Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

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

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Consistently wrong since 2002

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

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Alternative history is always a weak argument. Always.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

You cannot love your country only when you win.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Like Wayne Newton Covering a Kendrick Lamar Song with a Bossa Nova Beat

Like Wayne Newton Covering a Kendrick Lamar Song with a Bossa Nova Beat

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Like Wayne Newton Covering a Kendrick Lamar Song with a Bossa Nova Beat

The products of someone’s conception of “you know, like what the black kids wear, but classy” being gawked at by Trump are getting a lot of attention.  Called “Never Surrender” by someone who’s never been a soldier in the winter’s night with a vow to defend, and on sale now for $399, they seem like a desperate grab for money, considering Trump’s current situation.  But, can we just pause for a moment to consider how completely fucking uncool they are?  I mean, to use references Trump would get, they’re Lawrence Welk covering a Beatles song,  Richard Nixon on Laugh-In, and Sinatra singing Mr. Tambourine Man.

Also, maybe they’re about money, but they’re more about attention, and Trump’s ability to act like a clown to get that attention.  Let’s face it:  the stories about Trump’s campaign running out of money are being written by people who have never grasped the length that billionaires will go to retain their tax breaks.  Those fuckers might talk a good game about “withholding support” or “considering a third-party candidate”, but in the end they make their excuses and drop multi-million dollar checks on a guy who thinks he’s “with it” because he’s selling shoes that look like they were made in China for 10 bucks to rubes for $400.

Reader Interactions

247Comments

  5. 5.

    evodevo

    “they’re Lawrence Welk covering a Beatles song” OR covering “One Toke Over the Line” LOLOL
    At the close of the song Lawrence Welk looked on approvingly and said “And there you heard a modern spiritual by Gail & Dale.

  6. 6.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    He knows his audience.  Those shoes scream hoosier grandma to me. They pair well with a gold rhinestone sweatshirt at the  next Trump rally.

  7. 7.

    AJC

    I saw on Twitter that some nincompoop paid $9000 for an autographed pair. Might prove to be the central exhibit in the future Trump Hall of Treason.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    Guessing that “cut up a random suit from the rack at Goodwill and sell the pieces” thing didn’t pan out?
    //

  9. 9.

    Keith P.

    What was the point of this?  It was 1000 shoes, and he’s going to net maybe $200 per shoe, so the money isn’t very much at all.  He gets a headline of selling out within an hour, so there’s that.  But is there another upside I’m not seeing?

  15. 15.

    Keith P.

    @Chief Oshkosh: But what does Trump get out of it?  I’m just trying to envision how someone came to him with a pitch for this, and somehow Trump found this worth his time.  I know he’s probably cash-poor, but going through all of this for $200k?

  18. 18.

    Alison Rose

    Makes me wish I could leave my apartment, if only to hopefully spot someone wearing these so I could get a whole crowd to laugh and point at them.

    Of course, the likelihood of someone who would buy and wear these also being the kind of person who would be carrying a gun in public, local laws be damned, is pretty high, so…

  19. 19.

    TBone

    Comment of the Day (so far):
    “Those sneakers will come in handy during his hour a day in the yard once he’s locked up. And, if necessary, he can barter them for smokes and toilet paper.”

  21. 21.

    Betty Cracker

    Donald J. Trump, ladies, gents and friends beyond the binary: the indelible skid mark on America’s knickers.

  22. 22.

    narya

    @Baud: roll a handball or tennis ball under your foot (lengthwise, along the fascia) as a start; if nothing fixes it, you can get orthotics you can put in your shoes.

    Also: William Shatner covering “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

  23. 23.

    TBone

    Sneaker Con has not yet debased himself in public enough.  He must continuously top himself.  This year is gonna be LIT.

  24. 24.

    trnc

    @Keith P.: What was the point of this? It was 1000 shoes, and he’s going to net maybe $200 per shoe, so the money isn’t very much at all. He gets a headline of selling out within an hour, so there’s that. But is there another upside I’m not seeing?

    You don’t see an upside in making $200,000 just for letting someone use his name? Hell, even if he had to put in a few minutes of work for it, that’s a few minutes that he isn’t raping or defaming someone, so it ultimately probably saves him millions of dollars.

  28. 28.

    brendancalling

    I live in Philly, and honest to god the Mummers already wear DIY versions of those shoes during their annual New Years Parade. They even have a song that goes with the shoes “Oh Dem Golden Slippers,” it’s the parade’s damned theme song.

    TFG, pitching golden slippers to the city that practically invented them.  What an asshole.

  32. 32.

    Harrison Wesley

    This is all just a setup for the WWF match at the Republican convention: “In this corner – your Favorite Champ – wearing his Great American Gold sneaks…..opposite him – the dangerouse WokeFail – with his white boots and his pudding-stained hands.”

  37. 37.

    Salty Sam .

    @narya: Also: William Shatner covering “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

    Yes, but nothing can ever top his… ermmm, emotive… rendition of “Lucy In The Sky (With Diamonds)”!

