Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

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

Come on, man.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

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

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

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

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

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

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

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

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

You are here: Home / Politics / domestic terrorists / Friday Evening Open Thread: A Database of the Insurrectionists

Friday Evening Open Thread: A Database of the Insurrectionists

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In light of this:

And let’s not forget the Highly-Placed Individuals…

It’s all fun & games…

Reader Interactions

194Comments

  3. 3.

    Mike R

    May these people hence forth find gainful employment an impossibility. Along with no longer being tolerated in civilized company. Oh yeah might add a vacation in a tropical resort somewhere in Cuba, run by the U. S. Navy.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    Many other Americans, however, seem to be relishing their chance to narc on their Facebook frenemies

    Almost makes me wish I were active on Facebook.

  7. 7.

    The Thin Black Duke

    May what’s left of the rest of their lives be mockery and ruin. Never forgive, never forget.

  8. 8.

    Martin

    If I had to guess, Cheney is dropping a dime on her fellow MoC. The insurrectionist caucus had gotten the upper hand on her over the last week, and I think her only shot to survive this is to tie them to the more obviously dangerous Green/Bobert. Makes it a lot harder for McCarthy to push for her ouster with this stuff hanging out there and McCarthy not acting on them.

  10. 10.

    Jeffro

    @Martin: Yup.  It’s not like LC is going to be intimidated by these (murderous, stupid) clowns.  She knows the score.

    I mean, come on, FoxBots: when a  dumbass congressman from Florida is taking time out of his busy schedule to go whip up MAGAts in Wyoming against their own and lone congresswoman, you KNOW that the GOP has gone completely off the rails and needs to have all of its sharp objects taken away.  All of them.

  16. 16.

    Ken

    So I’ve been waiting to discuss this since The Pale Scot posted it in Anne Laurie’s respite thread (which AL tagged “I will cut you if you muddy this thread”, in case you’re wondering why I was waiting):

    So the QAnon ‘Shaman’ is willing to testify against trump at the impeachment trail.

    This may be the first trial in history where both the prosecution and defense witnesses say the same thing.  “Yes, he told us the election was stolen, and we had to break into the Capitol to stop the steal.”

    The only difference will be that the sham shaman is angry because Trump didn’t give him a pardon, while the pro-Trump witnesses still think it was a great idea and the only problem was it didn’t work.

  19. 19.

    Roger Moore

    @Martin: 
    That would be awesome. I would love for the active insurrectionists in the Republican caucus to be prosecuted, convicted, and sent away for the rest of their natural lives. It would be even better if it were other Republicans who turned them in. The only thing that would put a cherry on top is if it triggered a civil war within the GOP.

  20. 20.

    Ken

    @Jeffro: you KNOW that the GOP has gone completely off the rails and needs to have all of its sharp objects taken away.

    Though as long as they’re only using the sharp objects on one another…

  21. 21.

    RSA

    Reilly gives a good perspective on the dilemma:

    Some Americans are making really tough decisions about turning in someone they love after they participated in the U.S. Capitol attack.

    To be clear, Americans who are reporting Capitol insurrectionists are doing the right thing. But as Reilly says, it can be hard! Especially if they’ve read Orwell:

    … for hardly a week passed in which ‘The Times’ did not carry a paragraph describing how some eavesdropping little sneak — ‘child hero’ was the phrase generally used — had overheard some compromising remark and denounced its parents to the Thought Police.

  23. 23.

    CarolDuhart2

    This could be a factor in why the January 17 stuff fizzled out.  Instead of being lauded as heroes, everybody gladly ratted them out and the act was universally condemned.  So no praise, help, and the reality of several years in Federal custody awaits them.

    They thought Trump would save them-instead they are treated as terrorists and will serve just as long.

  24. 24.

    Jeffro

    @Roger Moore: It already has triggered that civil war…when’s the last time a GOP congressman from one state traveled to another state specifically to rally that other state’s GOP voters against their GOP congresswoman?  Almost two full years out from the next election??

    Pure B-movie mob boss intimidation bullshit.

  25. 25.

    gene108

    I know a lot of folks here despise the DLC, but it was a rational response to two historically bad losses for president.

    Voters don’t like what you’re selling, make an effort to change. That’s how democracy is supposed to work. The politicians change to meet the voters where they are, while maintaining some core principles of what they stand for.

    The Republican Party really needs their “DLC moment” to admit there are things they could do better, which they do not seem capable of.

    They cannot admit anything they did has not worked perfectly. Even an insurrection Congressional Republicans witnessed first hand is not going to get them to admit any error on their part.

    We’re going to be stuck with ever crazier Republicans, because they cannot, under any circumstance, admit a mistake. They have to keep doubling down on the last stupid thing they did as a result.

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    I hate commenting in text mode.
    The Republican House and Senate caucuses clearly need to do a lot of house-cleaning. But agreeing to censure Reps and Senators who go beyond the pale — the MTGs, the Hawleys and Cruzes — will cause the party to lose face and the support of the base. Having anything to do with expelling them, which some of these people surely deserve, will excerbate the Republican minority in each chamber. So the party, which doesn’t have a strong moral spine to begin with, now has strong disincentives against doing the right thing. And it’s hard to see it doing that.

    Did I mention that I hate commenting in text mode?

  27. 27.

    burnspbesq

    I’m guessing Paxton will have minions working all weekend looking for a way to sue Gannett for invading the privacy of Texan defendants.

  29. 29.

    Baud

    @gene108:

    The GOP needs to lose a lot more to have their DLC moment.  That’s why our close losses in 2000 and 2016 were so devastating.

