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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

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One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

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This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

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The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

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You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / GOP Venality Open Thread: The Other Burnt Pits Are What Passes for Republican Souls

GOP Venality Open Thread: The Other Burnt Pits Are What Passes for Republican Souls

by Anne Laurie|  August 1, 202211:00 am| 128 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Military, Open Threads, Show Me On the Doll Where Rahm Touched You

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“Let’s screw over sick veterans” seems like an odd campaign platform. Of course it is also morally repugnant.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) July 29, 2022

Make a call. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear from their constituents https://t.co/XKIjwlOJWY

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) July 30, 2022


WARNING: PROFANITY ‘I am not used to the cruelty,’ comedian Jon Stewart said while voicing his anger at Republican senators after they stalled a bill aimed at giving greater healthcare access to U.S. military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits pic.twitter.com/CrpfA4nF6D

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 29, 2022

NBC News: According to a White House official, the President called Jon Stewart Friday afternoon to thank him for his advocacy for veterans and the PACT Act. @NBCNews

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 30, 2022

Only in DC will a party sink a bill they support like.burn pits because dems passed a bill they also support (CHIPS).
Pass the burn pit bill. Not just because I’m a burn pit vet but because for Gods sake, it’s right to do.

— Adam Kinzinger?????????? (@AdamKinzinger) July 29, 2022

I have tried to avoid thinking it, but is the opposition to this particular vet health benefit related at all to the fact that they know that this issue has special meaning for Pres Biden, who’s late son Beau was exposed to burn pits during his svc? Are they that awful?

— Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) July 29, 2022

they have openly embraced fascism and paid no meaningful electoral price. their party tried to orchestrate a coup. they’re probably going to take the house after the midterms.
if they think they are immune to punishment it’s because they are. https://t.co/CxJIhhbwN5

— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) July 31, 2022

Mr. Megan McCain, founder of the Federalist, with the hottest place in hell talking points:

Fox News Contributor Attacks Service Members in Twitter Brawl With Ex-Marine, Suggests Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Went ‘Across the World’ to ‘Murder Brown People’ https://t.co/9hrawtqTMr

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) July 31, 2022


GOP Venality Open Thread: The Other Burnt Pits Are What Passes for Republican Souls
Good thing for Ben he’s inflammable unfireable!
Burned Pits - STOCKPILE

(Matt Davies via GoComics.com)
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Previous Post: « Monday Morning Open Thread: Still, and Always, Proud to Be A Democrat
Next Post: Lt. Uhura: An Inspiration (aka Nichelle Nichols) Lt. Uhura: An Inspiration and Icon of Civil Rights»

Reader Interactions

128Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    August 1, 2022 at 11:01 am

    This post was scheduled for 10:23 but I didn’t notice it until 11:00.  I changed the publication time to 11 so you guys wouldn’t wonder why you hadn’t seen the post for the first 37 minutes.

  2. 2.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 1, 2022 at 11:03 am

    They’re mad at the Democrats, so they do something nasty to…sick veterans.

    Yeah, that makes sense.

  3. 3.

    jonas

    August 1, 2022 at 11:05 am

    I did not have “Fox News Pundit Channels Noam Chomsky to Attack Iraq War Veteran” on my bingo card today…

  4. 4.

    cain

    August 1, 2022 at 11:08 am

    It’s always interesting how the media react to these things. Here is a Republican pundit literally attacking veterans as “brown people killers” – they were sent there because of a Republican president. No pearl clutching here – just more of a “huh, that’s weird” kind of attitude. Nothing at the level of Hillary outrage.

  5. 5.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 1, 2022 at 11:08 am

    Pass the burn pit bill. Not just because I’m a burn pit vet but because for Gods sake, it’s right to do. – Rep. Adam Kinzinger

    Surely, Mr. Kinzinger, you’ve noticed by now that your party doesn’t give a good goddamn about what’s right or what’s wrong.

  6. 6.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 11:09 am

    @jonas:

    They’re trolling.

  7. 7.

    Old School

    August 1, 2022 at 11:10 am

    From The Onion:

    “Ensuring that our veterans suffer needlessly is absolutely essential to reminding any American thinking of rebelling against the current system that their lot in life could always get worse.”

  8. 8.

    satby

    August 1, 2022 at 11:18 am

    Lucas Kunce is running an uphill battle for Senate in Missouri, which is probably why Mr Megan McCain even deigned to insult him in the first place. I sent him some coin though it’s a long shot. Made less long last week of vets start voting in their own interests.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 11:18 am

    I am not used to the cruelty,’ comedian Jon Stewart

    Tell me you’re not a Democrat without telling me you’re not a Democrat.

  10. 10.

    Tony G

    August 1, 2022 at 11:19 am

    This type of psychopathic behavior illustrates the fact that the Republican Party believes — perhaps correctly — that the electoral system is so rigged in their favor that they need not fear any consequences for what they do.  They believe that they can screw a demographic that has generally supported them — military veterans and their families — with no fear of consequences.

  11. 11.

    Eolirin

    August 1, 2022 at 11:21 am

    @Tony G: There will be no consequences until suddenly there are, just like with every other set of people who act this way.

  12. 12.

    satby

    August 1, 2022 at 11:23 am

    @Baud: to his credit, Stewart has been crystal clear on who is to blame for the bill’s failure, and has hit every show and pretty much all social media to eviscerate the Republicans by name. He was brilliant at clearly refuting the Republican lies to the Newsmax interviewer (which I saw on Twitter, not Newsnot).

  13. 13.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 11:25 am

    @satby:

    Yes, from what I’ve seen, he’s been on point on this issue.  But it’s still stunning when someone who seemingly follows politics like he does says he’s not used to the cruelty.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    August 1, 2022 at 11:26 am

    Please now to be showing your surprised faces.

