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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

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

We will not go back.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

He really is that stupid.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

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

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

When we show up, we win.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

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

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Schadenfreudelicious (Fake) News Open Thread: RED SLIME!

Schadenfreudelicious (Fake) News Open Thread: RED SLIME!

by Anne Laurie|  December 21, 20207:15 pm| 161 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Information Warfare, Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel, Schadenfreude

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I have been informed by my lawyers that if I don’t read some stuff we’ll all be “living in a refrigerator box behind the strip club eating dog food out of the can” https://t.co/atF7ikwwup

— kilgore trout, assless pajama afficianado (@KT_So_It_Goes) December 21, 2020

When the Grifter King falls, all the courtiers find themselves scrambling. As long as Trump was The Biggest Dick in the Room, the up-and-coming disinformation outlets felt they could push lies without being called out, but now that there’s a new President coming to town…

“Newsmax and OAN appear likely to face the same fate as so many of President Trump’s sycophants, who have watched him lie with impunity and imitated him — only to find that he’s the only one who can really get away with it.” https://t.co/devcWGxVax

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 21, 2020

And you know having to explain OAN’s plight is just breaking the NYTimes’ heart (not). “The ‘Red Slime’ Lawsuit That Could Sink Right-Wing Media”:

… Here’s the thing: Smartmatic wasn’t even used in the contested states. The company, now a major global player with over 300 employees, pulled out of the United States in 2007 after a controversy over its founders’ Venezuelan roots, and its only involvement this November was with a contract to help Los Angeles County run its election.

In an era of brazen political lies, Mr. Mugica has emerged as an unlikely figure with the power to put the genie back in the bottle. Last week, his lawyer sent scathing letters to the Fox News Channel, Newsmax and OAN demanding that they immediately, forcefully clear his company’s name — and that they retain documents for a planned defamation lawsuit. He has, legal experts say, an unusually strong case. And his new lawyer is J. Erik Connolly, who not coincidentally won the largest settlement in the history of American media defamation in 2017, at least $177 million, for a beef producer whose “lean finely textured beef” was described by ABC News as “pink slime.”

Now, Mr. Connolly’s target is a kind of red slime, the stream of preposterous lies coming from the White House and Republican officials around the country…

Mr. Mugica isn’t the only potential plaintiff. Dominion Voting Systems has hired another high-powered libel lawyer, Tom Clare, who has threatened legal action against Ms. Powell and the Trump campaign. Mr. Clare said in an emailed statement that “we are moving forward on the basis that she will not retract those false statements and that it will be necessary for Dominion to take aggressive legal action, both against Ms. Powell and the many others who have enabled and amplified her campaign of defamation by spreading damaging falsehoods about Dominion.”

These are legal threats any company, even a giant like Fox Corporation, would take seriously. And they could be fatal to the dream of a new “Trump TV,” a giant new media company in the president’s image, and perhaps contributing to his bottom line. Newsmax and OAN would each like to become that, and are both burning money to steal ratings from Fox, executives from both companies have acknowledged. They will need to raise significantly more money, or to sell quickly to investors, to build a Fox-style multibillion-dollar empire. But outstanding litigation with the potential of an enormous verdict will be enough to scare away most buyers…

Fox News and Fox Business, which have mentioned Dominion 792 times and Smartmatic 118 times between them, according to a search of the service TVEyes, appear to be taking the threat seriously. Over the weekend, they broadcast one of the strangest three-minute segments I’ve ever seen on television, with a disembodied and anonymous voice flatly asking a series of factual questions about Smartmatic of an expert on voting machines, Eddie Perez, who debunks a series of false claims. The segment, which appeared scripted to persuade a very literal-minded judge or jury that the network was being fair, aired over the weekend on the shows hosted by Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo, where Mr. Giuliani and Ms. Powell had made their most outlandish claims…

the real nightmare scenario is fox news / newsmax / oan sourced a bunch of their voting machine nonsense from recorded correspondences with the trump legal team. who wants to take bets they do not in fact have emails from sid & lin & rudes saying “attack smartmatic” on file

— kilgore trout, assless pajama afficianado (@KT_So_It_Goes) December 21, 2020

Newsmax's Chris Ruddy tells me that the statement that's making the rounds will be aired on ALL Newsmax TV shows. This began over the weekend and will continue today.

Here it is: pic.twitter.com/h5i8uKrVPM

— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) December 21, 2020

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Reader Interactions

161Comments

  1. 1.

    jl

    December 21, 2020 at 7:34 pm

    “living in a refrigerator box behind the strip club eating dog food out of the can”

    Baudists have thrived, personally and politically, on that regimen. Our thought and political leaders just have to pull up their socks and toughen up, is all.

  2. 2.

    trollhattan

    December 21, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    Huh. Pity.

  3. 3.

    hells littlest angel

    December 21, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    They could have pronounced Hugo Chavez’ name correctly, and maybe even mentioned that he’s been dead for seven years.

  4. 4.

    Roger Moore

    December 21, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    Good. It’s about damn time someone stepped up and took these liars head on.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    December 21, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    @jl:

    If it weren’t for Smartmatic and Dominion, I’d be president.

  6. 6.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 21, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    It gets interesting when you defame someone/thing with a shitload of money and without public figure status.

  7. 7.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    December 21, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    @hells littlest angel: That’s what they want you to think.  Truth is Chavez faked his own death just like JFK jr.

  8. 8.

    Frankensteinbeck

    December 21, 2020 at 7:44 pm

    @Baud:

    If there’s anything I’ve learned from Q, it’s that you ARE president, Baud.  The information that you’re already in charge has been kept from the American people, but soon the Great Flush will arrive and you will suck all of Balloon Juice’s enemies down the drain.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    December 21, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: 

    I read that was “enemas.”

