Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

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

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

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

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

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

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

This blog will pay for itself.

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

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Let there be snark.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / (Thank Murphy the Trickster God It’s Finally) Friday Morning Open Thread

(Thank Murphy the Trickster God It’s Finally) Friday Morning Open Thread

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… Biden’s increasingly stark warnings about Trump-fueled elements of the Republican Party are making up the core part of his midterm message, combined with repeated reminders to voters about recent Democratic accomplishments and a promise that democracy can still produce results for the American people. But it’s the blistering statements from Biden about his predecessor and adherents of the “Make America Great Again” philosophy that have given many Democrats a bolt of fresh energy as they campaign to keep control of Congress.

“It’s a particularly strong issue for our base,” said Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the official campaign arm of Senate Democrats. “Folks want us, want people to show that there is a clear contrast in the election between where Democrats are and Republicans have been.”…

Biden’s forceful campaign-year posture comes as Democrats are feeling more optimistic about the midterms, when the party controlling the White House has historically faced losses in Congress. A combination of legislative accomplishments, polarizing Republican candidates and voter fury stoked by the overturning of Roe vs. Wade have Democrats feeling they could see smaller losses in the House than initially anticipated, while retaining their barebones majority in the Senate…

Biden [headlined] another political event Thursday, hosted by the Democratic National Committee in suburban Maryland. There, the president will speak about “the choice before Americans” on issues of abortion, Social Security and Medicare, democracy, school safety and climate, and how “extreme MAGA Republicans are working to take away our rights,” according to a Biden adviser who requested anonymity to preview his remarks. That will be followed by a trip to Ohio on Friday, a state where the Senate contest between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance is becoming increasingly competitive.

Those close to Biden say the president has never shied away from a political fight…

More good work:

Tennessee:

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Tennessee lawyer Andre Mathis to a seat on a federal appeals court over the objections of his state’s two Republican senators [Marsha Blackburn & Bill Hagerty], whose support historically would have been needed but no longer is required.

The Senate voted 48-47 to approve the Butler Snow partner to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the second confirmation vote of the week, as Democrats following their August recess ramp up consideration of President Joe Biden’s judicial picks…

Mathis, 41, will be the first Black man, and second Black person, from Tennessee to sit on the Cincinnati, Ohio-based 6th Circuit. The last time a Black man was on that court was a quarter century ago, the White House says.

Mathis is the first of Biden’s appeals court nominees to win confirmation without the support of his home state’s senators, who in the past would have needed to return a “blue slip” for him to even be considered…

Blackburn, a Senate Judiciary Committee member, drew criticism for statements she made during Mathis’ Jan. 12 appearance before the panel, when she pointed to a series of traffic tickets to say Mathis had “a rap sheet with a laundry list of citations.”…

(Gosh, I cannot *imagine* why a Black man driving a nice car in Tennessee would’ve collected so many traffic tickets!)

And finally…

Reader Interactions

129Comments

  4. 4.

    narya

    I was vaguely trying to hold on at work until I’m eligible for Medicare (next summer), but that is feeling increasingly impossible. Otherwise, lovely morning for a run, and generally pleasant weather.

  5. 5.

    germy shoemangler

    Gut puncher at end of Bernard Shaw obituary:
    “He told NPR that despite everything he did in journalism, because of all of the things he missed with his family while working, “I don’t think it was worth it.” https://t.co/KAzOLieqg8
    — Aamer Madhani (@AamerISmad) September 8, 2022

  6. 6.

    gene108

    @zhena gogolia:

    I swear he was drifting into an impression of McConnell, but caught himself and pulled back.

    Edit: around the 0:30 second mark is when he really sounds like Moscow Mitch to me.

  7. 7.

    oatler

    @Baud:

    I have ABC with the sound down in the morning, and a glance at the bottom crawl convinces me I’m watching Fox. Biden in trouble? How the Queen’s death will impact Dems’ stability in the polls.

  8. 8.

    New Deal democrat

    Today is Judge Cannon’s deadline for the DoJ and Trump to submit a joint filing with a list of proposed candidates to be named special master and a detailed proposal to establish the duties and limits of the special master, as well as a schedule for the review and compensation.

