Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

We still have time to mess this up!

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Not all heroes wear capes.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

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

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

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

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Cole is on a roll !

Let’s finish the job.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Monday Morning Open Thread: Meticulous

Monday Morning Open Thread: Meticulous

by | 233 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

Note: The person centered in the photo above is not Gov. Healey; Maura is the one in the blue shirt here:

======

Thanks for the link, HumboldtBlue!

I never did find a chance to link to this article when it came out at the beginning of the year, so I’m sharing it now as a way to ease into what promises to be a busy week — “Meet the world’s first (and only) cat and mouse armorer”:

“I always joke that when I made the first suit of mouse armor, in a millisecond I also became the greatest mouse armorer in the history of mankind,” says Jeff de Boer, a Canadian artist who has designed and crafted museum-quality armor for cats and mice for 36 years.

Over that time, de Boer estimates he’s created more than 500 suits of animal armor in his Calgary studio, ranging from rodent-size Crusader armor complete with tiny snout-nosed helmets and tail scales, to elaborate medieval Islamic chainmail large enough for your average house cat…

De Boer’s inspiration began with a visit to the armor collection at Calgary’s Glenbow Museum when he was five years old. “I think that at a very early age children recognize armor as something interesting, and for me it was really haunting,” the 59-year-old artist recalls. “How was this made? Who wore it? Why did they wear it? What were the experiences that that armor had? Those thoughts and ideas have been with me my entire life.”

De Boer started tooling around in his father’s metal fabrication shop and made his first human-size suit of armor in high school. But as a jewelry major in art school in the mid-1980s, he had to somehow reconcile the small scale of the items he was creating with his passion for armor. He could craft armor for people at a miniature size, but that felt inauthentic. What sort of relatively tiny armor could he create that still felt like it had a real purpose?…

The Armor for Cats and Mice series is just one of a number of works by de Boer—he also creates jewelry, large public sculptures, and even funeral urns—but the animal armor remains closest to his heart with its particular focus on history and archaeology.

Once de Boer determines the culture and timeframe for an armor project, he conducts extensive research on armament styles of the time, then draws the concept by hand. He then crafts clay models from the drawings, which help him draft exact patterns for each of some 30-200 separate metal elements that the armor may require. (A Roman gladiator mouse, for example, may be made of 50 different parts, while scaled cat armor may have 500.)…

Since the artist works on a miniature scale, he creates his own tiny tools and rivets to fashion the armor elements. It can take 40 hours just to make the roughly 5 to 10 custom tools needed to create a particular style of mouse armor, then an additional 30-50 hours to create each mouse. Most are crafted from nickel, steel, and/or brass (and sometimes gold or platinum), and finished with flourishes like whiskers or tassels.

De Boer isn’t concerned that 3D printing will make his work obsolete; rather, he’s cheered by the number of artisans and collectors who follow his work on social media and are inspired to keep the metallurgy craft alive for future generations…

The requests are always individual and very personal. In the case of cat armor, the request is often to memorialize a beloved pet who has passed away. De Boer incorporates the individual stories of the animals into this work, making the armor a sort of portrait or even reliquary of each one. He also occasionally creates armor for other species, like the samurai dog helmet commissioned by a police officer to capture the “warrior spirit” of his retired four-legged partner.

The patrons for his mouse armor find inspiration everywhere and sometimes ask for types of armor that have never been seen on human battlefields. De Boer is currently working on a commission from an Indian-Polish couple that combines elements of 17th-century armor from both the Indian Maratha Empire and the Polish Hussars. “Something I would never think to do,” he concedes, “but it’s exciting because you have these two cultures, and you are doing the research and you discover they’re both contemporary.”…

De Boer stresses that his work is not intended to be worn by living animals, describing the first and last time he was asked to dress a cat in armor. It was for a Japanese game show in the early 1990s, and a television crew showed up at his studio with a “stunt cat” that was allegedly very comfortable wearing clothes on camera. “Let’s just say that we had a very large cat in a very small suit of armor,” he says. “Highly not recommended.”…

There’s a ton of amazing photos at the link!

Reader Interactions

233Comments

  1. 1.

    Tony Jay

    Got to say, the Massachusetts State House cleans up well after those mushroom zombies caused all that kerfuffle.

    Also, very nice to see that there are 38% of Republicans who think their own Party is way out on a limb with their MAGOP frenzy against People of the Consonants. That’s a big chunk of people who could/might be persuaded to sit out an Election where their side are only offering Hate, Spite and Resentment.

  4. 4.

    Tony Jay

    Also too, speaking of nasty rightwing cults trying to impose a dead ideology onto better people through bureaucratic force and naked bullying.

    The FTF Guardian continues the slow and predictable repositioning of its guns to fire upon the Nu-Lab Corporate Franchise Opportunity Formerly Known As The Labour Party. The author of this piece, John Harris, was one of the many who spent the last five years pushing the smears and misinformation that allowed Starmer and his handlers to retake control of Labour, but it’s ‘nice’ to see that they’re finally deigning to notice the widespread purges and authoritarian control freakery of their former besties. Far too late, and purely performative, and as the piece makes plain they’ll never, ever drop the narrative that ZOMG ANTISEMITISM was ever anything more than a useful maypole around which a coalition of diverse rightwing interests could gather, but the Labour Right can’t say they weren’t warned about how transactional their alliance with the ‘centrist’ media was.

    Because they were. They’re just too politically inept and blinkered to see it.

    ETA – Oh, and do visit that comment section. It’s artificially small (can’t have too many comments triggering the algrhythm that would push it onto the Most Commented bracket) but that just gives room to truly appreciate the ChatBot level monotony, two-faced hypocrisy and ugly, hissing venom that constitutes Starmer’s online defenders and fluffers.

  5. 5.

    Rachel Bakes

    Small and powerful Tony Award moment last night. In the call back announcement of Carnegie Mellon’s Theater Educator of the year the announcer called out DeSantis as “the Grand wizard, excuse me, governor of FL”.

  9. 9.

    suzanne

    I know the right wing hates being called bigots, but it would be easier to stop if they weren’t being such bigots.

  10. 10.

    Splitting Image

    @Baud:

    I don’t feel ordinary.

    Are you on the Julian calendar? Catholics became ordinary a week ago.

  11. 11.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Archeologists of the future are going to find the cat armor and wonder what kind of lives we were leading.

    ETA: I’m skimming down the front page to see what posted overnight and see the pic of Steve. I try to picture Cole putting that helmet on Steve.

  12. 12.

    JPL

    The bigots believe the Pride flag is bad, but it’s fine to have a confederate flag and/or a trump flag.

  13. 13.

    Tony Jay

    @Rachel Bakes:

    And you just know that, as we speak, one of RoDS’ harried aides is taking a break from applying glint-oil to each individual strand of Tacky O’s authentic ermine-adjacent cape to fundraise off the joke.

    “WOKE HOLLYWOOD GROOMERS ARE CALLING YOU AND YOUR KIDS RACIST FOR DEFENDING AMERICAN VALUES! WE NEED TO PUT AMERICA’S GREATEST GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE OR NOTHING AND NOBODY WILL STOP KAMALA/BIDEN FROM TAKING YOUR GUNS AND STEALING YOUR COUNTRY OUT FROM UNDER YOU, AGAIN!

