Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

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

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

All your base are belong to Tunch.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

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

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Accountability, motherfuckers.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / Proud to Be A Democrat Open Thread: Good for Rep. Jamie Raskin

Proud to Be A Democrat Open Thread: Good for Rep. Jamie Raskin

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Very strong pro-Putin axis — here’s the ‘objectively pro-war crimes’ caucus:

Reader Interactions

213Comments

  1. 1.

    Toadrick Elfheart

    Good for Raskin, but it’s been 16 months and not a lot to show for it, other than referrals to the DOJ which disappear down a black hole.

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Tom Massie (KY)
    Scott Perry (PA)
    Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA)
    Warren Davidson (OH)
    Andy Biggs (AZ)
    Paul Gosar (AZ)

    Nice to know who the traitorous sumbitches are.

  5. 5.

    lowtechcyclist

    Marjorie Taylor Greene…shouting epithets: “Ashli Babbitt”

    They probably never met, but they would have been birds of a feather. Hard to say which one is/was the bigger nutcase.

  7. 7.

    Betty Cracker

    Kudos to Rep. Raskin for directly linking Ukraine’s existential struggle against the foreign autocrat who invaded their country to the fight here at home against Putin-aligned authoritarians who are trying to snuff out democracy and self-determination by other means. I’m hoping the upcoming select committee hearings will make the context and stakes more apparent to normies.

  8. 8.

    lowtechcyclist

    @OzarkHillbilly: Nice to know who the traitorous sumbitches are.

    Oh, those are just the extraspecial traitors.  Their whole party is a pack of traitors to America, only varying in degree.

  10. 10.

    Professor Bigfoot

    Whoah.

    Like, damn, Jamie, call these fuckers out.

    Call them exactly what they are.

  13. 13.

    Professor Bigfoot

    I doubt I’m the only one who’s just been salivating for Dems to HIT THESE FUCKERS BACK.

    And here comes the good Representative Raskin.  “Now y’all sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it’s done.”

    FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, RUN BOYS RUN!

  15. 15.

    MattF

    Happy to note that Raskin is my rep. Twenty-five years ago, Montgomery county MD was represented by a Republican- although one should note that that Republican,Connie Morella, was to the left of most Congressional Democrats.

  16. 16.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: Garland is Doing so much Nothing they need to hire more lawyers to handle it all

    Fifteen months after a mob stormed the Capitol in support of then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, more than 775 defendants have been arrested. More than 225 have pleaded guilty so far, and two have been convicted at trial: one by a jury and one by a judge. More than 50 have been sentenced to prison.

    That leaves more than 500 active cases that still need to be resolved, either by plea deal or trial.

    I don’t follow Marcy Wheeler, but I heard second-hand, on a podcast, that her deep-dives into the public documents around these cases make it plain that the DoJ is methodically building a bottom up case. Her twitter feed isn’t much help, as she tweets a lot– a whole lot– about a lot, and she hasn’t written anything long form on 1/6 in a while. I’ve been checking her blog for an update

    I think it was on the Hayes show that I heard that the first acquittal came from a bench trial in the last couple days. Guess who appointed the judge.

  18. 18.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Omnes Omnibus: Good morning! On the topic of Ukraine, Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.) talks about the importance of artillery and logistics near the end of this CNN interview. Not revelatory for you, I’m sure, but I’m finding the lessons on military strategy and hardware fascinating. Just wish they weren’t coming in the context of Ukrainian lives.

  20. 20.

    Ken

    Kudos to Rep. Raskin, but I’m not sure he understands that “slavish Trump sycophant” is an aspiration, not an insult, for many of the GOP reps.

  21. 21.

    Joe Falco

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I would have used the term “gentle carpetbagger who hightailed it to a safer district because not even the Republicans in that area would have handed you the party nomination”, but I understand that’s a mouthful.

  22. 22.

    gene108

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Garland does not have infinite time. There’s always a possibility Republicans can win the presidency in 2024. They just have to get “lucky” (suppress votes) in a few swing states and then they’ll have the EC votes.

    Given all the delay tactics available for a high profile lawyered up defendant, I doubt if charges were filed today that Donald Trump would even see the inside of a courtroom or be deposed until 2025 or later.

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @gene108: I’m skeptical that trump will ever be a criminal defendant. The one things he seems to be disciplined about is not writing anything down. Like his impeachment trial, like the eventual 1/6 committee hearings, as with every hearing and article and expose of the last six years, the hope, at least mine, is that enough is revealed that the lumpenmittel finally start caring about The Beast’s corruption and malevolence more than they do about the price of gallon of unleaded.

    I have been amused by how fulsome the 1/6 committee members have been in their praise of Slenderman and Grifterella, letting the other witnesses, and their lawyers, wonder exactly who they’re throwing under the bus

  27. 27.

    gene108

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The one things he seems to be disciplined about is not writing anything down.

    Trump’s sued people and been sued a few thousand times. Even if he’s declined mentally, there’s probably some “muscle memory” there about how not to get cornered by opposing counsel.

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    The Justice Department has begun taking steps to launch an investigation into former president Donald Trump’s improper removal of presidential records to Mar-a-Lago — some of which were labeled “top secret,” people familiar with the matter said.
    The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the probe remained in the very early stages. It’s not yet clear if Justice Department officials have begun reviewing the materials in the boxes or seeking to interview those who might have seen them or been involved in assembling and moving them.

