Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

You cannot love your country only when you win.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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

Republicans do not trust women.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

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TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: An Anniversary, Among Other Things

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  1. 1.

    NotMax

    Who’da thunk after the exit of Louie Gohmert the collective iQ of House Republicans would go down?

    As a footnote, irony is not dead.

    As the day dragged on into the 11th ballot, I was sitting outside the House chamber when New York Rep.-elect George Santos, the infamous resume fabricator, was walking by in conversation with another member. The only words I overheard him say were, “You can’t make this crap up.” Source

    //

  2. 2.

    Msb

    Can I ask somebody to post a link to the entire presentation ceremony? I would like to honor the people being honored by the President.

    Looks like Jeffries and Clark are both good wartime consiglieri – we’re going to need them.

  5. 5.

    lowtechcyclist

    I’ve heard nothing but good things about Katherine Clark over the years.  And that was quite some speech she gave there.

    We Dems have a really good House leadership team.  Jeffries, Clark, and Aguilar are all topnotch.  This Congress won’t be an easy operating environment, but I have trust that they will make the most of such opportunities that are available this year.

  6. 6.

    PaulB

    Courtesy of the Washington Post: “Supporters raise millions to rebrand Jan. 6 rioters as ‘patriots’”

    Not a gift link, but if you turn off Javascript in your browser, you can read any WP story just fine. Some tidbits:

    Right-wing supporters of the “Jan. Sixers” have formed prayer chains, instigated letter writing campaigns, organized vigils and raised millions for their legal defense — all with the aim of supporting the 932 federally charged defendants they see as valiant patriots, prisoners of conscience persecuted for engaging in their First Amendment rights. …

    Since 2021, Jan. 6 defendants have raised more than $3.7 million on the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, according to a Washington Post review of accounts that remain public, and millions more havebeen raised by umbrella groups in the name of the “patriots” — a flood of money that has raised concerns about fairness and oversight. …

    “It’s almost like Jan. 6 is baked into the electorate on the far right. When they see Jan. 6, they automatically think peaceful patriots being persecuted as political prisoners,” said Denver Riggleman, a former Republican congressman and senior technical adviser for the House Select Committee that investigated the attack. “It normalizes violence as an acceptable method for political disagreement. In effect, it endorses domestic terrorism. Not to mention that January 6th is a case study in radicalization and actions based completely on fantasy.”

    As you might expect, none of the people and organizations fundraising on this are being completely transparent over where the money is going.

  7. 7.

    M31

    Republican Agenda:

    • wake up

    • step on rake

    • step on own dick

    • step on own dick impaled on rake

    • vote to adjourn

  8. 8.

    PaulB

    Already posted in the comments here, but worth another look: “Herschel Walker Staffer: Matt Schlapp ‘Groped’ My Crotch.”

    Unfortunately, it’s a “he said; he said” situation so far, but there is reasonably compelling evidence that it’s true, e.g., call records, videos the staffer recorded at the time, calls to other Walker campaign officials at the time, etc.

  9. 9.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    I can’t believe it’s been two years already. It doesn’t seem like it. I was at work and didn’t watch the attack live. I remember feeling a sense of dread later, waiting for further attacks on state capitols, etc

    When it was happening, did any of you fear the worst? There were several close calls as I remember at the US Capitol. We were very lucky

  10. 10.

    lowtechcyclist

    @PaulB:

    As you might expect, none of the people and organizations fundraising on this are being completely transparent over where the money is going.

    Yeah, knock me over with a feather.

    And who knew “engaging in their First Amendment rights” included everything from trespassing to vandalism to assaulting police officers to attempting to overthrow the government?

  12. 12.

    Sanjeevs

    Heading into the third year of the investigation, the pace of arrests has slowed dramatically, even as federal prosecutors have just three years left until the statute of limitations runs out on most Jan. 6 offenses.
    While the FBI arrested more than 700 defendants in the first year of the investigation, it arrested about 200 in the second.
    The Justice Department has chosen to focus its resources on people who either entered the Capitol or committed violence or property damage outside, not on the thousands of demonstrators who simply passed barricades and entered the restricted grounds of the Capitol. The FBI has arrested more than 900 people, but the total number of Jan. 6 participants who could be charged under that approach is more than 3,000, according to a database compiled by sleuths.

     

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/feds-say-long-haul-jan-6-investigation-rcna61728

  14. 14.

    sdhays

    @M31: You forgot “fail to vote to adjourn, roll around in own feces” followed by “finally get a lucky break and barely manage to adjourn”.