  38. 38.

    artem1s

    @Keith P.: It smells like he’s testing the waters to find a way around foreign ‘campaign’ donations. his legal defense and business grifts are so intertwined with the campaign donations, it’s hard to tell what’s in it for him anymore. also, he is really this penny-anti. He thinks of himself as a high roller but this small time crap is really who has always been.

  39. 39.

    kindness

    Seeing people wearing those gold sneakers will be the same thought as when I see someone bought the blue check mark on twitter.  Only 50x stupid richer.

  40. 40.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: But a bottle of water in the freezer when it freezes roll it with the foot which has the heel that hurts. It gives temperorary relief. I had injured my heel and that’s what my doctor told me to do.

    Also is your bed/sofa comfortable and supportive?

  46. 46.

    Another Scott

    @Keith P.: He builds up a brand, then dumps the brand to some private equity place, or rolls it into another company for an IPO, for 5000x its objective value.  Growth!!1

    Something like that.

    He thinks there are always more rubes out there who will accept a “guarantee” of a “sure winner”…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  48. 48.

    BigJimSlade

    I think anybody who would buy these wouldn’t wear them, but display them on their mantle above the fireplace.

  54. 54.

    ColoradoGuy

    He missed his calling on the Home Shopping Channel. Huckstering is what comes naturally to him, and yes, he knows his audience.

    The paid shill in the audience is the cherry on top.

  57. 57.

    Mike in NC

    Fat Bastard returns to his normal ways: hawking cheap shit made in Chinese prison factories to gullible rubes with more money than they know what to do with.

  59. 59.

    Alison Rose

    What should we call Trump’s shoes?

    Despair Jordans
    Upchuck Taylors
    Conman No Stars
    Coup Force Ones
    Sketchies
    Crocs of Shit
    Air Max Security
    Treason Sneakers
    Dox Martins
    Rebrokes
    Bad Hair Jordans
    New Balance (is -$450m)
    Snuckers – Sneakers for Suckers
    Traitor Trainers
    — StrictlyChristo 🇺🇦🌻 (@StrictlyChristo) February 18, 2024

  62. 62.

    RaflW

    @narya: @Baud:  If I have had a flareup of plantar fasciitis, the Dr. recommended things that were most useful for me have been:

    1. Standing calf stretches the moment I get out of bed in the morning. Seems to be critical to get stretched out before walking, so that the fascia can move more freely

    2. No barefoot time. I have good, arch-supporting flip flops from a proper shoe store for in-house time, and good outdoor shoes as well. Support those feet, folks!

    Icing the instep can help, as can the ball/roller thing, too.

  63. 63.

    Glidwrith

    @Baud: The Tone & Tighten physical therapist on YouTube has a series of exercises to help work it out. I had a really bad case, used my wooden rolling pin for some of the therapy. Hurt like hell, but it worked and I haven’t had a problem for over a year now.

  65. 65.

    TBone

    I have Lederhose in my feet.  No treatment has ever been offered (my brother has both Dpuytrens and Lederhose).  My knuckles look like I was a prize fighter.  Life is painful, put ice on it!  Also, for Raynaud’s, I was advised to stand outdoors in winter in a bucket of ice water to “retrain my capillaries.” I just laugh about it all at this point.  Thanks, Jackals, you never fail me!

  72. 72.

    Warren Senders

    My YT feed is now offering me Trump bobblehead dolls, with a voiceover pitch from Dolt45.

    By bald-headed Christ, can he sink any lower?  What am I saying?  Of course he can.

  83. 83.

    Suzanne

    @RaflW: Do you find success in stretching the plantar fascia by doing planks? I’ve been trying to get deep into mine and I’ve been trying that. It feels good, but I don’t know how effective it is.

  85. 85.

    jimmiraybob

    I assume that the boots are just the first in line of a complete collection of Golden Idol Wear.

    I started having some doubts but he really is the all-time greatest business man ever.  Some say stable genius.

    [It’s not too late, I hope, to roll this into the script for the soon to be major motion picture hit Idiocracy II: I Have No Words.]

  89. 89.

    Alison Rose

    @Paul in KY: You can catch a bit of them performing it here — as John says after the clip, “You haven’t heard that disaffected anthem properly until you’ve heard it performed by a white man named Simon from Hartfordshire.”

  96. 96.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money. Phys.org:

    A complex project aimed at retrieving rock and dirt samples from Mars has long been a top priority for NASA, with proponents arguing the mission could answer the age-old question of whether life once existed on the red planet.

    The Perseverance rover, manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is collecting the samples. But lawmakers are fighting over whether getting them back to Earth for study is viable in a tight budget environment.

    The battle lines are regional, not partisan: California lawmakers backing work being done on the Mars Sample Return program at the Pasadena complex pitted against Maryland and Virginia supporters of the agency’s sprawling Goddard Space Flight Center, among others.