    FOR ONLY A $15 ONE OFF DONATION WE CAN MAKE PROTECTING YOUR KIDS FROM PERVERTS AND THUGS AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE HOT BUTTON ISSUE.

    DONATE $30 NOW, OR THE NEXT PORTLAND COULD BE YOUR TOWN!”

    Gotta squeeze the juice before the vines dry up.

  14. 14.

    p.a.

    @suzanne:I know the right wing hates being called bigots, but it would be easier to stop if they weren’t being such bigots.

     

     

    When I’m unfortunate enough to be exposed to my reich-wing family members I ask them who they think their invisible sky fairy says it’s o.k. to kick in the throat currently.  Don’t get many invites nowadays.

  16. 16.

    eclare

    The detail in the cat armor is amazing.  People come up with the most unusual hobbies.

  19. 19.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I guess Satan was feeling lonely, because he’s sure been surrounding himself with a lot of playmates in the past few days: Silvio Berlusconi is dead, aged 86.

    ETA: OverTwistWillie got there first.

    ETA again to fix spelling of dead person’s name.

  20. 20.

    Suzanne

    @p.a.:

    When I’m unfortunate enough to be exposed to my reich-wing family members I ask them who they think their invisible sky fairy says it’s o.k. to kick in the throat currently.  Don’t get many invites nowadays.

    So, if you and anyone else who has shitty family members is in the Philadelphia area on Thursday (I think), we may have a meetup.

    I have plenty of unkind things to say about the right, and you can hear some of them over beverages and snacks!

  22. 22.

    Gin & Tonic

    40 years ago today, Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov may have saved the human race from extinction.

  24. 24.

    Marmot

    @Tony Jay:

    Also, very nice to see that there are 38% of Republicans who think their own Party is way out on a limb with their MAGOP frenzy against People of the Consonants.

    Is that what that poll says? I can’t make sense of it—such amateurish presentation.

  27. 27.

    Tony Jay

    @Marmot:

    I think it does. If 38% of Republicans asked are willing to say that their Party needs to be more tolerant and accepting of a minority every single MAGOP with a spot of ambition is rabidly othering, that’s a major split on a major Party policy.

    Get that wedge in there and widen it!

  28. 28.

    LiminalOwl

    @SiubhanDuinne: You and OverTwistWillie got there first, but yes. I knew a few Italians during his (primary) time in power, and was disgusted by the “more liberal” Catholics who liked him.

  29. 29.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Gin & Tonic: I remember the incident, of course, but both my memory and Wikipedia say it happened in September 1983, not June. But worth commemorating, regardless.

  30. 30.

    Tony Jay

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Episode 2 (and a chunk of the early game) of The Last of Us has a scene in the Massachusetts State House, except its 20 years since hundreds of millions of people were infected by a fungal infection that turned them into rabid wingnuts zombielike drones so the State House looks a bit worse for wear.

  31. 31.

    p.a.

    @Suzanne: I was there briefly Mem Day weekend, but I’m about a 4-5 hour Amtrak ride northeast of there.  & dog knows how long a drive it could be with I95 shut down😮

  33. 33.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @Suzanne: Heinzy isnt a fascist, he’s an opportunist.  given enough money he’d either support or oppose fascism

  35. 35.

    Matt McIrvin

    If you limit it to trans rights, Americans are all over the place–they favor anti-discrimination laws protecting trans people, but generally go against trans rights the moment you mention minors, sports, or paying for someone else’s gender-affirming treatment:

    https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/09/15/how-americans-view-policy-proposals-on-transgender-and-gender-identity-issues-and-where-such-policies-exist/

    So that is why that’s the wedge. What I can’t yet get a sense for is the trend, whether the transphobes are gaining or losing people. Most of these questions have only been polled in recent years.

  37. 37.

    Suzanne

    I am currently on Amtrak, practicing my resting bitch face so that no one will sit next to me.

  39. 39.

    topclimber

    It would also be nice to know if there was an undecided chunk of responders. If, say, one sixth of all GOPers had no opinion, that means the haters are actually under 50%.

  40. 40.

    Tony Jay

    @Suzanne:

    Do what I do. Make eye contact and pat the seat next to you. You’d be amazed at how few people take me up on the offer.

  42. 42.

    catclub

    @Marmot: Is that what that poll says? I can’t make sense of it—such amateurish presentation.

     

    I am pretty sure the poll was posted by the person responding to the statement below it that ‘ordinary people’ are getting tired of the LGBTQ  acceptance movement. To refute the argument.

  44. 44.

    Spanky

    @Suzanne: Yeah, I’ve been waiting for Henry the K to kick it.

    @Gin & Tonic:  I get the reference without looking it up. I always wondered if the Soviet alert system threw alarms with such great regularity that no one really trusted it. Ever.

  45. 45.

    Amir Khalid

    In case anyone hasn’t heard, the news outlets are all reporting Silvio Berlusconi’s death.

  46. 46.

    p.a.

    @Suzanne: I won’t imagine you as an asshole w/o direct experience, so I’ll think fiery, possibly rude, defender of liberal values.

     

    Won’t work indoors, but if one needs to maintain personal space outdoors, where allowed: cigar.  Can clear a nice bubble.

  47. 47.

    Tony Jay

    @Amir Khalid:

    I was here the whole time.

    Then again, Flobalob abruptly steps down, Trump indicted, Berlusconi dead – are the Woke Assassins making their move?

  48. 48.

    p.a.

    @Tony Jay: Do what I do. Make eye contact and pat the seat next to you. You’d be amazed at how few people take me up on the offer.

     

    Possibly not best practice for females.

  49. 49.

    Spanky

    @p.a.: Looking at Google Maps right now, traffic during this rush hour doesn’t look too bad.  The Tacony-Palmyra bridge is hosed, of course, but most everything else shows green.

  51. 51.

    Betty Cracker

    @Matt McIrvin: Thanks for that link — the research confirms my anecdotal sense of where public opinion is on the issue. My feeling is public sentiment is shifting in favor of trans rights as people learn more about the issues trans folks face, but there’s still a long way to go. Sort of like where we were on LGB rights in the 1990s, maybe? My hope is the avid and performatively cruel bigotry of people like DeSantis and Abbott, etc., will backfire.

  53. 53.

    eclare

    @Suzanne:

    In an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David wore a MAGA hat to keep people from talking to or sitting near him.  Prob much more reliable method in LA.

  54. 54.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    I find not showering or using deodorant also works.

    I’d figure that if you weren’t wearing pants, whether or not you showered or used deodorant wouldn’t matter much.

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    Repeating from Medium Cool thread.

    Two — count ’em, two — gender non-conforming winners at the Tony awards.

    Alex Newell for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Shucked) and J. Harrison Ghee for Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Some Like It Hot).

  59. 59.

    Spanky

    @Tony Jay:

    Then again, Flobalob abruptly steps down, Trump indicted, Berlusconi dead – are the Woke Assassins making their move?

    Ukraine never did say what its counter offensive would look like.

  61. 61.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Spanky:

    Having an audible argument with yourself also works.

    Yeah, but that’s a lot of work if it’s not something you do naturally.  Much easier to forgo shower and deodorant.

  62. 62.

