Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Consistently wrong since 2002

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

In after Baud. Damn.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickle?”

Second rate reporter says what?

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

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

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

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Reader Interactions

124Comments

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    According to news reports, Joe and Jill are having a nice evening, a dinner date followed by going to a showing of Oppenheimer while they’re on vacation in Rehoboth. I’m sure they’re having a much much more enjoyable evening than TFG.

  4. 4.

    Elizabelle

    @dmsilev:  The nuclear bomb did not land up on their heads. And did/will they see Barbie?

    I have seen neither.  But they are on the list for August.

  6. 6.

    Jeffro

    please, please, PLEASE keep those microphones and questions right in the faces of GOP elected officials, snooze media!

    no matter what they say, it’s sure to divide the Republican Party, so MUST. HAVE.

  9. 9.

    Jerzy Russian

    Just getting back in front of the computer after several hours of being occupied by work*.   This is good news indeed.  I am off to catch up on previous posts.

     

    *Normally I read this blog while at work, but in this case that was not possible.

  11. 11.

    Scout211

    I like how all the news stories were reporting that the Bidens were busy watching Oppenheimer and would not be commenting on the latest Trump indictment. They were watching a movie and would not answer our questions!

    You go, Dark Brandon. 😊

    ETA: dmsilev got there first.  My typing is very slow using only one finger on the iPad.  :)

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    @HinTN:   Lucky dog for the 70 mm!  I wonder if they might open on a few more big screens, since film is a hit.

  13. 13.

    Suzanne

    @dmsilev: I am also in Rehoboth, but have not run into them yet!

    Spent the day at the beach with the kids, and found out there was an indictment when I got back to the car. Hot damn, a good day,

    Update: Seagulls do not like Froot Loops. I tested it. For science.

  14. 14.

    Elizabelle

    @Ben Cisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️:  Agreed.  I think once TFG was out, the Space Force was safely where it belongs.  In Colorado.

    With the terrible state legislation, I don’t think any military facilities should relocate to red states.  Just not fair to the employees.

  15. 15.

    Jeffro

    @Scout211: “kinda busy here trying a little romantic night out with my honey, you know what I mean Jack?” (wink) (licks ice cream cone)

    LOLOL

    How freakin’ cool is that, though?  The biggest traitor in American history is going. down. for. the. count. and Uncle Joe is like, “well that’s nice, I’ve got a life to lead and also a country to set a good example for, too”

  16. 16.

    Anonymous At Work

    As for source of the joke, please join me in a round of “No, *I* am Spartacus!”

  17. 17.

    dmsilev

    @Suzanne: Wait, there are vaguely-edible food-ish objects that seagulls won’t eat? That is definitely a noteworthy discovery.

    Hope you’re all enjoying the beach.

  19. 19.

    Steeplejack

    @Suzanne:

    If you like Mexican food (or, more properly, Tex-Mex, I guess), El Azteca is great. And it’s relatively close on the highway (20672 Coastal Highway).

    Agave is also good, but it’s more expensive (and more upscale). And I haven’t been to the one in Rehoboth, only the one in Lewes.

  22. 22.

    Elizabelle

    And now a rocket launch from Wallops Island (Eastern shore of VA, near Chincoteague) that might be visible at 8:31.  A banquet tonight.

    No ponies will be alarmed.

  23. 23.

    Suzanne

    @dmsilev: Dude. We watched the seagulls pick them up and then drop them. At first we thought they would only be averse to the blue ones (which…. agree). But no, these seagulls were pro-goldfish crackers and strongly anti-Froot Loop.

  25. 25.

    Elizabelle

    @Suzanne:  You can probably see the rocket launch!  Figure out where Chincoteague is, and look in that direction after 8:31.

  26. 26.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Suzanne:

    Update: Seagulls do not like Froot Loops. I tested it. For science.

    Maybe if you call ’em “ootfray oopslay” (the cereal, not the gulls), some toucans will show up and eat ’em.

  27. 27.

    Suzanne

    @Steeplejack: I may check it out! When on vacation, I pretty much want a vacation from anyone in my family complaining, so I tend to let others pick. We just went to a nice seafood restaurant in Lewes and I got crabcakes, which are always a treat when I make it out here.

    I don’t get the devotion to Old Bay.

