Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

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

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

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Let there be snark.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

No one could have predicted…

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Come on, man.

No Justins, No Peace

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

The words do not have to be perfect.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Another One Bites the Dust

Reader Interactions

213Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    Full disclosure:  I have never listened to the lyrics of this song, so I have no idea what it’s about.

    Except for another one bites the dust, which seemed apropos.

  5. 5.

    mvr

    And it seems the judge not only rejects the argument but makes clear that it didn’t seem to be offered in good faith:

    And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, ala Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic. Regardless, simply being the subject (or target) of an investigation does not yield standing to bring a claim to halt that investigation in court.

    Among other juicy bits.

  6. 6.

    Ken

    @mvr: It sounds about as “good faith” as the old one about murdering your parents and then asking for clemency because you’re an orphan.

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    @mvr: That seems to be the legalese version of “fuck you and the horse you rode in on”.

    I’m here for it.

  9. 9.

    Mousebumples

    @WaterGirl: Full disclosure: I have never listened to the lyrics of this song, so I have no idea what it’s about.

    Highly recommend most Queen songs, though this one isn’t as high on my list.

    Freddie Mercury had an amazing voice.

  11. 11.

    Mike in NC

    (1) Back in 1981, “Another One Bites The Dust” was the unofficial song of my class at Surface Warfare Officer School in San Diego. It meant that another major written exam was done with and we were just a little bit closer to graduation.

    (2) At his last hate rally, Fat Bastard said something about holding up further military aid to Ukraine until they dug up some dirt for him on the Biden family. A sleazy old mobster can never change his tactics.

  12. 12.

    Old School

    @WaterGirl:

    I have never listened to the lyrics of this song, so I have no idea what it’s about.

    It’s about the roughest and toughest of bad guys: Steve.

  13. 13.

    smith

    TFG just can’t get any love from GA, can he? Ever since the famous phone call I’ve been wondering how Rs like Kemp and Raffensperger feel about him now. Here they were, going about the business of skewing the vote in the “respectable” and sorta legal GQP way, by making it hard for those people to vote, and along comes TFG demanding that they just do it the crude-old fashioned way, by “finding” non-existent votes. It must have been embarrassing — what’s a loyal GQP apparatchik to do?

  18. 18.

    bbleh

    @mvr: @dmsilev: “The Court knows exactly what you’re trying to do, you ugly, dilatory and utterly corrupt dickface, and there is no way on this Earth or in the hell to which you are inevitably bound that you’re going to be allowed to get away with it.”

    [pauses and rereads]  “Hmm, better tone that down a little bit …”

  19. 19.

    Betty Cracker

    The Daily Beast has an article about a zoo in China that has been accused of passing off humans in fur suits as bears. A video of one of the bears standing up on its hind legs raised suspicions. The zoo denies the charge:

    The Hangzhou Zoo in eastern China explained on its social media account on Monday that sun bears from Malaysia are smaller and look different to other ursine species, but that they are definitely real animals and not people. “Because of the way they stand, some people online question whether they are ‘humans in disguise,’” the Hangzhou Daily newspaper reported.

    Journalists are going to verify that the animals are bears today. I can see why people suspected the bears were fake — if you click through, there’s a still of a bear standing, and its butt looks like a (flat!) human butt in an excessively baggy bear suit.

  20. 20.

    Jackie

    Now I’m confused. Is the tweet above negating this:?

    From Political Wire:

    “A judge scheduled a hearing on former President Donald Trump’s motion to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia,” ABC News reports.”

    “The motion also seeks to quash the special purpose grand jury report that gathered much of the evidence in the case.”

    “The hearing is set for Thursday, Aug. 10, at 10 a.m., and all briefs on the issue are due two days prior, on Aug. 8. The hearing comes as charges in the case could be imminent — Willis previously said in a letter that she would be announcing her charging decisions by Sept. 1.”

  24. 24.

    mvr

    @Jackie: I had that question myself.

    This language may be relevant (as my a few other bits) but I’m not sure:

    This filing, while it will indubitably generate an appeal, should render moot Civil Action 2023CV382670 as to the supervising judge. In the future, counsel is encouraged to follow the professional standard of inquiring with Chamber’s staff about timing and deadlines before burdening other courts with unnecessary and unfounded legal filings

  26. 26.

    Anonymous At Work

    DO NOT ASSUME THE SUPERVISING JUDGE WAS THE POINT.  The State Supremes struck down TFG’s emergency request for a dismissal as unnecessary and improvident, at the time.  Now, TFG has requested many of the same things, gotten a lower court opinion, and will now appeal with a request for stay/emergency stay.

  30. 30.

    mvr

    @Anonymous At Work: I don’t think people are assuming the supervising judge was the point. The point was mostly to block Willis and the grand jury from doing anything. Adding the judge in was likely a strategy to get a different judge to hear the motion.

    But I’m still wondering about the answer to Jackie’s question above. How does this fit with reports of an August hearing on a motion that seems to ask for the same things?

  35. 35.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Betty Cracker:

    A video of one of the bears standing up on its hind legs raised suspicions. 

