Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

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

It’s the corruption, stupid.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

People are weird.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

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

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Mom Briefly Deprived of Liberty

Mom Briefly Deprived of Liberty

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Moms for Liberty has endured several months of scandalous bombshells about members staging keggers for kiddies, engaging in gross GOP power player three-ways, hobnobbing with Proud Boys, threatening opponents and quoting Hitler in newsletters. Now a Moms for Liberty-affiliated school board member in Tennessee resigned after getting busted for shoplifting at Target! The Daily Beast:

A Tennessee school board member who advocated for “parent choice” and was backed by a member of the right-wing group Moms for Liberty has resigned after being accused of swiping goods from Target.

Keri Leigh Blair, 43, was arrested and briefly tossed in jail on Jan. 5 for allegedly stealing $728.61 worth of stuff during seven shopping trips at a Target in Collierville, according to Fox 13.

Police said in an affidavit that Blair—who was released on $7,500 bond—would “skip scanning items at the self-checkout,” with amounts ranging from $63.38 to $140.49. All of the incidents took place between Nov. 25 and Dec. 20, 2023.

To paraphrase something I read about the self-checkout business model, theft at that point of purchase is just labor reclaiming stolen wages. But yeah, this Liberty Mom is another degenerate in a long list from that organization. When will these Moms for Liberty skanks stop grooming kids for a life of crime?

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

189Comments

  3. 3.

    suzanne

    When will these Moms for Liberty skanks stop grooming kids for a life of crime?

    Man, the trash really just takes itself out.

    In this metaphor, though, we never say where it goes.

  11. 11.

    Betty Cracker

    OMFG:

    Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is making the rounds in New Hampshire today, the traditional leadoff primary state. He is currently speaking at a diner in Derry, N.H., standing near a tray of giant muffins. He is getting a number of questions about Nick Saban, the retiring Alabama football coach and friend of Manchin’s, and sounded skeptical that Saban would mount a Senate bid.

    First, Joe Manchin should fall into a sewer grate, be carried out to sea and devoured by lobsters. Second, was the suggestion that Alabama should replace dumbass Coach Tuberville with Coach Saban? It would have to an upgrade — Saban has opposable thumbs. But can Alabama not move past coaches and walking Confederate monuments? They had Doug Jones, FFS!

  12. 12.

    Ken

    The one thing that would make this story better is if there were video of her screaming “You can’t do this, I’m white” at the arresting officers.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    Moms for Liberating Yo Stuff.

    Good news for a Friday. Really good.

    The nation’s largest dam-removal project is reaching a major milestone this month as work crews release the water behind three dams on the Klamath River, leaving the storied waterway in Northern California and southern Oregon to flow freely for the first time in a century.

    The drawdown of the reservoirs and the unleashing of the river, which began Thursday at the 189-foot-high Iron Gate Dam, is a necessary – and hugely transformative – step before the three hydroelectric facilities in the remote Siskiyou Mountains are fully removed. Last fall, workers took out a smaller, fourth dam on the river.

    The deconstruction effort, about a six-hour drive from San Francisco, is the culmination of a decades-long push by Native Americans, environmentalists and fishermen to bring the 250-mile Klamath River back to its natural state. Most fundamentally, advocates want to see more salmon return to the pristine waters born in Oregon’s high desert and emptying on the California coast where the power project has blocked fish passage since the early 1900s.

    “We’re now pulling the plug and throwing it away,” said Frankie Myers, vice chair of the Yurok Tribe, one of the indigenous groups supporting dam removal and celebrating this month’s drawdowns. “Not to get too mushy about it but being able to look at the river flow for the first time in more than 100 years, it’s incredibly important to us. It’s what we’ve been fighting for: to see the river for itself.”

    The remaining two reservoirs upstream of Iron Gate Dam are scheduled to start draining over the next three weeks, at which time the waterway will be unshackled.

    https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/klamath-river-dams-18592696.php

    The overwhelming success of the Elwah River dam removal project makes more such efforts easier to sell. Trump hates them obv, if he even knows it’s happening. “How many times do I have to flush if we throw out a perfectly good dam?”

  16. 16.

    Citizen Alan

    @Alison Rose: Javert was the obsessed cop. I think you mean she wasn’t a Valjean, going to prison over a single loaf of bread. If anything, she’s probably a Mrs. Thernadier.

  17. 17.

    suzanne

    @Tony G:

    “Shoplifting at Target”.  Jesus, these women are just walking cliches.

