Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Come on, man.

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

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

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

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

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

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

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

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

No one could have predicted…

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Books are my comfort food!

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Smoof Kriminals

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Smoof Kriminals

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This post is in: ,

This is not the weirdest timeline, but its particular flavor of weird is one I could do with much less of…

… Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, both of Manhattan, are due in court Tuesday afternoon.

Federal prosecutors allege they conspired to launder the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin that were stolen from Bitfinex’s platform and ended up in a digital wallet under Lichtenstein’s control.

Some 25,000 bitcoin were transferred out of the wallet over the last five years, the government alleges, and laundered through a complicated process that resulted in some of the stolen funds landing in bank accounts the couple controlled.

The Justice Department said it had already recovered $3.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen in the hack, which it described as its largest financial seizure ever…

The couple face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries up to 20 years in prison.

Reader Interactions

167Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    “Has the jury reached a verdict?”
    “Yes, your honor.”
    “What say you?”
    “We don’t know what any of this means?”

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    As far as I can tell, the one productive use of bitcoins and similar is to give this generation’s libertarians a direct first-hand lesson in why financial regulations exist.

  9. 9.

    germy

    Watching the “razzlekahn” rap video reminded me that one can pay for cameras, studio time, producers, editing… but one cannot buy talent.

  10. 10.

    geg6

    OMG, that video is hilarious.  It looks like one of those parody videos they do on SNL.  Jesus. ?

  12. 12.

    J R in WV

    Is it just me, or is this hysterical? These guys stole a shitload of data, converted a tiny bit of it into actual cash, didn’t take the money and run. Now they’re gonna spend the best years of their life in jail.

    Hope they’re big Republican voters!!!

    On a completely different topic:  My wife needs work done by a neurosurgeon, so we learned yesterday afternoon, from a really sharp seeming neurosurgeon, which is a good thing. A disk between her C5-C6 cervical vertebrae is impinging on her spinal cord and needs to be corrected.

    The  neurosurgeon (an attractive young woman who has 18 years of experience, which tells you how old I am!)  told us way more than that, but i can’t recall the details well enough to go on. Wife is OK, in hospital for more testing to be sure she can undergo surgery, tense as in who wouldn’t be, but doing OK. They really, really don’t want her to fall before she gets repaired and heals… me too.

    Guess what — I’m tense too, and the dogs know all about it!

  15. 15.

    Hoodie

    @germy: I think that TikTok got cut off, it was supposed to be “eliminate, automate, delegate . . . and steal when the first three don’t work”

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @J R in WV:

    Understandable that you both are tense, but it must be a relief to know what caused her episode the other day instead of wondering all kinds of dire things. I’m glad your wife has a surgeon who is both young and experienced. She’ll be in good hands, and I hope both the remaining tests and the surgery itself are easy. Thinking of the JRs in WV.

  20. 20.

    sab

    I haven’t called my RWNJ brother in a couple of years. I just found our conversations so horrifying that I deleted his number and moved on with my life.

    My older sister sent me his text number “in case I had lost his”  when she knew damn well I had deliberately deleted it. So I texted him happy birthday, and within fifteen minutes started to get weird hang up calls.

    So deleted and blocked his number. Thanks, Sis.

  23. 23.

    Brachiator

    Federal prosecutors allege they conspired to launder the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin that were stolen from Bitfinex’s platform and ended up in a digital wallet under Lichtenstein’s control.

    Sometime in the future:

    A couple stole billions of dollars in virtual currency and tried to flee to a virtual country.  They were apprehended when police entered their den and took off their goggles and headsets.

     

  24. 24.

    germy

    I put odds at 5:1 that one of those two bitcoin thief 30-somethings has a post on social media from around 2016 about how they bought their first house in their 20's by grinding

    — lauren (@NotABigJerk) February 9, 2022

  26. 26.

    sab

    @J R in WV: My husband and my experience is neurosugeons are not anxious to do surgerey unless they are sure of success. Bad for their stats and bad for their patients. This is a good thing.

    Other professions can help as well or better, depending on the circumstances. The neurosurgeon is not your only help.

  30. 30.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @germy: Remember Pia Zadora? Her husband is a billionaire who tried to make Zadora a big pop star. Didn’t work.

  35. 35.

    Ken

    @different-church-lady: But… but… stealing digital currency is not possible!!!1!

