Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

“woke” is the new caravan.

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

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

After roe, women are no longer free.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

This fight is for everything.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

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

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

Tick tock motherfuckers!

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

He really is that stupid.

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(Another) Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Keeping Track

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  2. 2.

    Soprano2

    Sorry to immediately OT this topic, but I need advice. What’s the best way to hire an attorney who’s somewhere else? My attorney here says we’ll need an attorney in Hawaii to settle what little there is of my stepson’s estate. Should we wait until we go there, or try to hire someone ahead of time? How would I do that? I’m not sure it’s worth it, but we don’t want to leave anything hanging. I hate that we even have to do this.

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Many thanks to Betty C, today and always, for stepping up when I get distracted!

    Many thanx to you Anne for stepping up every day.

  6. 6.

    Soprano2

    I can’t get over how so much of the press is still assuming that Republicans are going to sweep the elections in November in spite of everything that’s happened in the past 6 months. I guess they think higher prices and inflation will dominate the election, and that people somehow believe voting for Republicans will fix it even though there’s no evidence that’s true.

  8. 8.

    Matt McIrvin

    The behavior of the most prominent “antiwar” critics of Democrats after Trump got in convinced me that they weren’t doing this in good faith (I had been trying to extend them a lot of charity). Their behavior under Biden just confirms it.

    But I do think the reason Biden hasn’t been touting this is that he knows the mainstream political media are basically pro-war. They won’t give him credit for it because they’re against it.

  9. 9.

    Geminid

    @eclare: Walker apparently agreed to debate Warnock in Macon, but Walker may not come through. He’s just not up to the task and his campaign team knows it.

  10. 10.

    Ken

    the “light treason” meme who wished to be a real boy

    Almost makes me want to join twitter so I could “like” it.

    Speaking of the traitor-in-chief, reporting this morning is that the FBI did have his passports, but has returned them since they should not have been taken. I’m uncharitably assuming that the passports were in the box of classified documents that TFG intended to take with him when he fled the country.

  11. 11.

    eclare

    @Soprano2:   I would try to get a reference/appt in advance, you don’t want to waste a few days trying to get one when you’re there.

    Call or email any of your stepson’s friends, landlord, employer, etc and if none of them knows anyone, ask them to ask around for you.

  12. 12.

    Kropacetic

    @Matt McIrvin: The frame for this is Reagan vs. Carter 1980, forever and ever.

    If we’re looking to the 1980s, well, I recall a President who presided over record inflation in the 80s. He nevertheless was reelected overwhelmingly and used his power to do unprecedented evil.

    I’ve been waiting literally my whole life for the pendulum to swing back. Is it time?

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Scheduled to board first leg of the flight to NY one week from today. One more time, with apologies for dropping this in various threads so often. Hoping as front pager will slap up a post seeking further interest as the dates approach, wherein we can lock down specifics.

    Planning to be in NYC area August 24th through September 8th. Most popular days for B-J meet-ups in the past have been on weekends, so that would mean a choice of

    Friday, August 26
    Saturday, August 27
    Sunday, August 28
    Friday, September 2
    Saturday, September 3
    Sunday, September 4
    Monday, September 5 (Labor Day)
    .
    Preference as to a date? Also too, afternoon or evening? Any strike-throughs are dates someone already has mentioned as not being amenable to their schedule.

    If/when arrangements are made, might people be up for some a la carte picnicking? Interesting (free!) events on each of the suggested Friday evenings at Bryant Park: #1 — #2. Variety of food booths at the site.

  15. 15.

    Betty Cracker

    I hope that poll that shows Senator Kelly stomping Blake Masters’ ass bears out in November. Kelly is a good guy, and Masters is a bugfuck nuts Christo-fascist.

  17. 17.

    Van Buren

    My very Republican SIL texted my wife yday to say that because of Dobbs and Team R’s love of guns, she has left the party.

  19. 19.

    Cacti

    I heard a great name for all of Trump’s different explanations for his stolen documents:

    “Schrodinger’s Treason”:

    When you didn’t take, accidentally took, innocently used, declassified and then took, the documents that you never took and were illicitly planted in your house by the FBI — all simultaneously.

  23. 23.

    bbleh

    @Soprano2: They’re pretty heavily invested in the INFLATION MONSTER COMING TO EET US IN OUR BEDZ!!11! narrative.  Plus I think they realize better than most that the American public by and large has the memory of a goldfish and that if/when they switch the narrative then we will always have been at war with eastasia.

  26. 26.

    CaseyL

    @Soprano2: I agree that you don’t want to waste time.  You could try going on line to see if there are any reviews of Hawaiian attorneys.  One note: you probably want to find a lawyer on the same island, since you’ll wind up paying for any transit back and forth.

  27. 27.

    Capri

    I don’t think the pundits have caught up with the impact the Dobbs decision will have.

    The GOP thinkers take is that there are zealots on both sides – the no abortion ever, even if a 10-year-old has an ectopic pregnancy on one side and the abortion until the day of delivery no questions asked on the other side. Most are in the squishy middle and will cancel out.

    But the fact is there are no abortion until the day of delivery no questions asked folks in elected office. It’s not a “both sides” issue and it’s energized the 90% of the population who thought it was settled law.

  29. 29.

    Scout211

    Here in California, Governor Newsom has proposed a last minute bill to further fight climate change. Link

    The bill has to pass by August 31st.  Fingers crossed.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Democratic California legislative leaders signaled Monday they’re prepared to support climate-related proposals Gov. Gavin Newsom presented weeks ahead of the state legislature’s deadline to pass policy.

    Newsom on Friday announced a handful of proposals he wants the legislature to pass including:

    Put California’s 2045 goal to be carbon neutral into state law
    Set a new target to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 55% below the 1990 level by 2030

    Set new rules to keep oil wells at least 3,200 feet from schools, parks and homes.

    Create a pathway for the state to reach 100% clean electricity retail sales by 2045 by setting a goal to reach 90% by 2035 and 95% by 2040.

    Establish a framework to regulate carbon removal, capture, use and sequestration.

  31. 31.

    hueyplong

    @NotMax: “I’ve come to the realization the leopard-repelling face cream hawked on late night TV is a scam.”

    Will steal, use repeatedly, and remorselessly give the impression I thought of it myself.

  32. 32.

    Miss Bianca

    @Van Buren: I have heard rumors of dissension in the local Republican Party. Suddenly, it seems, a lot of people are becoming unhappy with their relentless grievance-mongering and election-conspiracy-theorizing.

