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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The revolution will be supervised.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

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

I was promised a recession.

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

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

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

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Tick tock motherfuckers!

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

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Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / Open Thread: Republicans Are Objectively Pro-Virus

Open Thread: Republicans Are Objectively Pro-Virus

by Anne Laurie|  November 30, 20216:44 pm| 174 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

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“It’s unfair to not give credit to Donald Trump for developing a vaccine your viewers believe is dangerous, to prevent a disease your viewers don’t believe exists” is a hell of a take https://t.co/qKz6s4LTBm

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 27, 2021

I, too, am angry that Biden did not drop a JDAM on every Murdoch asset, send the family to Guantanamo, and vaccinate all Americans at gunpoint. pic.twitter.com/RrWMH5EJbB

— Fred Will Not Subscribe To Your Newsletter (@LesserFrederick) November 27, 2021

perhaps, part of the reason that americans think things are going badly despite objective evidence to the contrary might be that major newspapers and television shows almost exclusively quote and interview republican strategists for their perspectives. https://t.co/mX4uFlZbiD

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) November 24, 2021

this piece is, for the genre, kind of unusually forthright about what's going on here — republicans are actively attempting to sabotage covid-19 efforts as well as economic recovery efforts — but treats this as just a normal part of politics

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) November 24, 2021

a thing that's been bizarre since the very beginning of the pandemic has been the hesitancy on the part of the press to objectively explain why the republican response to covid-19 is directly and indirectly responsible for tens of thousands of unnecessary american deaths.

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) November 24, 2021

seems more likely the denialism is idiocy and the political cashing-in is a plot. the two things aren't mutually exclusive https://t.co/wxcrW2Fwqn

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) November 29, 2021

i think a lot about how this article underlined that the trump's covid-19 response was so much worse that was even publicly known, how no one suffered any consequences for it, and how it almost immediately dropped off the radar the minute it was published. https://t.co/V1IkSsVVtl

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) November 29, 2021

i think there is a desire to hold people accountable for bad decisions who would take responsibility for those bad decisions, but the reality is that most of the worst mistakes were made by people who will never take responsibility and will attack you for even asking

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) November 29, 2021

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Reader Interactions

174Comments

  1. 1.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 6:47 pm

    Just an addon: CNN suspends Chris Cuomo ‘indefinitely, pending further evaluation’

  2. 2.

    hilts

    November 30, 2021 at 6:49 pm

    The Off the Wall Street Journal editorial page is a super-sized, putrid steaming pile of excrement

    OT
    CNN Suspends Chris Cuomo For Advising Brother On Sexual Misconduct Scandal
    https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cnn-suspends-chris-cuomo-advising-232626268.html

  3. 3.

    Alison Rose

    November 30, 2021 at 6:51 pm

    @hilts: this is my shocked face

  4. 4.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 30, 2021 at 6:53 pm

    @Leto: About fucking time.

  5. 5.

    OzarkHillbilly

    November 30, 2021 at 6:54 pm

    @Leto: What took them so long?

  6. 6.

    debbie

    November 30, 2021 at 6:59 pm

    Good.

    Notice that Garland impaneled a grand jury and has been criminally investigating Sidney Powell for at least three months and we didn’t learn about it until today.
    — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) November 30, 2021

  7. 7.

    UncleEbeneezer

    November 30, 2021 at 7:01 pm

    I’m glad to see some MSM writers finally pointing out that water is wet Republicans are openly trying to prolong Covid. Whether it will make any difference with voters, I’m not real optimistic.

    That said, I do think that this (along with The Big Lie) are two issues we should brand EVERY Republican with in 2022.

  8. 8.

    Fair Economist

    November 30, 2021 at 7:05 pm

    The ReGermagain party at work. Going for yet another time with Omicron, it looks like.

  9. 9.

    Scout211

    November 30, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    The 9th Circuit reversed a lower court ruling on California’s ban on high capacity magazines.  Source.

    (CNN)A federal appeals court in California on Tuesday upheld the state’s ban on high-capacity magazines, reversing a lower-court ruling in which a federal judge in San Diego compared an AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife.

    The 7-4 decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit says that the state’s restriction on the size of magazines that may be used with firearms only minimally interferes with the right to self-defense, and there is no evidence that anyone was unable to defend their home and family due to the lack of high-capacity magazines.
    The court noted that in the past 50 years, high-capacity magazines have been used in about three-quarters of gun massacres with 10 or more deaths and in 100% of gun massacres with 20 or more deaths.

    The judges added that more than twice as many people have been killed or injured in mass shootings that involved a high-capacity magazine compared to mass shootings that involved a smaller-capacity magazine.

    “The ban on legal possession of large-capacity magazines reasonably supported California’s effort to reduce the devastating damage wrought by mass shootings,” the court said. “In sum, large-capacity magazines provide significant benefit to soldiers and criminals who wish to kill many people rapidly. But the magazines provide at most a minimal benefit for civilian, lawful purposes.”

    The original case was filed by the California Rifle & Pistol Association and private gun owners.

  10. 10.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    Glad the play button is over that Nazi shitstain’s face.

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    November 30, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    Somehow, Hunter Biden got vastly more press coverage than Jared Kushner ever did. Funny, that.

  12. 12.

    JPL

    November 30, 2021 at 7:11 pm

    This is the fight that we have been waiting for….  must credit twitter

    Nancy Mace to reporters just now: “All I can say to Marjorie Taylor Greene is ‘bless her fucking heart.’”

  13. 13.

    trollhattan

    November 30, 2021 at 7:12 pm

    @Scout211: GOOD! That original decision they reverse had some lunatic gun-humping justification attached by the judge. Who evidently thinks he lives in a Bronson flick.

  14. 14.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:13 pm

    @Scout211: Sucks that SCOTUS will probably overturn their decision.

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    November 30, 2021 at 7:13 pm

    @JPL: Siri, popcorn, all of it stat!

    Nancy Mace is no prize, but compared to Greene she’s, well, not Greene.

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    November 30, 2021 at 7:14 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: I am no fan of Cuomo, but I don’t understand how/why he would be suspended from CNN for giving advice to his brother?

    This may be obvious, but I haven’t given Cuomo much thought other than to be glad that the Gov resigned.

  17. 17.

    Betty

    November 30, 2021 at 7:14 pm

    @Scout211: The key phrase is “to kill people”. The only use for these guns is killing people. But these guns are okay while pornography has no redeeming social value and is not.

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    November 30, 2021 at 7:16 pm

    Cue the sad bass trombone.

    It’s hard to recall a former politician who was showered with more free media attention than Chris Christie this month as he peddled his new book, “Republican Rescue.” Invited to appear on a carousel of shows, Christie was all-present as journalists lined up to interview him. CNN even dedicated an entire primetime hour to him, treating the in-your-face Republican as one of the most important political voices in the country.

    Consumers aren’t buying it.

    A senior publishing source with access to the industry’s BookScan tabulations tells me that “Republican Rescue” sold just 2,289 copies during its first week in stores, which constitutes a colossal publishing flop. That figure does not include digital copies of the book, but based on industry sales patterns, given Christie’s weak showing in stores he likely sold only a few hundred digital ones. (On Sunday, “Republican Rescue” was ranked 15,545th at Amazon’s Kindle Store.) Source

  19. 19.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 7:16 pm

    a thing that’s been bizarre since the very beginning of the pandemic has been the hesitancy on the part of the press to objectively explain why the republican response to covid-19 is directly and indirectly responsible for tens of thousands of unnecessary american deaths.

    Not really bizarre.  See screaming about Hillary’s emails and largely ignoring the orange fascist’s atrocious past and present.

