Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

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

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

It’s a doggy dog world.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Republicans would impeach Biden if he bit into a whole Kit Kat rather than breaking the sections apart.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Open Thread: Rooting Out the Insurrectionists

Open Thread: Rooting Out the Insurrectionists

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… In the coming months, members of the panel will start to reveal their findings against the backdrop of the former president and his allies’ persistent efforts to whitewash the riots and reject suggestions that he helped instigate them. The committee also faces the burden of trying to persuade the American public that their conclusions are fact-based and credible.

But the nine lawmakers — seven Democrats and two Republicans — are united in their commitment to tell the full story of Jan. 6, and they are planning televised hearings and reports that will bring their findings out into the open.

Their goal is not only to show the severity of the riot, but also to make a clear connection between the attack and Trump’s brazen pressure on the states and Congress to overturn Joe Biden’s legitimate election as president…

While the fundamental facts of Jan. 6 are known, the committee says the extraordinary trove of material they have collected — 35,000 pages of records so far, including texts, emails and phone records from people close to Trump — is fleshing out critical details of the worst attack on the Capitol in two centuries, which played out on live television.

They hope to fill in the blanks about the preparations before the attack, the financing behind the Jan. 6 rally that preceded it and the extensive White House campaign to overturn the 2020 election. They are also investigating what Trump himself was doing as his supporters fought their way into the Capitol.

True accountability may be fleeting. Congressional investigations are not criminal cases and lawmakers cannot dole out punishments. Even as the committee works, Trump and his allies continue to push lies about election fraud while working to place similarly minded officials at all levels of state and local government.

“I think that the challenge that we face is that the attacks on our democracy are continuing — they didn’t come to an end on Jan. 6,” said another panel member, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Still, the lawmakers hope they can present the public with a thorough accounting that captures what could have been “an even more serious and deeper constitutional crisis,” as Cheney put it…

The panel also is focusing on the preparations for the Jan. 6 rally near the White House where Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell” — and how the rioters may have planned to block the electoral count if they had been able to get their hands on the electoral ballots.

They need to amplify to the public, Thompson said, “that it was an organized effort to change the outcome of the election by bringing people to Washington … and ultimately if all else failed, weaponize the people who came by sending them to the Capitol.”

About 90% of the witnesses called by the committee have cooperated, Thompson said, despite the defiance of high-profile Trump allies such as Steve Bannon and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Lawmakers said they have been effective at gathering information from other sources in part because they share a unity of purpose rarely seen in a congressional investigation…

Liz Cheney, and her fellow Never-Trumpists, have every reason to try and convince the rest of us that TFG was a one-off grifter who somehow, inexplicably, wormed his way into the too-trusting Republican party — that disposing the Trump crime family would cure the rot. This is pure self-interest, but I’m not going to reject her assistance in the defenestration:

Reader Interactions

237Comments

  1. 1.

    Benw

    just 25% say otherwise

    The crazification % is getting smaller, y’all! Could this mean we’ve passed PEAK WINGNUT?

  2. 2.

    Jerzy Russian

    I don’t have much to add here, except that the woman in the upper right photograph of the 1975 NYT looks like Nancy Reagan.

  5. 5.

    Jeffro

    While I hope there are prosecutions for criminal conspiracy, etc etc, one thing that seems more likely, and perhaps even more important/helpful to Dems going into the 2022 elections is the prospect of all these Rs at every level having to – FINALLY – publicly answer the question: who was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election?

    Assuming we can keep the pressure on the media to ask, ask, ask, those answers (whether from GQP House members elected on the same ballots as President Biden, or Republican loons at any level) can only help us.

  8. 8.

    West of the Rockies

    Supposedly, the Committee wants to chat with Sean Hannity.  May this lead to an existential crisis for him and an epic bout of gastrointestinal distress.

  11. 11.

    Baud

    72% of Americans say Jan. 6 was an attack on democracy, just 25% say otherwise.

    So evenly split when you take the minority discount into consideration.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    @Quinerly:

    Either he’s got Omicron or someone convinced him that it would actually be bad media publicity to do that on that day.

    ETA: Either way, it’s a good thing.

  17. 17.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    Liz Cheney, and her fellow Never-Trumpists, have every reason to try and convince the rest of us that TFG was a one-off grifter who somehow, inexplicably, wormed his way into the too-trusting Republican party — that disposing the Trump crime family would cure the rot. This is pure self-interest, but I’m not going to reject her assistance….

    Yeah… that’s not gonna work.

    Seriously: imagine the grandchild of a Republican. “So, when Trump broke the law, and abused his power, and tried to quash the investigation, why *didn’t* you support his impeachment and removal from office? If you had, President Pence might have saved literally hundreds of thousands of lives!”

