Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Not all heroes wear capes.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

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

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

This fight is for everything.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

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

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This blog will pay for itself.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Monday Morning Open Thread: Upholding Traditions

Monday Morning Open Thread: Upholding Traditions

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I try not to obtrude my religious beliefs here, but Murphy the Trickster God has many avatars.

(Also, this news should be amuse the anime fans, since escaped fox demons been featured in any number of serials, including Our Home’s Fox Deity and Inari, KonKon…

Reader Interactions

271Comments

  2. 2.

    Ken

    So logically, if someone now touches the stone and doesn’t die, the fox demoness did escape

    @Baud: People will think you’re ripping off “Cthulhu for President – Finally, the greater of two evils”.

  4. 4.

    oatler

    “Demoness”? From the age of authoress, poetess, Jewess, Negress, princess…

    NOT IN MY MANOR!

  9. 9.

    Peale

    Ugh. Who the hell would mess with demons at a time like this? Fortunately, pokemon go players are pretty adept at capturing 9 tailed foxes.

  13. 13.

    lowtechcyclist

    @OzarkHillbilly: Blech.

    I don’t know about Wordle proper, but yesterday I tried ‘blech’ as a word in the Wordle archive, and (much to my surprise!) it accepted it as a word.

  16. 16.

    lowtechcyclist

    @mrmoshpotato: Ditto.  I miss the days when that was still funny (along with ‘say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, at least it’s an ethos’) but we tried it, and it wasn’t funny at all.

  22. 22.

    Jeffro

    @OzarkHillbilly: speaking of…I got ‘Wordle’ in 3 tries today and ‘Worldle’ (which was an incredibly hard one) in 5 tries.

    Math/science-wise I’m basically an 8th grader.  But English and geography?  OH YEAH

  23. 23.

    Kay

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    No more embarrassing than “Russia is acting out of legitimate concerns for security” has proven to be.

    One would think after assuring everyone that Russia would never invade Ukraine they would take a short break from the predictions business, but Greenwald and Co somehow managed to let Russia make fools out of them again with the war crimes.

    Do you think MAYBE they don’t actually know what Russia will do is capable of ? Could they MAYBE have read Russia wrong?

  25. 25.

    Shalimar

    @Kay: They aren’t paid to get it right.  They’re paid to shout “squirrel” every time something bad happens.

  26. 26.

    germy

    Cuomo’s attorney has continually called out Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation for “knowingly and willfully ignored evidence of perjury, witness tampering and extortion.”

    Cuomo spoke at God’s Battalion of Prayer Church in Brooklyn, Sunday.

    Attorney General Leticia James has responded the former Governor’s appearance and released the following statement:

     “Serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo won’t even spare a house of worship from his lies. Even though multiple independent investigations found his victims to be credible, Cuomo continues to blame everyone but himself. Cuomo wasn’t railroaded; he quit so he wouldn’t be impeached. New Yorkers are ready to move forward from this sick, pathetic man”

  27. 27.

    germy

    @dmsilev:

    Thing is, the people who wore them back then almost definitely still think that.

    I wonder how many of them are still alive, though.

    How many of them were vaccinated?  That’s the question

  29. 29.

    Geminid

    @Kay: The DSA’s call for U.S. withdrawal from NATO is roiling some New York Democratic primaries. Pursuing their “inside/outside” stategy regarding the Democratic party, the DSA is fielding a lot of candidates in state and local primaries. When the DSA recently reiterated it’s policy on NATO, some of them have had to distance themselves from their party’s platform. A lot of Democrats were like, “Wait! You have a foreign policy? Wut! You want us to withdraw from NATO?!”

  30. 30.

    Baud

    @Geminid: I had not heard about the anti-NATO plank.  Is that an old position, or something they put forward in response to Ukraine

    ETA:  I see you say “reiterated,” so it sounds like an old policy that has become relevant.

  31. 31.

    Kay

    @Shalimar:

    They align perfectly with the US Right. “My legitimate concern for security is forcing me to fire on civilians as they are fleeing”

    What would it take? How much more proof do they need? He invaded that country to take it and now he’s destroying it and committing war crimes. How long are they planning on defending this?

    There’s worse things than being wrong. Defending this is worse.

  32. 32.

    germy

    DSA and its International Committee have condemned Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, calling for diplomacy and de-escalation to resolve this crisis.

    We’ve been attacked for our stance. But where does the left in Europe stand?https://t.co/M6zwLsQkcC

    — DSA International Committee ? (@DSA_Intl_Comm) March 2, 2022

    We stand in solidarity with the many thousands in Russia saying no to a war of choice. More than 7500 have been arrested protesting in 53 cities. https://t.co/NmXlYlmHMw

    — DSA ? (@DemSocialists) March 6, 2022

    Where we stand. We are a large democratic member-run organization. We stand in solidarity with working people across the world and condemn the Russian invasion. We stand with Ukrainians suffering now at the hands of war. We stand with Russian antiwar protestors packing jails. https://t.co/RXPbzs3vn1

    — DSA ? (@DemSocialists) March 2, 2022

  33. 33.

    Kay

    @Geminid:

    The main proponent of “this a response to NATO”, that person, also said in the same interview that Putin would never invade Ukraine. In the same interview they point to, the same expert.

    If he got that wrong, and he did, he got it 100% wrong, why is still defending his theory and expertise and insight? Clearly he doesn’t know what Putin wants or why he does what he does. No one should listen to him. There are “errors” that are minor and then there are “errors” that are too big to excuse- this one is disqualifying.

  34. 34.

    Soprano2

    @debbie: Yeah, I heard that too. I wish Inskeep had pushed him more about January 6th.  They want to call it a “riot” so they can equate it with what they think about BLM protests, and say they’re all the same. Why didn’t Inskeep ask him why he doesn’t think an attempt to stop the certification of a legal election was an insurrection?

  36. 36.

    Steeplejack

    Before I (possibly) depress my mood with the news, I will say that the weather is glorious this morning here in NoVA: 68° now, sunny, very slight breeze, going up into the mid-70s later. Last night was the first one when I left some windows cracked all night.

    The cookout at Sighthound Hall yesterday turned out great. A few more people than I was expecting, but it was all outside. My rusty social skills got a workout, and I was exhausted when I got home, but it was good to be around happy people and little kids shrieking in the hot tub, watched over by Chip the non-sighthound (visible on the January page in this year’s A calendar). A welcome respite.

  38. 38.

    Baud

    @germy: Thanks. I’m glad to see they aren’t pro-Russian.  But the question is over their position on U.S. participation in NATO.

  39. 39.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Geminid:

    The DSA’s call for U.S. withdrawal from NATO is roiling some New York Democratic primaries. 

    1. WTF?
    2. The stupid children are still holding that belief?  Seriously?
  40. 40.

    Geminid

    @Baud:

     

    @Baud: Yes, the DSA has long included an anti-Nato plank in its extensive foreign policy platform. When the war started, the DSA released a statement. The first three paragraphs were fairly standard expressions of concern for Ukainians, and decried Russia’s invasion. The fourth paragraph, though, restated their position on NATO and placed blame on U.S. imperialism.

    The DSA released this on their website, but left out the fourth paragraph when they tweeted out the first three. Some people watch the DSA and their allies like hawks, though, so they pointed out the discrepancy and this story got wide circulation on Twitter.

