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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

The revolution will be supervised.

We will not go back.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Fight them, without becoming them!

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

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

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

T R E 4 5 O N

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

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You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Truth, *Then* Reconciliation

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Truth, *Then* Reconciliation

by Anne Laurie|  February 3, 20217:03 am| 141 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Impeachment, NANCY SMASH!, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has called for a "9/11-type Commission" to address security risks at the U.S. Capitol in response to the deadly insurrection at the complex last month. https://t.co/mThqIl4IwM

— WNDU (@WNDU) February 3, 2021


This is necessary. Far too much ambiguity about a number things, notably the delayed response time from the National Guard, who was responsible for it, and what the president was doing while the Capitol was being ransacked. https://t.co/6JJF18odcT

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) February 2, 2021

An idea of a 9/11 style commission has been kicking around for weeks — GOP Rep. Rodney Davis brought the idea up to Pelosi on the floor night of Jan. 6.

But talks have intensified in recent days, w Pelosi holding two leadership calls to discuss

— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) February 3, 2021

… The House took an unprecedented step Tuesday night, voting to levy hefty fines against colleagues who bypass the recently installed metal detectors that surround the chamber. The reason is simple but speaks to the new reality: lawmakers are afraid of being injured, or worse, by colleagues trying to sneak weapons on to the House floor.

The fines — $5,000 for the first violation, $10,000 for any thereafter — are just the latest security measure to be implemented in an attempt to reassure members and their staff that the House is safe. But that remains an elusive goal, lawmakers said Tuesday as they returned to a Capitol still surrounded by concrete barricades and barbed wire…

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken multiple steps to boost protection, including appointing a task force to conduct an immediate security review of the Capitol complex. The speaker received her first briefing on that last week with the full review to be wrapped up by March 5.

Pelosi has also held discussions with her leadership team recently — including during private calls on Sunday and Tuesday — about drafting outside legislation to form a commission to investigate the events leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection…

The independent commission could also examine some of the more contentious questions about Jan. 6, including what role GOP members had, if any, in the day’s events, according to Democrats familiar with the planning discussions. The possibility of Republican involvement has continued to rattle Democrats — including Pelosi, who notably said last week that the “enemy is within the House.”…

Side note: Of course, the usual suspects are already trying to fundraise on the OUTRAGE of being forced to go through metal detectors, like they were common school children / airport travellers / Capital tourists. But it wouldn’t completely surprise me if either Gunnybunny Wannabe (Boebert) or Strangelove Junior (Cawthorn) use this as an opportunity to drop all pretense of attending to the boring mundane role of ‘legislator’, one of 438 other strivers, if they spot a more profitable niche in the Wingnut Wurlitzer media circuit, crying about being cancelled.

And just watching which directions individual Repubs choose to protest any kind of an investigation is gonna be useful, IMO…

Super-curious what Gianni Thomas meant in her email by “leaving it all on the field.” https://t.co/mdr08LVkR7

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) February 2, 2021


Let’s not bicker & fight about ‘oo killed ‘oo!

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Reader Interactions

141Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:06 am

    Biden pays respects to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick as he lies in honor at Rotunda

  2. 2.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 7:07 am

    I don’t see Marjorie parting with a single nickel, let alone the thousands of dollars’ worth of fines she’s already incurred.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:07 am

    @debbie:

    It comes out of her salary.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:09 am

    There’s a crib in President Joe Biden’s White House.

     

    Upstairs in the family residence, the bed is set for the president’s youngest grandchild, Beau Biden Jr. The baby was born last year to Biden’s only surviving son, Hunter Biden, brother of Beau Biden, the president’s other son, who died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46.

  5. 5.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 7:10 am

    @Baud:

    Well, that’s a help. Is there any information about the fines being retroactive?

    ETA: Major better be nice to the baby!

  6. 6.

    geg6

    February 3, 2021 at 7:12 am

    @debbie:

    Nancy made sure the fines come out of their paychecks.

  7. 7.

    John S.

    February 3, 2021 at 7:12 am

    @Baud: Dock that kook a day’s pay for being crazy on the job!

    Up next: The GOP sit around the campfire eating beans and farting while trying to figure out what to do with Mongo.

  8. 8.

    Anne Laurie

    February 3, 2021 at 7:14 am

    @debbie: I don’t see Marjorie parting with a single nickel, let alone the thousands of dollars’ worth of fines she’s already incurred.

    Lauren Boebert.  Marjorie T-G is the really dangerous, widely-popular-with-fellow-Qultist nutter.  And MTG is a millionaire — her family business let her district-shop for a legislative megaphone, rather than just ranting at rallies like her kindred spirits.  Boebert’s gonna run out of cash fast, assuming she doesn’t quietly choose to leave her deadly fashion accessory in her office now that the personal cost will be more than the social media ‘clout’ for waving it around on the floor.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 7:15 am

    Midweek mirth. Couple of things that teased out a grin.

    1) Worker distancing.

    2) “Already the rage in Great Britain!“

  10. 10.