    Fearless prediction: there will be no such joint filing. The two parties will not have agreed to anything. At most, there will be a “joint filing” setting forth their two completely incompatible selections for joint master (e.g., Devin Nunes vs. John Kerry), completely incompatible proposals as to that person’s duties, and a completely incompatible schedule for review and compensation. That’s because it’s not in Trump’s interest to agree to anything short of complete capitulation by the DoJ, now that he knows the judge is in his pocket.

    Judge Cannon will then either make Trumpy selections, or else schedule a hearing about making selections. Trump will either get full validation by the judge, or at worst lots of delay and further litigation.

    Or the 11th Circuit will promptly stay or reverse her order.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    @oatler: Seriously? What’s the connection?  They’re both old.  By the queen’s measure, Biden has 16 more good years left in him.

  13. 13.

    germy shoemangler

    @New Deal democrat:

    thread:

    Aileen Cannon, a 38 year-old lawyer with no judicial experience and limited resume, was handed a LIFETIME appointment as a federal judge just as Trump left office. Cannon’s primary credentials for the job were apparently her young age and membership in the Federalist Society. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/3GBq3ZpAoV

    — Peter Vroom 📫🌊 (@PeterVroom1) September 8, 2022

  14. 14.

    Soprano2

    There’s great news out of Michigan, where Republicans’ attempt to keep the abortion rights measure off the ballot failed. I believe there will also be a voting rights issue on their ballot, which Republicans also tried to stop. Josh Marshall makes a good point in a subscriber-only article, which I will excerpt here:

    This should be a big victory. Sponsors of the measure gathered vastly more signatures than were necessary. So it really should have happened as a matter of course. But the two GOP members of the state Board of Canvassers just decided not to let the measure appear on the ballot. There was no argument beyond just no. In any states formal sign off on election matters are handled by bodies evenly divided between both parties. So one party can bring things to a halt on their own. What we saw here is another example of the more general trend: Republicans simply refusing to obey basic election laws because they can.

    It’s becoming more and more worrisome how Republicans are trying to manipulate the power of government to allow themselves minority rule. Their totally ridiculous “argument” was that the measure on the petition was not understandable because some words were too close together!

  18. 18.

    germy shoemangler

    This thread by @PeterVroom1, drawing on Judge Cannon’s confirmation questionnaire, explains the mess. She has zero background to handle this case. She is way out of her league. DOJ is trying to tutor her. This is NATIONAL SECURITY not politics. Get it wrong, Judge, people die! https://t.co/Ck8OF8L0RB— John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) September 9, 2022

  19. 19.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: I thought you were an autocorrect victim (horseradish vs horserace) until I read “seasons.” Bravo! I am fond of horseradish, but I know firsthand it can become a riot control tool if you’re not extra careful with it! :)

  21. 21.

    Soprano2

    @Baud: Oh yeah, I expect our Republican supermajority to redouble their efforts to make it impossible for citizens to get any constitutional amendments on the ballot, because they know one regarding abortion is coming, and they definitely do not want that to happen if they can prevent it.

  22. 22.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Republicans are also on the wrong side of public opinion when it comes to gun safety and the clean energy transition. They are digging in deeper too.

  23. 23.

    Baud

    @Geminid: Yeah, but their on the right side of bigotry for a lot of people.  Here’s hoping 2022 is the year we break their backs on that.

  25. 25.

    lowtechcyclist

    In that first clip, Biden said they don’t have any shame.

    Well, as our tag line says, if they had any shame, they’d die of it.

    Not that that would be a calamity or anything.

  26. 26.

    Jeffro

    It’s a bit of inside baseball, but getting rid of the idiotic ‘blue slips’ = awesome.  And I think we have The Turtle to thank for that, am I right?  woot!

  27. 27.

    Baud

    @Jeffro: Yes, as I understand it.  There are apparently still blue slips for district court nominees.  The GOP did not get rid of those, and neither did we.

  29. 29.

