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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

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

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

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

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

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

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

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

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

You cannot love your country only when you win.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

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You are here: Home / Politics / GOP Death Cult / Sunday Morning Open Thread: It’s the Summer of Retro

Sunday Morning Open Thread: It’s the Summer of Retro

by Anne Laurie|  June 11, 20238:14 am| 131 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, How about that weather?, Jan 6: Insurrection, LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

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President Biden: "Today, I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You’re understood. And you belong." https://t.co/lhbkQlXWgI pic.twitter.com/lEQEBDKyix

— The Hill (@thehill) June 11, 2023

true representation is whatever staffer got them to bring an artist only insane gay people have ever heard of https://t.co/U1b0KDSAJ2

— knife-wielding hemophiliac (@NickTagliaferro) June 10, 2023

Not bad for a summer jam (okay, I’m old)…

Happening Now: President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden host a Pride Celebration with Betty Who on the South Lawn. https://t.co/pBEGPrj6CG

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 10, 2023

Could be worse!

Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano has erupted, spewing ash as high as 2 miles into the air. https://t.co/kqwM4kuqtK

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 10, 2023

… The volcano island located in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait between the main Java and Sumatra islands has erupted at least seven times since late Friday, Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center said.

It was the longest eruption since the explosive collapse of the mountain caused a deadly tsunami in 2018 along the coasts of Java and Sumatra, the center said. There were no casualties reported in the latest eruption and no evacuation order was issued. The nearest settlement is 16 1/2 kilometers (10 1/2 miles) away…

The second-highest alert on a scale of four has remained in place since 2018. Authorities in May warned residents and tourists to stay 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the crater. Up till then, people used to trek to the top to observe the nature’s spectacle.

Scientists at the center said that since the 2018 eruption and collapse, Anak Krakatau island is now only about a quarter of its original size…

Anak Krakatau, which means “child of Kratakau,” is the offspring of the famous Krakatau, whose monumental eruption in 1883 triggered a period of global cooling.

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich testified today before a federal grand jury investigating January 6, a person familiar with the matter says https://t.co/KfJLSwu8Ga

— CNN (@CNN) June 8, 2023

Speaking of oozing hellscapes… I suspect there’s *one* paleolithic GOP Death Cult monster who’s thanking his dark lord that TFG’s big news broke Thursday:

… Gingrich allegedly communicated with senior advisers to former President Donald Trump about television advertisements that relied on false claims of election fraud, according to documents obtained by the House select committee that investigated January 6. The panel also claimed Gingrich played a role in the effort to submit fake slates of electors in battleground states that Trump lost, according to committee documents…

As the special counsel’s investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents shows signs of wrapping up, the probe into the attack on the US Capitol and efforts to subvert the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 election has carried on.

Prosecutors have interviewed witnesses in recent weeks and, in at least one case with right-wing podcast host Steve Bannon, issued a new subpoena for grand jury testimony, people familiar with the matter said.

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Reader Interactions

131Comments

  1. 1.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 11, 2023 at 8:18 am

    If you’re traveling on I-95 through Philadelphia, you may want to look for a different route. A section of the highway has collapsed due to a truck fire, impacting all northbound lanes.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    June 11, 2023 at 8:18 am

    Happening Now: President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden host a Pride Celebration with Betty Who on the South Lawn.

    Who?

  3. 3.

    eclare

    June 11, 2023 at 8:22 am

    @Baud:

    Strangely enough, I had heard of Betty Who because they played for a date on The Bachelorette (no judgment, it’s an escape!) several years ago.

  4. 4.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 11, 2023 at 8:27 am

    @Baud:

    Who, who? Tell me, who are you?

  5. 5.

    Rusty

    June 11, 2023 at 8:29 am

    I was at the Capitol Pride parade in D.C. yesterday with two of my children.   It was one of the most joyful events I have attended.  The crowds on the route kept cheering and roaring  for hours.

  6. 6.

    Mousebumples

    June 11, 2023 at 8:31 am

    Went to a Wisconsin Breakfast on the Farm event yesterday with my parents and sister (+ her family). Lots going on, and the 3 year old 100% was done by the time we headed back home. Baby missed most of his morning nap, so it was early to bed for both last night.

    Good morning, all!

    (eta – breakfast on the farm is 100% not a Pride event, so I suppose a bit off topic, but I think this is an open thread…?)

  7. 7.

    Baud

    June 11, 2023 at 8:32 am

    @eclare:

    So much judgment.

  8. 8.

    Chris T.

    June 11, 2023 at 8:35 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    A section of the highway has collapsed due to a truck fire

    Must be another one of those dangerous petrol-fueled vehicles…

    (if I repeat this trope often enough can I leave off the /s? please? Also: it was in fact a fuel tanker truck, hence double petrol-fueled.)

  9. 9.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 11, 2023 at 8:36 am

    Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich testified today before a federal grand jury investigating January 6, a person familiar with the matter says

    Sadly, Newt didn’t fall into an erupting volcano.

  10. 10.

    Chris T.

    June 11, 2023 at 8:37 am

    @Baud:

    Who?

    And was she on first?

  11. 11.

    Chris T.

    June 11, 2023 at 8:40 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Sadly, Newt didn’t fall into an erupting volcano.

