Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Reality always gets a vote in the end.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

“Alexa, change the president.”

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

The revolution will be supervised.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

I really should read my own blog.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Come on, man.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

The lights are all blinking red.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Alvin Bragg Makes a List, Trump Checks It Twice (and more)

Alvin Bragg Makes a List, Trump Checks It Twice (and more)

by | 93 Comments

This post is in: 

After what seemed like a very quiet week last week, indictment-wise and corrupt-Supreme-Court-wise, we are starting to see some movement again.

Alvin Bragg makes a list, and Donald Trump checks it twice.

And the Senate Judiciary holds a hearing on the 2011 Clarence Thomas ethics complaints that were essentially ignored after they were raised in 2012.

Thanks, LordAvebury, for the links to the videos.

I can’t stop laughing at this. (below)

Great Lincoln Project ad.

Update: BethanyAnne shared the link to the Onion.

Clarence Thomas Promises To Adopt Code Of Ethics For The Right Price  (The Onion)

WASHINGTON—Telling critics in Congress that if they wanted serious reform they simply needed to make it worth his while, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas promised Friday he would adopt a code of ethics for the right price. “After hearing out the Senate Judiciary Committee’s concerns, I admit to seeing the wisdom in developing some kind of ethical framework for the Supreme Court, so long as Papa gets some sugar,” the senior associate justice said in a prepared statement, emphasizing that he would be willing to submit to a code of conduct that included ignoring special interests and disclosing private trips if there was some serious coinage thrown his way.

“It’s reasonable to believe justices serving on the highest court in the land should hold themselves to the highest ethical standards, if only so citizens can have faith in their decision-making process. And if that means so much to lawmakers, they should take whatever donors are giving me every year and double it. Also, in order for me to adhere to some sense of values, Ginni needs to wet her beak.” Thomas suggested he might also support term limits for justices if he was guaranteed a yearly all-expenses-paid trip to the Maldives in retirement.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  2. 2.

    Ruckus

    The wheels of justice grind slowly.

    But they do often grind.

    The wheels of justice grind quietly.

    Until they don’t.

    That squeak we are hearing.

    Is the wheels grinding.

    And producing the truth.

  4. 4.

    Ken

    I first read the title as meaning Trump brag-confessed to all of Bragg’s charges during the CNN interview. Which may be the case….

  7. 7.

    Mike in NC

    Newspaper reporting that Putin has signed legislation to fast-track Russian citizenship for any foreigners willing to go fight in Ukraine. The floodgates will open any minute now!

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    @BethanyAnne: I hadn’t seen that. – it’s definitely one of the best articles from The Onion, ever.  “Ginni needs to wet her beak.”  hahahahaha

    Topped, of course, by the one where the very-not-gay conservative guy is wondering why these guys keep sucking his dick.

  10. 10.

    MattF

    About Thomas’ corruption. It’s worth noting, IMO, that the current Supreme Court has narrowed the current definition of corruption to the point that anything less than a very specific quid pro quo, e.g., a tape recorded ‘I’ll give you $xxxx if you do yyyyy’, is not considered corrupt. So, Thomas could have been getting advice on the subject from his pals on the Court. Note that this could be fixed with legislation, but somehow legislators haven’t gotten around to it.

  11. 11.

    BethanyAnne

    @WaterGirl: I loved that one. They also have a current slideshow on why Florida parents oppose letting kids see Disney movies with gay characters. Some real gems in there

    ETA: “There is only one film worth watching, and that’s Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. Every subsequent film is a bastardization of Lang’s filmmaking prowess, his pure cinema. If I wanted to let my daughter go to school to watch drivel, I’d just throw on something by Bergman and call it a day.”

  13. 13.

    Scout211

    @Wyatt Salamanca: Thank you for those links. It’s good to know that some of the reporters on CNN are still doing good work despite their new boss.

    It seems to me that most of Trump’s lawyers, now a cast of thousands, really embarrass themselves and the profession when they do interviews and become part of the Trump propaganda network of spokespeople. I get that they are trying to defend their client in the court of public opinion but when journalists do the research, they look and sound like actors who play lawyers on TV.

    Breaking the presidential records act and stealing classified documents doesn’t rise to the level of criminal behavior, Mr. Trusty? Are you sure about that?

  15. 15.

    West of the Rockies

    It seems to me that the timing of the anticipated Trump criminal hearings is crucial.

    I hope it all blows up in a way that ruins Trump, DeSantis, Republican fortune, and lifts the Democratic Party in ’24 and beyond.

    Not sure entirely when that would be…  first the indictments drop, but the negative impact seems to evaporate in a few weeks. Then comes the lonnnng delay before trial.  Has the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll case negatively affected Trump and Republicans?  I don’t think the results are yet crystal clear.

