Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Republicans don’t trust women.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Republicans would impeach Biden if he bit into a whole Kit Kat rather than breaking the sections apart.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

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

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Evening Open Thread: Glad This Week Is Ending With Some Good News

Friday Evening Open Thread: Glad This Week Is Ending With Some Good News

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  1. 1.

    Bill Arnold

    Since it is a Good News Open Thread, for gardeners:
    Bioluminescent petunias now available for U.S. market (Feb 1, 2024)

    Firefly Petunia: the flower you will love the most

    Discover the allure of the Firefly Petunia.
    A beautiful plant by day, it unveils mesmerizing luminescence after dusk.
    Its soothing light is produced from living energy, cultivating a deeper connection with the inner life of the plant. Your nurturing care will be rewarded with even greater brilliance.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    Instead of asking whether Dems will replace Biden the press should be asking Republicans why they won’t replace Trump.

    Eh, Trump supporters aren’t stupid enough to take the bait.

  4. 4.

    Jackie

    Reposting, as this is GREAT NEWS! 🤭

    “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) criminal trial appears poised to begin in two months after a judge on Friday denied his request to dismiss charges,” the Dallas Morning News reports.

    “Paxton’s long-awaited trial is set to begin April 15 in Houston on nearly 9-year-old charges of felony securities fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.”

  6. 6.

    Alison Rose

    I’m just gonna quote the names of some of my FB tag groups:

    My schaden is freuding
    The Lion, the Witch, and the Audacity of This Bitch
    Well well well, if it isn’t the consequences of your own actions
    To fuck around is human, to find out is divine
    Have you tried dying mad about it

    (Okay, for some reason, FYWP won’t let me use bullet points……whatever)

  7. 7.

    Tinare

    Omg listening to Trump, I cannot with his lies.  The most beautiful financial statements ever seen…

  8. 8.

    Dangerman

    So, he can’t run a shaved ice cart in Central Park …

    … but he can be President. What a crazy fucking world.

    ETA: Don’t read this post to anyone; “shaved ice” kinda sounds like shaved ass phonetically.

  9. 9.

    dmsilev

    Wonder whether there’s any bank stupid enough to back a bond for him during the appeals process.

  11. 11.

    eclare

    @dmsilev:

    Someone on MSNBC said he couldn’t get a bank bond for $5m, the first E Jean award, let alone the other $83m he owes E Jean, and now this.

  13. 13.

    Harrison Wesley

    He says Taylor Swift owes her career to him.  Shouldn’t she be willing to spot him a few hundred mil??

  14. 14.

    Splitting Image

    I think Greg Dworkin’s tweet hits it right on the bullseye:

    other cases establish (or will establish) that Trump lied about what he did

    This one establishes that he lied about what he was worth and therefore who he is

    And he fully understands that

    Trump is, and has always been, as fake as a televangelist invoking religion. A three-dollar billionaire.

  15. 15.

    Scout211

    @Warblewarble: None of Taylor Swifts billion has come from Bonesaws or scamming the magats.

    And Taylor Swift donates some of her money to people in need, not just people with the last name Trump.

    NBC     A GoFundMe page set up for the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the woman killed in a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade, has caught the attention of Taylor Swift, who made donations on the page totaling $100,000 early Friday morning.

    The “Elizabeth Lopez-Galvan Memorial” page was set up Thursday afternoon, with a goal of raising $75,000 for the family of the victim, who was a popular radio DJ and figure in the city’s Hispanic community and beyond. Around 1,300 people had made donations when Swift pushed the total beyond the goal Friday morning, first making a donation of $50,000 and then making a second donation in the same amount eight minutes later.

    “Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss. With love, Taylor Swift,” wrote the singer.

  17. 17.

    Sebastian

    The fine includes interest accrued from the time of the fraud. Someone did some napkin math and it comes out to $458m.

  20. 20.

    Ruckus

    …other cases establish (or will establish) that Trump lied about what he did.

    This one establishes that he lied about what he was worth and therefore who he is.

    And he fully understands that.

    Actually i don’t believe that he does. At least not in his conscious mind. Or that he would ever admit.

