Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

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

Peak wingnut was a lie.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Republicans do not trust women.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / No Cake for Me Today Open Thread

No Cake for Me Today Open Thread

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This post is in: ,

No cake for me today, but I did pick up the buttermilk this morning so I am definitely ready.

Sounds like the NY grand jury today was about something unrelated to the former guy, or at least the former guy as it relates to Stormy Daniels.  So NY indictments can’t happen until next week.

Does anyone know what this might be referencing?  Just the short turnarounds for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning?  Or did I miss something?  (Busy day today mostly away from the internet.)

What’s going on with you guys?  Anything newsworthy?

Totally open thread.

Reader Interactions

183Comments

  1. 1.

    SpaceUnit

    This would-be indictment is starting to feel like Al Capone’s vault.

    Where’s Geraldo?

  5. 5.

    Ken

    Does anyone know what this might be referencing?

    Maybe something that the court sealed, in some standard legal procedure. Meaning we’ll find out when TFG announces it to the whole world, like the Mar-a-Lago search.

  11. 11.

    Another Scott

    HCR’s daily letter on Substack is very good today (dated 3/22).

    […]

    Trump bought Daniels’s silence because he was willing to break laws in order to get elected. Then–Trump fixer Michael Cohen paid Daniels for her story in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement. Cohen testified that he paid her through a shell company to keep Trump’s connection to the payment hidden. Then Trump reimbursed Cohen for “legal fees.”

    That’s a problem with regard to business filings and tax fraud. It is also a problem for the campaign finance laws intended to protect clean elections. Cohen’s payment was a contribution to the Trump campaign because it was made “in order to influence the 2016 presidential election.” The payment was intended to make sure voters didn’t hear another sex scandal in October 2016, just after the Access Hollywood tape came out in which Trump talked vulgarly about sexually assaulting women, when it might have hurt his chances at election. The $130,000 contribution was far above the individual limit of $2,700, and the Trump campaign did not disclose it.

    This is not small potatoes. When the issue came to light, Cohen pleaded guilty for his role in the payments, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. Cohen testified that he made the payments at Trump’s direction.

    […]

    Liars and cheats cannot be trusted. Not even as a starting point. We have to vote them out, and prosecute them.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Captain caps lock: I AM THE MOST PERSECUTED PERSON IN THE HISTORY OF PERSECUTIONS!!!! BRAGG AND WILLIS ARE RACIST RACIST RACIST BLACK PERSONS PROVEN BY THE FACT OF THEIR BLIND ATTEMPTS TO ENFORCE THE LAW AGAINST A WHITE MAN WHO ONLY BROKE PROCESS LAWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    eta: WITCH HUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​

  15. 15.

    Scout211

    Reporters keep hinting that this all pertains to a phone call that may have been recorded or just transcribed between Trump and Corcoran. The reports hint that Judge Howell determined it to be a crime scheme. Maybe the 3 appellate judges heard the recording or read the transcripts of Trump planning to do the crime and/or cover-up the crime.

    IANAL, but it would be irresponsible for me not to speculate.  😉

    The alleged call would have been on the same day that investigators subpoenaed the Trump Organization for surveillance footage from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort as the government grew suspicious that Trump continued to hold onto classified materials even after one of his attorneys asserted in a sworn statement that he had complied with a subpoena requesting any remaining documents in his possession.

  20. 20.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @WaterGirl: I’m so excited. I like the best of any I’ve had.

    My publisher hired an Italian artist, Marco Pennacchietti, to do it. Apparently, the way things work these days, artists post their portfolios on line and publisher or writers can browse them and the contact the artist

  26. 26.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: All things considered, I’ll take the good times to live thru. I’ve been thru more than enuf of the bad times to say, “Fuck stories to tell.”

  27. 27.

    Brachiator

    Trump really has a thing about PERFECT phone calls and conversations. He is a very sad and strange person.

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Instead of 2-hour battles in a 4-hour movie, it would have been 2 hours of choosing the ice cream flavors.

    Still less tedious than the overly-long battle scenes. :-)

  31. 31.

    Dan B

    The Seattle Meet-up for Satby’s visit is set for April 4th at 6:00PM. It’s at the wonderful home of friends on the east side of Capitol Hill.  They were excited to host.  I’m bringing Dim Sum and Thai food.

  34. 34.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Does anyone know what this might be referencing?

    He’s probably referring to the court order that Corcoran must turn over all documents, transcripts, and tapes related to his conversations with Anger Yam — piercing attorney/client privilege via the crime fraud exception. The court order was upheld by the three-member appellate court.

    Speculation is that Trump lied to Corcoran, who prepared the legal document saying they hadn’t found any more illicit documents. Corcoran is currently on the hook for providing false testimony (i.e. the document) but showing Trump lied to him 1) get Corcoran off the hook, and 2) goes a long way toward establishing intent, which opens the door to more serious charges.

    There’s speculation that Corcoran not only has notes/transcripts of his conversations with Anger Yam, but actual tapes

    BTW, just to be clear, the Jack Smith account on Twitter is not the actual Special Prosecutor Jack Smith.

  38. 38.

    prostratedragon

    Reading again that the reimbursement to Cohen was represented as a payment of fees, I’m almost as tingly about invoices being turned over by Corcoran as the tape transcripts.

