Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

This really is a full service blog.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

I really should read my own blog.

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

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

White supremacy is terrorism.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

You are here: Home / Politics / I’m So Confused Open Thread

I’m So Confused Open Thread

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Holy Shit, What Did I Miss? 1

I’m so confused.  In what I’m calling tweet 1 below, we hear from 3 people familiar with the investigation.

Immediately below that is what I’m calling tweet 2, which says the chief judge has issued a gag order, so anyone involved with the probe in any capacity cannot comment on it.

Does that make sense to anyone?  So are the 3 people “familiar” not involved in any capacity?

Tweet 1

Tweet 2

According to Robert Costa, the “motion to compel” is pre-emptive and comes even before Pence has appeared before the grand jury.  Is it possible that there could be a motion to compel that could cut actually off the whole bullshit-simultaneous-executive-privilege-and-speech-and-debate-because-I’m-suddenly-a-member-of-congress attempt to delay everything through 3 different courts and then finally the Supreme Court?

Oh, and it does look like the bad guys won’t have a a leg to stand on in their bitching about the grand jury foreperson’s comment.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

164Comments

  1. 1.

    cain

    There seems to be less and less people familiar with this case!

    I’m not confused about wanting Pence to go to jail.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    So are the 3 people “familiar” not involved in any capacity?

    Probably. Journalism has been abusing anonymous sources for a long time now.

  3. 3.

    Eolirin

    I would assume the implication is that they’re not supposed to be talking about it, but are anyway, at least to some degree of separation, which is why they’re all anonymous sources. But there’s no way to know if stuff is just getting made up.

  4. 4.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Since I tend to listen to podcasts and youtube video discussions of the Jack Smith probe while cooking or cleaning the kitchen, does that mean my little Henry can be considered “familiar with the case”, and I can quote him on twitter or spottable?

    Because Henry can clearly hear everything I can!  Though I feel compelled to report that he does nothing to help with the cooking or cleaning.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    I was so happy to see that Jarvanka have been subpoenaed!!!

    And Pence.  And Meadows.

    We have recently been learning about a lot of folks who were subpoenaed in January.  Maybe that’s why the chief judge made the ruling that people need to keep their traps shut.

    I think it’s a big deal to violate a gag order.  Am I right about that, BJ attorneys?

  6. 6.

    gvg

    I am totally guessing that familiar with the case and involved in the case mean different things. Also its lawyers and judges who use the phrase involved in so they may have a very precise legal meaning that don’t quite match what common perception of what that should mean and it is journalists who use the phrase familiar with a case which probably means it’s totally all over the map depending on the quality and bias’s of the journals writing/saying it not to mention the outlet publishing it.

    It’s a good question though. Maybe we should get those phrases nailed down a little better for future use and stories.

  9. 9.

    UncleEbeneezer

    THREAD: there are two different privilege invocations happening in the Pence testimony situation resulting from the special counsel subpoena. We know special counsel subpoenaed Pence in January. 1/

  10. 10.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    I think it’s a big deal to violate a gag order.  Am I right about that, BJ attorneys?

    Not as big a deal as violating a ball gag order, but it’s pretty bad.

  11. 11.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @UncleEbeneezer: there are two different privilege invocations happening in the Pence testimony situation

    White and Christian? Did they already exhaust their options on male?

  17. 17.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Henry is sleeping at the moment.  He had his teeth cleaned and a tooth removed on Monday, and he has just had his afternoon drugs.

    When he wakes up I’ll check in with him and see if he has any pithy thoughts to share.  I do know that he is a big fan of Jack Smith because Henry has referred to him as the big dog on a number of occasions.

  18. 18.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, I am he, and fair enough.

    For the story on my last name, I was playing around with my usual theme. Had some ideas I wasn’t happy with. Started playing with letters that can make that ‘K’ sound. I landed on ‘Q.”

    I decided I wanted to invoke QAnon somehow. Nothing gelled though. Somehow my brain went to that not following and finally landed on Qrop Non Sequitur.

    I was always considering that one a palate cleanser, though, until I found something better.

