Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

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

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Infrastructure week. at last.

I was promised a recession.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

This fight is for everything.

After roe, women are no longer free.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Bark louder, little dog.

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

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Monday Morning Open Thread: Supporting Our President

Monday Morning Open Thread: Supporting Our President

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A little nostalgia, for readership capture…

======
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle:

… [T]he shifting explanations have made it difficult for Republicans, many of whom are eager to please the former president, to come together with a unified defense. They are divided about whether to attack the nation’s top law enforcement agencies and how aggressive to be in those attacks…

The Republican leaders in the Senate and the House, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, have also said that Mr. Garland needs to provide answers.

Mr. Garland, for his part, held a news conference on Thursday defending the way the Justice Department has handled the case.

“Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly, without fear or favor,” he said. “Under my watch that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing.”…

But… Democrats immediately seized on Republicans’ anti-law enforcement statements.

“I thought in the old days the Republican Party used to stand with law enforcement,” Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And I hope some of them do today because this kind of rhetoric is very dangerous to our country.”

She pointed out that when she reviews classified documents she must do so in a secure room. “I can’t even wear my Fitbit,” she said.

Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, has called for the director of national intelligence to conduct an “immediate review and damage assessment” and provide a classified briefing to Congress about the potential harm done to national security by Mr. Trump’s handling of documents.

“The fact that they were in an unsecure place that is guarded with nothing more than a padlock or whatever security they had at a hotel is deeply alarming,” he said on “Face the Nation.”…

Yeah, this is gonna fly like a frozen turkey:

Reader Interactions

217Comments

  3. 3.

    Baud

    Even when things were looking bleak earlier this year, I never stopped enjoying having Dems in control than than Republicans.

  5. 5.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Here’s the thread unroll for an informative thread on handling of classified documents. Here’s the start:

    1/
    “This week in Trumpland has been wild. So I thought I’d put my FSO hat back on and talk about document classification. This is a long one.

    A sitting president cannot wave his magic wand and declare something declassified. ”

    2/
    “He has the authority to read someone into classified programs whenever he wishes, but the documents themselves must go through a review process before being officially declassified.”

    3/
    “Certain topics, like nuclear programs (including some communication programs that support nuclear deployment), cannot be declassified by anyone. The president included.”

  8. 8.

    bystander

    My theory: ‘Rump keeps saying that he declassified all the documents because he has already divulged/sold their contents. He knows that the FBI knows he has committed treason and he’s trying to  defuse the charges by saying he had declassified the documents.

  9. 9.

    gene108

    I worked for a company that had some small DoD contacts and subcontracts with larger contractors.

    For two projects we needed to have a Secret security clearance to have people working on those projects on our payroll. I got tapped to be the Facility Security Officer. I made sure we were up to date on training, and other backend stuff to comply with government requirements to maintain the security clearance.

    I’ve been through several training sessions about insider threats, handling both classified and unclassified documents, and the like.

    One thing that’s emphasized is government documents, regardless of classification, are accessed only on a need to know basis. Even unclassified documents are marked For Official Use Only on every single page. If you don’t have an official reason to see the documents, you should mind your own business.

    Just because a documents declassified, it doesn’t mean any idiot with a pulse can access it. Plus, there are rules on how official documents are stored, what can be taken out of the office, transmitted electronically, and the process to do take or transmit documents.

    Unless TFG has a pressing need to know as he grifts his supporters for cash, and builds his stupid social media platform, there’s no reason for him to have these documents, even if he did declassify them.

    Government documents aren’t souvenirs you take with you after your last day on the job.

  11. 11.

    Baud

    The big drug companies spent nearly $100 million to beat this bill. And every Republican voted against it.”

    The AP did an article the other day about the donations Sinema got from Wall Street or something like that. That’s fair game, she deserves it. But shouldn’t the media be doing to same thing to all the Republicans in Congress? I don’t see a reason Sinema should get singled out because she’s only half rotten instead of thoroughly spoiled.

  12. 12.

    Lapassionara

    @mardam422: I think you’ve got that backwards. He changes wine into water.

    The Trump 2024 banner has disappeared from our MAGA neighbor’s house. Waiting to see if it is just temporarily gone, or if Trump has lost a fan.

  14. 14.

    trnc

    @gene108: Somebody really needs to start asking every republican who says they have questions for DOJ if they have any questions for DT.

  15. 15.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    Even when things were looking bleak earlier this year, I never stopped enjoying having Dems in control than than Republicans.

    I won’t say I was enjoying it back then, but there was never a point where it wasn’t infinitely preferable to the alternative.

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: The media absolutely should cover Republican corruption, but I think it’s a mash-up of the “only Dems have agency” conundrum and the “dog bites man” trope. Big Pharma lobbyists bought Republicans by the bushel? Ho-hum.

  18. 18.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    The AP did an article the other day about the donations Sinema got from Wall Street or something like that. That’s fair game, she deserves it. But shouldn’t the media be doing to same thing to all the Republicans in Congress? I don’t see a reason Sinema should get singled out because she’s only half rotten instead of thoroughly spoiled.

    Repeat after me: only Democrats have agency.

    Besides, the GQP is supposed to be the Party of Big Business, so it’s perfectly OK when they do it.

    ETA: Beaten to the punch by Betty C!

  19. 19.

    Ghost of Joe Liebling’s Dog

    @Baud: Only Democrats have agency.

     

    The Republicans are just … there.  Only donations to Dems matter, and any donations to Dems are inherently suspicious, and cause an infinitude of clouds, shadows, and hinted-at implications.  That’s just math

    Edit : or, what Betty Cracker said.

    Editedit : or what lowtechcyclist said.

  20. 20.

    lowtechcyclist

    Dropping the facetiousness for a moment, it really is a problem when the media get all ho-hum about the GQP being owned by the corporate world.

