Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

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

Battle won, war still ongoing.

After roe, women are no longer free.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Bark louder, little dog.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

The willow is too close to the house.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

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

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

In my day, never was longer.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / ‘Tell us, sir…’

‘Tell us, sir…’

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“How did the back elastic of your underpants end up under your chin?”

Hello, 9-1-1 operator?

If you think it’s irritating to hear the media yap about how catastrophic the midterms will be for Dems all the time, imagine living in Florida and also being told constantly that your horrifying hog-goblin governor will definitely be reelected this year and is also definitely the 2024 GOP nominee if Donald Trump takes a dirt nap or otherwise declines to run.

Friends, it’s a cycle of suck from which there’s no escape except in liquor, weed, TV and birdwatching.

That’s probably why Nikki Fried, current ag commish and Democratic candidate for governor, is growing on me, despite earlier misgivings. She just fucking ethers people who come at her on Twitter, and she’s salty in person too. After the SCOTUS radical clerics’ fatwa reveal last week, she didn’t focus-group shit but instead staged a pro-choice rally. She doesn’t really bother yammering about how “divisive” DeSantis is but rather explains, “Ron’s an asshole.” Cut, jib, like, etc.

I don’t think Fried will be the nominee. Current House member, former one-term Republican governor, and 2014 Dem nominee retread Charlie Crist is racking up the establishment endorsements, so he’ll probably win the nomination. Again.

But primaries are for voting your heart, and Fried’s smash-mouth style has won mine.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

172Comments

  1. 1.

    Lee

    We need more fighters like Fried and less milquetoast like Crist, but whatever. Would be uncivil to nominate someone like that.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Charlie Crist is racking up the establishment endorsements, so he’ll probably win the nomination.

    Usually, these primary fights end up being between so-called establishment favorites and so-called progressive upstarts. Is Fried considered the latter?

  4. 4.

    Almost Retired

    Who stands the better chance of beating that garden-gnome-come-to-life? Fried or Crist? Is there Crist-fatigue in Florida, as in “Oh Christ, Crist is running again?”

  5. 5.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud: Nothing uncivil about it.

    But what about Republicans’ FEEEEELLLLIIIINNNNGGGGSSS???//???

    @Almost Retired: Who stands the better chance of beating that garden-gnome-come-to-life? Fried or Crist?

    I’ll go with untested over repeatedly defeated any day.

  9. 9.

    hells littlest angel

    The worst kind of “we’re all doomed” is the “you are too naïve to understand we’re all doomed” that is infesting so many lefty blogs.

  10. 10.

    West of the Rockies

    And birdwatching as a respite, at least for black folks, is fraught…

  12. 12.

    Kropacetic

    @hells littlest angel: The worst kind of “we’re all doomed” is the “you are too naïve to understand we’re all doomed” that is infesting so many lefty blogs.

    To be fair, “doomed” is a stretch but too many people don’t seem to have noticed how ugly things have gotten.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    I don’t even get the “What’s a woman?” tweet.  The wingnut code is becoming ever more undecipherable.

  15. 15.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud: I don’t even get the “What’s a woman?” tweet.  The wingnut code is becoming ever more undecipherable.

    Something something gender identity something something woke…

  17. 17.

    Geminid

    Fried is an upstart especially when compared to the grizzled veteran Crist. Commissioner of Agriculture is the first elective office Fried ever ran for.

    From what I’ve seen (from 800 miles away) this contest seems to be one more of style than policy, though. I expect Florida Democrats will decide between Crist, Fried, and State Senator Taddeo on the basis of which candidate they think has the best chance to win in November. That’s no easy or certain calculation.

  19. 19.

    LAO

    @Baud: it’s a transgender, inclusive language jab. So damn classy.

    ps. Just in case you weren’t be sarcastic.

  22. 22.

    trollhattan

    How many elections in a row has Charlie Crist now lost? Harold Stassen, (FL).

  26. 26.

    The Moar You Know

    I look forward to the 2024 GOP primaries as Donald Trump destroys DeSantis’ dream of becoming King of America.