    Hopefully, future cases are more ruinous.

  16. 16.

    Brachiator

    It’s a side issue, but on one of the PBS News Hour segments, David Brooks “full disclosure” admitted that he knew Clarence Thomas’ sugar daddy, had been friends with him for years and thought he was a nice guy. He didn’t say whether they hung out at Applebee’s.

    But I wonder how many other reporters and pundits are buddies with the super rich.

  17. 17.

    Scout211

    Christiane Amanpour   criticized the Trump CNN rally in her speech to the Columbia School of Journalism. And apparently many people working at CNN are unhappy.

    This article is now on the front page of CNN.com.  Will she be called on the carpet for her speech or will Oliver Darcy be called on the carpet again for being too emotional in his “Reliable Sources” reporting?

    I would have dropped the mic at ‘nasty person,’ but then that’s me,” Amanpour candidly added, recounting the moment when Trump lashed out at moderator Kaitlan Collins for asking a question that he did not like.

    Inside CNN, Amanpour is far from alone in her views. In private, the town hall has been widely criticized by employees at all levels across the organization. Some of these employees believe that Trump wasn’t worthy of a town hall platform after leading the insurrection on the US Capitol and continuing to spew dangerous lies about the 2020 election. Others believe that it was a worthy endeavor to confront him, but that the event was poorly executed.

    Ahead of Amanpour’s address, Licht sent a note to the network’s global workforce of more than 4,000 employees, praising the anchor for the “rare and exceptional honor” and encouraging them to tune in. A CNN spokesperson said Licht was aware she planned to address the town hall in her speech.
    During the address, Amanpour acknowledged that the press still has not quite figured out how to grapple with Trump, who has abused media platforms to spread dangerous disinformation far and wide, often overwhelming fact-checkers who have struggled to keep up with his rapid-fire stream of lies and falsehoods.

    “Maybe we should revert back to the newspaper editors and TV chiefs of the 1950s, who in the end refused to allow McCarthyism onto their pages,” Amanpour suggested. “Unless his foul lies, his witch hunts and his rants reached the basic evidence level required in a court of law. His influence gradually decreased with all but his fervent colleagues and cults.”

    “So maybe less is more,” she suggested. “Maybe live is not always right.”

  19. 19.

    Jeffro

    @Mike in NC:Newspaper reporting that Putin has signed legislation to fast-track Russian citizenship for any foreigners willing to go fight in Ukraine.

    Is that an Onion article too?  Has to be.

  20. 20.

    Kristine

    @West of the Rockies:

    Hopefully, future cases are more ruinous.

    If the Hillary Clinton email escapade is any indication, the ideal time to drop the load would be a week or so before the 2024 election. Given the increased use of mail-in ballots, I would maybe stretch that to a month prior, but idk the percentages of voters who vote by mail/vote early vs in-person on election day.

  22. 22.

    Virginia

    I have come to believe that we need to start throwing out the “Harlan Crow” paid for line about justices and congressmen all the time.  The R’s use “Soros funded” as a slur.  Why not Crow funded as a retort?

    We at least, have proof that Crow has his own Supreme and all this Soros stuff is just horseshit.

    Let’s fight back.

  23. 23.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    Topped, of course, by the one where the very-not-gay conservative guy is wondering why these guys keep sucking his dick. 

    1. Topped.  Hahaha
    2. That headline is a classic.
  24. 24.

    patrick II

    @MattF:

    I didn’t realize at the time the McDonnell decision was in the Republican judge’s own self-interest.  Technically, any of them that were making gains on the side (which means most of them) should have recused themselves, but then that is another ethical guideline they ignore.

  26. 26.

    CaseyL

    @Mike in NC: Putin doesn’t realize the RWNJs in the US who think he’s the best thing since Orban are…how to put this… extremely unlikely to put themselves in a position where they’re not the only ones with guns.

  27. 27.

    Chris Johnson

    @Jeffro: I’m sure it’s not. I’ve always gone on about Putin, but since losing Ukraine, Putin is forced to go mask-off more and more.

    I really look forward to confirmation of so many things that guy’s been doing. In particular, I don’t think Fox dropped Tucker Carlson like a hot rock just because he’s an asshole.

    I think history will reveal that WWIII was fought on Twitter, and we’ve been living it for the past ten years or so, and still are. Things are just implausibly out of joint, and I think that’s because we’re at war. America wouldn’t suck NEARLY as bad as it sucks, if it was left to its own clueless devices. We’ve been getting sabotaged for years, as hard as Putin could manage.