    Because while it may be ho-hum to the media, and even to those of us who talk politics every day in places like this, there are a lot of people who only have a vague idea about it.

    So when they report stuff like this about Dems but not about Rethugs, the implication those low-info types get is that the Dems are more corrupt than the Rethugs.  And that false impression is dangerous.

  22. 22.

    Geminid

    Cincinnati.com has a good op-ed by lifelong Republican and former Bush staffer John M. Bridgeland. Bridgeland discusses his experiences with J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan, and explains why he’s starting the group “Republicans for Ryan.

    Former Republican Ron Filipkowski linked to this editorial through his twitter account and asked people in Ohio to share it.

  24. 24.

    BC in Illinois

    Mr. Patel is correct.

    Donald Trump can stand over a set of documents and say they are declassified.

    So can I.

    I also am a former official of the US Government. [USN, 2nd Class Petty Officer]

    I can stand over a set of documents and say they are declassified.

    It will have the same legal effect.

  25. 25.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    The AP did an article the other day about the donations Sinema got from Wall Street or something like that. That’s fair game, she deserves it. But shouldn’t the media be doing to same thing to all the Republicans in Congress? I don’t see a reason Sinema should get singled out because she’s only half rotten instead of thoroughly spoiled.

    From a 2021 article… Big Pharma likes to spread money around.

    More than two-thirds of Congress cashed a pharma campaign check in 2020, new STAT analysis shows

    Seventy-two senators and 302 members of the House of Representatives cashed a check from the pharmaceutical industry ahead of the 2020 election — representing more than two-thirds of Congress, according to a new STAT analysis of records for the full election cycle.

    Pfizer’s political action committee alone contributed to 228 lawmakers. Amgen’s PAC donated to 218, meaning that each company helped to fund the campaigns of nearly half the lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Overall, the sector donated $14 million….

    While the drug industry gave money to a broad range of candidates, it focused in particular on those on key committees that oversee health care legislation.

    The top recipient of drug industry cash was Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina. Major drug industry groups donated $139,500 to his most recent campaign, a sum remarkable in large part because Hudson is not a particularly powerful lawmaker, nor a known fundraiser. He does hold a seat on the Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee, an influential panel that oversees a large share of health care legislation before Congress.

    Other committee members also ranked near the top in drug company donations, including several Democrats: Reps. Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Robin Kelly (Ill.), and Anna Eshoo (Calif.), the subcommittee chair.

    Industry allies like Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) were also among the top recipients of pharma money. Both hold seats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees intellectual property law. In 2019, the pair authored a bill that would expand on the drug industry’s patent protections….

    Despite the drug industry’s apparent interest in preventing Democrats from controlling both Congress and the White House, contributions were almost evenly split between major political parties: $7.1 million went to Republicans, and $6.6 million went to Democrats.

  26. 26.

    Baud

    @Brachiator:

    That better, but that doesn’t like the donations to a specific vote.  That’s what the Sinema article, which just came out, was doing.

  29. 29.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    The AP did an article the other day about the donations Sinema got from Wall Street or something like that. That’s fair game, she deserves it. But shouldn’t the media be doing to same thing to all the Republicans in Congress?

    Republicans being in the pocket of big business is part of whatever passes for a party platform these days. It’s not so much only Democrats have agency, but rather the media’s acceptance of Republican corruption that feeds into the larger narrative of how many in the media treat Republicans as abusers.

    All the “better tread carefully with Trump, don’t wanna make MAGA mad” takes that spewed out last week are just part of embracing this idea that Republicans as abusers.

  31. 31.

    satby

    @Betty Cracker: more “dog bites man” I think. During the 2016 travesty I argued with a well known local (Chicago) newsreader about why his industry was being so unfair to Clinton while basically ignoring all the actual bad stuff already known about TFG. He said everyone knew that about TFG (they didn’t) and it would be a waste of time since he wouldn’t win anyway. So covering Clinton’s perfidy was more important. And he considered himself quite the Oak Park liberal. I haven’t spoken to him since.

  33. 33.

    Baud

    @satby:

    When we talk about the “system” that keeps us from making more progress, we’re talking about your former friend.

    ETA: Too often we focus on the billionaires and forget about the willing foot soldiers.

  34. 34.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud: Well, you can’t blame Republicans for killing the tax on investors, none of them were gonna vote for that tax anyway. The Democrats were trying to pass it and the Democrats failed because of a Democrat, they’re the only ones accountable for their actions. /lazyMedia

  36. 36.

    Betty Cracker

    @lowtechcyclist: As we all know, the solution is to get money out of politics, but we’re going in the opposite direction, thanks largely to the thoroughly corrupt Roberts court GOP majority.

    I don’t know that stories like the one on Sinema convince low-info citizens that Dems are more corrupt than Repubs. Maybe, but I know it fuels the “no difference” crap.

  37. 37.

    satby

    @Baud: I totally agree. And at some point he trotted out the stupidity that passes for journalistic analysis: if both liberals AND conservatives complain, the news media must be doing something right and hitting that sweet, sweet “view from nowhere” that is the pinnacle of integrity. 🤮

  42. 42.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    In that last tweet, Patel is literally wearing a lapel pin with a dollar sign to spell his name (Kash K$H).

    Total class.

    When Dump sends his people, he not sending his best. He’s sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And none, I assume, are good people.

  43. 43.

    Anyway

    @Baud:

    The AP did an article the other day about the donations Sinema got from Wall Street or something like that. That’s fair game, she deserves it. But shouldn’t the media be doing to same thing to all the Republicans in Congress? I don’t see a reason Sinema should get singled out because she’s only half rotten instead of thoroughly spoiled.

