So… the Trump trial in DC is officially off the docket for March. Not surprising since the court that took the Trump appeal on immunity and double jeopardy on an expedited basis seems to be dragging its feet in turns of producing a ruling. Sigh.
In other Trump news, the TPM Morning Memo shares news of Daily Beast reporting:
Walt Nauta, Trump’s valet and co-defendant in the Mar-a-Lago case, was accused by three female service members of a years-long pattern of sexual misconduct that included his time with Trump in the White House, the Daily Beast reports:
Navy officials had escorted him off White House grounds, reassigned him to a new post, and docked his White House security clearance in response to accusations of fraternization, adultery, harassment, and other inappropriate sexual conduct, including “revenge porn,” two people with direct knowledge of the matter told The Daily Beast.
Despite the allegations, Trump brought Nauta down to Palm Beach later that same year to work for him there.
I take issue with “despite the allegations”. Surely for Trump those would be items to bond over, making Nauta even more appealing. Ugh.
In other other Trump news, during the MAL search the FBI apparently shrugged off looking in a closet when they found it locked, and apparently missed a secret room during their search, in spite of having floor plans for MAL.
It’s been obvious to me for years that some in the FBI are compromised, not to mention the Secret Service.
Keep in mind. FBI Trump holdover D’Antuono initially blocked the search of Mar a Lago, then finally relented to DoJ prosecutors. Then he wanted to alert Trump to the search. Then he agreed but not if the FBI wore their uniforms. I’m not surprised the FBI “missed” some rooms. https://t.co/VA0Jv2AOJz
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) February 2, 2024
Some of the calls are indeed coming from inside the house.
Oh, and I read yesterday that Weisselberg is pleading guilty to perjury. This is is old and in prison and even with a new perjury charge he still isn’t willing to turn on Trump. I wonder if that $2 million dollar payout (being paid out over time) might have something to do with it? Argh.
Apologies, I am in a very ugh and argh mood this morning.
Open thread.
Ivan X
Morning WaterGirl!
I remember in the dark days of the 365 Data Centers hijack, the temporary BJ you whipped up had a “dark mode” switch on it. Any chance we could bring that back? Would be nice for reading in the middle of the night.
WaterGirl
@Ivan X: That’s not something we can implement in the current site, but when we do the next site rebuild, we can look into that as a possibility
edit: Those were indeed dark days. So grateful that we got everything back eventually.
Skippy-san
All of law enforcement is seriously compromised for Trump. Plenty of examples of them going after Trump critics and behaving like bullies and thugs. There is a Facebook group from my college where guys who are cops openly brag about being at the rally on Jan 6th and call the Secret Service on anyone who criticizes Trump online in the group.
I am still convinced one reason Comey screwed the pooch in 2016. was because he was afraid of all the Trump Humpers in his own organization.
Baud
@Ivan X:
I use dark mode on my phone. I haven’t tried it on my PC, so I don’t know if it’s possible.
Other MJS
WWG1WGA
Other MJS
@Skippy-san:
And he couldn’t hold out for one fucking week.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Since it’s an open thread, I’m off for the final day of the annual Colorado Preservation conference, this year being held in Boulder. I was a session leader/speaker on Wed, along with Historic Denver, presenting a case study on grassroots efforts to stop the destruction of *a* house here in my neighborhood.
Networking has also been a plus, now connected with a city council person in Castle Rock of all places and a very interesting talk with a new member of the Denver zoning Board of Adjustment (I was in front of them last Sept).
And people ask me “what are you gonna do in retirement?” as in “won’t you be bored?” Fat chance.
prostratedragon
“and docked his White House security clearance” 😖😡
Ivan X
@Baud: What phone/browser? I have Dark Mode globally on my iPhone, but it doesn’t help with websites in Safari.
karen marie
Nauta being compromised works for Trump because he could demand absolute loyalty in exchange for the promise of protection and the threat of vindictive retribution should Nauta’s loyalty ever waver.
We’ll likely never know how much Trump’s theft of secret documents cost this country.
Another Scott
@Baud: Made me look…
In Chrome on Winders, I just changed to Dark Mode, and no change here.
But there is a “Reading Mode” that opens a column on the right shows up as white text on black background. One can drag the left slider over to make the column wider.
There are probably CCS hacks that can change things to a dark mode, or a Chrome Theme, but I haven’t looked into that.
So, there may be something that works well enough now.
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
terraformer
Justice delayed is justice denied. I’m *so fcking tired* of Cannon’s slow-walk, of the lack of haste on the immunity claim, the “sudden” finding of closets that haven’t been searched at MAL, the Wieselberg committing perjury and a subsequent plea deal that apparently (per TPM) does not require him to turn on the orange shitgibbon
Will this absolute horror of a human being get his comeuppance for anything ahead of the election? It’s difficult to accept that these issues are *not* being slow rolled on purpose. The courts can move fast if they want to – and it sure doesn’t seem they want to
Maybe laws and rules really *are* for the little people
WaterGirl
@Baud: Oh, I see what you’re saying. You always have your phone set in dark mode, so it’s not actually a BJ option but BJ still shows up in dark mode on your phone?
I HATE dark mode so that hadn’t even occurred to me as an option.
WaterGirl
@Other MJS:
I have no idea what this is: WWG1WGA
Steeplejack
@Ivan X:
See if your browser has a dark mode. I Googled “Firefox dark mode windows” and found that it does have one, and there are some extensions that do the same thing. Ditto for my Samsung browser on Android.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: It’s that Qanon saying.