  42. 42.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:  Sometimes my wife and I get to talking about our separate but equal bad times. They make for hours of conversation but I would just as soon not hear how my youngest thanks her for being such a good mother to him, because it only reminds me of what a shitty parent his real mother was to him and everything I went thru for him.

  45. 45.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Dan B: I feel that way too! See the broken glass on the floor? And the constellation is supposed to be a dragon constellation. Apparently there really is a dragon constellation, but I don’t know if the artist imitated it or made one up. But the stars don’t lie!

  46. 46.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: The Dim Sum and Thai near our house are inexpensive so I can buy for all to eat, unless we get a huge crowd.  Everyone else can bring wine or dessert.

  48. 48.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @M31: I don’t remember whether Tolkien said that about the Hobbits’ stay in Rivendell or in Lothlorien. I think the latter. A stay in either play would be much more exciting that Sam and Rosie though.

  49. 49.

    CaseyL

    @Dan B: That’s terrific, and thanks to you and opiejeanne for organizing this!  I am so looking forward to seeing the Seattle BJ peeps again.

  50. 50.

    BeautifulPlumage

    As for good news, I will be soon adopting a kitty. It’s been just over a month since Miss Pearl passed, and I’m nowhere near settled after *all that*, but a friend texted a pic and now I’m smitten.

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    At first, the “4 judges” comment threw me, then I realized it was Howell + the other 3 from this week.

    In case you are explaining the Jack Smith twitter account for my benefit, I am totally aware.

    Hence my comment: I’m feeling more patient about NY because I have faith in Jack Smith (the real one)

    edit: that was a most excellent summary

  54. 54.

    Baud

    Y’all going to be in for a shock with Jack Smith indicts Hillary and Hunter Biden’s laptop. #QAnon

  55. 55.

    Dan B

    @BeautifulPlumage: Opiejeanne got my email from Satby and our friends invited us to dinner and we’re jazzed about hosting.  Their house has a huge wall 9f windows and a back deck overlooking the garden.  There’s a view of Mt. Rainier on clear days.

  57. 57.

    C Stars

    @OzarkHillbilly: I really seem unable to read one of his tweets to the end. I just zone out anymore, like when my grandmother would start telling one of her favorite stories (although she could be long-winded, and to be honest a LITTLE narcissistic, at least she wasn’t a moral black hole like TFG).

  59. 59.

    NotMax

    Stab in the dark guess is it’s related to the arcana of New York election law and whether any recommended indictment(s) thereto rise to the level of a felony.

  60. 60.

    CaseyL

    @BeautifulPlumage: Wonderful news!  Maybe you’ll have photos to share…?

    I keep going back and forth over whether to adopt a senior kitty to keep Oscar company.  He’s yet to regain all his joie de vivre after Jeannie died.  But he’s never liked any other cat – didn’t even like Jeannie all that much – and I don’t want to bring someone home who’ll be under a constant stage of siege.

  67. 67.

    bbleh

    @Sister Golden Bear: I swear “Anger Yam” stopped me.  I was like, who? Sounds … Central or Southeast Asian maybe? Some oligarch who bought favors? Why don’t I know about this?

    Ergo great nickname!

    (Also, would it not be the greatest thing evarrrr if the spoof Jack Smith account was by … the real Jack Smith?)

  72. 72.

    bbleh

    @WaterGirl: ok that brings to mind a minor character named Del Capslock in books by by some novelist.  I think he was a detective?  The name of course from the writer’s keyboard. Amusing whimsy.

  78. 78.

    Geminid

    @bbleh: Del Capslock is an associate of Detective Lucas Davernport, in John Sandford’s detective series.  Capslock does a lot of undercover work.

  80. 80.

    lowtechcyclist

    According to this Business Insider article, apparently the actual felony that TFG may be charged with in New York is one of falsifying business records in conjunction with the hush-money payments, specifically the payments to Michael Cohen reimbursing him for his making the payments to Stormy Daniels.

    I’ve been trying to figure that out for days – the coverage of this whole business has been lousy.

  81. 81.

    Nelle

    @CaseyL: Long ago, I lived on 15th and also 13th and John in Seattle.  Well, also U District, Ravenna, and Ballard. This makes me want to return.  Is Matzoh Mama’s still there?

    We met, married, and had our first child in Seattle.  We’re hoping to be in Seattle mid to late summer.

  83. 83.

    eclare

    @lowtechcyclist:   Yes, the crime is that TFG characterized the payments as legal fees.  I don’t see how the IRS isn’t involved, assuming he deducted them from revenue.

    If he had just paid Stormy from his own pocket, there would not have been a crime.  But we all know that is not his style.

  85. 85.

    mrmoshpotato

    @bbleh:

    yes! thank you! now I don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night yelling “Lucas Davenport!” 

    Be sure to wake up yelling a different name though. :)

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    @Dorothy A. Winsor

    Like it more than well enough as is but if you don’t mind a small critique gut feeling is would work a bit better with the artwork flipped horizontally (except leave the map of the constellation within the arch unflipped), the pathway and shafts of light leading to the right and inviting the reader to open the book.

  87. 87.

    Scout211

    @lowtechcyclist: Thanks for that. It has been less than clear, at least to me. Plus, Trump tweeted that he will be charged with “A CRIME THAT DOESN’T EXIST!!!!!!

