Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Everybody saw this coming.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

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

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

You cannot shame the shameless.

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

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

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

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Cloud-Shouting (Open Thread)

Cloud-Shouting (Open Thread)

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Sounds like the defeated ex-president is going apeshit on his tumbleweed-choked Twitter knock-off this morning. Insider:

In the weeks since the FBI’s unprecedented search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the former president’s allies have pleaded with him to stop publicly commenting on the raid and fight the Justice Department’s investigation in the courts. Trump isn’t listening.

On Tuesday morning alone, Trump has taken to his Truth Social platform over four dozen times to share memes and posts attacking his political enemies. Some posts are memes attacking President Joe Biden or other Democrats, while others are baseless election fraud claims or attempts to delegitimize the FBI.

One post in particular from Tuesday morning shows a photo of Trump with the false caption, “TRUMP WON,” in reference to the 2020 presidential election. The former president then reposted the photo and wrote that the “FBI has advanced this fact even further.”

I won’t subject y’all to the lunatic screenshots others are sharing on Twitter, but the cavalcade of crazy includes a retweet (“ReTruth,” as the tens of users on Trump’s platform call it) of an obviously fake Ivanka tweet (“truth”) by someone who’s peddling a DIY medicine book to vaccine avoiders. Earlier, he demanded to be either reinstalled as POTUS or to have an immediate 2020 election do-over. It’s 2022.

What will he do when the creditors pull the plug on his shitty fake Twitter site? I mean, he’s already crashing weddings at his properties to whine about being mistreated. Will he leap out of his shitty resort’s golf cart barn and heap abuse on Liz Cheney to startled golfers in the tee box?

Will he float around like a fat Tang turd in the pool yelling at passing swimmers about the FBI? Will he burst through the tablecloths at the evening buffet and screech about the perfect phone call? It’s getting more absurd by the day, and I thought we’d passed absurd years ago.

Speaking of dumb things part-time Florida residents say, the other day, my hubby and I helped an elderly relative move some heavy furniture in a town near The Villages. To reward ourselves for being such saints, we stopped at a diner for breakfast after.

As we rounded the corner to the front of the building, we saw an elderly gent on his back on the sidewalk, with his wife (I assume) trying but failing to pull him to his feet. A cane was lying next to him.

My husband rushed to help the man (because my husband really is a good person — whereas I just pretend to be some of the time), asking gently if help was needed, and, upon hearing the affirmative, inquiring what would be the best way to help. As the two men were working that out, another woman rounded the corner and spied the scene.

She marched over to the man who had fallen and said, “You really should try a walker.”

Who does that? Could she really have believed she was being helpful at that moment? JFC! The man, now on his feet, told her he does have a walker and would bring it next time.

That lady was lucky I wasn’t the one being dusted off after a tumble. I’d have told her to mind her own goddamn business. Three days later and I’m still shaking my head over it.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

211Comments

  1. 1.

    kindness

    Seems as if the Illuminati running the Republican meme sets have decided riots in the streets would be better headlines than the one’s Republicans are getting now.

  2. 2.

    Mike E

    That lady is just a physical manifestation of the internet… just think, of all the times you wanted to deck some smart ass online, there was your chance! Heh.

    ETA 2nd! Wow!

  3. 3.

    waspuppet

    The man, now on his feet, told her he does have a walker and would bring it next time.

    I guarantee she walked away convinced she helped by inspiring him to say that.

    As for TFG, I don’t know what to say. Except that he will still be covered like a totally normal presidential candidate, and his “policy proposals” will be looked at like they are serious plans that reasonable people can disagree on. Not only his outwardly fascist plans, but his plan of “Fight inflation by telling it ‘You’re Fired'” will inspire the pundit class to stroke their chins and go “Interesting plan, and the Republicans say it’ll work, so who knows?”

  4. 4.

    Kropacetic

    One post in particular from Tuesday morning shows a photo of Trump with the false caption, “TRUMP WON,” in reference to the 2020 presidential election. The former president then reposted the photo and wrote that the “FBI has advanced this fact even further.”

    Fuckin’ logic, how does that work?

  6. 6.

    mrmoshpotato

    In the weeks since the FBI’s unprecedented search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the former president’s allies have pleaded with him to stop publicly commenting on the raid and fight the Justice Department’s investigation in the courts. Trump isn’t listening.

    The Soviet shitpile mobster manbaby’s actions are hurting himself?

    Scream louder, Soviet shitpile mobster manbaby!

  9. 9.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Not quite OT, this is nice and succinct:

    Adam Parkhomenko @AdamParkhomenko Aug 29

    Lindsey Graham got caught trying to have Black votes thrown out. After getting caught he is now threatening violence against the United States. Keep reminding everyone of this.

  10. 10.

    Ocotillo

    Open thread?  Mrs. O used to teach in Uvalde about 30 years back.  We drove out there this past weekend and I must confess, seeing and hearing things on the TV and online are a lot different from seeing them in person.  Down across from the courthouse are the makeshift memorials and so many have photos of the kids and it really punched me in the gut in a different way.  I guess we get numb to the mass murder in this country that we aren’t fully aware of.

  12. 12.

    Kropacetic

    Will he leap out of his shitty resort’s golf cart barn and heap abuse on Liz Cheney to startled golfers in the tee box?

    I just choked on my lunch reading that.  Worth it.

  13. 13.

    Benw

    Will he burst through the tablecloths at the evening buffet…

    TFG’s drunk so much Kool Aid he’s about to burst through the wall and shout OH YEAH

  15. 15.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Apparently Ann Coulter has declared that trump is done, and certain corners of the internet are very excited. And speaking of relics from teh 90s you’d forgotten were out there:

    Tim Miller @Timodc

    When people ask me how I think the media should treat Trump, I have an answer many find unexpected. Like  @DRUDGE does. Look at today’s banner. He treats him like he would any other politician.

