Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Trump should be leading, not lying.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

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

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

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

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Fight them, without becoming them!

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Everybody saw this coming.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread + Legal Zoom Reminder (Tonight 7 pm)

Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread + Legal Zoom Reminder (Tonight 7 pm)

by | 42 Comments

This post is in: 

They say timing is everything!

As you no doubt have surmised, we relied our secret insider information when we scheduled the legal zoom for tonight.

Zoom is at 7 pm blog time (aka Eastern time).

I have sent out the zoom links, so if you didn’t get yours, let me know so I can remedy that.

Totally open thread!

Reader Interactions

42Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Thanks for emailing the link! I’m looking forward to another great ImmZoom.

  7. 7.

    frosty

    Regarding the tweet: I really hope it stops the Mad King. Because when I read a) his plans to wreck the federal government an install an authoritarian state and b) that Biden only won the EC by 40,000 votes, it makes me very anxious.

  10. 10.

    Villago Delenda Est

    May the armies of justice lay waste to Merde-A-Loser, to Bedminister, to Trump Tower.  Pillage and burn, armies of justice.  Pillage and burn.

  11. 11.

    Elizabelle

    A reader comment (by Zed) on WaPost story about Phoenix’s streak of 110 degree days (19 in a row; ouch!):

    A Brief Timeline of Climate Change Denial

    Not Real 1980-2008 =>Real but not man made 2009-2022 =>Oh F*#K 2023

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    No word at all on any target letter to Roger Stone.  Or Steve Bannon.

    I would guess they are in Jack Smith’s crosshairs, too.

  13. 13.

    patrick II

    Too bad so many of you are going to be at the Zoom call.  I am going to be watching the reboot of Justified — Justified: City Primeval — on FX this evening.  O.K. it will also be streaming on Hulu, but otherwise set your (I almost said VCR) … your recorders whatever they are called nowa days.

  14. 14.

    Suzanne

    @Elizabelle: I remember Phoenix’s record-setting day of 122 back in 1990.

    Nothing will change there until people have to bear the cost. Air conditioning, water, etc.

  16. 16.

    Elizabelle

    @mrmoshpotato:  And then it got hotter!  WaPost:

    PHOENIX — In a city used to blazing summers, a historic heat wave set a new benchmark Tuesday: Temperatures reached 110 degrees on a 19th-consecutive day here, according to preliminary National Weather Service data.

    And then they kept climbing: The mercury hit 112 by 12:35 p.m., less than an hour later. The hot streak is not expected to end soon, meaning old records will be shattered. High temperatures are forecast to reach 115 degrees or hotter for at least the next week.

    “With the rapid population growth of Phoenix and how many people have been moving here, it is very likely that these are the highest temperatures that many Phoenicians have ever experienced,” said David Hondula, director of the city’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation.

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    @Suzanne:  WaPost earlier this week, about Phoenix having a reliable electricity grid.  I hope so.  They were estimating that you could have 13,000 deaths if it failed during a heat wave.

    The story really made me think:  terrorists.  Behold your next World Trade Center.

    WaPost:

    A Phoenix power outage amid a heat wave could possibly kill thousands, study says

    If the city were to lose power for air conditioning, roughly half the city could end up in the emergency room

    As the heat wave scorching millions of people across the Southwest intensifies, the upcoming days will be a test for Phoenix.

    Temperatures are forecast to soar to among the worst in history and set records for electricity demand. Experts worry that this combination could create a nightmare scenario: a brutal heat wave and multiday blackout that, according to one study, could kill thousands of people and send half the city to the emergency room.
    “A blackout during a heat wave is probably the most threatening climate event we can imagine,” said Brian Stone Jr., the lead author of the study and a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of City and Regional Planning.

    To be clear, the likelihood of such a scenario — especially one as dire as the paper foreshadows — is low in a city such as Phoenix, where city officials and electricity providers say the power grid is highly reliable. However, the risk is heightened during severe heat waves, which hike regional demand for power and compromise the functioning of energy infrastructure.

    The threat is not limited to Phoenix: Two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls this summer, particularly during periods of extreme demand, according to a report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

    Meanwhile, 108 million Americans are under heat alerts as unforgiving temperatures bake much of the Lower 48. In addition to the Southwest, where temperatures could climb as high as 130 degrees, the nation’s three most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — are facing triple-digit temperatures. The magnitude and duration of the heat is setting records.
    …

    The study’s researchers simulated what would happen if the residents of Phoenix, Atlanta and Detroit were struck by a heat wave and a complete blackout that lasts 48 hours before power starts to be incrementally restored. The outcomes were deadly in all three cities, but the results for Phoenix were particularly striking, where almost everyone in the city relies on air conditioning to weather extreme heat. The study predicted that about half the population would require emergency department care and about 13,000 would die.