    About the only part of the shitshow I’m looking forward to, but watching DeSantis cry will be nice.

  27. 27.

    sdhays

    Why do Florida Democrats keep going to the Charlie Crist well? His record for statewide electoral achievement is poor. Last time, he lost to Bat Boy. Bat Boy!

  29. 29.

    Andrew

    Pulling for Nikki, and will work for Nikki, but if I have to campaign for Charlie Fucking Crist to get rid of DeSantis, well, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.  Hoping the D’s of our state will vote the upset like they did with Andrew Gillum in 2018 (who damn near won).

  30. 30.

    LAO

    @Baud: no worries. It’s hard for me to tell. The current dystopian state of the world has broken my sarcasm meter.

  31. 31.

    eachother

    Open Thread.
    Thanks BettyCracker. I appreciate your articles. And your style.

    So, Katie, ms. January is chewing some tendon thing. I picked a seasonal water toy out of a storage box, squeezed it (no squeak) letting drain air out and from the other room Katie charges in, takes the toy back to the tendon thing and resumes chewing.

  33. 33.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Kropacetic: @Baud:  It’s from the most recent Supreme Court hearings. After the anti-trans bills, a Republican Senator asked Brown to ‘define a woman’ as part of the confirmation hearings.

    Brown basically refused to answer because it was a bullshit question. That became a wingnut rallying cry.

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kropacetic: Same. It’s a crapshoot either way in this hell state.

    @Baud: Not in the usual sense. “Progressives” as the term is understood here aren’t big in FL, though Gillum was considered one by some, and he damn near won. Fried is a former pot lobbyist!

  36. 36.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Taddeo has been lagging, so many people consider it a two way race. Match-up polls show all three candidates a few points behind DeSantis. Crist does a little bit better than Fried and Taddeo but that may just reflect greater name recognition.

    The Democratic Governors’ Conference has ignored this race thus far. The Democratic nominee could still attract a lot of cash because DeSantis is hated and feared nationally.

    Val Demings is raising a lot of money for her race against Marco Rubio. Her spending will benefit other Florida Democrats because the voters she turns out will likely vote for the rest of the ticket..

  42. 42.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: Ta-who? is exactly Taddeo’s problem. I like her well enough, but I don’t see the angle she’s working panning out. Fried might not either, but I can sort of see Floridians taking a flyer on her if I squint just right…

  43. 43.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @J.: can we still say female?

    Are you intentionally trying to be disrespectful, or just making a lame joke?

    “Trans rights are human rights.” – President Joe Biden

  44. 44.

    Kropacetic

    @J.: Hey, any Dems from Blue States want to move to Florida and register to vote here in the next 30 days? You can move back to wherever after the election’s been certified. :-)

    These motherfuckers might be criminalizing my sex life any day now and I’ll have to pay them taxes for the pleasure? Hard pass.

  45. 45.

    Raoul Paste

    This is the first time I have seen “ether” used as a verb.   That was enjoyable

  47. 47.

    burnspbesq

    @Kropacetic:

    To be fair, “doomed” is a stretch

    For women, people of color, LGBTQ communities, and the poor, it’s not a stretch.

  48. 48.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I think that the combative Fried may have a greater upside than the plodding Crist. It’s kind of like choosing between a tortoise and a hare.

  51. 51.

    ian

    @Baud: You spend a summer in Europe, you get a lifetime behind in wingnut jargon.

    During the KBJ hearings, future supreme justice KBJ didn’t give the most precise answer to a question Marsha Blackburn asked about the definition of a woman.  Wingers freaked.

    lin

    Edit: i see people have gotten here before me

  52. 52.

    Cameron

    Fried would be a delight taking on DeSantis.  If anything, he’s got an even thinner skin than Trump, and he can’t bully her.

  53. 53.

    Betty Cracker

    @Cameron: Saw that earlier on Twitter. We had a required “Americanism vs. Communism” class when I was in high school in Florida (and Ronald Reagan was POTUS!). It’s a shame it wasn’t an intro to authoritarianism more broadly; people might have recognized DeSantis for what he is.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    Is it a winner take all primary or will there be a runoff if no one gets a majority? (I hate winner take all primaries where there are more than two candidates).

