Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

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

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

A consequence of cucumbers

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

Republicans don’t trust women.

People are complicated. Love is not.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

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

White supremacy is terrorism.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Popcorn Futures Spike…

Popcorn Futures Spike…

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Yesterday, Rep. George Santos (R-Fantasy Island) announced through his mouthpiece that he’d rather go to jail than reveal those who cosigned his bail:

Murray signaled that his client may resort to drastic measures to keep them from facing the public light.

“My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come,” he wrote.

Why would he be so moved?  I’m betting that it’s not for the stated reason, to spare his benefactors the public shaming that might attend the revelation of their support for the congressman from Fabulistan.

It would be irresponsible not to speculate as to the real reason: his backers don’t want to see who has ownership of a GOP MoC. Alternatively, Santos may have dirt on others, and doesn’t want to reveal into whom his hooks have sunk

Today we get to see who has whom by the nethers:

On Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields ordered the disclosure of the identities of the bond’s co-signers.

Those names are still under seal as Judge Shields gave Santos until Friday to appeal the ruling, which means there remains a small window of opportunity to stock up on popcorn futures (or just bags of the stuff for present use.)

Popcorn Futures Spike...

The serious note in all this is that we’ve (or I’ve) normalized the notion that the GOP is in fact largely owned by malign interests, including some of the worst folks in the world (Putin, MBS, etc.).  Santos is no world-shaking mastermind of evil. He’s just useful to folks even more vile than himself.  So yeah, it’s fun and funny to see karma in action much more rapidly than usual (looking at you, Deadbeat Donnie), but the mere fact that this carbuncle has attached itself to the body politic even for a cup of coffee is depressing as hell.

But still, we have to take our amusement when we can. The Santos trial could be a ton of fun, and I for one, plan to enjoy it to the fullest.

Open as OTB on Derby Day this thread is.

Image: Charles Ethan Porter, Still Life With Corn, c. 1880

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  2. 2.

    MattF

    We’re all learning a lot of true facts about psychopaths. Interesting, but sad.

  4. 4.

    trollhattan

    Just Santos swearing in can be a playlet in itself.
    “Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
    “Do I!!!”

  5. 5.

    WV Blondie

    What? He said he’s willing to go to jail to keep them from being exposed! Are you saying … (gasp!) he lied?

  6. 6.

    MisterDancer

    we’ve (or I’ve) normalized the notion that the GOP is in fact largely owned by malign interests

    There’s no nice explanation for for the then-GOP Chairman courted the Dixiecrats in the early 1950s, save the desire for power by any means necessary

    That Party could have chosen to reject the thrice-warmed over leftovers of the Slave Owners. But instead of helping them off the cliff they deserved, they embraced them — and the soulness need to CONTROL at nearly any cost, including the health of the community — so deeply that it’s utterly warped many gains we made from looking into the maw of Fascism in WWII.

  8. 8.

    SpaceUnit

    Pianist and composer George Winston has passed away.  I know a lot of folks marginalized him as a new age musician, but I was always very fond of his music.  I play a bit and compose my own stuff and I always found myself attempting to emulate his breezy, whimsical and wandering, non-traditional style.  He was 73.

    Dammit.

  11. 11.

    Geminid

    Why do I not believe Santos when he says he’s willing to go to jail rather than revealing his bailors?

    This may be out of his hands anyway.

  13. 13.

    misterpuff

    I would like to know who put up the dough, but if they pull their bond, take their bucks back and Georgie goes to jail, I will laugh hysterically.

    What lock up will he have to report to?

  14. 14.

    Gin & Tonic

    And, possibly to derail this thread (sorry, Perfesser) it appears that every NGO which pretends to have anything to do with alleviating human suffering has chosen to sit on the sidelines of the Nova Kakhovka dam sabotage.

    Zelensky told @BILD that he’s shocked by @UN’s and @ICRC’s lack of response to the consequences of the Kakhovka dam breach. “They are not here! Although the disaster happened many hours ago, they are not there.The UN and the Red Cross must be the first to be there to save lives”
    — Iryna Matviyishyn (@IMatviyishyn) June 7, 2023

  15. 15.