    I hope she stole some of that knockoff Chip-and-Joanna-Gaines home decor stuff that they sell. For the children.

  19. 19.

    Citizen Alan

    @Betty Cracker: I assume Nick Saban’s political views are repellant, but wouldn’t it be hilarious if he were a closet Dem all this time, and he runs against Stupidville as a Democrat? He could even make his platform “I won’t agree with the Democrats on most issues, but I won’t undermine our military the way the Senator from Auburn does!”

  20. 20.

    MattF

    The arc of the ‘Moms For Liberty’ timeline seems to be running remarkably rapidly. From start to finish in about a year? There must be a really efficient grapevine connecting the various RW crazies. Fox, I ‘spose.

  24. 24.

    HumboldtBlue

    I have no idea who Peter Tosh is other than he’s a comedian. I’ve never seen any of his stuff, but this morning I stumbled upon this podcast as Tosh addresses Karen Rodgers and his bullshit and slanderous claims against Kimmel and his general douchebaggery in general.

    AFC East fans will also appreciate his takes on the division as a Dolphins fan.

    As for the kegger-buying-threesome-loving-shoplifting Moms for Lesbians or whatever the fuck they are lying about today, is anyone really surprised?

    I can remember as a kid seeing the pics and videos from the civil rights marches and being shocked at the vociferous hate that came from WOMEN! It absolutely flabbergasted me that women could be that hateful, that mean, that vile, because I lived in a world where the women were the leaders fighting for rights whether that was for more respect and participation in the Catholic Church (my mother was the first woman in the parish in Philly, where she endured the wrath of the archbishop, to read from the altar and that continues in Dover and led to more and more women taking part in mass). Women were the leaders in being teachers of decency and kindness and fighting for the rights of all to live their lives fully and without restraint due to race, creed or sex, women of every race and creed who taught me in school, who were the models I looked up to and deeply respected.

    I’ve said many times here, I was extraordinarily fortunate to have had amazing female role models in my life and that started with my mom, immediately extended to my ridiculously amazing sisters and to mom’s colleagues and contemporaries. Name a strong, outspoken, righteous woman from the 70s, and they were prominent in my little boy’s universe, fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment, fighting to end racial and sexual discrimination — my mother’s fierce anger and indignity at the fact that she couldn’t take out a credit line in her own name without pop’s approval stand out STARKLY (her first purchase with the credit card issued in her name was used to purchase a rototiller to make her backyard garden easier to build and maintain, of course it was my skinny ass who had to wrestle that machine around the yard, and it weighed twice what I weighed at the time) — and to this day I recoil when I see women stand on the side of injustice, of intolerance, of hate and discrimination.

    The world is a weird place.

  34. 34.

    Bill Arnold

    @Urza:

    Huh, I thought conservatives were whining cause no one arrested shoplifters.

    Conservatives have been whining because people don’t regularly kill shoplifters.

  35. 35.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Citizen Alan: ​ 

    I assume Nick Saban’s political views are repellant

    Don’t be too assured of that. Saban may not be a liberal like this crew, but he prominently walked with his players during BLM protests, he’s a Catholic, but his bent is more toward Catholic justice than beating up gays and whores who get abortions, and while he’s never been noted for speaking on social and political issues, I doubt very seriously if he fits in with the modern GOP.

    I could be wrong, but I sense he’s closer to the good guys than the screeching flying monkeys that currently make up this country’s right wing.

  37. 37.

    lowtechcyclist

    @HumboldtBlue:

    This dam removal has been a long time coming, and that’s some good news for the fish and the tribes.

    About dam time it happened.

    :d&r:

  38. 38.

    Eyeroller

    @trollhattan: Ahem, don’t you mean Tamika? Those are the people who are supposed to be arrested (or, I suppose, shot).  Not a nice white probably middle-class suburban woman.

  41. 41.

    lowtechcyclist

    Speaking of the Moms for Liberty, I’m sure they’re angrily protesting Congresspersons’ using their official capacities to disseminate porn. Right? Right??

    (I refer, of course, to the Hunter Biden dick pics.)

  47. 47.

    C Stars

    @trollhattan: This is great news, thank you for sharing. I’ve already looked at the chronicle online a couple of times today and didn’t even see this story.

  48. 48.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Betty Cracker:

    Joe Manchin should fall into a sewer grate, be carried out to sea and devoured by lobsters.