    Gin & Tonic

    Boy, this is hilarious:

    The best 🇬🇪 story you can read today:

    🇷🇺 tourists get into a taxi at Tbilisi Airport
    🚖driver plays 🇺🇦 music
    🇷🇺 complain and ask him to switch it off
    🚖takes them 20 miles out of Tbilisi and drops them off in an open field
    🇷🇺 take the driver to court
    🇬🇪 jury acquits him 12-0 pic.twitter.com/kk1lZT2JPJ
    — Max Fras (@maxfras) September 9, 2022

  30. 30.

    dnfree

    @Soprano2: here’s what I would like to see and haven’t found yet:  an actual photo of the petition with the words too close together, so we could see for ourselves.  Have you seen one?

  31. 31.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    For the Chicago area jackals: Tomorrow, Saturday, I’ll be selling books at LITfest in Highland Park. It’s on the corner of Central and St. Johns, sponsored by an organization called East on Central. My “shift” is from 2:30-5 or so. If you’re around, please stop by. I need friendly faces!

  33. 33.

    Danielx

    @Soprano2:

    God forbid that voters should have a direct say on an issue that affects their lives so greatly. Democracy in action? Can’t have that.

  34. 34.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    Does anyone know why the King flew from Aberdeen to London on a private jet belonging to LuxaviationUK?

    I would have thought he would have flown on an RAF aircraft.

  37. 37.

    Cacti

    I read that the Dem Majority on the Michigan Supreme Court smacked down the attempt to remove the abortion rights initiative from the November ballot.

    Outstanding.

    Any time this issue goes to a vote of the people, the Republicans will lose and they know it.  They want to use gerrymandered legislatures to force their minority religious views on the rest of us.

    ETA:  Someone beat me to it.

  38. 38.

    Kay

    Tudor Dixon

    @TudorDixon

    Governor candidate, MI

    · 12h

    And just like that you can vote for Gretchen Whitmer’s abortion agenda & still vote against her. Gretchen, time to stop hiding behind your BS ads. I’m here to clean up your mess, turn our schools around, stop your crime wave, fix the roads, & bring back the jobs you cost us.

    Really amusing to watch all the “pro life” politicians on the Right run like hell from abortion bans after (belatedly) discovering most Americans oppose their views.
    This is such a “principled” position, so deeply meaningful to them, that every single one of them is (now) lying about supporting abortion bans.
    Michigan Minnesota Arizona – they all pulled the anti-abortion ads and now insist they won’t change state laws over a period of two weeks. Absolute frauds and liars.

  40. 40.

    Cacti

    @Kay: Tudor Dixon described a raped 14 year old, impregnated by her uncle as a “perfect example” of someone who should be forced to carry to term.

    Republicans have no idea how insane this sounds to normies.

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay:Michigan Minnesota Arizona – they all pulled the anti-abortion ads and now insist they won’t change state laws over a period of two weeks. Absolute frauds and liars.

    You could’ve just said, “Republicans” and we’d have known what you were talking about.

  46. 46.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    And just like that you can vote for Gretchen Whitmer’s abortion agenda & still vote against her.

     
    Can you imagine if a Dem said something like that?

  47. 47.

    Kay

    @Cacti:

    Oh, she has an idea now. She got an idea. But she’s ten points back from Whitmer so her “principled” belief that 14 years olds should be forced to carry rapists children to term has disappeared and been replaced with insisting people can vote for her and nothing will change on abortion in Michigan.

    Wait a minute! I thought these views were informed by deeply help religious views and carefullly considered, so much so that the unwashed mobs were barred from even questioning them! You mean they can be DROPPED over the course of two weeks once the campaigns figure out they’re poison?

    The pro-choice side is consistent. The anti-choice side? They’ll say whatever they need to say at any given moment.

  50. 50.

    SFAW

    I am kind of appalled at my naivete, or perhaps it’s impending senility: I read the “rap sheet” comment from Traitor Blackburn, and thought about the racist implications of using that phrase (yes, I know it’s also used for non-Blacks, but its use here screamed — to me — of racism). But it took Anne Laurie’s comment re: a Black man driving a nice car to get my brain functioning again. Thanks AL!

