Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Come on, man.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

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

Optimism opens the door to great things.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

No Kings: Americans standing in the way of bad history saying “Oh, Fuck No!”

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

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

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Monday Afternoon Open Thread

Monday Afternoon Open Thread

by | 78 Comments

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I am playing catch-up today.

No lie told, as rikyrah would say.

I laughed out loud, literally.

Now this is what I call an indictment:

And this sounds like an old-fashioned ass whipping!

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

78Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    That so many people, in real time, peeped the Trump Stenographers , and were tut-tutted by other members of the MSM . Tried to gaslight us that we didn’t see their bullshyt in real time. That we just didn’t understand ‘ this modern journalism’.

    No, they were phucking stenographers, continually trying to normalize the Orange Menace.

    WE KNEW IT.

    And now, we have proof.

  5. 5.

    trollhattan

    You will never guess who suddenly is enamored with mail-in ballots. No, not Louis DeJoy.

    In a stark pivot, former President Donald Trump is embracing vote-by-mail and third-party ballot handoffs known as “ballot harvesting.” “It turned out to be not such a bad idea,” Trump said in a video message to California Republican delegates Sunday, on the final morning of their spring convention.

    “We may not like the current system but we need to master the rules and beat the Democrats at their own game. Then we can make our own rules.” It’s a reversal for the candidate who previously — and falsely claimed — that mail-in-voting contributed to voter fraud as well as a signal that Republicans see these strategies as essential to Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.

    Trump and his allies previously propagated false claims that mail-in-ballots are rife with fraud and less secure than traditional polls. During a 2020 presidential debate, the former president said without evidence that ballots were “being sold and dumped in rivers.” “We have to play the game differently,” Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump said during an appearance at the California GOP convention. “We have to embrace things like legal ballot harvesting all across this country.”

    If re-elected, however, Trump would move to implement “one day of voting, paper ballots and voter ID all across this country,” Lara Trump said. The practice known as ballot harvesting is when a voter gives custody of their ballot to a designated third party to return.

    Mail-in-voting has been part of elections in California for roughly a decade and has become more prevalent since the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, voters in most counties receive a ballot about a month before Election Day. Mail-in voting has also proven a secure method to vote.

    Out of more than 15 million ballots cast by mail in California during the last presidential election, less than 0.7% were rejected for reasons like a missing or mismatched signature or not arriving on-time, according to the California Secretary of State’s office. In most cases, counties are required to notify voters who had their ballots rejected and provide a window to “cure” the ballot. California Republicans didn’t do ballot harvesting in 2018 “and got our butts handed to us,” said state Republican party chair Jessica Millan Patterson. “Then I got in trouble in 2020 for ballot boxes because we put them in churches and conservative businesses.”

    sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article288558068.html#storylink=cpy

  7. 7.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: It’s a nice thought, but they’re all firmly in “Earthman, explain to me this thing you call shame” territory.

    Ugh. My apologies to all those who are now picturing Maggie Haberman in a clinch with Captain Kirk.

  9. 9.

    Frank Wilhoit

    There are no cameras in the courtroom, but Trump’s lawyers (and now his witnesses) have been acting throughout as if there were. They must think that that is the jury’s expectation and that they can win on style. The worst of it is not even that they may be right; the worst of it is that what we are going to find out is whether they are right.

  10. 10.

    trollhattan

    Do not be pissing off the mooses.

    A charging moose fatally kicked a man near Homer, Alaska State Troopers reported. The cow moose charged two men around 11:50 a.m. Sunday, May 19, troopers said in a dispatch.

    The moose kicked one of the men, who was later pronounced dead by medics, troopers said. The cow moose later left the area, troopers said. An investigation continues. It’s not clear if the incident involved a calf, but cow moose typically give birth in May and June, according to Colorado Parks & Wildlife.

    An Alaska Department of Public Safety spokesperson said the fatal encounter took place in a neighborhood outside Homer city limits, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

    sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article288585308.html#storylink=cpy

  11. 11.

    piratedan

    I do have an idle thot about how this testimony will sit over at MSNBC in regards to Ms. Tur.

    I wonder if questions will be asked and ponder if a Dildo of Consequences could be in the offing.  The network would be better off if they dismissed her due to a lack of journalistic integrity.