    I’m so gonna steal that when referring to many other appropriate people.​
    Given the nature of this thread thus far, such people could include Rae Dunn and of course the fucking Gaines couple.

  50. 50.

    Captain C

    @Citizen Alan: He did lead a Black Lives Matter march in 2020, so they can’t be too awful.

    Alabama coach Nick Saban led a march Monday afternoon of hundreds of the university’s athletes, coaches and staff that was organized to protest racial injustice in the country.
    Saban was at the front of a large crowd of players who walked from the Mal Moore athletic facility to Foster Auditorium’s schoolhouse door….
    “Today I’m like a proud parent,” Saban said at the end of the march. “I’m proud of our team, I’m proud of our messengers over here and I’m very proud of the message. I’m very proud of the ’All lives can’t matter until Black lives matter’ video that we did early on that I think had a very positive impact. That was something we did together as a team.
    “This is something that the team decided to do together as a team, so I’m very proud and supportive of what they are trying to say, and in a peaceful and intelligent way. I’m very pleased to be here today.”
    Saban later spoke in front of the schoolhouse door, where Alabama governor George Wallace infamously resisted federal desegregation efforts in 1963.
    “Sports has always created a platform for social change,” Saban said. “For each of us involved in sports, I think we have a responsibility and obligation to do that in a responsible way and use our platform in a positive way to try to create social change in positive ways.
    “Through this process, I’ve learned a lot from our players. I don’t get to see the world through the same lens that a lot of our players do. I think I respect and appreciate the lens they see the world in and they live the world in. We had various speakers that I think contributed that education as well, whether it was Condoleezza Rice, Charles Barkley, Stephen A. Smith, Joey Galloway, Tony Dungy. All those people had an interesting way that we could all make positive change.
    “So this is what helped me grow in my role as a leader: to listen to the players, to learn from the players and to give them the opportunity to do things that could impact social change today.”
    Saban was joined by a group of speakers that included Harris, linebacker Jarez Parks, center Chris Owens, athletics director Greg Byrne, president Stuart Bell, university police chief John Hooks and vice president/associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion G. Christine Taylor….

  52. 52.

    Old School

    @Alison Rose:

    I wanna see these muffins. How giant are we talking here?

    Looks like Manchin was at MaryAnn’s Diner.  Their website doesn’t give you a sense of the scale of the muffins, but at $2.99 per muffin, I’d hope they’d be a decent size.

  53. 53.

    Delk

    Target reportedly implements a system wherein store authorities allow thefts to occur unchallenged for weeks and sometimes months. Instead of filing reports, the thieves will be documented until the dollar amount they’ve taken meets local thresholds for substantial criminal charges.
    She thought she was getting away with it so she just kept coming back to steal more

  54. 54.

    C Stars

    This moms for hypocrisy stuff is playing out in an extremely familiar way. I remember the tea party folks followed the same pattern: Looked like grassroots but was actually astroturfing, then some particularly corrupt and ambitious GOP operatives realized there was money in this scam and went all in with local organizing, only for the whole thing to fall apart a few months later when it turned out the local tea party czars were pocketing membership fees, dark money donations, etc.

    The Moms haven’t been revealed to have been stealing money from their marks yet, but they sure do seem corrupt.

  57. 57.

    Dan B

    I hope Betty C. has heard of the Florida State Rep who wants to prevent medical care for trans people.  He wants ID to reflect gender at birth.  There are sections that require insurance companies to pay for de-transitioning and for “curing” people of being gay.  Talk about small government.  The fact that there are six, Six!, different indicators of sexuality suggests a lawsuit potential.

    There’s no shortage of money for bigots.  There are too many billionaires who are disgusted by human sexuality humanity… sexuality… and who feel strongly that empathy is weakness, qnd believe the weak get eaten.

  58. 58.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Citizen Alan: Exactly my thought. I have no idea what Saban’s political leanings are, but it would not be beyond the pale for a truly successful coach to not be Republican.

  59. 59.

    Suzanne

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: Yeah, $3 for a muffin is a score. Even in cheap cities.

    Of course, I was just in 30th Street Station in Philly, where they were selling a bag of trail mix for $12, and I am salty about it because they are renovating the old court and there’s no other lunch options.

  63. 63.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Old School:

    Looks like Manchin was at MaryAnn’s Diner.  Their website doesn’t give you a sense of the scale of the muffins, but at $2.99 per muffin, I’d hope they’d be a decent size.

