• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

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

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Fight them, without becoming them!

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread

Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  August 2, 20224:36 pm| 196 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics

FacebookTweetEmail

I had a root canal. I don’t recommend it.

In other news, CNN is reporting that the Defense Department wiped Trump officials’ phones:

(CNN) The Defense Department wiped the phones of top departing DOD and Army officials at the end of the Trump administration, deleting any texts from key witnesses to events surrounding the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, according to court filings.

The acknowledgment that the phones from the Pentagon officials had been wiped was first revealed in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit American Oversight brought against the Defense Department and the Army. The watchdog group is seeking January 6 records from former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, former chief of staff Kash Patel, and former Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, among other prominent Pentagon officials — having filed initial FOIA requests just a few days after the Capitol attack.

American Oversight, the watchdog group that asked for the records, is calling for a “cross-agency investigation” by the Department of Justice. Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe Garland is gonna need a bigger boat.

Open thread.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Don’t Pretend It Will Be All Right
Next Post: Great Souls Leave Long Shadows: Nichelle Nichols / Bill Russell »

Reader Interactions

196Comments

  1. 1.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 4:40 pm

    All I know is Phillies v Braves starts at 4:20 PST and that makes me snicker and giggle.

  2. 2.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 2, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    Assholes.  Prosecute the fuckers for obstruction and violating records retention laws.

  3. 3.

    Ten Bears

    August 2, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    Repurposed oil tanker … send them all to Russia. Might need two …

  4. 4.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 4:49 pm

    I’ve had two root canals, and by the time I got them I was in so much pain I would have let the dentist hit me with a baseball bat to knock me out.  Afterwards, no pain.

    Also got some good drugs in advance.

  5. 5.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 2, 2022 at 4:50 pm

    the Defense Department wiped Trump officials’ phones

    Why every single member of TFG’s administration, in any department, at any level, isn’t on trial for or serving serious time for treason and obstruction of justice is completely beyond me. Seriously, why aren’t these warts behind bars for the next several decades?

  6. 6.

    Almost Retired

    August 2, 2022 at 4:50 pm

    Biden just appointed a Monkey Pox Czar.  That would be the coolest title ever slapped onto a business card.  If I were Monkey Pox Czar, I would hand out my business cards to everyone!

    …ok….back to work….

  7. 7.

    geg6

    August 2, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    Root canals are nothing.  Try gum surgery.

  8. 8.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 4:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:   Absolutely.  Every place I have worked had strict retention policies that were reiterated every few months.

  9. 9.

    VOR

    August 2, 2022 at 4:53 pm

    As someone on Twitter pointed out, being corrupt was a job qualification for the TFG administration. They should have put yellow crime scene tape around the Oval Office and done forensic audits on everything TFG touched and everyone he appointed. Except, Global Pandemic which was admittedly a bit of an emergency

    ETA: And funny for a group who spent 2016 criticizing another candidates email retention policy.

  10. 10.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 4:54 pm

    Yeah, I think this is more evidence that the abortive “coup” was more widespread than we thought, or at least that there were a lot of high officials doing little or nothing and waiting to see how it turned out.

    Executive branch record retention has been a hot-button issue for decades, and for all of these agencies to suddenly be deleting stuff—around an event of critical historical importance—as part of “routine maintenance” or whatever is absolute bollocks. Garland is definitely going to need a bigger boat and another few hundred lawyers.

  11. 11.

    West of the Rockies

    August 2, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    Is there precedent for such a thing?  Is that what they did with the Obama administration phones?  If not, heads need to roll (or at least be imprisoned for long years).

  12. 12.

    Ken

    August 2, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    @Almost Retired: If I were Monkey Pox Czar, I would hand out my business cards to everyone!

    “And that card’s been saturated with the virus, as a form of job security.”

  13. 13.

    VOR

    August 2, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    @Almost Retired: Here’s a cool one: NASA has a Planetary Defense Officer. He runs the Planetary Defense Coordination Office and is in charge of preventing asteroids and other space objects from hitting Earth.

  14. 14.

    West of the Rockies

    August 2, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Stoners vs. Doobs would be a better 4:20 match-up.

  15. 15.

    MattF

    August 2, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    I inherited bad teeth from my mother, so I’ve had… I don’t know how many root canals, including two that were botched. Sigh. FWIW, a root canal specialist is an ‘endodontist’, and I finally found a really good one about twenty years ago. The irritating thing is that regular dentists all know who the really good ones are, but won’t tell. Worse, they will often go ahead and try to do root canals themselves.

  16. 16.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    In positive news: Look out, Republicans! You have awakened the colossus that is Dark Brandon! (Visuals at the link.)

    Dark Brandon meme hits the mainstream. Biden starts climbing in the polls.

    — Beau of The Fifth Column (@BeauTFC) August 2, 2022

  17. 17.

    cope

    August 2, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    I’ve never had a root canal.
    I hope to never have one,
    but I can tell you this:
    my wife has and they seem to really suck based on what she said.

    How aggravating that they filed their FOIA requests right after 1/6 and they’re just now seeing the light of day.  Those wheels do, indeed, grind slowly.

  18. 18.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    This is the same administration that alighted with boxes full of top secret material once the felonious fucker had been removed from the WH. It was a criminal conspiracy from day one, and there are plenty of folks in on it at the highest levels.​

    And John Stewart keeps telling the asshole just how of an asshole they actually are. First Ted Cruz and the GOP, now Jack Pobosiec.

  19. 19.

    Betty Cracker

    August 2, 2022 at 4:59 pm

    @Steeplejack: I was thinking the same thing. I have no idea what the penalties are for violating retention policies, but I hope they are extremely serious. You just can’t run a country like this.

  20. 20.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 5:01 pm

    @MattF:   I went to an endodontist recommended by my dentist.  No problems, and the guy’s waiting room was decorated like a western ski lodge.  Very relaxing.

  21. 21.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 5:02 pm

    @Steeplejack: I think Kash Patel was in up to his elbows in the Coup planning. Don’t know about Acting SecDef Miller, but he seems like someone who would blow with the wind. JCS Chairman Mark Milley seemed to have kept a close eye on him.

  22. 22.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 5:03 pm

    @Geminid:

    Wasn’t Miller the guy who refused to release the Guard?

  23. 23.

    Ken

    August 2, 2022 at 5:06 pm

    @VOR: NASA has a Planetary Defense Officer […] in charge of preventing asteroids and other space objects from hitting Earth.

    “What are you doing in preparation?”

    “Nothing. If it ever happens, no one will be around to complain I didn’t do my job.”

  24. 24.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 5:06 pm

    BREAKING: In response to Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan, Chinese officials have announced plans to visit Texas later this year.

  25. 25.

    Nicole

    August 2, 2022 at 5:07 pm

    Betty, I’m sorry; I hope they gave you good meds for pain after (I don’t know if root canals have pain after).

    My kid just got a palate expander put in.  I told him it wouldn’t be as bad as mine was, as I got mine at almost-17, when my plates had fused, and he’s 12 and his haven’t.  I don’t know if his experience with the expander is worse than mine was, but my experience with having to turn the crank on his expander is DEFINITELY worse than mine was because back then I was only having to hurt myself.  I hate doing it SO MUCH.  Sixteen days to go.

