Good friends and happy warriors!
photo h/t Geminid
Open thread.
Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Republicans in disarray!
JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?
Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.
The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.
Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.
I was promised a recession.
Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.
No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.
Optimism opens the door to great things.
Republicans do not pay their debts.
Damn right I heard that as a threat.
A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.
A dilettante blog from the great progressive state of West Virginia.
Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.
It’s the corruption, stupid.
Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.
Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.
I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.
I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.
Infrastructure week. at last.
The revolution will be supervised.
🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵
Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll
They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.
JPL
Nancy looks so happy and I’m glad she is staying. She is amazing.
BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
They are a great pair.
Looking forward to seeing good things from Leader Jeffries, and hopefully Speaker Jeffries in two years.
gene108
Bad Lip Reading via Twitter
bbleh
There was a lot of fretting about passing the torch, but I’d say this shows it’s going very well indeed.
(Also NANCY SMASH! Just because.)
WaterGirl
You can truly talk about anything in this thread, music, politics, skydiving, anything. I just wanted to share the great photos.
Jerry
Wiley Nickel! I had the good fortune to be able to vote for him over the piedmont version of Madison Cawthorn. I wonder what Nancy and Hakeem were laughing about behind him.
mrmoshpotato
@bbleh:
Democratic leadership is truly in good hands.
bbleh
@gene108: omg still laughing
WaterGirl
My comfort level with the changing of the guard (Pelosi to Jeffries) went way up during the voting. I love Nancy SMASH, but we are in good hands with Hakeem. It’s awesome to see Nancy look so happy.
Aussie Sheila
Jeffries is going to be an excellent Speaker. He’s already proven to be a great leader. I always liked the ‘cut of his jib’. The look is a mixture of ‘machine pol’ (in a good way☺️), together with rhetorical skills and a mien that radiates fierce determination and calm under pressure.
I look forward to watching him and his caucus chop their ludicrous opposition to pieces on the floor of the HoRs.
WaterGirl
@Jerry: I was wondering who that was.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Dawgs vs Frogs! Go Dawgs!
Neldob
Happy workers! So proud to be a Democrat.
WaterGirl
@mrmoshpotato: I understand it’s not going well for the Frogs.
Jerry
Dearest Betty Cracker and all other Floridians here,
I’m sorry (not sorry), but Madison Cawthorn is now your problem. I guess he moved down to Florida, and to no great surprise actually, he did not transfer any constituent issues to his replacement in the House. I bet he never did anything with them during his tenure.
Best,
Jerry
Lapassionara
@mrmoshpotato: yes!
JPL
@mrmoshpotato: croak croak
HumboldtBlue
Well, this Georgia v TCU game is done and dusted.
Georgia has been dominant.
Gin & Tonic
I’m sure raven is having a great time right now.
Betty Cracker
@HumboldtBlue: I’m an SEC gal but was hoping for a good game! This is becoming pitiful.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: 38-7 at the half. And half for the Dawgs to further take apart the Frogs.
zhena gogolia
I’m nervous about Gym Jordan leading an investigation of the FBI and other federal law enforcement.
Why couldn’t we have won the House? This is a disaster.
mrmoshpotato
@JPL: Hahaha!
Michael Bersin
Now, the payoffs – Jason Smith (r) in Missouri’s 8th Congressional District as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee:
In the next two years Josh Hawley (r) and Eric Schmitt (r) might be able to help you name a few Post Offices
Jason Smith’s (r) district is the poorest in Missouri and among the poorest in the United States. So, of course, billionaires deserve tax breaks…
mrmoshpotato
@HumboldtBlue: I think it was done and dusted a while back.
eclare
@Betty Cracker: I didn’t even turn it on, had a feeling it would not be close.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Defund the Police is the gift that keeps giving, to the Rs. Rs were able to paint Ds as soft on crime.
Yes it is a lie but the largest demographic in the country falls for these Republican gimmicks time and time again. Its like they want to go back to the Republican fold and are looking for an excuse. We saw that in Va too. The pretext there was “schools” and the CRT panic.
NotoriousJRT
@bbleh: Viva Nancy Smash!
Frankensteinbeck
We can talk about anything? Fine. I am swearing off Savage Biomes in Dwarf Fortress. I am so, so sick of angry giant birds.
