The perfect answer to any discussion of the Biden classified documents:
Did Biden Try to Keep the Documents? Yes or No.
That’s it, so simple. (All hail Baud!)
That should be our response every time this comes up. Every politician. Every media person. Every one of us. Did Biden try to keep the documents? Yes or no. Repeat the Yes or No part, as needed.
Easy as pie. That discussion of Biden’s classified documents? Over.
Totally open thread.
We Bet on Arizona and Beat the Odds!
Quinerly
Not that easy.
It’s the drip, drip, drip.
I’m not a Debbie Downer personality but this is turning into a big deal. The Biden Adm is failing on its messaging.
cmorenc
Did recounts in contested states stop election deniers from continuing to claim fraud? MAGAs are totally resistant to any contradictory facts to their beliefs
And so shall it be with their both-sider-ism equating the Biden situation with Trump’s willful mishandling and retention of classified docs.
Renie
Now we find out everyone’s favorite pathological liar, no not that one the other one, George Santos, or whatever name he is using today, has links to the cousin of sanctioned Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg,
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s edition
Chief Oshkosh
Yep, TPM is running a story on this right now, too. It’s not hard to make the statement per Baud, or any of another statements are are equally concise and on point, but apparently a lot of Democrats are having trouble with it. Here’s an idea for those Dems that can’t seem to find their asses with both hands: Try just saying “That’s BS” as an all-around starter for any leading question from the press. Just start with that simple attitude and phrase as it’ll probably be appropriate for almost anything that the schmucks ask. If the reporter/transcriber persists, just say “That’s BS and you ought to know better. Schmuck.” Really, it’s a great all-around opening gambit for these idiots.
dww44
@Quinerly: Agree. Thus far, they’ve not addressed this in a convincing manner, and the longer they delay, the more conclusions, none of them good, will be drawn. To be honest, I’m a bit miffed at the President and his staff for putting us all in this bind and want them to say something to end it, even if it is not exactly what we want to her.
jeffreyw
totally
bjacques
Yeah, I’ve tried that. Then the conversation turns meta: but the media will keep it going! (To which I answer “ in 2 weeks nobody will care
“
livewyre
@Quinerly: @dww44:
For general reference, does “we’re losing and it’s his fault” count as part of the drip and/or messaging?
Xavier
I had a security clearance for 20 years, meaning annual training in classified handling procedures. Part of the training is what to do if you find classified unsecured, because it happens. What you do is secure the material and notify the security authorities, who will then investigate to find out how it happened, who might have gotten unauthorized access, and how to prevent future breaches. That is what Biden’s people did. It is not what Trump did. Finding unsecured classified is not a crime; violating procedures is.
Ksmiami
@Chief Oshkosh: they hire the worst messaging ppl. They need to hire real Ad/marketing agencies to tighten up.
Quinerly
@dww44:
Totally agree with you.
I started really tuning in on this weekend. The messaging coming from the Biden camp has been horrible. I’m angry and I have been a huge Biden supporter for years. Probably more so than most Democrats. New talking point from the Right is Hunter living in the house and having access to the garage and other room where documents were found.
My prediction…Trump gets off scot free re the docs at Mar a Lago because of this. Biden really doesn’t get dinged politically. “Both Sides.”
Quinerly
@livewyre:
No
Matt McIrvin
Biden’s job approval is going up, not down. I have a hard time squaring this with the idea of this being the great Biden-killer scandal.
HumboldtBlue
Quinerly
I absolutely hate this Samsung Fold 4. It is drunk on its spacing and its spellcheck. And don’t get me started on how it feels and weighs. That’s my story.
Worst purchase in years.
jonas
This is what was so stupid about what Trump did. All he needed to do when he was contacted by NARA the first time — regardless of whether it was true or not — was go “Oh my! Those careless movers! Must have accidentally scooped up some of that stuff and thrown it in the file boxes before we could sort it out. Sorry and here you go and we’ll double check to make sure we got everything!” And that would have pretty much been the end of it.
But that’s not what he did, was it?
WaterGirl
@Renie: I have known about the Santos links you mention since almost the first time I heard his name. I believe the new information that came out yesterday or today just digs his hole deeper.
Quinerly
@Matt McIrvin:
I don’t think its a Biden killer.
I do think it is a Trump saver though.
People have lives. People are tired of all this back and forth shit. People move on and think both sides are corrupt, careless, etc.
Baud
I haven’t watch the coverage but it’s hard to message when the media is a feeding frenzy. It’s only been a week. I see no reason to throw in the towel.
Baud
@Baud:
Seriously, if the roles were reversed, the Republicans on social media would be going all in highlighting the differences between how things were handled. We talk about media messaging instead.
WaterGirl
You know how in a restaurant, if there is one loud person, or one group that is particularly loud, over a period of minutes the decibel level in the restaurant goes way up?
When we are actively participating in the conversations – as opposed to shutting it down with “did Biden try to keep the documents or not?” or something else to call them out on their bullshit – then I don’t see how we are not helping to keep the decibel level up on this particular subject.
trollhattan
@Baud: Mentioned in an earlier thread Biden Filespallooza has fallen off the BBC News front page entirely. Since they’re to a large extent click driven (as opposed to pushing a narrative) I take it as indicating interest is waning, fast. They were flogging the hell out of it last week.
Betty Cracker
That’s a serviceable retort to an assertion that there’s no difference in how Trump and Biden handled classified documents, but let’s not kid ourselves that this ends the discussion. After every Democrat — very much including Biden — spent weeks (rightly!) shitting on Trump for his reckless handling of classified documents and asserting on camera there’s no way it could’ve happened accidentally, it turns out Biden had classified documents stashed in his post-VP office and home too. I do believe it was merely an oversight in Biden’s case, and I am confident they handled the discovery correctly, but as Biden might say, come on, man!
zhena gogolia
@Quinerly: Trump was never going to jail for this.
I don’t really give a fuck about what happens to him, as long as he isn’t president again.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
There’s a difference between mistakes and malfeasance. Trump was never going to be indicted for mere possession.
There were mistakes here and we should own up to them. I am curious how the files got mixed up.
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: The DOJ and Jack Smith were aware that classified documents had been found, because they were notified immediately.
Jack Smith was aware of this when he wrote the letter on Thanksgiving.
Jack Smith was aware of this before he sent out the first round of subpoenas.
Jack Smith was aware of this before he sent out the second round of subpoenas.
Jack Smith was aware of this before he sent out his most recent round of subpoenas.