  32. 32.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: Yup. All through the 2020 cycle I was wondering if William Cohen, who was so emo in his denunciations of trump, would get off the fence and endorse Gideon. Not only did he not endorse Gideon, he endorsed Collins, saying she “deserved” reelection. Stuart Stephens, who has been (I think) the most honest of the never-trumpers with regard to race, shut down any discussion of Rob Portman’s cowardice and corruption on MSNBC the other night, because he’s known Rob Portman for X number of years.

    That’s one of the most powerful spells in the Beltway, convincing yourself that your old friend who does scummy things might actually be scummy. I remember in ’06 when Barbara Boxer dropped it in defense, and endorsement, of Joe Lieberman. Then she went to Netroots Nation, where she was shocked people wanted to talk about her endorsement of Lieberman.

  39. 39.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    I agree.

    The only way to get them to change is to beat them so regularly at the polls they have no choice, but to change.

    The problem is the EC, as it’s currently structured gives them the ability to win the White House, even if they lose the popular vote by millions.

    Democrats need to think of ways to fix this that can be done, like increasing the size of the House or win enough states that the compact to give their electoral votes to the popular vote winner happens.

  40. 40.

    trollhattan

    Have been wondering what Liz Cheney’s long game is. Chose not to run for senate, which would have been a slamdunk and a far more powerful seat in congress. She’s snarly as dad at liberals, but evidently is also “disappointed with you Republicans.”

  41. 41.

    Jeffro

    @danielx: right??

    What does it say about a person…or a party…that some scumbag would do this on the orders of a disgraced former president*?

    Ugh

  42. 42.

    VOR

    @RandomMonster: I have a relative on FB who went QAnon but tried to downplay it by claimed she was just fighting crimes against children. Since the election she has gone very quiet. She posted something about being sick of the Bernie meme and the comments were all people complaining about the socialist Democrats.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trollhattan:

    Have been wondering what Liz Cheney’s long game is. Chose not to run for senate, which would have been a slamdunk and a far more powerful seat in congress

    That only occurred to me after the 2020 cycle was over, I guess cause there was so much else going on. I wonder what made her change her mind after her (somewhat) splashy faceplant in 2014

  45. 45.

    germy

    Jen Psaki- “Everything that the past administration has put in place is under review”

    Trumpism is being exterminated. It’s a steady takedown of rotten policy fed by propaganda & secrecy. The nail in the coffin will be the DOJ holding ppl accountable for criminal & terrorist acts

    — Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) January 29, 2021

  46. 46.

    germy

    Discovering that seditionist Lauren Boebert has the same kind of Explore Talent modeling profile as Rudy Giuliani "voter fraud witness" Melissa Carone, I get less interested in her antics and more interested in "Who paid to recruit cyphers to overthrow the government?" pic.twitter.com/YjDO2cAENF

    — Eric Garland (@ericgarland) January 29, 2021

  47. 47.

    Brachiator

    @RSA:

    … for hardly a week passed in which ‘The Times’ did not carry a paragraph describing how some eavesdropping little sneak — ‘child hero’ was the phrase generally used — had overheard some compromising remark and denounced its parents to the Thought Police.

    Of course, the attack on the Capitol wasn’t just “a thought.”

  48. 48.

    danielx

    Note: I’ll swear I saw one of those people in that USA Today database in a local grocery some weeks back. He was wearing a TRUMP mask, so I marked him as an asshole immediately, My instincts were correct.

    One Joshua Wagner, from Greenwood, on the south side of Indianapolis. Facebook is evidently “temporarily hiding” some search details on him, which I find odd.

  49. 49.

    Martin

    @trollhattan: This is the civil war playing out in the party. Is the GOP in service to white Christian supremacy at all costs, burning the party down at all costs, or does the GOP survive, and in order to do so, they need to attract voters that the white Christian supremacist don’t believe are deserving of a vote.

    Trump put the former group in charge. Cheney is surfacing as the leader of the latter. The current trajectory of the GOP is nonviable. Sure, you can win in WY and AL, but not nationally. If Liz has any greater ambition, then she needs a GOP that isn’t just a political KKK, because that’s the trajectory.

  50. 50.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    OT, but I remember you talking last week about having to jump you and your wife’s car batteries because of non-use due to the pandemic. Have you tried just letting the cars idle for like 30 minutes every so often to charge the batteries?

  51. 51.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    So you don’t think we’re on the trajectory of a Orban/Putin-style dictatorship as soon as the next GOP admin? That’s my greatest fear tbh

  53. 53.

    geg6

    @RSA:

    Honest to god, I read an article last night (don’t remember where) about these people communicating on one of the encrypted chats pre- and post-1/6.  One of the screen names they quoted was “Tony Bologna.”  Now, that could be anyone.  But I knew a guy in high school, several years ahead of me, named Anthony Bologna.  His cousin is an old friend of mine and we are FB friends. His cousin Anthony comments on his posts all the time, especially the political ones.  My friend is a wild eyed liberal like me and Anthony is a gun nut Trumper.  I can’t help but wonder…

  54. 54.

    Martin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yeah. It’s not enough. I bought a  trickle charger and a jump start battery to go in the disaster kit. The trickle charger does the trick. Once a month I’ll charge the batteries back up in the driveway, at least until I can convince her to sell one of them.

  55. 55.