  51. 51.

    sab

    @Jeffro: Woot indeed. I live in the Sixth district, and allowing Tennessee and Kentucky Senators veto power over our judges hasn’t been a happy experience.

  52. 52.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Desperate, panicked lying by anti-choice authoritarians is all over  the place now- they can’t run away from their deeply help religous views fast enough.

    Are Republicans anti-abortion or not? Unfuckingbelievable they now claim they won’t take away rights. The same people who gloated and crowed for months that they had finally succeeded in forcing their religious views on the whole country now DROP THAT?

    GOD looked at the polls and changed his mind?

  53. 53.

    Ocotillo

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I thought of you yesterday driving in northern MO when I passed a pickup with 2 bumper stickers. One said resist; the other said “you can’t fix stupid but you can vote it out.”

  55. 55.

    Kay

    @Cacti:

    The nice thing about pro-choice people is we never insisted our views came directly from GOD. These people all claimed that. So have they all dropped the religions they claimed too? Wow. I can tell those beliefs were “deeply held” and “sincere” and also subject to panicked, sweaty revision when they’re trying to gain political power.

  59. 59.

    SFAW

    @Ocotillo:

    That was Ozark, ya know.

    No, I’m kidding, I have no idea what he drives, and I (unfortunately) don’t remember where in Misery he lives, other than not in StL, KC, or LA.

  60. 60.

    Betty Cracker

    @Gin & Tonic: Yep, that dude has the right idea. I had to flee my house once (with an infant!) when my husband made homemade horseradish for the first and only time. It was delicious! But we couldn’t breathe.

  63. 63.

    JML

    Fortunately in MN they have Scott “Might be a Doctor Like Dr. Pepper Is a Doctor” Jensen on tape saying he would try to ban abortion, and are running it all over the goddamn state. The same reason why anti-choice democrats couldn’t pull the GOP votes they claimed they would get here is why no one is going to be fooled when GOPer try to go quiet on choice: no one trusts them, no one believes them.

    Labor is out working hard to flip our State Senate and right now it looks like it could actually happen. last poll (from Stan Hubbard’s right-wing KSTP) has Walz up 51-33 over Jensen, who has little money and thinks comparing COVID restrictions to Nazi Germany is a winning strategy while trying to hide behind the football pads of his lunatic running mate, who thinks all women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen making his dinner.

    It’s still going to be a slog, but with a $12B surplus at stake there’s a lot of good that could be done with a win.

  64. 64.

    SFAW

    @sab: ​
     
    I’m well aware of Driving While Black; I was just embarrassed that I didn’t make the obvious connection vis-a-vis Judge Mathis’s story.

  65. 65.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @sab: Every black man, woman, and child has had a scary incident with the police. There are two Americas in this country.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    @WaterGirl:

    It means she looked at some polls and determined she can’t win Michigan with her “deeply held and principled views” that dictate that 14 year old rape victims must act as breeders for the rapist- a view she held 2 weeks ago and insisted was not subject to compromise because it’s from God.

    This is the anti-abortion Democrat position they are trying to adopt- that they oppose abortion personally but won’t pass laws on it. That’s the position of anti-abortion Democrats.

    Boy she traded “God” away fast, don’t you think? Turns out “God” is negotiable after all! They’re now all adopting the anti-abortion Democrat view, where it’s a personal matter.

  69. 69.

    JWR

    “Moderate”, Pro-Life Republican Rep. Michelle Steel (CA-48) has a new, 30 second TV ad. She describes her parents escape from the evils of Socialism, North Korean style!

    Socialism is a threat to the American Dream that I am fighting so hard to protect.