    But notice, they’re not being charged with stealing digital currency. They’re being charged with laundering the digital currency into real money. It makes me wonder if the feds are looking for testimony in exchange for a plea bargain.

  36. 36.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @germy: Actors like Jodie Foster and Christian Bale are anomalies. The majority of child movie stars lose the magic once they reach adulthood. Case in point: Tatum O’Neal.

  37. 37.

    Betty

    @J R in WV: It’s good to have identified the problem and know there is a solution, but the anxiety in the meantime will be a challenge to manage. Sending every good wish for you both.

  38. 38.

    Starboard Tack

    @germy: Peters was arrested when she resisted giving up her iPad. She is accused of using it to illegally record a court proceding, I believe.

  41. 41.

    Roger Moore

    @different-church-lady:

    But… but… stealing digital currency is not possible!!!1!

    Actually, stealing digital currency is not just possible, it’s surprisingly easy, and there’s no easy way to reverse the transaction after the fact, so it stays stolen.  It’s even not too hard to avoid being caught by the authorities for stealing cryptocurrency, at least as long as you don’t try to spend it through legitimate channels.  But the moment you try to convert it into actual dollars, the authorities can figure out who you are.

  43. 43.

    Urza

    That video alone is a reason to tax the rich into oblivion.  If they have money to blow on crap like that they don’t need it.

    Maybe we could encourage the wealthy to make a new game out of seeing who can pay the most taxes to help society, instead of building rocket penises and have more zeroes on paper.

  46. 46.

    HumboldtBlue

    I’ll never understand why a woman whom I know and who has two of the most magnificent breasts I have ever seen decided that a huge pendant tattoo just above those two wonderful glands was attractive.

    That photo of Sissy Dipshit or whatever her name is only reminds of that travesty

  47. 47.

    Dan B

    @J R in WV: If you are feeling anxious it would be great for you, and your wife, to have counseling.  You can care for her better if you are feeling okay.  She’ll pick up on your anxiety which is not good for her.

    Best of luck!

  48. 48.

    Roger Moore

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    It shouldn’t be surprising that a lot of people who are successful in the movies as kids don’t succeed as adults.  That’s not to discount the special difficulties moving from child star to adult star, but success is usually fleeting.  Many stars who are big in their twenties fade in their thirties, or thirties and forties, and so on.  Short careers are the norm, and long ones are the exception.

  53. 53.

    zhena gogolia

    In case anyone was wondering how the NYT would handle the story of TFG taking boxes of documents, including correspondence with Kim Jong-un, from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, it’s a story buried on A12 with the headline, “Trump Turns Documents Over to U.S. Archives.”

    I hate to say it, but her e-mails.

  54. 54.

    mrmoshpotato

    @J R in WV:

    Is it just me, or is this hysterical? These guys stole a shitload of data, converted a tiny bit of it into actual cash, didn’t take the money and run. Now they’re gonna spend the best years of their life in jail.

    It’s hilarious.  And I really want to know how little of it they converted into actual money because I’m sure it’s a laughably small amount.

     

    Glad to hear things are progressing well for your wife, as unpleasant as having to undergo surgery can be.

  55. 55.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @J R in WV:

    I’ve had C5-C6 & C6-C7 done with a plate/screws on C5-C6 because it had to be redone due to using cadaver bone that didn’t take. I used my own bone and the truth is that the removal of it hurt far more and longer than the neck surgery did. Heck of a lot to go through but the relief afterward was worth it.

    My best wishes to your wife in getting through this.

  56. 56.

    Another Scott

    Some Olympic commenter is saying the next competitor has to “conquer and channel that hangriness”.  I was expecting a Snickers add to appear on a chyron…

    Roone Arledge must be spinning in his grave.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  58. 58.

    lowtechcyclist

    @zhena gogolia:

    In case anyone was wondering how the NYT would handle the story of TFG taking boxes of documents, including correspondence with Kim Jong-un, from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, it’s a story buried on A12 with the headline, “Trump Turns Documents Over to U.S. Archives.”

    And this is what the wingnuts call the “liberal media.”

    Occasionally I see one of those “I don’t believe the liberal media” bumper stickers.  And all I can think is, “I don’t believe we have one.”