    Tom Levenson

    @Gin & Tonic: There is no derailing an open thread. There is only a majestic heave on the switch to send the train away from whomever Snidely Whiplash has tied to the tracks on the original course.

  16. 16.

    MattF

    @Gin & Tonic: I got an email from World Central Kitchen, though:

    Arriving ready with sandwiches and bottled water, WCK’s emergency response teams were on the ground serving evacuees within hours of the dam explosion. Our teams quickly established meal distribution sites near flooded communities and hospitals where some evacuees headed. Now, a day later, these teams continue distributing meals, in some cases using inflatable boats to reach people who could not evacuate. This is a quickly evolving situation and we are working with rescue teams to ensure our support reaches families in need.

  21. 21.

    SpaceUnit

    @debit:

    His work has such a spontaneous quality to it.  It’s like you’re watching some subtle genius produce a stunning sketch or watercolor before your eyes.

  23. 23.

    CaseyL

    Another shoe has dropped, this one for the J6 investigation: Jack Smith’s team has subpoenaed Steve Bannon.

  24. 24.

    dmsilev

    Open thread? I get emails. This one is legit (from our campus security folks) but is, well, read it for yourselves:

    Caltech Security officers observed a red Chevy utility van parked in the parking lot. As officers were questioning the individual, the man produced a “samurai”-style sword and charged the officers. The officers retreated to Wilson Ave. and notified the Pasadena Police Department. The suspect fled the area in the van.

    I’d suspect that we were on the set of a movie shoot except for the complete and utter lack of camera crews, lighting teams, wardrobe, makeup, and the rest of the giant circus-comes-to-town that those bring with them.

  27. 27.

    JPL

    @Gin & Tonic: A friend mentioned today that we can’t take our eyes off of what is happening in Ukraine, and I said why not both.  trump’s take down could help Ukraine

    Although I think the President has done a good job, I do wish that Ukraine had fighter jets sooner.

  28. 28.

    sab

    @SpaceUnit: George Winston at 73 after a 10 year battle with cancer.

    As I remember,  his chosen professional instrument was classical guitar, but he was overheard fooling around for fun on piano,  and that is what they signed him to record for.

  30. 30.

    kalakal

    @Baud:

    He may be keeping schtum for the same reason Manafort did. Some of those names may be the sort of people you do not inform on. Not if you want to keep breathing

  33. 33.

    Suzanne

    @dmsilev: Dude. So Spawn the Elder works in a hip college-town bookstore. He had a customer come in with a machete and ask him for his phone number.

    What the fuck.

  34. 34.

    SpaceUnit

    @sab:

    Fooling around on a piano for fun is a great description for his style.  He sounds like a guy just playing for himself when there’s no one else around, just channeling his inner sense of whimsy.

  35. 35.

    Jackie

    @CaseyL: And Meadows is up to his neck re J6. I’m greedy – I want TFG indicted for both J6 and MAL documents BEFORE Fulton County indicts him in Aug.

  39. 39.

    hueyplong

    I’d be grateful for any link to the brief filed in support of concealing the identity of the bail poster(s).

    I like to think that Santos/his counsel gave them rock solid assurances that their anonymity would be preserved, and that Santos is in peril now.  It’s the romantic in me.

  41. 41.

    karen marie

    Santos is no world-shaking mastermind of evil.

    Neither are the people who posted his bond.  The name and address of the person who posted a defendant’s bail is on the court’s case docket.  Unless it’s sealed, anyone can see it.

    You have to be pretty stupid to not realize your name will be public when you post bond for a high-profile serial criminal like George Santos.

  45. 45.

    SpaceUnit

    Also, Rep. George Santos (R-Fantasy Island) is hilarious

     

    ETA:  I understand that Santos actually played the character Tatu on the original show.

  47. 47.

    randy khan

    If Santos sits in jail, thanks to the Republican decision to require all House votes to be cast in person, the actual majority shrinks to 221 to 212 (one seat being currently vacant), reducing their margin for error on any vote.

  48. 48.

    hells littlest angel

    “My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come,” he wrote.

     

    “And that’s no bull,” he added.

  49. 49.

    dmsilev

    @Suzanne: Was he asking for books on hewing techniques? Jungle adventures?

    In all seriousness, hope Spawn the Elder was/is ok. Sounds nerve-wracking.