    Our first TV ad of the cycle is now running, check it out if you agree that the American Dream is worth fighting for! #CA45 pic.twitter.com/8UF1iytkxp

    — Michelle Steel (@MichelleSteelCA) September 6, 2022

  70. 70.

    sab

    @The Thin Black Duke: The black kid who used to live next door stopped by to visit us a couple of nights ago. He is now all grown up with a couple of kids. We were talking about back when he lived next door. One time he was out in the neighborhood trying to catch his escaped dog and a bitch in the neighborhood called the police and said he had a gun. He was about thirteen. The “gun” was his cellphone clipped to his belt. We knew about that part of the story. We didn’t know that when the police arrived they both pulled guns on him. A thirteen year old holding the family dog.

    ETA The bitch in the neighborhood had known him since he was about six.

  71. 71.

    Ken

    BIDEN: Your right to choose is on the ballot.

    Very effective line, since it hits on both Roe/Dobbs and election interference.  And a dozen other things the Republicans have planned, I’m sure.

  72. 72.

    Betty Cracker

    Charlie Crist is wisely using the reproductive rights issue as a club to beat DeSantis, who won’t say what he’ll do to further reduce access if reelected, only that he’s considering “more prolife legislation.”

    Crist flatly accuses DeSantis of planning to ban abortion if reelected. DeSantis hasn’t responded to that AFAIK because he’ll get blowback either way. I don’t know if remaining silent is tenable. Polls show DeSantis has a narrow lead within the margin of error. I think he’ll try to coast on that.

  73. 73.

    matt

    In the case of Blackburn, I’d say that her opposition to a nominee should be required for the nomination to go forward.

  74. 74.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: You can tell they weren’t “deeply held” because they all support TFG, who if he were a Democrat they would say didn’t have the right “character” to be in public office. One thing TFG has done has exposed their hypocrisy to everyone for good. I never have to believe one of their lectures is in good faith again! Now I know for sure it’s all bullshit.

  75. 75.

    zeecube

    @Soprano2: The Michigan Supreme Court’s opinion indicates that the rebublicans on the panel refused to put the amendment on the ballot because it failed to state all of the existing Michigan constitutional amendments which would be abrogated if the measure passed into law.  The Court’s response was basically, “poppycock”:  The panel’s job is ministerial, to determine whether form complies with what is required by statute.  That’s it. Questions of constitutional law is the Court’s job, and BTW, the amendment does not abrogate any existing law.

  78. 78.

    Kay

    @Soprano2:

    Seems like a hard position to climb down from. They were all out a month ago declaring that it was Gods Will that 10 year olds carry rapists babies to term and now they…changed their minds?

    So the rape victims pregnancy ISNT a child at conception now? Or it still is a child and they’re now willing to kill it just to gain political power?  Their new position is worse than their old one.

  81. 81.

    TerryTime

    @WaterGirl: One thing she means is you can vote for abortion rights but Democrats will protect sexual orientation and gender identity and fund the public schools.

  83. 83.

    Kelly

    7:00 am here in the western Oregon Cascade foothills and our power is still on. The forecast east winds which led the power company to plan on a fire safety shutdown did not materialize last night. Hot, dry strong east wind is still the weather forecast for today and Saturday so they may shut down later.

    Not too worried about a fire. Precautionary power shutoff is good since power lines played a big role in the 2020 Labor Day fires. Forecast east winds are half that of the 2020 Labor Day fires.

  84. 84.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    Or it still is a child and they’re now willing to kill it just to gain political power?

     
    To be fair, that’s their attitude towards children who are born.

  85. 85.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Fox News is still pushing birtherism (Mediate, if you’re unfamiliar, is kind of a right-leaning version of Raw Story)

    Look at that portrait, Jessica,” Gutfeld said. “Can we can we see that portrait again of former President Obama, I find this striking, Jessica, can we see it there, did you notice what’s missing? His background!”

    Gutfeld joked the segment should have ended there, as the other panelists laughed.

    After some back-and-forth about whether Tarlov understood the quip, Tarlov said, “I get it, he’s Kenyan. Whatever.”

    one thing I’ve noticed lately, a lot of D-list Fox/DC Examiner types have “comedian” in their twitter bios, but I’ve never heard of any of them, and I see a lot of comics in my twitter in-take via Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt.

  86. 86.