    If you remember Drudge, it’s an interesting flashback. Kind of. I read a while back that Drudge has been a never-trumper.

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Kropacetic:

    Will he float around like a fat Tang turd in the pool yelling at passing swimmers about the FBI? Will he burst through the tablecloths at the evening buffet and screech about the perfect phone call?

    Gross! but LOL!

  17. 17.

    Soprano2

    On Sunday we were at the bar when I overheard a young woman (20’s, probably) opining that we really don’t need the government. There was an older man with her who was talking to her about it, I think trying to talk some sense into her. I just would have told her “Ok fine, then quit using anything built or supported by the government, see how far you get”. People can be so dumb about stuff like that.

  18. 18.

    eddie blake

    hey, so i just tested positive for the covid. nasty-ass headache.
    i’m usually VERY careful, rock a N-99 pretty much everywhere,
    BUT not in the park at the meetup. and the park was CROWDED.

    anybody who was at the meetup in bryant park should get tested, plz.

    anyway. carry on…

  19. 19.

    Alison Rose 💙🌻💛

    I honestly don’t think there is a more pathetic excuse for a human being than Trump. Like, my God. What an absolute baby. How on Earth can anyone think that this whining, crying, sniveling, tantrum-throwing, foot-stomping, screeching little child is “a real man” as I’ve heard some of his dipshit groupies say? And I say this as someone who hates the whole concept of “manly” and “masculine” and whatever because they are bullshit made-up ideas, but speaking within the context of a society that accepts them…what the fuck is manly about Trump?

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Soprano2: also overheard in a bar a couple weeks ago (a steakhouse in a hotel near O’Hare): to my left, two strangers who started out talking about connecting flights and soon agreed that this country went crazy with Covid restrictions (ETA: one of them was Canadian, FWIW), to my right, two friends one of whom said, “What trump oughta do is run for Senate, and let DeSantis be president”

  27. 27.

    mrmoshpotato

    @eddie blake: Hope you feel better soon.  One of my friends caught COVID from a recent business trip, and had bad muscle aches all yesterday (and 19 hours of sleep).

    Added – he says he feels better today.

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    yelling at passing swimmers about the FBI?

    LOL.  I can see that.  I hope he does not stroke himself out before legal justice is meted out to him.

    And, wouldn’t it be great if he said something actionable in his social media rants?  He sounds frantic.

  29. 29.

    Joe Falco

    @waspuppet:

    Not only his outwardly fascist plans, but his plan of “Fight inflation by telling it ‘You’re Fired’”

    Maybe pass out buttons that say “Whip Inflation Now”? A tried-and-true Republican measure!

  30. 30.

    StringOnAStick

    Slightly OT, but since it involves a gunAmerican I guess it fits here.  The attempted mass shooting here in Bend, OR this last Sunday was by a 20 year old who had been posting online about shooting up a school in the prior weeks, but school doesn’t start here until after Labor day.  I guess he didn’t want to wait so he went after a Safeway, killing a mid 80’s shopper and the 66 year old employee in the produce section who tried to disarm him before he decided to shoot himself, saving us the expense of a trial.  Not an AR-15, but what they are calling a gun “patterned after the AR-15”. One more crazed young man with a gun who removed himself from the gene pool and unfortunately took two other decent guys with him.

  31. 31.

    Elizabelle

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:   The latest installment of “mooks out drinking.”  Ugh.

    Second comment shows a great misunderstanding of Trump’s personality.  Would he deign to be one of 100, in a chamber that rewards seniority?  Would never have the patience or interest.

  33. 33.

    frosty

    @eddie blake: Sorry  to hear that. Bummer that you got it outside, since I’ve been assuming that’s safe now and only wearing the N95 to the grocery and hardware stores.

    Hope you get well soon without any lingering effects.

  37. 37.

    Salty Sam

    …a fat Tang turd in the pool…

    goddammit Betty, I can’t get the image out of my head!

  41. 41.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: ​

    How on Earth can anyone think that this whining, crying, sniveling, tantrum-throwing, foot-stomping, screeching little child is “a real man”

    Because he’s mean. Trump is a god of toxic masculinity. That includes the whininess, the narcissistic claims that he’s never wrong, the chickenshit bravado, all of it. But mostly, he’s mean, and to a big swathe of America that’s manliness.

  43. 43.

    Shalimar

    I have seen Mar-a-Lago referred to as a golf resort in at least 3 media stories this week.  Mar-a-Lago does not have a golf course.  The Palm Beach course Trump owns is 4 1/2 miles away.

  45. 45.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Shalimar: yup. I heard it referred to yesterday (on NPR, maybe?) as trump’s “seaside estate”. It’s a supper club.

  46. 46.

    Tony G

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: 1) When did Anne Coulter stop kissing Trump’s ass?  I’m afraid to look into that question.   2) I wonder whether anyone younger than 45 would have any idea who Anne Coulter is? She’s like an obscure rock band that had one hit in 1972.

  51. 51.

    Kropacetic

    @Tony G: I wonder whether anyone younger than 45 would have any idea who Anne Coulter is? She’s like an obscure rock band that had one hit in 1972.-

    I’m 39.  I became politically active in the early aughts and she was one of the bigger names then.  I used to read her blog for the “other” point of view.  Made one post and was immediately banned.  Not even aggressive, just questioning the notion of the “minutemen” dumbshit they had going on at the time.

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Tony G:

    She’s like an obscure rock band that had one hit in 1972.

    TURN UP THE BAY CITY ROLLERS!

    Coulter turned on trump over Teh Wall, when he couldn’t get it up.

  56. 56.