    Joe Falco

    @gene108: 

    The Republicans have had their moments a couple of times. There was Bobby Jindal in 2013 getting praise/condemnation that the GOP needed to stop being the “stupid party”. It’s just that though. A moment. And then it passes. And then the party doubles down because that’s how they’ve been since Reagan and Gingrich.

  56. 56.

    Jeffro

    Meanwhile,GOP toady Henry Olsen at the WaPo is calling for the GOP to try and ‘outflank’ Biden/Dems on green energy (since it will quickly swamp the Republicans along with this MAGA bullshit amongst the younger voting cohorts coming up)

    To which I say, good luck, Mr. Olsen.  That ship has way, waaaaay sailed.

  58. 58.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    There’s definitely too much defense of club members.  Just as an example, look at how many Democrats were willing to endorse Bill Barr for AG because he was a member of the Very Serious People club.  The media is clearly guilty of it, too.

  61. 61.

    waratah

    I think the Dems are having fun tormenting the Republicans on the Rescue Bill.
    I did not catch her name as I was reading but when I looked up she was saying they want to go big and put $2000 a month as long as the pandemic lasts.

  62. 62.

    John S.

    Cori Bush (@CoriBush)
    On Jan. 13 — after members tested positive for COVID-19 after being locked down with her on Jan. 6 — Marjorie Taylor Greene came up from behind me, loud and unmasked. I called out to her to put hers on.

    Her staff yelled at me, “Stop inciting violence with Black Lives Matter.”
    pic.twitter.com/GtN5AmGrkO
    January 29, 2021

  63. 63.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Martin:

    The trickle charger does the trick.

    I got one of these and a 50ft extension cord.  Once a month, get the car parked in front of the house, run out the cord, charge the battery all afternoon.  It’s the ticket, alright.

  65. 65.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: I am not sure just how much Mr. Olsen understands he is helping us Democrats here.  By showing that the GOP is the party of the past and has no plan for the future, he’s kind of doing our work for us.

    Plus also risking a visit at his office for Matt gates to rally the MAGAt morons, I guess?

    The GOP really should have thought through this whole “the only thing I care about is opposing whatever I think the Libs want, updated daily” thing.

  66. 66.

    Mike in NC

    Somebody needs to start a big bonfire of Trump banners, t-shirts, MAGA hats and so on. Make all that shit radioactive to normal people.

  67. 67.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Roger Moore: ​
    @Roger Moore: ​
     

    45 of 48 Dems voted against Barr. The three who didn’t are the usual suspects: Manchin, Sinema, Jones. The overwhelming, vast majority of Dems thought Barr was who they thought he was (obligatory video)

  68. 68.

    RSA

    @Brachiator:

    Of course, the attack on the Capitol wasn’t just “a thought.”

    Completely correct.

    @geg6: Wow.

    I really did search for specific people (not relatives, though). For me, it’s weird to realize that some of my acquaintances from a southern state might have been totally on board with the insurrection but only prevented by circumstance from being there.

  69. 69.

    Brachiator

    @John S.:

    Her staff yelled at me, “Stop inciting violence with Black Lives Matter.”

    This is going to make the idiots angry. From BBC News

    The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has won Sweden’s Olof Palme human rights prize for 2020.

    Organisers said the movement was honoured for promoting “peaceful civil disobedience against police brutality and racial violence” across the globe.

    They noted that about 20 million people had taken part in Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in the US alone, along with millions more around the world.

    An online prize-giving ceremony is due to take place in Stockholm on Saturday.

    The $100,000 (£73,000) annual prize commemorates Olof Palme, the Swedish prime minister and prominent human rights advocate who was assassinated in Stockholm in 1986.

  73. 73.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @geg6: ​
     
    you might remember Tony Bologna was an asshole NY cop who brutally attacked two young women bystanders during the Occupy rallies.

  74. 74.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    I thought you were saying that the national GOP was going the way of the California GOP and is likely going to end up a regional rump party after a few rough years?

  76. 76.

    Ohio Mom

    [email protected]:
    Yeah, seems like most of the wealth has already been looted.

    On another note, I see this is an online data base, and not in the dead tree paper but I can’t help but think about how excited people generally are when a family member makes it into the newspaper.

    The article is clipped and lovingly saved. What do people do with this, print it out so one say they can reminisce: “Here’s Cousin Jim, about to be brought in front of a judge. He got six years.”

  77. 77.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Martin:

    Oh okay, gotcha ya. You could also try to go for rides around town too. I and my family enjoy doing that

  78. 78.

    Brachiator

    @Ohio Mom:

    On another note, I see this is an online data base, and not in the dead tree paper but I can’t help but think about how excited people generally are when a family member makes it into the newspaper.

    The article is clipped and lovingly saved. What do people do with this, print it out so one say they can reminisce: “Here’s Cousin Jim, about to be brought in front of a judge. He got six years.”

    Now, I guess it would be a FaceBook post.

  79. 79.

    Ohio Mom

    Goku:
    Ohio Family takes a couple of Sunday drives a month. It’s mostly to get out of the house while keeping safe from Covid, but also has the effect of keeping the cars’ batteries charged.

    We drive along the Ohio River, or pick a destination like a state park or a covered bridge. And take notes: In the after times, let’s try out that restaurant, visit that antique mall, or whatever.

  80. 80.

    Roger Moore

    @trollhattan:

    Have been wondering what Liz Cheney’s long game is. Chose not to run for senate, which would have been a slamdunk and a far more powerful seat in congress.

