In January 2023, Ronna Romney McDaniel was elected to another term as chair of the RNC, a post she’s held since Trump elevated her to it in 2017. McDaniel had opponents for the position in 2023 because rivals sensed an opening after the party suffered a string of defeats and generally underperformed during her tenure. They’re all too cowardly to blame Trump, so they blamed his stooge instead.
I was happy to see the RNC keep McDaniel in the role because she sucks at her job. But now it looks like Trump is going to throw her under the bus: (Axios)
Former President Trump, in a stunning public rebuke of a longtime ally, suggested on Fox News today that Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel should get the boot…
The RNC reported this week that it had its worst fundraising year in almost a decade last year — entering 2024 with just $8 million in cash. Trump’s comments are a sign of him flexing muscle as the de facto head of the GOP, even though the soonest he could clinch the nomination is March.
The comments also reflect growing friction between Trump and the RNC, even as McDaniel has faced criticism for publicly trying to push Nikki Haley out of the race to consolidate around Trump. A shakeup at the RNC would be extraordinary just five months before the Republican National Convention.
Prediction: shit-canning McDaniel won’t cure the RNC’s fundraising woes. Trump and affiliated PACs hoovered up tens of millions of dollars for his army of shitty lawyers last year, which might have something to do with the RNC’s short haul since there’s only so much wingnut donor cash to go around.
Also, even before his legal troubles emerged, Trump correctly identified the GOP base as dumb, slow, easy marks he could exploit for personal financial gain, so it’s reasonable to assume that’s where lots of the money is going. But of course crack reporter Maria Bartiromo wasn’t going to point that out:
“You have to understand, I have nothing to do with the RNC, I’m separate,” Trump told host Maria Bartiromo.
“I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me, I think she did OK initially in the RNC. I would say right now there will probably be some changes made,” Trump said when asked about McDaniel.
So McDaniel is learning what every other disposable careerist and sycophant who enters The Beast’s orbit finds out: Loyalty is a one-way street, and if Trump can dodge blame by pointing a stubby orange finger at someone else, even a person who has served him with unswerving devotion, he won’t hesitate.
But the fact is Biden handily outraised Trump last year, which is another sign of Trump’s weakness as a candidate, along with his failure to crack 60% in the early primary state voting so far. Tossing McDaniel under the wheels won’t change that.
Biden’s low approval ratings generate a lot of media excitement and Democratic angst. But there’s plenty of evidence emerging that Trump — despite being an authoritarian cult leader who rules his party through fear — is unpopular too, even with a sizeable portion of his own party’s base.
There’s an old saying about being chased by a bear that goes something like this: you don’t have to outrun the bear; you just have to outrun the other person the bear is chasing. Maybe the election comes down to that, and if so, I like our odds with an aged but fit candidate versus a sloshing old bag of triglycerides who drives golf carts onto greens to avoid walking the 20 feet from the cart path. We’ll see!
Open thread.
Open Thread and Two Small Things You Can Do Today
Chief Oshkosh
Prediction: shit-canning McDaniel and replacing her with a white male christofascist willing to bite the heads off of chickens live and on TikTok WILL cure the RNC’s fundraising woes.
Anonymous At Work
The only upside is that the RNC can offer the spot to Kari Lake to tank their national fundraising on purpose in order to have a shot at an Arizona Senate seat. Otherwise, the job is going to a white male who is as crazy as Lake and as bad at interacting with humans as DeSantis.
Bill Arnold
For those familiar with The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas ((Short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1973(?))
WHY DON’T WE JUST KILL THE KID IN THE OMELAS HOLE (ISABEL J. KIM, CLARKESWORLD, ISSUE 209 – FEBRUARY 2024)
Non-spoiler quote:
Bruce K in ATH-GR
For a moment, I thought the thump-thump referred to a flat tire (as opposed to someone being thrown under and run over), which would also have been rather fitting.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Chief Oshkosh:
Somebody (actually a lot of somebodies) in the GQP probably believe that’s the *exact* solution to the problem.
It’s been said many times but when satire begins to describe reality…
Balconesfault
I’ve recently seen more and more coverage acknowledging that, what do you know, the economy is actually doing pretty damn well.
Of course, it seems to be impossible for any Republican polled, no matter how well their own personal finances are doing or how good the overall economic data is or how much oil we are pulling out of the ground, to respond the economy is doing well when a Democrat is in office.
Brit in Chicago
@Anonymous At Work: “as bad at interacting with humans as DeSantis.” —It may not be so easy to find such a person. Ted Cruz, maybe?
Betty Cracker
@Bill Arnold: I had to read that story in high school and still remember it vividly because it made such an impression. It’s social commentary on par with Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” which also suggested the community required a blood sacrifice to function properly. I also remember that our teacher told us Le Guin came up with “Omelas” by spelling Salem O(regon) backwards.
Kristine
@Bill Arnold: Read it last week. A good story.
Anonymous At Work
@Brit in Chicago: There are a few, but, more importantly, DeSantis is also a “if you are not 100% with me at all times, I shall castigate ye!” type. Which is so crucial to outreach and fundraising from large corporations who have to hire in California, Washington State, NYC, etc. You know, big cities with minorities…
TBone
“Crack reporter” HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Baud
@Balconesfault:
Jury is still out if only Republicans have that problem. Many others seem to be addicted to vibes.
Anoniminous
Trump is also having money problems
If Trump’s Campaign Filings Are Any Proof, He’s Dead Meat
TBone
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qD-aUyNE6Go
Big Ole Legal Mess production
Jeffro
“sloshing old bag of triglycerides “ = 🤣
(also: getting RIGHT back on my new year’s diet and workout resolutions, stat! So thanks for that unintentional extra motivation, Betty!)
Elizabelle
I love this sentence.
They are all making Reince Priebus look like a genius.
Dangerman
I put up with earthquakes. Wildfires. Trump visits. As a Californian, is it too much to ask for sunshine 364 days of the year?
10 inches in Sepulveda pass. Not near me but Holy Hell.
TBone
Joy-Ann on 🔥
Betty Cracker
The New York Times op-ed page handed shameless liar Kellyanne Conway a megaphone to lie and propagandize some more, this time about Trump’s VP choice. Perhaps because she has a hoo-hah of her own, Conway dimly senses that Repubs have a problem due to overturning Roe, but her suggestion to “mitigate” that disadvantage is so laughable as to indicate she, like all Repubs, have zero answers. She says Tim Scott, JD Vance or Marco Rubio are “among those who have shown how to navigate and explain the issue.” Christ on a cracker!
Jinchi
I expect her to go down grovelling the whole way. The Republican party is filled with pathetic people.
cain
@Jeffro: I laughed at that as well lol
Betty has it right . RNC is competing with Trump and losing the fundraising. You can bet that Trump is probably bankrupting the fuck out of MAGA and stealing all their retirement money.
Lot of stories on Reddit about family members catching their parents having monthly donations to the orange fart
Soprano2
@Dangerman: Yes, that’s a holy hell amount of rainfall anywhere. Glad you’re safe.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
In the first half of your comment, I was expecting it to end with a list of awful women who should be picked as Veep.
Nope.
West of the Rockies
As ever, I am baffled by how utterly stupid Trump supporters are. They get bamboozled over and over by that obviously phony fucker.
Leto
@Elizabelle: and Michael Steele. It’s nice seeing a linear downward plot from each successive hire.
jonas
Going back to his time on The Apprentice, but throughout his career, it’s clear that Trump has always thought that the key sign of Great Leadership is to randomly sack people you think haven’t been loyal enough to you, preferably in the most disdainful, humiliating way possible. If it wasn’t, “Be a mercurial asshole” should have been the title of the MBA course at Trump University. And so now Ronna McDaniel will probably become the latest object of Trump’s sooper-genius management strategy over at the RNC.
The only thing positive you can say about it, is that most of the people who suffer under it also richly deserve what they get for being such spineless toadies to begin with. ETTD.
trollhattan
I see the Joe Rogan pushback campaign is going swimmingly.
Quarter billion bucks. What does he think he is, a Premiere League striker?