  15. 15.

    PaulB

    @lowtechcyclist:And who knew “engaging in their First Amendment rights” included everything from trespassing to vandalism to assaulting police officers to attempting to overthrow the government?

    No, no … they were just visiting tourists, remember? It was those Antifa terrorists who did all of the violence. Or maybe it was FBI infiltrators. I’m not really clear on that.

    But it definitely wasn’t those adorable, peaceful patriots who are now political prisoners. No sir, definitely not. It couldn’t be them. Why they are so saintly you can practically see the halos!

  16. 16.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    When it was happening, did any of you fear the worst? There were several close calls as I remember

    Because I was so confident the protection of the Capitol would look like this, I was working away and not really paying much attention to what was going on in the world.  I think it was well into afternoon before I realized that anything was amiss.  It was only afterwards that I realized how close things had come to disaster at several points.

  17. 17.

    PaulB

    From a WP story this morning on the current train wreck in the House:

    Though reelected in November and wearing an official congressional pin, Pence was not technically a member of Congress, because he had not been sworn in again.

    “I’m a member-elect,” Pence (R-Ind.) explained.

    But if there are no actual members, who is in charge on this side of the Capitol?

    Pence pointed to the ceiling and said, “God.” (God could not be reached for comment.)

    Gotta love that last line.

  18. 18.

    Ken

    Biden tells us he’s “following with great—how can I say it?” Kamala Harris chimed in: “attention.” Biden echoed: “attention.”

    I wonder if they scripted that. It certainly primes every listener to fill in the blank with the word they think Biden really wanted.  Amusement, disgust, pity, schadenfreude…

  19. 19.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Sanjeevs: I’d rather they focus their time and energy on the people responsible for planning the various aspects of the attempt to overthrow the government, rather than trying to prosecute a couple thousand people who can be nailed on no more than trespassing charges.

  21. 21.

    Princess

    Our team is really dropping the ball if we don’t make Jan. 6th a national day of commemoration, complete with bonfires and burnings in effigy. It needs to start as a popular movement.

  23. 23.

    Sanjeevs

    @lowtechcyclist: Yeah but zero indictments after two years for planning the insurrection.

    Zero indictments for the various fake elector schemes.

    Zero indictments for blatant obstruction by the Secret Service (and probably others)

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    @Paul B

    It was those Antifa terrorists who did all of the violence. Or maybe it was FBI infiltrators. I’m not really clear on that.

    You left out marauding drag queens.

    //

  25. 25.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @lowtechcyclist: I agree; DOJ and everyone else with some investigative or prosecutorial responsibility should focus on the planners.

    That said, I think all 3,000 of the trespassers should forever have their wages garnished. Some of the funds could go to Capitol upkeep, but most should go to the responders (LEOs, etc.) who were harmed physically or mentally (or the relatives of those who died) by the terrorist insurrectionists .

  30. 30.

    H.E.Wolf

    @lowtechcyclist: The feds are following a “¿por que no los dos?” strategy. In addition to charging and convicting lower-level insurrectionists (who may flip on the planners), there are charges and convictions for mid-level seditionist conspirators; and it is increasingly likely that charges will be laid against higher-level malefactors in future.

    It does take time. Although MAGATs sneer at it, due process is vital to democracy.

    Meanwhile, we can appreciate this:

    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-oath-keepers-and-oath-keepers-member-found-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-and-other

    And look forward to this:

    https://apnews.com/article/proud-boys-washington-state-government-district-of-columbia-legal-proceedings-merrick-garland-25247c2384b86c7ba3c248c897f82a57

  31. 31.

    PaulB

    Fox News is apparently not entirely in lockstep in their reactions to the current kerfuffle in the House.

    Ben Domenech, a Fox News contributor and podcaster, was briefly the subject of Carlson’s scorn during the Thursday night broadcast of Tucker Carlson Tonight. During a Fox Business appearance earlier in the day, Domenech expressed concerns about House Republicans delaying the process by stubbornly opposing GOP leader Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker. The ongoing effort is the longest attempt to elect a new speaker since 1859.

    “[The anti-McCarthy holdouts] trying to achieve these demands has resulted in essentially this terrorist standoff between them and the overwhelming majority of people in their conference,” Domenech said on Fox Business. “People they are supposed to work with as a team.”