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 5:07 pm

    Alex Jones has taken the stand in his defamation trial! Live tweeting here.

  27. 27.

    Edmund Dantes

    August 2, 2022 at 5:07 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: cause it takes time to build an airtight case you may or may not bring to trial while statute of limitations continue to tick away.

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:07 pm

    It just never ends with these coupsters.

    Presumption of innocence?  No way.

  29. 29.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:08 pm

    @Baud:   Laughing.

    Incidentally, Nancy Smash had an op ed in the Post today: Why I’m leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan

    … We must stand by Taiwan, which is an island of resilience. Taiwan is a leader in governance: currently, in addressing the covid-19 pandemic and championing environmental conservation and climate action. It is a leader in peace, security and economic dynamism: with an entrepreneurial spirit, culture of innovation and technological prowess that are envies of the world.

    Yet, disturbingly, this vibrant, robust democracy — named one of the freest in the world by Freedom House and proudly led by a woman, President Tsai Ing-wen — is under threat.
    In recent years, Beijing has dramatically intensified tensions with Taiwan. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has ramped up patrols of bombers, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft near and even over Taiwan’s air defense zone, leading the U.S. Defense Department to conclude that China’s army is “likely preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force.”

    The PRC has also taken the fight into cyberspace, launching scores of attacks on Taiwan government agencies each day. At the same time, Beijing is squeezing Taiwan economically, pressuring global corporations to cut ties with the island, intimidating countries that cooperate with Taiwan, and clamping down on tourism from the PRC.

    In the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) accelerating aggression, our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that America stands with Taiwan, our democratic partner, as it defends itself and its freedom.

    …. Our visit is part of our broader trip to the Pacific — including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan — focused on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance. Our discussions with our Taiwanese partners will focus on reaffirming our support for the island and promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region. America’s solidarity with Taiwan is more important today than ever — not only to the 23 million people of the island but also to millions of others oppressed and menaced by the PRC.

    … We cannot stand by as the CCP proceeds to threaten Taiwan — and democracy itself.
    Indeed, we take this trip at a time when the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy. As Russia wages its premeditated, illegal war against Ukraine, killing thousands of innocents — even children — it is essential that America and our allies make clear that we never give in to autocrats.

    When I led a congressional delegation to Kyiv in April — the highest-level U.S. visit to the besieged nation — I conveyed to President Volodymyr Zelensky that we admired his people’s defense of democracy for Ukraine and for democracy worldwide.
    By traveling to Taiwan, we honor our commitment to democracy: reaffirming that the freedoms of Taiwan — and all democracies — must be respected.

  30. 30.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    August 2, 2022 at 5:08 pm

    @Steeplejack: Yep. There’s clear policy requiring retention of records, and they all clearly, intentionally obliterated those records. It’s pretty obvious they were covering up, and that they had a lot to cover up. When the Inspector General, the guy who’s supposed to find wrongdoing, is helping you cover up? It looks like a concerted plan to cover up wrongdoing on a massive, administration-wide scale.

    But maybe that’s just me. Maybe I’m a conspiracy monger.

  31. 31.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    That’s the saddest fucking thread ever.

  32. 32.

    Gin & Tonic

    August 2, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    I’ve had a root canal, and an extraction and implant (different tooth) and I can say the root canal was a piece of cake.

  33. 33.

    Mike in NC

    August 2, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    Yesterday Dana Milbank at the WaPo had an article entitled: “The latest Trump grift? Burying Ivana at their golf club.” Pretty amusing and the reader comments were fabulous.

  34. 34.

    Edmund Dantes

    August 2, 2022 at 5:10 pm

    @Baud: bwahahaha

     

    Also can we talk about how bizarre it is the media is trying to portray this as Nancy going rogue on Biden? There is no way she is going there without Biden team being fine with the optics of it.

    It’s such a weird nonsensical storyline you can see bandied about.

  35. 35.

    Ruckus

    August 2, 2022 at 5:10 pm

    @geg6:

    I have a number of root canals – I agree, NBD.

    I’m also having gum surgery because one of my root canals is having a hissy fit and there really is likely not enough of the tooth below the cap to fix and the most likely situation is a dental implant. Sounds like fun!

    Have I ever mentioned how much I like going to the dentist? No? That should tell you how much I’m enjoying this.

  36. 36.

    Chief Oshkosh

    August 2, 2022 at 5:11 pm

    @geg6: Yep. Had gum surgery in ’86. Every once in a while a shiver runs up my spine when the tip of my tongue passes over the affected area.

  37. 37.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 5:11 pm

    @Geminid:

    You gotta throw some side-eye at all of those guys that Trump promoted or job-shifted after the election on November 3. What’s the point in an outgoing administration? (Rhetorical question.)

  38. 38.

    Josie

    August 2, 2022 at 5:11 pm

    @Geminid: I was thinking the same thing about Patel, but I pictured him up to his eyebrows.

  39. 39.

    RobertB

    August 2, 2022 at 5:12 pm

    My endodontist is a firm believer in painless dentistry.  The first root canal I had, he gave me two shots, told me to let him know if the tip of my nose was tingling, and left.  Fifteen minutes later he came back, but there was no tingling.  He gave me another shot and left.  While he was gone my nose started to tingle and the entire right side of my face turned numb.  I didn’t feel a thing.

  40. 40.

    Scout211

    August 2, 2022 at 5:12 pm

    Last year I had a root canal that failed.  All that time with a rotor rooter in my mouth and the endodontist couldn’t reach the end of one the roots.  So a month later, I had the tooth extracted by an oral surgeon.  Now instead of #14 molar, I have a big space there.

    And as I live and breathe, no one will ever touch that #14 space again!

    The end.

    People, why are we so upset about so many government agencies wiping their phones and digitally cleaning servers for the days during and before an insurrection?

    I mean, Hillary used a private server!!!1!!111!!!! 

  41. 41.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 5:14 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I hope the jury delivers an extinction-level judgment against Jones.

  42. 42.

    JWR

    August 2, 2022 at 5:15 pm

    Is there any chance that some or any of these “missing” texts or voicemails were captured by that super-surveilled server in the WH?

  43. 43.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 2, 2022 at 5:16 pm

    @Steeplejack: Such are the times that people can’t even express support for Biden without framing him as a supervillain.

  44. 44.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 5:19 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: I don’t have the timeline on the National Guard straight. Last winter Cheryl Rofer linked to a very interesting piece by two writers for JustSecurity. They said that there may have been a reluctance to send the Guard because it could have come under Trump’s command. Ms. Rofer generally is cautious when she recommends articles so I think there is something to the JustSecurity piece.

  45. 45.

    Ruckus

    August 2, 2022 at 5:19 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    As you can see above I’m likely to need an implant on an old OK the last root canal I had, 11-12 yrs ago, so I’ve done the web thing and an implant sure looks/sounds like a hoot.

  46. 46.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 5:20 pm

    @Ruckus:   I got an implant about fourteen or fifteen years ago.  It was NBD, and it still chomps on.

  47. 47.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 2, 2022 at 5:20 pm

    @Elizabelle: Presumption of innocence is something that exists in the courts.  Ordinary people have no obligation to presume anything.