    There’s still time. And we can even do it without leaving the country, as Kilauea is all goopy again!

  12. 12.

    Layer8Problem

    June 11, 2023 at 8:42 am

    “Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich testified today before a federal grand jury investigating January 6 . . .”

    I was wondering the other month why his deep insights and canny observations weren’t being solicited for our political opinion shows lately. Probably nothing to do with this.

    It would bring me great joy to see this nasty piece of work get taken down for the January 6th business after all the damage he’s done.

  13. 13.

    eclare

    June 11, 2023 at 8:43 am

    @Baud:

    Hahaha…we all have our vices.

  14. 14.

    lowtechcyclist

    June 11, 2023 at 8:45 am

    @Chris T.:

    I don’t know.

    Is this happening today or tomorrow?

  15. 15.

    satby

    June 11, 2023 at 8:45 am

    Was awakened this morning about 5am by gunfire that was very close. Sounded like “in my back yard” close, 5 quick (semi-automatic) shots, then complete silence. About an hour later the cops showed up across the street, but no one arrested and no ambulance called. While the bigots around IN like to blather about “Chicago” as a code word, I’ve heard way more gun fire here in 7 years than in a far longer time span there.

  16. 16.

    lowtechcyclist

    June 11, 2023 at 8:46 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Sadly, Newt didn’t fall into an erupting volcano.

    He didn’t need to be turned into a Newt, he was born that way.

    And he hasn’t gotten better.

  17. 17.

    p.a.

    June 11, 2023 at 8:47 am

    Gingrich Is The Stupid Man’s Idea Of What A Smart Person Sounds Like

     

    – Alan Grayson

  18. 18.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    June 11, 2023 at 8:49 am

    I’m always shocked to realize Gingrich is still alive. And people still ask for opinion! Who cares what Newt Gingrich thinks?

  19. 19.

    eclare

    June 11, 2023 at 8:57 am

    @satby:

    That’s scary!

  20. 20.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    June 11, 2023 at 8:58 am

    @satby: Are the across-the-street neighbors an ongoing problem? That’s way too close.

  21. 21.

    sdhays

    June 11, 2023 at 9:00 am

    @Chris T.: I’m not aware of all internet traditions, but I think it’s spelled “frist”.

  22. 22.

    Albatrossity

    June 11, 2023 at 9:01 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Sadly, Newt didn’t fall into an erupting volcano.

    I thought the volcano gods demanded virgins…

  23. 23.

    sdhays

    June 11, 2023 at 9:01 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Yes! He’s such a ridiculous person and has been forever.

    The “academic” version of Rudy Giuliani.

  24. 24.

    Suzanne

    June 11, 2023 at 9:05 am

    @Baud: I think that Betty Who song is fairly popular. I mean, I don’t get to listen to a lot of new music — limited to what’s played in fitness classes — and I’ve heard this one.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 11, 2023 at 9:10 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I’m always shocked to realize Gingrich is still alive.

    Me too. Then I always look him up on Wikipedia so I can comfort myself with “He must be ancient” and then I’m always shocked to realize he’s almost a year younger than I am. Every time. It’s like getting chronically rick-rolled.

  26. 26.

    rikyrah

    June 11, 2023 at 9:11 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊

  27. 27.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 11, 2023 at 9:17 am

    I think this blog is gonna have to hire a climatologist to make daily posts — similar in vein to the daily healthcare reports — on our rapidly changing climate.

    Alarm bells are not only ringing, they are deafening.

    Things began to look very unusual two months ago. Today the charts need no commentary, they speak for themselves. This is the Atlantic.

  28. 28.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    June 11, 2023 at 9:22 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 9:22 am

    Artwork interlude (not AI generated*). No idea if it is specifically or intentionally related with the cause but the artist obviously took pride in her/his work.

    *have lost or misplaced the original reference datum, IIRC it’s an installation which has been there for some years at a museum in Italy.

  30. 30.

    satby

    June 11, 2023 at 9:22 am

    @eclare: @Dorothy A. Winsor: Someone was probably shooting at a raccoon, or that’ll be the excuse. If it even came from that house (?). The last two groups of renters upstairs and down were evicted, but I consider the landlord to be problematic, since his tenant screening is apparently non-existent. 

    Individual shootings and murders are seldom random, and I don’t overly worry about it but I’ll quick get inside if I’m outside. Living in a red state seething with rageaholics and guns isn’t very peaceful though.

  31. 31.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    June 11, 2023 at 9:25 am

    @satby:

    That sounds scary! Glad you’re safe

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack

    June 11, 2023 at 9:25 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Huh. I went on Google Maps to see the location and extent of the problem. I had to put in a destination (from NoVA) to see driving conditions, and I tried several places just north of Philadelphia. But the Google Maps lady thwarted me; she didn’t offer I-95 as a full route. She sent me up I-295 or took me off I-95 well south of the Philly metro area and sent me around to the west on I-276. Smart lady!

  33. 33.

    wenchacha

    June 11, 2023 at 9:26 am

    Lindsey Graham is such a worthless, mewling, whiny jerk. I cannot stand him. What a piece of shite.

  34. 34.

    Dangerman

    June 11, 2023 at 9:29 am

    @Baud: Who?

    Early in every show lineup; she’s always on First

    ETA: Note to self; read thread.

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 9:31 am

    @Chris T.

