Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

đŸŽ¶ Those boots were made for mockin’ đŸŽ”

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

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

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

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

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

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

Reality always lies in wait for 
 Democrats.

We will not go back.

Books are my comfort food!

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Late Night Open Thread: Losing His Meagre Moiety of Marbles*

Late Night Open Thread: Losing His Meagre Moiety of Marbles*

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Mr. Charles P. Pierce, at Esquire, blesses us with a report so that I don’t have to show you more video clips:

It is now beyond hopeless to expect the elite political press to cover what is plainly happening before its eyes as regards Fulton County (Ga.) Inmate No. P01135809, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. On Monday, he went up to New Hampshire to put in his papers for that state’s primary. In connection with this, he gave a speech in Derry. During this speech, he provided more convincing evidence that he is out of his freaking mind. To wit…

“I’m for us! You know how you spell “us,” right? You spell “us” “U-S!” I just picked that up. Has anyone ever thought of that? I just picked that up, couple of days I’m reading, and it said “us,” and I said, you know, you think about it, “us” equals “U-S!” Isn’t that 
 Now if we say something genius they’ll never say it…

…So the leading Republican candidate for president got up in public with his frontal lobes apparently leaking out of his ears, and you will not find a single account of this speech that states this obvious fact clearly and without equivocation. This, of course, is happening in a campaign in which the president’s age is considered to be a live and important issue in the upcoming election. But the former president’s obvious Olympic downhill of a cognitive decline is treated as an ugly side of his eccentric political persona. Each fable or fabrication is debunked—or “fact-checked”—as an individual aberrant moment, and not as cumulative evidence that his chandelier is winking out, one bulb at a time.

More examples at the link.

* (Incidentally, ‘losing his meager moiety of marbles’ comes from a Pogo strip — sanctimonious grifter Deacon Mushrat‘s diagnosis of his fellow grifter Mole, addressed to grifter colleague Seminole Sam, who replies ‘Years ago’. I would be grateful to the google-fu genius who could find me a link to that strip…)

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  4. 4.

    RaflW

    Too many members of the press apparently fully but the Republican idea that Democrat not legitimately entitled to win elections.

    And as was touched on earlier, if we do manage to be the minority party in a chamber of Congress, we should be the char women and manservants of the chaos monkeys of the GOP anyway.

    We need to blow out as many elections, president obviously, but run some g-d dammed tables around the country so that maybe, for a minute, the press can marinate in the shock that we on the left and sane center not their household staff here to please them.

  5. 5.

    Splitting Image

    * (Incidentally, ‘losing his meager moiety of marbles’ comes from a Pogo strip — sanctimonious grifter Deacon Mushrat‘s diagnosis of his fellow grifter Mole, addressed to grifter colleague Seminole Sam, who replies ‘Years ago’. I would be grateful to the google-fu genius who could find me a link to that strip
)

    I made a cursory examination of my collection and couldn’t find it, although it is only complete up to 1961. The quote may be from a later strip. However, I’m willing to do a more thorough reading of the strips later on, preferably with some good music and a cup or two of hot chocolate.

  6. 6.

    Anne Laurie

    @Splitting Image: Fairly sure it’s from the late 1960s / early 1970s, b/c I bought the paperback when it came out.  But my Pogo books are in storage, and I really wish I could find an online image!

  7. 7.

    Origuy

    I take pride in my Google-fu, but this is the closest I could find and the image is not legible. I think Walt Kelly’s estate has been very diligent in protecting his copyright. The link is to the Library of Congress website, which states that the original can only be viewed at the Library.

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    While perusing headlines on Memeorandum in the wee hours yesterday, I noticed several headlines that suggested at least some outlets are reporting on Trump’s decompensation. There were pieces highlighting how Trump outlandishly compared himself to Nelson Mandela, his absurd false claim that he is not under indictment and his lies about the country suffering zero terrorist attacks on his watch. I think even Politico noted the gaffe where he mixed up OrbĂĄn and Erdoğan.

    But it’s not framed as signs of cognitive decline, let alone a straightforward acknowledgment that the former president / current GOP frontrunner is crazier than a sprayed roach. It’s more like, oh look, that scamp is at it again. It wouldn’t be so irritating if they used a similar tone while covering Biden, but of course they don’t — the same slipups he was making in 1988 are framed as the rantings of a senile codger in 2023.

  9. 9.

    mrmoshpotato

    Trump tells Republicans to focus on watching votes being counted on election night instead of getting out to vote:

     

    “You don’t have to vote, don’t worry about voting. The voting, we got plenty of votes.”