  48. 48.

    brendancalling

    August 2, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    You know what’s less fun than a root canal?
    Going to a festival Thursday-Sunday with your kid and lady friend, getting symptoms you associate with Lyme Saturday PM, and then finding out Monday that you got Covid.

    AND all this happens when you have to get a hitch put on your SUV for the trailer into which you’re loading your possessions for your Saturday move from Burlington VT to Philadelphia.

    Ask me how I know this. I dare you.

  49. 49.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 2, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    I’ve had two root canals, the result of a huge number of ancient fillings from the stone age of dentistry slowly failing. The second one was a molar that was capped with gold and it’s still fine.

    With the first one, a bicuspid, the remaining tooth under the crown was mostly below the gumline, and after about 10 years it started rotting away–I got it replaced with an implant. That took a lot of time and effort but it’s still in good shape.

    In a couple of weeks I have to go back and get a crown put on a third tooth with a failing filling, but for that one the root isn’t infected, apparently.

  50. 50.

    Citizen Alan

    August 2, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    @VOR:  This! It was the end of the world–literally the worst thing that had ever happened in the history of American politics–when Hillary Clinton stored sensitive emails on a private server that was MORE SECURE than the State Department’s server. But no one gives a shit when god knows how many traitorous swine flat-out delete evidence of an attempted coup!

  51. 51.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    People keep wanting Dems to act more like Republicans.  So supervillain it is.

  52. 52.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    August 2, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    I had a root canal. I don’t recommend it.

    I’m in a hospital bed with an NG tube and I don’t recommend that either … unless you have a bowel obstruction. Then an NG tube is so great I’ve had 2 inserted in less than a week.

    God, I hope some of this Trump scum does time at least for the coverup if not for the original crimes. Everybody can understand that wiping all these phones is a clear signal they knew they had been committing crimes.

  53. 53.

    PAM Dirac

    August 2, 2022 at 5:23 pm

    @VOR:

     

    NASA has a Planetary Defense Officer

    Not to be confused with the Planetary Protection Officer who works to make sure mission to other bodies don’t contaminate the body with earth material.

  54. 54.

    eversor

    August 2, 2022 at 5:23 pm

    Obligatory root canal horror story.

    So way back when I was in the Navy I got a preventative filling.  The logic was I was going to be where there would be no dental or medical care for a while so anything that could crop up had to happen now.  I pitched a bit of a fit as I didn’t trust the dentist (Navy medical care is good, this prep shit on a ship not so much).   Didn’t go well as I was an E-5 arguing with an O-2.  So there I was getting a filling.

    Years later working in DC my mouth started to stink and face swelled up like a chipmunk that stashed a coconut.  Massive fever and went in to emergency dental.   Well turns out that jackass O-2 had fucked up and sealed cotton in the filling somehow.  Which had rotted.  Gone into the canals.  Infected my jawbone.  So now I’m here getting a root canal from a preventative filling.  You’d think this is over but it’s not.  Also I wasn’t properly medicated and the entire thing hurt like hell while I got mad all over again.

    So years later, as the canal had a post to hold up the crown, the damn tooth shatters after infecting my jaw again.  So I’m getting an emergency extraction with a hole drilled in my jaw to drain the puss from a guy who doesn’t take insurance.

    Had a few more root canals since then but that’s due to my fault.

    As for the phones “wiped” is not always “wiped”.   When I was at DoD we did a proper wipe and then we had a crusher.  Which smashed things and then ground them into dust, often it was burned as well (people get lazy and toss it into burn bags and the burn pit on a ship is a very real thing).  What I’m saying is, if that thing is out there and not in the grounded into dust form, they can get it.

    What’s shocking about the Trump group isn’t so much that they tried all this but that they were so stupid about it.  Cause just processing a phone to be “wiped” doesn’t do didlly shit.  You’d have to follow it up with a full crushing (Aliens “nuke it from orbit”) to be sure or short of that stripping the NAND Flash chips off it (not cheap) and turning those into toxic sand.  It can be done.  Though using the term “wiped” and not the term “destroyed” indicates this was all done the usual Trump way… half assed and by idiots.

    There’s also the catch that if they were texting their carriers have all that and if they were stupid enough to turn on iCloud, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, they probably backed up all their idiocy there to start with.  Also leaving out that didn’t these morons use personal phones to dodge the military?  Cause if so I’m in DC and the massive array of stingrays and all sorts of other crap means that this is all caught and logged anyways.  I’d guess they’d use “signal” and Onion Routing it, but that was a protocol and system developed by the damn Navy so I wouldn’t use it to dodge the DoD.

    I don’t think the Trumpers are dodging bullets because they were smart, they’ve fucked and failed at every level.  To use online jingo “this is a parade of fail and bad”.   But really Democrats won’t prosecute and the religious Christian 30% of this country will go to violent arms if something is done.

    But the reality is if they are saying “wiped” means the shit is recoverable and they are buying time and dodging.

  55. 55.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 5:24 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I think it’s hilarious, because they’re pwning the MAGAts two ways: by portraying Biden as a superhero who gets stuff done but also by leaning into the “Biden is evil” meme and cranking it up to 11. “Yeah, he is, and he’s coming after your worthless ass!” All done in an ironic, meme-saturated way that is the best of Twitter. And it’s Democrats on the attack! I’m all for it.

  56. 56.

    Wag

    August 2, 2022 at 5:25 pm

    @KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)):

    No, you’re not a conspiracy monger.  You’re exactly right.

  57. 57.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    August 2, 2022 at 5:26 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:  Thank you. I presume every one of these lying bastards is guilty as sin.

  58. 58.

    eversor

    August 2, 2022 at 5:28 pm

    @Scout211:

    There’s a massive argument against private servers.  It shouldn’t have been done, it was dumb, that other people did it was true, but it needs to stop.

  59. 59.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:28 pm

    @eversor:

    But really Democrats won’t prosecute and the religious Christian 30% of this country will go to violent arms if something is done.

    I see Democrats prosecuting, for sure.  You cannot let bad actions like this go.  I just hope there are stiff penalties, and for a lot of people in the chain.  It seems to have been a conspiracy.

    Further, if the religious Christians want to throw themselves into jail, have at it.  We can be the lions.

  60. 60.

    Wag

    August 2, 2022 at 5:29 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian:   Yikes.  I hope the obstruction receives itself quickly.

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:29 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian:   Hope you are feeling better, and home, soonest.

  62. 62.

    Jeffro

    August 2, 2022 at 5:30 pm

    These phone-wipings at DHS, DOD, etc…they all sound like the work of innocent people, don’t they?

    I think our snooze media should ask some GOP officials: “If this had been a Democratic administration and this kind of thing happened…even without a coup attempt…what would your response have been, Senator _____?”

  63. 63.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 5:30 pm

    @Steeplejack: Jeffrey Rosen seems to have done OK as Acting Attorney General. I don’t know how or why he got appointed. Maybe Bill Barr tricked Trump. Pat Cippolone may have had influence here.

    Miller’s appointment seems more suspicious. There really wasn’t any good reason to fire Esper, the Secretary of Defense. Patel and the Army Secretary probably were cooking up something and let Trump know that Esper was unlikely to go along.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    @Jeffro:

    “Nice try, liberal media, but if there’s a Democratic administration, there must have already been a successful coup.”

  65. 65.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    Dirty, dirty people with clean, clean phones.  But maybe not clean enough!  To see.