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I am also skeptical that Trump will ever be prosecuted for anything. After the ruling last month where the judge said it was “likely” that Trump broke the law, I read analyses in the NYT and elsewhere that said to convict, prosecutors would not only have to prove Trump pressured Pence to reject or delay EC vote counting (scads of evidence for that) but that he did so with corrupt intent. The upshot is he was getting advice from lawyers (like Eastman) who assured him it was legal, and therefore it might be impossible to establish corrupt intent. I guess “ignorance of the law is no excuse” is only for the little people.

  30. 30.

    NotMax

    @O. Felix Culpa

    Yup. I patently refuse to engage in the “Garland’s a wuss” wailing.

    The man is no slouch. He knows what he’s doing, what is solidly actionable, and is meticulous in moving forward. He’s under no committal or duty to provide a running narration.

  32. 32.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Eric Boehlert will continue to be missed. Two headlines from today’s WaPo (no linkies, since I cheaped out and cancelled my subscription due to a tripling of the price plus irritation with the new editor-in-chief):

    • Biden at war: inside a deliberate yet impulsive Ukraine strategy (WTF does that even mean? Do the headline writers know how words work?)
    • Is Trump crazy — or calculating? (Why is this being asked after all these years?)
  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker:

    but that he did so with corrupt intent.

    I believe that was how he got off (if that’s over?) in NY also. They have to prove he knew he was committing tax and insurance (and bank?) fraud. A lot of people said that trump didn’t do anything much bigger real estate fish don’t do, and IIUC the prosecutor didn’t want to set a precedent that bigger crooks (apparently there are several!) could use to get off. People who don’t commit fraud in the NYT real estate section because they think lying about the size and cost of their apartment will make people forget he wasn’t invited to Anne Wintour’s party that has all the color photos of A-listeres in the Style section.

  34. 34.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    “Horrific Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians, which I do not support, may be necessary to get the government of Ukraine to bargain for its own extermination and thus accomplish peace.”

    – by Glenn Greenwald, as paraphrased from his body of work for the past 5 weeks

  35. 35.

    Toadrick Elfheart

    @Baud: I was referring to January 6.

    I guess any criticism of the slowness of prosecuting those responsible for planning J6 can be met of cries that we’re being impatient and don’t understand the subtle nuances of the law, but at some point you’ll have to cash that check.

  36. 36.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    “Can you believe the horrible acts of Ukrainian soldiers killing poor sweet Russian boys in Russian military uniforms?”

    – also Glenn Greenwald

  37. 37.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Toadrick Elfheart: if you want criminal convictions, yes, you have to wait for the criminal process to work.  I’m not a lawyer but I imagine that prosecuting a former president for seditious conspiracy is pretty complicated, and complicated takes time.

    “Oh my god he’s so obviously fucking guilty just throw him in a cell” isn’t a legal standard, and prosecutions that aren’t meticulous and I-dotted and t-crossed sometimes go very badly. Maybe you’ve heard of Bill Cosby?

    ETA: trump was impeached (and acquitted) about six weeks after 1/6, and a lot of the same people demanding Garland hurry the fuck up were at that time criticizing Democrats for moving too fast (Will Stancil and Brian Beutler, for example)

  38. 38.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Toadrick Elfheart: Yes, we will all have our answer eventually.  If a prosecution happens too soon, before everything is locked down, the big fish skate.  If the DOJ waits too long, nothing  happens and the big fish skate.  If the timing is dead on, some of the big fish may still skate.  And no one’s minds will change.

    ETA:  Because of this, I say try to do it right.  Get the fuckers who are gettable.

  39. 39.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @NotMax:

    He’s under no committal or duty to provide a running narration.

    Yup. The “do something NOW NOW NOW” commentary reminds me of object impermanence with infants: “If I can’t see [don’t hear about] a thing, it doesn’t exist.”

    Garland won’t release information before its time. It’s a good thing that, unlike the vile Comey, Garland and his DOJ know how to keep their mouths shut.

  41. 41.

    Toadrick Elfheart

    @zhena gogolia: Sorry to interrupt the time honored BJ circle jerk of “Everything is going great for Democrats (and the country!), STFU if you think otherwise, you doomer leftist POS”.

  43. 43.

    Irishweaver

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:   It makes one wonder what is his intent if it is not corrupt )(after all these years and all this litigation); and that goes for the lawyers’ advice as well, speaking as a lawyer!

  44. 44.

    Ruckus

    @NotMax:

    He’s under no committal or duty to provide a running narration.

    Wouldn’t that be both a waste of his time and effort? It’s not the court of public opinion that needs or is likely or able to effect the outcome of a criminal referral.

  45. 45.

    skerry

    IANAL but this upset me

    A federal judge on Wednesday acquitted a New Mexico man of misdemeanor charges that he illegally entered the U.S. Capitol and engaged in disorderly conduct after he walked into the building during last year’s riot.

    First Jan 6 acquittal (npr link)

  49. 49.

    Betty Cracker

    @Ruckus: True in a strictly legal sense, which is where Garland’s efforts are rightly focused, one hopes. But in the political context, public opinion matters very much, especially with an election bearing down on us.