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 21, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    his new lawyer is J. Erik Connolly, who not coincidentally won the largest settlement in the history of American media defamation in 2017, at least $177 million, for a beef producer whose “lean finely textured beef” was described by ABC News as “pink slime.”

    Zounds! I remember the pink slime thing, but I thought it was McDonald’s. No memory of the lawsuit. Somebody on MSNBC today mentioned states where food has legal protection from defamation. If memory serves, the Texas Beef Protection Association (I may have that name wrong) sued Oprah! for bad-mouthing red meat, and she moved her whole production down to TX for the length of the trial. I think that’s where she found “Dr” Phil. I think he was some kind of trial consultant. Is that gobshite still on the television

    ETA: I was not far off.
    Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey.

  11. 11.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 21, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:  JFK Jr and Chavez are the same person.

  12. 12.

    jonas

    December 21, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    Good grief, I mean if on-air hosts on MSNBC or something went around for weeks claiming that all Apple computer products were specially designed to store and transmit child pornography or something, Apple’s lawyers wouldn’t be ripping their heads off and shitting down their necks? Please. Defamation is a tough needle to thread legally (as I understand) but this is so blatant that I think these networks’ lawyers see pretty clearly that if it ever went to trial, they’d be toast.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    December 21, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Chavez is JFK, Jr. Omnes Omnibus.

  14. 14.

    PAM Dirac

    December 21, 2020 at 7:47 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: Only the true president would deny his own presidency.

  15. 15.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 21, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, Dr. Phil(has he delivered any babies?) was a jury consultant who primary client was Exxon-Mobil(they have more money than God).

  16. 16.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 21, 2020 at 7:50 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Dr. Phil(has he delivered any babies?)

    nice!

  17. 17.

    cain

    December 21, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    Schaden-fucken-freude – I’m all here for this.

    Watching all the news channels forced to repudiate their own lies – the right wing noise machine is going to go ballistic. I can see a lot of pushback going against these news people. I think a lot of people are going to watch their entire news bubble and the false reality contained within bursting.

  18. 18.

    cain

    December 21, 2020 at 7:52 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Oh.. so you’ve seen the alternative episode of “Encounter at Farpoint” too, huh?

  19. 19.

    moops

    December 21, 2020 at 7:52 pm

    @Baud: 

    I think you just have to send your own alternate electors to DC and have them select you to be President. No need to go whoring around looking for votes.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    December 21, 2020 at 7:54 pm

    @moops:

    No need to go whoring around looking for votes.

    But that’s the best part.

  21. 21.

    The Moar You Know

    December 21, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    I think a lot of people are going to watch their entire news bubble and the false reality contained within bursting.

    @cain: Nope.

    The core premise which will remain untouched:  Democrats are not Americans, therefore Democratic votes cannot be legal.

  22. 22.

    moops

    December 21, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    @jonas:  This won’t make it trial.   But this on-air back tracking is designed to soften the financial blow they are about to take when they make their settlement while admitting no wrongdoing.  It is designed to be part of the negotiations that are now certainly coming.

  23. 23.

    Mary G

    December 21, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    The lawyer’s letter was 20 pages long, with examples, and specifically said that retraction might not be good enough. I like to imagine the Fox lawyers faces as they read it.

    Of course, this won’t convince any of the true believers, who will chalk it up to the Deep State.

  24. 24.

    moops

    December 21, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    @The Moar You Know:   yeah, just read the Twitter feeds.  The audience is in too deep to believe any bursting bubble.  We are just going to get our next round of doubling down.

  25. 25.

    moops

    December 21, 2020 at 7:58 pm

    I’m curious if Dominion will make the firing of certain on-air talent a condition of the settlement.

  26. 26.

    Ken

    December 21, 2020 at 8:03 pm

    @Baud: Chavez is JFK, Jr. Omnes Omnibus.

    I am Omnibus.

  27. 27.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    December 21, 2020 at 8:03 pm

    Wait, wait, wait. Point of information. I remember the pink slime story. Are we now to believe that there is not in fact a beef “product” made of sweepings and discards processed into something the chemists think looks and tastes like meat?

  28. 28.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    December 21, 2020 at 8:04 pm

    I’m surprised there hasn’t been a porn movie titled “Deep State”.

    They really dropped the balls on this one.

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    This is the Newsmax anchor:

    Knew I recognized this host … fun fact, he was barred from the securities industry https://t.co/PMS6gVn92T pic.twitter.com/wujEUPG39L

    — Justin Elliott (@JustinElliott) December 21, 2020

  30. 30.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:06 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: OT: did you get the email I sent across last night?

  31. 31.

    Brachiator

    December 21, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: 

    Yeah, Dr. Phil (has he delivered any babies?)

    Oh yeah, that’s right. Very good.

    Or Dr Laura

    And of course, Dr Pepper

  32. 32.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 21, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    Mark Meadows @MarkMeadows · 2h
    Several members of Congress just finished a meeting in the Oval Office with President @realDonaldTrump, preparing to fight back against mounting evidence of voter fraud.
    Stay tuned.

    this morning Meadows was one of the enablers who had become a guard rail

  33. 33.

    Chyron HR

    December 21, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    Styrofoam is not made from kittens
    The U.F.O. was a paper plate
    Lyndon B. Johnson did not provide the voice of Yosemite Sam
    Roy Rogers was not buried inside his horse
    The other U.F.O. was an upside-down salad spinner
    Our universities are not “hotbeds” of anything
    Audrey Hepburn never weighed 400 pounds
    The “Cheers” gang is not a real gang
    Salt water does not “chase the thirsties away”
    Licking an electrical outlet will not turn you into a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger

  34. 34.