    Oh, so the Soviet shitpile mobster conman will yet again invite Kremlin fuckery.

    Wanna see my surprised face about this traitorous, fascistic, pile of shit?

  11. 11.

    Splitting Image

    @Betty Cracker:

    But it’s not framed as signs of cognitive decline, let alone a straightforward acknowledgment that the former president / current GOP frontrunner is crazier than a sprayed roach. It’s more like, oh look, that scamp is at it again. It wouldn’t be so irritating if they used a similar tone while covering Biden, but of course they don’t — the same slipups he was making in 1988 are framed as the rantings of a senile codger in 2023.

    The tell is that Trump is only three years younger than Biden, so Trump is the same age now as Biden was three years ago. They were already concerned about Biden’s age in 2020 in the lead-up to the election, so since Trump is the same age now as Biden was then, his age ought to be at least as big a concern as Biden’s was then.

    Right? Right?

  12. 12.

    glc

    I can find various books with the Deacon talking to Seminole Sam, but not this particular sequence. I took a quick look through “The Jack Acid Society” where the Mole is particularly weird, carrying an umbrella to shield from the fallout of the population explosion, but it didn’t seem to be in there.

  13. 13.

    Betty Cracker

    In Florida, there’s a rare bit of good news on the public higher education front. Randy Fine, a ridiculously unqualified, sexist, homophobic trash-pile statehouse toady, will not be foisted off on FAU as its president: (Orlando Sentinel)

    Florida Atlantic University’s next president will not be conservative firebrand Randy Fine, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.

    DeSantis had supported Fine, a state representative from Palm Bay, for the FAU job in March, and Fine endorsed DeSantis for his presidential bid. But this week, it was clear their alliance had been shattered, with Fine announcing he was flipping his support to former President Trump.

    “He was up for a presidency of FAU. He didn’t get it. Now he’s running for Senate. He’s trying to ingratiate himself. Totally ridiculous,” DeSantis said in New Hampshire, according to Politico.

    It is totally ridiculous, but not in the way Ron means. It’s ridiculous that a creep like Fine was ever considered for the job, given his lack of relevant academic credentials and experience, his penchant for calling female officials who cross him “whores” and his tendency to bully charities like the Special Olympics to score political points.

    The timing is interesting. On Monday, an op-ed by Fine was published in the DC wingnut rag, accusing DeSantis of not doing enough to push back on antisemitism. It’s true — as I’ve mentioned here more than once, when Nazis march around in Florida carrying DeSantis campaign swag, Ron bristles at the idea that he’s obligated to denounce them, not at the fact that Nazis are on the march. But Fine, the only Jewish Repub in the statehouse, sure didn’t seem to give a shit about that until very recently. Hmmm.

    Anyhoo, as a bystander, I find it gratifying to watch two truly horrible people turn on each other. May their falling out get much nastier!

  14. 14.

    Kathleen

    @Tehanu: I want to embroider your comment and hang it on my wall. I’m also thinking of them reduced to begging on the streets.

  17. 17.

    Ten Bears

    There’s that word again ~ eccentric. Boobert tried to use that to explain away jerking her boyfriend off in front of a bunch of kids. Johnson uses it to justify knocking back a couple of Pabst (Blue Ribbon!) for breakfast. Whatshisname, that guy “primarying” drumpf uck claims his lack of female company is “eccentricity”. It’s almost as if someone were trying to LED-light us

    I’m eccentric, trust me, this bunch not-so-much …

  18. 18.

    Betty Cracker

    You folks will have to soldier on largely without me for the next week or so. Around mid-morning, I’m off to the Blue Ridge Mountains with friends for some R&R. I may drop in from time to time as circumstances allow, but I’ll probably be offline for much of the trip.

    I’m going to miss my dogs, and they will miss me since we are sort of like co-workers in my remote working situation, and I am the colleague with opposable thumbs who dispenses treats. I’ll miss my husband too, of course, and the swamp and birds and gators. I will not miss the airboats!

  22. 22.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

     

    President Trump believes that most Americans don’t know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.

    MARCH 21, 2017 8:55 PM EDT

    “Great president. Most people don’t even know he was a Republican,” Trump said while addressing attendees at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner. “Does anyone know? Lot of people don’t know that.”

    Trump then said Republicans need to spread the word that Lincoln was a Republican, appearing to be unaware of the fact that the GOP is commonly referred to as the “party of Lincoln.”