    For Republican Senators, we can add “… why didn’t you hold to your sacred oath to see impartial justice done? Did the big words confuse you? Which one, impartial, or justice?”

  21. 21.

    Ihop

    Sweet fancy Moses, it still blitzes my brain that Jennifer rubin has come around to the stance she has now.

     

    Between the election of 2016 and the inauguration Michael cohen came to be known as tfg’s fixer. Cohen demurred, saying he had many clients, among them Sean Hannity. Hannity’s response was light-speedy, that he had only sought advice on matters of real estate. Now, If tfg had facilitated money-cleansing (euphemism) activities with certain oligarcical types that involved his properties and then got Hannity to invest and then……

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    @Quinerly: Definitely spooked.  Possibly the subpoena of the two kids?  Or worry about reporting that they have first-hand accounts of Trump on that day.

    I doubt he is actually listening to any advisors.  And I use that term loosely.  Speaking of advisors have we heard from Rudy lately?

  23. 23.

    Patricia Kayden

    It's amazing to hear Mitch McConnell criticize Dems for trying to change Senate rules to pass voting rights legislation when he invented non-existent rule to block Merrick Garland 8 months before election then killed filibuster to confirm Amy Coney Barrett 8 days before election— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) January 4, 2022

  24. 24.

    Ken

    @Benw: Might be a bit of a paradox there, if the reason the number is going down is that the 27% are all winning Herman Cain awards.

  25. 25.

    debbie

    @Quinerly:

    Heh, I’m thinking it’s just another snit fit.

    Former President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his planned speech on the anniversary of the Capitol riots on January 6th.

    In a statement released on Tuesday, Trump said he was cancelling the speech “in light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media.”

    He then went on to lob insults at members of the committee, as well as assorted political foes, including “Adam Schifty Schiff” and “Crazy Nancy Pelosi.”

  26. 26.

    Jinchi

    Transcript from an unreleased version of the video recorded by Trump to the Capitol rioters:

    Off camera: Ready. 3..2..1.

    DJT : Hang Mike Pence!

    Off camera: No, no, no! You’re supposed to tell them to stop rioting.

    DJT: Why the hell would I want to do that?

    (Snark?)

  27. 27.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @dmsilev: since everyone’s all “20 years!” let me just note that I love that people (not just one!) jumped in with that counter.

    If I hadn’t seen it, I still would have done a quick search for “margin” just to be sure. It’s nice to be on a blog with enough people to catch every error (marginal or otherwise :-) ).

    It probably also means we’re still furthering the old adage: the best way to get good information on the internet is not to ask a question – it’s to post something wrong (or worthy of correction – damn, I could only *wish* I could believe the crazification factor was dropping).

  28. 28.

    Ken

    @debbie: “In the coming months“? Sooner, please.

    I read that as “starting soon, and continuing for months with new revelations each week”.  Which should be better, assuming the media pays any attention.

  29. 29.

    waspuppet

    @debbie: Anyone who actually had something to say would give the speech (“press conference” lol) exactly BECAUSE of all that supposed bias and dishonesty.

    Someone who wasn’t supposed to talk talked. And he found out.

    The committee also faces the burden of trying to persuade the American public that their conclusions are fact-based and credible.

    The American public knew by about 3 p.m. Jan. 6 what had happened. Republicans are not the American public at this point.

    Just my periodic reminder that people can and do get convicted of murder who were sitting handcuffed in the back of a police car two blocks away when the shooting started. And we’re entering Year 2 of exploring the deep, complicated mystery of whether Donald Trump had anything to do with Jan. 6. Just in case you still needed a good example of white privilege.

  31. 31.

    Sebastian

    @Benw:

    The cynic in me notices, not without glee, that Republicans are dying of COVID at a rate of .5m per year. That’s going to have an impact sooner or later.

  32. 32.

    ...now I try to be amused

    While the fundamental facts of Jan. 6 are known, the committee says the extraordinary trove of material they have collected — 35,000 pages of records so far, including texts, emails and phone records from people close to Trump — is fleshing out critical details of the worst attack on the Capitol in two centuries, which played out on live television.

    (Emphasis mine.) Some of those details may seem trivial but will in fact be telling, and key in shaping public opinion. Much of what we remember about Watergate is details.

  34. 34.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: trump was to testify on the 7th.   Maybe he went to court to stop that, or maybe I’m erred on the date.   Anyway, it’s so difficult to keep when the trumps are supposed to appear in court, and for what.

  35. 35.

    Captain C

    @Jerzy Russian:

    May this lead to an existential crisis for him and an epic bout of gastrointestinal distress….

    …while he is sitting in a prison cell.

    Or while live on the air.

  40. 40.

    delk

    Get ready. Somehow trump will blame cancel culture for deciding to cancel his hour plus long lie-a-thon.