  20. 20.

    Betty

    November 30, 2021 at 7:17 pm

    @WaterGirl:  I read that it went far beyond giving advice to looking for ways to discredit the complainants in conjunction with his brother’s advisors.

  21. 21.

    Almost Retired

    November 30, 2021 at 7:17 pm

    @WaterGirl: I think it was a bit more than that.  He was using his journalism contact to ferret out information about the victims.

  22. 22.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 7:19 pm

    Thanks Vanity Fair!  I’d forgotten how punchable Jared’s face is!

  23. 23.

    Alison Rose

    November 30, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    @Scout211: yeah, the dissenting judges were all like “But people totally DO need these for self-defense!!!!!!!!”

    cool story bro

  24. 24.

    JWR

    November 30, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    Damn! That Vanity Fair story:

    Instead [TFG] put his faith in the entrepreneurial instincts of his son-in-law.

    And then it all went to sh*t.

  25. 25.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    @WaterGirl:
    Chris Cuomo sought ‘intel’ on media coverage about accusations against his brother, text messages show

    CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was more extensively involved in helping to defend his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, against allegations of sexual misconduct than he has previously acknowledged, according to documents released Monday by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

    Text messages between the CNN journalist and top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa show that Chris Cuomo offered to draft statements for his brother to use to deny misconduct, demanded more influence over the strategy, and even researched potential news coverage and accusers for the governor’s office.

    “Please let me help with the prep,” Cuomo wrote at one point to DeRosa, as the claims against the governor surfaced earlier this year.

    On another occasion, the younger Cuomo texted DeRosa that he needed “all the best facts” for “reporters. Who can do it?”

    Chris Cuomo also appeared to use his journalistic connections to gather information for the governor’s team. He fielded requests from DeRosa for “intel” on a then-unpublished investigative story by New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow and information about a rumor that more accusers were about to come forward on March 7.

    He was using his position to gather intel, direct strategy, and craft media responses for his shitbag brother. Pretty despicable abuse of power/position. At this point, familial trait.

  26. 26.

    NotMax

    November 30, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    @WaterGirl

    Explainer about why what Chris C. did crossed the line from problematic to investigatory to actionable.

  27. 27.

    debbie

    November 30, 2021 at 7:21 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I think it was more than advice.

    CNN said Tuesday that it has suspended Chris Cuomo “indefinitely” after new documents released this week indicated that the anchor was more intimately involved than previously known in helping his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, craft a defense amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations.

    “The New York Attorney General’s office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s defense,” a CNN spokesperson said Tuesday evening. “The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions.”

    “When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly,” the spokesperson continued. “But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second.”

    “However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew,” the spokesperson added. “As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.”

    I figure either CNN execs really didn’t know the extent of the advice or they were waiting for something like this to give them cover to kick his butt out the door.

  28. 28.

    Immanentize

    November 30, 2021 at 7:22 pm

    @Old Man Shadow: You are an ignorant and bad person. That is all.

  29. 29.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:26 pm

    @Immanentize: And a “go fuck yourself” right back atcha, friend.

  30. 30.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 7:27 pm

    @debbie: I think I can confidently say that I would never want Leticia James investigating me for any reason. He dun f’d up, and he’s about to find out.

  31. 31.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 7:28 pm

    Sigh:

    Omicron was present in Europe days before flights were halted.

    Two people who tested positive for the coronavirus in the Netherlands more than a week ago were infected with the Omicron variant, Dutch health officials reported on Tuesday.

    The timing is significant because it suggests that the variant was already present in the country for at least a week before the arrival of two flights from South Africa on Friday, and before the World Health Organization labeled Omicron a “variant of concern,” the step that prompted countries around the world to ban flights from southern Africa, where researchers first identified the variant.

    “We have found the Omicron coronavirus variant in two test samples that were taken on Nov. 19 and Nov. 23,” the Dutch health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is not yet clear whether these people had also visited southern Africa.”

    The two samples were taken by municipal health services at public testing sites, and health authorities have started contact tracing in those areas, Dutch health officials said.

    I have a feeling that we’ll find out that omicron has been around for at least a month on several continents and the South Africans were just the first to detect it.

    Still won’t stop Republicans from asking for a ban on all travel or other activity related to Africa, since omicron’s discovery is the best thing to happen to their anti-Africa messaging tendencies since ebola. I was reading TX Gov. Abbott’s rant yesterday about how Biden hasn’t prevented omicron-infected South Africans from crossing over the (Mexican?) border. It was just unbelievable.

  32. 32.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:28 pm

    @NotMax: Republicans don’t want to be rescued. They want the 1850’s back… or possibly the 1650’s when they could hang witches.

    Definitely before all those Enlightenment ideas about freedom and self-determination and consent got into the rabble’s heads.

  33. 33.

    lowtechcyclist

    November 30, 2021 at 7:28 pm

    a thing that’s been bizarre since the very beginning of the pandemic has been the hesitancy on the part of the press to objectively explain why the republican response to covid-19 is directly and indirectly responsible for tens of thousands of unnecessary american deaths.

    If the Democratic Party isn’t going to make a big deal about this, why should anyone expect the press to do so?

  34. 34.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: Travel being as fast as it is, it’s almost a guarantee that by the time a new variant gets sequenced, it’s everywhere.

  35. 35.

    Gravenstone

    November 30, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    Republicans are objectively and demonstrably anti-humanity. They care only for power, obtaining it when they are without, wielding it when they have it. And if they have to facilitate the deaths of a few hundred thousand more Americans by undercutting vaccination and other efforts to control the virus  in order to return to power, well that’s an acceptable cost to them.

  36. 36.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 30, 2021 at 7:30 pm

    @Leto: Lots of Dems still genuflect in the direction of Mario, but what’s the coincidence that two of his sons are both assholes?

    Vote for Cuomo, not the homo.

  37. 37.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:31 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: Just seems like it should be a bigger news story that half of our political establishment which is likely to regain power is now a nihilistic murder-suicide cult.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 30, 2021 at 7:32 pm

    @dmsilev:

    That photo of Jared (any photo of him, really, but that one in particular) reminds me powerfully of Pooh-Bah’s line from The Mikado: “I was born sneering.”

  39. 39.

    Alison Rose

    November 30, 2021 at 7:32 pm

    @Old Man Shadow: That was uncalled for. She didn’t curse at you.

  40. 40.

    debbie

    November 30, 2021 at 7:33 pm

    @Leto:

    Yep. Like fish in a barrel!

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    November 30, 2021 at 7:34 pm

    @NotMax: Is the message “It’s not selling because Republican operatives aren’t scooping up myriad copies to drive sales onto the NYT list and then hand out as party favors at events”?

    The Outlaw Jersey Whale has managed to piss off everyone, which, when I think about it, is quite a trick.

  42. 42.

    geg6

    November 30, 2021 at 7:34 pm

    @Immanentize:

    See, now I read that as truly being bummed that it will be overturned.  But you may be right.

  43. 43.

    Immanentize

    November 30, 2021 at 7:34 pm

    @Old Man Shadow:

    Elegant.
    Articulate!
    Ready for society!

  44. 44.

    Immanentize

    November 30, 2021 at 7:35 pm

    @geg6: I think not.

  45. 45.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 7:35 pm

    @Leto:

    CNN has suspended Chris Cuomo, its biggest star, following the release of transcripts from the New York Attorney General’s office that showed that he was far more involved in efforts to assist his brother, Andrew M. Cuomo, the former governor of New York, as he faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment that eventually led to his resignation. 