Former Deputy Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, said on the Jack podcast last night, “I don’t think Jack Smith gives a F” about the documents that were found in Biden’s papers.
I am pretty sure he is right about that.
These classified documents found in Biden’s papers will have no impact at all on what the Special Counsel does, so I don’t see how any of this saves Trump.
WaterGirl
@Baud: On the Jack podcast last night they said that based on what they are seeing of what kinds of documents Jack Smith is asking for, they think he’s not going after Trump for possession of classified documents at all.
Only for obstruction.
It can be argued that Biden is not only NOT obstructing justice with the way they are handling this situation, he may be making this more of a story in his attempts at total transparency.
Quinerly
@Betty Cracker:
Nailed it.
Average person can’t understand how classified documents from an administration that ended 6 years ago ended up in a garage with a Corvette.
I can’t. I’m not average. And I adore Biden.
Chief Oshkosh
@HumboldtBlue: It’s wordy, but has the right vibe.
Now, Congressional Dems need to get on board. It’s a long-standing problem, though. Congressional Dems weenied out on Obama, too.
Again, it’s not hard to call out the stenographers on this – just be firm and clear that we all know it’s BS:. Trump stole classified documents. Just say it – we all know it’s true. What’s Trump going to do? Whine even more? Good. It’ll remind everyone that not only is he a lying thief, he’s also a whiny loser. L-O-S-E-R.
Biden’s people, on the other hand, found misplaced documents and returned them. No muss, no fuss.
jonas
This is like comparing two automobile accidents. In one case someone is driving drunk without a license, runs a red light, t-bones another car at an intersection leaving several people injured, and then drives off without exchanging information and when the cops tried to track them down, hides the damaged car under a tarp in the garage, and lies about ever having been in an accident. Throws complete conniption when they’re arrested for running a red light and hit-and-run; throws a punch at a cop, has to be pepper-sprayed; can’t understand why they’re being so persecuted. Individual 2 is driving, gets momentarily distracted, has a slight fender-bender, immediately stops and goes and sees if the other driver is ok, calls the highway patrol, and exchanges insurance information. When the cops arrive, they explain it was an accident and provide the necessary information.
Republicans: “How come the guy in the second accident isn’t in prison!?!”
Media: “Should penalties for minor traffic accidents be higher?”
lowtechcyclist
@Quinerly:
I don’t see that. If prosecution of TFG over the documents at Mar-a-lago was a political decision, then yes, this might kill the deal. But I’m gonna trust Jack Smith to do his job without worrying about that horseshit.
I realize he’s got to make an essentially airtight case, because the bigger the fish, and the better the lawyers are that they can get to represent them, the more demanding it seems the standards for intent are. So he may conclude that his case isn’t sufficiently airtight. (I’ll skip my usual rant about the unfortunate role of intent in U.S. law. This time.) But I don’t think he’s going to change the standards, or consider them to have been changed, on account of Biden’s classified documents.
zhena gogolia
@Quinerly: Average people didn’t give a fuck about TFG’s documents and they don’t give a fuck about these.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Agreed.
Josie
@HumboldtBlue:
“House Republicans have no credibility”
This is a really strong statement and should be repeated by all Democrats everywhere every chance we get. After watching that shit show last week, people will tend to agree.
Chief Oshkosh
@Betty Cracker: Uh, that’s not why people were shitting on Trump. Nobody shat on Trump for being disorganized. People shat on Trump because he took documents and aggressively tried to keep them AND it is pretty clear that he rummaged around in them AND likely showed them to other people.
Fuck ‘im. He stole the docs, lied about it, and tried every way he could to keep them. With his record of malfeasance, he gets no benefit of the doubt.
OTOH, Biden’s entire history of service to country buys him A LOT of goodwill and he gets the benefit of the doubt.
Why should we pretend otherwise in either case?
opiejeanne
From Twitter:
Joyce Alene
@JoyceWhiteVance
·
8h
1/The detail that seems to be getting overlooked in the Biden documents stories: none of this would have come to light if Biden’s team had just stashed away what they found. We are where we are because they acted honestly and with integrity.
2/There is a lot of concern that Biden’s sins will cancel out Trump’s. But that’s not how the law works. Unless we are irretrievably broken, the special counsels will assess each case on its merits. Trump’s conduct/obstruction can be criminal, w/out Biden’s meriting prosecution.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I agree the drip drip drip is bad, but I’m with Baud that it’s waaaaaay to early to see if and how much this is going to hurt Biden. We see the trees and discuss the patterns of the bark. Most people are vaguely aware of the forest
Also, while I’m not an expert on, well anything, much less classified documents, their handling and disposal, but I can’t imagine how this wouldn’t have been very easy for Biden to cover up if that were his intent. Slip them into his briefcase, take them back to the White House, put them in a burn bag, or the fireplace!
as a rule-follower and norm-supporter (Norms!) l’m not thrilled that (as I suspect happened) some aides were this careless this stuff, and Biden (and Ron Klain or whoever Veep Joe’s last COS was) should have been on top of this, but Occam’s Razor says there’s no intent to deceive or cover up here.
TriassicSands
@jonas:
Donnie’s instinct tells him to lie. And lie. And lie. When he’s caught in a lie, his internal lie producer, more powerful that a supernova, generates a new lie. Since everyone (make that everyone with a functioning brain) knows he lies about everything, including things that are easily disproved, eventually the lying just produces yawns and dulls the cognitive abilities of almost everyone who covers Trump.
I am a firm believer that if Trump had just turned the documents over and had people retrieve and return everything in his possession, this would have disappeared as an issue. Of course, he didn’t.
Then, sadly, it turned out the Biden also had documents he shouldn’t have had and his response, the opposite of Trump’s, wasn’t sufficient to make the issue disappear, thanks to Trump’s dishonesty. I haven’t heard or read anything that adequately explains why Biden had documents he shouldn’t have had, but it seems virtually certain that 1) the government over-classifies, 2) documents are routinely mishandled, and 3) the focus now should be on reforming the whole system and trying to ensure that no one in the future possesses documents they shouldn’t have.
The really bad part about Biden having classified documents is that it will likely immunize Trump to charges. We are now in a world where false equivalence rules and Trump supporters (aka Republicans) have no ability to process nuance or even entirely different situations. If a Republican does something, there must be a reason why it is OK and why Democrats may be the actual guilty parties. If a Democrat does something, it is automatically a hanging offense and there can be no explanation or mitigating factors.
The MSM will never learn how to cover Trump.
Omnes Omnibus
I don’t know if Trump will be convicted on this, but the Biden documents have fuck all to do with it.