Baud
@trollhattan:
He’s apparently popular with young men looking for reasons to be sexist and right wing.
jonas
@West of the Rockies: Meanwhile, if you read their comments to journalists or in focus groups, what *they* see themselves as being bamboozled by was the number of people who they thought were upstanding, patriotic conservatives who have turned on Trump: Dick Cheney, James Comey, John Kelley, James Mattis, Bill Barr. The list goes on. How could they have been so naive about the sheer number of traitors and scoundrels trying to slander Trump? Jesus only had to deal with one betrayer. How many has St. Trump had to suffer with?
wjca
Depends on how much you like petsonal dehydration. It’s not like we’ve got magic water sources. Those 1 day deluges just run off into the sea.
And, of course, if you get the sunshine, you guarantee the wildfires.
Leto
@cain:
He is and I’ll continue to cheer for that. It’s money that doesn’t go to outreach, it’s money that doesn’t go to organizing, it’s essentially dead money. Ofc we also have the near limitless supply of billionaire money, and that needs to be addressed (repeal Citizens United), but this will do as well. Fuck’em.
Mike R
The magats are completely on board and Ronna deserves everything she gets from TFG and his cult. Speaking of retirement money, spoke with a magat a week or so ago and he was lamenting his inability to retire because the stock market had cratered and we need Trump. When I replied that the market was at all time highs he just stood there kind of weaving slightly and mumbling no, no he heard a podcast that said everything was collapsing. It was nice to cause him some discomfort with the truth.
r
Sister Golden Bear
@Dangerman: Yikes.
At least I woke to some sun this morning. although I’m one of the more than half-million Californians without power. PG&E claims it’ll be back on tonight, but last time around the outage lasted five days, so color me skeptical.
Baud
@Mike R:
I’m saddened that his investments might be doing well though.
Ocotillo
This past weekend NBC released their latest pollgasm that had the Beast up by 5 points. I can’t help but fret with all the Arab-Americans hate Biden stories and in case you hadn’t noticed, our President is old stories I would be lying if I said I am not nervous.
Scout211
Yep. Trump can never fail, he can only be failed.
It’s amazing (not) that all the best people working for Trump end up failures. There must be some sort of connection there, but only “for reasons I cannot explain.”
And in local news, we had a horrible weather day yesterday in NorCal and the worst of it is now sliding south to SoCal. Stay safe all you SoCal jackals. It’s going to be a long day.
For reasons I cannot explain, our small subsection on the power grid did not lose power. It flickered several times, but stayed on. I am eternally grateful to Mother Nature who spared us yesterday because several hundred thousand customers are still without power this morning and most have no restoration time estimate yet. There is a lot of weather damage to the power grid, including a county highway near Modesto which is closed because 41 power poles blew over into the highway.
The wind yesterday was fierce and relentless for 24 hours. We are on top of a hill and had some wind damage. Several roofing tiles blew off and several planks of cement board siding came loose and one broke off. But we made it through a scary 24 hours and miraculously, with power. My thoughts are with all the California jackals. Stay safe.
jonas
No doubt while making a dramatic pitch for the host’s brilliant gold and bitcoin investment scheme.
Redshift
@Chief Oshkosh: That seems doubtful to me. RNC donors are the big money people, not small donation individual contributors.
Scout211
@Sister Golden Bear: I’m so sorry you are still without power. At least you have an estimate, so apparently they at least know what caused it. I guess that’s something. Most of the outage areas have no time estimate for restoration.
I’ve lived in California since 1976 and I have never seen an outage map lit up with so many outages and so many oranges reds before.
Baud
@Ocotillo:
Take a break or do something productive. We’re unlikely to ever have good enough polling to make us feel comfortable.
Leto
Daily Beast article, but diggin’ it:
A Major Sign of Trouble in Nancy Mace’s Office: Total Staff Turnover
Nancy Mace’s entire D.C. office has turned over since Nov. 1. Former staff members described a “toxic” work culture driven by a “delusional” boss
She’s such an absolute shitheel. Exemplar Citadel grad (as BC knows).
But this part:
Unauthorized software, you say? If there are probes into insurrection accomplices, I hope they’re on this. But this entire article… *antoniobanderasgif
Redshift
@West of the Rockies:
It’s helpful to remember that since the dawn of “movement” conservatism in the 70s, operatives have been strongly motivated by how much they can make by selling/renting their voter lists to commercial marketers. They’ve spent decades trying to attract only people who will eagerly throw their money at anything, no matter how dumb.
It would be nice if there weren’t so many of that sort, but the history of humanity tends to suggest we shouldn’t be that optimistic.
Soprano2
@Mike R: That’s crazy, it’s easy to search for and find information on the stock market. I wonder what kind of investments he has if they’re cratering in this market. It’s true that they think everything is collapsing; I read thru some comments on a tweet this weekend where MAGA’s were talking about how everything is terrible, everything costs twice as much as it did when TFG was in office (sideline – no, everything does not cost twice as much) and all the “liebrals” are kidding themselves and living in lala land, and so on. I heard part of a Hidden Brain podcast where they talked about the phenomenon of liberals and conservatives thinking each other are much more deluded than is actually true, I’ll be interested to hear the research. I sometimes think liberals try to comfort themselves too much by saying all TFG supporters are stupid and crazy, when this is definitely not the truth. Misguided, yes, but stupid and crazy, no.
TBone
@Betty Cracker: cheesus!
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Conway vaguely nods at “female governors” but then lies as follows:
She then mentions some other women, including Stefanik, but says if she were advising Trump, she’d advocate that he pick a person of color:
That she doesn’t spontaneously combust from the sheer hypocrisy is further proof that there is no deity.
Here’s a gift link for anyone who wants to read the steaming load of horseshit Conway dropped in its entirety, but I do not recommend it.
smith
His money problems go far, far beyond his depleted fundraising money.
By the end of the month his legal penalties will probably be north of $400 million. I’ve seen estimates of his liquid assets to be in the range of $400 million. In order to appeal the E. Jean Carroll decision and the NY fraud decision, he will have to post bonds in the amounts of the awards, either in cash or via a bonding agency. There is no legitimate financial institution now willing to lend him anything like $400 million, and it’s questionable whether a bonding agency will take the risk.
His only option will be to sell some of his property or get a loan from a shady source (probably from a foreign dictator or someone acting for one).
He has been milking his PACs for not only his legal fees, but also for what are actually billionaire-level lifestyle support, as is seen from the most recent expenditure reports to FEC ($300k+ to Melania’s stylist, for instance). If he wants to keep doing that, he’ll have to increasingly tap into the already depleted donations fund, as his criminal trials begin and his legal fees soar ever higher.
I really don’t see how he gets out of this without going bankrupt.
TBone
@West of the Rockies: some of them are just plain smart evil. I wish that weren’t so, but keep an eye on the quiet ones! Apparently, we have to watch out for this guy:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Colby
TBone
@Mike R: ❤️
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
Not identity politics, but equal helping? Huh?
No way I’m clicking that link.
Frankensteinbeck
Yes, but that’s a huge drop from what he used to get, and he’s spending it all. He’s pushing to have her fired because someone needs to pony up more money to cover his court losses. He can’t possibly be the reason his fans aren’t pouring on the bucks as much as they used to, so he went looking for a goat.
@Ocotillo:
Last I heard we were up 5 in Pennsylvania and 9 in Michigan. We’re going to fucking floor Trump, but every bad poll is going to be the one the media waves and shouts about. Fuck ‘em.
TBone
@Ocotillo: it’s good to be wary, but worry is a waste of imagination.
TBone
@smith: be still, my beating heart! 😻
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Betty Cracker:
KellyAnne LiesAlot is gonna do her thing. But what never ceases to amaze me is that she gets a platform like FTFNYT.
Yeah, I know, nothing new or illuminating in that statement but it is Example #41,496 why they should never get a dime of anybody’s money.
Geminid
@smith: For Trump, the only way out of this is through: he clearly hopes to solve his legal problems by winning the presidency again. This adds a large element of desperation to Trump’s campaign, and makes him even more dangerous.
oldgold
Yesterday I watched Meet the Press. The new Speaker of the House was the guest. I was really taken back by his poor performance. This guy is not ready to be Mayor of Goosepecker Hollow. He was truly pathetic.