    Scout211

    HuffPost has an article up about the growing activism in Florida.

    ”Don’t give up on Florida.”

    How Trans Organizers Are Fighting Back Against Ron DeSantis 

    “I’ve never believed more in the grit of trans people than I do right now,” said Billy Branca, a 29-year-old LGBTQ+ advocate in St. Petersburg. “I think that in trying to erase us, Ron DeSantis accidentally created the most powerful resistance that he could ever imagine because we’re angry and we’re connecting and we’re caring for each other.”

     

    For the last few months, Branca and a group of trans organizers have researched and compiled a list of clinics that are still offering services to trans youth.


    Branca said the group wanted to create an inclusive and up-to-date “how-to” for trans youth and adults desperate to find appointments before it is too late. The guide also includes mental health resources, scholarships to cover health care and practical information like which pharmacies are trans-friendly and what are the estimated costs for hormones. More than 130 people have reached out to access the guide since they began distributing it last month.

     

    . . .

    In Miami, Corinne Mariposa draws from her own experiences as a 40-year-old trans woman to educate her cisgender neighbors. For the last two weeks, she has set up a booth at a farmers market with a sign that reads, “Ask a trans woman,” inviting people to ask her about what it’s like for trans adults who are losing access to gender-affirming care.

     

    “There’s so much misinformation going around, and if we don’t control the narrative, it’s definitely going to get controlled for us by some insane people,” she said.

    . . .

    Last week, Alex S, a software developer who runs an online trans resource called The Umbrella Guide, drove two hours from his Orlando home to Tampa to attend the Board of Medicine meeting where the group discussed what needs to be included on the consent form to receive hormones. The form likely won’t be available until July. Alex, who asked to not be identified by his full name because he is concerned for his safety, said he was surprised by the hundred or so trans people and allies who showed up to make their voices heard at the board meeting.

     

    “I didn’t have very much optimism until I started getting involved. It’s easy to sit at home and read about all the terrible things that are happening and all the comments that are saying you need to get out of Florida now,” the lifelong Floridian said. “Don’t give up on Florida… we’re still here. I mean, just existing and being yourself right now and not falling into despair is resistance in my eyes.”

  63. 63.

    Tony Jay

    @p.a.:

      Possibly not best practice for females.

    Fair point. Suzanne could always go with option two, wear tracksuit bottoms, a suit jacket and a stained vest, and wave a can of strong beer around while ranting about “Theysh scayleh bashteh lishard folk wi’ they human suits, aye? Y’ken?!?”

    Clear space for rows.

  64. 64.

    hueyplong

    Not at all sure that 38% figure translates to any crossing over at the polls (or staying away from the polls).  At this point, though, it’s nice to see that the number isn’t a whole lot lower.

    Best guess is that any GOP strategist seeing the poll reacts, not by changing their tune, but instead by increasing the intensity of the messaging.

  67. 67.

    hueyplong

    @Scout211: Call me glass-half-empty, but the line in the quoted material that jumped out at me was, “Alex, who asked to not be identified by his full name because he is concerned for his safety,….”

  68. 68.

    Betty

    I appreciate seeing the level of craftsmanship that goes into creating those pieces of armour. Seems to be so rare these days.

  69. 69.

    Betty Cracker

    @eclare: Ha — that gambit would totally work on me! I regard all red ballcaps with suspicion now and only stop giving the stink-eye if I get close enough to see a sports logo or whatnot on the front. I wonder if the MAGA hat phenomenon has depressed sales of red ballcaps more broadly?

    During the Trump Error, I read a funny tweet from a black woman who’d obtained a red hat with “Black Lives Matter” stitched on the front in white font. She described strolling around in public wearing the hat and watching approaching Trump fans’ smiles fade as they got close enough to read her hat.

  70. 70.

    OverTwistWillie

    @Baud:

    Plenty of alternatives, plus Google Maps. That and the age of morning in, evening out commuter is in the rear view mirror.

  71. 71.

    NotMax

    @hueyplong

    Sure you’re familiar with the old joke.

    Optimists see the glass as half-full.
    Pessimists see the glass as half-empty.
    Republicans see the glass and say, “Who took half my water?”
    :)

  72. 72.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @hueyplong: If you want to grab onto the part that emphasizes the bad in an article that is basically saying “as bad as it is in in FL, there is still hope because activism is continuing/increasing,” then, yes, glass-half-empty is spot on.

  73. 73.

    Quinerly

    Good Morning!

    Been incredibly busy since Thurs. Getting caught up on all things indictment.  Was curious about Judge Cannon’s background. Took a spin around her Wiki page. She was born in Cali, Colombia. Mother was a Cuban refugee; Dad from Indiana. Duke undergrad. University of Michigan Law School graduating magna cum laude, Order of Coif. While in law school she was articles editor for law review and in the quarter finals for moot court.

    She’s no dumbass.

    Joined the Federalist Society while in law school.

    So is she a really bad judge or a corrupt judge? Or will she redeem herself after the spanking the 11th Circuit previously gave her?

  75. 75.

    Geminid

    In the silver linings department, the I-95 bridge collapse will bring increased commuter rail service between Philadelphia and points north. Last night the newsite Trains Magazine reported:

       SEPTA announces increased rail service following I-95 bridge collapse

    Plans still being finalized for increased capacity, operations on three regional rail lines.

    The South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority intends to add 3 afternoon and evening rush hour trains to each of the Trenton, West Trenton and Fox Chase Lines. The short Cynwyd line will be serviced by buses temporarily in order to free up trains for the other three lines.

    I wonder of some of these increases will become permanent. Some of the drivers riding the trains for the first time might decide, “Screw 95, I’m taking the train from now on.” It will be interesting to compare ridership before the bridge collapse to ridership a year from now.

    The Trains site said they had not yet received a reply from AMTRAK regarding enhanced service between New York and DC, but I expect they will soon. With AMTRAK’s increased funding by the Infrastructure bill, it may be able to add several new trains to that route.

  76. 76.

    Ken

    @NotMax: In the version I heard, the third person is the one who says “Why is my glass half-empty? Waiter, send me the manager.”

    Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook has “In my experience, the glass is always half-empty, until it fills with spectral blood that grows into a demonic entity.”  (It’s about a secret organization that investigates and fights supernatural horrors, in case that wasn’t clear from the quote.)

  77. 77.

    hueyplong

    @Omnes Omnibus: “Concern for personal safety” seems a lot worse than fear of boycotts, shunning, etc.  I kind of wish these stories would emphasize that aspect of current polarization.  Few people think their homes are about to be shot up by wokesters.

  79. 79.

    eclare

    @Geminid:

    Not that Joe is happy about the I-95 collapse, but I have to think part of him is thinking “More trains!  Whoopee!”

  80. 80.

    Betty Cracker

    @Scout211: Awed by the bravery of Ms. Mariposa! At the same time, I understand why people are leaving. I’ve seen articles on them in the big FL dailies, including Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times. It’s heartbreaking.

  82. 82.

    Rachel Bakes

    @Tony Jay: not to mention the multiple people who spoke in support of the screenwriters who are probably being scratched because of it (says my cynical husband, who is likely correct).

  83. 83.