    August 1, 2022 at 11:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

    “Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the two largest energy companies in the United States, said on Friday that profits rose to record levels in the second quarter as they continued to reap the benefits of soaring oil and gas prices,” the New York Times reports.

    That rocket ride to $6.50/gal seems to have its fans.

  15. 15.

    satby

    August 1, 2022 at 11:27 am

    @Tony G: I think so many of them stay in their RW bubble that they think their lies will shield them. The bill will (probably) pass today because the immediate and furious pushback got stronger when they lied about why they voted against it. They really aren’t used to that.

  16. 16.

    piratedan

    August 1, 2022 at 11:28 am

    @Baud: they had the last couple of decades to hide behind “fiscally conservative”, “religious considerations” and “socially acceptable” to mask their cruelty, these last few years, those scales have been removed from eyes.

     

    Trying to give Stewart the benefit of the doubt here, a LOT of us wanted to believe that both parties wanted to be grounded in a faith in American and what were understood to be democratic principals that served as a foundation on what it means to be an American.  Apparent now, there is no moral or ethical underpinning to the GOP now, other than their determination to seek power at any cost and woe be unto those who oppose them.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 11:28 am

    @satby:

    The bill will (probably) pass today because the immediate and furious pushback got stronger when they lied about why they voted against it.

    And all will be forgiven.

  18. 18.

    satby

    August 1, 2022 at 11:30 am

    @Baud: I think public figures who are acting as advocates try very hard to present themselves as not biased in order to sell their advocacy. I doubt he was really surprised. He went through the same thing advocating for the 911 responders.

  19. 19.

    Another Scott

    August 1, 2022 at 11:31 am

    When Rick Wilson GQPers show you who they are, believe them the first time.

    Charlie Pierce:

    It never made any sense. It was destruction for destruction’s sake. In 2016, Rick Wilson gave an interview to Cracked in which he talked about the ad that helped wreck Max Cleland’s career and came very close to ruining his life.

    “The Cleland ad was powerful because it went to his strengths,” Wilson explains. “Everyone assumed Cleland was immune to critiques on national security issues … we found a lot of votes where he’d voted the wrong way … we tested those messages and discovered those messages were very effective against Cleland … they didn’t calculate that I have no moral center when it comes to political ads, and I will destroy the innocent and the guilty …”

    Their behavior is as predictable as the sunrise.

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  20. 20.

    satby

    August 1, 2022 at 11:32 am

    @Baud: I don’t think so, not this time. Some die-hard MAGAs sure, but there’s a reason more and more vets run as Democrats.

    Edit: look at the picture accompanying this article in the Independent UK. And as soon as I post the link they switched it to a video of Stewart, so nm.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 11:33 am

    @satby:

    🤞

  22. 22.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 1, 2022 at 11:42 am

    @trollhattan:

    That rocket ride to $6.50/gal seems to have its fans.

    There’s a lot to be said for nationalizing the oil companies.  Might cost the government ~$1.5 trillion, but it would end price gouging, not to mention their efforts to undermine doing anything about global warming.

  23. 23.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 1, 2022 at 11:42 am

    double post

  24. 24.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 1, 2022 at 11:44 am

    Beto is god at this. Olivia Julianna good.

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 11:49 am

    I called the malevolent piece of shit Rick Scott and left a polite message urging the worthless motherfucker to pass the PACT Act. Was surprised to learn that our other shitty senator, Marco Rubio, did not join the Republican herd to flip the vote on this. Maybe Rick Scott thinks his dumb NAVY hat will protect him from the wrath of Florida veterans, and it will with lots of them. Rubio lacks that prop.

  26. 26.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 11:52 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Plus Rubio is up this year.

  27. 27.

    Ladyraxterinok

    August 1, 2022 at 11:56 am

    OT—-Thiel has heavily endorsed the GOP candidate for Senate running against Kelly in Arizona i is his money going to beat Kelly???

    What does it look like on the ground in Arizona?

  28. 28.

    SFAW

    August 1, 2022 at 11:57 am

    JHC, what a scumbag Domenech is. He needs to have an “attitude adjustment” session with a couple of Marines.

  29. 29.

    Ken

    August 1, 2022 at 11:58 am

    @Baud: I can hope for the ending of Pratchett’s “The Sea and Little Fishes”, and Granny Weatherwax’s line “I never said nothing about forgetting.”

  30. 30.

    Chief Oshkosh

    August 1, 2022 at 11:58 am

    @trollhattan: It just chaps my hide that the NYT story covers the price gouging as though those “soaring oil and gas prices” just happened, like a force of nature.

  31. 31.

    SFAW

    August 1, 2022 at 11:59 am

    @trollhattan:

    But-but-but the Real ‘Muricans told me me that Joe Biden personally raise petro prices all by himself, via Executive Order!

  32. 32.

    trollhattan

    August 1, 2022 at 12:00 pm

    @SFAW: They have to be finalists in the World’s Worst Political Couple competition. Dreadful, the both of them.

    Ironic he’s also damning his father-in-law (did you know he was a POW?)

  33. 33.

    trollhattan

    August 1, 2022 at 12:01 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh: Right? “It cost this, then suddenly it cost that. Nobody knows why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”

  34. 34.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 12:02 pm

    @satby: Lucas Kunce’s Missouri Senate primary is tomorrow. Democrats choose between Kunce and Trudy Busch Valentine, and Republicans choose between Schmitt, Hartzler, Greitens and a couple others.

    Arizona also has primaries tomorrow.

  35. 35.

    SFAW

    August 1, 2022 at 12:03 pm

    @Betty Cracker: ​
     

    Maybe Rick Scott thinks his dumb NAVY hat will protect him from the wrath of Florida veterans, and it will with lots of them.

    Listen, kid, that much was obvious when he went from a 31 percent approval in 2013, to beating Crist (that moron) in 2014.

