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You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / Sunday Evening Open Thread: (Move) On Wisconsin

Sunday Evening Open Thread: (Move) On Wisconsin

by Anne Laurie|  December 13, 20205:01 pm| 115 Comments

This post is in: Activist Judges!, Election 2020, Open Threads, Trumpery, Lock Him Up...Lock Them All Up

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Sunday Evening Open Thread: (Move) On Wisconsin

(Lalo Alcaraz via GoComics.com)
.

FINALLY https://t.co/uxSC78axxp

— kilgore trout, tiny desk carpenter (@KT_So_It_Goes) December 12, 2020


It's Groundhog Day. Again. https://t.co/O927AYugYg

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) December 12, 2020

In recent days, Trump's team has complained that judges have refused to consider the merits of their claims. The Wisconsin Federal Judge, appointed by Trump did just that.

Here is what he wrote: pic.twitter.com/3dQPeS3NJQ

— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 12, 2020

This also has been the case in Georgia, where the focus has been on Fulton County; Michigan, where Wayne County was targeted; and Pennsylvania, where Philadelphia County was in the crosshairs.

Two Wisconsin judges finally call it out.

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) December 12, 2020

this is take your fucking circus off my lawn level stuff https://t.co/Gl52zwCfJT

— kilgore trout, tiny desk carpenter (@KT_So_It_Goes) December 12, 2020

SAD! Even the Fox interviewer can’t muster any enthusiam for this charade. They just wanna move on…

"They're winning these things on little technicalities, like a thing called standing." pic.twitter.com/fPdLMHX3bg

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 13, 2020

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Reader Interactions

115Comments

  1. 1.

    Ruckus

    December 13, 2020 at 5:08 pm

    Always like to see shitheads like trump lose massively, publicly and by judges he appointed.

    Now if we could only be rid of him completely now that he has lost over and over and over and over……..

    Little technicalities, like the judges actually being correct, on the law.

  2. 2.

    Jim Appleton

    December 13, 2020 at 5:08 pm

    A guy who understands standing as a minor technicality is the most powerful human ever.

  3. 3.

    JPL

    December 13, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    Will you show up to  the  inauguration … I don’t want to talk about that.       hahahahahahhahahahahahahah    Biden would prefer not..

  4. 4.

    West of the Rockies

    December 13, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    Poor Donny… death by a thousand cuts.  Wish it was a thousand corncobs (if you know what I mean, and I think that you do).

  5. 5.

    Mary G

    December 13, 2020 at 5:15 pm

    Re-posting from the last thread, because it’s so disgusting:

    Breaking NYT: White House staff who work in close quarters with Trump have been told they are scheduled to receive injections of the coronavirus vaccine soon, at a time when the first doses are being distributed only to high-risk health care workers. https://t.co/mDOvnOrK70— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 13, 2020

    They’ve all had it already!

  6. 6.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 5:18 pm

    Why is Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger working so hard to add drop boxes and take other steps to make it harder for Republicans to win. Is he really that intimidated by Stacey Abrams?— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) December 13, 2020

    More drop boxes makes it harder for republicans to win?

    Again, they've completely abandoned even the pretense that their voting restrictions are to protect against voter fraud. Just straight up "will make it harder for Republicans to win." And this has been normalized as if it's a normal alternative side to making it easier to vote. https://t.co/Jme5a94S1C
    — Centrism Fan Acct ? (@Wilson__Valdez) December 13, 2020

  7. 7.

    Jeffro

    December 13, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    @Jim Appleton: 

    My biggest complaint was, is, and will always be that the guy is a complete fucking moron.

  8. 8.

    Aleta

    December 13, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    Ellen Nakashima broke this story at the Post:

    Ellen Nakashima @nakashimae
    Russian hacking group APT29 behind broad espionage campaign that breached Treasury, Commerce, FireEye.

    Sources tell me that the victims–Treasury, Commerce, FireEye–were breached through an IT Management System called Solar Winds

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    December 13, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    @Aleta: What is fire-eye?

  10. 10.

    Aleta

    December 13, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    @Aleta: OOps, @TS (the original) already put this story and an excerpt in the previous thread.

  11. 11.

    Cameron

    December 13, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    @Ruckus: He prefers bigly technicalities, the best technicalities….

  12. 12.

    Jay

    December 13, 2020 at 5:32 pm

    Lol Tulsi Gabbard is on Parler backing Trump pic.twitter.com/LmArCFNs17— Sophia Tesfaye (@SophiaTesfaye) December 11, 2020

  13. 13.