Duridu
@Quinerly: Someone peeing on you?
@Quinerly:
Quinerly
@zhena gogolia:
Totally agree that Trump was probably never going to jail for the documents. I don’t think this country has the stomach for jailing ex presidents for anything.
As for all the other comments, some of us will have to agree to disagree. I think Biden messaging has been horrendous. They didn’t get ahead of it and were blind sided. I don’t understand how all of this happened.
Barbara
@zhena gogolia: Thank you. Trump was never going to jail over classified documents, even though what he did was — in relative terms — egregious. I wish people would stop wishing that the goal is for Trump to go to jail. It’s just so unlikely.
different-church-lady
@bjacques: I think that’s the wrong approach. We need to keep on hammering on “Biden did the right thing. Trump didn’t.” Doesn’t matter how much they try to reframe it, doesn’t matter how tangential they go.
livewyre
I wonder if some of the fears in this case might be hinging on a sense of doubt as to how legitimate the investigation into Trump is in the first place. It seems politically motivated since it involves a political figure, right? Are we sure we’re not just taking revenge for all he’s inflicted on us? And now it seems like the whole thing was pointless since our team was doing the “same thing”.
Thankfully the law doesn’t run on news cycles. It doesn’t matter whether a rush of advertising money can be made off it over the span of a given week – when the time comes, the facts of the case will be presented to the jury according to the actual laws being broken. Was the law broken or not? That’s the difference that will be spelled out long after the media shock runs dry.
Baud
@Barbara:
I’m more interested in the sedition anyway.
different-church-lady
@Matt McIrvin:
The writers are obligated to come up with a cliff-hanger at the end of every episode so that people tune in week after week.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Barbara: and if trump were seized and cast into an oubliette tomorrow, if Merrick Garland had any balls!, the trumpist/orbanist authoritarian model and goal would still be there for DeSantis, Kemp or Youngkin (or whoever
ETA: the forum for trump to be held accountable was impeachment, where rules of evidence and procedure and other lawyerly words I know from TeeVee, are more or less made up by the Senate, and it took Rob Portman about six weeks to go from (according to I forget which behind the scenes tell-all) being all over convicting trump to voting to acquit.
lowtechcyclist
@WaterGirl:
Lord knows this is hardly my field of expertise, but it strikes me as the right avenue to pursue with respect to the documents.
And if he indicts on obstruction, then the difference between Biden and TFG will be as clear as day.
different-church-lady
@Quinerly:
But it folds up! It FOLDS UP!!!
zhena gogolia
@Baud: Bingo! But I’m afraid he’s not going to jail for that either. But let’s keep him out of the White House, please.
zhena gogolia
@different-church-lady: OMG I have a new Macbook Pro and it is ruining my life. I’m expecting it to order me to wash its underwear.
different-church-lady
@WaterGirl: The obstruction is the whole damn problem.
If Trump had just given the documents back when asked, nobody in the general public would ever have known he had them in the first place.
Baud
@Quinerly:
I like my Samsung phone but I’m staying way from foldables until the tech matures. Then I’ll see.
different-church-lady
@zhena gogolia:
It’s not just Apple doing this kind of shit, but yeah I’m quite annoyed at the way my iPhone acts as though I work for it, instead of the other way around.
(ETA: although I have finally flipped all the switches to turn off all the unwanted nags — only took about five months…)
Baud
@different-church-lady: Agreed. DOJ was not going to go after Trump simply for having documents.
Quinerly
@different-church-lady:
I hate it. I was in a bind. My Samsung Galaxy 9 was dying. It was this thing or the Galaxy 23.
I was weak. It seemed cool. I admit my mistakes. Don’t fall for the fold like I did.
Mike in NC
The difference is, when Trump sold a classified document it came signed with his famous Sharpie for free.
Dan B
@opiejeanne: I thought I read that TFG had 200,000 pages of classified and Biden had 20 pages, maybe a bit more.
Citizen Alan
@Quinerly: Democrats don’t have the stomach to jail ex presidents. I firmly believe that every So B in the country who ever downed a MAGA hat would be perfectly fine with Obama, Clinton, and Biden imprisoned for the rest of their lives without even a trial.
Baud
@Dan B:
That seems off, but I don’t know for sure.
Baud
@Citizen Alan:
Probably true about MAGAs, although Trump’s DOJ never went after Hillary.
Betty Cracker
@Chief Oshkosh: “Reckless” doesn’t equal “disorganized.” Biden called Trump’s handling “reckless” — that’s a quote — and said there was no way Trump could have accidentally taken TS/SCI documents. But now we know it is possible to accidentally stash that type of document.
To be clear, I don’t think Trump took those documents accidentally, and his refusal to hand them over when called on it was inexcusable and possibly a crime. I don’t think Biden’s mistake was remotely comparable, and I don’t think it will be consequential politically for Biden. But at the very least, it’s a bad look, and at worst, it could mean that Trump skates on his far graver offense. And that sucks.
Dan B
@Baud: It does seem like an improbably large number. Wish I could remember where I read it.
jonas
@Quinerly: I think he didn’t have any idea the stuff was there and didn’t want to immediately cast blame and get someone (like a low-level staffer who had helped him move) in trouble before an investigation was completed (or blame the wrong person[s] and then have to walk that back. I agree it is an embarrassing mess, but I think they’re also being very careful about what they say so as not to have to walk it back later or be accused of obfuscating. They were already caught off guard once when more documents turned up in the garage.
TriassicSands
@Betty Cracker:
It’s sad, but details don’t matter anymore. Biden more or less gave Trump a “Get Out of Jail Free” card (not that Trump would ever have suffered any serious consequences for the documents or his dishonesty).
What’s the point of having rules about government documents if violating those rules is routinely ignored? I’m afraid that it may be typical of high government officials to believe that rules don’t really apply to them. We know with certainty that is true of Trump. But I would like to know the facts of why — years after leaving office — Biden still had documents in his possession. It does make it harder to take Biden’s claims about taking security seriously harder to accept. And I think Biden has done a good job as president. For the masses, who don’t support him (even if they support his policies in the abstract), this just means more distrust of government.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
I agree that we can no longer assume mere accident because apparently accidents can occur. And I’m fine with that. I want Trump to go to jail based on evidence of illegal acts, and if the prosecution can’t prove intent, he shouldn’t go to jail.
zhena gogolia
OT, just opened my NYT Sunday magazine that only got delivered today. DougJ seems to have gotten a job there. “The Fed may finally be winning the war on inflation. But at what cost?“
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Betty Cracker: I was thinking the other day: Do we know for a fact trump had the KJU letters? Seems to me that’s the thing he was mostly likely to want to show off. And as I recall there was photograph of a file with Macron’s name on it
Baud
@TriassicSands:
You’re acting like he knew what was in his boxes that whole time.