  36. 36.

    kindness

    August 1, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    Used to be that people shied away from appearing to support cults.  The modern Republican party is more than just tribal.  It’s a full on cult with dazed devotees willing to sing the company song no matter how terrible that song is.  Used to be, people thought for themselves some, but I guess they’re all TV zombies now.  Sheeple.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    @Ken:

    Hope so.  Some veterans still remember when Democrats spat in their face after Vietnam, and that never even happened.

  38. 38.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 12:07 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: Economist Robert Pollin has come around to believing that oil companies should be nationalized. He did not think so 3 years ago when he wrote “We Need a Better Green New Deal” for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists March 2019

    Speaking of articles,I thought David Dayan’s American Prospect story on the Manchin-Schumer agreement was excellent.

  39. 39.

    Kent

    August 1, 2022 at 12:08 pm

    One thing about the GOP, you can always count on them to polish up their “brand”

    If Democratic political consultants can’t make absolutely SAVAGE attack ads out of this fiasco to run this fall they need to be fired.  The need to swift-boat every single one of these fuckers.  I’m not sure how many of these GOP Senators are up for re-election this fall, but some of them must be.  Savage them and tie this around their necks, even if they come around and vote for it later (which they obviously will).

  40. 40.

    Kent

    August 1, 2022 at 12:09 pm

    @Geminid:

    @satby: Lucas Kunce’s Missouri Senate primary is tomorrow. Democrats choose between Kunce and Trudy Busch Valentine, and Republicans choose between Schmitt, Hartzler, Greitens and a couple others.

    Arizona also has primaries tomorrow.

    So does Washington.  The only interesting race in WA though is probably the WA-3rd.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 12:12 pm

    @Kent:

    It’s not swiftboating if it’s true.

  42. 42.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    @SFAW: I got a text from a Crist campaign volunteer last night asking for my primary vote. I let her know we’d already mailed in our primary ballots and voted for Fried, but that Crist will have our vote in November if he wins the primary.

    I think every big daily in the state endorsed Crist. I can understand why people are wary of Fried, but JFC, nominating Crist again seems like running headfirst into a brick wall. Again.

    Oh well. I guess it’s possible DeSantis’s extremism could scare non-cultist indies and Republicans into voting for Crist. That’s the pitch anyway.

  43. 43.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 12:17 pm

    One item on the CBS radio news at 11:30am was that a ship loaded with corn left Odessa, the first shipment under the separate agreements that Turkey and the UN worked out with Ukraine and Russia. We’ll soon see if the ship makes it out of the Black Sea.

  44. 44.

    Immanentize

    August 1, 2022 at 12:18 pm

    @Betty Cracker: exactly about the wall. Remind me how well McAuliffe did in VA? And he was a better Dem than Crist.

  45. 45.

    Benw

    August 1, 2022 at 12:18 pm

    Yeah, that’s a bunch of colossal assholes, elected to act like assholes, acting like assholes.

  46. 46.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 12:24 pm

    @Immanentize: Crist will probably run a better campaign than McAullife did. McAullife would have won with a better one, I think. My Democrat friends thought McAulliffe was overconfident. I thought so too.

  47. 47.

    Edmund Dantes

    August 1, 2022 at 12:24 pm

    @trollhattan: that’s just the invisible hand of the market doing its job. Shoving itself up your butt with no lube.

  48. 48.

    Ruckus

    August 1, 2022 at 12:25 pm

    This post is exactly what I went to bed last night and woke up this morning thinking.

    I’ve said here before (many times…) that I’m a vet. I don’t like war, most humans don’t, just those that profit off of it seem to. But I’ve seen up close and personal the costs of warfare upon the participants, those that live anyway. I was hospitalized in the navy and saw marines with massive injuries. I use the VA and see every single time I’ve been, the results of warfare. And burn pits – damn how could it get much worse? Incredibly debilitating to those exposed to them, life long debilitation. And no I did not intend that to suggest long life debilitation because it’s akin to smoking a carton of cigarettes – a day, every day. Not only is the day to day price horrible, the lifetime price is as well. It’s bad enough to see the missing limbs and the mental degradation, to see humans who have a hard time just breathing, and deny them care because your fucking feelings are ruffled after they did their duty to country and are paying a huge, lifelong cost? We spend hundreds of billions on defense and crap for the people that suffered doing their duty to country. We went where we were told and did what we were told, those of us that served. Yes I did not have to do the worst of it, but many of my fellow vets did, and many paid the ultimate price. And some pay a worse price, they didn’t die, they suffer the entirety of their wide ranging wounds, some inflicted by their own government – like burn pits, their entire, shorter lives. And fucking republicans celebrate the fact, on TV, that they did that, made a decision to fuck over people for their wallets. And it’s not even their wallets, it’s all of our wallets, ALL OF US. In their own human concepts they played god for money, in their world a fucking mortal sin.

    I’ve disliked conservatives because they are selfish, but that does not come within a million miles of describing these – completely lacking in any form of humanity – fucking assholes.

    Conservatives have always been about money over humanity, but this is far worse. They celebrated their lack of humanity, in front of all of us, for absolutely worse than nothing.

    They celebrated their lack of humanity because it was a fucking total lack of humanity.

    I’ll not apologize for my words like Jon Stewart did. I will apologize for not using far more, far worse words.

  49. 49.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    @Immanentize: On the other hand, Youngkin’s fleece vest had magical powers that convinced people he wasn’t a full-blown fascist, despite his close association with all those fascists. DeSantis has been letting his freak flag fly as sitting governor ever since the pandemic. So, maybe the Crist retread strategy will work? I tell myself it’s possible so as not to lose hope…

  50. 50.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    August 1, 2022 at 12:28 pm

    @Ruckus: This

  51. 51.

    Paul in KY

    August 1, 2022 at 12:29 pm

    @Baud: I think he was exaggerating a bit when he said he’s not used to it. Either that or he’s been asleep for the past 7 years.

  52. 52.

    Immanentize

    August 1, 2022 at 12:30 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I hope the Sunshine State has not tired of the olds, just yet.