    The Mars mission is also facing serious questions about its viability following an internal NASA review that determined the program would take longer, and cost far more, than originally forecast.

    […]

    Congress to-date has appropriated $1.74 billion for the Mars program, which the most recent once-every-decade survey of planetary scientists called NASA’s highest robotic exploration priority.

    But the effort to retrieve the samples is challenging, to put it mildly. It involves the Perseverance rover delivering the materials to a garage-sized, bug-shaped “sample retrieval lander” equipped with a rocket to blast the materials back into orbit. The samples would be collected by an orbiting spacecraft and brought back to Earth, with a target re-entry date in 2033—if everything goes right.

    The program is “one of the most complex missions ever attempted by NASA, requiring the first ever launch from another planet and rendezvous with a spacecraft in orbit around another planet,” NASA spokesman Dewayne Washington said in a statement.

    NASA’s independent review board released its report in September, finding that the program will ultimately cost between $8 billion and $11 billion with a “near zero probability” of meeting interim launch deadlines.

    “As a result, there is currently no credible … schedule, cost and technical baseline that can be accomplished with the likely available funding,” the board said.

    The agency is now “evaluating future options for the program” due to the current budget environment, Washington said. An internal assessment is underway, with recommendations due at the end of March.

    […]

    New science and engineering is expensive and takes longer than hoped. (If it were easy, it would have been done already.) The planets doing their own thing about where they are in the sky is a big complication, also too.

    Of course, there are numerous examples of lack of investment in NASA facilities, also too. It’s hard to do research when you lab is flooded or there’s no temperature or humidity control….

    The federal budget has been strangled for a very long time, in lots of areas. It’s continuing to bite us. Here’s hoping we can vote the monsters out, increase taxes on the wealthy to fund necessary programs, and get back on a sensible long-term course.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  101. 101.

    stinger

    @narya:

    roll a handball or tennis ball under your foot (lengthwise, along the fascia)

    Also, I switched to Skechers shoe brand for nearly all my shoes, and now my p.f. is gone. Lightweight with springy, very flexible soles.

  103. 103.

    Jackie

    Off topic, but Faux News Howard Kurtz suggested his network is not providing enough coverage after an impeachment witness, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, was found to be lying about Biden.

    On his Sunday Media Buzz program, Kurtz noted that Smirnov had been charged with making false statements about Biden and his son, Hunter.

    “This is a star witness for Jim Comer, often cited by Fox and other outlets,” Kurtz said. “And I think the story deserves even more coverage.”

    Washington Examiner editor Sarah Bedford agrees:

    “Some of the allegations against the Biden family were built on lies,” Bedford explained. “I don’t think, though, that the impeachment inquiry here is necessarily completely undermined by this one fact, because so much additional evidence has been gathered. But certainly this is the blow to the credibility of the allegations against the Biden family.”

    Kurtz asked White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich if the indictment was a “big problem” for Republicans.

    “Some of the allegations against the Biden family were built on lies,” Bedford explained. “I don’t think, though, that the impeachment inquiry here is necessarily completely undermined by this one fact, because so much additional evidence has been gathered. But certainly this is the blow to the credibility of the allegations against the Biden family.”

    Kurtz asked FOX News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich if the indictment was a “big problem” for Republicans.

    “Huge problem,” Heinrich observed. “I think [Rep. James Comer (R-KY)] is going to have to lay out all of the evidence outside of this claim that makes the impeachment inquiry still valid.”

    “I mean, they threatened to hold the FBI director in contempt to get a hold of this 1023 form in which this witness makes his allegation,” she continued. “So with this guy now having his credibility shot, a lot of onus on House Republicans to say that the impeachment inquiry is still warranted.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/fox-news-alexander-smirnov/

    I might DVR tomorrow’s Faux and Friends to see if Steve Doocy (who TIFG doesn’t like, anymore) brings it up!

    If Faux and RW Washington Examiner are bringing Smirnov to RWNJ’s attention, this can only be good news! And draw attention to how stupid Comer is 😁

  105. 105.

    Leto

    @Another Scott: ​ was coming here to post that, glad I read the comments first; saw this shitshow yesterday and how they were already found on Temu. Just had to laugh!

  106. 106.

    Almost Retired

    I can’t figure out what the market is for these….um…..golden slippers.

    I can’t imagine some MAGA dude wearing them to an Ohio diner with his camo pants?

    I suppose Trump is counting on the fact that a lot of his male supporters can’t see their feet.

    They look like they’d fall apart if they got damp during a Trump boat parade?  Hunting shoes? The deer would die of laughter.   Are they comfortable for marching in torch parades?  I don’t get it.

  109. 109.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    @Suzanne:

    I’ve had good luck with yoga for stretching my heels and helping my plantar fasciitis–specifically downward facing dog.

  111. 111.

    FastEdD

    I’ve had some highlights in my music career, enjoyed it immensely. One of the lowlights was when we were playing a dive bar on an off night, and we got so drunk we attempted to do a Reggae version of “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” Do. Not. Go. There. Truly awful.