  61. 61.

    mrmoshpotato

    @zhena gogolia:

    I hate to say it, but her e-mails. 

    Oh, those 3 words have been on my mind since the orange shitstain passed 270 electoral college votes in 2016.

  62. 62.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @zhena gogolia: Additionally, the framing in the NYT and WAPO was that it was because T’s exit from the White House was “hasty”, all those documents were simply inadvertently packed in the boxes marked Mar a Lago.

  63. 63.

    lowtechcyclist

    @J R in WV:

    Is it just me, or is this hysterical? These guys stole a shitload of data, converted a tiny bit of it into actual cash, didn’t take the money and run. Now they’re gonna spend the best years of their life in jail.

    It’s fucking hilarous!  I don’t have a sufficiently larcenous heart to ever try something like this, but if I did, I’d spend an afternoon researching which countries we didn’t have extradition treaties with, and be on my way to one of them the minute I had enough of the dough in hand to pay for the plane tickets and a hotel room at the other end.

    I’m the treasurer of the neighborhood HOA, and as I’ve told my fellow board members, they don’t have to worry about me stealing the money, our bank balance (high five figures) is way too small to be worth the risk.

    ETA: Glad to hear the news about your wife. Her symptoms make sense, given that diagnosis, so it sounds like the neurosurgeon may be able to fix things.

    Can’t remember exactly where or when it was, but a decade or so ago, my wife had to see an urgent-care doc who was so young-looking that I could only think of the Castle Anthrax scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: “They’re doctors??” “They have a basic medical training, yes.”

  64. 64.

    zhena gogolia

    @Sure Lurkalot: Yes, although this article (co-authored by Haberman) does say that it was hasty because they were busy trying to overturn the election. That’s buried in the third or fourth paragraph of this unassuming article on p. A12.

  65. 65.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Roger Moore: That’s true. I think the actors who are able to prolong their careers are the ones who recognize when it’s time to move on from teen idols to playing more complex characters. Leonardo DiCaprio is an example of someone who constantly challenges himself. Denzel Washington still manages to surprise audiences. How in hell do you go from formulaic crap like The Equalizer to The Tragedy of Macbeth?

  66. 66.

    raven

    @J R in WV: I had spinal surgery in June.   I mentioned to the surgeon that his colleague who did my wife’s surgery a few years back said “what they did to you in 1975 would be considered barbaric now” he replied “what we would have done to you three years ago would be considered barbaric now”! That  is all by way of saying that they have made such tremendous strides in this area and really do perform “minimally invasive” spinal surgery. It doesn’t really take away the anxiety but it’s something to consider.

  67. 67.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @zhena gogolia:

    Yes, although this article (co-authored by Haberman) does say that it was hasty because they were busy trying to overturn the election. That’s buried in the third or fourth paragraph of this unassuming article on p. A12.

    See, I connected a dot!

  80. 80.

    Roger Moore

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    How in hell do you go from formulaic crap like The Equalizer to The Tragedy of Macbeth?

    I don’t want to let Denzel off completely, but I think he’s been limited by the roles he’s been offered.  Even great Black actors don’t have as many good parts available as their White counterparts.

  82. 82.

    Roger Moore

    @Kalakal:

    Anna Paquin seems to be doing OK.  So do a bunch of the kids from the Harry Potter movies.  Maybe they aren’t the biggest stars, but they’ve managed to transition reasonably well to being adult actors without being trapped by their pasts.

  84. 84.

    Kalakal

    @J R in WV:

    Is it just me, or is this hysterical? These guys stole a shitload of data, converted a tiny bit of it into actual cash, didn’t take the money and run

    It’s hysterical, me I’d be on a plane to a non-extradiction country within hours, in fact thanks to the magic of the world wide web I’d be there when I commited the crime

    take the money and run

    As Dougles Adams put it “I could do with the excercise”

  85. 85.

    dmsilev

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Denzel Washington still manages to surprise audiences. How in hell do you go from formulaic crap like The Equalizer to The Tragedy of Macbeth?

    Well, I imagine an extended period shepherding film adaptations of August Wilson’s plays probably didn’t hurt.

  86. 86.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Always be goat, not a goddamn sheep!.

    Lol… I never would’ve known about these assholes stealing bitcoin and now I’ve seen the worst rap video of all time. Thanks, Balloon Juice.