  53. 53.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 12:30 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I read that Youngkin is developing a special, hi-tech fleece vest for his 2028 Presidential run. It will change color, depending on which side of his mouth he’s speaking out of.

  54. 54.

    Jackie

    August 1, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    The burn pit bill isn’t the only bill not being advanced to help vets. Republicans DO NOT support our disabled vets!

    “A measure that would have provided desperately needed monthly compensation to about 50,000 severely disabled war veterans was left out of the House’s defense spending in a blow to retired service members struggling to survive amid rising inflation.
    The House Rules Committee declined last week to advance the Maj. Richard Star amendment, which would make medically retired and severely disabled combat veterans with under 20 years of active service eligible for both disability and retirement benefits.”

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/disabled-war-vets-are-desperate-measure-increase-monthly-benefits-lawm-rcna38294

  55. 55.

    Immanentize

    August 1, 2022 at 12:33 pm

    @Ruckus: Agree.

  56. 56.

    Layer8Problem

    August 1, 2022 at 12:34 pm

    @Another Scott:  He gave.  An interview.  To Cracked.  Saying that.

    I don’t even.  Can’t even.  We’re living in a bad dystopian story.

  57. 57.

    Immanentize

    August 1, 2022 at 12:34 pm

    @Geminid: Maybe Scott Brown’s old pick up is available?

  58. 58.

    piratedan

    August 1, 2022 at 12:34 pm

    @Ladyraxterinok: Kelly is already running ads showing vet support and a certain reasonableness in trying to work for Arizona, and those ads are effective imho.

     

    the GOP side are still trying to Link Kelly as being “soft” on vets and on voting with “egad!” Democrats.  They still are selling fear here in the desert as if building a wall and selling obstructionism until said wall is built.

    not sure that he’s in THAT much trouble here, in AZ the GOP has embraced full wingnut and anyone who runs other than that is SOL amongst the “faithful”.

  59. 59.

    MisterForkbeard

    August 1, 2022 at 12:35 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:That’s how abusers work, right? If you get angry, you hurt whoever you can. Your wife, your kids… veterans.

  60. 60.

    Ixnay

    August 1, 2022 at 12:39 pm

    @Kent: is brand a euphemism for knob?

  61. 61.

    Eric S.

    August 1, 2022 at 12:41 pm

    @SFAW: Did you order the Code Red?

  62. 62.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 12:45 pm

    @Immanentize: Scott Brown may be saving that pickup for 2024. I think he wants a rematch with Elizabeth Warren. Then he can lend it to Younkin.

    Brown’s kept a low profile since he moved back to the Bay State, visiting some county Republican barbecue events and endorsing select candidates. But I bet he has another run for office on his mind.

  63. 63.

    trollhattan

    August 1, 2022 at 12:52 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Please, please, please let the Dem nominee not be that piece of jerky with good hair, Crist. The try-same-thing-expect-different-result insanity definition looms large.

  64. 64.

    trollhattan

    August 1, 2022 at 12:54 pm

    @Geminid: Scotty Hot Pants, rested and ready.

    Does that dude really have second act potential?

  65. 65.

    Immanentize

    August 1, 2022 at 12:54 pm

    @Geminid: I don’t think so, at least not in MA. He took on the Deanship of New England Law and was quickly fired? Quit? Then there is the matter of him running in NH. Massholes will never forgive that.

  66. 66.

    Josie

    August 1, 2022 at 12:57 pm

    I called Cornyn and Cruz both and shamed them for voting against health care for veterans. I doubt it will do any good, but I have decided to call them every time they vote wrong, just to let them know I am out here, hating them (politely, of course).

  67. 67.

    Baud

    August 1, 2022 at 12:57 pm

    @Josie:

    👍

  68. 68.

    Jackie

    August 1, 2022 at 12:58 pm

    @Ruckus: ♥️

  69. 69.

    Frankensteinbeck

    August 1, 2022 at 1:04 pm

    @Paul in KY:

    Either that or he’s been asleep for the past 7 years.

    Stewart is obsessed with comity and has a subtle but strong racist streak.  He loves to both-sides things, and is good friends with O’Reilly, because hey, O’Reilly might be happy to see Stewart thrown into a gas chamber, but he’s polite about it!

    I will never, ever forgive Stewart for using his interview with Obama to harangue Obama about not bringing ‘change’, defined as an end to partisanship, to Washington.  It is always the first thing I think of when I read his name.

    @Josie:

    I doubt it will do any good

    Did you see Cruz on video fistbumping his fellow Republican senators in celebration of blocking the bill?  Christ, what an asshole.  I hope that video comes back to haunt him.

  70. 70.

    Eunicecycle

    August 1, 2022 at 1:10 pm

    @satby: I wonder if that would have happened without Stewart calling out the bullshit. I saw many MSM reporters unquestioningly repeating Cruz’s ” slush fund” crap. But Stewart seemed to make them actually look at the 2 bills and see they were identical, except for some wording about taxes.

  71. 71.

    Cameron

    August 1, 2022 at 1:13 pm

    @SFAW: I learned all I needed to know about him a couple years ago when I read that he plagiarized….Jonah Goldberg.  Ever since, I have referred to him as “Fauxy Pantload.”

  72. 72.

    RedDirtGirl

    August 1, 2022 at 1:19 pm

    @Layer8Problem: We should remind everyone about that in response to every pithy tweet he sends out.

  73. 73.

    FelonyGovt

    August 1, 2022 at 1:22 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I know next to nothing about Florida, but maybe Crist, if he wins the primary, can be the soothing, “we know him”, Joe Biden type that could take down DeSatan?

  74. 74.

    Layer8Problem

    August 1, 2022 at 1:25 pm

    @RedDirtGirl:

    . . . they didn’t calculate that I have no moral center . . .

    “Sure I kicked a disabled veteran, and got people lined up behind me to put the boot in too, but the important thing is we won.”