  41. 41.

    Suzanne

    @Kay:

    They align perfectly with the US Right. “My legitimate concern for security is forcing me to fire on civilians as they are fleeing”

    What would it take? How much more proof do they need? He invaded that country to take it and now he’s destroying it and committing war crimes. How long are they planning on defending this?

     

    They betray themselves with one gigantic moral leap, which is that it might be natural, normal, rational to want something, and it’s still not okay to pursue it. It’s very rational for Russia not to want NATO countries on its border. But tough shit. But it’s their entire approach to life. Their desire justifies their bad behavior.

  42. 42.

    Kay

    “While I was wrong about Putin invading that country, and also wrong about his committing war crimes in order to bring the population to its knees and dominate them while stealing their land and natural resources, I would like you to listen to my theory about what motivates Putin and what is likely to happen next- short answer- it’s ‘legtimate security concerns”.

    You don’t have to be a foreign policy expert to stop listening to these people. They made too many huge errors. They’re not credible. The facts “on the ground” have outrun their theory at every turn. For normal people that might make them question but the theory, but not to these egomaniacs. They’ll double down.

  47. 47.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    The “border” idea is bullshit anyway. The physical “border” doesn’t matter. Russia is bristling with defenses- long range, short range. WTF does it matter if it’s “on their border”? It’s not 1942.

    I know Russia doesn’t “want” NATO. If I were an aggressor country with a basket case economy I wouldn’t “want” NATO either. They must have noticed by now that Putin has accomplished exactly the opposite of the goal they said he had. All he’s done is strengthen NATO. So, maybe they should rethink this? Maybe they are not in fact inside his head and he’s sold them a sort of dumb bill of goods?

  48. 48.

    Suzanne

    @Kay: Right?! If anything, this has strengthened NATO. The enemy is clear, and it is the kind of unambiguous good-vs- evil dynamic that is GREAT for unity.

  49. 49.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jeffro:

    I tried Worldle for the first time yesterday and got it in three. Haven’t done today’s yet (nor today’s Wordle or Canuckle). Those are post-coffee treats.

  50. 50.

    Baud

    @Sanjeevs: That article says he wanted to expand NATO to include Russian and the Arab League, rather than getting “out” of NATO.  That has its own issues, but those are different from just getting out of NATO

    ETA:

    After World War II — after World War II in response to the fear of Soviet aggression, European nations and the United States established NATO, the North American Treaty Organization, an organization based on shared interest and goals and the notion of a collective defense against a common enemy. It is my belief that we must expand on these ideals and solidify our commitments to work together to combat the global threat of terror.

    We must create a new organization like NATO to confront the security threats of the 21st Century, an organization that emphasizes cooperation and collaboration to defeat the rise of violent extremism and, importantly, to address the root causes underlying these brutal acts. We must work with our NATO partners, we must work to expand the coalition with Russia, and we must work with members of the Arab League.

    But let us be very clear. While the United States and other western nations have the strength of our militaries and our political systems, the fight against ISIS is a struggle for the soul of Islam and countering violent extremism, and destroying ISIS must be done primarily by Muslim nations with the strong support of their global partners. [applause]

  51. 51.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    If NATO countries want to attack Russia they can, and they won’t need a shared border to do it. In fact, the ONLY actor in this who has used a shared border to invade another country is Russia. The “border” justification doesn’t make any sense. It’s emotional. It’s meant to manipulate Russian nationalists and US nationalists. He’s worried about his “border” all right. He wants it at the other end of Ukraine. He wants 44 million more people under his control, along with all their state assets and their land. I believe he has made that more than clear.

  52. 52.

    Jeffro

    @SiubhanDuinne: we’re having fun with it – I try to get Mrs. Fro and/or Fro Jr. to do them with me before we all head out in the morning.

    I think I amazed myself by getting Worldle right in 5 today.  =)

  53. 53.

    Geminid

    @mrmoshpotato: DSA candidate: “I’d  much rather discuss my party’s positions on affordable housing and criminal justice reform.”

    Democratic primary voter: “Hmm…who else is running for that seat?”

  54. 54.

    germy

    @Baud:

    DSA reaffirms our call for the US to withdraw from NATO and to end the imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict. We call on antiwar activists in the US and across the world to oppose violent escalations, demand a lasting diplomatic solution, and stress the crucial need to accept any and all refugees resulting from this crisis. Much of the next ten years are coming into view through this attack. While the failures of neoliberal order are clear to everyone, the ruling class is trying to build a new world, through a dystopic transition grounded in militarism, imperialism, and war. Socialists have a duty to build an alternative.

    No war but class war.

  55. 55.

    Geminid

    @germy: I’m sure that Jerkobin Magazine has supported that position in at least four thousand words. But I wonder how many people can wade through their turgid neo-Marxist crap.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    That was my initial thought as well.  The fact that they haven’t updated their rhetoric in over 100 years is going to hold them back, if nothing else does.  Regardless of one’s feelings about AOC, she has the good sense not to talk like that.

  58. 58.

    Kay

    Shane Goldmacher
    @ShaneGoldmacher
    ·36m
    [email protected]
    gets the kicker to all of the Bill Barr book coverage:
    He would still vote for Trump if he’s the GOP nominee in 2024.
    (At the end of interview…)

    “Asking the tough questions” while promoting his gross, ass covering book tour.
    They’ll all vote for him, Savannah! Six years of this and you’re still asking?

  59. 59.

    sdhays

    @germy: A major blindspot for much of the far-left is the inability to see that “imperialism” is not synonymous with “American imperialism”. America may be the biggest, most powerful empire, but it isn’t the only one. And non-American imperialism is bad too.

    Also, not everything the US does can be easily categorized as “imperialism”. Some things, sure. But the existence of NATO isn’t one of them. Shit is complicated.

    I’ve seen far too little discussion of how the Iraq War, as far as anything the US/West did, brought us to this stage. Early in Putin’s term, the US government was dominated by the newly unfettered neo-cons while the US was acting as the world’s sole super-power and decided to just make up some reasons to invade and dominate an oil rich nation, torturing people along the way.

    That had an effect on how Putin and the Kremlin view the US as an actor (confirming many of the worst beliefs during the Soviet era) and also gave cover for Putin to consolidate his power in Russia with little notice in the West.

  60. 60.

    daveNYC

    @Kay: The issue of NATO on Russia’s border isn’t super relevant to the invasion of Ukraine because Russia already borders multiple NATO countries.  Not to mention that the 2014 invasion of Crimea came about because Ukraine wanted to move closer to the EU, and the last time anyone mentioned anything about getting Ukraine into NATO was back in 2008.

    Having a bunch of immediate neighbors who are part of a large military alliances is something a country can legitimately be concerned about, but none of Russia’s actions are ones that indicate that they’re motivation is due to NATO expansion.  Other than the fact that they’ve invading non-NATO Ukraine instead of the Baltic states (which are all in NATO).

  62. 62.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    They’ll all vote for him, Savannah! Six years of this and you’re still asking?

    In this case, I’m glad she asked.

  66. 66.

    Brachiator

    @sdhays:

    I’ve seen far too little discussion of how the Iraq War, as far as anything the US/West did, brought us to this stage.

    Russia has been a major actor in Africa and the Middle East. They are responsible for maintaining the brutal regime in Syria. Russia formerly propped up a puppet government in Afghanistan. Putin did not need US actions in Iraq to influence his decisions.

