Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

A consequence of cucumbers

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

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

He really is that stupid.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

This blog will pay for itself.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Consistently wrong since 2002

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

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

In my day, never was longer.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Joe & Kamala Got This, Guys

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Joe & Kamala Got This, Guys

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Political junkie that I am, I’m really looking forward to next February, when I can ignore what’s going on in DC for days at a time. (Okay, hours at a time.)

Also hopeful:

Reader Interactions

250Comments

  1. 1.

    JPL

    The one thing that I want Joe to do is investigate every misdeed, even the Pompeo’s dry cleaning pick-up by staff.   Let bygones be bygones doesn’t work in the case, because they will just come back stronger.

  3. 3.

    cain

    @JPL:

    The people who say that are likely complicit. We definitely need to know that the rule of law has to be followed and people must go to jail otherwise what’s the point of having a law if you won’t enforce it?

  4. 4.

    debbie

    What Trump built in 4 years, Biden will destroy in 4 months.

    Correction: Biden will repair in 4 days. As someone is fond of saying, Wipe them out.

  5. 5.

    Kent

    Biden needs to move on with the transition without Trump’s approval if that is what it takes.  Make it even more of a fait accompli.  Don’t buy into Trump’s frame that the election is not yet decided.

    They don’t really need the GSA’s permission to get started.  Rent the biggest WeWork office space they can find in Central DC.  I’m sure there are a ton of spaces available since it is a pandemic.

    Buy a couple hundred new Apple Laptops or whatever and coordinate with Google to get them all new secure gmail accounts.  Then set down to the business of transition until the Trumpers finally cave.  Come January 21 they can write a check to pay for any and all expenses incurred because of Trump foot-dragging.

    95% of this transition is going to be digital anyway.  It’s not like teams of Biden people are going to start combing across DC to start having meet and greets in departmental conference rooms in agencies across the city like a normal transition.  It will all be zoom anyway.  And most of these agencies are actually being run by career civil service professionals who do the real work like budgets, org charts, strategic plans and so forth.  They will pick up the phone when their future boss calls, guaranteed.  Or more likely answer the emails.

  7. 7.

    Renie

    @JPL: Agree 100 percent. If there are no consequences for the corruption and the blatant disregard of laws and regulations we will have these same problems, or worse, in the near future.

  9. 9.

    Martin

    You know, there’s this old chestnut that we should pick a VP who can bring their home state home. Biden didn’t need that for CA, but it’s abundantly clear that she brought a LOT of voters home for Biden. I’ve been saying we needed a black female candidate, and I was disappointed we didn’t get that at top of ticket, but my theory holds – if you want people to walk through fire to vote, give them a black woman to vote for. We’re going to get Stacy Abrams home next time out.

    I should add, I can’t tell you how happy I am for the HBCUs. It’s taken a long time for them to see the big payoffs, but they’re starting to come in.

  12. 12.

    PsiFighter37

    I sort of wish Fauci would shut up with these optimistic scenarios. There are serious logistical challenges to getting a COVID-19 vaccine widely available, and you are going to lose 2.5 months because the current administration is going to try and make it as hard as possible for Biden to succeed on that mission going forward.

    Focus on the public health ramifications and stop making fucking promises you can’t keep and are not in charge of.

  13. 13.

    RandomMonster

    I’m not saying anything Biden is doing is causing Trump to shut up or be ignored. All I can say is that I’m hearing less from the lips of Covigula than I have in weeks, and it’s a blessed relief.

  16. 16.

    Brachiator

    @Kent:

    Biden needs to move on with the transition without Trump’s approval if that is what it takes. Make it even more of a fait accompli.

    This is pretty much what Biden has been doing. Various news reports today has been filled with stories and encouraging quotes from Biden and Harris.

    It’s beginning to look as though Team Biden anticipated potential Trump lack of co-operation. And I think you may have noted earlier that Biden knows his way around the executive branch.

    They are not even asking permission. They know where they need to go, what they need to do.

    Don’t buy into Trump’s frame that the election is not yet decided.

    This appears to be a total non-issue as far as Biden in concerned.

    It is increasingly becoming clear that Trump is becoming the worst thing possible. He is not only a loser, he is irrelevant.

  19. 19.

    PsiFighter37

    @RandomMonster: I think it is largely because the media is tuning him out. That said, I hope people keep paying attention, because he is firing a lot of people who do not deserve it and installing complete toadies (acting or otherwise) in their spots. I hope Biden’s team is keeping track and lets all these people loose as soon as the clock strikes noon. We will have to d a cleansing of the government, and it may as well be at the first instant possible.

  21. 21.

    MattF

    @Another Scott: Note:

    Project Veritas’ founder James O’Keefe on Saturday hailed Hopkins as “an American hero” on Twitter. A GoFundMe page created under Hopkins’ name had raised more than $135,000 by Tuesday evening, with donors praising him as a patriot and whistleblower.

  22. 22.

    germy

    @Another Scott:

    From the linked article:

    Project Veritas’ founder James O’Keefe on Saturday hailed Hopkins as “an American hero” on Twitter. A GoFundMe page created under Hopkins’ name had raised more than $135,000 by Tuesday evening, with donors praising him as a patriot and whistleblower.

    “Your donations are going to help me in the case I am wrongfully terminated from my job or I am forced into resigning due to ostrizization (sic) by my co-workers,” the page states. “It will help me get a new start in a place I feel safe and help me with child support until I am able to get settled and get a job.

    I’ve faced ostrizization in the past.  Believe me, it’s no fun.

  24. 24.

    Steeplejack

    Had a great day, myself. Had a minor medical procedure done this morning, then out and about most of the day. Probably got too much oxygen and sunlight.

    One thing I do know: if there’s anything that helps when we’re getting a little squiggly and our resolve is wavering, it’s straight-ahead R&B with a good beat and a kickin’ horn section. Jackals, I give you J.J. Jackson, “But It’s Alright.” Steady in the ranks!

  27. 27.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    Many may not have noticed it,  but Biden and Harris have set up their indoor headquarters in the Queens Theater in Wilmington.  The Queens Theater specialized in live music events in downtown Wilmington, so it has been hurting since COVID-19 hit the US.  So our President and Vice-President Elect are injecting money into a business affected by COVID.  I’m so enthused by this small attention to detail (not to mention the signage of Office: President-Elect).

  28. 28.

    Glyph2112

    Can Adam weigh in on the firings today? If it is to cover up crimes, wouldn’t that kind of evidence be backed up? And if these people being fired know where the bodies are buried, what’s to keep them from spilling the beans? If this is about selling stuff to saudis, won’t that eventually bite them in The ass? Can these acting deputies destroy stuff and the get a pardon?

