula. Flat & easy ride, but a long hill coming up out of the valley on the way back.

  111. 111.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jeet Heer @HeerJeet·1h
    In 2016, Trump paid $129,250 more to Stormy Daniels than to the USA government

    Matt Oswalt @MattOswaltVA ·1h
    the only shocking thing about Trump paying just $750 in federal taxes is that the $750 check didn’t bounce

  113. 113.

    frosty

    @James E Powell: That’s how I am with the former NCRR trail. A 3% grade over a couple of miles is a lot harder than you think.

    This one, BTW is in the Rail Trail Hall of Fame. If you’re ever near Baltimore or north of there, look it up. Adding the MD and PA sections together, it’s about 47 miles.

  115. 115.

    Falling Diphthong

    @Baud:

    Do we not set expectations low anymore?

    Damn straight. Republicans have been saying that Biden can’t string together a coherent sentence: ergo, if Biden manages a coherent sentence he wins. Don’t let them go running off with the goal posts this late in the game.

  118. 118.

    matt

    One thing that bugs me a little is tankie dipshits who are going around saying Biden is going to get ‘killed’ in this debate. Biden is good at these, and I think he learned quite a bit from being around Obama, how to turn ‘formidable’ debaters into winners of Pyrrhic victories.

  122. 122.

    matt

    I hope Biden is prepping 5 different ways to mention Trump’s taxes in this debate. I think the orange shitstain will go ballistic if Joe keeps coming back to his taxes.

  123. 123.

    PPCLI

    @Kay: That’s a good point. Biden might even score some major rhetorical jiu jitzu.

    Some properly focus-group crafted variation on: “My opponent has had the bad taste to mention my son Hunter’s struggles with addiction. It’s no secret, I don’t try to hide it. There are tens of thousands of families all across America who are fighting to help a family member face that challenge, and my heart goes out to every one of them. Opiate addiction is killing Americans. My administration will give real help to people in the grip of that agony, not just the empty rhetoric and complete indifference that my opponent has served up for four years….”

  125. 125.

    Steeplejack

    @Princess:

    Someone who knows more about narcissists than I do [. . .].

    And over to narcissism expert Hoarse Whisperer (thread):

    A few people have asked me how I think the #TrumpIsBroke story will affect Trump.

    This one is easy: he’ll deny it to the death. He has no other choice. He’ll call it fake news.

    As long as the story relies on docs only seen by the NYT, Trump will claim it’s all fake.
    1/

    — The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) September 28, 2020

  127. 127.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think I was about twelve when my father got visibly (to me) angry when one of my older cousins, 20-something, was bragging about his side jobs and how he didn’t pay any taxes on the money he made from them. I later asked him why it bothered him so much and he said, “I have to pay the taxes he’s not”

  130. 130.

    Steeplejack

    @LuciaMia:

    Don’t get me started! My brother, who is even more of a rabid O’Brian fan than I am, regularly fantasizes about winning a huge lottery and kick-starting an Aubrey/​Maturin series, one film (at least) for each book. Think of what you could do with modern (but tasteful) computer graphics. That would be a franchise!

  131. 131.

    Princess

    @Steeplejack: Yeah, I’m sure he’ll deny it but there’s a very simple way he can prove he’s innocent, which is to release his returns, which is absolutely normal behaviour for a person running for president, and the fact that he won’t screams out and will continue to scream louder and louder the more he protests.

  133. 133.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack:

    You just know Biden is gonna get hammered tomorrow when, in the interest of fairness, the NYT drops a 10-page hit piece on Joe still owing late fees to a Wilmington Blockbuster when it went out of business.— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) September 27, 2020

  135. 135.

    JPL

    @Princess: Which he can do whether or not he’s under audit.

     

    Joe..  Don you can release your taxes whether or not you are under audit..

    Don,   liar, liar, pants on fire.

  138. 138.

    James E Powell

    @Steeplejack:

    I don’t understand why it’s not a Netflix or Amazon series. If Starz can do Black Sails, it can’t be out of reach for the giants of streaming.