  67. 67.

    kindness

    Can’t touch the rock w/o dying, eh?  What about if it’s a sledge hammer, not an actual person that touches the rock?  Cause that’s what I’m thinking.

  68. 68.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @sdhays:

    Julia Ioffe @juliaioffe. 23h
    Putin’s favorite criticism of the US was America’s lies about Iraqi WMDs. He and his diplomats love to invoke Colin Powell in the UN Security Council and his vial of white powder. And now he and his people are busily trying to find a retroactive justification: Ukrainian WMDs.

    Quote Tweet
    Christo Grozev @christogrozev 23h
    After randomly claiming Ukraine was working on a nuclear weapon (in the leakiest of countries), now Russia ‘s @mod_russia comes up with something even less plausible: they “found evidence” Ukraine and USA wee developing weaponized plague bacteria at a super secret lab near Kyiv.

    Bush and Iraq are also not discussed enough in the rise of trumpism and the loss of faith in “institutions”. He’s that nice fella who paints odd pictures now, and occasionally says something about being a Condi Rice Republican or some shit

  70. 70.

    Baud

    @zhena gogolia:

    Agree.  The problem is that Putin didn’t respond by exercise moral leadership in the world, but by doubling down on our moral failures in Iraq.  The side effect is to rehabilitate the U.S.’s position in the world (at least until a Republican is in the White House again).

  71. 71.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Bob in Portland’s #1 argument for why we should believe Ukraine was controlled by Nazis, Ukraine shot down MH17 and Putin was justified in invading Crimea was “Bush lied to you about Iraq”.

  72. 72.

    zhena gogolia

    @Baud: I’m just weeping over all the lost opportunities to undermine Putin over the years — 22 YEARS — and how now all of a sudden people can find Ukraine on a map and they’re all sentimental about the blue-and-yellow flag. It makes me vomit, to be honest. They ignored the problem all this time and treated him as a legitimate world leader and now they’re surprised?

  73. 73.

    Brachiator

    @sdhays:

    A major blindspot for much of the far-left is the inability to see that “imperialism” is not synonymous with “American imperialism”. America may be the biggest, most powerful empire, but it isn’t the only one.

    I agree with you big time on this. Trying to read messages and reply on my phone while commuting. Very tricky at times.

    Last week I listened to a UK based lefty pundit move from condemning Putin to fully blaming the US and the UK for Ukraine and any suffering that the Russian people might endure from what is happening.

    Another program seemed to want to blame Hillary Clinton for inflaming the situation, but I could not listen to this one. It was too much bullshit.

  76. 76.

    Baud

    @zhena gogolia:

    You are closer to the situation than I am, but I find it’s almost always easier in hindsight to recognize what problems should have been addressed earlier.  So I don’t have the same visceral reaction to the outpouring of support.

  77. 77.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Brachiator: Political Twitter in India has beclowned itself over Ukraine. I speak of not just Godi media but also left leaning sources. They are pro Putin and anti-NATO for different reasons but the end result is the same. Idiotic Ukraine takes.

     

    Godi= Embrace (A popular nickname for pro-Modi media)

  78. 78.

    Brachiator

    @zhena gogolia:

    All true, but it puts us in a less secure moral position.

    Foreign policy is difficult. Countries pursue their national interests. I don’t think that any country ever has a secure moral position with respect to international matters. But we do the best we can.

  79. 79.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin:

    That sort of fallacy happens a lot.  Just because X isn’t credible when making statement Y doesn’t mean that Y is false or that the opposite of Y is true.

  80. 80.

    Villago Delenda Est

    As long as Putin continues to make idiotic, unreasonable demands of Ukraine, the sanctions continue, and the isolation of the Mafia state that is Russia will continue and intensify.  On edit:: Modi and his minions can make like Russian warship.

  81. 81.

    Anyway

    In the early days of the Russian invasion I received WhatsApp forwards full of WhatAboutism re US/Bush/Blair’s bombing of Iraq and how different the treatment was wrt Russia – sanctions, international condemnation etc.

  82. 82.

    frosty

    @SiubhanDuinne: Post-coffee treats … so, when you have a functioning brain in the morning, then.

    “This is Your Mind On Plants” (Michael Pollan) had a great chapter on caffeine. 90% of humans are addicted.

  84. 84.

    japa21

    @zhena gogolia: First Bush looking into his eyes and admiring what he saw, then Obama pretty dismissing Russia being an enemy (which a lot of us thought was appropriate, unfortunately), not doing much post Crimea.  Yeah, we helped create the monster.

    Hell, it was pretty much known he was behind the bombings blamed on the Chechnyan rebels.

    Clinton was one of the few (along with Romney) who understood just what Putin was/is.

  86. 86.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Political Twitter in India has beclowned itself over Ukraine. I speak of not just Godi media but also left leaning sources.

    You mean there are lefties defending Putin. That is somewhat surprising and very sad. I would hope that there would be more independent voices.

    Very interesting. Thanks for your insights.

    I don’t know what the best English language commentary on India might be these days.

  88. 88.

    sdhays

    @Brachiator: That’s why I qualified what I wrote with “as far as anything the US/West did”. A major problem with US discourse in general is how much we think everything is about us.

    But if we’re going to talk about what policy mistakes the US may have made that might have created a different, better, outcome years later, the discussion really should be at least 90% about the Iraq War II. It was predictably disastrous in almost every conceivable way, with millions of unimagined consequences reverberating across the globe, as only horrible catastrophes can create.

  89. 89.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Brachiator: More anti-NATO than pro-Putin. They are supposedly against American neo-imperialism. I asked one mutual what does that exactly mean in this case, they did not answer.

    Article-14 is very good for on the ground reporting of many atrocities and human rights violations taking place in India.

  90. 90.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Anyway: There’s definitely an argument to be made that we in the West regard the suffering and struggle of Ukrainians more sympathetically than the suffering of, say, Iraqis or Syrians or Afghans because Ukrainians are white people. But the answer to this is not to use it as whataboutism against Ukraine.

  93. 93.

    Suzanne

    @japa21: 

    then Obama pretty dismissing Russia being an enemy (which a lot of us thought was appropriate, unfortunately)

    I’m not sure this is the right take. I remember guffawing when Romney made his statement about Russia being our largest geopolitical foe. There’s been a lot of revisiting of this statement in the past week, and every bit of it that I’ve read omits that, at the time Romney made his statement, ISIS/ISIL/Daesh was making major advances and things were very unstable and dangerous at that moment. I remember thinking that Putin was seriously bad news, but that we had a more immediate problem on our hands. I don’t remember anyone serious on the political left saying that Putin wasn’t dangerous.

  94. 94.

    Geminid

    @japa21: Besides being so destructive, the Iraq war Bush got us into deprived every other foregn policy problem of resources and attention. And to the extent that the U.S. needed Russian assistance or at least acquiesence there and in Afghanistan, Bush had to accept Russia’s own aggressions.

    Obama inherited those wars and a recession, and these factors weighed against firmer action towards Russia. Then came Trump. Fortunately, Joe Biden got us out of Afghanistan. We can now concentrate on a European crisis without a lot of troops subject to Russian retaliation two thousand miles away.