    Bupalos

    This is how Trump needs to be covered. His whole schtick is just throwing up whatever off the wall shit he can think of or find, and counting on the media to present it in all it’s entertaining, insane detail and thus amplifying his voice. That creates a confusing cacophony of “fact-checking” that does nothing but spread the weird entertaining rumor while undermining the idea of basic established, agreed-upon truth.

    In contrast, this is the right way to cover it. “Trump is freaking out again for some reason, and posting a mishmash of whacky, lunatic crap.” I even like that it’s kind of categorized- some is lashing out at enemies, some is promoting Q-anon loons, some is delegitimizing the FBI, some is trying to cast doubt on the election…” It would be even better framed if they did volumetric analysis, like “19% of the tweets were attempts to create hatred of the FBI…”

    Zero amplification and 100% reporting the actual news, which is that Trump is just suddenly going berserk with this crap. Reporting the actual thing that is happening as opposed to amplifying the noise.

  57. 57.

    Mallard Filmore

    There is a posting over at DailyKos (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/29/2119642/-Macron-kompromat-in-the-safe-with-Colonel-Mustard-So-much-national-enquiring-by-previous-guy) that has calmed me down somewhat about all those super secret documents that SFB stole.  Trump is a crime lord, he collected kompromat and leverage.  And good Lord, he had all the USA intelligence agencies to gather it for him.

    When news of the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago broke, everyone was panicked about nuclear secrets, as they should be.  But I think Trump’s real treasure was all the dirt he collected on Big Names throughout the world.

    This all started as a Nuclear Secrets story, with a document about Macron as a footnote.  But every rabbit hole and footnote is just so damn productive with Trump.  It may be most of what SFB stole was dirt on Macron and others, with some “Oh, sure, take that too.” as filler.

    Imagine . . .

    what they found in Trump’s safe?
    Should be a long thread.

    Start with Roy Cohn & Donald. Way back.
    Promises made. Secrets kept.
    Roger Stone. The KGB. David Pecker. Epstein, Barr, Kennedy…

    Trump had a history of secretly recording calls https://t.co/EN1Z3ZJqll

    — — • 𝗖 𝗛 𝗘 𝗘 𝗞 𝗬 • — (@andreagail_k) August 25, 2022

  58. 58.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geoduck: True, but maybe there’s an upside to that — Republicans do not want to be talking about that clown right now, and yet his antics are taking up oxygen. [Politico]

    Some top Republicans acknowledge the growing angst and concern, as it’s become clearer that Trump may have been warehousing some of America’s most sensitive secrets in an unsecured basement — and even refused to turn them over when the National Archives and Justice Department tried to recover them. One top Republican fundraiser asked to describe the mood among donors, said, “There is enormous frustration.”

    “The question is, is there willingness to express that frustration,” the fundraiser added. “I don’t know the answer to that. But there is real frustration, and with the exception of people who are too stupid to understand the need to be frustrated, it is nearly universal.”

    Strained defenses and private frustrations are familiar emotions for some Republicans during the Trump era. But the stakes are particularly high this fall, with projections of a red wave in the House getting dimmed to a smaller GOP majority and as Sen. Chuck Schumer appears potentially poised to remain in control of the Senate.

    Ha! Keep decompensating, shitgibbon!

  59. 59.

    MattF

    @Mallard Filmore: This is what I’ve been thinking. Getting dirt on his enemies might not be the only motivation, but it’s primary. And it’s how Putin operates, so there’s a precedent.

  60. 60.

    Roger Moore

    In the weeks since the FBI’s unprecedented search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the former president’s allies have pleaded with him to stop publicly commenting on the raid and fight the Justice Department’s investigation in the courts. Trump isn’t listening.

    I think his instincts are right for him personally.  He’s been caught red handed, and if he tries fighting this in the court of law he’s going to prison.  His only hope is to fight in the court of public opinion, make a stink, threaten violence, and generally scare people into thinking they have to let him get away with it to avoid something worse.  His allies are trying to convince him to shut up because they think his big public fight will hurt them.

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Frankensteinbeck: the recent news that trump has been giggling with is paying guests that he’s got a secret! about Emmanuel Macron reminds me of this reflection on trump’s macho, “blue-collar billionaire” appeal:

    “He wears bronzer, loves gold and gossip, is obsessed with his physical appearance, whines constantly, can’t control his emotions, watches daytime television, enjoys parades and interior decorating, and used to sell perfume.”

    I thought it was Tom Nichols, but it’s Nichols quoting Windor Mann, who I think is another never-trumper. I guess teh hair is covered by “obsessed with his appearance”, but that mess deserves its own paragraph.

  64. 64.

    geg6

    @Roger Moore:

    Exactly.  They are crazier than him if they think he’ll do anything other than what he sees as the best option for himself.  He doesn’t give a single shit about the party.

  65. 65.

    Kropacetic

    @NoraLenderbee: It’s not “manliness”–it’s “being a grown-up” that he fails at.

    Por que no los dos?

    He’s like the worst stereotypes of a high school mean girl in a shlumpy man body, Regina George as played by John Candy.

  66. 66.

    🐾BillinGlendaleCA

    She marched over to the man who had fallen and said, “You really should try a walker.”

    I was attempting to assist a customer with a question by looking at my work phone.  I’m near sighted and wear contacts, so I use reading glasses to see my phone.  The customer says you should get laser surgery for your eyes, it’s really great.  I, of course, thanked him for his suggestion; but noted that I really couldn’t afford that.  Keep in mind, I was working part time and making $16/hr.  Some people are a bit oblivious.

  67. 67.

    Gravenstone

    re. the OP: a good thing about canes is they make decent close quarters cudgels. If one feels the need to put the random busy body critic in their place. “Walker this! ya useless POS”.

  68. 68.