    I’m hoping the January 6 committee hearings will be an opportunity to shape public opinion and give people hope that there will be accountability for the coup plotters. As with everything else, we shall see.

  50. 50.

    japa21

    OT, but I just wanted to point out that it is opening day here in Chicago where it is windy, cold and threatening rain. It is also a little chilly in the japa household as Mrs. Japa is an ardent Cub fan, whereas I prefer professional baseball and therefore root for the Brewers.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    I apologize for this interruption, but you are my friends here (except you, you and you in the back watching porn on your laptop).

    I once said that I thought of myself as one of the luckiest people I know. And all those things that made me think that are true today, but I have been having a terrible time. There was my Xmas fall which somehow missed my spine but forced a hernia to pop. Then there was my aborted hernia repair because the anesthesia (before the cutting started) paralyzed my breathing skills and almost killed me. But the worst is now by far.

    I am sitting bedside with the Immp who, last Wednesday, had to have emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage. They cut out a piece of his small intestine as well as the special “Y” structure his gastrectomy required. They had to rebuild the Y and reconnect the intestine. Complicated, but seemingly fine. Until he got an infected abscess away from the surgery site near his liver. So, after more than a week he is still in critical care, improving but not in any straight line. One way I am lucky is that some colleagues covered classes for me so I am without work obligations and jus feeling guilty, exhausted, hopeful and afraid.

    But not lucky.Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign

  52. 52.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Betty Cracker: The January 6th committee is probably very aware of and taking into account the political considerations.  As they should.  They are politicians.  The DOJ should not.  This is exactly where the two investigations diverge.

  54. 54.

    J R in WV

    @Toadrick Elfheart: ​
     

    Listen, Toadick, you’re hassling in large part people with loved ones in Ukraine, actually suffering from Russian military invasion. I think you are way over the line of common manners when you go there in the current light of genocidal crime over there.

    So don’t take too much offense when I tell you to go fuck a wheat scythe — oh, wait, do take all the offense with which it is meant. Even in the unlikely event you’re right, this is a case where you are still wrong!

  55. 55.

    Geminid

    @MattF: Connie Morella was one of the last of the DC metro area’s “moderate Republicans.” Tom Davis of Northern Virginia was another, but this vanishing breed was extinguished when Democrat Jennifer Wexton flipped Barbara Comstock’s Loudon County, Virginia seat.

    These dinosaurs might be labeled “Rockefeller Republicans,” and they used to roam in states northeast of the Potomac. Now the Republican governors of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Vermont are the last survivors.

    Impeacher Congressman John Katko of upstate New York might be another one, but he is retiring.

  57. 57.

    geg6

    @Toadrick Elfheart:

    A guy who was caught in the act of shooting up a synagogue and killing 11 people four years ago has not yet gone to trial.  And this, IMHO, is the easiest possible case in the world to prosecute.

    I’m pretty sure a massive conspiracy to bring down the US Constitution and our entire political system that was headed by the POTUS and his advisors might take a bit more time than the ten or eleven months or so they’ve been actually investigating this.  FWIW, my lawyer friends tell me this looks like a mob prosecution.  And those take years.

  60. 60.

    MazeDancer

    Putin trolls are ramping up on Twitter.

    Tweets about the WaPo article on the Russian barbarity in Bucha is rampant with “Do you trust WaPo?” type comments.

    Clearly, reports of worse atrocities are on their way. Russians trying to say something reported in WaPo means it is not factual.

  65. 65.

    PAM Dirac

    @MattF:

     

    Happy to note that Raskin is my rep

    He’s my rep as well, but it looks like he won’t be in the next session. All of Frederick County is going into the 6th District. Too bad he is really good, not just on the national stage but locally.

  68. 68.

    J R in WV

    @Immanentize:
    Oh, man, you have all the sympathy !!  Wife is out of the hospital, walking and bitching about the PT guy coming in a little while. We’re trying hard to keep her healthy for a couple of weeks so she can undergo surgery on her cervical spine to correct a stennosis which is interfering with her everything. But she is at home.
    Hoping Imp does well after his surgery. Hoping you are doing OK as well. Best of luck!!​

  69. 69.

    Geminid

    @MattF: Connie Morella was one of the last of the DC metro area’s “moderate Republicans.” Tom Davis of Northern Virginia was another, but this vanishing breed was extinguished when Democrat Jennifer Wexton flipped Barbara Comstock’s Loudon County, Virginia seat.

    These dinosaurs might be labeled “Rockefeller Republicans,” and they used to roam in states northeast of the Potomac. Now the Republican governors of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Vermont are may be the last survivors.

    Impeacher Congressman John Katko of upstate New York might be another one, but Katko is retiring.

  74. 74.

    Bupalos

    I’m glad to see the connections being made explicit. The Ukraine invasion and genocide is a world-shifting tragedy and crime.  But Ukrainians’ shocking bravery and belief is giving us a chance to find ourselves. We better figure out the value of this gift and not squander it.

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Related to public discourse, and maybe everything else, I think we might need to replace this adage:

    You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

    with this:

    You can never please someone who does not want to be pleased.