    But did any of the muffins come with ginger spice?

  64. 64.

    brendancalling

    The 8th episode of the Progress Pondcast is live (available on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon for now with more platforms coming soon), and we talk quite a bit about Moms for Licentiousness. It’s really funny how quickly this astroturf group fell apart. Klepto Keri is just the latest (so recent she didn’t make our rundown), but it’s a veritable rogues gallery, starting with the head of the Philly chapter, who isn’t even a mom—but he IS a convicted pedophile who still says he did nothing wrong.

    Then there’s Bisexual Bridget, and her rape-tacular husband who can’t take no for an answer.

    Two-fisted Clarice Schillinger, so named not only for her love of booze, but her penchant for punching children in the face after gettimg them drunk. There’s Bodacious Bree Moeggenberg who, when she’s not dressed up like Wonder Woman and disrupting Michigan Department of Ed meetings, is allegedly having an affair with Andy Sebolt, the 2nd Congressional District State Chair for the Michigan Republican Party.

    The shoplifter seems almost wholesome by comparison.

  65. 65.

    Another Scott

    @Alison Rose: Reminds me of the old snack bar we had at work.  They had packaged single muffins that looked really good.  If one looked at the nutrition information, the calories didn’t look too bad – until one noticed that the single muffin was “3.5 servings”.

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  66. 66.

    mrmoshpotato

    I guess the Trump trash thought they’d let her go on shoplifting because of her love of Hitler.

  70. 70.

    Steve in the ATL

    A special thank you to my colleague who is a Notre Dame alumnus and current parent for telling me to get out of South Bend last night instead of on my scheduled flight today.  What a mess! I’ve lived in Atlanta for so long now that I have trouble conceiving of long and brutal winters.

  71. 71.

    trollhattan

    @lowtechcyclist: Scary Spice muffins are the best!
    ETA we had a muffin fad in the ’90s and they competed over size and price–bigger was better. It was replaced by the cupcake fad, where they competed over who could pile the most frosting on top–like, inches of the stuff–and drove a market for take-out containers to contain their contraptions. Everything was >$5.
    Somewhere in there we had an artisan donut fad that sadly faded away too soon. I found the cupcake thing ghoulish while some donuts were revelatory. {sadface}​

  72. 72.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Delk:

    Target reportedly implements a system wherein store authorities allow thefts to occur unchallenged for weeks and sometimes months. Instead of filing reports, the thieves will be documented until the dollar amount they’ve taken meets local thresholds for substantial criminal charges.
    She thought she was getting away with it so she just kept coming back to steal more

    They’ll probably come up with some bullshit argument (strictly for public consumption) that it was entrapment.

  76. 76.

    smith

    So, the hits just keep on coming. TFG was just ordered to pay almost $400k in legal fees to NYT after he lost a frivolous lawsuit against them brought by crack lawyer Alina (“pretty, but not smart”) Habba.

  77. 77.

    Dan B

    Betty Cracker;  The Florida Representative who’s introducing the Defining a Woman bill is Dean Black from Northeast Florida.  A paper in Jacksonville has details.

    A couple commenters on JoeMyGod blog, where I found the piece about Rep. Black-heart, spell out the variety of indicators of gender that are not superficial genitalia.  They include chromosomes, hormones, and four others.  There are approximately 1% of people who are intersex.  Class action suit?

  81. 81.

    Tony G

    @Dan B: 1% intersex?  I had no idea.  I would have guessed 1 in 10,000 or thereabouts.  That implies that I’ve met hundreds of intersex people throughout my life without knowing it.

  84. 84.

    frosty

    @Alison Rose: ​I just got that joke. Roll, LOL. Anyway, I agree with her, you’ve been en fuego lately. Some of it funny, some of it inspired cursing!​​

  85. 85.

    Anoniminous

    @lowtechcyclist: ​
     

    They’ll probably come up with some bullshit argument (strictly for public consumption) that it was entrapment.

    Well ….

    The stuff was just sitting there on the shelves, unguarded, and didn’t have the Claymore’s wire trigger attached to stuff so seems like an open & shut case of entrapment to me!

  88. 88.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Another Scott:

    the calories didn’t look too bad – until one noticed that the single muffin was “3.5 servings”.

    So true. I recently bought a banana bread that measures approx. 8”x3”x3” (IOW small) and the calories were 180 per serving…for TEN servings. That entire little thing is 1800 calories? Yikes!

