Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

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

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

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

Republicans in disarray!

The words do not have to be perfect.

I really should read my own blog.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Second rate reporter says what?

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

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

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

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

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71Comments

  7. 7.

    lgerard

    Very excited to receive my award in the Equifax 700 million dollar data breach settlement today.

     

    $5.21

  10. 10.

    Kelly

    If you promised to something when Hell freezes over you’ll need to plan on getting it done tomorrow

  11. 11.

    Leslie

    @Kelly: One of my brothers lives in Colorado. He had to go out and shovel snow in -14 weather, which was much better than the wind-chill-assisted -50 from earlier in the day.

  13. 13.

    JWR

    @lgerard: $5.21

    Wow, partner, you really cleaned up there! /s

    This reminds me of the book “Black Hills, White Justice”, written by the son of the lawyer seeking redress for the Black Hills Indians’ grievances. And while the author makes a good case that his father worked really hard to get them some sort of monetary compensation, the final settlement, while fairly large, really didn’t add up to much once distributed. It was something like the cost of a bar refrigerator and a 6-pack of beer. I always think of that book when I see these seemingly huge settlements.

    ETA to fix things.

  14. 14.

    ColoradoGuy

    @eclare: No joke. Even less fun with a sloping driveway, and a little terrier that needs her walkies. She did NOT like the below-freezing concrete sidewalk, or having to do her business in 2″ of snow.

    Sleeping peacefully in her soft round bed right now, with a successful completion of the last dog walk (not too far in this weather).

  19. 19.

    opiejeanne

    @mrmoshpotato: It’s only 24 here near Seattle and we have a few inches of snow on the ground, but we’re supposed to get an ice storm in the wee hours before it warms all the way up to 40. And rains for the next 10 days. Lots of rain, and a high of at least 50 one day.

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    It’s a balmy 61 degrees before dawn here in my part of FL right now, but a hard freeze is coming tonight. The highs over the weekend are in the 40s with lows in the 20s. That’s about as cold as it ever gets here.

  21. 21.

    Spanky

    It’s 44 degrees right now in tropical Southern Maryland.  Tomorrow is forecast to be 36 degrees cooler.

  23. 23.

    JPL

    It’s cold here.   When I brought the mutt out earlier, the wind was fierce.   Apparently, I lost power overnight, but it’s on now.  Last I checked Atlanta had about 60,000 power outages.  Stay warm!

  25. 25.

    OzarkHillbilly

    -6 or -7 now with wind gust up to 30 mph and higher, supposed to get all the way up to 5 today with the same winds. I foresee a lot of baking in my near future.

  27. 27.

    TriassicSands

    @opiejeanne:

    I’m out on the Olympic Peninsula and it’s been a cold week. We have 6-7 inches of snow on the ground where I am and it hasn’t really melted at all, since it’s been so cold.

    My major hope for this winter is not to have a repeat of the snowstorm we had a few years ago — 28″. I live at the end of an unpaved private road and we were snowed in for 11 days, since there is no snow removal on private streets. Private streets?

    This is the only place I’ve ever lived with private streets. Ridiculous. It’s like it’s designed to make sure people don’t feel like they are part of a community. Just individuals fending for themselves.

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    @TriassicSands: 11 days! I hope y’all were stocked up!

    We’ve got that “private road” problem where I live too. I’ve never figured out how the “private road” thing works. We pay property taxes like everybody else but don’t get municipal services like road maintenance and trash services like they do in town. We have to fend for ourselves when the road gets washed out, pay a company to haul our trash, etc.

  30. 30.

    Spanky

    Hey! Happy Festivus everyone!

    I see that the Feats of Strength have already begun. Don’t overdo it!

  31. 31.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @JPL: Yeah, but it’s a hard starting SOB. I’m looking at some solar options for backup. Should be able to get one for $1-2K. Much quieter than a generator.

    @TriassicSands: I think we got 2″ but it’s really hard to tell with these winds. On the upside, next Thursday has a predicted high of 58.

  32. 32.

    TriassicSands

    @Betty Cracker: 11 days! I hope y’all were stocked up!

    I had to eat my cat. Hey, it was her or me. I could tell she was eyeing me for supper.

    Just kidding. As has become increasingly common, the forecast was not accurate and the amount of snow was a surprise. Fortunately, I did have enough food to make it through. And I was well-stocked with cat food, including treats.

    I’m with you, Betty, private roads don’t make any sense to me at all. It seems our states share something else in common. WA has the most regressive tax system in the country and I think FL may be second.