    JPL

    February 3, 2021 at 7:15 am

    If Ginni Thomas was concerned about discourse, she’d delete her social media accounts.    Has she drunk dialed anyone lately?

  11. 11.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:20 am

    She was stunned by Biden’s inauguration. How this South Carolina mom escaped QAnon
    …..
    And so some QAnon adherents concocted a new conspiracy theory in the hours after inauguration. President Joe Biden’s inauguration itself was a key part of the plan, the new theory held, and Trump would return as President in the coming few weeks. Then, certainly, all the deep-state arrests would happen.
    That was a step too far for Vanderbilt. She began to realize that she had bought into a lie with an almost religious fervor. Over the past two weeks she has been posting on TikTok, the platform that dragged her into the conspiracy theory, sharing her story in the hope that it might help or inspire others to see the light

     

  12. 12.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 7:21 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    Thanks. Didn’t realize she came from money. Not to be catty, wink wink, you’d think she could afford a better wardrobe.

  13. 13.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 7:24 am

    @JPL:

    She’s just hurt because all that money she spent on buses for the insurrectionists accomplished less than she’d hoped. Backsies!

  14. 14.

    geg6

    February 3, 2021 at 7:26 am

    Maybe I’m missing something, but why does Lindsay Graham think it’s some kind of threat to Dems to say that if they call any witnesses at the impeachment trial, the GOP will be calling the FBI to testify about the planning of the insurrection? Personally, I’m fine with that. Bring Wray in and have him lay it out. I think the GOP might want to avoid that at all costs.

  15. 15.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 7:26 am

    @JPL: for her to write that email suggests there is pressure at the Court on Thomas, J.  She is lost to shame otherwise.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:26 am

    Biden moves quickly to make his mark on federal courts after Trump’s record judicial nominations

  17. 17.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:27 am

    @geg6:

    But think of all the embarrassing questions about Hillary’s emails or Hunter’s laptop!

  18. 18.

    John S.

    February 3, 2021 at 7:29 am

    @debbie: She prefers Q-chic which consists of truckers caps adorned with the Gadsden flag and using the American flag as an accessory.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:31 am

    Say bye bye to peace in the Mideast.

    Biden: No family members will be involved in any government decisions

  20. 20.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 7:32 am

    @geg6: I don’t get it either, but I think the Fox theory is that if the Proud Boys planned the attack days/weeks before the event, then Trump couldn’t have invited insurrection?  Remember, the FBI wrapped up their informant two days before the Capitol attack, so they know more than we do about the planning.

    But it can both be true that the Proud Boys (stand back and stand by) planned and the President incited.

  21. 21.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 7:33 am

    If you’ve got a moment, check out this from downstairs.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:36 am

    Scanning the headlines lately, it seems as if the Villages favorite word de jour is “complicate,” as in “X complicates Biden’s plan for Y.”

  23. 23.

    Geminid

    February 3, 2021 at 7:37 am

    Some good news: Vice President Harris will swear in new Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this morning at 9:30am.

  24. 24.

    JAFD

    February 3, 2021 at 7:38 am

    Happy 212th birthday to Felix Mendelssohn  !

  25. 25.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 7:39 am

    Dang it. Linky fix.

    @Immanentize

    Slightly dated but a decent refresher on some of the cast of characters.

    How Trump’s pied pipers rallied a faithful mob to the Capitol

  26. 26.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 7:40 am

    @Immanentize:

    Her beliefs are likely shared by most of them? Assuming that email was leaked, I’m guessing not.

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 7:44 am

    @Geminid

    Will he make the trains run on time?

    //

  28. 28.

    Dopey-o

    February 3, 2021 at 7:45 am

    Ginni Thomas is the voice from behind the curtain when the Great And Mighty Clarence speaks in thunderous tones from the bench!

    <crickets>

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 7:45 am

    The times, they are a changing:

    They took Donald Trump to task. Now they’re ready to reshape the justice department

    On her last day at the justice department in 2017, Vanita Gupta considered taking a picture as she left the agency’s headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue. But she decided against it. Gupta, the outgoing head of the department’s civil rights division, once described as the “crown jewel” of the agency, didn’t really want to remember the moment, she told a reporter who was shadowing her for the day.
    …………………..
    Gupta took a job as the head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of civil rights groups across the country, where she became one of the leading figures pushing back on the Trump administration.

    Joining Gupta in that effort was Kristen Clarke, a 47-year-old former justice department lawyer who leads the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, founded in 1963 to help attorneys in private practice enforce civil rights. As her group filed voting rights and anti-discrimination lawsuits across the country over the last few years, Clarke spent hours nearly every election day briefing journalists on reports of incoming voting problems. Reports of long lines, voting machine malfunctions, translator issues – no problem was too small. The monitoring sent a message that civil rights groups would move swiftly against any whiff of voter suppression.

    Now, after years of leading the fight for civil rights from outside the justice department, both women are poised to return to its top levels, where they can deploy the unmatchable resources of the federal government. Last month, Joe Biden tapped Gupta to serve as his associate attorney general, the No 3 official at the department, and Clarke to lead the civil rights division. If confirmed by the Senate, Gupta would be the first woman of color to be the associate attorney general; Clarke would be the first Black woman in her role.