    Was it the human penis hanging out the crotch zipper? 😁

  36. 36.

    cain

    lol – I think I got my first mega reaction on mastodon. Over 500 boosts/retweet on my commentary on rice export ban. Funnily I posted that here but didn’t get much of a reaction out of it. But a rice-pocalypse would probably get a lot of folks bent out of shape and start pressuring western countries about doing something about climate change.

    But given the shit show that is the southwest… I’m hoping that we can finally start doing something. We gotta flip the house…

  39. 39.

    Geminid

    @smith: Trump tried to take both Kemp and Raffensperger down in the 2022 primaries. Kemp crushed Trump-endorsed David Perdue, while Raffensperger held off Jody Hice with an energetic retail campaign.

    Georgia seems to be one state where the Republican “Chamber of Commerce Wing” has maintained the upper hand over the radicals. When the latter took over the state party apparatus, Kemp successfully worked around them.

    Of course, Kemp and Raffensperger are not above “legal” voter suppression, so- no cookies from me!

    Ed. Kemp knew that Trump was bad news for his party in the long run. So his unwillingness to side Trump and help subvert the 2020 election result had a pragmatic basis, I think.

  41. 41.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @eclare: Aside from “embarrassment”, over the last few months I have learned that if it’s horrible enough, a judge can sanction you and your lawyer real $$$. Lawyers are committing career suicide by doing this client’s crazy bidding.

    I mentioned in this space a couple of days ago that he’s asking to take the classified Mar-a-Lago evidence back to Mar-a-Lago.

  42. 42.

    rikyrah

    Outrageous.

     

    _ Imposter  (@Imposter_Edits) tweeted at 0:50 PM on Sun, Jul 30, 2023:
    Frisco Police terrorize a black family at gunpoint after a cop runs Arkansas plate numbers through the Arizona database and then assumes the car is stolen when the plates don’t show up.
    They then force the entire family out of the car one by one at gunpoint, making women and… https://t.co/DWODQ6PmoH
    (https://twitter.com/Imposter_Edits/status/1685709582448906240?t=G1sg6ysh919ei6E3KSF6UQ&s=03)

  45. 45.

    Ken

    @Jackie: @mvr: Teri Kanefield has a thread (non-twitter) on this, and is also unsure what the August 10 hearing is for.

    She does note that the Georgia Supreme Court already said it is premature for them to rule, but even if it weren’t Trump has no case; and that Judge McBurney’s latest ruling is what local lawyers call a “McBurn”.

  48. 48.

    rikyrah

    Oppenheimer

     

    Nolan’s film has grossed $174 million domestically, and another $226 million from overseas territories, for a running worldwide gross of exactly $400 million

  50. 50.

    smith

    @Geminid: I always thought it was something of a miracle that we ever heard about that phone call, given the political climate at the time. It will be sweet justice if evidence provided by Republicans is one of the final nails in TFG’s coffin.

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: I grew up catholic and it was hounded into us not to use god’s name when swearing, and even though I am no longer Catholic that sticks with me.  But god will have to forgive me for this one.

    Jesus fucking Christ.

    Those cops should be fired yesterday or at least be on office duty for the rest of their pathetic careers.

  53. 53.

    Matt McIrvin

    @WaterGirl: My wife interprets the song as being about a mass shooting incident, much like “Pumped-Up Kicks” by Foster The People. I always imagined “Another One Bites The Dust” as being more of an action-movie fantasy of killing bad guys, you know, the thing that mass shooters are fantasizing about in their heads rather than what they’re actually doing.

  55. 55.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: I agree — Kemp is terrible, but he’s not a dumb cultist or spineless careerist like so many in his party. The way he successfully sidelined the MAGA bumpkins who took over state party could be a lesson for CoC Repubs in other states, but maybe it’s best (for democracy) if they stay on the loser Trump train for another cycle. 

  56. 56.

    Jinchi

    @eclare: Any lawyer who agreed to work with Trump is beyond embarassment as a motivator. The only real goals are to keep out of jail yourself, and hopefully get paid someday.

  58. 58.

    Matt McIrvin

    @rikyrah: Universal is planning to build a new family theme park there. Might be a problem if it gets associated with scary fascist cops, unless the pro-scary-fascist-cop contingent is who they’re going for.

  61. 61.

    JPL

    A Cobb judge is hearing a ruling on Aug. 10th because trump wants the Fulton county judge removed.   It was that inclusiong that cause the case to be heard by a different judge.   It is expected that the Aug. 10th ruling will be the same as dozens of others.

  63. 63.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @eclare: This is part of the negotiating for handling of classified evidence. Jack Smith’s team offered “We will let TFG and his lawyers see all of the classified evidence. They just have to view it in a SCIF and confine classified discussions to cleared spaces.”

    You know, the way classified info is handled by normal people.

    TFG’s counter-offer: “It’s too haaard to go to a SCIF. I need to take all the papers back home to the pool room and have the classified discussions at the breakfast buffet with the foreign intelligence agents hanging around.”

    In a SCIF, the papers would be tightly controlled by security officers who would track every page and every minute of access, and also keep them away from copiers, cell phones or cameras. I’m sure none of that played into his desire to get them away from a SCIF.

  64. 64.

    Anonymous At Work

    @mvr: It wasn’t about blocking the supervising judge, it wasn’t about getting the supervising judge to do anything.  It was about getting a base level judge to render an opinion that could be appealed along with an emergency stay.  Those go to higher levels of review by *elected* judges, before going to the State Supremes, all elected.