    Any attempt to create a state income tax here is not only a nonstarter, it is absolute death to political campaigns. Despite the way a transsition would be managed, voters are convinced that an income tax would simply be added on top of existing taxes. It wouldn’t help at all to have the law describe in detail how other taxes would be lowered. Several years ago, Governor Insley proposed a small income tax on individuals making >$250K and couples making >$500K. The proposal was on the ballot and explicitly stated that the tax could not be extended to lower incomes without a vote of the people. It lost 2-1. Either voters didn’t think the rich were rich enough or they convinced themselves that it would be forced onto lower earnings.

  33. 33.

    OzarkHillbilly

    An Iowa police chief faces fraud charges for allegedly buying and selling machine guns for personal profit, despite stating the purchases were related to department business.

    Bradley Wendt, 46 and the police chief of Adair, Iowa, bought more than 90 machine guns between 2018 to 2022, claiming the weapons would be used for “the official duties and responsibilities of the Adair police department”, the justice department said.

    On 14 December, Wendt and an associate, Robert Williams, also 46, were charged with conspiracy to make false statements and defrauding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Wendt was also charged with illegal possession of a machine gun.

    Wendt is alleged to have falsely stated to ATF officials that the guns would be used to demonstrate potential for a future buy on behalf of the department or generally for department use.
    ………………………………..
    Adair, Iowa, known for water towers featuring smiley faces, is a town of around 800 people. Its police department has never had more than three full-time officers, the Washington Post reported.

    In addition to the gun problem, we have an even bigger gun nut problem in this country.

  34. 34.

    TriassicSands

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    A little snow can still  be a problem if accompanied by high winds. Years ago, I drove from Boulder, CO to Ohio to visit my parents. In Kansas, there had been snow, but not very much. However, strong winds blew it up against obstacles creating amazingly deep drifts in places. The flat landscape adjacent to the Interstate would be cleared almost completely of snow, but every overpass had deep drifts that in places extended out onto the highway. It was weird — a few inches of snow and snowdrifts that were higher than vehicles.

  35. 35.

    raven

    @JPL: I can’t imagine that some of the awful water oaks that are at the end of their life span aren’t going to come crashing down taking power with them. We’re pretty close to a substation and a hospital so we usually don’t go down for long.

  40. 40.

    TriassicSands

    OzarkHillbilly:    Geminid

    Well, it says right there in the Constitution: The right of the people to be armed to the teeth shall not be infringed. Likewise, the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans, as well as the right to make illegal profits from the illegal sale of illegal weapons shall not be limited.  Amendment 2a and 2b.

    Three full time officers. Ninety machine guns. C’mon, there’s nothing excessive about each officer having 30 machine guns.

  41. 41.

    Anyway

    @Betty Cracker:

    In the NE here suburban /exurban properties use private entities for trash pickup. City trash pickup is only for properties within city limits. They pay extra (and complain mightily) for services provided by the city.

  43. 43.

    Anyway

    @Geminid:

    Remind me — you were keeping track of the vandalism to the Duke Power properties in NC. Any progress in the investigation? Have they identified the perps?

  45. 45.

    sab

    Snowing like crazy here in NE Ohio. Also temperature is dropping drastically.I am seriously worried about our squirrels.

  46. 46.

    JPL

    @raven: The 3 yr old is coming over today to make cookies and have a sleepover.   I hope that the power stays on because I don’t have a plan b.

  47. 47.

    artem1s

    well it’s started here. was calm and in the 30’s when I went to bed. now it’s 11 and headed for single digits today. winds sustained 27 on Lake Erie and supposed to climb to 30. no telling about the gusts. could go as high as 50. NOAA and climatologist have been tweeting about the possibility of a sever seiche.
    A seiche is a well known phenomenon to Lake Erie where the wind blows the water west to east. I didn’t know there was a term for it until this storm. This is supposed to be so severe the surge and slosh back difference is going to +/- 20 feet. The lake isn’t frozen over yet so it’s going to back up into the rivers and expected to cause flooding first on the east end of the lake and then west as the water sloshes back.
    the snow isn’t going to be the problem for the Great Lakes regions.

  48. 48.

    Lavocat

    That is AWESOME! I want that on a t-shirt & my coffee mug! Maybe even as a tat.

    While I want Traitor Trump swinging from the end of a rope, I will settle for Jack Smith unleashing the hounds upon him. Fuck that fucking fuck.

  50. 50.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Just went out to check our crooked and steep roads for the wife: No go. No plows been down our road yet and the snow is hard packed on it. Even if I have a 4wd, I also have a hard and fast rule: Don’t drive in these conditions. Period.

    Something to do with having rolled my van at 55 mph on an ice covered I-44 after I insisted on going to work in the face of an approaching storm. Never again.

  51. 51.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: No arrests and very little fresh news. The FBI and state Bureau of Investigation are on the hunt, not to mention the Moore County Sheriff’s Department. Duke Power, the state, and the county have each put up $25,000 for a reward fund.