    JWR

    I just Googled “Truth Social”, and after reading about how “the app lacks effective systems for moderating user-generated content”, I saw this now deleted “Truth”, generated by its main user:

    Trump is spending his morning on Truth Social directly posting 4chan and Q messages, a day after calling to be reinstated as president. He’s doing explicitly what he used to try to shade or use coded language for. pic.twitter.com/ksCMJnJ8KW
    — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 30, 2022

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    @StringOnAStick: “patterned after the AR-15”

    It had a clip and not a magazine, then?

    I wonder if the walker lady owned “Walkers 4 Less” down the highway a bit? Seems like an excellent bidnez for Florida, generally, and especially near “The Villages” (which doesn’t sound creepy as all fvck).

    Stupid thing sighted Sunday was a woman on the popular river parkway bike trail on one of those fat tire electric bikes, with one hand on the bar and the other clutching an infant to her chest. Both had helmets, so I guess it was totally cool.

  70. 70.

    Kropacetic

    In other news, early in-person voting started in Massachusetts last Saturday.  I’ll be heading to town hall today to submit my first virtually all female ballot, that includes every statewide race.

  71. 71.

    ian

    @MattF:

    Coulter turned on Trump a couple of years ago when she decided he’d turned soft on immigrants.

    When running a policy explicitly aimed at separating immigrant families and incarcerating those children without access to their loved ones is too soft on immigration…

  72. 72.

    misterpuff

    Will he burst through the tablecloths at the evening buffet and screech about the perfect phone call? It’s getting more absurd by the day, and I thought we’d passed absurd years ago.

    Will he burst through the walls ala Kool-Aid Man? Crash , It’s Pitcher of Tang Man!

  73. 73.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: There is a group of people who find bluster and bullying manly.  Essentially, they are personifying the Rodomomte character from Renaissance poetry and drama (Orlando Furiouso by Ludovico Ariosto par example).  Normal people can see through the pretense.

  75. 75.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: It really does deserve a paragraph of its own since it’s a multidimensional combover. I’m not even sure how that works unless maybe you spray the base layer down with Aqua Net and then comb the outer layer over it at a different angle. And then there’s that…hair visor thing. What’s the anchor that enables the cantilever effect? It’s a mystery.

  76. 76.

    JMG

    @Kropacetic: Just voted! I was the only person there except for four poll workers. It’s 91 with humidity to match, so I wasn’t surprised people weren’t turning out in the midday sun.

  77. 77.

    Charluckles

    My pops has been dead for years and I still harbor some resentment about his refusal to use a walker.  It became representative of his refusal to acknowledge his limitations and my mom subsequently being expected to pick up the pieces when things inevitably went wrong.  Not to get into the weeds defending busy bodies.

  78. 78.

    different-church-lady

    So sick of crazy people.

    Soooooooo… sick… of… crazy… people…………..

  79. 79.

    lowtechcyclist

    @MattF:

    Getting dirt on his enemies might not be the only motivation, but it’s primary. And it’s how Putin operates, so there’s a precedent.

    Trump is probably jealous that Putin can have his enemies poisoned and stuff, but he can’t.

  81. 81.

    Kropacetic

    @JMG: It’s 91 with humidity to match, so I wasn’t surprised people weren’t turning out in the midday sun.

    I don’t have AC.  I was thinking of using this as an excuse to loiter in the town offices.

  82. 82.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    It’s a shared lie.  There are a lot of men who are much closer to Trump than to our cultural ideal of manliness, even the toxic version.  They can’t reject Trump as unmanly without rejecting their own manliness, so they agree to let him pass.

  83. 83.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Mallard Filmore: ​

    It may be most of what SFB stole was dirt on Macron and others, with some “Oh, sure, take that too.” as filler.

    I doubt it. He’d be doing something with them, and the only people licking his mushroom these days are the kind of Republicans who would have anyway, and the Saudis. And I can’t imagine that MBS would care about any documents Trump has.

    @geg6: ​

    what he sees as the best option for himself.

    Admittedly, ‘what he sees’ does a lot of heavy lifting here. I guarantee that keeping yet more documents once the FBI knew he had them was not best for himself. But having been born on third base, whining and lashing out and throwing sand in the gears is an effective tactic. He doesn’t have to be smart. He just has to outlast his victims. Trump really is the poster boy for how this isn’t a meritocracy and being rich gives you vast layers of insulation from your own incompetence.

  85. 85.

    Jager

    @Andrew Abshier:

    Going through the MSP Airport a couple of years ago we watched an older woman turn around and yell at her husband in his walker, “Hurry up, hurry up, why are you so slow?”

  86. 86.

    JWR

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Lindsey Graham got caught trying to have Black votes thrown out. After getting caught he is now threatening violence against the United States. Keep reminding everyone of this.

    But yesterday on the Snooze Hour, Tamara Keith assured me that he wasn’t making a threat, but a prediction. As if that would be any better. I really wonder about that woman.

  89. 89.

    livewyre

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’d generalize from that, actually. The way I see it, there’s a concept of manliness, a normative masculine ideal, that excuses anything about someone – anything – as long as he gets away with it. Nurture or nature; came by or started with; doesn’t matter. It may be outdated and receding but its institutional adherents control a lot of opinion.

    That’s what I think others see in him – he can ruin anything, emit and cover himself in any volume of slop, and yet not be touched. Like a man of true nobility. It would be easy to underestimate the breadth of that appeal and how far how many will go to defend it, even (hopefully) this close to its end. Concentration of money may be the only reason such an ailing trend has lasted this long.

  90. 90.

    Kropacetic

    @JWR: I wonder if reporters confronted with Republicans predicting violence from their supporters ever ask anything to the effect of “would they be justified?”