    And yes, the Trump Inspector Generals have to go.  It’s an important position, and the one at DHS, at the very least, seems corrupt.

  66. 66.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:34 pm

    @Geminid:   Could you find that JustSecurity link?  Sounds interesting.

  67. 67.

    RobertB

    August 2, 2022 at 5:35 pm

    @eversor: My neighbor in the barracks came in one day, looking like death.  Pale, cold sweats, just terrible.  His story was that he had to get a root canal, and the Army dentist used some kind of cut-rate treatment where they drill to the tooth’s pulp, and inject a drug to kill the nerve.  Then the dentist can just go in a day or two later and scrape the deadened nerve out of there.  So they start phase two of this procedure, and it turns out the nerve wasn’t dead.  He said it was excruciating pain, and out of reflex he bit down on the probe, driving it into his tooth. The next thing he remembered was him laying on a couch in the waiting room.

  68. 68.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 5:35 pm

    @Geminid:

    Jeffrey Rosen is an exception, because he was appointed to fill Bill Barr’s hastily vacated seat. We lucked out with him.

  69. 69.

    CarolPW

    August 2, 2022 at 5:37 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: Been there, done that (pretty recently). Hope they are giving you good drugs and resolution is quick.

  70. 70.

    Scout211

    August 2, 2022 at 5:39 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Here is their January 6 Clearing house.

    And a timeline document from the joint forces on the national guard involvement.

  71. 71.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:39 pm

    @Scout211:   Thank you!!

  72. 72.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 5:40 pm

    Harry Litman and Betsy Woodruff are currently on MSNBC pointing out this has all the hallmarks of a cover-up.

  73. 73.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I’ll be interested to see what Ari Melber makes of it at 6:00 (EDT) on MSNBC. He is pretty rigorous and lawyerly in his approach to this stuff.

  74. 74.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    I think we might see some blockbuster news this August.  And maybe even some more J6 hearings.

  75. 75.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    August 2, 2022 at 5:44 pm

    @Wag:

    @Elizabelle:

    Thanks for the kind words. I think it will probably need a little surgery, but they’re giving in another day or so to resolve without. The good news is I’m now in a hospital I trust, where I feel safe, and have a surgeon who is no stranger to my innards. Last week I was in an unfamiliar hospital which scared me to death. Not clean, understaffed, plagued with odd equipment failures and the surgeon on staff didn’t inspire confidence. When I felt well enough to walk out I left against medical advice. Never expected to do that, but even though I’m back in a hospital, it still feels like leaving was a smart move.

  76. 76.

    waspuppet

    August 2, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    I eagerly await the “It’s only a crime if you can prove it was bad stuff we deleted” defense. With the “Hmm sounds legit to me” Axios chime-ins.

  77. 77.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    @Scout211: ​ 

    Thanks

  78. 78.

    Ruckus

    August 2, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    @eversor:

    I had a tooth filled in boot camp by an enlisted dental tech. Best filling I’ve ever had, still good 50+ yrs later. I also had crowns removed, against my wishes by a dental school ensign. I do believe that this man should never cross paths with me, anytime anywhere, even now, over 1/2 a century later. When I walked back into the dental clinic to get things checked I was seen by the commander of the dental school who was almost as pissed off at that ensign as I was. Almost. My jaw swelled up so much that my face was almost twice it’s normal width. It was a bad job, done by a shit dentist, against my will – which is when I found out that even in the military if you don’t want a health care procedure they can’t do it to you.

  79. 79.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian:   Wow.  Glad you are in a better hospital situation. Keep us posted.

  80. 80.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian:   Good for you to discharge yourself AMA (against medical advice).  Sounds like you made the right choice.  Best wishes to you.

  81. 81.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    August 2, 2022 at 5:46 pm

    @geg6: jaw bone grafting after mt tooth was pulled was no picnic either

  82. 82.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    August 2, 2022 at 5:48 pm

    @CarolPW:  Yes, they are not stinting. Honestly, the drugs may be contributing to the problem.

  83. 83.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 5:48 pm

    @Elizabelle: The article was published December 21, 2021 by Just Security. The title is “Crisis of Command: the Pentagon, the President, and January 6,” and the authors are Ryan Goodman and Justin Hendrix.

    If I were feeling lucky I’d try to link. I’m not, but maybe someone else will.

  84. 84.

    brantl

    August 2, 2022 at 5:49 pm

    @VOR: Wait until you see all the scams Stumpy enabled regarding the pandemic.

  85. 85.

    CaseyL

    August 2, 2022 at 5:51 pm

    I think Trump & Co. were counting, really really counting, on some kind of counter-protest that could scale up to a full-scale battle of the streets.

    Under cover of that their Oath Keepers/3%-ers/Patriotic Front thugs could kill a few members of Congress.

    And at that point, the entire RW Wurlitzer would have filled the airwaves blaming “Antifa” for the murders, and calling on Trump to declare martial law.

    And he does.

    Betcha convos about that are what was on the wiped phones at SS, DHS, and DOD.

  86. 86.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 5:52 pm

    @Geminid:

    Link to article: Just Security, “Crisis of Command.”

  87. 87.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:52 pm

    Trump is a job creator after all.  All the attorneys and investigators who will spend years plus uncovering what he did during his ill-gotten administration.

    We will be so much better off if these weasels go to prison and get very stiff sentences and fines.  Cannot allow the well-connected and wealthy to crime away like this.

    Why we are hearing all the “Biden is too old!” shit.  Divert, divert, divert.

  88. 88.

    dm

    August 2, 2022 at 5:53 pm

    @Steeplejack: Had to google “Dark Brandon”.

    This was my favorite result: https://twitter.com/Teri__2/status/1554437950523318272

  89. 89.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:53 pm

    Thank you all so much for sharing the JustSecurity articles.  Much appreciated.

    And:  we (allegedly) have a lot of lurkers who are probably reviewing their content, too.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 5:54 pm

    @CaseyL:

    That makes the most sense to me.

    Maybe that’s why he wanted to go to the capital so badly.  Although he doesn’t seem the type to put himself in harm’s way.

  91. 91.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 5:54 pm

    @dm:   Actions speak louder than golf.

    Priceless.

  92. 92.

    Scout211

    August 2, 2022 at 5:55 pm

    duplicate link

    nevermind

  93. 93.

    CarolPW

    August 2, 2022 at 5:57 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: Opioids stop the gut contractions which is the main source of pain, so I was happy to have them. Took a week in the hospital to resolve mine. Doctor told me walking was the best thing I could to (to help my guts rearrange themselves, since they can’t do it on their own) so I did laps around the ward.

    The first time I had an obstruction they didn’t do anything for 8 hours (they told the surgeon when they finally called him in that “she didn’t look like she was enough pain” for it to be an obstruction. So I lost almost the entirety of my ilium. You do not want to go there, it is a major impact to your quality  of life.

  94. 94.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 2, 2022 at 5:58 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    All I know is Phillies v Braves starts at 4:20 PST and that makes me snicker and giggle. 

    Are you rooting for injuries?

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 2, 2022 at 5:59 pm

    @Baud:

    Although he doesn’t seem the type to put himself in harm’s way.