  56. 56.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    I know I’m just a neoliberal corporate shill, but I’m perfectly comfortable if the Dems want to come out as against communism (assuming we’re talking about actual communism).

  58. 58.

    Dangerman

    @Baud: Hold on. I was gifted a Bullshit Decoder Ring. That is the new  “Let’s Go Brandon” after the recent questioning of the newest Supreme Court Justice.

  59. 59.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud: The American Communists I occasionally listen to describe their ideology almost like libertarianism, except with a social conscience and minus those strong private property rights.

    It’s hard to match what Communists say they want; a stateless, moneyless society; with how Communist governments have been implemented.

    I don’t, in the end, agree with the Communists; but I like to cite them when Republicans tell me I don’t listen to people I don’t agree with.  I do.  They just have to not be fucking terrible.

  60. 60.

    Cameron

    @Baud: I wish they had approval voting in Florida (in the Dem primary, anyway).  I’m not crazy about first-past-the-post and the state legislature recently made ranked-choice voting illegal.

  61. 61.

    Baud

    @Kropacetic:

    describe their ideology almost like libertarianism, except with a social conscience and minus those strong private property rights.

    So nothing like libertarianism?

     

    I think both ideologies are based on a sort of romantic idealism rather than anything realistic.

  62. 62.

    Jinchi

    @J.: Hey, any Dems from Blue States want to move to Florida and register to vote here in the next 30 days?

    I expect this comment to show up in DeSantis’s next press briefing as proof of widespread voter fraud. Be ready for a visit from his election police task force.

  64. 64.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud: Both Communists and Libertarians seem to expect society will just run of its own accord with no state level coordination.  We will just do what needs to be done.

    Count me in favor of at least some degree of planning.

  66. 66.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: There are a lot of important primaries in August. Alaska will hold a jungle primary for Lisa Murkowski’s Senate seat. The top four finishers will go on to a ranked-choice runoff in November.

    Besides the contested Governor race in Florida, Missouri’s two contested Senate primaries will be held that month.

    And Liz Cheney will fight it out with Harriet Hagemen in Wyoming. Other candidates will complicate that race. Anti-Cheney forces in the state legislature are trying to institute a runoff but have not been successful thus far.

  68. 68.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud: The only substitute for the state is the warlord.

    I described the end-state of libertarianism to my once-friends inclined toward that big L as feudalism.  Looks like we see approximately the same thing.  Communists may just have too much faith in people.

  69. 69.

    ian

    @Kropacetic:

    Both Communists and Libertarians seem to expect society will just run of its own accord with no state level coordination

    Communism is state level control of coordination/planning.  The communists you are talking to are so far from the original ideals they may as well be magical ponyism.

  70. 70.

    The Moar You Know

    i found something new to fret about — the Bronze Age collapse of all Mediterranean civilization.

    @phdesmond:  send that to Goku so he can hijack a few more threads.

  72. 72.

    Kropacetic

    @ian: They say they want stateless, moneyless society; pretty much to a one.  I take them at their word.

    Explanations I’ve heard for the authoritarian nightmares actual communist governments became usually involve their necessarily having to exist alongside and interact with primarily capitalist governments, putting them on a war footing.

    I don’t see their stated end goal as working so I don’t push too hard on the actual tangible results of communist governance, since they seem so at odds with the stated goals.  But these people tend to be kind, want social and economic justice, and at least the ones I know have enough sense to realize the Ds are at least holding the line against R atrocities.

    So they get my ear, not my agreement.

  73. 73.

    Lyrebird

    I thought this story about more hassling of Disney would also be about Florida, but it’s pro-domestic-terrorism Sen Hawley taking on the Mouse.

     

    Funny thing, I know Disney is a big cherished thing for tons of people.  For me, rooting for Disney is like me finding myself in freequent agreement with Bill Kristol.  Oy.

    But for our legal experts – if corporations are persons, and Hawley wants this bill to punish a very specific corporation, isn’t this a bill of attainder?

  74. 74.

    Jinchi

    @Baud: (assuming we’re talking about actual communism).

