Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We still have time to mess this up!

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

This fight is for everything.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Second rate reporter says what?

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

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

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Repubs in Disarray

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The McCarthy speakership is going about as well as expected. From defense contractor whitepaper-peddler/pol gossip site Axios:

Some angry GOP lawmakers warn that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s position could be on rocky ground after a report he blamed members of his leadership team for Republicans’ chaos over the budget.

Why it matters: Multiple House Republicans argued McCarthy’s criticism of Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) undermines their messaging and opens the floodgates for public infighting earlier than necessary.

  • McCarthy told colleagues he lacks confidence that Arrington can deliver a budget proposal, according to an explosive New York Times article published Thursday.
  • The California Republican also reportedly told allies he views Scalise as “ineffective” and unwilling to take hard positions.
  • McCarthy didn’t deny conversations with allies disparaging two of his top deputies, but said he rejects the idea of splits existing among leadership.

Between the lines: House conservatives say they aren’t ready to pull the trigger on a motion to vacate that could oust McCarthy as speaker. But this has ramped up the level of conversations.

Here’s a gift link to the referenced NYT article. McCarthy knows Arrington tried to shiv him in favor of Scalise during McCarthy’s protracted and humiliating battle for the gavel. Hell, lots of Repubs tried to shiv McCarthy, and he hasn’t forgotten it.

I think Biden and the Democrats are playing the debt ceiling issue perfectly so far by telling the House goons to work it out. Meanwhile, the hostage takers are waving their guns in each other’s faces as they argue over the wording of the ransom note.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

171Comments

  1. 1.

    NaijaGal

    Reposting from the dead thread downstairs…

    Not sure if someone has already posted this but NPR had an article on a Texas woman who discovered that her fetus was anencephalic.  The doctor told her that this was incompatible with life but because of Texas’s abortion laws, she would have to continue the pregnancy for five more months and deliver. She did, it was a difficult breech birth and the baby died four hours after delivery. They didn’t have money for the funeral, so they started a GoFundme, which has exceeded the target but they probably still have to pay for the cost of the delivery, if anyone still wants to contribute.

  2. 2.

    Ken

    opens the floodgates for public infighting earlier than necessary.

    Nice that they’re acknowledging public infighting will be necessary. It should also make it easier for Dems to point out the real cause of any inability to produce a budget.

  3. 3.

    Shalimar

    First the House goons have to find one of their number who can read and write before they even get to a note.

  4. 4.

    bbleh

    Well, I’m sure McCarthy’s steely nerve and near-legendary control of his caucus will prove more than up to the challenge of producing something that looks like the outlines of a budget!  And then something something something, and then Republican VICTORY! And also profit!

  5. 5.

    Another Scott

    Yup, why anyone paying attention would think that the House GQPers would come together as a team and work effectively after the incompetent clown show in January is beyond me.  And it matters in all kinds of ways.

    (repost)

    NEW: House GOP has struggled to pass messaging bills, which doesn't bode well for bigger fights to come.

    There was talk of booting a whip team member when he voted no on parental bill. HFC starting to talk motion to vacate. and MUCH more w/@AnnieGrayerCNNhttps://t.co/cjsO7rTMMa

    — Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) April 7, 2023

    (via RepDonBeyer)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    The non-stop media coverage and consternation over the GOP’s inability to government has been something to behold.

  8. 8.

    StringOnAStick

    As the Dobbs chickens/vultures come home to roost, it is going to get exciting in the R caucus.  The split between phoney baloney job wanna keepers and True Believers will be popcorn worthy.  I’m not sure True Believers vs. MAGAts is the same circle in the Venn diagram, but its damned close.

  9. 9.

    West of the Rockies

    McCarthy wants all the power and glory, none of the responsibility or blame.   He has all the spine and grit of a car lot balloon dancer (and all the charisma of the dishonest sales manager).

  10. 10.

    Shalimar

    Speaking of Republican stupidity, I am listening to Chris Sununu on Bill Maher’s show, and I swear all of these assholes now went to the Jim Jordan school of public speaking.  They must get paid based on their words per minute.  Talk so fast it is impossible to rebut even 10% of the lies.

  12. 12.

    lollipopguild

    @bbleh: I am sure that the shoemakers elves will come out during the night and cobble something together.

  13. 13.

    lollipopguild

    @bbleh: I am sure that the shoemakers elves will come out during the night and cobble something together.