  42. 42.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    Nicholas Grossman via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    72% of Americans say Jan. 6 was an attack on democracy, just 25% say otherwise.

    100% – 72% = 28%

    There’s that number again: The Crazification Factor.

    John Rogers and Tyrone are fucking geniuses.

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    This is tangentially an on-topic comment: I have started reading Jamie Raskin’s new book,  Unthinkable, and it is extraordinary, beautiful, and excruciating. I’m about 25% in, according to the counter at the bottom of the screen. I know we’re concentrating on Adam Schiff’s Midnight in Washington right now, but I urge you to read Raskin as soon as you feel ready. I’m going to lobby hard for it to be our next (or at least a soon) BJBC discussion. Schiff and Raskin make for some powerful tandem reading.

  44. 44.

    Another Scott

    @LongHairedWeirdo: The GQP politicians and voters picked a side no later than Wednesday July 27, 2016:

    “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” he said. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens. That will be next. Yes, sir.”

    They didn’t condemn him and hitched themselves to him. Everything since then has followed from that (and really, from all the garbage he’s subjected us to since he rode down the escalator…)

    Liz is a useful, temporary, ally. That’s it (from October 2016).

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  45. 45.

    debbie

    @Lacuna Synecdoche:

    That doesn’t match up with this:

    A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is “in crisis and at risk of failing.” That sentiment is felt most acutely by Republicans: Two-thirds of GOP respondents agree with the verifiably false claim that “voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election” — a key pillar of the “Big Lie” that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

    Fewer than half of Republicans say they are willing to accept the results of the 2020 election — a number that has remained virtually unchanged since we asked the same question last January.

    This seems at odds with the 28%. Lots of people think the election was stolen, but the insurrection was wrong? Not in my experience.

  48. 48.

    scav

    I rather doubt tRumpy is actually spooked — takes at least a minor connection to reality to attain that.  Cancelling his speech gets at least as much media attention as the speech would with far less effort on his part, but also with fewer opportunities to say something stupid, get booed by his own crowd or fail to fill the room.  PLUS, some good number of his acolytes won’t read past cancel before going into beserker battle against their archdemon of cancel culture.

  49. 49.

    James E Powell

    @Old School:

    No doubt they had teams set up to interview a Concerned Mother* in Florida and a group of RealAmericans® outside an Ohio diner.

    * – Later to be revealed as a local Republican Party official on page A19 of the NYT.

  51. 51.

    stinger

    @SiubhanDuinne: Great idea. I also have Alexander Vindman’s and Fiona Hill’s books in the pile, and I’ll bet they’d be great for book clubbing. In the metaphorical sense.

  53. 53.

    Old School

    @Quinerly:

    Crazy interview with Peter Navarro happening now on MSNBC. My brain hurts.

    Is he promoting his election board game?  Or is it something else?

  56. 56.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JoyHC:

    It’s both brilliant and heartwrenching, the way Tommy’s death and the 1/6 insurrection are so interwoven — the way Jamie constantly second-guesses himself (“What signals did I miss? What could I have done to stop it?”).

    I ordered the AudioBooks narration but haven’t listened to it yet.

  64. 64.

    JoyHC

    @SiubhanDuinne: I have felt really touched hearing him read it. There are times you can hear the emotion in his voice and he doesn’t try to conceal it.  He is such a loving father and I admire him so much for how openly he expressed his love to all of his kids.

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @stinger:

    Fully agree. I’ve read about half of Fiona Hill’s book, but Adam Schiff lured me away. Haven’t yet started Vindman, though it’s in the queue.

  69. 69.

    japa21

    Liz Cheney, and her fellow Never-Trumpists, have every reason to try and convince the rest of us that TFG was a one-off grifter who somehow, inexplicably, wormed his way into the too-trusting Republican party — that disposing the Trump crime family would cure the rot.

    Disagree here. Cheney is well aware that Trump is not a one-off. She does not have some romantic notion of what the Republican Party is. She knows the party, as a whole, has jumped off the deep end. She is hoping she can preside over the resurrection of the party.

  74. 74.

    JPL

    @Bex: I just saw a short clip of that part, and Ari should have stopped him right at that point.   It’s time to say we don’t denigrate people.

  75. 75.

    Alison Rose

    Guys, I’m sorry, looks like my people have been up to no good once again

    Entrata founder emails Utah tech CEOs, claiming COVID vaccine part of extermination plot by ‘the Jews’

    The founder and chair of Entrata, a Silcon Slopes tech firm, has resigned his position after sending an email to a number of tech CEOs and Utah business and political leaders, claiming the COVID-19 vaccine is part of a plot by “the Jews” to exterminate people.

    The remarks triggered condemnation throughout Utah’s tech community, and led to David Bateman’s resignation from the company’s board of directors after FOX 13 first reported on the email.