    I think she sees herself as Madam Speaker in the not-too-distant future.  She’s already #3 in the House Republican leadership, and there’s no reason she couldn’t go higher.  She seems to be smarter than anyone else in the group, not that intelligence is necessarily helpful in winning a Republican leadership position.  And I suspect she genuinely thinks the Republicans need to jettison Trump to have a chance of getting anywhere, which is why she voted to impeach.

  81. 81.

    Roger Moore

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: ​
     
    Democrats in the Senate voted against Barr, but a lot of Democratic functionaries swore up and down that he deserved a shot as AG since he had served before and was an institutionalist. The kind of people who did that deserve to be shunned from polite society, but they’re still accepted in DC. Nobody suffers for vouching for another member of The Club.

  82. 82.

    Martin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    1) It depends on what route they take and

    2) It depends on whether Dems vote

    If they stick with the white Christian supremacy, then yeah, they have no electoral future. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for them to win nationally in 2024. Look at Trump in 2016. Republicans were energized and turned out, Democrats weren’t.

    Democrats can’t give them that opportunity again. Fortunately, it seems like party leadership has learned that they have to deliver, that it will keep Dem voters turning out. But Dems need to bring the same energy as 2020 in 2022, 2024, and thereon out until the back of the GOP is broken.

    You’re now seeing state GOP efforts to rig voting in the states even more. AZ wants allow the legislature to just pick who wins the election. Dems have to turn out enough to counter these efforts, consistently, every election. If the GOP get power, it’s clear they aren’t going to give it up willingly again, at least, not until there is a fundamental cultural change in the party. That change will be apparent to all, but we have to crush this movement so thoroughly that they give up the effort because this will be the most peaceful transfer of power from R to D for a while.

  83. 83.

    Benw

    @Roger Moore: this is just your regular reminder that Liz Cheney, like the Lincoln Project, wants white supremacy, unchecked police brutality, corporate looting of the safety net, and continuing destruction of the environment. She just wants to go back to doing it RESPECTABLY

  85. 85.

    Amir Khalid

    Sad news: The online vendor has cancelled my order for a semi-hollow guitar — the reason they gave was “no stock” — and refunded the money to my Lazada wallet. I wanted the guitar, damn it.

  86. 86.

    PsiFighter37

    Got back from doctor – nondisplaced radial fracture in elbow. Arm in sling, should take 4-6 weeks to heal. Sigh.

  87. 87.

    Martin

    @Benw: Sorta. I think they just want power, and if white supremacy is the path to that power, they’re totally cool with it. They just want to build a winning coalition by whatever means necessary. So for them, white supremacy serves power. For Gaetz and Green, power serves white supremacy. It’s a subtle but important distinction. The latter is a positive feedback loop that leads to ruin and violence. The former is slightly less odious but more pragmatic.

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore:

    I think she sees herself as Madam Speaker in the not-too-distant future. She’s already #3 in the House Republican leadership, and there’s no reason she couldn’t go higher.

    I suppose it will be interesting to see what happens. For now, the Republican Party has decided to oppose her and unite around Trump.

    From a recent CNN story, the GOP is happy to once again indulge Trump’s resentments.

    According to one source, Trump has repeatedly questioned his Republican allies about efforts to remove Cheney from her leadership position and run a primary candidate against her.

    He has also been showing those allies a poll commissioned by his Save America PAC that purports to show that Cheney’s impeachment vote has damaged her standing in Wyoming, even urging them to talk about the poll on television.

    The chumps behind The Federalist podcast talk about how Cheney is losing the GOP civil war.

  90. 90.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Benw:

    the Lincoln Project, wants white supremacy, unchecked police brutality, corporate looting of the safety net, and continuing destruction of the environment.

    I think the Lincoln Project is wildly overrated, not least by themselves– I wish Rick Wilson’s effectiveness matched his “Fuck around and find out” swagger– and I would (probably) never vote for any of them*, but I don’t know how you square this with the considerable moneys and efforts they put into trying to take out trump and his enablers.

    *I don’t live in Utah, but if I did, and Steve Schmidt were on the ballot against Mike Lee, I’d probably vote for him.

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    @Amir Khalid:

    I hate commenting in text mode.

    I know, it sucks.

    It seems pretty clear that the comment/reply issues and the slow typing are related to the FireFox “upgrade”, so I think we’ll give FireFox a couple of days to fix it before bringing it to the developers.

    Did I mention that I hate commenting in text mode?

    With good reason.  Hang in there.  I will give the developers a heads-up over the weekend, but I am hoping that FireFox gets it together in the meantime.

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @WaterGirl:  I hate the iPhone 11. Anybody else miss that handy little button? and the finger print verification?

    anything you can do about that? Is Tim Apple a friend of yours?

  94. 94.

    Starboard Tack

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    This. Rick Wilson gets very antsy when he’s pressed about his past activities. The LP seems to focus more on mind fucking their targets and less on actually reducing their support.

  95. 95.

    Benw

    @Martin: yo, I totally agree with your comment right before mine, we are not out of the woods by a long shot. 2022 and 2024 are YOOGE elections.

    I’m not 100% sure I agree with this though: “They just want to build a winning coalition by whatever means necessary”. I don’t think they’re totally agnostic to the means. There’s plenty of powerful Democrats who are against white supremacy/environmental ruin: join them! But if they’re STILL trying to woo Republican voters now, I think they must like white supremacy, police violence, and destruction of the planet – just a little, to warm their hearts.

  96. 96.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Martin: ​
     

    @trollhattan: This is the civil war playing out in the party. Is the GOP in service to white Christian supremacy at all costs, burning the party down at all costs, or does the GOP survive, and in order to do so, they need to attract voters that the white Christian supremacist don’t believe are deserving of a vote.

