It brings me no pleasure to report that this is @BenMathisLilley's masterpiece https://t.co/uwYFRrH3f1
— Josh Levin (@josh_levin) March 11, 2021
Hat tip to commentor Jeffro, for Ben Mathis-Lilley’s Slate explainer, “The Republican Freshman Class Is a Tribute to Our Nation’s Notorious Local Bozos”:
Every town, midsize city, or urban neighborhood has one, or, perhaps, a family of them: the nuisance litigants, the business owners who address zoning board hearings while visibly intoxicated, the parents who ruin PTA meetings by accusing The Polar Express of encouraging demonry. They are the regulars in the police blotter section of the newspaper, the ones who have been banned from multiple softball leagues for reasons that somehow involve child support. They are America’s local ding-dongs and loose cannons. And, increasingly, they represent the Republican Party’s interests in Congress…
Never before, though, have our nation’s area weirdos dominated one party’s media presence and priorities as they do now. With much of politics, and political fundraising, carried out through social media performance, the ability to get attention has become functionally identical to the ability to command influence, and a new herd of public figures has stampeded through the gap where the fence dividing fame from infamy used to stand. Many of them were personally inspired by Donald Trump, who got his own start as the notorious protagonist of bankruptcies and divorces in the New York City area. Area creeps are having their moment, and the Republican freshman congressional class is where they are having it. Here, a guide to its most prominently messy legislators.
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert
Grim/colorful backstory: Boebert’s biggest moment in Congress thus far was appearing via Zoom for a committee hearing with several rifles piled haphazardly on a bookshelf behind her. (Seriously, one of them is just, like, lying on a row of books.) This makes sense given that her claim to fame as a candidate was Shooters Grill—a restaurant, which she operates with her husband, that employs waitresses who ostentatiously carry guns while working. The restaurant owed almost $20,000 in unpaid state taxes while Boebert was running for office; in 2017, a local health department determined that an unlicensed vending stand it set up at a rodeo caused as many as 80 cases of food poisoning…
Biggest current legislative priority: Boebert recently introduced a bill that would move the security fencing that currently surrounds the Capitol to the U.S.-Mexico border…
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Grim/colorful backstory: Ah, Christ. I mean, where to begin.A long recent profile in Politico begins in 2019 with Greene staging a one-woman, self-videotaped protest of a “Drag Queen Story Hour” event for children at a local library, deploying the time-honored annoying person catchphrase “I’m a taxpayer” during the course of arguing with a police officer and a library staffer. In 2012, she filed for divorce while reportedly conducting open affairs with two men she’d met through the CrossFit program… She has since reconciled with her husband, who runs a siding business founded by her father; during a period in which she was listed as its chief financial officer, the state of Georgia filed two tax liens against it, and she and her husband have been delinquent on property taxes five times…
Greene became active online by blogging and posting on social media about CrossFit, segueing into far-right politics—a subject she’d never shown any previous interest in—after Donald Trump’s election. In 2019, she gained notoriety by launching a campaign calling for Nancy Pelosi to be impeached for treason, and she has at various points suggested that Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and FBI agents who were disloyal to Trump should be executed. She also infamously traveled to D.C. in 2019 to film herself shouting at school shooting survivor-activist David Hogg, who she referred to online as “#LittleHitler.” Originally a resident of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, she initially suggested she would run for office in the 7th District before eventually filing in the 14th, which she now represents.
Biggest current legislative priority: For some reason, Greene moves to adjourn the House every day.…
Said it before, will no doubt say it again: Boebert is a sad little local LOOKAME!!! who got lucky; she’ll be grifting for some D-list Wingnut Wurlitzer as the gunbunny she always wanted to be within a few years. MTG, on the other hand, is genuinely dangerous — if she’s not actually crazy, she’s more than willing to play crazy for the cameras. And she’s got the money to support her ongoing campaigns, because her family (can you blame them?) would rather she be in DC threatening people than hanging around home and doing it, which is why she could shop around for a district where her toxicity would be unbeatable. Only way I see her getting out of politics is a shoot-out, hopefully metaphorical, between her and Erick Erickson or some of the other established GOP Gated Community Spokesmodels in the state — and frankly I don’t think they have the guts to challenge her.
WereBear Guest Post: Welcome Rhiannon and a Sad Goodbye
The Moar You Know
It probably hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that the American public is increasingly composed of rank morons. That a political party would attract them (acts as a force multiplier for their already formidable idiocy) surprises no one. But it is a problem for those of us who like a well-run society.
Also, first.
Litlebritdifrnt
Got my first shot today. Brilliant organization and really nice people. Oxford shot. Get my second shot on May 30.
Chetan Murthy
Is it my imagination, or does MTG’s head look different in most press photos, from that photo above? Much more pronounced cheekbones and eye sockets in the former.
Jay
@Litlebritdifrnt:
congrats, go get your sticker!?????
Gary K
Jim Jordan (formerly my congressman, *spit*) is getting jealous.
RobertDSC-Mac Mini
Got my first shot today, Pfizer just like my folks. No serious pain as of yet, but I’m mentally exhausted from the waiting in line and the sheer amount of humanity at the dispensary location.
Brachiator
That was so weirdly funny.
I am in such a mood today. I watched a YouTube video of an older woman in Galveston, Texas, getting arrested for not wearing a medical mask in a bank. The video brought tears to my eyes.
I was so happy to see her get arrested.
Obvious Russian Troll
@Chetan Murthy:
I think that’s just a more flattering picture under more flattering lighting than we normally see of her. 15 seconds of googling suggest it’s from a press conference (i.e., I saw an image that looks like it matches with a microphone in the background on Axios).