  98. 98.

    catclub

    @Geminid: ​
     

    We can concentrate on a European crisis without a lot of troops subject to Russian retaliation two thousand miles away.

    reporting on continuing cooperation at the International Space Station, that the Russian half does propulsion and orbit maint, and the astronauts get there in Russian rockets…. is jarring.

  100. 100.

    germy

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I saw this conversation online:

    It just occurred to me that this is the first major war between civilized nations in my lifetime.

    US and Iraq twice don’t count?

    The US isn’t a civilized country.

  101. 101.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid:

    Obama inherited those wars and a recession, and these factors weighed against firmer action towards Russia.

    as did Europe’s need of Russian energy. As @sdhays:  says above, it’s not all about us

  102. 102.

    sdhays

    @japa21: There was a fascinating thread posted in the later part of the Ukraine post last night that detailed what the US did do after Crimea, and we’re seeing the fruits of it right now in how effective the Ukrainian military is

    ETA: In case it wasn’t clear, I’m not suggesting that the US is responsible for the effectiveness of the Ukrainian military, just that the engagement and support the US provided after 2014 was very effective.

  104. 104.

    Soprano2

    @Matt McIrvin: Trevor Noah did a good bit on Thursday about the different reception Ukrainian refugees got compared with how Europe reacted to Syrian refugees in 2015. To be absolutely fair, I think some of the reason for this is that they know the minute it’s safe for the Ukrainians to go back most of them probably will, while they believed none of the Syrians would ever go back to Syria. But yeah, the majority of it is just racism and religious bigotry.

  106. 106.

    Soprano2

    @Geminid: I often wonder how much different our effort in Afghanistan would have been if Bush hadn’t almost immediately diverted money meant for rebuilding Afghanistan to the Iraq War and Occupation. Once the drumbeat of war against Iraq started, people mostly forgot about Afghanistan.

  107. 107.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    I’m at work. Has it been shared that Russia’s new “humanitarian corridors” all lead to Russia and Belarus?

    What fucked up morning.

  110. 110.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Bush and Iraq are also not discussed enough in the rise of trumpism and the loss of faith in “institutions”. He’s that nice fella who paints odd pictures now, and occasionally says something about being a Condi Rice Republican or some shit

    I remember being certain for decades that we’d never have another U.S. President as awful as Nixon.  Then Bush proved me wrong.

    But more on point to your comment, institutions and institutionalists (like Colin Powell) did nothing to put the brakes on Dubya.

    Powell could have broken with the Administration in early 2003 and added his voice to those who were already exposing the shoddiness of the Administration’s rationales for invading, but not getting much bandwidth.  Powell would have been impossible to ignore.  But instead, he went to the U.N. and carried their water.

    ETA: Since war crimes are on everyone’s mind these days, I still think Bush and Cheney should be tried for war crimes.  They can flip a coin with Putin to see who goes first.

  111. 111.

    trollhattan

    @Geminid:

    Usefulidiots.

    Vlad’s partly realized goal manipulating Trump was breaking NATO apart, so they’re essentially siding with Putin-Trump. Nice work, fellas.

  114. 114.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid: Bush diverted both funds and needed military resources.

    This. We had teams of special forces operating in Afghanistan who’d learned the local languages, and in early 2002 they were pulled out and sent to Iraq to start doing recon there.  Another eight years would pass before bin Laden finally slept with the fishes.

  116. 116.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Soprano2: The deserting coward and Darth Cheney certainly forgot all about it.  Both should be tried as war criminals, and given the same treatment as Germans and Japanese after WWII.

  118. 118.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: I think some of the reason for this is that they know the minute it’s safe for the Ukrainians to go back most of them probably will,

    Gotta say I disagree. The longer any person stays away from home, the more likely they are to put down roots and want to stay in their new home. Those who stay the max 3 years aren’t going to be wanting to return, they’ve built a life in their new country.

  120. 120.

    scribbler

    @Kay:  Barr said he couldn’t vote for the Democratic “progressive agenda” because it’s too horrible.  Why?  What part of it?  Why don’t journalists follow up when Republicans make this kind of blanket statement until they identify specific things that are so troubling about the “progressive agenda.”

  124. 124.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    I’m picturing April tweets from Greenwald:

    ”Russian shelling of border crossings and of fleeing vehicles and people in Poland proper after the collapse of the government of The Ukraine ensures that the expertise and human capital necessary to rebuild Ukraine doesn’t flee while also becoming fodder for neoliberal narratives about human suffering that are designed to make Putin look ‘bad’.”

    – by Glenn Greenwald, probably, April 4, 2022

    ”Putin’s use of tactical nuclear weapons against NATO armored divisions and airfields in Eastern Poland, Slovakia and Romania (which I do not support) is still not as brutal as the Democrat administration of FDR in firebombing Dresden or bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

    – by Glenn Greenwald, probably, April 15, 2022

    ”New York – it was full of woke neoliberals, and we never really needed it anyway.”

    – by Glenn Greenwald, probably, April 22, 2022

  126. 126.

    Baud

    @scribbler:

    Barr said he couldn’t vote for the Democratic “progressive agenda” because it’s too horrible.  Why?  What part of it?

    CRT, defunding the police, and support for pedophiles, of course.  And tax increases on the wealthy.  But mostly the other things.

  131. 131.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Soprano2: I used to hang out a lot on Google+ when it was a thing, and I recall having to unfriend one seemingly nice and smart Austrian lady because she had a horrifically, proudly racist freakout over Syrian refugees and Arabs/Muslims in general. Bragging about how she didn’t care one bit if Syrian children died, posting in support of French beaches banning modest Muslim swimwear, all kinds of crap along those lines. She seemed to think any tolerance of Islam whatsoever was antifeminist, but you could see that there was a lot of ethnonationalist ugly just under the surface.

    It did help to dispel any residual thoughts I might have had about this kind of bigotry being uniquely American.

  132. 132.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: They’re going in HEAVY on the old line that anything other than the squarest of cis-hetero-normative behavior is pedophilia. It’s just like anti-gay shit from 1975.

  133. 133.

    sab

    @Kay: There is a reason I haven’t talked to my brother in the last five years, and that reason is Russia. He worked briefly in the oil patch and they ate his soul.

  134. 134.

    Kalakal

    @Matt McIrvin:

    this kind of bigotry being uniquely American.

    It sure isn’t. Brexit certainly kicked over a lot rocks in the UK and I was horrified, not just by what came out but even more by the sheer quantity.

  135. 135.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Baud:

    Lemme guess – those were the earliest available dates unless you want to go off-off-off-Broadway and sit in a folding chair while someone farts through a kazoo. Tickets start at $200 on that one, and it’s sold out until June….

  136. 136.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kalakal: So many people who voted for Brexit thought it meant that all immigrants would immediately have to exit Britain.

  137. 137.

    Kalakal

    @Matt McIrvin: yep. What got me was just how many seemingly sane people turned out to be xenophobic loons. I expected it  of the knuckle dragging NF retreads, not of relatives. I left a couple of years before and was totally shocked

  138. 138.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kalakal: Why? Not particularly surprising to me to see many of the descendants of those who brought the world the greatest and the longest running genocidal and racist experiment would revert back to their charming selves.

    Those TV shows wallowing in Raj nostalgia aired by PBS here make me want to puke.

  143. 143.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @schrodingers_cat: Oh HELL no.