    Just rumors, at this point…it’s not like they’re going out of their way to spill their guts to a hippie-Commie-Democrat local journalist.

  33. 33.

    eclare

    @Capri:   After the KS vote, I saw an interview with a woman who voted to keep abortion legal.  She said that while it would not be a choice she would make, she did not think that she should take that right away from others.

    My hunch is that there are quite a few who have this opinion.

  34. 34.

    Kropacetic

    @Capri: The GOP thinkers take is that there are zealots on both sides – the no abortion ever, even if a 10-year-old has an ectopic pregnancy on one side and the abortion until the day of delivery no questions asked on the other side. Most are in the squishy middle and will cancel out.

    But the fact is there are no abortion until the day of delivery no questions asked folks in elected office

    Again, as always; Democrats are held accountable for their most extreme activist (real or imagined) no matter what D elected officials do.  Republicans are judged by their highest theoretical ideals, no matter what R elected officials do.

  38. 38.

    eclare

    @Jerry:   Ouch…that needs to be changed pronto!  Run on the IRA, CHIPS, PACT, gun control, etc.  Pound them on drug costs.

  41. 41.

    Elizabelle

    @Jerry:   OMG, that Cheryl Beasley ad is even worse than you describe.

    Fucking stupid.  “I hate Washington!  It’s not working.”  Jesus.  When it’s your own party that is in control.

    How goddamned awful.  Just be honest and say “send a Democrat to the Senate to get more good things done for North Carolina.”

    That ad, honestly, makes me think worse of Beasely.  Sad to say.  And all the “voices” seem like amateur actors.

  42. 42.

    Kropacetic

    @Ken: Recent example: Defund the FBI.

    Democrats don’t want citizens shot in the streets and Republicans don’t want their corrupt politicians prosecuted.

    So…BOTH SIDES!!!!!!

  43. 43.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jerry: Val Demings makes a similar pitch sometimes — Rubio is a lifelong pol who’s never had a real job, etc. I guess it polls well.

  44. 44.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Capri: Since the 1970s, all the fanatic energy over abortion has been on the anti side. That’s why all these pundits believed that overturning Roe would turn down the heat. They looked at those anti-abortion zealots and they didn’t really think liberals cared intensely about protecting abortion rights. But that was entirely an artifact of Roe still standing.

    Now, part of that is that various SCOTUS decisions and state and federal laws had actually nibbled away at abortion rights bit by bit over the decades, and it didn’t cause a huge reaction outside of very liberal and feminist spaces. John Roberts was trying to find a way to continue that on Dobbs, but the further-right judges weren’t having that. They had to go for the big, splashy score. Conservatives sowed the wind and here is where they reap the whirlwind.

  51. 51.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker:

    Val Demings makes a similar pitch sometimes — Rubio is a lifelong pol who’s never had a real job, etc. I guess it polls well.

    The idea of the “outsider” or “not a typical politician” is another of those nuggets of received wisdom that apparently resonates with your average voter, like “run the government like a business” (to which my snarky answer would be, “Okay, we’re gonna shut down the money losing subsidies of Alabama and Mississippi and consolidate the redundant Dakotas with Nebraska”). From what I’ve seen of Demmings media, she’s leaning into “Chief Demmings” and her motorcycle, not Congresswoman Demmings.

    And this has the makings of a good Demmings ad, as hard as I try not to count any chickens

    DNC War Room @DNCWarRoom

    Florida GOP Senator @marcorubio is literally running away from local reporters because he can’t answer why he voted against lowering prescription drug prices and capping insulin costs.

    put that on the air with Bonnie Raitt singing My Little Runaway…

  52. 52.

    Baud

    @Jerry:

    @Elizabelle:

    I saw a Fetterman ad that was anti DC.  It works, I guess. The fact is, NC’s voice in the Senate are exclusively Republicans. You want NC to throw the bums out.

  53. 53.

    RobertB

    @Geminid: Given Trumps performance in debates, how bad do you have to suck in a debate before you’re considered to be not up to the task?

  54. 54.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Matt McIrvin: I was pretty sure the anti-war Left who screamed Dronez!!1! endlessly as the justification for why they couldn’t support Dems, were full of shit during the Obama presidency.  Their complete silence during Trump and refusal to commend Biden now, have only added more certainty of the fact.

  55. 55.

    Betty Cracker

    @Matt McIrvin: I think you’re right about pundits and pols underestimating the effect of Roe’s fall. I read there are typically between 70K-80K abortions performed in Florida each year. Republicans seem to think those women (and their friends and families) don’t value that right and won’t know who to blame for trying to take it away. I hope November tells them otherwise.

  56. 56.

    rikyrah

    I love his  modern Schoolhouse Rock attempt

     

    Jay McGill, Disgruntled Citizen of Gilead (@Jay_McGill94) tweeted at 10:40 PM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:
    Ladies and gentlemen, it seems to me that a lot of you do not know the difference between the FBI, CIA, and DOJ.

    Let me break it down.

    DOJ – the Criminal Justice System of the United States of America. Led by Attorney General.

    FBI – The law enforcement officers of the DOJ

    Jay McGill, Disgruntled Citizen of Gilead (@Jay_McGill94) tweeted at 10:40 PM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:

    FBI – Led by a Director, the equivalent of a police commissioner. They are the law enforcement officers.  The FBI arrests you if you commit a federal crime and the DOJ slaps the (federal) charges on you.

    You are then tried in federal court and will face a federal judge.

    Jay McGill, Disgruntled Citizen of Gilead (@Jay_McGill94) tweeted at 10:40 PM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:

    If convicted, you are sent to federal prison, which is overseen by the Prison Bureau of the DOJ.

    CIA- The Central Intelligence Agency. Part of the US Intel Community.

    Thanks for attending my TED Talk.
    (https://twitter.com/Jay_McGill94/status/1559384583937859584?t=vxmDBkohmIH5kHcuCtFdnQ&s=03)

  57. 57.

    Kropacetic

    @UncleEbeneezer: I was pretty sure the anti-war Left who screamed Dronez!!1! endlessly as the justification for why they couldn’t support Dems, were full of shit during the Obama presidency.

    I caught onto this pretty quick when Obama was openly pushing Congress to place limitations on Presidents’ use of drones while Congress didn’t act.

    None of the “dronez” complaints acknowledged the role of Congress or the political reality that Obama had to deal with a narrative of being “soft on terror.”