    Pele is partial to a certain spiritous liquid.

    Pele’s Chair, a large lava rock formation that looks like a giant chair from afar. It is situated on the eastern tip of O’ahu. The Hawaiian culture suggest it is a good idea to leave an offering of food, flowers, or gin (YUP – gin, apparently Pele is a fan) … Source

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 9:34 am

    @Baud

    Ask Horton.
    ;)

  37. 37.

    Baud

    June 11, 2023 at 9:37 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  38. 38.

    MomSense

    June 11, 2023 at 9:41 am

    Did I just read that Nicola Sturgeon was arrested?

  39. 39.

    Layer8Problem

    June 11, 2023 at 9:43 am

    @NotMax:  Gin huh?  Must be the English influence.  Does she have a favored brand?

  40. 40.

    satby

    June 11, 2023 at 9:43 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): You may not have been around when I mentioned my late father, a long time homicide detective in the 60s and 70s in Chicago, but he taught me a couple of things. 1. a gun in the house is just asking for someone in your family to be killed by it and 2. murderers almost always know their victims. Of course, now that we live in the era of mass shootings, #2 needs to be amended to exclude mass slaughters, but it still holds for most gun homicides. So I feel pretty safe most of the time, as safe as any one of us can.

  41. 41.

    James E Powell

    June 11, 2023 at 9:44 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Who cares what Newt Gingrich thinks?

    Same with Christie & Kasich.

    How come they never ask Jeb Bush?

  42. 42.

    MomSense

    June 11, 2023 at 9:45 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    We have some amazing research institutes in New England.  Most people know of Woods Hole, but Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences here in Maine is doing really important work.  They both publish regular articles that we could highlight here.

  43. 43.

    Chris T.

    June 11, 2023 at 9:45 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I went on Google Maps to see the location and extent of the problem.

    “Tacony”, wherever that is. I’ve driven that stretch of I-95 before but only to get somewhere north or south of that part so I’m not really up on the area. Plus it’s probably also very different than it was before the turn of the century…

  44. 44.

    Baud

    June 11, 2023 at 9:45 am

    President Biden: “Today, I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You’re understood. And you belong.”

    I forgot that obligatory “Both sides are the same.”

  45. 45.

    James E Powell

    June 11, 2023 at 9:47 am

    The panel also claimed Gingrich played a role in the effort to submit fake slates of electors in battleground states that Trump lost, according to committee documents…

    A question that has stuck in my mind for some time – and this only applies to the people like Gingrich, Mike Lee, and others who are not in Trump’s inner circle – did they really think these schemes would work?

  46. 46.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 11, 2023 at 9:47 am

    @MomSense:

    Yes, it’s very early and details are scarce, but it appears yes she was.

    Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrested in SNP finance inquiry

    More details:

    Nicola Sturgeon is in custody after being arrested in connection with the investigation into the Scottish National Party’s finances.

    Scotland’s former first minister and ex-SNP leader was detained as a suspect and is currently being questioned by detectives.

    Ms Sturgeon’s husband, the party’s former chief executive Peter Murrell, was previously arrested as part of the probe along with ex-treasurer Colin Beattie. Both men were subsequently released without charge pending further inquiries.

     

  47. 47.

    eclare

    June 11, 2023 at 9:50 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I know we have enough to pay attention to here, but the UK is also having problems.  First BoJo resigns from Parliament in a huff before he could be kicked out, now this.  And of course, Brexit issues.

  48. 48.

    Layer8Problem

    June 11, 2023 at 9:53 am

    @James E Powell:  Expanding on p.a.’s quote above, he’s nowhere near as smart as he or the press thinks he is.

  49. 49.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 11, 2023 at 9:53 am

    @Chris T.: ​ 

    Tacony is a historical neighborhood/city northeast of downtown Philadelphia.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 9:54 am

    @Layer8Problem

    Dunno about brands but it’s not a case of pour a splash or two on the ground and take the rest home. People continue to leave the entire unopened bottle.

    FSM only knows what might happen if folks began leaving offerings of this stuff instead.

  51. 51.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 11, 2023 at 10:00 am

    If you need a diversion from the collapsing freeways, heating oceans, political calamity on both sides of the pond, well here ya go.

    The Sutton Hoo cat helmet we all needed.

  52. 52.

    Another Scott

    June 11, 2023 at 10:00 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    AP’s take:

    LONDON (AP) — Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested by police investigating the finances of the governing Scottish National Party, British media said Sunday.

    Police Scotland said a 52-year-old woman was detained “as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.”

    “The woman is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives,” the force said.

    U.K. police do not name suspects until they are charged. The BBC and other media outlets identified the arrested woman as Sturgeon.

    Several senior SNP figures have previously been arrested and questioned as part of the investigation. None has been charged.

    (Emphasis added.)

    Seems like a great way to damage a political enemy’s reputation, if someone were so inclined. :-/

    To be clear – even some of the good guys get caught up in hinky political fundraising issues. I have no idea if that is the case here or not.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  53. 53.

    oldgold

    June 11, 2023 at 10:01 am

    In 1860 a South Carolina pol, James Petigru, famously remarked, “South Carolina is too small for a republic, but too large for an insane asylum.”