  113. 113.

    steve g

    Trump needs to start wearing a pair of those himself. The price is inflationary. Now all my shoes will become more expensive. Thanks, Trump.

  116. 116.

    dirge

    @Keith P.: 1000 shoes, and he’s going to net maybe $200 per shoe

    @Another Scott: He builds up a brand, then dumps the brand to some private equity place, or rolls it into another company for an IPO, for 5000x its objective value.  Growth!!1

    Way too much math for him.  Somebody told him the Yeezy brand was worth $1.3B, and he said:  “I’m way more popular than Kanye, so my shoe brand is worth at least double that, so like $4B.  What do you mean I need to sell some shoes?  Well you go figure that out.  I need to go tell Forbes I just made $6B so they have to put me back on the list, and Deutsche Bank I just made $8B so they have to lend me $12B.  Now go find me a big man to tell me he’s proud of me, with tears in his eyes, the guy who can do daddy’s voice.”

  119. 119.

    Van Buren

    I am gobsmacked to learn in the last 5 minutes that my SIL, who is highly educated,  had never heard of DDT.

    How is that possible?

  123. 123.

    Suzanne

    @Obvious Russian Troll: I try to do some deep downward-facing-dogs to really get at it. I’ve been doing whatever the deep side lunge is called to get at the hamstring and Achilles, too, and I find that if I flex my foot in that pose, I can get at the plantar fascia, too.

    I am having more trouble with my left IT band as of late. Trying to figure out how to stretch that thing really deep.

  125. 125.

    NorthLeft

    A billionaire? Don’t make me laugh.
    He is the living parody of a rich man, but at the same time exactly what most MAGAts think a rich person should/is like.

  126. 126.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Van Buren:

    How old?  Highly edumacated in what?

    I’m no longer surprised at what doesn’t “stick” in terms of recent history, like DDT.  Saddened, massively, but no longer surprised.

    Plenty of people who now see Bald Eagles in places like Denver’s City Park during the winter, when asked (I’ve asked), have no idea that they were endangered mainly because of DDT.  I don’t ask their edumacation level.

  129. 129.

    TBone

    @SFAW: yes but it’s  an exaggerated one for comedic effect.  I still have a slight nasal twang when I say words like “snow” kinda like you’d pronounce “now” while holding your nose. And crick.  And “wooder” for water.  It’s a Philly thang!  Aunt Mary Pat is rather famous and was touring for a while.  She’s got a large number of videos and she’s hilarious. Especially if you’re from there and plant your DelCo flag in hostile territory!

  130. 130.

    RaflW

    @Suzanne: Does a 45° ‘plank’ using the kitchen countertop for my arms count? I haven’t done a real-ass plank since I left Taos and yoga drill sergeant Rose in 2003.

  134. 134.

    RaflW

    @Jackie: Ugh. “…so much additional [impeachment] evidence has been gathered” is such nonsense. I know, it’s the Washington Unexamined, but c’mon Sarah. Have an iota of self respect.

  139. 139.

    Bill Arnold

    @Obvious Russian Troll:

    I’ve had good luck with yoga for stretching my heels and helping my plantar fasciitis–specifically downward facing dog.

    The important stretch is to make the foot/lower leg angle as acute as possible without pain. That (down dog) would do it.
    So will leaning at an angle against a wall (but don’t fall down) and holding for a bit, or doing one leg at a time with one leg forward and the other stretched back to get that acute foot angle for that leg.

  140. 140.

    eclare

    John Oliver is back tonight, I hope the shoes story broke in time for him to cover it.  I think his show tapes on Sat.

  141. 141.

    dirge

    @Almost Retired: I can’t figure out what the market is for these….um…..golden slippers.

    I see them pairing with a track suit, if you’re into that particular outer borough, eastern european immigrant aesthetic.

    Alternatively, the weirdly similar Florida retirement community mall-walker aesthetic.

  142. 142.

    Jackie

    @RaflW: Baby steps… Importantly, the RW “media” is starting to mention that the House GQP is on constantly shifting quicksand trying to prove Biden should be impeached.

  145. 145.

    Gin & Tonic

    The events are, of course, tragic, but listening to American talking heads trying to say “Avdiivka” has its own comedic value.

  146. 146.

    Suzanne

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: So it’s the weirdest thing. I did gymnastics as a kid and now I do yoga, and I’m pretty flexible. As of a few months ago, I can once again do both right and left leg splits (still working on those box splits….. allllllmost there). When I run, only the left IT band makes noise, starting at about mile 5. I’m really close to evenly flexible on both sides. The internet assures me that I have a weak gluteus medius and I need to do clamshells with resistance bands.

    I never had this happen before about November, so I am wondering if it is a cold-weather thing.

  147. 147.