    It’s a crime that “doesn’t exist” in every one of his businesses.

  88. 88.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @NotMax: That sounds cool, but we aren’t changing things now. It has to go to the book designer and be uploaded to the distributor. It’s not out until May 6, but my publisher will send early copies to prospective reviewers. There’s so much crap to do.

  90. 90.

    bbleh

    @eclare: If he had just paid Stormy from his own pocket …

    Lol! Is this a metaphor? What exactly are you insinuating? Please be clear for the court.

  91. 91.

    Jeffro

    Put all your memories of 2015-2023 aside, and ask yourself: can you imagine anyone in either party rallying behind a candidate:

    -facing 5+ state and federal indictments for everything from election tampering(!) to stealing classified documents(!!)
    -and then kept blasting his investigators in all of those cases, and kept hinting at encouraging his supporters to violence if/when he’s indicted (to include violence against those investigators)
    -who had already helped his party underperform/lose 3 straight national elections (including his own re-election campaign)
    -who literally looks like a cartoon nightmare and “sounds” completely deranged on UnTruthSocial

    I’ll stop there but it does boggle the mind (my mind, anyway).

    Eugene Robinson is on point, though: just as in 2016, GOP candidates still can’t figure out how to beat this guy

    Perhaps all of the declared and undeclared GOP candidates are waiting for state and federal prosecutors to do the job of cutting Trump down to size for them. There’s no way of knowing whether this is a reasonable bet, because we’ve never had a former president try to reclaim the White House while under criminal indictment. It is indeed possible that such a scenario — if it develops — would weaken Trump’s hold on the GOP base.

    But why, then, are Trump’s rivals encouraging Republicans to rally around him?

    …one lesson to be learned from those who have failed is that Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope strategy does not work; Trump never exhausts himself by throwing punches, but instead seems to gain energy. Another lesson, to switch from boxing to mud wrestling, is that it is impossible to compete against him and remain above the fray; he will always drag you down, and he will dirty up your nice new outfit.

    I do not believe Trump can win again in a general election, whether he has to run as an accused felon. If we are to avoid the grave peril of testing that proposition, the other Republican candidates are going to have to start hitting him back.

    Shorter: they still actually think they can finesse this thing.  Keep bopping back and forth between alluding to trump’s many failures and still take swipes at the prosecutors who are trying to put him away.  “We thank Mr. trump…the guy who paid off the porn star…who always put America First…yet had too much drama going on…but helped us feel proud to be Americans again…”

    Who’ll be the Republican who can stand up and mock Orangemandias relentlessly, and then offer an actual positive vision for the party?  Obviously none of the current GOP candidates (declared or not) are up to the job.

  94. 94.

    JPL

    OT with a spoiler..

    I just watched Luther on Netflix, and I only screamed once, and Luther lived to see another day.

    Anything else happen today?

  97. 97.

    Gvg

    @Jeffro: Excuse me but I don’t think they dare use the “he has 5 criminal investigations pending” nor the “he incited violence and continues to incite more violence” because they are all doing it themselves too. Maybe not Romney on violence. They have all been doing some pretty bad stuff for awhile now.

    If democrats had the time we should go after them for all kinds of corruption, but we have to be careful not to dilute our message with too many different attacks and confuse the ….rather simple normal voters. But at some point we are going to have to get to that. It’s a big reason appointing the judges is so important.

  98. 98.

    Dan B

    @Nelle:  I lived on Olive and 12th for two years and then 35 years on Thomas and Federal.  I believe Matzoh Momma closed many years ago but there are lots of restaurants and Pike Pine is packed as are neighborhoods like Columbia City, Georgetown, and West Seattle Junction.

  99. 99.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, bodies are more complex than we think, Part MXMCLVIII

    Science.org:

    […]

    UNTIL A LITTLE OVER 30 years ago, ceramides “were not on anyone’s radar screen,” says Yusuf Hannun, a lipidologist at Stony Brook University. The few researchers who did think about the molecules, which are found throughout the body, assumed they were metabolically inert. In 1993, Hannun and his colleagues performed one of the first studies that helped change that perception.

    The researchers wanted to find out how a specific immune system molecule spurs malignant cells to commit suicide, protecting against cancer. They discovered the molecule acts through ceramides, suggesting the lipids are important for conveying messages within cells. Soon afterward, a new technique called liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revolutionized the study of the lipids. The technique, which can sort complex molecular mixtures, revealed that cells carry numerous ceramide varieties—mammals boast more than 200 types—and scientists have been trying to tease out the molecules’ functions ever since.

    [ image ]

    One place the lipids are essential, says biochemist Ashley Cowart of Virginia Commonwealth University, is the skin, which “has a very diverse ceramide population.” There, they help maintain a solid protective layer—that’s why skin cream–makers load their products with synthetic ceramides or those derived from natural sources. In the skin and elsewhere in the body, cells incorporate different types of ceramides to finetune the fluidity of their outer membranes, which influences cellular functions such as movement, division, and communication. Ceramides also serve as raw materials for the synthesis of other lipids. In short, says lipid biochemist Tony Futerman of the Weizmann Institute of Science, “We can’t survive without ceramides.”