  58. 58.

    rikyrah

    Ron Filipkowski  (@RonFilipkowski) tweeted at 4:53 AM on Tue, Aug 16, 2022:
    Let me translate this. It is absolutely driving him nuts that he can’t figure out who the informant is, and he wants an unredacted affidavit that could give him clues to figure it out. His lawyers will get one after he is indicted, just like everyone else in America. https://t.co/VLEM9gzeLc
    (https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1559478324900012033?t=2pXwKpHoEi9UDQDtlO-R0A&s=03)

  62. 62.

    NotMax

    BTW, the nutball who, when asked during he gubernatorial debate what should be done to address hospitals being slammed during a public health crisis responded with (paraphrasing from memory), “Nothing. Everyone already has a bed at home.” finished second on the R ballot in the primary this past Saturday. A distant second*, but still #2 out of a field of 10.

    *With, roughly, 27% (!) of the R votes.

  63. 63.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud:  Yeah, but Democrats really might try changing the focus there.  Government can do well for citizens, and all this cynicism for low info voters — “they’re all bums — throw them out. Shake them up.”

    There is such an enormous difference between Democrats and Republicans.  And NC has a Democratic governor.  Be proud to be a Democrat.  Be proud to be part of the change.

    I prefer politicians who treat voters as adults.  Not as low info yahoos.  Which is what that ad was pitched to.

    Its only memorable point was the white dude saying Beasley had been fair and honest as a judge.

    We have a problem with the permanent campaign apparatus on the Democratic side, too.

  65. 65.

    Ken

    @Kropacetic: @Baud: Ah yes, the important legal principle that judges should always rule in Trump’s favor.

    It might be interesting to see his short list of judges he would accept.

  67. 67.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud:Most judges are biased obviously.

    I looked, thought this needed a comma, then realized it may be better without.

  69. 69.

    Baud

    @Elizabelle:

    It’s NC, though.  I don’t know what message will resonate better with those voters.  A lot of people have a mental hangup when it comes to acknowledging the superiority of the Democratic Party.  Those people might be gettable if you make it about something other than party identity.

    Don’t know.  Just a hunch. Hopefully, proud Dems in NC are not turned off by that campaign strategy.

  70. 70.

    Soprano2

    @Miss Bianca: Suddenly, it seems, a lot of people are becoming unhappy with their relentless grievance-mongering and election-conspiracy-theorizing.

    Those people are smart, because this kind of messaging turns off the average voter. Only MAGAs think it’s a good idea to harp on this kind of stuff. They’re probably outnumbered by the MAGAs, though.

  71. 71.

    rikyrah

    Janet Hill was a role model. I remember when I first heard of Grant Hill when he was at Duke. I was like, oh, he’s so cute, and then I read the first story about his parents, and totally was like, ‘ Oh, his mother is an extraordinary woman’. She was a class act.
    Total Black Excellence.

    RIP, Janet Hill.

    Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) tweeted at 2:32 AM on Tue, Aug 16, 2022:
    Calvin and Janet Hill were the real life Cosby show. He graduated from Yale. She graduated from Wellesley. They were a true power couple and raised a successful son. Calvin was the famous one. She was the most impressive https://t.co/MmaFqhN2cI
    (https://twitter.com/clarencehilljr/status/1559443077915242497?t=gMBlyQzcdPO-Uslaknet5g&s=03)

  72. 72.

    Barbara

    @Soprano2: In my firm we get solicited all the time by other attorneys on behalf of their friends and family members to the effect of “does anyone know an attorney in Hawaii who could handle a small, straightforward estate matter?”  If you have friends who are attorneys ask them, and then ask them if they don’t mind reaching out to their colleagues.  I am serious, we get at least three asks per week like this and so does my husband.

  73. 73.

    rikyrah

    We didn’t get to see him in leg irons?

    Come on .. there’s gotta be video 

    Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) tweeted at 11:53 PM on Mon, Aug 15, 2022:
    DOJ says in late filing that Peter NAVARRO told visiting FBI agents to “get the fuck out of here” when they served him a grand jury subpoena. They also say his tarmac arrest was to avoid publicity, and the leg irons / strip search he complains of is standard US Marshals protocol. https://t.co/OJNjSwsgaH
    (https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1559403003337220096?t=5_7jGPkc9tLc_zMrknZycQ&s=03)

  74. 74.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud:   Ads like that make me feel so bad.

    “We’re Democrats.  We run around with bags over our heads. Don’t hit us again!”

    Although:  maybe she has to run shit like that because she’s a black professional woman running to succeed a long-time elected white male US Senator who does not scare the horses.

    Anyway, I would not give another penny to her to support advertising like that.

    Be proud of Joe Biden.  Be proud of what Democrats are doing.

  75. 75.

    ian

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    that apparently resonates with your average voter,

    I don’t think that the average voters are the target of this.  Average voters generally vote regardless, and generally vote for the same party.  The people this kind of appeal are targeting are marginal/swing voters.  Appealing to them as a ‘non-traditional’ and ‘outsider’ appeals to them.  People like us (readers here) don’t find this message appealing at all, but our votes were not really in question in the first place.

  76. 76.

    Elizabelle

    FWIW, when I head that Carolyn Maloney hedged on supporting Biden?  Were I in New York, I’d be running to vote for Jerrold Nadler.  FFS, Carolyn.

    Academic at this point.   All the endorsements seem to be going to Nadler.  NY Times, Schumer, etc.

    It’s sad they were both thrown into the same district.  And I always liked Carolyn, previously.  They are both good.

  78. 78.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Van Buren:

    My very Republican SIL texted my wife yday to say that because of Dobbs and Team R’s love of guns, she has left the party.

    Here’s hoping your SIL has lots of friends to bring over from the dark side. We all have to go sometime but who wants to die in some random shooting or have life saving medical treatment withheld? The odds may be slim but it’s the R’s that are making them worse.

  79. 79.

    rikyrah

    @UncleEbeneezer:

     

    I was pretty sure the anti-war Left who screamed Dronez!!1! endlessly as the justification for why they couldn’t support Dems, were full of shit during the Obama presidency.  Their complete silence during Trump

     

    You didn’t need to go any further.

    Their SILENCE during Dolt45’s Term exposed them for what they were.

  81. 81.

    Soprano2

    @Elizabelle: I’m sure someone told her that it’s good to run as an outsider, but that doesn’t work when your party is the one in power even if the incumbent is from the other party. Sounds like she’s getting bad advice.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

     

     

    @RobertB: Walker’s pretty bad at extemporaneous speaking, and says a lot of obvious nonsense. Raphael Warnock, on the other hand, gave hundreds of sermons at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta before he got into politics. He’s likely the most accomplished public speaker in the Senate. If Walker debates Warnock, the contrast will be brutal.