    Carlson, who insisted that the House’s inability to elect a speaker after three days was neither “especially unusual” or “bad,” included Domenech’s remark at the end of a video segment featuring multiple pundits weighing in on the debacle. Carlson introduced the clips by referring to the pundits, including Domenech, as “the moron community.”

    “It’s not a disaster, it’s how the system’s supposed to work,” Carlson said of the search for House speaker. “But don’t tell the moron community that, they’re too overwrought to hear you.”

  33. 33.

    BlueGuitarist

    21 Rs voted against congressional gold medals for Jan 6 US Capitol defenders
    3 no longer in house
    5 voting for McCarthy
    13 consistently against Kevin, joined by 5 newly elected, Bishop (NC), and Donalds.

  34. 34.

    PaulWartenberg

    To me, January 6th is supposed to be Epiphany in Tarpon Springs FL, a high holy day for Greek Orthodox and the blessing of the boats and waters.

    Damn the Republicans for ruining this day.

  36. 36.

    Denali

    I cannot help but wonder if this grandstanding by the 20 traitors in Congress is not an attempt to steal the limelight from the current trials of the Proud Boys who planned the insurrection. One of them, Dominic Pezzola, is from Rochester, NY, and their is absolutely no coverage of him is the local news. More indictments of those at the top need to happen and soon. They need to be held accountable.

  37. 37.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @lowtechcyclist:

    That’s exactly what I expected too. It was shocking to see our government so unprepared when we were told the opposite was the case for decades. Part of this can be laid at the feet of Trump

  39. 39.

    peter

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I work on DC (well, before the pandemic) and a German friend called me the evening of Jan. 6 to make sure I was all right. He was horrified by the video he was seeing on TV. He’d seen Trump’s speech and said that the only thing missing was the Nazi salute.

  41. 41.

    artem1s

    I hope there is some sort of memorial recognition today by the WH and/or Senate. FSM knows the current House GOP leadership won’t do it. I’m hoping one of Jeffries’ nominators will expound on it at length today. And the GQP nominators will proudly show America their treasonous asses too. It’s probably not a bad idea to let them show off their worser selves once in awhile to remind the normies they aren’t ‘good’ guys deep down.

  42. 42.

    Frankensteinbeck

    So, did the committee find out why the security was so light on Jan 6th?  Because that’s the difference between a crowd of chickenshit conservatives grumbling and then going home, and a mob who thinks they’ve been handed their fantasy with no repercussions.

  43. 43.

    jonas

    @M31: Claudia Tenney (*spits*) was on my NPR station this morning claiming that the Republican dumpster fire in the House was actually a just a bustling and vibrant marketplace of ideas that shows how open minded and tolerant of debate Republicans are! It’s practically like the Constitutional Convention of 1787 all over again (seriously, she made that analogy). Not like those authoritarian-loving Democrats who all just immediately fell in line behind tyrannical cult leader Hakeem Jeffries.

    Jeffries and Clark need to continue to shine a light on the dysfunction and radicalism at the heart of the Republican brand. Over and over, every day. I think it’s starting to stick if they’re sending out people like Tenney to try to push back on it. Albeit with the most laughable arguments ever, but wev. It’s Republicans. They can’t even be assed to make halfway reasonable historical analogies, much less have a coherent governing strategy.

  44. 44.

    oldgold

    I think this House battle continues until the number of votes for the Speakership reaches round 18. That is the number at which Gaetz traditionally loses interest.

  45. 45.

    Betty Cracker

    @PaulWartenberg: Same, plus the birthday of a very dear friend since childhood. The swimmers lucked out this year because it could be colder!

    @H.E.Wolf: I wonder when Meggs, Rhodes, et al., will be sentenced. Prior to his arrest, Meggs used to live in the next county over from me. His wife’s trial starts sometime this quarter, IIRC. I take a special interest in those two since they embody the worst of my neighbors — arrogant, aggrieved, reactionary shitheads. I hope they get the sentences they deserve.

  46. 46.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I watched the proceedings on C-SPAN, having expected much less opposition than what occurred.

    I was equal parts appalled, and confident that the insurrectionists (high and low) would not succeed. Tl;dr: I knew who had the real grit in their characters, and it wasn’t the people on the losing side.

    Tangentially: I’m keeping an eye open for postcarding opportunities in special elections in 2023. There’s more than one kind of wild rumpus! I like the GOTV kind. :)

  48. 48.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Betty Cracker: @H.E.Wolf: I wonder when Meggs, Rhodes, et al., will be sentenced. …  I hope they get the sentences they deserve.