    China’s not even in the same league, because we’re economically interdependent, so they stand to gain money from us. Russia has never had that luxury, hence their war.

  28. 28.

    Betty

    Looks like Roberts has been well aware of the concerns about Thomas and has used his position more than once to shut down any serious inquiry.

  29. 29.

    MattF

    @patrick II: I suppose, perhaps, it occurred to the judges who didn’t recuse that the remaining judges, who might recuse, would be inconveniently stricter on possible ethical issues…

  30. 30.

    Roger Moore

    @Betty:

    Looks like Roberts has been well aware of the concerns about Thomas and has used his position more than once to shut down any serious inquiry.

    Roberts is just as sleazy as Thomas or Kavanaugh; he’s just better putting up a respectable facade.  His wife is doing even better than Ginny Thomas at grifting.  More importantly, he’s 100% political operative and 0% impartial jurist, but the media is willing to act as if those percentages are reversed.

  31. 31.

    WaterGirl

    @patrick II:

    I didn’t realize at the time the McDonnell decision was in the Republican judge’s own self-interest.

    Yes, I have had that thought a dozen times, myself.  That was actually a pretty smart move, making sure that even if you do get caught in the future, they have made corruption nearly impossible to prove.

    *unless you’re Trump and announce your crimes and your intention in public, then they don’t have to work too hard to prove intent.

  32. 32.

    WaterGirl

    @Roger Moore : Yes, definitely in good company with those articles.

    You have given me an idea; I think I’ll put up a Best of the Onion thread sometime the week and let folks like to their favorites.  That might be a good “in case of emergency, break glass” thread to have in the sidebar when everything gets to be goo much.

  33. 33.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    That might be a good “in case of emergency, break glass” thread to have in the sidebar when everything gets to be goo much.

    I don’t know how useful an Onion headlines thread would be.  Yes, it’s humor, but a lot of it is very dark humor that wouldn’t necessarily help people who are looking for something to cheer them up when things look bad.

  35. 35.

    Ghost of Joe Liebling’s Dog

    @Scout211:

    “Maybe we should revert back to the newspaper editors and TV chiefs of the 1950s, who in the end refused to allow McCarthyism onto their pages,” Amanpour suggested. “Unless his foul lies, his witch hunts and his rants reached the basic evidence level required in a court of law. His influence gradually decreased with all but his fervent colleagues and cults.”

     
    It seems to me that “in the end” and “gradually” are doing a regrettably large amount of work. McCarthy did a tremendous amount of damage before “gradually” and “in the end” worked their magic on the newsies of that time.

    I mean, yay, I’m glad to see her take, but the country needs a bit more from the Professional Journalist™ class than they managed back then.

  36. 36.

    rikyrah

    @Roger Moore:

    Roberts is just as sleazy as Thomas or Kavanaugh; he’s just better putting up a respectable facade.  His wife is doing even better than Ginny Thomas at grifting.

     

    No lie told

  37. 37.

    Ruckus

    @Brachiator:

    Well if you are looking to make bank the easy way, you’ll want to find the guys with the most money that they made from little effort and crappy products, because those guys know how to turn shit into shinola.

  38. 38.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: Case in point: I remember finding the humor in Dr Strangelove too cringe-y to be really enjoyable when I first encountered it as a college student. (Ah, the relatively halcyon days of the Reagan Administration. There I was thinking that a Republican administration couldn’t possibly get more wrong-headed and corrupt. Oh, sweet summer child!)

    Between 2016 and 2020, Dr Strangelove was by way of being a comfort watch for me. (Trump being so existentially awful that nuclear annihilation was starting to seem downright quaint as a contrast.)

  39. 39.

    Ruckus

    @Jeffro:

    vlad has a really difficult time convincing his already citizens to die for one of two reasons, for him or for money that they will never see. So he has to find new ones that don’t already know that he has never figured out how to part with the money that he promised them, and doesn’t give even one shit if they live or die.

  40. 40.

    Ruckus

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    It is for me. Really dark humor you have to think about and that can take your mind off of the dark crap in your own life. Also it often shows you that life is often a series of dark humor jokes, interlaced with moments of something else.

  41. 41.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @Roger Moore:

    It will take a lot of work to top “Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’”

    That was one of the two most prescient Onion headlines. The other one was:

    “After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner For 2016”

    Other favorites of mine:

    “Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job” (November 2008)
    “Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia”
    “Area Man Has Fries With That”

  43. 43.

    gene108

    @Wyatt Salamanca:

    Also too, good for CNN’s Sara Sidner for holding lawyer Jim Trusty’s feet to the fire about Trumpy’s incriminating statements regarding those classified documents he stole

    She tried holding Trusty’s feet to the fire, but he rolled over her. She wasn’t up on all the right wing conspiracies, talking points, and misinformation Trusty shot out like a firehose. She did a poor job.