    Spanky

    December 13, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    @WaterGirl: A cybersecurity company. Been around a while. Iirc, their main product is also called FireEye.

  14. 14.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 13, 2020 at 5:37 pm

    @Jay: Has anybody done an explanatory post here about Section 230 yet?

  15. 15.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched.

    I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.

    — Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) December 13, 2020

    Not knowing what to expect what’s the most upsetting part aside from knowing that no one would do a damn thing even when they saw it.

    No one.

    And I *know* I am not the only woman.

    — Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) December 13, 2020

  16. 16.

    SFAW

    December 13, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    What is fire-eye?

    Not enough of a cybergeek, so grain  of salt and all that: I think the important part was that FireEye developed software used to find and exploit weaknesses in firewalls, etc., so that those holes/weaknesses can be closed.

  17. 17.

    RSA

    December 13, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    “They’re winning these things on little technicalities, like a thing called standing.”

    If not for standing, Trump might have been brought down by now with emolument suits from Congress and from CREW.

  18. 18.

    jonas

    December 13, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    As I understand it, issues of standing are addressed in a first year law school course called “Tiny Technicalities.”

  19. 19.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 5:41 pm

    @Mary G:

    People who aided and abetted a man who downplayed the seriousness of the virus will now be rewarded with some of the first doses of the vaccine designed to stop that serious virus. https://t.co/HQjYn7Yqmd— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 13, 2020

  20. 20.

    SFAW

    December 13, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    @jonas:

    As I understand it, issues of standing are addressed in a first year law school course called “Tiny Technicalities.”

    Does it use a tiny textbook which can only be held by tiny hands?

  21. 21.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    Giving the White House staff the first doses of the Covid vaccine is like giving the Titanic crew the first lifeboat. @realDonaldTrump

    — NoelCaslerComedy (@CaslerNoel) December 13, 2020

  22. 22.

    Martin

    December 13, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    @WaterGirl: FireEye is a cybersecurity company here in CA. They offer software and services and consultancy.

    They were breached by a nation-state last week.

  23. 23.

    Anotherlurker

    December 13, 2020 at 5:47 pm

    DECEMBER 13, 2020 AT 5:21 PM

    Legit question here:  How big are the actual numbers of these shit eating Proud Boys and their equally malodorous other Nazi supporters?

    If the shit keeps rising and ends up in a shooting contest, what actual effect could it have?

    Do the cops go all in on supporting these assholes?  Do they support them when a cop is killed?

    I guess this is a question for Adam Silverman.

    For the record: I would expect some very ugly outcomes, but I don’t think there are enough fanatics to really overthrow the Government.  I think the loudmouths and the cosplayers will fade into the woodwork and leave the fanatics hanging out to dry.

    Yup. I’m a starry eyed optimist.

    Reply

  24. 24.

    dmsilev

    December 13, 2020 at 5:48 pm

    @Mary G: Not surprised. Disgusted, yes, but not surprised.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    December 13, 2020 at 5:49 pm

    @Aleta: Not to worry, you had new information.  Plus, it’s a different thread.

  26. 26.

    RSA

    December 13, 2020 at 5:49 pm

    @Mary G:

    White House staff who work in close quarters with Trump have been told they are scheduled to receive injections of the coronavirus vaccine soon…

    Not mentioned in the article are Secret Service agents, who I think should plausibly be among the first recipients. Probably the first time in U.S. history that the Secret Service has needed to be protected from the President.

  27. 27.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    The behavior we are seeing from Trump is a result of the pass he has gotten his entire life because he was a ‘wealthy’ white man in a suit. He purchased respectability and immunity from his transgressions and crimes because society didn’t want to bother holding him accountable.

    Trump’s incontinence is a direct result of his decades long drug-addiction. It’s one of the main reasons he makes everyone around him sign NDA’s. It’s always why Melania sleeps in a different room.

    Now that Trump has built his own army of jowly beard bros it’s even more important he keep up the facade of alpha male. Truth is he wears a girdle, shoe lifts, Depends, makeup, hair-dye. Dude can’t even swim and gets winded walking up a flight of stairs. Loser.

    One of the first things Trump did when ‘elected’ POTUS was to send Keith Schiller to Dr. Bornstein’s office to steal his medical records. He didn’t do this because he was the picture of health. You still haven’t seen his records. He’s been high the whole time.