    The email by Bateman, shared with FOX 13 by numerous sources Tuesday morning, begins with the subject line “Genocide.” Bateman confirmed to FOX 13 in text messages that he sent the email.

    “I write this email knowing that many of you will think I’m crazy after reading it. I believe there is a sadistic effort underway to euthanize the American people. It’s obvious now. It’s undeniable, yet no one is doing anything. Everyone is discounting their own judgment, and dismissing their intuition,” Bateman wrote.

    In the email, Bateman attacks the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and urged people not to get it. He also claims that criticism of the vaccine is being censored and international charges were going to be filed against Dr. Anthony Fauci.

    “I believe the Jews are behind this. For 300 years the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top. It happened in 2013 with Pope Francis. I believe the pandemic and systematic extermination of billions of people will lead to an effort to consolidate all the countries in the world under a single flag with totalitarian rule. I know, it sounds bonkers. No one is reporting on it, but the Hasidic Jews in the US instituted a law for their people that they are not to be vaccinated for any reason,” he wrote in the email.

    Nobody fuckin’ told me we were getting ready to take down the Vatican, why am I always left out of the fun stuff.

    Also, you will be shocked, shocked to find that he told the reporter “I have nothing but love for the Jewish people. Some of my closest friends are Jews.” OH ARE THEY THOUGH?

  76. 76.

    Baud

    @Alison Rose:

    “I believe the Jews are behind this. For 300 years the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top

     
    I Jew it!

  77. 77.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Sure Lurkalot: Wow.  What an asshole.  He knows he’s mayor of New York, right?

    Late night segments will be fun.  “So how much of an asshole do you think the new mayor is?”

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    Someone may have mentioned this already, but according to Reuters, Trump has cancelled his January 6 news conference.

  86. 86.

    Felanius Kootea

    The great thing about the composition of the January 6 investigation committee is that Liz Cheney is on it.  Yes, I admire all the Dems on the committee. Yes, I know she’s only temporarily an ally, but without her, I truly believe the US news media would have completely ignored the committee’s actual findings (even with Kinzinger aboard) and just parroted whatever insanity Kevin McCarthy spewed about the committee’s findings. That is sad, but I’m relieved she’s there, she’s vicious, she’s extremely media savvy, and that she knows how to twist a knife.

    I think Trump is starting to realize that he made a mistake going after her the way he did.  She will never genuflect like the boys in his cult have and he absolutely doesn’t know what to do with that (same way he couldn’t handle Pelosi). Good.

  90. 90.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Geminid:

    Someone may have mentioned this already, but according to Reuters, Trump has cancelled his January 6 news conference. 

    Did the Kremlin’s orange fascist shitstain not trust himself to not yell out “It was a beautiful insurrection!”?

  91. 91.

    Jeffro

    @Felanius Kootea: great insight and yes, I think that even as stupid as he is, his animal cunning is probably telling him he’s in serious danger here.  The 1/6 Commission is not playing around, and people are talking.

  96. 96.

    NotMax

    @Jeffro

    Or because Melania sneaked in and gathered up all his pants in order to sell them online?

    Irresponsible not to ask.

    “As God is my witness I thought NFT stood for No F*cking Trousers.”

    //

  98. 98.

    Jeffro

    @debbie: I think he, and Meadows, and so many others are not willing to go to jail for trumpov.

    Here’s hoping that the Commission…and god help us, the media…insists on airing the full truth of what these goons nearly did to our country.

  100. 100.

    Felanius Kootea

    UC Irvine is not bringing its finest (I know he’s a professor emeritus now). He and his wife had the quietest divorce ever in 2020. I wonder what she really thinks of her ex.
    Oops – ETA: re Peter Navarro and his MSNBC interview​

  101. 101.

    Jeffro

    @NotMax: “she’s doing what?  Selling off her wardrobe?  But…but…I’ma billionaire!  Why would a billionaire’s wife do th…”

  102. 102.

    Alison Rose

    @Baud: See and that’s how you know it’s bullshit, because if we really wanted to, it would’ve been done a long time ago. We’re an industrious people.

    I mean, I’m not. But others are.

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    @JPL: Adams won because he did well in the outer boroughs, and among Black and Latino voters. Gothamist magazine had a good article after the primary that broke down voter distribution among Mr. Adams, Ms. Wiley, and Ms. Garcia. It’s worth reading if you are really interested.

    Eric Adams retired as an NYPD captain before serving on the State Senate, then as  Brooklyn Borough President, Wiley had been Counsel for Mayor DiBlasio, and Garcia was former Sanitation Commissioner.

  116. 116.

    Ihop

    If all Hannity did was yell “fire”in a crowded theater then it would be hard for anyone to argue he wasn’t using his first amendment right to notice arson.