    I’d be surprised if it turns into much of a civil war. How many GOP Congresspersons do you think will be on Cheney’s side in this?

    Look at how the momentum has shifted in the past couple of weeks. The GOP has pretty much united behind the notion that January 6th was no big deal. There are a few holdouts, but not many.

    GOP delenda est.

  98. 98.

    Brachiator

    What year is this? What century is this?

    From BBC News.

    A Louisiana cemetery has apologised after refusing to bury a local black police officer because of a decades-old provision allowing only white people. 

    The Oaklin Springs Cemetery board met on Thursday to change its sales contract after an outcry over the “white human beings” rule.

    Officer Darrell Semien’s widow called it a “slap in the face” to be denied a plot “because he’s black”.

    The board president said they had been unaware of the “horrible” policy.

    Mr Semien, 55, was a local sheriff’s deputy living in Oberlin, a town located 200 miles (320km) west of New Orleans.

    He died of cancer on Sunday.

    When his widow Karla Semien and their children tried to purchase a plot at Oaklin Springs, a staff member told them it was a “whites only” graveyard.

    “She even had paperwork on a clipboard showing me that only white human beings can be buried there,” Mrs Semien wrote in Facebook post on Tuesday, adding that it was hard to believe this was happening in 2021.

  99. 99.

    Martin

    @Brachiator: She is losing. I think the seditionists know they have to stick together to avoid a ⅔ expulsion vote, and that makes them a strong enough caucus within the GOP to remove her from leadership.

    I think Pelosi is waiting for more ammunition from law enforcement on some members of Congress to force the GOPs hand. Honestly, I think Dems should censure all of the seditionist GOPs in the House and refer them to the DOJ for prosecution, and let the non-seditionist GOP figure out where they ought to stand.

  103. 103.

    Martin

    @lowtechcyclist: Not many, but think about Senate GOP, governors, should the House GOP go full Klan here. They’d be insisting on shrinking their already small tent even smaller.

  104. 104.

    Barbara

    What happens when Trump dies or can no longer function? At its most enamored, the Democratic party never considered Obama to be the messiah.

  105. 105.

    jl

    ” The only difference will be that the sham shaman is angry because Trump didn’t give him a pardon ”

    Ha. If Trump was capable of thinking things through, he should have thought that one through. Or maybe he did, but his competent lawyers warned him of serious consequences of vast blanket pardons for a vague group insurrectionists, rioters and goofballs who wandered around gawking at the revolution.

    I’ve read that Trump’s lack of pardons did not go unnoticed among his die-hard insurrectionists base, which may cause problems. Also, maybe a morale problem with the base when Trump tries to continue his scam into the indefinite future. He must have lost a noticeable chunk of them, but the whole Trump cult scam is so crazy, as well as malicious, who really knows?

  106. 106.

    Ohio Mom

    PsiFighter37:
    Ouch. Are you supposed to go back for follow-up at any point? I hate it when nobody wants you to come back. Otherwise how are you supposed to know it is healing properly?

    It sounds like a huge drag to be in a sling for so long but we both know it could have been a lot worse. So thank goodness.

  107. 107.

    jl

    If I understand correctly, and don’t have my insurrectionists mixed up, the brave and intrepid plastic handcuffs guy is blaming it all on his mommy. He was inside because he was following her around. What a bad mom she is. Shame shame shame.

    Maybe that guy should go to juvy for evaluation and rehab.

  109. 109.

    Amir Khalid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
      I’d look at it this way: The Lincoln Project is useful to Democrats as long as it’s useful. I don’t really expect its videos to sway anyone not already disenchanted with the GOP; but if nothing else, those videos do provide affirmation to Democrats’ collective view of the Republican party and certain of its more egregious personalities.
    Now, if the LPers start targeting the Democratic party, Democratic politicians, or Democratic policies, that’s different. Then you can kick them out of the bus.
    By the way, I understand that Steve Schmidt has switched party affiliation and is now a Democrat.

  110. 110.

    Barbara

    @jl: Unless they can show participation in phone calls or chats by WH staff or Trump or family members no one will base charges solely on public speeches.

  114. 114.

    jl

    @Martin: ” Not many, but think about Senate GOP, governors, should the House GOP go full Klan here. They’d be insisting on shrinking their already small tent even smaller. ”

    I think the vast majority are not nearly as far gone as the insane fire brands (Greene) or the cynical provocateurs (like Cruz), but rather very cowardly fellow-travelers who will go along with any disgusting thing that they believe is needed to keep their jobs.

    They need to be pestered continually to explain themselves, and the most vulnerable will be great targets for defeat in the next cycles. The cowardly GOP back benchers are so terrified of the Trump base forever, they won’t be able to respond effectively, except for peeing themselves and spouting panicked nonsense.

  115. 115.

    Baud

    A week and a half into the Biden presidency, Democrats are adopting a more muscular approach to dealing with Republicans, essentially declaring they will work with them if they can but are prepared move past them if they must.

     

    Top Senate Democrats are now working on dual tracks, planning to hold a speedy impeachment trial to avoid derailing President Biden’s legislative agenda while also laying the groundwork for Biden’s covid relief package to pass shortly afterward.

     

    The moves come after Biden launched his administration without Republicans in his Cabinet and started by issuing dozens of executive actions, a clip far more rapid than any of his recent predecessors.

  116. 116.