I honestly think we were better off with McCarthy than this not ready for prime time Bible thumper.
TBone
@oldgold: another evil “jenius” using the cross and waving a flag. Let’s make that flag the white flag of surrender.
Captain C
@trollhattan:
Today on the show, Joe Rogan talks with noted footballer and genius Aaron Rodgers about how vaccines made him (Joe) miss ten open shots from inside the 6-yard box in the first five games of the season, and wokeness then got him blacklisted from world
footballsoccer. Or is it wokeness that made him miss and vaccines that got him cut from the team? Find out today on the Joe Rogan Show…wjca
I believe that the return on bonds (not stocks) may be dropping a bit in anticipation of intetest rate cuts.
Mike R
@Soprano2: Misguided completely agree. However living in the midst of TFG country, stupid and crazy are certainly in the mix. Down right discouraging sometimes, but onward and upward.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Soprano2: Since our investment income is a big chunk of what we live on, we track it closely. That guy is ignorant.
Captain C
@Mike R:
It’s always possible that said magat had followed lots of bad advice from various MAGA scammers investment advice sources and in his own particular case, was absolutely right. Unfortunately for him, this has nothing to do with the stock market at large. It’s possible that he’s the type to have bought GameStop when it hit 300 that one time.
Ksmiami
@Betty Cracker: that paper is hot garbage now. Avoid
glc
Good article about phishing and scamming from Doctorow – particularly if you use a credit union.
Link.
I’ll be forwarding this one to family members.
wjca
If his property is mortgaged to the hilt, which seems likely, sales might not net him much. And getting a secured loan, i.e. with property equity to back it up, would be off the table also.
On the other hand, Putin is really counting on TIFG to win, and give him a shot at beating Ukraine after all, so he might be willing to risk some money. (Bibi would live to get him back as well, but may not have the funds.)
smith
@Geminid: Even if he were elected, unless he manages to actually suspend the Constitution, there is nothing at all he can do to stop the consequences of the E. Jean Carroll case, the NY fraud case, or his likely conviction in the upcoming Alvin Bragg case. Those consequences come due within the next several months. The recent interview in which he denied sustaining any legal losses (he seemed to be claiming that he’d actually won the Carroll case on appeal) tells me that he’s resorting to a pathological level of denial to cope with it.
Ksmiami
@Captain C: they also bought a lot of gold which is limiting and dumb on a lot of levels. Me personally, I’d like to see MAGA dopes completely bankrupted
Mike R
To everyone who wonders what his investments are they are bog standard funds with a competent financial advisor. His wife had told my wife and I that things were going pretty well and they were on target to retire within the year. His problem, Biden in charge. It is not possible for some of these people to accept reality if it doesn’t line up with their belief in the short fingered vulgarian
Ksmiami
@Mike R: tell him to read other sources than Fox and OANN
Baud
@Mike R:
There it is.
Captain C
@smith:
How in hell does anyone spend that much on a stylist, even if we figure it goes back to his first presidential campaign? (Of course, this assumes that this is legit and not some form of scamery or money-laundering.)
For TFG, bankruptcy is just another word for “Ha! Ha! I don’t have to pay you now!”
Paul in KY
@Chief Oshkosh: TFG’s death would also cure some of their woes.
smith
@wjca: The fun thing about the possible use of his property as collateral for anything, really, is that his whole organization is likely to be under even closer scrutiny of a court-appointed financial monitor than it is now, along with the possibility that Engoron will stand by his earlier decision to order the dissolution of the Trump Org altogether. That will make any attempted monkey business much harder to pull off.
Paul in KY
@Bill Arnold: I would hope I would walk away.
trollhattan
@Captain C:
:-)
The judges would also accept “Joe Rogan placed on inactive list following his altercation with two Cameroonian teammates, after infecting a third of the dressing room with Covid19.”
Sister Golden Bear
@Scout211: Unfortunately the power restoration estimate doesn’t mean much. Last year they said it was going to be fixed in 12 hours — and it took five days. So I’ll believe it when the lights actually come back on.
trollhattan
@Paul in KY: That would/will cure a hellova lot of woes.
We’re left to ponder the when.
Betty Cracker
We visited my wingnut dad yesterday, and he brought up politics, which he hardly ever does because it never goes well. It did not go well!
He claimed that with Trump we had “prosperity,” and I countered that the economy is roaring right now and that Trump lying about COVID to try to prop up the stock market early in the pandemic led to more excess deaths in the U.S. than any peer nation and the worst job loss record for any president in the history of the country.
He then switched tactics and claimed my sister and I are Democrats because we’re college graduates and that universities exist to create more Democrats. I said that was a load of hooey because until fairly recently, Republicans routinely got the majority of white college graduates’ votes and only started really tanking with that demographic when they nominated the loud-mouthed, incompetent asshole fascist Trump.
Anyway, he changed the subject, and I bet it will be a while before he brings it up again!
smith
@Captain C: The $371k for the stylist only goes back to 2022.
trollhattan
@Captain C:
You mean renowned hair master Stephanovitch Bannonskaya? $300k is his friends and family rate.
Captain C
@Ksmiami: Them: “If you don’t buy my gold/bitcoin/NFTs/stonks at ridiculously inflated prices, I’ll be destitute!”
Us: “Your offer is acceptable.”
Them: “It’ll be on your conscience*!”
Us: “More like I’ll think of it anytime I need a giggle.”
*a word they read sometime and decided they could use on other people but not apply to themself(-ves)
Ruckus
@Chief Oshkosh:
I’ll agree that it might make things better but I think that SFB has run his course as “their guy,” their guy not necessarily being a good leader, an actual politician, because he’s not good at anything but hate and never has been in his entire life. His story is money, how he screwed his siblings out of a lot of their inheritance from their father, how he’s supposedly made billions out of the $400 million he started with from “lovely” dear dad. But the bills are past due, both the monetary bills and the life bills. And his badly manufactured claims of greatness and wealth are all coming past due. Tis such a shame……
And it might make things better but that’s still not good enough to overcome what SFB has made out of his life.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
Ugh. a.m. talk radio, Fox News 24/7, or both? They need the constant feed or can’t dredge those talking points on demand. (“And that’s why you need to vote McCain.”)
At least that visit is done and dusted. One does what one must when it comes to families.
Mike R
@Baud: Exactly, short and to the point.
Captain C
@trollhattan: *grins *
I could totally see that happening. The Cameroonian teammates were probably annoyed at him for not helping out on defense, talking smack, and generally behaving in a way that makes the late Giorgio Chinaglia look like the epitome of a team player.
(As a fan of the original and reboot Cosmos, I am allowed to talk a little smack about Chinaglia, even if he was hella fun to watch score.)
Gravenstone
He’s reportedly getting loans from a Russian porn financier. So there ya go…
Mike in NC
Ronna can hope for a minimum wage job as a housekeeper at Mar-A-Lago, even though Fat Bastard would insist “she’s not my type”.
Captain C
@smith:
Even if you figure 2 years worth of weekly visits (so roughly 100), that comes out to over three grand/appointment. That seems kind of nuts.
@trollhattan:
Because no one else in their right mind will let Mr. I-smell-of-rancid-lunchmeats-booze-and-cheap-fascism anywhere near their hair.
rikyrah
Magdi Jacobs (@magi_jay) posted at 8:34 AM on Mon, Feb 05, 2024:
I’m 40. Was politically conscious during Clinton, Bush, Obama, & Trump. Biden is the best POTUS I’ve had, in terms of both domestic + foreign policy. Not perfect! Just, relatively, the best. I am fighting to preserve this good thing. Not this perfect thing. But this good thing.
(https://x.com/magi_jay/status/1754513727427076444?t=usWIHebsKjtauikLN3BTvg&s=03)
Jeffro
Hopeless dreamer moment here but WHERE are the stories about how this election wouldn’t be such an anxiety-inducing stress overload for the country if the GOP could be bothered to support normal, non-country-wrecking candidates?