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    (Very quickly scribbled out, to the tune of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire.”)

    The Smithmas Song

    Trump’s butt planted in a courtroom seat
    Jack Smith reading what he knows
    Charges one through four being entered in turn
    Before a judge who is berobed
    For we know obstruction and conspiracy
    Prove to make the case airtight
    Doubts erased with each witness who’s called
    As lies are brought into the light
    ;)

  31. 31.

    Roger Moore

    @HinTN: ​

    Oppenheimer in 70mm is Saturday.

    I saw it in 70mm on Sunday (at Grauman’s Chinese). I think the higher resolution really does with being able to read the characters’ expressions. It might not matter as much with second rate actors, but it’s impressive just how much you can see.

    ETA: I expect a bunch of Oscar nominations for acting, and the glorious IMAX footage will help.

  35. 35.

    TS

    Chris Hayes attacking Merrick Garland for the delay in prosecution – but of course he is

     

    And can someone explain to me why Trump will not try for a deal – does he really thing there will be an uprising to support him? or what?

  37. 37.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Suzanne:

    I don’t get the devotion to Old Bay.

    Neither do I.  Lived in southern Maryland now for coming up on 25 years, and it just doesn’t do anything for me.

    I guess I’m still a Virginia boy at heart.

  38. 38.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Jeffro:

    How freakin’ cool is that, though? The biggest traitor in American history is going. down. for. the. count. and Uncle Joe is like, “well that’s nice, I’ve got a life to lead and also a country to set a good example for, too”

    And also, “do you finally get the part about the Department of Justice being independent of me?”

  41. 41.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Suzanne:

    I was like, “WTF is up with these seagulls and their refined palates?!”. Bougie-ass trash birds!

    That’s a surprise – IME, gulls will eat anything you toss out there, as long as it’s a passable imitation of food.

    ETA: I have this vision of the gulls going, “elicious-day, my feathered ass!”

  43. 43.

    Baud

    Rotating tag nominee from the indictment

    It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership

  45. 45.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @TS: O’Donnell’s response was good, but really only scratched the surface of why the testimony from the J-6 C’tee wasn’t enough to move a criminal case forward (No, IANAL, but neither is Hayes, Maddow, Reid, Wagner….)

  46. 46.

    Suzanne

    @lowtechcyclist: We had fun running experiments. We tested to see how close they would come to us for goldfish crackers, we tested colors of Froot Loops, tested orange Froot Loops next to goldfish…. This was some rigorous science here.

  48. 48.

    frosty

    @Suzanne: ​I’m glad to hear you made the choice to go on your vacation. What a mess you’re having to deal with.

    And worse, looks like you’ll have to finish the Froot Loops yourself! Damn picky eater seagulls!

  49. 49.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Suzanne:

    It’s not spicy enough! I am from Arizona! We need HEAT!

    Too bad you’re not in AZ now, they’ve got all the heat you’d want!

  52. 52.

    Jackie

    @TS: “And can someone explain to me why Trump will not try for a deal – does he really thing there will be an uprising to support him? or what?”

    He would be admitting guilt. #1 sin in his book.

  54. 54.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Suzanne:

    We had fun running experiments. We tested to see how close they would come to us for goldfish crackers, we tested colors of Froot Loops, tested orange Froot Loops next to goldfish…. This was some rigorous science here.

    In two weeks, I’ll be on the beach at Anna Maria Island, I’ll have to run some experiments with the Florida gulls.

    But first, a week in Plant City with the in-laws (my FIL is one of my favorite people), and at least one meal of those amazing tacos at Jimmy Hula’s in (Dark) Brandon, not to mention gauva turnovers from La Segunda!  Probly should try to lose a pound or so before getting on the plane on Saturday…

  56. 56.

    Suzanne

    @frosty: I’m glad I went, too. I can’t bear breaking a promise to my kids. SuzMom is seeing the orthopedist tomorrow, so imma call in for that.

    And I am not really a huge nature lover — I don’t like camping — but I really need a few days on the beach every year, at least.

  57. 57.

    Roger Moore

    @Elizabelle:

    I wonder if they might open on a few more big screens, since film is a hit.

    I think the number of screens that can actually show it with the 70mm print is pretty limited, and they might not be able to turn out new prints very quickly.