    Florida just banned a math textbook because a cartoon dog was making friends with a cartoon cat, so I doubt they’ve got a strict definition of communism in mind.

  75. 75.

    Kropacetic

    @Lyrebird: It’s OK to hate Disney for its monopoly over far too much entertainment media and still recognize that they shouldn’t be punished for doing the bare minimum to stand up for the rights of marginalized groups.  I think they call that “new aunts.”

  76. 76.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Baud: It’s weird.  I follow several Trans people and am relatively up on the ways that Conservatives use language to bash them, and I totally didn’t get that either.  I think it’s a weird line that doesn’t really make their intended point in any obvious way.

  78. 78.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Cameron: Considering how well America’s Governor (I am Ron De’Santis and I approved this message) purging of the CRT from the math books went, I predict Das Kapital will soon be mandatory reading in Florida schools.

  80. 80.

    Wvng

    @Baud: Failing to understand the “what’s a woman” trap is a real problem for liberals in the US. They are starting to get it in the UK and Australia where lots of women, both conservative and liberal, are holding votes back from people who can’t offer the dictionary definition: adult human female. Watching liberals in America struggling to describe the Roe decision unequivocally as a problem for women, has been painful. “Birthing people?” Seriously?

  81. 81.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kropacetic: Both Communists and Libertarians seem to expect society will just run of its own accord with no state level coordination.  We will just do what needs to be done.

    Same with the Fascists.  Anarchist Syndicalist, there will be no government  but there will be a hivemind and we will kill anyone who disagrees. That’s why it always results in a dictatorship.

  83. 83.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kropacetic: 

    It’s hard to match what Communists say they want; a stateless, moneyless society; with how Communist governments have been implemented.

    Those governments always said that Communism wasn’t what they were (which was state socialism); Communism was the end state they were working toward aspirationally. But it seemed to recede endlessly, like the end of the rainbow.

  86. 86.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: At least one Missouri jackal has said that their open Senate seat cannot be won by a Democrat. But some Republicans express fear that their frontrunner, tawdry former governor Eric Greitens, will lose in November, and they seem serious about this.

    Democrats will chose between two contrasting candidates: a former Marine lawyer from a working class family, and a Budweiser heiress with a nursing background. Another candidate, who was a well-respected former state senator, dropped out and endorsed the nurse/heiress when she announced in March.

    The Marine lawyer in the Senate primary is Lucas Kuntz. The R.N. is Trudy Busch Valentine. Ms. Valentine says that Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth helped persuade her to run for Senate.

  87. 87.

    Kropacetic

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Same with the Fascists.  Anarchist Syndicalist, there will be no government  but there will be a hivemind and we will kill anyone who disagrees. That’s why it always results in a dictatorship.

    I don’t know about anarchist syndicalists, I’ll look it up after work (which is almost now, arrgghh!).  But our homebred fascists sure seem to want just enough government to enforce corporations’ control over people and manage everyone’s family life for them.  Corporations, of course, being the true holders of power in the US.

  91. 91.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kropacetic: I follow a lot of theme-park fans on YouTube and they’ve been trying to keep the discussion over all this “civil”, but when someone going on about the sketchiness of Disney’s pocket government in Florida (a legit point, I think) then mentions that Disney has “an ideology of grooming children”, that crosses a line. Clearly these people never cared a fig about the Reedy Creek Improvement District until it was all about the evil gays and trans people.

  93. 93.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kropacetic: Notice how the homegrown Faschits turn on any corporation that they find guilty of Wrong Thinking, like Disney

    Just keep in mind the Orginal Fasciitis himself, Mussolini was in thick with Fiat.

  95. 95.

    Bugboy

    …Nikki Fried, current ag commish…

    I work in an industry regulated by the very same ag department, and let me tell you, from the moment she took office it was obvious there was a new boss in town.  The department staff actually went back to doing their damned jobs.

    I am so disappointed that “retread Crist” is having another go at it, like that worked out so well for him last time.  It will be everyone’s loss that Fried won’t get the nomination.

  96. 96.