    “they aren’t here to hurt me”

  96. 96.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:00 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Oh right.   But the theory is that antifa was supposed to be there, which would provide the justification for martial law.

  97. 97.

    WhatsMyNym

    August 2, 2022 at 6:01 pm

    @Nicole: I grew up with a crossbite, wish I had been able to use a palate expander. No one ever suggested it, so I assume they were not being used back then. Crossbites can be awful, the problems just don’t really go away completely.

  98. 98.

    prostratedragon

    August 2, 2022 at 6:05 pm

    Sincere apologies about Apu, but the song fits these mopes:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy50nUYyTKM

  99. 99.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:05 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    “they aren’t here to hurt me”

    Yes indeed.

    Incidentally, I think TFG and children are up for more depositions, very soon.

  100. 100.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 2, 2022 at 6:07 pm

    @VOR:

    As someone on Twitter pointed out, being corrupt was a job qualification for the TFG administration. 

    Yup.  We saw that in 2017 (2016?) with all of the shitbags nominated for the shitstain’s Cabinet.  I mean, Jesus Fucking Himself.  Wow.

  101. 101.

    RaflW

    August 2, 2022 at 6:08 pm

    The depths of rot in the institutions of government is – even for a cynic like me – f***ng shocking. Multiple high level people from Trump’s Admin need to face RICO charges at the very least

    Also, the ho-hum, supine press that reported on the last minute promotions & installations of ‘acting’ this or that at DoD and other critical roles as if it wasn’t the obvious set of Riddler / Joker henchmen. Aaaarrrgghgh!

  102. 102.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 6:10 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Nope, just a Phils win.

  103. 103.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 6:11 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: trump is a trash magnet. Trash is attracted to him, and he’s attracted to trash.

  104. 104.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:11 pm

    Whatever happened to all those breathless media reports about Trump announcing for 2024?  Click bait?

  105. 105.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    August 2, 2022 at 6:12 pm

    @eclare:  Thanks. Sure hope my insurance doesn’t kick up a fuss. All this is bound to be costly.

  106. 106.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 6:14 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Eh, Melber is going with pre-planned topics. Maybe this story broke too late. There’s always Lawrence O’Donnell at 10:00 and Stephanie Ruhle at 11:00.

  107. 107.

    rorico2473

    August 2, 2022 at 6:16 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: ij

  108. 108.

    zhena gogolia

    August 2, 2022 at 6:17 pm

    @Baud:

    Remember, “They aren’t here to hurt me.”
    Perhaps the most memorable words of all the hearings.

  109. 109.

    Leto

    August 2, 2022 at 6:19 pm

    “Cover-up”: Trump-appointed DHS watchdog’s office told Secret Service to ignore Jan. 6 text request

    DHS inspector general Joseph Cuffari’s staff “may have taken steps to cover up the extent of missing records”

    Two top House Democrats on Monday accused the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general of a “cover-up” related to the deleted Jan. 6 Secret Service text messages.

    House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who also chairs the Jan. 6 Committee, and House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., cited evidence of a “cover-up” in a letter to Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, a controversial Trump appointee who has quashed Secret Service probes in the past.

    The lawmakers raised “grave concerns” over Cuffari’s “lack of transparency and independence,” citing reports that his office learned of the missing Secret Service texts in May 2021 but did not tell Congress.

    The letter also cited new evidence that Cuffari’s office “may have secretly abandoned efforts to collect text messages from the Secret Service more than a year ago,” indicating that the office “may have taken steps to cover up the extent of missing records.”

    Again, why do any Trumpov hired people have a fucking job at this point? Corrupt, to the core.

  110. 110.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:19 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    See my follow up at #95.

  111. 111.

    RaflW

    August 2, 2022 at 6:20 pm

    @Edmund Dantes: A notable slice of the press are just beside themselves that Biden is having a good couple of weeks.

  112. 112.

    zhena gogolia

    August 2, 2022 at 6:21 pm

    @Baud: You think he actually believed that?

  113. 113.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 2, 2022 at 6:22 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
     

    Assholes. Prosecute the fuckers for obstruction and violating records retention laws.

    Hell yes.

    Maybe Garland is gonna need a bigger boat Federal prison to put all these felons in.

    FTFY. At least, one can only hope. The late-stage Trump Administration is beginning to look like one huge criminal conspiracy.

  114. 114.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 2, 2022 at 6:22 pm

    Mother-In-Law has been extubated and is scheduled to leave ICU once they can find a bed in the regular hospital units.  My wife has a flight home for Thursday and I can’t wait!  It’s been really hard knowing she’s had to deal with all this shit by herself.  Her Dad is being slightly better behaved now but the bridges he’s burned aren’t gonna be rebuilt any time soon.  Now we can get back to hopefully planning our move for October or November.

  115. 115.

    prostratedragon

    August 2, 2022 at 6:23 pm

    I think Melber is about to do a segment on the holdover inspectors general. A couple of things occur to me, but I’ll watch the lawyers.

  116. 116.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:23 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Believed what? The theory assumes that there would be trouble from left wing counter protesters.  The theory says that’s why their plans fell apart, because the lefties didn’t show up.

  117. 117.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 6:23 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:   Great news!

  118. 118.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    August 2, 2022 at 6:25 pm

    @CarolPW:  Yikes, how awful. I’m so sorry you had such a bad experience. So far they are telling me there is no indication of dead or dying tissue. I’m hanging a lot of hope on those words. And the pain I have right now is just sore nose and throat related to the tube, so no drugs required atm.

  119. 119.

    RaflW

    August 2, 2022 at 6:27 pm

    Oh. @Rschooley asking what ever happened to Kash Patel’s legal offense fund that he was allegedly fundraising to sue for defamation.

    I’m tellin’ ya. It’s Racketeering all the way down.

  120. 120.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 2, 2022 at 6:27 pm

    @Elizabelle: Paul Campos is onto “Biden is old AND we need to dump Kamala Harris now because if Biden dies her poll numbers will be low!” It’s the kind of savvy that just kills you.

  121. 121.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:28 pm

    @Baud:  It’s incredible that Antifa and anti-Trump/pro-Biden protesters could read the room, monitor all the pro-Trump garbage out there in the runup to the insurrection, and decide to stay away, for sure, on the 6th.

    Whereas, the FBI and other agencies …???  Something does not add up.

  122. 122.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    It exudes weakness.

  123. 123.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:  Why I never check LGM any more. It’s no longer even an occasional habit.

    Will have to take your word for it.  Oh, and fuck Paul Campos.  Miserable creature.

  124. 124.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Same. I used to lurk there.

  125. 125.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    @RaflW:

    legal offense fund

    That’s a good one.

  126. 126.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    @Baud:   Who wants to wallow in despair?

    I am with Dark Brandon.

  127. 127.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:33 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I prefer to wallow in triumph!

  128. 128.

    Ken

    August 2, 2022 at 6:34 pm

    @Elizabelle: Incidentally, I think TFG and children are up for more depositions, very soon.

    Barring another sudden death in the family…

  129. 129.

    Ken

    August 2, 2022 at 6:34 pm

    @Elizabelle: Incidentally, I think TFG and children are up for more depositions, very soon.

    Barring another sudden death in the family…

  130. 130.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:34 pm

    @Baud:   Yes!

  131. 131.