  59. 59.

    Wag

    @lowtechcyclist:

    gulls will eat anything you toss out there, as long as it’s a passable imitation of food.

    that’s your mistake, thinking of Froot Loops as actual food.  

  62. 62.

    tobie

    @TS: Did he complain about Fani Willis? If not, can Hayes just admit Garland has become the stalking horse for every reasonable American’s frustration that the justice system is slow. Given that fact the DoJ has worked at lightening speed.

  64. 64.

    Jeffro

    @Wag: he does indeed.

    There was a good piece up in Salon yesterday, reminding everyone that trump is fully on board with stochastic terrorism (or even just the overt, organized kind) if it means harming his perceived enemies and/or staying viable to return to the WH.

    He’ll do it, or at least call for it.

    At which point, I hope he is taken into custody and relieved of his phone, kept isolated, etc.

  67. 67.

    Jeffro

    fucking Tim Scott joins spineless MF Kevin McCarthy in responding to these indictments by…wait for it, wait for it…complaining about the “weaponization of DOJ” and the “two-tier system of justice in this country”

    they REALLY think they can pull it off – hold the GOP together in the face of this?  with MORE lies??

    best of luck, Tim

  69. 69.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    I’ve been meaning to ask you, which “version” of the Mueller report did you read? I thought there were several, with fewer and fewer redactions, but searching today I got the impression that the later, less redacted versions just added stuff about Roger Stone that had already come out in his trial. So I guess the “original” version of the Mueller report is okay?

    ETA: All of this because I got the crazy idea to finally read the whole report.

  70. 70.

    Suzanne

    @Wag:

    that’s your mistake, thinking of Froot Loops as actual food. 

    I think of Froot Loops as a gift to my inner child.

  71. 71.

    JDM

    As always, I’ll believe it when I see it, but this outcome is exactly why TFG and Melania had those sour looks on their faces when they heard the results of the 2016 election.

  73. 73.

    Juju

    In celebration I bought a guilty pleasure cupcake from Publix, since I was doing weekly shopping anyway. I bought some confetti cupcakes that are sweet with a hint of vanilla and very little substance as far as I can tell. I’m really an if it doesn’t have chocolate I don’t care to eat it type of person, so my desire for confetti cupcakes is a bit surprising, also they are store made, and also not my thing. I usually bake my own stuff, but there ya go. I also thought the confetti part was appropriate. Anyhoo hahahaha on the knock knock joke thing. It made me laugh out loud.

  74. 74.

    TS

    @Wag:

    He believes it with all his five sizes too small heart.

    Given Lawrence just noted this will be appealed forever & it will go beyond the election (even if he is found guilty in the first instance), I  assume trump believes that the uprising of support will get him elected & he can then resolve all with his absolute power.

  75. 75.

    frosty

    @lowtechcyclist: Old Bay and tomato juice makes a passable Bloody Mary.

    Old Bay story: We’re at a crab house in Baltimore with a couple of California friends. Waitress brings a platter of crabs to the table next to us. One friend leans over to me and whispers “Don’t they wash the mud off?”

  77. 77.

    Hoodie

    @TS: Hayes can be sort of an idiot and he ended up kind of walking that back.  For example, right after Hayes’ ranting about Garland, the panel went on a long exposition as to how important Pence’s testimony appears to be for the indictment.  Pence didn’t testify until late April.  I’m sure his lawyers dragged that out.   Sure, you could draw a bunch of inferences from what was presented at the JC committee, but DOJ needed time to develop key additional pieces of evidence to bolster whatever charges they arrived at so they might stick.  Having been involved in fair amount of litigation, it’s a lot slipperier than they make it look in TV dramas.  I imagine a lot of the time was spent trying to figure out what that evidence was and if it could be obtained, all the while being fucked with by potential witnesses and their lawyers.  The best witnesses for the fraudulent scheme are those unindicted co-conspirators and good luck getting around that.

  78. 78.

    Scout211

    @Jeffro: the “weaponization of DOJ” and the “two-tier system of justice in this country”

    Those are the current GOP talking points. They are all saying pretty much the same thing, plus “election interference!”  That’s the reverse projection super cool double fake, “I know I am, but what are you?”

  81. 81.