  75. 75.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 1:30 pm

    @Immanentize: I think Brown’s gonna try. He may think he can put together the voters that elected Charlie Baker Governor. And he may believe that Elizabeth Warren is not that popular now in Massachusetts, and that her 3rd place finish in the Presidential primary shows this.

    I think Brown will get the Republican nomination if he wants it. We’ll find out if he’ll make a run not long after the midterms I guess.

     

    @trollhattan:

  76. 76.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 1, 2022 at 1:30 pm

    @Baud:

    I am not used to the cruelty,’ comedian Jon Stewart

    Mr Stewart, there’s a call for you from Adam Serwer, he’s been on hold since 2017

  77. 77.

    oatler

    August 1, 2022 at 1:34 pm

    @Ken: I remember Pratchett’s quote which I think I got from a BJer:

    “It only takes one good excuse to open the door for a hundred bad ones.”

  78. 78.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 1:44 pm

    @FelonyGovt: That’s definitely the pitch. If the primary polls are accurate, we’ll get to test that theory. My concern is we already tested it in 2014 when Crist ran against then-governor Nosferatu (Rick Scott!), but that was in the Before Times, so who knows.

  79. 79.

    sdhays

    August 1, 2022 at 1:44 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I’m curious how the teacher crisis will affect the race. Isn’t is a 9k teacher shortage for the coming school year in Florida? Ruining the public schools in dramatic fashion has blown up in the face of many red state Republican governors, even fairly recently.

  80. 80.

    Leto

    August 1, 2022 at 1:46 pm

    @Ruckus: after the VA refused to cover my motorcycle accident as part of the reason I retired, I had little reason to believe they’ll cover anything brought up by my burn pit exposure. I have 5 pages of documentation in my VA med records that were recorded by the Public Health team that came out to my FOB in Iraq. They were there for a week, took every type of sample imaginable, and I’ve read that report. The shit I apparently was exposed to? I’ll probably see something if I make it to 80, you know, 34 years from now. It’ll be like my uncles and their Agent Orange exposure. Finally recognized after it’s long debilitated them and taken everything out of them. Then? Here’s $20, and thank you for your service.

  81. 81.

    Jager

    August 1, 2022 at 1:50 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’ve been getting ads from DeSantis’ campaign on a couple of sites (one a sailing site, I’ve been a member of for years) I’ve watched a few, what I see is a dumpy, middle-aged guy with a puffy face. He’s got a weak voice. He looks like, ah I dunno, shit. I’ve seen news clips of him when he comes off like a prick with a big chip on his shoulder, and he seems to have a really nasty temper. Even in those moments, he looks like if somebody grabbed him by the tie, he’d shit his pants…what the hell is his appeal? He sure doesn’t come off as a tough, smart leader. People keep saying he’s trump with brains…

  82. 82.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 1:51 pm

    @sdhays: DeSantis is taking pretty drastic measures to cover up that shortage, including giving people without a bachelor’s degree a teaching certificate if they are a veteran or spouse of a veteran, so I’ve got to think he sees that as a vulnerability.

    I’ve said I would never leave Florida thousands of times, and I don’t intend to, ever. But if my child were still a minor, I’d have to consider it just because of the ongoing destruction of Florida public schools. It will definitely not end well.

  83. 83.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 1:52 pm

    @Jager: I think DeSantis’s main advantage over trump is that he’s not as lazy.

  84. 84.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 1:54 pm

    @Jager: He’s horrible in every way, as is Trump, but like Trump, he sticks it to the people the Republican base hates. That’s all it takes, apparently.

  85. 85.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 1, 2022 at 1:55 pm

    @Jager: Republicans look at a flabby, trust-fund-baby game show host who wears make-up and does his hair in a rococo combover that would confuse an eighteenth century Parisian courtesan, and cheats at golf, and they see Rambo

  86. 86.

    sdhays

    August 1, 2022 at 1:59 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Oh, yeah. My kid is 3 so not in the school system yet, but schools are a top ten reason we would never even think of moving to a red state/conservative purple state. We have some friends who are moving back to their home town in the plains because they can’t buy housing out here and they can be close to family, but damn, I couldn’t do it if it were me.

    I really wonder if “state schools chock full of completely unqualified teachers” is really a better way to go into an election, but I guess if you don’t really believe teaching is a difficult or valuable profession in the first place, it makes sense to just “cut all that red tape”. What could go wrong?

  87. 87.

    Josie

    August 1, 2022 at 2:00 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Thank you. I’ve never seen the dichotomy that is Trump stated in a more succinct way.

  88. 88.

    different-church-lady

    August 1, 2022 at 2:00 pm

    @Jager:

    he comes off like a prick with a big chip on his shoulder

    You say that like it’s a bad thing.

  89. 89.

    FelonyGovt

    August 1, 2022 at 2:01 pm

    @Leto: That is horrid. I wasn’t aware of your issues with the VA and I’m appalled to hear you were exposed to burn pits. Infuriating does not even begin to describe it. It’s wanton, criminal…

  90. 90.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 2:02 pm

    @Geminid: True — DeSantis is far more disciplined than Trump, and he’s a lot smarter, so instead of dimly sensing opportunities to line his pockets, DeSantis sees both the grift opportunities and the structural advantages he can leverage to perpetuate power. Trump never gave a shit about the Republican Party except as a vehicle to attract money and adulation. DeSantis is a crook and a true believer.

  91. 91.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 2:05 pm

    @Betty Cracker: DeSantis also is an alternative to trump. Republican elites want to put the Orange Churl in the rearview mirror. They think he’s a drag on the party now.

  92. 92.

    eachother

    August 1, 2022 at 2:12 pm

    Called Risch and Crapo.
    Crapo’s office said he voted against veterans because of budget concerns. Budget concerns he made not a peep about on the front end. I suggested Exxon and the oily others could help the vets with some of those ill gotten profits.  The senator will not support our soldiers and gives as pathetic an excuse as possible for his reason.
    Even harder in the head is Risch. And the hollows are filled with rocks.