    But as researchers have discovered, ceramides can also turn against us. They can infiltrate the lining of blood vessels and usher in LDL cholesterol particles, thus contributing to atherosclerosis. They can inhibit production of nitric oxide, a chemical messenger that relaxes artery walls and helps keep the vessels open. Some ceramides appear to promote insulin resistance, a defect in sugar metabolism characteristic of type 2 diabetes and other conditions. The molecules can also reduce energy production by mitochondria, the organelles that provide cells’ chemical fuel. And the cell suicide that ceramides can trigger, although protective against cancer, may damage healthy tissue in organs such as the heart.

    […]

    Ceramides may fill the gap. In one 2016 study, clinical pharmacologist Reijo Laaksonen of Zora Biosciences and Tampere University and colleagues analyzed cholesterol and ceramide levels in people with heart disease. Blood ceramides accurately forecast whether these people would die from heart attacks. For example, the abundance of one ceramide variety with a 16-carbon tail was 17% higher in patients who perished than in individuals who survived. In contrast, LDL cholesterol provided no insight—it was higher in the people who didn’t have heart attacks, the scientists reported. Laaksonen and his colleagues, as well as other research teams, have also found that ceramide levels reveal cardiovascular risk in the general population. Overall, studies on more than 100,000 people confirm the predictive power of ceramide testing, Laaksonen says. “It’s very fair to say the ceramide test is the best lipid-based risk marker for cardiovascular events.” Zora has licensed its ceramide scoring algorithms to the Mayo Clinic and Quest.

    […]

    There’s always more to learn, and the picture is always incomplete.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  102. 102.

    Jeffro

    @Gvg: I’m still trying to figure out who “Generic R candidate that can beat trumpov” is:

    • probably needs to have as light a record in prior office as possible
    • someone not Russia-compromised
    • someone who hasn’t already slavishly licked trumpov’s boots
    • someone able to wave away trumpov’s endless slams, slurs, and innuendoes

    So…help me out here…Youngkin’s mindless sunny disposition, plus the ability to jab at trumpov’s many flaws (like a McCain or Romney)…but who can speak to the GOP base, whatever that means anymore…

    Kemp, maybe?

    Also, gross, I just looked up “list of GOP governors” and re-realized that Greg ‘bodyslam’ Gianforte is actually/still the governor of Montana.

    DEMAND BETTER REPRESENTATION, REPUBLICANS!!!

  103. 103.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Apparently there really is a dragon constellation, but I don’t know if the artist imitated it or made one up.

    Draco (the Dragon) is a circumpolar constellation, i.e., rather close to the north celestial pole and Polaris the pole star. There’s also Hydra (the Serpent or Water Snake) south of the equator. Your cover artist’s rendition, if you cross your eyes & turn three times widdershins, bears some resemblance to Draco, somewhat less to Hydra, but IMO it’s about two parts artistic license to one part astrography. It works; enjoy,

  104. 104.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, bodies are more complex than we think, Part MXMCLIX:

    Science.org:

    Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic unfurled across the United Kingdom, hematologist John Willan has worried about the disease’s toll on his patients. In March 2020, Willan, who works at the University of Oxford and Wexham Park Hospital, began to track the hospital’s COVID-19 cases among people with leukemias, lymphomas, and other blood diseases. He counted not just the dozens of deaths, but also persistent and disabling symptoms collectively called Long Covid, which have plagued millions over the past 3 years.

    These days, Willan is less anxious. After Omicron began spreading in late 2021, COVID-19 deaths became a rarity even among his frail and immunocompromised patients, he says. And infections now carry a lower threat of lingering complications. “These patients with Omicron, they’re much less likely to get Long Covid,” says Willan, whose patients are overwhelmingly vaccinated. Earlier this month, he reported in the British Journal of Haematology that his patients’ risk of Long Covid symptoms 3 months after infection had dropped from 46% with the original coronavirus strain and another called Alpha, to 35% with the Delta variant, to 14% with Omicron.

    “My patients were so terrified … when ­COVID came out,” and rightfully so, Willan says. Although the number with protracted symptoms is still higher than he’d like, “I want to try and get a message to those people to say, ‘This is the actual risk to you now.’”

    The trend appears in both vulnerable and healthy people. A group in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy reported this month in The Lancet Oncology that the risk of Long Covid among cancer patients fell from about 17% in 2021 to 6% more recently, as cases shifted to Omicron. Another just-published study of healthy Swiss hospital workers describes a similar pattern.

    […]

    In some ways, these numbers aren’t surprising. During acute illness, Omicron is much less likely to land patients in the hospital due to severe disease, which researchers know is a major risk factor for Long Covid. But Steves says her data show lowered Long Covid risk “is not just about severity.” Her group analyzed data on only nonhospitalized individuals and found the same gap. “I think it’s highly likely that [Omicron] is acting as a different virus,” she says.

    Steves’s study “suggests there may be an intrinsic property of Omicron that reduces the conversion to Long Covid,” says Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale School of Medicine. Iwasaki and Steves speculate that how different viral variants infiltrate the body could be key. Earlier variants seem to spread to vital organs more often than Omicron does. Such spread might not always produce symptoms in acute infection, Iwasaki theorizes, but it might make someone more likely to wind up with Long Covid.

    Though shifting variants are likely driving down Long Covid risk, vaccination is probably playing a role, too, although untangling its potency can be tricky. In Kohler’s study, outcomes after Omicron didn’t appear affected by vaccination, but other studies see a link.