Betty Cracker
@different-church-lady: I finally got my new iPhone to stop bugging me about closing my fitness ring through steps. (I told it a million times I leave it on the table when walking the dogs, etc., but it harangued me until I found the right switch to flip!)
However, I can’t figure out how to tell it I don’t care about my screen time trends. I mean, it might have been interesting if it had reported my teen’s screen time trends back in the day, but I don’t care about mine. It’s a minor irritation, but that data means nothing to me, so I’m tired of having it shoved in my face 52 weeks a year!
Bill Arnold
@Betty Cracker:
Some of them were in his MaL desk, alongside his passport (IIRC), in an office where he entertained guests, and also alongside documents that definitely postdated his presidency. This and other public evidence, like the legal challenges, very strongly suggests that Trump’s retention of classified documents was willful, not accidental. (At least if those descriptions are true.)
cain
@Baud: Yeah, they have an apparatus helped by Russian and other troll farms that help turn on the bullshit sprayer at 900%. We just don’t have that kind of thing.
The press is in a feeding frenzy because that’s how their business model works. All you need to do is just keep repeating the same thing over and over again. We followed the guidance per the blah blah blah.
Jake Tapper actually got it and pushed back against Comer – Comer was a bumbled his way through the whole thing press conference.
The right is really good at taking something and turning it into a fake outrage.
TriassicSands
@Quinerly:
I’m curious, why was it one Samsung or the other. For example, why not a Pixel? Less expensive. Excellent cameras and better software.
Betty Cracker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m pretty sure I read he did have the KJU letters, and yep, that’s just the kind of thing he would keep. Probably anything that referred to Trump as “your excellency” got tossed in a box.
livewyre
Now I’m sure we’re being gaslit. There doesn’t need to be any dithering over whether a law appeared to be properly broken or not – the facts of the offense (namely obstruction) are the same. But we’ve been made to wonder whether we were the real perpetrator the whole time, despite that the one in question not only repeatedly stonewalled, lied, ignored subpoenas, disparaged the legal process, but even tried to get a planted judge to nullify and compromise the investigation.
Despite all that, we wonder if we’re really all that innocent, or if we did something unfair to him after all, something that could have set him off. Conservative corporate media executives wouldn’t make all this fuss for nothing, would they? Like the bungled debacle of withdrawing from Afghanistan when we agreed to.
Regulon
@Dan B: 200 docs, 1200 pages
Quinerly
@TriassicSands:
I guess because once I got away from my last Microsoft Windows phone (which I loved but I guess no one else loved them) I went to the Samsung Galaxy 9. Hence sticking with Samsung in September
Baud
@Quinerly:
I think the windows phone OS was popular, but it lacked apps.
Quinerly
@TriassicSands:
Very well said.
Quinerly
@Betty Cracker:
Totally agree.
UncleEbeneezer
Allison Gill nails it: “The trump charging document and Biden declination document will clear up the differences between the trump and Biden documents.”
Bill Arnold
@livewyre:
In rhetorical style, at least, it looks similar to these Fox News samples, from the Obama era:
The Daily Show Presents The Top Ten Obama ‘Scandals’
Fleeting Expletive
Something puzzles me: How is it no one has tracked George Santos’ birth certificate down, or is it registered to some name we have never heard? It sure was a major concern for President Obama.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker:
Quinerly
@Baud:
I was the only one I knew who had one. I was very late to the smarty pants phones. The Windows OS one and when it died years ago my choices were to go IPhone or Android. I knew I was going Android so probably went with Samsung Galaxy 9 for a reason that made sense back then.
Baud
@Fleeting Expletive:
We’d need to know his real name to do that.
different-church-lady
@livewyre:
This is the lever emotional manipulators pull to get away with their shit.
Baud
@Quinerly:
The differences between ios and Android have narrowed, but I still prefer android. I have an ipad so I appreciate some of the nice things that apple offers but I haven’t warmed to it.
HumboldtBlue
Nicolle Wallace is discussing the issue right now.
Betty Cracker
@WaterGirl: OMG, that worked! Thank you! ;-)
Baud
@different-church-lady:
Yeah, and Dems are so concerned about being perfect they fall for it too often.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Yay!
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
WaterGirl: Saving democracy and offering tech support.
different-church-lady
@Betty Cracker:
I have just accepted the fact that each time I get a new device, I’m going to just spend some time going through all the preferences and settings and just turn nearly everything off.
Still don’t know what to do about the fact that I can’t read a website without them trying to get me to turn on notifications, or buy something on-line without getting half a dozen e-mail begging me for a review.
It’s like the entire fuckin’ world is being run by ADHD cases who need constant distraction and think we’re all like that.
Quinerly
Open thread?
Has anyone been to Death Valley? In the winter? I want to do a long trip there 2/2024.
I’m sick of this Biden document shit. So I’m out…..If anyone has Death Valley in the winter tips, feel free to get my email from Betty Cracker.
Jackie
Is there any reason when the current administration is termed out or gets voted out, NARA doesn’t send staff to oversee office packing?
Of course if a disgruntled loser decides to steal documents…
Quinerly
@HumboldtBlue:
Morning Joe was brutal this AM. MJ loves Biden.
Martin
@Baud: Having two hardware independent OSes wasn’t going to work when Android was free. Samsung didn’t have enough code access to deploy Windows Phone OS on a phone like the fold, but they did with Android.
In order for Windows Phone OS, Microsoft would have had to make their own hardware from the get-go. By the time they bought Nokia, it was already a lost cause.
The Samsung Fold is a very sweaty effort. It’s trying very hard.
JWR
On NPR’s morning news show, they interviewed Chris Whipple, author of The Fight Of His Life, Inside Joe Biden’s White House, and here’s what he had to say about the document thing, [my bold]:
Wut? I’m sorry, but I just haven’t been able to work myself into a flop-sweat over turning Biden’s document storage issue into something it’s most probably not. Not yet, anyway. I just don’t get the “Comey sez moar HRC emailzez!” vibe from all of this… noise. It’s all in the intent, baby!
James E Powell
@Quinerly:
Completely agree. I’m bitter about the political media handles things like this & sad about the way voters respond to things like this, but both fall under the category of things we cannot change.