  93. 93.

    Betty Cracker

    August 1, 2022 at 2:14 pm

    @sdhays: DeSantis and cronies are ruining education at every level in Florida, and now zealots in his fan club are running for public hospital boards so crackpots can get access to horse de-wormer, etc., in public health emergencies. They call it “medical choice.”

  94. 94.

    Lesnev

    August 1, 2022 at 2:14 pm

    I have questions. Was there an extra $400b tacked on by the house? What was it for?

    I’ve looked on-line but there are no real explanations and no dems that are saying it wasn’t added in.

  95. 95.

    Cameron

    August 1, 2022 at 2:18 pm

    @Betty Cracker: He’s also pushing charter schools extra hard, and I don’t think that’s unrelated to his putting the blocks to public education.  Keep your eyes peeled for a Bain Capital Charter School opening in your neighborhood.

  96. 96.

    Bokonon

    August 1, 2022 at 2:19 pm

    The sad thing is … the GOP is calculating, and they think they can get away with this without too much fallout or election accountability.  And they are probably right.  Punishing the Democrats for voting on their own bills is more important than short-term bad publicity.

    And that’s because they ONLY CARE WHAT THEIR BASE THINKS.  And their base will be told by right-wing media that this is all the fault of the Democrats.

    Remember … these are the same guys who shut down the government multiple times under President Obama, and got a significant part of the public to blame OBAMA for the hostage-taking.

  97. 97.

    satby

    August 1, 2022 at 2:30 pm

    @Lesnev: no. At some point between the House and the Senate $400b for the program was moved from discretionary (needing to be allocated every budget year) to mandatory (must be included, like SS). However, that change passed through committee and was previously voted on with 84 Rs voting for, but wording around a tax issue had to be reconciled with the House version. There was another vote for cloture so they could vote again on this now final version, and several Rs switched their votes to no in apparent anger at the deal between Manchin and Schumer on the reconciliation bill. Which has been clearly explained in several media reports that aren’t stenographing the Republican talking points.

  98. 98.

    Cameron

    August 1, 2022 at 2:37 pm

    New legislation on charter schools in Florida: https://dianeravitch.net/2022/08/01/florida-legislature-makes-it-easier-for-charters-to-open/

  99. 99.

    SteverinoCT

    August 1, 2022 at 2:59 pm

    @Lesnev:

    I have questions. Was there an extra $400b tacked on by the house? What was it for?

    I’ve looked on-line but there are no real explanations and no dems that are saying it wasn’t added in.

    KDrum has an explainer:

    https://jabberwocking.com/who-exactly-is-sabotaging-the-pact-act/

  100. 100.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 3:00 pm

    @Bokonon: The question is, will these votes hurt Republican candidates in purple districts and states? They can win some contests with just their base, but in others they have to attract voters outside their base to win.

  101. 101.

    evodevo

    August 1, 2022 at 3:14 pm

    @Baud: ​
      YES.. i still get this infuriating shit from my retired mil BIL, who never even served over there…knee jerk Repub all the way

  102. 102.

    Ruckus

    August 1, 2022 at 3:15 pm

    @Leto:

    Conservatives don’t value life. They value having measurable value – wealth.

    That’s one of the easiest sentences to write, true, short and to the point. That you served in a way that many avoided, that you suffered from that service in a way that never should have happened, that they think there should be no cost to them for what they do, what they want, what they want you do do – and pay for.

    Did you serve because you wanted to? Is the cost of a free country someone’s life, many someone’s lives? Often, yes it is. But why and why is it the relatively young who pay that price, either once and done or for a lifetime of cost? Why is warfare the only answer to the question? Why is warfare’s cost often caused by the side one is on? Humanity has existed for a very long time in human terms, why is the cost of being part of it so often death before it’s time and suffering? Can it be better or is it always going to be extremely costly to a relatively small segment? Why do conservatives want life to never change, to never get better? Why does conservative policy include that woman can’t have autonomy over their own bodies, that young have to die or suffer to pay for something, something, that actual equality is not good?

    I am sorry that you have and are suffering from the military. While this is not actually important I will remind you that when I was of the age of service, we had the draft, and that the rational of your selection to serve was completely hidden, replaced by a drawing by date of birth (I got 15th placing) for service which was determined you qualified for by a completely bullshit non physical. I joined during a time of warfare as well, for 4 yrs. I went where I was sent, did what I was told, and was extremely lucky that it wasn’t as bad as it could be. I’ve met a man through BJ who followed the same path and was sent to be a forward machine gunner on an RPB in Vietnam. I’ve met a man who served on a sister ship who is extremely lucky that one of the missiles they fired off went rogue and turned around and went between the stacks. It could have just as easily sunk the ship or have blown it up. None of us are free of the costs, some of us paid a lot higher price, and the cost to you is higher than the cost to me. I didn’t have a choice in that cost any more than you did. I am truly sorry that people have had to pay the costs that many, such as yourself, are paying. I think our world needs those debts to be recognized and while they can never make up 100% of the cost they should at the very least make the damn attempt. You and I both know that life isn’t fair and never will be. But it should recognize that there are costs and that those costs can not be paid totally out of proportion by just a few, they have to be shared.

  103. 103.

    Lesnev

    August 1, 2022 at 3:15 pm

    @satby:

    Thanks.

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    August 1, 2022 at 3:24 pm

    @Baud:

    Golly, he might have been using it as a rhetorical device. 🤔

  105. 105.

    Ruckus

    August 1, 2022 at 3:37 pm

    @Baud:

    I believe he’s talking about the level of the cruelty. And possibly the congratulatory BS that they were engaging in because they publicly were congratulating each other on fucking over vets for no actual gain to anyone and lying about why they did it.