    Alison Rose

    @Gin & Tonic: I’ve tried to pronounce it properly myself out loud based on Zelenskyy’s videos, though I have a terrible ear for accent and pronunciation thanks to some mild hearing damage. It sounds like there is slight emphasis on the second syllable, which has something of an “ee” sound, and the final syllable is…I’m not sure how to word it…not pointed? More of a soft “kuh” sound than a more emphatic “kah”. I’m sure if you heard me say it, it would sound nothing like a native speaker, but hopefully not butchered either.

  148. 148.

    Madeleine

    @Bill Arnold: stretching through the bottom of the foot is also important.

    I lost a response to Baud that I won’t repeat, except to say exercises have to be done daily and recovery is slow (at least it was for me both times I’ve had it). I also wore a compression semi-sock (no heel or toe) that my niece, a dancer, put me on to.

    Aonther commenter mentioned flip-flops that have arch support—I’d really like to find that!

  149. 149.

    Suzanne

    @RaflW: I don’t know! I’ve been trying to get up to a 3-minute plank, but my puppy keeps pouncing and climbing on my head, and so it isn’t going well.

  150. 150.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Bwahahahaha

    Prominent Cultists Are Turning On Charlie Kirk

    For more than a year, Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and MAGA influencer, was aimed like a heat-seeking missile toward one goal — ousting Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. But the RNC effort has Kirk increasingly under the microscope in Trump world. In recent weeks, at least three people, including McDaniel herself, have privately warned Trump about Kirk’s conduct, seven sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News.

  151. 151.

    Steve in the ATL

    This explains a disturbing event that happened to me an hour ago.  I typed in “where to buy” and before I could type another letter up popped “where to buy trump sneakers”—the very first result.  I immediately went back to bed.   But now I understand why—thanks, Balloon Juice!

    Now I’m going back to bed.

  152. 152.

    TBone

    More Christine Nangle:

    Friend suggested I bring an “alpha male”-type guy with me when i go to buy a used car. The silence that followed as we tried to come up with one we know will last a thousand years.

  154. 154.

    Jager

    f I was Jeff Bezos, I’d sit down with djt and tell him, “I’ll pay your 384 million fraud judgment, all you have to do is put on a pair of your $400 goddamn gold sneakers and play a game of one on one hoops with Barack Obama on pay for view TV. As a bonus, you can have the pay-for-view cash if you wear a gold basketball uniform with a gold-fringed American flag on the ass of your shorts.”

  156. 156.

    cain

    @Jackie: the general public is going to find it difficult to understand what Biden did wrong especially when GOP have a strong of scandals of inappropriate. It would be mean the rules would apply to themselves.

    If they don’t then it’s going to be tough with the independents. We already the media is not going to get it right

  159. 159.

    Suzanne

    @Sure Lurkalot: I have a foam roller! (Hilariously, right next to me as I type this.) It’s somewhat helpful, though the internet again assures me that you can’t actually roll out the IT band itself, just the quad, hammie, sartorius, etc.

  160. 160.

    Anoniminous

    @TBone:
    Alas …..

    The Term Alpha Male Is All A Lie

    “We hate to break it to you, but wolf packs don’t actually have alpha males and females. The researcher who introduced this term tried to clear up what had happened many years ago, but thanks to pop culture and some money-hungry publishers the confusion still persists.

    While most people believe that a wolf pack follows a strict hierarchy, with the alpha pair at the top of the pecking order (more on this later), a beta acting as a deputy, and even an omega who might be referred to as the victim of the group, the reality is much more family-oriented.

    Most wild wolf packs consist of the two parents and their offspring”

  161. 161.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @NorthLeft:

    A billionaire? Don’t make me laugh.
    He is the living parody of a rich man, but at the same time exactly what most MAGAts think a rich person should/is like.

    I never watched the show but I think there are multitudes of MAGAts who believe The Apprentice Trump is the real deal and all evidence of his multiple business failures are lies promulgated by the haters.

  162. 162.

    frosty

    @TBone: Wooder is bordering on a Balmer accent! Do you wrench your hands with wooder in the zinc?

    And of course the word “know”  is pronounced with at least three vowels.

  163. 163.

    glc

    @TBone: So now I learn there were two Sinatra duet albums, both assembled electronically by inviting singers to record over his prerecorded performance. I imagine there were excellent reasons for that,  by then. I see this came out at a time when I was distracted by other things (that lasted about 45 years).

    Some of the entries on Album 1 catch my eye to begin with.

  166. 166.

    TBone

    @Anoniminous: As Tiedrich makes clear in today’s post (above), true alpha males of the animal variety are not the yippy, loud, whiny ones.  They are quietly confident.  It’s always the quiet ones I keep an eye on.  I have an alpha male of the feline variety.  My cousin helped to repopulate wild wolves in a National Park and he’s not an alpha 😉

  167. 167.

    smith

    @Sure Lurkalot: One of the fun things I expect we’ll find out now that the Trump Org will be under the thumb of a monitor with increased powers as well as a compliance officer, and once actual accounting procedures are introduced to that rat’s nest, is that TFG and his businesses are a hair’s breadth from bankruptcy, and have only survived by borrowing from one source to pay off another. Not that it will affect the cultists, but it will give the rest of us yet another chance to point and mock.