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@terraformer: Some days it really does get discouraging. I give myself a day, and then I take a deep breath and try to get back to doing everything I can to make a difference.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott:
Does it have a meaning?
edit: I googled again, and all I find are the words that is shorthand for, and it still seems meaningless. I guess that’s all I have to know.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
WWG1WGA = “Where we go one we go all.” It was a QAnon slogan, expressing some sort of (bullshit) solidarity or something.
...now I try to be amused
@Steeplejack: “Where we odd syntax one we odd syntax all.”
TBone
It is truly discouraging. Remember, the MSM is in the discouragement business though. Sometimes, slowly then all at once happens. I have not given up just yet since I remember when no one could even believe indictments would ever happen. We shall see what we shall see. I picture that fuck in an orange jumpsuit every day. And penniless. For courage and patience.
Jeffro
It will take years (and possibly several Dem presidencies) to clean house at those agencies. And yet, it would be so incredibly worth it, for the nation.
WaterGirl
@…now I try to be amused: Yes!
@Steeplejack: I have no idea how those people find each other, unless it’s the tinfoil hats that are the giveaway.
Baud
@Ivan X:
Samsung browser, Samsung phone.
WaterGirl
@Jeffro: There’s a ton of Trump rot in a lot of places we can’t afford to have rotten.
If we can take all 3 branches in November, we’ll have a chance to start rooting it out.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Yes, this webpage is white text on dark background.
Jeffro
@WaterGirl:
@Another Scott:
@Steeplejack:
It doesn’t have to make sense…they just need something they can throw around that they think sounds cool & meaningful, and helps them define their in-group.
I’m surprised they didn’t just rip off something from an inspirational poster or something.
West of the Rockies
Okay, so I am being a Pollyanna here (my apologies), but maybe slow-rolling matters means the GOP won’t have sufficient time to wheel out a suitable Trump replacement who will pardon the sentient orange anal fissure.
The economy added a third of a million jobs in January, Trump continues to slur and babble away his dwindling credibility with “Independents”, and any criminal trial that begins even as late as August will mean an avalanche of horrifying facts for voters to ponder.
Don’t despair, folks. GOTV!
SiubhanDuinne
But no blech, so at least you’ve got that going for you.
TBone
@WaterGirl: I’m saying WHEN not if but that’s just my way. Opinions may differ!
Geminid
@WaterGirl: You might find Rep. Nikki Budzinski’s social media posts refreshing. She’s a very positive person.
TBone
@West of the Rockies: hear, hear!
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
They found/find one another on social media and amp themselves up in a feedback loop. That’s one of the big negatives of social media.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
I’m not quite clear on how we’d “take” the Judicial branch in November, but if we can take/retain the WH and Congress, it’s bound to improve the courts at all levels in the longer term.
WaterGirl
@Jeffro: Maybe they should just go with yoga-booga! Idiots.
jonas
I’m not sure why….unless it was because it took them so long to stop laughing before they could get down to writing the ruling. And all they need to write is 1. The president isn’t a king; get over yourself. and 2. an impeachment isn’t a criminal proceeding, so there’s no question of double jeopardy. Unless I’m missing something, Trump’s appeal raises absolutely no substantial problems and should be dismissed out of hand.
WaterGirl
@West of the Rockies: The longer Haley stays in the race, pointing out that Trump is babbling and lying, the better it is for the country.
TBone
A tiny bit of encouragement.
Umm – Lawyers, Guns & Money (lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com)
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
I think some people use “three branches” as (possibly unconscious) shorthand to mean the presidency, the Senate and the House.
jonas
Be Best!
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: You’re right. I was thinking House, Senate, and White House when I said all three.
But of course House and Senate are a single branch of government.
We’ll just have to hound the Supreme Court with investigations until they start to actually rule based on the law and precedence.
And fight for 15!
Baud
@Steeplejack:
Makes sense, since they’re all going to hell.
TBone
@jonas: that is how I see it as well.
TBone
@WaterGirl: yes!
WaterGirl
@jonas: It’s the Republican conservative judge that has me worried. Maybe they’re just trying to get their decision perfectly bullet-proof so the Supreme Court can deny cert and let the decision stand.
But the conservative judge has seniority so she gets first dibs on writing the opinion. So one possibility is that she is slow walking this.
Even though Henderson appears partisan to me, it still seems that she believes in the rule of law, so she’s probably not slow-walking it.
But with the Cannon example in front of us every day, the longer we wait, the more I wonder if that’s a possibility. Just having a bit of a wobbly day today.
WaterGirl
@jonas: @TBone: It’s the question of jurisdiction that worries me. Depending on how they handle that, it could mean delays delays delays. Or not. I like to think I’m a pretty patient person, but I seem to be short on patience today.
WaterGirl
I did get a robocall yesterday asking me to press “2” to be put in touch with Durbin’s office (my senator) to demand that they start an official investigation into the SC.
West of the Rockies
@TBone:
I’m surprised that the hearts and brains and guts of people like Musk and Trump don’t spontaneously explode with stress.
If I’m late on my internet bill by a day, I get a sour stomach. An unpleasant exchange in checkout line gets my heart racing briefly.
I don’t know how these heinous goblins live under such incessant drama and tension and rage.
TBone
Qanon is so far outside of reality that they really have their own language, code words, etc. that only they can understand since it’s gibberish to us reality-based folk. Scroll down to
the “My Appearance” (Foxlandia) section if interested.