  87. 87.

    geg6

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Great example.  She was a wonderful child actor.  Such a natural.  And then she grew up and somehow it all just disappeared.  Drew Barrymore is another anomaly, though I am not a huge fan of most of her films.  But she can act even with a bad script.

  90. 90.

    Scout211

    @zhena gogolia:

    In contrast to the NYT, Cilliza (I know, I know) has a column up on CNN.com entitled, “Why the Donald Trump-National Archives Story is Such a Big Deal” and it actually worth a read, unlike most of his Tiger Beat type gossipy columns.   Source.

    The defining trait of Trump’s time in office was how little regard he had for the limitations that even the highest of offices had. He ran roughshod over everyone and everything in his way. He expressed little concern for the way things had always been done. He was reckless in the extreme.
    Plus, he didn’t tell the truth. Like, a lot.
    Then there’s this: Trump is — and has always been — a fabulist. He is uniquely obsessed with always portraying himself as a winner — dating back to his days as a young professional when he made up an employee — named John Barron — who would call the New York tabloids and spread pro-Trump gossip.
    At every stage of his life, Trump has creatively edited the narrative to make himself look better. His many bankruptcies weren’t failures, they were savvy business moves. His party’s setbacks in the 2018 campaign were, actually, an upsetting of expectations and a victory. His botched handling of the coronavirus pandemic? He deserved more credit than he got. Riiiiight.
    When you combine that series of Trump traits, you see a) how difficult it will be for the National Archives to ever get a complete picture of the Trump presidency and b) why it is so, so important that it does everything in its power to do so.

  91. 91.

    Sure Lurkalot

    In lighter news

    I somehow resisted any urge to watch the oft mentioned video and apparently, that was quite fortuitous.

    My Girl Scout salesperson Zooey dropped off 5 boxes of thin mints 5 days early. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

  94. 94.

    FlyingToaster

    @sab: I know the feeling.  My mom keeps sending me my RWNJ brother’s contact info, and I keep deleting it.  She made the mistake of asking around Xmas if I’d heard from him, and I’m like, “well, last year his current nutcase SO sent an XMas card.  WarriorTeen wanted to take it out to the sidewalk and set it on fire.”

    My mom is finally starting to get the idea of “Don’t waste my time.”

  95. 95.

    Ruckus

    @sab:

    Many of the things neurosurgeons do are risky because of where they are located. I see a neurosurgeon regularly to check on an issue that they likely won’t operate on because it is very risky and the chances of 100% success are not good and even if they are successful it might leave me worse off in a number of ways. It doesn’t effect me as long as nothing goes wrong but if it does it’s likely I’ll be gone before they can get inside to fix it. And I usually ask to have things fixed if possible but in this case leaving well enough alone is likely far better. Life is a crap shoot. Sometimes one craps out. IOW I don’t mind them being selective and knowing when not to proceed unless we absolutely have to is the correct answer. All that said there are times when they can fix things and make a life far better. I tend to believe a surgeon when they tell me that surgery is far riskier than not. Not everything is reasonably fixable.

  96. 96.

    CaseyL

    @J R in WV:  I’m so glad you now know what the issue is, and have someone experienced and extremely competent working on the best way to address it. Best wishes to Mrs. JR in WV, and to you!

  97. 97.

    Kelly

    @J R in WV: An old friend of mine had his legs quit working in December. Arthritis in his neck was pinching a nerve. Surgery fixed him. Tomorrow I’m driving him to his appointment to to go from a rigid neck brace to a soft one. He should be fully recovered soon.

    Best Wishes!

  98. 98.

    marcopolo

    Late to this thread, but as someone who did their 2021 taxes on Sunday (don’t ask), I can tell y’all that there is now, for the first time, a yes/no box to check in response to the question: “In 2021 were you involved in any transactions using cryptocurrency.”

    It’s going to wind up taxed pretty soon and between that, Matt Damon (and other celebs making effing tv ads hawking it, and this couple’s arrest kind of laying to rest the idea that crypto provides some kind of financial anonymity I’m predicting we are pretty much at peak crypto now and it’s all down hill from here. If you are in, get out now whilst you can.

    And, yes, I do get a great deal of satisfaction out this.

  99. 99.