  65. 65.

    Jackie

    @Ken: Thanks! The morning shows are only speculating when Willis’s indictment will drop – and thus far haven’t mentioned the Aug 10th hearing at all – which just adds to the confusion. Hoping for a McBurn!

  68. 68.

    Betty Cracker

    RE: the TX cops who terrorized the family because of their (the cops’) screw-up running the plates: I read an account at a MSM outlet that said when TX cops suspect a stolen vehicle, the SOP is a massive show of force, including multiple cops with drawn guns and shutting down the roadway. If true, maybe that’s part of the problem, in addition to racial profiling and the presumption (not completely unfounded in TX thanks to Repubs) that every suspect is armed.

  69. 69.

    Jeffro

    Judge overseeing the Fulton County special grand jury has *rejected* Donald Trump’s bid to quash the special grand jury’s report, to disqualify DA Fani Willis and prevent further prosecution.

    You know, just like most innocent people do…

    //

  71. 71.

    Alison Rose

    @Betty Cracker: Yeah, I was trying to figure out why they treated this suspected car thief like a fucking 9/11 hijacker. If I had ever had a car stolen, sure I’d want the cops to try to find it, but I wouldn’t want them to scare the fucking shit out of the person by essentially threatening to kill them over it! (Which is what aiming your gun and screaming at someone is.) It’s just a damn car.

  72. 72.

    eclare

    @rikyrah:

    There is now an article about this on the WaPo website.  I hope that family gets a good attorney and sues for millions to pay for all the mental health treatment they will need.

  80. 80.

    Jackie

    @mvr: CNN finally mentioned the Aug 10 “possible hearing” and at this time that hearing is “up in the air” – meaning no one seems to know.

    Clear as mud.🤪

  81. 81.

    Soprano2

    @rikyrah: I read that story. It never said why they were running the plates to begin with, but I assume it was because a) they were out of state plates and b) they were black. At least they admitted their mistake instead of trying to hide it or lie about it, but that doesn’t fix the terror those people felt.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

     

     

    @Alison Rose: When the story broke that Rep. Abigail Spanberger was planning to run for Virginia Governor, I saw a small flurry of anti-Spanberger agitation on Twitter. One person tweeted, “ACAB and Spanberger is a cop.”

    They were probably alluding to her career with the CIA. But Spanberger actually was a Postal Inspector while waiting for her security clearance. She and her family had lived overseas, so the CIA gave her extra scrutiny.

    It’s early to talk of a 2025 race, and Spanberger won’t make an official announcement until after the November elections. But she wanted to give Democrats a heads up that they will have an open House seat to defend next year.

  83. 83.

    Dangerman

    Also, a good song to know, as the the beat is almost exactly 100 per minute, perfect for CPR.

  86. 86.

    mvr

    @JPL: That would make sense, except that it seems the present judge seems to be ruling on just that issue.  And I think there is relevant language in the first footnote by this judge saying in effect,”No, you didn’t follow the procedure and I get to rule on this.” But maybe I am reading it wrong:

    Trump also sought to have either the Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit or “a duly assigned Fulton County Superior Court judge” other than the undersigned consider his motion. Trump mot. at 1. Counsel for Trump — seasoned Georgia practitioners — are all no doubt familiar with Uniform Superior Court Rule 25, which prescribes the method for seeking the recusal of the judge assigned to a matter. That required approach was not followed here in any respect and so the motion necessarily remains with the judge originally randomly assigned to supervise the Special Purpose Grand Jury.

  88. 88.

    Mousebumples

    @Villago Delenda Est: haha, fair.

    @yellowdog: @rikyrah: She will be impeached ASAP. The WI GOP has promised to do so.

    Lol, you trust the GOP? 🤣 They backed off that promise shortly after her impressive statewide victory.

    IF she is impeached, Evers would pick the replacement to fill the rest of her 10 year term. Not going to be a conservative.

  93. 93.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Soprano2: Yep. If they ever were actually crazy enough to give the thief the stolen goods back, they’d never see them again.

    It even bugs me to give him access within a SCIF, because despite the tight controls I mentioned, a certain amount of protection of classified info with normal people is on the honor system. The case that “The Falcon and The Snowman” was based on involved some young low-level employee stuffing Top Secret stuff into a tote bag and simply walking it out.

    I would hope that they have a very suspicious security officer.

    Edit: I just got a very amusing mental picture of having Jack Smith sitting in the room with him whenever he’s reading the documents, giving him the Death Stare that he gave TFG during that one hearing. Maybe a cardboard effigy of Smith would have the same effect.

  96. 96.

    rikyrah

    Now, I don’t give money to The Lincoln Project.

    Don’t support The Lincoln Project.

    But, since he is one of the snakes, he knows the other snakes, and I read his feed to get the pulse on the snakes from the other side.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:21 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    1/ Given the new NYT/Sienna poll, I’d just like to remind you one more time that spending money to defeat Trump in the primary is burning through donor resources that will be desperately needed in the general election.

    In this, there are three schools of thought, all wrong.

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:23 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    2/ The first school of thought is that Ron DeSantis can be magically elevated to surpass Trump. There’s a LOT of Republican (and some Dem-leaning) donor money trying to make this point.