My Appearance on MeidasTouch, Rising Consumer Sentiment, Calling Out Republican Idiocy and Cowardice, Ding-Ding (hopiumchronicles.com)
TBone
@West of the Rockies: apparently it is why they thrive, a complete mystery to me! Maybe stomach acid and stress will catch up to them.
rikyrah
@SiubhanDuinne:
If we keep the Senate and Biden is re-elected, that’s 2 more years, thus 6 continuous years of Biden Judges appointed at breakneck speed. (2 years until 2026, which is another Senate election year)
TBone
@WaterGirl: some days are like that. I get pretty quiet when that happens to me. Some may say I’m too cheerleader-ish on my good days, but in my state of health (mental and physical) I have no other choice. It’s forward or nowhere.
trollhattan
@Steeplejack: A declaration of equal value to the cat promising never to knock shit off that shelf again, ever.
oldgold
Walt Nauta has been in the public eye for a considerable period of time. How does it take this long for this kind of information to surface; particularly, when a key question about him has been why is he so steadfastly loyal to Trump?
hueyplong
@West of the Rockies: I’m with you. Things are going well and I can guarantee you Trump doesn’t think things are going well.
@terraformer: Don’t be too concerned about Weiselberg’s plea. The judgment against Trump in that case will be severe, almost certainly no less so than if he had told the truth. And his guilty plea for perjury takes away a very thin reed (his supposedly exculpatory statements) on appeal, now that he officially admits he was lying.
Winning this game kind of requires us not to stroke out before Trump does. Now, the fact that we’re in this “game” sucks, but here we are and our side is playing to win.
Harrison Wesley
I thought the Trumpist saying was “where we grope one, we grope all.”
Roberto el oso
“Were We Go 1 We Go All” is the motto above the multiple kitty litter boxes in my home.
TBone
@hueyplong: attitude is half the battle, thank you for that. Sometimes, I think of Susie Madrak’s saying on attytood:
“I’m not angry, I’m from Philly!”
Steeplejack
@trollhattan:
I think most cats’ statement is more like “Don’t put none, won’t knock none.”
TBone
@Harrison Wesley: L.O.L.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@TBone: some people enjoy the feeling of stress. I can even understand it to a degree, going on stage to perform makes my heart race. My mother would call it “thrill.” Mostly I don’t like the feeling, though, and for me it interferes with doing my best.
There is plenty of literature on the subject. Overdoing stress is unhealthy, a moderate amount can be beneficial.
[ETA I suspect Trump’s stress level is unhealthy, even for someone as used to it as he is.]
TBone
@Roberto el oso: perfect.
TBone
@Mr. Bemused Senior: the perfect stress-free environment is the grave. I’m well aware that some people need it, but to take it to the extremes that some are is mind-boggling to me. ETA: he can’t keep this up forever, right? Right?
randy khan
@jonas:
There may be a dissent or partial dissent. That slows things down.
And while we all want a decision really, really fast, right now we’re at 3 weeks, which is still nowhere near how long they usually take.
Jackie
TIFG’s growing paranoia makes Nixon’s paranoia seem like nothing lol
TIFG spent close to $25M to investigate his own attorneys (Habba, et al) because he didn’t trust their abilities during the E. Jean Carroll trials.
What a waste of donor grifting! We could have told him for free that his attorneys are third rate – at best.
I just skimmed the teaser, it’s a paywalled Daily Beast report, so no link.
Mr. Bemused Senior
And we’re all headed there.
[ETA WaterGirl, I didn’t mean to be a downer. I hope you feel better soon.]
The Thin Black Duke
What encourages me was the outcome of the Carroll trial. After several days of Trump being Trump in the courtroom (translation: a massive hemorrhoid), even the six white guys on the jury were goddamned sick of the Big Loud Orange Buffoon. In spite of the MSM putting their collective thumbs on the scale, I think there’s enough normal people out there who just want Trump to go the fuck away. He’s a once-popular reality TV show that jumped the shark and viewers are ready to change the channel.
TBone
@Mr. Bemused Senior: A good reminder about perspective.
Baud
@Mr. Bemused Senior:
Speak for yourself. I’m going to be cremated.
Hopefully after I’ve died.
TBone
@The Thin Black Duke: you said it, brother! My hubby tells me this is why he yells “I’M BEHIND YOU, NIKKI!” at the teevee every chance he gets. But it is also innuendo about Fat Bastard.
TBone
@Baud: I, too, hold out hope for that occurrence in that particular order!
wjca
For grins and giggles, now picture that orange jumpsuit accessorized with TIFG’s usual loooong red tie.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Baud: me too in fact. But the idea is the important thing.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
Ah, thanks. That is clarifying.
Scout211
The two DC
gossipersreporters from Axios have a news article up with all kinds of insidergossipinformation this morning on Trump’s current state of mind.And there is more insider speculation and gossip, but it’s at least an interesting read about Trump and his advisers’ strategies. At least from the “sources,” who have a likely agenda.
TBone
@wjca: snort!
TBone
@Scout211: hoping he’ll ‘splode on live teevee, or that his diaper somehow spontaneously combusts.
Another Scott
@Scout211: TheHill sidebar, just now:
“Carroll lawyer says Trump stormed out of deposition because his team agreed to feed her lunch”
What??
No, I didn’t click it.
Cheers,
Scott.
brantl
@West of the Rockies: Their neurons don’t work well, they don’t feel MUCH.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
It’s a dry heat.