    Jeffro

    @Suzanne: I’m not devoted, but Old Bay’s good to have around!

    @lowtechcyclist: what??  I’m a Virginia native and Old Bay is just about my only concession that good things might actually be possible across the Potomac!  =)

    @frosty:Old Bay story: We’re at a crab house in Baltimore with a couple of California friends. Waitress brings a platter of crabs to the table next to us. One friend leans over to me and whispers “Don’t they wash the mud off?”

    Crabs are gross…Old Bay is pretty good, at times!

    You can try it on other things, peeps!  It’s great on corn on the cob, chicken, fish.

    This message brought to you by, um, me and not any paid Old Bay advertising account whatsoever.  Just SorosBucks as usual.

  82. 82.

    Juju

    My sister and I were joking about Trump and needing his Depends today.  I mentioned that I wouldn’t want to be the underling who had to deal with that issue. My sister said it sure as hell isn’t Melania. Since this was all text, I mentioned that it was probably Waltine Nauta, and autocorrect turned Waltine into Saltine. This made me spit a bit of coffee on my phone. For once I didn’t type damb you autocorrect. Also I’m a 12 year old in my heart.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    @Scout211: at this point it’s all just a rearguard action to keep the GOP from totally collapsing.

    “What about Hunter?” = “please don’t make me actually answer the question about TFG!”

  86. 86.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: I read the “original” — it’s long! Two volumes that were put out by WaPo. I didn’t get too deeply into the redactions, just kind of read quickly.

  87. 87.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Hoodie: IANAL, but from having studied as much law as Hayes et al, I keep coming back to the fact assumption (edited)that Garland and his people, including Smith, would’ve wanted all the information they could possibly get before bringing Pence, McEntee and others closer to trump, along the lines of (what actors playing lawyers on TV have told me), never ask a question you don’t know that answer to. Everything they’ve done makes perfect sense to me from the perspective of bottom-up, outside-in approach to getting to trump.

     

    Also, my non lawyer TV-watching self believes that Meadows and his (by all accounts) very smart and fancy lawyer sold every bit of info he gave the DoJ slowly and for the highest price/concessions they could get

  88. 88.

    Hoodie

    @TS: The best result actually may be that the trial occurs close enough to the election that Trump will be tainted by what comes out in the trial, irrespective of any verdict or appeal process. For all those bitching about delay in prosecuting, Trump would probably have been able to drag out appeals past the election even if the trial had commenced a year ago.  If the case had already been tried, it would already been slipping down the memory hole while the appeals drag on.  Appellate courts provide very little in the way of the type of drama that draws media like flies to a pile of dogshit.   Moreover, even if Trump was convicted, an early disposition would have possibly gotten the GOP off the hook so that they could start working on some sort of Nixon pardon scam to keep Trump’s followers in line.  Now, we’re looking at a several months long shitshow of high-profile trials with nonstop, breathless media coverage and no idea of how it will turn out.  One of the reasons people turned on Trump in 2020 was the non-stop drama and we’re looking at a repeat of that.

  90. 90.

    p.a.

    If there wasn’t a two-tiered system of justice in this country tRump would have been in jail years ago.  Well before 2016.

  91. 91.

    Bill Arnold

    @Suzanne:

    we tested colors of Froot Loops, tested orange Froot Loops next to goldfish…. This was some rigorous science here.

    Birds are at least tetrachromats (humans mostly have only tree types of receptors), and some, like pigeons, are pentachromats.
    Froot Loops might be horrifying-looking to birds.
    More science needed!

  92. 92.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Hoodie: The DoJ has to make sure its evidence is admissible in court.  It has to make sure that any witness testimony can survive cross and impeachment.  That means not just putting together its case, but trying to blow it up and rebuilding it until they have something that is bulletproof.  A case like this is too important to half-ass it.

  94. 94.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @schrodingers_cat: same as the last one. He could’ve just shown a jury a tape of Cassidy Hutchinson and gotten an instantaneous, un-appealable guilty verdict

  97. 97.

    Hoodie

    @schrodingers_cat: Chris Hayes made some dumbass remark to the effect that all of this was known after the J6 Committee hearings, so why did it take so long? Of course, while useful in guiding an investigation, none of that met the evidentiary standards for an actual criminal trial.  Simple case of talk show host talking out of his ass.