  91. 91.

    different-church-lady

    @JWR: ​
      “I predict that I will shoot you in the head” is one hell of a “prediction”.

  92. 92.

    Amir Khalid

    @Betty Cracker:

    There are super-duper-hold hairsprays (I think they’called) that can do amazing things. I once saw a picture of an extreme-sports dude who used such a spray to turn his long hair into a three-foot stalagmite coming out the top of his head.

  93. 93.

    Roger Moore

    @StringOnAStick:

    Not an AR-15, but what they are calling a gun “patterned after the AR-15”.

    This is persnickety but correct.  Most of the “AR-15s” you read about in the news are actually AR-15 pattern rifles.  They’re made by some third party that based its design on the long-expired patents for the AR-15 rather than “true” descendants that licensed the design from Armalite or Colt.

  96. 96.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    OT but just swooping in with the news that I do not have to have chemo as my Oncologist thinks that the cancer is so small and growing so slowly over 3 years that the treatment would be worse than the disease.  They are going to keep doing CT scans every 3 months and monitor it but other than that she said to keep doing what I’m doing and not worry about it.  So basically don’t worry about it until she tells me there is something to worry about.  Yay!  So with that advice I am now going to plan my next trip which is to Liverpool to check out the Doctor Who exhibition in the Museum and then go to the British Music Hall of Fame :)

    PS) The lawyers I follow on Twitter are basically saying at this point TFG is going for an insanity defense, there can be no other reason for him demanding to be reinstated or having a new election.

  97. 97.

    lefthanded compliment

    I’m sure it’s nothing resembling a strategy (TFG isn’t capable of that), but his constant screeching about having won the election does allow his addled acolytes to say, “See! He didn’t steal anything!! He’s still the prez, and those docs are his!!1!”

  98. 98.

    Madeleine

    @eddie blake:

    Thanks for letting us know. I hope you have a very mild case and recover completely and quickly.

    We have a stash of tests. Finally, a reason to use some.

  101. 101.

    VOR

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That’s an interesting defection. Coulter literally wrote a book titled “In Trump We Trust“. Apparently she has become a Trumpism without Trump person.  The Wikipedia article on the book says:

    By the end of Trump’s term in office, Coulter’s endorsement of Trump had turned upside down. While refusing to acknowledge that she was misguided in boosting Trump’s candidacy in 2016, Coulter in 2021 said, “Trump betrayed his own supporters at every turn … I hate him. He’s a betrayer.”

  104. 104.

    Mike in Pasadena

    I have a serious question concerning mental health of the country. What factors are any of you consider to determine when it is time to leave the US for another country? Ever since the 11th grade I have always kept my passport current, but now I’m considering other measures for leaving in a hurry. Does one wait for widespread acts of terrorism and violence across the country?  Wait until you see local terrorism and violence in your your own city, county, or state? Or wait until you are caught in a terrorist event yourself? Does one wait until your neighborhood experiences AR15 bullets sprayed across homes from a drive by shooter? The last one is the one I suspect will be the first in my area when two people from an inland California county decide it’s time to show those arrogant librul coastal elites they are serious. I don’t want to be like the people who waited too long in the 1930’s thinking, “Nothing terrible will happen. My fellow Germans are good people and terrible things are unthinkable.”

  108. 108.

    catclub

    @Amir Khalid: There are super-duper-hold hairsprays (I think they’called) that can do amazing things.

     

    Fuel for a potato cannon is one of those things.

  109. 109.

    Ruckus

    @Kropacetic:

    “Fuckin’ logic, how does that work?”

    The person least able to answer that question is SFB. His concept of logic is rusty at best, far more likely long forgotten by him as it is likely less than 3 words and completely incorrect in any case.

  111. 111.

    JWR

    @Soprano2:

    On Sunday we were at the bar when I overheard a young woman (20’s, probably) opining that we really don’t need the government.

    Yeah, I remember thinking the same thing, probably in my early twenties, and for a very short time. But then I grew up. And as I really want to tell some of my GOP family members, if you don’t need or want the government, then we don’t need you, because WE ARE that damn government, dammit!

  114. 114.

    Tom Q

    @Madeleine: Just a suggestion (from someone who’s had COVID): sometimes the home tests show a negative result that a PCR test would contradict.  Especially if you show any symptoms, I’d recommend getting the latter.  The ones on the street in NY usually give you a result in 24-36 hours.

    I was sorry to have to miss the NY meet-up last week — I’d been to two previous ones — but I can’t say I regret missing the anxiety this will produce.

  116. 116.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Oh LBD, that is such great news! I mean, quarterly CT scans are kind of a nuisance, but vastly much better than the various alternatives. I’m really happy for you. Have a whole lot of wonderful vacations!

  119. 119.

    trollhattan

    @Tom Q: +1 based on what I’ve read–the rapid test shows a detection at a fairly high viral load so not a good indicator of an infection’s early stages nor of when the virus count is very low, following infection.

    IIUC the distinction was less of an issue with the earlier, less-communicable Covid strains.

  120. 120.

    Ruckus

    @frosty:

    People carry and distribute the disease in the air. If you are near people and you are exposed there is a risk, indoors or out. This is the same for any airborne particles be they deadly or not. Too many people are never going to wear a mask, it is beneath them, or taking their freedumbs from them or some other such bullshit.

    The only real difference indoors or out is that it’s easier to distance yourself from someone outdoors. Unless it isn’t, as in a crowd.

  122. 122.

    Bupalos

    @Mallard Filmore: That would seem to just be a vague assessment that since Trump uses personal information against people, that must be what it is.

    I have no doubt that’s a thing Trump would do. I also have no doubt that Trump would do something much worse and would be worth billions to the Saudis or Russians. More than anything else, Trump wants to be in that global authoritarian oligarch’s club. I doubt there’s really anything he wouldn’t justify in his mind in order to join.