  56. 56.

    Steve in the ATL

    On a related note, if I were to google “best restaurants in Battle Creek, Michigan”, would Bob Evans and Big Boy appear on the list, or constitute the entire list?

  59. 59.

    sab

    @Suzanne: Working retail certainly gives you a different perspective on the human race, unless you were raised by wolves.

  60. 60.

    Jackie

    @randy khan: That’s why an evil imp in me is hoping Kevin posted his bail. He needs Santos’ vote.

    Can you imagine the repercussions? 😂😳

  63. 63.

    TS

    My sincere hope is that Santos and trump regret the day the decided to amuse themselves by getting into politics and convincing people to vote for them.

    They both seem to want to bring democracy down, have zero regard to the truth, no nothing about governing other than it can pay them $$$ and know you can fool some of the people some of the time. I don’t think they even got to all of the people some of the time but the damage has been done – world wide.

  66. 66.

    Denali5

    I get the feeling that it is Elise Stefanik who posted bail. She was rumored to have supported his campaign.

  67. 67.

    gene108

    I remember when Rep. Foley had his “live boy(s)” scandal, back in 2006, and Congressional Republicans lack of action against Rep. Foley tainted the entire party. It was a reason some voters voted for Democrats in that election.

    I don’t get the same sense of general outrage that Speaker McCarthy is protecting Santos, because Kevin needs the vote, that used to spring against a general stench of corruption.

  70. 70.

    Marc

    @dmsilev:Caltech Security officers observed a red Chevy utility van parked in the parking lot. As officers were questioning the individual, the man produced a “samurai”-style sword and charged the officers.

    Up here in Silicon Valley and Marin County there is a noticeable subset of techbro culture who are into collecting and carrying swords and large knives.  Likely an outgrowth of playing D&D and related online games.  That grouping is mostly disjoint from the local gun nut culture.

  85. 85.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Omnes Omnibus: I don’t do beef because of the environmental damage caused.by cattle farming.  Would free range turkey work well enough to get me eaten by wild animals?

  91. 91.

    Anonymous At Work

    Don’t discount McCarthy posting the bond just so he can have the extra vote in case of a Motion to Vacate the Chair.

  93. 93.

    sab

    @Jay: I admire wolves, but they aren’t raised for  customer service.  They eat either the customer or the retail person, depending on their role.

  97. 97.

    Argiope

    @JaySinWA: It would be objectively hilarious if jackals banded together to make White Castle or something the #1 restaurant in Battle Creek just to mess with SteveintheWTF’s dining choices.  Maybe we should do it for the proletariat.

  99. 99.

    karen marie

    @eversor:   It looks to me that he’s scared of his unnamed benefactors.  I don’t see that he’s behaving or speaking in a way that would indicate he thinks anyone is scared of him.

  100. 100.

    brantl

    Yesterday, Rep. George Santos (R-Fantasy Island) announced through his mouthpiece that he’d rather go to jail than reveal those who cosigned his bail:

    Don’t threaten me with a good time.

  102. 102.

    Jay

    @sab:

    years ago, I was fishing the canyons in Salishan territory.

    Had a pack walk down the beach 5 feet in front of me.

    Later, had a 5lb mink “steal” a 12lb coho salmon I had caught. Could have stopped them, but the dude was committed and I was LMAO.

    Stopped in at the Band office to mention what I had seen, got the “yeah, we know, we don’t talk about it because “people” are weird about wolves”.

  103. 103.

    Another Scott

    @Anonymous At Work: You may be on to something there.

    How much was the bond?  Empty Green recently gave Qevin $100k for a used tube of chapstick.  Maybe the money immediately went to Santos-Devolder’s bond??

    Who gave Empty Green the money?

    Follow the money!!1

    (Note I haven’t checked the timeline for accuracy.  One can’t start a decent conspiracy theory if one wastes time checking facts.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  105. 105.

    Miss Bianca

    @SpaceUnit: Oh, sad. He was a masterly musician, and now when I remember one enchanted dinner party evening in the 80s where his brand-new style of ambient music was the backdrop, I realize he was only a few years older than I when he produced it.

    RIP. And now off to look sadly at the poster commemorating the performance he gave at my theater back in the 90s.

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