    Ocotillo

    @Tony Jay:

    THE NEXT PORTLAND

    Forgive my ignorance but is Portland a smoldering, pile of rubble only outdone by Bakmut (sp.)?  My MAGA BIL was in town last month for Mother’s Day (he lives in Seattle) and in a conversation about visiting the Pacific Northwest, I expressed a desire to see Portland since I have never been and he advised against it making it sound like a war zone.  Does this still persist in wingnut land?

    I must confess about BIL though, at the Mom’s Day gathering he is showing cracks in his support of former guy.

  86. 86.

    catclub

    @Ocotillo: Does this still persist in wingnut land?

     

    Yes. The fact that BIL is from Seattle is interesting, because Seattle is also a smoldering ruin in their minds.

  88. 88.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Suzanne:
    item from last year:
    Stacey Patton, a.k.a. Black Jesus, made an appearance on the Northeast Regional headed to Trenton.
    Patton, a journalism professor at Howard University…was in business class on an Amtrak train from D.C. when she decided she’d had enough of The Guy.
    You’ve seen him. Manspreading, maskless, perhaps, voice booming through the quiet of a train, Metro, bus, space…..her tale:
    “There is a white man.Southern.Loud. And important.
    Let’s call him Chuck.
    I’m about 8 rows behind him. He’s been on his cellphone since we boarded. He’s talking loud, as if he’s in his home office….
    HERE’S MY CELL NUMBER. SEVEN ZERO THREE … ”.
    I w    rite down his number.
    I dial *67 then 1-703- …
    “GIMME A SEC. GOT ANOTHER CALL COMIN’ THROUGH. YELLL-OOOO?”    
    I whisper. “Hello, this is Black Jesus calling. I’m riding on Northeast bound train 176. I hope y’all find the right interns for your search. You will make it to New Brunswick in time for that teams meeting. I also think your pitch for the new project, with some minor adjustments, will be well received by the rest of the team. And I recommend either the Frog and the Peach or Steakhouse 85 for dinner.
    But for right now, Imma need you to     lower your voice while riding this train.
    In my name, Amen.”
    Click.
    Dude actually stood up and looked around frantically. I kept looking at my computer like I’m not Black Jesus.”

  89. 89.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @hueyplong: I live in Madison, WI, a place that is pretty trans-friendly.  It would not shock me at all to find that there are trans people here who would not want to be named in a article out of concern for their personal safety.  And, yes, this is a bad thing and a sign of a nationwide problem.  It is, of course, a matter of focus (the whole point of the glass analogy, I realize).

  92. 92.

    suzanne

    @Betty Cracker: A few years ago, I happened to be in DC for the first anniversary of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. There were vendors in front selling red caps that read MAKE OBAMA PRESIDENT AGAIN in white letters. I, unfortunately, did not have enough cash on me.

  94. 94.

    scav

    @catclub: That struck me as well — BIL must have a seriously elevated ability to not integrate what he sees and what he believes.

  97. 97.

    Marmot

    Couldn’t find the actual Apr. NBC News poll, but the write-up has that graphic. It’s reporting all respondents saying the US should do more to be lgbtq tolerant.
    But also includes this:

    The poll found a small plurality of those surveyed believed “we have gone too far in accepting transgender people.” In total, 48% in the poll said they agreed with that statement, while 43% said the nation has “gone far enough in ending discrimination against transgender people” — a 5-point gap.

    Which is weird. Nobody says “do more”?

    Really emphasizes the importance of how a question is asked of random dum-dums.

  98. 98.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Betty Cracker: I do think the right is screwing up by lumping in anti-gay stuff with the anti-trans stuff–the TERFs and other transphobes have been trying hard to drive a wedge between trans rights and the rest of the LGBT coalition, and the laws to ban gay-rights advocacy in schools and the yelling about Pride parades are just a complete faceplant there, because gay rights are popular. Really broadly popular. And there isn’t much evidence of that changing–the rainbow stuff in Florida is just going away out of fear, but there’s a lot of pushback even among fairly conservative people who think DeSantis went too far, and I don’t see any Gleichschaltung in people’s thoughts. Not yet at least.

  100. 100.

    Tony Jay

    @Rachel Bakes:

    Makes your blood boil, doesn’t it? Hard to prove, though, which is the ‘beauty’ of it. “Oh, we just felt that someone else was right for that job” is so easy to say, even if what they really mean is pretty damned obvious.

  101. 101.

    UncleEbeneezer

    That only 38% of Republicans think we would be more tolerant of LGBBTQIA people is not surprising at all.  Two-out-of-three Republicans resenting advances on LGBTQ rights over the past decade seems exactly right.  What is frustrating is the amount of gaslighting that happens anytime we point out that yes, Republicans are mostly homophobic and still opposed to expanding LGBTQ Rights.  People bring up their Republican friends and family members and how their totally cool with their gay co-worker/kid etc.  But most have us know damn well that many of those Republicans just stay silent for social reasons and would happily allow LGBTQ People to be stripped of their rights and respect in a heartbeat so long as they don’t personally get the stigma of doing it.  Much like with racism, it is entirely fair to assume a Conservative/Republican is  LGBTQ-phobic until they do something to prove otherwise.  And even then, I wouldn’t expect much.  Anyone who is seriously, passionately pro-LGBTQ wouldn’t want to be associated with the GOP.

  102. 102.

    Tony Jay

    @Ocotillo:

    I assume it does. Once they’ve got an idea in their cork-thick heads it’s damned hard to shift without dynamite or the direction of one of their trusted Oracles of OAN.

  105. 105.

    Matt McIrvin

    @UncleEbeneezer: The question at this point is really whether transphobes are going to succeed in driving a wedge between LGB rights and trans rights, because trans rights are where the split in public opinion currently is. But the Republicans don’t seem to be going about it in an effective way because a majority of them are homophobes too. The median American may be OK with LGB and not so sure what they feel about T, but there’s not a large American constituency pushing this split like there might be in, say, the UK. I’m encouraged that even very mainstream Democrats like, say, the President are largely standing firm on this; they’ve been occasionally wishy-washy on the trans athletes issue but there’s no big move to throw the trans under the bus.

  106. 106.

    Tony Jay

    @Kent:

    Not a clue. Could the SNP be a hive of financial scum and villainy? Sure, it’s a political Party, isn’t it? OTOH, could it be a lot of performative hounding designed to create a lot of pre-Election smoke without much in the way of fire? That’s just as likely.

    I bet we don’t find out until a timeframe of a few months either side of the General Election. If there’s fire, we’ll find out before splashed across every London-based newspaper and multiple BBC SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS, if it’s just smoke, the lack of any evidence to proceed on will whimper out like an old dog’s fart and barely get coverage.

  107. 107.

    Amir Khalid

    @Kent:

    Last I heard, the cops had released her without filing any charges, which was the same thing they did with her husband a few days ago.

  108. 108.

    Bupalos

     

    @hueyplong:

    I wish we could reorient a bit away from amplifying danger and dread to amplifying freedom and hope. The reactionaries are essentially following a terrorist playbook to reduce the visibility of the nonconforming. It’s their only play. And we boost its prospects with the glass half empty AND MAYBE FULL OF POISON!!!! stuff.

    There’s never been more support for trans lives in the United States. We’re winning. Even if we’re still in a place where courage and heroes are needed, we’re also in a place where courage and heroes live. In every corner of this country.