    CNN should look into how they kneecapped Hillary, and then throw themselves into the Sun.

  46. 46.

    trollhattan

    November 30, 2021 at 7:36 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Oooh, like!

    He, and Zuckerberg, both seem like light must pass through them–literal partially formed humanlike creatures, somehow ambulatory. If one ever appears at the end of a dim hotel hallway, I’m running the other way.

  47. 47.

    Ken

    November 30, 2021 at 7:37 pm

    @NotMax:  (On Sunday, “Republican Rescue” was ranked 15,545th at Amazon’s Kindle Store.)

    Behind — well, everything, really. But I see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, a 24-year-old book which absolutely everyone in the English-speaking world already owns, is in Kindle’s top 100.

    It also wouldn’t surprise me if the new mystery/thrillers by Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton (both with co-authors) rank higher than 15,000th.

  48. 48.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:37 pm

    @geg6: Yours would be the correct reading. I despise guns and gun culture.

  49. 49.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    @Alison Rose: She attacked me. It hardly matters that she didn’t use naughty words to do so.

  50. 50.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    @JPL: Time to buy a Garrett’s popcorn shop.

  51. 51.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 30, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    @Old Man Shadow: Wrong gender, kids.

  52. 52.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 30, 2021 at 7:40 pm

    @WaterGirl: Had he taken a leave of absence to help his brother no one would have had an issue.  At least I wouldn’t have.  But he had a huge conflict of interest.  Huge.

  53. 53.

    Ken

    November 30, 2021 at 7:41 pm

    @trollhattan: If one ever appears at the end of a dim hotel hallway, I’m running the other way.

    No! They hunt in pairs!

  54. 54.

    Starfish

    November 30, 2021 at 7:41 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: The meme you posted earlier about South Africa and the surrounding countries was great. A lot of doctors who are concerned with health equity have been pushing back on the travel bans.

  55. 55.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 7:42 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Then I apologize for that. I was using the pronouns the previous poster in the thread used. I should have gone gender neutral until told otherwise.

  56. 56.

    Cameron

    November 30, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I don’t know what it is about political families – compare George Romney to Mitt, for example.

  57. 57.

    Skepticat

    November 30, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    I just got a legal proofing jobs saying that the district court has issued a sweeping nationwide temporary injunction staying the implementation of the mandate requiring vaccination of healthcare workers against COVID-19. They say the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services didn’t have authority to impose the mandates.

  58. 58.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 30, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    @trollhattan:

    The you will enjoy the fuller quote, which is wildly appropriate to young Jared:

    I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person, of pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial atomic globule. Consequently, my family pride is something inconceivable. I can’t help it. I was born sneering. But I struggle hard to overcome this defect. I mortify my pride continually. When all the great officers of State resigned in a body because they were too proud to serve under an ex-tailor, did I not unhesitatingly accept all their posts at once?

    If I am ever lucky enough to direct a production of The Mikado, I’m going to cast a Jared look-alike as Pooh-Bah.

  59. 59.

    Another Scott

    November 30, 2021 at 7:50 pm

    Relatedly, … C-SPAN.org – Omar, Tlaib, Carson news conference about the GQP and Boebert (34:24).

    Omar clearly and powerfully explained that the GQP needs to stop demonizing Muslims and needs to rein-in their members who do so. That Leadership needs to determine the consequences, but that there must be consequences.

    Too much of the press there were goading her into trying to give them another sound bite to ramp up the vitriol. Even after hearing her play one of the vile voice messages she received.

    (very roughly:)

    “What do you think McCarthy is thinking and why hasn’t he acted?”

    “You’ll have to ask him. But I will say that his silence speaks volumes.”

    “Should Boebert be expelled??!!”

    “I think that Leadership and the House needs to ask the question whether these statements are acceptable and if not what should be done about them… We cannot let people fundraising off of hateful dangerous rhetoric be the norm…”

    “Don’t you worry that by having this press conference that you’re giving Boebert the attention she craves?”

    “Of course, but the issue is the GOP tolerating this dangerous rhetoric that has been going on far longer than this week…” (They mentioned events going back to 2001 before taking questions.) “We have to speak up to protect the millions of American Muslims and billions of Muslims around the world who are endangered by this rhetoric and these threats…”

    It is a powerful 35 minutes, and a disgusting illustration that too much of the press cannot see anything except through a horserace/political-advantage lens.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  60. 60.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 7:50 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: Elon and Bezos can personally fly the dick rocket there.

  61. 61.

    geg6

    November 30, 2021 at 7:52 pm

    @Old Man Shadow:

    Oh good!  I’m right there with you.  You know, I grew up here in Western PA with almost all the males I knew were hunters and owned guns.  I was taught how to shoot and how to handle my dad’s guns because he thought girls should know about that just like boys should.  We even had a family friend who competed internationally and won quite a bit.  But this fetish for guns and the Rambo fantasy gun culture we have now is complete alien to how I was brought up to regard guns.  Mostly, the guns were tools and, for hunting, bows were more the objects of fascination.  How do we get back to that way of thinking about guns?  I don’t think we can, sadly.  We’re at a point, socially and politically, where it’s either any or every gun under every circumstance for anyone who wants one or no guns for anyone but law enforcement (and some of them need to learn to do without) and the military.  It’s truly discouraging.

  62. 62.

    Dan B

    November 30, 2021 at 7:58 pm

    @trollhattan: Pointless for either of them to look in the mirror because their is no reflection.

  63. 63.

    Frankensteinbeck

    November 30, 2021 at 8:01 pm

    @NotMax:

    So, my book releases outsell Chris Christie.  This pleases me.  Of course, my proudest moment as an author was kicking Bill O’Reilly off the #1 Children’s Book slot and keeping him off.  I had the #1 Children’s Book for 12 hours!

  64. 64.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 30, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    @Dan B: Bit unfair to vampires and other soulless creatures of the night there, aren’t you?

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    November 30, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne

    Jared looks like Odo on a bad hair face day.

    //

  66. 66.

    Old Man Shadow

    November 30, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    @geg6: I used to say folks should be able to own a 6 shot revolver, a 6 shot hunting rifle, and a 6 shot shotgun.

    These days I say we should just get rid of them all.

    But that’s a pipe dream probably for the rest of my life thanks to McConnell and Obama to Trump voters.

  67. 67.

    J R in WV

    November 30, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    And I see that Dr Mehmet Oz will run for U S Senate as a R in PA. Good for him, quack, quack. With any luck he will help turn the R primary into the cluster-f it deserves to be.

    Can’t hurt the eventual D nominee, in my thinking.

  68. 68.

    Dan B

    November 30, 2021 at 8:08 pm

    @geg6: I didn’t have the gn safety training.  My father grew up in Chicago and my mother in Fort Smith and Clatksville.  None of these cities and towns had gun culture but there were lots of hunters where we lived in Ohio, right behind our house were hundreds of acres of woods and fields.  None of them had a fetish for having a killing machine.  They were all men secure in their manhood.

  69. 69.

    Dan B

    November 30, 2021 at 8:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: My sincere apologies to vampires and ghosts.