Baud
@JWR:
He starts off good. I don’t think these pundits know what DOJ is thinking though. They’re making it up because they don’t know the facts.
Jackie
@WaterGirl: THANK YOU!!! I just wanted a way to turn off the notification SOUND. I had no clue I could turn the damn notification off entirely!!!🥰
Geminid
@Quinerly: If you can catch BillinGlendale on a thread he could be helpful. I think he’s visited Death Valley on his photography trips. You might catch him on one of the On the Road posts.
TriassicSands
@Baud:
No, I’m acting like I don’t know what he knew. Sadly, not knowing, just plays into the narrative of a senile Biden. I don’t think he’s senile, but both cases raise the question “How is it that classified documents end up where they don’t belong?” At the very least, government officials have to be more careful about what they “take home.”
One real concern for me about this is that it effectively gives Trump a free pass for a very different set of circumstances. But, yes, I do think there is a tendency for high government officials (like star athletes, movie stars, CEOs, and celebrities in general to act as though the rules don’t really apply to them). I have no idea if that is the case with Biden, but after publicly condemning Trump and then being found to have unauthorized documents in his possession, it looks much worse for him than if he had just remained quiet about the Trump case.
As I said in another comment, false equivalence rules in this country, and dissimilar circumstances will be viewed as being identical or nearly so in much of the media and by many voters.
Whether Biden knew about the documents or not, he’s responsible for them. When they were discovered, it appears he did the right thing, but that isn’t how a lot of critical voters may view it. Anything that further undermines trust in Democrats and the government today is a bad thing.
I don’t support anyone unequivocally. I think Biden has done a good job as president, but he has some very serious flaws, the most glaring of which is publicly making claims that are easily debunked. The Washington Post uses them to effectively equate Biden with Trump, which is absurd. However, he hurts the Democratic Party when he does that and that hurts every Democrat including those here at B-J. He’s been doing that for decades and I can’t understand why he won’t stop. Obviously, I’m going to support him over any Republican and most other Democrats. Generally speaking, Biden would help himself and the country if he often said less or nothing, especially when his comments are simply ways to make himself look better.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: More applause for WG on this one.
Every Sunday morning. A notification tone. And I think “I don’t care how much time I have been spending online.” But: no more. Thank you.
Baud
@TriassicSands:
As for the documents, we don’t know whether Biden did the handling. Hard to fault him for an aide screwup. You can say he’s ultimately responsible, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. No one is ever that responsible for their underlings mistakes.
As for the rest, everyone is imperfect, and we have to learn how to deal that other than by demanding people to be perfect.
TriassicSands
@Quinerly:
Next time, take a look at Pixels. There are no real “good guys” among the giant corporations, so in buying a phone, my primary consideration is not is the company admirable. I avoid Google as a search engine and find Duck Duck Go to be adequate, but I have a Pixel (an “a” lower cost model) and it is fine.
livewyre
Going to go out on a limb here – I don’t think Biden should decide whether to follow the law depending on how it might play in the media.
ETA: Scooting back a little on the limb, there’s actually a case to be made that it’s his whole brand at this point that he does what government is supposed to do even if it looks bad for a while. It happens over and over and over, it makes us worry that he’s really screwed it up this time, and then it works. That might say something about our doubts (and who keeps stoking them).
Quinerly
@Geminid:
Thanks. I’ll try to catch him one morning. Frosty might be a source of info too.. I had no idea Death Valley was a “thang” in the winter. I started looking at stuff on line when I was hold up in the snow storm in Flag New Years day. I thought it would be a cool/different February trip this year. Then as I got into seriously looking where to stay, etc learned everything was booked many months out….hence putting it on my calendar for in a year. It’s quite beautiful….especially in the winter.
Geminid
Personally, I think that Democratic success in November, will ride on the state of economy. In the long run this documents affair will prove to be so much background noise.
It will certainly put wind in the sails of the people who want Biden to retire so they can have another open primary. But they are going to nag about that anyway.
trollhattan
@zhena gogolia: Oh god, right out of Fox’s “Plunging fuel prices are killing mom-and-pop gas stations!”
Baud
@livewyre:
Do you mean DOJ? Biden will not interfere in any charging decision.
Baud
@livewyre:
Agreed.
livewyre
@Baud: I mean continuing to comb for misplaced documents and return them, i.e. the putative source of the drip.
Geminid
@Quinerly: I’ve heard that, after a rainy season, there are a lot of flowers in parts the Southern California desert. You might be able to catch that if you go at the right time.
trollhattan
@JWR: “Every other day”? Like, yesterday, but not today, then more tomorrow every other day? Even/odd, red/black every other day?
The hell, you say. Not fond of the new Mr. Whipple, and he should keep his mitts off the Charmin ladies.
Baud
@livewyre:
Gotcha. Agreed.
trollhattan
@Geminid: Wildflowers should be bonkers this spring. Which will also be great for butterflies.
TriassicSands
It may not mean a whole lot to you, but it certainly does to tens of millions of voters. We as individuals don’t elect the president. The millions do.
I’m not expecting Biden, or anyone else to be “perfect.” That’s a straw man. I expect him to not make false, easily disprovable statements that invariably end up hurting him and his supporters and ultimately the whole country. The things I’m referring to are pointless, completely unnecessary statements. I’ve followed Biden since he was first elected to the Senate. He’s always done this and it never improves anything. If I expected Biden to be perfect, i never would have donated to his campaign or voted for him.
Donald Trump is, like everyone else, “imperfect.” Only in Trump’s case it is virtually impossible to find a single positive quality (I’ve never been able to identify a single one). However, I’ve spoken to numerous Trump supporters, and, guess what, they say “nobody’s perfect.”
If you think it is fine for Biden to make untrue claims about himself, I guess that is your prerogative. I believe it is both unnecessary and harmful to the larger cause.
Quinerly
@Martin:
I have to chuckle. The Fold might be trying very hard but it fails at some very basics. I fell out of love with it within the first week when I couldn’t find a decent case for it. Even the store where it came from (Xfinity) didn’t have any cases for it. That should have been a sign. I finally ordered 15 on Amazon. Sent 14 back. Still not crazy about the one I kept. The case crap tainted my feelings on it from the get go.
Omnes Omnibus
If people here weren’t worried about something, I would be worried about them.
Quinerly
@TriassicSands:
You are hitting out of the park today.
Baud
@TriassicSands:
It really doesn’t. No president has ever been held responsible for mistakes of people below them, or even their own minor missteps.