HumboldtBlue
@Betty Cracker:
I thought TCU would hang for the first half, but Georgia’s offense has been near perfect, and you ain’t coming back from 31 down against that Georgia defense.
@mrmoshpotato:
It got ugly quickly.
bbleh
@zhena gogolia: ?!? in an off year with a Dem president? And had Dems won, it would have been by the skin of our teeth, and now Jeffries would be in the position McCarthy is. If there is a disaster unfolding, it’s far from clear to me for whom.
Performers gonna perform. And the media will air it because drama. Nothing new, and frankly something I think the majority of the public are getting more than a little tired of. (See Elections, 2022, Results of.)
Only question for me is how hard the media will pound McCarthy (Squeaker McCarthy, Keystone Kop Kevin), and how well the Dems will manage the narrative. As to legislation (not that they’re serious about that), nothin’ to worry about.
JPL
@bbleh:
Didn’t you know that Biden had classified information? geez
schrodingers_cat
@Frankensteinbeck: Wait what? I didn’t understand a word of what you said.
bbleh
@JPL: and SO DID HILLARY’S EMAILS!!! Omg it’s a CONSPIRACY!
It ain’t the crime, it’s the coverup, or more specifically in this case, the obstruction.
Frankensteinbeck
@schrodingers_cat:
No, but to my unholy glee I’m not the only commenter on this blog who plays that glorious train wreck of a cult favorite computer game.
Betty Cracker
The chairman of the Florida Democratic Party resigned. I hope they choose someone outside of South FL to run it.
bbleh
@schrodingers_cat: word.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Gym Jordan can try, but there’s no way the House committees can get information about ongoing cases.
The Rs can try to create a circus around it, but they can’t really do anything.
trollhattan
Dear Lord and Hunter’s Laptop, what fresh hell is this?
bbleh
@Betty Cracker: how ’bout someone from Georgia? It ain’t so far away.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
a sitting member of Congress is accusing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (appointed by trump), and by implication the former Speaker of the House, of treason
Frankensteinbeck
@zhena gogolia:
Why? He can’t do jack shit about it. The Republicans will spew conspiracy theories like they always do, like they’ve been doing, and if they get more attention because they’re running the committees, great. Their conspiracy theories are fucking nuts. Cloud cuckoo land stuff. I personally am looking forward to the American public finding out these dingleberries actually believe Covid was a bioweapon Fauci released so liberals could condition conservatives to being ordered around.
bbleh
@trollhattan: Fewer than 10 documents, none nuclear, not yet reported at what level, and so far from all reports inadvertent. Also voluntarily reported and not noticed until then.
But it’s like Hillary’s emails, except worse, and it obviously completely excuses Trump’s lying and obstruction about the documents found in the Mar-a-Lago search and seizure because reasons.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Frankensteinbeck: I don’t know what they can or can’t do, I think there will be lots of lawsuits from DoJ about documents the committee will want, but at the very least, to the extent that they’re able, they will be leaking information to potential defendants
trollhattan
@bbleh: IOW five-dozen Benghazi-size House investigations. Whee!
Do we know who’s chairing House Judiciary yet? Any chance of a hedgehog?
Ohio Mom
Watching bits and pieces of the recent going-ons in the House, I was struck by how emotional a place it is. You can see the joy and affection between Pelosi and Jeffries in these photos, in other photos you will see the histrionics and even hands on aggression among the Republicans.
It’s a funny contrast with the image I have of Congress as being a somewhat staid place place where established ceremony and conventions rule. I think of the archaic language — “The chair recognizes the gentleman from (insert the name of state here)” — how everyone is dressed in formal business attire, how grand the architecture is, and I’m reminded of church. But the behaviors are those of a boisterous bar.
Jackie
Albuquerque, NM officials may have caught the person responsible for shooting six Democratic officials’ homes.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspect-custody-sixth-shooting-reported-new-mexico-officials-homes-off-rcna65017
bbleh
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: @Frankensteinbeck: @trollhattan: I honestly believe this nutcase performing is resonating with fewer and fewer people and conversely turning more and more off. I think it’s something of a death-spiral: even though it’s not good for them in the long run, they can’t stop.
