Funny things I saw on Twitter, part 1 — this representation of Supreme Court nominee demographics from the founding to the present:
Using the beer emoji to represent Kavanaugh is pure genius. May Sobby McKegstand be mocked for his disgraceful and embarrassing confirmation hearing antics until the end of time!
Funny thing, part 2 — this Rolling Stone headline:
Sheer perfection! MAGALand is supposedly in an uproar over the endorsement. I don’t know why the Quack would be a bridge too far after everything else the Fraud has done, but whatever.
Lastly, I mentioned in the morning thread that there’s a great feature article in NYT Magazine about Fiona Hill. It’s not just about Hill — the reporter (Robert Draper) interviews a number of former officials, including Lt. Col. Vindman, former US. Ambassador to Ukraine Yovanovitch and cowardly skunk John Bolton. The piece connects the dots from Trump’s attempted extortion of Ukraine to the January 6th insurrection and Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine. An excerpt:
Hill was at her desk at home on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, writing her memoir, when a journalist friend she first met in Russia called. The friend told her to turn on the television. Once she did so, a burst of horrific clarity overtook her. “I saw the thread,” she told me. “The thread connecting the Zelensky phone call to Jan. 6. And I remembered how, in 2020, Putin had changed Russia’s Constitution to allow him to stay in power longer. This was Trump pulling a Putin.”
Definitely worth reading in full, IMO.
Open thread!
Open Thread: My Ukraine Is In Pain, Chapter 3 Has Arrived
trollhattan
Just needs coathanger emoji to the right of the beer.
Pennsylvanian
None of that is funny to me.
I was just over at TPM reading about the secret service agent scandal.
I just can’t even today…
Is there a despair emoji, cause I’m just about there!
laura
Seared into the amygdala the spittle-flecked, red faced sneer followed by “GIVE ME MY FUCKING PROMOTION.” The wife of the virgin mayor of keg city must really know what a swell fellow that is behind closed doors.
A Ghost to Most
Now, do the emoji thing by religion. It’s just as stark.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: Good one! Is there a pollution emoji? That could go BEFORE the beer. It’s such a travesty that a buffoonish Russian asset got to name three SCOTUS justices. We really should get a goddamn mulligan on that!
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Give the republicans a choice. One take-back or we move to 15.
dearmaizie
I love this fucking blog. You, Betty Cracker, are a pure joy. Your descriptive prowess is a gift to us all.
Old Man Shadow
Really just does show the degree to which their backlash and anger is white supremacy.
Any changes in power are unacceptable, no matter how small those changes are in the context of history
raven
Anyone tried intermittent fasting?
aaall
“.cowardly skunk John Bolton…”
Tris is an unacceptable slur. I have a skunk living under my cabin. He is friendly and a very good neighbor and keeps the raccoons away (I have chickens). He should not be associated with something like John Bolton.
TinRoofRusted
@raven: I do it. Only eat between 11:00 and 7:00. I lost about 5 pounds right away and am now losing about 1/2 pound a week. I really like it. I like the discipline of it and my metabolism has revved up. One thing I did not realize is how much I would eat even after dinner, snacking as we cleaned the kitchen.
Josie
@raven:
I have. It’s really easy for me since I never liked eating breakfast. I eat supper around 6:00 and then not again until the middle of the next day. Sometimes I have a small snack mid-afternoon if I’m hungry, sometimes not. Usually two meals a day is enough. I haven’t lost a ton of weight, but I haven’t gained any. I consider that a major victory at my age. From what I have read, it works even better for men than it does for women.
Betty
The Trumpster uproar is apparently over Oz’s previous approval of abortion, back when he was actually practicing medicine. One labeled him Romney 2.0.
Trump has taken it upon himself to insult Fiona Hill. All she has is her accent. Just a clown show.
planetjanet
@raven: A good friend of mine is using it and swears by it. Tracking food during the day was just too much work for her.
West of the Rockies
@aaall:
In my area of CA, it’s sometimes difficult to tell if it is a skunk one is smelling, or if someone is trimming a bag of skunk weed.
Dangerman
He has supported gun control and been pro choice in the past. If memory serves, Trump was pro choice at one time, too, but he gets a MAGA pass on all his transgressions for some reason.
raven
@TinRoofRusted:
@Josie:
@planetjanet:
Awesome , thanks ya’ll. We’re on day 3!
germy
NotMax
@raven
Not sure if it counts as fasting but have been eating only one meal a day (although sometimes forget and skip a day) for the past 58 years.
germy
geg6
Fetterman has to be thrilled. He’s currently polling about 9 points ahead of Oz.
zhena gogolia
I was saying this on this top 10,000 blog all through the TFG administration.
raven
@NotMax: Indeed it does.