    Ruckus

    @Baud:

    We had a war about that and in over a century and a half since, the opinion of conservatives has seemingly only gotten worse. They want to be able to openly get their hate on, they do not agree with the concept that humans can be born any darker than Casper the ghost. They didn’t learn then how wrong they are, and they don’t want to learn it now. Too fucking bad for them, that they are that dumb and hateful.

  88. 88.

    zhena gogolia

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m afraid I actually had heard of him, for my sins.

    I’m watching a lot of standup as I do my PT exercises, and the best one so far is Wanda Sykes. I can see that Chris Rock and Richard Pryor are brilliant, but they don’t really make me laugh. Strange, because when Pryor was young he was probably the person who could make me laugh to tears. I guess I’m older.

  92. 92.

    germy shoemangler

    @Amir Khalid:

    Gotta be fucking wild to be Liz Truss rn. There’s a clip of you saying the monarchy is disgraceful 30 years ago circulating. 2 days ago the Queen appointed you PM. Now she dropped dead and you’re speaking at the funeral

    — Callidora (@CallidoraStrix) September 8, 2022

    WATCH: Leeds student #LizTruss in this clip from 1994 says the idea of the monarchy is disgraceful. “I’m not against any of them personally — I’m against the idea that people can be born to rule,” a young #Truss says in a footage from the UK’s TV channel. #RIPQueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/Nnc1H6Zfqs

    — BNN United Kingdom (@BNNUK) September 9, 2022

  96. 96.

    cain

    @Kay: Hey the conservative SCOTUS judges during their confirmation hearing under oath said Roe v Wade was settled law – look how that turned out.

    Just bring that shit up every time in ads. The governor should definitely be putting ads to counter that messaging with something like above.

  97. 97.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Happy Friday everyone.  One more clip from my jazz/funk quartet’s set last weekend.  Here we are playing the theme from the Bruce Lee classic, Fists Of Fury.  This is a song/arrangement that Kamasi Washington recorded a couple years ago and I absolutely fell in love with it on first listen.  So this was a tune I had been waiting about four years to play with a solid band.  Enjoy!

  98. 98.

    cain

    @SFAW: Yeah, that “rap sheet” wording was used on purpose. It’s a definitely a dog signal for those who grew up in the 80s. They use those words often in movies.

  99. 99.

    Cacti

    @germy shoemangler: “I’m not against any of them personally — I’m against the idea that people can be born to rule,”

    While no fan of the Tory party, I can’t find anything wrong with the above statement.

  100. 100.

    germy shoemangler

    @Cacti:

    Nor can I.

    It’s just awkward for her that they went to the trouble of digging up that clip. It’s always nice when conservatives squirm.

  102. 102.

    Mike in NC

    Hard to believe that the Fat Orange Clown and his zombie Stephen Miller wanted to end all immigration into this country at a time when a pandemic caused a shortage of badly needed doctors and nurses.

  103. 103.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: As we both know, their supporters know they are lying but are fine with it. TFG has shown them that it’s OK to lie as long as it’s in the service of gaining power to impose your will and beliefs on others whether they want that or not. They twist themselves into pretzels trying to explain how their devout evangelical faith aligns with their support of TFG and their previous condemnation of Bill Clinton, who they declared had a character that was too damaged to be president.

  108. 108.

    dnfree

    @catclub: Mueller did not look good at the hearing he appeared for. Almost looked like a stroke or dementia to the casual observer.  I don’t think he’s up to it.

  112. 112.

    Geminid

    @dnfree: Someone suggested that a qualified FISA judge could be a suitable special master. Maybe one has retired recently. I think they are a subset of DC Federal District Judges.

    If there is to be a special master the less public celebrity the better I think.

  116. 116.

    Llelldorin

    TFG has shown them that it’s OK to lie as long as it’s in the service of gaining power to impose your will and beliefs on others whether they want that or not.

    I think this reverses cause and effect. Republicans have been fine with lying in the service of gaining power for years. I don’t think they realized how vulnerable that left them to being partyjacked by the first grifter substantially better at it than they were.

  117. 117.

    SFAW

    @The Thin Black Duke: ​
     

    Right-wing “comedians” label their bigotry as “edgy”.