  16. 16.

    geg6

    McCarthy really is such a loser.  It’s almost like he relishes the humiliation.  Total submissive.  Such an embarrassment to his constituents.  And they just vote him back in no matter how many times he gets pantsed.

  17. 17.

    lowtechcyclist

    My line about Axios is that it exists in order to make Politico, aka Tiger Beat on the Potomac, look good by comparison.

    Even after reading their “why it matters,” I can’t see that it does.  Sounds like the GOPers may trade one ineffective leader for another at some point, but it won’t be right away.

  19. 19.

    dmsilev

    • McCarthy told colleagues he lacks confidence that Arrington can deliver a budget proposal, according to an explosive New York Times article published Thursday.
    • The California Republican also reportedly told allies he views Scalise as “ineffective” and unwilling to take hard positions.
    • McCarthy didn’t deny conversations with allies disparaging two of his top deputies, but said he rejects the idea of splits existing among leadership.

    McCarthy is, by and large, correct in his assessment, Therefore, sucks to be him. Of course, he very much wanted this job, so sympathy very very much limited, At the level of ‘find me a violin so small only CERN can see it’.

  21. 21.

    dmsilev

    @Shalimar:

    First the House goons have to find one of their number who can read and write before they even get to a note.

    Learning to count beyond ten might also help once it comes time to think about voting.

  24. 24.

    geg6

    @eclare:

    Truly it is.  I cannot imagine living his life.  Constant misery and for what?  What’s the payoff?  They will never stand by him and he’ll be a RINO lickety split.

  26. 26.

    Kent

    @NaijaGal:

    Reposting from the dead thread downstairs…

    Not sure if someone has already posted this but NPR had an article on a Texas woman who discovered that her fetus was anencephalic.  The doctor told her that this was incompatible with life but because of Texas’s abortion laws, she would have to continue the pregnancy for five more months and deliver. She did, it was a difficult breech birth and the baby died four hours after delivery. They didn’t have money for the funeral, so they started a GoFundme, which has exceeded the target but they probably still have to pay for the cost of the delivery, if anyone still wants to contribute.

    I listened to the story.  She didn’t have the funds to travel to CO for an abortion (estimated $3,000 for airfare, hotel, procedure, etc.).  So now she is stuck with over a $4,000 bill for the burial and other expenses.  After suffering for another 5 months of an unviable pregnancy.

    We really do absolutely hate the poor in this country, don’t we?

  27. 27.

    RaflW

    OMG I love this (even if it is Axios): “opens the floodgates for public infighting earlier than necessary“.

    So, uhhh, the infighting is baked in, but coming too soon? Hilarious!!

  29. 29.

    Anonymous At Work

    Pretty sure that GOP is holding out a Motion to Vacate until after they fail on the debt ceiling, to tell themselves and their base that it was McCarthy’s fault.  Any premature ejectulations of McCarthy run into the debt ceiling calendar and force the NFG to take the blame.

    To me, the two things I’d want to know are:

    1. What happens to the subpoenas and “special committees” if the Speaker (and presumably the Rules he set) goes away?
    2. Will Trump come out swinging for/against anyone?  Will the need to control the narrative drive the afraid-of-backing-losers Trump to take chances or will Trump’s infamous cowardice let DeSantis try to influence things?
  30. 30.

    Another Scott

    PSA – I just had a navel orange from Trader Joe’s.  Roughly between the size of a baseball and a softball (closer to a baseball).  From Morocco.

    Very juicy and extremely sweet.  A very nice change from some recent ones (from the US) that tasted like wet cardboard.

    That is all.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  31. 31.

    RaflW

    This McCarthy dustup (as newsers like to say), combined with MTG getting into a very public and nasty catfight with Laura Loomer + Ali Alexander. Throw in the WSJ whining about how it’s not fair to call glob-trotting in a Global 5000 private jet, uhhh, globe-trotting, and NRO’s Johnah Goldgerg defending Harlan Crow’s Nazi fetish ‘museum’ and wow. What a weekend.

    It’s going to spiral down from here, most likely. I’m not sure when we’ll achieve trough wingnut, but were in the steep descent phase.

  32. 32.

    Anoniminous

    @Kent:

    We really do absolutely hate the poor in this country, don’t we?

    Being poor is their own fault.  They could have chosen to be born into a top 1% family.  They didn’t.  Now they need to suck it up and accept responsibility for their decisions.

  33. 33.

    eclare

    @Kent:   Oh that story is heartbreaking.  Glad to see she has surpassed her fundraising goal.

    And yes, this country hates poor people.