I guess we’ll see. But even with the advantages of a dedicated propaganda network AND the usual bias of the MSM for controversy and drama, I’m not pessimistic.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: My husband was watching CNN when the story broke. Tapper almost levitated with smug glee.
Here’s what I can’t wrap my mind around: how is it possible that my local library does a better job of keeping track of books than our government does tracking classified documents? I understand that it’s infinitely more complex, but good lord!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@bbleh: on balance I think having meth-addled Chuckie doll (did he look haggard to anybody else in media coverage this past week?) front-and-center ranting about Hunter and his dick-pix is a net gain for Democrats, but there is some real capacity for fuckery there
HumboldtBlue
Frankensteinbeck
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Get used to the sentence “I can’t discuss ongoing cases,” because as I recall that’s the formula the DoJ uses when the House asks about that stuff. Since they certainly will be asked all kinds of insane shit, I’m sure that sentence will get a workout.
@bbleh:
I’m not worried about it. The Narrative, in the national press and on Fox, are facts-independent. In the Right Wing, they make up their own facts and believe way more extreme shit than this already.
Jack Smith won’t be bothered by this. That’s all I care about.
Amir Khalid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It would be unseemly to make wisecracks about Gosar huffing anaesthetic gas from his own dental clinic. So I’ll refrain.
Keith P.
@trollhattan: Prediction – the docs amount to a few pieces of paper of a relatively low classification level, and Biden’s response will be “that was a mistake” instead of “screw the law – those docs are MINE MINE MINE”. But the GOP is gonna suddenly forget about intent again.
bbleh
@Betty Cracker: I guess that’s what many people will think, but libraries actually lose track of books pretty regularly.
The nature of these classified documents is still almost entirely unknown. For all we know, they might be memos with single Confidential paragraphs in them. And in any case, it seems so far that this was an inadvertent process error discovered and properly reported.
eclare
@trollhattan: Gym Jordan is supposed to chair judiciary. I really think the average American will tire of him quickly.
Frankensteinbeck
@bbleh:
Which for the public is where this will go, because Biden and his team are great at not looking guilty and defensive. “We found some, and turned them over like he law says you do,” and the contrast with Trump’s screaming “NO NO MINE” will be stark.
HumboldtBlue
@Ohio Mom:
I recall when I first started covering court, learning just how liturgical it was. A lot of formal back and forth between the judge and attorneys. A lot of call and response. Scripted.
bbleh
@Frankensteinbeck: @Keith P.: concur on both counts. I think there will be an administrative report, and that’s that.
And then the Republicans will go nuts.
And THEN, I hope Biden gets on TV and says, yeah, there was an administrative screwup, and those people work for me, so in the end it’s my responsibility and I apologize. And we’re gonna work day and night to make sure not a single bit of that information got anywhere, and that nothing like this happens again, and that’s what responsible leaders do.
Betsy
@Jerry: That’s awesome! Thanks for helping out him over the top. Something for N.C. to be proud of — and Wiley Nickel is very much of a type with its erstwhile progressive tradition.
Steeplejack
@gene108:
Sort of like bad lip-reading, this is the funniest House-related thing I saw last week. It takes a little setup. There’s this old meme about two guys arguing over whether the good witch in The Wizard of Oz is a princess or not. Someone linked the transcript to a video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talking to Matt Gaetz. It went viral, and then someone synced the audio. Perfection!
JPL
Every time GA scores someone near me lets off fireworks. While I was putting on jammies, yup they scored again. Maybe it’s time to put in the second teams.
Ohio Mom
@Betty Cracker: Maybe not. My sister was a public librarian and has remarked more than once, “Of course we lose books!”
ETA: what bbleh said
Geminid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Gosar’s a fool to say that. Milley will be out of uniform soon enough. He knows a lot and Gosar is basically asking him to lay it all out. Milley may not have anything on Gosar but I bet he does on some of Gosar’s colleagues.
And if Paul Gosar goes walking down a DC sidewalk and happens to see Mark Milley coming the other way, just crossing the street won’t cut it. He’ll have to run.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl:
Corrected. :)
Leto
@Ohio Mom: don’t let facts get in the way of a good freak out. “I have no idea about how this process works, but I’m going to squeal about it!”