Barring that, I’ll take a good op-ed that opens with “remember when an angry Ford mob sacked the Capitol and then Ford ran again, saying the previous election was ‘rigged’? No? How about those maniacal Carter people and Carter’s insistence on alternate slates of electors? No? Bush Sr – remember when he decided to run again in ’96, saying he’d ‘be a dictator on Day 1’? No? Well…do you remember WHY NOT?”
rikyrah
Why not? The MSM doesn’t seem to want to ask the hard questions of the GOP.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Fuck around and find out… :-)
rikyrah
Not one lie told.
Hope Restored In DFW (@Kennymack1971) posted at 9:14 AM on Mon, Feb 05, 2024:
The Republicans and the media are revealing that they played in everyone’s face about the “Border Crisis” and everyone who took them seriously is stupid.
Yeah….I said it.
(https://x.com/Kennymack1971/status/1754523904410788132?t=usMtsmlH6PesoZhCk9THSw&s=03)
UncleEbeneezer
@Betty Cracker: Have you ever tried explaining to him that college is indeed, where many of us learn the skill of critical thinking, and first start to listen to perspectives of marginalized groups? Both of which combine to make it extremely easy to see that everything Republicans, Fox and people like him claim, is complete and utter bullshit based on myths and closing their ears to data, science and recorded history.
Paul in KY
@Captain C: I know a Camaroonian family & they were very pleased to make knockout round. They had no illusions about their chances with Nigeria.
Geminid
@smith: Yeah, winning the election woulds not neccesarily a solve Trump’s legal problems. But I just said it was Trump’s strategy, not that it was a rational one.
rikyrah
UH HUH
UH HUH
18 GOP-held Biden districts targeted to flip blue (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 9:19 PM on Sun, Feb 04, 2024:
we’re gonna have to have a national conversation within Black America about the percentage of Gen-X & elder Millennial Black rappers who are abusing their existing standing in the community to work against us and slavishly serve the colonizer
not all skinfolk are kinfolk
(https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1754343976113500661?t=YJM6Mk1JnM-rJU20vJkoHg&s=03)
Ocotillo
@TBone: Thanks.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: I know they watch Fox News sometimes, but Dad was a wingnut before Fox News existed, so I can’t blame Murdoch. The “universities exist to churn out Democrats” line is a DeSantis favorite, though my dad has been saying it for 30+ years. I think he sincerely believes it.
FelonyGovt
@Dangerman: I get the feeling there isn’t a lot of sympathy for us here in CA.
Mr. Bemused Senior
I thought you said it had not gone well. Seems OK to me.
TBone
Speaking of thump thump, it’s the sound I hear in my head regarding this circle jerk.
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/dipshit-maga-truckers-are-now-a-huge
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Why was he a wingnut 30 odd years ago? Wealthy person? Military lover? Down on the Blaahs? All 3?
Old School
King Charles III diagnosed with cancer. Seems like prostate.
TBone
@Betty Cracker: my deepest sympathy.
TBone
@smith: mebbe she’s got a Warren Beatty type thing going on with her “stylist.” Shampoo!
TBone
@Ruckus: to my everlasting delight!
rikyrah
The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) posted at 10:10 AM on Mon, Feb 05, 2024:
Within an hour after she performed with Luke Combs at the #Gammys, Tracy Chapman’s version of the song hit the top of the U.S. iTunes charts for the first time ever.
https://t.co/9ZbceqvFxr
(https://x.com/thedailybeast/status/1754537887264030995?t=UfYQMvt4MBLRp50k5Z9g9g&s=03)
rikyrah
Just phucking evil
The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) posted at 9:53 AM on Mon, Feb 05, 2024:
![]()
Since April, Florida has removed around 420,000 children from Medicaid and CHIP rolls. In a lawsuit filed against the Biden Administration, Florida says it seeks to continue removing children from these health insurance programs.
https://t.co/vM57A2IlRa
(https://x.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/1754533721623961966?t=FCsLH35l7_T4NpFbqRlFfw&s=03)
rikyrah
UH HUH
UH HUH
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) posted at 9:40 AM on Mon, Feb 05, 2024:
In just one day, two frontrunners for Donald Trump’s next VP pick said they would not certify unfavorable election results: JD Vance and Elise Stefanik.
(https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1754530331888165278?t=blKNyf98W5p73pdAvecoSw&s=03)
FastEdD
SoCal person here. The heavens didn’t open up here until late last night. Storms usually hit up North first. What I’m worried about is falling trees 🌲. When the roots get too soggy they collapse on peoples’ houses. That occurred exactly a year ago and wiped out a house across the street from me-those homeowners lost everything and haven’t been back since. A tree right next to your house doesn’t have far to fall and can’t do much damage, but a massive old tree 50 or 100 feet away is dangerous.
FelonyGovt
@Sister Golden Bear: Just when I think Southern California Edison is a third-world country level utility, I hear more about PG&E. You have my sympathy.
rikyrah
That Well-Adjusted Biden Guy (@What46HasDone) posted at 1:04 PM on Sun, Feb 04, 2024:
So with Hamas set to reject the US, Egypt, and Qatar proposed hostage/ceasefire deal they make an even bigger mockery of the “ceasefire now” protestors. You all got suckered into doing the bidding of a terrorist organization.
(https://x.com/What46HasDone/status/1754219372162293803?t=uhR5fJdWspDYoerKU50Utw&s=03)
TBone
@rikyrah: what worst month in history B.S. is he talking about tho. Glad to see this but you can’t shake an apple tree and expect a peach to fall out.
rikyrah
Yet, the MSM continues to try and peddle her as some reasonable ‘ moderate’ Republican. She’s a nightmare from the right-wing just like the rest of them.
The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) posted at 7:00 AM on Mon, Feb 05, 2024: EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Mace’s entire D.C. office has turned over since Nov. 1. Former staff members described a “toxic” work culture driven by a “delusional” boss. https://t.co/Z0N5jmNhck (https://x.com/thedailybeast/status/1754490119514464431?t=CWaQ7N0QO9HGFNFh9ZzVtg&s=03)
TBone
@UncleEbeneezer: truth has a liberal bias. Common knowledge, that I’ve been informed is so IRL when pointing out facts. It’s truly, TRULY an alternate universe they live in, complete with its own language.
TBone
@rikyrah: ❤️🔥
Captain C
@rikyrah: Media: But Biden is said to have referred to TFG as a ‘sick fuck’, which is obviously uncivil and therefore worse.
TBone
@rikyrah: time for a cigarette, blindfold, and, uh, “firing” squad.
Betty Cracker
@Paul in KY: He’s a Southern white man born in the mid-1940s and a recently retired small business owner. Lots of those guys are lifelong wingnuts. He has his good points too! For example, he’s not an evangelical, and he’s not one of those angry loud-mouth Trumpers who can’t leave the topic alone. As far as I know, he doesn’t even own a red ballcap!
rikyrah
Sean Armstrong (@manatee73) posted at 8:02 PM on Sun, Feb 04, 2024:
Award shows are tedious and crass, but the smile on Tracy Chapman’s face when the auditorium goes nuts for her before she takes everyone to school with no lip sync, no auto-tune and no in-ear monitors is a pretty sweet moment to capture live. https://t.co/YZGbWgMmHJ
(https://x.com/manatee73/status/1754324707858407913?t=EZ3-4QLRSIzcabSE8qyeSQ&s=03)
dmsilev
The most important question: Will she reverse her surgical Romneyectomy?
TBone
@Betty Cracker: baked in. My family elders had some baked in prejudice too but I was too young to notice or know, praise be.
Betty Cracker
@FastEdD: I worry about trees the most too when we have bad weather. Hope y’all stay safe!
TBone
@rikyrah: thank you, that actually made me cry.
TBone
CA peeps I HEAR YOU. Had a tornado touch down in my yard on tax day 2019 with fireball lightning exploding 8′ in the air, trees coming down all over (narrow miss included only the carport roof), electric & phone live wires down across our driveway. Us sitting in the basement while water poured in through the furnace chimney stack because it was blowing sideways. Praying. This is some REALLY scary shit!