    Major Major Major Major

    We are pretty much all moved into the new apartment, which is great, and Sam is out and about now which is also great (he was hiding under the bed for like six hours). If I had the energy I’d write a post about how my esteemed front-page peers really jumped the gun on the GameStop thing like everybody else, but I think I’ll enjoy the new apartment instead. Here’s some info for those curious.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    @Amir Khalid: Steve Schmidt is beyond PISSED that the Republicans tried to overturn our democracy.  I don’t know about the others, but his fury is not going anywhere.

    I appreciate that Nancy Pelosi and AOC and Steve Schmidt and others are not going to let this go down a memory hole.

  119. 119.

    Roger Moore

    @Benw:

    But if they’re STILL trying to woo Republican voters now, I think they must like white supremacy, police violence, and destruction of the planet – just a little, to warm their hearts.

    I don’t know that they necessarily like white supremacy, police violence, and destruction of the planet, but they’re clearly OK with them.  It’s a subtle difference, but it is a difference.  For Cheney, those things are a means. To Trump and his followers, they’re an end.  Cheney would probably be willing to bargain those things away if it protected her power and privilege.  Trump and his gang would never bargain those things away because they’re the point of getting that power and privilege.

  122. 122.

    jl

    @Barbara: From what I’ve read, a whole lot of people feel betrayed for no pardon. You have a point. I’m not sure, but for many of them, seems like there is no evidence of anything but criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, other than brags they made on social media. And I doubt the authorities are going to try to arrest and try what may be over a thousand people who didn’t do anything but mill around and take selfies at the scene of serious crimes.

    The ones who were serious about serious crimes, and really need a pardon aren’t talking, and didn’t spend most of their time making social media mini documentaries of their imaginary heroism.

  124. 124.

    Brachiator

    @Barbara:

    At its most enamored, the Democratic party never considered Obama to be the messiah.

    I think a lot of Democratic voters loved Obama. I think a lot of white Democratic Party political leaders were lukewarm towards Obama. And I think there was some lingering bad feeling from super ardent Hillary Clinton supporters. For the super pure progressive fringe, Obama never did enough.

    What happens when Trump dies or can no longer function? At its most enamored, the Democratic party never considered Obama to be the messiah.

    Republicans are strange, fickle and twisted. They loved a fairly benign Ronald Reagan, and yet fell all over themselves to practically worship Trump. They loved Dubya. They even liked Bush I.

    Trump fed on, channeled, flamed and openly expressed all the resentments, anger, and bigotry of the worst Republicans.  But these people had been looking for someone like Trump. When he passes on, the anger and resentment will still be there, waiting for another populist autocrat to set it off.

  128. 128.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Watching Maddow: the guy who had his feet up on Nancy Pelosi’s desk? The guy who drove home to Arkansas after giving interviews about storming the Capitol right after he stormed the Capitol? Who turned himself in on his own schedule and was released on his own recognizance by an Arkansas judge…? He was detained last summer for pointing a rifle at a woman with Black Lives Matter sticker on his car.

    This segment is worth looking for if you don’t regularly watch TRMS. I think they’re posted soon after air time

  129. 129.

    jl

    @Major Major Major Major: Thanks for that info. Interesting. Robin Hood needed more than half a billion dollars in working capital to process the trade orders coming in, and couldn’t finance it.

    I read that the hedge funds were so sure that their scheme would work that they didn’t bother to insure themselves, and did no hedging whatever. So, no sympathy for them, let them go bust and if anybody involved with the funds gets hurt who deserves help, clean that up afterward.

  131. 131.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Brachiator:

    I think a lot of Democratic voters loved Obama. I think a lot of white Democratic Party political leaders were lukewarm towards Obama. And I think there was some lingering bad feeling from super ardent Hillary Clinton supporters. For the super pure progressive fringe, Obama never did enough.

    all but one of the top line Democratic primary candidates underestimated and misunderstood Obama’s appeal. The one who didn’t is now president

    still makes me chuckle that Bernie! and Warren started running ads featuring Obama in the run up to the SC primary (not that I generally equate those two)

  132. 132.

    Major Major Major Major

    @WaterGirl: our lease was up and it turned out there was a much better unit two floors down for the same price we’d just negotiated with the existing landlord.

    @jl: I wouldn’t care so much except that people are gonna believe conspiracies about this for the rest of their lives and we can’t fix real problems if we believe in fake ones. Maybe I’ll write it up tomorrow.

  135. 135.

    jl

    @Major Major Major Major:

    The escapade touches on several important problems in how the US allows financial markets to operate these days, so I’d be interested in reading your thoughts on it.

    Right now I’m just enjoying all the whining from hedge funds about how unfair it all is that other people can skirt the same kinds of rules, regs and laws that they do in their ever onward march of mindless greed.

  136. 136.

    NoraLenderbee

    Democrats are adopting a more muscular approach to dealing with Republicans,

    FINALLY. I have been waiting since the very first time I voted, in 1980.

  140. 140.

    dmsilev

    House Democrats building elaborate, emotionally charged case against Trump

    House Democrats have sought out new cellphone footage of the Capitol siege as well as updated details about injured police officers as they seek to build an emotionally compelling impeachment case against former president Donald Trump.

    The goal is to present the Senate with fresh evidence that reveals what Trump knew in advance of the Jan. 6 rampage at the Capitol, as well as how his words and actions influenced those who participated. The rioting left five dead, including one member of the U.S. Capitol Police. In addition, two officers, one with the D.C. Police Department, have since died by suicide.