  110. 110.

    geg6

    @OverTwistWillie: ​
     

    Wow. Nice to see that the entire world is being defenestrated of high level scum and not just the US. The last week or so has really made me re-think that not believing in hell thing.

  112. 112.

    Soprano2

    This is funny. Not as good as Alexandra Petri, but a close second.

    I don’t want to live in a country where Trump could be held accountable

    Rex Huppke, USA TODAY
    Sun, June 11, 2023 at 3:00 AM CDT

  114. 114.

    Betty Cracker

    @Bupalos: Great points. The danger and dread are real, and there’s nothing wrong with saying so, IMO; in fact, I think it’s necessary. I personally find it astounding that there were LGBTQ people in Florida who weren’t acutely aware of the threat Repubs posed to their safety and freedom until it was a fait accompli, but it’s a fact. So yeah, we should shout the danger and dread from the rooftops, but the overall framing should be freedom and hope. That’s the alternative path — the goal of kicking the fascists out. Freedom and hope.

  117. 117.

    Matt McIrvin

    @geg6: A lot of our most famously energetic bigots and authoritarians were Silent Generation types born in the 1930s, and they’re just getting old.

    Of course, a lot of decent activists and progressives (including a surprising number of people we associated with Boomer culture) were too, and we’ve had some tough years of them dying off.

  118. 118.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Matt McIrvin: You mean “Transgender People.”

    “The trans” is a Transphobic.

    I largely agree.  I suspect that most Republicans aren’t passionate about stripping back LGBTQ rights, or even Trans Rights in particular, but they are generally LGBTQ-phobic and are latching onto Trans Athletes and GAC for kids etc., as the one place where they can still express their resentment with a tiny modicum of plausible deniability.  Unfortunately the freaks that make up the MAGA base and control the GOP primary and State races, actually DO hate LGBTQ People and want to ruin their lives.  Most Independents probably feel like “who cares?” but also don’t really object to, and will largely overlook Transphobic bullshit from the GOP.

  119. 119.

    JWR

    @Chris Johnson:

    MAKE AMERICA GAAAY AGAIN

    A friend of mine down San Diego way actually has a MAGayA cap. She posted a selfie of herself standing in front of a real MAGA booth, smiling ear to ear. ;)

  121. 121.

    Matt McIrvin

    @UncleEbeneezer: sorry, been hanging out in fora with a lot of trans people who talk about themselves in flippant ways that probably sound bad coming from me.

  122. 122.

    rikyrah

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I do think the right is screwing up by lumping in anti-gay stuff with the anti-trans stuff

    Because their goal was to get back to the anti-gay stuff which was always simmering right beneath the surface. The anti-trans stuff was their way to get back to the anti-gay stuff, which, for them never left.

  124. 124.

    JWR

    20, 20, 24 hours to go-oh-oh
    Don’t wanna be indicted
    No docs to steal, no folders to show
    Don’t wanna be indicted

    Just get me to the airport, put me on a plane
    Hurry, hurry, hurry before I steal again
    I can’t control my fingers, I can’t control my brain
    Oh, no, oh-oh, oh-oh

    Improvements welcome. ;)

  125. 125.

    rikyrah

    @Matt McIrvin:

    The question at this point is really whether transphobes are going to succeed in driving a wedge between LGB rights and trans rights,

     

    But, see, they are pushing for the extermination of trans folks.

    As I’ve written before.

    If the other side is pro-trans genocide….

    there is no middle ground.

    If you are a decent human being, you must be anti-genocide.

  126. 126.

    hueyplong

    @Bupalos: I understand your point about not giving in to terror (“half-empty glass is FULL OF POISON”), but the fact is that the person talking to the reporter was in fear and it seems like the media needs to amplify the point that that’s a bad thing that needs to change.  The biggest problem today is 24-hr propaganda that pretends to be “news,” but the second biggest problem is not calling evil evil because it’s just “the other side of the equation.”

    Or something like that.

  127. 127.

    Suzanne

    @rekoob: I have to confirm with my boss that our team event isn’t on Thursday night. He said “likely Wednesday”. So I’ll come comment tonight and update!

  128. 128.

    Matt McIrvin

    @rikyrah: I think a lot of the really visceral horror of trans people actually comes from internalized homophobia–the worry that if gender boundaries are blurred, you might feel a sexual attraction to the “wrong” type of person that could be argued to make you gay. So they have to impose rules on the whole world to help them police themselves.

  129. 129.

    EthylEster

    I am puzzled by the Sutton Hoo reference. Maybe it’s because the featured work is in the style of the Anglo Saxon armor recovered at the Suffolk site where the ship was buried. I am reading The Dig right now. Evidently there is Netflix movie.

  131. 131.

    Geminid

    Don’t say Gay?

    Yesterday Turkish journalist Ragip Soylu tweeted video of President Erdogan and United Arab Emirates President Al Nahyan walking out of an Istanbul restaurant. They were holding hands!

    More seriously, Al Nahyan’s visit is quite a turnaround for Turkish-UAE relations. The two countries’ relations were quite frosty three years ago. Turkey and the UAE backing opposite sides of the Libyan civil war, and the UAE and other Gulf states still maintained an economic embargo of Qatar, a Turkish ally.

    Now “MBZ,” as Al Nahyan is known, has come with $30 billion in proposed investments, while his country has ordered a number of Bayraktar combat drones. On his part, President Erdogan presented  Al Nahyan with a shiny white Turkish-made sedan.

  132. 132.

    James E Powell

    @Quinerly:

    Ann Coulter was also U Michigan law, Coif, and Federalist Society. As an Insufferable Buckeye, I say the U M Law school has a lot to answer for.

  133. 133.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @LiminalOwl: I think Berlusconi overlaps with a trip where we were in Italy and W was in power here in the US. When we confessed to a waitress at a cafe we’d been patronizing all week that we were Americans, we also told her we’d been very shy about admitting it.

    “Why?” she asked.

    “Because we’re ashamed that our country is being run by criminals” we said.

    “But now you’re like the rest of us” she laughed.

  136. 136.

    Skepticat

    In the photo of Maura Healy, the woman to her left in the dark blue shirt is my friend Kimberly Driscoll, the lieutenant governor. They make a fabulous team!

  137. 137.

    Anyway

    @Geminid:

    Yesterday Turkish journalist Ragip Soylu tweeted video of President Erdogan and United Arab Emirates President Al Nahyan walking out of an Istanbul restaurant. They were holding hands!

    I think it’s Middle Eastern custom for het men to hold hands on occasion. Remember the pic of Dubya and the Saudi king.

  140. 140.

    Quinerly

    @James E Powell:

    Totally agree re Michigan. I was just middle of my class at Saint Louis University School oCourt. Class of 1985. Over 35 years working in the credit and collection biz. Paper pusher with  litigation experience in 2 states and in Federal court.

    There IS, though, a lot of difference between a firebrand pundit who is paid to say salacious shit and a federal court judge. At least, I still hope so.

    I have to have some faith in our system of justice.

  141. 141.