    “Phoenix has a resilient electrical grid, there’s no doubt about it,” Stone said. “But they really haven’t prepared sufficiently for that low-probability but very high-impact event.”

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    @patrick II: Are all the episodes going to be on FX?  Or is it just the first episode?  (First one’s free, then you’re hooked.)

    I wonder if I still get that channel on cable.

  23. 23.

    Miss Bianca

    @patrick II: Would that be a Justified reboot as in Timothy Olyphant playing Raylan Givens? Shoot. I bet they won’t even bother putting this one out on DVD.

  24. 24.

    Anonymous At Work

    Timing really *IS* everything.  I have a prior ZOOM meeting tonight at the same time.

    Just note, best take I’ve seen so far is the effect of a DC judge vs. Aileen as far as rulings.  If she can’t 100% shield Trump from consequences, she has no incentive to risk the rest of reputation forever protecting a person already set to fall.

    And for Michigan fraudulent electors, “I wonder against whom they would testify if they took a deal?”

  26. 26.

    Heidi Mom

    That tweet is a fine example of Game of Thrones imagery.  And of course Jack Smith is a Stark!

  27. 27.

    patrick II

    @WaterGirl:

    It will be on FX.  If you have FX on your cable selections, then you are good.  Most cable shows go to “On Demand” after a day or so.  It will be streaming on Hulu.  I have Youtube tv that has FX, so I am recording it there.  Better than Hulu cause I can FF thru the commercials.  Anyhow, you will figure out a way.

  28. 28.

    patrick II

    @Miss Bianca:

    Yes, Timothy is playing Givens.  The rest of the cast has not been advertised as participating.  The same showrunners though, and based on one an Elmore Leonard book, so between all of that it should have a pretty good “justified” feel.

  30. 30.

    Martin

    @Elizabelle: Phoenix is over 110 every day for the 10 day forecast. There is no end in sight.

    Phoenix would be much better off had they learned to build dwellings like the indigenous people who lived there 2 centuries ago did. They are dying of western hubris.

  32. 32.

    Martin

    @Anonymous At Work: That’s my take on Cannon as well. It’s a twist on the ‘if you come for the king you best not miss’. If you’re going to risk throwing the trial, you better fucking succeed, because if you fail you go down with Trump.

  33. 33.

    Elizabelle

    @Martin:  I was impressed with the old buildings/streets in Valencia, Spain, a few summers back.  You could access shade, and you got a cooling airflow down the (narrow) streets.

    It is hubris to build completely dependent on electricity and HVAC.  I remember us being sent home from work in DC, in the 1980s, because the power failed in our 10 story building.

  34. 34.

    Suzanne

    @Elizabelle:

    They were estimating that you could have 13,000 deaths if it failed during a heat wave.

    The story really made me think:  terrorists.  Behold your next World Trade Center.

     

    I think that’s already known to be a huge potential target. Most of the power in the Phoenix area is provided by the Palo Verde nuclear power plant, which has three reactors. It’s not far outside the city; you can see it from I-10.

    A few years ago, I was reading some list (can’t remember from where) of the biggest terrorist targets in the U.S. Palo Verde was on it, because it’s so proximate to a major city. The heat deaths would be the least of the concerns, in that instance.

  35. 35.

    Suzanne

    @Martin:

    Phoenix would be much better off had they learned to build dwellings like the indigenous people who lived there 2 centuries ago did. They are dying of western hubris. 

    Agreed. But even the midcentury concrete block one-story ranch houses are better than the stick-frame stucco houses built since the mid-80s.

    The first house we lived in when we moved to Phoenix was built in 1988, and it had vaulted ceilings, 24 feet high. Cooling 24 feet of space is just insane.

    Of course, the biggest problem with Phoenix isn’t the buildings themselves, it’s the city pattern. Huge, wide roadways and hardscape. Low-density sprawl. The utility companies won’t let trees grow to shade the roads. Gigantic parking minimums. Huge setbacks. Every decision is just an environmental nightmare.

  36. 36.

    MisterForkbeard

    I’m sad that this started while I have a meeting ongoing. I hope it’s still going when I finish in 15 minutes :(

  38. 38.

    MisterForkbeard

    @WaterGirl: I did not, no :

    If it’s any trouble, don’t worry about it. I’ll catch up later and just start working on dinner a little early.

Comments are closed.