  81. 81.

    germy

    McFadden is the Federalist Society judge who was desperately trying to tell Brandon Fellows he would get him completely off the hook if he would just shut his mouth for a day. Not surprised he’s handing out probation to everyone https://t.co/7RPONIXMaX

    — debdrens (@debdrens) October 12, 2021

    McFadden told Fellows (who called and threatened a pretrial service officer’s mother) he told him straight up in open court “I don’t think you’re irredeemable or anything…I’ve tried really hard to avoid having to lock you up. I don’t think you’re going to allow us to help you”

    — debdrens (@debdrens) October 12, 2021

    BREAKING: Jan. 6 defendant Matthew Martin acquitted on all charges at a beach trial by Judge Trevor McFadden.

    — Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) April 6, 2022

  83. 83.

    opiejeanne

    @Immanentize: Oh no!  Praying for a swift recovery. I’m not sure what you feel guilty about, but guilt can be corrosive and debilitating. Taking care of Immp is exactly what you need to be doing, work can wait.

  84. 84.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @MazeDancer:

    Seeing them on Facebook, too. Lots of Africans, Indians, Filipinos. Some patent fakes who don’t write English well and claim Australian, Irish, American identity.

    I’m guessing that the ruble doesn’t spend real well, and between the use of subcontractors in the developing world and lack of access to widespread VPNs, the usual Putinist trolls aren’t on.

  85. 85.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: So just to recap, we recently found out that DOJ is:

    • Expanding the scope of 1/6 investigations to include VIPs, fundraisers, planners etc.

    • Hiring hundreds of more attorneys for 1/6 prosecutions

    • Starting to investigate Trump for public records violations

    Sure is a whole lot of “nothing”…

  86. 86.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @germy:

    Old fashioned white boy justice. “Please oh please let us help you!

  88. 88.

    Barbara

    @Immanentize: Please, please, take care of yourself and Immp and know that we here are pulling for you and wishing you the best — feel free to vent or cry or ask for whatever support you need.

    Can you say in what state this is happening so we might be able to support you IRL if you need it?

  89. 89.

    Ruckus

    @Betty Cracker:

    I may be naive but it seems to me that Garland’s job is not actually political and he actually shouldn’t be worried about the political effects, his job is legal. Yes he works in a political arena and people expect him to have a side but it seems to me that he has to and does tread a very narrow path. His job is legal and shouldn’t be political, as much as we’d like it to be because that effectively isn’t doing his job. In our political climate the 2 sides are diametrically opposed and expressing any side in such a situation seems to be rather negative. IOW if he’s either pissing off, or making both sides happy, he’s likely doing his job effectively. And other than taking time he seems to be getting the results that are exactly what we want. Guilty verdicts. A high percentage of them. I once spent a fair amount of money on a specialized computer system for my business that looked great but that the specialized software was spectacularly crappy. It took 3 yrs to get through the BS to get it returned and my money back. It sat in it’s crate just mocking me, every damn day. This crap takes time, it takes far more time given the overall size of the crimes involved. I know that it seems like forever but in my experience this process is going pretty damn fast. It’s been what, only 15 months and one day since the crime? How many involved? How many have already been convicted or pled guilty? As that number grows and we end up with the even more involved the prior cases build a stronger rational for conviction of the higher ups. Because this is never as successful if one tries starting at the top.

  90. 90.

    Geminid

    @geg6: Trump is a career criminal. He learned decades ago to do is crimeing through a very few trusted henchmen. He has an ingrained lizard-brain appeciation of how to skate inside the letter of criminal law. These are the problems that prosecutors have to surmount.

    My Atlanta friend commented about the Fulton County District Attorney’s investigation of Trump’s attempts to interfere with the Georgia election result. My friend wants to see Trump put on trial as much as anyone here, and he is a very shrewd attorney. Warren very carefully examined the phone calls and criminal law in question, and he believes that in this instance Trump managed to create ambiguity as to criminal intent even as he urged Georgia officials to subvert the election. My friend would like to see the Fulton County prosecutor to bring an indictment, but he is not  certain the prosecutor can win a conviction.

    One thing about the January 6 insurrection, though: there seems to have been some improvisation here, and Trump may have gotten sloppy.

  91. 91.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @germy: Gosar will blame it on a staffer who misunderstood the event, the group, blah blah blah. Gosar just comes across as somebody not well and I am not even sure if its psychological  or neurological.

  92. 92.

    Miss Bianca

    @Immanentize: Oh, Imm! I am so sorry to hear about your and the Immp’s travails. Holding good thoughts for a speedy recovery for both of you.

  93. 93.

    cain

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Makes perfect sense. See which judge shows their hand in regards to how they treat these people. I think having that map is a good idea – when your justice system is corrupted as well, it will require some real thorough work to make everything stick.

    Now if someone can just explain this to the folks out there unhappy about things and with Garland.

  97. 97.

    cain

    @gene108: Trump is good at throwing people under the bus to protect himself. Probably can be used as a way to get at him if the people who support him realize that they are going to get betrayed.

  105. 105.

    zhena gogolia

    @J R in WV: Just a correction, if you’re talking about me. I don’t personally know anyone in Ukraine at the moment. My loved ones are in Russia. Bad, but not in the same universe as Ukraine right now. Nevertheless, all of us with any ties to the region are in despair.