    Baud

    December 21, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Mark Meadows @MarkMeadows · 2h
    Several members of Congress just finished a meeting in the Oval Office with President @realDonaldTrump, preparing to fight back against mounting evidence of voter fraud.
    Stay tuned. Please donate.

    Fixed.

    ETA: The idiot wants to fight the evidence of voter fraud.  Not the fraud, but the evidence of it.

  35. 35.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    December 21, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    OT – I just went down the rabbit hole of Cameo (that thing where you hire popular actors to record greetings or messages of congratulations, etc. for your friends and family).

    Pretty cool – I’ve got a daughter who’d be really jazzed to hear from either Crowley or Lucifer from Supernatural ($100 for Crowley, $50 for Lucifer). The Office cast is more expensive – Kevin, Packer, Toby and David Wallace are available.  Lots of shows are represented!

  36. 36.

    debbie

    December 21, 2020 at 8:11 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    I wish Soros would.

  37. 37.

    hueyplong

    December 21, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    This is the bestest thing ever on balloonjuice (until Trump Asphyxiated By Own Feces)

  38. 38.

    debbie

    December 21, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Oprah turned out to be right. Turned out there was such a thing as mad cow disease.  ??

  39. 39.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    December 21, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    @Brachiator: Don’t forget Dr. John, Dr. Hook, Doctor Who, and Dr. J.

  40. 40.

    Ken

    December 21, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I’d bet the Doctor has delivered a baby or two, over the course of her very long lives.

  41. 41.

    zhena gogolia

    December 21, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    @hells littlest angel:

    Hell, they didn’t even pronounce Soros correctly, if you want to be Hungarian about it.

  42. 42.

    Oklahomo

    December 21, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  Yes, he’s still around. But, he opened up a minor can of hell early on in the pandemic when he was opposed to lock downs in a Fox interview.

  43. 43.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    December 21, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    @Baud: Yeah, the phrasing is odd.

    There was in fact a case today here in PA of a dead person voting.

    For Trump.

    I’m sure the Republicans will be demanding the maximum penalties the law allows, or more.

  44. 44.

    debbie

    December 21, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    @cain:

    I hope they also go after Limbaugh, Beck, etc.

  45. 45.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 21, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Ha! That’s nothing! Joe Biden’s infant daughter (Naomi, aka Amy) faked her own death in that traffic accident 42 years ago and grew up to become Amy Coney Barrett. The incontrovertible proof of this is that the family car was hit by a truck full of corncobs, and — I hope you’re sitting down — the name of the turkey Trump pardoned at Thanksgiving was “Cob.”

    Wonkette lays out all the legal reasoning: https://www.wonkette.com/is-amy-coney-barrett-secretly-joe-bidens-dead-daughter-qanon-creeps-think-so

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    December 21, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    You are supposed to understand that the story was extremely one sided and presented the “lean finely textured beef” business in an unfair light. I don’t know enough about the issue to know if that’s true, but it’s at least a facially reasonable complaint. A lot of criticism of processed food in the media is based on a gut reaction to the way it’s processed and ignores the substantial effort food processors have made to ensure their food is provably safe.

    More generally, there are two conflicting issues in the way we treat food in this country.  On the one hand, we want food that we perceive as wholesome and recognizable.  On the other hand, we demand food processors reduce waste by using every part of the food.  Unfortunately, some of the things that are done to reduce waste result in products that we see as weird, disgusting, and unrecognizable, like pink slime.  You can’t have it both ways.

  47. 47.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Don’t forget:

  48. 48.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    December 21, 2020 at 8:21 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Suspecting that you were right, I did a quick Google, then erased my search history – it’s a rough trade leather gay bareback orgy title from 2018.

    Here’s to the Industry – they’re always ready to capitalize a popular phrase….

  49. 49.

    Baud

    December 21, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    Wilkerson says Flynn should be called back to active duty and court martialed.

     

    ETA: On Hayes show.

  50. 50.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    December 21, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:   Of course, no Doctor would be complete without this (video)

  51. 51.

    zhena gogolia

    December 21, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    @Baud:

    Who is Wilkerson?

  52. 52.

    Raoul Paste

    December 21, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    Apparently even Pat Robertson is feeling the heat .   He’s telling Trump to give it up  and concede,  and he is publicly  saying  that Trump’s behaviour is erratic

    Is there any doubt that Robertsons motivation is fear and money?   His organisation can be sued too.   The threat of economic annihilation seems to be the key to dealing with the cancerous right-wing media

  53. 53.

    SFBayAreaGal

    December 21, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    The television show Bull is based on Dr. Phil’s life when he was a jury consultant.

  54. 54.

    SFBayAreaGal

    December 21, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    @Baud: I was telling my sister this yesterday.

  55. 55.

    trollhattan

    December 21, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    @Baud:

    Beginning to think this Mark Meadows person is not terribly bright.

    preparing to fight back against mounting evidence of voter fraud.

    Fight that mounting evidence mister president sir. It’s encroaching on your safe space.

  56. 56.

    MagdaInBlack

    December 21, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:  Oh I’m glad you brought that one up. I just saw it.  These people live in an entirely different universe. Good lord!

  57. 57.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    December 21, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @Baud:

    If doable, I recommend  it highly. Same for MacInerney.

    Wouldn’t they have to maintain IRR status?

  58. 58.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @Baud: Not until after 20 JAN 2020.