    Kent

    @Ocotillo:

    Forgive my ignorance but is Portland a smoldering, pile of rubble only outdone by Bakmut (sp.)?  My MAGA BIL was in town last month for Mother’s Day (he lives in Seattle) and in a conversation about visiting the Pacific Northwest, I expressed a desire to see Portland since I have never been and he advised against it making it sound like a war zone.  Does this still persist in wingnut land?

    I must confess about BIL though, at the Mom’s Day gathering he is showing cracks in his support of former guy.

    Come visit.  Portland’s fine.  We live in the suburbs but I just spent the day with my daughter visiting famous Powell’s bookstore and nearby record shops this past weekend before getting dinner.  I’m not sure why Portland triggers the MAGA crowd so much.  I have relatives who live near Cleveland lecturing me about Portland because they read about a Starbucks closing on FOX news.  CLEVELAND.

    Yes you will probably see homeless but that is the same in every other American city.  And there is also crime, which is also the same in every American city.  But it isn’t particularly different.

  142. 142.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Mr DAW’s gerontologist thinks he has Parkinson’s Disease and referred him to a neurology practice. The first available appointment with a Parkinson’s specialist is September 20.

    I’ve thought he had Parkinson’s for a while now, and he kept saying no way. So I suppose a little more delay won’t make that much difference.

  143. 143.

    jonas

    @UncleEbeneezer:  Unfortunately the freaks that make up the MAGA base and control the GOP primary and State races, actually DO hate LGBTQ People and want to ruin their lives.  Most Independents probably feel like “who cares?” but also don’t really object to, and will largely overlook Transphobic bullshit from the GOP.

    Yep. It’s coming from the religious right who think they can make this their last stand to vindicate their fundamentalist interpretation of sex and gender in the Bible. Like all their other attempts to attack queer people, starting with Anita Bryant’s crusade in the 70’s (btw, there’s another one the hell gate is welcome to take this week if it wants — ed.), this too will fail. Because it crashes against the hard rocks of reality: as more and more gay and trans people come out and most Americans, even in rural parts of the country, can probably say they know at least one queer person, it’s clear they are just your normal neighbors trying to get along just like you. And the bible thumpers just look more and more out of touch with reality.

  150. 150.

    Fair Economist

    @Tony Jay:

    I bet we don’t find out until a timeframe of a few months either side of the General Election. If there’s fire, we’ll find out before splashed across every London-based newspaper and multiple BBC SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS, if it’s just smoke, the lack of any evidence to proceed on will whimper out like an old dog’s fart and barely get coverage.

    I will bet that the Tories and their media lackeys will use the anti-Hillary tactics of announcing BBC SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS even if there’s nothing there.

  152. 152.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: Yes, walking hand in hand is a public expression of respect and friendship between leaders- in this case, two fairly powerful ones. As someone commented about the scene, there are real changes going on in that region, hopefully for the better.

  153. 153.

    Quinerly

    This ex lawyer can’t quit talking.

    Tim Parlatore interview w/ @jaketapper: – says “absolutely right” storage was “not secure” – admits 2 Chinese national intruders at MAL – admits Indictment strong – admits allegations really serious – says kept in dark on moving boxes to avoid searches

  155. 155.

    rekoob

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Suzanne is on assignment in Philadelphia this week. She’ll know better once she gets there and can confirm whether this Thursday, 15 June, would work. I’ll be in Wilmington that afternoon and I’d be happy to meet wherever makes sense.

  157. 157.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    update on Florida Man

    Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1. 36m

    NBC News: Trump’s arraignment can’t go forward unless he finds local counsel — and it’s unclear whether he has.

    At least one prominent Miami-based defense attorney has turned down Trump.

    If Trump doesn’t find local counsel, the surrender and first appearance will still happen, but the arraignment may have to be postponed. 

    yesterday there were some quotes floating around, one lawyer said, off the record, his firm wouldn’t take the case, another said “My wife would leave me, and my kids would stop speaking to me”

  159. 159.

    gvg

    @Betty Cracker: Its because of the guns, and the culture that has been stressing that the second amendment is so that we have recourse if the “government” becomes tyrannical aka its alright to murder people you disagree with. That is the problem with standing up for ANYTHING in recent times.  It means that if you run for small town city councilman and face up to responsibility and raise some small tax or condemn some land to widen a road, you might get shot.  Speak up at a school board meeting, you might get shot. Wear the wrong short, you might get shot.  That is why it is so extremely dangerous for trans people right now. They are new different. Most of us had barely heard of them a few years ago…and we have a political party that has been used to using demonization to keep its voters engaged for decades…going back to red scares in the 30’s. They did used to have other tools like fiscal responsibility (that was more realistic than now though not really correct then either), and a foreign policy vision, but now, they have nothing left.  nothing. And their prior targets became accepted or not so scary anymore, they needed a new boogyman. An unknown type is actually good if they get to invent it in public.

    I think I may just tell them how much I resent them messing with my healthcare as an ordinary woman. telling them I notice that they think an employer has any right to tell me what birth control I take, a random pharmicist can meddle in whats none of their business, they can cause womens death because they won’t face the fact that childbirth is risky and doesn’t always go right. And fuck rapists and everything to do with them etc. They are trying to use trans panic they create as another tool to reduce women’s rights too. I am for trans rights, but I notice that it all ties together and for those who aren’t for trans rights, you better pay attention. It’s really an attack on everyones rights.

  161. 161.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @rekoob: OK thanks. I just signed on to an obligation at 5 pm on Thursday, so I hope that fits in with the meetup.

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Doesn’t the public defender have to take him if nobody else will? (Edit: I see I’m too slow, as usual)

    Another thought: Surely George Santos could conjure up the necessary credentials by tomorrow afternoon.​

  162. 162.

    Quinerly

    @eclare:

    You’re welcome. I like Will Bunch quite a bit. Try to read most of his pieces. I think he’s underappreciated.

  164. 164.

    cmorenc

    @eclare:

    The detail in the cat armor is amazing.  People come up with the most unusual hobbies.

    A truly unusual (and perverse) hobby would by trying to get cats to actually wear the cat armor.  You might need thick gloves up to your shoulders and a protective face mask with safety goggles to even attempt it.

  165. 165.

    Quinerly

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Personally, I think Trump will really start to scrape the bottom of the barrel attorney wise. I’m thinking the Federalist Society types that are aligned with him won’t want the headaches and crap that goes with him. It’s not even about money anymore.

  166. 166.

    Anyway

    @Geminid:

    Yes, walking hand in hand is a public expression of respect and friendship between leaders- in this case, two fairly powerful ones. As someone commented about the scene, there are real changes going on in that region, hopefully for the better.

    yep, the region is pretty anti-LGBT, lots of work to be done there.

  168. 168.

    cmorenc

    @Tony Jay:

    I think it does. If 38% of Republicans asked are willing to say that their Party needs to be more tolerant and accepting of a minority every single MAGOP with a spot of ambition is rabidly othering, that’s a major split on a major Party policy.

    True, that may create an exploitable split, but likely a far smaller one from this issue than the 38% polling might suggest when it comes to how they will actually vote..  Tax and regulation policy are more important values to many GOP voters than anti-gay bigotry, though just enough of them may decide to sit on their hands come election time to make a big difference in otherwise tossup or slightly R-leaning districts and states.

  170. 170.

    smith

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: In another thread I suggested that he will eventually run out of lawyers willing to beclown themselves, and will decide to represent himself. Not only would the comedy be almost unbearable, but Judge Cannon would have the good time she deserves.