  35. 35.

    eclare

    @Another Scott:   No Trader Joe’s near me, but good to hear.  After several tries with the halos this winter, I gave up.  All pith, stringy, dry, and too expensive.  In years past they’ve been great.

  39. 39.

    Ruckus

    @Kent:

    We really do absolutely hate the poor in this country, don’t we?

    I’d say most of us don’t. But the rethuglicans do because the poor don’t make enough money to steal from. They do seem to vote for the people screwing over voters party though. I am wondering why that is, because if the people that vote for them ever find/figure out the bullshit policies of the people they vote for will completely screw them after they vote for them, they likely might quit that voting.

  41. 41.

    RaflW

    @eclare: We usually love Cara Cara season, but this year hasn’t been great. A friend brought us some blood oranges, and they’ve been a bit meh as well. I wonder what’s up. Climate? Labor shortages in during picking/processing peak?
    Sun spots? :J

  42. 42.

    jonas

    @Kent: God, can you imagine carrying this pregnancy to term and having people come up to you all excited and congratulating you and having to explain “I’m sorry, but my child here is developing pretty much without a brain and I’m just waiting to deliver it so I can watch it slowly die. How’s your day going?”

    I can’t imagine what this woman went through.

  43. 43.

    Almost Retired

    It is just me, or is the MSM largely ignoring Gym Jordan and the other ghoulish hearings into Fox News Memes (Hunter! Weaponization! FBI!) – other than to occasionally point and laugh.

    I was moderately concerned they would be able to effectively stage-manage little show trials with performative sound bites for the evening news.  But they’re too unfocused, too insular and too buffoonish to carry it off.  I hope it stays this way!

  44. 44.

    eclare

    @RaflW:   I am not familiar with CaraCara, but FL was hit with really bad weather for citrus this past fall, so I wasn’t surprised the halos were bad.  I assume in Memphis most of our oranges are from FL.

  45. 45.

    Anonymous At Work

    @karen marie: Basically, the debt ceiling isn’t going to solve itself, the GOP has no solution and McCarthy will either flounder while the US defaults for the first time ever OR he’ll have to negotiate with Biden, Schumer, AND Jefferies to obtain the votes he needs in the House and Senate.  If he negotiates, he’s smart enough to know how much more stupid and how much less support from his caucus he has than any of them.  Basically, McCarthy is going to get hosed in some way, so there will be infighting, but the idea was to avoid doing so until the debt ceiling negotiations turned sour.

  46. 46.

    Steeplejack

    @Almost Retired:

    Do the GQPers care about the mainstream media? I thought they were creating footage for Fox News, OANN, NewsMax, etc., and their own fundraising pitches. They have no policy goals, so there’s nothing to work toward, and they’re ignoring the debt ceiling (while screaming that it’s Biden’s fault).

  48. 48.

    UncleEbeneezer

    WTF is wrong with Cisgender People?

    Kentucky BBQ restaurant owner questioned whether or not he should stop selling Bud Light after he noticed verbal altercations in his bar amid the beer brand’s controversy with sending a commemorative Bud Light can to transgender activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

    Smokin’ This and That BBQ owner Guy Cummins noticed customers were verbally accosting those drinking Bud Light in his bar earlier this week. The interactions came days after Mulvaney shared a video to social media promoting Bud Light through a partnership with the company, which sent her a personalized beer can to celebrate her anniversary of transitioning to a woman. The partnership quickly led to controversy as conservative activists launched a boycott against Bud Light.

    And of course Newsweek like the NYTimes and numerous other media outlets can’t help lend legitimacy to this TERF bullshit…

    The row over transgender brand ambassadors is symbolic of a wider debate about the inclusion of transgender women in female issues and spaces. Some say transgender women should be treated the same as other women, while others say they are different and that hard-won women’s rights must be protected.

    Transphobia permeates our society and sadly, almost no space is free of it.

  49. 49.

    Geminid

    The Republican House Caucus really needs to work out all these tensions and animosities. Maybe they can stage an Infra-Rupture Week.

  51. 51.

    UncleEbeneezer

    But this is good news!!

    Fantastic decision by 7th Circuit, holding that schools do not have to accommodate teachers who wish to discriminate against transgender students. Huge congratulations to the ACLU for this important victory.

  53. 53.

    Shalimar

    @Steeplejack: There is another line that is even better:

    “A GOP lawmaker accused McCarthy of using Scalise and Arrington as scapegoats before budget and debt ceiling negotiations have fully imploded.”