Chetan Murthy
@Brachiator: How can that be legal? I mean, it’s *Texas*. Surely Gov. Abbott will order her to be released! /s
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
While I am neither a rank moron, nor an area nuisance (I’m actually a quite likeable person) I’m now thinking of running for Congress. I mean, it looks really easy to win.
Obvious Russian Troll
@Gary K:
On the bright side, Jim Jordan is unlikely to run for Senate since his current district is so heavily gerrmandered and thanks to the Ohio State wrestling scandal he’s unlikely to win a statewide election.
I hate the fucker because I have ties to the UW-Madison.
Wag
Kerry Donavan is an excellent Dem with experience in government (colorado state legislature), teaching, and ranching, who is running to replace Boebert. She’s someone to support going forward.
cain
@Brachiator: Didn’t the Governor say it’s all good now? I suppose a lot of businesses don’t give two shits about what the governor says. :-) But having people arrested for tresspass for not following the rules is always awesome.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Brachiator: Meanwhile I heard today that Texas is suing the city of Austin for daring to have a mask mandate.
Chetan Murthy
@Obvious Russian Troll: Huh. Interesting. B/c she looks like an conventionally attractive woman in that picture, whereas most of the pictures I see, she looks like … well, somebody who’s skull physiognomy has been altered beyond normal.
lowtechcyclist
To steal from Firesign Theatre, I think they’re all bozos on that bus.
Frankensteinbeck
@The Moar You Know:
The world is leaving them behind, and it fucking infuriates them, so they demand their alternate world be accepted as real by everyone, including reality itself. They’re not just ignorant, or proudly ignorant, they are angry at facts. The result is indistinguishable from regular stupidity.
raven
@Obvious Russian Troll: GO ILLINI!!!
debbie
@Obvious Russian Troll:
I believe he’s thinking about primarying DeWine for governor.
debbie
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Paxton, the only asshole bigger than Abbott.
Brachiator
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Austin is, I suppose, a relatively blue region within Texas. I hope they prevail.
Don’t mess with Texas!
At least, not with the sane parts of the state.
Mike R
Any one remember the Paul Newman movie slap shot. If so doesn’t Boebert have a passing resemblance to the Hanson brothers, like maybe a younger sister.
AnotherBruce
@Mo Salad:
Really
haven’t you had enough?
Ohio Mom
Oh yes, I know exactly what is being described, the nuisances that disrupt the business at hand.
I’ve known/witnessed a bunch of them over my life. They come from all walks of life and they’ve each had their own spin on being an attention sink and a wrench in tne works.
Maybe another language has a word for them.
Scout211
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
A judge ordered the mask mandate can stay for at least the next two weeks.
texastribune.org/2021/03/12/austin-mask-mandate-texas/
jl
I skimmed the parade of horribles.
Things are going to get weirder, though hopefully not more dangerous.
I heard a news blurb that Rubio has announced support for the Amazon unionization effort. Because, he is supporting good All-American workers who are fed up with limousine liberal Bezos and the commie Dem WaPo.
A little success goes a long way to build enthusiasm and energy in building a movement, and it looks like the Biden admin is working towards tangible improvements for the mass of the ‘lesser’ people, and will go tell the voters about it. That reasoning seems better to me than Rubio’s. We’ll see where Rubio’s stunt goes, but I think that it is promising to see the wind blowing so strongly in that direction that Rubio has to jump on it. Rubio’s pitch is pure BS, and he is surely desperately trying to adjust to a new popular mood, not anything else.
“The wise man walks with eyes in his head, the fool walks in darkness”
Ecclesiastes 2:14
Chetan Murthy
@Scout211: She’s a good one: texasbar.com/AM/PrinterTemplate.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=…
First job out of law school was working for Legal Aid. With any luck, the proceedings can drag things out until it’s moot. That she ruled to allow the mandates to remain in place is *everything*.
mrmoshpotato
Wading through the sewer….errrrr….. writing that article had to hurt.
Hooray on 40+ years of telling people the government is the problem Rethuglicans! Enjoy your wingnuts!
You built this.
evodevo
@Chetan Murthy:
Not ur imagination..I’ve noticed she has a weird flat face – odd bone structure…
Chetan Murthy
@jl: It’s good that Rubio’s doing it for whatever reason. But I think his reason is quite clear (from his statement):
It’s all part of his culture war.
Yutsano
Beth van Duyne looks like Marsha Blackburn and now I can’t unsee it.
mrmoshpotato
@Ohio Mom:
“Assholes” isn’t strong enough?
Geminid
I found a couple of positive news stories in today’s Washington Post. The first of three woman who assaulted Uber driver Subakar Khadka in San Fransisco a few days ago was arrested Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Charged with assault with a caustic chemical (she pepper sprayed the driver), assault and battery, conspiracy, and violation of health and safety code. Malaysia King, 24, was being held without bail, as a fugitive from justice. A second passenger has told her lawyer that she will turn herself in soon. The third passenger had not yet been publically identified.
And a DOD investigation of General Michael Flynn, begun in April 2017, is finally finished and being reviewed by the Secretary of the Army. Flynn seems to have violated the general prohibition concerning U.S.officials, including retired officers, receiving money or gifts from foreign governments. The payments in question are $530,000 paid to Flynn’s company in 2016, to lobby for Turkey, and $45,000 he got for attending the 2015 Russia Today gala. Vladimir Putin and Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein were Flynn’s convivial table-mates at this banquet. The Post said Flynn could be liable for tens of thousands of dollars in financial penalties.
Ohio Mom
debbie:
It has already occurred to me that I will most certainly be in the ridiculous position of rooting (silently) for DeWine in the primary — anyone who runs against him will be so much worse.
I am not worrying about Jim Jordan though. He has a very sweet and easy gig with no end date. Why give that up for a challenging job that will term limit him?