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    America’s loudest dueling leaf blowers are making their Monday appearance next door, and the floor is vibrating beneath my feet to the racket. No extra charge for the 2-stroke smog and airborne dust and related crap.

    Big fan.

  14. 14.

    Ken

    @trollhattan: I suppose it’s only a matter of time before we hear of the 1-2 combo: someone using a leaf blower to knock cicadas out of a tree.

  16. 16.

    grumbles

    I’m beginning to suspect Costello has brain lesions or something. Hard to tell where MAGA-shitbaggery ends and delusional behavior begins, I know.

  17. 17.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Baud: All those illegal aliens showed up to vote in person!  Is there no end to libtard Demon-rat perfidy (whatever that means)?

  18. 18.

    twbrandt

    @SpaceUnit: Totally. Among other things, noise-cancelling headphones made going to the gym bearable because I no longer had to endure the crap they pump out over the sound system.

  19. 19.

    geg6

    @WaterGirl:

    No. At least Mag the Hag has the excuse of family ties to Cheetolini. And all the Cuomos are scum.  I reserve my deepest disdain for Katie Tur.  She has no reason to suck up to Trumpist scum but does it with such great pleasure that she makes me want to vomit every time I see her face.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    Elections have consequences

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed an omnibus bill into law Friday with multiple provisions that will benefit voters, including one that establishes a Minnesota Voting Rights Act.

    “Democracy thrives when everyone’s voice is heard. Today, we’re ensuring a strong democracy by prioritizing accessibility and voter protections,” Walz said in a Friday release. “With this bill we are breaking barriers that stand in the way of voting, protecting fair democratic processes, and paving the way for Minnesota to continue to lead the nation in voter turnout.”

  23. 23.

    Raoul Paste

    Is Costello‘s behavior contempt of court or what?  Seems like he’s showing plenty of contempt

  25. 25.

    Urza

    @WaterGirl: I do not understand why the jury has to be in the same room with them.  Have cameras on the judge, the witness stand, both lawyer tables, hell the visitors section and just have tvs for all of it.  I know the jurors cant get away from the choosing part, but theres no reason someone that acts like a mob boss and has millions of lone wolves ready should be able to see them.  It should all be kept private between the judges and the counselors.  Then if there’s any leaks or threats or bribes its much easier to know who did it.  And defense counsel could be told their client doesn’t need to know what they look like.

    It made sense in 1700s to have a jury of your peers present.  There is such a thing as Zoom jury duty now and protecting the jurors should be paramount.  Though I would want them sequestered at the court for a case like this so they can’t have anyone else watching.

  26. 26.

    E.

    @trollhattan: I got charged by a bull moose in Idaho. I yelled at him and he stopped dead in his tracks after which we had a stare down. It was the closest I have come to dying I believe. No way would I have survived that. I had inadvertently gotten too close to his sweeties.

  29. 29.

    Scout211

    Here’s a wrap-up of the updated court schedule. (NBC)

    The schedule has been in a bit of a tumult today. When the trial wrapped last week, Judge Merchan told the lawyers to be prepared to deliver closing arguments this Tuesday. But before testimony even resumed this morning, the end of the trial had already been delayed by another week.

    That’s because it wasn’t clear whether witness testimony was going to be finished by the end of the day today and whether there would be enough time for closing arguments, jury instructions and then deliberations to begin before the long holiday weekend. So Merchan made the decision to let witness testimony conclude this week and then take off for the holiday.

    Then, another twist got added to the mix when the defense and prosecution argued over entering a photo from a C-SPAN video. To be able to enter the photo, the prosecution asked to bring in another witness, requesting to do so tomorrow. But Trump’s lawyers got mad, saying they had two witnesses waiting and wanted to conclude today. Eventually, they reached an agreement.

    So the schedule as it is written now: Defense witness Robert Costello will be back on the stand tomorrow, and the judge and lawyers will meet Thursday to discuss jury instructions. They’re taking Friday and Monday off for Memorial Day and closing arguments will be next week.

    So we get another day with Costello.

  30. 30.