    So it’s fine to use them as scapegoats, just wait a month until they’re done fucking things up.

  54. 54.

    PaulB

    The problem for Republicans is that they have too many people who have no interest in governing, whose sole skill appears to be an ability to troll, to “own the libs” with their ridiculous rhetoric, and who are totally fine watching everything blow up.

    Because if it does, they’ll simply blame Biden, Schumer, Congressional Democrats, McCarthy, and all of those RINOs who didn’t wish hard enough, confident that the media will “both-sides” it. That belief of theirs that they won’t be held responsible is, sadly, all too likely to be true.

    While I do like me some “Republicans in disarray” stories, I would be far happier if it were for something much less consequential. The damage they can cause every one of us is very real.

  55. 55.

    Anonymous At Work

    @UncleEbeneezer: I’m conflicted by this.  As someone who supports trans-supportive businesses, I want to encourage behavior like Bud Light’s.  As a beer snob, I took a sacred vow to forever and always denigrate light beer.

  56. 56.

    Anoniminous

    The International Pedophile Protection League commonly known as “The Roman Catholic Church” is back in the news: Baltimore’s Catholic Church sexually abused at least 600 children over 60 years, Maryland AG says

    Maryland’s top prosecutor accused Catholic Church officials in Baltimore on Wednesday of engaging in a years long cover-up of the sexual abuse of 600-plus children, some of whom were “preyed upon by multiple abusers over decades.”

    But boy those Drag Queens and Trans are the real threat.

    yup-yup-yup

  57. 57.

    bjacques

    @MattF: Little castles on the hillside, little castles made out of ticky-tacky…

    Back on topic, here’s hoping the House GOP Terrorist Caucus wipe themselves out before they can take any hostages.

  59. 59.

    Gvg

    @eclare: citrus greening disease is going to hurt Floridas orange crop in future years. I think it’s in other areas too. Makes them tasteless. I think I am going to have to have one of mine cut down.

  61. 61.

    Geminid

    @lollipopguild: I think you may be talking about the Crapture.

    Theologians are divided on whether the Crapture will be literal or metaphorical. Some say it will be a kind of Purgatory, where the Republicans keep swirling around the drain.

  62. 62.

    SuzieC

    @Gvg: So orange industry going down, Disney going down as an Enemy of the State, and tourism going down because of climate disaster.  Can’t happen soon enough.  (Sorry Betty Cracker.)

  64. 64.

    Chetan Murthy

    @bjacques: You gotta wonder who greenlit that debacle.  I mean …. every castle looks alike.  That’s not luxury — that’s ….. middle class life.

  66. 66.

    Brachiator

    @Kent:

    We really do absolutely hate the poor in this country, don’t we?

    No, it’s clear that Texas hates women. These laws would place additional emotional and financial strains on families of any income level.

     

  68. 68.

    West of the Rockies

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    This transphobia reminds me of the old Harry Chapin lyrics:  “Flowers are red, young man, and green leaves are green.  There’s no need to see Flowers any other way than the way they always have been seen.”  Idiots have myopic vision.

    My wife attended a school board meeting a few nights ago to speak on behalf of trans students.  She is an MFT specializing in LGTBQ issues.  Congressrat Doug Lamalfa attended and loudly brayed that there are only XX and XY people, and that gender dysphoria isn’t a real thing.  He was immediately shouted down.  Rights for trans students held the line that night.  But this red rural county in deep Blue California is not immune from horse shit.

  70. 70.

    BethanyAnne

    Sitting in the ER, waiting for mom to be checked in. She fell twice today. It’s so frustrating when I can’t fix things. Can’t pick her up by myself, and I can’t always keep her from falling.

  71. 71.

    RaflW

    @Steeplejack: The thing is, as Jordan holds these poorly organized and largely fireworks-free hearings, the non-bubble media mostly yawns, and ok, sure, the Fox-OAN-Washington Times folks cover it.

    But nothing happens. I mostly steer clear of RW twitter, but if i do I notice people over there are mad that Hunter still hasn’t faced any ‘consequences’, and they’re souring fast on guys like McCarthy who they think are putting a lid on Gym (he’s not. But there’s so little there, there that it’s just not gonna blow up).

    The mid-term GOP campaigns seemed to promise a spectacle for Hunter, Hillary, etc, and they can’t really deliver and the ticket-buyers are going to start demanding refunds.

  72. 72.