    — NoelCaslerComedy (@CaslerNoel)

  28. 28.

    dmsilev

    December 13, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    With much sadness, I must announce the passing of one the world’s great writers – John le Carré.https://t.co/hpPFA5nA6D pic.twitter.com/HbC3WZzQFF
    — Jonny Geller (@JonnyGeller) December 13, 2020

  29. 29.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    @JPL:

    Will you show up to  the  inauguration … I don’t want to talk about that. 

    “Glad to see all of the previous real Presidents are here.”

  30. 30.

    Citizen_X

    December 13, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    @germy: Let them have the Russian vaccine.

  31. 31.

    Martin

    December 13, 2020 at 5:52 pm

    @Anotherlurker: They’re not that big, and to be honest, they’re fucking cowards. They’re terrified of cities and will only go when their numbers are large enough and they have enough firepower to overwhelm the mythical creatures they believe reside within.

    That’s not to say they aren’t a threat, but they aren’t an existential threat. The threat against Whitmer didn’t have enough competence to succeed, or the numbers to do the backup plan (summary executions at the capitol). They’re not really the problem, as with Trump, the problem are the enablers and those who look away.  Because they’re not ever going to stand up to these people – we need to do it.

  32. 32.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 5:53 pm

    @Citizen_X:

    Good idea.

  33. 33.

    zhena gogolia

    December 13, 2020 at 5:54 pm

    I’m not going to get excited about the Trumpers getting the vaccine. I just want them to go away.

  34. 34.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    @Martin:

    Agree.  There’s a risk of domestic terrorism, but we’ve had that before with people like McVeigh.

  35. 35.

    Martin

    December 13, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    @RSA: Reminder to all that there is no evidence that  the vaccine  prevents transmission of the virus. Lots of vaccines work this way – they protect you, but nobody else – you can still be a carrier and you can still spread it to others.

    In time we’ll know the answer to that question, but it means that even if you get the shot, you still need to wear a mask, social distance, and all that. The only thing we know is that the vaccine will take the pressure off of the ERs.

    I think it’s safe to say nobody at the WH will understand that, nor will most of the public.

  36. 36.

    Aleta

    December 13, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    @WaterGirl:  To the extent I know, they contract to do cybersecurity for big organizations that would be in serious trouble if breached,  like financial services, big insurance companies,  healthcare orgs, perhaps some of our  government departments.  Their website is fireeye dot com.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    I hope Biden, Harris, and the people around them get the vaccine early.

  38. 38.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    NEW ⁦@CBSNewsPoll⁩: Most feel election is "settled" but @RealDonaldTrump’s voters disagree https://t.co/tTxfrYRU5m— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) December 13, 2020

    Honestly, CBS News should be ashamed of themselves for helping to elevate misinformation. https://t.co/Was6GAwh2u— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) December 13, 2020

    Ed O’Keefe is a smirking little republican operative, so of course CBS has him covering all things Biden.

  39. 39.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    Doesn’t this Soviet shitpile mobster manbaby know he wouldn’t have lost (loser!) on little technicalities if he didn’t have little baby hands?

    Tiny-handed loser assclown.  SAD!

  40. 40.

    zhena gogolia

    December 13, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    @Martin:

    My expectation is that I might be able to get it by spring or summer. I expect to be teaching in person in September, but probably still with masks and distancing. Not Zoom, but not giving up masks and distancing. I hope I’m over-pessimistic.

  41. 41.

    mad citizen

    December 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm

    @Jeffro:  Yup!

    Re: The Moron issue, I’ve sometimes wondered what I would do if by some chance a moron of such proportion emerged on our side as party leader. I’ve got think I would not vote for said person; and likely vote for the other party to win. This is the issue that continues to boggle my mind: tens of millions of americans went for it; many millions of (likely) smart republicans held their nose and went for it. The latter could surely see the authoritarian risk involved.

    I will never understand this event. As author Fran Lebowitz said (praphrasing) “T getting elected is the most unlikely thing to happen in my lifetime”; and “You don’t know anyone dumber than T; you just don’t”.

  42. 42.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    @mad citizen:

    I’ve sometimes wondered what I would do if by some chance a moron of such proportion emerged on our side as party leader. I’ve got think I would not vote for said person; and likely vote for the other party to win.

    Probably you wouldn’t.  Being stupid doesn’t make one evil, and our moron would likely not be evil.

  43. 43.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 6:03 pm

    @Citizen_X: Let them inject bleach for this “hoax.” Assholes.

  44. 44.

    TS (the original)

    December 13, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    @Aleta:  Worth repeating.

    Lots of comments on wapo suggesting it is all according to trump’s plan.  e.g.