    If DeSantis wasn’t in the lower quartile of warmth, connection, personality, humanity..

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:25 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    3/ …you might almost squint and see the case. However, we learned in 2016 that “being a conservative governor” vs Trump is worth exactly nothing. As we speak, the ocean of donor money DeSantis took in is now Jeff Roe’s slush fund.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:26 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    4/ This money will go to Youngkin next, and Roe is already planning it. Sorry, Ron. You knew Jeff was a snake before you took him in.

    This Establishment lane strategy vs Trump died in 2016. Trust me, I was there to call TOD.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:29 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    5/ The next futile track is “But X is a bold truth-teller.”

    OK, I can’t say I’m not happy to see Asa, Christie, and Will Hurd flensing Trump. I’m delighted. any flicker of light in the chthonic gloom of the GOP’s moral midnight is better than nothing.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:34 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    6/ But add up all the people telling the truth about the criminal master mind who runs the GOP and you get to 1/2 of a DeSantis.

    They’re rounding error. Put a billion behind them, and they’re still rounding error. Will future generations remember them? I hope so…

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:35 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    7/ …Will Hurd particularly. Christie will never wash the stink of Trump off him.

    The GOP base in our polling, and literally every public and private poll I’ve seen does not give a damn about the truth viz Trump. At. All.

    Zero. Nada.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:38 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    8/ The final group of people are trying to weaken Trump by calling him a loser (he is), political poison (he is), a criminal (QED, everything), and a weak man who will lose to Joe Biden are hoping against hope that moral or political suasion will reform the GOP base.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:42 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    9/ The base is irredeemable. They can only be changed by destroying the GOP as it exists today. No ad strategy, alternate candidate, impassioned op-ed, or heartfelt speech will reclaim them from the spell of Trump, Fox, and Facebook.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:44 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    10/ They’re not economically anxious. They’re not the Forgotten Workin’ Man. They’re not Ordinary Folks Who Just Don’t Like All These Progressives Ideas.

    They’re willing members of an authoritarian personality cult. They’ve bent and sworn.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:46 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    11/ The approach we’re taking is to keep splitting off the parts of the base (a narrow path, to be sure, but one we’ve walked in 2020 and 2022) is to make Trump morally, politically, aesthetically, and socially poison.

    It’s not a secret how we do it.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:48 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    12/ It worked in 2020 and in 2022.

    LP is an antibody in the traditional system. Trump hates us passionately, and so do our former friends in the GOP who still desperately want to be put back in the Matrix and have their old world back.

    So do some gentry Never Trumpers.

     

    Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) tweeted at 7:51 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    13/ Hoping to either create a new movement to steal the GOP away from Trump, or praying for some improbably exogenous event to take him out are theories disproven by 2016 and beyond.

    We’re setting up for the general election campaign. That’s the battle. That’s the moment.

    End.
    (https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1685996563519184896?t=WkgICxjjeM4n6swPhY4tbA&s=03)

  97. 97.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Mike in NC: A sleazy old mobster can never change his tactics.

    Everything he knows about the legal system was learned at the feet of the vile Roy Cohn, and it’s all about the civil side, not the criminal side, which is why his delaying tactics are biting the dust with hilarious regularity.

  98. 98.

    Ken

    @mvr: That Kanefield thread I linked to above has a poll:  Do Trump’s lawyers:

    • Not know how things work?
    • Not care how things work?
    • Truly think Trump deserves special treatment?
    • Just do whatever Trump says for the $$

    You have to be a member of… the law-and-politics blog? Mastodon? The Bavarian Illuminati?… to cast a vote, but judging from the comments “all of the above” is going to win in a landslide.

  103. 103.

    Bugboy

    @Jackie: Maybe someone answered this, but that August 10 hearing is for another case.  From CNN:

    Trump’s team has also argued that McBurney should be removed from the case, in part because he had not yet ruled on their request to have Willis and the evidence she has collected tossed. A hearing on that matter is currently scheduled before another judge on August 10.

  104. 104.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: Jen Rubin’s latest WaPo column is about Spanberger and Slotkin, two moderate Dems who are also women with deep national security experience. Rubin, whose rejection of the dark side seems sincere and durable, is thrilled to pieces at the prospect of those two rising in the ranks. I’m to the left of both politically but am also glad to see it. Big tent and all…

  107. 107.

    Nelle

    @Old School: i may be repeating something everyone knows.  Litter boxes in elementary classrooms are for fucking lockdowns because of fucking guns and idiots everywhere.  Sounds amusing until you think of terrified 6 year olds hiding for their lives and yet needing to pee.

  108. 108.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Alison Rose: The whole “killology” training regimen is designed to get police to treat ALL situations this way. It’s emphasized that they’re supposed to do this massive show of force to get total unquestioned compliance from everyone in the vicinity or else somebody is likely to kill them. The fundamental attitude is fear of the general population.

  111. 111.

    jonas

    @rikyrah: Unlike in most cases when this kind of shit happens (e.g. cops break down the door at wrong address), these cops realized their mistake and personally apologized to the family.  Now, the question remains as to *why* they thought these particular people looked suspicious enough to run their plates in the first place. They never explained that…

  114. 114.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jonas: Escaped slaves.  Say no more.  US law enforcement is forever entwined with the slave patrols.