  108. 108.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Anybody see this story? https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/06/fbi-investigation-navy-yard/

    WTF. The way the guys were caught is just so random and lucky but at the same time a secret service agent was allegedly bribed. The story is bonkers.

  110. 110.

    Jean

    @Immanentize: All my sympathies, Immanentize!  My granddaughter had emergency intestinal surgery just before school started in fall, I had a terrible accident and emergency surgery on Dec 1 to repair a broken femur, and there were a couple of other frightening events.  I will keep you and the Immp in my thoughts and hope you both recover well!

  115. 115.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @O. Felix Culpa: The only thing that would enhance elation over KBJ’s confirmation would be a pinpoint comet strike on the Handmaiden, Beer Boy, and the rest of their Federalist Society cohort.

  117. 117.

    cain

    @O. Felix Culpa: I understand that it is all but assured. So good deal! It will be good to have more people who follow the law and respect the previous decisions.

  120. 120.

    germy

    Speaking of the memory hole, it’s been four months since the House of Representatives voted to hold Mark Meadows, Donald Trump’s chief of staff and the recipient of Ginni Thomas’s dozens of texts in regard to how he could help overthrow the government, in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before it regarding his role in Trump’s attempt to overthrow the government. Merrick Garland isn’t going to prosecute Meadows, because what’s unendurable and unsayable makes effective action against it undoable.

  121. 121.

    The Moar You Know

    I am sitting bedside with the Immp who, last Wednesday, had to have emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage. They cut out a piece of his small intestine as well as the special “Y” structure his gastrectomy required. They had to rebuild the Y and reconnect the intestine. Complicated, but seemingly fine. Until he got an infected abscess away from the surgery site near his liver. So, after more than a week he is still in critical care, improving but not in any straight line. One way I am lucky is that some colleagues covered classes for me so I am without work obligations and jus feeling guilty, exhausted, hopeful and afraid.

    @Immanentize: I was in the hospital for about six weeks in 2021.  Critical care ward, like your boy.  Got a chunk of my colon removed for recurring diverticulitis.  Surgery went bad.  Sutures popped, peritonitis.  Emergency surgery.  Ended up on the bag.  Then gallbladder went bad.  More surgery.  Remnant of colon healed, bag surgery reversed.  Five operations in all, out of work over four months, still in a fair amount of discomfort and I have accepted that I might be that way for a few years.  Or longer.  But the important thing is, I can work, I can play gigs, and I am largely functional.  Still not 100% but getting better REAL slowly.

    Gut surgery is scary and the potential for poor outcomes is large.  The good news is that your boy is young – I’m right in my mid-50s – and so this should all eventually get resolved, but it is scary.  My family were terrified, and justifiably so.   I was not, but that may have been a side effect of the Dilaudid, lol.

    I know what you’re going through and what he’s going through.  This is a process that takes a while.  I wish you both luck and strength.

  125. 125.

    NotMax

    @cain

    Great, but she can’t be seated until Breyer makes makes good on his promise of retirement at the close of the term.

  126. 126.

    The Moar You Know

    Anybody see this story? https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/06/fbi-investigation-navy-yard/

    WTF. The way the guys were caught is just so random and lucky but at the same time a secret service agent was allegedly bribed. The story is bonkers.

    @Mai Naem mobile:  I think this was setup for an attempt on the life of the president.

  130. 130.

    mali muso

    Off topic, but has anyone else seen the news blip that the UN is voting (has voted) to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council?

    Russia’s rights of membership in the UN Human Rights Council has just been suspended. War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights. Grateful to all member states which supported the relevant UNGA resolution and chose the right side of history.
    — Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 7, 2022

  131. 131.

    brendancalling

    @J R in WV: Seconded. My ex’s parents had to escape Kyiv for Poland. I don’t need to read the Toad’s bullshit this morning. Or really, any morning. Or afternoon. Or evening.

  135. 135.

    JeanneT

    @Immanentize: Oh, that’s terrible for you both!   I hope that the medical treatment will outmatch the infection soon.  Keep us posted when you have the energy and when it will help to talk about it.

  136. 136.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Ruckus: Really? ZG is the one throwing around f-bombs.

    If even Adam Schiff is asking the DOJ “wazzup?” maybe it’s OK for people on this Very Important Blog to ask, too. At least to the point of not being told to fuck off.

    You guys ever wonder why, with the exception of Ukraine-associated posters, that this merry little band is getting smaller and smaller and more and more insular? Just a thought…

  140. 140.

    Ohio Mom

    @Immanentize: I hadn’t seen you for a while and was wondering what was up. Very sorry to hear Immp is in the hospital and am sending both of you all the positive energy I can.

    This is one of those moments I think we all feel the limitations of virtual fellowship. Or maybe it’s just as well, the nurses would be very irritated if all of us wishing we could be of help to you in person were to suddenly materialize. It would be awfully crowded in Immp’s room.

  141. 141.

    Ksmiami

    @gene108: exactly.  People who defend Garland’s utter lack of urgency are living in some fantasy endless time world. We need prosecutions among the highest levels like yesterday. Because they will try again

  142. 142.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: Regardless of identity and motivation, I think doom posters are covered by Ragnarok Lobster’s characterization:

       Doom posting is voter suppression.