    I have found an interesting source for Moore County news in Cheryl Cristy-Bowman, public education activist and citizen journalist. She started a blog, moorevoices.net. The power grid attacks prompted Ms. Christy-Bowman to start what she intends to be five-part series about the radicalization of the local Republican leadership and its destructive effect on Moore County’s civic institutions.

    Christy-Bowman dropped Part 1 last week. It’s a terse and efficient timeline of events 2014-2018 intended to provide a background for developments she intends to report on in the next four parts, including the substation attacks and their aftermath.

    I accessed Part 1 through Christy-Bowman’s twitter feed, @moorevoicesnc.

  52. 52.

    TriassicSands

    @raven:

    The term “machine guns” is very inexact. I assumed the weapons involved were probably some version of the AR-15.

    But don’t forget that famous old Republican campaign slogan:

    A Tommy Gun in ever pot; a tank in every garage.

  55. 55.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: The “Part 1” blog post Ms. Bowman put up has interesting material relating to the Moore County Sheriff’s Department, including the circumstances of Sheriff Rainey’s election in 2018. Sheriff Rainey has become well-known because his remarkable press conference the afternoon after the attacks.

    I noticed that the next press briefing a was conducted by the department’s chief deputy. The Sheriff must have decided he’d do better to hide his light under a bushel.

  57. 57.

    geg6

    9 degrees with wind chill bringing it down to -11 here in the outer western ‘burbs of Pittsburgh.  I am not leaving the house for any reason other than a fire or gas leak.  This is not fun.  Lovey refused to step outside to do her business.  Thankfully, we keep pee pads for these situations.

  59. 59.

    raven

    @JPL: Ha, we made about 10 minutes! She almost never plays with balls but there are about 50 out there and she ran and picked one up and ran in circles! She’s now on her spot on the couch and not going anywhere!

  62. 62.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: And Ms. Christy-Bowman’s twitter feed, @moorevoicesnc, has some reporting on recent political activity on the part of Emily Rainey, a local right wing political activist.

    Rainey- an ex-Army psyops captain- created a stir with her cryptic “and I know why” Facebook post not long after the power went out in Moore County. Sheriff Rainey managed to amplify the sensation with his clumsy press conference the next day.

    Those following military involvement in the January 6 Insurrection might know Rainey for leading scores of local residents to Washington that day, under the auspices of a group she named Moore County Citizens for Freedom. Military Times reported on this in an article dated January 11, 2021. At the time, Rainey had resigned her commission after an adverse disclipinary finding, but had not yet been separated.

  64. 64.

    Josie

    It was 17 degrees here in Houston when I woke up this morning. I am hoping the grid holds up for the next 2 days.

  65. 65.

    TriassicSands

    @raven:

    When I wrote the words Tommy Gun, I actually did think about Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.

    Patty Hearst, heard the burst

    Of Roland’s Thompson gun,

    And bought it.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker: I worked in a grocery store to put myself through college, and your comment reminds me of how whenever there was a freeze in FL, prices of citrus fruit and everything related (juice, etc) went sky high.

    But they NEVER came back down again the next year when the crop was normal again.  And then they would raise them sky high(er) again when the next freeze happened a few years later.

  68. 68.

    Geminid

    @Miss Bianca: One thing Christy-Bowman says in her introduction to her series is that the phenoma she’s reporting on are common to many other rural counties across the nation, and I think she is right.

  70. 70.

    evodevo

    @Betty Cracker: ​
      Well, the way that works here in the Commonwealth is that a developer builds out a small subdivision or puts in lots out in the country, expecting the local govt to take over the roads when it’s built out, but neglects to construct the roads according to local specs. The Zoning people recommend NOT taking responsibility for substandard roads, and the developer, who has since sold out, decamps for greener climes and leaves the mess behind. The homeowners then have to deal with the upkeep. There are a couple of places like that near here, and I had to deal with the fallout a couple times when I was on the Planning/Zoning commission. The homeowners were pissed off, but we said, Sorry, not our problem. They, of course, didn’t have anywhere near the resources to bring the road up to code, so they were, and still are, stuck…

  71. 71.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: I really don’t know how this will play out. But I don’t think authorities will say anything about suspects until after an FBI SWAT team has them. I think whoever did this will be facing a long prison term if captured.

    They might be like, “I’m coming out please don’t shoot my dawg!”

    Or, they might be like, “the Revolution has started and I have all the ammo I need!”

    I think the biggest danger is if a suspect knows that the cops may close in soon and preemptively goes on a bloody rampage.

    There is also the possibility that this was not a lone wolf attack but an operation staged by a militia cell. It seems more likely (to me) that this is just one or two actors, responding to all the chatter and information that’s flying about on militia-oriented internet sites.

    But it could be that one or two members of a tight-knit group attacked the substations. That could make them easier to catch but more dangerous as well.

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