  171. 171.

    gene108

    @Suzanne:

    So, if you and anyone else who has shitty family members is in the Philadelphia area on Thursday (I think), we may have a meetup.

    I’m in

  172. 172.

    eclare

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    He confessed in that atrocious CNN town hall that he took the papers, “they’re mine.”  He also lied to Corcoran and had another lawyer sign a lie to the FBI that all documents had been returned.  Besides the non-payment and hit to reputation, any attorney who represents him is potentially looking at jail time themselves.

  173. 173.

    Quinerly

    @Kristine:

    Great piece…dovetails into what I just mentioned. I really think Trump is going to start having problems finding qualified and top notch counsel. No matter how much an attorney is a true believer, it comes to a point it might not be worth it to even try to represent him. Sure, lawyers have egos and I think a lot of the past attys thought they could be “the ONE.” But there is a clear pattern and trail left in the dust. Can you imagine just trying to get him to shut up so you can run through what he is facing? Just trying to say to the ex president, “can you focus on this? These are very serious charges.” Trump is in rally mode 24/7, I suspect. An atty trying to help him and sort thru this is going to be faced with a grievance filled rally speech coming at him or her non stop.  And, I think there a lot more to come. If I was a gambler, I would put my money on Smith still holding a lot of cards we don’t know about. No good atty likes being blindsided.

  175. 175.

    Matt McIrvin

    @gvg:

    That is why it is so extremely dangerous for trans people right now. They are new different. Most of us had barely heard of them a few years ago…

    We’ve been hearing about them for a long time, but mostly as exceptional objects of novelty. I recall so-called “sex-change operations” being an object of pop-culture fascination in the 1970s. Often the coverage of trans people would be ostensibly positive but with this leering, exploitative angle, like it was a freak show or something vaguely naughty.

    I think what’s different is that people are starting to realize how many trans people there really are, that these are people you’ll meet in your own life–it’s not a large minority but it’s enough that most people could know one, and most people probably have met some whether they knew it or not. And that triggers the threat reaction from people who are afraid of any kind of change.

  176. 176.

    cliosfanboy

    @SiubhanDuinne: I believe the Wikigod is correct. I had just started working on my degree at Ohio University* then.

    *The real one, in Athens. Circa 1803. Not the football team with a school attached founded many years later in Columbus.

  177. 177.

    Kristine

    @Quinerly:

    Can you imagine just trying to get him to shut up so you can run through what he is facing? Just trying to say to the ex president, “can you focus on this? These are very serious charges.” Trump is in rally mode 24/7, I suspect.

    Then there are his medical issues. It wouldn’t surprise me if defense threw “diminished capacity” at the wall to see if it stuck. Trump would likely howl, but if it was a choice between that and “special administrative measures” in Florence, Colorado..?

  178. 178.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: The region likely won’t see much progress on LGBTQ issues anytime soon. Turkiye may even go backwards some.

    On the other hand, Yemen is more or less peaceful now for the first time in ten years. Detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran may have ended what the UN called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, while there seems to be a durable ceasefire in Libya as well.

    The effects of George Bush’s Iraq invasion are still felt in the region, but 20 years later the nations there are starting to patch the neighborhood up. There are still conflicts and broader problems, but these look soluble now in a way they did not 4 years ago.

  179. 179.

    hueyplong

    @eclare: Most lawyers don’t see themselves actually doing jail time as a result of their representation, but they really hate the idea of becoming witnesses, and in this case the chance of that happening is a lot more than merely hypothetical.  It’s already happened.

    It takes an especially intense apparatchik to sign up for that, plus not getting paid, plus a public fragging from Trump at some point down the line.

  180. 180.

    worn

    @catclub: It gets even better. I was eating lunch with my Dad a couple of weeks ago with my Dad (who moved up here with my sister last year). By chance we were served by an elderly, wingnut racist waitress.  As part of the unsolicited conversation that followed (in which she assumed my Dad shared her views because had moved from Texas), we were informed that Portland had been burnt down. It was such a bizarro world claim; I’m like “Ma’am, where did you hear this? It’s literally 10 min up the freeway. You could go see for yourself.”

  182. 182.

    Quinerly

    @Kristine:

    I don’t see Trump allowing his attys to use that as a defense. He would have to ok it.

    ****

    So I had a dream last night…in it Trump started to try to make a deal after 1/6 while still in office with the Saudis about what he was stealing regarding docs. Smith has the goods. That case would be brought in DC.

    My entire life I have heard dreams can come true……

    Dreams aside…I truly believe we have several more shoes, if not, boots to drop.

  183. 183.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Now I want to see Erdogan and Senate Foreign Relations Chsirman Robert Menendez meet in a closed room. They could yell at each other for a couple hours about Swedish NATO membership, American F-16s, and Turkish-Greek relations. Then they could come out holding hands.

    Erdogan and Menendez actually have a lot in common. They’re both 69 years old, corrupt, and very stubborn.

  184. 184.

    Betty Cracker

    @gvg: You are 100% correct; it’s an attack on everyone’s rights. I think the way Gov. Whitmer in Michigan frames these issues is really effective, i.e., people should have personal freedom and right-wing extremists should mind their own goddamn business.

  187. 187.

    smith

    @Quinerly: Hah! That’s my dream too!

    All along with the Trump saga, it’s been a mind-boggling exercise to see how far TFG can ratchet down without losing his base. We’ve learned that sexual assault won’t do, flagrant corruption won’t do, an attempted coup won’t do, criminal misuse of national secrets won’t do. Maybe outright provable espionage? Maybe not. We may have to get to the real-life enactment of the proverbial shooting on 5th Avenue.

  188. 188.

    Baud

    @smith:

    The biggest problem for Trump is that, from the perspective of his base, he’s getting owned by the libs rather than owning the libs.

  189. 189.

    Quinerly

    @smith:

    I have the Saudis on my mind a lot lately. Jared. And now the PGA/LIV deal. Call it a gut feeling that I am now having literal dreams about. True Story.

  191. 191.

    Soprano2

    @Quinerly: My vote is for corrupt, because if she’s actually no dumbass how did the special master even happen? A special master never should have been appointed.

  193. 193.

    sdhays

    @Quinerly: Being good at academics doesn’t mean a person is smart, but she was a federal prosecutor for 7 years, so she must have been able to appear to understand the law since she wasn’t fired during those years.

    But it’s clear that she has very poor judgement (one look at that picture where she’s all dressed up in MAGAT gear and face paint, while she was a federal prosecutor, should remove any doubt about that), so it’s virtually impossible she can be a good judge. And her performance so far in this case was clearly corrupt.

  194. 194.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Speaking of corruption, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid testified today at Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corruption trial. According to Middle East Eye:

        The Yesh Atid party chief spoke of his interactions with Netanyahu in 2013 when he served as his finance minister.

    Lapid’s testimony concerned Case 1000, in which Netanyahu is accused of winning a tax break for “Hollywood tycoon” Arnon Milchan and then accepting $170,000 worth of gifts to himself and his wife. Netanyahu’s trial on that and two other counts has proceeded in fits and halts since April, 2021.