  22. 22.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Instead of learning to adore rich enslavers who forced poor White southerners to die in battles to preserve slavery, I wish we all learned about those who fought Confederates like Robert Smalls who died OTD in 1915. He stole a Confederate warship. Sailed it to Union lines. A thread1/

    In May 1862, Smalls was an enslaved crew member of the CSS Planter, a Confederate steam-powered gunboat operating in Charleston harbor. He knew that he could be free by escaping to the Union and becoming “contraband.” He desired that freedom for himself and his family. 2/

    One night, the CSS Planter’s Confederate sailors went ashore to Charleston, leaving the enslaved Black crewmembers on board. If these Confederates thought these enslaved people would not flee, they were sadly mistaken. The enslaved crew seized the moment–and the CSS Planter. 3/…

  23. 23.

    RaflW

    FWIW I’m glad Pence didn’t shut his pie-hole about Social Security. The lack of message discipline, thereby reconfirming again and again what Good Ol’ Joe whapped the GOP over the head with at SOTU is quite delicious.

    Pence trying to be both a desert topping and a floor wax at court, maybe that won’t go over so well either!

  24. 24.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @trollhattan: Big Bear gets snow every winter — there’s several ski resorts there — but the current storm is extraordinary intense. NWS issued its first-ever blizzard warning for the LA area. Won’t snow in the flatlands but the mountains will get 7-10 feet by the weekend.

  30. 30.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Up here in the Bay Area, the snow level is down to 1,000 feet, though much of it has melted this morning.

    And I’m going on Day 3 without power.  Murdercorp (aka PG&E) claims it’ll be back on this afternoon, but it’s a day ending on “y” so odds are they’re lying yet again. They’ve already missed several past ETAs so far.

  34. 34.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Paul in KY:

    “Americans are hardly taught it was often formerly enslaved state legislators like Robert Smalls who during Reconstruction pushed their states to provide free public education for all children. In 1874, South Carolinians rewarded Smalls for his work by electing him to Congress. 8/”

  36. 36.

    trollhattan

    Someone say snow? CA’s snowpack is the largest in years and in the southern region, ahead of the biggest year on record. By the time the current storm moves on, these numbers will be noticeably higher. Historical peak is April 1 and even if the storm window slams shut, we will have a good supply this summer.

    A welcome change after many dismal years.

  38. 38.

    oldgold

    I wish the Special Counsel would not proceed down this time pit.

    Pence has Potomac Fever.  He will be a worthless witness.

    My advice to the Special Counsel is to proceed against Trump on the document case as quickly as possible. We are almost out of time.

  41. 41.

    Burnspbesq

    So are the 3 people “familiar” not involved in any capacity?

    Best guess would be they are counsel for targets, people who believe themselves to be targets, or past or prospective witnesses. Those folks are not subject to Rule 6(e), so prior to the entry of the gag order they could bloviate to their hearts’ content, without fear that anyone from DOJ would refute their bullshit.

  43. 43.

    Burnspbesq

    @WaterGirl:

    I think it’s a big deal to violate a gag order.

    Only if you think being held in contempt, and exposing yourself to bar discipline if you’re a lawyer, is a big deal.

  50. 50.

    oldgold

    @Burnspbe

    Is there some special short statute of limitation that only you are aware of?

    No statute, but there is a presidential election looming. Which at some point, will make proceeding with a  criminal trial almost impossible.

  51. 51.

    lowtechcyclist

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I’ve always liked it when we get a big snowstorm, enough to go sledding and stuff, and here in the mid-Atlantic, February’s always been the most likely month for that.

    At least in this area, you know what month sucks? March.  It’s not winter, but it’s not really spring either.  Going a decade between March snows that you can actually do anything with/in has been the norm pretty much all my life, but OTOH March days when it’s mild enough to make going outside actually desirable are very much the exception in any given year.  March is just this worthless month in between two real seasons.

  53. 53.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @oldgold: Which at some point, will make proceeding with a criminal trial almost impossible.

    Maybe it will work the other way around, maybe it will make it impossible for trump to run.

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    @oldgold: Quite a number of the powers that be think you are wrong about that.  The risk to our republic is much stronger if elected officials are clearly above the law.

    Of course, just like polls and election outcomes, we are all just speculating and we’ll only know the answer when it happens.

  55. 55.

    HumboldtBlue

    @lowtechcyclist:

    I’ve always liked it when we get a big snowstorm, enough to go sledding and stuff, and here in the mid-Atlantic, February’s always been the most likely month for that.

    Growing up it certainly was, I recall at least two major snow storms, one in ’77 the other in ’80 and as a kid they were awesome. Now it’s just cold and wet and terrible.