  83. 83.

    Louise B.

    @Soprano2: I agree with p.a. that the lawyer referral service of the Hawaii state bar would be a good option.  Also, while you’ll need to go collect your stepson’s possessions eventually, don’t assume you’ll need to meet with the estate lawyer in person.  Lawyers have gotten very good at handling virtually all matters remotely over the last couple of years.

  84. 84.

    Geminid

    @Elizabelle: A third candidate, Kash Patel, might squeak past Maloney and Nadler. Patel is fairly young, and I think he worked in the Obama administration.

  91. 91.

    catclub

    @Van Buren: My very Republican SIL texted my wife yday to say that because of Dobbs and Team R’s love of guns, she has left the party.

     

    Good news, but my god are they ever slow learners. (possibly due to wishing not to see things and learn from them.)

  92. 92.

    Miss Bianca

    @Geminid: Wait, Kash Patel? Are there two of them I need to keep track of? Isn’t there another Kash Patel who’s a Trump drone?

  95. 95.

    rikyrah

    We have to vote in November…..period!

    David Austin Walsh (@DavidAstinWalsh) tweeted at 8:58 AM on Tue, Aug 16, 2022:
    If the polling is accurate and the Democrats could actually expand their control of the Senate—and maybe even hold the House?—it is crucial to understand those results as a desire for more extensive and radical reform.

     

     

    David Austin Walsh (@DavidAstinWalsh) tweeted at 9:01 AM on Tue, Aug 16, 2022:

    If you manage to expand your control of the legislature in a midterm election that looked like it was going to wipe you out a month ago because a) you passed an omnibus bill and b) people are pissed off at the Supreme Court, that’s a resounding endorsement of MORE action.
    (https://twitter.com/DavidAstinWalsh/status/1559540897330651137?t=x7OyVRGp-vyp59Y8axTanQ&s=03)

  96. 96.

    Another Scott

    @Elizabelle: I understand the sentiment, but you’re supporting a Democrat taking the seat when you support her campaign.  Nobody is going to remember her summer campaign videos when she takes office in January.

    Eyes on the prizes.  :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  97. 97.

    JPL

    @eclare: Not that I know of.   Debates are normally held by the Atlanta Press Club, and Walker doesn’t like that format.   He suggested his own debate format with moderators that he chooses, in a corn field somewhere.   Okay, he didn’t mention the cornfield, but he wants it for the people.   I assume he means for his supporters.

  98. 98.

    Kathleen

    @CaseyL: I live in Cincy and one brother lives in Dallas and on a Sunday we needed to find a lawyer in central Ohio to appear at arraignment the next day. My brother Googled, found a lawyer who called him back and we hired him that day. He was awesome lawyer. Just wanted to confirm your suggestion regarding online research. It can be very helpful.

  99. 99.

    topclimber

    @Elizabelle: It’s been about two weeks since Biden’s domestic agenda looked to be on life support. Maybe Beasley’s ads were cut then. In any event, something tells me she will get on the Biden bandwagon PDQ.

    Let’s see what she is saying two weeks from now.

  101. 101.

    catclub

    @Kropacetic: ​
     

    Obama had to deal with a narrative of being “soft on terror.”

    George W Bush had 3000 Americans killed in a terrorist attack on his watch and the press said that he protected us. Obama directed the killing of Binladen.

  102. 102.

    Kropacetic

    @JPL: He suggested his own debate format with moderators that he chooses

    I’m sure Walker and his staff will choose these moderators for their dedication to an informed public, reasoned debate, and ability to fairly assess facts..

    @catclub: George W Bush had 3000 Americans killed in a terrorist attack on his watch and the press said that he protected us. Obama directed the killing of Binladen.

    Another example of the media’s Democratic bias..

  105. 105.

    Ksmiami

    @Capri: Provided we mostly prevail in November, I wonder if Mitch McConnell will regret nominating a bunch of zealots to the Supreme Court…

  108. 108.

    Soprano2

    @Elizabelle: There is such an enormous difference between Democrats and Republicans.  And NC has a Democratic governor.  Be proud to be a Democrat.  Be proud to be part of the change.

    This, 1,000%. I’m so tired of people who want to run for office by running away from the Democratic Party. Why are you a Democrat if you’re ashamed of it? Quit acting like a whipped puppy and come up with answers to the questions about crap like CRT and “cancel culture” rather than trying to act like that doesn’t have anything to do with you. I understand that someone who runs in NC can’t have the same answer as someone who runs in CA, but still find an answer rather than just acting like you aren’t really one of “those people”.

  109. 109.

    Kropacetic

    @Soprano2: I understand that someone who runs in NC can’t have the same answer as someone who runs in CA, but still find an answer rather than just acting like you aren’t really one of “those people”.

    I place personal blame on Bill Maher, personally.

  112. 112.

    Gin & Tonic

    Careless smoking is starting to become a real problem.

    Yet another “fire incident” at a Crimean ammo depot close to Dzhankoi, detonations ongoing.
    As always, for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
    — Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) August 16, 2022

  113. 113.

    Elizabelle

    Good point, let’s see what kinds of ads Democrats are running two weeks from now.

    I have never believed the media’s “Biden is so unpopular!” schtick, either.  Maybe not among devoted Republicans and other morons.  And the press, which fellates them, at every opportunity.

  114. 114.

    Kropacetic

    @Elizabelle: I have never believed the media’s “Biden is so unpopular!” schtick, either.  Maybe not among devoted Republicans and other morons.

    Not enough time spent interviewing people  in New York City barber shops, behind service counters across New England, or at tasty reasonably-priced eateries in Los Angeles.

    Perhaps not as exotic as an Ohio diner by the standards of our media conglomerates or, perhaps, there are more nefarious motives…

  115. 115.

    Kathleen

    @Soprano2: I feel the same way but Ryan is doing that in Ohio but in this case I’m OK with it because he’s a smart well intentioned guy, he knows who he is and I’m sure he knows Ohio voters better than I do. I agree with what Kay said here earlier this week. I think he’s running a great campaign. He comes across to me as authentic which I think is appealing to voters here.

  116. 116.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Soprano2:

    I’m so tired of people who want to run for office by running away from the Democratic Party. Why are you a Democrat if you’re ashamed of it?