    “They are both independently legit civil rights champions with a long deep history,” said Justin Levitt, who worked with Gupta at the justice department and knows both women well. “They’re going to make a really spectacular, really powerful team.”

    Picking two career civil rights lawyers for two of the top positions at the justice department sends an unmistakable signal that civil rights enforcement will be a top priority for the agency over the next four years. Civil rights leaders said they could not remember a prior administration in which two of the department’s highest positions were filled by civil rights attorneys, especially two such as Clarke and Gupta.

    Nice profiles, I knew of Gupta, but Clarke was a blank spot.

  30. 30.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 7:46 am

    @debbie: I wonder who has copies of all those emails….

    Maybe the Eff Bee Eye?

  31. 31.

    rikyrah

    February 3, 2021 at 7:46 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ???

  32. 32.

    rikyrah

    February 3, 2021 at 7:47 am

    Nancy from Baltimore called him

     

    Qevin McCarthy

     

    ????

  33. 33.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 7:47 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  34. 34.

    rikyrah

    February 3, 2021 at 7:48 am

    @Dopey-o:

    She needs to be arrested for SEDITION

    And he needs to be IMPEACHED

  35. 35.

    satby

    February 3, 2021 at 7:49 am

    @JAFD: And on that note

  36. 36.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 7:50 am

    Truth, Slap Them With Their Own Skeletons *Then* Reconciliation (maybe)

  37. 37.

    JPL

    February 3, 2021 at 7:51 am

    @Immanentize:  Nice.  One can only hope.

    I wonder how Ginni would feel if Biden nominated Anita Hill for Garland’s seat?

  38. 38.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 7:53 am

    @JPL: That would be too much trolling.  And Anita is out of the law business and is quite happy, I think, at Brandeis

  39. 39.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    February 3, 2021 at 7:54 am

    Ginni Thomas needs to be hauled before a House committee and sweated for a few hours with an invitation to come back for a longer session two weeks later.

    The invitation can be rescinded with the announcement of the immediate retirement of Clarence Thomas.

  40. 40.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 7:54 am

    @rikyrah: perfect!  ?

  41. 41.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 7:56 am

    @Immanentize:

    FSM, please make it so!

  42. 42.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 7:56 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I suspect that Alito is as crazy and conspiracy infected as Ginni.  He believes crazy things.

  43. 43.

    Chyron HR

    February 3, 2021 at 7:57 am

    @Baud: 

    “By killing cops instead of honoring them, the GOP once again proves themselves to be to the left of the neoliberal corporatists.” – Some Twitter asshole, probably

  44. 44.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    February 3, 2021 at 7:59 am

    @Immanentize:

    I had thought that the retirement invite could be extended to Scam Alito, but wondered if that wouldn’t be a step further than would be acceptable.

  45. 45.

    rikyrah

    February 3, 2021 at 8:00 am

    @debbie:

    Absolutely

    She is eyeballs deep in this

  46. 46.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    February 3, 2021 at 8:01 am

    @Chyron HR:

    Greenwald and Michael Tracey hit their “like” buttons on that. Greenwald retweets it. Tracey expands on it.

  47. 47.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 8:01 am

    @geg6:

    Maybe I’m missing something, but why does Lindsay Graham think it’s some kind of threat to Dems to say that if they call any witnesses at the impeachment trial, the GOP will be calling the FBI to testify about the planning of the insurrection? 

    Calling the FBI to own the libs themselves!

  48. 48.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:02 am

    @Immanentize

    Not going to happen so consider it a hypothetical.

    If Souter were re-appointed that would not require Senate confirmation again?

  49. 49.

    AnderJ

    February 3, 2021 at 8:05 am

    @NotMax: I read that as “will he make the trans run on time” … and lol’ed when I re-read

     

    @NotMax:

  50. 50.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 8:06 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    I had a friend who used to say, wisely: “They do reveal themselves.” But we are going to have to be patient, I suspect.

  51. 51.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 8:06 am

    @Baud: “I’ve always been someone that, you tell me what to do and I do it. I grew up being told we were Republican so I always voted that straight red ticket.”

    I despair for our country. I mean, I’m glad she finally woke up, but too many others share her innate lack of curiosity and will never wake up.

  52. 52.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 8:08 am

    @NotMax: Dump’s DC-to-Honolulu bullet train isn’t being put back on the table.  Sorry.

  53. 53.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 8:09 am

    @NotMax: yes it would because he was confirmed to a specific seat on the court –. Maybe seat six or seven?  So his retirement meant he ended that appointment.  It is the same reason that even associate justices must again go through confirmation to become the chief justice (which is seat number 1).  The constitution only requires one justice on one court (SCOTUS) and nothing else.  The rest is up to Congress.

  54. 54.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:10 am

    @AnderJ

    (George Takei voice) Oh, my.