The Moar You Know
I flat-out do not believe this. Trump could rape a kindergarten class on live TV and those choads would be gladhanding each other on what a fine upstanding figure of a man he is.
Even if they are, by tonight they will all have fallen in line and be ready to take their orders. It’s just how they are. Bootlickers to the core.
germy
They eat one meal a day, that’s right,
They start in the morning and finish at night.
(The Toronto Song)
The Moar You Know
@germy: Yang, knowing he is unelectable, is now desperately gunning for a consolation prize that doesn’t involve people having to make a choice between “anything else” and “Yang”, because people would sooner vote for a ten pound bag full of dogshit rather than him and he’s finally figured that out.
Kay
@germy:
He’s just such a phony. He has a “buddy” in France, because having a friend in France is not the image he seeks to convey. He has an ad now where he blames Mexican immigrants for his mother’s drug addiction. I guess blaming his mother for her drug addiction, his prior position and one that benefitted him when he was selling his book, wasn’t using her addiction to best political advantage in his current marketing effort.
Now it’s the Mexicans.
geg6
@geg6:
And McCormick has to be furious. He, an extremely rich guy and much more so than TFG, has been debasing himself continuously by camping out at Mar-a-Lago with his wife and begging for the endorsement. He though he had it in the bag because wifey worked for his fat ass. LOLOLOLOLOLOL!
germy
@Kay:
I didn’t read his book. I thought his mother was addicted to prescription pills?
germy
@The Moar You Know:
Reminds me of this:
germy
@Kay:
Ksmiami
@raven: I love it… usually I do 18/6; sometimes alternate Daily but I still limit my calories. Look up dr. Jason Fung on YouTube- he’s really the best source of information
Mike in NC
Two political ads running locally. The first is by some conservative PAC, going after crappy one-term ex-governor Pat McCrory, claiming all sorts of nonsense about how he’s “too liberal” to run for US Senate. The other one is for a loon named Ted Budd, who loves guns, hates Socialists and RINOs (pictures of Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney). He brags that he’s “Trump endorsed”, though of course Trump never heard of the guy until someone handed the Fat Orange Clown a piece of paper with his name on it.
Geoduck
@The Moar You Know: Eh. Kindergarten rape is one thing, publicly supporting abortion rights and gun control is quite another. (Assuming you’re not the actual Conservative Messiah.)
Kay
@germy:
She was. And alcohol, which is also inconvenient to his narrative so rarely mentioned. Cheap and legal. Then the pain pill spigot got shut off so they all went to heroin. That’s the point where we start blaming every Mexican immigrant.
Kay
@germy:
It’s so true. Josh Mandel is horrible but he’s authentically horrible. “JD” was created by a group of rich people who all think they’re super-smart sitting around a (very nice) table.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I saw an article about the eldest Murdoch spawn over the weekend, and that pampered scion also rails about “elites.” Probably complains about getting “canceled” too.
Mike in NC
Doctor Oz, notorious TV quack, gets endorsed by another celebrity TV dipshit. No mention of his religious affiliation, of course. Must be a Southern Baptist, right?
JoyceH
Is anyone surprised that Trump endorsed Dr Oz? Come on, the guy had a TV show, what else matters? of course Trump is going to endorse him.
And on the subject of diet, I signed up for Weight Watchers about a month ago. I last tried it in the ‘90s, when it was complicated, and it’s now about a thousand times easier to understand and manage. I’m finding it easy to stick with and have lost 14 pounds.
germy
@Kay:
The Party of Personal Responsibility
JaneE
Oz has been known to pull back on the quackery when confronted with evidence – hydroxychloroquine being the main one – going from a recommendation to wait and see. And he is sort of a Muslim on his father’s side and a secularist on his mother’s side. And was sort of pro-choice at one time, and not that long ago.
Any one of those “failings” would be enough to send MAGAland into a meltdown.
Roger Moore
@Mike in NC:
And if Trump is true to form, that “piece of paper” was a check.
germy
Lies, fraud, conflicts of interest, and bogus science: The real Dr. Oz effect
Geminid
@Betty: Also, Mehmet Oz has a number of articles out highlighting the dangers of fracking, a technology widely used in Pennsylvania gas fields. He blames the articles them on his co-writer.
Another issue that Oz’s opponents could exploit is his dual Turkish/American citizenship. I expect there will be third party PAC advertising hammering him on this. A Senator with dual citizenship would be a rarity.