    1.  The vanilla will be entirely off-putting unless there’s a vanilla component you’re adjusting.
    2. Recipes calling for sour cream are generally requiring fat at a flavor/texture component. The nonfat yogurt is essentially sugar and protein. If you’re heating, you’re going to have an incomprehensible wreck.
  144. 144.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Ken:

    I’m not sure Twitter would still exist in a world in which NYC was nuked but that’s pretty spot on!

  146. 146.

    Spanky

    @Baud: “North American Treaty Organization”? They’re not sending their brightest. Or are they?

    Try again, Bozos.

  147. 147.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Ken:

    “If there were working cell towers and powered computers in North America, I could ask for human rights assistance. That I can’t reach anyone is a failure laid solely at the feet of neoliberals of the Democrat party.”

    – by Glenn Greenwald, probably, May 2, 2022

  148. 148.

    Baud

    @Spanky:

    Ha.  I missed that.  I wonder if that’s a transcription error or a verbal gaffe.  Almost tempted to try to find a recording.

  153. 153.

    germy

    War and rumors of war is incredibly profitable and convenient.

    And just like that, the media now has a lie to use as the reason for our shattered economy and out of control inflation.

    What a sad existence it must be to shill for Globalism & America Last politicians.

    — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 23, 2022

    Just out: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene bought stock in America's LARGEST defense contractor, Lockheed Martin $LMT, a day before tweeting "War and rumors of war is incredibly profitable…" (report condensed). https://t.co/6nnIyZsGxL pic.twitter.com/hPagelAPMA

    — congresstrading.com (@congresstrading) March 7, 2022

  154. 154.

    Frankensteinbeck

    the evil nine-tailed fox demoness Tamamo-no-Mae

    For those not up on Japanese folklore, there is no clear difference between gods, demons, spirits, monsters, and magical animals.  Tamamo-no-Mae is only a demon in the sense that she is evil.  Her thing is apparently becoming the mistress of emperors and other powerful men, being so beautiful, intelligent, charming, and (ahem) good at her job that said powerful men trust and listen to her, then convincing them to be sadistic tyrants.  Magical foxes in general notoriously lean to being vixens and turning into women because they have a thing for human men.

    Furry fandom is the oldest recorded human culture, and that’s only half a joke.

    @Soprano2:

    I often wonder how much different our effort in Afghanistan would have been if Bush hadn’t almost immediately diverted money meant for rebuilding Afghanistan to the Iraq War and Occupation.

    We will never know if Afghanistan or Iraq could have been stabilized and successful regime changes, because Bush didn’t even try.  By the time they were handed to Obama, it was too late.  He had no good options.  I admire Biden for picking the wildly politically unpopular lesser evil.

  155. 155.

    HeleninEire

    RUT ROH. I’m going to Dublin in May and I just heard that the hotel I stay at is closing down to guests and opening up to house 700 Ukrainian refugees.

  156. 156.

    Ken

    @Frankensteinbeck: [Tamamo-no-Mae’s] thing is apparently becoming the mistress of emperors and other powerful men, being so beautiful, intelligent, charming, and (ahem) good at her job that said powerful men trust and listen to her, then convincing them to be sadistic tyrants.

    … Are we sure that rock only got broken over the weekend, and not a month ago?

  157. 157.

    Brachiator

    @HeleninEire:

    RUT ROH. I’m going to Dublin in May and I just heard that the hotel I stay at is closing down to guests and opening up to house 700 Ukrainian refugees.

    Wow. That is unfortunate, but very generous with respect to the refugees.

    Hope you can find good alternative accomodations.

  159. 159.

    Soprano2

    @OzarkHillbilly: Maybe, I guess time will tell. I’m talking more about the state of mind of people in places like Poland and Hungary, where they were extremely unfriendly to the Syrian refugees. I heard a lot about them not really being refugees, but instead “economic migrants” whose real intent was to stay in Europe forever.

  160. 160.

    Gvg

    @Matt McIrvin: I am not sure it is a white people issue this time. Ukraine hasn’t attacked us. The whole Mid East has a bunch of unfriendly history with us and the neighborhood is tarred. It wasn’t just 911, it went back to Carter and hostage crisis, oil embargo, various wars, planes shot down, barracks bombed, ships bombed and the Palestine & Israel problems. As a woman, I had a generally negative view of how they treat women too. So I think anything in that area is not going to get too much sympathy. I also know many people actually believed Bush’s WMD fairy tale and still think Iraq was involved in 911.

    Ukraine hasn’t even been in the news much before this. In this case I think that is an advantage for them.

  161. 161.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    I vaguely remember Google+ Hangouts. I think I only ever used it for text messenging when it was around. Also, apparently Google inherited a lot of the old newsgroups

  162. 162.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Frankensteinbeck: All I know is it’s Japanese,  has “tails” and the Japanese says it’s bad.

    I assume easy to clean vinyl surfaces are involved.

  163. 163.

    Miss Bianca

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Those TV shows wallowing in Raj nostalgia aired by PBS here make me want to puke.

    Somehow, I have the feeling that you’d have really hated the movie I watched last night: Shakespeare Wallah, one of the very first Merchant/Ivory movies from 1965. Based (very loosely) on the story of Felicity Kendal and her family, who were traveling Shakespearean actors in India. (I wanted to watch it because I’d just re-watched FK in the BBC Twelfth Night, and I found out about this movie through IMdB.)

    Potentially fascinating story, but kind of dull in execution, plus a lot of very overtly-stated Raj-stalgia, mostly to do with, “back before 1947 our Indian audiences really *cared* about Shakespeare!”

    I ended up not liking it very much, myself, I have to say.

  166. 166.

    germy

    WASHINGTON (AP) – As the prospect of a red wave grows, a series of Republican missteps including recruiting stumbles, weak fundraising and intense infighting is threatening the GOP’s path to the Senate majority.

    Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey dealt his party its latest setback late last week by announcing he would not challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly this fall. His decision, which leaves no obvious front-runner in a crowded Republican primary, disappointed Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and his allies who had spent months privately encouraging Ducey to run.

    But the GOP’s shortcomings extend well beyond Arizona.

  167. 167.

    Chetan Murthy

    We’re all busy; some of us are consumed with fear and worry; these are trying times, and we’re not even being bombed, FFS.  It’s tough to remember to do something, at least send some money to help the Ukrainian refugees and freedom fighters.  I’m glad B-J has a thermometer, and periodic reminder posts.

    I sent some money this morning, been meaning to since the thermometer got put up.

    Thank you, FPers, for the gentle nudges.

  168. 168.

    lowtechcyclist

    @sab: That sums up my relationship to my childhood in Florida.

    My wife’s realized the same thing.  She loved growing up there, but there’s no way she would move back now.

  169. 169.

    patroclus

    “The decision by the Dublin hotel to close down to paying Irish customers in favor of Ukrainian refugees can be laid solely at the feet of Biden, American imperialism and neo-liberals in the U.S.”

    Glenn Greenwald (March 7, 2022)

  170. 170.

    HeleninEire

    @WaterGirl: The owner of this hotel has another one just a few miles away. He is closing down that one as well. Ireland says they will take up to 20,000 people. I’m not too concerned. Dublin has lots of hotels. I just don’t want to be forced to stay at a 5 star (you can rest assured they aren’t taking in refugees) for $700 a night. The problem is I don’t know which other hotels are going to do the same. I should probably make 5 reservations and then cancel 4 a week before I leave.