    :)

  55. 55.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 8:10 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I wonder if anyone ever told her to go fuck herself?

  56. 56.

    satby

    February 3, 2021 at 8:12 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I read it and she’s pretty representative of a lot of people, though not as many fall into the Q crazy.

  57. 57.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 8:13 am

    @Immanentize: Can’t say about her but I’ve been told to go fuck myself dozens hundreds thousands of times, but I’m an asshole.

  58. 58.

    Kristine

    February 3, 2021 at 8:14 am

    @NotMax: I wonder if being comatose interfered with/weakened his body’s ability to fight Covid the first time, so his antibody response was weak.

  59. 59.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 8:14 am

    @satby: Exactly.

  60. 60.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    February 3, 2021 at 8:15 am

    Put a pin in this one.

    https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/trump-organisation-accuses-scottish-politicians-pursuing-personal-agenda-3121842

    In a sternly worded statement on the eve of the debate in the Scottish Parliament, the former US president’s firm dismissed the MSP spearheading the calls for the Scottish Government to pursue an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) as a “national embarrassment.”

    The statement, issued by Eric Trump, executive vice president of his father’s company, accused elected representatives of investigating Mr Trump’s companies at the expense of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    …

    But in the statement, Eric Trump hit back: “At a critical time when politicians should be focused on saving lives and reopening businesses in Scotland, they are focused on advancing their personal agendas.

    “Patrick Harvie is nothing more than a national embarrassment with his pathetic antics that only serve himself and his political agenda.

    I’m thinking we also need a pandemic response failure commission to figure out what efforts the Orange Mediocrity was making toward response and relief.

  61. 61.

    JWR

    February 3, 2021 at 8:17 am

    @geg6: Lindsay’s just using that new, reverse psychology stuff.

    ;)

  62. 62.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 8:18 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    The statement, issued by Eric Trump 

    Did he scrawl in all caps again?  What color crayon?

  63. 63.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 8:18 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Well I never thought of you as “someone who is told to do something and does it” like she described herself.  I am right about your contrarian nature, am I not?

  64. 64.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    February 3, 2021 at 8:20 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    ”Wearing shorts, knee socks with tassels and hush puppies, Eric Trump jumped up and down while tearfully screaming ‘you guys, stop abusing me! It isn’t funny’.

    The urine-soaked front of his shorts was quite evident at the time.”

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:23 am

    @Immanentize

    Thanks. was vaguely under the impression that Chief Justice as a separate and unqique portion and the Associate Justices were fungible.

    Another legal query. Rarely used but there is precedent for declaring someone a “vexatious litigant,” barring their further application to file suit.

    A certain Rudy comes to mind as being eligible, among others.

  66. 66.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 8:24 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    I really want to see the responses to this. Bet there will be some really, really colorful language!

  67. 67.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 8:25 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    That really doesn’t seem like a good way to try and solve the conflict, Junior.

    The Trump’s are out. 
    Going after the Trumps is what it’s about.

  68. 68.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:25 am

    @mrmoshpotato

    What color crayon?

    Orange, silly.

  69. 69.

    satby

    February 3, 2021 at 8:26 am

    @Baud: You know what got me watching that clip? The sad shake of President Biden’s head after he and the First Lady walked over to view the floral tributes. I bet it was a wreath from the family.

  70. 70.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 8:26 am

    @NotMax: yes, courts can sanction people and direct the clerk not to file further pleadings from that person.  As you can imagine, this power is almost never used against anyone except inmates.

  71. 71.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:28 am

    @NotMax

    Yuck. Clean-up on aisle 1.

    as a separate and unqique portion = is a separate and unique position

  72. 72.

    Immanentize

    February 3, 2021 at 8:28 am

    @satby: When Biden tapped the table in front of the ashes….  That guy knows funerals.  So sad.

  73. 73.

    gvg

    February 3, 2021 at 8:30 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​
      Yeah, but her mom told her, elections happen all the time and control changes all the time, etc and also told her not to pull her daughter out of school. I think that mom really saved her. In her case I also think being laid off with too much time on her hands played a role. She probably was also depressed. The pandemic side effects probably increased the number of people who got into this. stuff.

    Firefox is acting wonky for me. 73.0.1. Work, where we don’t always update because it screws up other things that work. Mac desktop, not sure of model.

  74. 74.

    satby

    February 3, 2021 at 8:31 am

    @Immanentize: Yeah. He feels them. And every one brings back memories of the people you’ve lost.

  75. 75.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:33 am

    @Immanentize

    Thanks again.

    Come to think of it, Vexatious Litigant not a bad band name.

  76. 76.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 8:34 am

    @Immanentize: People by and large don’t like individuals that don’t fit in. Those who don’t fit in either commit suicide or make peace with the fact accepting the slings and arrows and grow a thick skin.

    My skin is so thick that they have *shoe cobblers* on standby whenever I have surgery.

    ** actually had a nurse utter those exact words when she was trying to sew me back together after a surgery. I think she forgot that I was awake.