    StringOnAStick

    I won’t be around for an open thread today but I want to warn Prius and Element owners that we’re the top targets for catalytic converter thefts, which are very rapidly increasing here in the West. Ours was taken overnight from a well lit hotel parking lot in a Portland suburb, and the next day it was the front page story in the Denver Post.  Hybrids tend to have more of the metals in demand and less wear/metal loss; platinum is over $1,000/oz right now and is war related.  Makes us glad we pay the extra couple of bucks per month for zero deductible since that was a $1,600 repair.

    According to the exhaust shop owner it has mostly been commercial vehicle fleets parked overnight but is quickly moving into single private vehicle grabs.  He said the rest of the chain is all black market purchases shipped to overseas reprocessing facilities, just like the legally obtained ones.  I’m sure cryptocurrency has a big role as well.

  99. 99.

    marcopolo

    @Baud: No doubt someone has addressed this by now, but if not: the “what’s a woman” crap is from KJB’s Senate hearing where some R asshat (thinking Cruz but really it could have been any of them) asked her to define what a woman was.  As they were supposedly talking about the Constitushion and what it had to say about stuff, and since the word woman doesn’t even appear in the document, KJB said she did not have a clear definition–which the RWNJs all pounced on as some kind of terrible terrible faux pas.

    Okay, now I need to go wash my brain out.

  101. 101.

    Gretchen

    DeSantis’ state mandated Victims of Communism Day is Nov 7.  Election Day is Nov 8.

  103. 103.

    gene108

    @Josie:

    A clever teacher could slip in some info on authoritarian forms of communism.

    Just explain how Lenin realized a dedicated minority can impose its will on an unfocused majority. Students may see some parallels with the world they live in.

  104. 104.

    oldgold

    Has selecting candidates through primaries been a good thing?

    Did the old smoke filled rooms produce better candidates?

    Is there a process other than fervent primary voters selecting ideologically extreme candidates and the good-old monied boys appointing their favorite sycophant, that would result in better candidates from each party?

  105. 105.

    spc123

    @Baud: gender vs. biology thing.. about what one would expect from people whose emotional intelligence peaked into junior high school.

  106. 106.

    StringOnAStick

    @Geminid: Catalytic converter thefts have become such a thing so quickly and with mobster salvagers providing the market, I am starting to fear I’m becoming paranoid and seeing Putin’s hand in everything.  Anything to mess with social cohesion.

  108. 108.

    marcopolo

    @Geminid: I’m a MO jackal very very very skeptical that a D can win the senate here this year.  I actually do not think Greitens has a lock on the R nomination–there’s been a lot of R weight thrown behind Vicki Hartzler (sp) and there is still room for Greiten’s spat with his wife to hurt him.  As for Kunce (correct spelling) and Busch Valentine, I know the primary isn’t for another 3ish months but neither of them are doing much of anything (at least that I know about and I am generally aware of what is going on in MO on the D side) to raise their profiles/gin up any excitement about their campaigns.  I will support whomever the nominee is but I will actually throw more money at PA, WI, FL senate races than here at home.

  109. 109.

    germy

    In interviews, multiple eyewitnesses — including two journalists who were standing next to Abu Akleh — disputed Israeli assertions that she was killed during crossfire, saying the area was relatively quiet just before Abu Akleh was shot. https://t.co/ZrhBd5BXkT

    — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 11, 2022

  110. 110.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Wvng:

    Failing to understand the “what’s a woman” trap is a real problem for liberals in the US. They are starting to get it in the UK and Australia

    where TERFs are rampant and violent trans hate is much more mainstream among liberals, yes.

    Look, I understand that this isn’t an electoral winner and it’s possible to moderate rhetoric. But if the answer is to just accede to hate and throw a harmless marginalized group under the bus, I’m not gonna do it.

  111. 111.

    Geminid

    @oldgold: Virginia Democrats don’t select ideologically extreme nominees in our primaries. Other states’ Democrats don’t seem to either.

    There is a general trend towards ranked-choice primaries, open “jungle” primaries. These amd runoffs tend to weed out ideologically extreme candidates, to the extent they are an actual problem. Now that so many people are running for office, I think we will see more of these methods that keep extreme candidates from advancing with relatively small pluralities.