  171. 171.

    RaflW

    @Sister Golden Bear: From the NBC article:

    Darrell Scott, a pastor from Ohio who was one of Trump’s first vocal Black allies and has been an adviser to him, to express concerns directly to the former president [about Charlie Kirk]…
    “I’ve got to say, racism is like the word ‘ugly.’ I can’t always describe it, but I know it when I see it,” Scott said in an interview with NBC News. “That boy’s a racist right there.”

    —  —

    It’s rich to think that anyone advising Trump is calling someone else racist.

  174. 174.

    Jackie

    @smith: When TIFG has to go to Saudi Arabia (most likely) to bankroll his NY fraud bond, how does that square with running for president and NOT being bespoken to the influence of a foreign country? Surely when he pays the bond required before he can appeal, that will be closely scrutinized by the government?

  175. 175.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @smith:

    I wish the judge had dissolved the Trump Org, that would’ve been a tremendous blow to Trump and his family

  178. 178.

    smith

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): When he originally made his summary judgment before the trial, he did rule to essentially dissolve it. He vacated that order in his final verdict, something that I found disappointing.

    However, I’ve read that he consulted with the appellate court when formulating his final ruling, and I’m guessing he modified it to make it appeal proof.

  179. 179.

    Yarrow

    I’m going to be a contrarian about stretching for plantar fasciitis. I think it can make things worse

    I had a bad case of plantar fasciitis. Like I could hardly walk. Got it checked professionally including an x-ray to check for a bone spur. Got injections. Got specially made orthotics. Did my stretches religiously. Went to yoga to get more stretching. Nothing worked.

    What did work was two things;
    1. Not stretching as much. I found this out accidentally when I stopped going to yoga and stopped doing the stretches at the same time (life event led to this). My plantar fasciitis went away. When I went back to yoga it came back.

    2. Getting deep fascia manipulation on my calves and doing foam rolling on my calves. I had all sorts of lumps in there and once broken up the plantar fasciitis never returned. The guy I went to said I was far from the first person who had success with his treatment in fixing plantar fasciitis. In his estimation a high percentage of plantar fasciitis can be cured by dealing with calf issues. Sure worked for me.

  183. 183.

    eclare

    @smith:

    Also dissolving the org would have caused an immediate fire sale of the assets.  By letting the org carry on under independent supervision, the judge is preserving value for taxpayers in any possible sale to pay penalties.

  186. 186.

    zhena gogolia

    @Yarrow: What worked for me was putting a plastic bottle of water in the freezer, then rolling my foot over it multiple times. Granted, mine wasn’t very severe.

  187. 187.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @smith:

    @TBone:

    @eclare:

    Good points, and if that’s the case then fair enough. It would be bad for the sentence to be reversed on appeal. I just hate that he could be back in charge of his company in a few short years.

    Would he be able to get a foreign or domestic rich person/persons to pay his fines? Is that legal?

  188. 188.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Haven’t been here as frequently as I used to be so maybe I missed him, but has Omnes been around lately?

  189. 189.

    Yarrow

    @zhena gogolia:  I did that too. I did EVERYTHING that was suggested. Ice packs. Rolling my foot over tennis balls, lacrosse balls, golf balls. Some sort of contraption to wear at night while sleeping. As I said upthread – injections, orthotics, lots of stretching. Massage. Seriously EVERYTHING. Nothing worked except the injection worked for about a week. It was so awful and limiting to my life.

    That’s why I like to tell people my story because it’s the opposite of what all the advice is for plantar fasciitis. If all the other things aren’t working maybe my experience can help.

  190. 190.

    glc

    This is good.

    Well, technically I only watched the first minute. But the title is
    “Liz Cheney slams ‘Putin-wing’ Republicans after Navalny’s death”
    and it has a promising start. Straight to Ukraine.

  192. 192.

    smith

    @eclare: Coincidentally, Meidas Touch just posted a commentary on this very subject, and pointed out this interesting passage in the final ruling:

    Accordingly, this Court hereby modifies its September 26, 2023, Decision and Order solely to the extent of removing the language ordering the LLCs cancellation en masse. The restructuring and potential dissolution of any LLCs shall be subject to individual review by the Court appointed Independent Director of Compliance in consultation with Judge Jones.

    In other words, the Trump Org is not out of the woods yet, and if they continue to misbehave under the extended monitorship, Judge Jones could recommend cancellation of their business licenses.

  196. 196.

    Honus

    @narya: I have that album.  The Transformed Man.  He also does Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.  I also have Nimoy’s double lp Outer Space Inner Mind which has his cover of Proud Mary.