Omnes Omnibus
Did you just have a stroke?
eclare
@Steeplejack: That clip and sound were great once I understood what was going on!
HumboldtBlue
The weather in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties is not fucking around. Highway 101 shutdown in Carpenteria and north of SB, heavy flooding in Santa Barbara. Ojai has been cut off.
Frankensteinbeck
@mrmoshpotato:
The problem with making a circus is that they already are a circus, with multiple acts in each of three rings, pitched battles between clowns, and a dancing freak show. When you’ve turned the knob all the way up and broken it off already, it gets hard to single anything out for special attention.
Leto
@Omnes Omnibus: ok, boomer.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Ohio Mom: My favorite Seinfeld clip is On Topic! (I think Seinfeld is overrated, but Phillip Baker Hall is so damn good here
“Well I’ve got a newsflash for you, Joy Boy! Party time is over“
mrmoshpotato
@Betty Cracker:
Jake can go fuck himself, even though he pointed out the Rethuglicans made a child molester Speaker of the house.
bbleh
@HumboldtBlue: saw that immediate evacuation was ordered in Carpenteria. Es muy serioso.
Frankensteinbeck
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’m going to if 300 lb cardinals don’t stop flying down and murdering my kobolds who are just trying to bring wood into the fortress.
mrmoshpotato
@JPL: LOL! – about the second teams.
Leto
@Frankensteinbeck: do your kobolds have little mining hats with candles, for lighting, on them?
Cameron
@Frankensteinbeck: If the cardinals are 300 lbs., how big is the Pope?
mrmoshpotato
@Frankensteinbeck: True.
Bill Arnold
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Gosar is confessing treason, or at least sedition.
This is how Republicans confess.
Frankensteinbeck
@Cameron:
Huge. The pope menaces with spikes of marble and naked mole-dog tallow. On the pope is an image of cardinals and a pope in gold. The cardinals are striking down the pope. This image relates to the death of Pope Benedict the Asshole in the year 2023.
Omnes Omnibus
@Frankensteinbeck: Okay, did I just have a stroke?
mrmoshpotato
@Bill Arnold:
Exactly. Every accusation is a confession.
Another Scott
@gene108: Genius.
Thanks!
Cheers,
Scott.
Frankensteinbeck
@Omnes Omnibus:
I don’t know. A major symptom would be if you start to play Dwarf Fortress.
HumboldtBlue
@bbleh:
12 inches of rain in the mountains above Santa Barbara in 24 hours. That’s a lot of fucking rain. Flood alerts all throughout Ventura.
Damn, then there is this.
mrmoshpotato
@Frankensteinbeck:
The Quitter Pope!
JPL
@mrmoshpotato: Ha While brushing my teeth I hear a boom and think maybe it’s just a field goal. hahah Since I am going to bed, I hope that the neighbor runs out of fireworks.
schrodingers_cat
@Frankensteinbeck: I felt the same way when someone here knew what magic pencils were.
eclare
@HumboldtBlue: Wow. Is it supposed to flood where you are?
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: This is like listening to cricket commentary. You know they are using English words but have no clue what they are saying.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@mrmoshpotato: but the angels can at last ask him where he got those red shoes they’ve been wanting to wear
HumboldtBlue
@eclare:
Oh no, they are 500 miles to the south.
prostratedragon
@Ohio Mom: Sounds a bit like a dojang. We bow and address each other by titles because we’re then going to do aggressive and intimate things like knocking each other around.
bbleh
@HumboldtBlue: 12 inches of rain is a lot anywhere, but on those hills it’s very ungood. If you got anyone there, tell em to GTF out. No alternative is better.
Bill Arnold
@HumboldtBlue:
FWIW, a very recent case of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization. (Which more than doubles the risk of death from some other causes, e.g. heart attack, even after recovery from COVID-19.)
MAGA Supporter Diamond, Of Diamond And Silk, Has Been Hospitalized Due To COVID (Aria Bell • Nov 30, 2022)
Not saying it was related for sure, but it’s the way to guess, given the publicly available information that I’ve seen.
mrmoshpotato
@JPL:
Hopefully for you. I can see the Dawgs scoring at least 3 more touchdowns.