  117. 117.

    jonas

    @Matt McIrvin:The fundamental attitude is fear of the general population.

    In a state like TX, where virtually anyone could be carrying, there’s probably some justification for that fear. But the problem is the fucking insane gun laws, which cops don’t seem to give a shit about anymore. I guess it’s just easier just to go all Officer Tackleberry in every single contact than lobby politicians to change the laws.

  118. 118.

    StringOnAStick

    Excellent story at TPM of how Jack Smith’s crew have continued with interviews and investigations since the first indictment, and that more are getting caught in the net.  I read a new name, the guy in charge of the servers and who has now obtained his own lawyer; it looks like the classic “squeeze the little guy” strategy working as expected.

    When we can look back on the sprawling legal action against tRump, I think we’ll (1) be amazed and proud of the airtight cases presented by Smith’s team, (2) and realize the incredible volume and complexity of what they had to work with.  Ever since I saw how Smith had that stony stare at tRump that entire hearing, I’ve felt that Smith knows his work will either save or sink the republic, and that stare showed just how dirty he knows TFG is.  I’m also hoping that the incredible depth of these investigations reveal Putin’s grip on the GOP, clearly and unambiguously.  I think that’s what destroys the base and this version of the GOP.

  119. 119.

    Ken

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Being the security officer in the SCIF would be a terrible job

    Definitely, if it requires strip-searching the visitors on the way out. But there could be an upside, if they’re authorized to use unnecessary force when a visitor fails to obey the rules.

  121. 121.

    Matt McIrvin

    @jonas: Hell, they’re usually FOR loosening gun laws and having guns everywhere, because they’re right-wing ideologues. And that just ratchets up their fear and tension, which on some level they must want. I mean, I’m sure there must be people who are on the force because they want to be in a situation where they’re allowed to kill somebody.

  122. 122.

    Captain C

    @Ken: Perhaps TFG just isn’t here for the hunting.  Perhaps what he actually wants is the humiliation.  Stranger things have happened.

  124. 124.

    jonas

    @StringOnAStick:  I’m also hoping that the incredible depth of these investigations reveal Putin’s grip on the GOP, clearly and unambiguously.  I think that’s what destroys the base and this version of the GOP.

    Mueller’s report laid that out pretty clearly several years ago and nobody gave a shit. The GOP is perfectly happy to be in bed with Putin.

  125. 125.

    JoyceH

    @jonas:

    Now, the question remains as to *why* they thought these particular people looked suspicious enough to run their plates in the first place. They never explained that…

    The news report I saw said that they ran the plates because it was a commonly stolen type of car. I still have questions – such as: Do they run the plates on EVERY Dodge Charger they come across? Do car thieves usually bring along the whole family? AND – don’t white people ever steal cars?

  126. 126.

    mvr

    @Bugboy: But that is just the issue that this most recent decision decided. It has a long footnote (or maybe it is in the text) about how the judge has 90 days to decide, that the 90 days won’t pass until later in August and in any case this decision is deciding the thing they are complaining about him not deciding.  So I don’t think it is about a different case.

  127. 127.

    Bugboy

    @JPL: That is correct.  That doesn’t stop Dump’s team from throwing as much spaghetti at the wall as possible, and it will surely get worse going forward.

  128. 128.

    Jackie

    @mvr: TIFG is basically county/judge shopping hoping for yet another delay… and possibly getting lucky.

    I hope Willis goes full steam ahead; indicts TIFG TOMORROW!!! – daring another county and judge to try disqualifying her.

  129. 129.

    Bugboy

    @mvr: The most recent decision was about the DA and Grand Jury findings.  The hearing on August 10th is about yet another request: to have the judge removed who made this decision, which is now a moot point.

  130. 130.

    Brachiator

    @rikyrah:

    Nolan’s film has grossed $174 million domestically, and another $226 million from overseas territories, for a running worldwide gross of exactly $400 million

    This is amazing for a movie with a 3 hour running time.

    Also, some of the screenings are on premium ticket IMAX screens, but still… Impressive.

  131. 131.

    MisterDancer

    @StringOnAStick: I’ve felt that Smith knows his work will either save or sink the republic

    And that’s been our issue, as observers thru the very murky filter of media.

    The goal of a Justice system is not to “save democracy”. It’s to enforce laws – hopefully fairly, but we oft fall VERY short of that goal. See the comments about the family forced out of car by gunpoint, in this very section.

    It’s our job, as Americans, to vote in the right people to save this Republic. And that’s because even if we throw every Trump crony in jail tomorrow, we’ll still have his ilk running around, having learned from Trump things we cannot have in our body politic, and survive. It’s because — esp. if you read the Federalist Papers, and look thru the fallout of our Civil War and Watergate — all too often, we don’t put strong legal protections in around these kinds of situation. We have traditionally assumed a level of goodwill that can no longer be wise.

    And even outside that — Authoritarian thinking cannot be regulated solely by throwing people in jail. They must be resolved at the ballot box, at a minimum.

    So far as I can tell, the DoJ is doing a solid job of approaching this prosecution — which, politics aside, is likely the most complex in American history from logical/legal standpoints alone — with great energy and verve. We can and should honor that, while also knowing we citizens have work to do, as well.