  112. 112.

    Mike in NC

    Just read a story about a group called “Lawyers for Trump” formed in 2020 specifically to try to figure out various ways to steal the election for the Fat Bastard. (Since apparently it was obvious to anyone who could fog a mirror that Trump could never carry the popular vote.)

    Active in this organization was a sleazeball from Tennessee named ‘G. Kline Preston IV’, who has a long and deplorable history of working with Russians here and in Moscow going back 20 years. Preston is also linked to the KKK and other neo-Confederate organizations, Russian spies like Maria Butina, and the NRA. He was also a leading anti-Obama birther, like Trump.

  113. 113.

    marcopolo

    @oldgold:  This is one of the things ranked-choice voting is supposed to address–at least to a certain extent.  It’s almost guaranteed to be on the ballot this year in MO.  If it passes, in future elections the 4 highest vote getters (and you will be able to cast your vote for the top 4 candidates you like, ranked) will advance to the general election.  Supposedly this opens up the choices folks can make so I could support a sane R (lol, just kidding) or a sane R voter could support a conservative D.  Not sure if it will actually work like that but we’ll see.

    Alaska just installed ranked choice.  It is what will probably help Murkowski get re-elected.  I lived in AK for a decade and it is the last time I voted for an R.  He was running for mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough against a whackaloon nutjob R and enough of us Ds crossed over to elect him.  Interestingly, he gave a speech at the 2008 DNC supporting Obama.  Guess he really was a RINO.

  114. 114.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @marcopolo: Ugh, so it’s even dumber than I thought.

    Gotta admit though, as much as all the pearl-clutching about protests outside of SCOTUS homes is complete and utter bullshit, I’m not really mad at the idea of stronger physical protections for Justices in a current environment of attempted kidnappings of Governors and attempted lynchings of Vice Presidents and House Speakers.  Especially with a Black woman about to join the Supreme Court.  The threat of violence (by MAGA terrorists) does concern me.  The theater around the vote was nonsense and Republicans are as always full of shit, but the actual vote itself for more police protection for Kagan, Sotomayor and Brown Jackson, is probably a good thing.

  115. 115.

    trollhattan

    @germy: Heard about that this morning on BBC. The Israeli response is Peak Israel, basically “she should have known better than to get her skull in the way of a Palestinian bullet.”

  116. 116.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Kropacetic: I would’ve understood it if I had paid more attention to the hearings.  I purposefully avoided them for my own mental health.

  119. 119.

    Ken

    @Baud: I think both ideologies are based on a sort of romantic idealism rather than anything realistic.

    “This system will work, since people behave like this“, followed by a description that was apparently compiled by a cockroach archaeologist a hundred million years after the extinction of humanity working from one femur bone, a molar, and half of a broken Coca-Cola bottle.

    Which reminds me of those economic schools that assume humans are rational beings possessing complete information who perform a cost-benefit analysis before making any decision.

  120. 120.

    trollhattan

    @StringOnAStick: @StringOnAStick:

    Same around here; Prius cat thefts appeared maybe five years ago because they’re WAY more expensive than typical cats, but now it’s anything they can access, trucks especially because of the ample room. But any car because the crews often show up in a white “free candy” van; pop out the side door with a floor jack, raise the vehicle and get underneath with power tools. Done and dusted far quicker than you’d think possible.

    Amazing what one learns via Ring videos.

    Cost of the precious metals used in cats will hasten the adoption of EVs because they’re imposing big price increases on the ICE segment.

  122. 122.

    Betty Cracker

    Speaking of DeOrbán, a Leon Co. (Tallahassee) judge says he’ll block the redistricting map DeCastro personally drew up to eliminate majority black districts. I don’t know how this works, but I expect a Trump-appointed hack will be along to overrule that soon.

  123. 123.

    germy

    The NYTimes is following its BothSides playbook

    Breaking News: Al Jazeera said one of its journalists was killed in the West Bank city of Jenin during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen. https://t.co/DGzZEiXtnm

    — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 11, 2022

    “The network and Palestinian authorities blamed Israeli troops for the killing. Israel said the blame could lie with Palestinian gunmen.”