  143. 143.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Ksmiami: since I’m sure you have a lot of experience prosecuting seditious conspiracy, you’re the person to ask: If they’re acquitted, or if convictions are overturned on appeal, do you think that makes them more or less likely to “try again”?

    Again, I don’t have to tell you, but a lot of people seem to think “indictment”, “prosecution” and “conviction” are synonyms. IANAL, but I’m pretty sure that’s not true.

  145. 145.

    Ksmiami

    @gene108: honestly we don’t need to get Trump- the henchmen who enabled him are a better target. We need to prevent this from happening again

  150. 150.

    Ksmiami

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Honestly, targeting the people around Trump and putting a clear narrative together to help with the 22 elections is more my goal. There’s never going to be a perfect case or a perfect time that will guarantee conviction so bring the evidence and the argument that our Democracy was attacked, fortunately it held – The US system and free will of citizens is worth protecting so let’s ensure this can never take place again.

  151. 151.

    Eunicecycle

    @The Moar You Know: I think so, too. I guess most of the people living in that building were current government officials of some kind. When I expressed concern about the officials accepting gifts, someone came back at me pretty hard about it not being against the law to offer a gift. Then I was unsure whether it was an actual law or a regulation or ethics violation. I know every company I’ve ever worked for had rules about accepting a gift from a vendor other than a token. Doesn’t the government have something similar?

  153. 153.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Ksmiami:

    Honestly, targeting the people around Trump and putting a clear narrative together to help with the 22 elections is more my goal.

    that’s what the 1/6 committee is doing.

  154. 154.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @MazeDancer: I find congratulating the Russian trolls for avoid the April 1st Russian Military draft elicits all kinds of amusing reactions. lol

  155. 155.

    Geminid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sometimes I think that, in the interest of brevity  and conserving capital letters, the acronym IANAL- “I Am Not A Lawyer”- should be shortened to IANL- “I Ain’t No Lawyer,” like we say in Greene County.

  156. 156.

    Miss Bianca

    @Ksmiami:

    We need prosecutions among the highest levels like yesterday.

    Prosecutions at the highest level! Fuck making a case, let’s just LOCK ‘EM UP!

    It never ceases to amaze me how many lefties are perfectly fine with authoritarianism as long as it’s *our* political enemies who are getting the shaft. Who really want our own versions of Bill Barr and James Comey politicizing the DOJ. Fuck due process, fuck rule of law, fuck building a credible case, fuck everything except vengeance.

  157. 157.

    Barbara

    @Ksmiami: When I read comments like yours I am reminded of Marilyn Moseby whose sense of urgency to prosecute members of the Baltimore police department after the killing of Freddie Gray ended in acquittals and dropped charges all the way around.  Compared to the years-long federal case that took down members of the same police department who terrorized residents at the same time they were running what was essentially their own drug cartel, which ended in guilty pleas and convictions.  Oh sure, you can never say for sure what will happen, but you can guess pretty well.

  158. 158.

    Anyway

    @Geminid:

    [Ragnarok Lobster] Who is this person and why should we care what he thinks?

    (I see this line on the blog all the time and I get to use it now!)

  162. 162.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Toadrick Elfheart: Sorry to interrupt the time honored BJ circle jerk of “Everything is going great for Democrats (and the country!), STFU if you think otherwise, you doomer leftist POS”.

    Seriously dude, most of the regulars here are about to kill themselves from the horror of it all. You need go get mental help now if you think that’s optimism.  Part of you must know something isn’t right with you by the way you are posting.

  166. 166.

    trnc

    @Betty Cracker: I read analyses in the NYT and elsewhere that said to convict, prosecutors would not only have to prove Trump pressured Pence to reject or delay EC vote counting (scads of evidence for that) but that he did so with corrupt intent. The upshot is he was getting advice from lawyers (like Eastman) who assured him it was legal, and therefore it might be impossible to establish corrupt intent.

    Is it really that difficult to prove in the context of DT essentially ignoring every bit of counter-advice? He lost 60 cases, and we know now that he was getting legal advice that completely contradicted Eastman’s and he’s STILL claiming the election was stolen. Can any mafioso literally find one lawyer that says, “Well, you could claim that blowing up the corner store was self-defense because the owner threatened to call the cops when you tried to collect your “protection fees?”

  170. 170.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia: Mexico’s the surprise to me. I know they haven’t joined in sanctions, but I don’t know what their relationship is with Russia. Or is this about China?

  171. 171.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: You should only care about what Mr. Lobster says if it makes sense to you. I quote him because I think he is correct as far as the practical effect- and in some cases the intent- of doom posting.

    As far as who Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) is, he is a Black man and committed Democrat whose day job is working in a Chicagoland police station (actually, his day job seems to involve a lot of night shifts).

    Mr. Lobster is a well known commenter on what I would call “Democratic Twitter.”

  173. 173.

    Ksmiami

    @zhena gogolia: we are going to have to re-evaluate our relationship with India under Modi. Seems like India is giving up on Democratic ideals. Probably should start encouraging US companies to drop their offshore tech outsourcing as well.

  174. 174.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Barney Frank once asked a question, after one of the Rethug reps lied about some such. He worded it something like “Mr. Chairman, do House rules allow one Representative to call another ‘a liar’? ”

    His wording was much better, and he never directly called the Rethug a liar of course, but he was pretty good at verbal smackdowns.