  198. 198.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Also warming the cockles of my cold, cold heart:

    TradCath’s are having a melt-down and demanding an exorcism of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where the funeral for a prominent NYC trans activist, Cecilia Gentili, was held on Thursday. The funeral drew an attendance exceeded in size only by Easter Sundays.

    Of course they’re also intentionally misgendering Gentili in death. Because that’s what Jeebus would want. //

    Gentili came to the U.S. pursuing a safer life to live authentically as a trans woman. She lived undocumented for 10 years, hustling, doing sex work which came with drug use. After surviving arrests and an immigration detention, she accessed recovery services and won asylum.

    Among Gentili’s accomplishments was her work as a co-founder of her namesake COIN Clinic (Cecilia’s Occupational Inclusion Network) at Callen-Lorde, a New York-based leader in LGBTQ health care. She later was the managing director of policy for the world-renowned GMHC (originally the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.)

    With her background in the sex industry, she was a founding member of Decrim NY, a coalition working toward decriminalization, decarceration and destigmatization of people in the sex trade. Gentili was an actress of note starring in the Netflix/FX hit series “Pose” as Ms. Orlando.

    They’re also screeching about Gentili having been a sex worker. The stupid, it burns….

  199. 199.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @FelonyGovt:

    Skechers. I hate that company.

    Really? Why? Serious question. I haven’t worn anything on my feet except Skechers for close to ten years. I own perhaps six pairs, and adore them.

  203. 203.

    TriassicSands

    @Baud: ​
      Here is the Nth piece of advice, well, not advice actually, because different things work for different people.

    I’ve had a problem with plantar fasciitis for several years. Normally, it occurs when I am in bed in the early morning. I’ve found that all I have to do is get up and walk. I don’t have to walk far, less than 100 feet, but the pain always eases. Because that worked, I never had to resort to any of the other recommendations. Whatever works is all that anyone needs to do.

    What I would recommend is start with the simplest approach first and move on if it is necessary.

  204. 204.

    louc

    Pat Boone performing Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti. Especially when you hear the original lyrics.

  206. 206.

    FelonyGovt

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’ve never owned a pair of their shoes, and I never will. They are based here in my small town, Manhattan Beach, and are the 800 pound gorilla here, demolishing restaurants and other small local businesses and putting up big ugly office buildings for their thousands of employees. Also they bought the building my law firm was in in the early 2000’s, and kicked us and all the other non-Skechers employees out.

  207. 207.

    Alison Rose

     

    This man built New York City pic.twitter.com/465hi26rxV
    — Kingsley Wilson (@KingsleyCortes) February 16, 2024

    That man can’t even build a plausible hairline. https://t.co/xSsZpauzjm
    — John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) February 17, 2024

    The photo of TIFG in the first tweet looks really weird…his head looks five times too big for his body. Also, it has a “readers added context” box below it reading “New York has 1000’s of buildings and over 300 skyscrapers. Donald Trump built two.” LOL

  208. 208.

    Leto

    Article is 2 days old, and don’t remember if it was posted:

    Amazon argues that national labor board is unconstitutional, joining SpaceX and Trader Joe’s

    Amazon is arguing in a legal filing that the 88-year-old National Labor Relations Board is unconstitutional, echoing similar arguments made this year by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the grocery store chain Trader Joe’s in disputes about workers’ rights and organizing.

    The Amazon filing, made Thursday, came in response to a case before an administrative law judge overseeing a complaint from agency prosecutors who allege the company unlawfully retaliated against workers at a New York City warehouse who voted to unionize nearly two years ago.

    In its filing, Amazon denies many of the charges and asks for the complaint to be dismissed. The company’s attorneys then go further, arguing that the structure of the agency — particularly limits on the removal of administrative law judges and five board members appointed by the president — violates the separation of powers and infringes on executive powers stipulated in the Constitution.

    The attorneys also argue that NLRB proceedings deny the company a trial by a jury and violate its due-process rights under the Fifth Amendment.

    I know a number of you shop there, and swear by it, but fuck Trader Joes. Fucking union busting company. The rest of them as well.

  215. 215.

    Gvg

    My experience with plantar fasciitis is to get supportive shoes and inserts. Not soft inserts, firm ones. I also like Vionic shoes, although not all are equal. Apparently it is caused by tendons getting weaker and slack, so that they allow the bones in your foot to rub against each other and the muscles which makes them hurt. I have seen it demonstrated in videos which film a person walking away focusing on their heels. The heels roll from side to side, instead of keeping stable and straight. After I watched the videos, I paid attention to how I walked and looked at the heel wear on my shoes. The recommendation is to wear shoes that keep your foot stable without side to side moition. Vionic shoes feel stable when I wear them. Not all are equally right for my feet and they are rather pricey so I look for sales. New Balance shoes are recommended also but I don’t like them.

    I was also told to lift each leg a little and write the alphabet with my toes. It did help. It takes a few weeks for the soreness to go away when you find the right shoe or insert. Not instant relief. You should feel stable when you put them on and not like your ankles have to compensate for a wobbly surface.