  90. 90.

    Anoniminous

    @Tony G:

    Genetics and fetal development is just plain weird.  For example, a chimera is an organism or tissue that contains at least two different sets of DNA, most often originating from the fusion of different zygotes. 

  91. 91.

    narya

    @trollhattan: The campus bar had a jukebox. I worked there quite awhile (long boring story, except that Nancy Giles worked the grill). The jukebox broke and would ONLY play “Mellow Yellow.” I’d roll the jukebox in the back storage room, and sooner or later someone would pull it back out and pump money into it. As you might imagine, I cannot stand that song.

  93. 93.

    trollhattan

    @narya: Our campus grill had a jukebox that contained Lennon’s “Cold Turkey,” which we’d select half a dozen times just before leaving.

    Lesson 43 in how to be a teenage jerk.

  102. 102.

    Dan B

    @Tony G: According to my client who’s a urologist, trained in India where “corrective” surgery is rare because of cost.  His definition of intersex is probably broad and would include women with internal testes among other things.  Apparently the reproductive organs are among the most likely to have anomalies, for lack of a better term.

  104. 104.

    Paul in KY

    @HumboldtBlue: That is ‘Daniel’ Tosh. Peter Tosh was a reggae great, who was murdered about 34 years ago. Daniel Tosh (IMO) is generally a douchewad, but I will watch it & see.

  107. 107.

    Dan B

    @Bostondreams: I wouldn’t be surprised if the Family Research Counsel (Koch / DeVos funding?) is responsible.  ALEC could be but is probably not so obsessed – more corporate and Chamber of Commerce centric.

  112. 112.

    Dangerman

    @FastEdD: Shhhhhh. Starting a meme that says using Preparation H as a toothpaste is a cure for Covid. If they start selling a minty fresh variety, the meme has taken hold.

  118. 118.

    Another Scott

    One for Ruckus, and all the space junkies… Phys.org:

    “The innovation and dedication of this team has been remarkable. We are all excited to see the remaining treasure OSIRIS-REx holds.”

    The remainder of the bulk sample will be fully visible after a few additional disassembly steps, at which point image specialists will take ultra-high-resolution pictures of the sample while it is still inside the TAGSAM head. This portion of the sample will then be removed and weighed, and the team will be able to determine the total mass of Bennu material captured by the mission.

    Curation processors paused disassembly of the TAGSAM head hardware in mid-October after they discovered that two of the 35 fasteners could not be removed with the tools approved for use inside the OSIRIS-REx glovebox.

    In response, two new multi-part tools were designed and fabricated to support further disassembly of the TAGSAM head. These tools include newly custom-fabricated bits made from a specific grade of surgical, non-magnetic stainless steel; the hardest metal approved for use in the pristine curation gloveboxes.

    “In addition to the design challenge of being limited to curation-approved materials to protect the scientific value of the asteroid sample, these new tools also needed to function within the tightly-confined space of the glovebox, limiting their height, weight, and potential arc movement,” said Dr. Nicole Lunning, OSIRIS-REx curator at Johnson.

    “The curation team showed impressive resilience and did incredible work to get these stubborn fasteners off the TAGSAM head so we can continue disassembly. We are overjoyed with the success.”

    (Includes a picture of one of the custom tools.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  119. 119.

    Bill Arnold

    @Dan B:

    trained in India where “corrective” surgery is rare because of cost.

    Out of (morbid) curiosity, does “sex” get assigned at birth, or after post-birth “corrective” surgery?

  120. 120.

    lowtechcyclist

    @narya:

    The jukebox broke and would ONLY play “Mellow Yellow.” I’d roll the jukebox in the back storage room, and sooner or later someone would pull it back out and pump money into it. As you might imagine, I cannot stand that song.

    I would guess! It’s a decent song IMHO, but even great songs can be overplayed to the point where you don’t want to hear them anymore.  (Which is why I stopped listening to ‘Classic Rock’ stations many years ago.)  So when you take a song that’s merely decent but not great, and it’s inflicted on you like that, I completely understand.

    But that reminds me, I’ve got the LP of Donovan’s greatest hits in my collection. Haven’t listened to it in decades; maybe I should pull it out and see how it’s held up.  Beatniks are out to make it rich…

  122. 122.

    Spanky

    @Tony G:

    1% intersex?  I had no idea.  I would have guessed 1 in 10,000 or thereabouts.  That implies that I’ve met hundreds of intersex people throughout my life without knowing it.