  142. 142.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Ha! True.

    Reached for comment, an aide to the former vice president said, “Mr. Biden distinctly remembers returning Ocean’s Thirteen but denies that he ever rented Transformers. ‘That was some Michael Bay crap. Their records must be wrong.’”

  145. 145.

    Yutsano

    Oh hey look at that! Dolt45 is broke! I have only one thing to say about this.

    I. Fucking. Told. You. So.

  150. 150.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: I was going for commiseration rather than explanation!  :-)

    But maybe a little explanation for folks who don’t know what happens when you type those crazy extra-long words with no spaces.

  152. 152.

    Marcopolo

    ABC confirms the story. I hope he gets the help he needs.

    .@ABC News has confirmed President Trump's former 2020 campaign manager, and current campaign senior advisor, Brad Parscale, was taken into custody this evening by Fort Lauderale Police after allegedly threatening to harm himself at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.— John Santucci (@Santucci) September 28, 2020

  154. 154.

    Leto

    @frosty: Avalune and I did 26 miles on the Schuylkill River Trail last Tuesday. We’re looking to build up the endurance so we can ride from our place down to Valley Forge and back. Heck of a lot more than 26, but it would be amazing to do. Just gotta keep working on it.

  155. 155.

    Steeplejack

    @Quinerly:

    From that story:

    “Vice President Biden intends to deliver his debate answers in words. If the president thinks his best case is made in urine he can have at it,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager. “We’d expect nothing less from Donald Trump, who pissed away the chance to protect the lives of 200K Americans when he didn’t make a plan to stop COVID-19.”

    Attribution!

  156. 156.

    James E Powell

    Adam! Somebody! What the hell is the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency? Robert Cardillo, the recently retired director of it, is trying to tell people the truth about Trump. Think anyone will listen?

    Jennifer Rubin was lamenting that there aren’t more whistleblowers in the Department of Justice. Maybe it’s because they’ve seen that nobody cares about the previous ones. Their stories don’t rouse the public, change the press/media’s propping Trump up, or affect his approval ratings. Maybe they think it would be a waste of their career sacrifice.

  164. 164.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Who had “Parscale in Police Standoff Threatening to Off Himself” on their 2020 bingo cards?

  169. 169.

    Marcopolo

    @Steeplejack:   As a number of folks here have noted, whether or not these stories do anything to shake up the beliefs of the average Trump supporter, the fact is that Trump is losing this election.  Bigly.  He’s behind & has been since January.  Biden is at or near 50% in polling in enough of the battleground states to lock it up, and Trump needs to be making up ground, and there are very few undecideds out there which is vastly different from 2016..  Every additional hour/day/week that is dominated by shit like this is a win for Biden because it keeps Trump from making up any ground whatsoever.

    So I guess, though it is exhausting as all hell, I can live with it.  At least until Nov. 3rd (or more likely Jan. 20th).

  171. 171.

    Leto

    I know everyone is going ga-ga over the NYT story, but this story broke this morning on WaPo which I consider a parallel story. Not sure it was covered in the T-Bogg thread but just in case it wasn’t:

    Donald Trump, facing financial ruin, sought control of his elderly father’s estate. The family fight was epic.

    BLUFF: he was so dead broke that he got his dementia addled father to sign a new will handing him, Dotard, all of the family assets so he could try to stay afloat. (Narrator: it didn’t work)

  178. 178.

    opiejeanne

    @Ajabu: The 7th, and I no longer care. I haven’t cared since I was in Theory, and no one else really cared then, 44 years ago, and I am still trying to forget.

  181. 181.

    matt

    @Leto: I don’t think that story hurts Trump. That model of Trump as a ruthless business shark is favorable for Trump with most Americans I think. Sadly.

  182. 182.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    I do want him to survive the night so that he can testify to his crimes in remorse and serves a prison sentence that President Harris can commute at the start of her first term.

  184. 184.