TBone
@Another Scott: I saw her saying that (can’t remember where) but he was sooooo pissed that they were getting a “free lunch” he threw an entire stack of paper (about two hundred pages) across the table at her. I think it was on an MSNBC interview.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@SiubhanDuinne: a bit of a shock if [she’s] not quite dead, but quick.
Hungry Joe
@The Thin Black Duke: Yeah, I think there’s something to that. A certain percentage of voters — probably small, but possibly crucial — may well vote against Trump not for political reasons but because they can’t stomach the thought of his being in their faces for another four years.
NotMax
So Dolt 45 “and his team” are sniffing around for fresh counsel.
After Habba and company that’s akin to being put on the vaudeville bill in the spot following The Aristocrats.
Scout211
@Another Scott: Yes, all of that was in the interview of Roberta Kaplan that I posted yesterday. She seems to be having fun being interviewed in the media right now. I think she is doing it mostly to get under Trump’s skin. I approve. She has some good stories, especially from the depositions.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@TBone: 83 million is one thing; but now she wants lunch, is not entitled to it, and you GAVE it to her?
Where’s my Ms. Habba? I fired her? Find me another ten in a suit.
Frankensteinbeck
@TBone:
This is a tremendous truth.
TBone
Some Days Are Better Than Others – Bing vide
YouTube akshually but I’m on laptop today and I detest it, ugh.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Frankensteinbeck: The MSM only discourage individual thought and autonomy, they encourage you to buy and be fearful.
Lapassionara
Max Boot had a piece in the Washington Post on January 31 that says what I have been trying to say, and says it much better than I could. In essence, Trump wants to undo the post-World War II order, in which the US is viewed as the indispensable nation and provides (sometimes admittedly bad) leadership on questions of international importance. The US helped rebuild Europe after WWII (the Marshall Plan), helped form NATO, and the result has been positive for the NATO alliance and the US dollar. I don’t have a subscription to the WaPo, so I cannot provide a link.
The point is, that we did not used to have to worry about foreign policy during an election. Both Democrats and Republicans took (in general) the same approach. The nation did not know, of course, that W would be looking for an excuse to invade Iraq, and that decision alone should have disqualified Republicans from ever coming near the presidency again. Unfortunately, the media managed to tar Clinton with the “war-monger” brush, and here we are.
Steeplejack
@Scout211:
I think for the criminal trials Trump will be required to attend as the defendant. Can’t phone that in.
WaterGirl
@Harrison Wesley: @Roberto el oso: Two laughs in a row.
Steeplejack
@TBone:
Trump swiped a tall stack of papers off the table; he didn’t throw them at the attorney.
TBone
@Lapassionara: I didn’t like her Iraq vote, but I was completely voting for her anyhow and 1,000 percent on her team when she became the nominee. Sometimes, unity is hard. Do. It. Anyway. George Dumbya nearly drove me ’round the bend, I actually filed a grievance with the Texas Bar Assn. against Alberto Gonzales and I have stories about being taken off a flight to Houston as a result of that and being at the World Trade Center (Windows on the World) celebrating my birthday before 9/11. Remember the lists?
Jackie
@Steeplejack: Yes. The NYC courthouse needs to do away with allowing TIFG to hold rallies inside the foyer AND right outside the courthouse. Make him spend more money renting space at a nearby hotel or such.
TBone
@Steeplejack: yes, that’s right. Point is, he is a huge manbaby.
frosty
Ugh and Argh are fine. You might want to add a blog-favorite Blech if it gets really bad.
Don’t forget the always useful “Christ what an asshole!”
kalakal
@West of the Rockies: Well said! That’s roughly my take on it. I think Cannon will drag it out for ever, but the rest will happen before the election. Also very shortly TFG is going to get hit for north of $400 m, if we think what’s between his ears is melting now, wait till he gets that bill. He’s the GQPs millstone and he’s dragging them down
smith
@Scout211: There’s a tell in that Axios story that shows the reporters don’t know what they are talking about:
His upcoming trials are criminal trials – his attendance is mandatory. It’s something that will make them all the more entertaining, since he won’t be allowed to storm out or skip days. He’ll have to sit there and listen to testimony against him, and if tries his usual misbehavior he will run the real risk of a contempt charge.
TBone
@frosty: Is douchecanoe acceptable here?
Harrison Wesley
Trump dumps another lawyer. Habba Dabba Don’t.
Kelly
That’s what I’m thinking but it’s going to be noisy until all the votes are counted.
TBone
@kalakal: yup!
TBone
@Harrison Wesley: smirk
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Yep. I was just about to point that out.
Funny to think about how much information about the legal system we are absorbing as the days go by.
frosty
@TBone: Absolutely!
Lapassionara
@TBone: Yikes. Sounds like a saga! Not sure about the lists.
TBone
@Lapassionara: The “No Fly” lists. It was a harrowing experience to have my civil rights violated but whaddya gonna do, amirite? I don’t need a snark tag here at BJ. It is baked in. What I actually did was pack up all my shit (I mailed some of it too) and DROVE back to Texas for a year-long vacation as a resident.
Steeplejack
@Jackie:
Definitely need to get him out of the courthouse hallway or whatever and preferably farther down the courthouse steps. Maybe couch it as “You’re interfering with courthouse operations.”
Bonus: get some protesters to silently hold “Lock him up” signs behind him.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
Who cares that this was done to you and many underserving people, systemically, nationwide?
Trump might be left off a couple ballots. Get your civil rights priorities in order…
TBone
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: love love love!