  178. 178.

    schrodingers_cat

    @zhena gogolia: I am not surprised. There are both realpolitik and ideological reasons for Modi’s government to do so

    FWIW I am somewhat sympathetic to the real-politic reasons but against the ideological reasons

    India has almost no oil reserves, both Russia and Iran accept payment in Rs.

    Modi’s party pushes a version of India that is very much like Putin’s Greater Russia.

  179. 179.

    lashonharangue

    Here is a linkhttps://youtu.be/xvAX5FnApvc to a long explanation by Marcy Wheeler about how close the Feds are to connecting Trump to this. Short version is they probably have Roger Stone and Rudy tied to the tactical people. Some of those have already flipped. If they can get Stone and/or Rudy to cut a deal they may be there.

  180. 180.

    SFAW

    @Miss Bianca:

    Prosecutions at the highest level! Fuck making a case, let’s just LOCK ‘EM UP!

    Come on, MB, Ksmiami said nothing about punting on due process. He/she just wants the DoJ to get started on due process. No, I’m not being snarky or facetious.

  181. 181.

    SFAW

    @lashonharangue:

    Thanks for that link. When there’s no obvious action being taken by the DoJ (against people like Stone and Rudy), it’s easy to get discouraged. Your synopsis helps dispel some of that.

  182. 182.

    Amir Khalid

    @Immanentize:

    I know the Immp’s had a rough time since his initial cancer diagnosis. It must be hard on a young man who should be enjoying the physical prime of his life. I send good thoughts for a happy end to his health issues, so that he and you can have your lives back.

  184. 184.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SFAW: He/she just wants the DoJ to get started on due process

    This was published a week ago, the day before Adam Schiff officially joined the Do Something chorus.

    The criminal investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has expanded to examine the preparations for the rally that preceded the riot, as the Justice Department aims to determine the full extent of any conspiracy to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory, according to people familiar with the matter.
    In the past two months, a federal grand jury in Washington has issued subpoena requests to some officials in former president Donald Trump’s orbit who assisted in planning, funding and executing the Jan. 6 rally, said the people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

    Again, not a lawyer, but I’d bet that there’s a lot of work that happens before they get to the grand jury process, including but not limited to the investigations that led to the almost 800 prosecutions (see above with link @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ) that are currently overwhelming DoJ personnel, which investigations are I believe informing those grand jury proceedings (again, NAL)

  185. 185.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Chief Oshkosh: eye of the beholder and all that. I was thinking the other day that the commentariat here has gotten much more emo and DeMs ArE dOiNg It WrOnG than it used to be, especially in the past few months.

  188. 188.

    trollhattan

    @SFAW: Think my favorite Barney Frank quip was when he compared handling an especially dumb “voter” question to debating with a dining table.

  189. 189.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    it occurs to me, and this is total and totally uninformed speculation on my part, that one of the reasons for the lack of leaks from defense lawyers of targets (which MSNBC lawyers always cite as evidence that no major targets are being targeted) might be that those targets, and their lawyers, don’t want other targets to know they’re talking?

    Along similar lines of the 1/6 committee members fairly gushing about how cooperative the Kushners were. “Roger, Ginni, do you really want these two to be the ones telling people what happened?”

  190. 190.

    Subsole

    @Toadrick Elfheart:

    In fairness, your band probably wouldn’t get heckled like that quite so much if you

    Just

    Learned

    To

    Play

    More

    Than

    The

    Same

    Fucking

    Note

    Over

    And

    Over

    And

    Over

    And

    Over

    And

    Over

    Like some brain-damaged cricket with a personality disorder.

     

     

    Big ups for walking into the bar looking for a fight then crying like a bitch when somebody gives you one, though.

    That Leftist Doomer Piece of Shit classic NEVER goes out of style.

  194. 194.

    Subsole

    @Mai Naem mobile: Those possibilities are precluded by the fact that tubs of shit, so far as modern medicine has been able to determine, have neither nerve nor brains.

    I supose that leaves physiological or anatomical explanations…

  196. 196.

    lashonharangue

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: More likely they are still cross-checking comms data they have with testimony from the flippers before the FBI interviews. Knowingly lying to them is a separate felony.

  197. 197.

    Ruckus

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    This is major world wide level bullshit going on in Ukraine. At the very least. And some people have actual connections to people in some level of exposure to war crimes and such. For someone new to come in and throw the kind of bullshit around that he/she did deserves some notice. And make no mistake it was pure bullshit. I don’t own a high horse and don’t like ridding one but ZG’s comments were out of line and I’m going to say something about it when someone with skin in the game is attacked, even if unnamed. And yes it is a free country and everyone is allowed to make an ass of themselves, as is everyone is allowed to call them on it. Full Stop.

  198. 198.

    Miss Bianca

    @Ksmiami:

    @SFAW: Tell me, just how much experience has either of you had in prosecuting cases of seditious conspiracy at the highest levels of government? I ask because it seems that the DOJ is hiring, and since you both seem to have a lock on how easy it is to go after these folks, they could probably use you!

    Am I being snarky or facetious? Who knows?