  30. 30.

    catpal

    Need advice – what is the best way to ask coworkers to wear a mask or be 6 feet away. I feel like a coworker is forcing a confrontation that may not end well and I like my job and I am bad at confrontation – especially with aggressive personalities.

  31. 31.

    germy

    @catpal:

    You could lie and say you’re concerned about a close family member with a compromised immune system

    Or you could speak to management.

  33. 33.

    Kent

    @HumboldtBlue:

    @Kent:

    They need money for the transition and a lot of it. Where’s the money going to come from?

    I’m sure that isn’t going to be a problem.  They can get a line of credit from pretty much any bank, knowing that they will be good for it on January 21 with a stroke of the pen.

    There are also dozens of very deep pocketed supporters who’d be happy to float the money.  It’s inconvenient but isn’t going to stop them from moving forward.

  44. 44.

    RaflW

    Staying frosty is ok. Being chill is not, and here’s a good indication of why.

    @rabrowne75
    Pentagon finally confirms near total decapitation of civilian leadership in the last 24 hours. Secretary of Defense Esper fired Monday, the top Pentagon Policy official, top Defense Department intelligence official, and chief of staff to the Defense Secretary all out today.

    This is not just a tantrum. Trump is an irresponsible moron. And he has idiots on staff. But not all of them are dumb. Stephen Miller knows how gubmit works, and is still very much in a leadership role in the WH. This is fucking nuts. Period.

    (And as a national security reporter, don’t think that Ryan Browne used ‘decapitation’ casually there)

  46. 46.

    leeleeFL

    @PsiFighter37: I would think an EXORCISM is more needed!  These horrible people have besmirched every fucking thing they have touched!  Time to banish them and their awfulness!

  48. 48.

    dmsilev

    @germy:

    I’ve faced ostrizization in the past.  Believe me, it’s no fun.

    Yes, but have you ever been ostrichized? That really hurts; those birds have one hell of a mean kick.

  51. 51.

    raven

    A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated the allegations, according to three officials briefed on the investigation and a statement from a House congressional committee.

  53. 53.

    Kent

    @HumboldtBlue:

    @Kent:

    Yeah I had the amount of money way off, I thought it was $60 million not $6 million.

    You are basically talking office space, laptops, printers, cell phones, internet access, and so forth.  Maybe some fancier big screens for zooms and such.  None of it is particularly costly.  Probably most of it can just be leased or whatever.

    Probably also some rental cars and stuff like that.  Or they just run up Uber and taxi bills.

    Normally the GSA would just provide vacant government office space somewhere, and provide government electronics like laptops and phones for all the transition staff. But this is petty ante stuff.  It isn’t even going to slow them down and they’ll probably get better stuff if they buy it than the old crappy government-issued electronics that the Trump GSA people will give them.

  56. 56.

    Martin

    The next chapter of the GOP is going to be a bit fascinating to watch. I’m increasingly convinced that so many Republicans are blindly following Trump over the cliff because there’s no apparent heir apparent. There’ s nobody in the GOP (lacking a rap sheet) that can do the carnival barker thing that Trump does, so there’s no way to follow this act. If there was some up and comer that people could invest their hopes in, then they’d much more easily let go of Trump, but there is nobody, and I don’t think there can be anybody. So the party is now completely rudderless – no real policy platform, their ‘family values’ shtick is pretty much busted, and all that. So they stick with Trump. Nikki Haley and Tom Cotton aren’t going to fill Trumps shoes in any capacity. They’re lost more than they realize.

  57. 57.

    The Moar You Know

     

    @RaflW:  not how it works.  The armed services are always under civilian leadership.  They’ve switched one set of careerists for another. If you’re looking for reasons to get hysterical, well, be my guest.  I’m just not seeing it.

    And like I said on the last thread , goddamn, you people are the worst winners I have ever seen in my life.  Just looking for a reason why all the greatness of this last week MUST turn to shit and we’re all off to the gulag forwith.  You must be super fucking fun at parties, no wonder nobody ever showed up to the meetups.

  58. 58.

    geg6

    Any body else catch the briefing by Bob Baier (lead election attorney for Biden) today?  He may be the most confident lawyer I’ve ever seen and that’s really saying something.  I wouldn’t like to meet him in a courtroom sitting at the opposite table.

  61. 61.

    Kent

    @Martin:The next chapter of the GOP is going to be a bit fascinating to watch. I’m increasingly convinced that so many Republicans are blindly following Trump over the cliff because there’s no apparent heir apparent. There’ s nobody in the GOP (lacking a rap sheet) that can do the carnival barker thing that Trump does, so there’s no way to follow this act. If there was some up and comer that people could invest their hopes in, then they’d much more easily let go of Trump, but there is nobody, and I don’t think there can be anybody. So the party is now completely rudderless – no real policy platform, their ‘family values’ shtick is pretty much busted, and all that. So they stick with Trump. Nikki Haley and Tom Cotton aren’t going to fill Trumps shoes in any capacity. They’re lost more than they realize.

    I think they are doing it because they still fear him.  No one wants a tanned, rested, and vengeful Trump showing up in their 2020 primary campaign in 1.5 years campaigning like hell for some MAGA challenger.  Hell, he doesn’t even need to show up.  the challenges will come to him and they’ll just go on Hannity together or whatever.

    As long as Trump wields that big stick they will still all live in fear.  Once he is gone I doubt it will last.  But who knows.

  62. 62.

    LeftCoastYankee

    Everyone’s so sick of Trump, we can’t help but want him gone ASAP.  But the election was just 1 week ago.

    Or at least that’s what one of the positive things I try to tell myself when I yo-yo between doom and hope.

    The other thing is I think Joe’s “unity message” hasn’t been “let’s be stupidly bi-partisan like the Media wants”, but “we’re going to do these good things that will benefit everyone, and anyone’s welcome to come along and help”.

  66. 66.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Kent:

    I just read in one of the half-dozen tabs I have open that Biden has rented a theater in Wilmington that was struggling mightily due to Covid as his transition headquarters. It may have been mentioned in the thread from Cheryl, but it’s both giving them a space to work and helping businesses in the area as well.

  68. 68.

    catclub

    @Kent: The expense and the office space is not the problem.  The problem is access to officials in the federal agencies, and access to secure facilities for classified documents.

  71. 71.

    MattF

    So… if e.g., Pompeo  never accepts Trump’s defeat, then he’s going to maintain that he’s still Secretary of State after Jan. 20, right? Looks like they’re going to need more than just one apartment in the Garden of Crazy.

  73. 73.

    TS (the original)

    @PsiFighter37:

    I sort of wish Fauci would shut up with these optimistic scenarios.