    Leto

    @zhena gogolia: It’s taken almost two years to get there, but I’m getting there. This weekend Avalune and I went to a state park in northern PA for the weekend. Hiked for six miles/three hours on Saturday through a deserted nature trail. Most I’ve walked in two years. We were both exhausted by the time we got back, but it was such a wonderful feeling. I usually get exhausted after about 45 mins but it was different this time. I won’t question it!

  188. 188.

    Leto

    @matt: I don’t know. Taking advantage of your mentally challenged parent to screw over your relatives, and still piss it all away… I think it doesn’t paint him in a decent light because many people have to deal with parents who have Alzheimer’s/dementia and have to deal with people trying to scam them out of their life savings. It’s a fucking scummy thing and it fits him like a glove.

  189. 189.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Quinerly:

    Bannon’s corpse is found in a shitty garret room above a Bangkok ladyboy brothel with a heroin needle still stuck in its dick.  The corpse will be 3 weeks old, discovered because the landlord needed rent.

    It takes hours to pull all of the juicy corpse from between the bed and the crumbling wall, as little light is available from the single hanging light  bulb, and the morgue crew has to keep stepping outside, as there is no working AC, just a dripping wall unit blowing in hot air.

  195. 195.

    frosty

    @Leto:  I’ll have to check it out.
    We rode the Lehigh Gorge trail a couple of years ago. Start in Jim Thorpe – an outfitter shuttled us to the top and we rode (very slight grade) downhill from White Haven for 25 miles, listening to the rafters on the Lehigh River screaming. It was a great trip.
    I checked out the D&L Canal towpath a week ago for a hike with my Boy Scout buddies from (many) years ago. Good for walking, a little rough for a bike, unless you’ve got one with front suspension.

  196. 196.

    JaySinWA

    @Steeplejack: Not only that, he will be aided and abetted by pearl clutching reporters and commentators about how unseamly it is that these documents were obtained without his consent. Nobody is safe from having their taxes exposed if the POTUS isn’t safe, don’t you agree. It would be un american not to agree. The leaking of his precious bodily fluids tax returns damages the sanctity of privacy.

  198. 198.

    Jeffro

    @Marcopolo:Biden is at or near 50% in polling in enough of the battleground states to lock it up, and Trump needs to be making up ground, and there are very few undecideds out there which is vastly different from 2016.

    So. Much. This.

    Can a Villager explain to me what it’d take to ‘flip’ a Biden voter to trumpov at this point?  Would it be the rock-solid stability?  The superior plan for dealing with the coronavirus?

  200. 200.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Omnes Omnibus: Dammit – forgot the arrest.

    I guess it’ll have to be something that happens in a shabby rental room (that doubles as a meth lab) above a chop shop somewhere around South Boston.

  202. 202.

    Gary K

    @frosty: My home trail is the 18.5 mile B&O Trail that goes between Mansfield and Butler in Richland County. For a change of scene I’ve been trying out segments of the Ohio-to-Erie trail, beginning with the portion through Knox County. This summer I’ve pedaled every mile in Knox, and have started to learn the spottier segments through Holmes. The best segment was the one that starts at the Bridge of Dreams, a long covered bridge, crosses quickly into Holmes and then heads upward 300 feet & back down again on the way to Glenmont. Even then I don’t think there’s anything like a 3% grade, which was a challenge for trains and remains a challenge for a septuagenarian on a bike. East of Glenmont there’s a gap (you need to pedal on a road) until the trail resumes for 16 miles from Killbuck up to Fredericksburg. In Holmes County you’re sharing the trail with horse-drawn buggies!

    I want to try the Cuyahoga Trail. I understand you can pedal one way and then ride back on the scenic train.

  207. 207.

    frosty

    @Leto: Congratulations on the recovery and the hike! PA has some really nice state parks. My wife is on the mend from double knee replacement surgery this June and we’re looking forward to pain-free hikes and bike rides in the coming years.

  213. 213.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: I was in the other room so I hadn’t seen your text.  I will read now.

    Miss Willow, who is not very vocal, suddenly started making some weird distress sounds and acting odd.  So I was hanging with her for a bit. Doing something strange with her mouth or lips, I wondered if she had found a bug and got stung or something.