  106. 106.

    Another Scott

    August 1, 2022 at 4:06 pm

    @Geminid: I thought Terry Mac did well, but the GQP managed to turn out lots of voters in the red areas of the state.  And too many people in blue areas were complacent.

    The fact that the whole ticket lost by pretty much the same margin tells me that it wasn’t mostly a Terry Mac problem.

    Northam being petty and vengeful against Herring hurt the ticket too, IMHO. Just about everyone in the party was hair-on-fire screaming about the blackface pictures. Pulling for the ticket is much more important than taking revenge about things like that months later. Especially when Herring was just about the best state AG in the entire country and the GQP opponent and current AG is a kook and a crank.

    :-(

    YMMV.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  107. 107.

    Kropacetic

    August 1, 2022 at 4:07 pm

    @Geminid: he may believe that Elizabeth Warren is not that popular now in Massachusetts, and that her 3rd place finish in the Presidential primary shows this.

    It was the trends of the primary season. Brown’s welcome to try but Warren won her last reelection with something like 67 percent of the vote and even some of the non-voters I know are animated to vote against Rs right now. Granted that seat isn’t up for two years.

  108. 108.

    James E Powell

    August 1, 2022 at 4:12 pm

    @Kent:

    If Democratic political consultants can’t make absolutely SAVAGE attack ads out of this fiasco to run this fall they need to be fired.

    We aren’t exactly known for that as a party, but we have candidates who are pretty good at it.

    Those ads need to be running now, while the matter is in the center of the news. By the fall, normies will be paying attention to whatever the Republicans told the news organizations to talk about.

  109. 109.

    Kropacetic

    August 1, 2022 at 4:27 pm

    @James E Powell: By the fall, normies will be paying attention to whatever the Republicans told the news organizations to talk about.

    Republicans better hope that by then we aren’t still on a run of good news. Can we keep it going for three months? We’ll see.

  110. 110.

    villiageidiocy

    August 1, 2022 at 4:31 pm

    @Leto: My dad is 85, 2 tours of Viet Nam, on his third cancer. Did a full 30 so he’s had good care – Tricare/VA/Medicare, but it’s going to kill him anyway. Shit keeps repeating itself – money for war, but not for soldiers. Soldiers are a tool a country uses, then discards when they break.

    Yeah, I’m cynical. Don’t get me started on the “Thank you for your service” that reflexively pops out of people. Words are cheap, but actions matter.

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    August 1, 2022 at 4:34 pm

    @Another Scott:   I know.  Mark Herring was a terrific Attorney General for Virginia.  Maybe he will be again, in the future.

    I felt so safe during his terms.  That I would have an advocate if I ever needed to contact his office.

  112. 112.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 4:47 pm

    @Kropacetic: I’m not saying Brown can beat Warren. Just that he may think he can and might try. He likes campaigning and he’ll gather up plenty of anti-Warren money.

  113. 113.

    Scout211

    August 1, 2022 at 4:48 pm

    Guy Refitt was was sentenced to 7 years today.

    CNN)A federal judge on Monday sentenced Guy Reffitt, who brought a gun to the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, riot and threatened House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to more than seven years in prison, the longest insurrection-related sentence to date.
    Reffitt, a recruiter for a right-wing militia known as the Three Percenters, was the first Capitol rioter to go to trial rather than take a plea agreement.
    “Mr. Reffitt’s reluctance to admit early that his behavior is illegal is concerning,” District Judge Dabney Friedrich said before handing down the 87-month sentence. “And I want to be very clear … under no legitimate definition of the term ‘patriot’ (does) Mr. Reffitt’s behavior on and around January 6 fit the term. It is the antithesis of the word.”

  114. 114.

    James E Powell

    August 1, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    @Kropacetic:

    Can we keep it going for three months? We’ll see.

    Three months?!? I’d be happy with three days.

  115. 115.

    catclub

    August 1, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    @Tony G: If you look at the iist of GOP senators voting against, the closest to competitive future senate re-election races are Ted Cruz and Rick Scott, with Toomey retiring.  All the rest probably have 60-40 races coming up.  So yes, why should they not think they are bullet proof?

  116. 116.

    Kent

    August 1, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    @sdhays: DeSantis is taking pretty drastic measures to cover up that shortage, including giving people without a bachelor’s degree a teaching certificate if they are a veteran or spouse of a veteran, so I’ve got to think he sees that as a vulnerability.

    I’ve said I would never leave Florida thousands of times, and I don’t intend to, ever. But if my child were still a minor, I’d have to consider it just because of the ongoing destruction of Florida public schools. It will definitely not end well.

    We left Texas and moved back to Washington for that exact reason

    Well not ONLY that reason, but it was a big one.

  117. 117.

    eachother

    August 1, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    @Ruckus: Many things well said Ruckus.
    If a soldier’s service is completed in full so should their healthcare be paid in full. If there is an agreement of service in exchange for healthcare it should not matter if the treatment is needed because of a military related cause. The military may deny responsibility but health treatment is not hostage to whim from any quarter.

  118. 118.

    Geminid

    August 1, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    @Another Scott: The article leaves out the fact that Jay Jones’s father Jerrauld Jones was a political ally of Northam’s  when the elder Jones was a powerful Delegate from Northam’s Senate district. The support of Jones and other Black Democratic leaders was instrumental in Northam’s primary win over Tom Perriello in 2017. The framing of Northam’s endorsement of Jay Jones as petty and vindictive overlooks this fact.

    And I still think McAuliffe ran a mediocre campaign. He didn’t have to run as good a one as Youngkin did to win, just a better one than he did. Like I say, my friends thought he was overconfident and so do I.

  119. 119.

    Kropacetic

    August 1, 2022 at 5:01 pm

    @Geminid: He likes campaigning and he’ll gather up plenty of anti-Warren money.

    That’s a big spending crowd. If I didn’t have scruples, I would run for office and say the right dumb shit to attract money.