    Exactly.  I remember when the former, female Marine Corps pilot who ran against Moscow Mitch was considered such a “strong candidate” and then did exactly what we’re seeing here and got hammered.  I know everybody will say “but that’s Kentucky” but we’re talking about NC here, somewhat different depending on the weather.

  117. 117.

    The Lodger

    @Baud: Proud Dems in NC are probably ignoring Beasley’s lousy campaign and voting for her anyway. I’m hoping there are enough of them to make a difference.

  118. 118.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Soprano2: I can’t get over how so much of the press is still assuming that Republicans are going to sweep the elections in November in spite of everything that’s happened in the past 6 months.

    Just for the heck of it I took a feature writing course this summer. One of the memorable lessons I remember was about the difference between the outline you write in advance and the actual content of your story.

    The instructor was very clear: If your article does not change after you’ve done your research, if you could have written the article without modification before doing any research, then there’s no point in the article because it doesn’t have anything new or interesting in it.

    “Republicans will sweep the midterms” is the story you write in 2020, two years before the midterm, based on assumptions and past history. Then you don’t update it in 2022 based on facts and you try to sell it as an analysis.

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @The Lodger: I think you’re making a big leap to “lousy campaign”. Beasley’s a Black woman who is holding a Republican to a tie race in a reddish-purple state. That doesn’t read as “lousy” to me.

  122. 122.

    Ken

    @Ksmiami: I wonder if Mitch McConnell will regret nominating a bunch of zealots to the Supreme Court

    Probably not as long as they’re zealous about eliminating the EPA, ACA, and Medicaid, and declare that state legislatures can override the results of any election and install their own candidates.  He might cringe a bit if they go after Social Security.

  125. 125.

    Carlo Graziani

    OT, sorry. Occasionally I discover that I’m more naive than I believed, and I get an eye-opener.

    I don’t watch TV. But I’m at a conference, sitting in the lobby of a fancy hotel, and they have giant TVs interspersed along the long lobby, facing each other, showing Fox News and CNN for “balance” (Reason protect us!). Mercifully, the volume is off.

    I just glimpsed up at the Fox TV. It’s occasionally broken to commercials for medical scams, which I knew to expect. This time I saw happy, excited young adults and a script proclaiming the availability of Masters Degrees starting at $11,000. The final screen splash was the University of Phoenix logo.

    Those guys? Didn’t they get shut down for Federal student loan fraud, or am I misremembering? They always were nothing but a scam to get students in hock, take the cash, and give zero educational value in return at any rate. So is Fox branching out its scam portfolio? The medical scams make sense, given the network demographics, but what’s “University” of Phoenix’s angle (there must be one) for buying ad time on Fox? Keeping Grandpa from getting pissed off that his nephew has debt and a worthless degree (or none at all)? And is Fox News becoming the latrine to which the flies of all high-end barely-legal, ethically-questionable scams swarm?

    I’m not even sure I want to know, but I suppose that I should…

  127. 127.

    Elizabelle

    Not having to run against a longtime incumbent with gentle manners will be a huge help to Cheri Beasley.

    I volunteered in NC in the last month of the 2016 campaign.  For Hillary, and Deborah Scott was the Democratic candidate for Senator that year against Richard Burr, who won.

    I remember talking with a lovely white woman about my age, who supported all of Scott’s positions.  But … her family knew Richard Burr.  Her father liked him; he’s such a nice guy.  She seemed really torn, was standing out in her garden, looking very sad.  I didn’t push.  I wish I’d told her “it’s a private ballot.”  Oh well.

    At least Cheri Beasley won’t be up against that.

  131. 131.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Baud: I understand Fetterman did not make friends with the State Legislature with his abrasive style, so he’s got some “not part of the machine” cred. Bob Casey in contrast was selected and blessed by the state party machine and deeply offended when he ended up in a primary (in which I voted against him). They promised him there wouldn’t be one.

  132. 132.

    Elizabelle

    @Uncle Cosmo:  A trick from zhena G, and it works.  (Thanks, zhena.)

    Hit “sign up” for twitter.  Hit X on the following screen.

    You don’t have to sign up, and you can scroll through the twitter feed to your heart’s content.

  133. 133.

    The Lodger

    @Geminid: The successor to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is taking on the successor to fellow Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson. That ought to say it all right there

    (ETA) Except Herschel doesn’t have enough surviving brain tissue to carry out a life of crime.

  134. 134.

    ian

    @Carlo Graziani:

    I saw a commercial of Sebastian Gorka selling weight loss pills on Fox.  The scams they run on their ads assume the people watching won’t even accept contrary evidence presented to their very eyes.  And since the ads continue to run, I assume it must work.

  135. 135.

    opiejeanne

    @Elizabelle: That’s a great tip. My comment was that the link doesn’t go to anything about Kentucky, just whatever is at the top of Twitter at the moment.

  136. 136.

    Immanentize

    I like this ad — neat twist and a great ending of inclusion:

    John Thune and Mitch McConnell have created a Badland in the heart of America. Do you have what it takes to survive? Watch and share our epic new video! pic.twitter.com/Ck1jHKirii— Brian Bengs for U.S. Senate (@BrianBengs) August 16, 2022

  137. 137.

    StringOnAStick

    @HumboldtBlue: Excellent playing and parody!  He must love that guitar’s sound to have a cutaway model but be a lefty player.  It sounds great, and lefty cutaways are harder to find.

  141. 141.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Now I’m not so sure Suraj Patel ran for the Justice Democrats. This is his third try against Maloney so maybe he was with them in 2018. Now he calls himself “an Obama Democrat” and the Forward describes him as a “pro-Israel Progressive,” neither of which fit a typical Justice Democrat candidate profile.

  143. 143.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid: he gets into the “Democrats failed to codify Roe!” stuff here, which annoys me because somebody who worked for Obama ought to know that Bart Stupak damn near derailed the ACA over abortion. According to rumors at Eschaton at the time, that I haven’t been able to confirm since his name churned up again recently, a local bishop dangled some kind of papal decoration in front of him if he would fight for the cause. Stupak’s district in the Upper Peninsula is now R +20

  145. 145.

    Elizabelle

    LOL.  Tweet from Dan Rather:

    Overheard in New Jersey: “Can we have a clean up in aisle 10 in the produce section? Someone just spilled their Senate campaign.”

    And tweet from John Fetterman:

    Support PA.  Buy Local.  Shop Wegners.