    Dems want to cap drug prices, allow Medicare to negotiate etc — that’s never been a policy goal of Rs.

  44. 44.

    TS

    Trump’s best friend in Australia – ex PM Morrison (defeated in May election) has himself in a little hot water today and it appears the Governor General (supposedly 100% non political) helped him with his choices.

    Put simply, former prime minister Scott Morrison appointed himself as the joint minister for health, finance and resources, but not all ministers — nor the Australian public — were told he had done so.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-15/scott-morrison-secret-ministry-appointments-covid-19-pandemic/101333856

    The GG says it is all legal under the constitution yet it seems to defy the rules of a Westminster system of Government when all ministerial appointments are known & are accountable for the decisions made.

    Yet another ex-PM (the one ousted by Morrison) had a few words to say on the ABC (Australia) this evening

    Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says he is “astonished” the Governor-General was willing to go along with Scott Morrison’s secretive appointment to multiple portfolios within his own cabinet.

    “This is sinister stuff. This is secret government,” he told 7.30.”This is one of the most appalling things I have ever heard in our federal government. I mean, the idea that a Prime Minister would be sworn in to other ministries secretly is incredible.”

    But he said he was even “more astonished” that the Governor-General, David Hurley, was involved.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-15/scott-morrison-secret-portfolios-sinister-says-malcolm-turnbull/101335926

    Those defending the ex-pm are going through the usual stages of denial.

    Seems we all have to fight to keep democracy together when those who think they have the divine right to rule are in power.

  45. 45.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    The Lincoln Project put out a great ad on the Inflation Reduction Act (video)

    Transcript:

    What is politics about?

    MAGA Republicans believe it is all about chaos, owning the libs, white grievance and anger.

    That’s wrong. Governing is about making our lives better.

    In just one piece of legislation, Democratic Senators took action to lower prescription drug prices, giving Medicare the ability to negotiate with Big Pharma, shifted tax burden from the middle class to the very wealthy, protected our future with the most sweeping climate change action in U.S. history.

    What do you want, (crowd yelling) anger or results?

    President Joe Biden: Working for America

  47. 47.

    BC in Illinois

    @SFAW:

    Yes!

    I  . . . can turn the gray sky blue.

    I can make it rain, whenever I want it to.

    I can build a castle from a single grain of sand.

    I can make a ship sail, on dry land.

    It’s not that I don’t have the power.

    It’s just that I just choose not to.

  48. 48.

    Baud

    @Anyway:

    But why isn’t it a policy goal for the Rs? Because of corporate donations. Then report on that.

    Or treat Sinema as a principled maverick within the Dem party. But no double standards.

  51. 51.

    Mo MacArbie

    Is it just me (It’s just me), but every time someone here adds an extra “FT” to “FTFNYT” it makes me here a jugband.

    Well fuck that fuck that fucking New York Times
    Yeah, fuck that fuck that fucking New York Times
    They got all the news that’s fit to print
    ‘Long as you don’t mind that reddish tint
    Well fuck that fuck that fucking New York Times

  52. 52.

    MomSense

    Whoever he promised these documents to is going to be pissed. Wonder what they are going to do to mango mussolini?

  53. 53.

    Betty

    @bystander: Based on Bolton’s latest interview and reporting by Robert Costa, this is very possible. He took and kept classified documents in his residence while President.

  56. 56.

    eclare

    @Betty:   As the saying goes, if the FBI is asking questions, they know the answer.  That is what sent Martha Stewart to prison, she thought she could lie to the FBI.

  58. 58.

    Kropacetic

    @satby: if both liberals AND conservatives complain, the news media must be doing something right and hitting that sweet, sweet “view from nowhere” that is the pinnacle of integrity. 🤮

    Suppose Republicans were going to complain no matter what…

  59. 59.

    Baud

    @TS: The right is only barely bound by the letter of the law.  The left must also adhere to the spirit of the law as well as all unwritten norms, real or imagined.  Twas ever thus.

  60. 60.

    jonas

    @bystander: I don’t know for sure of course, but I think if anything at Mar-a-Lago had actually made it into foreign hands, the NSA and CIA would have picked up on it and we’d be seeing a much bigger freakout in the IC than we are. The FBI sought the search warrant because it became clear that these files *weren’t* in a secure area (some padlocked storage room or something), were at risk, and, more significantly, Trump and his lawyers lied about retaining them.

  61. 61.

    JPL

    Oz’s latest ad shows him shopping at the store for his wife.   His wife wants to prepare a crudité platter.

    Seriously, wtf?   link 

  62. 62.

    Betty Cracker

    Obviously, Trump should be prosecuted if he mishandled sensitive documents in a way that harms national security. But regardless of how that shakes out, Tangerine Baal has already damaged U.S. credibility on the world stage. Again. After two solid years of a competent administration trying to clean up the big fucking mess he made during his single disastrous term.

  64. 64.

    Layer8Problem

    @TS:  The reasoning on all that seems . . . a little foggy.  I’m sure Morrison has a first-rate explanation.

  66. 66.

    eclare

    @Baud:   I assume you’re talking about Fritz, Fiona’s new brother?  I just saw the photos….awww!  If I saw that in the wild, I’d be terrified.

  67. 67.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @JPL: Don’t they have crudité platters at all the road side diners in rural Pennsylvania

  68. 68.

    Spanky

    @Betty Cracker: That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever read about marketing people.

    BTW, was Oz shopping in a New Jersey mall? Because that would be [chef’s kiss].

  69. 69.

    Kropacetic

    @JPL: Crudite sounds awful French. He knows what party nominated him, right?

    It’s a veggie platter, bruh.

  70. 70.

    eclare

    @JPL:   Those are some odd choices for a crudite platter.  Guac and salsa with asparagus?  Plus as a comment said, he obviously never shops because he doesn’t realize carts are available!