    Roger Moore

    @Kalakal: 
    I suspect that the various anti-exploitation laws have made life easier for child actors and thus improved their chances of reaching happy adulthood. That said, I think there’s a whole thing about parents pushing their kids into showbiz because they see them as meal tickets, and the kids of whom that is true are a lot more likely to be totally messed up as adults. Britney Spears’s public meltdown is a classic example of the risk there, though she seems to have put her life and career back together.

  101. 101.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @marcopolo: It’s always been taxable.  It is treated as a capital gain transaction.  It’s just common enough now that tax software is emphasizing it.

  102. 102.

    NotMax

    Guy sounds like a real piece of work. “Legitimate political discourse” my aunt Fanny.

    A Jan. 6 rioter who stormed the Capitol while he was out on bail on an attempted first-degree murder charge was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday, more than 10 months after he was first identified by online sleuths.

    Matthew Jason Beddingfield, of North Carolina, faces felony charges of assaulting officers, impeding officers during a civil disorder and carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon on restricted Capitol grounds, as well as several misdemeanors, according to court records. Source

  103. 103.

    Poe Larity

    This prosecution is worser than the woke lynching of the Rogainer.

    These poor people were trapped by their bazillions.

  104. 104.

    Roger Moore

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I did mention parents pushing their kids into showbiz, which I think covers Spears’s situation pretty well.  My impression is that Disney is awful about collecting that kind of child actor.  I’m actually a bit surprised that Miley Cyrus turned out as well as she did.  I guess having parents in show business helps.

  106. 106.

    Roger Moore

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I suspect the tax software is (ETA: also) emphasizing it because some people are into cryptocurrency specifically because they think it will let them avoid taxes.  If people are planning on cheating, it’s extra important to let them know they’re getting themselves into trouble.

  110. 110.

    Lyrebird

    @J R in WV: COntinued good wishes to you and the Missus!  And the very talented neurosurgeon – may she be in top form!

     

    And thank you Anne Laurie for the laughs!

  112. 112.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Poe Larity:

    This prosecution is worser than the woke lynching of the Rogainer.

    These poor people were trapped by their bazillions that they stole.

    ???

  113. 113.

    Kalakal

    @Roger Moore: It’s not just showbiz, in the days of the Cold War Eastern European countries were notorious for producing brilliant young gymnasts many of whom suffered from skeletal problems in later life eg Nadia Comanenci. I used to work with the mother of a child maths prodigy, Ruth Lawrence. Her father had devoted his life from when she was 5 to educating her at home ( the parents divorced) and she spent her entire child hood focused on maths. She was admitted to Oxford age 12, got a starred first in maths at 13, a first in physics a year later and a DPhil in maths at 17. Her university experience was lectures, exams and being chaperoned everywhere by her father. She was a junior fellow at Harvard at 19. She’s a brilliant mathematician and seems to have gotten happier as she’s gotten older but never really had a childhood at all

  118. 118.

    Egorelick

    Quincy Cummings who was the little kid in the goodbye girl has a wonderful Twitter thread I fortuitously stumbled into. Highly recommend. She tells stories now instead of acting.

  120. 120.

    Steeplejack

    Gotta say that The Equalizer, while definitely a genre piece, with formulaic elements, is not crap. Denzel Washington is excellent in it. The Equalizer 2 is pretty good too. Antoine Fuqua’s direction on both is tight.

  127. 127.

    different-church-lady

    But seriously, I’m a bit concerned that somehow crypto is going to slowly transition from clown show into a genuine danger to society.

  131. 131.

    Yarrow

    @Another Scott:  In this particular case it’s a play on a tweet by that athlete where she used the word “hangry” just before her competition during the previous Olympics.

  133. 133.

    PJ

    @Sure Lurkalot:  Since it was obvious the election was stolen, and that once the vote in the House was delayed by “legitimate political discourse” and the “right electors” were substituted to give back the victory to TFG, he would never have to leave, they understandably put off packing. And once legitimate political discourse was supressed by the Deep State, they were forced to just throw the incriminating documents in boxes without looking at them. Really, it’s all the fault of the Democrats.

  135. 135.

    PJ

    @Roger Moore: Sometimes, you’ve got to pay the bills.  Michael Caine was on a talk show once promoting Jaws III and the host asked him if he’d seen the movie.  “I haven’t,” he replied, “but you should see the swimming pool I built with my paycheck!”