    RaflW

    August 2, 2022 at 6:34 pm

    @Elizabelle: All credit to Rschooley.

  132. 132.

    Ohio Mom

    August 2, 2022 at 6:35 pm

    @geg6: I’ve had both, and gum surgery definitely has a longer and more involved recovery than root canal. The gum surgery was also significantly more expensive.

  133. 133.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 6:35 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    The late-stage Trump Administration is beginning to look like one huge criminal conspiracy.

    And like Stringer Bell, they destroyed the notes.

  134. 134.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 6:37 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:   And at least TFG used a burner.

  135. 135.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 6:37 pm

    @Elizabelle: There are some cool Dark Brandon memes out there. I like the one that shows him with a short beard, cornrows and an eyepatch.

  136. 136.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:38 pm

    @Geminid:

    Almost makes me want to join Twitter.

  137. 137.

    CarolPW

    August 2, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: That is very good news – when my gut stopped hurting during the most recent obstruction things resolved very quickly and I was home within 24 hrs.

  138. 138.

    Kathleen

    August 2, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    @eclare: I had to go to endodontist because the tooth requiring the root canal was under a crown. I had no problems at all before, during or after. I was very fortunate.

  139. 139.

    Cacti

    August 2, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    Yeah, I’m sure Garland is going to get right on that.

    After he finishes alphabetizing his sock drawer.

  140. 140.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    August 2, 2022 at 6:41 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: A Twitter author earlier posted a Pittsburgh- Philadelphia screen shot score saying it made the 15 year old in him laugh.  2 zeros between a P and a P.

  141. 141.

    Kathleen

    August 2, 2022 at 6:41 pm

    @Baud: Hopefully they’ll be here to monitor the elections down there.

  142. 142.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:42 pm

    @Ken:   Trump Jr. did sit for a deposition last week.  NY Times just says Trump and Ivanka are scheduled “later this month.”  Which could mean anything …

    Trump Faces Questions About His Net Worth in Interview He Tried to Avoid

    Long article in the FTF NY Times today.  Funniest item was from (successful!) opposing counsel in a fraud case. It’s always interesting to see the euphemisms people use in referring to him.

    … If past depositions are any guide, Mr. Trump will be likely to strike a combative tone with Ms. James’s lawyers while portraying himself as the unwitting victim of a vindictive legal opponent. He might also lob the occasional insult at his interviewers. (In a 2011 deposition, he called a female lawyer “disgusting” after she requested a break to pump breast milk for her daughter and displayed the pump to illustrate her point.)

    That apparent lack of discipline could work to Ms. James’s advantage, lawyers who have deposed him said. Mr. Trump thinks of himself as his own best advocate and might ignore advice from his attorneys to avoid directly answering questions.

    “He’s completely fearless in a deposition,” said Jason A. Forge, who represented the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Mr. Trump’s for-profit education venture, Trump University, and questioned him under oath. “He’s way more engaged than a normal witness, and you can tell he enjoys the challenge and revels in the verbal sparring,” said Mr. Forge, who predicted that there was “no way” he’ll refuse to answer questions.

    In short, he added, Mr. Trump was “the dream deponent.” The lawsuit ended in a settlement. [$25 million.]

    Dream deponent. Come on down.

  143. 143.

    (not actually a) Dr. Thouth Evans

    August 2, 2022 at 6:43 pm

    @eclare:

    The most annoying thing about *my* root canal was the way the dentist kept calling over other dentists to look at my tooth:

    “Hey, come look at this guys tooth! Isn’t that amazing? It’s like something out of a textbook!”

  144. 144.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 6:44 pm

    @Baud:

    You can browse. I don’t have a Twitter account. Dark Brandon with eye patch.

  145. 145.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Heh.

  146. 146.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 6:46 pm

    @Steeplejack:   Biden looks like the most interesting man in the world.

    Certainly one of the most competent.

  147. 147.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 6:47 pm

    @eclare:

    Yup.

    @Old Dan and Little Ann:

    Oh, I know, we wait for the Pittsburgh series to roll around every year so we can see that scorebox. Images get posted immediately, and we all giggle like 8-year-olds.

    P 0 0 P

  148. 148.

    prostratedragon

    August 2, 2022 at 6:47 pm

    @prostratedragon: ​ OK Ari, you got me.

  149. 149.

    Gravenstone

    August 2, 2022 at 6:49 pm

    @MattF: my first two root canals were done by my dentist at the time. Multi appointment affairs over a couple of weeks. Since then I’ve used an endodontist who knocks the whole thing out in under an hour and no issues. Much less of a fear inducing affair.

  150. 150.

    zhena gogolia

    August 2, 2022 at 6:53 pm

    @Baud: Oh, I guess I don’t think TFG ever believed that theory. Or Eastman’s.

  151. 151.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 6:54 pm

    @(not actually a) Dr. Thouth Evans:   That would make me extremely nervous, on top of nervousness about someone with a drill in my mouth.

  152. 152.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 6:55 pm

    Dark Brandon! It’s really taking off, and I am here for it.

    “Actions speak louder than golf.”

    “No more malarkey.”

  153. 153.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 6:55 pm

    @CaseyL:
    Yup.​ 

    And Sinema is gonna fuck the Dems again

  154. 154.

    FelonyGovt

    August 2, 2022 at 6:56 pm

    @geg6: Gum surgery is what’s up for me next. NOT looking forward.

  155. 155.

    trollhattan

    August 2, 2022 at 6:58 pm

    @Almost Retired: Spouse had a client who was the California Weed Czar, only that wasn’t his official title and I got no snickers from his bidnez card. Lost opportunity, sez me.

  156. 156.

    trollhattan

    August 2, 2022 at 7:01 pm

    @Elizabelle: Dream deponent. Come on down.

    Trump, singlehandedly, has nearly broken English as I once knew it.

  157. 157.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 7:04 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    She may well, but nothing in that tweet says anything about it one way or another.

  158. 158.

    Quiltingfool

    August 2, 2022 at 7:05 pm

    Today was primary day in Missouri.  I went to the polling place, displayed the appropriate cards and asked for the Democratic primary ballot.  The election lady asked, “Did you look at the ballot samples?”  I said, “No, pretty sure I can figure it out.”  She lowers her voice and says, “Well, several people have asked for the Republican ballot so they can vote for county offices…”. I told her I knew that, but still wanted the Democratic ballot.  What I didn’t say (because my mama raised me right) is that it would be a cold day in Hell before I voted for anyone with an R behind their name.

    I’m wanting Democrats to run for these county offices.  Now, they probably wouldn’t get elected, but I want the Republican primary winner to have to campaign until November.  I want them to run against a Democrat, not fellow travelers.  I want them to spend time justifying all the lovely (vomit) ideals of the Republican Party.  I want their campaigns to have to part with more coin.  And I’d really like to see just how many people in this county would actually vote for a Democrat.

    Having said that, no, I don’t want to run for county office.  I can be ill tempered in the best of times, I really don’t want to listen to stupid shit and act like I’m interested, and I despise meetings.  However, I’m more than willing to give money, show up to town halls, write postcards, etc.

    I went to Springfield afterwards and bought more blue and yellow fabric.  Which was great.  Then, my husband calls me on his co-worker’s phone, told me he lost his phone (I think in a hole, whereupon it got buried) and asked me to buy him a new phone.  I did.  That was not as fun as fabric shopping.