  146. 146.

    cain

    @Betty Cracker: Because about 85% of them are all white men. So they have absolutely zero clue what it does for women’s bodies. As stories add up about women having to keep their dead kids inside the womb and dying from it – or being in great pain – this whole thing is going to collapse against them.

    It was great as a wedge issue for them with Roe vs Wade in effect, but now human suffering is going to be out there and it’s going to keep coming out there. The net effect is also that religion is going to continue to not be attractive as long as we have christofascists out there.

  148. 148.

    Mike in NC

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  Judge Beasley needs to target Rep. Ted Budd as a gun nut and Big Lie supporter. I worked locally when Sen. Kay Hagen was running for reelection. She tried very hard to distance herself from the Affordable Care Act, which the Republicans were saying was the worst thing that ever happened since the Holocaust. She lost to the lightweight Thom Tillis.

  149. 149.

    Another Scott

    @Elizabelle:

    Some of the NPR political reporters are particularly bad at this. E.g. Franco Ordornez on ATC on 8/15:

    Biden’s popularity plunged after the chaos in Kabul

    During the withdrawal, Biden’s approval ratings plunged — and his polls have remained in negative territory ever since.

    Doug Sosnik, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, said it wasn’t just Afghanistan that started Biden’s fall from grace. Covid-19 was surging and inflation was beginning to accelerate.

    But Sosnik says the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan really hurt Biden because it undercut the president’s image.

    “If bringing competence back to government is one of the kind of hallmarks of a candidacy, then I think the optics of the Afghanistan withdrawal go completely against the sort of rationale of why you should have voted for Biden,” he said.

    Gans compares the political fallout for Biden to what former President John F. Kennedy saw, after the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.

    “Every president since has had something that has helped puncture the momentum, the appeal, the whatever sort of capture they have on the American imagination,” said Gans, who is now a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

    Gans didn’t say “bungled”, Ordornez did. He used to be with McClatchy who had a great reputation. He should know better.

    Who presented the “optics”? The press did, and Gans pretty much says so directly.

    It may take a few cycles, but Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is going to be seen by most as a great feat, not a “bungled” “chaotic” disaster. But the press is going to make sure that view takes as long as possible to take hold…

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  150. 150.

    catclub

    @Elizabelle: I have never believed the media’s “Biden is so unpopular!” schtick, either.

     

    The forever war press club repeats that Biden’s popularity fell when he withdrew the US from Afghanistan.  Nobody except the press brings this up.  In surveys, NOBODY Cares about Afghanistan.

  152. 152.

    Elizabelle

    @Another Scott:   I will never, ever give NPR any money.  Never.

    You’ve just listed reason # 985.

    Don’t even listen to classical music on them at home any more.  Solely in the car, and have found a good local station that does not do hourly NPR newsbreaks.

  155. 155.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Another Scott: the media’s investment in the idea that we should have stayed in Afghanistan (until…?) is the blobbiest thing since they were all deeply confused by George W Bush’s declining popularity even though he was a War President

    ETA: I was always a bit ambivalent about Barry McCaffrey but the deadpan way he had of reminding Andrea Mitchell et al that Biden was following the Doha accords negotiated by trump, and that staying in Afghanistan would mean, essentially, sending tens of thousands of troops back there, and a lot of them dying, was refreshing, even if it didn’t penetrate.

  156. 156.

    Paul in KY

    @rikyrah: Not a fan of Dookies, in general (UK graduate/fan), but have always thought Grant Hill was a pretty classy dude. You could see he’d been raised by some impressive parents. Very sad to hear his mother passed away.

  157. 157.

    catclub

    @Another Scott: ​
    &nbsp

    ;But the press is going to make sure that view takes as long as possible to take hold…

    There are a few cases when the American people absorb accurate facts. IN 2011 people still knew it was GWBush’s economy that got crashed – instead of blaming Obama. Credit where due.

  158. 158.

    catclub

    @Another Scott: ​
     

    Biden’s popularity plunged after the chaos in Kabul

    Just to also note. The humanitarian airlift then was probably the most successful ever under fire. Compare and contrast with Vietnam withdrawal.

  159. 159.

    Baud

    @Another Scott:

    Most media orgs have a Word autotext feature that automatically puts “chaotic” or “bungled” in front of “withdrawal.”

    It becomes obvious when you read their articles about alternative methods of birth control.

  160. 160.

    jonas

    @Another Scott:But Sosnik says the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan really hurt Biden because it undercut the president’s image.

    I agree this is really infuriating. “Bungled” implies that there was a plan in place to ensure everything went smoothly, but Biden fucked it up and we got those surging crowds at Kabul airport, suicide bombers, screaming children, etc. The choice was between ripping the bandaid off, withdrawing, and attempting a mass evacuation as fast as you could as the Taliban closed in around the collapsing government, or break our withdrawal agreement, surge thousands of new troops in, and spark a new civil war with our troops caught in the middle. There were no other options that would have made this turn out ok. None. If Ordonez is pissed that we just packed up and abandoned Afghanistan, talk to Donald Trump and Zalmay Khalilzad.

  161. 161.

    p.a.

    @cain: This is one instance where thank FSM for the intertubes: pre-Roe these horrors women went through and are going through again were anonymous, or at best sad notes in local newspapers.
    Fuck the christofascists forever for creating martyrs but bludgeon them with every instance to make abortion legal again.

  162. 162.

    jonas

    @catclub: The humanitarian airlift then was probably the most successful ever under fire

    Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but afaik the Taliban actually did stick to a ceasefire during the evacuation. They were messing with people trying to flee, to be sure, looking for “collaborators,” and such, but they didn’t actually threaten any of the aircraft arriving or leaving.

  163. 163.

    Roger Moore

    @Betty Cracker:

    I read there are typically between 70K-80K abortions performed in Florida each year. Republicans seem to think those women (and their friends and families) don’t value that right and won’t know who to blame for trying to take it away.

    More cynically, I think a lot of Republicans believe they will still be able to get safe (medically and legally) abortions no matter what happens, so they aren’t really worried about it.  IOW, they believe the leopards won’t eat their faces.  I don’t know if it’s true their faces are truly safe, but I understand and despise the reasoning.  I think they just don’t get that not everyone feels so safe, and the people for whom safe abortion is no longer available will vote as if it’s an important issue.

  164. 164.

    topclimber

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: But he unequivocally said Biden should run for reelection, which the other two did not. (ETA: Nadler and Maloney were quoted on issues related to his run, not on whether he should run, so caveat jackal).