    His time has passed. Trump ruined (the polite word) everyone he came in contact with & Fauci is no exception. Fauci was not mentioned on the Biden covid team.

  75. 75.

    HumboldtBlue

    @The Moar You Know:

    You should probably have a beer or something, the only hysterics I see seem to come from this comment.

    What we are seeing is not normal, allow people space to react to the changing landscape as the GOP continues to tear down the basic guidelines we live by.

    @Cheryl from Maryland:

    And it was Cheryl who mentioned Biden renting the theater upthread.

  77. 77.

    Geoduck

    @Martin: The next chapter? As Kent said, as far as the GOP is concerned, the Shiatgibbon isn’t going anywhere. The best they/we can hope for is he finally gracelessly slouches out of office, and immediately announces he’s running again in 2024. Who would dare run against him on the GOP side?

  82. 82.

    Calouste

    @Martin: That’s a structural problem with right-wing authoritarianism. It’s so much of a cult of personality that there is no room for an heir, unless it is a son, and even then they never succeed. There’s a reason the Communist parties of the Soviet Union and China managed to hang around for more than half a century with relatively peaceful transfers of power, and countries like Spain and Chile became democracies as soon as Franco and Pinochet got out of the way.

  90. 90.

    catpal

    I need to think something positive – Yea for the Biden Covid Team – now we will get some good actions and solutions.

  92. 92.

    Kent

    @catclub:@Kent: The expense and the office space is not the problem.  The problem is access to officials in the federal agencies, and access to secure facilities for classified documents.

    Yes, problematic but not insurmountable.

    The classified stuff is mostly going to be military intelligence stuff, CIA, NSA stuff that, while important, is probably only 5% of the transition.  The rest is more mundane civilian agencies from Education to EPA to HHS.

    As for access to officials?  I was working for NOAA in DC during both the Bush 1 to Clinton transition and the Clinton to Bush 2.  In any agency, the people who actually run all the day-to-day affairs are all civil service people who have been there for decades and will be there under Biden.  Will they take phone calls and answer emails from Biden people?  Of course.  Some 26 year old Trump twit who is a political appointee in that big agency sending out a threatening email isn’t going to stop any of that.  It will just be a little more down low than the normal way of setting up in a conference room in the agency offices and talking to people in person.  That wasn’t going to happen much anyway due to covid.

    So pain in the ass?  Yes, but not really going to slow things down all that much.  Most career civil service people will be more than eager to answer phone calls from their future bosses.  Trust me.  Most government offices don’t even have any political appointees anywhere to be found.  When I worked for National Marine fisheries Service (NMFS) there was only two political appointees in the entire 5,000+ employee agency scattered across dozens of regional offices and buildings in the DC metro.  One was the head of NMFS and another was the ombudsman.  Everyone else was civil service or contractors.

  94. 94.

    craigie

    @Martin:

    Maybe. But the GOP is now a cult, and it needs a leader to follow. I don’t think it will matter too terribly much who it is, as long as they are given license to blame liberals for everything bad that ever happens to them.

  95. 95.

    RaflW

    @raven:  I’d consider myself extremely leery. I think it’s great that Biden and Harris won the election. I also think this country is on a knife edge and while confidently proceeding is great, recognizing that dark possibilities also exist isn’t being namby pamby.

    And how I am at parties, Moar, or wether I would show for a meet-up is not really dictated by how I am about the continued risks to our governmental system from a set of bad actors who retained (for now!) control of the Senate and too many state legislatures.

  96. 96.

    Scout211

    @germy:

    Interesting. My book group read the book a few years ago and no one liked it. Parts of the book were interesting in a cultural sense but other than that, no. Especially since the author had left the area years ago and was a wealthy man by the time he wrote it.

  97. 97.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @The Moar You Know:

    And like I said on the last thread , goddamn, you people are the worst winners I have ever seen in my life.  Just looking for a reason why all the greatness of this last week MUST turn to shit and we’re all off to the gulag forwith.  You must be super fucking fun at parties, no wonder nobody ever showed up to the meetups.

    Amen! This place has been a sob fest today. We won, people. Be happy.

  99. 99.

    PsiFighter37

    @TS (the original): Biden can’t really name current employees of the federal government without exposing them to retribution at this time. That said, I think Birx should definitely be let go of as soon as they get whatever information is needed – she has shown herself to be an easy toady. I think Fauci has done as good a job as one can, but he needs to know his place. He can speak out while Trump is running the show, but now that it is clear a new boss is in town, he needs to back down and put his newfound ego in the back pocket. He is also quite old (almost 80 years old), so it would not be the worst thing in the world to bring in a fresh set of eyes.

  100. 100.

    CaseyL

    @Martin: When does the Tiger King get out of jail? I could totally see him as Trump’s political heir: crazy, abusive, flamboyant, and corrupt.

  101. 101.

    BC in Illinois

    @Yarrow:
    Josh Harley? Well, if the nation is looking for unprincipled ambition combined with unbelievably smarmy hypocrisy, then he’s the man.

  103. 103.

    Yarrow

    @Martin: Yeah. But to your original question, these things kind of have a way of working themselves out. Trump may run or he might be so deep in lawsuits and debt that he doesn’t. There will be other Republicans that give it a go – Senators like Hawley, Cotton, and Cruz. Some R Governors like Abbott or Noem. It’s a long time in politics time until 2024.

  104. 104.

    zhena gogolia

    @rikyrah:

    Oh, that goes right to my heart.

    I just don’t see the Trump supporters taking down their signs. The ones on my street are still there. I give them the finger every day. When I go out to get my newspaper I shout, “THE ELECTION’S OVER. BIDEN WON.”

  110. 110.

    prostratedragon

    @rikyrah:  Yep. I find it makes a lighter crust than butter, which is ok sometimes. Not a strange flavor at all –think of it as just another form of olive oil or something.

  111. 111.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @rikyrah: You’re gonna scare Omnes!

    I haven’t tried it (no, I’m not that brave) and use butter, but I do add thick dill pickle slices before grilling.

  120. 120.

    MomSense

    This may seem like a nitpick, but it’s a pet peeve of mine.  Can we please let go of the ____________”needs to” language?  It really isn’t helpful.

  122. 122.

    randy khan

    @Kent:

    I’m pretty sure they’re moving ahead at full speed already.  There’s some stuff that they need to get from the formal transition program, but given the number of former Obama Administration people on Biden’s team and his experience as VP, there’s plenty they will be able to do.  And I saw today that he’s already named what they call the landing teams for several agencies that are related to my job; presumably that’s happening all across the government even as we speak.