Kelly
eclare
@HumboldtBlue: I know you are far north of Santa Barbara, I didn’t know if you were also supposed to get massive amounts of rain.
People discount rain as a threat. I once left work early because we were supposed to get something like three inches of rain in an hour during my normal drive home. My coworkers thought I was crazy.
Steeplejack
@eclare:
“She wore a crown and came down in a bubble, Doug! Grow up, bro’.” 😹
Scout211
@eclare: 32 million Californians are under flood watches Monday.
HumboldtBlue
@Bill Arnold:
Yes, Covid could be involved.
Elsewhere, Dr. Dre’s lawyers have little patience for Marge Taylor Greene
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue: Been watching TWC and thinking of you and any other jackals effected. Stay dry and keep your nose above water!🤞🏻🤞🏻
gene108
@WaterGirl:
All R’s need is a circus. Fox News, et. al. will report on it with such intensity that the MSM will also start covering it like the biggest story of our time.
The R’s have used a circus clown car of an investigation to shiv a Democratic presidential candidate twice in my lifetime. The first was Al Gore and the Clinton impeachment. The other was Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email server.
Throw enough investigations against the wall and one of them will turn over something useful for Republicans going into 2024.
eclare
@Scout211: Thanks!
Kelly
I saw a forecast of 23 feet of snow to fall on Yosemite over the next 10 days
HumboldtBlue
@Jackie:
All well here, we are far to the north. We get our next band of rain tomorrow, and it will be around for a few days, but that’s normal winter weather here.
What’s happening in Santa Barbara and environs is much more serious.
@Kelly:
Sierra snowpack is at +200 percent of normal.
Mike in NC
Somebody needs to explain why so many dentists and veterinarians are wingnuts.
Gin & Tonic
@HumboldtBlue: Starting to think I should book a trip to Tahoe. We’ve got so little snow here that some of the ski areas are temporarily closing until it gets cold enough.
gene108
@Keith P.:
@Frankensteinbeck:
I have no idea where you guys get the confidence from that Biden having classified documents will not automatically give Trump a get out of jail free card.
Trump’s legal troubles are very public. It’s next to impossible to get an unbiased jury, if any case against him ever goes to trial.
Biden having these classified documents will muddy the waters enough to probably keep one or two jurors, at least, from voting to convict.
So far the cases cited as Smith and his DOJ team going after powerful people are Sen. Menendez, former Sen. Edwards, and Gov. McDonnell. All of whom were acquired at trial or on appeal.
Prosecutors are just bullies that push around poor shlubs for low level crimes, who can’t afford top notch defense counsel. Prosecutors faced with good defense counsel from a well funded defendant aren’t as good at getting convictions.
Whatever slim chance there was of Trump being indicted for stealing classified documents just went out the window, because Biden just had to have classified documents for some job he didn’t need.
Frankensteinbeck
@gene108:
Al Gore was a long time ago, and the R investigations didn’t bring down Hillary. A 30 year grudge held by the whole news media against Hillary and the eagerness of the public to find some reason to explain why they didn’t trust That Woman brought down Hillary, with the collusion of lots of other factors as well.
The MSM doesn’t pick up 99% of the stuff Fox news rants about. It is deranged over there. The GOP investigators aren’t going to want to lay off their favorite hobby horses for something this tame, either. No, I think this will barely be a bubble, and what will stick in the public’s head will be lunatic, ‘Jewish space laser’ level insane rants that will be a regular feature in the investigating committees.
Scout211
The winds have been brutal with several of these California storms. We just got our power restored today after two days. There are so many downed trees, many that landed on power lines and snapped power poles in half. There is excess water everywhere. The severe flooding has been mainly in the coastal areas but also inland near rivers and creeks that are now overflowing. More rain and more wind is predicted for the rest of the week. I’ve lived in California for 40+ years and have never experienced this relentless rain and wind for such an extended period of time. And they keep telling us the drought is not over yet. Sigh.
Cameron
@Scout211: And another sign of the ecological crisis engulfing the West Coast…..
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7785841/Thousands-penis-fish-washed-ashore-California-beach.html
Ken
@Cameron: You sure that’s not some promotion for the new Avatar movie?