     

    @zhena gogolia: LTC (ret) Lawrence Wilkerson. He was Secretary Powell’s long time chief of staff. Including when Powell was Secretary of State.

  59. 59.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: The gag at USAWC was to do it with “colonel”. Until they got to me and then it was “doctor”.

  60. 60.

    trollhattan

    December 21, 2020 at 8:32 pm

    @Raoul Paste:

    Ever since Pat Robertson blamed 9/11 on the gays that very same day, I’ve made it a habit not to pay close attention to things Pat Robertson says. Am surprised the dude’s still alive. How?

  61. 61.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    December 21, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I did a quick Google, then erased my search history

    Foolish mortal. You think that Google will forget?

    Your sidebar ads are about to get very interesting.

  62. 62.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: No. Retired general officers/flag officers aren’t retired in the same way that other military retirees are. They are more easily subjected to recall. Though all other military retirees are also subject to recall.

  63. 63.

    zhena gogolia

    December 21, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Thanks. I went to Leslie Jones’s twitter (my main source of news), but she wasn’t discussing his background.

  64. 64.

    Roger Moore

    December 21, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    @Brachiator:

    And of course, Dr Pepper

    Believe it or not, but the inventor of Dr. Pepper actually was an MD.

  65. 65.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    December 21, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @trollhattan: As you know, only the good die young.

  66. 66.

    Another Scott

    December 21, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: … Dr. Otto…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  67. 67.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 21, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    On the other hand, we demand food processors reduce waste by using every part of the food.

    We do??  I keep missing the memos.

  68. 68.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 21, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    Can this guy also sue FB/Twitter etc., in his defamation suit?  Please say “yes”…

  69. 69.

    Another Scott

    December 21, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: One of the tropes I remember from school was that Native Americans used every part of the bison.  And that was good!

    But us using every part of cattle and turkeys and pigs is bad!

    ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  70. 70.

    terben

    December 21, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    “living in a refrigerator box behind the strip club eating dog food out of the can“

    As someone who was actually born in Yorkshire, all I can say is ‘Luxury!’

  71. 71.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 21, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    @Raoul Paste:

    Apparently even Pat Robertson is feeling the heat . He’s telling Trump to give it up and concede, and he is publicly saying that Trump’s behaviour is erratic

    Before the election, Robertson was telling his followers that God told him Trump would be re-elected.

    Those evangelicals do love their false prophets, so this won’t be a problem for Pat.

  72. 72.

    Another Scott

    December 21, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    Gradually, and then suddenly…

    Breaking: A Fairfax judge just struck down jury trials to be held in courtrooms with pictures of (almost all white) former judges because it creates a potential racial bias against a non white defendant. Read it here:https://t.co/feKXkIdgoQ

    — Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) December 22, 2020

    Good, good.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  73. 73.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    Breaking. We are so fucked. Biden is going to have to raze Washington to the ground and rebuild it.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/us/politics/russia-hack-treasury.html WASHINGTON — The Russian hackers who penetrated United States government agencies broke into the email system used by the Treasury Department’s most senior leadership, a Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee said on Monday, the first detail of how deeply Moscow burrowed into the Trump administration’s networks.

  74. 74.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:Can this guy also sue FB/Twitter etc., in his defamation suit?  Please say “yes”…

    No, but he can sue anyone who knowingly posted lies on FB and Twitter.

    Love to see Donald Trump himself sued for both libel and slander. He’s done enough of it.

  75. 75.

    Ken

    December 21, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    @trollhattan: Am surprised the dude’s still alive. How?

    As I recall from The Devil and Daniel Webster, after the original seven years are done, the Devil offers an extension — provided you have children…

  76. 76.

    SFBayAreaGal

    December 21, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    Woohoo, fog has rolled back. I’m able to see Saturn and Jupiter .

  77. 77.

    westyny

    December 21, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    @moops: Moar hoaring!

  78. 78.

    TS (the original)

    December 21, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    @Kent:

    Love to see Donald Trump himself sued for both libel and slander. He’s done enough of it.

    And he’s done it to people who are/were not public figures. One defence gone already.

  79. 79.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    @zhena gogolia: He also has a snaggle tooth

  80. 80.

    Mike in NC

    December 21, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    Forget about the Red Slime. I’m eager to see the Orange Slime slither off to Merde-A-Lago next month.

  81. 81.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 21, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    @Kent: E Jean Carroll is suing him for defamation, I think one of the other women he called a liar when she went public about his sexual assault

  82. 82.

    Dan B

    December 21, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Are you expecting some “interesting” ads shortly?

  83. 83.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    @TS (the original): And in 30 days he is just an ordinary citizen with no longer any claim to “executive privilege” or any other excuse.

  84. 84.

    Mike in NC

    December 21, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    @Brachiator:  Dr Fine, Dr Howard, Dr Fine

  85. 85.

    Adam L Silverman

    December 21, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    @Kent: As I wrote the other night: the strategic assumption has to be that they got into everything and have compromised everything.

  86. 86.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 21, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    @Ken: No, you’re fucking not.

  87. 87.

    TS (the original)

    December 21, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    @Kent:

    I think he may pardon himself – for all and any items arising during the period he was president.  Then again, none of his current “associates” are person enough to tell him of what he will be facing come 20 January.

  88. 88.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    @TS (the original):I think he may pardon himself – for all and any items arising during the period he was president.  Then again, none of his current “associates” are person enough to tell him of what he will be facing come 20 January.

    Libel and slander (i.e. defamation) are not Federal crimes.  They are always tried under state defamation laws.  He can’t pardon himself for that.