    I wear sketchers shoes often but always remove their soft foam insert sole, and replace it with a plantar fasciitis insert. Dr, Scholls works fine.

  216. 216.

    trollhattan

    Whee!

    Tonight
    Windy. A chance of thunderstorms in the evening. Rain showers through the night. A chance of thunderstorms after midnight, then a slight chance of thunderstorms late in the night. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall after midnight. Lows around 52. South winds 15 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph.
    Washingtons Birthday
    A chance of rain showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Windy. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall. Highs 55 to 64. South winds 15 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 40 mph.
    Monday Night
    Rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms. Breezy. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall. Lows around 50. South winds 15 to 25 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph decreasing to 30 mph after midnight.

    Dinner out last night we were seated in a tent thingie between their two buildings. Perfectly fine, plenty of heaters and then it dropped half an inch rain in an hour and water began pouring in at various places.

    All of a California winter is usually jammed into about fifteen total days. We crave efficiency.

  221. 221.

    TBone

    @Leto: he should hook up with Meghan McCain and reproduce more babies screaming MY FATHER MY FATHER over and over so they can hear themselves for the next 40 years.

  222. 222.

    sab

    @Yarrow: I have extremely high arches and then I gained a lot of weight. My feet were not happy.

    Your advice works. Other advice I got did not.

    Also, my feet need to flex. Arch supports are the last thing they need. Arches need excercise. High arches cannot flex front to back like normal feet so they need to flex sideways. My feet are very wide.

  224. 224.

    Kathleen

    @Yarrow: I agree. Calf and ankle. A reflexologist told me the fascia gets all snarled up in those spots and pulls at the feet. In 38 years of running I’ve only had one mild case which was not painful enough to block my workouts and running. For 15-20 years I had regular sessions with reflexologists and it was one of the best investments I ever made. Got me through 15 marathons and years of racing.

  225. 225.

    rikyrah

     

    It’s a 50 part series.

    When I tell you that this woman needs to get an attorney, who needs to :
    1. Get her a ghostwriter to get this in a book
    2. Needs to sell this to Netflix or Lifetime as a limited series

    When they say truth is stranger than fiction, this should be THE definition.

    I am surprised that she made it out of the marriage alive.😳😳😳

    https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8K8EaaF/

  226. 226.

    SteveinPHX

    @louc: I can remember my buddy Brian & I playing a 78 platter of Pat Boone singing that and just laughing our asses off one day. Guess I was about 12 or so. We listened to WINS 1010 AM. It was Little Richard, Harvey & the Moonglows, Paragons meet the Jesters, Frankie Lyman and on…

    That was just the goofiest thing we’d ever heard.

  227. 227.

    SteveinPHX

    @trollhattan: And there’s a high pressure ridge keeping us in AZ from getting a drop of that! Nuthin’ but blue skies.

    A couple of weeks ago that weather was making it’s way over here, but not now.

  229. 229.

    glc

    @louc: You remind me of a certain book.

    Specifically I recall seeing a copy of this book in my home as a child, and not opening it. How it came to be there remains a profound mystery. We also had L. Ron Hubbard on Dianetics, but that I could explain.

    I read most of the books in the house at some point but I skipped this one, the Dianetics, and also our William James. (I don’t claim to have been right about that last one. Probably not, but I have not rectified the omission.)

    I think I did catch Mr. Boone’s Tutti Frutti at some point. I don’t like the look of that sentence, but I’ll leave it as it is. For posterity.

  234. 234.

    Paul in KY

    @SFAW: I like the way she does it. Still folky in delivery, but with the lyrics intact. She sings the sweetest ‘motherfucker’.

  236. 236.

    wjca

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  I just hate that he could be back in charge of his company in a few short years.

    Just because the judge didn’t dissolve it immediately doesn’t mean that there will be any company left when the dust settles.

  241. 241.

    SteverinoCT

    At one office I worked at I used a parking garage, usually ending up between three and five floors up. In an attempt to get some exercise, I began using the stairs. I ended up with a mild case of plantar fascitis instead. I did the towel stretches and iced water bottle rolls, but what really did the trick (besides using the elevator again) was the Skechers Shape Ups (which tells you when this happened). I call them the Poor Man’s Orthotic. Not effective as advertised, but they did stretch your sole/calves. Hell to drive a stick shift in, though: so thick it was hard to get used to clutch and brake. Not a practical solution for now, since they are long since discontinued, but I like to be able to contribute to the discourse, however late!

  243. 243.

    prostratedragon

    Julius Rosenwald:

    For my part, I always believe most large fortunes are made by men of mediocre ability who tumbled into a lucky opportunity and couldn’t help but get rich and that others, given the same chance, would have done far better with it.

  246. 246.

    Paul in KY

    @RAM: That is so funny! One of the comments said they also covered the Velvet Underground’s ‘Heroin’. Probably just tongue-in-cheek on that, but after that song, wish they’d given it a try.

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