Geminid
@geg6: McCormick made some very uncomplimentary comments about Trump in 2016. Trump knows this, and holds a grudge.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Well, they’re not cancelled any more! Honestly anyone canceling them was doing them a favor. Their “forbidden opinions” are either banal junk that is the status quo or straight up bigotry they pull out of their ass.
They could have just said “I’d like it if everything stays exactly the same as when I, personally, was 23” and we would have all saved a lot of time. They would be “conservative people” or “conventional people” and not even a new category.
trollhattan
Unrelated Ukraine notes:
It’s being reported Germany will supply tanks and armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, quite a few of them. To my knowledge they would be the first non-Russian armor they will have and I’d love the irony of Ukraine driving them across the frontier into Russia itself. “You want a WWII replay, how about some Panzers up your steppes?”
Belarus reports being shelled by…Poland? A WTF claim to say the least (am dubious, maybe targeted disinformation for some future purpose?).
NotMax
@Geminid
Read somewhere in passing he’s announced intention to renounce Turkish citizenship if elected.
Not a promise anyone should take to the bank, needless to say.
Amir Khalid
@raven:
Right now I’m fasting in the daytime and eating at night. Does that count?
gene108
Mehmet is Turkish for Mohammad.
TaMara
The biggest issue with Dr. Oz (oh, there are so fucking many) is that he had several episodes supporting transgender kids, adults, and their families. He’s tried to walk it back (how do you do that?) and now the orange mange is trying to walk back the endorsement.
Librarian
@germy: A few commenters have pointed out to Berger that France is not a “federal” country, its central government is not “federal”.
Brachiator
@raven:
No. I don’t even like intermittent wipers.
More seriously, no. I sometimes don’t “feel” hungry, but have to eat something any way. Otherwise, I can start feeling bad and can quickly feel dehydrated.
So, I guess I would check with doctor or nutritionist first.
Betty Cracker
@TaMara: Hair Furor is trying to walk it back? LOL!
Kay
@TaMara:
Someone covering Trump’s last speech mentioned he’s not hitting the “everyone is a pedophile” hard, which is interesting. I feel like he really knows his people- the groupies at the rallies. You wonder why he’s skipping that.
germy
@Librarian:
Anyway
@raven:
Five years and counting. I think of it as “Time-Boxed Eating”.
Love it.
germy
Joe Falco
@trollhattan:
According to the tweet and Google Translate on the article, it doesn’t say anything about that Germany is going to do it. But it would be amusing if Poland agreed to have German tanks go across its country on their way to Ukraine (and Russia).
JoyceH
@Kay:
Trump isn’t a smart guy, but he can be shrewd. Poke a stick in that ant hill and who knows what will come boiling out? Plenty of people with a case against Trump decided years ago that it wasn’t worth it, but if he starts barking loudly about pedophilia, that might make them mad enough to get reckless.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
Yeah, for the same 58 years (and counting), on the days when I do remember to eat, that one meal is never during daylight hours. Daylight is reserved for coffee (black, no sugar) and water, maybe iced tea if I’m feeling sportive.
I refer to it as the Vampire Diet.
(And yes, do realize you’re referring to the change of schedule engendered by Ramadan.)
cliosfanboy
@germy:
what the hell is Yangs point anyway? Some 3d way nonsense?
Betty Cracker
@cliosfanboy: From what little I’ve read about him lately, Yang is all about the both-sides bullshit now. It’s a pity. Early in his 2020 run, Yang had some interesting if impractical ideas. It was all a clever marketing campaign, I guess. Now he’s trafficking in the hoariest of tropes.
Soprano2
@Kay: Maybe he can feel that calling everyone who disagrees with you a pedophile isn’t a winning political argument. I don’t think Trump is that book smart, but he’s shrewd and knows what plays to the audience. My husband noticed this in 2015; he said “Watch how he says something and then pauses to see what the crowd’s reaction is. If the crowd cheers, he’ll use it again.”.
Geminid
@cliosfanboy: Yang may be looking at an Independent Presidential run in 2024. Or maybe Peter Thiel will buy the Libertarian nomination for Yang. That would not too hard. A comedian finished a close second to Jo Jorgenson in 2020. Jorgenson was a long standing Libertarian, and ran as vice presidential nominee in 1996(?)
Enhanced Voting Techniques
,…stapled to a page from a coloring book.
geg6
@Geminid:
Supposedly, he pulled it all back so his wife would get hired.
Geminid
@geg6: Oz proponents like Sean Hannity have reminded Trump of McCormick’s statements. Trump may take a less pragmatic approach in 2022 than he did in 2017. He seems really driven by his grudges now.
Matt McIrvin
A bunch of smart people I knew who seemed like they ought to know better got very excited about Yang a while back, but I was always suspicious of the guy just because of who his core fan base seemed to be (a bunch of Internet edgelords who were into crypto and online harassment).