     Likewise.

    And now to log off and start the day. We’ll keep the Union standing!

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @H.E.Wolf: I was having a busy day at work so I was playing little attention.  I kept get getting texts about it through the day, but the magnitude was what went on was not apparent until I had a chances to see video of it after the fact.  Sort of like when I first heard that some had flown a plane into the Twin Towers, I assumed someone lost control and bounced a Cessna off one of them.

  54. 54.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Amir Khalid:

    And the little children chant:

    Be wary, be wary
    Of Sixth January,
    The Proud Boys and Oathkeepers too:
    Breaking down doors,
    Trampling the floors,
    And smearing the walls with poo-poo.

    :-)

  55. 55.

    Geminid

    @H.E.Wolf: There will be 40 state Senate seats and 100 House of Delegates seats up for election in Virginia this fall. Plenty of post card opportunities there!

    This will be an interesting test of the question: was Foungkin’ Youngkin’s win a trend or a one-off. The elections will also be held on a neutral map; legislative elections since 2011 were held on a map drawn by Republicans (although, a 2018 court order resulted in 11 House districts being redrawn).

  56. 56.

    Kay

    The minute they make a deal the vast majority of the Republicans in the House will immediately have huge concessions regret, because they gave away everything – way, way too much- to get it.

    That’s their BEST case.

  58. 58.

    schrodingers_cat

    I was glued to Twitter as the attack was happening. It was a shock. Not as big a shock as when the Orange Error was first elected but still. It definitely was one of the horror stories of American politics  that I witnessed. Here are some others:

     

    Clinton’s impeachment.

    W’s team being able to stop counting the votes in Florida

    W bumbling into Iraq under false pretenses

    Orange Error’s election

    Jan 6th

    Even after all this the MSM still runs interference for Team R and treats them as good faith participants tells you all that you need to know about their impartiality.

  61. 61.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kay:

    The minute they make a deal

    Which raises a major question I haven’t heard asked:  Does any deal McCarthy makes amount to more than a fart in the wind?  He doesn’t decide the House rules.  It’s a majority vote.  That he’s willing to give away the farm doesn’t mean the ‘piss outside the tent’ caucus will pass it.  There have already been statements that McCarthy’s offer of letting the TT20 jump the line for committee assignments is unacceptable.

  63. 63.

    The Moar You Know

    When it was happening, did any of you fear the worst? 

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I will be wholly honest:  I left work, went home, loaded both my shotguns and put one by the front door and one by the back, and they stayed there for a couple of weeks.

    I have plenty of Trumpist neighbors, I had been publicly involved (personally and successfully) in keeping the local high school closed for COVID, my address is public record, and it is not a far stretch from “show up January 6, will be wild” to “I need every patriotic American to go out and take care of the voting problem you have in your neighborhood”.  Literally just a one-sentence, small escalation.  You’re goddamn right I feared the worst.  If that orange fucker had thought opening up a hot civil war would have gotten his fat ass back in the White House he’d absolutely have done it.

  64. 64.

    Betty Cracker

    On January 6, 2021, I put up an electoral vote open thread here and was watching the proceedings on TV. I remember thinking the sore loser rabble crowd was small at first, but that was just the camera angle. IIRC, my commentary at the time was super cogent — along the lines of “this is some crazy shit, man!”

  65. 65.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Maybe it doesn’t matter who is speaker now since McCarthy gave all the power away. Just elect some far Right figurehead – the nutjobs will be running everything either way.

  66. 66.

    Edmund Dantes

    @jonas: also it’s classic GOP to praise and love performative hollow versions of a thing. There isn’t debate and free flowing ideas going on in the house. It’s a procedural vote that the GOP insists on taking over and over again even though they know they can’t win it, hoping for some outside miracle to change it.

    The speeches are pro forma nonsense from the GOP, and the Jeffries speeches are just normal nominating speeches (but no Dem is out there claiming this is some high minded debate).

  67. 67.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jake Sherman @JakeSherman 20m
    NEWS— KEVIN MCCARTHY ANNOUNCES ON GOP CALL THAT HE AND CHIP ROY HAVE A DEAL

    Jake Sherman @JakeSherman 12m
    Later on the call, McCarthy said I’m not saying we have an agreement. I am saying we’re in a great spot. HFC is meeting about the proposed deal.