  71. 71.

    Immanentize

    @JPL:
    @Betty Cracker:

    My first thought was “deep fake!” created by Fetterman’s comms.

    And why is Oz running against Biden when Fetterman is running FOR Pennsylvania? This really is the “phone it in” campaign. I wonder if Oz will even get 27% in the end.

  72. 72.

    Kropacetic

    @eclare: Right? You’re going to serve asparagus raw with dip?

    Also, good guac doesn’t come from a package. He chose those items to be expensive. A smarter man may have made his supposed point about inflation while, perhaps, encouraging smarter shopping choices.

  74. 74.

    Spanky

    @Immanentize: Oz is just going through the motions at this point. It has always been about the grift, and he has enough brains to see where actually getting elected has gotten Trump.

    So thanks but no thanks!

  76. 76.

    TS

    @Layer8Problem:

    We’re all waiting to hear it. A few supporters are coming up with the usual excuses – it was legal, well it did no harm, we needed this in the pandemic someone may have been ill, well he isn’t in power now etc etc

    But he doesn’t seem to have too many supporters – although the GG is an interesting one. Not sure the latter will keep his job (given there is a massive pension comes after the job he has that to look forward to).

  79. 79.

    Soprano2

    That stuff about a standing order declassifying stuff he takes to the residence is stupid and bogus – when he was president there wouldn’t have been a need to declassify them, would there? As president as much as it pains me to say it he had the right to have those documents. Am I missing something here? If not, why aren’t people in the press making this point?

  81. 81.

    Kropacetic

    @Soprano2: If not, why aren’t people in the press making this point?

    It would be far too partisan to ask obvious questions about Trump’s ex post facto rationale.

    In fact, because this is obviously bad for Trump and the Republicans, it is their responsibility to help it somehow stick to Democrats. This preserves even handedness.

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    @Soprano2: too much chaff thrown up for reporters to get through it. But we know they don’t need much chaff in the air to turn aside.

  83. 83.

    Baud

    @Soprano2:

    I think the mainstream media’s knee-jerk reaction to a Republican statement is “how will Dems respond?” rather than “does this pass the laugh test?”

  85. 85.

    Kropacetic

    @Betty Cracker: Someone on Twitter pointed out that he calls the store “Wegners” — my God, could it get any worse?

    To be fair, he probably usually sends someone else to shop at his bougie little supermarket.

  89. 89.

    cintibud

    @There go two miscreants: I had to look up that quote. From Henry IV pt 1. I love the reply and find it fitting as well:
    Glendower: I can call the spirits from the vasty deep.
    Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man;
    But will they come, when you do call for them?

  93. 93.

    Kropacetic

    @Soprano2: I’m just surprised that since this has occurred to me, it hasn’t occurred to at least one highly-paid pundit.

    Perhaps it did, but then they thought about their paycheck.

    @eclare: One of the comments to the tweet pointed that out and posted a scene from the movie “The Help.”

    Sometimes I think I want to join Twitter, but then I think again…

  95. 95.

    EarthWindFire

    @satby: Too bad you haven’t spoken to him. Would love to know his excuses for not covering Trump past wrongdoings the last 5 years.

  98. 98.

    Ken

    @mardam422: He can literally change water into wine.

    So can a grapevine.

    (Stolen from Pratchett, Small Gods; where it’s phrased much more positively. Something like “People are always asking for miracles, like water into wine. Isn’t it just as much of a miracle that a grapevine can do the same, with only a little sunlight, enzymes, and time?”)

  99. 99.

    Immanentize

    @Gin & Tonic: Wegmans dominates my familial home town near Johnson City NY. Supposedly, that branch of Wegmans is the number one cut flower department In the country. Go figure….

  101. 101.

    Ken

    @Kropacetic: Did the rest of the ad have him saying “We’re all finding it harder to put food on the table. These filet mignons are $25 a pound, and this small can of French truffles is over $20!”

  104. 104.

    kalakal

    @Betty Cracker:

    but I know it fuels the “no difference” crap.

     

    That’s definitely the take I get talking to people. Lots of Right wingers love this narrative, they know/expect their politicians to be corrupt because  that’s what they’d do given the chance. They assume any politician attacking corruption has to be a hypocrite. The ones that really piss me off are the prolier than thou purity ponies on the ‘left’ when they start spouting this crap.Sinema is pure gold for them,

    This is then taken up by a lazy media and becomes an axiom for people who aren’t politics fiends

  105. 105.

    lowtechcyclist

    @JPL:  I can see Oz’ “my wife wants some vegetables for crudité” showing up in the next Fetterman ad.

    Also, where’s his shopping cart or basket? He’s just walking through a grocery store, picking up unpackaged produce and carrying it in his arms.  Who the fuck does that??

    Also also, given the prices he quotes, where the fuck is he shopping at, Whole Paycheck?  I bet my local independent grocery has better prices, and they can’t purchase in volume.

    @Spanky: BTW, was Oz shopping in a New Jersey mall? Because that would be [chef’s kiss].

    That would be the sweetest thing, if someone could ID the specific grocery store he was shopping at, and it was in NJ.  Which exit do you want to get off of this campaign at, Dr. Oz?

  107. 107.

    cain

    @JPL:  shit – I didn’t even know what that was – I had to look up crudite. Turns out it’s a thing that every American gets – but it sounded really foreign. I do thank Dr. Oz for educating me though. :)

  108. 108.

    cain

    @Kropacetic: That said, I remember going to the grocery store and thinking these vegetables are pretty expensive. There is an argument to be made but not from the GOP side – wages have not matched the price of vegetables.

  111. 111.

    frosty

    @Spanky: I hope it’s about the grift. Fetterman’s emails keep pushing that Oz is rich enough to self fund his campaign. I keep wondering why he would dump his own money into such a loser.