You are expecting him to be perfect if you’re complaining about him shooting from the hip. It’s who he has always been. You can choose not to like him for it, but I don’t think many people care that much. I think it’s not comparable to Trump in any respect.
The whole senility thing is right wing garbage and I will never treat it as a serious point of de debate simply because Biden does something imperfect.
James E Powell
@Geminid:
Personally, I think that Democratic success in November, will ride on the state of economy. In the long run this documents affair will prove to be so much background noise.
Even with good fundamentals – economy, no war, etc. – we still need to be better organized in the purple states. We have built organizations before only to watch them melt away (Talking about you, Ohio) in the next cycle.
I urge the people who recovered Michigan for us to put aside the football rivalry & hold meeting with whatever remains of the Ohio Democratic Party to see if they can help.
pasiphae
@Baud: I would like it if Biden’s staffers, the ones he’s supposedly so frustrated with, would put together a narrative of how they packed up his stuff and moved it. On the other hand, aren’t those classified documents supposed to reside somewhere if someone isn’t actively looking at them – in other words, not stashed in a file folder in somebody’s office (which I could totally see happening if it were on my desk EXCEPT if I were supposed to give them back to somebody at 5 pm in order to go in some special secret vault)? Someone needs to explain it all, and then whatever is supposed to happen needs to start happening, or the rules need to change.
livewyre
@TriassicSands: Can you demonstrate this harm, or is it more of something we’re flinching in anticipation of? I can live with “sounds really bad right now but works out in the end”, especially if the “sounds really bad” part is… amplified. If anything, I’d plead to stop amplifying it.
WaterGirl
@James E Powell:
I think Ohio is almost certainly out of reach for 2024. But Michigan talking with Wisconsin and North Carolina, I suspect we will see some of that.
chrome agnomen
@Betty Cracker: I feel like my iPhone is neglecting me. I have had one (several) for longer than I can remember, and they have never once told me anything about my screen time.
Quinerly
@Geminid:
Thanks. I will look into it.
I feel like that wandering around feeling is back for me. Covid Times did a number on me. And, I know, on a # of people too. I early retired from a profession I hated for 30 years in 12/2019. My goal was a lot of travel…”driving around with my dog looking at things.” Poco was diagnosed with Cancer that Christmas Eve. He went fast. I started my 2020 New Mexico trip end of January, with no dog, oblivious that the world was already changing. When I left Navajo Nation in 3/2020, I got back to my then home in St. Louis 2 days before the city shut down. Sometimes I feel like I have been in a fog for almost 3 years and am coming out of it now with this move to Santa Fe this past April. So, I’m back to planning these long road trips out here. And, it feels good.
Quinerly
@pasiphae:
Yep.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
IDK to me it sounds like Biden is playing hardball here, he’s basically got Trump team babbling like idiots about how Trump had those document under double secret declassification and how a tacky hotel in Florida is really an armed, high security fortress, and basically derailing Trump’s attempt to preemptively take the 2024 GOP nomination.
WaterGirl
@chrome agnomen: Maybe you haven’t upgraded the iOS to the version that included that?
Amir Khalid
@Quinerly:
Folding phones have always struck me as a tech solution looking for problem. No one needs a folding phone; what people really need is a pocket their phone will fit in.
That’s why I’m glad folding smartphones are very expensive, top-of-the-line models — the kind I don’t buy..
JWR
@Baud:
Heh! And agreed. Lazy journamalism will kill us all. Tamara Keith had a different segment where they talked about the documents, and these people were just so damn smug about it all, bothsidering the whole thing with a vengeance.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I am going to repeat this because this what I was told as part of my training at my new job; being an idiot and making a mistake with classified material is going to get one fired at the worst, hiding that mistake it will get one thrown in jail.
MomSense
I just can’t get worked up over this stuff. I have no power to influence any investigations or reviews or grand juries or media coverage. I’m going to focus on what I can do. We have important legislative battles in every state right now. We have organizations that need support. I’m going to do what I can where I can.
Brachiator
Yep. This morning, I listened to a talk radio host say that Biden had committed serious violations in having classified documents, even though a previous interview with someone knowledgeable about this had clearly stated that you could not draw any conclusions yet because facts were not known.
The host could not and did not specify what these violations might be. He did at least note that Biden’s people had given information to the appropriate people as soon as possible.
I don’t know what kind of background checking journalists and pundits do before they start popping off, but I get the idea here that people who don’t know anything have some fuzzy belief that Biden must have done something wrong because classified means something super sacred totem.
It’s all so tiresome.
Quinerly
Manyakitty
@Quinerly: really? I turned it off after 30 seconds when I saw them discussing the document thing. Learned behavior from repeated disappointment, apparently.
Quinerly
@Manyakitty:
I had it on in the background. And, yes, I listened.
Quinerly
@Amir Khalid:
I get it. All in all with it on sale and new customer discounts it wasn’t much more than the Galaxy 23. I tend to keep a phone 5 years. So there’s that.
Manyakitty
@Quinerly: glad to hear this. Watching Bob Newhart Show reruns is probably better for my blood pressure, but it’s hard on my news junkie brain. 😂
trollhattan
@Quinerly: Five years–wish mine lasted half that long. (TBF I’m on 2.5 with the current one, so improvement over 2 from the last two.)
TriassicSands
@Baud:
Most of this comment is still ignoring what I’ve actually written.
Not in strictly legalistic terms, but that may not be the case in terms of votes cast.
Again, you’re responding to what you want to respond to, not to what I’ve written. You’re are also, apparently, ignoring the fact that none of what I’ve criticized is in any way necessary to Biden to say.
It’s not a question of whether I “like him for it,” that isn’t what matters. It’s the greater effect it has that potentially hurts people far beyond Biden himself.
Yes, it’s who he’s always been. And he’s had some serious problems because of who he’s always been. If Obama hadn’t chosen him to be VP, Biden would almost certainly have never have been president.
You don’t think it’s “comparable to Trump in any respect.” It’s not comparable, but it is similar to some of what Trump does and says. The constant puffery about being more than he is. Again, your not thinking it, is not quite the same thing as no one is thinking it. Reading comments elsewhere, I constantly see people equating the two (in ways I find crazy). We expect that from his die-hard supporters, but it goes deeper than just them. I’d be curious to know if there is anything that would cause you to be even slightly critical of Biden? Just because Biden has always done it, doesn’t mean he should continue to do it. I want him to stop doing things that are unnecessary and potentially harmful. You don’t seem to care.