    Really. It’s always worse than you think with this guy. He keeps showing us that that’s the reality and we keep insisting on denying it.

  124. 124.

    Dangerman

    I assume all his shouting is because Uncle Andy and Aunt Millie send him a few bucks if he can get their attention; since he can no longer go to the Bank of Saudi Arabia or Vladdy Daddy for his income, Andy and Millie gotta come through for him. When will the Rubes realize they are being duped?

  125. 125.

    cope

    @Ocotillo: I has a very similar and visceral response the day my wife and I unexpectedly drove past Pulse nightclub right around the first anniversary of the massacre there. I still get chills remembering that experience. The building still taped off, makeshift memorials and oh, so many flowers and photos…

  126. 126.

    Kropacetic

    @Ruckus: Because of thing I’m misrepresenting, completely unrelated conclusion. Genius!

    ETA: It actually is genius.  He isn’t appealing to the logical mind.  He’s systematically hitting all the pleasure-grievance centers for the persecution fetishists.

  128. 128.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike in Pasadena:

    What factors are any of you consider to determine when it is time to leave the US for another country?

    An important question, maybe the most important question, is if you want to leave or to stay and fight.  That’s a question each person will have to answer for themself. But if you’ve decided you’re OK with leaving, you should do it when you think things have gotten too hot for you to stay.  That might be because you feel personally at risk or because you’re worried things are progressing to the point you won’t be allowed to leave if you stay any longer.

    I’m reminded of my Grandfather’s family.  He left Germany in February 1933, while the rest of the family stayed.  I used to think this was because he was smarter than the rest of the family. Now I see at least part of it was he was a young unmarried man and it was easier for him to leave than for someone older with more ties to the community.  They chose to stick it out because they didn’t want to give up what they had over a momentary panic.  A couple of years later when they made their own decision it was time to leave, it was good for them they had a family member safely set up in another country who could help them.

  129. 129.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Betty, I just wanted to thank you for yesterday’s post on DeSantis’ attack on healthcare for trans kids — and trans adults as well. It’s truly horrific.

    As for the “why don’t people just move” argument, we already are seeing refugees parents moving to other states to protect their trans kids. I’ve contributed to a number GoFundMes to help families who couldn’t already afford to.

  130. 130.

    Ruckus

    @🐾BillinGlendaleCA:

    I had laser eye surgery about 25 or so yrs ago. It meant that after 35 yrs of glasses and/or contacts I didn’t need far distance lenses. About 10 yrs later I had to start wearing glasses to read. And now I wear close distance and short distance glasses. I might suggest laser surgery for some things but it wasn’t worth it for me in the long run.

  131. 131.

    geg6

    @JWR: ​
     
    I will never understand why you or anyone else watches or listens to their drivel. Why torture yourself with that garbage?

    I quit with NPR and the Snooze Hour a decade ago because it’s been shit at least twice that long. I quit most tv “news” during the pandemic (except about 30 minutes of local news per day, mainly for the weather forecase). My quality of life has increased by at least 200%.

  133. 133.

    West of the Rockies

    I really must say [jumping and skipping across the floor], I’m loving the obvious fact that Toad Trump is clearly in misery.   Four dozen “Truths” in one morning?  Cry harder, creep.

  135. 135.

    Bupalos

    @Roger Moore: I won’t leave. If the U.S. falls into a true Russia-style controlled information authoritarian kleptocracy, I don’t actually believe there is anywhere to go. Without the United States at least marginally on it’s side, Europe doesn’t hold, Canada doesn’t hold, Australia doesn’t hold… I’ll stay and fight in whatever way I can.

    I think Americans are peculiarity susceptible to the idea that you can always run away when things get ruined, there’s always a frontier of freedom and the future somewhere “out there.” Might be partly from the long westward colonization of the United States or from our privileged position in the world for so long. This authoritarian moment is a global phenomena.

  136. 136.

    Elizabelle

    @geg6:   Me too.  Prefer to read than watch/listen to news, anyway.

    Used to love the network newscasts as a teenager.  Had a passion for current events. Better ways to gain information — and more truthful and important news — now.

  139. 139.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Roger Moore: Hell, I personally am closer to Trump than to our cultural ideal of manliness. Do I care? I do not care. Certainly doesn’t make me want to give a pass to Trump.

  141. 141.

    Elizabelle

    @Ruckus:   It’s been interesting to me that I don’t know of any attorneys who have gone for Lasik.

    Just cannot take a chance on diminishing the ability to read.

  144. 144.

    Betty Cracker

    @Cameron: As someone mentioned upthread, they’re all reacting in terms of self interest — the GOP donors and pols want Trump to clam up so they can shriek about socialism and antifa. Trump wants roil the base (and inspire lone-wolf terrorist attacks, which we saw immediately and have remarkably stopped discussing!) to cow the DOJ. Not one thought about the country among them. Not a whit of patriotism in any of them.

  145. 145.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ruckus:

    Same with me. I had about four or five years of not having to wear glasses after my LASIK surgery (in around 2004 or so) but of course, as eyeballs do, mine continued to change shape. It was an interesting experience, but now I’m sorry I spent the money on the surgery. I don’t think it was worth it for just a few years.

  146. 146.

    prostratedragon

    Lately I’ve thought that we might see a live example of spontaneous human combustion.  At first thought it was a race with Rudy, but  now looks like TFG’s lead is insurmountable.

  147. 147.

    JanieM

    @Bupalos:

    I think Americans are peculiarity susceptible to the idea that you can always run away when things get ruined, there’s always a frontier of freedom and the future somewhere “out there.” Might be partly from the long westward colonization of the United States or from our privileged position in the world for so long.