    More seriously, being in blockbuster movies like The Equalizer puts your name and face in front of a lot of people who would not normally go to see The Tragedy of Macbeth, but might because they enjoyed you in the blockbuster.

  138. 138.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @PJ: John Cusack does big budget movies on the condition that he gets the freedom and funding to do the indie movies he wants to do.

  142. 142.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
      Cusack hasn’t been asked to do a big budget film in 13 years. Since then the vast majority of his work has been embarrassing direct-to-DVD action films.

  144. 144.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Another Scott: ​  This has to be fabricated. I don’t believe he personally watched “American Graffiti”, “Klute”, “Cabaret”, and “Gigi”. Perhaps his wife and daughters. The infamous pill popping, drunken, anti-Semite wasn’t spending 3 hours watching “Fiddler on the Roof”.​

  146. 146.

    Ivan X

    @Steeplejack: I love both of those movies, though, however well made they are, they’re for fans of exploitation fare. I, for one, love well-made exploitation fare. (Taken, Crank and even more so its sequel, and Drive Angry are real classics of this millenium.) And I love Denzel. So, no complaints from me.

  148. 148.

    Feathers

    Just jumping in to post that they haven’t had the medal ceremony for the figure skating team event yet. It’s been delayed twice.

    Now it turns out that the IOC is in “legal consultations” with the ISU is the cause of the delay. There are reports that the cause is a test result in a Russian skater which happened before Beijing. Can’t vouch for source, but Russian Federation traveling with a doctor who has been busted for doping before.

    None of the Russian skaters who competed at the team event were at practice today. This includes Mark
    Kondratyuk, who did the wild Jesus Christ Superstar program with the 40 lashes and crown of thorns shirt. He’s supposed to compete in the long program tomorrow night, so it is really surprising that he’s not there.

    Links:https://twitter.com/cbrennansports/status/1491289743522336769

    https://twitter.com/insidethegames/status/1491287057754464258

     eta: name of Russian skater I forgot to Paste in

  149. 149.

    Anne Laurie

    @geg6: [Tatum O’Neill] was a wonderful child actor. Such a natural. And then she grew up and somehow it all just disappeared.

    Like not a few child actors, she came from a family with a long dysfunctional history of substance abuse.  Growing up like that is great acting training, if you see what I mean…

    As she got old enough to control her own schedule, she developed her own substance-abuse problems, which killed her career from both ends (she couldn’t do good work under the influence, and nobody with hiring power wants to work with someone who can’t be counted on to perform on cue).

    Eventually, AFAIK, she did the hard work & got sober.  She turned in fine, sometimes hilarious performances in Rescue Me as the on-and-off-the-wagon offspring of a brutally dysfunctional family.

    At approximately the same time, her old man was doing episodes of Bones as a former NSA agent / semi-retired con artist / drunk who’d ruined his kids’ lives despite his very best intentions…

  150. 150.

    Anne Laurie

    @Scout211: Cillizza didn’t mind TFG breaking ‘political’ rules, because as far as Cillizza understands it, politics is just what people who aren’t KEWL enough to be celebrities do.

    But TFG stealing memorabilia breaks celebrity rules, and that’s just (in his eyes) wrong.

  151. 151.

    J R in WV

    @SiubhanDuinne: ​
     

    Thinking of the JRs in WV.

    Thanks, SiumobhanDuinne — mob enforcer. I have a lot of confidence in this hospital system, they saved her life 12 years ago when she had septic shock syndrome and a 30% chance or making it home OK. Since then we’ve visited Spain, France, Italy and kissed baby whales in Cabo, Mexico.

    But also too ::: Now after a nice dinner and a phone call with an old friend and a couple of hours of sleep, the furnace is no longer making cold air hot. It’s just moving the cold air around. Could be worse, I guess. At least it isn’t 5 degrees tonight.

    I do have an excellent contractor firm that has worked on this system several times in the past 30 years, and I plan to call them early in the AM. Some days, guys, some days !!! Maybe it’s time for a new Trane instead of another new repair on the current box of parts?
    I would scream but it’s 2:47 am and the dogs and cats are asleep, which is their best skillset.

  152. 152.

    Anne Laurie

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Actually Dick Nixon was an amateur actor, community playhouse kind of stuff. That’s where he met Pat.