  171. 171.

    Soprano2

    @Matt McIrvin: We went on a Viking river cruise in October 2015, when the Syrian refugee crisis was big in the news. I heard mostly favorable or neutral comments about helping them in Germany, but negative ones in Austria and Hungary. My overall impression was that people in Germany wanted to help them but only up to a point, while people in Austria and Hungary were all for laying razor wire around their borders to keep them out. You should look at the segment Trevor Noah did, it lays this all bare.

  173. 173.

    montanareddog

     

    War and rumors of war is incredibly profitable and convenient.

    How unsurprising that Malevolent Toad Gobshite cannot even conjugate a verb.

  175. 175.

    Ken

    @germy: Is it just me, or does “As the prospect of a red wave grows” seem disconnected from –even contradicted by — the rest of the article?

  176. 176.

    Soprano2

    @Gvg: I think that when you look at the reports of African students in Ukraine having a hard time getting out of the country compared to the Ukrainians, you can definitely say race is part of it. People are always more sympathetic to the plight of people who they feel are like them, unfortunately it’s part of human nature.

  179. 179.

    Miss Bianca

    @Ken: It’s not just you. I was thinking the same thing. MSM – jeez. They just can’t fucking help themselves, can they?

  180. 180.

    Kalakal

     

    @schrodingers_cat:  couldn’t agree more about the imperialist nostalgia, can’t stand the stuff.

    Why was I shocked?

    I’m Scottish but grew up all over the world and have been fairly nomadic ever since, I don’t really have a sense of home but I was (mostly) educated in England and lived there for quite a while after university and there’s a lot about the place I like

    In the mid 70s, early 80s racism was an overt and growing threat in Britain, Nazi skinheads* , politicians, parties like the National Front, assaults on streets. It met with a massive popular backlash from movements like Rock Against Racism in which I played a (very) small part and was driven back hard. Racism became about as socially acceptable as wife beating and drunk driving and political suicide to support overtly. Naively I thought the effect was more far reaching and permanent than it was and the eruption of racist bile in the last few years shocked me

    * A lot of skinheads are actually very left wing and loathe Nazis

  181. 181.

    lowtechcyclist

    @schrodingers_cat: When home is a place in time you can never really return.

    Time is a distance that you can’t retract by miles

    -Voice of the Beehive, “Don’t Call Me Baby”

  182. 182.

    germy

    @Ken:

    I was thinking the same thing.

    “The prospect of this bucket filling to overflow is real. Now here’s a story about the many holes in it.”

  183. 183.

    Spanky

    @Ken: After re-reading it, the author or editor realized the facts presented contradicted the impression they wished to convey, so they added the introductory phrase to set your preconceptions to the proper tenor.

  184. 184.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Matt McIrvin: They’re going in HEAVY on the old line that anything other than the squarest of cis-hetero-normative behavior is pedophilia. It’s just like anti-gay shit from 1975.

    Yeah, my thought was, “the 1980s called and they want their bullshit anti-gay slander back.”

  185. 185.

    Josie

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I use Greek yogurt all the time instead of sour cream, but it is the full fat unflavored variety.  I read somewhere that you should add a small amount of flour to stabilize the yogurt if you will be heating it, so I do that.  Not sure about how the vanilla flavor or the lack of fat would affect the outcome.

  186. 186.

    patroclus

    “The decision by PBS to continually air puke-causing PBS Raj nostalgic episodes can be laid solely at the feet of Hillary Clinton, drone technology, centuries-long American imperialism and neo-liberals in the former New York (who’s nuclear destruction I opposed).”

    Glenn Greenwald, (probably) April 22, 2022.

  187. 187.

    Scout211

    Speaking of upholding traditions, remember when it was traditional that the mail would arrive on time?  Hah!  The USPS has done it again.  If I was on social media I would post,  “POSTMASTER DEJOY KILLS BABY CHICKS!”

    Yes, it happened again.  The mail is late, and this time it has killed 15 baby chicks.  Mr. Scout ordered 15 baby chicks from a hatchery in Iowa and they shipped last Wednesday with a delivery “within 72 hours” (by Saturday).  They did not arrive Saturday and they did not arrive today. There is no possible way they are still alive.  With no food, no water and sitting in the cold for days, they can’t survive longer than 72 hours.

    Postmaster DeJoy kills baby chicks.  :(

    /sad rant

  188. 188.

    WaterGirl

    @germy:

    As the prospect of a red wave grows, a series of Republican missteps including recruiting stumbles, weak fundraising and intense infighting is threatening the GOP’s path to the Senate majority.

    Shouldn’t that be the prospect of a blue wave grows – or a red wave wains?

    Otherwise, that makes no sense to me.  What am I missing

    edit: I see that Ken and Baud got there before me.

  191. 191.

    Geminid

    @germy: Sununu Jr.’s passing on the race to oppose New Hampshire Senator Jean Shaheen was another disappointment for McConnell. Herschel Walker is a shaky choice to run againt Senator Warnock in Georgia, and the nomination contests for open seats in Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are contentious and potentially divisive. So far this year is not going as McConnell would like.

  195. 195.

    Calouste

    @Soprano2: Ukrainians can travel visa-free IIRC to the EU for 90 days. The EU couldn’t refuse these refugees without breaking its own laws. I’m not saying that racism doesn’t play a major part, but there are a number of other major factors as well. The proximity; the sheer flood of refugees, 1 million in 10 days; it’s an invasion, not a civil war

    And the cynic in me says that we’re less than two weeks into this, we’ll see how Europeans react to Ukrainians when this goes on for months or years. They’ll probably be riled up against them by Kremlin mouthpieces like Le Pen and Wilders.

  197. 197.

    Frank Wilhoit

    “…But where does the left in Europe stand?”

    Why, in front of a natural-gas-powered space heater, of course.  Where did you expect them to stand?

  198. 198.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Also, Eric Greitens still maintains a steady lead in the Missouri Senate primary race. Winning that open seat is a very heavy lift for a Democrat, but Republicans fear that the toxic ex-Governor is the one Republican who would lose it. That primary is not until August.

  199. 199.

    topclimber

    @Soprano2: ​Perhaps the reason we focus disproportionately on Ukraine is not just white-centrism but also the undeniable reality that two world wars started in Europe.

  200. 200.

    Miss Bianca

    @Geminid: I keep wondering whether other state Republican parties are going to try to do what VA’s did: namely, go over the heads of their voters and rig up a “non-primary primary” to find their own flannel-shirt folksy fascist candidates like Youngkin. That’s the only thing worrying me about these particular developments. Still smdh over the fact that VA Republicans got away with it.

  201. 201.

    trollhattan

    @Calouste:

    One of the most gut-wrenching reports I’ve heard was this morning from an oncology triage set up in a Polish hotel, where Ukrainian children who are undergoing cancer treatment are being examined for, hopefully, continuing treatment in Poland. I presume their medical records are not accessible and it sounds like a huge challenge to make this happen.

    Multiply by many thousands of other refugees in distress beyond being suddenly homeless.

  203. 203.