    I recall an Easter snowstorm when I was very little, like 5 or 6, it’s one of my earliest memories, we were still living in Landsdowne.

  56. 56.

    CaseyL

    Not that the journos would care a jot or tittle, but the “anonymous sources” are very likely defense counsel, or even their clients, trying to create a mistrial, by claiming media reporting has tainted the jury pool or some such thing.

  57. 57.

    oldgold

    @WaterGirl:

    What? I want him held accountable. The best way to do so, is to proceed as quickly as possible with the documents case.

    The January 6th case and related matters are too complicated to be ripe for indictment and trial before it is too late to proceed.

  58. 58.

    WaterGirl

    @oldgold: Oh, I get that you want him held accountable.  I responding to this statement, and disagreeing with that.

    there is a presidential election looming. Which at some point, will make proceeding with a  criminal trial almost impossible.

  59. 59.

    WereBear

    @WaterGirl: Because Henry can clearly hear everything I can!  Though I feel compelled to report that he does nothing to help with the cooking or cleaning.

    So Henry IS the smart one.🤣

  60. 60.

    geg6

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Depends on where you are.  Here in the Pittsburgh region, we are about to have February 2023 go down as the warmest February on record.  Mostly in the 50s, 60s and, like today, well into the 70s.

  62. 62.

    Roger Moore

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Up here in the Bay Area, the snow level is down to 1,000 feet, though much of it has melted this morning.

    When I looked up at the mountains this morning, it looked like the snow line here in Southern California was about 2,000 feet.  That’s still really low for around here, but I don’t think we’re going to get any accumulation in densely populated areas.

  64. 64.

    Alison Rose

    @trollhattan: I was kinda hoping I might wake up to a dusting outside here, but no such luck. A friend in Ukiah did though, her whole yard and street were covered! Kind of wild. Only one time in my life in the Bay has it snowed on the ground where I lived.

  69. 69.

    patrick II

    @CaseyL:

    I have often thought over the years that the hardest part of being a nature photographer/videographer would be to just stand by and let nature take its course.

  72. 72.

    WV Blondie

    @WaterGirl: I almost (but only almost) don’t care how narrowly they’re allowed to probe. The lawsuits are being allowed to move forward, he’s gonna have to stay engaged with it, he’ll have to keep paying lawyers for it, and something juicy is bound to come out.

  74. 74.

    SomeRandomGuy

    @oldgold: No statute, but there is a presidential election looming. Which at some point, will make proceeding with a criminal trial almost impossible.

    It’s true. When The Hulk undid the snap, he wasn’t aware that Thanos had made it “almost impossible” to run a criminal trial during a presidential election, and hence, could not also undo that. And Stark, he only wanted to save the earth, and wasn’t bothered with the difficulties of running criminal trials during a presidential election.

    I saw it on TV, so we both know this must be the correct explanation.

  76. 76.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Got a phone alert from PG&E that they’re having to temporarily close the 101 due downed trees/power lines.

    Of course being PG&E they didn’t bother to say where the closure was.

    #YouHadOneJob

    Did I mention I still don’t have power and we’re expecting freezing temps tonight. Thankfully I can at friends if needed.

  77. 77.

    TriassicSands

    @trollhattan:

    No human parents are even half as dedicated to their offspring as many critter parents are. Years ago, I followed a bald eagles’ nest in the Oregon Cascades. It snowed. And snowed. And snowed. I watched and the parent eagle was completely covered in snow. There was no indication there was even a bird in the nest, it was covered by so much snow. I waited. And waited. Hours passed and I began to worry that the adult was dead. No movement. No sign of life at all.

    Eventually, the eagle stood up and shook all the snow off before resettling on the eggs. And then the whole scene repeated itself. I’d never seen such stoic commitment, but I’ve come to realize it is common in the animal world.

    The result? The eggs eventually hatched and the newbies fledged. Only to face a hard, cruel first year of life outside the nest.

  78. 78.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @WaterGirl: 48 degrees inside when I checked this morning. Even when the power is back on it’ll take hours to get back to normal temps. However, I just bought a propane space heater, so that’ll help.

    The only silver lining is that it’s been a good dry run for an extended power outage after an earthquake. Realized I need to add some additional stuff to the quake kit.

  79. 79.

    MomSense

    Given the bits of information that have dropped out about the various investigations, I’m cautiously optimistic that he will be prosecuted and convicted for something.  Whatever it is won’t be good enough for many people and certainly won’t be what he deserves or Justice for all the shit he did.