    I would add: great numbers of Americans are here because our ancestors thought there might be “freedom and a future somewhere ‘out there’.” And for a lot of them, including some of my own ancestors, if they were “running away” it was from oppression and poverty.

  149. 149.

    Betty Cracker

    @Sister Golden Bear: Thanks. It’s absolutely appalling what’s happening down here — surreal too. I have an adult queer kid who fled the state, with our blessing and assistance. Bless you for helping others leave who might otherwise be unable to afford it.

  152. 152.

    Elizabelle

    It’s good to hear that Trump is so miserable, with the constant messaging.

    One wonders what is driving his anxiety to such a fervor.  It can only be good for us.

  154. 154.

    Gravenstone

    @Litlebritdifrnt: A shame that diminished capacity is largely being trotted out there after he decided to do all the crimes. Good luck with that presumptive defense there, folks.

  157. 157.

    MattF

    @Ruckus: Surgery worked for me, but I was having problems that were not correctable with glasses, e.g., corneal lesions. If it’s ‘just’ cataracts or correctable with glasses, it’s fine to be cautious.

  159. 159.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Bupalos: This is my fucking country, as much as it belongs to those ghouls. I do feel as if running from fascist America would just be buying time while the same thing happens somewhere else.

    Instead of the dream of flight I get the other American fantasy, the “shoot a dozen Bad Guys and die in a bloody last stand” one, just like a right-wing gun nut. I don’t think it’s rational and I don’t actually want anything to do with guns. But I’m getting old and having a long peaceful remainder of my life is less valuable than it was. Got to be some better way to fight if I consider my life expendable.

  161. 161.

    taumaturgo

    That lady was lucky I wasn’t the one being dusted off after a tumble. I’d have told her to mind her own goddamn business. Three days later and I’m still shaking my head over it.

    This is the existential question of our times, whatever happened to the idea of minding our own business?

  162. 162.

    CaseyL

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: That I did not know, but it makes sense since lasik carves up the cornea.

    @Ruckus:  I had Lasik back in 1999-ish, and even though I now need reading glasses, it’s still the best thing I’ve ever done.  Maybe it depends on how bad your vision was originally: I was extremely myopic and astigmatic.  One of those stereotypical “need my glasses to find my glasses” people.  Being able to see clearly the moment I open my eyes in the morning was and is AMAZING.

    YMMV, of course.

  165. 165.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Mike in Pasadena: I may be Little Mary Sunshine, but I think we are pushing back and starting to win against the forces of the right.  The reason we are seeing such craziness on the right is that they see that they have effectively lost the culture wars.  Obviously, many people disagree with me.

  168. 168.

    Nelle

    @Mike in Pasadena: We left the country in 2005.  My husband’s consulting business as a hydrogeologist was drying up because, as one client bluntly told him, with Bush’s re-election, environmental enforcement wouldn’t be a priority.

    We were lucky to find jobs in New Xealand and the govt waived immigration age requirements to get my husband to come.  We loved it there and became citizens.

    We came back to the States, we thought, for a few years so that he could fly instruments, which as a private pilot he could not do there.

    What we didn’t plan on was tge effect of grandchildren, combined with possibly needing more help as we age.

    Covid really sobered us up as we were used to being able to travel back and forth.  It is quite normal, among our Kiwi circle to have family scattered across the globe.  And they just could not get to each other, reminding us of the finality of early migration.

    Still,  it is nice to know we have an option if the world doesn’t shut down again.

  169. 169.

    geg6

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    This is wonderful news!

    My younger sister is on the low dose chemo regimen for the next twelve weeks for her very aggressive breast cancer.  She was diagnosed earlier this summer and had the lumpectomy immediately after diagnosis.  They found nothing in any other tissues other than the original lump, but because of the type of cancer, they went big on the first round of chemo, using something called “the Red Devil”:

    https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/chemo-drug-called-red-devil-3564237/

    She got through that with only loss of hair on her head and very few other side effects other than a little pink urine and much, much, much fatigue.  No other side effects, especially, she was thrilled to find out, no nausea.

    Now, after a 3 week pause during which she continued to get immunotherapy, she’s on this less toxic chemo for another 12 weeks.

    It’s a tough battle, but it can be won.  Will keep you in my thoughts.

  171. 171.

    jonas

    @Shalimar: I notice that a lot too. I think people just assume all Trump’s properties are golf courses, but MAL is basically a glorified supper club and event venue for nouveau-riche idiots in Palm Beach (and the occasional foreign agent) who like to take lots of stupid thumbs-up selfies with Trump.

  172. 172.

    zhena gogolia

    @jonas: The depiction of a fictionalized MAL in Carl Hiassen’s Squeeze Me is really funny. Although it does have a golf course, but the emphasis in the plot is on these “special events,” at one of which a socialite gets squeezed to death by a python (this happens early on).

  175. 175.

    Elizabelle

    @zhena gogolia:   That was a finely observed book.

    But particularly, the collection of old, old geezers with too much money, made generations before them.  The social ills that brings on.

    And.  Pythons!

  178. 178.

    Ruckus

    @Dangerman:

    “When will the Rubes realize they are being duped?”

    I’d say the 12th of never. They are called rubes for a reason and the only way for them to realize anything is for them to no longer relish being a rube. Except they can’t make that decision, being rubes and all.

  180. 180.

    Captain C

    @ian: I’ll never understand how she was/is/claimed to be a Grateful Dead fan. It’s like she took from the music and the fandom the exact opposite message than pretty much everyone else involved did. I’m pretty sure ‘be selfish and greedy and hate everyone different’ is not the ethos of the vast majority of Deadheads.

  182. 182.

    Madeleine

    @Tom Q: Thanks to you and trollhattan for the information. I didn’t know that the home tests are less effective in IDing recent Covid strains.