    The effort to present new video evidence and witness testimony appears designed to make Republican senators as uncomfortable as possible as they prepare to vote to acquit Trump, as most have indicated they will do. The prospect of injured police officers describing the brutality of pro-Trump rioters to Republicans who regularly present themselves as advocates of law enforcement could make for an extraordinary, nationally televised scene.

    Its very unlikely that Senate Republicans will have an attack of decency and vote to convict, so I guess rubbing their noses in the mess that they made will be Plan B.

  141. 141.

    Calouste

    @Barbara: First of all, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when the shitgibbon stays alive and keeps functioning to a certain extent. Thing is, American parties that don’t hold the presidency basically don’t have a leader, in the way that parties in say Europe do have leader when they are in the opposition. The shitgibbon is trying to stay the leader of the GQP even though he is no longer in the White House, which hasn’t been done before in the US, at least not in recent times.

    But in Europe, internal fights for the leadership of conservative parties have been pretty brutal, just look at the Tories in the UK when they were in opposition to Tony Blair. I expect the same in the GQP when the shitgibbon can no longer hold on to power for whatever reason.

  143. 143.

    jl

    @Baud: Avoiding talk about real problems while talking endlessly about how we can never fix fake ones is the new American Way!

    Once again, Baud has led the way in becoming pointlessly and uselessly virtual.

  144. 144.

    jl

    @dmsilev: It would be a little weird if the people who were targets of a failed but very violent hit job had no emotional charge about it.

  145. 145.

    Major Major Major Major

    @jl: that’s the other thing, the extent of my insight here was realizing yesterday morning that the populist interpretation made no damn sense. I’d love a guest post by somebody who knows what they’re talking about, otherwise it’ll just be mostly links (which would be a good PSA too!).

  146. 146.

    catclub

    @Martin:

    Not many, but think about Senate GOP, governors, should the House GOP go full Klan here. They’d be insisting on shrinking their already small tent even smaller.

    Yeah, if they start going after all the GOP state officials that certified the election, they will  be working toward losing their majorities in those states.

  147. 147.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @dmsilev: I’m glad they’re focussing on video for their TeeVee addled audience

    I hope they bring the CP officers in for testimony, or at least some kind of video presentation

    (Am I remembering correctly that not just Clinton’s but other taped depositions (Monica Lewinsky’s, most notably) were used as evidence in the Clenis Spectacle? A young Lindsey Graham ratcheting his accent up to first-season Andy Griffith for his more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger schtick?)

  148. 148.

    Brachiator

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    all but one of the top line Democratic primary candidates underestimated and misunderstood Obama’s appeal. The one who didn’t is now president

    I can toss in that as a student of history I can understand how some people loved the Roosevelts, Franklin and Eleanor. I saw as a child how much some people loved JFK. I had a history teacher who loved RFK, and later I picked up a lot of that love as well.

    I love Obama.

    And I don’t just mean admire and respect.

    I admire Hillary, but I understand how many of her supporters love her.

    And this is not blind loyalty, but a reflection of the love that these political figures had and have for the American people.

  152. 152.

    Danielx

    Reasonably certain that a great many of those arrested have never had any experience with – lacking a better description – the criminal justice system.

    People like this do not thrive in jail.

  153. 153.

    dmsilev

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think it’s the right approach too. There’s so much footage, of T**** ginning up the mob, then the mob breaking through the police barriers, and then everything that happened inside the building.
    The article notes that one source of video is planned to be scraping that giant database of Parler posts that got safely stored before the participants could delete them. Seems appropriate.

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    I appreciate that Nancy Pelosi and AOC and Steve Schmidt and others are not going to let this go down a memory hole.

    Including Nicolle Wallace and Jen Rubin. Inter fucking alia.

  155. 155.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    I have an older model iPhone. Which button in particular has gone missing?

    Also, those comments that Tim Apple has done away with fingerprint ID? Do not like, bring it back. 

  156. 156.

    Brachiator

    @Amir Khalid:

    Bad news for any jackals planning to attend: because of the pandemic, Coachella has been cancelled
    for the second year in a row.

    I had a couple of co-workers who would always skip work to attend the Los Angeles Dodgers opening day.

    And a couple of co-workers who would always skip work to attend Coachella.

  159. 159.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @NotMax: when I said overrated: I enjoyed their stuff, but I’m a college-educated, hyper-engaged, middle-aged (and then some), affluent white liberal. When people here were saying, “Why can’t we make ads like that?”, old boring Joe’s boring old school ads, footage of him hugging people while his voiceover told us about the America he believed in? I think that had broader appeal.

    just for clarity

    (and that one ad they ran against Graham, the one with the maggots feeding on roadkill that I could barely watch? I think that was Rick Wilson’s unbridled, hate-fueled id directed at Lindsey. And I think it was their weakest output)

  160. 160.

    dmsilev

    @SiubhanDuinne: The ‘home’ button, otherwise known as ‘the button that holds the fingerprint reader’. There’s one current iPhone model that still has it (the SE); all the others use facial-recognition scanners to unlock. Which worked fine, until we all started wearing masks…

    There’s one model iPad which has the fingerprint reader in one of the small side buttons, so maybe the phone will get that option. Also rumors of a fingerprint reader that sits underneath the screen, so it doesn’t need a dedicated button.

  161. 161.

    jl

    @Major Major Major Major: A guest post would be nice from someone with serious financial market expertise or just detailed info.

    I don’t think either celebration of populist day trader rebellion, or worrying about arrogant filthy rich hedge funds getting very sloppy in their scheming is a good direction.

    That people eat up huge amounts of resources playing stupid financial market tricks is a big problem.