Soprano2
@Betty Cracker: Oh puke, it’s the “when Democrats do it this is identity politics and bad, but when we do it this is always merit based and justified” crap. It’s interesting how white men are always assumed to be qualified for whatever thing they’re hired or considered for, and conservatives don’t think that’s identity politics.
UncleEbeneezer
@rikyrah: And the Media, of course, can’t resist hosting them at every chance. Considering how few Black Men actually support Trump or even pull Third-Party bullshit, you’d never know it based on how frequently these dudes are invited on to bash Joe Biden. As if Ice Cube and Killer Mike really speak for their Communities (eye-roll…)
SuzieC
@rikyrah: OMG. This is so great.
Alison Rose
@Old School: Scary :( But no, from NYT:
And jeez, William must be a little frazzled. First his wife has a procedure requiring a couple weeks in hospital and a couple of months out of the public eye. Now this.
Anoniminous
@UncleEbeneezer:
But there is
photographic evidence of black men going door to door for Trump solidifying the three-arm mutant vote!!
MattF
Back to comment #3– Re: the Le Guin short story, ‘Those who walk away from Omelas’. Naomi Novik’s Scholomance Trilogy is a pretty direct reply to the story. Novik takes a more optimistic view.
...now I try to be amused
@Jeffro: Yeah, it’s pretty damn perverse that Republicans are the most fanatically loyal to the worst people.
rikyrah
Hell to the muthaphuckin’ NO.
NOT ENOUGH is taught about Wilson and his racism.
He wasn’t just racist.
He was racist in Action, Policy and Deed.
David Frum (@davidfrum) posted at 9:01 AM on Sun, Feb 04, 2024:
Uncancel Woodrow Wilson, my latest in @theAtlantic https://t.co/MMw1vskPAR
(https://x.com/davidfrum/status/1754158162775613758?t=ZPyTLMqdauEbkT92Erpd6w&s=03)
JWR
I thought that was really her.
I think this will go down as badly as the time a few years ago when SNL invited eyepatch guy (R-TX) on to listen to what’s his name (with all the tats) tell jokes about himself as a form of apology to eyepatch guy, because when I saw that it was really Haley, I nearly hurled.
Old School
@Alison Rose: Interesting. I wondered why the announcement was silent on the type of cancer.
Alison Rose
@rikyrah: I swear, the people these weirdos go to bat for is just…very telling.
Baud
@rikyrah:
Glad to see Frum tackling the important issues of the day head on.
Alison Rose
@Old School: The Monarchy is typically rather mum about details. They also didn’t give any specifics about Kate’s procedure. Not really the public’s business aside from just letting people know about treatment since it takes them from the public eye.
Alison Rose
@Alison Rose: Okay, this makes me a little more worried:
I mean, obviously very normal to visit your aging parent with a cancer diagnosis, but…I don’t know, it feels a wee bit ominous.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Sister Golden Bear: We have a little sun peeking out too. We were lucky – lost power from 5 to 9 pm last night and then it miraculously came back on. The pictures from So Cal of flooding are amazing
geg6
@FastEdD:
Welcome to what happens any time there are high winds, lots of rain and/or too much snow or ice here in Western PA. Which is basically every spring/winter I’ve been alive (65 of them).
Sorry it’s happening to you out there, but get used to it. Climate change isn’t for the faint hearted.
C Stars
I must push back on any comparison between the two that refers to Biden as “aged” and Trump as anything other than ALSO AGED. I mean, c’mon, it’s a three year difference. It’s not just the triglycerides, its the fact that he’s basically the same age as Biden (and in a lot worse shape).
Spanky
Well, a non-prostate cancer discovered during prostate exam/ treatment sounds like colon or rectal cancer. Not one you’d want to mess with.
narya
@MattF: I haven’t read that response (thanks for the rec), but, oddly perhaps, I always thought that the original story had a thread of optimism in it–the ones who walk away choose not to participate, choose a different kind of interdependence.
Betty Cracker
@C Stars: “Old” doesn’t count? I think it is reasonably synonymous with “aged.”
geg6
@Alison Rose:
I don’t agree. If I was a British tax payer, I would think it is definitely my business since I pay these slackers zillions. These are public servants who owe explanations for everything they do, IMHO. Mainly because they do nothing at all for the British public in exchange for those zillions of tax dollars. The least they can do is level with the public about their health and welfare. I would not expect such privacy if I was in their shoes. And no sympathies for William (that git). He wanted to succeed his dad, this is what it means. Tough shit for him and his layabout wife.
C Stars
@Betty Cracker: Ah, I didn’t see it! Just went straight from “sloshing” to “bag of triglycerides.” Just a little bent out of shape on this issue because it is so freaking ridiculous the way everyone (including Dems!) talk about Biden’s age as though Trump were some glowing spring chicken.
Dangerman
@FelonyGovt: It’s our excellent tans. I’m going for George Hamilton.
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
Teddy Roosevelt would have had plenty to say about rewriting Woodrow Wilson’s history, beginning with his chronic, extended neutrality on WWI.
“Let’s just pretend they’re going to fix everything and it will be over soon enough. Besides, which side do we prefer?”
Repatriated
$3k/visit isn’t to do the styling.
It’s hush money to never, ever tell anyone how much styling he actually needs.
Paul in KY
@rikyrah: Guess they think they have a shot…The fuckers.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Got it. He’s your dad, so I know he has many good points :-)
smith
@Repatriated: That’s Melania’s stylist, not TFG’s.
Chief Oshkosh
@Betty Cracker:
Oh, I don’t. Sounds like it went pretty well to me. Like my dad used to do, yours spouted off some bullcrap he probably heard about from sources paid to make old white men angry. You countered with facts. He changed to a different Looney Tune. You countered with facts. Then he finally changed topics all together.
And I didn’t even have to sit through it this time!
Win, win, win! :)
trollhattan
@smith:
Trump’s “stylist” is a dude who once made cotton candy at the country fair. Top man, the best.
Captain C
@Betty Cracker: I would accept “decrepit” for TFG. Particularly if ’80 is the new 60″ was used for Biden.
Paul in KY
@Alison Rose: Unless the King abdicates (and there’s no effing way he’ll do that, since Edward VIII did it and they all loathe him), then you only become King/Queen when your parent dies. If you love your parent, that’s got to be bittersweet.
If William gets more duties/briefings, then it’s serious.
Repatriated
@smith: good catch, my bad.
In her case, it may well be a way to “help out” a friend
Or a Velben Good thing — doesn’t really matter how good the work is, the important thing is that it’s work that costs $3k/visit.
Captain C
@trollhattan: Of course, he occasionally tries to nibble your hair.
Captain C
@Paul in KY:
That ship seems to have sailed for Charles III, probably a long time ago.
Alison Rose
@geg6: Trust me, you don’t need to explain the dangers of climate change to anyone living in California.
Paul in KY
@rikyrah: I always picture him in medieval church clothing, solemnly watching the burning of ‘heretics’, all with that pursed lip expression of his. Compared to TFG, not a bad President for his time, but no one to be celebrated.
Alison Rose
@geg6: JFC what is wrong with you? For one thing, no, their personal health details are not the public’s business. All the public needs to know is the basics, not every intimate detail of every procedure, every symptom, etc. They ARE “leveling with the public” by letting them know about diagnoses, recovery time, and such. Also, “he wanted to succeed his dad”, well, sure, but he HAS to unless he wants to abdicate. He didn’t ask to be born into this, you know. And his “layabout wife” probably has a far more active schedule than anyone on this blog, unless you happen to live 95% of your life in the biggest public spotlight possible.
You don’t have to love them, but wishing death on them just makes you sound like a bigger asshole than you think they are.
Paul in KY
@Captain C: ‘They’ being all members of the Royal Family (at least officially they loathe the once King Edward VIII).
TBone
@geg6: hard agree but I still sympathize. This bumpy ride is just beginning.
TBone
@Alison Rose: I chose not that battle but glad you did.
Captain C
@Paul in KY: Ah, yes. He seems to have been a problematic individual for more than one reason.