    What a coincidence; right after Trump fired heads of cyber divisions at DHS

  45. 45.

    Aleta

    December 13, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    @WaterGirl:  Excerpts from NYT on Dec. 8 2020:

    For years, the cybersecurity firm FireEye has been the first call for government agencies and companies around the world who have been hacked by the most sophisticated attackers, or fear they might be. Now it looks like the hackers — in this case, evidence points to Russia’s intelligence agencies — may be exacting their revenge.

    FireEye revealed on Tuesday that its own systems were pierced by what it called “a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities.” The company said hackers used “novel techniques” to make off with its own tool kit, which could be useful in mounting new attacks around the world.

    It was a stunning theft, akin to bank robbers who, having cleaned out local vaults, then turned around and stole the F.B.I.’s investigative tools. …

    The $3.5 billion company, which partly makes a living by identifying the culprits in some of the world’s boldest breaches — its clients have included Sony and Equifax — declined to say explicitly who was responsible. But its description, and the fact that the F.B.I. has turned the case over to its Russia specialists, left little doubt who the lead suspects were and that they were after what the company calls “Red Team tools.”

    These are essentially digital tools that replicate the most sophisticated hacking tools in the world. FireEye uses the tools — with the permission of a client company or government agency — to look for vulnerabilities in their systems. Most of the tools are based in a digital vault that FireEye closely guards.

    The hack raises the possibility that Russian intelligence agencies saw an advantage in mounting the attack while American attention — including FireEye’s — was focused on securing the presidential election system. …

    The hack was the biggest known theft of cybersecurity tools since those of the National Security Agency were purloined in 2016 by a still-unidentified group that calls itself the ShadowBrokers. That group dumped the N.S.A.’s hacking tools online over several months ….  North Korea and Russia ultimately used the N.S.A.’s stolen weaponry in destructive attacks on government agencies, hospitals and the world’s biggest conglomerates — at a cost of more than $10 billion.

    The N.S.A.’s tools were most likely more useful than FireEye’s since the U.S. government builds purpose-made digital weapons. FireEye’s Red Team tools are essentially built from malware that the company has seen used in a wide range of attacks.

  46. 46.

    germy

    December 13, 2020 at 6:10 pm

    these two stories ran side by side on NYT front page today, suggesting they’re equally important:

    -Biden’s new team may or may not be diverse enough

    -majority of GOP opposes free and fair elections and is now committed to overturning election results

    — Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) December 13, 2020

  47. 47.

    Citizen_X

    December 13, 2020 at 6:11 pm

    @dmsilev: Shit. I guess I’ll move a couple of his books up on my reading list. Spy Who Came In From the Cold? I’ve never read that one.

  48. 48.

    featheredsprite

    December 13, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    @mad citizen: Democrats have a very energetic primary system that serves to eliminate the less qualified. Usually. Hopefully.

  49. 49.

    Martin

    December 13, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    @zhena gogolia: There will be a push to immunize all students and teachers and school staff by end of summer.

  50. 50.

    Dan B

    December 13, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    @mad citizen: Trump has great, not perfect, intelligence in self promotion and self preservation.  He’s lashing out because he can’t figure out how to preserve his damaged ego without suffering some damage.  I wonder how many times he’s thought about that nuclear football.

    Then I ponder how the Secret Service would take him down and how the Generals would refuse to forward the order.

    Or would Putin stop him?  There could be a Russian plant very close.  But then I feel like I’m channeling a John LeCarre novel.

  51. 51.

    patrick II

    December 13, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    @mad citizen: 

    The Moron issue, I’ve sometimes wondered what I would do if by some chance a moron of such proportion emerged on our side as party leader.

    Donald Trump actually asked himself the same question — and then switched from Democrat to Republican.

  52. 52.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    @featheredsprite:

    Democrats have a very energetic primary system that serves to eliminate the less qualified.

    Sigh. T’is true.

  53. 53.

    Uncle Omar

    December 13, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    “We lost on a legal technicality.” “What was it?” “A lack of evidence.” Dialogue from Magnum Force, the second Dirty Harry movie, scripted by John Milius. Trump obviously saw this movie as a youth and only remembered that a “lack of evidence” is a minor “legal technicality.”

  54. 54.

    Anotherlurker

    December 13, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    @Martin: Thanks!  I’m glad I looking at this thru the right lens.

    We need to keep we Democrats engaged and voting in every election.

    I would love to see an ongoing media campaign that reminds people that the 300,000 deaths from COVID , the selling out of our Country to the Russians , the hate speech and incitement to violence are all the products of the GOP. Keep painting them with the brush of trump.