In this case, Biden having unauthorized documents will almost certainly give Trump a pass for his very different behavior. Given our unwillingness and inability to hold presidents accountable for wrongful actions there was probably never a very good chance that Trump’s lying and obstruction would be dealt with responsibly, but now it will be virtually impossible.
One of the common (truthful) refrains over the years has been that women, in order to get a fair shake, have to do better than men. Today, that seems equally true for Democrats versus Republicans. Something like possessing a relatively small number of unauthorized documents is a lot more difficult than simply not bragging about things that aren’t true. But both have consequences and, acknowledging that things are not in balance politically, requires more effort on the part of Democrats. Not perfection, but certainly avoiding things that are completely unnecessary and don’t, ultimately, improve things in any way. You seem to disagree. OK.
UncleEbeneezer
Just a reminder, Trump is not under investigation for having classified documents. The search warrants clarified that he is under investigation for: Destruction, Mutilation, Obstruction, Espionage etc. None of which are suspected for Biden. As Andrew McCabe explained on the most recent Jack podcast episode, Presidents, VP’s and others with top security clearance have thousands of classified documents that essentially follow them where they go for doing their work. Documents end up in the wrong place regularly. What matters is what happens next. The Media (and GOP/Russia) are desperate to Both Sides™ this thing but the two scenarios are in no way the same and it’s sad that so many here are taking the bait. An investigation was going to have to be opened no matter what, based on the statute. The Special Counsel is a a loyal Republican but he doesn’t have any reputation of being a MAGA hack.
Baud
@TriassicSands:
You just see the world different than I do. I guess will find out how voters respond.
Xavier
@Quinerly: Keep your eye open for wildflower alerts. It’s been raining, if it keeps up Death Valley could be spectacular.
Quinerly
@trollhattan: the not changing phones, having to get a new phone often played into my decision on this Fold. Knock on wood. Hope I don’t jinx it. I can live with it and get my money’s worth out of it, if it lasts.
Geminid
@Manyakitty: I happened to hear Bob Newhart on the WTOP radio news recently, talking about an award he was getting at an upcoming event. Newhart sounded old, but he was still funny.
WaterGirl
@UncleEbeneezer:
He’s worse than that, he’s a Trump hack. We both listened to the Jack podcast, and I was appalled that Merrick Garland would pick the lead person who oversaw the hamstringing of Robert Mueller’s investigations. Ugh. First thing about Garland that has disappointed me.
OzarkHillbilly
Sorry. Like it or not Biden f’d up. the discussion is not over. My suggestion? Turn it on them: “If you think Biden done bad, (he did), Biden being forthright, you must think trump should be locked up forever.”
Quinerly
@Manyakitty:
I watch Dark Shadows to wind down. Prime has the entire series from my childhood. 1965-series ended. I think I am at episode 535.
WaterGirl
@OzarkHillbilly: That’s a good one, too.
Quinerly
@OzarkHillbilly:
Welcome to the party!
Quinerly
@Geminid:
93 years old. Adore him.
TriassicSands
I see the harm in comments I read on the Post and Times websites and in talking to countless people about current politics.
This appeared in another comment (Brachiator):
The host doesn’t have to specify what the violations were. Not in today’s political climate. It’s important to understand that the vast majority of Americans are not politically engaged or very well informed. That makes them more vulnerable to misinformation, bogus claims, and outright lies. Independents like to boast about not being co-opted by either of the two parties, but any discussion that delves below the surface, usually reveals people like those I just described.
Not having the facts is not going to stop irresponsible people from making unsubstantiated claims and accusations. Cumulatively, as we have seen over the past Fox+ Era, that often results in further erosion of trust and more people being duped by absolute garbage.
Fox+ — the plus refers to all the news outlets who engage in false equivalence, bothsiderism, and whataboutism. It refers to Glenn Kessler at the Post effectively equating things Biden has said with Trump’s overwhelming record of dishonesty.
pasiphae
@UncleEbeneezer: “As Andrew McCabe explained on the most recent Jack podcast episode, Presidents, VP’s and others with top security clearance have thousands of classified documents that essentially follow them where they go for doing their work. Documents end up in the wrong place regularly.”
Although this seems right to me, and very reasonable, and I love Biden, and don’t think he did anything wrong, this is not what the media or any “explainer” tells us in regard to how it works with classified documents.
What we’re told is that people, even with top security clearances, go into some secret hidey hole, look at the docs, then give them to some officer, and they’re placed back into some top secret vault. If this isn’t what is supposed to happen, someone needs to clarify it or this scenario is going to happen over and over because reality is apparently that people like the President and Vice President just keep this stuff in their offices where it can be misfiled with whatever personal things are going on at the time. All of this is totally understandable in Biden’s case, and it’s obvious that Trump stole stuff and refused to return it, but let’s figure out what the rules are, and everybody needs to follow them, or change them so that everyone follows them. Obviously Republicans are just loving this, and I hate it when they love stuff.
TriassicSands
In some ways that is true. But as far as basic values and socio-political beliefs I doubt there’s much difference.
I’ve got to go now. It’s been a pleasure.
Al Rennick
WaterGirl,
This is an extremely embarrassing and frivolous post.
Before you go rushing like Usain Bolt to fully exonerate Biden of any wrongdoing, why don’t you wait and see what more information we learn? It’s way too early for you to proclaim there’s nothing to see here folks. Whether you like it or not, this discussion is not over. It’s just getting started.
livewyre
@TriassicSands: “No” would suffice.
livewyre
This topic wouldn’t need so many words to frame it (or barely-veiled threats) if it was that serious of a problem for the incumbent. I’ll save my grim clouds and shadows for something else, thanks.
WaterGirl
@Al Rennick: I’ll get back to you when I start caring what you think.
Brachiator
@TriassicSands:
I hear what you are saying, and mostly agree. But you don’t have to be politically engaged or well informed to apply good critical thinking skills.
And it is unfortunate that there are too few reporters, news anchors and pundits who will be honest about crappy and biased reporting.
Again, it depends on whether a person is able to filter the noise. And I know that many jackals here don’t like Independents, but I think that strongly partisan people, especially MAGA dopes, are more likely to be swayed by this nonsense than Independents.
There are reporters and publishers who actively distort their news programs to engage in warfare against political figures. And sadly, most of this comes from the right wing.
On a more positive note, I saw a clip on YouTube, maybe from CNN, where they contrasted a stream of GOP politicians lying and distorting facts in order to defend Trump, while every Democratic Party politician shown simply and clearly noted that the Biden matter may be serious and that Biden was cooperating with investigators.