    I had to let it go because I just can’t carry that around anymore.  I think we each have a part to play and I’m focusing on all the good things we are doing locally.  This is the chance we have waited for and I want us to accomplish as much as we can.

  83. 83.

    TriassicSands

    @CaseyL:

    Nesting eagles are tougher than Honey Badgers!  See my comment about a nesting pair in the  Oregon high country. I’d never seen such harsh conditions and I was upset watching, but everything came out fine. Watching nesting birds is, at times, fascinating, inspiring, amazing, and heartbreaking, but the overall picture is of a level of commitment that is extraordinary.

    Maybe evolution will eventually teach them to construct a roof.

    I’ve seen videos where investigators have provided nest structures for smaller birds and some were completely enclosed providing total protection for the tiny owls. Then, a squirrel took over the nest, evicting the parents and dooming the offspring.

  84. 84.

    Jackie

    @WaterGirl: I think the “narrowly defined” is in regards to Wray. They’ve been given two hours to quiz TFG.

    “A federal judge has agreed to permit former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page to take sworn testimony from former President Donald Trump for two hours as part of their long-running lawsuits related to Strzok’s firing in 2018 after Trump repeatedly and publicly pilloried the pair,” Politicoreports.

    “U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled on Thursday that Strzok and Page — whose text messages disparaging then-candidate Trump cast a pall over the FBI’s investigation of links between the Trump campaign and Russia — would also be allowed to depose FBI Director Christopher Wray for a similar two-hour period on a limited set of topics.”

  85. 85.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    The only silver lining is that it’s been a good dry run for an extended power outage after an earthquake. Realized I need to add some additional stuff to the quake kit.

    I need much more of your attitude, SGB….the thinking that days in the cold without power have you better prepped for an even scarier event that happens out of the blue. If that’s not…er…accentuating the positive…

  87. 87.

    Roger Moore

    @MomSense:

    Whatever it is won’t be good enough for many people and certainly won’t be what he deserves or Justice for all the shit he did.

    There’s nothing we can do that would be justice for the stuff he did.  The best we can hope for is to lock him up so he can’t cause more damage.

  88. 88.

    The Moar You Know

    “A federal judge has agreed to permit former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page to take sworn testimony from former President Donald Trump for two hours as part of their long-running lawsuits related to Strzok’s firing in 2018 after Trump repeatedly and publicly pilloried the pair,”

    @Jackie: that’s a bunch of crap from Jackson right there.  I was ordered deposed for a lawsuit that involved a former employer, that I had literally nothing to do with, for eight fucking hours.  They get two for a guy who ruined their lives?  That is some kind of bullshit right there.

  89. 89.

    J R in WV

    @geg6: ​
     

    Here in the Pittsburgh region, we are about to have February 2023 go down as the warmest February on record. Mostly in the 50s, 60s and, like today, well into the 70s.

    Here in Southern West Virginia we have actually turned the A/C on one very warm sunny evening. Until the leaves come out we have huge heat gain on the south window wall. It is nearly that warm today, but we got things cool early enough to avoid needing the cooler machine.

    Many flowers are out, daffodils, forsythia shrubs, etc. I wore a tee shirt to go to Dr appointments yesterday. Was almost too much~!

  90. 90.

    Anonymous At Work

    Gag orders prevent certain people from talking.  Gag orders don’t prevent other people from talking.  Gag orders don’t prevent people who talked with those “other people” from talking.  Gag orders don’t require journalists to be specific about who knows what or who is “familiar” with a particular case.

    Some people could be in trouble.  No one could be in trouble.  Judge might make it a thing, might not.

  91. 91.

    Roger Moore

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Scott Perry is also using the speech and debate clause as a defense to keep his phone locked.

    Which is total bullshit.  The speech and debate clause is intended to protect legislators from being punished for what they say in open debate in Congress.  It doesn’t provide them with generic protection for stuff they say outside.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @WV Blondie:

    I copy the URL I want to share.

    Then I type whatever I want the link to say in the comment, like “Here’s the article” or “Peter Strzok can depose Trump”.

    Then I highlight those words, click the link icon, and paste it in and hit return.

  94. 94.

    Citizen Alan

    Welp, my sister just crossed the point of no return. I am fairly even-tempered, but I have one absolute berserk button and she just pushed the hell out of it.

    “The only thing I have against Barack Obama is that I think his wife is a man.”