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@TBone: Should be. Douchefrigate should also be good for behavior that far exceeds that threshold.
Steve in the ATL
@Steeplejack: I had no idea that QAnon was a union shop!
Mr. Bemused Senior
Lucky there was no ketchup within reach.
gene108
@terraformer:
This is true because courts allow each side in a case to file motions, request extensions, etc. in order to be fair.
To have full access to the court system’s rules to request more evidence from the other party, file various motions, etc., a party in a case needs the money to pay lawyers whatever it takes to win.
Per reporting, Trump’s blew something like $50 million in legal fees last year. That gets better access to all the ways to use the courts to the client’s advantage.
Little people follow the rules, because they can’t afford the legal fees that go along with being caught breaking the rules.
UncleEbeneezer
@WaterGirl: The Jack Podcast talked about it last Sunday and it seems like a VERY complicated scenario that would be very challenging for the panel to write a solid opinion on. As Andy reminded listeners, this is all still moving significantly faster than the typical pace of Courts on important stuff like this.
prostratedragon
@Steeplejack: Get some buskers to play the Looney Tunes or 3 Stooges theme, loudly, nearby.
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
M0re like low-rent Civitans. (Are they even still a thing? The Rotary? The Lions? The Kiwanis?)
Citizen Alan
@WaterGirl: As a lawyer, I have accepted , the fact that Shitgibbon has probably ruined the federal judiciary for the rest of my life time.
Paul in KY
@WaterGirl: The crazy girl who got shot on Jan 6th knew what it meant. Think she took it a bit too literally.
Ruckus
Having anything to do with SFB, even just doing a post about how shitty a human being he is, is more than enough to put one in a very ugh and argh mood. Especially when you remember this “person” was president for 4 yrs, and extremely likely to not understand that he stinks – and not just because he smells like his diaper is always full. He stinks at human, and in every possible way. And likely in some ways that few even think is possible.
Anonymous At Work
@karen marie: The Sean Spicier theory of Trump staffing: Complete dependence on TFG for any employment, either from prior problems or through Day One humilitations.
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
By the way, I have tried a few bottles of Bonanza Cabernet and find it pretty good. Apparently produced by a cadet branch (possibly bastard) of the Wagner family of Caymas renown. At $22 it’s a better fit for my solitary sipping than the high-end stuff.
Just reporting from the cheap seats.
Paul in KY
@Steeplejack: To me, it is the core malignancy of ‘social media’. It is the core thing that needs to be heavily regulated (via laws and/or agencies).
zhena gogolia
Great LP video. I hadn’t heard these chilling words from Trump.
TBone
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: points for creativity!
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
My computer will do dark. One click in settings and black background and white type. Not a fan myself. Some sites set up their site in dark. Have no idea why, I don’t like it, maybe it’s because I’m old and started in computers in the late 70s, with dark background and green type. Seems like going backwards.
TBone
@gene108: Our Bar Assn. required all attorneys to donate a certain number of pro bono hours per year for that reason. It’s not enough though.
Paul in KY
@SiubhanDuinne: We could lure Thomas out by pretending to ‘loan’ him & Ginny a great whopping combination motorcoach/learjet. Captain Beer Bong could be lured out by a flyer for great coed kegger at Georgetown Sigma Chi house. We could mimic Boney Carrot’s husband and just get her to come out to fix him a sammich. Alito might be gotten by some fake Virgin Mary tears of blood writing out his name or something stupid like that.
TBone
@zhena gogolia: that is fucking AWESOME in its fierceness.
TBone
@Paul in KY: hahahahhahahahaha!
wjca
The first time or two, he may get off with a fine. Shrug — “Cost of doing business” you know. But when (not if) that doesn’t work, we’ll get to see how the Secret Service deals with him getting clapped in an actual jail cell.
Even when they are bending over backwards to give him every possible benefit of the doubt, judges’ patience is pretty limited when it comes to disruptions in their courtroom.
TBone
@prostratedragon: Benny Hill as they do in the UK!
Ruckus
@TBone:
I picture that fuck in an orange jumpsuit every day. And penniless.
That’s the only time he looks human. The rest of the time he looks, sounds, acts like a martian that’s been dumped here because he was way too far out for the rest of them. We just haven’t figured out molecular transport, where molecule by molecule someone is transported to another galaxy because they cannot see any reality, like they are a total waste of protoplasm.
TBone
@Ruckus: I like yer style. Step by step. 3 Stooges had it right, too.
https://youtu.be/_yJBhzMWJCc?si=BaxloDcAMsGjp2Wa
smith
Especially when there is a jury present. Judge Kaplan gave him a little preview of what to expect if he tries to make a scene in front of the jury.
Paul in KY
@The Thin Black Duke: To me, the more you see him, the more you go “that boy just ain’t right & don’t need to be anywhere near the nuke codes & interns…”
TBone
@Paul in KY: the “newkewlar” codes as Schlocky pronounces it. Remember that time he photoshopped his head on to Sylvester Stallone’s body HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Ruckus
@West of the Rockies:
One of the big stresses of living in this timeline is money. Having enough to exist reasonably is not as easy for some as it should be. And I’m not saying an excess like SFB or elon have. (SFB if he actually has any thing left, he may be getting close to pauper poor, but he does seem to still be able to purchase his diapers and orange paint by the gallon. I think that he really should be concerned that what little mental capability he ever had, is deserting him at a rapid rate. But then that would take more mental capability than he’s ever shown in his life.)