    CaseyL

    @MattF:

    I remember seeing something about this a while ago, and the pictures didn’t strike me as eerie.  The idea of the development seemed really inapt: These are basically oversized, ornate row homes, crammed together, all looking pretty much alike.

    @bjacques:

    Little castles on the hillside, little castles made out of ticky-tacky…

    Exactly!  A Turkish Levittown.

  75. 75.

    El Muneco

    @Anonymous At Work: Particularly considering how toxic some microwbreweries can be politically, I’d like to give support to Budweiser and Coors for publicly being loudly on the right side on LGBTQ+ and trans issues.

    It won’t make me drink Bud Light or Coors Light, though.

    There are some good light beers – Sam Adams (no longer available west of the Mississippi) and Heineken (carried by very few distributors) are both fine beers, but hardly anyone has them readily available. Lagunitas has a 100-calorie IPA – and that’s probably a good thing because IMO most micro IPAs need some watering down due to overhoppiness.

  76. 76.

    Matt McIrvin

    What particularly cheeses them off is when they lose support of a brand they thought was “theirs”. The Busch brewery used to be a reactionary company. Now it’s just a brand of some international conglomerate that will chase the market wherever it goes.

  77. 77.

    Geminid

    @RaflW: Plus, the Democratic members of these committees have got game, and make the most of their question time. So far, the Republicans have been outclassed

  78. 78.

    Another Scott

    @BethanyAnne: Oh no.  :-(  I hope she’s Ok.  ERs are stressful and annoying.  I hope it’s an easy time there, and back at home.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  79. 79.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Anonymous At Work: Right there with you.  I want to support Trans Rights but maybe not THAT BAD, lol

    Brash Brewing asked on Facebook how they could guarantee that Travis Tritt and Kid Rock would never drink their beer and I told them, honestly, just let a Transgender artist design the bottle/can and name of an upcoming release and donate a portion of proceeds to a good Trans Rights Org.  I guarantee there would be a lot of people who should support it and it would cause many hurt feelings from Transphobes.  Everybody wins!!!

  80. 80.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    Let us now provide the GOP House some information on how to best organize Circular Firing Squads.

    Because Democrats always try to be helpful, for the good of the country.

  82. 82.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Baud: I took it in the spirit of “we gotta shut down X until we figure out what’s going on!”  I’m most decidedly cishet, and *still*, it’s pretty embarrassing what we types get up to.

  83. 83.

    Brachiator

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    And of course Newsweek like the NYTimes and numerous other media outlets can’t help lend legitimacy to this TERF bullshit…

    I admit that I don’t actually know what TERF means. I barely know what cis means, but figured it out by context, but never quite understood why anyone thought it deeply important to come up with the category.

    I guess some things are too simple. I hate bigotry and all of the bullshit and assholes  that would seek to demonize trans people.

  93. 93.

    different-church-lady

    @NaijaGal: I was told republicans were going to make sure she got whatever she needed. Did they abandon that promise?

  94. 94.

    RaflW

    @MattF: Mind boggling that about 350 of them were at one time ‘sold’. That there was zero architectural variation, and those tiny lots, it was all so awful looking to my eye.

  97. 97.

    Steeplejack

    @RaflW:

    You make a good point. They have to deliver on their promises eventually, and that ain’t happening.

  99. 99.

    BruceFromOhio

    I think Biden and the Democrats are playing the debt ceiling issue perfectly so far by telling the House goons to work it out. Meanwhile, the hostage takers are waving their guns in each other’s faces as they argue over the wording of the ransom note.

    And the debt ceiling is the hostage? These fuckers will burn it all down for the Fox interviews and the fundraising. Telling the arsonists to go ahead set it all on fire only works up to a point.

  100. 100.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Surgery/Recovery Update: Getting this septoplasty/trubinate-reduction was the best decision I’ve ever made.  Got the splints pulled on Thursday and it was like BOOM, all of a sudden I could breathe easily in a way I haven’t been able to in decades!  Most of the pain (which was formidable in my head/nose/face) and swelling is gone with just a little remaining since it still takes a couple weeks for everything to fully heal.  But man, what a difference.  I can actually sleep through the night without having painful nasal congestion forcing me to get up several times a night.  I can also smell/taste much more intensely.

  103. 103.

    Dan B

    @Anoniminous:  158 clergy abused kids in Maryland alone.

    How many drag queens and trans abused kids?  Out of likely tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands I vaguely recall one story.

  106. 106.