  125. 125.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @geg6: Any body else catch the briefing by Bob Baier (lead election attorney for Biden) today?

    No. I mentioned him to my wife today, noting that we hadn’t heard anything from him and musing that he must be busy fighting all the attempted coups. I first found out about him from that interview clip WaterGirl posted before the election.

    And yes, he was extremely confident then, dismissing various nightmare scenarios from the interviewer (like Federal marshalls being sent to seize the mail-in ballots) with complete assurance.

  127. 127.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MomSense: somebody said a week or so before ED, 75% of liberal twitter is saying Biden needs to do something he was already doing when the tweet was sent

    My pet peeve is “Why aren’t Democrats talking about X!”

    Here are fifteen examples of Democrats talking about X in the last three days.

    “Well, they need to say it louder!”

  128. 128.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @catclub: I have a feeling both of those are solvable problems. He’s been authorized to receive classified national security briefings since being named the Democratic nominee, so he has access to secure spaces.

  130. 130.

    randy khan

    @TS (the original):

    Fauci was not mentioned on the Biden covid team.

    And the reason for that is that he currently works for the federal government and could not serve in the Biden transition.

    Fauci is not perfect, but this is kind of silly.  I think it is exactly 100% likely that the Biden team will reach out to him once the constraints on the transition process are lifted.  He is a genuine expert who has access to a lot of information and, equally important, knows which levers to push in the bureaucracy.

  131. 131.

    Jeffro

    @Brachiator:It is increasingly becoming clear that Trump is becoming the worst thing possible. He is not only a loser, he is irrelevant.

    He’s almost…oh, how would His Orangeness put it…’boring’.  ;)

    (but yes, irrelevant is totally spot-on and also please FSM stroke-inducing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue)

  135. 135.

    TomatoQueen

    The web page on Biden/Harris for the Agency Review Teams:

    https://buildbackbetter.com/the-transition/agency-review-teams/ 

    shows just the volunteers at this point as GSA Girlie is pissing about with formal recognition which means money and equipment.

    I recognize many of the institutions listed but only one name, and it’s a name I am delighted to see, on the Social Security Administration team, the team leader is my former Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin,  seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Colvin who served through Obama’s presidency as Acting because her nomination was never brought up for a full Senate vote (we can guess why). She’s so well qualified in public service it makes my eyeballs stand out on stalks, and if anyone knows what SSA has had to deal with from the fucking Rs including Yertle, she does. She was a helluva leader for us and much beloved. Her successor was Nancy Berryhill, who got caught up in the time limit on Acting Commissioners and so stepped aside. Now we have a dickhead who we’ll be stuck with until after I retire, unless I decide to hang on and die with my boots on. Several of my colleagues chose to do so.

  138. 138.

    Jeffro

    @Yarrow: Hawley is a smooth-talking, bold-faced lying, true believer – a Randian, racist, AND religious right nut case.  I consider him and Haley to be major, major threats for 2024, 2028, etc.

  142. 142.

    Aleta

    @randy khan:

    Correct me if I’m wrong (anyone, feel free).  Don’t they need the transition money to be freed before they can do big things?  Money that might not be available until the transition is  authorized by the Pres. Transition Office (which is in the HS Department)?   Do they need to borrow money until then, in order to do things now?  Or is there another source of available go’t money $ for smaller things?   Can they sign contracts for new hires for the transition, so those people can begin work?   For example, to officially hire the people on the Covid-19  team (who are presumably leaving other jobs to start work now)?   Or do such people have to get funded elsewhere for now with the need to reimburse that fund later.  Intentionally keeping that money from Biden-Harris seems like intentionally putting sand in the gas tank.

  144. 144.

    Jeffro

    @MattF:Fauci’s a good guy, but his retirement is overdue.

    Yes.  It’s the same problem as with any number of decent people trying to ‘work with’ the current (but soon to be former!) maladministration: you can’t bargain with the devil, you can’t work with trumpov and maintain your integrity.

    Fauci would have done the nation a great service by speaking out very loudly and publicly back in May or June.  Or at any time since then.  He chose to stay and…have basically zero impact on our COVID “response”…and so, we thank him for his previous service and send him on his way.

  145. 145.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    @germy:

    Project Veritas’ founder James O’Keefe on Saturday hailed Hopkins as “an American hero” on Twitter. A GoFundMe page created under Hopkins’ name had raised more than $135,000 by Tuesday evening, with donors praising him as a patriot and whistleblower.

    There is a link on the GFM page where anyone can report it as being based on lies, or libelous, or fraudulent. Just saying

    UPDATE: It was taken down in the last hour. GFM must have been flooded.

    The fundraising page was removed by GoFundMe after this story was published Tuesday, a spokesman for the platform said.

  146. 146.

    TriassicSands

    @Kent: Buy a couple hundred new Apple Laptops or whatever and coordinate with Google to get them all new secure gmail accounts.  Then set down to the business of transition until the Trumpers finally cave.

    Well, let’s see, that would lead to the Applegate and Googlegate years-long Senate investigations, where Bhengazi and Hillary’s emails will be prominently featured, along with Russia, Russia, Russiagate, Ukrainegate, and the 2020 “Stolen Election” (Theftgate?).

    Fodder for Fox forever!

    Just naming Cabinet nominees might be good, but that would just give Mitch more time to plan their rejections. If Biden is half as decent as they say he is, he surely doesn’t deserve this.

    @JPL:

    I’m afraid that ship sailed when Ford pardoned Nixon and we condoned Iran-Contra. We simply don’t hold our presidents accountable. And where would the justice be in holding everyone but Trump accountable?

    Biden has immediate problems that must be addressed. I expect accountability to be absent from the “to-do list.”

  149. 149.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    (support-richard-hopkins-the-erie-pa-whistleblower) Fraud Report

    Support (GoFundMe) <[email protected]>

    12:47 PM (1 hour ago)

                           

    Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Our Trust & Safety team will be investigating the fundraiser and taking appropriate action. Please note, your report will remain confidential and will not be shared with the fundraiser organizer or beneficiary.

  150. 150.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MomSense: I get the frustration with major issues and scandals that just will. not. sink in. with most Americans. But Nancy Pelosi can’t make people care.

    It’s the same beef I have with Do Something Twitter. The latest is “Impeach Barr!” I agree, he should be impeached. Trump was impeached. And then….

  151. 151.

    Keith P.

    @Sm*t Cl*de: The Texas Lt. Governer is now offering $25k “rewards” to reports of first-hand election fraud knowledge.  They’re trying to flood the airwaves with enough doubt so that any court not hearing it is more deep state.

  152. 152.