    After watching the Palmetto State’s pols prance across the the nation’s stage this weekend commenting 
    on the Trump indictment, in particular, the execrable Lindsey Graham, who gave his trademark shouty, petulant, and irrational defense of Trump on This Week this morning, I am starting to believe Petigru was wrong.  Regardless of size, South Carolina is and always has been a big political insane asylum and Lincoln made a mistake not letting them leave the Union and form their own small sick Republic.

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    June 11, 2023 at 10:01 am

    It is my dream—an impossible pipe dream, possibly—that when the January 6 indictments come down they include not just Trump but the whole edifice of quislings, apparatchiks, grifters and shitbirds who were involved in what was a coup attempt.

    It wasn’t just a “demonstration” that got out of hand. There were the fake elector schemes in several states; who organized those? There were the procedural shenanigans in Congress itself. Why was Chuck Assley so sure that he would be “certifying” the ballots, not Mike Pence? Why was Ted Cruz repeatedly braying that the “questions” should be sent back to the state legislatures? Josh Hawley—I can’t even. Why did so many GQP reps vote against certification with virtually no evidence of election problems? Why was the whole gamut of law-enforcement agencies woefully “unprepared” for what went down?

    For too long our national policy has been to look forward, not back. As gin-soaked scribbler Peggy Noonan put it when the Dubya torture memos came out in 2009, “Some things in life need to be mysterious. Sometimes you need to just keep walking.” Salt in the wound: she added, “It’s hard for me to look at a great nation issuing these documents and sending them out to the world and thinking, Oh, much good will come of that.” Grr.

    Obligatory George Santayana quote: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

  55. 55.

    Steeplejack

    June 11, 2023 at 10:04 am

    @Chris T.:

    I saw the location. I just couldn’t call up a route that would show me the extent of the delay (red highlights on the route) and the estimated time delay.

  56. 56.

    Nukular Biskits

    June 11, 2023 at 10:06 am

    Mornin, y’all!

    How many of you have called (yes, CALLED!) the offices of your two US Senators and US Representative to express your opinion concerning Trump indictment?

    All three of mine put out posts on social media using the same “weaponization of DOJ” bullshit talking points.  I called all three and politely asked them WTFO?  Interestingly enough, none of them have uttered a peep since the indictments were unsealed.

    Anyway, don’t rely solely on providing feedback via social media. CALL THEM!  I’d also suggest a old-fashioned letter but it’ll take a couple of weeks to actually reach the poor beleaguered staffer who then has to figure out which boilerplate response to mail back.

  57. 57.

    Layer8Problem

    June 11, 2023 at 10:08 am

    @NotMax:  There’s the makings of a short story in this, about someone striking up a conversation with a well-informed, slightly irritable woman of strangely indeterminate age at the bar of the Moana Hotel, who favors very dry martinis.

  58. 58.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    June 11, 2023 at 10:09 am

    Our local NPR station is fundraising. They were giving away a meal, with wine pairings, and reservations for two at a three star restaurant in Chicago (that I never heard of). The estimated value was $1200. I asked Mr DAW what he thought was worth, and he guessed $90. I laughed and laughed.

  59. 59.

    Kay

    June 11, 2023 at 10:09 am

    @Steeplejack:

    For too long our national policy has been to look forward, not back.

    Agree 100%. I think the indictment of Trump is great for the country. We need to actually resolve something, take it all the way, instead of burying it and moving on.
    I knew our rigidly conventional (and chickenshit) political media would be all upset and horrified by it, though.

  60. 60.

    Nukular Biskits

    June 11, 2023 at 10:10 am

    And, because this has stuck with me for years:

    Jesus God, Newt Gingrich is a despicable motherfucker. If I were Queen of the World, I would order him lightly scored with rusty pitchforks, dipped in sulfuric acid, rolled in a bed of broken light bulbs, stuffed into a cannon and fired into a toxic waste dump.

    Or else it gets the hose again… (Open Thread)

  61. 61.

    sdhays

    June 11, 2023 at 10:12 am

    @Kay: It’s odd, though. One would think they’d love the drama.

  62. 62.

    Nukular Biskits

    June 11, 2023 at 10:13 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Apparently, Sean Hannity does.  He features Gingrich regularly, although I think a lot of it has to do with pimping Gingrich’s books.

  63. 63.

    James E Powell

    June 11, 2023 at 10:14 am

    @Layer8Problem:

    True. The question is, why do the political media consider Gingrich a go-to guy on anything?

  64. 64.

    James E Powell

    June 11, 2023 at 10:17 am

    @Nukular Biskits:

    although I think a lot of it has to do with pimping Gingrich’s books.

    Surely you mean Gingrich’s “books”

  65. 65.

    UncleEbeneezer

    June 11, 2023 at 10:17 am

    it is worth recalling a sobering feature of the racial history of the United States: Every major step undertaken to advance African Americans and to redress the consequences of racial subordination has been met with charges of “reverse discrimination” and unfair “preference.”

    Yup. I’ve done a lot of reading on Racism/White Supremacy over the past few years and this is undeniable and relentless. White People (not all/only) have violently objected to ANYTHING proposed to give justice and equality to Black Americans. Voting Rights, School Integration, Affirmative Action, Major Police Reform, etc.