    Scientists also wonder how reinfections might fuel Long Covid cases. Kohler’s group has preliminary data suggesting that a person infected by the original COVID-19 strain and then by Omicron didn’t have a higher risk of Long Covid than those infected only by the original strains. Daniel Ayoubkhani, a principal statistician at the Office for National Statistics who analyzes Long Covid data, notes that the U.K. COVID-19 Infection Survey reported last month that 2.4% of participants described ongoing symptoms after a second infection versus 4% after a first; most of the infections were likely Omicron.

    Still, Iwasaki notes that even a small risk of Long Covid means a lot of affected people. Given how disabling the syndrome can be, she hasn’t stopped worrying about the public—and herself. “I definitely don’t want to get the virus,” she says.

    Fingers crossed that the trend continues.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  105. 105.

    bbleh

    @Jeffro: I would guess more important than anything would be previous heavy TV exposure, ie an image already established and widely familiar.  I continue to maintain that The Apprentice was probably the thing most responsible for TFG winning in 2016.

  106. 106.

    brendancalling

    Some of you may remember the battle I fought just to get hired by the Shitty School District of Philadelphia. Basically, despite being very publicly desperate for teachers, I was ignored and blown off until I saw one too many articles in the paper about how “no one wants to teach for us,” and I wrote a blistering response. Then they were calling and they were SO SORRY and THIS NEVER HAPPENS and I must have SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS, and you know–fuck you, you fucking ass-covering LIARS.

    Well. A few weeks ago, the same miserable Office of Talent Support began emailing me and telling me the $260 license transfer fee that I was told was due no later than June 15 was actually due March 25, and if I didn’t pay by then I’d be “separated from the district” for next year.

    Well.

    It turns out the Talent Office was lying about 3/25.

    A friend of mine who’s a veteran teacher here told me to take screen shots of all the docs saying 6/15, and send them to the Talent Office saying “this is what I was led to believe.”

    I took the shots, but didn’t send them. Instead I emailed saying I could send screen shots if necessary but that I planned to pay around 6/15. They wrote back saying “we only *encourage* people to pay by 3/25…”

    They literally threatened me with my job next year, saying I’d be “separated from the district” if I didn’t pay by 3/25. “Encouragement,” my ass—that’s like mafia-style encouragement.

    It’s no wonder the Philly School District is falling apart. It’s no wonder no one wants to work for them. It’s no wonder morale is low, and it’s no wonder they can’t recruit anyone. If I even continue in this hopeless, sad, and underpaid career, I’m applying to the ‘burbs, which I’d rather not do. I hate the ‘burbs, I’m a city person and always have been, but this bullshit is just way too much. Who needs the stress? Who needs the drama?

    And for the record, the school where I teach babysit and graduate is total fucking chaos. It is utter chaos. We’ve lost at least 4 teachers during the year, 5 of us (including me) were attacked this past quarter by students (w/barely any consequences for the students involved), and 10 teachers have announced resignations meaning they won’t be there next year, and parents are pulling their kids out due to the violence. And Talent Support is outright threatening people like me who are willing to work in these circumstances.

  108. 108.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    …one lesson to be learned from those who have failed is that Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope strategy does not work; Trump never exhausts himself by throwing punches, but instead seems to gain energy.

    Greek Mythology. The half giant Antaeus would challenge travelers to a wrestling match. When he was thrown to the ground, he would get stronger, because his mother was the Earth, and defeat every opponent.

    Trump gets energized by insult tossing. Hercules defeated Antaeus by holding him up above the ground and crushing him. Biden defeated Trump by ignoring and dismissing the taunts (“C’mon man, that’s nonsense”).

    I do not believe Trump can win again in a general election, whether he has to run as an accused felon.

    I don’t believe that Trump would win the general election, but I also know that a good chunk of his base refuse to believe that Trump has done anything wrong.

    Trump’s additional immunity comes from his continued support and protection by the GOP leadership. They should have convicted him when he was impeached. They should have thrown him out of the party. They should have denounced him when he attempted an insurrection.

    But they didn’t, and so they keep his dreams alive.

    If we are to avoid the grave peril of testing that proposition, the other Republican candidates are going to have to start hitting him back.

    Pundits need to stop using fighting metaphors. Trump loves to fight, and loves to fight dirty. His base loves to see him fight, and love to see him fight dirty. The political media love to watch Trump fight, and love it when he fights dirty.

    Right now, Trump is the GOP’s problem. I don’t much care what they do, since I don’t care about any GOP contender.

    I think the Democrats will be able to handle Trump, or whoever else comes along.

  109. 109.

    gene108

    @Jeffro:

    For a Republican to standup to Trump, they need to stand for something, anything, to begin with other than their own political fortunes.

  110. 110.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: I think there are good lines of attacks against Trump that are comparative: I’m reliable, he’s not. I’ll shrink the deficit, he blew it up. I’m steady, he’s fickle. Most importantly, I’m electable, he’s not.

    Mike Pompeo is making those arguments to party gatherings and conservative conclave. He’s not doing it in a high profile way, but I don’t think he needs to this early. He’s letting DeSantis take Trump’s flack while he builds a network of support.