Barry
@smith: “Even if he were elected, unless he manages to actually suspend the Constitution, there is nothing at all he can do to stop the consequences of [lists various cases]
An off the leash FBI, FOJ and Federalist Society can do a lot.
Chief Oshkosh
Oh, I am so up for this. GOP Senators are bashing each other now, hard and publicly:
Senator Lee (Utah) on the border bill:
“Senate GOP leadership screwed this up—and screwed us. Even while refusing to let us see the bill they claimed to be negotiating on our behalf—for MONTHS—they were never in doubt, insisting we’d be dumb and even unpatriotic NOT to support it. This is a disqualifying betrayal.”
Will be lovely to see what Lankford responds with. Maybe it’s not too late to legalize Senate duels!
Sister Golden Bear
Don’t want to jinx it, but my power is actually back on!
For context about the SoCal storm damage, some places received up to almost an entire year’s worth of rainfall in a 24-hour period. Made worse because a string of previous storms have left the ground completely saturated, so water just runs off instead of seeping into the soil.
Up here in NorCal, we got less rain, so less flooding, but we had hurricane-strength winds, topping out at 100 mph in places, thanks to a ”bomb cyclone” that caused widespread downed trees and power lines.
JaneE
@Betty Cracker: It would be only fair to point out that college education means more knowledge in general and training in how to think critically and conduct research, at least when I was there and in my discipline. It also tends to bring people of more races/classes/backgrounds together and the more you get to know people who are different from you the more you realize that sweeping generalizations are not often correct.
Between the two things, fact based reasoning and personal experience of diversity, it becomes more difficult to justify wingnut type thinking.
That didn’t mean Democrat until maybe the last 20-25 years.
Sister Golden Bear
@Chief Oshkosh:
<inserts Godzilla “let them fight” gif>
Ruckus
@Dangerman:
is it too much to ask for sunshine 364 days a year?
I believe that it is.
Having been born and lived here in SoCal most of my life and having seen times where it rained every day for 40 days and the LA river was overflowing it’s banks (look it up if you don’t know, it is not an insignificant stream) and days where of course it’s well over 100 degrees. It may look rather idlic weather wise but I’ve seen it snow (not much mind you) and hot enough to burn the hide off of anything living, and everything inbetween. It’s taken me 4 hrs to drive about 20 miles before and while it used to be so smoggy on some days that one wondered where everything went, I’ve also been able to see Catalina from my last house, over 50 miles away.
I’ve lived in places that were no where near what LA is and I’ve seen a fair bit of this planet by ship, plane, railroad, car and foot. I’ve been well north of the Arctic Circle in winter and to the southern tip of New Zealand. I’ve traveled much of the US (crossed coast to coast by motorcycle, car and truck/trailer, 5 times in all) and Europe. I’ve seen better, I’ve seen worse, but all in all it’s a decent place to live.
rikyrah
scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) posted at 8:29 AM on Mon, Feb 05, 2024:
Dark Brandon got the Chamber of Commerce to sign onto the border/immigration compromise. This would be like a Republican President getting the AFL/CIO to sign onto a massive corporate tax cut.
(https://x.com/scarylawyerguy/status/1754512518762906053?t=MAYEiIwIH2o8zO0lyBjjIA&s=03)
VFX Lurker
YAYYYYYYY!!!
Hoping it stays on.
Scout211
Good news!
My daughter (near Auburn) just got an update from PG&E on their outage that started yesterday at 3:00 pm. They estimate the power will be restored on Thursday 2/8. 😳
Baud
@Sister Golden Bear:
👍
Leto
@Sister Golden Bear:
Transgender advocacy group sues South Dakota for discrimination – and wins $300,000
In a blow for Republican governor Kristi Noem, the state of South Dakota has been forced to issue an apology letter and a $300,000 payment to transgender advocacy group The Transformation Project, following the abrupt cancellation of a Department of Health contract in 2022, reports RawStory.
Uncle Cosmo
A noble tradition, from the sublime to the ridiculous: from Samuel Butler’s 1872 satirical novel set in the fictional Erewhon (nowhere) to Dylan Thomas’s play for voices “Under Milk Wood” set in the fictional Welsh village of Llareggub (bugger all). (Curiously the latter webpage does not mention the etymology of the village name – probably because when reversed it is a rather nasty British expression that a library would not want to touch with a 3.048-meter pole.)
Sister Golden Bear
@Scout211: Ugh, sorry to hear that. At least they’re being honest about it. Last year, when my power was out for five days, they kept providing estimates that it would be back on that evening. And then every evening the estimates got pushed back a day.
FastEdD
@Sister Golden Bear: So far in SoCal, torrents of rain but not much wind at least where I am. My NorCal friends say the same as you. We’ll survive this!
Ruckus
@West of the Rockies:
He, ShitForBrains, supposedly has money.
I’ll say I don’t think he’s an actual idiot, but he sure seems to be heading in that direction and doesn’t have far to go to get to the end of that trip. I believe that it’s the money that they think makes him great. I have no idea why they can’t see that money can’t buy humanity, intelligence, truthfulness, and the host of other bits and pieces that SFB needs to be considered possibly human. And that his bills are all coming due NOW. We all have bills, he had BILLS, piles of them, and they are not insignificant in the least. And are all past due and all his BS, preening, begging, and smarmy personality are not going to be enough to pay them. He views himself as the top of the heap, but he’s that heap of stuff you scrape off your shoe using the curb, because your neighbor walks their dog in your yard.
cain
@Baud:
Go down the Rogan road and don’t expect to get any dates or nookie. The women are moving increasingly left.
Alison Rose
@cain: But Ted Cruz said liberal men are bad in bed.
I do wonder if he ever explained how he knows that.
Paul in KY
@Captain C: Queen mother Elizabeth (George VI’s wife) felt that being King cut short his life. IMO, she never cared that her husband was a much, much better King for wartime England than noted Fascistcurious (with a Nazi loving paramour) Edward VIII.
In fact, I think that if Edward VIII had stayed on throne (not married Wallis), he was heading for an ‘unfortunate accident’ that would have put George VI on throne anyway. Maybe that was why Queen Mother hated him, that he didn’t manage to get himself offed and existed on as Duke of Windsor (with that woman being a Duchess!!).
Paul in KY
@Sister Golden Bear: Crossing fingers that it stays on!!!
NotMax
@Alison Rose
What happens in Cancún stays in Cancún.
//
Paul in KY
@Uncle Cosmo: My staid & proper English mother (born in Warrington, Lancashire) says it is (for her) the equivalent of ‘fuck’.
Paul in KY
@Ruckus: The answer to this my dear Ruckus: ‘money can’t buy humanity, intelligence, truthfulness, and the host of other bits and pieces that SFB needs to be considered possibly human.’
is that they think they can rent it with enough money…
Ruckus
@Mike R:
It was nice to cause him some discomfort with the truth.
He’ll get over it.
And find more BS to believe.
TBone
@Chief Oshkosh: LET THEM FIGHT 😊 oh Sister Golden Bear beat me to the punch!
Uncle Cosmo
As it probably should. Anything “discovered during a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate” is odds-on to at best involve some organ in the lower abdomen, which (if it isn’t the prostrate ;^D) is not particularly good news . (And at worst, to show signs of metastasis of a non-local disease, which is a couple orders of magnitude worse.)
TBone
@JaneE: Richard Millhouse Nixon might beg to differ.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
I was headed back to the store after my lunch break yesterday…put on my shoes, got my jacket and mask and was reaching for my umbrella went the place went dark. When I came back for my 15 minute break all the lights in the house were on. So the power was off for about an hour here. I rained pretty heavy from early afternoon though this morning.
David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch
@Baud:
He’s there just to take good care of me,
Like he’s one of the family.
Biden in Charge
Of our days and our nights
Biden in Charge
Of our wrongs and our rights
And I sing, I want,
I want Biden in Charge of me.