  44. 44.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @gene108:

    She wasn’t up on all the right wing conspiracies, talking points, and misinformation Trusty shot out like a firehose. She did a poor job.

    Most normal people aren’t up on them. That’s a big reason why Hunter Biden’s laptop BS has failed to have much of an effect. It’s like they’re speaking another language

  47. 47.

    MazeDancer

    Disney just announced they are pulling the plug on a 1 Billion $$$ investment in FL. Because of Tiny D.

    Included 2000 jobs paying average of 120K each.

    Can’t wait for the GOP debates highlighting that.

  48. 48.

    Ken

    @gene108: The problem with parody nowadays is that reality keeps topping it. Check out the reporting on the UK’s “National Conservatism” conference, or as some are abbreviating it, “Nat-C”. As recently as 2020, the Tories reprimanded one of their MPs for attending the event; this year, Tory MPs and cabinet ministers (including Suella Braverman) are making speeches.

  49. 49.

    BethanyAnne

    I saw a music video a couple of days ago. No clue if it’s been linked here before or not. It’s by Ren, and it’s the song “Hi Ren”. Came out maybe … 5 months ago? It’s 10 minutes, and heavy. Very intense, and NSFW for cursing. And I find it ultimately inspiring.

    “Hi Ren”

    Some small notes: “She sells seashells” refers to a song of Ren’s that went a little viral in 2020. Ren was accurately diagnosed in 2016 with Lyme disease. Unfortunately, it looks like he actually got it in 2008. Years of misdiagnosis, wrong medications and brain damage which includes psychosis happened in that meantime. He did the video in one take. Not the first take, this was #4. But the entire thing was shot with multiple cameras in that one take so it could be edited later. I cried. Your mileage, as always, will vary. Still. It’s art worth experiencing.

  50. 50.

    MattF

    OT. As noted here, ChatGPT now has an IOS app. I installed it on my iPad, and it seems to work. There’s an App Store link at the end of the article. Installation asks for your DOB and phone#, you get sent a six digit code text to the phone#.

  54. 54.

    zhena gogolia

    I just saw a clip of Zelenskyy responding to TFG. He pointed out that the war had already started when TFG was president, and he didn’t do anything to stop it.

  55. 55.

    JWR

    @Roger Moore:

    Roberts is just as sleazy as Thomas or Kavanaugh

    During Roberts’ confirmation hearings, I saw an image I’ll never forget. It was by one of the photographers sitting on the floor right in front of him. He was looking up at his interrogators, hands clasped before him and he had the look of a poor, innocent little Fox promising to never, ever eat the little baby lamb. I’ve tried finding it, but no such luck. It was creepy as all Hell, because he was almost in (faux) tears.

  58. 58.

    trollhattan

    @MazeDancer: As much as I’d like the coda: “And taking them instead to California” I’ll forego that for “And instead expanding Disneyland France.” Take that, ya meatball gobbler.

  63. 63.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Scout211:

    From the release:

    In 2018 the Washington Post called him “the future of American politics.”

    I don’t think that was meant as a compliment by the WaPo, assuming it’s a true. I remember he claimed he saw a UFO

  66. 66.

    Ken

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    In 2018 the Washington Post called him “the future of American politics.”

    The full quote may have been something like “If this is the future of American politics, the nation is certainly doomed.”

  68. 68.

    RaflW

    @Brachiator: “I wonder how many other reporters and pundits are buddies with the super rich”

    Isn’t one of the main points of the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Econ Forum in Davos, etc is that its a place for the rich to inculcate their connections and ‘values’ to the plebeian writerly class?

  71. 71.

    Low Key Swagger

    Been busy and may have missed a discussion regarding Feinstein.  I don’t mind saying out loud that it is time for her to go.  Helluva career, we owe her, but now she has become a liability.

    Also too, hate it for Floridians but I’m glad Disney did this publicly.

  75. 75.

    Low Key Swagger

    @Baud: Skimmed an article on the bird site (not good at linking)  that basically says her condition was way worse than just shingles.  It should be an easy find.

  77. 77.

    Baud

    @Low Key Swagger:

    That was already talked about.  It may well be bad, but she’s not a liability until she starts voting the wrong way.  We’re hopefully stuck with her until Jan 2025.

  78. 78.

    No One You Know

    @Roger Moore: Speaking for myself, that’s not what I come here for.  It’s the comments that help show other ways to see it.  Randy Rainbow has the lighter side pretty much nailed!