Josie
@Geminid:
I was hoping for a prison sentence for this asshole, but I guess financial penalties will have to do. Better than nothing.
jl
@Chetan Murthy: Yes, I agree it’s good. But Rubio is desperately trying to catch up with a changing mood in the country, and all he has is BS. Sorry to be cynical, but Rubio will be there to plant bombs and throw monkey wrenches into any federal legislation, while emitting this PR drivel and whining about lack of bipartisanship if the Dems don’t agree to go along with such a scam.
” Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. ”
Micah 2:2
Edit: any comment I make re Rubio will end with a Bible verse, just as a warning to sensitive BJ readers. Parts of the OT are not suitable for a family blog.
Edit2: another old translation I prefer says ‘they jump to do it’ rather than ‘they practise it’, but I forget which one right now, gotta go w KJ
JoyceH
Monday will be two weeks after my second Pfizer shot, and I’m trying to decide how to celebrate. Maybe IHOP? I had a haircut scheduled for Wednesday, but checked my phone messages and the salon says they have to reschedule. I felt a moment of sheer RAGE – maybe the pandemic and quarantine has affected me more than I realized?
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
I’d like to think he’ll be mortally wounded in redistricting.
Chetan Murthy
@JoyceH: Please, whatever you do, try to abide by as much of distancing/masking as possible when you’re in public. There are so many people who literally cannot get the vaccine right now, and we have to protect them. Some of them will take cues from other people’s behaviour, and seeing others masking, distancing, will cause them to continue doing so too. And maybe save their lives.
Kathleen
@debbie
@Ohio Mom:
Did you see where Geraldo Rivera is considering running for Portman’s seat
Also, the mayor of Cincinnati (John Cranley) is running for governor and it looks like Kay is supporting him, based on her post the other night.
debbie
@mrmoshpotato:
Whichever one was the one who coughed on the driver should get a much longer sentence.
Starboard Tack
@mrmoshpotato:
Le Mot Juste
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JoyceH: IHOP won’t let you down.
I miss restaurants in general, but I really miss going out to breakfast. Take out doesn’t cut it with breakfast foods.
debbie
@Kathleen:
I believe I’ve heard he’s changed his mind. Whew!
debbie
@JoyceH:
I’m hitting Graeter’s after my second shot.
Kathleen
@debbie: Whew! indeed. Between Portman and Gym Jordan Ohio is beclowned enough.
Amir Khalid
@Geminid:
When did my country become a girl’s name?
Steeplejack (phone)
@Mike R:
Young Edith Prickley.
West of the Rockies
Boebert looks like Palin, circa 2000. All of Sarah’s conventional good looks have gotten hard-edged. Her inner rage is not so inner.
JoyceH
@Chetan Murthy: Mid afternoon, my local IHOP is practically deserted. That’s the time to go.
Geminid
@Josie: Don’t give up yet on a prison sentence for Flynn. Investigators and prosecutors for the January 6 insurrection may work up the criminal chain and nail him for conspiracy. And Flynn is reckless and a fanatic. There’s no telling what other criminal activities he has been up to.
The Post reached out to Flynn’s attorney regarding the foreign payments matter. But Sindney Powell would not comment.
SiubhanDuinne
Forget Beth van Duyne, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene for the moment — what in the everloving blue-eyed actual fuck is going on with Ronny Jackson in that photo?!
JoyceH
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It really doesn’t. When I up in Northern VA sorting out my sister’s house, I did a lot of Grub Hub, and IHOP delivered. I’d get an omelette, that delivers well, but I’ve been dreaming of a breakfast sampler and tres leches pancakes.
Phylllis
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Agreed. Even Egg McMuffins are better eaten onsite.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@The Moar You Know:
I’m not sure this is true so much as these folks being more visible and more connected
Geminid
@Amir Khalid: There’s been a lot of that going around. I have carpenter friend whose daughter is named Jamaica. Although that actually is not so uncommon a name.
CarolPW
@JoyceH: I went to the grocery store I had not been in since March 4th last year. It was wonderful.
I had already taken the kitchen shears to my hair so that was not on my to-do list, but getting my eyes checked and new glasses is for next week.
Obvious Russian Troll
@Chetan Murthy:
It’s certainly possible that she had a professional do her makeup before that photo, but you can work wonders with lighting. If you look at the larger version I found (here), you can see wrinkles–so they clearly didn’t photoshop it heavily.
Mike R
@Steeplejack (phone): Oh my, yes she does.
Chetan Murthy
@Obvious Russian Troll: I suppose so. Humpf.
Cheryl Rofer
@JoyceH: Monday is my two-week two-shot mark too. I have a massage scheduled for Tuesday, the first in a year. On Wednesday, I will get together with a one-shot friend, probably outdoors and masked. I may even go to a grocery store on Thursday.
sab
@Kathleen: That’s just the GOP. We have some good guys on the other side. Hopefully this election cycle they will be noticed, or the lunatics’ lunacy will be noted by the press. Covid has actually killed reporters. Sometimes stuff gets real.
JoyceH
@CarolPW:
Since my grocery started curbside pickup, I may never go inside a grocery store again. But haircut! Argh! I’m about to take the cuticle scissors to my bangs.
I’ve scheduled the dentist, a grooming for my poor dog, an eye appointment (need new glasses SO bad!), and a regular echocardiogram and later a televisit with my cardiologist. All the stuff that’s been pending for a year. Going to get in the Guy for small indoor repairs, the Geek to set up a computer, the plumber to replace the garbage disposal…
It’s all so exciting!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Open thread, so here’s something I’ve been wanting to ask for awhile.