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    Wowsers. Somehow, some way, managed to snatch about seven hours straight of sleep.

    Shall attribute it to breathing in a light dosage of fumes from painting yesterday.

    ;)

  113. 113.

    Kropacetic

    @cain: There is an argument to be made but not from the GOP side – wages have not matched the price of vegetables.

    You can make the argument from the GOP side; just leave off anything about possible solutions, especially ones requiring collective action or common interest.

  114. 114.

    Kropacetic

    @frosty: Fetterman’s emails keep pushing that Oz is rich enough to self fund his campaign. I keep wondering why he would dump his own money into such a loser.

    We can make more money with a losing campaign than a winning one. “Springtime for Trump?” We’ll be declared losers before the first polling station closes.

  115. 115.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    I mean if Trump can just magically declassify docs, then whose to say Biden didn’t magically reclassify all of them moments after he was sworn in? That would mean that Trump was in violation of the law for holding onto them from that moment on. These made up POTUS powers cut both ways.

  117. 117.

    Ken

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: That would mean that Trump was in violation of the law for holding onto them from that moment on.

    But how could he know that? Other than that he and his lawyers were told this, back in June, when they assured the government there weren’t any such papers.

  118. 118.

    lowtechcyclist

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I mean if Trump can just magically declassify docs, then whose to say Biden didn’t magically reclassify all of them moments after he was sworn in? That would mean that Trump was in violation of the law for holding onto them from that moment on.

    Hell, he was violating the laws against theft and possessing stolen property.

    Once he was informed that those documents were the property of the Federal government, and not his personal property, and he still refused to hand them all over (at which point it’s intentional rather than merely inadvertent), he was on the hook for those very basic crimes, regardless of classification status.

    If they can come after a former President for stealing stuff, they can come after you too, if you steal stuff.

  119. 119.

    cain

    @cain:

    Anybody remember arugula gate with Obama asking what the price of arugula was at Whole Foods? How much shit did he get for that?

    Funny how Oz doesn’t get much shit for using crudite – french word for “veggie platter”.

  120. 120.

    Barbara

    @JPL: ​

    Oz’s latest ad shows him shopping at the store for his wife. His wife wants to prepare a crudité platter.

    Does anyone remember when Obama got roasted for remarking on the price of arugula to some local farmers?

  122. 122.

    steppy

    I just like that in the first video, they have a replica of those stupid stickers that were used to vandalize gas pumps all over the place. I also like that “feeble doddering” Joe has been replaced with confident Old Handsome Joe.

  123. 123.

    trollhattan

    “Literally stand”

    I’m virtually standing while literally sitting, right now! and hereby declassify this post and comment thread.

  130. 130.

    trollhattan

    @Baud: So that they witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational top-10,000 blog. Also, the lamentations of their women.

  131. 131.

    Kropacetic

    @trollhattan: Republicans are always fixated on having things “shoved down their throats” so why not make it a flipped stupid meme?

    Face huggers as a metaphor for forced birthers?

  132. 132.

    Ken

    @Baud: Why do you want America’s enemies to read Balloon Juice?

    They won’t bother coming here, they already hang out on TruthSocial.

  133. 133.

    tam1MI

    @kalakal: The ones that really piss me off are the prolier than thou purity ponies on the ‘left’ when they start spouting this crap.Sinema is pure gold for them

    That is why I think it was such a good move for Schumer to force votes on things where Sinema (and Manchin, not forgetting his dickishness) singlehandedly shot them down, it gave the good Dems ammunition to shoot down the “their both the same” BS.  We had the evidence to back us up when we said, “Not all Dems. One Dem.”

  134. 134.

    NeenerNeener

    @Gin & Tonic: yeah, there’s a chain called Wenger’s in PA. He was probably there, and mangled the name since he doesn’t actually live around there.

  137. 137.

    SFAW

    @Baud: ​
     

    Are you nuts? Why do you want America’s enemies to read Balloon Juice?

    It will bring them to their knees.

  138. 138.

    sdhays

    @Kropacetic: According to one of the responses, he also misread the price for the salsa, mistaking it for the bruschetta. So, they did this in one take with no plan other than emphasizing the word “crudités” and blaming Joe Biden.

    Is it possible Mr. Oz is a liberal mole who has been an awful TV personality for decades just to ingratiate himself with Donnie Trump and torpedo a Senate seat in 2022?

  140. 140.

    SFAW

    @trollhattan: ​
     
    Has your comment been okayed by Steve in WTFKW? Because if it hasn’t, you’re literally in violation of the figurative usage of “literally.”
    Or something.

  141. 141.

    Kropacetic

    @sdhays: Is it possible Mr. Oz is a liberal mole who has been an awful TV personality for decades just to ingratiate himself with Donnie Trump and torpedo a Senate seat in 2022?

    That’s the most plausible conspiracy theory I’ve heard in years, which is to say that’s utter nonsense.

  142. 142.

    SFAW

    @sdhays: ​
     

    Is it possible Mr. Oz is a liberal mole who has been an awful TV personality for decades just to ingratiate himself with Donnie Trump and torpedo a Senate seat in 2022?

    I think he’s using this whole campaign as a way to get Jeopardy! to make him permanent host.

  145. 145.

    Ken

    @sdhays: Is it possible Mr. Oz is a liberal mole who has been an awful TV personality for decades just to ingratiate himself with Donnie Trump and torpedo a Senate seat in 2022?

    Don’t be ridiculous. Trump is the liberal mole* who has been an awful TV personality** for decades just to torpedo several*** Senate seats in 2022.

    * Here cite donations to Clinton campaign, hanging around with Epstein, New York City connections, …

    ** Citation not needed.

    *** FSM willing.

  146. 146.