  70. 70.

    dmsilev

    November 30, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Well, he was essentially the Trumpian Lord High Everything Else…

  71. 71.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    OT; Chris Hayes is playing the audio from the Trumpov executive privilege DC Circuit Court of Appeals suit, and just listening to the Judges excoriate the worthless defense the Trumpov lawyer tried to put up… /chefskiss

  72. 72.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    I’d say it is debatable whether pacifists are pro-fascist. Orwell caught flak for it. It depends on the pacifist. And like Jains, there are very few real ones around. The Jains all starved to death. An antiwar stance does not signify or indicate pacifism.  It could be cowardice. Desmond Doss would be the archetype for a legit pacifist. This is the real documentary from 2004. I didn’t catch Mel Gibson’s Hollywood nonsense. The Republican party is objectively fucked up and needs “correction.” That much is true. At this time, they are making noises that sound like they want The Fairness Doctrine back, simply because Twittle has a new CEO. They got rid of it in the first place. The GOP is objectively and literally a rabid dog chasing it’s own tail. If we were normal human adults we’d put that dog down, as a matter of human decency.

  73. 73.

    Ken

    November 30, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    @Leto: I’m hoping they uphold the earlier ruling by just quoting: “Presidents are not kings, and plaintiff is not President.”

  74. 74.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 8:25 pm

    @J R in WV: we have some really good D nominees, so hopeful we pick up that seat.

  75. 75.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 8:26 pm

    @Ken: that would be awesome; seems the continued play is 1) delay (post 2022 mid-terms if R’s retake the House) and 2) get to the SC and hope there’s 5 there to give him a win. They don’t give a shit about precedent so who knows.

  76. 76.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 8:29 pm

    Democrats should learn something from Republicans and amplify the New York Times article, by asking at every presser why “G.O.P. Fights Covid Mandates, Then Blames Biden as Cases Rise.”

    Same thing goes for any popular program that Biden passes that Repubs vote against and then try to take credit for.

    And whenever Abbott opens his stupid mouth, ask what he’s done to improve the Texas grid, and prevent people from dying of hypothermia this year, since winter is pretty much here.

  77. 77.

    West of the Rockies

    November 30, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    @Scout211:

    It would be fabulous if Democrats went after guns the way Republicans do abortion.  Republicans would ban all abortions after 24 hours from conception and then claim they weren’t banning the procedure.   What if Dems banned a gun’s ability to fire more than one bullet without reloading?   It wouldn’t be banning guns, after all.

    I’m kidding really, but… sort of.

  78. 78.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    @Starfish: Yeah – it’s really sad. Some good news is that more vaccines were shipped through the UN Covax effort in the last 24 hours than we’ve ever seen.  Hope that keeps up.

  79. 79.

    Cameron

    November 30, 2021 at 8:35 pm

    @J R in WV: I’m having one of those moments when I’d really like to be back in Pennsylvania.

  80. 80.

    Dan B

    November 30, 2021 at 8:35 pm

    @Leto: DI’d you get some LED’s to help with SAD?

    A couple things.  5000K and higher is best for SAD.  Waveform’s got linear tubes, BR30’s, and light strips that produce beautiful light.  Cheaper versions look harsh and cold.  I got 6 BR30’s for an artist friend.  His studio is windowless and he loves these lights.  Also they are flicker free.  Some people get migranes from the flicker.

  81. 81.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 8:36 pm

    @West of the Rockies: ​
    I still think that Chris Rock’s idea of bullet control from his stand up act some years back is something to take up. Sure, you can own as many guns as you want but you will have to pay $5,000 per bullet. Technically, the second amendment doesn’t say anything about access to bullets.

  82. 82.

    Dan B

    November 30, 2021 at 8:38 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: Abbott just guaranteed no grid failure because he, “signed laws”.  Apparently no one asked about enforcement or implementation.

  83. 83.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 30, 2021 at 8:40 pm

    @West of the Rockies: One of the biggest reasons you won’t see that is that there isn’t a consensus in the Democratic Party that all guns are bad and that we should get rid of them.  It is harder to get people worked up about reasonable regulations of dangerous things than about BANNING THE EVIL THING BURN IT WITH FIRE!!!!  DESTROY!

  84. 84.

    Leto

    November 30, 2021 at 8:41 pm

    @Dan B: I did not! But we’re ordering some stuff here soon and I will look for some of the items you recommended. Thanks!

  85. 85.

    Alison Rose

    November 30, 2021 at 8:42 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Sincere apologies to Immanentize, I shouldn’t have made the assumption.

     

    @Old Man Shadow: That was hardly an attack. People here love to Eeyore over everything and sometimes folks get tired of it and push back.

  86. 86.

    Mallard Filmore

    November 30, 2021 at 8:44 pm

    @Old Man Shadow: 

    I used to say folks should be able to own a 6 shot revolver, a 6 shot hunting rifle, and a 6 shot shotgun.

    These days I say we should just get rid of them all.

    I’d be OK with muzzle loaders.

  87. 87.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 8:45 pm

    @West of the Rockies:

    Not going to happen. And we may have turned Texas if that grandstander Beto hadn’t pulled that stunt. I’m all for moving the Overton Window back to top dead center but his timing was atrocious. You can’t do it. I think the constitution says something about Ex Post Facto laws. This court will probably have New Yorkers running around with their CCWs  – legally for a change. Putting time and money into pipe dreams is counter-productive.

    https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/supreme-court-revisits-second-amendment-with-challenge-to-ny-concealed-gun-restrictions

  88. 88.

    Freemark

    November 30, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    @J R in WV: Being from Pennsabama I have little trust in the intelligence of my fellow citizens to not vote for man behind the curtain.

  89. 89.

    Dan B

    November 30, 2021 at 8:50 pm

    @Leto: Great.  6500K has even more blue.  It’s the spectrum you need for SAD treatment.  Violet is even higher energy but not as important.  6500 does seem cold so I prefer 5000K.   The BR30 come in a six pack at a discount.  Waveform often gives a 15% discount for the next order if you order enough in the first order.

  90. 90.

    Roger Moore

    November 30, 2021 at 8:51 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
     

    If the Democratic Party isn’t going to make a big deal about this, why should anyone expect the press to do so?

    How would you know if Democrats are trying to make a big deal about this if the media refuses to repeat it? This is the underlying problem: what we learn is filtered through the media. If they don’t repeat it, it doesn’t get heard. The vast majority of the time, when I hear somebody complain about the Democrats failing to talk about X, it turns out that they are talking about X but the media has decided it’s not newsworthy and refuses to repeat it.

  91. 91.

    hilts

    November 30, 2021 at 8:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    But he had a huge conflict of interest.  Huge.

    His conflict of interest was the size of a goddamn aircraft carrier.  Nice to see that someone at CNN finally woke the fuck up and made the right decision regarding Chris Cuomo.

  92. 92.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 8:55 pm

    @Leto:

    Elon and Bezos can personally fly the dick rocket there. 

    I’m mrmoshpotato, and I approve this message.

  93. 93.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 8:57 pm

    OT: The Lovely Bones moved me to tears and I knew Alice Sebold was a rape survivor, but I had no idea that she id’d the wrong person as her attacker. He spent 16 years in jail before being exonerated! How does this even happen?

  94. 94.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 8:57 pm

    @NotMax: bad face day.

    Stealing this.

  95. 95.

    debbie

    November 30, 2021 at 8:58 pm

    @Dan B:

    Funny, I heard some official admitting that nothing had been done to harden the grid at all.  ??‍♀️

  96. 96.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 8:59 pm

    @Immanentize:

    That may be, but I’m probably worse. I’m definitely worse. I recognize the nick from back in the day. Hi.

  97. 97.

    Roger Moore

    November 30, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    @Cameron:

    I don’t know what it is about political families – compare George Romney to Mitt, for example.

    I think this is one of those things you notice when it’s true and ignore when it isn’t.  For example, Nancy Pelosi comes from a political family (her father and brother both served as mayor of Baltimore) and she doesn’t seem to be an asshole.  Similarly, Jimmy Carter’s father was a politician, and he seems to have turned out fine.