  79. 79.

    Low Key Swagger

    @Baud: Apologies for missing the thread about it.  I’ll just say I half-agree with you, but being a Senator is a job, and if one doesn’t have the stamina for it, it’s probably time to retire.  My.02

  80. 80.

    StringOnAStick

    @Low Key Swagger: What Baud is referring to is the R’s have already said they will not allow us to replace her on that committee if she resigns, so either she stays and keeps voting for judges, or she goes and zero new judges get confirmed until the new Senate is seated after the 2024 elections.

  81. 81.

    JML

    @Low Key Swagger: I agree she should have retired before this session of Congress when she could have been replaced and the next senator seated on the committee. But the GOP will block anyone else from joining Judiciary and the media is too stupid and useless to keep this from being anything other than a “pox upon both their houses” partisan news story, so this is what it is, and we can’t make her quit short of expulsion, which is never going to happen.

  83. 83.

    Fair Economist

    @Virginia:

    The R’s use “Soros funded” as a slur. Why not Crow funded as a retort?

    As always, Republican accusations are confessions.

  84. 84.

    Geminid

    @Baud: In the short term, Democrats will wring as many judicial appointments out of their commitee majority, but I don’t think Feistein will make it to 2023, at least not as a Senator. She’s in decline, and at some point she’ll probably have to step down. Then we’ll have to work with an even commitee, like we did in the last Congress. That may not be ideal, but it’s not terrible.

    In the meantime, people with political axes to grind will make the most of the situation. A Politico article describing how Rep. Pelosi’s oldest daughter is acting as caretaker for Feinstein has brought out the knives. Now some people are calling for Feinstein’s and Pelosi’s resignations.

    The younger Pelosi has known Feinstein for decades; the families were close neighbors. But now the relationship is described as a plot by Rep. Pelosi to help her friend Adam Schiff’s Senate race. The “reasoning” is that that Governor Newsome would appoint Rep. Lee in Feinstein’s place, giving Lee an advantage in the race. Actually, a Lee appointment would probably hurt Rep. Porter more, because she and Lee are both running in the “progressive” lane.

    There are a lot of grudges towards the Democratic leadership, and the Feinstein situation is bringing the grudgeholders out. I know that many people have genuine concern about Feinstein’s evident need to retire, but there are others who for weeks have been using this issue to disparage and undermine the Democratic party and its leadership.

  85. 85.

    Low Key Swagger

    @JML: Consider me caught up.  I missed that and of course it changes everything.  Thank you and String on a Stick for the explanation.

    Not Baud tho.

  87. 87.

    rikyrah

    @StringOnAStick:

    What Baud is referring to is the R’s have already said they will not allow us to replace her on that committee if she resigns, so either she stays and keeps voting for judges, or she goes and zero new judges get confirmed until the new Senate is seated after the 2024 elections

     

    THIS THIS

    A THOUSAND TIMES THIS.

    I don’t care if they have to wheel her in for every vote until January 2025…

    WE NEED THOSE JUDGES.

    PERIOD.

  88. 88.

    RaflW

    @StringOnAStick: I read the whole article earlier this afternoon (we still have a sub to the FTFNYT as my partner just will not hear of cancelling, and I’m not gonna fight on that).

    This is how they end the article. Should be in about the 4th graf, because this is as much about Republicans shattering norms as it is about DiFI’s hold on the office, but it’s the FTFNYT so it’s not the placement.

    Some current and former colleagues said the situation was alarming to watch and blamed Senate Republicans — who blocked Ms. Feinstein’s request for a temporary replacement on the Judiciary Committee — for upsetting images and sound bites of an infirm and confused senator trying to navigate the Capitol.
    “Republicans are responsible for this nightmare scenario that’s unfolding,” said former Senator Barbara Boxer, who made history with Ms. Feinstein in 1992 as the first female senators elected from California. “I am sick at heart at that. I blame them for being mean to her and spinning it to blame the Democrats.”

  89. 89.

    Geminid

    @rikyrah: Yes, it’s pretty clear that Democrats really need Senator Feinstein’s vote in the judiciary Committee. That’s why I think that some of the people griping about the need for a resignation do not want the Biden administration to succeed. They are using Feinstein’s situation as an opportunity to undermine confidence in the party generally. I’ve watched these soreheads on Twitter, and it’s very clear to me that they have an unstated agenda that is hostile to the Democratic Party as it is currently constituted.

  90. 90.

    Jackie

    @rikyrah: If the Rethugs can keep Santos, we can keep DiFi. We just have to hope she can hang on until Jan ‘25 – which given her health declining rapidly…

Comments are closed.