    TriassicSands

    @Jeffro:

    i agree. Fauci is very much the diplomat, which is fine under most circumstances, but not during a pandemic. He clearly made keeping his job his first priority. As such, although he never lied, he allowed himself to be used by Trump.

    I also found his failure on masks to be very damning. He’s the person, after his decades of experience, who should have called on “Americans with sewing machines” to step up and make cloth masks. Instead, his thinking* remained locked in the box where he couldn’t see beyond N-95 masks and the needs of the medical people and first responders. His failure contributed to many unnecessary infections and deaths. Instead, many Americans took it upon themselves to start producing masks without leadership from above.

    *Here I don’t limit the failure to Fauci, but also to others who worked under him or for the CDC.

  153. 153.

    Dan B

    Big Mango at 74 has a great and assuring video.  It really seems Biden’s team had this precise scenario gamed out months ago.  They were setting up the transition months ago.

  154. 154.

    TomatoQueen

    I tried the mayo recipe from FTFNYT once, and HATED it, but suspect I was using the wrong ingredients. It probably works if you use Miracle Whip (hurl), Mild American Cheddar Cheese Food Product, and Wonder Bread. Vote NO.

    Dr Fauci has been the object of my dearest affection, respect, admiration, and deepest attention since the 1980s, when I was a local welfare worker (Fort Myers, FL) trying to cope with a caseload that began to include representation from all the patient cohorts, plus some not immediately identified. We had no guidance, no clue, no inside dope, and a town full of bigots. And suddenly, there was Dr Fauci on my TV, a serious, earnest young man for serious times, and he was my lifeline. He still is, all these years and epidemics later. Anyone dissing him in any way didn’t read today’s thingy where he said he has a job and he’s going to continue  (or is sipping somebody’s leftover stale fruit punch) so he can help solve the virus problem.  Vote YES.

    I did not realize until today that there is a huge age difference between Champ (14 it seems to me) and Major, much younger. Vote WORRIED ABOUT CHAMP.

    The rest will come. Vote STEADY. HAND ON THE PLOW, HOLD ON.

  158. 158.

    Zzyzx

    @Keith P.: yeah but the only people who are going to be hearing this are the people who will be already in the camp.

    I’m reminded of the end of Heathers when they give up on having elaborate schemes because no one cares to investigate. Trump could give a rally and say, “What’s my evidence for fraud? ESKIMO!” and his cult would rally behind him.

  160. 160.

    Dan B

    @Aleta: The video at comment 74 addresses your questions.  Months ago Biden had anticipated GSA opposition.  $7,000,000 had been raised and thousands of people were in place and ready to go.

  162. 162.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I”m guessing this has been posted, but what the hell, it’s worth a repeat

    4 Seasons Total Landscaper @markgongloff· 12h
    Biden is now up to 50.8% of the popular vote, topping Reagan’s 50.7% in 1980. This is the highest percentage for a challenger since FDR in 1932

    40 years I’ve been hearing about Reagan’s revolutionary landslide…

    (allowing that this is very specifically about challengers to incumbents, so re-elects (Reagan) or running against another challenger (i.e. Obama over McCain) aren’t included, but you can still post it on your facebook and make your asshole BIL find those caveats himself)

  166. 166.

    Suzanne

    So. How does this end, if he is just throwing shit at the wall? What’s his off ramp? Are we really expecting that this will come to the Secret Service hauling his ass out?

    ETA: I don’t know. I kind of feel like this is like when you break up with a dude and he’s a real dick about it, and then he basically tries to make it come off like he initiated the breakup.

  167. 167.

    Aleta

    @Dan B: Thanks.

    Another correction to what I wrote is that it’s not the Presidential Transition Office in the HSD that controls release of the money, but the GSA.

    @Dan B: My experience working for people with fed grants is that it’s a lot of paperwork   (for regular people) to spend money from a private account before the federal money comes through, and then have the private account be reimbursed from the federal money when it comes. But maybe for officials  long used to doing this, it goes more smoothly.  Seems like the imposition of extra hoops and hours, but very good to know the Democrats prepared and that Biden was ready.

    I mean, talk about patriots (Ds) vs nonpatriots (Rs).

  169. 169.

    J R in WV

    @germy: 

    Nora O’Donnell on CBS News just now called the race “too close to call.”

    What race would that be? Ms O’Donnell is and always has been a Republican stooge. Cuter than most, but lies like a rug, when given any opportunity.

  170. 170.

    J R in WV

    @TS (the original):

    Fauci was not mentioned on the Biden covid team.

    Of course he wasn’t mentioned. Fauci is still head of the CDC’s infectious disease unit. He’ll join Biden’s team on January 21st or thereabouts. He isn’t available yet!!

    Think, people!!!

  171. 171.

    Matt McIrvin

    @J R in WV: Arizona, apparently. Where Trump is cutting into Biden’s margin, and you could argue he still has a shot, though his chances are fading.

    Incidentally, Trump seems to be mathematically eliminated in PA now–the margin is greater than the number of ballots still out. The margin is actually shrinking right now since I think they’re counting provisionals from Trumpy little counties, don’t know if there’s any Philadelphia vote left, but even if Trump got 100% of them he couldn’t win.

  172. 172.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    and then there were five…

    Greg Sargent @ThePlumLineGS 1h
    Good: GOP Sen Pat Toomey says Trump admin should cooperate with the transition. “We’re on a path it looks likely Joe Biden is going to be the next president…I think a transition process ought to begin.” If more Rs did this, we could move on already.

    I believe Toomey has announced he’s retiring in ’22

  174. 174.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    On the Hayes program, Olivia Troye, top aide to Mike Pence, points out that the nominal head of the WH Covid task force is going on vacation instead of reaching out to the incoming administration.

    going on vacation

  176. 176.

    Kay

    CNN Politics
    @CNNPolitics
    · 1h
    First lady Melania Trump has not reached out to Jill Biden either

    She’s always been as big an asshole as her husband. Good riddance.

    I hope they immediately take down the jumble of Trump barricades, walls and fences around the White House. It looks like the leaders palace in some failing, repressive regime. Bring in a bulldozer.

  177. 177.

    Dopey-o

    @rikyrah:

    Folks keep on saying that mayo is good for the outside of the bread , instead of butter.

    I had a childhood friend who lived for peanut butter and mayo on toast.

  181. 181.

    WaterGirl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: It’s appalling.  On the other hand, think of all the time Biden doesn’t have to waste dealing with either Trump or Melania.  The COVID task force is a joke – seriously, do you think they have anything to offer Joe that would be helpful?

    Total waste of time.

  182. 182.