    Slavery is our Original Sin, but the steadfast refusal to try to actually remedy the damage that centuries of racist policies have done, is the sin that we just can’t seem to quit. One of my favorite black podcasters pointed out the other day that America paid reparations to Japanese-Americans for all the damage/loss of the WWII internment, and to Native/Indigenous-Americans for the multi-faceted genocide against them, but for some reason, Reparations for Black People is a no-go and most Americans (even on the Left) still manage come up with all kinds of excuses against it.  And sadly they usually use the framing that returning to Black People the stolen wages, property and generational wealth etc., that was purposely stolen/denied them would be just “too unfair” to everyone else.

  66. 66.

    Jackie

    June 11, 2023 at 10:18 am

    @Albatrossity: “I thought the volcano gods demanded virgins…“

    Mopping up snorted out coffee…

  67. 67.

    Nukular Biskits

    June 11, 2023 at 10:19 am

    @James E Powell:

    I stand corrected, sir.

  68. 68.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 10:21 am

    @James E Powell

    He was home when they rang up.

    (Remembering how Harry Anderson’s character ended up becoming on judge on Night Court.) &nsbp-; ;)

  69. 69.

    jonas

    June 11, 2023 at 10:22 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​
      Is Alinea still around? If it is, I’d wager that was the place. It was regularly listed among the top restaurants in the US, if not the world. I dined there alone once about 10 years ago and the bill for the full tasting menu with wine pairing was $400 with tip. Not surprised if its $500-600 pp now. The meal, btw, was insane. I’ll never forget this one dish that came decorated with these small, pea-sized gelatin balls filled with lobster butter that burst in your mouth with each bite.

  70. 70.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 10:23 am

    #68:

    on judge = a judge

  71. 71.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    June 11, 2023 at 10:25 am

    @jonas: Yes! That was it.

    Mr DAW is, um, frugal. He’d pass out at prices like that.

  72. 72.

    Layer8Problem

    June 11, 2023 at 10:27 am

    @HumboldtBlue:  That helmet’s glorious.  No battle cat should be without one.

  73. 73.

    Jackie

    June 11, 2023 at 10:27 am

    @HumboldtBlue: That is cool! The intricate details… Stunning!

  74. 74.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 10:30 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor

    Was about to ask if Murray’s is still in business but then remembered that’s somewhat to the west of the Winsors.

  75. 75.

    p.a.

    June 11, 2023 at 10:30 am

    Speaking of retro, anyone still have film cameras?  They’re back in demand!  If you have them in a box in the back of a closet, take a look at what you have and go online.  Might pay for a dinner or two from their value, or use them yourself!  Film and processing is readily available again.

  76. 76.

    Frankensteinbeck

    June 11, 2023 at 10:34 am

    @Baud:

    No, no.  You’re misremembering.  Trump ran to Biden’s left on queer issues.  I was definitely told that.

  77. 77.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    June 11, 2023 at 10:34 am

    @NotMax: No kidding! We lived within 3 hours of the Twin Cities when we were in Iowa, but it’s quite a bit farther now.

  78. 78.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 11, 2023 at 10:35 am

    @Steeplejack:

    It wasn’t just a “demonstration” that got out of hand. There were the fake elector schemes in several states; who organized those? There were the procedural shenanigans in Congress itself. Why was Chuck Assley so sure that he would be “certifying” the ballots, not Mike Pence? Why was Ted Cruz repeatedly braying that the “questions” should be sent back to the state legislatures? Josh Hawley—I can’t even. Why did so many GQP reps vote against certification with virtually no evidence of election problems? Why was the whole gamut of law-enforcement agencies woefully “unprepared” for what went down?

    Why were Members of Congress, including some who had been sworn in only days earlier, giving “tours” of the Capitol building, including rooms that would normally not be included? Who were in the tour groups? How did the MoCs get permission to conduct these tours during a time when all public tours had been suspended because of Covid regulations?

  79. 79.

    UncleEbeneezer

    June 11, 2023 at 10:39 am

    Altadena had a nice turnout for our Pride event.  I was on my way home from work so I only got to pass by it but there was probably a hundred or more people in our Grocery Outlet parking lot celebrating, dancing etc., with all sorts of rainbow flags and clothing.  Lots of families.  I was very glad to see it.

  80. 80.

    Steeplejack

    June 11, 2023 at 10:40 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Good point! There are so many loose ends and 🤔 angles that need serious examination. Pence and the Secret Service on the loading dock, etc.

  81. 81.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 10:41 am

    @jonas

    Gotta link it. Molecular gastronomy.
    ;)

  82. 82.

    narya

    June 11, 2023 at 10:45 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I want to eat there, for the experience, but I simply have not been able to bring myself to pony up the dollars for it. If I win the lottery, it’ll be one of the things I do.

    @James E Powell: I think they thought there might be enough chaos to replay the Brooks Brothers “riot” and the installation of W. I think all of the threads were attempts to keep as many options open as possible–and I think they only failed because of the attack on the capitol. That is, the violence was so overwhelming, and televised, that it brought a lot of the crazy to light. They have not stopped trying: witness the “independent state legislature” fan fiction before SCROTUS right now.

  83. 83.

    Anoniminous

    June 11, 2023 at 10:47 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    In 2015 Hurricane Patricia reached sustained winds of 215 mph at 872mbars of pressure — which is insanely high and insanely low.   The only reason it wasn’t the first known Category 7 hurricane is there isn’t a Category 7, the Saffir-Simpson Scale stops at Cat 5 at 157mph+.