    I would not predict how Republican voters will respond to Pompeo once he jumps in. But there are a lot of Republicans and Republican-aligned Independents who think Trump is a loser, and that’s with just the baggage he has now. They want a winner.

    Pompeo is well connected with donors, and has a good name among evangelicals. I’m not saying the guy will win this nomination, but I do not count him out either.

  111. 111.

    kalakal

    @brendancalling: Jesus, that’s terrible.

    You have my respect for being able to work under such circumstances. Me, I’d head to the ‘burbs. Be careful of your own health mental and physical, you’ve got to be under a ton of stress.

    As for “talent support”, what a bunch of …

  113. 113.

    Jeffro

    @bbleh: I think you’re right about both The Apprentice and the TV exposure thing.

    Here’s hoping Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is too busy to help them out!

  114. 114.

    Jeffro

    @Brachiator:Hercules defeated Antaeus by holding him up above the ground and crushing him. Biden defeated Trump by ignoring and dismissing the taunts (“C’mon man, that’s nonsense”).

    Great example and right in line with what I said – mocking trump and his many failures while smiling and putting out a more positive vision.

    @Brachiator:Pundits need to stop using fighting metaphors. Trump loves to fight, and loves to fight dirty. His base loves to see him fight, and love to see him fight dirty. The political media love to watch Trump fight, and love it when he fights dirty.

    I don’t know about the metaphor thing – politics is a fight, after all.  Robinson already noted that trump loves to fight and fight dirty.  But it’s a good point that some of this might be defused by Republican Superman pointing out that both the base and the media “just want to see people slinging mud, and that’s not what I’m here for – just the facts, and just to win for a change”, (so to speak).

  115. 115.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: The Rock is now a neighbor! Dwayne Johnson just bought a hundred+ acre estate called Tivoli, in Orange County. I think his ex-wife and current business partner bought an estate near him, too.

  116. 116.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid:

    there are a lot of Republicans and Republican-aligned Independents who think Trump is a loser, and that’s with just the baggage he has now. They want a winner.

    Pompeo is well connected with donors, and has a good name among evangelicals. I’m not saying the guy will win this nomination, but I do not count him out either.

    This sounds like some of the ‘winning recipe’ (gag) right here.

    1. trump’s a loser
    2. please the donors (who desperately want a win)
    3. speak the evangelicals’ language
  119. 119.

    Jeffro

    @gene108:For a Republican to standup to Trump, they need to stand for something, anything, to begin with other than their own political fortunes.

    That’s part of it, I agree.

    He has compromised so many of them, though, and the rest are old opponents (Kasich, Romney) who’ll never be able to get a footing or any sort of base against him.

  120. 120.

    Jackie

    According to the NYT, TFG’s soon to be ex lawyer, Corcoran will NOT be pleading the fifth when he meets with the Grand Jury in DC tomorrow!

    WaterGirl, hope you got lots of buttermilk!

  122. 122.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I know Tolkien thought Tom Bombadil was significant, and he ought to know, but I skip that part.

    I’m OK with Bombadil, though I think it was completely justified to skip past him in the Peter Jackson movie, though I’m not a big fan of Jackson’s treatment on the whole.  But I’ve never understood the necessity of Helm’s Deep to the plot, and I’ve never really been able to visualize what’s going on in it, no matter how many times I’ve read the book.  So I always skip that part.  The movie also wastes a lot of time on that battle.

    Best justification for Bombadil is his satirical alter ego, Tim Benzedrine, in Bored of the Rings.

  123. 123.

    UncleEbeneezer

    From the Times: “Judge Howell laid out damning assertions made by prosecutors that Mr. Trump knowingly deceived the government and caused Mr. Corcoran to misstate to prosecutors where the documents were being held at Mar-a-Lago.” 1/

    “According to two people familiar with the events, he [Corcoran] is not intending to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when he testifies.” 2/

    “Prosecutors are interested in Ms. Little because she was one of the few criminal defense lawyers working directly with Mr. Trump when the Mar-a-Lago matter heated up at the Justice Department.” 3/

    “[Jennifer Little] counseled Mr. Trump to be cooperative, the people said, and left the case soon after Mr. Corcoran was brought on by Mr. Trump. Ms. Little did not have to turn over a document she had sought to withhold from prosecutors.” 4/

    SOURCE: END/

  124. 124.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Jeffro: Really, the problem is that just like every time it comes to actually serving the nation, they want someone else to do all the hard work for them.

    They want Dems and prosecutors to take Trump out of the picture, because Trump has too much of a rabid following. They know that if they band together or even don’t praise him sufficiently, they’ll lose a bit of their personal power. So instead they’ll just abdicate all responsibility, again and again and again

  125. 125.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    I don’t know about the metaphor thing – politics is a fight, after all.

    Politics can be many things. But I keep seeing pundits insist that Trump’s opponents absolutely must fight Trump. They must slug it out. They must counterpunch.

    Why? Other than because they will get cheap thrills writing about it?

    In 2016, Jeb Bush, Little Rubio, Chris Christie all weakly tried to get down and dirty with Trump. It was a waste of time and made them look like fools.

    Did Kennedy slug it out with Nixon? Did LBJ slug it out with Goldwater? No.

    Even Obama and McCain were more courteous than Trump has been.

    But somehow, the media has convinced some people that politics must be a grudge match. And there must be dirty tricks, oppo research, last minute mud slinging. Political strategists get paid good money for this kind of advice. Even when it doesn’t work.