    RaflW

    @UncleEbeneezer: Anyone in the distribution radius of Minocqua Brewing in Wisconsin (links have ‘where to buy’) should check them out. We’ve bought several of their varieties for friends, who report liking them (I drink only N/A beers and BF is disinterested in alcohol generally and thinks beer with/without are equally disgusting).

    The owner is a bit over the top, but does really good stuff politically with the profits.

    Minocqua has said they’re working on an N/A. And, man, has there been a revolution in flavor and variety in the 21 years since I gave up getting drunk.

  108. 108.

    eclare

    @Steeplejack:   I always thought, if anything, these hearings would benefit Democrats.  Gym Jordan on teevee for hours does not wear well.

  113. 113.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Brachiator: “TERF” originally came from “Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist”, an old branch of feminism that regarded trans women as a patriarchal plot to invade and erase womanhood. But these days the term is often just used to refer to anyone who is transphobic.

    “Cis” just arises because if we talk about trans people it is useful to have a term for “not trans”. I knew the terms as opposites from chemistry where they refer to different molecular structures.

  114. 114.

    MattF

    @eclare: The Rs want to recreate the Hillary hearings, but no one would recognize Hunter Biden walking down the street, so it’s just not comparable.

  115. 115.

    There go two miscreants

    @MattF: That is so incredibly ugly that it puts McMansions to shame! Also, you’d need GPS to find your way home since they all look alike!

  116. 116.

    Brachiator

    @Matt McIrvin:

    “TERF” originally came from “Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist”, an old branch of feminism…

    Good to know. I shall now forget it. Bigots is bigots.

    Cis is slightly less dumb, and is sometimes useful. Like analog v digital, I suppose.

  117. 117.

    West of the Rockies

    @eclare:

    He looks like the kind of guy who’d smell like Brute cologne trying to mask body odor, cigarettes, and stale farts.

  118. 118.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Matt McIrvin: I only use TERF to refer to 1.) the actual people like JK HowlingBigot and 2.) the framing/messaging/policies that they push.  In the case above I use it because that Newsweek phrase is a textbook TERF talking point.

    Note: I’m pretty sure you know that already, just responding for anyone reading along :

    PS- interesting point that I would’ve known if I had actually paid attention in Chemistry, lol

  121. 121.

    Dan B

    @BethanyAnne:  Great to hear.  Are there geriatric social workers available that can advise you and your mom about options?  When my mother started having dementia it was great for me and my brother.  It was very good to not have the words come from me.

  124. 124.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Brachiator: “Cis” is very useful because in this case there are almost no Transgender People (a handful like Caitlyn Jenner aside) who have a problem with what Bud Light did or oppose expansion of Trans Rights Laws etc.  It really is pretty much all on us Cisgender People.

  126. 126.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Baud: Like White People, Men etc., I have nothing AGAINST us, but everyday I’m embarrassed by how shitty we are (in the collective).

  128. 128.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Baud: I’m guessing the dudes/dudettes literally starting bar fights over it don’t care much for anyone under the LGBTQ umbrella.

  129. 129.

    Steeplejack

    Medical researchers are confident that mifepristone is safe for women to use. But Twitter user @federalistjudge1488 isn’t so sure.

    — New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) April 8, 2023

  130. 130.

    Jackie

    Founder of “Protect Our Kids First” arrested for allegedly downloading child sex abuse material

    “Michael Dolce, a 53-year-old lawyer known for representing child sexual abuse survivors, was recently arrested by FBI agents at his West Palm Beach, Florida home. Dolce, who founded a group called Protect Our Kids First Inc., was allegedly laying in his bed and downloading sexually explicit images of children when agents broke down his front door.

    According to an FBI affidavit, after Dolce’s March 15 arrest, agents found 1,997 images and five videos of child pornography on his computer. The images were of male and female children ages five to 12, including several of a prepubescent girl in a subfolder titled “Sweet Pedo Stars.” Dolce could receive a minimum of 20 years in prison if found guilty of possessing child pornography.”

    https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/04/founder-of-protect-our-kids-first-arrested-for-allegedly-downloading-child-sex-abuse-material/

  132. 132.

    Brachiator

    @MattF:

    The Rs want to recreate the Hillary hearings, but no one would recognize Hunter Biden walking down the street, so it’s just not comparable.

    I hear some Republicans make half assed references to the “Biden crime family.” Maybe they got this from Trump, I don’t know. Some know that this is just political garbage, but just want to embarrass or hurt President Biden by attacking his family.

    I also heard some conservative radio talk show dimwits say that it should be illegal for children of presidents to use the family name to try to get rich. Apparently this would come with a Trump exception.