    Another Scott

    @NeenerNeener: Or maybe he mangled it on purpose?  I recall that he made some ad outside some sandwich shop and the owners of said shop didn’t appreciate it and responded by saying that the carpetbagger should stay in NJ and people should vote for Fetterman.

    “I didn’t say it was Wegman’s, I said it was Throatwobbler Mangrove…”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  147. 147.

    trollhattan

    Think our politics are weird? Australia has a few tricks up their sleeves too, mate. Check out mister double-secret powers ex-PM Morrison.

    Australian PM Anthony Albanese says he will investigate reports that his predecessor, Scott Morrison, secretly assumed three roles in the ministry.

    Mr Morrison became joint minister for the health, finance and resources portfolios in the two years before he lost power in May, local media report.

    Mr Albanese said he would seek legal advice about the decisions, calling them “unacceptable” and “just weird”.

    The former prime minister has declined to comment.

    On Monday, Governor-General David Hurley – the Queen’s representative in Australia – confirmed he had signed an “administrative instrument” that had allowed Mr Morrison to secretly take on the portfolios. It was “consistent with section 64 of the constitution”, a spokesperson said.

    But Mr Albanese, law experts and Mr Morrison’s former colleagues have criticised the secrecy surrounding it.

    Even some ministers were reportedly not aware they were sharing portfolios with the former prime minister.

    “This is the sort of ‘tin pot’ activity that we would ridicule if it was in a non-democratic country,” Mr Albanese told reporters on Monday.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-62544961

    Big fan of coal, Morrison, and Australia is intermittently either the #1 or #2 exporter on the planet. “Bush fires? Good for the landscape, mate!”

  148. 148.

    Ruckus

    @gene108:

    I had a secret clearance in the Navy because someone had to be able to access the one compartment that was entry only with clearance and need. It was the only compartment on the ship that had armed guards whenever entry was required, even out at sea. And yes I was armed on in port watch, with one other person, but that was to keep people from illegally boarding the ship. This compartment had an armed guard whenever necessary to keep out anyone who did not have absolute need and clearance to enter. On a heavily armed warship. The government does actually work diligently to keep secrets from being revealed and I imagine that there were a few discussions about SFB’s lack of any concept of reality, risk, his rights and requirements, the reality of someone no longer president having paper that he actually stole from the government. Especially someone who might just decide to sell that access to any bidder.

  149. 149.

    Hoodie

    @JPL: I see a Fetterman ad in the future where a clueless guy from NJ shows up at a Steelers tailgate with crudite and asparagus.

  150. 150.

    Ruckus

    @Soprano2:

    He actually may not have had the right to have all of the documents in his possession, even when he was president. Government documents are not just stored in a bankers box conveniently sitting in a room. There is a process for every level of document, often a pain in the ass process and while the president may have access, they do not just sit around where ever the president wants. It just doesn’t work that way. Or at least it isn’t supposed to.

  152. 152.

    jonas

    @Soprano2: ​
      That is correct — the president theoretically has the authority to declassify anything, but just saying something’s magically declassified, particularly retroactively, doesn’t work unless you actually go through a declassification process which would include, you know, informing the relevant agencies, directors, marking the documents as declassified, etc. But of course he didn’t do that because the second the DOD or NSA or whoever found out that he was 1. in the habit of walking off with some of the nation’s most sensitive natsec info and then 2. randomly “declassifying” it and stashing it in the WH residence and then carting it off to FL, the amount of shit hitting the fan would have been unfathomable.

    The fact that NARA and the FBI spent so long politely negotiating the return of the files, getting a subpoena, etc., is quite frankly surprising given what we’re learning about the sensitivity of the material.

  153. 153.

    cain

    @p.a.: ​ I must know – do people actually eat asparagus raw like that? So far, I’m not impressed with his veggie platter? Where are the snow peas?​
     

    also too – can’t crudite be mistaken for some kind of explosive? :D :D

  154. 154.

    Mike in NC

    The Top Secret documents that the Fat Orange Clown stored in a paper bag under his bed were meant for distribution to the fat cat diners at his seedy supper club. They would get them after dessert was served, and then they could show them to one another and trade them back and forth like baseball cards. Membership at Mar-A-Lardass has its privileges!

  155. 155.

    jonas

    @Ruckus: ​
     

    Or at least it isn’t supposed to.

    Indeed. The FBI and Congress need to get to the bottom of who in the Oval Office was letting him do this shit. I’m thinking probably Meadows, but possibly also Javanka, or some slimebucket like Grennell or Ratcliffe.

  156. 156.

    Kropacetic

    @jonas: The fact that NARA and the FBI spent so long politely negotiating the return of the files, getting a subpoena, etc., is quite frankly surprising given what we’re learning about the sensitivity of the material.

    Maybe they were considering the sensitivity of the politics. Regrettable though it may be, you have to take it into account when a big chunk of people are ready to start pushing a civil war because vegans were provided a menu option in the same establishment where they eat their meat foods or other such solipsistic annoyances.

  159. 159.

    Ken

    @jonas: The fact that NARA and the FBI spent so long politely negotiating the return of the files, getting a subpoena, etc., is quite frankly surprising

    That’s where they told TFG and his lawyers that if he had any of those documents he was committing a crime, and thus established the “knowingly” part of all the applicable statutes.

    I am seriously wondering why we aren’t hearing anyone on the right screaming ENTRAPMENT!!! because of that.