    But if he is financially attached to what happened, by previous investments that may be tied to Russian moneys , then he may be fucked.

    Provincially.

  117. 117.

    Geminid

    @Starfish: Well, that rhetorical question is better answered by someone else. But if you are really interested, you can always look up New York media coverage and see what Adams has been up to. There is plenty of reporting.

    Myself, I will wait a few months and see what polling on Adams’ job performance is like before I judge him. New Yorkers are really interested, and like I said, they’re not stupid.

  119. 119.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JPL: Wasn’t it Scott Walker who dropped out of the ’16 R primary with a plea to the remaining non-trump candidates– IIRC, Jeb, Kasich and Cruz?– to do rock, paper scissors or something to save the party ( as most of us thought then) from The Beast?

  122. 122.

    Scout211

    In local news news that surprises absolutely no one: Larry Elder has decide not to run for Governor of California in 2022. Source.

    Instead, he has decided set up a new Republican grift PAC.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – Recall candidate and conservative radio host Larry Elder announced Tuesday he will not run for governor of California in 2022 but has instead formed the Elder for America PAC.

    The political action committee’s goal is “helping Republicans take back the House and Senate,” according to a press release.

  128. 128.

    Laura Too

    @debbie: I heard it. I was a little pissed at the “both sides do it” that I thought diluted everything he said before that. Just my take.

  130. 130.

    MagdaInBlack

    @japa21: Exactly what a friend and I were discussing last night. She (they) wants to save the GOP from the GQP and she’s gonna run for Pres.

  131. 131.

    JPL

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  Yes, but he wasn’t in contention at all.  If Kasich or Bush had been the candidate, we wouldn’t be fretting about whether or not our democracy would survive another eight years though.  imo

  132. 132.

    Geminid

    @JPL: That’s really hard to say. Those three finished on top, but there were a half dozen other candidates, including Yang. Garcia was top votegetter in Manhattan, and had the New York Times’ endorsement. Wiley was strong all around the city, as was Adams. The Gathamist article indicated that Wiley, who had a strong emphasiemphasis  on social justice issues, did well among younger white voters, or at least, in “gentrified” precincts. And the Gothamist article indicated that Adams ran well among Black and Latino New Yorkers.

    Adams ran on a crime fighting platform. One poll of voters before the election showed that 54% picked crime as their biggest single issue, which was more than any other.  Adams chose a black woman, Teachant Sewell, as Police Commissioner. She may be good at the job, but you will hear a dozen cherry-picked Adams quotes with no context before you hear a word about her. Unless you are interested enough to look up Adams and check out the reporting from New York media. There is plenty of it.

  133. 133.

    debbie

    @Geminid:

    Listen, I lived there for close to 20 years, so I know New Yorkers. They may be smart, but they won’t be amused at Adams’s flippant attitude about COVID.

  134. 134.

    Another Scott

    TV notice – Looks interesting. ProPublica:

    Recent Interviews Shed New Light on Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol

    An updated documentary from ProPublica, FRONTLINE and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program tracks the migration of fringe election conspiracies into the mainstream. It airs Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 10 p.m. EST.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  136. 136.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: Here’s the Adams statement in (some) context. He seems to be talking about people who can’t work remotely? And after his comments the other day that seemed to suggest “swagger” would beat Covid, I’m glad to see he’s not only wearing mask, but a shirt that that says “Vaccine and testing”, and I heard he’s going to keep vaccine mandates for public places in place

    The “my, my, my” is off-putting to me.

  137. 137.

    Scout211

    @Another Scott:

    Thanks! I saw that listed and for some reason I assumed it was a repeat from the one that aired last year, which was really good. I just set the DVR to record.

  139. 139.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JPL: yeah, in hindsight I don’t think Jeb or Kasich could have stopped trump even if one had been willing to bow out for the other.

    Nutty Ted was never gonna do anything for the greater good.

  141. 141.

    Geminid

    @debbie: 70% of voters did not pick Adams first. But enough picked him second or third for him to win. And Adams did have the most first place votes.

    This was New York City’s first ranked choice election. Under the old system, there would have been a runoff of the top two finishers if no one exceeded 40%. That might have been the case here.

    Alaska debuts its ranked choice system this year. They’ll have an open ranked choice “jungle” primary. Then the top four finishers will face off in a ranked choice election in November. That seems like something Lisa Murkowski and Alaska’s campaign consultant industry might have designed.

  144. 144.

    Ruckus

    @scav:

    Cancelling his speech gets at least as much media attention as the speech would with far less effort on his part, but also with fewer opportunities to say something stupid, get booed by his own crowd or fail to fill the room.