    I want the court case that explains to the world what he really is. Because the reality is that even if he knows, he’ll never admit that he is, is what I consider him to be, pure unadulterated, shit. From the top of that rag mop on his head, down to the lifts in his shoes, absolute, 100,000% pure shit. And I’m not positive that it’s even human, although it is entirely possible that it is, there have been at least a bazillion models over the entire time of humanity that have/had the same traits and concepts of themselves, although I’d bet that many of them may not have been quite as shitty or at least as public about it.

  22. 22.

    Almost Retired

    I’m sure this verdict will encourage Trump to up his foreign corruption and rube-fleecing games.

  23. 23.

    Scout211

    @Tinare:  Maybe this is why there is a nexis between MAGAts and those who send their pension money to televangelists.

    This week on The Daily Show, Jordan Klepper did another of his videos  interviewing supporters at both a Haley rally and a Trump rally.  It was another good video by Klepper.  The whole video is good, but at about the 5 minute mark, Klepper interviewed a Trump fan who gave far too much money to various Trump scams. He had just started to realize that he’s been scammed by the Trump people and he was trying to stop giving them money. It was kind of sad and funny at the same time.  So yeah, they are easy marks.

  25. 25.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: It may be a dubious distinction, but Paxton has Netanyahu beat. The Israeli Prime Minister was indicted on three corruption counts only 5 years ago, in 2019. His trial started in April of 2021 and It’s still ongoing. There could be a verdict this summer, and then the appeals will begin.

    The big difference is that Paxton’s criminal case did not contribute to a major war.

  26. 26.

    Peke Daddy

    Fair? FAIR? Well, Ms. Tur, to be fair please mention this every time you mention Biden’s age or the Special Counsel’s report that found no evidence for charges. The equivalence is obvious.

    /S/S/S

  27. 27.

    RepubAnon

    It’s lucky that Trump likes McDonalds – that’s all he’ll be able to afford.

    Now that his Teflon (r) coating is scratched, I expect the “find out” phase will continue for quite some time.

  28. 28.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Dangerman: With his record he wouldn’t be eligible for a  student or a work visa forget a green card. But he will get the majority of the white vote if he is on the ballot for November just like he did in 2020.

    And I think he would probably fail the citizenship test as well.

    (In 2020 he got 55 percent of the white vote.

    57% w. men

    53% w. women

    Source: Pew)

    I would be happy if I was proven wrong.

  31. 31.

    Urza

    Just caught this headline:
    “Trump opts against Supreme Court appeal on civil immunity claim over Jan. 6 lawsuits”

    So the police and others affected by Jan 6 can go forward with their lawsuits.

  33. 33.

    TriassicSands

    if anyone tweets that “this will only help Trump” you can safely dismiss any other analysis they do — Greg Dworkin

    It won’t help Trump, but neither is it likely to have any negative impact on his cult members. For any “normal human politician” with “normal human supporters” this would probably have a huge effect on the supporters. However, it’s well-established at this point that neither Trump nor his supporters are “normal.”

    It will be fascinating to see what, if any, impact this has on those Trump supporters who aren’t actual cult members. Over the years, I’ve spoken to quite a few Trump voters who believe that Trump was and is a great businessman. That proves that those people know nothing substantive or factual about his business career and are relying on Trump’s self-serving claims, dishonestly inflated wealth, and his role as a reality show “star.” It also establishes that they are idiots who probably would have bought swampland in Florida in the 60s or more recently would have helped a Nigerian prince in his time of need.

  34. 34.

    piratedan

    delivery of one Dildo of Consequences: Unlubed for Donald J Trump courtesy of the State of New York.

    assuming it was gift wrapped, for his protection.

  35. 35.

    glc

    @Scout211: Personally I’m tired of seeing these people say dumb things, with minor variations, but I did find it interesting in that segment toward the end that you point out (from a few seconds earlier, on).

    Klepper does it well but it seems to me I saw him do exactly the same thing some years back. Regardless, it’s worth a look.

  36. 36.

    Jackie

    @RepubAnon:

    It’s lucky that Trump likes McDonalds – that’s all he’ll be able to afford.

    I can’t afford McDonalds! I have to wait for $5 Whopper Weds.

  38. 38.