  98. 98.

    The Dark Avenger

    November 30, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    @Old Man Shadow:  NIST wants to test your skin for 2-D quantum mechanics effects.

  99. 99.

    zhena gogolia

    November 30, 2021 at 9:03 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: Since when do Democrats get to ask questions at pressers?

  100. 100.

    Patricia Kayden

    November 30, 2021 at 9:04 pm

    “This variant is not a cause for panic. We have the best vaccines in the world, the best medicines, best scientists, and we're learning more every single day. We have more tools today to fight the variant than we've ever had before.” – ⁦@POTUS⁩ pic.twitter.com/QzHOac6SrT— Kevin Munoz (@KMunoz46) November 29, 2021

  101. 101.

    oatler

    November 30, 2021 at 9:05 pm

    Those fools willingly cut themselves off from the human race, destroying whatever humane qualities they may have been born with and embracing a deadly disease. To hell with “the other side of the aisle”, that aisle is gone, leaving Chuck Shumer blathering about “working together” with  raging zombies.

  102. 102.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:10 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    This is what I’ve been trying to figure out for years. The left, a term I abhor, or Democrats, may simply be responding like a partner in an emotionally abusive relationship. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to. And we need to knock that shit off. I see women doing it. We are not dealing with rational actors here. The Media? Hopeless. It’s the result of 50 years of working the refs that started with Reed Irvine and his Accuracy In Media. AIM but not the American Indian Movement. From that little acorn this mighty Oak of a Wurlitzer Puke Funnel has become a cancer. Maybe we need to be more outrageous. It works for them.

  103. 103.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    November 30, 2021 at 9:11 pm

    a thing that’s been bizarre since the very beginning of the pandemic has been the hesitancy on the part of the press to objectively explain why the republican response to covid-19 is directly and indirectly responsible for tens of thousands of unnecessary american deaths.

    Haven’t been paying attention the last four years you say? The press seems utterly incapable of focusing on more than one thing at a time. The Supply Chain Crises is a good example since that was going on since June 2020 when the MSM noticed August this year.  As the NYT Pictbot shows, the MSM idea of reporting is hanging out in restaurants all day and listing to the other table’s gossip.

  104. 104.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    November 30, 2021 at 9:13 pm

    Miller: If President Trump was still in office, we’d already have modified vaccines to deal with the new variants

    So modest. Why not “ten dozen vaccines for all diseases would be ready by now”?

  105. 105.

    Shalimar

    November 30, 2021 at 9:14 pm

    Think how much different the response would have been if Kushner hadn’t thought “New York voted for Democrats, let them die”, but instead had thought like a real politician and said “New York usually votes for Democrats, doing a great job there is our chance to win voters to our side.”

  106. 106.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 9:15 pm

    @zhena gogolia: That’s a great question :(.

    At the very least can someone persuade this admin to remove Fox News from White House pressers? What’s the point of empowering a propaganda network that will never objectively report on what Biden or Dems are doing and that is actively helping to prolong the pandemic through misinformation while hiding the fact that its popular hosts are vaccinated?

  107. 107.

    Roger Moore

    November 30, 2021 at 9:15 pm

    @Felanius Kootea:

    How does this even happen?

    Eye witness IDs vary wildly in quality.  People are very good at recognizing people they know well, even from a brief look, but they’re terrible at identifying strangers, even if they get a good look at them.  The quality of identification of familiar people makes people overestimate the value of eyewitness IDs of strangers.  Unfortunately this includes police, prosecutors, and juries.  Even worse, the police often use procedures for lineups that encourage victims to identify people they have already picked as likely suspects.

  108. 108.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 9:16 pm

    Unmotivated water sausage. pic.twitter.com/isj1m1apLA— In Otter News…. (@In_Otter_News2) November 30, 2021

  109. 109.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 9:20 pm

    @Shalimar: Assumes facts not in evidence.  “Real politicians” from his party actively obstruct and get away with it, because no one will hold them accountable. That’s been their model for many years and it wins them elections! Why would they change without some negative consequences for their behavior? I mean, you’re basically saying he should act like a Dem.

  110. 110.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:21 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

     

    Why do the Dems even mention “panic”?  “Panic”  happened after the Anthrax attacks. Everyone buying gas masks! Taking Cipro. And taping plastic over every window with duct tape. I have yet to see anyone “panic” about COVID, unless you ask them to wear a mask. Just the opposite. Their messaging could have something to do with it. I’ve said it before, I wish more people did panic. It’s the only way to get herd immunity and live.

  111. 111.

    Matt McIrvin

    November 30, 2021 at 9:21 pm

    @NotMax: John Scalzi tweeted about that saying that Bookscan numbers often seriously understate sales (trolls had previously used them to claim that Scalzi’s books were flops when they were in fact selling well), so this may not be accurate.

  112. 112.

    Shalimar

    November 30, 2021 at 9:22 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: Act like a human being, not a sociopath, but yeah, of course you’re right.

  113. 113.

    WaterGirl

    November 30, 2021 at 9:22 pm

    @Almost Retired: @Betty:

    Oh, ugh!  I had no idea.

    I am now on team fire him.

  114. 114.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    November 30, 2021 at 9:24 pm

    @Dan B: Can you post a link.

    Thanks

  115. 115.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:24 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Eyewitness testimony is the least reliable in most cases involving strangers. And line-ups can be conducted correctly but…

  116. 116.

    Dan B

    November 30, 2021 at 9:25 pm

    @debbie: What?  My shocked face!!  ÷(

  117. 117.

    Cameron

    November 30, 2021 at 9:28 pm

    @Roger Moore: That might be because the examples where it’s true are much more jarring.  I think people expect some level of continuity in political families.  (Knew about Pelosi; didn’t know about Carter.)  Of course, the standout is Paul Gosar – his own siblings can’t stand him.

  118. 118.

    jl

    November 30, 2021 at 9:31 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: Thanks, I’ve read several stories on how long omicron has been around. It may be from as early as this summer or as late as mid-October.

    Not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. The longer omicron has been rumbling around in human populations, that means that longer we have been living with it. And we haven’t seen a disaster yet. Experts say that some PCR tests have to be slightly modified to pick it up, and  you have to know what to look for.

    In that case, the thing has been out and about for 5 or 6 months to 5 or 6 weeks. South Africa may have just been the site of the first big outbreak, probably starting at a college campus.

    If two variants are different enough and target different proportions of the population, then it is very possible for both to circulate at the same time in substantial proportions of  the population. One or the other won’t ‘win’ and drive out the other.

    It’s all semi informed guesstimation speculation at this point, of course.

  119. 119.

    Matt McIrvin

    November 30, 2021 at 9:34 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: I’ve been wondering about these articles, just because I’d heard warnings that a lot of the early detections of Omicron might not have been Omicron–some sources were using a certain mutation as a proxy for Omicron when there were Alpha subvariants in Europe that had it as well.

    But if they’ve sequenced it and determined that it is Omicron, that’s another story.

  120. 120.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    November 30, 2021 at 9:34 pm

    @Cameron: I California we have Chairman Jerry, his dad Pat was also Governor.

  121. 121.

    Captain C

    November 30, 2021 at 9:35 pm

    @NotMax: Like most Jersey blowhards, he’s just not that interesting.

  122. 122.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:36 pm

    @Felanius Kootea:

     

    Oh no! That just wouldn’t be Cricket! Democrats are so afraid the Repubs will do payback and then some for anything the Dems do to them and Repubs are going to do that and worse anyway. I call that lacking the strength of your convictions. Get rid of the Filibuster? We may need it!  Yeah, when we are in the minority. Last time I checked we were a majority. But let’s try to convince Texans to elect a guy who’ll take their guns away.