    Eight minutes. And apparently he’s whining about reporters listening in on the call, and or members leaking to reporters.

  69. 69.

    Edmund Dantes

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: also Roy has never claimed he can bring enough votes to get McCarthy across the line. Just shrink it to the dead Enders. I mean “we have a deal for slightly less humiliating beatings!”

  70. 70.

    Mike in Pasadena

    First twit said “. . . Donald Trump’s supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol . . .”

    Oh, you mean Republicans attacked the Capitol.

  71. 71.

    Old Man Shadow

    Today’s anniversary should be a big deal. Domestic terrorists and their sympathizers led by the former president came closer to destroying the United States than Osama Bin Laden could ever dream of.

  72. 72.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Kay: ​
      Whatever deals McCarthy made don’t really matter. They still need to be voted into place, and that won’t happen. McCarthy has no power. Official or unofficial. Implicit or explicit. None. He is an empty shell. No one who steps up to replace him will honor his deals.

  73. 73.

    frosty

    @H.E.Wolf: Tangentially: I’m keeping an eye open for postcarding opportunities in special elections in 2023.

    School board and local elections in PA. I already know they’re already coming after mine.

  74. 74.

    Mike in NC

    @Kay: Whoever runs for Speaker of the House should be required to pledge not to try to overthrow a legally elected federal government. Definitely a stretch for some members of Congress.

  78. 78.

    Ken

    @Mike in NC: Theoretically the 14th Amendment, section 2* already covers that. But as with a lot of things in the Constitution (e.g. emoluments), it appears we’re a little short of enforcement mechanisms.

    * TL;DR version: “No insurrectionist may hold federal or state office.”

  79. 79.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Princess:

    Our team is really dropping the ball if we don’t make Jan. 6th a national day of commemoration, complete with bonfires and burnings in effigy. It needs to start as a popular movement.

    Kinda like Guy Fawkes Day, then?  Sounds good to me.

  80. 80.

    kindness

    @Betty Cracker: One bonus of the convictions on felony charges is these people won’t be able to legally own or possess guns.  You know that is going to hurt their tender feefees most of all.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    @Sanjeevs:

    Icky note: I hope they took DNA samples from the shit smeared on the walls of the Capitol. Would love to see those (literal) shitbirds get a date with destiny.

  86. 86.

    Old School

    @Mike in NC:

    Whoever runs for Speaker of the House should be required to pledge not to try to overthrow a legally elected federal government.

    That’s what the stolen election claims are all about.

  87. 87.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    That said, I think all 3,000 of the trespassers should forever have their wages garnished. Some of the funds could go to Capitol upkeep, but most should go to the responders (LEOs, etc.) who were harmed physically or mentally (or the relatives of those who died) by the terrorist insurrectionists.

    Given infinite prosecutorial resources, I’d agree.  But we don’t have that.  For me, it’s a question of which they choose to prioritize.  People who were part of the mob, but didn’t enter the Capitol, didn’t commit any acts of assault or vandalism, and didn’t actively assist or spur on those who were – it isn’t worth the time and energy of prosecuting them if it means time taken away from prosecuting the big fish.

  88. 88.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    While Kevin McCarthy worries about reporters seeing the Big Board hearing the Important Call, Democrats are on the Capitol Steps. There is one Republican out there with them, Brian Fitzpatrick (whose district I believe is Biden’s strongest 2020 among the R front-liners)

    ABC News @ABC

    Rep. Hakeem Jeffries at event marking two years since Jan. 6 attack: “We are gathered here to…acknowledge with deep gratitude the tremendous bravery of the hundreds of officers who defended us at this citadel of democracy that fateful day.“

  89. 89.

    Betty Cracker

    New AP story:

    Democratic officials’ homes, offices, shot up in New Mexico

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The homes or offices of four elected Democratic officials in New Mexico have been hit by gunfire over the past month, and authorities are working to determine if the attacks are connected.

    Nobody was injured in the shootings, which are being investigated by local and federal authorities, said Police Chief Harold Medina. He called the investigation a top priority.

    The attacks come amid a sharp rise in threats to members of Congress and two years after supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and sent lawmakers running for their lives. Local school board members and election workers across the country have also endured harassment, intimidation and threats of violence.

    Jesus. I think at least one of our commenters is involved in NM Dem Party politics.

  90. 90.

    mrmoshpotato

    Asked if he’s still monitoring @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy battle for US House speaker, Biden tells us he’s “following with great—how can I say it?” @VP Kamala Harris chimed in: “attention.” Biden echoed: “attention.”