  99. 99.

    Citizen Alan

    @Jackie: This is the guy who said, without a hint of self-reflection and in front of a room full of Evangelicals that he has never in his life felt like he needed to ask God to forgive him.

  101. 101.

    raven

    Ari

    “Sometimes the internet is like being in a book club where no-one has read the book”!

  104. 104.

    Bill Arnold

    @different-church-lady:

    Froot Loops are horrifying looking to me.

    Yes, agreed.
    I’m just imagining pigeons, with that slightly iridescent plumage that must to each other like Coats of Many Colors That We Can’t Even Imagine, examining Froot Loops.

  105. 105.

    Hoodie

    An interesting subtext here is the fate of the co-conspirators.  They haven’t been indicted yet, but they’re up to their assholes in liability based on what’s in this indictment.  It’s all shit that they did, little or no ambiguity about any of it.  It’s really interesting that Smith held off on indicting them.  Everyone seems to think this has to do with economy and speeding the trial, but I think that may be wrong.  It’s an interesting inversion to not indict the guys you have the best evidence against while going ahead and indicting the kingpin.  Of course, that’s also how you role up a conspiracy.  Any of those guys gets nervous, Trump will really be well and truly fucked.  We don’t know what he said to them – but they do.  And the thing is, unlike a real crime boss, Trump can’t bump them off.  Maybe some of his wacko followers might go after them, but Trump can’t count on that.   Ironic that he gets screwed by his own fake made man bullshit.

  107. 107.

    Mike in NC

    @frosty:  Back in the day I ate many a wonderful crab dish in Baltimore, including at the Inner Harbor and Little Italy. One of my favorite cities.

  111. 111.

    Tenar Arha

    @HinTN: Oh I hope you have/had a great time! I did the whole Barbenheimer for opening weekend, but today I saw it in 70mm format. Pretty dang full house even early in the afternoon. Turned out between that, & deciding to go book shopping afterwards, I missed all the news. Wild.

    ETA typo

  112. 112.

    Suzanne

    @Omnes Omnibus: When I was an undergrad, my sugary cereal of choice was the Cap’n Crunch Choco Donuts. Sadly canceled. They were incredible, and I don’t really even like chocolate.

  114. 114.

    zhena gogolia

    @Anyway: Stay away from the Bethesda Crab House.

    (which is delicious, BTW, although I have no idea if it still exists)

    ETA: apparently it does

  116. 116.

    Juju

    @Lapassionara: And he starts too many of his sentences with the word like. It reminds of the way snotty teens speak. He’s way too old and in theory, too educated to speak in such a manner.

  121. 121.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @TS: Trump won’t take a deal for a couple reasons.

    First and foremost he’s a (toxic) narcissist, and narcissists’ behaviors are simple to predict once you understand their (only) motivations: Get adoration, and avoid shame. Narcissists don’t feel any shame themselves, but know when others feel they’ve done something shameful. As an analogy, dogs don’t see anything wrong about chewing up your favorite shoes, but they know that you’re angry at them for doing it.

    Feeling like others are on to them and view the narcissist as a pariah is literally a fate with worst the death for them — and Trump would rather die in prison than admit he did anything wrong.

    Narcissists also have a personal reality distortion field — which is one reason their madding to deal with — reality is whatever they want it to be at the moment, even if that’s 180 degrees from their reality a minute ago

    Also, until this year he’s skated on his crimining and he assumes he can bluster and bully his way out this one, and the docs case. (Narcissists are also always surprised to find out other people have agency, since they view others are mere objects.)

    Third, he thinks running for president will protect him.

    Fourth, the moment he pleads guilty, and it’s clear he’ll be doing time, his legal defense grift is over. MAGAts will start falling away once he’s got the loser stench.

  122. 122.

    Marc

    @Roger Moore:

    I think the number of screens that can actually show it with the 70mm print is pretty limited, and they might not be able to turn out new prints very quickly.

    Oppenheimer is likely available in four formats: 70 mm IMAX, 70 mm, 35 mm, and digital.  We saw it this weekend at our local theater (The Grand Lake in Oakland) on the big screen in 70 mm (not IMAX) and it was both higher in resolution and lacking the motion artifacts of Barbie, which we saw the next day on one of their smaller screens in digital format.

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