  89. 89.

    trollhattan

    December 21, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    @SFBayAreaGal:

    Lucky!

    Why you send it here?

  90. 90.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:@Kent: As I wrote the other night: the strategic assumption has to be that they got into everything and have compromised everything.

    Rebuilding the entire Federal computer infrastructure is probably looong overdue to begin with, but is also going to be a hell of a stimulus and jobs package for tech workers and tech contractors.  It will be nationwide too, as there are Federal computer systems everywhere.

  91. 91.

    Keith P.

    December 21, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    Very ironic if Newsmax/OAN went the way of Gawker, ultimately purchased for peanuts at a bankruptcy auction by Stephen Colbert.

  92. 92.

    M31

    December 21, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    @Kent: Senior Trump Treasury officials? their conversations were probably so boring; “Money is so cool!” “wow, money, let’s take it all” “Cool, look at all the money!”.

    Putin would be like ‘amateurs, no one can shake down the oligarchy like I can’

  93. 93.

    trollhattan

    December 21, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    @Ken:

    As I recall from The Devil and Daniel Webster, after the original seven years are done, the Devil offers an extension — provided you have children…

    Should that apply to Trump, his response will be, “Take any you want, except the pretty one.”

  94. 94.

    Ken

    December 21, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Sorry, was making a Spartacus joke. At least your nym is unique – there’s someone else who’s been using “Ken”, and I’ve been pondering whether I should change mine — but I was here first!

  95. 95.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    @M31:

    @Kent: Senior Trump Treasury officials? their conversations were probably so boring; “Money is so cool!” “wow, money, let’s take it all” “Cool, look at all the money!”.

    Putin would be like ‘amateurs, no one can shake down the oligarchy like I can’

    Boring?   It’s probably full of traitorous plotting to subvert the rule of law for Trump and the Russians now have them all by the balls.

  96. 96.

    TS (the original)

    December 21, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    @Kent:  Well that’s a blessing – I did not know that.

  97. 97.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    December 21, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    Private mode – I ain’t no dummy….

  98. 98.

    Mary G

    December 21, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    The deplorables keep losing:

    Robert E Lee statue removed from US Capitol overnight pic.twitter.com/rkFN9MuSY9— Erik Wasson (@elwasson) December 21, 2020

    Also, too WaPo reports that the Covid stimulus bill includes raft of provisions to fight climate change.

    The most substantial federal investment in green technology in a decade includes billions for solar, wind, battery storage and carbon capture. Congress also agreed to cut the use of HFCs, chemicals used in refrigeration that are driving global warming.

    Sweet!

  99. 99.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 21, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    @Kent: Hillary’s server was far more secure.

  100. 100.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 21, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Yeah, I just got home from work and am planning on watching the game tonight.  I am a Racing 92 fan so I am happy to watch even though I know the result.

  101. 101.

    TS (the original)

    December 21, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @Ken:

    I’ve been pondering whether I should change mine

    I had the same issue – hence my change of nym a year or two ago – and then the duplicate disappeared.

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 21, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I will not read that.  My brain thanks me.

  103. 103.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 21, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    Rachel Maddow reports from “sources”: Federal prosecutors discussing request for Giuliani’s electronic communications.

  104. 104.

    M31

    December 21, 2020 at 9:11 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Biden’s incoming tech team has got an astonishing job ahead. The mind boggles.

    Who knows what kind of spyware has burrowed deep into all kinds of systems with 4 years of Trumpian malfeasance and Jared’s security clearance.

    and who knows what the fuck secret shit Trump spilled over his unsecured cell phone

    well, besides Russia, China, Israel, the Saudis, etc.

  105. 105.

    Ian

    December 21, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    I have worked around meat butchering and processing.  Pink slime was not a lie.

  106. 106.

    Patricia Kayden

    December 21, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    @hells littlest angel: Yeah, the fact that Hugo Chavez is dead is a hint that Sidney Powell is stark raving mad.

  107. 107.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    @M31: It will be a good excuse to abandon a lot of bullshit old legacy systems and build up modern stuff from scratch.  But it is going to be enormously expensive and time consuming to do.

  108. 108.

    Patricia Kayden

    December 21, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I hope federal prosecutors go after these treasonous Trump lawyers with the full force of the law. They need to lose their law licenses and be prosecuted for treason. Thankfully, once he leaves office, Trump can’t pardon any more criminals so their goose will be cooked.

  109. 109.

    Amir Khalid

    December 21, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    A news organisation with any principles would have given the correction the same prominence as the erroneous story. In this case that would mean Fox and Newsmax and that entire ilk would have to go 24×7 confessing to their “election fraud” lies. I consider no less to be a fitting and sufficient penance.

  110. 110.

    dmsilev

    December 21, 2020 at 9:19 pm

    Excellence in Headlines:

    Trump assembles a ragtag crew of conspiracy-minded allies in flailing bid to reverse election loss

    With his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud rejected by dozens of judges and GOP leaders, President Trump has turned to a ragtag group of conspiracy theorists, media-hungry lawyers and other political misfits in a desperate attempt to hold on to power after his election loss.

    The president’s orbit has grown more extreme as his more mainstream allies, including Attorney General William P. Barr, have declined to endorse his increasingly radical plans to overturn the will of the voters. Trump’s unofficial election advisory council now includes a felon, adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a White House trade adviser and a Russian agent’s former lover.