Paul in KY
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: Then he’s a douchedreadnought! Apologies to the noble ships of the line in days of yore…
UncleEbeneezer
The FYNYFTimes continues to give horrible Transphobes a megaphone for spreading hate and lies:
Twitter Thread:
cain
@Ruckus: Let’s not be racist against Martians.
Ruckus
@TBone:
Living is always forward or nowhere. Your speed/progress may be different than others but living only has one direction, older. One sometimes can back up a situation (that’s called not jumping off the bridge or the 48th floor) but living? Only one way – forward. And that’s for every single living creature.
glc
Western officials protest Gaza policy (BBC)
A fairly obvious point, but worth making nonetheless. We’ve certainly been complicit with (and in some cases, enthusiastic about) major human rights violations in the past, but not as a mater of public policy.
RevRick
Happy Candlemas!
mrmoshpotato
WTF?
Smalla
So Trump a misogynistic bully basically called attorney Kaplan the C word:
https://x.com/gtconway3d/status/1753440878301958225?s=46&t=HbACURdvGSueh7rIBJjVsA
Uncle Cosmo
Which for no good reason reminds me of this old saw:
PJ
@Citizen Alan: It was reported this week that one-fifth of the federal judiciary has been appointed by Biden. If he gets another term, that’ll bring it close to half the federal judges were appointed by him. Step by step.
Ruckus
@cain:
I’ve never met any Martians, have never seen any proof they exist, but SFB is so far out of humanity in so many ways that he’s at least as far out as that planet, and besides how do you know that they don’t say basically the same about humans? (And yes, I know SFB barely qualifies as one of those…..)
wjca
OT downer: RIP PDQ Bach
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/01/17/peter-schickele-p-d-q-bach-dead/
Bill Arnold
@UncleEbeneezer:
That Erin Reed twitter thread is amazing; thanks.
Here’s a threadreader unroll.
Steve in the ATL
@Steeplejack:
I concur on all counts!
ETA: Belle Glos is really good too. It’s Caymus’ daughter’s vineyard.
Mousebumples
@Steeplejack: Brave has a dark mode. It’s noted as experimental, but works well enough for my purposes.
TBone
@Ruckus: like the earth rotating on its axis, wobbly!
TBone
@Uncle Cosmo: this is why I come here.
TBone
@PJ: slowly we turn!
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
The senate and the house are on the same side – sometimes, but to me they started off in a different way. Two per state and some number decided by population grouping is a lot different way to look at legislators. The structure, the power, the concept that one side answers to an entire state and the other to groups of people within each state has always made me see them differently, even though they work in the same branch. To me the value is that a member of the house has less power than a member of the senate but overall that reflects that the population has far more members than the number of states and it takes both groups to legislate. And it works, at least as well as humanity itself.
kalakal
@Ruckus: The only Martian I’ve ever seen was Marvin and he was far more likeable than TFG
Mr. Bemused Senior
@wjca: I posted this before but I’m guessing you missed it:
P.D.Q. Bach in Houston: We Have a Problem!
You will enjoy it.
TBone
@UncleEbeneezer: I wish the dunces who NEED to read this would even see it.
Hob
@TBone: I read the section you mentioned and had a head-scratching moment when the author asserted that Fox News only really lost its way and became a right-wing propaganda outlet in 2017, “after Trump won and Roger Ailes died” – whereas before that, they really had been “fair and balanced” as evidenced by the fact that he got to appear there as a token liberal. That’s like 3 kinds of wrong in one sentence (4 if you count not knowing that Ailes was no longer working there by the time he died, due to having been too much of a sex pest even for Fox) which is kind of impressive. I know it’s unrelated to the point you were talking about – although maybe not, since there’s a special irony in him saying stuff like that in a post about people who live in their own reality…
TBone
@wjca: I believe that was loudly lamented here, but I could be wrong, as always. What a loss.
TBone
@Hob: a bubble is a bubble, I guess. Good thinking!
Paul in KY
@TBone: I one time got in a bit of trouble for xeroxing my face at a government xerox machine.
Matt McIrvin
@Ruckus: It’s been a longtime conservative complaint that we need to get rid of popular election of senators (the 17th Amendment), because senators are supposed to represent the states rather than the people, so the state legislature should appoint them like they used to.
Of course it’s just another example of the right wanting state legislatures to have supreme power, including over the federal government, because they think they can retain control of those through gerrymandering and vote suppression.
Paul in KY
@mrmoshpotato: Everyone a latter day Elliot Ness….
lowtechcyclist
@RevRick:
And happy Candlemas back atcha! Been nice to have the Christmas lights still up, but it’s time to take them down.
Paul in KY
@Uncle Cosmo: Thanks! Gonna use that one sometime.
TBone
@Mr. Bemused Senior: having lived in Harris County, thank you for that.
lowtechcyclist
@smith:
I keep saying the purpose of Axios is to make Politico look good by comparison.
Mike in NC
Trump wasted no time in finding another sexual predator to mentor.
TBone
@Mike in NC: whaddid I miss? Is Roy Cohn back from the dead?
Scout211
All over every news service: Fani Willis admits the relationship with Nathan Wade but denies a conflict of interest. Link
Uncle Cosmo
Tip the veal and try your waitress, I’ll be weak all hear.
Paul in KY
@Hob: Yup. As a liberal, I was always glad Alan Colmes was in there holding their feet to the fire every freaking day, championing policies to help the poor & downtrodden and just generally being the most cool liberal dude one could ever imagine…
The way he stood up to those right wing fascist goons! Always speaking truth to power. That was our Alan…
TBone
@Scout211: I smell ratfucking. But that’s just me I guess. I smelled it from the beginning of this “scandal.”