  84. 84.

    Steeplejack

    June 11, 2023 at 10:47 am

    @narya:

    I think all of the threads were attempts to keep as many options open as possible [. . .].

    Also a good point.

  85. 85.

    Ohio Mom

    June 11, 2023 at 10:48 am

    @HumboldtBlue: Part of me thinks you are right, BJ is missing a climate expert (especially considering this is supposed to be a full service blog), the other part of me has my fingers in my ears, La la I can’t hear you, because I can’t bear to think of the world I will be leaving for Ohio Son, to fend for himself while it grows more and more obvious every day that he’s really deficient at fending.

    The good news is, it’s finally raining here, everything growing in the ground needed a drink.

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 10:50 am

    @Anoniminous

    “Climate comes in, climate goes out. No one can explain it.”
    // // //

  87. 87.

    Kay

    June 11, 2023 at 10:52 am

    @sdhays:

    One would think they’d love the drama.

    They don’t like real drama- driven by actual events. They like narrative drama – driven by them.
    Real things might…get…out..of..control!

    I genuinely believe this indictment is very good for the country. We need a real accounting.

  88. 88.

    Alison Rose

    June 11, 2023 at 10:52 am

    I love Betty Who and I’m only a semi-insane semi-gay person. This one is one of my faves, though much different from the one above.

  89. 89.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 11, 2023 at 10:52 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Yup, that’s another. I hope (and have to believe) there are investigative teams hard at work on these many anomalous incidents, and that we the public will know the results in due course.

    I also hope law enforcement authorities are paying very close attention to all the not-so-thinly-disguised calls to violence being uttered by GOP leadership in the wake of the Trump indictment.

  90. 90.

    Anonymous At Work

    June 11, 2023 at 10:53 am

    The potential wire fraud charges would have been nice to start with, rather than end with, because it would have at least hampered, if not cut off, all the funding Trump uses to pay for lawyers for underlings (so long as they cover up/perjure on his behalf).

  91. 91.

    Delk

    June 11, 2023 at 10:54 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: the chef was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth and they wanted to remove most of his tongue. He refused and opted for aggressive chemotherapy and eventually was diagnosed cancer free. He temporarily lost his sense of taste but it returned.

  92. 92.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 10:54 am

    @Alison Rose

    Was Who on first?

    Inquiring minds….

  93. 93.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    June 11, 2023 at 10:56 am

    @Delk: Oh wow. That’s interesting. It’s like Beethoven going deaf.

  94. 94.

    narya

    June 11, 2023 at 10:56 am

    @Delk: His book about that (Life on the Line) is interesting–I’ve read it and would be happy to send it along to anyone who wants it. He didn’t have much good to say about Charlie Trotter

    ETA: I have to head out for a beer 5k, so if you DO want the book, grab me in some other thread.

  95. 95.

    Steeplejack

    June 11, 2023 at 10:58 am

    @Kay:

    I genuinely believe this indictment is very good for the country. We need a real accounting.

    Amen.

  96. 96.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 10:59 am

    @narya

    After all, trotters are not to everyone’s taste.
    :)

  97. 97.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 11, 2023 at 11:01 am

    @Nukular Biskits:

    Awww, Daisy.

  98. 98.

    Another Scott

    June 11, 2023 at 11:02 am

    @Steeplejack: @SiubhanDuinne:

    Some of this is discussed in the January 6 Committee Final Report. Here’s a link to the page with the various downloads. The Final Report is an 845 page PDF:

    E.g. (light formatting edits)

    Members of the mob carried flags and turned the flagpoles into weapons. Michael Foy, from Wixom, Michigan, carried a hockey stick to the Ellipse—he draped a Trump flag over it.50 Just hours later, Foy used that hockey stick to repeatedly beat police officers at the inaugural tunnel.51
    Former New York City police officer Thomas Webster carried a Marine flag, which he later used to attack an officer holding the rioters back at the lower West Plaza.52 Another individual, Danny Hamilton, carried a flag with a sharpened tip, which he said was “for a certain person,” to which Trevor Hallgren (who had traveled with Hamilton to Washington, DC) responded: “it has begun.” Later, Hallgren commented that “[t]here’s no escape Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. We’re coming for you….Even you AOC. We’re coming to take you out. To pull you out by your hairs.” On January 5th, Hallgren took a tour of the Capitol with
    Representative Barry Loudermilk, during which he took pictures of hallways and staircases.53

    (Emphasis added.)

    There may be more in the other documents (that’s all I see in the final report that’s relevant when searching for “tour”).

    HTH!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  99. 99.

    Urza

    June 11, 2023 at 11:09 am

    @Baud: it is both sides. Republicans are on the other side telling nazis they are loved, heard, and understood.

  100. 100.

    trollhattan

    June 11, 2023 at 11:10 am

    @Delk: ​Grant was, for a time, an in-law. Never made it to Chicago to eat at Alinea during that time, though.

  101. 101.

    Anoniminous

    June 11, 2023 at 11:12 am

    @NotMax: ​
     

    Yes the planet got destroyed ….

  102. 102.