    LMAO!  Go deep-throat Putin’s penis, GOP!

  91. 91.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
     

    People who were part of the mob, but didn’t enter the Capitol, didn’t commit any acts of assault or vandalism, and didn’t actively assist or spur on those who were

    … have a pretty good First Amendment defense if prosecuted.

  92. 92.

    lowtechcyclist

    @H.E.Wolf:

    The feds are following a “¿por que no los dos?” strategy. In addition to charging and convicting lower-level insurrectionists (who may flip on the planners), there are charges and convictions for mid-level seditionist conspirators; and it is increasingly likely that charges will be laid against higher-level malefactors in future.

    Yabbut trespassers on the grounds who weren’t part of any organization, who are they going to flip on?  I expect that’s why the pace of prosecutions, in terms of raw numbers of people being prosecuted, is diminishing.  Few of those people would help the prosecutors work their way up the ladder.

  93. 93.

    mrmoshpotato

    Amid multiple failed House speaker votes, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi says “thank God” Republicans weren’t in the majority on Jan. 6 — “because that was the day you had to be organized to stave off what was happening.”

    God bless Nancy Pelosi.

  94. 94.

    karen marie

    @jonas:  Let me guess – her NPR host didn’t ask what the holdouts are demanding or about the concessions that McCarthy has already made.  One of the demands is that the House be permitted to strip specific salaries out of the budget when they want to get rid of someone they can’t otherwise get rid of.

  95. 95.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    I gave up on watching yesterday, except for an occasional check-in for a few minutes. It’s like Sisyphus meets Waiting for Godot. I think what broke me was MSNBC giving it the full Steve Kornacki treatment. The math is dead simple—grade-school arithmetic—and seeing him strain to fill segments with “analysis” was heartbreaking.

  97. 97.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Democrats are on the Capitol Steps. There is one Republican out there with them

    I’d ask “whatever happened to ‘back the Blue'” but that was answered on this day two years ago.  They back the blue when the blue’s cracking the heads of minorities and liberal protesters.  They like cops who regard Proud Boys etc. as “armed friendlies.”

  99. 99.

    oatler

    Does any body know the origin of this poll on my Cozi TV schedule?

    What Do You Think?Open Menu

    Do you think socialism will ever overtake capitalism as the primary philosophy behind the government and economy of the United States?
    Do you think socialism will ever overtake capitalism as the primary philosophy behind the government and economy of the United States?

    Yes, soon
    Yes, but not for a long time
    It’s possible
    No, it will never happen
    Other / No opinion

  100. 100.

    Kent

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    I can’t believe it’s been two years already. It doesn’t seem like it. I was at work and didn’t watch the attack live. I remember feeling a sense of dread later, waiting for further attacks on state capitols, etc

    When it was happening, did any of you fear the worst? There were several close calls as I remember at the US Capitol. We were very lucky

    I was teaching school that day.  I remember sort of following it online but I remember thinking that it can’t really be as bad as it turned out to be.  It was kind of the culmination of a whole month of endless gut wrenching dread and anger that these horrid people were allowed to drag us through that endless saga.  Not just 1/6 but the endless refusal to acknowledge the election

    It was really just part of a month-long slow motion attempt to steal an election.  We tend to forget how vile the rest of it was too.

  101. 101.

    kalakal

    @Amir Khalid: I loved Bonfire Night as a kid. We never went in much for the Guy, it was more about the fireworks, bonfire toffee, parkin*, and letting our inner pyromaniac loose.

    I actually think this is a good idea, it’s a great celebration and a great way of keeping a memory alive**

    * a traditional cake for Nov 5th – here’s a recipe

    https://www.daringgourmet.com/yorkshire-parkin-cake/

    ** No one actually has it in for Guy Fawkes anymore but everyone in the country knows of the events and overwhelmingly takes a dim view of attempts to blow up parliament.

    These days places like Lewes have a vote as to most despised person and use that

    https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29915270

    and Edenbridge had a 30ft high Liz Truss complete with lettuce

  102. 102.

    Kent

    @lowtechcyclist:Given infinite prosecutorial resources, I’d agree.  But we don’t have that.  For me, it’s a question of which they choose to prioritize.  People who were part of the mob, but didn’t enter the Capitol, didn’t commit any acts of assault or vandalism, and didn’t actively assist or spur on those who were – it isn’t worth the time and energy of prosecuting them if it means time taken away from prosecuting the big fish.