    Odds are 3 to 5 congresscritters are intersex.

  123. 123.

    AlaskaReader

    I think it’s always proven to be a mistake to promote celebrities of any sort for public offices.

    I much prefer a well established, seasoned and experienced public servant with a proven track record of knowing the ins and outs of basic civics and some grasp of the mechanics of legislative law and it’s practical application.

    High responsibility positions of elected public service aren’t the place to play out popularity contests akin to electing a high school class president.

  124. 124.

    JaneE

    @FastEdD: Nor was Musterole a hemorrhoid medication, but it was very effective, according to my step-grandfather.  Effectiveness was evaluated the day after he made the mistake (he was legally blind) and hopped screaming around the house for about 5 minutes.  He never did find it as funny as everyone else who heard the story.

  125. 125.

    Suzanne

    @Dan B:

    His definition of intersex is probably broad and would include women with internal testes among other things. 

    His definition is the medical one, which includes an array of types of conditions. What most of us laypeople imagine is much narrower.
    I remember reading that there is a theory that George Washington had an intersex condition and had XYY chromosomes. (Please note that I am not asserting this, just relaying that the theory exists.)

  126. 126.

    Baud

    @AlaskaReader:

    I think the jump from celebrity to president is too big. But I don’t see a problem with a celebrity working his or her way up the political chain like anyone of any other profession could.

  128. 128.

    Paul in KY

    @HumboldtBlue: Just listened to Daniel Tosh podcast & I now like him a heck of alot better than I did from the persona I got from his Tosh Show. Thank you for the link.

  129. 129.

    NotMax

    @Baud

    “After a football game in Lima, Peru, five were killed. Up here we don’t kill our football players. We make coaches out of the smart ones and send the others to the Legislature.”
    – Will Rogers
    .

  131. 131.

    Rusty

    @Delk: This actually makes a lot sense.  Having customers scan their own purchases will inevitably lead to unintentional mistakes.  Accusing people of theft for screwing up is bad for business.  From an enforcement standpoint,  it could also be had to prove criminal intent for a single mistake.  Repeatedly failing to scan moves it from a mistake to more clearly  intentional, therefore easier to prosecute.  Add that the accumulated stealing push the crime from misdemeanor petty theft to felony theft amd it becomes worth the effort.  I am going to guess that someone repeatedly mis-scanning expensive items also demonstrates criminal intent.

  132. 132.

    AlaskaReader

    @Baud: I believe the discussion here previously was centered around those calling for drafting Saban for a US Senate seat, not having him start out on a local utility district board.

  133. 133.

    Baud

    @AlaskaReader: Senate is a closer call. Al Franklin was a pretty good senator. Warren wasn’t a celebrity, but she had little elective experience before jumping to the Senate.

    A football coach wouldn’t be my first choice for Senate, but it’s Alabama. They had a pretty good Senator in Doug Jones, but they kicked him out, so what are you going to do.

  136. 136.

    geg6

    @Rusty:

    I had that happen to me just the other day.  I was using the self-scanner because the store was too packed and there were not enough manned registers.  So I did my own scanning and missed a bottle of Advil.  When I got to my car, I found it in the buggy and went back in to pay and the employee at the service desk said to not worry about it.  Which was nice, but this is how you encourage bad behavior, I think.

  137. 137.

    AlaskaReader

    @Paul in KY: What makes anyone think Saban is a Democrat?

    Yeah, he ‘stood’ with his players, but he stated succinctly that he would not kneel with them.

    Yes, he signed onto a voting rights letter, but he was the only one to add a condition of not eliminating the filibuster.

    Saban was the king of both siderism, he had to be in order to go into people’s homes and recruit from families on both sides of the political divide.

    Then there’s his support of Manchin.

    You want another Manchin in the Senate?

  138. 138.

    geg6

    Okay, people. I’m leaving work early. It’s raining ice. To any Yinzers out there, be careful going home!

  139. 139.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker:First, Joe Manchin should fall into a sewer grate, be carried out to sea and devoured by lobsters.

    oh I’ll just be appropriating this for future use, thank you very much…  =)

  140. 140.

    Baud

    @AlaskaReader:

    You want another Manchin in the Senate?

    From Alabama? Hell yes.  I wish we could keep Manchin in WV.  I would prefer them to not be decisive votes for things, but I will take them over any Republican.

  141. 141.