    Kay

    @WaterGirl:

    That would be a wildly popular video. The bulldozer taking down the shoddily constructed Trump..walls or whatever that jumbled heap of garbage is supposed to be.

  184. 184.

    Kay

    @WaterGirl:

    I love when people says she’s not happily married.

    She’s not happy, but she’s definitely MARRIED to the right person. They’re both miserable people.

  185. 185.

    HumboldtBlue

    Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will sever all ties with his law firm DLA Piper by Inauguration Day, according to a campaign spokesperson.

    Emhoff will work with the Biden-Harris transition team to develop a portfolio that will support the work of the incoming administration within his role as the first-ever second gentleman.
    AP News was the first to report Emhoff’s planned separation from the firm.
    The campaign did not rule out Emhoff eventually holding a position outside the administration, as Jill Biden did when she was second lady during former President Barack Obama’s tenure. When President-elect Joe Biden served as vice president, Jill Biden worked as a community college teacher and has said, as first lady, she’d like to continue to work.

    I think this was mentioned earlier, but with Trump it’s always about the grift.

    Trump is peppering supporters by email and text with solicitations for ‘election defense’ donations — but a closer look at the fine print shows 60% of their donations go toward financing his new leadership PAC.

  186. 186.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    Mayo instead of butter on grilled cheese is delicious and you should try it. It’s not the same! it’s a delicious different thing. It’s also easier if you’re too lazy to soften and spread butter.

    I was skeptical too. Just go for broke.

  188. 188.

    Kay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Jill Biden worked as a community college teacher and has said, as first lady, she’d like to continue to work.

    Jill Biden is in a teachers union. I believe she will almost certainly be the first union-member First Lady :)

  189. 189.

    TriassicSands

     

    @Brachiator: It’s beginning to look as though Team Biden anticipated potential Trump lack of co-operation.

    They must have a clairvoyant on staff; otherwise, no one could ever have predicted that Donald Trump would be anything but a gracious loser willing to cooperate fully. I mean, this is so unlike him.

    ‘Scuse me while I hurl.

  190. 190.

    Zzyzx

    I’m trying to find a report of Hannity’s alleged smoking gun – I didn’t hate myself nearly enough to watch – but I’m somehow not worried.

  192. 192.

    Kay

    THE COURT: I understand. I am asking
    you a specific question, and I am looking for a
    specific answer. Are you claiming that there is any
    fraud in connection with these 592 disputed ballots?
    MR. GOLDSTEIN: To my knowledge at
    present, no.
    THE COURT: Are you claiming that there
    is any undue or improper influence upon the elector
    with respect to these 592 ballots?
    MR. GOLDSTEIN: To my knowledge at
    present, no.

    The Trump lawyers should be sanctioned. They’re ridiculous people and they shouldn’t be allowed to waste everyone elses time.

  193. 193.

    Calouste

    @Kay: 
    To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, it’s a good thing that Mr. and Mrs. shitgibbon got married to each other, so they only made two people unhappy instead of four.

  195. 195.

    Elie

    @Jeffro:

    I agree about his political role — but the man is an EXPERT in vaccine and other technical tools.  We NEED that part.  We need him to recede on the political….

  196. 196.

    Kay

    Ross Douthat
    @DouthatNYT
    · 48m
    Good thread. Republicans aren’t “coddling” the president. A minority are cynically adopting his arguments. Most are trying to figure out how to do the right thing without ratifying his stab-in-the-back narrative among voters who trust him more than them.

    The intellectual Right is so bankrupt. This just isn’t true. The vast, vast majority of national Republicans are actively promoting the lie that the election was stolen. So few have broken ranks it’s a TINY list. They’re up to about TEN in the whole country who have meekly suggested that maybe a democratic election might be valid. That’s just the DC Republicans. The state-level Republicans- governors, AG’s, are also lying daily now too. There are MORE today than there were yesterday. They add about a governor a day to the delusional liar list.

  199. 199.

    J R in WV

    @HumboldtBlue:

    You’re still wrong about mayo grilled cheese, though.

    I made us grilled sharp cheddar cheese sandwiches with mayo (Hellman’s) to grill them with once, and they were OK — it took a huge slather of mayo between the bread and the skillet, though.

    Like 2x or 3x as much mayo as it would  take with actual cow butter. Lately I’ve been getting bricks of Irish butter, richer than std butter.

  200. 200.

    Kay

    @HumboldtBlue:

    “A minority”. Okay, that’s a lie. I suppose he means some of them are hiding so have not been found, cornered and forced to lie for Trump yet? Is that the brave majority he’s talking about? The ones huddled in a bathroom stall hiding from reporters?

  202. 202.

    Kay

    @J R in WV:

    No, you can’t use too much or it tastes like egg white, which is slightly disgusting.

    I gave one of the mayo grilled cheeses to my son’s gf’s 5 year old and he took a bite and said “what’s wrong with this?” You know how they are. He detected weird food! Reject!

  203. 203.

    J R in WV

    @HumboldtBlue:

    @Kay:

    I just read that thread, he’s full of shit.

    Ross Douthat is famous for being full of shit, 24/7/365 in public at the NY Times. Maybe not their worst, but pretty close in the running!

  204. 204.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Kay:

    It’s just galling that these assholes never hold the GOP accountable, never call them out for their lack of responsible governance.

  205. 205.

    sdhays

    With all the discussion of Fauci with regards to Biden, I haven’t seen it mentioned that Biden, in the last days of the campaign, explicitly ran on “listening to Anthony Fauci”.

    He’s going to be a key member of the Biden Administration. I don’t personally see anything wrong with this, but if anyone does, don’t be shocked when Fauci is not pushed aside in the Biden Administration next year.

  206. 206.

    J R in WV

    @Kay:

    No, you can’t use too much or it tastes like egg white, which is slightly disgusting.

    I’m sure this is true, but not enough and you might as well just put plain bread against the iron skillet to dry-toast the bread. Butter works so much better!

  208. 208.

    David ?Booooooo!? Koch

    @Matt McIrvin: Anderson ran as liberal. Annie Laurie has stated she voted for Anderson. Others voted for Anderson because he was sympathetic and they wanted him to qualify for federal matching funds.

  209. 209.

    Kay

    Jake Tapper said today that Republicans told him “on background” that at some point they plan to honor the results of the election. That just doesn’t mean anything. The people who are blatantly lying every day to the public are for some reason being truthful when they talk to Jake Tapper. They’re liars. They can’t be trusted!

    Why would he ever assume they don’t lie to him. They lie to everyone else. He’s the single person they tell the truth to? I suppose the conversation goes like this “hey are you guys lying about this voter fraud stuff?” They say ‘yes, we are!” and then Jake Tapper reports that as the “real” truth. What? How does this make sense?