    Edit: if you need a program to keep track of the cast,

    Gathered around the Resolute Desk on Friday were: Sidney Powell, the lawyer who has promoted a baseless allegation that hostile nations manipulated voting machines to flip votes for Biden; Michael Flynn, the recently pardoned former national security adviser who has publicly suggested invoking martial law to “basically rerun an election”; former Overstock chief executive Patrick Byrne, who now promotes election conspiracy theories; and White House officials including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Staff Secretary Derek Lyons and Counsel Pat Cipollone. Giuliani joined the meeting by phone.

  111. 111.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    December 21, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    @Kent:

    You know whose server was never compromised?

    Yup.

    Of course, when I think of Internet-linked control functions and critical databases being subject to intrusion and manipulation, you’d think that none of these dorks watched the pilot of the Battlestar Galactica reboot as to Adama’s problem with networked computers.

  112. 112.

    Martin

    December 21, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    @Baud: I voted for you, and I’m pretty everyone I know voted for you. It inconceivable anyone else could have won this election.

  113. 113.

    Baud

    December 21, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    It’s a fitting bookend to the Trump era.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    December 21, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    Electing Ossoff & Warnock = a Senate that works for the people:? $1,200 direct stimulus checks ?REAL rental assistance for state & local governments? Bonus checks for frontline workersWe need to remove McConnell as majority leader. #GeorgiaVoteBlueRunoff #DDC https://t.co/RPQJJsOseQ— Leia (@TheSWPrincess) December 21, 2020

  115. 115.

    M31

    December 21, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    @dmsilev: “ragtag” makes it sound like a bunch of scrappy kids, as opposed to a bunch of treasonous anti-democratic unamerican pieces of shit

    but ‘flailing’ is pretty good

  116. 116.

    Martin

    December 21, 2020 at 9:29 pm

  117. 117.

    Amir Khalid

    December 21, 2020 at 9:31 pm

    @Chyron HR:

    Licking an electrical outlet will not turn you into a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger

    I am disappointed by this news.

  118. 118.

    dmsilev

    December 21, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    @M31: It’s a cross between the Scooby Gang, the Dirty Dozen, and the A Team. Except, you know, the exact opposite in competence. Also, Trump hates dogs.

  119. 119.

    M31

    December 21, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    @Kent: it would be such a huge task, it’s hard to imagine — all that data, who knows how many formats, how much crucial stuff that has to be saved, maintained, aligned, jesus. Even the tiniest ‘cleaning up database’ work (to adapt an old system to a new one) I’ve been involved with was a fiddly awful chore with all kinds of ways to break it hahahaha

    I wonder what is the oldest legacy system still running in the federal gov’t? I’m sure there are some offices still using 8″ floppies. Maybe they got rid of the punch cards, though

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 21, 2020 at 9:38 pm

    @Patricia Kayden: I always thought it would be a pretty safe bet that the books, and files, of Giuliani Associates or whatever it is wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny, and that’s before he became Chief Flying Monkey to Big Orange Glob of Corruption

    And I wonder if Letitia James is getting any heads ups from SDNY, how much and how closely state and federal prosecutors can cooperate, when an Attorney General is watching.

  121. 121.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    December 21, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Should that apply to Trump, his response will be, “Take any you want, except the pretty one.”

    The joke’s on the Devil. Trump already sold his kids to the Unseelie Court, decades ago. He forgot to include a clause in the contract, insisting that the changeling substitutes be realistic.

  122. 122.

    Gary K

    December 21, 2020 at 9:43 pm

    I love the goombah delivery of John Tabacco. Was Christopher Moltisanti unavailable?

  123. 123.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 9:43 pm

    @M31: NOAA had a bunch of old mainframe computers running old legacy scientific survey stuff when I was working there in the 90s and early 2000s.  Basically  old mainframe databases full of fisheries data that were running totally proprietary one-off software systems designed to do things like convert midwater acoustic fisheries surveys into stock assessments and such.  The people who originally designed all that stuff are long retired.   It’s nothing you can replace with anything off the shelf.  Basically complicated algorithms tweaked over decades that convert hydro-acoustic data from survey ships into fisheries biomass estimates.  That sort of thing.  Only a handful of people even know how the stuff works.

    I expect there are similar examples all across the government because so much of it is utterly unique and not duplicated by any commercial applications.

    Of course these are not the systems that the Russians are hacking into.

  124. 124.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 9:46 pm

    @M31:@Kent: it would be such a huge task, it’s hard to imagine — all that data, who knows how many formats, how much crucial stuff that has to be saved, maintained, aligned, jesus. Even the tiniest ‘cleaning up database’ work (to adapt an old system to a new one) I’ve been involved with was a fiddly awful chore with all kinds of ways to break it hahahaha

    I think they have to build up new systems from scratch for the critical secure stuff and just keep all the old legacy stuff running separately and try to patch it up as best they can on a triage basis.  And we will have several decades of old and new running side by side.

  125. 125.

    Ruckus

    December 21, 2020 at 9:46 pm

    @M31:

    I understand it is the IRS who still runs on mag tape

  126. 126.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 21, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: …and Dr. Winston O’Boogie*.

    *aka John Lennon.

  127. 127.

    Bill Arnold

    December 21, 2020 at 9:49 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Robertson was telling his followers that God told him Trump would be re-elected.

    I have been wondering today whether Pat Robertson has been thinking about who exactly it was who was whispering in his mind’s ear. A Prince of Lies, perhaps?

  128. 128.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 21, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    @Kent: Bullshit old legacy systems run not just in government, but all over business and industry. There are still mainframes, there’s still a market for COBOL programmers.

  129. 129.