  195. 195.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Matt McIrvin:

    What I can’t yet get a sense for is the trend, whether the transphobes are gaining or losing people

    Well, since 20 years ago 1 in 4 trans women were murdered, I’d say the trend is positive.  Normies and even the younger, recent trans folks have no idea how gigantically culture has shifted on this, and how fast.  I have close friends in the older trans contingent and have gotten an up-close view all this time.

    15 years ago, mainstream culture viewed trans women as freaks, targets, and ‘men in dresses’ who were the universal butt of jokes.  That latter is why so many older comedians are complaining now.  Forget conservatives.  Almost everyone was after you.

    Trans men were viewed as lesbians.  Yes, I’m aware of how wildly inaccurate that is.

    Conservatives are trying to enforce with laws what American culture used to enforce for them.

  197. 197.

    RaflW

    @Tony Jay: There was a different poll the other day that showed 38% of likely GOP primary voters believe it is a national security risk for Trump to retain military/nuke documents. 80% of normies think this about TFG & our state secrets.

    Seems the GOP is “only” about 2/3rds (or perhaps 3/5ths) crazy rather than full-on. Definitely insufficient to wrest control back from the insurrectionists and treason-wanters, tho.

  198. 198.

    Quinerly

    @sdhays:

    Thanks for weighing in. I somehow missed that pic of her.

    I like to be hopeful….I hope she recuses. No matter what a true believer she is, there could be a chance she just doesn’t want the hassle/grief.

  200. 200.

    cain

    @James E Powell: Seems like once you get attached to the federalist society you lose all your brain matter. It’s the fox news for the judiciary

    ETA #200 – my my, it’s been awhile.

  201. 201.

    Quinerly

    @sdhays:

    And you are correct about being good at academics….

    The guy who was #1 in my class, editor of law review, big in moot court, Order of the Coif….courted by all the big firms. Anyway, he lasted a couple of years at the top firm in St. Louis. Quit. Became a stay at home dad.

  203. 203.

    cain

    @Anyway: men hold hands all the time in India, boys do as well. It’s a form of male affection there. I don’t think Indians or others are as obsessed on what is feminine and mescaline as we do in the U.S.

  205. 205.

    Ruckus

    @Tony Jay:

    Another way is to wear very dirty, smelly pants and tee shirt and carry a half empty half gallon bottle of that cheap wine that would taste like battery acid if one wasn’t drunk. A bit of history from one of my rides on the Chicago elevated. Which includes the best ejection button story, provided by an obvious daily passenger who didn’t even look up from his newspaper to expedite the rapid exit of said drunk.

  207. 207.

    Tony Jay

    @Fair Economist:

    Oh hell, yeah. I also bet the “It doesn’t matter what comes out, the very fact that there had to be an investigation is proof of a rotten culture” bullshit gets thrown around too.

    I’ve no brief for the SNP. They’re a Nationalist Party who helped keep the Tories in power and gave Flobby his 2019 Election on Brexit because it helped their long term goal, but, there’s no doubt that the national UK media will now shit all over them using any smear they can as long as both main English parties are resolutely status quo, non-progressive and safe.

    @cmorenc:

    Sure , that 38% is obviously overwhelmingly going to vote Red 4 Danger eventually, but that many being willing to say they disagree with what is basically the MAGOP signature policy is something that could, possibly, lead to 1% of them staying home, maybe even more than that. What would that do to tight races in marginal seats? Only good things, hopefully.

    @RaflW:

    Republicans in Disarray is only beneficial to mainstream human society. They want a War? Let them have it with each other.

  210. 210.

    CliosFanBoy

    @worn:

    Stories like that remind me of one I read sometime ago. The narrator was out with a female friend who was a fundamentalist Christian. The fundy insisted that you could not see the Moon in the daytime because the Bible said so (it doesn’t FWIW). The narrator pointed out that it was daytime and if the woman looked up, she could see the Moon. The fundy refused, absolutely refused to lift her head to see.

  211. 211.

    JWR

    @Geminid:

    … Is the painted MAGA lady in that picture in fact Judge Cannon? Some people say she’s not.

    The only place I’ve seen that image is from an article in Slate, and the caption doesn’t identify either woman, so for the time being I say no, it ain’t her. But who knows?

  212. 212.

    Captain C

    @Kent:

    I’m not sure why Portland triggers the MAGA crowd so much.

    They saw Portlandia and thought it was a documentary about the most conservative elements of Portland, perhaps?

  218. 218.

    JPL

    @Quinerly:  This shows the difference between republicans and democrats.  Democrats tend to fix their errors, while republicans just continue to lie.

  219. 219.

    Kay

    @worn:

    By chance we were served by an elderly, wingnut racist waitress.  As part of the unsolicited conversation that followed

    People who complain about wokeness never mention this- how we’re all unwillingly subjected to the views of wingnuts constantly. If you were a conservative and the waitress had espoused liberal views you would be organizing a boycott of the restaurant.
    I avoid a certain checker at my local supermarket because she does these weird hushed voice wingnut rants, like she has been warned by management to stop and she’s afraid she will get caught.

  222. 222.

    Ken

    @Juju: It makes me wonder if Henry Kissinger feels like he has a cosmic target on his back these days?

    If so he’ll be calling Lucifer’s private number, screaming “We made a deal!”

  223. 223.

    Bupalos

    @gvg: so I grew up with a trans sister in the 1970’s and 80’s who I knew as my clearly mentally tortured, unsupported, unbearable brother. Then as my healthier but very much at-risk sister in the 90’s and 00’s, who’s family was learning how to be what she needed.. And finally as my increasingly confortable and safe sister in the 10’s and 20’s who’s support network and social place only improves.

    Yes my heart breaks to hear the open bigotry and politicization of what was previously much quieter. Much quieter but more deadly. From my experience you are very wrong to think of this as an especially dangerous time to be trans. It’s always been very dangerous and still is. But comparitively this really is the best time so far, and we’ll continue to make it better.

    I’m very concerned with portreying this time as especially dangerous because that is exactly the condition the opponents of progress are trying to achieve. To scare people out of a willingness to be seen and scare others out of willingness to support. Visibility and support is how we continue to move down this road towards freedom for all of us and future generations.

  224. 224.

    EthylEster

    @Spanky: yeah, that’s the place. But how his art related to Muslim armor? Or crusader armor? It does strongly resemble the Anglo Saxon armor found at Sutton Hoo.

  227. 227.

    Ruckus

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I believe that they want rules that make it so they don’t have to make a decision or more important to them, that their kids don’t have the possibility to make one. They want a structured world, because that’s the way they see everything. Without structure they have to be responsible for their own lives and that is beyond them.

  228. 228.

    Chris T.

    @smith:

    We may have to get to the real-life enactment of the proverbial shooting on 5th Avenue.

    His defenders will just shrug and say “They’re New Yorkers, so they were liberal scum, and they deserved it.”

  230. 230.

    Ruckus

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Especially since Trump is such an impossible client.

    Can you imagine trying to tell a 250+lb 2 yr old to shut the hell up before the court slaps him down so hard, he’ll wish his diaper was empty?

  231. 231.

    Tony Jay

    @2liberal:

    The resting bitch face is more professional.

    But not always exactly off putting. See Ritter, Krysten: The Career Of.

Comments are closed.