  136. 136.

    rikyrah

     

    David Frum (@davidfrum) tweeted at 6:07 AM on Sun, Jul 30, 2023:
    NYT reports that Elon Musk personally thwarted a Ukrainian military operation he disapproved of.

     

    Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini)  (@AdamKinzinger) tweeted at 9:06 AM on Sun, Jul 30, 2023:
    The Us govt must reassess @elonmusk contractor status.  If a private citizen acted like this in any other capacity he would lose his security clearance
    (https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1685653154279333889?t=7IVgDE4syBycJvY8RDjK1A&s=03)

  137. 137.

    Captain C

    @eclare: TFG is finding out what happens when you can’t send your lawyers to intimidate your opponents in court, as he used to be able to do with small suppliers for his casinos and buildings.  Turns out he has nothing else but yelling, lies, and teenage fantasies of courtroom drama.

  139. 139.

    rikyrah

    Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي (@NTarnopolsky) tweeted at 11:16 AM on Mon, Jul 31, 2023:
    #Breaking: Ex Knesset Speaker @YuliEdelstein, who in 2020 trashed a lifelong reputation for integrity & heroism to defy the Court on Netanyahu’s behalf, now says “If the Supreme Court rules against the law eliminating the Reasonableness Clause it will be a declaration of war.” https://t.co/mxcs3i3m7W
    (https://twitter.com/NTarnopolsky/status/1686048221104160772?t=PyGjAjbK_FUvEUyjksmpiQ&s=03)

  142. 142.

    Burnspbesq

    @Bugboy:

    The petition for a writ of mandamus will probably be found to be moot, since McBurney has now done what Trump wanted the court to order him to do.

  143. 143.

    Brachiator

    @Old School:

    Paul Reubens, the actor best known for portraying Pee-wee Herman, died Sunday night after a private bout of cancer. He was 70.

    A somewhat eccentric and unique talent.

    May he rest in peace.

  146. 146.

    Brachiator

    @JoyceH:

    The news report I saw said that they ran the plates because it was a commonly stolen type of car.

    I don’t believe this at all. But even so, a lot of stolen cars are broken down for parts. And as you ask, how often do car thieves go riding with their families in stolen cars?

    The whole thing stinks.

  148. 148.

    Soprano2

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I would do a cavity search on all of them every time they left the SCIF, plus I would do a thorough search before they went in and insist all things that can take photos be left with security.

  151. 151.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @WaterGirl:

    Those cops should be fired yesterday or at least be on office duty for the rest of their pathetic careers.

    One of many problems is here is that it is likely that not only did they follow department training and protocols, they likely could get positive notes in their HR files for not slaughtering the, you know, innocent citizens.

  153. 153.

    Matt McIrvin

    @MisterDancer: Yes. If a majority of the people want tyranny, it’s unlikely that any procedural fix can save us–we will get tyranny. And tyranny has its ways of generating its own support to legitimize itself, at least in the short term.

    I don’t think a majority of the people want tyranny, but I think it’s a large enough minority who do that we’re always stuck playing these tricky games on the brink of disaster.

  154. 154.

    Steppanhammer

    More’s coming out about the Fencing World Champs stuff, and it keeps getting worse:

    Kharlan Smirnova – Gelman in an interview with Latynina about the man in the black suit (obozrevatel.com)

    The head coach of the US national fencing team, Yuriy Gelman, said in an interview with the well-known Russian writer and journalist Yuliya Latynina that the decision to punish Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was supervised by Moscow. According to Gelman, he learned about it from people from the commissions and from Kharlan herself.

    The coach said that the Ukrainian had already been awarded the victory, and the protocols showed that she won and passed to the next round. He spoke to the Ukrainian fencer 20 minutes after the match and she was sure that everything was fine, but then everything changed.

    “There was some person. It’s not clear who he was or what he was. In a black suit with a tie. He was on the phone with someone all the time and was demanding that it all be carried out. This lasted until it was pointed out that he had someone else’s accreditation and was escorted out. It was clearly not a fencer because we know each other. Nobody knew him,” Gelman noted.

    This is my surprised face.

  156. 156.

    Steppanhammer

    Also, I remember my mom telling me when I was a kid and she was playing Queen that “Another One Bites the Dust” was about the Troubles. Veracity unclear.

  157. 157.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I think Reps. Slotkin and Spanberger fall pretty close to the center of the Democratic big tent. But as I’ve said before, I think the difference between most members of the House Progressive Caucus and those of the New Democrat Caucus is more a matter of branding than it is ideology.

    Spanberger certainly falls in the middle of the Virginia party. Ideologically speaking, most Democrats here run the gamut from Mark Warner to Tim Kaine.

    I can see why Ms. Ruben is enthused by Spanberger and Slotkin. They are a former Republican’s ideal Democrat. She can brag on them to her remaining Republican friends.

  158. 158.

    Jackie

    @mvr: Clarifying info from NBC:

    “In a nine-page ruling Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney found that neither Trump nor Cathleen Latham, a Trump “alternate elector” challenging the probe, had legal standing to block the investigation at this point.”

    “He said their claims are “insufficient” because “while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation.”