  77. 77.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 8:40 am

    @gvg: In her case I also think being laid off with too much time on her hands played a role. She probably was also depressed.

    She says as much, but I am quoting her exact words, “tell me what to do and I do it.” Blind obedience outside of the military, is bad no matter which side one is on.

  78. 78.

    Baud

    February 3, 2021 at 8:40 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    People by and large don’t like individuals that don’t fit in. Those who don’t fit in either commit suicide or make peace with the fact accepting the slings and arrows and grow a thick skin spend all their time on Balloon Juice.

    Fixed for a friend.

  79. 79.

    Ken

    February 3, 2021 at 8:41 am

    I thought we’d agreed on a Truth and Retribution Commission?  This is making me rethink my vote for Biden.

  80. 80.

    Jeffro

    February 3, 2021 at 8:43 am

    @Immanentize:But it can both be true that the Proud Boys (stand back and stand by) planned and the President incited.

    the last president* has been inciting violence since he started his run for office.

  81. 81.

    jonas

    February 3, 2021 at 8:44 am

    @Baud: ​
     

    I’m sure for every 10 grand she’s fined, she raises $250k for her grift/slush fund, so it’s all good.

  82. 82.

    Jeffro

    February 3, 2021 at 8:44 am

    @rikyrah: I know…I saw that and was like, “WOW, Smash!  Keep. It. Up.”

  83. 83.

    Leto

    February 3, 2021 at 8:44 am

    Sen Manchin (Imaginary Party- WV) is on Morning Blow continuing to call for a bi-partisan approach on anything. Saying he still believes in the Byrd Rule and won’t get rid of the filibuster. I guess the message from the WH wasn’t received on his end

    Edit: “I want to make sure that both Democrats and Republicans have a voice in this.” What party do you belong to? Do you even remember anymore? I know all the arguments about he’s the best we can ever hope for from WV but ffs, make DC a state so he can go join the party he continually helps.

  84. 84.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 8:44 am

    @Baud: You have a friend? Huh, the things I learn here…. ;-)

  85. 85.

    Jeffro

    February 3, 2021 at 8:47 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:I’m thinking we also need a pandemic response failure commission

    Yes, this.

    1. Child/family separation commission.
    2. Pandemic response failure commission.
    3. January 6th commission.
    4. “Where did all the CARES Act $$$ go?” commission
  86. 86.

    Josie

    February 3, 2021 at 8:48 am

    @Baud:

    This is so true.  I remember saying to my son years ago that I was so overjoyed to find a community of people out there that were like me.  I had thought I was destined to be different from everyone else for the rest of my life after my husband died.

  87. 87.

    jonas

    February 3, 2021 at 8:48 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: ​
     

    He actually thinks a Scottish politician runs the risk of being unpopular for fucking with his dad? Lol.

  88. 88.

    satby

    February 3, 2021 at 8:48 am

    Polar vortex and the lowest temperatures this winter are heading my way, and eastward. Will last a week. Fucking woodchuck.

  89. 89.

    MisterForkbeard

    February 3, 2021 at 8:48 am

    @Immanentize: Well, that makes no sense.

    Trump can be inciting for months while the proud boys also planned for months. Not every insurrectionist was a Proud Boy – far from it. But then, nothing Fox says makes any real sense.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:50 am

    @Leto

    Bipartisanship requires two parties, Joe, not one party and a cult.

  91. 91.

    sab

    February 3, 2021 at 8:54 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: That statement really is a thing of beauty as far as showing lack of self-awareness.

  92. 92.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 8:54 am

    @satby: 7F/-2F forecast for Superb Owl Sunday in my neck of the greatest city on Earth.

    Time to start thawing the pork shoulder.

  93. 93.

    germy

    February 3, 2021 at 8:54 am

    “I would ask those of you on the contrary side to have grace and mercy on those on my side of the polarized world, and feel free to call and talk to me individually about where I failed you as a friend here. I probably need more tutoring,” she wrote.

    Right out of the conservative playbook.  Stomp heads when you win, beg for mercy when you lose.

  94. 94.

    prostratedragon

    February 3, 2021 at 8:57 am

    @JAFD: Listening to the octet now. He wrote when he was 16, as a present to his violin teacher.

    String Octet in E flat major, Op. 20

  95. 95.

    Jeffro

    February 3, 2021 at 8:58 am

    Oh here we go: You Can Disavow trumpov Without Apologizing For His Presidency

    nice try and F U, Gary Abernathy

    (warning: monitor your blood pressure and consider having a spotter nearby)

    “…Trump’s adversaries feel endlessly compelled to demand, from their imagined thrones of judgment, that Trump supporters not only turn away but also disavow their previous association with him. Their dogged insistence on the latter is a reason the former doesn’t happen.

    Consider this: I’m glad that Richard M. Nixon was president. He normalized relations with China, helped thaw the Cold War by signing nuclear arms treaties with the Soviets, established the Environmental Protection Agency and signed Title IX legislation to bring gender equality to collegiate sports, among many other historic accomplishments. There is no contradiction in being glad Nixon was president while also agreeing it was right to force him from office because of the Watergate affair.