    The World Trade Center collapsed in New York City during conflict between US forces and Al Qaeda militants.

    — Hadi Nasrallah (@HadiNasrallah) May 11, 2022

  125. 125.

    Geminid

    @marcopolo: Well, at least you have two good candiates to choose from, even if their path to victory in November is very narrow.

    The Republican side of  the race reminds me of Ohio, with four or five viable candidates. There, trump’s endorsement made the difference. Trump will probably come around to endorsing someone in Missouri by August.

    A couple months ago I happened happened to catch Hew Hewitt when he had trump on his radio show. Hewitt literally begged trump not to endorse Greitens. But I doubt if Hewitt swings much weight with trump, as compared to Hannity or Bannon.

  126. 126.

    germy

    NEW: Marco Rubio has an extreme record of calling for bans on abortion with no exceptions and pushing to overturn Roe v. Wade.

    But don't take our word for it, watch him say it himself: pic.twitter.com/mQOG5lUmm4

    — Florida Democrats (@FlaDems) May 11, 2022

    Only fair to quote his own words since he loves talking so much

  128. 128.

    LAO

    hahahahahaha — Baked Alaska’s misdemeanor guilty plea hearing just fell apart (this actually happened to me once, it’s awful).

     

    ETA:

    Oo boy.Sullivan: "Why do you wish to plead guilty?"Gionet: "I wanted to go to trial but the prosecutor said if I didn't [sic] go to trial they would put a felony on me so I think this is probably the better route. I believe I'm innocent"Sullivan: "Well fine, pick a trial date"— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) May 11, 2022

  131. 131.

    trollhattan

    @Baud: Woof! ?

    Rocco agrees; today’s his sixth birthday so he gets whatever he wants. Tomorrow, back to dog.

  132. 132.

    The Truffle

    @Cameron: No offense, but since when is DeathSentence “America’s Governor”?

    At most, he is basically a junior league version of Trump with his own sorta MAGA cult. There is a “Ron DeSantis Fan Club” on Facebook, and it’s clear that they see him as a figurehead for their hateful lib-owning dreams rather than someone who makes things better for Florida.

  134. 134.

    LAO

    @germy: Sure Of course they will.  And the lawyers’ will have instructed Baked Alaska not to say that he is actually innocent.  We shall see whether he’s smart enough to act in his own best interests or not.

  135. 135.

    Geminid

    @trollhattan: Tbe U.S. State Department was involved within hours

    This shooting, the Israeli Army’s shifting accounts of it, and the international response are getting a lot of coverage in the Times of Israel, in addition to (of course) Al Jazeera and other media outlets.

  138. 138.

    Cameron

    @Betty Cracker: It’s really disturbing that the state legislature rolls over for anything the governor wants.  Not much like that separation-of-powers stuff we heard about in school.

  139. 139.

    germy

    Florida judge strikes down part of DeSantis House map

    A Florida circuit court judge on Wednesday struck down elements of a new congressional district map pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), ruling that the version approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature unduly diminished the rights of African American voters in the northern part of the state.

    Judge Layne Smith on Wednesday ruled in favor of Democratic plaintiffs, who had sued over map lines that eliminated a historically Black congressional district stretching from Jacksonville west to Tallahassee.

  141. 141.

    Geminid

    @germy: Florida Republicans told DeSantis that his redistricting map would not withstand legal challenges. He still insisted, and the Republicans in the legislature knuckled under. I read that DeSantis listened to the crooked Steve Bannon on this matter.

  143. 143.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Today’s SCOTUS rumor is “Alito’s draft is the sill the court decision, no votes changed and Robert’s is wrong, because he wouldn’t overturn ACA, so Robert is a poopy pants!”

    So, that’s the third SCOTUS leak in a week and half. This is starting go like the Trump Admin with the constant Night of the Long Plastic Sporks.

  144. 144.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Matt McIrvin: if the answer is to just accede to hate and throw a harmless marginalized group under the bus, I’m not gonna do it.