    I suggest simple, short commercials on FOX,  The Super Bowl and other sporting events, popular entertainment shows and other vehicles that attract various voters.  Keep these spots strategically running during off-year elections and intensify the volume of media buys as the elections grow nearer.

    I’m not looking to win any GOP voters, I’m looking to keep Dems engaged and pissed off.

    Now, gift me with Soros/Bloomburgh  cash and I’ll get right on it!

  55. 55.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    @Anotherlurker:

    Pricey tv ads really aren’t a good way to keep Dems engaged IMHO.

  56. 56.

    patrick II

    December 13, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    @Citizen_X:

    Not to discourage reading, but two of his books were made into 6 part television series by BBC (Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley’s People) and are free on YouTube.

  57. 57.

    Geminid

    December 13, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    @mad citizen: As M.D.Russ said in his article in Bearing Drift: Trump did not hijack the Republican party, “he just answered the casting call.”                    Still, his win in the general election was razor thin, made possible by voter suppression and very possibly electoral fraud. Even so, a friend suggested that he would have lost had the election been held four days earlier, or four days later.                        Retired Army Colonel M.D. Russ’s article is titled “Trump is the Real Republican President.” It’s worth reading. Bearing Drift is a Virginia based journal put out by self-described conservatives who despise trump.

  58. 58.

    Citizen Alan

    December 13, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    @mad citizen: The analogy I always gave to Republicans I had to deal with was this: If the GOP had nominated Kasich or Jeb or even Lil’ Marco Rubio, and the Democrats went insane and nominated Rosie O’Donnell, and Rosie O’Donnell spent the entire general campaign making vulgar jokes about how big the Republican nominee’s penis was while promising to abolish private gun ownership and nationalize the whole healthcare industry by executive order, I would have voted Republican. I would have grumbled and gnashed my teeth, but I would have voted for the Republican over a vacuous celebrity who showed signs of authoritarianism. Because I love my country more than my party, which is something no Trump supporter could ever say.

  59. 59.

    prostratedragon

    December 13, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    To David Cornwall/John Le Carre. Loved all the Smiley books, A Tailor from Panama and A Perfect Spy. Special mention to the last, and The Spy Who Came In from the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which might be even more suspenseful as a novel than it is as movie/tv. The man knew how to write a rollercoaster.

  60. 60.

    Citizen_X

    December 13, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    @patrick II: Ah. I want to read at least one of those, because I’ve never read one of the George Smiley books. I loved the Gary Oldman movie of Tinker, Tailor…, but I did hear some people prefer the BBC series. Didn’t know it was available online; thanks.

  61. 61.

    debbie

    December 13, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    @Spanky:

    They’ve been talking about FireEye being hacked for a few days. Is the Treasury, etc. hack the same or a separate incident?

  62. 62.

    zhena gogolia

    December 13, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    @Citizen Alan:

    I have to giggle when thinking of Rosie O’Donnell as an authoritarian.

  63. 63.

    Anotherlurker

    December 13, 2020 at 6:39 pm

    @Baud: But there is strategic placement.  Also, an ad doesn’t have to expensive to be effective.  Just seeing them will help keep the issues focused on those who caused this assault on the USA.

    I also advocate for boots-on-the-ground efforts.  Knocking on doors, sending postcards etc.

    We need to keep our voters engaged.

  64. 64.

    debbie

    December 13, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    @germy:

    Let them demonstrate for the rest of us whether there are side effects or not.

  65. 65.

    CaseyL

    December 13, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    @dmsilev:  Damn sorry to hear that. A new LeCarre was once upon a time a got-to-go-to-bookstore-NOW occasion for me.

  66. 66.

    patrick II

    December 13, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    @Citizen_X:

    The series stars Sir Alec Guiness.  Each one is about nine hours in six episodes and at that length, script written by LeCarre, and follows the books in part word for word. Incredibly smart dialogue.

  67. 67.

    gwangung

    December 13, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    @Anotherlurker: It’s not the expense….it’s simply that media, as a top down method, isn’t nearly as effective a motivator as other people and the general social group you’re in.

  68. 68.

    Jackie

    December 13, 2020 at 6:49 pm

    @debbie:  My positive spin? Being vaccinated negates their Get Out of Prison card.

  69. 69.

    cmorenc

    December 13, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    @mad citizen:

    Re: The Moron issue, I’ve sometimes wondered what I would do if by some chance a moron of such proportion emerged on our side as party leader.