    Anyway, even if people believe this, my larger point stands: you don’t beat Trump by playing his game.

    ETA: Biden brought his decent guy persona to the 2020 election. Trump couldn’t touch him.

  126. 126.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: I think so. I may have gotten them mixed up. Local news will set me straight if I did. Gotta look it up again.

  127. 127.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    Y’all going to be in for a shock with Jack Smith indicts Hillary and Hunter Biden’s laptop. #QAnon

    And he’ll follow that up with Devin Nunez’ cow.

  128. 128.

    lowtechcyclist

    @eclare:

    If he had just paid Stormy from his own pocket, there would not have been a crime.  But we all know that is not his style.

    Tru dat. But every story I’ve read, except for that one I just cited, has treated the matter as if paying hush money is a crime in and of itself.  Without saying so directly, of course, just not mentioning what the crime is that he’s expected to be charged with (assuming he gets charged at all), but saying “hush money” over and over.

    (My guess is that they think ‘if we mention the actual statute he’s likely to be charged under, we’ll have to explain all this complicated shit, and that’s too much trouble. So “hush money, hush money” it is.’)

  129. 129.

    Jeffro

    @Brachiator:

    my larger point stands: you don’t beat Trump by playing his game.

    ETA: Biden brought his decent guy persona to the 2020 election. Trump couldn’t touch him.

    um, both of these points are covered in the Robinson piece, if you’d care to read it.  The latter is also what I’ve been trying to say is probably their path forward, if they want it: point out his obvious and horrendous flaws, then move forward in a positive direction.  A ‘decent guy…with a plan…persona’, if you will.

  130. 130.

    Scout211

    Utah Governor signs  law requiring parental consent for minors to use social media. Yeah, sure. That seems doable, right?  I’m sure it will work just fine. . .

    Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two pieces of sweeping social media regulation into law Thursday that require social media companies to get parental consent for minors using their services, making Utah the first state to impose such measures in the U.S.

    Versions of the regulations are being considered in four other states and in several federal proposals in Congress.

    The new Utah laws — H.B. 311 and S.B. 152 — require that social media companies verify the age of any Utah resident who makes a social media profile and get parental consent for any minor who wishes to make a profile. They also force social media companies to allow parents to access posts and messages from their child’s account.

    The laws also prohibit social media companies from displaying ads to minors, showing minor accounts in search results, collecting information about minors, targeting or suggesting content to minors, or knowingly integrating addictive technologies into social media apps used by minors. They also impose a curfew on the use of social media for minors, locking them out of their social media accounts between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. based on the location of a user’s device, unless adjusted with the consent of a parent.

  131. 131.

    StringOnAStick

    @bbleh: I love the sense of humour presented by the parody Jack Smith account; I consistently lol at them.  Whoever that guy is, he’s good and seems to know legal theory so I figure he’s a lawyer of some kind.

  133. 133.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    um, both of these points are covered in the Robinson piece, if you’d care to read it.

    I read it. I have also been consistently saying that it is pointless to try to out-fight Trump for as long as I have been commenting about him. And this goes back to the weird incident when Trump tried to fight with Rosie O’Donnell when she was on The View.  A professional comedian, she kicked Trump’s ass when he tried to mouth off about her.

  134. 134.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro:

    Who’ll be the Republican who can stand up and mock Orangemandias relentlessly, and then offer an actual positive vision for the party?

    Even if there was a viable GOP candidate who would and could do the first, there is no positive vision consistent with what the GOP has become.

  135. 135.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Now I see that it is the ex-wife who bought Tivoli. But reports are that it’s “adjacent” to the horse farm near Gordonsville that The Rock has “quietly” owned for some years. Besides stables, etc. Johnson’s farm has a fishing pond.

  137. 137.

    CaseyL

    @brendancalling:

    My aunt taught regular, special ed, and homebound students in Philly for something like 40 years, and had so many horror stories I couldn’t believe how she didn’t “go postal.”

    I am so sorry to hear how bad it is.  What a ghastly disservice to teachers and students alike.

  138. 138.

    mrmoshpotato

    @brendancalling:

    They literally threatened me with my job next year, saying I’d be “separated from the district” if I didn’t pay by 3/25. “Encouragement,” my ass—that’s like mafia-style encouragement. 

    Nice job you got here.  Be a shame if anything happened to it.

    Bastards.

    And the other stuff you mention later is worse.  Sorry man.

  142. 142.

    Geminid

    @mrmoshpotato: Kind of an atypical defendent- a 23 year old woman. Williams looks a little crazed in the booking photo. She should get out by New Years, 2026.

  144. 144.

    raven

    Markquis Nowell (on a bad ankle) with 19 assists to lead Kansas State over Sparta in OT!

  145. 145.

    Shana

    @WaterGirl: My daughter bought a condo last year and has hired a number of interior decorators through a site called Havenly, I think, to help her decorate the place. You browse portfolios, find someone you like, upload pictures of the space, dimensions, furniture you want to keep and pay about $150/room for recommendations. The first one she hired is in Mexico City.

  148. 148.

    raven

    @Geminid:

    I’m sorry, Riley June Williams was old enough and tall enough on January 6,” District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Thursday. “And to the extent that she comes off as fragile or weak, that all goes away when she opens her mouth.”