  210. 210.

    HumboldtBlue

    @WaterGirl:

    The page is acting oddly again. I can’t see any of the links on the front page, just the posts, nothing else, it’s completely blank. Yet, when I click to comment they are there.

    Firefox/Win10

  211. 211.

    Ruckus

    @Immanentize:

    What is with the apple hate?

    I had my first computer in the late 70s and it was an Apple II. Worked flawlessly. Didn’t do a lot but it did what I needed. But the manufacturing software that I needed/used forced me into the IBM world, which I remained in till 2012 when my computer was rendered useless by guess who, yes Microbullshit. And over those years I had many times that the Microbullshit operating system would fail massively. But once I was no longer bound to IBM architecture and went back to Apple, my computing world has improved exponentially. And I still use computers at work that use the Microbullshit operating system and the difference could not be plainer. And when I switched I searched computers that were equal hardware and the cost was basically the same. Now I also know that a lot of what the government does is still based upon software that started life not all that long after I did, at least far closer to my geezer start date than today. And that, like the manufacturing software that I used, seems to function better with MS based. Just as a side note, as I use a federal system that is highly computerized, the VA and all of what I need to do with their system functions fine on my Mac.

    So I ask again, what is it that pushes you away from Apple?

  212. 212.

    Sally

    @Kay: Kay, it’s fine, he said, according to the quote, we will have a leader in the White House at noon on January 20 th. Phew! Biden it is then.

  213. 213.

    Kay

    The people who could actually rein Republicans in are their CEO supporters. The US public gave them billions in tax breaks. They should start earning it and call the fascists they support and tell them to start observing democratic norms.

    This would end in 2 hours if the “business leaders” who own GOP pols would tell them to heel.

  214. 214.

    Amir Khalid

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I can never forget that Ross Douthat published a book, about modern Christianity, which was criticised — in The New York Times review, no less — as getting almost every single fact wrong about modern Christianity. Douthat’s still the designated RW columnist at The NYT only because they were scraping the bottom of the barrel to replace Bill Kristol, who failed his one-year probation for a similar lack of acquaintance with facts.

  215. 215.

    Kay

    @Sally:

    Not getting better. Getting markedly worse every day with more of them rejecting the election results and in more aggressive ways. They are in no way tamping down their supporters by doing this. They are inciting them further and further.

    The stated rationale for this doesn’t make any sense. They want to ease their nutjob supporters into accepting the loss by…more and more Republicans inciting the supporters?

  216. 216.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Amir Khalid:

    Good point, I haven’t paid him mind since TBogg was still active.

    I noticed in his Twitter bio he’s the movie critic for National Review.

  218. 218.

    Soprano2

    @Jeffro:  Hawley became Attorney General in MO by saying he wasn’t going to use the position to climb the ladder of politics. He had all these commercials with ladders in them. Less than 2 years later he was running for the Senate. So yeah, smarmy hypocrite. The year he was running for Senate they did a big massage parlor bust, and made a big deal out of it, “Hawley fighting sex trafficking” and other bullshit like that. As far as I know not much came out of it, and all those places were back within a couple of months. I figure they deported all the women they arrested. He’s awful.

  219. 219.

    Aleta

    @Kay:   I haven’t worried about Biden losing or about T refusing to go.  But Republicans working together as a group to de-legitimize the election and the system is serious stuff happening in front of us right now.   There’s no way it can be minimized or laughed at when almost every R is putting words that undermine into the smallest remark.  It’s a mistake to confuse the list of the things they’ve tried that failed with the reality of their entire effort.

    southpaw  @nycsouthpaw

    One lesson we should’ve learned from birtherism is that it’s no small or transitory thing when Republicans and the right-wing information machine deliberately inculcate a false belief about the president’s legitimacy into their audience. It lasts years and does horrible damage.

  220. 220.

    Kay

    Ross Douthat
    @DouthatNYT
    · 1h
    And if you hate and fear Trump you should want his political party, which shows absolutely no signs of being “burned to the ground,” to figure out how to persuade its own voters that Trump is not a glorious martyr who deserves a glorious resurrection four years hence.

    Just amazing what has happened to them. What they have done to themselves. Ross Douhat is arguing that we have to give in to the GOP base’s demands to fuck with our country for 3 months or they might stick us with Donald Trump again.
    This elite conservative is telling you to hand over the ransom or they’ll take your country. He’s already been cowed into complying. He wants you to do it too.
    He should be thanking any and all Biden voters he encounters. We saved his sorry ass. If these people had gotten 4 more years there wouldn’t be any more elections.

  221. 221.

    Kent

    @Keith P.: @Sm*t Cl*de: The Texas Lt. Governer is now offering $25k “rewards” to reports of first-hand election fraud knowledge.  They’re trying to flood the airwaves with enough doubt so that any court not hearing it is more deep state.

    Are they seeking to overturn the TX election result???  Dumbasses.

    Obviously it is for political consumption.

  222. 222.

    Sally

    @Ruckus: I ran huge modelling programs and had to do a lot of programming as a scientist not a programmer. Over the years I used different systems and languages. When I got my first Apple I think in the early 90’s, it was transformative. I never want to go back. I try to buy as infrequently as possible, just so as not to use the earth’s resources, but my phone, laptop and iPad and those of our far flung kiddos have been lifesavers over the years for staying in touch. So easy.

  223. 223.

    Emma from FL

    @Kay: Everyone will nod and ignore him. If he gets too obstreperous he will be shown the door semi-politely, like the Vatican did earlier with Pompeo.

  226. 226.

    Sally

    @Kay: Sorry, I should have added the snark tags. I just interpreted him saying we would have a leader as admitting defeat to suit my narrative.

  227. 227.

    Kay

    @Aleta:

    I’m worried. I’m telling myself that there are people in government who can handle this, that “institutions” and “norms” will prevail but after the last 4 years I don’t really believe that. They failed over and over. As far as I can tell the only group of people who didn’t fail was voters. We did our job.

    I mean it about the CEO’s though. If they yanked on the GOP senators leashes they would step back. Unstable countries aren’t good for investment. If we can’t appeal to their patriotism maybe we can appeal the fact they rely on the rule of law and orderly transfers of power to make money.

  228. 228.

    Bill Arnold

    @Keith P.:

    The Texas Lt. Governer is now offering $25k “rewards” to reports of first-hand election fraud knowledge.

    Think they’d pay out for information about Republican election fraud?

  229. 229.

    sdhays

    @Kay: Well, apparently Wall St decided before the election that even a Democratic blowout and the almost guaranteed increases in taxes and regulatory interference was a small price to pay for actually controlling the pandemic and not starting petty trade wars. So they may actually plan to put a stop to it when it “goes too far”. I’m sure they have a really clear idea about just what “too far” constitutes and how much power they’ll actually have over outcomes at that point.