    Redshift

    New Monmouth poll:

    The poll, conducted between Feb. 8 and Feb. 12, found that 48% of voters think it is very or somewhat likely that Biden will be replaced as the Democratic nominee.

    You know every pundit and “news analysis” type is thinking “see, we have to talk about this because people have concerns…” I wish I could grab them by the lapels and scream “no, you idiots, the only reason people think this is something that could happen is that you keep talking about it!”

    On the plus side, I’ve heard a credible argument that the reason we have as much “someone else” as we do is that people who aren’t into politics don’t realize it ain’t gonna happen, and after Super Tuesday, a lot of it may melt away.

  39. 39.

    zhena gogolia

    @glc: I started to watch it, but I just got bored. Why am I laughing at this? It’s not funny.

    Reminds me of how I howled at “Holy s–t, you’ve got to vote,” in 2016. The laugh was on us. I’m really done laughing about it.

    ETA: I don’t include JL Cauvin in that, because he does biting satire. You’re not really supposed to laugh at him.

  40. 40.

    zhena gogolia

    @Redshift: I will attest that my friends have stopped talking about replacing Biden. I took that as a good sign. Since they were suggesting Sherrod Brown or Pritzker, I’m relieved to be over that phase.

  41. 41.

    Steeplejack

    Katy Tur, a.k.a. Languid News Princess, is the nadir of daytime MSNBC, and I say that knowing that Andrea Mitchell has a full hour of sundowning at noon.

  44. 44.

    piratedan

    @Peke Daddy: IIRC Tur was one of those in the pool of reporters that Trump was putting in danger during his previous campaign and allowing all of the Deplorables to threaten them.

    She strikes me as ridiculously naive (that’s being generous) at a minimum and otherwise….. she’s a prime candidate to succeed Andrea Mitchell.

  46. 46.

    Jay C

    @TriassicSands:

    Over the years, I’ve spoken to quite a few Trump voters who believe that Trump was and is a great businessman. That proves that those people know nothing substantive or factual about his business career and are relying on Trump’s self-serving claims, dishonestly inflated wealth, and his role as a reality show “star.”

    To me, one of the key factors in the success of Donald Trump (dishonest charlatan who should have faded into obscurity years ago, and had no fucking business whatsoever being POTUS) was revealed in the infamous “Access Hollywood tape”. Most everyone focused on the “grab them by the p—-” part, and elided the following bit, which, to me, encapsulates the whole “Trump  mystique” in a nutshell:

    “…and when you’re a celebrity, they let you do it“

  49. 49.

    TriassicSands

    @glc: ​
     
    Klepper does an excellent job of having Trump supporters demonstrate for viewers just how impossibly stupid and ignorant they are. I always worry about his safety, but I think he comes across as such a nice, inoffensive guy that he’s probably reasonably safe. It will take someone who is a Trump supporter, but somehow astute enough to realize what Klepper is doing. To me, that means someone who supports Trump for his racism, misogyny, and fascism and accepts criminal behavior and violence as ways to get results.

  51. 51.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Steeplejack:
     

    Katy Tur, a.k.a. Languid News Princess, is the nadir of daytime MSNBC, and I say that knowing that Andrea Mitchell has a full hour of sundowning at noon.

    Tur(on) is simply prepping to replace Mrs Greenspan who surely can’t last as long as Kissinger did.

  52. 52.

    hueyplong

    This is alarming.  I did not think there would be a consensus that Andrea Mitchell was something other that the worst MSNBC has to offer, much less that there would be a consensus as to the identity of the person who can limbo under that extra low bar.

  53. 53.

    RaflW

    @Urza: I would think the lawyers who would have to file a case at SCOTUS would want millions of dollars up front. Sucks to be broke-ass, and have the GOP atm pretty much tapped out too. Sad!

  54. 54.

    Another Scott

    This seems potentially important. WhiteHouse.gov today:

    THE PRESIDENT: I’ll — I’ll take one more.

    Q Thank you, Mr. President. Switching gears for a moment. Have the Israelis presented a credible evacuation plan for the nearly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians sheltering in Rafah? And what would the consequences be for Israel if they move ahead with a full-scale ground invasion without clear measures to protect civilians there?