...now I try to be amused
@Ruckus:
I think Trump’s marks don’t want humanity, intelligence, or truthfulness. They want to lord it over people who do have those qualities. Trump is an aspirational figure to them, living proof that one can be rich and powerful without any positive qualities.
cain
@Mike R:
WTF does he not check his retirement account? I mean it’s right there .. reality staring him in the face. /Facepalm
TBone
@Sister Golden Bear: mebbe people don’t realize that this also sometimes means that first responders can’t get in through the debris.
TBone
@Ruckus: Aye, Aye, Cap’n! (tips hat)
Ruckus
@Scout211:
It’s raining here in SoCal right now but if what I’m seeing and reading about on NOAA is right, it’s just 3 more days of rain and light wind. Have seen a lot worse here.
Uncle Cosmo
@Repatriated: Money shampoo-and-setting, penny-ante department.
Alison Rose
@David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch: Definitely prefer Biden over Baio.
Craig
@TBone: I think it’s more likely, and I didn’t follow the original comment, that we’re not talking haircuts. More of a buyer, planner, dresser. Overall style, not just hair.
TBone
@Uncle Cosmo: lilliputian! A Modest Proposal.
Baud
Via Reddit, Can’t remember if this was noted here.
Alison Rose
@Ruckus: We were pretty fortunate where I am in the North Bay. We definitely had heavy rain at times, but nothing torrential, and there were some strong gusts but certainly not like what others were getting. Now it’s sunny and should remain so for the rest of the week except for maybe light rain on Wednesday.
Barbara
@Paul in KY: I read a very entertaining novel about how Edward the VIII was more or less forced to decamp to the Bahamas after the fall of France, speculating on how Germany might have had plans to use him as a puppet (using the Jersey Islands as a base) and how England was desperate to avoid that outcome. I am sure most of it was made up but it was still a hoot.
Alison Rose
@Baud: Good news, but I wonder what “mostly” means here.
Baud
@Alison Rose:
Could be some technical or procedutal thing that was adopted in the original rule and not repealed. Don’t really know.
danielx
@Ruckus:
Gotta disagree, he is superlative at identifying marks and separating them from their money.
TBone
@Ruckus: Fran said he is, indeed, very stupid.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/mar/20/fran-lebowitz-you-do-not-know-anyone-as-stupid-as-donald-trump
Rolling Stones lyric “tryna scrape that shit right off my shoe” now an earworm 😆
VFX Lurker
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA:
I had power go out here in Glendale for 80 minutes — from 5:28pm through 6:48pm. You may have been caught in the same neighborhood blackout.
Kristine
Not sure if anyone has posted this, but there was a data breach over at Spoutible and I know some BJers have accounts there.
Ruckus
@Redshift:
It would be nice if there weren’t so many of that sort, but the history of humanity tends to suggest we shouldn’t be that optimistic.
It takes all kinds to make up humanity. The entire range.
Tall/short. Smart/not. Leaders/followers. Rich/everyone else. We have devised ways to not be bald, to not have to wear glasses, to hear better, to accept the world and humanity rather than own or demand that if follows a set path, solved a lot of health issues, but we still haven’t figured out how to overcome stupid, hate, idiotic ideals, greed, and likely quite a few more. And in my opinion likely never will, because in some way these seem to work for some people. They must – right?
Barbara
@Baud: This set of rules has been invalidated by no fewer than three federal courts. The decision in the SDNY serves as a very informative primer on all these laws, their origin, purpose, and intended enforcement mechanisms.
So they weren’t actually being implemented, but they were utterly radical. The rules prohibited providers from asking prospective employees if they had any objections to any particular services. When the New York federal judge asked how a hospital was supposed to staff an ER if any employee at any time could refuse to assist any patient on the grounds of conscience, the government’s lawyer said that the hospital should assume that it will need to have redundant staff on hand for such instances. The rule also would have extended protections to employees whose involvement is peripheral to providing any kind of care — like ambulance drivers.
They were brought to you by Roger Severino, the whack job who got himself appointed to the Director of the Office of Civil Rights of HHS.
Mai Naem mobile
@Baud: i understand that Biden had a lot of stuff to do and he’s done a lot of stuff but it’s 2024 and they just took care of this garbage that was passed in 2019? Sorry if I sound snippy, but the NBC poll that I saw this morning with TFG ahead by 5 points has me on edge. I’ve been trying to avoid looking at polls but i just happened to catch this one. Ugh.
TBone
@Baud: thanks for the new to me info.
Geminid
@Barbara: The British did make the Duke of Windsor Governor General of the Bahamas during the war, and they kept a close eye on him. He probably played a lot of bridge to pass the time. He was a shallow man, I think.
Baud
@Barbara:
Now I want a job where I can refuse service to all people and get paid.
Ruckus
@smith:
He does have some properties and investments that even with him involved, still have value. To me it’s likely that to get out from under all his troubles, he’ll have to unload most or all of his properties, but they are likely all in hock to a likely amazing percentage, because very little he does actually creates wealth. He has zero clue about actual business, how to run them, how to be successful, outside of bull and shit. His claim to fame and money is a claim, seemingly without any proof. I’d bet he’s in hock at a minimum up to over his head and the world is on it’s way to finding this out.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Have you considered scrivening?
Baud
@Mai Naem mobile:
See Barbara above, the courts had already invalidated the rules.
And I don’t care how the election turns out, I’m not interested in micromanaging the administration for the purpose of blaming them for the low quality of the electorate.
TBone
@Mai Naem mobile: wtf, over.
TBone
@Baud: my local health system is hiring.
rikyrah
TequilaBiggs (@TequilaBiggs) posted at 10:56 AM on Sun, Feb 04, 2024:
I remember being a kid and bristling at the notion of butter pecan ice cream. My mama, grandma and elders loved it, why?
Post Civil-War, it was the only ice cream Black folks could have. Something as basic as ice cream was an issue for racists.
Think about that. https://t.co/x0T04Hl4tV
(https://x.com/TequilaBiggs/status/1754187251959959835?t=-mM_X5G1C2Ax4blKU5AdOg&s=03)
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Would I have to learn new words?
Baud
@rikyrah:
The racists missed out.
Mai Naem mobile
@Ruckus: you need to turn this post into a song 🎵🎵.
TBone
@Ruckus: 😎 it’s killing him softly.
Ruckus
@oldgold:
Mayor of Goosepecker Hollow.
I tinted this red because it is so appropriate and a delightful name of a place no one human wants in any way, shape or form.
Omnes Omnibus
Which things that he has been doing should he have postponed in order to undo this earlier?
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Not if you refuse to do your job.
Geminid
@Baud:
How’s that for a rotating tag?
Ruckus
@Ksmiami:
Are you saying that even dead fish should run from the FTFNYT?
TBone
@Ruckus: during BLM, I deployed a favorite meme that says “Settle down, Cletus. No one is coming here to Cousin Fuck County to smash the windows out of your chicken coop.” Meant in the nicest way possible.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@VFX Lurker: Yup, that was the same time frame. It was out here, but on across the street and I could see the Orange HD sign on the front of the building from my porch.
Ruckus
@smith:
he’s resorting to a pathological level of denial to cope with it.
This isn’t actually new. And coping does not seem to be something he does at all. Or at least any more. He is delusional, demented and not in any way, shape or form delightful.
Mai Naem mobile
@Baud: you know what, I actually vaguely remember what Barb is talking about. I just need to chill out instead of freak out about one Kornacki poll discussion.
TBone
@Mai Naem mobile: Kornacki is a pole. I saw that too.
Alison Rose
@Baud: I mean…that was basically Trump as president.
Aardvark Cheeselog
Speaking of doing a great job in Michigan, did you hear the Michigan GOP is in hock up to its eyeballs, in default on some debt, and looking to firesale its HQ to raise money?
Heckuva job there. These aren’t very bright guys etc.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: So you’ve given up?
Baud
@Mai Naem mobile:
👍
I’ve cut cable news out completely. Everything is about using fear and outrage for ratings.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Only on myself.
smith
This is an ongoing American pathology that long predates TFG. I’ve come to the conclusion that this country is and has been chock full of nasty little Grover Dills who were just waiting for their One True Scut Farkus.