  159. 159.

    Bill Arnold

    August 2, 2022 at 7:07 pm

    Re the top post, the only person with executive authority over both the DoD and the DHS is the POTUS, if I’m reading the org chart correctly.
    I will now presume that there is a strong possibility that that POTUS Trump ordered the destruction of evidence of his leadership of insurrection before he left office. (Orders issued to Trump cultists.)
    And that he should be required to prove his innocence, since he is a lying liar who provably lies, a lot.
    This will be fun. I may be playing a bit with a (moderately) securely anonymous twitter account.

  160. 160.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 7:09 pm

    @Quiltingfool:   Hahaha…

  161. 161.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:10 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: Omg. Bowel obstruction. My son had a herniated small intestine that went emergent in March. That nose sucker was such a damn relief for him.

    Stay strong.

  162. 162.

    RaflW

    August 2, 2022 at 7:12 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Two trips to the Republican cloakroom. She’s learned a thing or two from those used car sales guys who have to “go into the managers office” each time the price is close to agreement, but needs punching up a bit.

    It is completely insane (and enraging) that even this limited potential progress on our baking, borked climate hinges on one and then another utterly self-absorbed Dem.

  163. 163.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    @Steeplejack: me too I LURV Dark Brandon. Even the name is trolling, plus, evil speck.

  164. 164.

    Ohio Mom

    August 2, 2022 at 7:16 pm

    @Elizabelle: Is there a backstory to “Antifa” not showing up on January 6th? Was that actually something someone decided against (Nope, let’s not counter-protest, just not feeling it) or was it something Trump and the insurrectionists just hoped for so badly that they convinced themselves it would happen?

  165. 165.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:17 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I was pondering the value of community shaming just this afternoon. I don’t mean doxxing to get people killed. But I do not think it would be a bad thing — in fact the opposite! — to name each person who bricked their phone after Jan 6.

    That is the sloppy criminal part — it is not everyone. No, it is a select few critical players in the Trump Junta. Publish their names so they may suffer like Alan Dershowitz!

  166. 166.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 7:22 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    I think word was going around on social media for antifa and “the left” not to show up, because it would be used as a provocation by the Trumpistas. I think everybody thought there was tremendous potential for bad stuff to happen that day—everybody but the FBI and the police, apparently.

  167. 167.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:23 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: Not a joke Q at all — are they waiting for you to pass gas? Farting can solve all bowel ills, it seems

  168. 168.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 2, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    @RaflW:

    It is completely insane (and enraging) that even this limited potential progress on our baking, borked climate hinges on one and then another utterly self-absorbed Dem.

    Indeed.

  169. 169.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian:
    Reading these reports is giving me fatherly flashbacks. You know your body! Don’t let them do what you cannot abide. And yes, pain meds can complicate the picture.

    Good luck and please keep us informed?

  170. 170.

    dww44

    August 2, 2022 at 7:27 pm

    @eclare: I had my third one a few months ago and kept having to have another shot for pain as it was In the far upper jaw next to a wisdom tooth I didn’t  know I had.  But it was true for me that the canal itself was a welcome relief.

  171. 171.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:31 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: Campos hates women in power. Known fact.

    That I am sharing as unsubstantiated observation. But true.

  172. 172.

    eclare

    August 2, 2022 at 7:31 pm

    @dww44:   I have never had a baby, but tooth pain is the absolute worst.

  173. 173.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 7:33 pm

    @Quiltingfool: I remember reading a biography of Harry Truman with a funny story about his aunt. A friend told the aunt about an acquaintance who had traveled to another town and encountered an actual Republican

    “She’d never met a Republican before!” the friend said.

    “Didn’t miss much,” Truman’s aunt responded.

  174. 174.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:33 pm

    @Steeplejack: That one is my favorite so far. I have a great idea for one, but I’m not so good at photo shop….

  175. 175.

    Scout211

    August 2, 2022 at 7:36 pm

    @Ohio Mom:
    DC leaders told counter-protesters to stay home.

    Several regional officials are asking people to avoid going to downtown D.C. to counterprotest demonstrations held in support of President Donald Trump this week.

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the District was working to maintain safety during the protests, but requested that those not attending the protests avoid the area.

    “I am asking Washingtonians and those who live in the region to stay out of the downtown area on Tuesday and Wednesday and not to engage with demonstrators who come to our city seeking confrontation, and we will do what we must to ensure all who attend remain peaceful,” Bowser said in a statement.

    In Virginia, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair-At-Large Phyllis Randall was the first local leader to ask other local elected officials to discourage constituents from going to D.C. to counterprotest during Wednesday rallies in support of President Donald Trump.

  176. 176.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:38 pm

    @eclare: I’ve had a few root canals, but nothing compares to the pain of not being invited to speak at the library on Martha’s Vineyard.

    I seem to have poor timing these days, I have become a maestro of dead threads…

  177. 177.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    August 2, 2022 at 7:43 pm

    @Immanentize:  Thanks for your good wishes. I remember your family situation this spring and happy it turned out ok.

    As for gas, I’ve been passing some all along. They are going to want something more, umm, “substantial” moving from top to bottom before I can get out. Best guess is this is related to scar tissue from work done in there a long time ago. And, in my not-a-doctor opinion, tomato seeds. The tube has been sucking out millions of them.

    More images to be done at dark-thirty tomorrow, hopefully will show some movement/improvement.

    I will comment again tomorrow if I can.

  178. 178.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 7:44 pm

    @Ohio Mom: I saw a spirited debate about this on the twitter account of Molly Conger (@Socialist Dog Mom). Some people argued that they had a duty to confront fascists whenever they showed up on the streets. Others argued, not this time. In the event, some antifa people showed up but they were away from the trump rally, near Laffayette Circle, and DC police kept them walled off from the events nearer the Capitol.

    In her role as reporter, Ms. Conger and her Richmond sidekick Goad Gatsby set up a block or two from the capitol but stayed out of the crowd’s way. Conger live tweeted events for a few hours, but when she saw buses pull up and security forces in riot gear piling out of them she and Mr. Gatsby skedaddled.

  179. 179.

    Scout211

    August 2, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    Senate passed the burn pit bill.

    CNN)The Senate voted Tuesday night to pass a long-sought bipartisan legislation to expand health care benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The final vote was 86-11.

  180. 180.

    Baud

    August 2, 2022 at 7:48 pm

    @Scout211:

    👍

  181. 181.

    Elizabelle

    August 2, 2022 at 7:48 pm

    @Scout211:  In retrospect, it must have been terrifying to be a local official and see what was coming down the pipeline.  DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.  Etc.

  182. 182.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian:

    Fucking adhesions! Yes yes yes.

  183. 183.

    Bill Arnold

    August 2, 2022 at 7:52 pm

    @eversor:

    It shouldn’t have been done, it was dumb, that other people did it was true, but it needs to stop.

    The State Department unclassified email servers were penetrated and probably monitoried by the Russians the entire time that Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. The NYTimes even reported this, like paragraph 12/13 of a piece about how very bad bad bad she was.

  184. 184.

    Immanentize

    August 2, 2022 at 7:52 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: seeds may be diverticulosis off shoot. Actually, as I understand, not actually a worry but now in the “old wives’ tale” section of medicine. Please do not ask for details….