  214. 214.

    Quinerly

    @WaterGirl: nope
    I just use ? when I’m being devilish, snarky, trouble maker. Use it on FB. My small group there know what I mean. It’s all about me. ?

  215. 215.

    frosty

    @Gary K: I understand you can pedal one way and then ride back on the scenic train.

    In pre-COVID times you could do this from Cumberland to Frostburg for a shuttle on part of the Great Allegheny Passage, which connects with the C&O canal towpath for a 330 mile off-road trip from Pittsburgh to Washington!

  220. 220.

    Gary K

    @James E Powell: Are you old enough to remember when Jimmy Carter, in his 1980 convention acceptance speech, while meaning to praise Hubert Humphrey, said “Hubert Horatio Hornblower”?

  222. 222.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @AWOL:

    Given the bizarre thing about the Obama lookalike that he berated and “fired” (wonder who paid for it), maybe he had some other Obama lookalike bang a set of lookalikes made to resemble Ivanka and Melania.

    I mean, he’s that damaged. I could see him taking a cuckold fantasy to that dark a level.

  223. 223.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    David Frum  @davidfrum ·1h
    It says right in the prayerbook that Yom Kippur is the day that God smites deceivers, wrongdoers, and criminals.

    Huh.

  226. 226.

    Quinerly

    @Morzer: it’s going to be interesting if we learn what triggered the attempt. Looks like his last Tweet was a couple of days ago. Normally, I would feel badly for someone in this situation. But I have no sympathy/empathy. These are horrible people. I want them to get what they deserve. And for it to be painful. If not painful… deeply embarrassing.

  228. 228.

    J R in WV

    @Sloane Ranger: 

    …Chief Inspector use exactly that excuse [dog ate it] as to why he couldn’t return a book he borrowed.:)

    This could be true, as we have two young dogs, brother and sister sleek black dogs, who still eat important things. New shoes, medical containers, books, magazines, sandals, corner of nice feather pillow… you name it, they have tasted it…

  229. 229.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @WaterGirl:

    This, a thousand times this. From the NYT not finishing him off repeatedly to Letterman’s fawning shit to Jimmy Fallon and Haberman and Mark Burnett and EVERY PERSON WHO ACTED LIKE HE HAD IMPORTANT INFO TO IMPART, they’re responsible.

  233. 233.

    J R in WV

    @WaterGirl:

    September 27, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    @MazeDancer: I was just thinking last night that it’s to everyone’s credit that the writer who wrote “noun, a verb, and 9/11” never publicly took credit.

    Possibly not even privately, because it’s such a great line, you know people would share the name if they knew it.

     

    “Rudy Giuliani, there’s only three things he mentions in a sentence; a noun, a verb, and 9/11,” Biden said.

    So!  We do know who said it first. A well known Democratic politician, with a quick wit!

  235. 235.

    Ken

    @JaySinWA: The leaking of his precious bodily fluids tax returns damages the sanctity of privacy.

    Oh, is there an expectation of privacy in the Constitution?  I could swear I heard otherwise, quite recently.

  236. 236.

    Quinerly

    @Hoodie: that seems obvious. I’m thinking bigger… Maybe less obvious. It’s not like this is a reality show that’s supposed to make sense.

  240. 240.

    Morzer

    I would love to hear Amy Coney Barrett’s opinion of Trump’s persistent tax evasion. The Democrats should make her respond to all of Trump’s crimes, deranged utterances about the election etc – and force her to go on the record as either supporting his abusive, treasonous behavior or rejecting her latest god in public. Make Goody Two Shoes squirm.

  241. 241.

    Jeffro

    @Quinerly: Same here.

    trumpov voters get no pass for being blinded by their racism, their stupidity, etc etc.  Unless they fully own it, apologize publicly, and actively work to make it better going forward.

    trumpov staff/campaign members?  no pass under any circumstances.  They knew what they were getting into and loved them those trumpovDollars.  F them.

  243. 243.

    Kay

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump
    @BarackObama
    who wants to raise all our taxes, only pays 20.5% on $790k salary. Do as I say not as I do.