    Likewise, from my perspective, I’ll always be glad Trump was president. He transformed the GOP from a blue-blood country club into a home for blue-collar Americans. He built one of the best job-producingeconomies in our history. He strengthened our Southern border, lifted job-killing regulations to achieve energy independence and oversaw the record-breaking delivery of a coronavirus vaccine. His “America First” agenda spoke to millions of Americans who previously felt sidelined.”

    Got it, everyone?  trumpov did just simply amazing things and in no way rode the economic recovery that Obama/Biden brought about, until fucking it up spectacularly with his non-response to the pandemic.  Also, racists felt ‘sidelined’

    If patriotism isn’t enough, there’s also a practical political reason for Republicans to let Trump go — to preserve his movement. Trumpism is a cause worth fighting for, but Trump’s endless personal detours and outrages hindered its success. Biden is working expediently to undo what Trump managed, in spite of himself, to accomplish, enacting policies and programs that are much more liberal than advertised(to no one’s real surprise). For Republicans, salvaging Trumpism depends on winning the House and Senate in 2022, then retaking the White House in 2024. They are goals well within reach, if Trump himself can be shunted aside.

    Millions of Americans will continue to love Trump, and that’s okay. Love is a complicated emotion, seldom based on reason. But moving on is sometimes the healthiest course of action — and rest assured, no apologies will be necessary.

    “Love is a complicated emotion”.  Oh my.

  96. 96.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 8:58 am

    @mrmoshpotato

    in my neck of the greatest city on Earth

    You moved to Paris?

    thawing the pork shoulder

    No shilly-shallying, call a butt a butt.

    ;)

  97. 97.

    Geminid

    February 3, 2021 at 8:58 am

    @gvg: I have a customer whose pandemic isolation probably was detrimental to her political outlook. She was a Republican before, of what I would call the Wall Street Journal type. After six months of isolation, she had become an Epoch Times Republican.

  98. 98.

    O. Felix Culpa

    February 3, 2021 at 9:00 am

    @satby:

    Fucking Woodchuck

    Ooh, another good band name! Stay warm. I wish more snow had dropped on us on its way eastward.

  99. 99.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 9:04 am

    @satby:

    Seconded! At least there will be less snow.

  100. 100.

    SFAW

    February 3, 2021 at 9:06 am

    @rikyrah:

    And he needs to be IMPEACHED

    “But he’s no longer president!* Let the people decide at the ballot box! The Senate has no standing! VEEBLEFETZER!!!”

    * Yes, I know that’s not who you’re talking about.

  101. 101.

    germy

    February 3, 2021 at 9:10 am

    A woman accused of participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol asked a federal judge for permission to leave the country on vacation later this month – and got it.

    In a Monday court filing, lawyers for Jenny Louise Cudd requested the court’s blessing to travel to Mexico’s Riviera Maya from Feb. 18-21 for a prepaid “work-related bonding retreat” with her employees and their spouses.

    Cudd, a small business owner in Midland, Texas, is currently on pretrial release after being charged with two misdemeanor offenses, including entering a federal building without permission and engaging in disorderly conduct.

    The filing, obtained by USA TODAY, noted that Cudd has no prior criminal history and has remained in contact with her attorney and pretrial service officer, who had no objection to her proposed travel plan. Prosecutors took “no position” on the request.

    A U.S. magistrate approved the request, ordering that her pretrial travel restrictions to be amended to allow the four-day trip

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2021/02/02/capitol-rioter-wants-go-mexican-vacation-and-court-lets-her/4358889001/

  102. 102.

    SFAW

    February 3, 2021 at 9:10 am

    @geg6:

    Because Lindsey’s going to have Wray testify about Hitlary’s e-mails, and her QAnon membership, as well as her kidnapping and (presumed) murder of Judge Crater.

    Game, set, and checkmate, libtards!

  103. 103.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 3, 2021 at 9:11 am

    @NotMax:

    That ad is pre-1963. No ZIP Code or two-letter state abbreviation. Wonder if anyone will see it now and try to order…

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2021 at 9:13 am

    @germy

    Reverse caravan?

    //

  105. 105.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 9:16 am

    @NotMax: You moved to Paris?

    Now you see here, good sir!

    As for the pork, the label says “PORK SHOULDER ROAST” but the receipt reads “Service Meat.”

  106. 106.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 3, 2021 at 9:18 am

    @germy: Kalief Browder, Jailed For Years Without Trial, Kills Himself

    But white privilege doesn’t exist.

  107. 107.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 9:19 am

    @debbie:

    Seconded! At least there will be less snow. 

    Well, you’ve jinxed it now. ?

  108. 108.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 9:24 am

    @germy:

    for a prepaid “work-related bonding retreat” with her employees and their spouses. 

    “So are any of you also going on trial when we get back home for storming the Capitol building on January 6?”

  109. 109.

    WaterGirl

    February 3, 2021 at 9:27 am

    @Immanentize: I don’t disagree with you very often, but on this, I do.