    CaseyL

    Open thread? I just fell down one hell of a rabbit hole.  Bit of a palate cleanser from the main, depressing topic:

    An attorney over on the Olympic Peninsula (Washington State) was just sentenced to prison for stealing $500K from a client’s estate that was supposed to go to a children’s hospital.  She instead sent it to an arms dealer in Paraguay “for an investment.” When the hospital contacted her to ask where their money was, she then scammed a close friend out of the money from the sale of the friend’s home, sending that to the hospital.  She has been sentenced to prison and restitution to the friend – meaning all her assets will have to be liquidated.

    Crazy case, right?  So I wondered whether this particular attorney, who seems like a real piece of work, had any other interesting events in her life.  Turns out: Yes.  Yes, she does.

    Back in 2006 she was a “real estate entrepreneur” who tried to develop a large acreage in a rural area. Big old subdivision, which the area’s land management laws prohibited.  So she embarked upon a long campaign to get variances, changed management companies a couple times, and changed the plans.  Unfortunately for her, two things happened: resistance to the project grew, and then the real estate market collapsed in the Great Recession of 2008.  Long story short, the project had to be abandoned and she personally had to go through bankruptcy.

    She then sued everyone associated with the project, claiming (among other things) tortious interference.  Her suit was thrown out by every court, include the State Supreme Court.

    Reading all of that, I see this latest round of embezzlements and shady “investments” as ongoing attempts to recoup the losses from the real estate disaster.  And I have to wonder what other shenanigans she’s been up to since then that didn’t wind up in court or otherwise be found out.  (Also, what happened to that “investment” with an arms dealer??)

    (As a bonus, in the current case, the Court noted that she lied about the assets she owned; i.e., land in Mexico and Central America.  No doubt she was hoping to pull off some RE scams there, too.)

  204. 204.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kalakal: Thanks for your perspective. I would love to visit England someday. I have relatives there and I grew up reading British authors like Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton, the Lake poets, Dickens etc.

    I have only been to London while in transit. If you ever visit Mumbai you might be surprised to see the number of streets and railway stations still known by their British names.

  205. 205.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Miss Bianca: Probably its just me, I can’t stand Shakespeare either the original or the elebenty adaptations I have seen. Too wordy and melodramatic for my taste. Especially the tragedies. I can take a scene or two but the entire play just wears me out emotionally.

    BTW did you know that the Kendall daughter, Jennifer ended up marrying into the Kapoor family (Hindi movie royalty) and living the rest of her life in India.

    I have not watched the Shakespearewallah.

    Mumbai had a robust theater scene. A thriving community of English theater, Marathi theater and Gujarati theater. My uncle was a part of it when he was younger and we used to watch a lot of plays, especially Marathi plays. We knew many people in the theater circles

  207. 207.

    Lyrebird

    @topclimber: Perhaps the reason we focus disproportionately on Ukraine is not just white-centrism but also the undeniable reality that two world wars started in Europe.

    Why not both?  Seriously, there’s white-centrism and Islamophobia at play if we compare to the treatment of people and crises in say Syria, but there’s also the difference in WWWIII potential.

    Many people here not only overlooked the danger Putin posed to the rest of the world, they bought in to his cult of personality.  No matter what went on in the decisions not to respond more strongly in 2014, or to the poisoning of civilians, etc., it’s all done now, and it won’t change stupid past choices to ignore the importance of what’s going on in Ukraine and in Russia right now.

    Interesting, I don’t know wheter it’s the mom of the main speaker in that POW video, but this is a brave mom indeed, and it’s from his town:

    At a meeting held by a Russian governor at a paramilitary base in Novokuznetsk, Russia, mothers of OMON riot police officers angrily confronted the governor, asking whether their sons were “lied to” and were being used as “cannon fodder” in Ukraine.

  209. 209.

    Miss Bianca

    @schrodingers_cat:

    BTW did you know that the Kendall daughter, Jennifer ended up marrying into the Kapoor family (Hindi movie royalty) and living the rest of her life in India.

    Ha ha, I did not! Although there were interviews with both Merchant and Ivory and FK where she talked about her older sister being the model for the character she (Felicity) played.

    ETA: Although the character she played ends up being shipped off back to England precisely *because* she’s getting a little too hot and heavy with an Indian young man with ties to the movie industry. HUH, INTERESTING!

  211. 211.

    Soprano2

    @Geminid: I got a hilarious piece of mail on Friday, all about the “liberal Eric Schmitt”, our MO AG who is anything but liberal. I can’t remember the name of the PAC that sent it, but I need to research them to see what I can figure out. I’m not sure if they’re trying to keep Republicans from voting for him, or to get liberals to vote for him in the primary.

  213. 213.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    It’s not about race, because nothing is ever about race, as Charlie Pierce reminds us (Free-dumb convoy version)

     Terry Bouton@TerryBoutonHist

    The most worrisome moment was when a crowd surrounded a Black reporter for DC’s ABC affiliate. They asked why a Black reporter was sent. They demanded he say, “Truckers are heroes!” on air. When he refused, a man repeatedly shouted “LEAVE!” in his face. He left, visibly shaken.

  214. 214.

    Soprano2

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yep, these are the same people who have loudly proclaimed that they aren’t racists. I have to say that one reason Jordan Klepper gets such great material is that most of them have no idea who he is, and think he’s got to be one of them.

  215. 215.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Alison Rose ???:

    This place is amazing.

    I blame the FPers and Blogfather.  *grin*

     

    But seriously, it’s great to give money that’ll help with refugees.  I’d like to find a way to help Ukrainians inside UA.  I don’t know the best way to do this, and faute de mieux I might just sent money to the Kyiv Independent.  Does anybody have pointers to good places that could use money for people in UA?  ISTR there was a list here at B-J, but I don’t remember where it is.  Maybe donating thru Alex Vindman to that medical charity would be good, too.

  217. 217.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Villago Delenda Est: It’s sad, because some of DSA’s ideas and policies are things I’m really onboard with, and I’m glad for their advocacy.

    This is just nuts, though. Saying NATO is “imperialism” is just flat fucking insane, and blaming NATO for Russia’s invasion of a democratic country that hasn’t even applied for NATO membership and would be refused if it did is an indication you can’t take these people seriously. It puts them right into “fuck off” territory.

  218. 218.

    Geminid

    @Miss Bianca: Virginia’s Republican party has a rule that may be unique among state parties. Most mandate primaries, a few have the caucus/convention method, but the Virginia Republican State Commitee can choose either route. Observers have pointed out that this allows a candidate to shape the process in his favor, and that is what Youngkin did.

    Usually when Virginia Republicans use the caucus and convention method they end up with the less electable candidate. This happened in 2013. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling had won eight straight elections and would have won a primary to nominate a Governor. The radicals used a convention to nominate Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who went on to lose a close race to Terry  McAuliffe. I think Bolling would have won that November..

  219. 219.

    catclub

    @Baud:

     

    CRT, defunding the police, and support for pedophiles, of course. And tax increases on the wealthy. But mostly the other things.

    But really voting rights for the majority.

  222. 222.

    Kalakal

    @schrodingers_cat: It’s well worth a visit, there are some lovely places there and a lot of very nice people. I have a particular fondness for the Yorkshire dales and Leeds where I spent many years. English literature is the stand out of its culture.