    JWR

    June 11, 2023 at 11:13 am

    I just watched Chris Sununu spin like a top to CBS’s John Harwood, who’s not putting up with his BS at all, unlike Sununu’s interview with Walter Isaacson on Amanpour & Co the other night, further solidifying my opinion that Isaacson is a hack. But Sununu’s trying to bothsides this thing, claiming that GOP voters don’t believe this indictment isn’t political, which is the fault of… wait for it… the DOJ. I kid you not. And why this idiot? Is he the media’s choice, or the GOP’s?

  103. 103.

    HumboldtBlue

    June 11, 2023 at 11:15 am

    @Layer8Problem: @Jackie:

    I retweeted Tamara, she said his mouse armor is even more impressive.

    @Anoniminous: @Ohio Mom:

    Even at a microclimate level here on the coast, the weather patterns have shifted drastically since I moved up here 20 years ago, and not for the better, at least when it comes to local flora and fauna.

    There’s a reason the giant redwoods thrive here, and it’s due to the heavy fog and mist — not rain — but that steady, dripping wetness is no longer as steady or as prevalent and that’s very concerning.

    As Ohio Mom points out, not so much for us oldsters, but the next generation and the ones after that are looking at some serious impacts on climate and weather.

  104. 104.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 11, 2023 at 11:15 am

    @Another Scott:

    Very interesting, thanks. Here’s what Loudermilk’s Wikipedia entry has to say about the incident (edited to remove footnote numbers):

    Allegations of aiding the January 6 United States Capitol attack

    On May 19, 2022, the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack requested that Loudermilk appear for an interview about a tour he led of the United States Capitol Complex on January 5, 2021, the day before the 2021 United States Capitol attack. House Democrats had suggested Loudermilk aided in the attack, which he and House Republicans disputed. In June, Capitol police concluded that there was nothing suspicious about Loudermilk’s tour. Capitol police chief Tom Manger said, “There is no evidence that Rep. Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on January 5, 2021.” The next day, the committee released video of Loudermilk leading the tour of the Capitol complex on January 5 in areas “not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases, and security checkpoints”;the footage showed the group walking through tunnels underneath the Capitol, but not within the main building. A man in the tour group can also be seen taking photos of hallways. The committee then shared footage claiming the man was at the riot, showing footage of a man at the storming of the Capitol the next day.

    Loudermilk filed an ethics complaint against Representative Mikie Sherrill and other members for alleging he gave a reconnaissance tour of the Capitol on January 5.

    Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

  105. 105.

    Citizen Alan

    June 11, 2023 at 11:16 am

    @Baud: Third base!

  106. 106.

    kalakal

    June 11, 2023 at 11:18 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Sadly, Newt didn’t fall into an erupting volcano.

    I’d pay good money to watch that. Is ‘push’ an option?

  107. 107.

    trollhattan

    June 11, 2023 at 11:19 am

    @p.a.: In a contrarian move I bought a few high-end compact 135 format cameras when digital was ascendant and film gear prices plunged. Two or three are now collectable, as is my Hasselblad kit, which also had cratered to maybe a dime on the dollar at one point.

    Oddly, if I wished to sell them it looks like the collecting mostly occurs in Japan, or at least most listings I see on fleabay et al are there. As though they traveled the globe and vacuumed up a lot of film stuff.

    Processing and printing is ghoulishly expensive compared to when film was king, but The Kids who are going retro don’t know that and are willing to pay the price.

    Last time I used a darkroom, Reagan was “president.”

  108. 108.

    trollhattan

    June 11, 2023 at 11:21 am

    @kalakal: I wonder if Wife #3 is ready to help?

    What’s she doing since losing her “job” at the Vatican? Taking Newt to doctor appointments?

  109. 109.

    Steeplejack

    June 11, 2023 at 11:21 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Capitol police chief Tom Manger said, “There is no evidence that Rep. Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on January 5, 2021.”

    And that statement was quickly debunked.

    One of the problems with all things January 6 is that we don’t know how much, or if, we can trust law enforcement. So many agencies seem to be infected with MAGAts and fascist wannabes.

  110. 110.

    JPL

    June 11, 2023 at 11:22 am

    @JWR:  I am hoping to catch clips later.   Was McMaster’s on?

  111. 111.

    kalakal

    June 11, 2023 at 11:22 am

    @Steeplejack: I share that dream.

    There needs to be consequences, not just for the doylems that vandalised the Capitol, not just for TFG, but for the whole rats nest of officials, elected and unelected, who took part in this failed coup.

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    June 11, 2023 at 11:27 am

    Thing I learned this week.

    There’s a type of sailing vessel known as a hermaphrodite brig.

  113. 113.

    trollhattan

    June 11, 2023 at 11:27 am

    How much snow did California get last winter? A whole lot.

    Highway 108 over Sonora Pass reopened on Friday afternoon after 211 days, the longest closure since 2004/2005 when the route was closed for 220 days, according to Caltrans officials.

    The last time the pass was closed for this long was 2017, when it was closed until June 13, Caltrans said. The route had been shut since Nov. 14, 2022. While the highway is open now for the spring and summer seasons, vehicles traveling over Sonora Pass may run into water on the roadway from the seasonal runoff, Caltrans District 9 officials said. They advise drivers reduce their speed when traveling through wet areas.