Quinerly
@HumboldtBlue: I saw a response on Twitter that it was Covid. I have very little patience or sympathy if that is the case. Just glad it wasn’t Neil.
Quinerly
@gene108: yep.
Frankensteinbeck
@gene108:
I don’t know, but this isn’t Trump’s first court rodeo, and so far Trump’s public persona and fanatical cult haven’t been get-out-of-jail-free cards for him. It’s only a shame ‘jail’ hasn’t been on the menu yet.
The people being aimed at Trump right now are used to much higher profile defendants, with top notch defense counsel – which Trump does not have, by the way, because he’s too big an asshole to listen to top notch defense counsel.
Exactly the thing that has driven so many liberals nuts is why this Biden event will have no effect on prosecuting Trump whatsoever. Smith’s team can and will drive home that they tried and tried and tried to get the documents back, and Trump lied and stonewalled and gave partial returns. That in fact, the DoJ bent over backwards to give Trump a chance to, like Biden, go “Oops, I made a mistake,” and he not only didn’t take it, he screamed at them to give back his property. They’re not even going to do this to make a contrast with Biden. It was already the point, that there is absolutely no chance that this was an honest mistake.
mrmoshpotato
@Scout211: Do you have any sort of battery backup?
Kent
I’m not. What do you think he is actually going to find?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Frankensteinbeck: that’s the spin Rachel Maddow put on it, that Biden’s response only highlights the irregularities and illegalities of of trump’s.
Me, I’m gonna take a deep breath and see how things all pan out before I panic
Kent
@gene108: Oh knock it off. The Biden Foundation stuff is irrelevant to any Trump prosecution and won’t even be admissible.
Scout211
@mrmoshpotato: We have a generator and we used it off and on during those 2 days.
eclare
@Kent: I’m not worried either. As I said above, I think most Americans are going to tire of Republican shrieking over laptops, the Gyna virus, etc. pretty quickly.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
and from the “every accusation is a confession” file, trump accuses Biden of showing people “Classified Documents!” in return for donations. One of the few surprises of the trump post-presidency is that there wasn’t (as far as I know) some kind of Platinum Membership Level at Mar-A-Lardo that for twice the fees (and never written down) you could see his personal presidential museum, including the “love letters” from the psychotic, murderous third-generation dictator of North Korea
Cameron
@Kent: I’d say “his own ass,” except he probably can’t do that with both hands and a GPS.
Sister Golden Bear
@HumboldtBlue: I’m not surprised. Lots of watershed trying to get out via the Ventura River canyon. Back when I lived there, during a bad storm the river almost overtopped the bridge just north of downtown. Things got real interesting when an RV floated down to the bridge — the river sucked it right under the bridge… in little pieces.
Between Ventura and Carpentaria the 101 runs along a narrow shelf carved out of the hillside cliff, so the closure was likely due to fears about landslides and mudslides.
Kent
Over-classification is an enormous problem in the Federal government. I can tell you this as a former Fed in an obscure environmental agency (NOAA). Enormous tonnages of documents get classified just out of instinct by the bureaucracy, not because they actually merit it.
Dan B
@HumboldtBlue: Diamond and Silk had promoted the idea that Covid was a hoax and all the associated balderdash (crap). She was in hospital on November 30 and remained until her death. There were reports she had Covid but that’s been hushed up.
Sister Golden Bear
@bbleh: About a decade or two ago, a mudslide took out most of one of the small villages along the 101 nearby. I’m sure that was a factor behind the evacuation order.
Kent
Honest to God, reality doesn’t actually matter with these people. Every single Republican scandal going back to Johnson was mostly just made up. Benghazi, Fast and Furious, IRS scandal, Death Panels, CRT, Migrant caravans, 99% of ANTIFA mentions, A shitload of COVID-related conspiracy theories, all completely made up out of thin air.
They are just going to make up shit and lie about it. Only thing that matters is if Democrats learn how to effectively mock and diffuse them.
People hand-wringing about giving the GOP a scandal completely miss what is going on. They will scandal-monger 24/7 no matter what. And it will all be made up regardless. I think Biden gets this better than Obama did, who was way too quick to fire people on the hint of scandal. Remember Shirley Sherrod?