Chetan Murthy
@Bill Arnold: John Holbo (of CT fame) had a nice riff on the Omelas story: https://www.onbeyondzarathustra.com/traintoomelas
Alison Rose
@zhena gogolia: I think you’re misreading the “And I don’t care how the election turns out” bit? I took it as like, “I won’t blame the admin’s every action even if the election goes badly”.
Baud
@Alison Rose:
👍
wjca
In short, you want to be a Trump-style** President.
EDT Aaaaand Alison got there first.
** The only valid way to combine style and Trump.
TBone
@smith: great point well illustrated.
Baud
@wjca:
Without the evil, it would be a pretty good gig.
Ruckus
@Old School:
Prostate caught early is rather easily treated. Caught late it is no more fun than any other cancer not caught early. IOW most cancers caught early are not fun but can be treated, caught late are pure hell. Problem is that some are more difficult to catch early. That’s my experience.
wjca
Sure. But without the evil, how would the RWNJs tolerate it?
Baud
@wjca:
Who cares? I’m talking about me.
Alison Rose
@Baud: rotating tag
Ruckus
@FelonyGovt:
I’ve lived under both SoCal Edison and PG&E. (Also some in other states…) I’d rate Edison a hell of a lot better than PG&E, which doesn’t necessarily make Edison all that great but I’ve had fewer issues with them than any other supplier I’ve been supplied by.
I’m for a power company? How the hell did that happen?
Ruckus
@Captain C:
That’s nothing, I was in the USN, I use language far worse than that, especially to describe ShitForBrains.
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
Hunch is pretty much every one compares well against PG&E, Kings of the Low Bar and Highest Rates.
Captain C
@Ruckus:
If they know what’s good for them, yes.
Alison Rose
@Ruckus: I’ve never had Edison, but yeah, like…”better than PG&E” is a bar low enough for ants to hop over.
Leto
@Ruckus: the ability to weave those four letter bombs together is nothing short of magic.
Bill Arnold
@Chetan Murthy:
That’s good too. And a ref to “The Cold Equations” in it.
Elizabelle
@Leto: Yes. Michael Steele. I wonder if he ever got his own dog. I hope so.
Sally
@Betty Cracker: So, informed, educated people who can think for themselves?
Barbara
@Baud: I had a client who was just incredulous — a not for profit — who said, you mean, if I hire someone to provide counseling on contraception they can refuse to provide any counseling on contraception and I still have to pay them? Yep, that’s the way they work.
Ruckus
@Old School:
Is it possible that it’s really no one else’s business?
Darkrose
@FastEdD: Here in Sacramento the power flickered on and off yesterday and this morning, but it seems to be fine now. A big branch on one of the trees out front broke off and managed to not hit anything; I am SO glad the new car was parked out back yesterday.
Captain C
@Barbara: I wonder, though, if they lied on their application/in their interview (eg. “I’m totally cool with this”), could you fire them for that?
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
As an old I am not offended by the use of old.
Because I am.
Old.
It is strangely satisfying to be able to say that.
Citizen Alan
@…now I try to be amused: The Orcs followed Sauron. Same principle.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Alison Rose: well said!
Citizen Alan
@Paul in KY: I think they might have eventually forgiven Edward if he hadn’t been playing footsie with the Nazis as well.
Ruckus
@Sister Golden Bear:
It’s still raining here in SoCal. Not that hard but still a fair amount of water and it will be for at least a couple more days. We’ve gotten 4 1/4 in the last 24 hrs and expect about 2 more, plus or minus.
Ivan X
Probably too late to have you notice this compliment, but what a great writer you are, Betty.
Ruckus
@Paul in KY:
Yes they do, but unfortunately for SFB his ability to pay rent seems to be getting less and less by the day. The bills are overdue, and the collection agency is knocking. The knocking only gets louder once it starts, and those agency guys never, ever pull up stakes and leave empty handed.
Ruckus
@…now I try to be amused:
Yep. That they do. Rich and powerful is far better to them than humanity. Which suggests to me that they are failures at what they are – humans. Oh well such is the history of the human race….
Betty Cracker
@Ivan X: You are kind to say so — thanks! ;-)
rikyrah
How can they fundraise from the rubes, if the rubes are rubing and giving their money to the Orange Menace?
Chetan Murthy
@Bill Arnold:Bill, thank you for this! I just finished reading it, and, not gonna spoiler it, so I’ll say: it was really interesting, much better than I had hoped, and really worth reading. Thank you!
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Paul in KY: King George VI was a heavy smoker and died rather young (56). He had been operated on for lung cancer, although I’m not sure that’s what he died of (he also had heart problems). But the stress of being king of GB during WWII I think made him a chain-smoker, which one way or another killed him early.
And yes, his wife was furious that the Duke of Windsor ran away from his responsibilities and left her husband to carry the load. Great Britain was lucky to have him and not DoW as king, but from her own personal view, she lost her husband from Edward VIII’s selfishness.
rikyrah
@Leto:
ICAM.
Let the rubes keeping on rubing.
Every dollar to him is money that doesn’t go to the RNC.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
I was trying to be somewhat nice.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Barbara: Actually (sigh), that is more or less the actual history. Duke of Windsor was so Nazi friendly the British government did indeed ship him off to be the governor of the Bahamas to get him out of Europe, where he was the obvious person to be the head of a puppet government if the Nazis conquered England.
rikyrah
@smith:
Everytime I read this, it makes me smile. He can’t appeal until he puts up the money…
BWA HA AH AH HA AH AH AHA HA HA HA HA
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Geminid: He was a very damaged man with serious mother (and daddy) issues. Hence, Wallis. Queen Mary was not a loving, huggy mother, to say the least, and George V wanted his children to be frightened of him. And his brother, George VI had a terribly stutter, as anyone who saw “The King’s Speech” knows.
Ruckus
@Leto:
Just takes practice.
I’ve worked in (and later owned) a machine shop, was in the USN and worked in professional sports. I earned how to swear a very, very long time ago. Once walked downstairs and told my parents to shut the fuck up when they were arguing and keeping me awake. I was 12 or 13. They did. And never said a word about it.
More importantly I also learned when NOT to do this. That seems to often be more difficult for some.
Barbara
@Captain C: The rules as written prohibited you from asking. It was insane.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@rikyrah: I know! Wonderful, isn’t it?
Paul in KY
@Barbara: He was definitely sent to the Bahamas to get him the heck away from any enemy agents & their machinations.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Paul in KY: And he and Wallis were bitter about it, too. The Bahamas were a hot, boring backwater and they knew it.
Paul in KY
@Geminid: I have heard him described as a ‘lounge lizard’.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Duplicate deleted
Paul in KY
@rikyrah: That is so fucked up! Sorta like them (stupid racists) to leave you with a great ice cream (my mother looooves butter pecan). You could just see some black folk telling them ‘Boy oh boy do we looooove grapefruit licorice ice cream! Yes we sure do…just don’t make us get butter pecan. Gosh, do we hate that flavor!’.
Paul in KY
@Citizen Alan: Probably true. They did really hate Wallis though. Even more that they ended up hating him. If he hadn’t been Nazi-curious, but still with her, no dice I think on reconciliation.
Paul in KY
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): She always talked duty, duty, duty. That went out the window when it came to her husband, though. England was so much better served by George VI being King, rather than the weirdo lightweight Hitler-fanboy Edward VIII.
Kathleen
@Omnes Omnibus: He would prefer not to.
Alison Rose
@Ruckus: We’ll have none of that on this here blog.
Ruckus
@Alison Rose:
I like to be different.
I like to be nice.
It surprises the hell out of a lot of people. Good times.
Ryan
All his lawyers weren’t bad. Doesn’t Alina Habba look like a younger model of Melania?
Paul in KY
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): His parents were not exactly ‘loving’ and George V especially was a martinet SOB to his kids.
Paul in KY
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): I wouldn’t have been surprised if Wallis had been a made Nazi asset. She knew she would be able to do absolutely nothing to help them (Nazis) caged up on that island exile spot.
brantl
@West of the Rockies: I 1st read that as pony fucker; probably true, too.