    “Let’s take an ad, let’s use one of those PACs,” he said.

     

  24. 24.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Betty Cracker: ​
     

    You folks will have to soldier on largely without me for the next week or so. Around mid-morning, I’m off to the Blue Ridge Mountains with friends for some R&R.

    What part of the Blue Ridge? Maybe you could have a meetup with Geminid!

  26. 26.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Fox News is “sidelining” him. They’re not, but they are limiting him to heavily edited clips and videos. But in doing that, they are helping Trump, both legally and politically.

    Fox is helping themselves. They’re still under a multi billion dollar lawsuit and airing Dump screaming the election was rigged only hurts them.​
     

    Fox news stock has fallen 29% since they were sued.

  28. 28.

    lowtechcyclist

    “I’m for us! You know how you spell “us,” right? You spell “us” “U-S!” I just picked that up. Has anyone ever thought of that? I just picked that up, couple of days I’m reading, and it said “us,” and I said, you know, you think about it, “us” equals “U-S!” Isn’t that 
 “‘God’ is ‘dog’ spelled backwards” level of profundity. Holy shit.

    And it’s the “I just picked that up. Has anyone ever thought of that?” that’s the killer. Um, like just about everybody who’s gotten through second grade reading.

  29. 29.

    WereBear

    @RaflW: Back when the press was working class, scrappy newshens going undercover into mental asylums and Fletch-style subterfuge to get photos in the morgue, it was different.

    Pretty people on TV changed that. Now it’s entertainment, and we’ve never figured that out legislatively.

    Also, papers used to be hometown dailies and everyone read them. The department store ads paid for the people who went to zoning meetings.

    Unless someone with money started murdering people in department stores, it was something of a balanced system.

    Now, we have no power over our own airwaves when they are outright lying and deceiving people? I don’t care if we get them on false advertising.

    Just stop them.

  30. 30.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    This was actually an episode of Hogan’s Heroes.

    The bumbling Colonel Klink and Sgt. Schultz are shocked to discover “us” stands for “United States” (video)

    Major Hochstetter has found a U.S. Armed Forces button and believes it is someone at Stalag 13. Klink and Schultz think the button says “us” rather than U.S.
    The episode is “To the Gestapo with Love.” The original airdate was October 26, 1968

  33. 33.

    Geminid

    I checked out Politico’s article on the Speaker mess, titled “‘Are we screwed?’: Anguished House GOP turns to fourth speaker pick.”

    The reporters talked to some House menbers after they nominated Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson for Speaker last night. There was no optimism, but plenty of cynicism and angst.

    Rep. Ronnie Jackson (TX): “You have to find someone smart enough to to 217 but stupid enough to want the job.”

    Max Miller (OH): “Are we screwed? Ask Matt Gaetz that question.” Miller said he did not think any of Tuesday night’s candidates could get to 217.

    Mari Diaz-Balart (FL): “The animosity is high.” Diaz-Balart was one of the leaders of the anti-Jordan bloc.

    Fellow Floridian Mike Walz: “My fear is that if we keep doing this someone is going to side with the Democrats.”

    I think that Walz may be right. This could end up being the fear that drives House Republicans to “git ‘er done.”

  34. 34.

    Tony Jay

    @Betty Cracker:

    Have an awesome time, and if you do find yourself in a situation out there in the the Upsy-Downsie wilderness where it’s your life or theirs*, don’t hesitate, there are people here who make problems like that go away for a living. With others it’s a hobby, but for your first rodeo I’d advise sticking with the professionals.

    *Unless the other person is a member of one of the J-Pop groups, in which case just run. If you so much as scratch one of their milky, poreless cheeks their rabid fanbase will find you and they will kill you. It’s just what they do.

  38. 38.

    Matt McIrvin

    Speaking generally… people rhetorically treating meaningless puns as if they were reflections of a profound truth (perhaps even the real etymology of a phrase!) is a pet peeve of mine. It’s a common trope in inspirational and campaign speeches and advertising.

  39. 39.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Politico also had an article on endangered California House members, titled “Orohaned by McCarthy, California Republicans stand alone.”

    The reporter wrote that “half a dozen GOP members in swing districts lost their loyal patron” when Kevin McCarthy was deposed. His diminished clout and fundraising capabilities will be missed by Reps. Mike Garcia, Young Kim, Michelle Steele, Ken Calvert, David Valadeo and John Duarte.