  185. 185.

    Ben Cisco

    August 2, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: Campos can kiss the entirety of my ass.

  186. 186.

    Nicole

    August 2, 2022 at 8:12 pm

    @WhatsMyNym:

    I grew up with a crossbite, wish I had been able to use a palate expander. No one ever suggested it, so I assume they were not being used back then.

    I also think dentists are more likely now to recommend orthodontics for more minor issues.  My pediatric dentist never said anything about needing braces; it was me feeling self-conscious as a teenager about my teeth and asking about braces (well, that and, unfortunately, my SS survivor benefits from my deceased mom making it financially possible for me, which it would not have been when I was younger).  I think the only kids I knew who had braces growing up were ones who had really serious issues (headgear!  Remember headgear?  You don’t see that on kids anymore, I don’t think).  I’m glad I did it; I have had far fewer dental issues as an adult than my brother, who has a likewise crowded mouth but no braces.  In fact, getting my wisdom teeth out, and one round of sealants to stop a cavity from forming have been about it for me so far.

    My poor kid will have more issues.  He’s got an impacted canine lying flat along the top of his mouth that they are hoping will come in on its own after space is created.  If it doesn’t, surgery will likely have to be done to lure it down into place.

    But turning the crank tonight was not terrible.  Fifteen times left!

  187. 187.

    Ksmiami

    August 2, 2022 at 8:14 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Sinema needs to be tossed on her ass.

  188. 188.

    Geminid

    August 2, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    @Ksmiami: It looks like Ruben Gallego is ready to do the job. He’ll be reticent until after Mark Kelly and Katie Hobbs have their elections though.

  189. 189.

    The Lodger

    August 2, 2022 at 8:27 pm

    @Scout211: So Antifa didn’t show up simply because the mayor and other local officials asked them not to? That’s a lot of people making independent decisions to stay away from a situation, even considering that they would be obvious scapegoats for both cops and right-wingers.

  190. 190.

    Jay

    August 2, 2022 at 8:34 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    a) there is no such group as “Antifa”, instead, there are disparate  community support groups ranging from the Raging Grannies, The Rainbow Clowns, Drag Queens Story Hour, the DERA Food Bank, to the Unhoused Health Care Collective, who don’t want Nazi’s in their communities and show up to counterprotest.

    b) there is a large online collective of digital activists who have penetrated the various Nazi groups, ( Proud Boys, 3%ers, etc) by    both hacking those groups “insecure communications”, ( Telegram, Signal, Discord, Parlour), monitor and publish to “The Community” what’s going on, along with doxxing there groups memberships, (Goat Gatsby, Gwen Snyder is Uncivil, etc).

    Word went out to The Communities in mid-November that the Reich Wing was planning and organizing for violent confrontations during the Inaugural, not just in DC, but at various State Capitals as well.

    In mid December, word went out that the Reich Wing would be armed, were planning to kill people, and were talking about a Coup.  Counter Protesters should not show up and various attempts were made to inform Law Enforcement, including a Signal dump of thousands of emails from the Insurrectionists to the FBI.

    ( Discord is “interesting”. It’s how gamers talk to team members during a game, and trash talk the other team. The Reich Wing forms a team, opens a game, doesn’t play, talks to each other in an unencrypted live chat, counting on millions of other gamers chatting on Discord to hide their communications. In theory, finding the chats, ( which are archived on Discord servers) would be like finding a needle in a haystack. On the other hand, Discord has lousy security, and if you ID one Nazi Gamer, you can find the rest of the team through their chats and handles, then branch out to see who the rest of the team is talking to. From there, you can use a bunch of different techniques from personal asides, to IP addresses, to Doxx the Nazis).

  191. 191.

    Bill Arnold

    August 2, 2022 at 8:37 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    Is there a backstory to “Antifa” not showing up on January 6th? Was that actually something someone decided against

    ETA @Scout211: has more details, interesting.
    ETA and Jay comments with an interesting answer too.
    Word was that word went out on social media to not show up/avoid DC Jan 6 because the Proud Boys and others were looking for a street fight. Commenter “Jay” may have more details. I do recall seeing a mention or two.
    I don’t know if anyone has done an analysis to find the causal root of that call to inaction. Since social media is timestamped, it would be doable, at least for the social media parts.

  192. 192.

    Jay

    August 2, 2022 at 8:39 pm

    @Immanentize:

    in the prior thread, I posted to you about solar panels on the roof, etc. Don’t know if you saw it.

  193. 193.

    cmorenc

    August 2, 2022 at 9:12 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I’ve had a root canal, and an extraction and implant (different tooth) and I can say the root canal was a piece of cake.

    I just had a right rear molar extracted, and am in the three-month healing period before they can do the implant.  I have also previously had 3 root canals (the extraction was of a tooth which apx 15 yrs ago was root-canaled, but much later on went unsalvageably bad anyway).

    Your report about the discomforth of the implant part of the process is discouraging.  However, nitrous works very well on me to the point root canals (coupled with ample numbing) – to the point root canals were almost oddly enjoyable for the high and ability to dissociate the pain (not so much as to motivate me to try to somehow finagle a way to obtain a recreational tank of nitrous + mask, or become a root canal junkie).

  194. 194.

    Steeplejack

    August 2, 2022 at 9:15 pm

    @Nicole:

    I had braces—and headgear—as a kid to correct an overbite. Really enhanced my self-confidence as an eighth-grader. Not to mention success with the ladies. 🙄

  195. 195.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 2, 2022 at 9:24 pm

    @Ohio Mom: I don’t know who organized it, but I remember a HUGE amount of social-media buzz from various leftist and liberal groups telling people to stay away on Jan. 6. No counter-protesting, no nothing, because bad things were going to go down and we wanted nothing to do with it.

    It was amazingly unanimous. People across the left who never agreed on anything else were relaying this.

  196. 196.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 2, 2022 at 9:35 pm

    @cmorenc: I got an implant, and the hardest part was the first part, which was a bone graft. They had to fill up the empty socket so they could drill a new hole for the implant socket. That involved a lot of drilling around in the jawbone and then they filled it up with this goop made of ground-up human bones, which apparently stimulates the growth of your bone, and sewed a membrane made from pig collagen over the hole. The operation itself was completely painless–all done under local anesthetic, but it was really good–but there was a long, somewhat painful recovery after.

    After a few months of healing, they opened that back up and put the threaded socket for the implant in, with this metal cap screwed into it. Then there was a recovery from that, not nearly as bad. And then finally they could just screw a titanium post into the socket and glue the fake tooth on. Apparently if the crown ever breaks they just crack it off and replace it, hardware-store stuff.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - PaulB - Olympic Peninsula: Lake Quinault Loop Drive 5
Image by PaulB (5/19/25)

Recent Comments

  • NotMax on Monday Night Open Thread (May 20, 2025 @ 2:42am)
  • prostratedragon on Monday Night Open Thread (May 20, 2025 @ 2:33am)
  • Jay on Monday Night Open Thread (May 20, 2025 @ 2:01am)
  • cain on Monday Night Open Thread (May 20, 2025 @ 1:36am)
  • cain on Monday Night Open Thread (May 20, 2025 @ 1:35am)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!