  160. 160.

    rikyrah

    This thread

    Teachers change lives

    Jamil Jan Kochai (@JamilJanKochai) tweeted at 2:54 PM on Sun, Aug 14, 2022:
    Let me tell you a story. This is Susan Lung. She taught me to read and write in a single year when I was 7 years old. I’ve been looking for Susan, hoping to thank her in person, for almost twenty years. And then she surprised me at my reading last night. https://t.co/7YW2EPx1CO
    (https://twitter.com/JamilJanKochai/status/1558905030874320896?t=xRJFNTMuSkbD5nq53J_D2g&s=03)

  161. 161.

    different-church-lady

    @Hoodie: I can’t find the clip, but there’s a scene in King of the Hill where a guy’s buying hummus and the punchline is an incredulous, “You’ve never seen a football game in your whole life!!”

  162. 162.

    rikyrah

    Jaye T. (@JayeJaybird54) tweeted at 2:03 PM on Sun, Aug 14, 2022:
    Confirmed by teacher friends in Sarasota County Florida:
    Recently teachers in Sarasota Co. were told:
    *No purchases or donations of any kind of books or reading materials
    *No Scholastic book orders for teachers
    *No book fairs

     

    Jaye T. (@JayeJaybird54) tweeted at 2:03 PM on Sun, Aug 14, 2022:

    *Parents can request alternative instructional materials for ANYTHING we teach
    *If we want to read anything to our kids, we have to get it approved in advance
    *Don’t give kids any gifts tied to reading
    *Our amazing librarian can’t even do read alouds with our youngest students

     

    Jaye T. (@JayeJaybird54) tweeted at 2:03 PM on Sun, Aug 14, 2022:

    Is this what you want for your children? Only allowing them to use state approved textbooks? Some counties in FL are only allowing textbooks to teach the standards. If a teacher wants to read a book to his/her students in our county, he/she must get it approved first.” #DemVoice1 https://t.co/r9NgYXfN3j
    (https://twitter.com/JayeJaybird54/status/1558891987293638659?t=9CPBLQgr7p_PspUK7zcb4A&s=03)

  165. 165.

    Kropacetic

    I just got a new ad from “Judicial Network” on YouTube. The ad denounces Merrick Garland for not protecting, of all people, Brett Fucking Kavanaugh. I’m not aware that anyone has has successfully harmed Kavanaugh.

    “Merrick Garland, bad for the court then and bad for the court now.” I was also not aware that Garland was currently under consideration for a Supreme Court seat.

  166. 166.

    rikyrah

    Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) tweeted at 6:30 AM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:
    1/ If you need a post-weekend update on where we are with Trump’s shifting excuses for having top secret classified information at Mar-a-Lago, recovered when DOJ executed a search warrant last week, here we go. Saturday night is the new big news night.

     

    Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) tweeted at 6:33 AM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:

    2/ Whether the materials found in Trump’s possession at MAL are classified is largely irrelevant to the question of whether DOJ will charge him (or anyone else). None of the 3 crimes DOJ says it’s investigating in its search warrant require proof materials were classified.

     

    Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) tweeted at 6:35 AM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:

    3/ The laws DOJ convinced a judge there was probable cause to believe had been broken included the espionage act & obstruction. That last one is interesting in light of Saturday reports Trump lawyer(s) told DOJ in writing everything classified was turned over in June. Oops, no.

     

    Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) tweeted at 6:41 AM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:

    4/ But Trump’s claim, after trying out other excuses, that it was ok b/c he’d declassified the material is shocking, if unsurprising. IF his claim is true, at best it means Trump put his convenience ahead of the nation’s safety. Congress has asked for a risk assessment from DNI.
    (https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1559143191663738881?t=E8Bb6mgmUBfzAY4gcUnoZg&s=03)

  168. 168.

    The Lodger

    @lowtechcyclist: I thought of that too. I lived in Pennsylvania many years ago and I never saw a Wegmans anywhere. Now it looks like there are 18 of them, so Oz could have actually been shopping in one of them.

  169. 169.

    Hoodie

    @Ruckus: Many years ago I worked for a defense contractor in the DC area.  I had both secret and top secret clearances at various times.   Secret and confidential documents were always kept in a locked cabinet or desk and top secret stuff was only available in secure rooms with guards that were only accessible to people with TS clearances who had also been read on to the program.  These rooms had  locked cabinets in which all docs were to be kept while not in active use (e.g., you couldn’t keep them overnight in your desk drawer), white noise generators at the entrance so you could not hear conversations in room and red flashing lights to let people in the room know that an uncleared person (e.g., visiting bigwig) was present and you needed to stow any classified materials.  We were constantly reminded as to our responsibility to not leave these docs lying around and there were penalties (e.g., loss of clearance and loss of employment) if you screwed up, even inadvertently.  We were also repeatedly told that phone lines in the area were probably subject to eavesdropping by foreign intelligence services and to never talk about any classified stuff outside of the facility or on unsecured means. You never took any of this stuff home and sometimes you would be searched to make sure you didn’t.   Of course, this is in addition to the absurdity of the claim that Trump was taking stuff home to work on it given that he spent his copious leisure time in the WH residence watching Fox and eating Big Macs and KFC.

  170. 170.

    Ken

    @rikyrah: There’s precedent for that in Florida law.

    I mean, it’s the precedent that made teaching slaves to read a crime, but I didn’t say it was good precedent.

  171. 171.

    Kropacetic

    @rikyrah: No Scholastic book orders for teachers
    *No book fairs

    Big tell here. The state doesn’t want to just filter the reading lists so that it caters to the strictest of faux conservative, faux Christian values. It wants to deny those options for the more inquisitive children with more open minded parents, denying opportunities for these books to be purchased independently.

    It has always been about control. They want strict adherence to a culture they dictate.

  173. 173.

    Baud

    A federal judge in Georgia denied Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bid to avoid testifying before a Atlanta-area grand jury investigating interference in the 2020 election, rejecting the Trump ally’s claim that he was shielded from such scrutiny by legislative privilege.
    U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had “shown extraordinary circumstances and a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony on issues relating to alleged attempts to influence or disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2020 elections.”