    The article noted that all 6 voted for Jim Jordan last week, “a vote Democrats are salivating to use in next year’s elections.” Democrats in Rep. Steele’s district have already put up a billboard with a picture of Steel alongside pics of Trump and Jordan.

    Ed. Democrats flipped 6 California Republican districts in 2018. In 2020, several of these districts were reclaimed by Republican candidates, including some mentioned above.

  41. 41.

    Rusty

    I would have thought the invasion of Ukraine (and the resulting addition of Finland and Sweden to the alliance) would have damped down Trumps ardor to abandon NATO.  He, and his surrounding flunkies really are that pro Russia.  If you accept that it’s OK for Russia to invade Ukraine,  then you are also signaling that it’s OK that China invade Taiwan and so much more of Asia.  It’s a bizarre foreign policy, yet this is where the Republicans are headed.

  42. 42.

    Geminid

    @Rusty: I think Republican Isolationism is ascendent in a way we have not seen since the Second World War. Eisenhower won the Isolationist vs.Internationalist fight when he beat Robert Taft in 1952, but as it turned out, only for 60 years. Today, Taft would beat Eisenhower.

  44. 44.

    Princess

    I dunno. To me, even with the gaffes he sounds just like he did in 2016, and exposure didn’t hurt him then. His base doesn’t care (to be clear, I have thought he was showing signs of decline, but not so much in this speech. This just sounds Trump-normal. He’s a clever canny ignorant incurious man.)

  46. 46.

    Geminid

    @Princess: Like you say, Trump’s base isn’t going to care. But he cannot win with just his base, and other voters he needs to attract could be put off by his deficient presentation. I think Independents in particular have a lot of Trump fatigue to begin with, and Trump’s aggrieved ramblings will reinforce that aversion.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    Thanks for the well-wishes for my upcoming journey, all! I hope I get to see a Horned Lark. I’ve never seen one. I also hear there’s a Sasquatch museum in a nearby town, and that sounds like fun — especially if there’s a gift shop with eccentric stocking stuffers!

  50. 50.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Princess:

    Exactly what I think.  This speech highlights how bugfuck nuts Trump is, sure, but not in a way that’s different from 2016.  It is other speeches that show how incoherent and single-note he is getting.

  51. 51.

    Another Scott

    It is an evocative quote. I see that someone else liked it, but don’t see them pointing to a source.

    Bartemis | November 25, 2011 at 1:56 am |
    “
climate scientists have weighed this
”

    With, as any idiot with a moiety of marbles can see, their thumbs on the scales.

    Just goes to show that there’s a world of stuff out there, still, that Google hasn’t hoovered up yet.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  52. 52.

    Anne Laurie

    @Rusty:  The motto of all powerful, dictatorial empires: The strong take what they want, and the weak bear what they must.

    Trump admires Putin (and Xi, and Bibi, et al) because they are, in his eyes, REAL MANLY MEN who aren’t afraid to act out his angry-toddler fantasies.

  53. 53.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I didn’t see Trump’s “Don’t bother to vote” comment in the article, but more of that, please.  Make it a major campaign message, Trump.  Tell the MAGA to stay home and give up on voting!

  54. 54.

    Tony Jay

    @Anne Laurie:

    The Golden Rule. “He who has the gold makes the rules“.

    OTOH, with the court cases piling up and his entire rickety film-set of a ‘business empire’ at risk of being torched by unforgiving sunlight, Trumpus Loserius Maximus should be falling foul of that rule at some point in the non-too distant future.

  56. 56.

    Anne Laurie

    @Origuy: Thanks, but the strip I remember was much later — well after McCarthy was gone.  Mole had become a regular ‘guest star’; in the story arc as I remember it, he was wearing a striped nightshirt, tripped over a mop & bucket, smushed his nose upwards & ended up wearing the mop head as a wig.  Being both short-sighted and not too bright, he decided his new look made him practically Pogo’s twin… so if he went out & did a bunch of nefarious stuff, it would be Pogo who took the blame!

    Whereupon he rushes out of the house, past the Deacon and Sam, whose casual ‘Hey, Mole’ greetings he ignores…

  57. 57.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Anne Laurie:

    Yep, Trump admires brutal dictators and openly longs to be one.  Putin is his biggest man-crush, the coolest cool kid.  Putin personally helped Trump become president, and Trump knows it.  Republicans share these feelings varying amounts, some not much, but Trump is all in.