    It’s from 2012. I think about Obama watching this sometimes. No one took more shit from the disgusting, sleazy Trump Family than Obama. It must be delicious.

  244. 244.

    Quinerly

    So what’s next this week?

    Pee tape release?

    The lost Apprentice tapes with Trump using the “N word.”?

    How would you write the story line?

  245. 245.

    WaterGirl

    @J R in WV: I have always assumed that one of Biden’s speechwriters or a staff person had come up with that during debate prep.  I guess it could have been Joe, but my money is still on someone else.

    Let’s make a pact: if either of us meets Joe, we ask him.

  249. 249.

    TS (the original)

    @Morzer:

    Guess he is worried about investigations of trump finances, way beyond time the trump election fundraising was exposed for what it is/was.

    @catclub:

    a black guy comes out of that situation dead.

    Definitely  the most likely outcome.

  250. 250.

    Morzer

    A statement from President Trump’s Campaign Communications Director, Tim Murtaugh, states: “Brad Parscale is a member of our family and we all love him. We are ready to support him and his family in any way possible.”

    Translation: he knows too much to be just another unimportant covfefe boy, but sadly… the Trump campaign is broke.

  251. 251.

    Brachiator

    @dmsilev:

    ‘Donald Trump, just a few days ago, gave himself an A or A plus for how he handled the virus crisis. I wonder whether the families of the over two hundred thousand Americans who fell to the virus agree with that grade. I wonder whether the millions of Americans who are still out of work because it’s not safe to go back on the job agree with that grade. I wonder whether millions of parents whose kids can’t go back into their schools agree with that grade.’

    Take the lie, and turn it back on him.

    I agree very much with the sentiment. But I would make it simpler, more plain.

    Trump lied. Trump failed. People died.

    Trump failed to prepare for the virus. Trump ignored information from his advisors about the  extent of the virus. Trump failed to direct federal efforts to protect people. Too many people died as a result of his failure of leadership, and too many people are threatened by his continued failure to lead.

     

  252. 252.

    Leto

    @frosty: We visited Cherry Springs State Park which is one of the darkest spots on the east coast. BillinGlenndale would love it. The moon was reflecting too much light Saturday night, but it was still the most stars I’ve seen since right after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

     

    @WaterGirl: I think more of this information is coming out because he has the loser stink on him and it’s like watching scavengers eat a bloated dying whale carcass. As so many people have stated, he would’ve been able to continue the grift if he lost in 2016, or folded before that. But his ability to fail up into the most powerful position in the world is truly heinous.

  254. 254.

    catclub

    @WaterGirl: I guess it could have been Joe, but my money is still on someone else.

     

    and staff KNOW that their job is to make the boss look good. No way one of them claims that.

  255. 255.

    Patricia Kayden

    Just pulled up beside a homeless man begging for money on the street corner. I felt bad for him so I rolled down my window to give him money, and as he stumbled toward my car I realized it was Lindsey Graham so I laughed and sped away.— great scott! ?? (@GreatScott1991) September 25, 2020

  259. 259.

    JoyceH

    @Quinerly: I am convinced that there are a number of women (and the number is greater than one) who could pen an op-ed titled “Donald Trump paid for my abortion.”  I can only hope that at least one of them sees her duty clearly and steps up.

  260. 260.

    Redshift

    I don’t seek out wingnut tweets, but I occasionally see their replies to tweets I’m reading, though I ignore them. If I see any more about how Biden must be taking something because he’s not senile like we all know he is, I’m tempted to reply with “if Trump knows about drugs that make you mentally sharp and good at being president, why the hell isn’t he taking them?”

  261. 261.

    Quinerly

    @JoyceH: I think the dam has broken. Whether it’s loser stink, timing, karma, or people just fucking fed up that we never get a break from 24/7 Trump… Something feels different. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some sort of bombshell every day now. Someone has tapes of something, there are more women, rapes, abortions, blackmail… He looks like crap. Maybe he will just keel over. Maybe on the debate stage from a stroke. Something just feels different.