    Maloney looks to be more conservative on non-Israeli foreign policy than one would expect for NYC. Kudos to Nadler for voting against Patriot Act and war in Iraq even though the WTC was in his district.

    Her main problem is that Patel came within four percentage points of beating her in the 2020 primary. That probably explains why Chuck Schumer and most of the Dem establishment seem to be on team Nadler.

  168. 168.

    Another Scott

    Friend of the blog Adam Schiff is being interviewed on Teri Gross’ Fresh Air on NPR now (depending on when it airs on your station).

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  169. 169.

    cain

    @p.a.: That will not happen this time – thanks to the prevalence of social media. Plus there will be a lot more male supporters – not so much back in the 70s.

  170. 170.

    cain

    @jonas: haha – Trump is not going to allow any page turning no matter. There is still plenty of far right wing tv station who will continue to promote Trump – they might even lose viewers to OAN and others. (of course, I understand OAN lost the right to be on one of hte major networks)

  173. 173.

    SFAW

    @Elizabelle: ​

    Fucking stupid. “I hate Washington! It’s not working.” Jesus. When it’s your own party that is in control.
    How goddamned awful. Just be honest and say “send a Democrat to the Senate to get more good things done for North Carolina.”

    “A lot of people are unhappy with Congress. I understand that. But let’s look a little more closely:

    When the Republicans are in power, they focus on two things: (1) Giving more money to the super-rich, and(2) Passing laws which hurt regular Americans

    But when Democrats are in control, they focus on one thing:Making things better for regular Americans and the world.

    That’s why I’m proud to run as a Democrat. Because the way to fix Congress is to elect more Democrats.”​

    ETA: The “and the world” probably should be optional, depending on the audience

  174. 174.

    Ken

    @jonas: Laura Ingraham seems to have been the one chosen to run this one up the flagpole…

    EXECUTIVE #2: “Who should we choose to float this idea?”

    EXECUTIVE #3: “Ingraham’s expendable, her ratings have been dropping and we have plenty of blonde replacements.”

    EXECUTIVE #2: “Sounds reasonable. Do you concur, sir?”

    EXECUTIVE #1, IN SHADOWS AT HEAD OF TABLE: “Yes. Remember to take out a death-and-dismemberment policy on her, payable to the corporation. We might as well profit from any… unfortunate lone-wolf reactions that follow the announcement.”

  175. 175.

    Soprano2

    @Kathleen: I understand the difference between campaigning in a state like OH as opposed to CA; what I’m saying is don’t act like you’re not a Democrat at all.

  178. 178.

    Geminid

    @topclimber: Carolyn Maloney was principal sponsor of the Corporate Transparency Act, which was passed in the 2020 lame duck session. It was attached to a big Defense bill and passed over trump’s veto. The CTA cracks down on shell companies by requiring them to disclose their “beneficial,” or true ownership. A Forbes reporter said the CTA was the most important corporate reform legislation in decades. We’d have heard more about it had there not been so much going on, or if Maloney had been a “star” on a par with Katie Porter or Elizabeth Warren.

    So Maloney has laurels she can rest on. I like both her and Nadler, and if I had to choose between them I’d probably pick Patel, as Iong as he didn’t have Justice Democrat ties (I’m very wary of that outfit).

  179. 179.

    jonas

    @cain: The worst of Trump’s orc army has already bailed on Fox for the most part. So the question is, how much more can you grow your market with 24/7 Trump knob-polishing when it seems likely he’s going to be indicted for serious national security and/or election crimes, versus trying to maintain your image as a conservative network for normies.

  180. 180.

    catclub

    @Roger Moore: ​
     ,

    I think a lot of Republicans believe they will still be able to get safe (medically and legally) abortions no matter what happens,

    I really wonder how OB-GYN training (and more importantly certification) will split between reasonable versus conservative states. Will massachusetts certify a Doctor trained in Mississippi with incomplete training in pre-natal care? patients should start asking when and where their OB-Gyn doc trained.

    I wonder how it was done back before Roe. Maybe the baptist church split at the time of the civil war will be re-created.

  181. 181.

    Ken

    @Soprano2: I’m sure that if the Democrats do well, the press will write many articles about how they outperformed expectations memory-hole all their analyses predicting a Republican win, and pump out a bunch of articles about how the Democrats did so much worse than expected.

  182. 182.

    Soprano2

    @Another Scott: It’s an article of faith on NPR that the Afghan withdrawal was bungled. They use words like that every time they talk about it!!! They never talk about how them constantly using words like “bungled” to describe it might be contributing to people’s impression of it. The press always acts like they have no agency at all, they’re just reporting what other people are saying. Amanda Marcotte wrote on Twitter today about how they should always assume that anti-abortion activists are lying to them, and not quote them without any kind of fact check, but too often they don’t, they just repeat the lies without any checking or context.

  183. 183.

    catclub

    As if we did not know Trump is a foreign agent,  this:  Who is running the Documents investigation:

    The law enforcement source also confirmed the accuracy of the email from Bratt, who is chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section at the Justice Department.

  184. 184.

    Elizabelle

    @Geminid:  If she loses, I hope a wonderful government post can be found for Carolyn Maloney.  Or ambassadorship.  Unless she wants to work otherwise for corporate transparency and/or against gun violence.

    She is too good and has too many skills to disappear from the scene.

  185. 185.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The withdrawal from Afghanistan is a great example of the benefit of being a critic.  People sitting on the sidelines were free to criticize Biden for how things were going without having to deal with the reality of how their proposed alternatives would have fared.  Plenty of them didn’t even feel the need to propose alternatives.  They just sat there and criticized Biden without ever having to suggest what they would have done different.  Anyone who is content to say what the other guy is doing wrong without proposing an alternative is just a chicken shit.

  187. 187.

    Roger Moore

    @Soprano2: ​
     

    The press always acts like they have no agency at all, they’re just reporting what other people are saying.

    Even when you’re just repeating what someone else says, you still have agency, even if that agency is just choosing who to parrot. And we all know who the media loves to parrot.

  188. 188.

    germy shoemangler

    @Roger Moore:

    Reminded me of this thread:

    I've been writing about this for literally a dozen years: but you want to talk about why newsrooms are full of "both sides" trash and people who don't understand what we're going thru? It goes back to the era of unpaid internships.