    @James E Powell: Three months?!? I’d be happy with three days.

    I include the weekend because nothing specifically happened to undermine last week’s good news, but last week’s bad news may be undone by public furor.

  120. 120.

    NotMax

    August 1, 2022 at 5:40 pm

    @Betty Cracker

    I’ve said I would never leave Florida thousands of times, and I don’t intend to, ever.

    DeSantis (rubs palms together, snickers malevolently): “Hm. Sounds to me like a challenge from that Cracker broad.”

    //

  121. 121.

    Kropacetic

    August 1, 2022 at 5:44 pm

    @NotMax: Do you mean to suggest DeSantis needs motivation to act like a shithead?

  122. 122.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 1, 2022 at 5:52 pm

    The Washington Post @washingtonpost 10m

    Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who played key role in 9/11 attacks, is killed in U.S. operation, officials say

    Biden is going to go on TeeVee tonight to talk about this

  123. 123.

    Chief Oshkosh

    August 1, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    @Ruckus: And there is NOTHING special about the funding provisions in this bill. Funding has to be either discretionary or mandated. The sponsors went with mandatory – and yes, it was in the original bill that those 25 Republicans voted “yea” on. It’s in TWO different places. Now I’m sure that every Republican would want to amend every Democratic initiative be funded by discretionary means (if at all), so that they can just stop funding next time they hold the gavel. So, Toomey proposes that amendment and he gets appropriately ignored. Tough shit, asshole. But it’s not like House Democrats added in a “mandatory funding” clause and then sent it back to the Senate.

    Bottom line: No surprise, the Republicans are lying about a nothing-burger to justify their assholery. But to the point of adding billions to the debt, mmm, not really. There is a potential for that, but guess what? Just as Tester said from the floor, any time the Congress feels that budgeting gets out of whack, they can, believe it or not, change the law! It’s regular Senate business!

    Another aspect of this? This is not hard to explain. Heck, finding the words “discretionary” and “Mandatories” in the original bill is not hard. I did it today over lunch. But, it’s beyond our Media Betters to make a simple story simple.

  124. 124.

    Ruckus

    August 1, 2022 at 6:51 pm

    @eachother:

    I’ve been thinking about your comment for a while. I have issues.

    First, a persons service may not be the length of time that was stated at the start, for many reasons. The only reason that I would agree that allows them to not get treated by the VA is a dishonorable discharge, IOW they did something wrong. Any other discharge should be held that they did the time, be it the first day or the last day of their enlistment. For example I was given an early discharge. I never asked for it, nor did I expect it even when it happened. I will not lie about it, I was overjoyed. I did my duty and whatever was asked of me. I did it to the best of my ability and I ran a department on a US Navy vessel for a year, all the responsibility for none of the rank or pay.

    The US military does ask that you enlist for a set timeframe and you agree with that (unless drafted) and you expect to be there till your date of discharge. And yet, not everyone can manage every situation that they can be placed into, that is just humanity at work. But the thing to remember that a person signed up for a situation that they have about zero actual idea of what they will be doing, where they will be doing it, if they will survive and what condition they will be in when that time is up. It can be very dangerous, and not just being shot at or bombed. I was assigned to forward refueling on board a DDG. This ship was assigned to 3 NATO cruises. I’ve sailed above the Arctic Circle in winter, and helped refuel that ship on that cruise. That means being outside in dungarees and a wind breaker in quite a bit below freezing weather. Notice I didn’t say anything about foul weather gear of any kind. Because there wasn’t any. I’ve also been to Gitmo, spent 3 nights tied up to the dock there, in summer. Nice and balmy. My point is that I didn’t serve the 4 years I signed up for and it wasn’t my idea not to. You do not have any say in what you do or where you go, what is happening to and around you, you can be discharged whenever or be told to do anything, anytime and you have no choice.

    My point is that anyone who enlists or is drafted and does everything they are asked/told to do for as long as they are asked to do it and is discharged (because they didn’t die) deserves the minimal things that the US government agreed to before  you took the oath.

    The VA is not the military. It’s budget is separate, it is it’s own department of the US government. It has ex military as it’s cliental, but that is it’s only actual connection to the military. There are no sirs, I am equal to everyone else at the VA, and they are equal to me. There is no rank, no privilege, every one is a patient, with whatever needs that singular person has. I know people with out limbs, with needs that far exceed mine, we are still equals as patients.

    The things I was promised when I enlisted were I’d get paid shit monthly, if I did what I was told, I could collect minimal $ to help pay for school, and the VA. All I had to do in return was show up, do as I was told till I was discharged, all at the military’s discretion.

    Anyone that does that gets all the benefits.

  125. 125.

    Ruckus

    August 1, 2022 at 6:52 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    100000% agree.

  126. 126.

    Chief Oshkosh

    August 1, 2022 at 7:00 pm

    @satby: Hm. It’s not easy finding the actual text of previous versions of a Senate bill (well, I had trouble, anyway), but after spending some time looking, I thought I’d found it. Finding the text in the bill was easy, and it’s easy to understand. The version that the Senate voted on the first time did in fact have the mandatory funding mechanism. I don’t think the House added it – it was already in the version the House got. I think I got it right, but then, it could be that the version I thought was the original was actually an amended version.

  127. 127.

    Ruckus

    August 1, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    @villiageidiocy:

    I’m still stuck in this post so….

    Sorry about your dad. I’ve had cancer as well, don’t know if it’s anything to do with my time in, but the VA treated it successfully. I’m hoping it stays that way.

    I’ve had people tell me “Thank you for your service” and I always want to pop them one for that, because it always has seemed to be forced and the absolute minimum that they are willing to do.

    Also every time I’ve heard it, it sounds absolutely like “Fuck you dumbass.”

  128. 128.

    Tony G

    August 1, 2022 at 10:04 pm

    @Eolirin: I hope you’re right about that!

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