    He’s never really expended any effort his entire life, he’s never spoken without saying something stupid, and he’s failed quite a bit at filling the room. Now getting booed by his own crowd is going to take some doing, but I believe they have done that once or twice as well. See it’s all going so well for SFB. The only thing that gives me any where near a smile when thinking of him is that there is a rather small but not zero chance he’ll spend time in jail before he dies. A day would even be enough for a small smile, although far longer would be better.

  145. 145.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Starfish: Paraphrasing:

    Garçon Noir
    @ExhibitRey

    “It’ll be devastating for NYC’s economy if y’all don’t take your asses back to in-person work and put your life on the line during a pandemic so capitalism can thrive!” -Eric Adams, NYC Mayor

  146. 146.

    Hoppie

    @debbie: Not really. Repubs are less than 40% of the total population.  Half of Repubs is under 20%.  2/3rds is 26%.  Means a very small % of non-Repubs agree the election was stolen.  Plausible.

  147. 147.

    Geminid

    @Steeplejack: He’s saying that the City needs swagger, so the Mayor needs to show it. Kind of an ethos of MABA- Make the Apple Big Again. But New Yorkers will judge Adams by his results, not his words.

  149. 149.

    Steeplejack

    @Laura Too:

    I’d wait to see something from another source. Newsweek has not been very credible the last few years. Sold and resold among some sketchy owners. It’s not your dad’s Newsweek.

  150. 150.

    dmsilev

    @Ruckus: He got booed for (once) suggesting that booster vaccine shots were a good idea; of course he also is still claiming that he deserves credit for the development of the vaccines.

    Anyway, he supposedly is having another hate-rally/Herman-Cain-Award Nomination Event a week or so later; I guess that’s supposed to be the substitute.

  154. 154.

    Ruckus

    @japa21:

    She is hoping she can preside over the resurrection of the party.

    She’s hoping to be the leader of said party and wind up president.

    When I first typed this I left the i out of said. Said, sad, really the sentiment is OK either way….

  156. 156.

    Brachiator

    @Felanius Kootea:

    The great thing about the composition of the January 6 investigation committee is that Liz Cheney is on it.  Yes, I admire all the Dems on the committee. Yes, I know she’s only temporarily an ally, but without her, I truly believe the US news media would have completely ignored the committee’s actual findings …

    I very much agree with your insights here.  Great stuff.

    I think Trump is starting to realize that he made a mistake going after her the way he did.

    Here I think I disagree. One of Trump’s many weaknesses is that he always underestimates women who oppose him. He will belittle them, call them “nasty,” but he is incapable of ever acknowledging their competence or that they just might be able to kick his ass.

     

     

  161. 161.

    Steeplejack

    Rachel Maddow starting off with some hot Sean Hannity texts in possession of the January 6 committee.

  162. 162.

    cain

    @Alison Rose: 
    The Jews already got someone in the Catholic Church, he’s managed to get them to even worship him. Some hispanic guy, starts with a J.

  165. 165.

    Geminid

    @dmsilev: Actually, Trump was booed twice for talking up vaccination. Once at a rally, and once at an event he held with Bill O’Oreilly. Then he he talked up vaccination in an interview with Candace Parker(?). There was no live audience, but he got booed a lot on the Internet by people including Alex Jones.

    Trump is used to getting nothing but cheers from his base base, so this is new for him. I expect he will try to get them back on the trump train somehow, maybe by attacking Fauci while going silent on vaccination.

  166. 166.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Starfish: Okay. I didn’t see any mention of public transportation or sick days in that tweet. Dismissing the effectiveness of vaccines is not helpful to the clusterfuck we’re in.

  167. 167.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Magdi Semrau @magi_jay 4h

    The vaccines work great. People need to stop pretending they don’t. Get your booster, wear a mask, & take precautions. Protect the vulnerable around you. If you’re not immunocompromised, it’s not the same as it was in 2020. You’re very well protected if you’re vaccinated.

    The next weeks are going to be terrible for hospitals, schools, people w/ immunocompromise, & parents & kids. Boosted folks will feel some of this pain (school closures, etc). We’re all in danger from overflowing hospitals. But boosted folks are also very protected from COVID.

    Omicron stinks. A lot of people, especially hospital workers, are going to suffer. But people need to stop insinuating that boosted people are generally being sent to their deaths. We’re not. We should protect ourselves. We should also know our immune systems recognize COVID now.

  170. 170.

    dmsilev

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The LA Times had this (from earlier today):

    But there are signs that the crunch at a number of Southern California’s hospitals may not be as severe as last year, before vaccines were widely available. Roughly two-thirds of patients who have tested positive at hospitals run by the L.A. County Department of Health Services were admitted for something other than the coronavirus, according to Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly.

    That is starkly different from what the county’s public hospitals saw in earlier surges, when most coronavirus-positive patients were hospitalized because they had been sickened by the virus, Ghaly said. This time around, many “may have not known they were COVID-positive … but they’re in the hospital for something else,” Ghaly said. During last winter’s surge, more than 80% of COVID-19 patients were in the hospital because they were experiencing severe illness associated with the disease, according to the Department of Health Services.