  123. 123.

    Roger Moore

    November 30, 2021 at 9:37 pm

    @Nobody in Particular:

    Exactly.  Unless the person being identified is very distinctive (7 feet tall, obvious tattoos, etc.) the ID is nearly useless.  I’m reminded of a rape case my sister (a lawyer who was not involved in the case) told me about.  The victim had identified the defendant, but it turned out he had a genital piercing that was both impossible to miss during sex and not something one could remove and replace.  Without that, he very likely would have been wrongly convicted on the strength of the ID.

  124. 124.

    debbie

    November 30, 2021 at 9:39 pm

    @Dan B:

    At my work, the team based in Houston was offline for two weeks during that storm. I’m on the resiliency team so that doesn’t happen again. At this point, we’re assuming there’ll be deja vu all over again at some point this winter.

  125. 125.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:41 pm

    @jl:

    In that case, the thing has been out and about for 5 or 6 months to 5 or 6 weeks. South Africa may have just been the site of the first big outbreak, probably starting at a college campus.

    That’s the thing. There was no big outbreak, anywhere. It was just identified because the South Africans have their shit together. We do not. Smaller population but they are way up there. We are like 58 in the global COVID category. Testing, Vax, Masks, the whole enchilada. But it’s out there. That’s obvious.

  126. 126.

    jl

    November 30, 2021 at 9:43 pm

    @Felanius Kootea: Even if omicron has only been circulating for 6 weeks, that would make the travel restrictions pointless, and should be lifted. Omicron is everywhere by now. Probably no one saw it because Botswana and South Africa first countries for figure out how to reliably ID it with PCR tests.

    Edit: The Dutch had to do a slight modification to PCR tests to pick up omicron there.

  127. 127.

    Roger Moore

    November 30, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    @jl:

    The thing that’s unusual about Omicron is that it has a ton of mutations that haven’t been seen before.  It seems very unlikely that it would have picked up that many mutations without being detected if it were in wide circulation.  That’s a sign that it’s likely been hiding out for quite a while in some reservoir that hasn’t been subject to testing.  The top suspects are an immunocompromised patient or a human->animal->human transmission (reverse zoonosis).  A single immunocompromised patient might have been sick for months, accumulating mutations the whole time.  Reverse zoonosis would have given it plenty of time to pick up mutations completely undetected.

  128. 128.

    J R in WV

    November 30, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    @Nobody in Particular:

    The Jains all starved to death.

    This is false and absurd. I worked with a great guy we brought from India who was a Jain.

    He was a little odd from the viewpoint of a guy in WV, but very bright, very good at his job, married an attractive  woman his parents identified for him, now an American citizen with kids in the greater DC area.

    Assuredly not dead !!

    What’s  wrong with you, anyway? That’s such a boneheaded assertion. 45 seconds tells you that is wrong!

  129. 129.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:47 pm

    @Roger Moore:

     

    Every 1 L class used have the “eyewitness” lesson when someone bursts into the auditorium and quickly does some action and runs out the door again. Then the class would argue over his race, description, clothing and the specific action he performed. It was always a guy. How sexist!

  130. 130.

    jl

    November 30, 2021 at 9:48 pm

    @Nobody in Particular: Complicating the picture is that South Africa knows how to respond quickly and address issues quickly. Rapid antigen tests pick up all known covid variants with no modification, since they look at other parts of the virus than the spike. That was great because that allowed them to quickly verify that the initial mystery patients with weird (and for their age, very mild) symptoms had some kind of covid. But IDing the patients with rapid antigen tests in an emergency rush to figure things out, really gummed up the initial statistics on how fast omicron can spread.

  131. 131.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:48 pm

    @J R in WV:

     

    Take it up with Joseph Campbell. That’s his line. And it is funny. Point being, they are rare. I might be one. And unfortunately, Joseph Campbell has shuffled off his mortal coil, sadly.

  132. 132.

    Matt McIrvin

    November 30, 2021 at 9:50 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I can’t stand guns, I don’t want a gun, I don’t want to be anywhere near guns… and I’m starting to worry that we need those guns because the Republicans are just gonna exterminate us all unless we can shoot them too. This is the way you make gun enthusiasts, I guess.

  133. 133.

    Cameron

    November 30, 2021 at 9:51 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Casey family in PA – Dad was guv, son is a Senator.

  134. 134.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:52 pm

    @Cameron:

     

    Romney, several states

  135. 135.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    November 30, 2021 at 9:53 pm

    @Cameron: The Udalls, Colorado, Arizona (and Nevada?)

    I forget which recent Republican, I think a Senator, was a Udall cousin

  136. 136.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 9:53 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

     

    As they say in country, embrace the suck.

  137. 137.

    jl

    November 30, 2021 at 9:54 pm

    There’s a senior research scientist who works on Moderna who twitters under the handle Chise (I have no idea whether that is a handle or a name) with some good breaking info on transmissibility, virulence, and immune escape. Her twitter is a chore to read since she is on some sort of rampage and mission to calm panic, so you have to wade through a ridiculous number of replies. But good links to breaking news, and apparently she has access to a lot of current non-public research to judge more or less what is reliable and what not.

    @sailorrooscout

    https://twitter.com/sailorrooscout

    Her twitter rampage might be due to the fact that she wants to get word out to get vaxed asap, get second shot right away, get booster right away. Don’t wait for omicron booster or any nonsense like that.

    Also, to endear her to BJ hearts, she is a furry whose character is a marten.

  138. 138.

    Citizen Alan

    November 30, 2021 at 9:57 pm

    @Old Man Shadow:  I believe that should be “Go Brandon Yourself.”

  139. 139.

    opiejeanne

    November 30, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    Does anyone remember the name of the restaurant in Seattle on Aurora a few years ago, I think it was Malaysian. It was very good, but I can’t recognize it from the few names that come up on the internet.

  140. 140.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 10:01 pm

    @jl: This is one of the reasons arguments about “the size of government” are an informal fallacy. Instantiation. Attributing physical characteristics to abstract concepts – like government. Use the Google NGRAM to search for that phrase- Big Government

    No intelligent and educated person would use that construction, preferring the more accurate “limited government.” That’s all the framers used. However, when Jefferson bought Louisiana the debate centered around the “proper size of a Republic.”  Frankly, I think we need to lose some weight. Nature regulates growth for a reason and so should we.

  141. 141.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    November 30, 2021 at 10:04 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I was thinking of Gordon Smith of OR, whose mother was a Udall. Mike Lee is a cousin of the Udalls, but not a Udall himself.

  142. 142.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 10:13 pm

    The thing with guns is pretty simple, as I see it. If you are interested in home defense, an assault rifle is not for you. And it was the Nazis who invented it anyway, not Kalashnikov.  The MP 44 and 45 or Sturmgewher.

    This means you’ll have to scrounge ammo or have a supply line provide you with it on your Shermanesque march through the west and through San Francisco.

    Nothing says “Go away!” quite like the sound of a 12 Gauge Riot gun racking a round.

  143. 143.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    @Citizen Alan:

    Please fill me in on this “Brandon” thing. I gather it is Biden related. Go Roger Stone Yourself is better.

  144. 144.

    dmsilev

    November 30, 2021 at 10:21 pm

    Feel-good story of the day, via the Post:

    Marcus Lamb, head of Daystar, a large Christian network that discouraged vaccines, dies after getting covid-19

    Marcus Lamb, founder of the large Christian network Daystar, died Tuesday after contracting the coronavirus. Lamb’s network during the pandemic has made the virus a huge focus, calling it a satanic attack that should not be treated with vaccines. He was 64 years old.