    Mag

    “There is no nice metaphorical way to deal with the rising wave of fascism. There’s only the messy way. There’s only the the banal way. There’s only the way of dealing with this wave on its own terms, at its own level and it’s not going to be pretty, but I think the problem with the world is that the good people have been quiet for too long. So, I think it’s time to make movies relevant. It’s time to make movies political again.”

    — director Ali Abbasi about why he wanted to make a movie about Trump’s rise to power in the 1980s.  Don’t expect to see the film in the US, no corporation wants to distribute it despite Cannes accolades.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, “Donald Trump Movie ‘The Apprentice’ Shocks Cannes, Receives Nearly Eight-Minute Standing Ovation“

  31. 31.

    TBone

    I thought George Stephanoupolis, on with Nicole, was excellent today.  He went beyond stumping for his new book and he’s a great communicator.  He’s pissed.

  37. 37.

    gene108

    @rikyrah:

    @WaterGirl:

    I don’t think the powers that be in the MSM view access journalism to advance one’s career as a bad thing. I’d guess a large chunk of people in the MSM view it favorably.

    I just don’t see this having any consequences for Katy Tur or Maggie Haberman. Chris Cuomo’s a third rate hack now, who I don’t see making a comeback anyway.

    The MSM big shots are more interested in going to the right parties, and making connections, than reporting the news and investigating stories.

  38. 38.

    bbleh

    I am not a lawyer, only a simple unfrozen blog commenter, but I do not see how the actions of the honorable Mr. Costello, Esq., were of benefit to the defense.  Like, minor smoking-crater not.

    @Frank Wilhoit: there has been speculation all along that it’s just a hung jury they’re aiming for, and maybe they think enough drama will kick up enough dust in one or two jurors’ minds.  If so, seems to me that today’s episode won’t have helped.  But wadda I know.

  39. 39.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @geg6:

    I reserve my deepest disdain for Katie Tur.

    Truth. I shout to the rooftops here (probably too often) that MSNBC is not a friend with its line up of Republican but just not Trump  contributors, but worse than that is Katy, with her wincing, pained expressions and bad news for Biden takes just about every damn day. I have pretty much stopped watching the station anyway but particularly at lunch when she’s on.

  40. 40.

    gene108

    @Mag:

    I thought “The Apprentice” was a buddy comedy about young Donald Trump and his mentor Roy Cohn? //s

  42. 42.

    BellyCat

    @Urza: I do not understand why the jury has to be in the same room with them.  Have cameras on the judge, the witness stand, both lawyer tables, hell the visitors section and just have tvs for all of it.  I know the jurors cant get away from the choosing part, but theres no reason someone that acts like a mob boss and has millions of lone wolves ready should be able to see them.

    I would like to subscribe to your newsletter!

  45. 45.

    karen marie

    @Frank Wilhoit:   I would not draw such a conclusion if the jury were to come back with a not guilty.  I’d think it more likely that fear of being hunted would be a significant factor.

    Trump getting people to follow the jurors leaving the courthouse is not beyond the realm of possibility.  I’d be surprised if he didn’t already know where all of them live.

  46. 46.

    karen marie

    @geg6:  Communications director during a second Individual-1 administration would be plenty of incentive.

    George Stephanopoulis has made a fine career from his work for Bill Clinton as communications director for six months and then three years as a senior advisor.  Jen Psaki isn’t hurting either.  Jay Carney – one of Obama’s press secretaries – turned his time in the WH into a lucrative gig with Amazon as senior vice president of global corporate affairs.

    @Urza:   “Zoom jury duty”?  Where?  No jurisdiction in which anyone should want to have a civil or criminal trial.

  53. 53.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @geg6: Keith Olbermann dated BOTH Katy Tur and Laura Ingraham. Might need to question his judgment too LOL.

  55. 55.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Nukular Biskits: Airports.

    After our Covid-postponed overseas trip in September, the airport experiences had been so grueling that we were asking ourselves if we’re done with Europe or with flying in general.

    We decided any future flying vacations will involve one flight at the beginning, one at the end, in and out of our home airport (Philly). One hotel in one city. If we visit other destinations it will be day trips using ground transportation.

  57. 57.

    Martin

    @Mag: Only 8 minutes? Cannes is slacking. Time was they’d give 10 minutes for a Progressive commercial.

  58. 58.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Nukular Biskits: ​
     

    Why does flying take so much out of you?