    L.A. County surpassed its summertime COVID-19 hospitalization peak on New Year’s Day, when 1,792 patients with coronavirus infections were in its hospitals. During the summertime Delta surge, the patient count in the nation’s most populous county peaked at 1,790 on Aug. 17, state data show. However, the number of seriously ill patients remains well shy of last summer. On Sunday, 278 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units countywide — about 40% below the August peak. The latest totals also are a far cry from last winter, when more than 8,000 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized countywide on the worst days, and ICUs were at times inundated with more than 1,700.

    For context, a bit over 2/3s of the total population of LA County is fully vaccinated, and another several percent have had at least an initial dose of the vaccine.

  172. 172.

    Starfish

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: My younger sister lives in the city. She has to use the subway to get anywhere. She had a major cancer in 2021.

    Your wishful-thinking about how well people should be doing at this stage of the pandemic is not a theoretical for me.

    Her oncologist checked her blood to make sure she had immunity before clearing her to potentially go back to work one day a week. She had two of her vaccine doses during chemo, so it was not clear how much immunity she would have. She also had to navigate anti-vaccine folks in these cancer patient spaces, which was nuts.

    Certain companies will take away supports for people like my sister as soon as they can.

  174. 174.

    Patricia Kayden

    Hillary Clinton showed up and testified for 11 hours on Benghazi because she had nothing to hide. Trump and his regime members, next certainly Sean Hannity who warned that he was "very worried about the next 48 hours" on Jan 5, all trying to dodge Congress. Wonder why!— Amy Siskind ?️‍? (@Amy_Siskind) January 4, 2022

  178. 178.

    different-church-lady

    The whole fucking problem is that Trump’s “brazen posture” is the brazen posture of a five year old throwing a temper tantrum. His get-out is the idea that he wasn’t mature enough to actually cause the insurrection, he just went along with it. We need to somehow convince people that it’s still worthy of condemnation and punishment.

    ETA: I read “brazen pressure” as brazen posture, and fuck everything I’m into the 17 year old scotch so kiss my grits.

  179. 179.

    Geminid

    @Steeplejack: The performance of New York City’s Mayor is one of the most intensively reported matters in the U.S. Anyone who is really interested can access three major newspapers and a half dozen minor ones, not to mention broadcast reporting that gets repeated in text. Typically, what the Mayor is doing is a story on any given day.

    There will also be good polling of New York’s citizens. A lot of them may not scan blogs and listen to podcasts like “high information” voters do, but they have their eyes open and care about how their city is run. Since I live 300 miles away, I will judge Adams mainly by how his contituents judge him.

  181. 181.

    different-church-lady

    Also: one should not try to operate a still-unfamiliar iPhone 13 while under the influence of a potent Islay 17….

  184. 184.

    Steeplejack

    @A Good Woman:

    Re Newsweek:

    Yep. I used to run out to the mailbox on the day it would arrive so I could read it before my parents got hold of it. Now it’s devolved into clickbait on one of the most ad-laden sites on the web.

    — Trump lost. Think he won? You’re a loser, too. (@GOPDeathCult) January 3, 2022

  189. 189.

    debbie

    I just heard a clip of DeSantis saying that vaccine passports had failed in the states that had used them. Anyone know which states used them?

  190. 190.

    Sebastian

    @Laura Too:

    There was I believe after the election some news that Trump has replaced the head of Special Ops, it was such shrewd news tbh.

    I only skimmed this article but it could mean Trump tried to have Special Ops involved on 6 Jan.

  198. 198.

    Ella in New Mexico

    IN THE COMING FUCKING MONTHS?

    I’m so sick of being patient.

    It’s been since January 20, 2017 and I’m so sick of this son of a bitch getting away with his crimes.

  200. 200.

    Dan B

    @SiubhanDuinne: I was amazed, as well, going from Schiff’s book to where I’d left Fiona Hill’s book ( to finish it before BJBC).  Hill was recounting testimony at the Impeachment trial.  It was her perspective vs. Adam Schiff’s.  Bogglingly multi-layered.

  204. 204.

    Origuy

    Hi, everybody. I don’t comment much, but I’ve been around for a long time. My friend Susan needs some help. Some years ago, she rescued a litter of kittens, who are now cats with medical problems. The latest is her darling Tabitha, who needed to have five teeth pulled. I’m asking on Susan’s behalf for donations for Tabitha’s vet bill of  $1700. If you can spare anything, send it to my Venmo account, @Jeffery-Lanam. Susan is a bit of a technophobe and doesn’t want to set up a Venmo account. Thanks.

  209. 209.