    — David Dennis Jr. (@DavidDTSS) August 15, 2022

  190. 190.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Betty Cracker: I keep thinking about how, after George W. Bush won reelection in 2004 on what was in part a “values voter” pitch, there were Democrats who were saying that the party needed to throw abortion rights under the bus, just go hard right on it to neutralize that attack. And how foolish that would have been if it had happened.

  191. 191.

    Elizabelle

    @Reboot:

    A trick from zhena G, and it works.  (Thanks, zhena.)

    Hit “sign up” for twitter.  Hit X on the following screen.

    You don’t have to sign up, and you can scroll through the twitter feed to your heart’s content.

  192. 192.

    Another Scott

    @germy shoemangler: +1

    It doesn’t matter the intent, monocultures breed monocultures.  If you want to claim you want different perspectives, and to consider all relevant angles to inform the public, then you have to go get them.  You won’t get them being surrounded by people with the same background you have.

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  193. 193.

    Elizabelle

    @germy shoemangler:   I think that’s true.  It’s so true at the FTF NY Times, it’s tragic.  (Executive Editor:  Joseph Kahn.  A by his bootstraps person, if ever you saw one.). From his wiki page:  (And it’s actually rather funny that the family business was “Purity Supreme.”)

    Kahn graduated from Harvard University in 1987, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in American history and served as president of The Harvard Crimson.[2] In 1990, he received a master’s degree in East Asian studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.[3]

    Kahn joined the Times in January 1998, after four years as China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Before the Journal, he was a reporter at The Dallas Morning News, where he was part of a team of reporters awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for international reporting for their stories on violence against women around the world.[3] In June 1989, the Chinese government ordered Kahn to leave the country because he was working as a reporter while using a tourist visa.[4]

    In 2006, Kahn and Jim Yardley won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.[5] for the Times covering rule of law in China.

    Kahn was assistant masthead editor for International at The Times from 2014 to September 2016.[6]
    Personal life[edit]
    Kahn is the eldest child of Dorothy Davidson and Leo Kahn (1916–2011),[7] founder of the Purity Supreme supermarket chain in New England and co-founder of the global office supply chain Staples.[8] Leo had been awarded a journalism degree from Columbia University, after which he briefly had worked as a reporter, prompting a continuing interest in journalism that was reflected in his frequent dissection of newspaper coverage with his son.[9]

  194. 194.

    Elizabelle

    In moderation.  Put up a wiki entry with too many links.  Sorry!

    It’s about FTF NYTimes Executive Editor Joseph Kahn.  And his up by his bootstraps ascent.  Not.

    In response to Germy.

  195. 195.

    topclimber

    @Geminid: Patel was an early Obama supporter and from what little research I did he has not changed from that. He promotes smarter business and government practices, as opposed to doctrinaire ones. So an interesting guy to watch. His policies may prove less important than that an emerging ethnic group (Indians) may feel it is their turn in the ethnic parade of NYC politics.

    On the other hand…he sports endorsements from Andrew Yang and Matt Yglesias, so he may be appearing soon as a Forward candidate. Also endorsed by an environmental lawyer named Steven Donzinger, who famously battled Chevron over its environmental and business practices in Ecuador.

    Kudos to Maloney on the Corporate Transparency Act. It seems most Dems have done some good things in their day. Which brings us back to the Proud to be a Democrat theme.

  197. 197.

    Reboot

    @Elizabelle: I’ve been doing that–usually works great. This time I got sent straight to sign-up, and when I tried that trick this time, it sent me back to sign-up again. 😕 Hoping this is a one-off.

  198. 198.

    topclimber

    @Reboot: I noticed that a couple of times too. I think it may happen if you link to twitter.com directly rather than to a specific tweet.

  199. 199.

    Ken

    @Roger Moore: And we all know who the media loves to parrot.

    The internet being what it is, I half-expect someone out there is compiling statistics on how many of Mag– er, various reporters’ tweets consist of nothing other than “Remarkable statement from TFG” and a TruthSocial screencap.

  200. 200.

    germy shoemangler

    @Elizabelle:

    I got scolded here a few months ago when I quoted some of the reactionary stuff Kahn had written for his ivy league newspaper.  “He was just a kid!” etc.

    But he didn’t get where he is today by speaking truth to power.

  201. 201.

    germy shoemangler

    @Another Scott:

     

    I’m sharing these reactions from white dudes who are/were in newsrooms because they remind me of so many rejections I used to get: “I, a white man, don’t understand your perspective so you’re wrong this isn’t a story” and it’s exactly the point I’m making pic.twitter.com/asf4nYIR29

    — David Dennis Jr. (@DavidDTSS) August 16, 2022

  205. 205.

    Marc

    @Kropacetic: I caught onto this pretty quick when Obama was openly pushing Congress to place limitations on Presidents’ use of drones while Congress didn’t act.

    I’m sorry, this is BS. Obama was, you know, “Commander in Chief”. If he had wanted to, he could have reduced or eliminated drone strikes during his administration with a few simple orders. Please explain how Congress blocked him from doing this.  Trump was, as expected, worse. Biden, at least, seems to be moving in the right direction.

  206. 206.

    Gravenstone

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Kind of frightening how many of these cretins seem to believe we needed to retain Afghanistan as a client state. Because frankly that’s the only way we could maintain even a modicum of control and semblance of peace. And given the lessons 9/11 should have taught us about the radicalization value our presence has in the Mideast in even nations with accommodating governments, that was just asking for continued trouble.

  207. 207.

    Betsy

    @Soprano2: Look online at the Martindale-Hubbell listings fornattirneys. Search by city for where you need one.  The listings include ratings (by peers in the legal profession) — or used to; I haven’t looked at Martindale in a long time.

    ETA: link https://www.martindale.com/by-location/hawaii-lawyers/

    Go ahead and call a few firms before you go.

    And, you MAY even be able to do everything virtually.

  208. 208.

    Geminid

    @Marc: I think one difference between Obama and Biden is that Obama had scores of thousands of American troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That was his choice, and there are good arguments to be made that these troops shouldn’t have been in harm’s way. But they were, and I don’t fault Obama for using drones to attack the forces that were trying to kill them.

  209. 209.

    Kropacetic

    @Marc: You likely won’t see this but, firstly, you missed the second half of that with the political pressures placed on Obama.  Beyond that, having a legislative solution with rules, oversight , and accountability would have provided a more durable means of protecting people and consistent standards of how we can judge drone strikes.

  210. 210.

    No One You Know

    @Jerry: I’ve forwarded your request to the campaign along with my own appeal, with a mention that my Senators like her and are stumping for her. Thanks for posting an action item.

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