Lacuna Synecdoche
@Betty Cracker:
Unfortunately, we can’t blame it on the Russian Asset only. Every Republican Senator voted to confirm Gorsuch, all but Murkowski voted to confirm Kavanaugh, and all but Collins voted to confirm Coney Barrett. Plus Joe Manchin (DINO) voted to confirm Kavanaugh, with Heitlkamp and Donnelly joining him to confirm Gorsuch.
The Senate really failed its advise and consent role here, though, of course, Republicans won’t see it that way.
Betty Cracker
@Soprano2: That’s a good point. I’ve yet to see any credible evidence that calling opponents pedophiles is a winner politically. There was some discouraging polling about Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law recently, but upon closer inspection, the poll questions were kind of loaded, so I don’t think that’s much evidence the pedo-smear people are political geniuses either.
Betty
@NotMax: He has waffled on that. I think the latest is renouncing because it was hurting him in the polls. Whatever it takes!
Baud
@Betty Cracker: It’s an easy issue to manipulate when it comes to polling.
raven
Lot’s of great input! who knew????
Geminid
@Matt McIrvin: When Yang ran for President he came across as an affable guy with some interesting ideas. He wasn’t taken too seriously so no one scrutinized his past carefully. That changed when he ran for New York mayor last year and even led some early polls. His past was thoroughly researched and opponents came up with some questionable attributes. Yang also had some proposals for New York’s governance that seemed reactionary. He dropped like a stone and came in a distant 4th pr 5th.
I don’t think Yang will ever win public office. He likes the spotlight, though, and would assent to some wealthy conservatives sponsoring him as an independent “spoiler” candidate in 2024 or 2028. They could tailor Yang’s message so as to peel off soft Democratic votes.
The Up and Up
My only quibble with The Iron Snowflake emoji collage representing Supreme Court justices is that near the bottom, Sonia Sotomayor is placed after Elena Kagan. Should be switched as Sotomayor took the seat previously held by Souter. The next year Kagan replaced the retiring Stevens. As she was Obama’s first solicitor general Kagan recused herself in certain cases unlike Ginni’s hubby who refuses.
Ken
You mean like, skipping tea and biscuits between first and second breakfast?
Suzanne
@raven: I do 16/8 intermittent fasting. It works pretty well for me.
germy
https://thenib.com/chagrin-falls-boiling-frogs/
(The Water’s Fine)
Danielx
Got second booster on Saturday and I am dragging. Fatigue….
Suzanne
As for intermittent fasting, I should note that I find it more difficult on the weekends because there is a less of a set schedule. I have been doing 2pm to 10pm with the most success. I find that lunch (eaten somewhere between 2-3pm) is a pretty big meal and dinner is pretty small.
I like to work out on an empty stomach, so on workdays I usually do 30 minutes of the Peloton at lunchtime before eating. On the days I do yoga, I do it after work, before dinner.
Grey Michael
@Joe Falco:
From what I saw, Rheinmetal the defense contractor is “ready” to do it. I imagine, this is pending approval from the German government, which is dicey at best considering all they wanted to send before were helmets.
I’m cautiously optimistic, but as an example, I don’t think Ukraine ever got those MIG 29’s that Poland wanted to give to them.
Suzanne
@Danielx: SuzMom got the second booster a week and a half ago, and she still has this dark, gnarly bruise at the injection site.
Totally off-topic, but Britney Spears announced that she’s pregnant and I’m happy for her. Freeing Britney was one of the few good things of 2021.
Citizen Alan
@Kay: I stand by my belief that Vance’s mother could have kicked addiction if only she’d been able to get that abortion I’m certain she wanted.
Splitting Image
@Suzanne:
Me too. I’m not entirely reconciled to living in a timeline where Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian are respected elder statesmen and Eric Clapton and Van Morrison are idiot celebrities that nobody should pay any attention to, but them’s the breaks.
I hope Spears has some happy years coming as a parent. She’s earned it.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Danielx: Interesting. Probably not relevant, but did you mix? Get a different brand than your first booster?
We both got 2nd boosters on Wednesday, and opted for a switch on the recommendation of our doctor. My wife (previously all Moderna) got a Pfizer, and I did the reverse.
I had a very weird fatigue on Thursday and Friday and ended up sleeping most of Friday. Bounced up Saturday feeling perfect.
sab
@Citizen Alan: Unkind but possibly true.
sab
@Suzanne: Yes. Of course her dad’s antics made her wait until she in a higher risk age group, but a lot of that risk is multiple prior births, and that’s not her case.
She got in just under the wire. I am happy for her.