    AlaskaReader

    @Baud: I’m not going to hang my hopes on one-off anecdotes, I’m going to continue to believe the best way to improve on gaining effective governance is to elect proven experienced public servants that have a track record of knowing the ‘game’ we’re asking them to play.

    You can have your one offs and I’ll counter with Reagan.

  144. 144.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Obligatory: Jane’s Addiction Been Caught Stealing 

    Well it’s just a simple fact

    When I want something,

    I don’t want to pay for it

    I walk right through the door

    Walk right through the door

    Hey all right!

    If I get by, it’s mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine

    While Jane’s Addiction was being satiric, it accurately describes the GOP’s governing philosophy.

  145. 145.

    Baud

    @AlaskaReader: Reagan was governor of the largest US state before he became president.  I don’t like him for obvious reasons, but he’s not a Saben situation.

    Also, Zelenskyy was a celebrity.

  146. 146.

    trollhattan

    @Tom Levenson:

    That would be a dream come true. Am sure you know of the study showing it’s feasible, and there’s amusement to be had comparing the LA Times and SF Chron editorial stances on the topic (spoiler: one of them supports it).

    Like Lake Powell, one of our worst dam decisions.

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwig_IWY5tiDAxW8le4BHfNVDAg4ChAWegQICBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhetchhetchy.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2Fhetch_hetchy_restoration_study_report.42-68.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1bJiQ5DSynsyxyAWyyAE6Q&opi=89978449

  149. 149.

    Jeffro

    Btw, while I was out for a bit this afternoon, I appreciate all of the folks in the last thread who commented on abolishing the EC, abolishing the Senate, expanding the House, etc. Glad for the discussion – we need more of it if we’re ever going to get there!

    (or alternatively, we could just keep writing it all off, still have an Electoral College in AD  5200, have a 45,850 member House of representatives, etc. etc. 😁)

  150. 150.

    FelonyGovt

    @AlaskaReader: I agree. Turns out that in the race for Senator from California, the person currently in second place in the polls (after Adam Schiff) is Steve Garvey, the former LA Dodger and SD Padre, running as a Republican. Who has absolutely no political or elective experience that I’m aware of.

  151. 151.

    AlaskaReader

    @Baud: Until it’s established that Saban is actually a Democrat and would reliably caucus wiith Democrats, who knows if the choice would even give you a Manchin level of return?

    Banking on so many hypotheticals ‘might’ give someone the result they crave, but it’s just as likely it would prevent a more dependable candidate from being promoted.

  154. 154.

    AlaskaReader

    @Baud: Ronnie Raygunz was governor?

    You should have lived in California when he was calling out the guard who were shooting my neighbors off their rooftops,  ‘governor’,  ?  FFs

  156. 156.

    RevRick

    It’s a humdrum day here in Allentown.
    Oh wait, President Biden has made an appearance at the fire station a mile down the road.
    Well, that explains the traffic jam in front of our house.

  158. 158.

    AlaskaReader

    @Baud: My point is that when it came to a national election people looked at his celebrity instead of his gawdawful fascist record in California.

    Opting for the celebrity is such a slap in the face to people who have dedicated their lives to public service only to have someone like Reagan take their earned step up the ladder.

    I don’t want a ‘star’ for a candidate, the chance you’re going to end up with a Zelensky is just as likely as you’re going to get another Trump.

  160. 160.

    different-church-lady

    “So with self-checkout we don’t have to pay humans!”

    ”But then you lose all that money you saved on paying for high tech and theft.”

    ”See? It all works out!”

  161. 161.

    Jeffro

    OT but the Post had up an interesting piece about the odds of each Super Bowl matchup this year…as expected, there’s a very good chance we’ll see San Fran vs. Baltimore (30% chance) but San Fran vs Buffalo was 12%, and Dallas (booo!) vs Baltimore was 10%.

    There are a LOT of potential SB rematches out there – I was surprised but shouldn’t be.  There are also a lot of potential matchups between teams who’ve been there frequently, but never against each other (like Dallas vs KC, San Fran vs Buffalo, Green Bay vs Miami)

    Anyway, good teams, good times…and Wildcard Weekend is upon us, starting tomorrow!  Hold my calls!

  162. 162.

    Baud

    @AlaskaReader:

    My point is that when it came to a national election people looked at his celebrity instead of his gawdawful fascist record in California.