    I was in India for brief periods when I was very young, my 1st birthday was in Mumbai so sadly I don’t remember much :). I would love to go back to see it as an adult

    I plan when I retire to try to visit a lot of the places we lived in as a kid, as I know I was there, but the only memories I have before I was about five are brief flashes and my dad’s photographs

  225. 225.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Soprano2: Yeah, I remember some Germans going on about, “well, Merkel let them all in but that may have been a mistake; look at all the trouble being stirred up in the refugee camps with guys who don’t know how you treat women here,” etc. Which was at least responding to trouble that had happened as a direct result of letting in refugees.

    Whereas this Austrian person would hear about, say, a terrorist attack in France, likely bankrolled by some Wahhabist asshole in Saudi Arabia, and go on a rant about how she didn’t care if Syrian babies drowned and PEGIDA was right on about the looming Eurabia menace

    As for Hungary, well, Steve King admires Viktor Orbán for a reason.

  226. 226.

    burnspbesq

    @debbie:

    Has it been shared that Russia’s new “humanitarian corridors” all lead to Russia and Belarus?

    one way to look at that is that Putin doesn’t want to have to deal with armed Ukrainian refugees when he invades Poland/Baltics/Slovakia. He probably imagines refugee camps with Stinger lines right next to the food lines.

  231. 231.

    Ken

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Well, people get desperate. You know the old saying, “When you owe the bank ten thousand dollars, that’s your problem; when you own the bank ten million dollars, that’s the bank’s problem; and when you owe the Russian mafia ten thousand dollars, that’s very definitely your problem again.”

  233. 233.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Baud: Yes. At the time I was working with French, Russian, and Czech colleagues. They were simultaneously appalled and unsurprised at how much Shrub fucked up that window of nearly-pure goodwill and empathy. Goddamned motherfucking moron. Couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel and got (s)elected twice.

  234. 234.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @germy: ​
     The Villager vermin just can’t quit the “red wave” narrative, no matter what the facts look like.

  235. 235.

    Suzanne

    OT but the thread is very old.

    Has anyone seen the tweet going around that is a screen shot from either 4chan or 8chan or WTFEVERchan about small shopping carts, asking “how can we stop the cuck cart phenomonon”?!

    Who TF are these clowns who have their masculinity threatened by SHOPPING CARTS?!

    Like, I frequently engage in hyperbole, but even I couldn’t have dreamt that shit up.

  237. 237.

    Geminid

    @Soprano2: They’re trying to get Republicans to vote against Schmidt. There just isn’t that much crossover vote in party primaries. An exception may be Cheney’s reelection fight in Wyoming. Some Republicans there are trying to enact stricter registration rules to keep Independents and Democtats. Right now people can re-register at their polling place on the day of the primary in August.

    South Carolina has no party registration so all primaries are open. This may help Impeacher Tom Rice win his primary. Rice has represented a district including Myrtle Beach and Florence for several terms. It’s a solidly Republican district, but when I drove through it before the 2020 election I noticed that Rice’s signs did not mention his party. They just had “Tom Rice” at the top, “Congress” at the bottom, and a palmetto tree in between.

  238. 238.

    PJ

    @Scout211: I am sorry about the death of your chicks.

    But I was amazed to learn a few years ago (when trying to figure out the cheapest possible price on shipping a heavy box by USPS) that sending live poultry by mail is something that the USPS does and has regulations regarding.

  241. 241.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ken: I think the square root of negative 1 is involved.

    Yeah, that’s what i always say. ;^)

  248. 248.

    Geminid

    @Omnes Omnibus: Johnson’s is an interesting case. I still wonder why he took so long to announce for reelection.

    I expect McConnell would rather have had someone defending that seat who had less baggage, such as the ambitious Mike Gallagher of Green Bay.

  249. 249.

    Peale

    @Suzanne: god. It’s like every positive development of the past ten years is considered an affront to them. I love the small carts. Not everyone is shopping for a family of 8, so why create traffic jams in the aisles?

  251. 251.

    Suzanne

    @Peale: “I hate CHAAAAAAAANGGGGEEE!”

    I’m just so tired of these people. They’re literally triggered by shopping carts. It’s just so exhausting.

  253. 253.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Scout211:  Speaking of upholding traditions, remember when it was traditional that the mail would arrive on time?

    On a less tragic note, I got the bill in today’s mail for my Verizon land line (I know, I know).

    I was wondering why it didn’t credit me with the payment I’d made in mid-February, but then I looked at the dates.  Bill date: February 6th, payment due March 5th. Arrived in my mailbox March 7th.

    Way to go, Louis DeJoy.

  255. 255.

    WaterGirl

    @Chetan Murthy: I asked DougJ to add the Alexander Vindman fundraising to our Balloon Juice for Ukraine thermometer.

    He is raising funds through @VetVoiceFound
     that will be contributed to @moas_eu
     to bring medical aid to civilians in Ukraine. MOAS is in the field & the need is great. They need funds to increase ambulance & pharmaceutical aid. Please give what you can!

    Your donation will go to MOAS to bring medical relief and first response services to civilians affected by the escalating violence in Ukraine. From 25th February 2022 MOAS has representatives present in the field and is working to deploy Mobile Medical Teams to the crisis-affected region, alongside ambulance services and pharmaceutical aid.

  261. 261.

    Chetan Murthy

    @WaterGirl: WG, My bad!  I saw it and thought “oh, that’ll be a list of posts”, not realizing that probably one of the highest-ranking ones would be the list of worthy causes!  Thank you!

  263. 263.

    WaterGirl

    @Chetan Murthy: All the Ukraine posts are in there for sure, but after  the War Lexicon,  worthy causes, good articles recommended by Adam or Gin & Tonic, good people to follow on twitter for Ukraine info, and good newspapers with reliable Ukraine news.

  264. 264.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Baud: According to the WaPo, they returned today, had about 130 big trucks, did one loop around the Beltway, and maintained traffic speed so they did not cause any traffic backup.

    Which makes me wonder what was the point exactly, but what do I know?

  265. 265.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @WaterGirl: I’ll add the store that user Sebastian linked me to yesterday.

    https://www.saintjavelin.com/

    Their proceeds go to Help us Help. It’s not a new connection, Saint Javelin says they’ve been doing this since 2014.

    I was looking for something that had “Russian Warship, Go F*** Yourself” in Russian, and these guys had it.

  266. 266.

    Miss Bianca

    @Kalakal:

    The best title ever of a Scottish play is Liz Lochhead’s

    Mary Queen of Scots got her head chopped off

    Ha ha, I directed that play at Northwestern University some 30 years ago, and am looking to direct it for my theater here next year! Just read it again recently, in fact, and noted some changes she’s made in the script in the interim.

    Fun fact: It was my great pleasure and privilege to cast a freshman named Kathryn Hahn as my Mary, in her first production at NU. She’s gone on to greater things in Hollywood, but I like to pat myself on the back for recognizing star quality coming right out of the gate!

  267. 267.

    evodevo

    @Scout211: You should have a tracking number that can tell you where they are..did the shipper actually get them out the door on Weds? Or were they just giving an estimate?  At my little PO we usually get our chick shipments in in good condition, and try to keep them warm and happy till their buyer comes to pick them up.  Hope they arrive alright…

  270. 270.

    Kristine

    @Suzanne: I love the small carts. They’re the perfect size given the way I shop, and they’re easier to unload.

    I think they hate them because they can’t be modified to roll coal. I mean, if you can’t spew diesel fumes at an old lady using a small cart, what’s the point of living?

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