    The democrats don’t have any morons, but we do have a few leading figures (and one especially in particular) who are so long-suited in strident ideology and so short-suited in “playing well with others” that they are seriously deficient in practical wisdom, and often full of their own B.S.  Let’s just say that Jim Clyburn helped us dodge nominating someone like that, who Trump would have likely had better odds of beating.

  70. 70.

    WaterGirl

    December 13, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    @Aleta: Thank you.  And oh my god.

  71. 71.

    Barbara

    December 13, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    John Le Carre was someone I rather childishly hoped would live forever, but I think he was 90 or close to it, so of course, his death is not surprising.  Still sad.

    Regarding the Wisconsin litigation, I am glad the judges went there — suing two counties over the use of a statewide form should be embarrassing to a competent ethical attorney.  Basically, the lawyers were asking the court to engage in a violation of equal protection by invalidating the votes of individuals, even discounting racial animus, based solely on who they likely voted for. “I know the state used the same form statewide, but you should only invalidate votes in Dane and Milwaukee County because that’s where we lost.”  How do you even ask a court to do that while looking the judges in the eye?

    The repetitive nature of these suits, the wild accusations of conspiracy and deep state paranoia is the kind of stuff judges are actually used to seeing — in the form of pro se petitions, typically from prisoners with a lot of time on their hands and zero legal training.  They are not the kind of thing usually filed by a lawyer.

  72. 72.

    dmsilev

    December 13, 2020 at 6:52 pm

    @patrick II: I’ll chime in to further recommend the BBC miniseries. They’re longer, of course, but you really need the extra space to do full justice to the novels.

  73. 73.

    Patricia Kayden

    December 13, 2020 at 6:55 pm

    LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT…The very people who said Covid-19 was a hoax and who’s negligence killed over 300,000 people are getting the vaccine first?!THIS IS CRIMINAL!#KidVicious??‍♂️https://t.co/ON1NEGtFV6— Kirk Acevedo?? (@kirkacevedo) December 13, 2020

  74. 74.

    Phylllis

    December 13, 2020 at 7:02 pm

    @patrick II:  The 2011 version of Tinker Tailor is very good as well. Available on Prime* Netflix.

     

    *Available for rent on Prime.

  75. 75.

    Ken

    December 13, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    @prostratedragon: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which might be even more suspenseful as a novel

    But it’s a curious kind of suspense.  Most of the novel is George Smiley reading files and interviewing former members of the Circus. Yet La Carre made it riveting.

  76. 76.

    Ken

    December 13, 2020 at 7:05 pm

    Now I’m really hoping that New York gets Trump on bank fraud, or tax evasion, or some other “little technicality.”

  77. 77.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 7:11 pm

    @Barbara:

    “I know the state used the same form statewide, but you should only invalidate votes in Dane and Milwaukee County because that’s where we lost.”  How do you even ask a court to do that while looking the judges in the eye? 

    I guess it’s easy when you’re a total jackass.

  78. 78.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    @Ken: Haha, I hope New York caves in some faces.

  79. 79.

    JoyceH

    December 13, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    @Martin:

    they aren’t an existential threat. The threat against Whitmer didn’t have enough competence to succeed, or the numbers to do the backup plan (summary executions at the capitol).

    Not to mention the fact that these guys are such loudmouths that if more than three of them get together, you can count on at least one of them being an undercover agent or an FBI informant.

  80. 80.

    dmsilev

    December 13, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    @Ken: Ten million counts of mail fraud.

  81. 81.

    debbie

    December 13, 2020 at 7:18 pm

    @Barbara:

    I saw on Twitter that Sidney Powell’s latest filing is in all caps.?

  82. 82.

    Patricia Kayden

    December 13, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    “If the Russia connection is confirmed, it will be the most sophisticated known theft of American government data by Moscow since a two-year spree in 2014 and 2015” via ⁦@SangerNYT⁩ https://t.co/iH8Woriiym— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) December 13, 2020

  83. 83.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 7:20 pm

    @debbie:

    Is she before Judge John Cole?

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    December 13, 2020 at 7:22 pm

    @mad citizen:I’ve sometimes wondered what I would do if by some chance a moron of such proportion emerged on our side as party leader.

    For five years now, I have tried to picture what it would take for the Ds to have someone as corrupt as trumpov, as utterly stupid as trumpov, and as obviously mentally unstable as trumpov as a leading candidate for prez, or even party bigwig.

    You really can’t do it – not in a single one of those dimensions, much less all three at once.