TBone
@Uncle Cosmo: I don’t have any emojis today but consider yourself heartily hugged.
TBone
@Paul in KY: BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA it was your face? Are you sure?
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
Thanks for the tip. I’ll check out Belle Glos. My recent Pinot has been 1858 Monterey, from yet another branch of the family. I didn’t realize they were taking over everything!
Matt McIrvin
@UncleEbeneezer: If there’s one thing I hate, it’s “heckler’s veto” situations where people bully other people who are different in some way and then point to the resulting misery as evidence that the condition is pathological. Racists do it, xenophobes do it, homophobes and transphobes do it. “Stop hitting yourself!”
Hob
@smith: I’ve enjoyed every use of that particular passive construction, “I’m told”/”we’re told”, in a special way ever since reading the Alan Moore comic Top Ten. There’s a cop character in it who is a robot cop – like very obviously a big metal robot, but he still tries to de-emphasize that fact because he knows people have mixed feelings about robots. So one of his strategies for this is, whenever he means to say “my programming tells me _____”, he just says “I’m told that _____” instead.
TBone
@Matt McIrvin: D.A.R.V.O. makes me weary. Gaslighting makes me want a flamethower.
TBone
@Hob: great example.
Paul in KY
@Scout211: Crap! I’m just going to have to think that Mr. Wade was the absolute greatest person in the state of Georgia to put in that position and if she didn’t get him on the team, they don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of winning the case. I’m also sure that Mr. Wade begged her and begged her not to put him on the team and that she had to really convince him that he was soooo central to the prosecution.
I’m sure that’s how it played out…
Paul in KY
@TBone: It’s not technically ‘ratfucking’ if you do 75% of it yourself.
Paul in KY
@TBone: I’m sure! Xeroxing my ass or wang would have got me fired.
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
@WaterGirl:
Any group of humans the size of this country is going to have issues just discussing anything. Actually legislating/governing reasonably, realistically, in any large group of humans is going to be work and should be done at less than warp speed. It’s one reason we have a government that does that for all of us, otherwise it’s just too large a group of humans with differences of opinion / skills / education / hate / desire / needs / and whatever else it takes to be human. As an old fart, I’ve seen this play out most of my life, it’s not often horrible, it’s not always good, but it is – from history, a better way for millions of humans to actually live together reasonably than many other tried and failed ways.
UncleEbeneezer
@Bill Arnold: Her work is usually pretty great.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Uncle Cosmo: @TBone:
Aha, a song cue. Loudon Wainwright III – Tip That Waitress
sdhays
@WaterGirl: I feel pretty lonely at my tech organization. Everyone lurves dark mode, while I just don’t get the appeal. I keep trying it and just find it annoying.
Not a hater, it’s just not for me. Nice to see someone who agrees.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
Isn’t he at the bottom of the pile of lawyers now?
Just from news sources and the great job they seem to be doing now (Not that anyone is going to be able to do much better, one can only work with what they’ve got to work with….) it seems to me that while he may be able to find worse if he looks hard enough, he’s likely not going to be able to get better, he’s already had one quit on him.
prostratedragon
@Scout211:
Thread from Katie Phang, who has made a first pass through it.
Sister Golden Bear
@UncleEbeneezer: Just the latest in the FTFNYT’s years of mainstreaming transphobic disinformation
@Bill Arnold: Erin Reed has been doing heroic work documenting the Republican-driven trans genocide. Her blog is well worth following.
smith
@prostratedragon
You beat me to it. Everyone should look at this summary. It’s clear to me that this is basically an attempt to invoke some obscure “moral turpitude” clause, applicable to black women only, in which you are disqualified from prosecuting if you have a relationship with a married man. As Katie Phang puts it, there is no there there.
Matt McIrvin
@sdhays: What’s usually best for eyestrain is a screen brightness that’s close to the ambient brightness. What that means is that there are cycles of lock-in: people who like dark screens want all the lights to be out, and when the lights are out, screens that aren’t dark hurt their eyes. I think that in hacker culture there’s a cycle there that started back in the 1970s when video display terminals were usually bright-on-dark because of technical limitations.
wjca
@Mr. Bemused Senior: Sigh. But better twice (or more) than missed altogether.
frosty
@Paul in KY: No disrespect to Cosmo but the way I heard it had more of a kick at the end.
I want to die in my sleep like my grandad, not screaming in terror like his passengers.
TBone
@Mr. Bemused Senior: my mom is smiling down on us. Thank you. She waitressed while getting her Master’s degree and dealing with a lot of bullshit.
Brachiator
@Jackie:
I didn’t know about this. This is really interesting. Trump isn’t looking for competent legal counsel. He can only attract third rate attorneys because he demands that they be idiots who will buy into his delusions.
Trump is his own worst enemy. The bluster and bullshit that worked for him in business and politics, and on TV, works against him in the legal arena. But he can’t see it. He can’t change.
Trump is circling the drain and may flush himself down the toilet if he can’t push the reset button by winning the election and delaying some of his court appearances.
TBone
@prostratedragon: thank you. Feeling better, day by day! La la la!
TBone
@smith: the stench is rising but maybe Matty Gaetz’s gasmask will fail this time.
...now I try to be amused
@Brachiator: Was Trump investigating his attorneys’ abilities, or their motivations? He is a paranoid fuck, after all. He could have spent that $25M on better attorneys.