    Every bit of extra resources should go towards prosecuting anyone in pubic office who participated in this insurrection in any way from Trump on down.

  105. 105.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    His brother, I believe.

    ETA: yep.

    I believe Greg Pence voted with the people who had been chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” a couple hours before the vote. I’m sure his reasons then was also “God” too.

  111. 111.

    The Moar You Know

     

    Does any body know the origin of this poll on my Cozi TV schedule?

    @oatler: no, but it’s from some asshole organization.  Because this:

    Do you think socialism will ever overtake capitalism as the primary philosophy behind the government and economy of the United States?

    is an idiot’s question.  Socialism is an economic practice, not a governmental one.

    You can have:

    Democratic socialism (i.e. present day Scandinavian states)

    Fascistic socialism (Nazi Germany)

    They are/were both socialist societies.

  112. 112.

    Kay

    Joe Miller, an Ohio state (D) rep, sent me a book – Democrats 101 A Primer for Us by J.M. Purvis. It’s a short book and I may read it. I don’t recall meeting Miller but apparently I did.

  113. 113.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Geminid: “There will be 40 state Senate seats and 100 House of Delegates seats up for election in Virginia this fall. Plenty of post card opportunities there!”

     Thank you for the reminder! I’m fired up and ready to go.

    FYI to fellow postcarders: stamp prices will go up on Jan. 22. I plan to buy a few pages of stamps beforehand, at the lower price, to give a salute of sorts to Mr. DeJoy.

  114. 114.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @lowtechcyclist: I really don’t care that much about DOJ prosecuting misdemeanor trespassing charges (that likely have strong 1A defenses) only so they can maybe get tiny sentences/fines and then everyone can use that to complain about Garland, again.  I get the sentiment of the Charge Everyone desire but it is really naive and unrealistic for how large conspiracy cases are actually won in the real world.

  117. 117.

    Steeplejack

    @kalakal:

    I was a proper British schoolboy for three years in the late ’50s and still have memories of Guy Fawkes Night. It was all about the firecrackers (“bangers,” I guess).

  119. 119.

    geg6

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    I will never forget that day, much like I will never forget 9/11, the Challenger explosion, the start of the Iraq War, the resignation of Nixon and the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK.

    I was at work and checked out BJ to see what was happening that day and could not believe it.  I then pulled up MSNBC and pretty much sat at my desk in shock the rest of the day.  Horrible day.  Just horrible.

  121. 121.

    kalakal

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I was at work so I was only getting information in flashes at first. It took a while before we realised what was happening, then it was a case of disbelief, horror and shock as it sank in.

    There are events I’ll never forget, Neil Armstrong stepping on to the moon, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and 9/11. Jan 6th is another

  122. 122.

    Ajabu

    All I can say about January 6 is that my first thought that day was how did these crazy motherfuckers even know it was my son’s birthday and why do they get so upset about a random black man turning 35? Needless to say, it sure puts a different spin on celebrating his birthday subsequently…

  123. 123.

    Kent

    @Ajabu: All I can say about January 6 is that my first thought that day was how did these crazy motherfuckers even know it was my son’s birthday and why do they get so upset about a random black man turning 35? Needless to say, it sure puts a different spin on celebrating his birthday subsequently…

    My middle daughter was born on the same day and hour that Bush started the Iraq War on March 20, 2003.  I remember watching the first US tanks cross the border that morning on CNN in my wife’s hospital room in Juneau Alaska minutes before she was brought into the ER for her scheduled C-section.

    For the next 15 or so years I could mark exactly how long we had been waging war in Iraq by simply looking at my daughter and gauging how old she was.

  127. 127.

    Bill Arnold

    @matt:

    Biden knew he couldn’t say ‘amusement’.

    Nancy Pelosi has been visibly amused in photos in the last few days.

  128. 128.

    RevRick

    Ya know, I believe that the only way McCarthy ends up as Speaker is if he plays the game “Chicken,” with the twisted twenty. The game in 50s movies where two guys drives their cars at top speed towards each other, and the one who swerves last wins.
    In this case, McCarthy arranges for twenty of his supporters to not cast a vote during the initial roll call, and they just hang back to see if any of the twisted twenty breaks, and for each one who does, a McCarthy supporter casts a vote. The threat of the crash is handing the Speakership over to Jeffries, an outcome I would relish.

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