    I mean it’s like the worst party game in the world, but try it.  Who on our side is as dumb as he is?  (Who’s even close?)  Who’s that far off their rocker?  Who’s that corrupt?

    Can’t get there.  It’s just amazing.

    Hindsight is 20/20 (ouch!) but perhaps we could have shorted out at least a few wingnuts’ circuits by telling them, right from the start: DEMAND BETTER QUALITY REPRESENTATION.

    (ok we did, but still…you get the idea…)

  85. 85.

    Bill Arnold

    December 13, 2020 at 7:22 pm

    @Aleta:
    I see nothing in that Dec 13 WaPo piece indicating why they are attributing the attack(s) to APT29/Cozy Bear. Until there are technical details published, I will presume that this is just speculative attribution. (If operational security is disciplined and competent, attribution is hard and looking like somebody else is possible, even often desirable.)

  86. 86.

    planetjanet

    December 13, 2020 at 7:25 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson.

  87. 87.

    Bill Arnold

    December 13, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    @Martin:

    They were breached by a nation-state last week.

    Not what they said:
    “highly sophisticated threat actor, one whose discipline, operational security, and techniques lead us to believe it was a state-sponsored attack”
    They are presuming that the only such actors are state or state-sponsored.

  88. 88.

    debbie

    December 13, 2020 at 7:29 pm

    @Baud:

    If only!

  89. 89.

    Jeffro

    December 13, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    PS  Twitler is busy freaking out once again…bouncing back and forth between taking credit for the vaccines (FIVE YEARS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!) and of course making all kinds of threats against states – ‘swing states’ specifically – that certify their electors tomorrow.

    He’s also saying that Republican poll watchers were “roughed up”.  Hey Dems, you might want to get loud that the loser-in-chief is (once again) inciting violence.  Hey Media, you might want to note the same, and shut the F up about the progressive bonafides (or lack thereof) of Biden’s cabinet nominees.  Hey GOP – all of this shit is on. your. heads.

  90. 90.

    Bill Arnold

    December 13, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT…The very people who said Covid-19 was a hoax and who’s negligence killed over 300,000 people are getting the vaccine first?!THIS IS CRIMINAL

    There is a technical argument for vaccinating people mostly likely to be superspreaders first. The White House staff might qualify due to their willful lack of mask discipline.
    Main problem I see with this argument is that early vaccination of the psychopath (particularly those with power over others) further hardens hard hearts/suppresses any remaining empathy.
    E.g. employers would feel comfortable forcing their employees to come to the office/indoor workplace (under penalty of firing for non-compliance) if they personally were immune. Or not wear masks, or undoing whatever pandemic control practices they feel inhibit money making.

  91. 91.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    Warning: Dump’s disgusting face inside.

    Donald is going to charge entire states with “severely punishable crimes,” apparently. Man, is he ever coming unglued. https://t.co/dNR8U5AzXk— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 13, 2020

    He should be physically thrown out of the White House on January 20th for shit like this.

  92. 92.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 7:45 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I thought winning meant not having to care about the tweets anymore.  Why are we still caring about the tweets?

  93. 93.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    @Bill Arnold:

    There is a technical argument for vaccinating people mostly likely to be superspreaders first. The White House staff might qualify due to their willful lack of mask discipline. 

    Or – and hear me out – we exile them to South “Plague Colony” Dakota. :)

  94. 94.

    Bill Arnold

    December 13, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    @JoyceH:

    you can count on at least one of them being an undercover agent or an FBI informant.

    Nope. They, as is often/usually the case, got lucky. A loner (or very small cell) armed with a scoped sniper (or hunting) rifle (or rifles) is very hard to stop. The Beltway Sniper Attacks is an example; a 2-person(males) team, with a medium-range rifle. Right-wingers should note that the beltway sniper team was very not right wing. (Such skills and weapons are distributed throughout society and ideologies.) We do not, as a country, want to go there.

  95. 95.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    @Baud: Well, the nutjob is still in office for another month and change…

  96. 96.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    @dmsilev: Ten million?

  97. 97.

    Geminid

    December 13, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    @mad citizen: If all trump is was a moron, he would never have been elected President. But trump is also an effective demagogue, and his demagoguery was skillfully amplified through social and other media. It’s a damn good thing trump’s the moron he is, because if he’d been less of one he would have won a second term. And then we would have been in big trouble.

  98. 98.

    Jeffro

    December 13, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    @planetjanet: Not even in the same league as trumpov for corruption (Gabbard) or stupidity (Williamson).  I mean, I get it, that’s about the worst we have/had to offer…and they’re still nowhere close.