I’ve been wanting to buy and collect reprint editions of The Adventures of Tintin as well as the various Disney Duck comics. I’m aware they have often offensive content, simply because of the era they were published in. I suppose I’m afraid what happened with the Seuss books could happen with Tintin and the Disney books too. Same with older manga. Is this likely to happen?
Baud
@jl:
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. — John 7:37
sab
@JoyceH: My stepkid and fiancee dropped by today. They were masked. We could actually chat comfortably in the yard. Guys talked politics. Girls talked plants and flowers.
Damn. It has been over a year since a normal conversation with these people.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@CarolPW:
Even having the first shot (if Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech) gives a bit of piece of mind. It’s such a relief to have. My 60 y/o parents were able to be vaccinated last week and it will be great to potentially get together with my grandmother and other family this summer
Chetan Murthy
Since we’re going OT about vaxx: today a good friend I hadn’t heard from since late Jan called me. His last communication was that he and his wife had come down with covid. Today, I learned that they were and are both fine, came thru OK.
I started crying. I’m tearing up a little just writing this. And I’m not the sort who cries much. I’m so relieved, so thankful that he and his wife recovered well.
We all have to do what we can, to make sure that as few people as possible die in the next 2-3 months.
Pappenheimer
It’s been a while. I met a girl named Malaysia when we were both in the service – 2002-2003. I didn’t ask how she got the name.
brendancalling
Speaking of Van Duyne, <a href=”https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-ex-staffer-died-by-suicide-outside-gop-congresswomans-home-2021-2″>Ex-staffer died by suicide outside Republican congresswoman Beth Van Duyne’s home in Texas</a>:
”
An ex-staffer died by suicide outside Republican congresswoman Beth Van Duyne’s home in Irving, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon.
Richard Christian Dillard, 55, killed himself outside the home of the first-term Texas representative while she was inside with others who all heard the gunshots, the Independent reported.
They went outside and found the body before Rep. Van Duyne called 911. Police responded to the call at 3.45pm, Robert Reeves, Public Information Officer at Irving Police Department, told NBC News.
Dillard was the congresswoman’s Campaign Communications Director from November 2019 to April 2020…”
dexwood
@SiubhanDuinne: I’d say Dr. Feel Good is feeling pretty good.
danielxb
@Ohio Mom:
backpfeifengesicht?
catclub
@Geminid:
I knew of a girl named Eleuthera. Calendar says she was conceived there.
Geminid
@Wag: Colorado State Senator Kerry Donovan has a really good shot at beating Boebert, who won the CO3rd by only 6 points (virtually the same margin by which trump carried the district). Boebert surprised a lot of folks when she snuck up on incumbent Republican Scott Tipton in the primary. Tipton lost with 300,000 unspent dollars in his campaign war chest.
Next year Colorado will gain an eighth Congressional seat through reapportionment. They have an new independent redistricting commission that is supposed to act neutrally. I will not be surprised, though, if the new 3rd District ends up less favorable to Boebert.
Baud
@Geminid:
My plumber’s kid is name United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates Jones.
Josie
OT: I was amused to see this blurb on Political Wire:
“Amazon announced plans to stop selling all books that frame transgender and other sexual identities as mental illness, a decision it reached after four Republican senators complained to CEO Jeff Bezos last month when the company pulled a single book on the subject from its virtual shelves.”
I’m not a Bezos fan, but I love this. He knows how to deal with bullies.
jl
@Baud: A small man in a big chair is an abomination to THE LORD.
Book of Erasmus 33 and a third.
danielx
@Ohio Mom:
backpfeifengesicht?
catclub
@Baud: “Let the faithful rejoice in triumph,
Let them be joyful on their beds.” Ps 149
is it as explicit as it sounds?
SixStringFanatic
@brendancalling: “heard the gunshots”? Plural? How bad was that guy’s aim?!
smith
Speaking of vaccines, the CDC tracker says that as of the end of today, 106M shots have been given nationwide. That’s up from 101M yesterday. So, 5M in one day! The general pattern has been for the number of shots to peak on the weekends, but I never would have expected this.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@jl:
It’s such transparent BS with Rubio. Same with the GQP’s claim about how they’re the REAL “Working Man’s Party”. Um, no lol
The Lodger
@Amir Khalid: Doesn’t Malaysia already have a King?
Jeffro
Thanks, AL! I thought it was just great, insightful framing: these are people you’d avoid at the supermarket, or PTA meeting…so why in the world would you elect them to represent you?
dmsilev
@Cheryl Rofer: Amazing that ‘go to the grocery store’ is legit a special occasion.
The vaccine giver-outers were busy yesterday; CDC reports nearly 4.6 million doses administered, by far the largest daily total to date.
West of the Cascades
@Chetan Murthy: The lizards don’t always get their fit quite right unless they’re particularly careful as they’re getting into their human suits — as they would before a press conference.
catclub
Also Rubio will have no problem with oil companies with down home values (stealing oil from Indian land, abusing the wife) also abusing the workers.
Ken
Definitely an “irresponsible not to speculate” story. Especially if the coroner says he shot himself with a rifle, in the middle of his back.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I’d like to clarify that I of course don’t agree with such stereotypes. But I think the books themselves are more than just those stereotypes and have literary value
karen marie
@jl: Rubio is doing no such thing. Read again his reasoning. He’s doing it to fuck with Amazon. The fact that hourly workers might benefit does not enter his calculation in the least.
catclub
@Ken:
Of course, something similar for Joe Scarborough, … and he got a TV show.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@karen marie:
What has the world come to when a sitting Republican senator is attacking a huge multinational corporation like Amazon
Gravenstone
@Chetan Murthy: I saw an article online that claimed his motivation was Amazon ownership being “too woke”. So yeah, culture war it is.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@catclub:
Oh definitely not lol. Marco Rubio, defender of the Forgotten Men and Women lol!