    Thank you! Hear, hear

  148. 148.

    Ken

    @Geminid: Baked Alaska is probably asking his lawyers, “what’s this Alfred Plea I keep hearing about?”

    “You tell the judge that you’re Batman’s butler, and we use that as the basis of an insanity defense.”

  152. 152.

    Paul in KY

    @Cameron: I’d be for Fried, if I was down there. Think there’s alot more upside with her. To me, Crist can only win if DeathSantis completely implodes over next few months

     

    P.S. ‘Fried’ is a good name for a pro-pot lobbyist!

  154. 154.

    Geminid

    @The Moar You Know: New York Democrats thought that their Congressional gerrymander would survive the inevitable court challenge because a majority of the state’s highest court were appointed by Democrats. They found out otherwise, and now New York’s redistricting  will be the hands of the court’s special master. Democrats still stand to gain a seat or two, but they had hoped to for a net of four or five.

  155. 155.

    germy

    @Betty:

    “We wanted to learn how a Palestinian-American journalist died, so we talked to three Israeli snipers”

    (my pitch for NYTimes pitchbot)

  156. 156.

    Paul in KY

    @Kropacetic: You need to read ‘The Communist Manifesto’ and ‘Das Kapital’ if you wish to learn about actual ‘Communism’.  The stateless/moneyless thing sounds more like Paleolithic Anarchy than ‘Communism’, IMO.

  160. 160.

    Ken

    @The Truffle:  since when is DeathSentence “America’s Governor”?

    Geez, when you’re reduced to stealing branding ideas from Rudolph Giuliani…

  161. 161.

    Citizen Alan

    @Kropacetic: I have a good friend who fancies himself a communist. The fact that there has never been a real world society that embraced communism without descending into brutal autocracy doesn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. It’s maddening.

  163. 163.

    LAO

    @Omnes Omnibus: nope. I think he’s just unwilling/unable to say he’s guilty of anything. Which, as you know, is a real thing even if it would benefit him.

    ETA: Alford pleas aren’t offered or done in NYC and I’ve never personally seen one in federal court. Doesn’t mean they don’t happen, just that I have zero experience with Alford pleas beyond understanding what it is.

  165. 165.

    gvg

    @Citizen Alan: Shakers. Also possibly monastic orders in the middle ages. Hippy communes for a time, mostly gone because nothing got done and people got tired of it but that isn’t dictatorship. I would suspect all of them had authoritarian examples but not like communism. The whole communal ownership and living thing is an ideal that preceded Marx by a lot. It doesn’t have to go so bad, if it is really by choice. I personally would hate it, but I don’t like socializing that much.

  166. 166.

    evodevo

    @phdesmond:   Yep…interesting times…numerous empires and kingdoms suffered upheaval and chaos, and archaeologists have been arguing about the timing/causes for the last couple centuries…regional drought/climate change? invasion by outside nomadic/seafaring tribes?  volcanic eruptions? all kinds of theories.  Some kingdoms survived, but in a relatively weakened state, compared to their former glory.   Food for thought…

  167. 167.

    Gravenstone

    @Baud: From the Jackson confirmation mishigas. One of the Repub senators thought they scored a coup because she didn’t define “woman” to their satisfaction. So they assume it’s an easy gotcha.

  168. 168.

    evodevo

    @gvg: It didn’t work when the early Xtians tried it 2000 yrs ago lol – read the story of Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament – Acts 5 – it says they “dropped dead”, but read between the lines – coercion from the get-go

  172. 172.

    spc123

    @Matt McIrvin: I agree but we absolutely need to moderate the message. Too many people on the left cede dialectic control to the right by either repeating phrases like pro-life and right-to-work or taking too hard of a line with language. The goal with most fence sitters on issues such as trans rights is not to force them to become committed allies but simply to get them to not be bothered by it. “Live and let live” or “it doesn’t really affect me.” This is what happened slowly with gays rights – many people didn’t become LGBQ advocates but simply reached a point where it wasn’t a big deal anymore and when it’s not a big deal, it starts to seem unfair to discriminate. They then, in turn, become more open or understanding within their own families.

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