    There is an important role for regulated short selling in the stock market. But it is known to be very risky, and if hedge funds decide to do it without any hedging on unexpected outcomes, then they are on their own, as far as I’m concerned.

    I also read that 140 percent of the outstanding stock was sold short. What? Does that make any sense? How often does it happen? How did it happen and did the hedge funds know (if they did, then not hedging their short positions seems positively insane).

    Edit, until I know more, makes me want a financial transactions tax even more.

  162. 162.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Am just watching Dr David Kessler on TRMS. I know he’s a smart guy, but why oh why did he think dyeing his hair red was a good look for a 70-year-old man?

  163. 163.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Martin:

    And what I like is that this is not going away. The GOP was paddling madly following Jan. 6 trying to distract and ignore the fucking insurrection but that only took hold on Fox and the other bullshit news sites.

    Democrats have stood strong so far and when Brian Williams is openly mocking you on a daily newscast you have a messaging issue along with the legal problems associated with being a fucking traitor.

  167. 167.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @dmsilev:

    That’s horrible news! I love the home button, and I love the fingerprint ID. Deo volente it will be fixed by the time I need to replace my current iPhone model.

  173. 173.

    Major Major Major Major

    @jl:

    I don’t think either celebration of populist day trader rebellion, or worrying about arrogant filthy rich hedge funds getting very sloppy in their scheming is a good direction.

    And yet it’s what every single member of congress is going to spend their time on during the inevitable hearings. Just depressing. Wish I knew enough to do anything other than poke holes.

  174. 174.

    different-church-lady

    @Mike R:

    Along with no longer being tolerated in civilized company.

    It doesn’t seem like civilized company is anything they’re interested in.

  175. 175.

    Jager

    @Martin: Take them for a drive. I take my 88 year old neighbor’s car to the grocery store once a week. She has a 2005 Lexus, it needs to be driven as all cars do. Why screw around with trickle chargers when all you need to do is go for a ride? A half-hour drive is good for the car. Like airplanes and boats, cars die when they aren’t used.

  177. 177.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SiubhanDuinne: How’bout Norm Eisen? that’s a head of…hair?

    apparently, a brilliant and dedicated public servant. The O’Bros said meeting with him  was like being called to the principals’ office

  179. 179.

    Chris Johnson

    @Benw: If the Lincoln Project want white supremacy what the fuck are they doing with Tara Setmayer as an anchorwoman for their YouTube presence?

    Can’t speak for Liz Cheney, you might have a point there.

  182. 182.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Chris Johnson: Fox News is definitely white supremacist.  They employ Juan Williams, Charles Payne, Harris Faulkner, who else?  All Black news-talkers.  And yet Fox News is -clearly- white supremacist.  The willingness to employ Black (or POC) personalities, doesn’t mean they’re not white supremacist.  And Black people can and will work for white supremacists — their money spends like anybody else’s back in town.

    I -do- agree that the Lincoln project contains a multitude, and it’s possible that some, like Steve Schmidt, are slowly transiting towards decency.  But for sure, it’ll take time and hard work, and each member will be judged individually.

  183. 183.

    debbie

    I don’t know why so many are so suspicious of LP, Wilson, Schmidt, etc. They have zero interest in taking over the Democratic Party. There is no secret plan. They have chosen their path because it’s the lesser evil. The enemy of my enemy, etc.

    As for the traders, fuckem. Five billion dollars is nothing. Think how much they’ve cost us over the past couple of financial crises. I wish someone would reassure these crybabies that their money will trickle back down to them eventually.

  185. 185.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Amir Khalid:

    At least you didn’t buy a used but near new guitar (Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro) and have it delivered with the headstock snapped off. I just returned it to the sender today for refund. Beautiful black with gold hardware… what a waste because of inadequate packaging.

    The search resumes.. :)

  186. 186.

    TriassicSands

    I sense grave injustice — not a single person was charged with being an idiot, clown, or buffoon.

    Shocking!

  188. 188.

    Bnad

    Imagine my shock and surprise seeing my old coworker and boss on this–the guy with the Cogensia logo in his picture.  Worked with him from 1992 to 1996.  Didn’t really think of him as the type but a mutual coworker who I stayed in touch with, and who followed him to that company, said he had gotten a little wingnutty.

  190. 190.

    Bill Arnold

    @jl: ​

    Interesting. Robin Hood needed more than half a billion dollars in working capital to process the trade orders coming in, and couldn’t finance it.

    That’s not what they said initially. They (blog post) left the clear impression that this was for their customers’ own good, and that appeared to most of their customers (at least the ones involved in short squeezes) to be a lie, so their initial statement had the effect of manipulating the market. Also, they might be lying at least in part.
    At any rate, it was good to see the apparent scrambling and the apparently (to suspicious minds) coordinated opinion pieces about why a short squeeze done by a hive-minded Voltron of poors is bad. Badly handled by the wealth class. They should be concerned that a stimulus payment (or similar small amount not being used for essentials) not being used to play in the market casino could be used to e.g. buy an inexpensive elk rifle for hunting billionaires at long range. America!!! (Monday this week was as close to a sure bet as such things get.)
    There were plenty of good (and educational) news pieces too, though.

  192. 192.

    Anya

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think all of their ads were garbage. It was made for the twitter crowd. My grandma hates the voiceovers they use. Their ads against Susan Collins were probably some of the ones Main voters were annoyed about ads. I kid, but honestly their ads were cathartic for those of us who are politically aware but they were unappealing to the rest.

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