  149. 149.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jeffro:

    Put all your memories of 2015-2023 aside, and ask yourself: can you imagine anyone in either party rallying behind a candidate: 

    Don’t have to set aside 8 years of Dump’s crap when he was a walking shitstain since the Nixon administration. :)

  154. 154.

    Raoul Paste

    Likely, a dead thread, but I was wondering:

    Trump has his rally in Waco coming up on Saturday.    What happens if he is arrested tomorrow?  What happens next?

  158. 158.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Raoul Paste:

    Trump has his rally in Waco coming up on Saturday. What happens if he is arrested tomorrow? What happens next? 

    No rally, obviously!  (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

    I guess he can cosplay Vernon Wayne Howell from jail?

  161. 161.

    smith

    @Jackie: As I recall from being a kid, even the dictionary has numerous entries that juveniles enjoy looking up and snickering over.

  164. 164.

    Jackie

    Don’t want to contaminate the feel good post AL just put up…

    “Top Trump attorney appeared before grand jury last December in classified docs probe: Sources
    Timothy Parlatore testified about documents found at Mar-a-Lago, sources said.”

    “A top attorney for former President Donald Trump gave previously undisclosed testimony before a grand jury late last year regarding efforts by Trump’s team to locate any classified documents that remained in Trump’s possession after the FBI’s unprecedented August search of his Mar-a-Lago estate, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
    The Dec. 22 testimony from attorney Timothy Parlatore was ordered after months of wrangling between Trump’s attorneys and officials in the Justice Department, who had grown increasingly concerned that Trump still continued to hold onto classified documents after more than 100 were discovered in the August 8 search, sources said.
    In fact, just days before his testimony, Parlatore revealed to the DOJ and D.C. district court Judge Beryl Howell that a search of Mar-a-Lago conducted by Trump’s legal team on Dec. 15 and 16 had discovered four additional documents with classification markings, according to sources.

    Parlatore was not subpoenaed for his testimony, according to a person familiar with the matter.
    Parlatore, when reached for comment by ABC News, said, “I voluntarily and happily chose to go into the grand jury so that I could present my client’s case to them in the context of our search efforts. During my testimony, it was clear that the government was not acting appropriately and made several improper attempts to pierce privilege and, in my opinion, made several significant misstatements to the jury which I believe constitutes prosecutorial misconduct.”

    ”A spokesperson for Trump didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.“

    https://abcnews.go.com/US/top-trump-attorney-appeared-grand-jury-december-classified/story

  165. 165.

    Geminid

    @mrmoshpotato: There is starting to be more reporting as the rally draws nearer. Local TV station KWTX says the City of Waco anticipates 15,000 people, and was paid in advance for the venue. Business Insider says none of Texas’s Republican Congressional delegation plans to attend.

  166. 166.

    TriassicSands

    @Brachiator:

    Right you are. But, then, everything that Trump does is PERFECT.

    As Trump would say: “Everybody knows that!”  Asserting the universality of his opinions is one of his favorite ploys. I mean even Jack Smith knows that Trump is “100% innocent.” But since George Soros controls Smith’s every move, Smith has no choice but to pretend that Trump did something wrong.

  168. 168.

    TriassicSands

    @Geminid: Business Insider says none of Texas’s Republican Congressional delegation plans to attend.

    Certainly not without a Kevlar vest. It’s gonna be wild! After all, this time Trump’s supporters have to take back their country before it is too late. Who knew that Waco is the nerve center of the Deep State?

  171. 171.

    Jeffro

    @mrmoshpotato: I love that meme that has a pic of trumpov and Nixon laughing that says:

    “The most corrupt president in American history.  And Richard Nixon”

  172. 172.

    NotMax

    @TriassicSands

    Fully expect him to mimic a perp walk on stage. Badly. Then break free of flimsy, phony handcuffs at a pre-planned point of whatever inappropriate music is piped in.

  173. 173.

    Geminid

    @TriassicSands: They say the Deep State nerve center is in a large bunker deep beneath the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. Trump’s holding the rally just few miles away to let them know he’s not intimidated. It’s psychological warfare.

  174. 174.

    Jackie

    @NotMax: What we THOUGHT was a faked arrest turns out to be REAL!

    OK, it’s my fantasy, BUT IF ONLY IT COULD BE REAL!🤞🏻

  175. 175.

    randal m sexton

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I would like to hear about the famous 1420 potatoes that Sam and Rose grew.  That would make a story. If you like potatoes. I have heard that you can boilem, mashem, puttem inna stew …

  181. 181.

    PaulWartenberg

    Does anyone know what this might be referencing?  Just the short turnarounds for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning?  Or did I miss something?

    I’m hearing on the intertubes that the Friday grand jury testimony from Corcoran is going to spell out how trump continued to lie and hide classified documents AFTER the warrant demanding he turn all such docs over to the National Archives. Smith and the DOJ are trying to convince the judges that trump qualifies for being held in contempt in order to compel him to return all the stolen classified docs, and possibly issue a criminal charge or three for violating the Presidential Records Act and with any luck straight-up Obstruction. If the judge(s) is/are smart, they should also issue a gag order insisting that trump be denied access to social media as well as preventing him from FUND RAISING on any arrest/contempt holding.

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