    Separately, Trump isn’t an isolationist exactly, but it works out that way.  He is a selfish, petty, narcissistic predator and cannot imagine mutual win scenarios.  NATO isn’t directly, obviously benefiting the US at the expense of the other members.  We’re not bullying them.  In Trump’s eyes, that means it’s a bad deal and he’s been against it for decades.

    The Russian intelligence analysis of Trump keeps playing out.  They don’t have to give him orders.  The things Trump wants to do are the things Moscow wants.

  58. 58.

    Scout211

    A bit off topic, but to add to the discussions here previously about Scholastic Books and their (cowardly) segregation of books to appease the haters, they have finally seen the light.

    Scholastic Book Fair Will Discontinue Separate Collection Of Race And Gender Books

    The Scholastic Book Fair will discontinue its separate selection of books on race and gender following criticism that segregating the titles caters to the right-wing censorship that is spreading across the country.

    “I want to apologize on behalf of Scholastic,” Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade Publishing, said in a recent statement. “Even if the decision was made with good intention, we understand now that it was a mistake to segregate diverse books in an elective case. We sincerely apologize to every author, illustrator, licensor, educator, librarian, parent, and reader who was hurt by our action.”

  59. 59.

    SteveinPHX

    My ol’ man left me a large collection of Pogo books from 1950’s & 60’s. He taught me a love for Kelly’s humor & art. Some is boxed up in the closet and some under a bedside table. Plus, I have acquired reissues over the years.

    I’m still doing a FT job, otherwise I’d be happy to look. Maybe I can take a look over the weekend. I’m sure Sarcophagus Macabre was lurking in the scene.

  64. 64.

    SFAW

    @SteveinPHX:

    I’m still doing a FT job, otherwise I’d be happy to look.

    Why don’t you try using “I don’t have any time, because I’m flossing the cat”?

    If you were a True Jackal, YOU’D MAKE THE TIME, RIGHT NOW, DAGNABIT!!!!!

    Also, get offa my lawn.

  65. 65.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Some House Republicans showed a little more optimis. In this morning’s Politico Playbook. Ken Buck, one of the 8 Republicans who voted Kevin McCarthy out, said he believed Mike Johnson would “get it tomorrow,” which I think meant Johnson would win. Other Republicans also sounded upbeat.

    Johnson is serving only his fourth term, which may account for a lack of enemies. The Playbook article has more on Johnson, who is said to be on the “wonky” side.

  66. 66.

    JPL

    So the repubs are on the verge of voting for a fascist to lead the out of the forest and into a swamp.   Help us all who want to support Ukraine and fund the government.

  68. 68.

    gvg

    @Rusty: It was OK to invade Iraq when Cheney was saying things like their oil would pay for it. Bush was more careful, but most of the neocons weren’t. They flat out ignored that the laws were not going to allow what they imagined would happen. These were supposed to be the old-style foreign policy-oriented Republicans. They lived in a fantasy past before Trump, and it involved conquest being OK and the US taking what it wanted. Thats why they don’t see Russia as a threat. They think we are leashing ourselves and could do even better. They do not think there will be any consequences. Aside from the blood and the threat of nuclear exchanges, they also don’t understand how profitable the current world economy is. It’s like dropping a golden apple you already have to grab at a polished turd.

  69. 69.

    Rusty

    @Anne Laurie: Its this, but also part of a broader conservative turn against democracy.  The broad based enthusiasm to embrace gerrymandering to maintain minority rule.  The conservative Supreme Court grabbing power and moving to enact a conservative agenda they could never get through democratic means.  At the foreign policy level not seeing other democracies as our natural allies, not willing to promote democracy around the world.  It’s a hard turn away from democratic principles in addition to old fashioned isolationism.

  71. 71.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: You’ll miss it? I hear the “Speaker Kevin McCarthy” plaque will be given a place of honor, between a pair of Buck Owens’ cowboy boots and Merle Haggard’s release papers from San Quentin!

    But maybe you’ll be able to take a virtual tour, with a pair of those virtual reality eyeglasses.

  72. 72.

    Kay

    There’s a group of better educated Trump supporters who insist he is “funny”. They take most of his gaffes and errors not as signs of cognitive decline but instead as deliberate – Trump being funny.

    One of the things I’ve had to come to terms with living in a 75% Trump county is the realization that even moderate, college educated Republicans are often delighted with Trump and will tie themselves into knots justifying his behavior. I now believe the numbers of “never Trump” or “disastisfied with Trump” Republicans are exaggerated.

    Most of them also believe the conspiracy theories of black people cheating in elections. That’s not a fringe belief on the Right. It’s a 80 to 90% belief. George W Bush believed it.