    I honestly never believed that a family member would so enrage me that I had to immediately leave or I would commit violence. Once I finally get a job and move, I’m now quite certain we’ll never speak again.

  98. 98.

    J R in WV

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    I just bought a propane space heater, so that’ll help.

    We have those too, and you need to be careful, lest you be killed by the combustion byproducts. It isn’t as dangerous as running a generator indoors, which kills a lot of people after every storm, but it can still be dangerous unless the heater has a safety shutoff.

  100. 100.

    MisterDancer

    Of course a lot of this is legal chaff, meant to push delays.

    But that’s the legal system “we” built. It’s one a lot of people on the edges of our society, thru no fault of their own, know is unfair and capricious.

    It’s one where, in the interests of apparent fairness, we set up laws upon laws with layers upon layers of ways to say “this judgement was wrong!.” Layers that our wealther citizens, and the businesses they oftentimes run, hire people to navigate with certainty and power.

    We can say to the poor person “oh, you can take it to court! Oh, you can appeal that bad ruling!” It’s like the people who, until Texas’ SB8, didn’t realize how many states had made Abortion impossible to get for anyone not rockin’ a job with Paid Time Off, a car, and means to get a hotel for a night or two. It’s just…invisible to us, how warped aspects of the Justice (and related) system are, until it hits us in the face like this.

    So — no, I don’t see this process as bringing Justice to the millions harmed by the Conservative Movement, much less the effects of its embrace of Trump. I do enjoy, as I’ve posted before, seeing the DoJ actually work this case with care and attention, and I’m proud of that. Having looked back on, yes, Muller, and now Garland, I think the latter has done about as well as he could, and the former could have been much louder when it counted, but did better work than we saw in our grief and rage (and crap media) at the time.

    But. I’ve just heard and seen too many poor examples of the legal system, on multiple levels, to see this work as the space and place where American Democracy will be preserved. That is work in our culture, among us “peasants,” as well as at the ballot box. Much harder, of course, but we cannot expect a broken system of justice to suddenly heal enough to fix this wide a break — much less ensure no other breaks occur.

    It just was never built for that.

  102. 102.

    TriassicSands

    @Citizen Alan:

    I sympathize. Would it be OK with your sister if Barack turned out to be a woman?

    I really don’t know how anyone can deal with such craziness.

    I’m lucky, what family members i have left are all sane, rational, lefties.

  103. 103.

    MisterDancer

    @J R in WV: I grabbed a portable/battery operated CO2 detector to go with my propane heater. I know that’s not the only risk of running propane; from what I’ve gathered it’s the most likely one, and the others are mostly correlated with the kinds of CO2 levels that set of those detectors.

    I did grow up with occasional propane heating as well, so have some familiarity with it. So far as I know it never grew to be dangerous. But hey, maybe that’s why I can’t write a simple damn comment ;)

  105. 105.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I read (here on this blog, I think) a journalist assert that phrasing like ‘familiar with the investigation’ can and usually does mean that the journalist is using an extremely unreliable source, often a friend in politics who regularly gives them unsubstantiated gossip.  Asking a political operative who will be certain to provide the spin the journalist wants is frequent.  There was a different phrasing they usually used for ‘I made this up myself,’ but I don’t remember what that was.

    @trollhattan:

    Trump can use up two hours just bragging

    Traditionally, Trump does one of two things:  He says all kinds of self-damaging things because he’s sure he’s smarter than the questioner, or he takes the fifth amendment for every single question, over and over.  Apparently there’s an added personal quirk that he avoids saying ‘fifth amendment’ and phrases it some other way.

  106. 106.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Citizen Alan:

    “The only thing I have against Barack Obama is that I think his wife is a man.”

    What.  The.  Fuck.

    I… I… I know people are this stupid and bigoted, but sometimes my brain reels at seeing it.  There’s just so much assholery in that sentence.

    Your rage is entirely justified.

    What.  The.  Fuck.

  107. 107.

    MisterDancer

    @Citizen Alan: Once I finally get a job and move, I’m now quite certain we’ll never speak again.

    I understand on several levels. Best of luck to you, and good on you for standing for what’s right and honorable.