  174. 174.

    Ken

    @Baud: Did the judge add “Also, Sen. Graham made these claims on multiple Fox News and OANN appearances, which cannot by any stretch of the imagination be construed as legislative speech”?

  181. 181.

    The Lodger

    @cain: You’re thinking of the thermite platter. I think Ayman al-Zawahiri may have had something to do with that :)

  184. 184.

    Ken

    @JPL: Some have speculated he’s running the campaign on the cheap, so there will be more money left in the campaign fund at the end. Re-running an old ad would be consistent with that.

  185. 185.

    rikyrah

    This entire thread on classified documents, their access and storage…CLAP CLAP CLAP

     

    officebob (@OfficeBob) tweeted at 6:24 PM on Sun, Aug 14, 2022:
    A friend with classified document experience has given me permission to post her comments here, and so…a thread:

    1/

    “This week in Trumpland has been wild. So I thought I’d put my FSO hat back on and talk about document classification. This is a long one.

    A sitting president cannot wave his magic wand and declare something declassified. ”

    “He has the authority to read someone into classified programs whenever he wishes, but the documents themselves must go through a review process before being officially declassified.”

    “Certain topics, like nuclear programs (including some communication programs that support nuclear deployment), cannot be declassified by anyone. The president included.”

    ……………………………………….

    officebob (@OfficeBob) tweeted at 6:33 PM on Sun, Aug 14, 2022:

    “I have had people jailed for far, far less than what the FBI recovered at Mar-a-Lago. I’ve fired employees for taking a single Confidential document out of my facility by accident. Because at the end of the day, it’s MY document and MY ass on the line in an audit. ”

    23/
    (https://twitter.com/OfficeBob/status/1558959945214701569?t=3bN7_kS7DMWoYcLkHOa-jQ&s=03)

  187. 187.

    Soprano2

    @Ruckus: That’s interesting, and the kind of research the press should be doing rather than just quoting TFG saying he “declassified” the documents whenever he had them in the residence. I swear too many members of the press just hate having to do any kind of research on anything. They just want to do the “this side says ‘x’, this side says ‘y’, who knows what the truth is” crap about issues like this.

  188. 188.

    West of the Rockies

    Christ, can you imagine Trump on a bike? He’d look like the Hindenberg coming into Lakehurst.

  195. 195.

    JPL

    wtf   This is on MSN

    • Rudy Giuliani spoke told Newsmax about Trump’s reaction to the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago.
    • Giuliani said Trump boasted about the size of the crowd of supporters outside of his home.
  201. 201.

    Gravenstone

    @MomSense: Presumes copies of multiple key docs haven’t already been scanned/copied for disbursement? Which would just add a few more logs upon they pyre we need to burn this particular witch.

  205. 205.

    Kathleen

    • @Geminid: Thank you! I don’t subscribe to the Execrable Enquirer but I follow Ron on Twitter so I’ll be sure to look at it!
  209. 209.

    cain

    @JPL: WTF will the supremes do with it? It’s not a matter of constitutional policy – it’s pretty clear that the judge has the authority.

    Of course, if they did do something – I’ll be interested to see how they will defend Lindsay.

  210. 210.

    rikyrah

    @Soprano2:

     

    Am I missing something here? If not, why aren’t people in the press making this point?

    1. I bet some of them already knew that he did it, but kept quiet because they wanted to put it in their phucking book.
    2.  If they did know it, it further points out their professional malpractice during Dolt45’s term.
    3. They KNOW how completely disqualifying this is, and they have been doing everything they could to grease the skids so that Dolt45 could run again.
  211. 211.

    J R in WV

    Regarding grilled cheese sammiches, I need to share a recent innovation I have made to this time-honored food dish.

    Thin sliced sweet onions on one side or another of the cheese, between the cheese and the bread. They cook up into delightful tasty grilled onions inside the sandwich. Also, one can use mayo (Hellman’s ideally) on both sides of the bread, to grill the bread in the skillet, instead of butter. I use deli cheddar cheese myself instead of American yellow cheese, it has more flavor.

    You need a lot, and also need to watch closely as it can overcook pretty easily compared to butter. This is great if you are low on butter, and need to save it for the corn on the cob later on.

  212. 212.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Ken: Don’t be ridiculous. Trump is the liberal mole* who has been an awful TV personality** for decades just to torpedo several*** Senate seats in 2022.

    Trump was a registered Democrat for a long while, which, hilariously no one in the GOP 2016 primary bothered to call him on.

  215. 215.

    H-Bob

    @David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: “When Dump sends his people, he is not sending his best. He’s sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And none, I assume, are good people.”

    On Biden “reclassifying” documents possessed by TFG, I recall that Bush/Cheney reclassified the materials disclosing radiation experiments on American citizens that Clinton had previously declassified.  So “reclassification” is a thing!  Biden should reclassify every document that Trump purportedly “declassified” in the likely event that the DOJ didn’t get everything in Trump’s possession.

  216. 216.

    Ruckus

    @jonas:

    My take on SFB is that he thinks he’s the very top of the heap. He understands how government works about as well as I understand 4th year quantum physics. In shit for brains world, when he was president he could do anything he wanted, in any way he wanted, any time he wanted. But while the president has a lot of power he still has to obey the law. And he has really never done that because he’s about as dumb as a lamp post, which has an IQ of zero. Anyone that told him he couldn’t do something first had to know that it was legal or not. None of them seem to be all that high up the chart of what’s legal and what we want to do that isn’t so they just do what strikes them at any one moment. That’s the Shit For Brains support department. At least some of them have realized that the Jan 6 committee or a court room might not be the best place to obviously lie. SFB has no such concept within a thousand miles of his person.

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