  99. 99.

    Baud

    December 13, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Sure.  We should watch what he does.  What he says in meaningless. Even Hillary is a free woman.

  100. 100.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    @Geminid: I can’t (and don’t want to) imagine 4 more years of this mobster shitpile crime family having power – deadly virus or not.

  101. 101.

    WaterGirl

    December 13, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    @Geminid:  Well said.

  102. 102.

    Timill

    December 13, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    @Bill Arnold: Indeed. What about SPECTRE or THRUSH, for example?

  103. 103.

    Jay

    December 13, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    This is Magen Stevens from Salem, Oregon. Circuit Court Judge Jodie Bureta granted her special permission to travel to D.C. this weekend so she could march with Proud Boys. She is seen here in a yellow vest and in video footage brutally attacking anti-racists tonight. #DefendDC https://t.co/mXxYTz6wci pic.twitter.com/Yk4t4e1t1N— Chud Trackers (@ChudTrackers) December 13, 2020

  104. 104.

    LuciaMia

    December 13, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    “little technicalities”

    Oh, those pesky little technicalities, like evidence, rule of law, proper procedure and ….well….reality.

  105. 105.

    Keith P.

    December 13, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: I really hope his endgame is to fire Barr and put Whitaker back in to charge swing states with the crime of certifying their elections. Once that explodes in his face, it should deter him from thinking about declaring “limited” martial law and ordering the military to “audit” the vote (which means the command-in-chief orders them to throw away Biden ballots en masse)

  106. 106.

    Anotherlurker

    December 13, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    @gwangung: Perhaps there is a way to balance media and voter outreach.  Perhaps 70/30 outreach/media?  Voters need to be reminded of The Who the perpetrators of the fascist agenda are and the damage they have done.

  107. 107.

    dmsilev

    December 13, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Keith P.: Since every state, swing or not, has already certified their votes and since the electors vote tomorrow, this seems more like a temper tantrum or empty threat rather than something serious.

  108. 108.

    Amir Khalid

    December 13, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I expect to see Trump denouncing the Electoral College for being illegally loaded with “Democrat” electors. Maybe he’ll even threaten a lawsuit.

  109. 109.

    Hoodie

    December 13, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @Keith P.: He won’t be deterred from doing anything except stuff that will land him in prison.  Once all the other stupid gambits have failed, I fully expect him to tweet some declaration of limited martial law, in the vein of those “I hereby claim the states of Michigan, etc” tweets he sent in November.  Of course, such a martial law tweet will be ignored by everyone in the government, either because he won’t actually order them to do anything, or because if he does issue an order, it will be illegal.   However, there will no real legal consequences for him. Some of his cosplay patriots may try something stupid, which may get someone killed (most likely one of them).  Maybe you could get him for incitement for that one, but not likely given past history of his other irresponsible tweets.

  110. 110.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 13, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    @Keith P.: And come January 20 – I hope he and his entire shitpile family are prevented from fleeing the country, bitchslapped and thrown in the slammer – literally.

  111. 111.

    dmsilev

    December 13, 2020 at 9:04 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Set your alarm for 5 PM Eastern US time, since that’s when California has their electors votes and hence when Biden will pass 270.

  112. 112.

    Miss Bianca

    December 13, 2020 at 9:30 pm

    @RSA: I mean, is that a fucking joke? “They’re winning these things on little technicalities, like standing?”

    I mean, if I didn’t know it was absolutely impossible, I’d swear Trump was trying to make a funny.

  113. 113.

    Miss Bianca

    December 13, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Hindsight is 20/20 (ouch!) but perhaps we could have shorted out at least a few wingnuts’ circuits by telling them, right from the start: DEMAND BETTER QUALITY REPRESENTATION.

    I’d like to think that that *would* work on some of them. I mean…I *like* to think it. It gives me pleasure.

    Do I think it would *actually* get through to them? Maybe, if you delivered it as stand-up comedy. If you had the savage comedic chops of a, say, George Carlin. I dunno otherwise.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    December 13, 2020 at 11:50 pm

    @mad citizen:

    They chose Whiteness.

     

    There is no equivalent on the Democratic Party side

  115. 115.

    prostratedragon

    December 14, 2020 at 5:07 am

    @Ken:  [Damn late, I know] True, but if you follow along there’s a point where the ending off in the distance suddenly rips into focus and you find yourself needing to be sure that it has to be the way it’s going to be.

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