JMG
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I don’t know about Disney, but they’d have to stop teaching junior high French altogether if Tintin got canceled. So I don’t think so.
jl
@karen marie: That is also true. If I inadvertently suggested Rubio cares a rat’s ass about the workers, I didn’t express myself well.
As I noted, if Rubio gets involved in any labor or workers’ rights legislation, no matter what his public rationale, he’ll be working behind the scenes to wreck it somehow or other.
Ken
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): The word “reprint” in your original question is the kicker. Your ability to buy these works has always been predicated on the copyright holder deciding it would be profitable to print them. If demand goes down, they may decide the reduced sales don’t justify a print run. Or they may decide that selling these books will cut into another more profitable line.
Geminid
@brendancalling: Last year Beth van Duyne won the Texas 24th seat by a little under 5,000 votes. A very purple district between Dallas and Ft. Worth, not far from the district Democrat Colin Allred flipped in 2018.
Texas will gain two Congressional seats in the upcoming reapportionment. The republicans controlling the legislature will want to draw two more red districts, even knock out Allred. But they will also want to protect Van Duyne and other endangered Republicans. Gerrymandering has its limits in the face of demographic and political change,* and 2022 may be a good year for Texas Democrats despite gerrymandering.
*In 2018, Virginia Democrats flipped three Congressional districts drawn by a Republican General Assembly. And in the state House of Delegates, Democrats went from down 35-65 going into the 2017 election to up 55-45 coming out of the 2019 election, again on a Republican map.
NotMax
@JMG
There’s always Astérix.
@JoyceH
Noted that IHOP is now heavily pushing burritos.
I “think” they might still offer pancakes. If you ask nicely.
;)
Starfish
@Wag: I hope so. All of the out of state people are telling various randos running for that seat that they are going to follow them on Twitter.
Anyway
@Geminid: Mountbatten has (had) a granddaughter, India. I thought that’s a weird name for a person. Kenya is a not uncommon AA name.
Another Scott
@jl:
[ Backstory – dick_nixon hates Rubio with the heat of 1000 Suns. ]
Cheers,
Scott.
Kathleen
@sab: I certainly hope you’re right!
Starfish
@Chetan Murthy: Yes. It is because Amazon chose to pull all the anti-LGBTQ books. ?
Gravenstone
@Ken: At what point do we find out that the ‘victim exchanged gunfire with individuals in the home’ was actually what transpired?
sab
@Kathleen: I do also.
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
If the owner(s) of the publishing rights deems there’s a strong enough market for them, they’ll keep them in print. Maybe not constantly so, but they won’t go away permanently. (The Dr. Seuss books in the news recently have at times in the past all been out of print and no one batted an eye about it.)
When ti comes to Disneyana, might one suggest looking at the collected Carl Barks volumes.
Chetan Murthy
@Gravenstone: It’s D/FW. A little story. [ETA: Growing up there, ] We used to joke that every ten years or so, they’d find a [epithet for an undocumented Mexican-American immigrant] floating dead in the Brazos River, as a way of sending a message. I can completely believe the po-po covered-up such a thing.
TriassicSand
All six are horrendous, but they don’t necessarily outshine non-freshman like Jordan, Gaetz, Gohmert, Gosar, and the list goes on and on.
It’s probably going to get a lot worse. I suspect that social media may be one of the driving forces behind candidacies like those of Boebert and Greene. They get online, get a little exposure, and are seduced by the attention. They crave more and more and begin to believe they should be running things in Washington. The general
levelabsence of intelligence among countless American voters results in votes for people who are astoundingly unqualified to hold positions of public responsibility and we end up with Boebert, Greene, and Cawthorn who is at least as unqualified as the two women.Cawthorn has blamed his “mostly Ds” on his auto accident, which damaged his brain so he can’t learn, he says. Just what we need making laws in this country.
debbie
@Another Scott:
I’m still laughing over his comparison of Rubio to a sack of hammers.
Geminid
@catclub: Actualy, the death of Joe Scarborough’s staffer was not similar. Although trump tried to smear Scarborough over the matter.
Anne Laurie
As a moon-faced woman, I can attest that skillful makeup use can do a *lot* to establish contours that don’t actually exist, especially for a photo.
On the other hand, MTG’s a Crossfit enthusiast, and some people say that Crossfit doesn’t exactly discourage the illicit use of human growth hormone…
Ken
@Chetan Murthy: That reminds me of my great-aunt’s stories of 1960s Phoenix policing. According to her, every now and then they’d find a corpse in the desert, hands wired behind its back and three shots in the chest and head, and rule it a suicide. But that wasn’t racial, just mobsters.
Chetan Murthy
@Anne Laurie: Your last para: that’s what I was alluding to. But I can’t believe she’s changed that much since Nov 2020. So it must just be skillful makeup and lighting. Whatevs. She’s a lizard.
Chetan Murthy
@Ken:
As they say, lotta shallow graves in the desert outside Vegas.
debbie
@Chetan Murthy:
I’ve never seen her grin like that. Usually, she’s got more of a smirk. That might explain the different shape to the face.
trollhattan
Carmakers back to their old tricks.
“We only want to build trucks!”
Bite me.
Steeplejack (phone)
Oh, where are zhena gogolia and SiubhanDuinne?! Motorcycle guys doing pedantry.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Steeplejack (phone):
Prize comment: “I had this argument with myself earlier today.” ? I can relate.
catclub
Exactly. Giant pickup trucks ( the heavier the better) are already excluded from fleet mileage calculations. and heavier means they get expensed as business expense more often.
Ken
While the victim was shouting “It’s my baby too, Beth! Don’t get rid of him, I’ll adopt him!” Or is that too cliched for the 2021 writing staff?
trollhattan
@catclub:
That could explain our neighbor’s kid named Sandals McGee.