I thought that the Democrats were kinda weak. But no rational person could accuse them of indulging in false equivalence or both sides BS.
Chief Oshkosh
@Betty Cracker: I agree it’s not a good look for Biden. If Trump was being tried in the court of public opinion, this might impact that. I don’t think Jack Smith cares.
billcinsd
@Fleeting Expletive: President has a birth citizenship requirement, representative doesn’t
BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
@Brachiator:
None. How’s none sound?
Bill Arnold
@Al Rennick:
Absolutely true. I mean, Biden could be a mind-slave of the Fascist lizard people, who feed off of human misery.
It’s definitely premature to fight back against Republican narratives, because otherwise their anti-Biden narratives might not get fixed in the American collective consciousness, something you so clearly desire.
UncleEbeneezer
@WaterGirl: Check out the Legal AF podcast from yesterday. They discuss it at length as well and neither feel like Hur is going to be able to find any justification of any wrongdoing by Biden (based on what is known now). AG and McCabe seemed to feel the same way. I never heard either suggest that appointing Hur was likely to affect the outcome of the investigation. And I could’ve sworn they said that it was a sign of confidence that there really is no there, there, for Garland to appoint a Trump-appointed judge. If you have a time stamp from Jack podcast, let me know. Maybe I misheard during my battle with stomach virus. But I do know that almost everyone I’ve listened to feels like it should have no effect on Jack Smith’s work.
Bill Arnold
@Al Rennick:
More seriously, this is you from August 3, 2022. IMO, given the results in these particular races, you were very wrong.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@UncleEbeneezer: yeah, my take from McCabe was that he was fairly confident in Hur. The most critical thing he said was that he made a press statement at the White House about a large drug bust that had been made at the border (The BORDER!). I’m sure if we looked up the moment, trump was standing there next to him while he made the annoucement doing that weird gloaty thing he did
Mike in Pasadena
@Xavier: Well said. Send your statement to the WH with a full explanation for the spokespersonnel to use. Seriously. What you wrote was what we were taught as well by the Strategic Air Command. It’s simple, direct, and demonstrates the critical difference between Trump and Biden.
Miss Bianca
@different-church-lady: Delighted to report that my Android/Google phone has been converted to a Lineage (Linux) OS…and presto! So simple, and no constant nagging to update apps I have no intention of using.
(I had been hesitating about trashing the Google OS, but descended into a frothing rage after clicking on “Youtube Music” by accident and having it sign me up, without a by-your-leave, for “Youtube Premium”! So I told Pal D, Mr Linux Expert, to go ahead and install Lineage on my phone as he had on his – which, after laughing at me for a few minutes, he happily did.)
BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
@Xavier:
@Mike in Pasadena: Please add the following to your list on my behalf:
Tactical Air Command (now Air Combat Command)
United States Air Forces in Europe
Pacific Air Forces
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yeah, I see your point. But I’m also feeling like I’m about ready to slap some Nervous Nellies around here with a brick. (metaphorically speaking, of course). Jesus, people – ENOUGH. Wasting even one paragraph on “but but but what about the OPTICS and OMG this means that Trump will totally skate and blah blah polysyllabic blah!” is MORE than enough.
Just. ENOUGH. Just because the media and Republicans conflate the two cases doesn’t mean YOU have to. Or that they’re conflatable, period, to anyone dealing in good faith.
In conclusion: ARRGH! BLITHER!
UncleEbeneezer
@Miss Bianca: THANK YOU!!
Quinerly
@Miss Bianca:
Tell that to Hillary and her pesky emails.
artem1s
you’ve already decided it’s a big deal. nothing that’s been said has satisfied you. That’s you making it a big deal. Next you’ll be screaming he has to apologize and that won’t satisfy you either. Just get it over with and demand he resign already.
remember when Afghanistan was the end of the Biden administration? This is actually a nothing burger. Let it go. In a couple of months the MSM will give you something else to wring your hands over, I promise.
livewyre
@Quinerly: Whose message discipline are you more invested in at this point, ours or theirs?
Quinerly
@artem1s:
Let’s hope you are right. I will gladly admit I am wrong.
Manyakitty
@Geminid: he’s still sharp! I was supposed to see him on your, but he cancelled our show to go to the Emmys for his role on Big Bang Theory.
Quinerly
@livewyre:
I’m very much invested in Biden’s messaging, which is OUR messaging.
So far I am not impressed with how this is being handled by OUR team. I will freely admit I am wrong if and when I am wrong.
Manyakitty
@Quinerly: so maybe I should just keep watching Bob instead of Morning Joe. 🤔
Quinerly
@artem1s:
And I never thought the Afghanistan withdrawal was a problem for Biden. Like I said up thread (along with what others on this thread have said more eloquently) if someone doesn’t see this as a BFD in today’s environment, then we just have to agree to disagree.
Quinerly
@Manyakitty:
I’m binging on Dark Shadows right now. I highly recommend it.
Manyakitty
@Quinerly: and that’s on Prime, you say? Sure! I haven’t watched that in AGES.
livewyre
@Quinerly: Right now our message is that he’s doing the right thing by searching for and continuing to relinquish any confidential documents that turn up. I appreciate his administration doing this because I consider it the right thing for the government to do and I would hope that any future administration will choose to do the same thing.
By contrast, the message of the opposition is that this is a severe problem for the current president, that more and worse news keeps coming out, and that it will either sink his administration or result in the former president (obstruction, corruption, compromised judge, etc., etc.) being exonerated. This has been the message that you have been reinforcing from the very first comment in this thread until now, including replying affirmatively to almost everyone who agreed with it. That’s the kind of discipline we could use more of in our favor.
Quinerly
@Manyakitty:
The beginning, pre Barnabas ones in B&W are wonderful. I’m well past them into 500 and something episode. I started watching them when Convid Times struck. Sometimes will watch 6 episodes at a time…they are less than 20 mins per. Go weeks before I go back to it. Then like a reunion with an old, bizarre, campy friend. I think Tubi and FreeTV have the whole series or parts. Prime had the original B/W ones…that sucked me in. That’s where I am watching them.
frosty
@Quinerly: We were in Death Valley in late April 2021. It was already hot. I don’t have any specific tourist advice: I pretty much do what looks good in the Fodors Guide to Western National Parks. We don’t do any long hikes any more and no backcountry stuff.
The only real advice I have for you is to not cross over the Panamint Range and wind your way down the 8% grades with a trailer when you don’t have a brake controller in the tow vehicle. We thought it was part of the tow package. It wasn’t.We got one installed in St. George Utah a couple of weeks later.