  109. 109.

    kalakal

    Meanwhile Britland continues its descent into an international laughing stock as the Tories deploy poundland Marie Antoinette for the 21st century

    Let them eat turnips is the new  slogan for Brexit Britain

    BBC News – Eating turnips could help ease vegetable shortage, suggests Therese Coffey
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64745258

  113. 113.

    matt

    My feeling is that the jury foreman’s comments, while not actually against the rules, are annoying enough that the long-standing ‘anything that Republicans don’t like is actually illegal’ rule might get invoked at some point in future legal proceedings.

  115. 115.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Sure Lurkalot: That’s reality in California. I’ve got both anemergency “go back” and small quake kit in the car, as well as the much larger kit at home. I probably don’t have worry about wildfires, but I live close enough to the hills that possibly of wind-borne embers is small, but not zero.

  118. 118.

    matt

    @Citizen Alan:  That’s not a thing she has against Barack Obama, it’s a thing that Barack Obama has against your sister. Your sister is a bitch who’s slandering his wife.

  122. 122.

    Origuy

    My friends in Menlo Park have been without power since the windstorm earlier this week. I have a heavy load marine deep-cell battery and inverter that I keep for powering the computers and printers for results at orienteering events. I won’t need it this weekend so I’ve offered to loan it to them. Right now they are at a friends’ house.

    I checked the CHP road closures and the only places that 101 is closed are up  north of Mendocino.

  125. 125.

    Alison Rose

    G&T, if I may ask – Zelenskyy and his wife both changed their FB cover photos to one bearing the phrase “РІК НЕЗЛАМНОСТІ”. I knew the first word was “year”. When I put the second word into an auto-translator, it gave me “unbreakable”. However, when I put both words in, it gave me “The year of indetermination”. I’m assuming it’s something more like “The unbreakable year” or similar?

  126. 126.

    Burnspbesq

    @matt:

    Your feeling is almost certainly incorrect. The targets will squawk, but if they are represented by competent counsel there will be no motions to dismiss, because any such motion would be entirely frivolous.

  128. 128.

    CaseyL

    @patrick II: I was in the Galapagos in 2009, and we were told straight out that we would see things that upset us – dying baby seals, for instance, of which there were many – and warned that we could do nothing about any of it.

    (This was in addition to the standard warnings, not to give any critters anything to eat or drink, no matter how starved or parched they looked; and also not to approach any animal.  If the animal wanted to come closer, that was fine, but we couldn’t touch or approach them ourselves.)

    None of which made me angry – I understood the reasons – but it did make me sad.

  132. 132.

    WaterGirl

    @Roger Moore: The Rs think that because they are in government that they each have a get out of jail free card.

    Hopefully the DOJ will be disabusing them of that notion, one after another, over the next several months.

  136. 136.

    Ohio Mom

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Jeez. I was never a Joan Rivers fan but now I have nothing but disgust for her memory.

    I used to think, How can anyone doubt the girls are anything except the daughters of both Obama and Michele, look at the girls’ features, they are both mashups of their parents. But then I realized some nut case or another would claim the girls had plastic surgery to fool us.

  138. 138.

    CaseyL

    @Baud:

    Well, baby seals do sometimes die; it just happens.  Maybe Mom is injured or killed, so they starve; maybe there’s something anatomically wrong with them; maybe they get sick; any number of things.

    IIRC, that specific time, there was also a shortage of food fish, so the adults weren’t able to stay fed enough to feed their babies, and were abandoning them.  Again, IIRC, the naturalist said this was something that happened periodically, and wasn’t caused by humans.

    (I vaguely remember noting a year or so later that the seal population was doing well.)

  139. 139.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Citizen Alan: Ugh.  Sorry to hear that.  I’ve already severed ties with any family member who would even think of saying shit like that (luckily I wasn’t close to any of them anyways).

  140. 140.

    scav

    @Citizen Alan: Jayzus.  Indeed better off without.

    Immediate defensive response.  Well, if the options were your sister or a man, I can understand why many would prefer the latter.

  141. 141.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    At least they overturned Scotland’s trans law.  That’s gotta be worth at least one square meal.

     

     

    @CaseyL:

    Yeah, animals in the wild die, but I wouldn’t have thought there would be so many so visible.

  142. 142.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Gin & Tonic: But we don’t really have tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards like many other states (our current winter storm situation is incredibly rare).  Our in-laws in Texas have had just as many (maybe more) close calls with natural disasters as we have here.  And if we weren’t close to foothills (regular wildfire threat) the in-laws would be way ahead.

  145. 145.

    coin operated

    @Citizen Alan:

    “The only thing I have against Barack Obama is that I think his wife is a man.”