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I’ve had extensive conversations with the Prime Minister of Israel over the last several days — almost an hour each. And I’ve made the case — and I feel very strongly about it — that there has to be a — a
    temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out, to get the hostages out. And that is underway. I’m still hopeful that that can be done.

    And in the meantime, I don’t anticipate — I’m hoping that that you — that the Israelis will not make any massive land invasion in the meantime. So, it’s my expectation that’s not going to happen.

    There has to be a ceasefire temporarily to get those hostages — and, by the way, there are — we’re in a situation where there are American hostages, American citizens that are being held hostage. It’s not just — not just Israelis; it’s American hostages as well.

    And, you know, my hope and expectation is that we’ll get this hostage deal. We’ll bring the Americans home. And the deal is been negotiated now, and we’re going to see where it takes us.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  56. 56.

    3Sice

    I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!

    https://thepit.social/@stevenbodzin/111943570741605279

    “Remember everybody: The whole NY AG case against Trump began because Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, representing Queens & the Bronx, asked Michael Cohen if he had ever seen the Trump Org overstate assets to one audience and understate them to another.”

  58. 58.

    Another Scott

    @schrodingers_cat: Thanks for the pointer to the Pew results.  Interesting voting breakdown there.  (The GQP’s base of the Silent Generation is getting smaller…)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  59. 59.

    TriassicSands

    @Jay C: ​
     
    I think you are right. Without getting into it or starting arguments, I will say, that I think celebrity culture in this country is a very real problem. We not only have people who are “famous” simply for being “famous,” but we often attribute expert status to celebrities who have no expertise in the area under consideration. Having actors who have played a role in a film or TV show testify before Congress is an example.

    In recent years, there has been some positive movement in this area and we are seeing rich and famous people being held accountable for things that would or at least might have been ignored in the past. Trump’s recent fines ($5 million, $83.3 million, and now $350+ million) are good examples of Trump’s criminality finally beginning to catch up with him. We’re only just starting down that road. The most important decisions are still to come.

  60. 60.

    Geoduck

    @Jay C: That’s why I’ve thought that if anyone at all could knock the Shaitgibbon out of the GOP running, it might have been RFK Jr. He has a famous name, could hit his opponent on vaccines, and do the whole “I was a libtard but I saw the light” dance.

  61. 61.

    bbleh

    @Tinare: omg that rant just went on … and on.  He wrapped it up at least twice, maybe three times — I lost count — and then went back to it, mostly repeating what he had said before.  It was actually a little painful toward the end.

    It was not a statement by an adult in control of himself, by any stretch.  The man is Not. Well.

  64. 64.

    zhena gogolia

    @Chetan Murthy: To give it a charitable interpretation, was she voicing the opinion of some of the audience and giving the panelists a chance to shoot it down?

    I doubt it, but it’s possible.

  65. 65.

    Ruckus

    @RepubAnon:

    It’s not teflon that makes little stick to him, it’s that anyone, anything  of positive value wants nothing to do with him. And also I understand that if you get too close to him (in my book, that’s at least a thousand miles…) the stench flys off him. So you don’t even have to get really close, just in the general vicinity, to smell the stench.

  67. 67.

    Betty Cracker

    Instead of asking whether Dems will replace Biden the press should be asking Republicans why they won’t replace Trump.

    So true! His turn in the barrel is coming.

  68. 68.

    Warblewarble

    “and when you’re a celebrity , they let you do it “. The whole tRUMP story until Letica James. and it is still what the media wants.

  69. 69.

    Tony G

    Getting any actual money out of Trump will be a challenge — even if he actually has that much money, which I doubt.  Can the courts just start confiscating his property in this situation?  I don’t know how this works.

  70. 70.

    gene108

    What’s interesting in the Carrol and NYS fraud case is if Trump was capable of acting like a normal human being, he’d be on the hook for a whole less.

    Heck, if he just went with “I don’t recall” in response to E. Jean Carrol’s statement about the sexual assault, she probably would not have a basis to sue.

    Watching his angry joyless demeanor land him in so much trouble is a pleasure. Bravado, bullying, and bragging are his strong points. If those bite him in the ass, he has nothing else.

  73. 73.

    geg6

    I think Dworkin has it exactly right.  Hee hee hee.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!

    My Friday night wine has never tasted so delicious.

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