NotMax
Mentioned it previously, although dunno if anyone else has sampled it but am enjoying the heck out of Captain Marleau (season 1 on Prime until end of the month). The lead actress is almost too good. At ~90 minutes per episode, each one is more akin to a movie than standard TV.
From a director’s perspective, struck me there’s also a convenient shortcut to arranging certain scenes. As the good Captain wears a distinctive piece of headgear (which covers everything but the face from the crown of the skull to the base of the neck) and jacket, it’s entirely possible to shoot some scenes when she might otherwise be unavailable by slapping the same hat and coat on anyone else of similar build and filming from behind.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@trollhattan:
And I fucking hate this too. I love driving small, fun, fuel efficient cars. I don’t understand why people want to drive the often ugly and boring trucks/SUVs/crossovers. Well, I do. Perceived safety, higher ride height, comfort, apparently easier to get into for older people. I just think it’s bullshit that many entry-level, cheaper vehicles are being discontinued by automakers in favor of trucks and suvs because they have better margins. What will younger people do? How will the auto industry sustain itself when it’s relied on their products being affordable to the masses?
BruceFromOhio
What a great headline for a Krugman or Reich op-ed.
And enough Americans voted for them to represent. That is the part that scares the fuck out of me.
Anyway
@trollhattan:
Also Bryce Dallas Howard.
mrmoshpotato
@Anne Laurie:
Crossfit apparently doesn’t exactly discourage fucking every guy in the gym either.
zhena gogolia
lol
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
FYI. Whether they’ll ever successfully show up in the marketplace or not, the truck and minivan unveiled by Canoo are certainly visually arresting.
Starfish
@trollhattan: SUVs should not have fuel efficiency standards regulated like trucks, and this constant war of bigger and bigger vehicles on the road needs to stop.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack (phone):
I see it but I don’t get it!
Procopius
@Geminid: I was bothered about that mention that Flynn is being considered for prosecution for violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution. I find that puzzling. Why would they not consider whether or not he violated the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice)? Retired generals are still subject to military law. They are considered to have been transferred to the Retired Reserve, not to have resigned their commissions as officers. For that matter, aren’t there provisions in the US Code for bribery and failing to register as a foreign agent? Although I guess maybe a Department of Defense investigation might not think of applying civil law.
mrmoshpotato
@zhena gogolia: Hahaha
Steeplejack (phone)
@NotMax:
I saw most, or at least some, of those on MHz before the channel disappeared from my cable system. Pretty good, although the captain is a bit vinegarish.
Like my beloved (and highly recommended) Inspector Montalbano.
zhena gogolia
@mrmoshpotato:
He always has to work in some form of the word “ventilator.”
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Cynical response is that for quite some time the auto industry hasn’t sustained itself on sales of cars, they’ve sustained themselves on sales of vehicle loans.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
Click on the actual tweet and you’ll see the entire series of four panels.
Steeplejack (phone)
@zhena gogolia:
Good one!
cain
@Geminid:
India has long been used as a first name.
Benw
Here we go, Jackets!!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@NotMax:
Oh yeah, I mean to buy those : )
@Ken:
And I understand what you both are saying. I’d just hate to have to pay through the nose for books because assholes jack up the prices as a result of no longer publishing new ones or worse, they’re delisted from online store fronts
Martin
Martin reminds himself that after 65 years of Republicans, his district elected Katie Porter.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack (phone):
@debbie:
Okay, thanks! Very funny!
Steeplejack (phone)
@zhena gogolia:
Did you click on the graphic to see all five frames?
mrmoshpotato
@zhena gogolia: It’s also necessary to keep your cold heart warm when planning a vicious revenge. LOL
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack (phone):
Yes, it’s much funnier then (as debbie advised me). But I still don’t know who these people are.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@mrmoshpotato:
Just another form of exercise.
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
“Psst. Hey, buddy. Whatcha in the market for? I’ve got smack, crack, uppers, downers, weed and Seuss.”
cain
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Defender of the Neanderthals and those who have their blood.
Ilieitz
Ok. I know that this is probably a dead thread but I would like to know what woke really means.
mrmoshpotato
@Steeplejack (phone):
A mustardish captain would be better?
Geoboy
@Geminid: Regarding Flyyn, how about 20 years in prison while reducing his permanent rank and pension to second lieutenant? I’d prefer treason, which it is, but I would settle for this instead.
Another Scott
@zhena gogolia: The two guys worked at Orange County Choppers and had a Discovery Channel show “American Chopper”. They were rather infamous for having, er, disagreements – especially later in the series.
So, naturally, they became a Twitter meme.
;-)
HTH!
Cheers,
Scott.
SiubhanDuinne
@Anyway:
I once knew a white guy named Chad.
:-)
debbie
@Another Scott:
I think this is the first crossover meme I’ve seen:
Steeplejack (phone)
@zhena gogolia:
They’re a father-son team of custom motorcycle mechanics who had a series, American Choppers, on cable. They were always arguing and getting into it with each other, and that five-frame set has become a classic meme platform. I love it almost as much as the “woman screaming at cat” one.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack (phone):
I’m definitely on the side of the dude with tats and facial hair.
Martin
@trollhattan: Automakers are running headlong into cities banning cars. There are 2 billion parking spots in the US – 8 per vehicle. We have more land dedicated to parking cars than we do to housing. It’s wildly unsustainable, and cities are hitting their breaking point.
zhena gogolia
@SiubhanDuinne:
“begs the question” drives me nuts
ETA: I’m reading a profile of Kazuo Ishiguro in the NYT magazine in which the author says, “on a philosophical plain . . .” and some other choice solecisms, all while condescending to Ishiguro.