    But during the pandemic, Lamb and his network went in big with anti-vaccine conspiracies, hosting daily interviews with skeptics who talked about dangerous, hidden forces pushing vaccines and stealing Christians’ freedoms. “What if the most dangerous thing your child could face in life is the very thing you’re told by your doctor is safe?” is the headline of “A Hidden Crisis,” about coronavirus vaccines.

    Daystar spokesman Arnold Torres declined to comment Tuesday on Lamb’s career or about his views of his illness before he died, or whether he was vaccinated.

    “The family asks that their privacy be respected as they grieve this difficult loss. Please continue to lift them up in prayer,” Torres wrote in an email.

  145. 145.

    dmsilev

    November 30, 2021 at 10:23 pm

    @Nobody in Particular: For reasons that are basically too stupid to recount, conservatives have decided that chants of ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’ are a ‘secret’ way of saying ‘Fuck Joe Biden’. Yeah, they’re in the trolling mode again.

  146. 146.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 10:25 pm

    @J R in WV:

    As Campbell said, and it was one of the videos PBS ran 40 years ago, after the Star Wars rage and Hero With a 1000 Faces, since they would not kill plants or vegetables, and would wait for them to fall off the tree or vine, they didn’t eat often and in India that can be a problem under normal circumstances. Campbell did not say “dead.” That was my own morbid editorializing. Apologies.

  147. 147.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 10:26 pm

    @dmsilev: Thank you.  I thought as much. Really regressing to grade school. At least they are in “School.”

  148. 148.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    November 30, 2021 at 10:27 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Feel-good story of the day, via the Post:

    I try not to feel this way. But I do. And it looks like this asshole was a prime grifter.

    Daystar is the second-largest Christian network in the world, according to CBN News, a competitor, reaching 2 billion people worldwide. Its brand is a fluid, modern, charismatic faith, more about general good-vs-evil, miraculous healings and religious freedom than any specific denominational theology. […]

    NPR in 2014 alleged that Daystar gave away a fraction of what it said it did. Lamb in 2020 returned $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program money after an Inside Edition investigation found his ministry purchased a jet two weeks after getting a PPP loan meant to help employees struggling during the pandemic.

  149. 149.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 30, 2021 at 10:29 pm

    @dmsilev:

    “The family asks that their privacy be respected as they grieve this difficult loss. Please continue to lift them up in prayer,” Torres wrote in an email.

    I’d rather call him an idiot who’s most likely responsible for the deaths of others as well from spouting antivax bullshit.

    ETA – also a grifter asshole.  (h/t Jim, Foolish Literalist)

  150. 150.

    Nobody in Particular

    November 30, 2021 at 10:54 pm

    “That rifle on the wall of the labourer’s cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there.”

    George Orwell

    That’s legitimate Orwell and this anti gun culture really is a new thing for the left, or whatever label you put on it. Even Eugene V. Debs.

    No self-respecting socialist went “unheeled” back in the day. Had to shoot the Pinkertons before they shot you.

    Who knew? Not anyone at the WSJ.  John Sayles film Matewan is suggested viewing. True story. It gives you a real sense of the period.

  151. 151.

    chopper

    November 30, 2021 at 11:22 pm

    @Alison Rose:

    i’d say calling someone a bad person is, actually, an attack.

  152. 152.

    Felanius Kootea

    November 30, 2021 at 11:28 pm

    @dmsilev: Daystar TV is viewed by over 54 million people in Nigeria and Ghana alone. The US Christian right helps to push anti-vax and COVID-as-a-hoax messages to other countries with vulnerable populations that are susceptible to prosperity theology.

    It was interesting to see so many twitter messages from Africans trying to comfort his wife Joni (and still pushing anti-vax messages).

  153. 153.

    ian

    November 30, 2021 at 11:37 pm

    @Nobody in Particular:

    At a Nascar (or similar to Nascar) event, the crowd was shouting “F* Joe Biden.”  The announcer, trying to play it off, said they were shouting “Lets go Brandon” (name of the winner of race).  It is now codeword among conservatives for “F* Joe Biden”.

  154. 154.

    Ksmiami

    November 30, 2021 at 11:38 pm

    @dmsilev: I saw him on sorryantivaxxer.com. Oh well he’s dead

  155. 155.

    fake irishman

    November 30, 2021 at 11:41 pm

    @Skepticat:

    This is being reported now. Another district court issued an injunction saying the administration can’t do this with federal contractors.

    This is utterly incoherent nonsense.  (The fifth circuit’s injunction in the employer case is too, but there’s a case to be made that OSHA can’t do it. If CMS can’t make simple requirements for health care systems that take federal money, I’m not sure what it can do…)

  156. 156.

    StringOnAStick

    November 30, 2021 at 11:59 pm

    @Nobody in Particular: I read yesterday that Dorsey leaving Twitter lets Elliot Capital Management continue trying to pack the Twitter Board of Directors, and the head of Elliot Capital is a tRump true believer who just moved his HQ to within a mile or two of Merde a Lardo.  The goal is to get TFG back in Twitter in time for elections.  This is not good.

  157. 157.

    Nelle

    December 1, 2021 at 12:03 am

    OT:  Tonight I volunteered to pick up a refugee from the airport and take him to where he will be staying (Des Moines area is getting 70-90 refugees from Afghanistan this week).  Except there are missed and cancelled flights and everything is in flux.  I met up with another woman who was to pick up another arriving refugee.

    The caseworker then arrived.  Then we ended up with five men, four young and rather bewildered and adamant that they not be separated and one man who looked to be in his upper 30’s.  So there was much sorting, rearranging lodging, and the two smaller cars were off, crammed with people, luggage, and food for the next few days in the extended stay hotel where we were to take them.  The caseworker raced off to meet the next group of refugees and join them up to more volunteers.  (A very kind passenger had sort of adopted the young guys on the flight and shepherded them to us from the plane.)

    Next it was an hour or two of showing them how to work the heater and the microwave, explain the personal care products (dental floss, anyone?), look at the food we had for two people and tell them that more would be brought tomorrow and share what was there.  We were mere transportation, really, then explainers.  They had been on four flights and looked exhausted.  I said, Wash, Go to sleep, and I think that is what they wanted.

    My husband had come along because we thought there would be only one person to transport.  He mostly worked with the older man and found out that he had worked with the American Navy (my husband had ten years in the Navy) and saw photos of the man’s little girls, still in Afghanistan.  I thought of my grandfather, who ran for his life in Russia, and for three years, did not know if he would ever see his family again.

  158. 158.

    snqb

    December 1, 2021 at 12:15 am

    @Nelle: Thank you for this report, and for yoir work. They are arriving locanow and we need to know about that.

  159. 159.

    Stuart in Austin

    December 1, 2021 at 12:24 am

    @Dan B: Color temperature is the wrong metric to use. The glial cells in the human retina are sensitive to 485 nano meters which is the color of sky blue. This is a whole side channel that is independent of our color vision. Our brain is directly wired to be stimulated by blue sky’s, nothing but blue sky’s, from now on!

  160. 160.

    Felanius Kootea

    December 1, 2021 at 12:25 am

    @Nelle: Thank you for your generosity with your time and your resources. I hope they get settled quickly and that the man whose wife and children are still in Afghanistan can be reunited with them relatively soon.

  161. 161.

    Anne Laurie

    December 1, 2021 at 12:30 am

    @Cameron: I don’t know what it is about political families – compare George Romney to Mitt, for example.