    Holy shit…how much bigotry can you pack into one sentence?

    Similar story…I quit speaking to my brother after a profanity-laced anti-gay rant a decade ago.  He wasn’t an open bigot growing up…he got ‘saved’ during an 18-month stretch in the Idaho greybar hotel and became an insufferable prick from then on.

  146. 146.

    Dan B

    @UncleEbeneezer: I grew up in a NE Ohio snow belt and lived in Arkansas. The lightning storms were terrifying. We had a big bolt strike a couple blocks from our house here in Seattle. It reminded me of the storms if my childhood. Seattle gets one, rarely two, thunderstorms pee year and those are typically tame. We have had a couple extra-tropical hurricanes in the last 70 years.  And our bridges fall down, or sink, on the regular.

  148. 148.

    Ruckus

    @Paul in KY:

    A way better than zero chance that they would be hung for one reason or another even if they hadn’t returned the boat. Just for their skin color.

  150. 150.

    Amir Khalid

    @Ohio Mom:

    If I may: Michele is the spelling used by the now-forgotten Republican wackadoodle Michele Bachmann to avoid having the unholy letter string “hell” in her given name. Mrs Obama. goes by “Michelle”.

  151. 151.

    Ruckus

    @oldgold:

    No.

    You want him to take every rotten apple to court.

    First he might win.

    Second, it will expose what legal downsides each rotten apple has and that in public opinion is almost at good as time behind bars.

    We will never win over the completely insane but even those with a small amount of consciousness will recognize shit when they see it.

  152. 152.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Dan B: Yup.  I lived in Cincinnati as a kid and the thunder storms and tornadoes scared the hell out of me (and did major damage).

  153. 153.

    Roger Moore

    @CaseyL: ​
     

    I was in the Galapagos in 2009, and we were told straight out that we would see things that upset us – dying baby seals, for instance, of which there were many – and warned that we could do nothing about any of it.

    Yep. I went to California’s central coast around New Year, both to visit Hearst Castle and to see the elephant seal rookery. I actually got to see one of the female seals give birth. A couple of weeks afterward, the beach was flooded by a storm surge. The baby seals hadn’t learned to swim yet, and all but a lucky few who were on higher ground were drowned. It’s sad to think the baby I saw being born almost certainly died before it was one month old, but that’s the way of the world.

  155. 155.

    Ohio Mom

    @Amir Khalid: Mea Culpa.

    In my defense, I am a rotten speller. I taught myself to read by recognizing whole words which meant I didn’t ever notice the middle of words — and I still don’t. I went on to fail first grade phoenics even as I read above grade level.

    But now that you have explained the two spellings of the name, I have something to remember and check for. Thank you!

  157. 157.

    WaterGirl

    @Kathleen: Someone should write up a short little “article” that includes descriptions of sources.

    Someone familiar with the situation (my second cousin who reads heard it from his neighbor) tells me that…

    Mark Meadows is not suspected of any wrongdoing and will definitely not be indicted, according to 2 sources (the scumbag attorney representing him and his drinking buddy).

  159. 159.

    Quinerly

    @Ohio Mom: I’m so old I remember Rivers on Howard Stern when she said,  “We used to have Jackie O now we have Blackie O.”

    Joan Rivers was a POS.

  160. 160.

    glc

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    There was a different phrasing they usually used for ‘I made this up myself,’

    Traditionally, it involves a taxi driver with very definite, precise, and articulate views, and no factual basis.

  161. 161.

    Ruckus

    @Roger Moore:

    I have a couple thoughts on multiple ways to bring about effective stopping of his ability to do harm. A room with a locked door of bars is the lowest level of said ways.

  162. 162.

    StringOnAStick

    I remember a 1″ snowstorm in1962 in the CA central valley, South of Fresno.  I was 4 and my older sisters went nuts over it, having grown up in CO so I knew right away there was something special about this “snow” stuff.

    Today was our second fabulous backcountry powder skiing day; today was cold but no wind so comfortable. Going back to do it again tomorrow!

  163. 163.

    Ruckus

    @Citizen Alan:

    I have one remaining family member. Who has been in a cult for 54 yrs. I haven’t spoken to this person for over 10 yrs now. My life is better. I am amazed that it was a lot less difficult than I thought it would be. Only help I can give you is make it a complete break, which it sounds like you are more than ready for.

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