    Gin & Tonic

    For those who might care about such things, anti-government protests in Kazakhstan and the reaction to them have escalated quickly.

    This escalated quickly. Pent-up grievances won’t be alleviated through force and shutdowns. The protests look peaceful, while the state as disconnected and brutal. Grand political concessions is the only way out now. https://t.co/8nRoEqtx2a— Erica Marat (@EricaMarat) January 4, 2022

    Yeah, no Borat jokes, please. This looks like it will get worse.

  210. 210.

    Suzanne

    @Omnes Omnibus: But she can be stressed out while we wait!

    I never understood the advice to relax while waiting for something. It’s not like that’s generally something one can control. Like, if I could turn off my impatience, I would be a totally different person.

  213. 213.

    Redshift

    @debbie: I mean, technically a vaccine passport is just an app for securely displaying your vaccine record so you don’t have to carry the card, so I suspect quite a few states have them. Virginia’s isn’t an app, you can just request a QR code. Only a handful of cities have required proof of vaccination (a vaccination card is always an alternative to the passport, I think) and I don’t think any states have, and places like NYC and SF have done relatively well.

    So DeSantis is (unsurprisingly) both lying and talking nonsense. I’d imagine it’s code for “places that have it still have COVID so it failed, and since everything is Democrats vs. Republicans, if their plan fails that means the Republican plan wins!”

  214. 214.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Suzanne: ​
      And I try not to worry about things that I cannot control. And it I can’t get myself to to that, I try to find a way to help the general cause and that make me feel better.

  218. 218.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Ella in New Mexico: how much time does it usually take to prepare an air-tight indictment for seditious conspiracy against a former president who will have limitless resources, an army of talented, ideologically-motivated lawyers and a good chance of appearing before judges who are judges precisely because they met the ideological standards of the party of said former president?

    cause if there was ever a real world case of “If you take the shot, you’d best not miss”, it’s indicting and prosecuting trump.

  222. 222.

    Origuy

    @Another Scott: I’ve never received money from PayPal, but you’re welcome to try. It’s jlanam AT comcast DOT net. Susan will appreciate it, as will Tabitha and her sisters Snickerdoodle, Sandtoes, Dixie, and Dusty. Also brother Braveheart, who’s a Nextdoor star in the neighborhood.

  223. 223.

    Suzanne

    @Omnes Omnibus: I try not to worry about things, but intrusive thoughts and feelings happen. I also tend to be a person who channels nervous energy into tasks, but that doesn’t turn the nervous energy off. It just makes me feel less Protestant guilt simultaneously.

  224. 224.

    Geminid

    @Redshift: I’m hoping that the Democratic candidate in Florida can make an issue of DeSantis’ Presidential ambitions. They’re pretty obvious, and the theme of “DeSantis is just using you as a stepping stones” may resonate with voters. ” I can look you in the eye and promise that I’ll serve all four years of my term. Why won’t my opponent?”

    That theme might resonate with Trump also. DeSantis is widely seen as the most likely Presidential nominee in 2024 after Trump, and DeSantis has yet to say he’ll pass on 2024 if Trump does run. This is something Trump expects, and some minor candidates have already made the pledge.

    Trump would see DeSantis not only as a rival but as an ingrate. If it hadn’t been for Trump’s endorsement DeSantis might well not have won the nomination for Governor in 2018. Since he  does not care about anyone but himself, Trump will be tempted to throw.a spoke into DeSantis’ wheel..

  227. 227.

    Jay

    I’ve been weird solo shifting, ( open, close, not what I am scheduled to do), just like a lot of other people at work, because Omicron has hit at work, since Dec 20th, despite being understaffed and stats, we have gone from 1 case, to 24 positive, and 31 out waiting out their 5 days and test results.

    The MoH has “advised” employers to expect to have 35% of their staff out sick in this wave, advised them to have everyone on staff who can remote work, do so.

    The Province also bumped the minimum mandated  “paid sick leave”, up from 3 days to 5 days.

  228. 228.

    Danielx

     

    @Baud:

    Tiger Beat on the Potomac sez a bunch of Republican senators felt Trump’s conference would be…unhelpful.

  231. 231.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Origuy:

    You should set up a Zelle account and use your e-mail as the “address.” No fees and the money is transferred in minutes.

  232. 232.

    Ilefttxwhenannlost

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I thought Jeb could’ve snatched at the patch of ridiculous hair atop shit midas’s noggin at the first debate when he insulted shrub…shit Midas would’ve reacted like he did with that bald eagle and deflated his swagger…out of character and not to be

  235. 235.

    sdhays

    @Brachiator: he is incapable of ever acknowledging their competence or that they just might be able to kick his ass.

    He seemed to fear Nancy when he was Preznit. Even when she was just the Minority Leader in the House.

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