    “The ruling is the second against Trump on the issue in two weeks. The Georgia Supreme Court denied a similar request from Trump on July 17. A third petition to the Fulton County Superior Court is pending, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 10.”

    “In his Monday ruling, McBurney suggested his ruling should make the third action moot.””

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/georgia-judge-rejects-another-trump-bid-halt-fulton-county-election-pr-rcna97283

  161. 161.

    Old School

    MIAMI (AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance on Monday on charges in the classified documents case against the former president but did not enter a plea because he has not found a Florida-based attorney to represent him.

  164. 164.

    mvr

    @Bugboy: The most recent decision also included the judge saying that it was inappropriate for him to recuse himself from this decision. This is Footnote 1. (you can find the link to it in the second tweet WaterGirl put at the top of this thread.)

    Trump also sought to have either the Chief Judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit or “a duly assigned Fulton
    County Superior Court judge” other than the undersigned consider his motion. Trump mot. at 1. Counsel for Trump — seasoned Georgia practitioners — are all no doubt familiar with Uniform Superior Court Rule 25, which prescribes the method for seeking the recusal of the judge assigned to a matter. That required
    approach was not followed here in any respect and so the motion necessarily remains with the judge originally randomly assigned to supervise the Special Purpose Grand Jury.

     

     

    @Bugboy:

  167. 167.

    Brachiator

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Everything he knows about the legal system was learned at the feet of the vile Roy Cohn, and it’s all about the civil side, not the criminal side, which is why his delaying tactics are biting the dust with hilarious regularity.

    Very good point. Trump doesn’t seem to understand the trouble he is in. And his attorneys don’t seem to be getting through to him.

  168. 168.

    gvg

    @Captain C: We elect sheriffs and such. Also DA’s. I think a lot of the blame is on us.

    They then appoint or promote based on their perceived reality.

    Reality has not been getting through to a significant portion of the voting population for a number of years now.

    I really do think TV and action movies, cop shows and other such entertainment have screwed up peoples common sense.

    I have no idea what to do about it.

  172. 172.

    RaflW

    Gosh, it’s sad to learn that Peewee Herman has died. I thought he was quite brilliant, though he made some complicated and even dumb choices after his CBS show ran its course.

    R.I.P., Paul Reubens.

  173. 173.

    mvr

    @Jackie: That helps and not . Do you know whether the other one was supposed to be a petition for a writ of Mandamus? If it was it makes some sense of why it went to a different court? But it would not make sense of the contents of the motion since I believe such writs are requests for an order that someone do what they are supposed to do and not requests for just any old thing.

    I think that might be what the last footnote in this decision is about.

  174. 174.

    Ishiyama

    That song used to be played by the U. of Hawaii band at the Women’s Volleyball games, back in 1980; after side-outs and points. The crowd got pretty pumped up.

  175. 175.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Captain C:

    TFG is finding out what happens when you can’t send your lawyers to intimidate your opponents in court, as he used to be able to do with small suppliers for his casinos and buildings. Turns out he has nothing else but yelling, lies, and teenage fantasies of courtroom drama. 

    He can also suck an entire container ship’s worth of unseasoned dicks.

  176. 176.

    jonas

    @Jackie: I recently read somewhere that Trump’s legal fees — both for himself as well as all the various employees/lackeys he’s trying to keep from flipping on him — is coming to something like $1.5 million *a week*. And it’s all being paid for by his political PAC that raises money for his reelection campaign. So his lawyers are all getting paid right on time now — with OPM, natch.

    His supporters literally line up voluntarily to get fleeced like this. What a cult.

  178. 178.

    Burnspbesq

    @Old School:

    Guy’s probably eligible to be represented by the federal PDs. But that will never do, because a PD might actually represent DeOliveira’s interests instead of Trump’s.

  179. 179.

    Alison Rose

    I snorted.

    Hunter Biden should just declare he’s running for the Republican nomination, which as I understand it requires that all charges against him be immediately dropped.
    — Julian Sanchez (@normative) July 31, 2023

  180. 180.

    mvr

    @Bugboy: I’m not a lawyer either (though I did once work as an investigator/trial assistant for a very good criminal defense lawyer and know a good bit about criminal procedure/law. All law is local and this case is in Georgia where my boss did not practice, so . . .)
    I am somewhat confused. But I am less so now than when I started out. It looks like this judge is saying the still to be decided case is improper both in terms of when it was filed (it complains of this judge not meeting a deadline that is in the future) and in terms of the relief it asks for and that his present decision will render it moot in any case.

  182. 182.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Jackie: ​
      How is this actually going to delay the process? How much time do you think is appropriate to find a lawyer?

  183. 183.

    Burnspbesq

    @mvr:

    The only thing that gives me pause is that the mandamus petition hearing is in Cobb County. If you live in Metro Atlanta, I probably don’t have to explain why that gives me pause.

  184. 184.

    Jackie

    @mvr: No clue. I’m just hoping the Aug 10 hearing gets tossed and Fani Willis indicts TIFG yesterday!!! And Jack Smith indicts him tomorrow after his GJ meets.

  185. 185.

    Spanky

    WaPo is telling me

    Atlanta braces for possible indictments for Trump, allies in 2020 election investigation

    They’re expecting dancing in the streets?