  187. 187.

    Ruckus

    @Kropacetic:

    Bingo!!!!!

    There isn’t any logic to SFB. He isn’t capable of logic thought, he is only capable of very basic toddler thought, at least less than average 2 yr old logic. He wants what he wants, has zero understanding when he doesn’t get that, you do know he was president don’t you, and nothing is going to change that. He’s been shit for his entire life, he was taught to be shit by his old man and he learned badly. Notice that I used his concept of communication at one point here, never let the important points go unsaid and in his case that point is always, always about him.

  188. 188.

    Mo MacArbie

    I’m not going anywhere, but I did read something that gave me pause. There was an article on Ozzy Osbourne in the Grauniad where he said that he was going to return to England from LA because the US was getting too crazy with the guns and whatnot. So we’re too crazy for Ozzy now. All Aboooooooaaaaard!

  192. 192.

    Elizabelle

    You guys are going to have to watch Biden’s speech, whenever you can.

    NFLTG.  Blunt as can be.  Calling out the MAGA Republicans.

  193. 193.

    Ruckus

    @Roger Moore:

    Thank you for saying what I was trying to figure out how to say.

    I’ve traveled to many parts of the world and moved at one point to a different state. I now live 4 or 5 miles from where I grew up. The new state had nothing for me other than a job. When I left that, there was no reason to stay. For me I found many other places that seem like they would be great places to live. But life is where you park your butt, and if it isn’t good, I see nothing wrong with looking for better. However, better is often just different and wears away when one gets used to the different. For me I have found that parking my butt and making the best of it is as good as it gets. Even in this fucked up world. And because there really isn’t a nirvana. Now there are places that will never even be considered nirvana by any living human. Those one should avoid.

  194. 194.

    Betty Cracker

    I’m not ready to give up on America — hell, I haven’t even given up on Florida! Plus, if white Christian nationalism sweeps America, nowhere on earth will be safe. I hate guns, but I can deploy gators on my enemies. They (both enemies and gators) will rue the fucking day, lemme tell you!

  196. 196.

    Ruckus

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I have cataracts, but it’s too soon to do anything. I understand I have to wait till it’s difficult to see. I have never been told that my lasik surgery complicates things but then I imagine it really depends on how and what was needed in any particular lasik session.

  197. 197.

    Ruckus

    @Elizabelle:

    I’ve never had any issue with reading after lasik. Yes I wear reading goggles but according to my eye docs there is no connection, lasik to reading. I get a very through eye exam every year and no one has ever said that lasik has had in any way a negative. I mean examined by microscope and checked for prescription changes.

  198. 198.

    Kropacetic

    @Ruckus: you do know he was president don’t you, and nothing is going to change that.

    Once a King or Queen in Narnia, always a King or Queen.

  199. 199.

    Ruckus

    @Matt McIrvin:

    This.

    This is the American way. Once you are no longer productive you are a burden on everyone else. And you should be out of sight out of mind. It’s like throwing away that used Kleenex. And yes, I’m in my early 70s and retired. My productivity days are gone. My adding to the wealth of the controlling  “owners” of this country is over. And I don’t care. Fuck those overly wealthy assholes who don’t get a bite of my ass any more. I will however fight for a better taxation scheme so that they pay a bit more, their fair share, just enough to make it hurt about the same as it hurt you or me when we did work and pay in to the country.

  200. 200.

    Ruckus

    @CaseyL:

    At the time I got mine done one of my fellow employees, who had what might be termed shitty vision, coke bottle lens level, got it done shortly after me. He was amazed at the difference in sight. For me it just meant that I didn’t have to wear glasses or contacts. I mean I could find my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night before the surgery, without glasses, I don’t think he could.

    It has also been about 1/4 of a century since the surgery and the thing they never told us about lasik is that your eyes still age, like every thing else.

  201. 201.

    RaflW

    @Roger Moore: My partner and I have talked at least in broad terms about what our obligation is if we leave (as a gay couple, it could become necessary, though for now we feel like MN & CO will be safer than many states for some time…).

    Do we try to figure out where other family & friends could join us and land with some safety? Bring them with us in the moment? Help them financially so they are as back-stopped as possible for staying?

    This is al predicated on the idea that our comfortable nest-egg isn’t lost due to markets tanking (or corrupt/evil fascists just plain stealing our gay money because they could make up reasons).

    All of the above may be moot. But things do feel pretty edgy these days!

  203. 203.

    Roger Moore

    @Captain C:

    I’ll never understand how she was/is/claimed to be a Grateful Dead fan.

    Lots of people don’t pay careful attention to the lyrics, or pay attention only to lyrics that agree with them.  I can’t think of any other way Paul Ryan could be a Rage Against the Machine fan.

  205. 205.

    Geminid

    @Roger Moore: PaulRyan may have said he’s a fan of Rage Against the Machine just to look hip and youthful.

    Ryan’s a facile guy. He used to say Ayn Rand was a big intellectual influence. Then an opponent ran a campaign ad linking Ryan to Rand, with tape of Rand bragging that she was an atheist. After that, Ryan would name Saint Augustine when asked about his biggest intellectual influence. Hip

  206. 206.

    Tony Jay

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    That’s some top quality news!

    Also, too, I took my boy to that Dr Who exhibit few months ago. It’s small enough but we spent a couple of very happy hours geeking out, including ten very loud minutes getting borderline obscene with the Dalek voice simulator.

    If you’re eating out, we recently tried Madre’s (Mexican posh street food) at the Albert Dock and were mucho happy.

  208. 208.

    Ksmiami

    @Matt McIrvin: drone programming- we are smarter than Maga and we can fight them by first destroying their communications, their technology, their food and water supply etc. I’ll fight but I’ll fight in a way that Won’t break a nail.

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