But then I will never understand Trump’s mind.
smith
Here’s another not particularly surprising bit of news: Vince McMahon is under investigation for sex trafficking. First Nauta and now McMahon — TFG has the most, um, remarkable set of cronies.
Scout211
@prostratedragon: Thanks. That was a nice summary.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@…now I try to be amused: @Brachiator:
He sabotages himself outside court, too, but [I hope] you’re right about it being outright damaging there.
[ETA] I worry that this whole spectacle has damaged the courts as well. Trump’s strategy [perhaps an overly generous phrasing] is to reduce everything, elections, the courts, the society to just a political argument. That the GOP goes along with all this destruction is appalling.
NotMax
@..now I try to be amused
Shall defer to Dot.
;)
Mr. Bemused Senior
@NotMax: oooh, nice one. I love that book.
Another Scott
@prostratedragon: Thanks.
I continue to this this is attempted rodent copulation and there’s no there-there.
Cheers,
Scott.
David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch
Only the best people
JWR
Oh geez. From Politico: Pentagon to MAGA world: You need to calm down over Taylor Swift
TBone
@NotMax: I once sent that to my brother, trying to ‘splain my misspent yute 🤣😎 I highly recommend the entire short film.
TBone
@JWR: on that note
https://www.wonkette.com/p/some-maga-beta-try-hard-gonna-punish
Ugh fat fingers agin
cain
@smith:
I’m sure they are as godly as Trump. I mean the evangelicals already love Trump more than Jesus.
Paul in KY
@frosty: Like that one too! Both are fine.
Paul in KY
@Brachiator: I think I could have summed up Ms. Habba for a bit less…
JWR
@TBone: Boy howdy, indeed. Give an idiot a microphone and they’ll say something. [See eg. Trump, Donald J.]
Citizen Alan
@Paul in KY: Back around 2003, my RW boss at the time pointed to Hannity & Colmes as proof that Faux was fair and balanced. I then explained to him that in Professional Wrestling, there is a position called “the jobber,” which was the physically unappealing nobody who wrestled the top star in undercard bouts and was paid to let the star win.
Citizen Alan
@Brachiator:
Not while I and approximately 81 million other Americans are still alive.
prostratedragon
@…now I try to be amused: Looking for dirt with which to keep them in line or at least silent, is my guess.
prostratedragon
@smith: The more comes out in other ways, the less incentive these people have to stay quiet.
SFBayAreaGal
@Paul in KY: I xeroxed my face at work many years ago. I didn’t get into trouble. It was a fun experiment. 🤣
glc
@Mr. Bemused Senior: I certainly missed it. Saw him live some time around 1965, don’t recall when exactly he turned up, but it made a bit of a stir. Doesn’t seem to have changed much. Similar entrance.
I’ll have to look into it later.
This is also nice. (Beethoven)
TBone
@JWR: hope he got the same kind of attention I got on The No Fly List, only way moreso.
Baud
@Citizen Alan:
👍
Another Scott
@JWR:
The evergreen mantra from LOLGOP applies:
“Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.”
As long as they’ve got mindshare, and there are only so many hours in the day, …
Meanwhile, … RawStory.com:
Good, good.
Cheers,
Scott.
Citizen Alan
@cain: The overwhelming majority of Evangelicals worship the Devil and are either too ashamed to admit it or ignorant to realize it.
Jackie
@Another Scott: You beat me to it! I hope the DOJ agrees!🤞🏻
TriassicSands
@Citizen Alan:
Who knew that the anti-Christ would be a female pop star?
Jackie
Then the House Speaker aka TIFG gets to explain why it’s good for caravans to keep invading the US until after Nov.
Gravenstone
@sdhays: White text on black background actively gives me a headache. So no Dark Mode for me.
Old School
@Paul in KY:
Their response says that they were not in a relationship when he was hired.
NotMax
@Jackie
How long until MAGA vomits up stuff like this?
“Some people are saying these Democrat-party backed invaders are smuggling in millions of vials of Fentanyl. With Hunter Biden’s picture on the label.”
//
NotMax
@Gravenstone
Ditto, although acute eyestrain rather than full-blown headache.
Ruckus
@kalakal:
He may/does likely lie about how much money he’s got but he seems to be completely under water financially. He lies about his monetary worth and always has, really isn’t all that smart, as he proves constantly and seems to be in hock about 200 feet over his head. Who does he have on his side? He belittles everyone because he’s so great, just ask him. He seems to be aging out, a lot of his mental behavior shows that and the stress of just being him seems to be over ridding everything else.
Ruckus
@TBone:
Aww the oldies – douchecanoe
Although, while a douchecanoe is a putdown at least a canoe can float. I doubt seriously that he can.
Ruckus
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
Douchefrigate is a far better put down than he deserves.
Douchelittleredwagon may be more appropriate.
glc
@wjca: Oh, I totally missed this before, when I caught the reply.
End of an era. Oddly perhaps, I associate him with Karl Haas, who took a more conventional approach but was also inimitable.
Kayla Rudbek
@wjca: sad news :(
Paul in KY
@Citizen Alan: Excellent summation of Mr. Colmes’ role. ‘The Jobber’.
Paul in KY
@Old School: Had not heard that. Assuming that means they had never shagged when she put him on team and any shagging occurred after. IMO, anyone she had shagged with (before), should have been a nogo for a hire. Unless they actually are as I riffed in your comment capture.