Steeplejack (phone)
@debbie:
When worlds collide!
Steeplejack (phone)
@SiubhanDuinne:
Good one.
Geoduck
Got my first shot today. My county in SW Washington state hasn’t done well with getting sites going before this, but I went through a drive-in setup run by the county health department, and it was all very well organized. Lots of signs and people with orange vests on the various parking lots of the local community college. I’m kind of borderline on whether I officially qualify for a shot right now with all of the state’s Tiers (“multigenerational household” could have been more explicitly defined), but there was an open slot coming in half an hour when I checked, so I took it.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
I just started his newest. For dystopian, it’s far better than Ian McEwan’s.
rikyrah
So cool ??
Steeplejack (phone)
@SiubhanDuinne:
As am I!
rikyrah
@Geoduck:
YEAH ???
Geminid
@Procopius: I’m not sure that was a very well written article, and I also found the emoluments element a little confusing. There probably is a section of the UCMJ that codifies the emoluments language. In any event, enforcement of the federal laws regarding registration as a lobbyist for a foreign government is up to federal prosecutors.
These questions will be thoroughly hashed out in various publications and blogs, I think. I’m still hoping that a heavier hammer will drop on Flynn over the January 6 insurrection. And on Roger Stone as well.
zhena gogolia
@debbie:
He’s a far, far better writer than McEwan.
Martin
@TriassicSand: Eh. Soft peddling white supremacy wasn’t getting results, so now we’re getting the dipshits willing to scream it from the raptors. The movement is flaming out. Gonna get ugly for a while, but so long as these people get marginalized, that’s all that really matters.
mrmoshpotato
@Martin:
Yes.
Frank McCormick
@Brachiator: Austin, like most major metropolitan areas of Texas is very Blue.
Like the rest of the country, Texas is purple with the divide being urban/rural.
Sure Lurkalot
I’m still a month away from my full potency date but I too am looking forward to going to the grocery store. I did go from June through October but always at the crack of dawn with a list sorted by aisle and geared to spending no more than a half an hour inside. Stressful! Curbside and deliveries have been fine but I miss some of the specialty stores I would drop onto from time to time. Dentist and haircut are high on the list as well as some time up in the mountains outside Boulder where in-laws live. They will be fully baked about a week after me and my honey.
Frank McCormick
MTG, on the other hand, is genuinely dangerous
On Twitter, I’ve seen the opposite argued as MTG is increasingly being viewed as a general pain in the ass by Democrats and Republicans alike* and Boebert possibly being more effective. She at least still has her committee asignments.
*I wonder if MTG has the same mentor as Ted Cruz.
Martin
@mrmoshpotato: Ha. One of my better typos.
Ken
@debbie: There’s undoubtedly a reason (perhaps known only to twitter’s not-yet-sentient algorithms) why a couple of tweets showing tattooed guys yelling at one another, are followed by “related” tweets from people who create dinosaur artwork.
mrmoshpotato
@Martin: Autoincorrect is fun at times. Now about this roof supported by dinosaurs…
TomatoQueen
@rikyrah:
Thanks for posting this, just to remind me why I still have a crush on this man. (Big thumpy heart emoji)
Ken
I’m surprised they used a Constitutional justification when making it illegal for members of the military to take money from foreign actors.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
After his last, I totally agree.
West of the Rockies
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Film, art, literature, as you know, is a product of the time in which it was produced. I don’t know much about TinTin. There was an animated film based upon the strip that came out about ten years ago. I recall it being passable entertainment for my then-aged 10 daughter.
Another Scott
@Ken: I see that too.
One can get rid of the “More Tweets” stuff by removing the “?” and everything after from the Tweet’s URL.
HTH!
Cheers,
Scott.
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
As it does me.
Jay
@Ilieitz:
“Woke” simply means aware of and supportive of social justice trends that assist “the other”,
eg, a cis male supportive of Trans rights and equality.
Steeplejack (phone)
Matt McIrvin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): It always kind of was the case with SOME of the Tintin books. Probably the worst of the lot, the early work “Tintin in the Congo,” wasn’t published in English at all until 1991, and not in color until 2005, and it was precisely because it was incredibly, blatantly racist. (I received the original as a prize in some kind of French-language competition I no longer remember the details of in the 1980s, and I was kind of shocked.)
I should say that Hergé himself seems to have been the kind of guy who tried to do better, and he repudiated a lot of these early works himself.
The Fat White Duchess
@Anyway: Not really new—there’s a character in Gone with the Wind named India. But Mountbatten’s family was likely giving a nod to the good old days of the Empire.
Omnes Omnibus
@JMG: I didn’t get any Tintin in French class.
JAFD
@catclub: I read, waybackwhen, that Mr. Kiplings’ parents honeymooned at Lake Rudyard in the Cotswolds…
(Don’t quote me on this, please.)
In near future, planning to head over to Chinatown, have dinner.
The Fat White Duchess
@mrmoshpotato: Isn’t Mustard reserved for the Colonel?
SiubhanDuinne
@JAFD:
More than plausible. From Wikipedia:
Rudyard Kipling was born in India on December 30, 1865.
Geminid
@Ken: Well, I don’t know that they, assuming you mean the people who wrote the UCMJ, justified this prohibition on the emoluments clause, although the language may track that clause. But like I said, that WaPo article was confusing, and I expect there will be better expositions of the law as applied to Flynn’s case, and they may be published already.
The Thin Black Duke
@The Fat White Duchess:
Well played, beloved.
Ken
Sure, if she’s feeling merciful. Otherwise she’ll just toy with the victim and wait for the heart attack.
Starboard Tack
@Geminid:
I don’t recall exactly but someone on a cable show, maybe Barry McAffrey, said Flynn could be recalled to actve duty and court martialed.