    “Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in *two* generations.”

    But seriously… George Romney grew up as an ‘immigrant’ (he was born to American Mormon settlers in Mexico) who had to make his own way, which he did very successfully.  Mitt grew up as the spoiled child of a rich auto executive in a very upscale Michigan LDS gated community.  He went into politics because his revered dad had been a politician, but his heart is in his venture capitalist career.  (And he’s not a very good politician, although he can afford to buy the best campaign staff, which got him a Governorship and his current Senate seat, but not the Presidency.)

    And the best politicians, even the ‘good’ ones, tend to be a little narcissistic, and more than a little manipulative.  They’re not often ‘family guys’, and their offspring can suffer from what they do for their careers… or what they do off-camera.

  162. 162.

    Mart

    December 1, 2021 at 12:34 am

    Delta was effectively a new virus. Biden admin had largely crushed the first variant by June. To ignore a 6x’s as infectious version of the virus when comparing effectiveness of Biden vs. Trump is lazy.

  163. 163.

    Procopius

    December 1, 2021 at 2:31 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:  I wonder if the Supremes would tolerate taxing all semiautomatic guns the way we tax machine guns (I think the Treasury needs to revise that tax upwards, too). Bolt action rifles would be OK, but if you want a semi-automatic you have to pay an annual tax of $5,000 and undergo a comprehensive background check, with lots of reasons for denial. I am not a hunter, but I served twenty years in the Army, and I don’t see any reason why a bolt action rifle is not enough to bag a deer. Might reduce the number of hunting “accidents,” too.

  164. 164.

    yellowdog

    December 1, 2021 at 4:44 am

    @Roger Moore: Also, John Quincey Adams.

  165. 165.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 1, 2021 at 6:17 am

    @Roger Moore:  How would you know if Democrats are trying to make a big deal about this if the media refuses to repeat it?

    It’s 2021, not 1991, and there are plenty of channels around the media if you want to find out what someone is saying.  They’re on Twitter (the DNC, for instance, is @theDemocrats).  They send out emails; the email account I use for political contributions is deluged with them.

    No question, the media can choose to amplify or bury someone’s message in terms of what most people will see.  But if you want to know what Dems are saying these days, you don’t have to rely on ‘the media.’

  166. 166.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 1, 2021 at 6:34 am

    @Mart:

    To ignore a 6x’s as infectious version of the virus when comparing effectiveness of Biden vs. Trump is lazy.

    Not lazy, maliciously dishonest.

  167. 167.

    Subsole

    December 1, 2021 at 9:43 am

     

     

    @lowtechcyclist:

    How is the Democratic party supposed to make a big deal of it when the people who own all the microphones automute them everytime we open our mouths?

    Not trying to doompill everyone or say the Dems don’t have an obligation to speak up.

    I just see this sentiment a lot and I feel it leaves out a very, VERY large part of the equation. To wit: the Beltway may not be Pro Republican, but they are DAMN sure anti-Democrat. And if that puts their huevos in Trump’s tiny, tiny fascist hand…well, they didn’t let it stop them the last time.

    Didn’t let it stop them during the Great Iraq Crusade of Pharoah Dumbass the Dubbleya, either.

  168. 168.

    Subsole

    December 1, 2021 at 9:51 am

     

     

    @Frankensteinbeck: You just reminded me that that utterly appalling human being wrote a childrens’ book…

  169. 169.

    Subsole

    December 1, 2021 at 9:57 am

    @geg6:

    Here’s the thing. If these people actually want to save lives, they’d be better served by taking a BLS course and getting a simple first aid kit. Learn CPR and how to keep somebody breathing ’til the parameds get there. You’ll use that knowledge far more than any gun.

    But they don’t do that. Because what they really want is to shoot someone so we all pay attention to them.

    They don’t want to feel safe. They just want to be important for once in their lives.

    I’d feel bad for them, except they keep fucking up my life because they can’t stop fucking up theirs.

  170. 170.

    Subsole

    December 1, 2021 at 10:13 am

    @dmsilev:

    I made one explain the entire joke the other day. Then I asked him why he didn’t just say fuck Biden.

    He got so mad. Like MAD mad. Walked off in a huff mad.

    I couldn’t figure it out. Like, dude. I didn’t tell you to be a comedian. I also didn’t tell you to suck at it. Why the hostility?

  171. 171.

    Subsole

    December 1, 2021 at 10:15 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Daystar ministries?

     

    Isn’t…isn’t Lucifer the Daystar???

     

    The almighty fuck?!

  172. 172.

    J R in WV

    December 1, 2021 at 12:14 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I[n] California we have Chairman Jerry, his dad Pat was also Governor.

    Here in WV, Shelly Moore Capito is the daughter of former (late) governor Arch A Moore Jr. Arch is most famous for going to prison for soliciting bribes on tape, recorded by a trusted aide while negotiations were underway in the limo, parked by the city incinerator. Shelly’s husband is a VP of Wells Fargo in WV, was appointed to the position right after Shelly voted against regulating sleazy banking activity Wells Fargo is well know for. Like the next week, not too obvious, huh?

    And Joe Manchin is some kind of relation of A. James Manchin, who was elected Secretary of State several times, then ran successfully for Treasurer, in which office he managed to lose the state funds several billions of dollars back when that was real money.

    A. James managed to push the blame off onto a money manager he hired, who went to to jail, but A. James slid out from under and retired.  A James was a flamboyant guy, wore wide brimmed hats and fancy double-breasted suits, drove around in a Limo with a driver, so he could drink with his friends, and everyone was a friend. Not a good money manager…

  173. 173.

    J R in WV

    December 1, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    @Nobody in Particular: ​
     
    I think in reality they are somewhat strict vegetarians, but appear to adapt to live in America pretty well.

    My Jain friend actually ate traditional US delicacies like burgers for a little while, no surprise it made him a little ill, and he cut out obvious meats after a few months, felt much better. Is a kind and generous soul, no doubt a great parent.

    Sorry to have jumped on you so hard! Was shocking to read, having a Jain friend. What are the odds someone with a Jain friend would see your comment?

  174. 174.

    J R in WV

    December 1, 2021 at 1:14 pm

    @Nobody in Particular:

    No self-respecting socialist went “unheeled” back in the day. Had to shoot the Pinkertons before they shot you.

    Who knew? Not anyone at the WSJ.  John Sayles film Matewan is suggested viewing. True story. It gives you a real sense of the period.

    Matewan is not far from where I live, also near where I grew up. Playing in grandma’s attic, we found a home-made toolbox, wooden, with a nice handle and a hasp, was full of empty, shot-out .30-calibre machine gun cartridges. The adults and old folks would NOT talk about them, although we all knew there had been “mine wars” in the past as the UMWA worked to organize all the mines.

    Not long ago a sweet V old lady in an assisted living center was interviewed by the FBI, after a large cache of weapons was found in her basement as the kids worked to clean it up for sale. At first she didn’t have much to say, seemed confused (was in her 90s after all, so easy to pull off…) finally admitted that they were hidden there in the violent aftermath of the Battle of Blair Mountain, in which the union men attacked the company men attempting to travel into Logan county to organize the mines there. They never intended to surrender their weapons!

    The government came in on the side of the company thugs, the US Army’s Billy Mitchell dropped bombs on the Union lines, the first air war on American soil. Was the largest armed uprising in the US beside the Civil War. There are still sniper and machine gun nests on the mountain where the battle was fought. Wife was actually born at home in one of the tiny mining towns mentioned in the Wiki article. Amazing. Should be a national historical park !!

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