    T**** started talking about the election being stolen even before Nov 3.  He set the stage, and told the big lie often enough – for months and months – that the rubes believed it, and they were a necessary part of what they hoped would be a successful coup.

    T**** gave the big talk and riled the “troops” before the actual battle on Jan 6.

    So I would absolutely say the the President incited, regardless of when the Proud Boys started their actual planning.

  110. 110.

    topclimber

    February 3, 2021 at 9:27 am

    @Jeffro: I do not demand rejection of Trump by GOPers. I demand they agree that he was lying about Biden stealing the election, with predictable consequences. They can hang onto their illusions about his “accomplishments” but they don’t get to endorse the “Yuuge Lie” and be treated as anything but pariahs.

  111. 111.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 3, 2021 at 9:27 am

    @NotMax:

    Some nouns and adjectives just go together:

    Vexatious Litigant.

    Turbulent Priest.

    Fretful Porpentine.

  112. 112.

    mrmoshpotato

    February 3, 2021 at 9:30 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Fedoraed Platypus

  113. 113.

    germy

    February 3, 2021 at 9:30 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    He was the first person I was reminded of.

    I remember after his release when Rosie O’Donnell had taken up his cause.  She raised some money for him, and he was a guest on some show.  Everyone else was talking and laughing it up, and he sat there looking shellshocked.  It was obvious he was profoundly depressed, no matter how much they tried to cheer him up.

  114. 114.

    Zinsky

    February 3, 2021 at 9:37 am

    I would be fine with a 9-11 style commission to investigate the January 6th Insurrection, as long as it was part of a broader and more expansive Truth and Reconciliation Commission, much like was done in post-apartheid South Africa.  There was so much criminality and corruption in the Trump Administration that it is going to take years to unravel and prosecute it all!  Also, don’t get too gauzy-eyed about the 9-11 Commission and it’s righteousness or comprehensiveness.  As Phillip Shenon lays out so brilliantly in his book, The Commission, that investigative body was corrupted from the git-go by Bush loyalist Phillip Zelikow, who downplayed the multiple warnings Bush/Cheney received prior to Sept. 11th, allowed Bush to testify only with Cheney present and ignored multiple bureaucratic missteps to really call out the massive intelligence and leadership failure of Bush et al.

    That being written, I say its time to call Trump’s treason – treason – and push for conviction and disqualification of this reptile from ever holding any public office again!

  115. 115.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    February 3, 2021 at 9:38 am

    @WaterGirl:

    He also chose the timing of his participation (only a couple of hours before the ceremony was to start) and included an exhortation to go to the Capitol.

    Would have been different if it were another day or even later on 1/6.

  116. 116.

    Amir Khalid

    February 3, 2021 at 9:46 am

    @NotMax: ​ I’m amazed that a cut of meat from the pig’s shoulder is called a pork butt. Mysterious are the ways of pork eaters.

  117. 117.

    zhena gogolia

    February 3, 2021 at 9:49 am

    @Baud:

    Decency. I like it.

  118. 118.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 3, 2021 at 9:52 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​
      It’s bad inside the military too.

  119. 119.

    Ken

    February 3, 2021 at 9:54 am

    @Amir Khalid: That’s “butt” as in “barrel”, from the way meat used to be stored.  Why it got attached to just the pork shoulder cut, I don’t know.  Similarly “larder” is because stored meat used to be coated with fat to help preserve it.

  120. 120.

    Barbara

    February 3, 2021 at 10:07 am

    @Anne Laurie: ​
    Maybe I don’t hang out in the right forums but Boebert seems to have been relatively quiet compared to Greene, although she is definitely one of the crew who would like to carry on the floor of the House. Millionaire conspiracy theorists like Greene give the game away. No way is her lunacy the product of economic anxiety.

  121. 121.

    WaterGirl

    February 3, 2021 at 10:21 am

    @Barbara: I imagine she is keeping her head down until things blow over.  I think she is probably legally culpable for some choices she made before and after Jan 6, so this is her effort at “nothing to see here”.

    Hope she is not successful in that effort.

    She hasn’t changed, and neither have her goals.  She is still a disgusting creature who should be expelled.

  122. 122.

    Minstrel Michael

    February 3, 2021 at 10:22 am

    As a Masshole, I would like to suggest that any legislation that comes out of any such commission’s work be called “The Preston Brooks Security Act.”

     

    It’ll have to include some dedicated funding for an internet rapid response team to defend the Wikipedia entry whenever some loon wants to rewrite history about exactly what Preston Brooks is famous for, and why.

  123. 123.

    SFAW

    February 3, 2021 at 10:37 am

    @Ken:

    “Balloon Juice: Come for the snark, stay for the pedantry.

    Then leave, because who wants to hang (figuratively) around with so many know-it-alls? “

  124. 124.

    SFAW

    February 3, 2021 at 10:38 am

    @Barbara:

    Maybe I don’t hang out in the right forums

    Clearly. I mean, you’re here, ain’t ya?

  125. 125.