    The masters of the universe may be powerful, but they’re bad people, and not very bright.

  232. 232.

    Calouste

    @Kay: Except for France, it sounds like a list of countries where they might go in exile (Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE).

  233. 233.

    Aleta

    @Kay: I probably missed a discussion already about certifying.  Can a GOP Senator have influence on a Trump campaign effort to stop that senator’s state from certifying?

  236. 236.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    so… this may be what all the firings and Nunes acolytes being installed at the Pentagon is all about, trump is still whining about Russia Russia Russia:

    An intense battle over this issue has raged within the administration in the days before and after the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump and his allies want the information public because they believe it would rebut claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Trump in 2016. That may sound like ancient history, but for Trump it remains ground zero — the moment when his political problems began.

    CIA Director Gina Haspel last month argued strongly at a White House meeting against disclosing the information, because she believed that doing so would violate her pledge to protect sources and methods, a senior congressional source said. This official said a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic senators has been trying to protect Haspel, though some fear that Trump may yet oust her.

  237. 237.

    Amir Khalid

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I don’t read National Review Online, or offline either, but I’m sure its movie reviews are as unworthy of a reader’s time as the rest of Douthat’s writing.

  238. 238.

    Chris Johnson

    @Aleta: But the reason so many of the Republicans are doing this, is because they are literal traitors, actively working with Russia to undermine the country in a way the deranged Trump never could.

    It’s why Paul Ryan isn’t around anymore. It’s why McConnell has tortured, ruined hands. It’s why they’ll try to wreck everything, no matter how implausible it is that it’d work to do so: they are guilty beyond most people’s imagining and depend completely on the protection of Vladimir Putin, who has other worries these days and has no intention of protecting them in defeat.

    The ONLY thing Putin can possibly help with, is the long legacy of QAnon he’s left the Republicans: the ONLY way they can escape the penalties for outright treason and being treated as actual spies and conspirators, is to literally start the civil war that Putin had worked so hard to enable.

    Except, I’m not at all convinced Putin is still backing that. We’ll see in coming months. I think it’s possible Putin is dropping the American Civil War experiment like a hot potato, and leaving it to Trump and the hapless enablers. And very few of them are good conspirators, and the Trump crime family are without exception useless assholes. Only the guys like Barr and McConnell are remotely competent, but they are grossly outmatched.

    So they continue to fight, but not because they can win. They fight because they’re trapped rats, and they know how guilty they are. They fight because they know that even if Biden could be expected to call for bipartisan comity and putting things behind us, the spies have left a trail of wreckage that cannot be missed and there’s no turning back for them. They cannot, at this stage, become Americans. And nobody is suggesting they would be welcome in Russia, even if they could flee there. It was strictly business. They got to be kings and Gods in America… as long as they could hold it. Putin surely never promised any of them anything more than that.

  239. 239.

    Aleta

    Alexander S. Vindman  @AVindman

    In the last 24 hours, the Secretary of Defense (SecDef), the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD-P), and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intell (OUSD-I) have been sacked. Trump loyalist now sit in the 1, 3, and 4 slots at DOD. Kash Patel is DOD Chief of Staff. Why?

    I know the uniformed services will refuse illegal orders & the DOD career civil servants won’t be complicit in illicit activities. Elected officials and political appointees should know illegalities will be investigated.

  240. 240.

    SFAW

    @rikyrah:

    Folks keep on saying that mayo is good for the outside of the bread , instead of butter.

    Mayo?

    It’s an ancient tradition in some parts of Jamaica, Queens. Back in the day, father Fred heard vinegar was good on fries, and since vinegar and mayo come from the same base, made the highly logical connection that mayo would also be good. His son, young Donnie, took up the banner, concluding that the perfect accompaniment to well-done steak with ketchup would be fries with mayo. He was so impressed with the combo that he started a steak business, and fries-with-mayo was one of his bigliest-selling products. Not many people know this, but with fries-with-mayo leading the way, his Steak business became almost as successful as his Wine business.

    [NB: The NDA I signed prevents me from publishing the name of this business jeenyus, who is perhaps the bestest, most-jeenyus-est businessman since Republicans creatures crawled out of the primordial slime.

    ETA: OK, so it was grilled cheese. So sue me. I’ve also heard of some “gourmets” using mayo with fries. And I heard someone actually extol the virtues of a martini made with mayo. I kid you not.

  241. 241.

    SFAW

    @Bill Arnold:

    Think they’d pay out for information about Republican election fraud?

    No, they don’t have enough money for that. It’ll cost them $0 for Dem “fraud.”

  242. 242.

    SFAW

    @WaterGirl:

    seriously, do you think they have anything to offer Joe that would be helpful?

    Absolutely. President Biden can show the workings/transcripts of their meetings to HIS team, and say “Don’t do that.”

  243. 243.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    @Calouste:

    To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, it’s a good thing that Mr. and Mrs. shitgibbon got married to each other, so they only made two people unhappy instead of four.

    Ahem. That was Samuel Butler.

  245. 245.

    Brachiator

    @Aleta:

    Trump loyalist now sit in the 1, 3, and 4 slots at DOD.

    Where in Hell does Trump continue to find loyalists?

     

    ETA: Been away from the Internets. Is the site updating properly? I am not sure if notes are refreshing. So I guess this is kind of a test.

  246. 246.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Brachiator:

    Anecdata: The Balloon Juice cache sometimes gets a little wonky in the middle of the night, in my experience. The “recent comments” list, especially, often does not get updated accurately. You can always press the “click here to refresh” link by the comment box to force a (non-cached) page refresh.

  247. 247.

    J R in WV

    I love mayo on sandwiches, and in dishes like crab cakes. I used to use it in potato salad, but dropped that style when I realized olive oil and red wine vinegar was far less likely to cause food poisoning at a summer picnic — remember those?

    But I’m drawing a really firm line — call it a WALL — when it comes to alcoholic drinks. Mayo is not any part of any drink in my world.

    I’ll tell you what is a totally successful cocktail – a French 75, so named because of the totally successful field cannon of the French Army in WW I made with champagne rather than tonic, mixed with fresh lemon and simple syrup, champagne and good gin, shaken vigourously, and strained into a champagne glass. Watch out, it kicks like the cannon it was named for, so go slow.

  250. 250.

    Sheila in nc

    @J R in WV: sorry, you don’t add the champagne until after you shake the other ingredients. Pour into a flute and top with champagne. But I concur on the “go slow”!

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