  188. 188.

    JaySinWA

    @Betty Cracker: Journalists are going to verify that the animals are bears today.

    That’s not a job I would volunteer for.

    Sounds a lot like the genital inspection proposed here in the states. TBERZP? trans bears exclusionary radical zoo patrons?

  189. 189.

    RaflW

    @Steppanhammer: Related to this fencing scandal, I find it obscene that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in the coming Olympics. Dubbing them ‘Individual Neutral Athletes’ is a scandal. But the Olympic Committee is a huge business, not an impartial arbiter & organizer of sport.

  190. 190.

    Maxim

    @Matt McIrvin: It’s not about a mass shooting, despite the gunslinger metaphor. It’s about the breakup of a relationship, and how hurt and angry the song’s narrator is.

  196. 196.

    S Cerevisiae

    @Geoduck: I always hear Weird Al’s lyrics whenever this song comes on. Actually I always hear his lyrics to any song that he parodied.

     

    Another one rides the bus…🎶

  197. 197.

    smith

    @Jackie: Didn’t the superseding indictment recount a conversation in which TFG promised to supply him with a lawyer if he stayed loyal? TFG broke a promise? I’m shocked!

  198. 198.

    NotMax

    @Jackie

    Becoming perceivably more difficult to find attorneys willing to shatter their reputation by signing on.

    “Anyone got the phone number for Humpty, Dumpty & Wall?”

  200. 200.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Rep. Spanberger may end up following the Governor-to-Senator pipeline that Senators Warner and Kaine followed. Her term as Governor (if she wins) will end January, 2030, just in time to run for Tim Kaine’s seat. I think she’ll be 50 years old then.

  201. 201.

    rikyrah

    @jonas:

    His supporters literally line up voluntarily to get fleeced like this. What a cult.

     

    This was the best story revealed last week.

     

    The rubes are rubing .

     

    He’s gotten $60 million from them.

    With that kind of money going to him, there’s little left, in small donations, for the rest of the GOP Clown Car.

    As I’ve said before…

    Not my business…

    But, I never will not crack up reading about it.

  202. 202.

    JaySinWA

    @JaySinWA:  Re: Trans Bear: They’re going to reenact the scene from “Victor Victoria” where Robert Preston fills in for Julie Andrews when the police raid

    ETA Of course Trans Bear is the wrong choice of words, they are really accusing the Zoo of using Furries as substitute bears. That’s a whole different animal.

  203. 203.

    Leto

    Teen faces felony after emergency dash to hospital interrupted by Arkansas State Police PIT maneuver
    Black teen taking her mother to the hospital because she thought her mom was having a heart attack. They’re alive, but ACAB eternally.

    We asked what a driver should do in this instance and ASP spokeswoman Cindy Murphy said: “Any medical emergency that would warrant high rates of speed necessitates calling an ambulance or dialing 911.”
    “In this case, the motorist should have pulled over for law enforcement, who have emergency medical training and who could have aided in safe transport to the closest medical facility,” Murphy added. “Driving to the emergency room does not give someone a free pass to speed, violate laws, and endanger the public.”

    Along with the cops involved, this fucking spokesKaren should be permanently out of a fucking job.​

  205. 205.

    Alison Rose

    I am assuming his parents are far away in a secure location, but every time russia does this, it absolutely makes my blood boil with the obvious implications:

    A day after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine appeared to warn of more attacks inside Russia, two Russian missiles slammed into a residential building and university complex in his hometown, Kryvyi Rih, on Monday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens of others, Ukrainian officials said.

    The unusually pointed warning from Ukraine’s leader followed a series of apparent Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, suggesting that Kyiv is stepping up its efforts to bring the war home to Russians. But Russia’s weapons have proved far deadlier for civilians, as they were again on Monday in the steel-producing central Ukrainian city.

  207. 207.

    prostratedragon

    smith@197: De Oliveira does have a lawyer. It’s that bullshit FL-qualified business again. (Mind, I’m not saying the requirement is bullshit, just the failure to meet it when it is well known in advance and the lawyer he has is part of some firm that should have a ready means of doing it.)

  211. 211.

    Citizen Alan

    @Matt McIrvin: I have often thought that no democracy can survive in a sufficiently large percentage of the voting public wants dictatorship. I have no idea what percentage is actually necessary to bring about such dictatorship.  I feel certain we are presently above 25%. My fear is that we are well above 40%.

  213. 213.

    thalarctosMaritimus

    @Betty Cracker:

    Not commenting on this particular zoo’s actual practices, but sun bears really do stand like this.

    Especially if they see you coming, and they know they’re getting a treat in exchange for a medical test–they’ll rise to greet you.

    Back in my grad school days, I worked on a project to try to figure out the reproductive cycle of sun bears. We’d come to their cages with our instruments and a bottle full of honey or molasses, and I’d give the bear the bottle of treat while the principal investigator rapidly collected vaginal cells at the business end.

    They’d stand up just like that whenever they saw us heading their way, bearing our equipment.

    And they’re smart enough to know that the treat for an ultrasound lasts longer than the treat for a Pap smear. so sometimes they’d assume the ultrasound position in a cargo-cult-like attempt to get the longer ultrasound treat instead.

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