    Another Scott

    December 21, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    @M31: An example – ERAM replaces Host:

    [Avionics Today 05-01-2015] “As of today, Host is history,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced yesterday morning at a press conference regarding the rollout of the new Air Traffic Control (ATC) En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) system held at the Washington Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va. ERAM, which was contracted in 1990 to replace the agency’s antiquated Host system, has finally taken over at all 20 ATC centers in the United States, enabling many of the NextGen air traffic modernization initiatives that the FAA is currently working to put in place.

    25 years.

    For one system in one agency. And, IIRC, there’s a big push to use GPS systems now and not rely on ATC so much, so things are not “over”.

    The federal government runs gigantic specialized networks of computers that have to run for decades. And can’t go down for weeks/months/years while some new system replaces it.

    As with the rest of the government, there are complex rules about how the system is specified, who can bid on the contracts, how the contracts are awarded, how the contracts are monitored, and how the systems are maintained and upgraded. Technology often marches on at a much faster clip than the contract requirements.
    Congress is very, very bad about funding decades-long projects, when their main concern too often is the next election…

    Given all the other real constraints on the federal budget, don’t expect hundreds of billions of dollars to suddenly appear to fix any security issues. There will be money spent, but it will be modest (is my guess). Upgrades will of necessity be piecemeal.

    IMHO.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  130. 130.

    Yutsano

    December 21, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    @Another Scott: The Italians use every part of the pig except the oink. And that’s only because they can’t catch it!

  131. 131.

    debbie

    December 21, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    @M31:

    Bet it turns out that Trump ended some oversight group or disbanded some committee that provided an opportunity for the Russians to get into systems.

  132. 132.

    Elie

    December 21, 2020 at 9:56 pm

     

    This is gonna be fun to watch.  Dominion and Smartmatic don’t have to play this shit with Fox, OAN or Newsmax.  They are not politicians who have to worry about these jerks.  They are private companies with enough dough to protect themselves and to punish someone who forgets that….

  133. 133.

    Bill Arnold

    December 21, 2020 at 9:57 pm

    Ah, Pat Robertson has been on the God Will Reverse The Election (well, until yesterday?) : ““the Lord himself” will make sure that Donald Trump is president for another four years.”
    Pat Robertson has made false prophesies many times, yet he never seems to get called out for false prophecy.

  134. 134.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 21, 2020 at 9:58 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: They should ask Ukrainian intelligence. I’ll bet real cash money they have every word he uttered while in-country, and probably here as well.

  135. 135.

    Ruckus

    December 21, 2020 at 10:00 pm

    @M31:

    I’d bet the hardest part would be the language and age of the servers/data would be 8 bit, or maybe 16, so the structure of the languages would be so far different from what’s used today that even finding enough people with the knowledge of both would be very difficult. Company I worked for still had every thing for all their main business, which was a membership organization that’s now 96 yrs old, written in Cobol and finding people 20 yrs ago who could maintain it was tough. The federal government started to computerize earlier than that organization did.

  136. 136.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 21, 2020 at 10:03 pm

    @Another Scott: The real problem is you don’t “fix security issues.” Security has to be designed in from the beginning, and with the Internet, it wasn’t. Internet communications is based on 40-year-old protocols that were designed when there was a handful of systems and the operators all knew each other.

  137. 137.

    Bill Arnold

    December 21, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    @Kent:
    The press is all-in on attributing these attacks to Russians/SVR without solid forensic evidence, just patterns. Wish they wouldn’t do that; at least (and reasonably) say “probable”. Also, a Microsoft analysis notes that there were two backdoors found in the SolarWinds Orion SW, and that they appeared to be installed/used by different actors. Bold mine:
    Analyzing Solorigate, the compromised DLL file that started a sophisticated cyberattack, and how Microsoft Defender helps protect customers (December 18, 2020, Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team)

    Additional malware discovered
    In an interesting turn of events, the investigation of the whole SolarWinds compromise led to the discovery of an additional malware that also affects the SolarWinds Orion product but has been determined to be likely unrelated to this compromise and used by a different threat actor. The malware consists of a small persistence backdoor in the form of a DLL file named App_Web_logoimagehandler.ashx.b6031896.dll, which is programmed to allow remote code execution through SolarWinds web application server when installed in the folder “inetpub\SolarWinds\bin\”.

    This will (may/could be) of course be used to spin up narratives about china and russia, etc. Ugh. The second backdoor found could easily have been installed and used by a non-state actor, and it is unclear whether the main actor was the one that triggered (accidentally?) a Duo MFA new-device alert (including a message to the employee) at FireEye, triggering an internal analysis that found the breach in the SolarWinds Orion SW.

  138. 138.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 21, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    OT: gah, why do half the leftists in the world insist the Democratic Party has been continuously moving to the right? I’ve been watching it for 40+ years. It WAS moving right… from the 1970s until about 2004. The defeat of John Kerry was about the furthest point. Been moving leftward ever since then, in just about every way. The center of the party is currently left of Obama. Scott Lemieux is right about this.

  139. 139.

    Bill Arnold

    December 21, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Hillary’s server was far more secure.

    Smaller attack surface, at least.
    The Russians (it was thought) were in the State Department unclassified email servers for years. Perhaps exorcised in (2014?) but who knows for sure except the Russians.

  140. 140.

    Yutsano

    December 21, 2020 at 10:27 pm

    @Ruckus:

    I understand it is the IRS who still runs on mag tape

    Confirmed.

  141. 141.

    HalfAssedHomesteader

    December 21, 2020 at 10:27 pm

    “I’m reluctant to cheer on a defamation case against news organizations, even networks that appear to be amplifying dangerous lies.” [my emphasis]

    Holy mother of god.

  142. 142.

    billcinsd

    December 21, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    @Roger Moore: ignores the substantial effort food processors have made to ensure their food is provably safe.