    I’m not sure about that. I think the people loved his fascism just as they loved Trump’s, although I suppose I agree that both of their celebrity statuses made the fascism easier to swallow.

    I don’t want a ‘star’ for a candidate, the chance you’re going to end up with a Zelensky is just as likely as you’re going to get another Trump.

    Your preference is fine. But you’re also going to get an even split between good and evil among seasoned politicians.

  165. 165.

    catclub

    @lowtechcyclist: It’s a decent song IMHO, but even great songs can be overplayed to the point where you don’t want to hear them anymore.

     

    There are two signs a of a truly great song, to me. 1. I could listen to a CD of Bach’s violin partitas and sonatas in my car and never change it.

    2. Played on  different instruments, different performers, different choices of tempo. Still sounds good.

  166. 166.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @AlaskaReader: Do I want another Manchin in the Senate?  It depends.  Is he replacing Tuberville?  Fuck yeah.

    As for the rest, people are just shooting the shit.  No one starting a draft Saban movement.

  171. 171.

    Betty Cracker

    Dan B: I’m aware and waiting for the other shoe to drop, i.e., for the rep to be engulfed in scandal. It’s as dependable as the sunrise.

  173. 173.

    AlaskaReader

    @Baud: Even split is debatable, I believe.

    In all my several decades of experience, long serving public servants trend a bit more towards one side than the other, similar to general population demographics.

    At the least, among seasoned public servants, (notice I don’t use the term ‘politicians), there is a background of a basic grasp of civics, not as likely with your average ‘celebrity’.

    if I hire for a responsible position, I consider education, experience and ability.  It’s rare a candidate is going to be chosen without all three attributes being demonstrated.

    I’d prefer my Party promote candidates with a criteria of a similar nature.

  178. 178.

    Jeffro

    @AlaskaReader:

    I think it’s always proven to be a mistake to promote celebrities of any sort for public offices.

    I much prefer a well established, seasoned and experienced public servant with a proven track record of knowing the ins and outs of basic civics and some grasp of the mechanics of legislative law and it’s practical application.

    High responsibility positions of elected public service aren’t the place to play out popularity contests akin to electing a high school class president.

    I agree 110%, and the only way I think we can head it off in this Idiocracy of ours is to make the celebs work their way up the ladder.

    Make it a requirement for federal office (Presidents, Senators, Congressperson) that they have to have X amount of years served at the state level prior to filing to run for federal offices.

    Better yet, make it so that a requirement for running for President is having been a Senator, Congressperson, or state Gov for X years before filing.

    Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is not going to put in 8 years as a state senator…Taylor Swift is not going to stop what she’s doing and go be Gov of PA (or whatever her home state is) so that she can be eligible to run for president.

    It doesn’t solve all our problems but it sure solves some of the biggest ones.

  180. 180.

    wjca

    @Betty Cracker: First, Joe Manchin should fall into a sewer grate, be carried out to sea and devoured by lobsters.

    But there are just so many Senators (roughly 49) who are worse.  Better to focus on the major villains  first.

  181. 181.

    wjca

    @AlaskaReader: Then there’s his support of Manchin.

    You want another Manchin in the Senate?

    If that’s what it takes to get a Democrat elected from Alabama?  Absolutely!

    EDT  Baud got there first.  (Why am I not surprised?)

  182. 182.

    brantl

    @FastEdD:

    Public Service announcement:

    PREPARATION H IS NOT TOOTHPASTE

     

    (It is for Republicans, they’re cutting out the middle(Man?).)

  184. 184.

    AlaskaReader

    @wjca: ….yeah, right,   What genius…

    Never mind there’s likely a better alternative out there than just accepting another Manchin.

  185. 185.

    Marmot

    @AlaskaReader:

    I don’t want a ‘star’ for a candidate, the chance you’re going to end up with a Zelensky is just as likely as you’re going to get another Trump.

    Remember when that fad to draft Oprah was briefly the rage? When was that, like 2015?

    Wow, what a historic mistake that could have been! I cannot understand the mentality that produces such ideas.

  186. 186.

    Mark Arnest

    First they came for the shoplifters and I did nothing because I was not a shoplifter …

  187. 187.

    Paul in KY

    @AlaskaReader: I’m fine with ‘another Manchin’ from freaking Alabama. If he votes ‘D’ on Majority Leader & the ‘big ticket’ stuff, OK by me. We’re not going to get the 2nd coming of Eugene Debs out of Alabama.

Comments are closed.