    Back in the Watergate days, there were jokes about how much grief the county would’ve avoided if Nixon had only been the professional actor that he really wanted to be.

    Riffing on the jokes about how Hitler only became a tyrant because he couldn’t succeed as a professional artist!

  153. 153.

    J R in WV

    @raven:

    Thanks Raven — all of you guys are such great support when something like this happens to one of us. She’s going to be OK I think, The surgeon has 18 years of experience, did a neuro-oncology fellowship at M D Anderson in Houston, has a ton of articles on how to do stuff I can’t spell… I’m not anxious, I’m a little tense, which is appropriate.

    Also my fucking Carrier furnace is acting spastic again after years of quiet brave service… glad it isn’t 4 degrees out tonight! I’m going back to bed soon, will have to set a clock to call Ron at Elco Mechanical. They do good work, I don’t have to worry about extra or unnecessary work being done, they have all the work they can possible accomplish.

    When it Rains, it Pours….~!!~

    You all take care, stay safe !! Wear A mask for Dog’s sake ~!!!~

  155. 155.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @dmsilev:

    As far as I can tell, the one productive use of bitcoins and similar is to give this generation’s libertarians a direct first-hand lesson in why financial regulations exist.

    May I steal this? And if so, how would you like it attributed?

  156. 156.

    J R in WV

    @Roger Moore:

    My impression is that Disney is awful about collecting that kind of child actor. I’m actually a bit surprised that Miley Cyrus turned out as well as she did. I guess having parents in show business helps.

    Miley Cyrus has a ton of talent that she has developed slowly and well. Her dad turned out to be a stand up guy too, when he stood up for Little Nas-X or however he spells his name. Nas has talent also too.

    And the video of the arrest of the elections clerk in grand Junction, that was hilarious. I love to see a Republican getting taken into custody. “Give me back my car keys!” — Honey, you won’t be needing that Cadillac for a while…

  157. 157.

    J R in WV

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    NBC is doing to Shiffren what it did to Biles. Absolutely shitty.

    NBC is institutionally incapable of covering the Olympics like the sporting event it is, with the natural suspence that comes with giant death-defying sports events naturally.

    They prefer to cover an American in 12th place rather than record-breaking superstars making famous progress. It is despicable how they create phony stories rather than cover the very real stories that every Olympic sport creates in every day of competition.

    Fuck NBC and their shitty sports management group.

  158. 158.

    sab

    @J R in WV: Yes. I remember when they relentlessly covered Ann Romney’s dressage horse that barely made the olympic team, and then completely ignored Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro in the next olympics- possibly the best dressage pair ever.

  159. 159.

    lowtechcyclist

    @prostratedragon: Since I’m usually behind them in moving traffic when I see the bumper stickers in question, that suggestion is unfortunately impractical. But I like the way you think.

  161. 161.

    JAFD

    @J R in WV: ​
     Good thoughts to you and your wife, and requests to The Grand Architect of the Universe to recheck the amount of rebar in your columns.

  162. 162.

    JAFD

    @Patricia Kayden: Interesting question.  Have to ask how far back the current position of ‘press secretary to the President’ goes.  Certainly Pierre Salinger is in the top tier with her, and FDR’s press secretary (whose name my memory hath but fleeting glimpses of) is probably responsible for what the job is today.

  163. 163.

    SFAW

    @Another Scott:

    I was expecting a Snickers add to appear on a chyron…

    If it was the one with Betty White and Abe Vigoda, I’d tune in the Olympics just for that.

  167. 167.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: I don’t doubt that.

    But being president is a stressful job and people who intend to stay sane have to do something to relax.

    I believe it’s Stephen Covey who has the 4 quadrants for activities:

    Q1: Urgent – Important
    Q2: Not Urgent – Important
    Q3: Urgent – Not Important
    Q4: Not Urgent – Not Important

    Quadrant 4: (Not Urgent – Not Important) is where people spend their down time.  TV and movies are great examples of quadrant 4 activates.  Watching/playing sports and reading books are other examples.  But TV and movies and watching sports take the least amount of mental and physical effort.

    I don’t see Nixon playing hoops like Obama did, so 2 movies a week doesn’t seem all that noteworthy to me.

    TV/movies makes perfect sense as a way for a president to wind down in the 1970s.

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