Sister Golden Bear
@HumboldtBlue: As I’m sure you know, one reason SoCal has flooding problems is the watershed is wide, short and steep. So there’s a lot of water trying to get out through some narrow canyons. Plus the Santa Barbara/Ventura area had some huge, bad fires a few years ago that burned most of the vegetation that slows the water down.
Saying a prayer for the folks there. It’s likely gonna be bad.
Frankensteinbeck
@Kent:
Even here, I don’t think many people understand just how absolutely batshit far out into fantasy land conservative media is. While I would rather we control the House, I have hopes that the Rs will force their investigations into public view, and normies will be horrified at how fever dream nonsense it all is.
David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
@HumboldtBlue:
Any news on which golf course she’ll be buried?
mrmoshpotato
@David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: LOL!
Narya
@Kent: hey, I have NOAA bookmarked! I love NOAA!
mrmoshpotato
@Narya:
Gotta love those oceans and atmosphere! They’re like the baby from Dinosaurs!
frosty
@HumboldtBlue: I believe I know the lawyer who wrote this letter; he’s a partner in the firm that represents Dr. Dre. He was a college classmate and the tone of the letter matches him perfectly!
Martin
@HumboldtBlue: My son is up near Santa Cruz. He’s tucked in one of the pockets that isn’t being evacuated or flooded.
Raven
@mrmoshpotato: Awesome game! Go Dawgs! It was pouring and even though it’s a domed stadium it was cold and wet as hell!
mrmoshpotato
@Raven: Did ever get bored when it was obvious to be a blow out?
Peke Daddy
ColoradoGuy
Republicans have trafficked in wild and grotesque fantasies for a very long time, going back to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) of the early Fifties. Not surprisingly, Roy Cohn, Nixon’s right-hand man on the committee, went on to be Trump senior’s personal lawyer, and mentor for the young Trump Junior.
This is a way of life for them. The veneer of “respectability” is nothing more than a cover story for this crowd of carnival barkers.
Steve in the ATL
@Raven: how bout them fucking Dawgs!
Steve in the ATL
@mrmoshpotato: hell no! Back to back!
HumboldtBlue
@Martin:
Let’s hope that pocket remains unaffected, it’s ugly out there.
@frosty:
That’s perfect.
@Sister Golden Bear:
This is why we read this blog because I am positive I could make a few, seemingly innocuous comments about what the hell is happening, and you’d take off with the geology, topography etc.
Dahlia
My son is a student at UC Santa Barbara in Isla Vista. So far his dorm is fine but there was a large puddle on campus and classes were canceled for today and Tuesday. I hope they can stay dry.
opiejeanne
@Sister Golden Bear: The La Conchita slide, in 2005? 10 people died and about half of the buildings damaged or destroyed.
EntroPi
@Frankensteinbeck: that just made me think of the radio version of HHGTG.
AxelFoley
@Kent:
Yeah, but Obama didn’t fire her. The Agriculture Secretary did.
Soprano2
@Betty Cracker: That was relief that now they can go back to “bothsides” coverage even though the two situations are nothing alike. The press hates when they can only blame one side for something because the advertisers don’t like it.
Soprano2
@HumboldtBlue: That would be a catastrophe anywhere. I can’t help but feel sorry for their public works department, they have a lot of work ahead of them.
Soprano2
@eclare: Three inches an hour is a crazy amount of rain. You’re right that many people have no idea what rain like that can do. Flood waters can come up really fast.
WereBear
@Betty Cracker: at least some in charge has a sense of shame.
Also. It’s a tough job. I went to high school there in a small town swallowed up by the Orlando etc multiplex.
Ramona
@bbleh: Son! What does a gopher build?
Is there an emoji for slapping one’s knee while laughing yourself breathless?
L&DinSLT
@HumboldtBlue: We’re at 6280′ elevation a mile from Lake Tahoe. We are on about a 3 foot foundation and have around 4 feet of snow in the yard, maybe more. About a mile away there are meadows that the upper Truckee river flows through on the way to the lake and they are seriously flooded. So glad we didn’t buy the house we were looking at down that way!