SiubhanDuinne
@Anyway:
@The Fat White Duchess:
Wikipedia article on “India” as a given name:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_(given_name)
Matt McIrvin
@Martin:
I hope you’re right. I keep feeling more like they’re going to kill us sooner or later, like all that’s happened was a temporary reprieve.
Ilieitz
So I guess I’ve been woke most of my life but I think the repubs have a different definition of “woke”. As a young boy I grew up in Pakistan. High school in DENVER half my friends were hispanic. 3 years in the Peace Corps in Jamaica. My first wife was Jamaican. My kids are Jamaican and my current wife is from the Dom. Republic so don’t get this woke shit. I’m 64 yrs old and I loved all the old cartoons so am I woke or not?
Another Scott
@Geminid: Beloved Commenter TriassicSands from 2017:
So, the steps would be:
1) Flynn called back to active duty and active pay status. (General Officers can be called back any time.)
2) Charges under UCMJ.
3) Court Martial.
4) Guilty verdict.
5) Lose pay, rank, benefits, etc.
At least that’s my understanding.
Cheers,
Scott.
Amir Khalid
@The Lodger:
The Agong, Malaysia’s head of state, is not quite a king. The difference is a bit complicated; I’ll explain it another time.
Anyway
@SiubhanDuinne: bwahahaha!
rikyrah
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Yeah???
Jay
@Ilieitz:
ReThugs and the GQP use “woke” as an insult, just like “liberal, commie, Antifa, Democrat Party”.
Successive ”Woke” people, of the day, have had them losing the “Culture Wars” since “Fuck LBJ”.
The Lodger
@The Fat White Duchess: Ursula K. LeGuin also had a granddaughter named India.
Sloane Ranger
@Jay:
That is the intended definition. Unfortunately, there are always some who try to outwake the woke and end up making a laughing stockof the entire concept. One example being a Mexican night run by a Students Union which led to complaints from a handful of people that the event stereotyped Mexicans because the publicity had included something to the effect of “Don’t forget your Sombrero. “
Sloane Ranger
@The Fat White Duchess:
Probably more specifically Mountbatten’s role as the last Viceroy of India.
TriassicSand
@SiubhanDuinne:
“Begs the question” is dead. It’s meaning in logical argument has been superseded by its substitution for the perfectly serviceable “raises the question.” Unfortunately, it really seems that ignorance is one of the driving forces in language evolution.
Years ago, I heard a talking head on a news program say, “Well that begs the question….” Then, I heard it again…and again, and it was always TV “journalists.” Eventually, it seemed like it was everywhere. Why anyone thought it was cooler to say “begs” instead of “raises” is a mystery to me. I’ve long wondered if once upon a time a newscaster overheard someone (educated) say “that begs the question,” but didn’t understand the context (and knew nothing about logic) and then repeated it on air thinking s/he would sound oh so learned to say “begs” instead of “raises.”
I cringe every time I hear it.
Another Scott
@TriassicSand: I think you’re on to something.
In the last few weeks, I’ve been hearing interviews on my (DC) NPR station where the interviewer/host will ask a question and the respondent will start by saying “Yeah!”. It’s spreading like wildfire and seems to be replacing “Well” (which seemed to be a Reaganism).
It’s funny how American English changes, and how quickly.
Cheers,
Scott.
Sebastian
@Frankensteinbeck:
OMG I am stealing that
Steeplejack
@TriassicSand, @Another Scott:
Two things that I have seen accelerate greatly just in the last year are:
1. “Couple [nouns]” vs. “couple of [nouns]”. I know this has been a joke with Cole on this blog for quite a while, but I’m seeing it more in the “mainstream” media—presumably copy-edited, but less and less these days, of course.
2. “Got” vs. “have got.” “I got nothing!” is a cliché, of course, but more and more I’m seeing things like “I got something to add to this argument,” when what is meant is “I’ve got something to add to this argument.”
Bonus: Sank has pretty much disappeared. The ship was sunk, but it sank yesterday. Ditto stank.
Don’t get me started on woah vs. whoa. Pure ignorance at work.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Do not get me started on snuck. Which has been used on multiple occasions by front pagers who ought to know better.
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
Ugh. I’m going to snuck off to bed, because I have to take a friend to get a COVID test tomorrow morning. (No crisis, pro forma before elective surgery.) Will read for a bit longer and perhaps catch the switch to DST at the hour.
Steeplejack
And DST just happened here while I wasn’t looking! My phone, my computer and my “atomic” clock all jumped ahead an hour. I’m most surprised by the clock, because it gets a radio signal from the big daddy atomic clock in Denver(?), and in the past it hasn’t always made the switch in timely fashion.
Chris T.
So … the penalty for collecting $575,000 is at least $20,000 and at most $99,000? One comes out at least $475k ahead? I think perhaps I should violate these prohibitions too.
Uncle Cosmo
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Works both ways – the party of “people” who wreck things, and the party that wrecks others.
(Rotating tagline?)
evodevo
@Steeplejack:
Yep LOL…the horse won’t pay any attention to that first one…
yellowdog
@Frank McCormick: MTG can not be voted out; her districts too red. Boebert, on the other hand, won by only 5 points.
Chief Oshkosh
@SiubhanDuinne: Of course, that you have both let us know to be sensitive to its use begs the question: Why?
JML
@Steeplejack (phone):
You know, I’m a pretty solid tennis player…and the only way I’m taking a point off Serena is if we play at least 3 sets, she gets bored and double-faults while serving left-handed. No way do I get a point unless she lets me get a point.
And I play regularly.
(If I got the chance to play against Serena, I’d do it in a heartbeat and dine out on how she utterly annihilated me without breathing hard and how I couldn’t even take a point off her for probably the rest of my life)