    Trump knows Republicans really well.

  73. 73.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: Oh Good Christ, the racing sheets are latching onto “wonky” already? Maybe they’re determined to make a Paul Ryan of Johnson. đŸ€ź

    Meanwhile, Hakeem Jeffries was on CNN this morning and minced zero words, calling Johnson an extremist who wants to criminalize reproductive healthcare nationwide and get rid of Medicare and Social Security “as we know it.”

  74. 74.

    Geminid

    @JPL: Well, Johnson is certainly a brighter fascist than Jim Jordan, but he’ll have the same slim majority that McCarthy had. And while House Republicans might even show a enough unity to put Johnson through on the first ballot today, all the intra-caucus divisions will eventually crop up again, I think.

  75. 75.

    SteveinPHX

    @SFAW: I got four cats in this house! What the hell do you think I’m doin’ on the weekends? Sure ain’t mowin’ the lawn.

    Keeps me outta bars & pool halls.

  76. 76.

    Betty Cracker

    Also according to CNN, Erdoğan of Turkey said Hamas is not a terrorist group but a force for liberation. The IDF’s decision to screen raw footage of Hamas atrocities for foreign journalists seems like a shrewd move in light of the fact that a NATO ally is praising Hamas.

  77. 77.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: The “wonkiest Republican Speaker since Paul Ryan,” is how the Playbook reporters described Johnson

    I might describe Johnson as the “honkiest” Speaker of this century.

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker:

    I was worried about the dogs until I realized that the mister was going to be home with them.

    Have a fabulous time!

    P.S. I’m sure Bill takes comfort in being higher on your “what I will miss” list than the gators!  :-)

  80. 80.

    Another Scott

    Aaron Fritschner
    @Fritschner
    33m

    “So where’s the new speaker from?”
    “Louisiana.”
    “Nice, love New Orleans. Where’s the Majority Leader from?”
    “Also Louisiana.”
    “Oh, ok. And the whip?”
    “The guy with the title is from Minnesota, but to be honest the guy in leadership who really does the job is from, uh, Louisiana.”

    Oct 25, 2023 · 12:28 PM UTC

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  81. 81.

    WaterGirl

    @Scout211: Well, they have permanently dinged their reputation, but I am very glad to see that they reversed course.

    EVERYONE.  EVERY PERSON.  EVERY SCHOOL.  EVERY ORGANIZATION.

    We all have to stand up to this trend toward censorship and authoritarianism.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: Erdogan may be posturing for his domestic audience. There are important municiple elections this Spring, and Edogan wants the AKP to win them.

    But Erdogan’s incessant complaining is often belied by hls actions. He places a lot of confidence in his Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, and I think Fidan’s actions will show Erdogan’s real policies.

    Most Turks seem to be siding with Gaza citizens now, but I have fallen into a set of contrarians on Twitter. They’ll meet the demand that Turkiye must side with “every Palestinian demand” with the question, “when have the Palestinians sided with Turkiye on anything?” When there is a picture of a bunch of people attacking a US Consulate, these Turks say, “why don’t those f**king Syrian refugees go to Gaza and join the fight if they feel so strongly?” Some of these folks were angrier over the 42 cops injured by protesters than they were about Gaza.

    Lately I’ve seen old videos of Turkish soldiers in Palestine being led off to captivity by the British, in 1918. Some Turks still remind others that back then, Arabs took British gold and then stabbed their fellow Turkish soldiers in the back. People in that region really carry grudges. And it seems that a lot of Turks really dislike Arabs.

  83. 83.

    Manyakitty

    @Geminid: my great grandfather, who lived in Safed (then Palestine), was kidnapped twice by the Turks and forced to serve in their army both times. (He kept escaping)

  84. 84.

    cmorenc

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Will Trump debate Biden? It’s hard for me to imagine what that would look like.

    Trump won’t be able to resist a debate forum with Biden where Trump can put on a display of alpha=male dominance over Biden with constant snarling, disrespectful interruptions whenever Biden it’s Biden’s turn to speak.

    And I recall that Trump’s demeanor was so belligerently nasty during (especially) one of the 2020 debates with Biden that a widespread impression was that Trump had turned off a great many voters with that display, but alas it didn’t seem to lose Trump many votes.

  90. 90.

    Paul in KY

    @gvg: Anyone who said Iraq’s oil ‘would pay for invasion’ was lying.  They just said shit to get it to happen.

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