    But while I suppose that some grown children should be discouraged from doing stupid shit, this weird attempt to monitor the behavior of adults seems stupid.

    What was that thing about a Jimmy Carter brother and Billy Beer?

    But it is tiresome to keep hearing Trump supporters refer to Hunter Biden ‘s laptop as though the device itself is proof of some unspecified but nefarious crime.

     

  133. 133.

    MagdaInBlack

    @RaflW: The owner is a regular guest on my local progressive radio, WCPT 820, Chicago. And ya, he’s a character

    Eta: His products are available in Chicago-land.

  136. 136.

    Frank Wilhoit

    @StringOnAStick: ​
     Many of the insurrectionists are not ideologues in any policy-connected sense, but will take any excuse to break heads. They are capable of being deflected by sufficient countervailing force. The ideologues are not, and that is why it is more important to keep a close eye on them, as, from a rational perspective, they are intrinsically unpredictable.

  138. 138.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Brachiator: I see a lot of whatabouting when people talk about Trump’s criminal behavior: “what about all of Biden’s crimes”, “what about Obama’s crimes” and they generally don’t specify what these are, they just refer to unspecified crimes.

  140. 140.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Brachiator: “Cis” is a term that really triggers right-wing chuds in a manner very similar to the outrage over “press 1 for English”: the idea that not-trans people could be considered just another group, instead of the assumed unmarked default everyone caters to, really scares them.

    So I kind of like it for that reason.

  142. 142.

    ColoradoGuy

    It’s an ersatz tribal religion, with powerful conjure phrases and sacred icons.

    A random sampling over the decades: Hunter Biden’s Laptop. Woke. Flag Burners. Feminazis. Groomers. Soft On Communism. Islamic Terrorists. Abortion On Demand. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Global Warming is a Hoax. The Moon Landings were a Hoax. Covid-19 is a Global Plot, led by George Soros.

    And there are sacred icons, charged with emotion: Ford F150’s. Harley-Davidson motorcycles. NASCAR. Bud Light. WWE. Reality TV. The Flag. The Cross. The Stars and Bars. Saint Reagan, ascended into White Republican Heaven. Guns, guns, guns, the more the better.

    “Conservatism”, as a coherent system of thought, doesn’t exist in this country. It’s a manufactured religion, as bizarre and crazy as Scientology or Jim Jones. That’s why what they say on TV is just a string of catch-phrases; it’s not meant to make sense, but is simply a tribal marker … I’m One of You.

  143. 143.

    lowtechcyclist

    @El Muneco:

    It won’t make me drink Bud Light or Coors Light, though.

    I read somewhere earlier today that Stella Artois is now part of the Anhauser-Busch family of beers.  I’ll cheerfully drink a Stella.

  145. 145.

    Brachiator

    @Matt McIrvin:

    “Cis” is a term that really triggers right-wing chuds in a manner very similar to the outrage over “press 1 for English”:

    Sometimes categories are useful, especially if they help challenge assumptions. Sometimes they are stupid and more politically tribal than anything else.

  146. 146.

    evodevo

    @Matt McIrvin: confusing to me, as a biologist, because the terms are also used in genetics, i.e. cis-regulatory elements are located on the same chromosome/DNA strand as the gene they control, whereas trans elements can be located anywhere in the genome (on other chromosomes or strands).   Seems to me that cis-gender would be those who like the same gender… which is the opposite of what evidently is the social meaning lol

  149. 149.

    NotMax

    @lowtechcyclist

    Since 2008, when A-B and InBev merged.

    Incidentally, for the U.S. market Stella is sold with a lower alcohol content than it is elsewhere.

  150. 150.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @evodevo: It refers to people whose Gender Identity is the same as their Gender Assignment.  Whereas “Trans” refers to people whose Gender Identity is different than their Gender Assignment.

  152. 152.

    Gvg

    @eclare: yes. Slow motion decline. It’s been happening for at least 15 years. And it was in most of the rest of the citrus countries before us. In the beginning, the state would cut down all the trees in an area where it was found and pay grove and home owners for each tree, but they gave up because it kept spreading. People deny their trees have it, it’s not obvious at first.
    they may have found a bio predator to fight back but it will take time. Oh, it’s a virus spread by a tiny insect. The insect is spread by the wind. Non native from Asia where citrus is from. Slow hard to tell progress fight, but once a tree has it, that tree has to go.