    SFAW

    February 3, 2021 at 10:39 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    I’m amazed that a cut of meat from the pig’s shoulder is called a pork butt.

    I think it’s an autocorrect issue.

  126. 126.

    JanieM

    February 3, 2021 at 10:40 am

    @Immanentize: It made me curious about who Thomas’s clerks have been, this dear family of loved ones that she doesn’t want to be seen as dividing with her rhetoric.

    The list includes Laura Ingram and John Yoo, I don’t recognize the rest.

  127. 127.

    Geminid

    February 3, 2021 at 10:49 am

    @WaterGirl: Boebert may or may not be expelled. But unlike Greene, she represents a purplish district, and has to worry about reelection. Boebert won the CO 3rd by six points, not a comfortable margin. Since Greene’s GA 14th district was created in 2012, no Democrat has won more than 30% there.

    Redistricting could complicate Boebert’s prospects. Colorado will gain an eighth congressional seat for 2022. While the redistricting commission is supposed to act neutrally, they may happen to tilt the balance in the 3rd away from Boebert. Publically, commission members may justify this result by citing various legitimate factors. Privately, they may say, “yeah, we fixed Boebert a slider she’ll choke on!”

  128. 128.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 10:52 am

    @germy:

    Well, that’s fucking stupid.

  129. 129.

    debbie

    February 3, 2021 at 10:54 am

    @WaterGirl:

    He knew he was losing when he made that ridiculous phone call to the president of Ukraine.

  130. 130.

    Miss Bianca

    February 3, 2021 at 11:01 am

    @Geminid: Meanwhile, we have people lining up to take a crack at Boebert on the Dem side including, astonishingly *and* worryingly, for me, a semi-local named Gregg Smith, who is ex-military and worked for Erik Prince for 20 years. I don’t know how sincere he is about his conversion to the Democrats (allegedly he switched parties in 2016), but I wish to God he’d run for local office instead – he might pose a real challenge to the PTBs here, which we need.

  131. 131.

    Barbara

    February 3, 2021 at 11:05 am

    @Immanentize: It is an embarrassment to the U.S. justice system that Ginni Thomas’ activities had to become basically insurrectionist to raise alarms at the Court.  Spare me the pleas of the aggrieved spouse who should have a right to continue in their career of choice even if their spouse is appointed to some position in government or the judiciary.  No one would listen twice to Ginni Thomas were she not married to a Supreme Court justice, and the fact that she is the one who is active in outreach to his former law clerks says it all about her role and influence.

  132. 132.

    Geminid

    February 3, 2021 at 11:18 am

    @Miss Bianca: I’ve read that some potentially strong Democratic candidates have expresed interest in running in the CO 3rd, including a State Senator from Vail. Some might have run last election, but at the time incumbent Scott Tipton was expected to be the Republican candidate, and it was thought that Tipton would be hard to beat. Now, everyone seems to be waiting to see the new district boundaries. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will have a ton of money dropped on them.

  133. 133.

    VOR

    February 3, 2021 at 11:37 am

    @NotMax:  As our illustrious blog leader said it years ago:

    I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.

  134. 134.

    Ascap_scab

    February 3, 2021 at 12:27 pm

    @John S.: You win the internet.

  135. 135.

    artem1s

    February 3, 2021 at 12:54 pm

    @Baud:

    Biden pays respects to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick as he lies in honor at Rotunda

    did His Excellency ever offer condolences to his family?  or was he too busy twitting about what a loser he was?

  136. 136.

    Ruckus

    February 3, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    I’m thinking we also need a pandemic response failure commission to figure out what efforts the Orange Mediocrity was making toward response and relief.

    Really?

    Because I thought the answer was pretty simple. Worse than none. He was basically trying to kill us all.

  137. 137.

    Starboard Tack

    February 3, 2021 at 2:48 pm

    @Geminid:

    From your lips to the FSM’s ears.

  138. 138.

    Starboard Tack

    February 3, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    @NotMax:

    Peter Strojnik in Arizona last month, I think.

  139. 139.

    Uncle Cosmo

    February 3, 2021 at 3:48 pm

    @NotMax: Wayull, shoot, ah thot “unqique” wuz jess “you-neek” with an extra scoop of Q….
    (O/t visual tab working in Farfawks 85. [Now watch it go the way of SN9’s second Raptor…] And sho’nuff, edit comment window comes up blank in visual, must switch to text…grrr…..)​

  140. 140.

    Uncle Cosmo

    February 3, 2021 at 3:54 pm

    @Ken: ​ I thought we’d agreed on a Truth and Retribution Commission?

    Um, no, that would be the juvenile caucus here trying their damnedest to incite Civil War 2.0 when the other side has most of the guns and all of the cops.

    You know…morons…

  141. 141.

    Uncle Cosmo

    February 3, 2021 at 4:00 pm

    @Leto: ​ I know all the arguments about he’s the best we can ever hope for from WV but –

    But then why do you keep posting stupid shit like this?

    You say you know, you know – then immediately demonstrate you don’t know at all.

    Gesummariagiuseppe.

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