    I think you mean, ignores the substantial efforts food processors are forced to make because they didn’t used to make food that was safe

  143. 143.

    MobiusKlein

    December 21, 2020 at 10:38 pm

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Nor Doctor Seuss

  144. 144.

    dnfree

    December 21, 2020 at 10:43 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I retired from 45 years as a programmer analyst etc. in 2011. On the day I retired, there was not a single line of code I had written still in use anywhere. (The reason I retired when I did was that my last employer replaced most of their custom code with SAP.). But I never wrote in COBOL, other than a little maintenance, and I didn’t work for the government. Y2K resulted in replacement of a lot of old code.

  145. 145.

    Uncle Cosmo

    December 21, 2020 at 10:46 pm

    @Baud: “Dp you solemnly swear to uphold and defend the Constipation of the United States against all enemas, foreign and domestic?”

  146. 146.

    Another Scott

    December 21, 2020 at 10:50 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: True, and well known, but we do not live in the best of all possible worlds.  And it’s not just the network, of course.

    In 2018 DARPA had a BAA for a program to address the issue of figuring out ways to find software vulnerabilities faster.

    The Department of Defense (DoD) maintains information systems that depend on Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software, Government off-the-shelf (GOTS) software, and Free and open source (FOSS) software. Securing this diverse technology base requires highly skilled hackers who reason about the functionality of software and identify novel vulnerabilities. This process requires hundreds, if not thousands of hours of manual effort per discovered vulnerability and does not scale sufficiently to secure the continuously growing technology base. Hackers use program analysis techniques and tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, but this process requires considerable expertise, manual effort, and time. Automated program analysis capabilities can reason over only a few vulnerability classes without human involvement, such as memory corruption or integer overflow, but cannot address the majority of vulnerabilities. These unaddressed vulnerability types depend on subtle semantic and contextual information, which is beyond the grasp of modern automation. Scaling up existing approaches to address the size and complexity of modern software packages is not possible given the limited number of expert hackers in the world, much less the DoD.

    […]

    Even if the ARPANET/Internet had been “secure” from the beginning, no complex, useful system can survive and thrive for 50 years without being re-engineered[1].  We’d still be having the same discussions today.  ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    [1] – Even Knuth made mistakes!

  147. 147.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 21, 2020 at 11:00 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Don’t forget Dr. Demento.

  148. 148.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 21, 2020 at 11:00 pm

    Hey! Look who’s getting all unifying again!

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC
    I accept that by challenging the idea that we should support pro-Trump Dems in safe seats, I’m gonna take a few knocks. What’s disappointing to hear is that this decision incl open discussion of political donations. As a party that talks abt money in politics, we shld do better.

    I like the way she never names names, like when she talked about her “colleagues” who view BLM as an enemy. It’s so much easier to not have to argue specifics….

  149. 149.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    December 21, 2020 at 11:28 pm

    @trollhattan: Satan has standards.

  150. 150.

    Kent

    December 21, 2020 at 11:50 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “Pro-Trump” Dems in safe seats?

    Yes, I do think you have to name names.  Who are these “pro-Trump” Dems in safe seats?

    Far as I recall, Tulsi is the only Dem in Congress who didn’t vote to impeach the bastard.

  151. 151.

    Yutsano

    December 22, 2020 at 12:08 am

    @Kent: Tulsi didn’t run for her seat again. So unless AOC is twisting the knife on her way out, it’s not Tulsi. I think Hawai’i still has an all Democratic delegation but have to check.

    Still two Democrats with a Native in there now!

  152. 152.

    Jay

    December 22, 2020 at 12:09 am

    @Kent:

    she’s talking about votes on legislation.

    Kyrsten Sinema has 51.1% of the time, voted for Yurtle and the Orange Douchebags legislation.

    It’s a “call out” on the Blue Dogs.

    Naming names, would be devisive.

  153. 153.

    Yutsano

    December 22, 2020 at 12:21 am

    Oh yeah. We got a new bill too.

  154. 154.

    Kent

    December 22, 2020 at 12:45 am

    @Jay: What legislation?

    Name me one piece of legislation passed by the Senate and signed into law during Sinema’s tenure in the Senate that didn’t also pass the House under Pelosi.

  155. 155.

    Jay

    December 22, 2020 at 1:23 am

    @Kent:

    way too much “ in the weeds” detail for my time and fog brain.

    Progressive Dems have been calling out Blue Dogs for decades,

    sometimes by name,

    But now, because of AOC Derangement Syndrome, now it’s a “thing”.

  156. 156.

    Steeplejack

    December 22, 2020 at 1:25 am

    @zhena gogolia:

    [. . .] Leslie Jones’s twitter (my main source of news) [. . .].

    ?. You could do worse!

  157. 157.

    SWMBO

    December 22, 2020 at 3:55 am

    @Chyron HR: There goes my bucket list….sigh

  158. 158.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 22, 2020 at 7:25 am

    way too much “ in the weeds” detail for my time and fog brain.

    LOL

  159. 159.

    WaterGirl

    December 22, 2020 at 8:38 am

    @M31: I almost think you have to silo all the old stuff, take it off the network, and stand up entirely new systems that we can know are secure.

  160. 160.

    WaterGirl

    December 22, 2020 at 8:41 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    …the idea that we should support pro-Trump Dems in safe seats,

    Do pro-Trump dems in safe seats even exist?

  161. 161.

    Miss Bianca

    December 22, 2020 at 10:27 am

    @Jay: It’s almost as if, when challenged, you can’t bother to provide the receipts.

    Kind of like AOC in this instance.

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