  200. 200.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @lashonharangue:

    Here is a linkhttps://youtu.be/xvAX5FnApvc to a long explanation by Marcy Wheeler about how close the Feds are to connecting Trump to this. Short version is they probably have Roger Stone and Rudy tied to the tactical people. Some of those have already flipped. If they can get Stone and/or Rudy to cut a deal they may be there.

    Great link, I don’t know if I have time to watch it all the way, but I’ll come back to it.

    Wheeler can be hard to follow (to me, certified dumb guy) because she’s so deep in the weeds I think she has trouble speaking to people who aren’t, but this format helps. Also, I always get the impression she suffers fools disagreement about as well as I suffer mosquitoe

    ETA: I’m gonna rewatch just that first fifteen minutes, for sure

  201. 201.

    Subsole

    @Ksmiami: But do we actually need the DoJ for that?

    Can we not make that case equally well with other bodies of government, like the senate? Can we not be making that argument with our own social media folx, instead of sitting around shitting on the only – and I do mean only- group of people actually working on the problem?

    I get frustrated because I see a bunch of people running down the folks doing the work for a bunch of fucking pixels on Jack Dorsey’s internet. If our institutions really are THAT imperiled, why attack them even further? It comes off as cheap clout scrabbling by people who are ripping on the folks keeping this ship afloat by people who cannot fathom the people they rely on – and constantly denigrate for superbonus kewlboy pickmegirl e-fluencer points- not being there.

    I say all of this as someone who actually agrees with what you’re saying, emotionally. We need to be seen defending ourselves, defending this nation. A lot of Dems could take lessons from Raskin, or Harrison. That is fair critique. Kay has said a great deal about the utterly shambolic efforts at activating our voting blocs from local parties. Don’t see how DoJ fixes that.

    Part of the reason I have become so sullen, vicious, nasty and insular about this is that I really do believe our democracy is a featherweight from collapse. And I take a very dim view of people making extra-loud mouth noises about how desperate the sitch us while simultaneously MAKING IT WORSE by depressing the turnout we need to elect more people to turn this around. I start to think they are nothing but empty, posturing egotists who see the issue and don’t give a shit so long as they can strike a pose.

    I reserve the right to treat such people with contempt. Because they have damn well earned it, at this point. They can Pie me if they don’t wanna hear it. Fuckem. 

  203. 203.

    Madeleine

    @Immanentize: The Immp and you have been through so much misfortune. I hope he recovers smoothly and quickly now and that no more setbacks happen to him ever again. Take care of yourself/selves.

  204. 204.

    Subsole

    @Miss Bianca: That I can actually understand. It’s a 60/40 of blind panic and being utterly fucking exhausted from taking it on the chin from these goddamn heathens for decades. I feel it every day.

    Doesn’t mean we should do it. But it is understandable.

  205. 205.

    Miss Bianca

    @Subsole: What you said.

    ETA: And yes, I totally get it about feeling exhausted, afraid, infuriated, and just plain desperate and mean and cynical about our chances of seeing real justice prevail in the case of an honest-to-God attack on our very government. But I’m also feeling exhausted with the low-fact whinging from our side that we’re just not trying HARD enough. It would be hard to do this if we had an opposition party that was genuinely trying to work with the majority in getting at the truth. But we have one that is implicated in the attempts and wildly resistant. That creates a drag on our efforts.

    It’s like wading in swamp water up to our chins while battling alligators and cottonmouths under the water and mosquitos and bats and vultures overhead. That we’re making any progress AT ALL sometimes feels amazing to me.

  207. 207.

    JAFD

    @Immanentize: ​
     Oy gevault. Thoughts, prayers, and good wishes for the Immp, please pass them on to him, and encouragement to be sure and take care of yourself.

  208. 208.

    Subsole

    @Miss Bianca: Yep. One of the only things that perversely gives me a sliver of hope is the simple fact that they are throwing their ENTIRE back, chest, and both shoulders into it – with a 50 year running start, mind you- and still can’t quite get us submerged.

    If we actually showed up en masse every time, reliably… we’d crush this utterly wretched movement of wretched little discount rack planter aristocrats, jumped up HOA Hitlers and Collection Plate Tax Dodgers like a beercan under a steamroller. No emergency powers necessary. We could just shut them the hell out of power for a decade.

  210. 210.

    H-Bob

    With respect to Garland and the DOJ’s “process”, there is a difference between the criminal prosecutions for 1/6 and the contempt proceedings referrals from the 1/6 Committee.  The DOJ’s delays on the latter will result in mootness, as the Committee gets reconstituted in January (even if the Democrats retain control of Congress). Furthermore, the delays in contempt proceedings likely will encourage other potential witness to stonewall.  Garland and DOJ deserve criticism on their unresponsiveness to the 1/6 Committee.

  211. 211.

    Barbara

    @Ksmiami: The worst thing that can happen is to try and fail and leave ourselves open to a tidal wave of publicity to the effect that prosecutions were politically motivated.

  212. 212.

    dave319

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah x 1K! And how about CPAC convening in Putin sycophant Viktor Orban’s shell democracy this year? How many more fact-based cudgels have to be handed out for all Democrats as one to go on the attack against the fascist white supremacists? Zelenskyy shows us democracy lovers the clear way forward to win the hearts and minds war–if we have the courage and conviction of our outrage.

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