  262. 262.

    frosty

    @Leto: Cherry Springs is on my to-see list, along with Kinzua Bridge. We saw the Grand Canyon of PA and did a short bike ride on the Pine Creek Rail Trail through it. Camped at Kettle Creek, IIRC. The GC of PA is worth a trip.

    We’ve spent a lot of time in Ohiopyle because my SIL and BIL were kayakers. The whole Yough River area is worth a visit.

  265. 265.

    Jeffro

    @Redshift: I actually asked TCN…er…RWNJ dad this today: “Which makes more sense: that Biden is senile but is also taking performance-enhancing drugs (of some kind?) or that trumpov latched onto ‘Sleepy Joe’ for some dumb reason and instead of walking it back (or even just dropping it), now has to come up with some nefarious reason why Uncle Joe can string together complete sentences?”

    “trumpov is never ever wrong, is he?  And so the excuses and theories and conspiracy theories get wilder and wider, don’t they?”

    (crickets)

  266. 266.

    TS (the original)

    @WaterGirl:

    Way past time to push back on trump’s stupidity. It wasn’t Biden who said it. In fact, as usual, the campaign has used a woman for the push back.

  267. 267.

    Jeffro

    @Quinerly:Something feels different. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some sort of bombshell every day now.

    It’s almost like there is a guiding hand, leading us all to & through these moments, at almost the exactly right time for maximum effect.

    God bless the IC and its people of many talents.

  268. 268.

    Leto

    @frosty:  We passed through the GC of PA to get to Cherry Springs. I’ll be honest when I say that I have a pretty good fear of heights, but Avalune wants to see the PA GC so I’m sure we’ll be back.

    Before you go to CS, check the weather/lunar cycle just to try to get a completely dark night. It was still a beautiful starfield, but not having the moon as your own personal flashlight would’ve been nice.

  271. 271.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Baud: As awful as he is, Pence is apparently an animal lover.

    “He majored in animal husbandry – till they caught him at it.” (Pace Tom Lehrer.)

  272. 272.

    TS (the original)

    @JoyceH:

    I can only hope that at least one of them sees her duty clearly and steps up.\

    The attacks on her would be never ending. Depending where she lives, a GOP state would probably charge her with getting an illegal abortion. I doubt it would be worth it. This was proven in the SCOTUS hearing for Kavanagh.

  273. 273.

    frosty

    @Leto: I have a terrible fear of heights but the GC didn’t trigger it. Kinzua Bridge now … it’s half of a railroad trestle that didn’t get destroyed by a tornado. You walk out on it and there’s a glass floor at the end where you can look down at the valley.  Because of course there is!!

  275. 275.

    Sally

    @LuciaMia: I and my entire family would have loved that too! Our youngest son thought it was Pasta and Commander. Which it continues to be in our household.

  276. 276.

    WaterGirl

    @TS (the original): Yeah, I reread it earlier.  I think what bothered me was the use of urine in the first sentence – it felt odd and forced, but I have no problem with saying he pissed away (or is pissingway, I don’t recall) at the end.

  277. 277.

    Sally

    @Steeplejack: Some of the books were a bit slow, but still valuable to fill in the trials and tribulations and deeper personalities of the characters. I think there are twenty two books. Eight movies would probably cover them. Pasta and Commander was made from the first two books, iirc. 

  281. 281.

    Richard

    @Gary K: Oh I’m sorry. Where has that party gone? I think they are brainwashed. I don’t know what happened. My mom used to speak Spanish and German also. This was back in Vietnam days and we still have relatives in Canada. The plan was to send me and my sibs to go stay with Oma and horrible Papi until things got better. It really was too drastic, and we never did it. But now i wonder what might have happened.

    Don’t let these crazy people be so bossy all the time. We live here too. Right now they are talking about their guns. Probably it means they have run out of ammunition.

  282. 282.

    Miss Bianca

    @Steeplejack:  Way too late to this thread, but I think the Aubreyad would actually work better as a mini-series on TV – a series of mini-series, as it were. Starz did a pretty damn good job with Outlander and Black Sails.

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