    Meanwhile, maintenance crews have cleared snow up to the eastern entrance of Yosemite National Park on Highway 120 over Tioga Pass. However, rock removal, more clearing of snow from the shoulder of the roadway and parking areas and repairs to guardrails are needed before the highway reopens.
    https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article276296806.html#storylink=cpy

    Sonora Pass is 9,624 feet elevation and Tioga is 9,945. One does not burst from the car and start a marathon at either, if one lives at sea level.

  114. 114.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    June 11, 2023 at 11:28 am

    @Steeplejack: You want maps? The Inqy has you covered.

    This is an EXTREMELY busy section of I-95. It’s going to be a mess for months. It already was because of construction. And there aren’t many alternatives.

  115. 115.

    kalakal

    June 11, 2023 at 11:32 am

    @trollhattan: hmm must have a look at our collection of old cameras, a few years ago they were worth zip.

    My FIL had a great collection of old cameras that he restored. My favourite is a Graphlex Speed Graphic complete with the flash rig, just like the ones the press always uses in the old movies.

    At one point the really valuable bit was the handle for the flash, apparently that’s what was used for the handle of Obi Wan’s light saber, and Star Wars cosplayers would pay big bucks for one

  116. 116.

    scav

    June 11, 2023 at 11:33 am

    @NotMax: Purely as a public marker, I’m going to guess it has something about the rigging being a mix of two kinds and go look it up.  Ok, maybe a mix of structural hull elements but no further.  Off to be embarrassed.

  117. 117.

    James E Powell

    June 11, 2023 at 11:40 am

    @JWR:

    It’s the political media’s never ending search for the Reasonable Republican. It’s never ending because such persons do not exist.

  118. 118.

    James E Powell

    June 11, 2023 at 11:44 am

    @scav:

    Exactly. Square sails on the foremast, schooner rigged on the main.

  119. 119.

    Ohio Mom

    June 11, 2023 at 11:46 am

    @HumboldtBlue: The winters here in southwestern Ohio definitely used to be colder, longer, and snowier. As a winter-hater, I kinda like it, the same way I’d like to have cake and ice cream for breakfast every day.

  120. 120.

    geg6

    June 11, 2023 at 11:46 am

    @Kay:

    Totally agree.  We need to reinstate the rule of law.

  121. 121.

    Maxim

    June 11, 2023 at 12:27 pm

    @p.a.: One of my young cousins has gotten into film photography. Film makes regular appearances on his birthday and Christmas wish lists.

  122. 122.

    JWR

    June 11, 2023 at 12:27 pm

    @JPL:

    Was McMaster’s on?

    No. At least I don’t think he was on. But I’m getting Sununu fatigue these days. And that’s from just 3, maybe 4 interviews. He talks so quickly, while saying so little, and that gets really tiring, really quick.

  123. 123.

    Timill

    June 11, 2023 at 12:29 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer: At a slight tangent,

     The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story is $2.99 on Kindle today.

  124. 124.

    JWR

    June 11, 2023 at 12:36 pm

    @James E Powell: I forgot about that perfectly reasonable explanation. TY ;)

  125. 125.

    Mike in Pasadena

    June 11, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    @James E Powell: Yes.

  126. 126.

    UncleEbeneezer

    June 11, 2023 at 1:30 pm

    @Timill: Not a tangent at all.  The 1619 Project definitively makes this point with regards to Reparations quite well.  The only explanation for Racial Inequities in EVERY aspect of America, that makes any sense, is that it is entirely the result of our history (and present) of countless laws designed to get exactly that result.  As Ibram X. Kendi puts it: the only other alternative explanation is that you believe Black People are somehow inferior and did this all to themselves.  And you’d still have to completely overlook centuries of racist policies enacted by a majority-white America.

  127. 127.

    Sister Golden Bear

    June 11, 2023 at 1:46 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Philly needs to get the contractors that LA hired after the Northridge earthquake collapsed part of the Santa Monica Freeway.

    The concrete might not have been fully dry (at least that was the local joke) when it reopened 66 days later, 74 days ahead of schedule. Contractor collected a huge bonus. We ended paying double the price, but it was money extremely well spent since it was costing the LA economy $1 million per day when the freeway was closed — it’s one of the busiest stretches of freeway/highway in the U.S.

  128. 128.

    Sister Golden Bear

    June 11, 2023 at 1:53 pm

    @trollhattan: They also finally opened Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4, which is remote and one of the least travelled passes in the Sierras, but extremely scenic. It’s one of only seven nationally designated scenic byways in CA, and of 151 in the entire nation. You can do a loop drive using it and the Sonora Pass in a day or two, depending on how long you stop along the way.

  129. 129.

    The Lodger

    June 11, 2023 at 2:58 pm

    @p.a.: Yeah, I know it’s Alan Grayson,  but I still miss the guy.

  130. 130.

    Chris Johnson

    June 11, 2023 at 4:26 pm

    @p.a.: That’s cool. I have my Dad’s old large format camera. Square pictures, about 2″x2″.

    Not sure quite what I’d take pictures OF, but yeah it would be so cool to bust that one out. Beautiful old thing it is.

  131. 131.

    sab

    June 11, 2023 at 5:02 pm

    @satby: My dad the pathologist who moonlighted for the coroner told us the same thing. A gun in the house is dangerous. Suicides, accidents, family murders or someone you know wants your gun and knows you have one.

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