    There have been many more sightings — say, in the last 20 years — of ivory-billed woodpeckers than of RWMF “humor.”

  119. 119.

    cintibud

    @Soprano2: When I was in college at basketball crazy Dayton I heard a story that when there was a bad call by the refs the students would chant “Bullshit!”. Back then that was considered very bad form and the University directed the cheerleaders to try to stop it. When the chant started the cheerleaders would hold on hand high in a “Stop” position but their other hand would be close to the chest doing the “louder!” signal. That is the perfect comparison to repubs – outward signaling one thing while quietly signaling they really didn’t mean it.

  120. 120.

    StringOnAStick

    @Kelly: Forecast quality seems to be an issue here.  I go to bed last night with an overnight low forecast in the low 50’s, and the low was 37. Same thing yesterday with an actual low of 43.  No wonder the official growing season length is so short, not getting a reliable prediction about if I need to cover the veggies or not.  Here’s hoping the predicted winds are a lot less in reality.

  121. 121.

    Geminid

    @Llelldorin: Your point about Trump hijacking the Republican party is well taken. A view from a different angle was given by the late M.D. Russ, writing for the Virginia conservative magazine Bearing Drift:

       Trump did not hijack the Republican Party…he just answered the casting call.

    Russ was a self-described “independent conservative,” and his analysis of trump’s position in the modern Republican Party is the best I’ve read. Russ described Trump’s ascent as the culmination of a process begun by Newt Gingrich and his 1992 “Contract for America.”

    The article was published in Bearing Drift  June 22, 2020 under the title, “Trump is the real Republican President.” M.D. Russ was a retired Army Colonel, and he passed away this spring.

  123. 123.

    Scout211

    @Kelly: I’ll be thinking of you. Hopefully your power won’t be turned off. But if it is, you have a generator ready for that, right?

    Here in NorCal, the Mosquito fire is over 23,000 acres now with zero containment. My granddaughter and her boyfriend are evacuated and the fire is approaching the town where they live with his parents.  The entire town is in mandatory evacuation.

    And now SoCal is in for a rough ride soon as the remnants of hurricane Kay will hit SoCal and Arizona with possible Santa Ana winds (very dangerous fire conditions) and possible isolated torrential rains with flooding.

  124. 124.

    Soprano2

    @Geminid: I agree with Mr. Russ, TFG just exposed everything Republicans had been running on on the sly. He ripped off all of their cover, the rot was already there. If it hadn’t been, TFG never would have become their nominee, because Republicans could have gotten everything they said they wanted from any other Republican candidate. Would another Republican have vetoed the tax cut bill, or nominated judges who were different than what TFG did? Of course not! What the R base wanted was a candidate who would give voice to their anger and frustration about how the world was changing in ways that made them unhappy and uncomfortable.

  125. 125.

    Geminid

    @Soprano2: Looking back, I thought that Dave Brat’s defeat of Eric Cantor in the 2014 Virginia 7th CD primary was a harbinger of Trump’s nomination. The radicals were fed up with the establishment and wanted to shake up the party. Trump capitalized on this mood. You might say he turbocharged it.

    In the 7th District at least, the radicals overreached. Cantor probably could have held on to that seat at least until it was redrawn this year, but Bratt got knocked out by Abigail Spanberger in 2018.

  126. 126.

    J R in WV

    @Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman): ​
     

    Does anyone know why the King flew from Aberdeen to London on a private jet belonging to LuxaviationUK?

    King Charles preferred the leather seats on the Luxaviation jet, soft, buttery, warm hides of young virgins to loll around on. Plus, Luxaviation has far superior cognac than the Royal Air Force. Also much better looking service staff~!!~ That’s important for a new Billionaire King !!!

  127. 127.

    J R in WV

    @dnfree: ​
     

    Mueller did not look good at the hearing he appeared for. Almost looked like a stroke or dementia to the casual observer. I don’t think he’s up to it.

    I agree — he could barely find a page in his report to read it to the committee. Flat could not actually formulate a complex sentence not already written in his report. Sad but true.

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