  153. 153.

    prostratedragon

    So maybe that’s why oranges have been subpar the last few years. Temples, my favorites, have completely disappeared from stores up here in the Great Lakes. The Minneola tangelos have been excellent this year though.

  155. 155.

    Anoniminous

    @Dan B: ​
     
    I don’t know of any. If there was a case I’m sure the Thugs would be shouting and pointing at it.

  157. 157.

    The Lodger

    • @evodevo: That’s as confusing as assuming homosexuality is a desire for men because Homo is Latin for man, not Greek for same. (Speaking as someone who learned just enough of these languages to be a biologist,  not a linguist.)
  158. 158.

    Anoniminous

    @Jackie: ​
     
    And a couple of days ago ….

    Bobby Cornealius Smith, a pastor at New Beginnings Church in Las Vegas, was accused of sexually assaulting multiple victims over 10 years ago. A grand jury has now indicted him on one felony count of attempted sexual assault, 9 counts of sexual assault, and one count of child abuse, neglect, or endangerment.

    His wife Lashawn Nicole Smith, also known as Lashawn Miller faces two felony counts including one count of sexual assault and one count of child abuse, neglect, or endangerment.

    This kind of thing is disgusting but I think it is important for push-back against the Thugs.

  160. 160.

    NaijaGal

    @different-church-lady: They thought she needed heartbreak, the possibility of damage to her physical and mental health from carrying a baby that she knew would die for five months, and astronomical medical and funeral bills. They certainly delivered on all that. They have mastered the art of cruelty.

  162. 162.

    Soprano2

    @UncleEbeneezer: This is so stupid. Bud Light is the MOST POPULAR LITE BEER IN AMERICA. Most people who drink it  aren’t going to stop drinking it. That guy would be stupid to quit selling it.

  163. 163.

    Soprano2

    @Matt McIrvin: My neighbor who retired to Springfield was a brewmaster for Budweiser in St. Louis. He worked on a special beer that won some kind of award. I won’t be surprised if he’s involved with a local brewery in the next year or so.

  164. 164.

    RaflW

    I feel like the whole Pizza-gate bullshit factory was really an operation to numb rightwingers for when a bunch of them would get unmasked as pedophiles and sex offenders. That it riled up the Qs and appeared to attack Clinton, etc, was a bonus.

    All these revelations, from Baltimore to Vegas to Florida just don’t register on the right.

  166. 166.

    BethanyAnne

    I believe Julia Serano coined using cis and trans in the context of gender. She’s a trans biologist and author. She’s also flat out amazing. TERFs *hate* cis. They throw fits any time someone uses that label about them. I can’t easily talk about Julia without going full fangirl. I happened to hear her reading some of her poetry in San Francisco many many years ago. It felt like someone was writing poetry from inside my head. She was openly talking about shit I had hidden from *everyone*.

    Anyway, thanks everyone for listening about Mom earlier. We’re back home from the ER, and I think there was progress.

  167. 167.

    Matt McIrvin

    @RaflW: Conservatives have panicked about gay people, trans people, anyone they consider out of the ordinary as being pedophiles since forever. It’s a psychological defense mechanism in which they convince themselves that the pedophiles can’t possibly be people they trust–it’s got to be someone who is identifiable as Other or as weird.

  169. 169.

    Xavier

    I’m a beer snob too, but one day a random dude walked up to me when I was filling my car with gas and offered me a carton of Bud Light Lime with three cans in it. It turns out that after mowing the lawn on a really hot day, that stuff is really refreshing.

  170. 170.

    Wapiti

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Very cool; I have a fond spot in my heart for Panama.

    When I was stationed in Panama, I did a short visit/tour on the canal that included a walk inside the gear room behind one of the lock gates. There was a long series of gears stepping up, larger and larger to the main gear that opened and closed the gate. The first and smallest gear was run by a (iirc) 40W electric motor, but if the power went out, one of the gears could be turned (more slowly) by a man-powered crank.

    It’s pretty amazing what they could build in 1900.

  171. 171.

    Dopey-o

    Xavier: I’m a beer snob too, but one day a random dude walked up to me when I was filling my car with gas and offered me a carton of Bud Light Lime with three cans in it. It turns out that after mowing the lawn on a really hot day, that stuff is really refreshing.

    Years ago, Consumer Reports ran an overview of beer. One of their categories was “Lawnmower Beers,” which were best when consumed rapidly after mowing the lawn on a hot summer afternoon.
    IIRC, Bud Lite was #1 in the category.

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