    It isn’t just the flying. Typical homeward travel day for me and my family:

    Pack up at wherever we’ve been staying.
    Drive to the airport’s rental car drop-off.
    Take shuttle to terminal.
    Check bags, go through security, get to gate.
    Stand in line to board plane. Board plane.
    Move very little in a very constrained space for a few hours.
    Disembark from plane, walk to baggage carousel, wait around for suitcases to appear.
    Grab suitcases, load them on a smart-cart, go to parking garage.
    Drive home, possibly stopping on the way for a meal. (Double-T Diner in Annapolis, in our case.)

    Seriously, how’s that not going to tire you out?

  59. 59.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Frank Wilhoit: the way I understood it was that there are cameras for the overflow room. IIRC Dan Abrams said there are 3 cctv kind of cameras.  One facing the defendants table. Don’t remember where the other 2 are. I am guessing one facing the judge.

  62. 62.

    SpaceUnit

    @Nukular Biskits:

    Seriously, I haven’t flown since before Covid.  I learned to appreciate the pleasures of staying put and avoiding crowds.

    I guess it’s the new me.  Now just thinking about flying makes me tired.

  64. 64.

    bbleh

    @Nukular Biskits: dehydration is a significant part.  Airplane air is typically VERY dry, and when you’re on the move and stirred up you don’t necessarily stop to hydrate, and of course using the bathroom in flight can be difficult.  And it doesn’t help that water costs $20 inside security.  Remember to bring an empty water bottle, fill it up at a water fountain, and absorb water regularly.

  65. 65.

    TS

    I know it’s standard for the defence to move to dismiss the case when the prosecution finishes it’s case, but is it usual for the Judge to reserve the decision on this issue?

    Justice Juan Merchan said he would reserve his decision on the defense motion to dismiss, and has adjourned court for the day.

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I know there’s nothing groundbreaking in this observation, but I feel compelled to note for the record that James Carville is an exceedingly tiresome man. That Ragin’ Cajun schtick got old a long time ago. And no prominent person with a “D” after their name should publicly bash Dems as much as he does. I wish MSNBC would just sideline him altogether.

  68. 68.

    NotMax

    @TS

    a) It was a motion for a directed verdict, which is S.O.P. if an appeal is anticipated to be conducted by the defense.

    b) Reserving decision on a directed verdict motion is also S.O.P. before rendering a decision at the close of arguments.

    In other words, no biggie, nothing to see here.

    insert obligatory IANAL here.

  69. 69.

    karen marie

    @RSA:  I’m watching the video at that link, and I’m struck by a few things.  First, that Individual-1 was willing to walk that far.  Second, he kept his flunkies (among whom were Kushner and Ivanka) well behind him so that he can be seen striding alone.  Third, he doesn’t wave or acknowledge bystanders, but instead acts like he’s the only person who exists.

    But mostly I’m reminded of what an excruciating piece of shit he is.  So full of himself.

    I  will never understand how anyone – before or since he soiled the WH – could willingly surrender their self respect to him.

  70. 70.

    Spanky

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I wish MSNBC would just sideline him altogether.

    Will never happen. MSNBC’s business model is to keep their audience (Democrats) in a state of despair. He fits right in to that model, as does every other Republican host they have on there.

  72. 72.

    TS

    @NotMax:

    Reserving decision on a directed verdict motion is also S.O.P

    That’s what I needed to understand – thanks

  73. 73.

    Betty

    @TS: I think he also may have wanted a little time to cool off. He was apparently furious with Costello and not at all happy with Trump’s defense team.

  74. 74.

    Pennsylvanian

    @trollhattan: I support the no holds barred smiting of anyone running a gas leaf blower.

    Get a fucking rake and broom, you lazy ass-noise polluting-environment-disrupting a-hole, whose “work” will be dismantled by the next breeze.

    Rake, sweep and compost. It’s better for us all, and actually cleans up!

    Am I bitter? Not sure, but I am cranky.

    Mad/sad to hear the news from BC. But, come on, we are democrats! Hope springs eternal.

    Once Biden wipes the floor w his opponent, and President Harris wins her second term, we can work on the Balloon Juice Legacy Animal Rescue Foundation, the Mustard Lovers’ Lament Society, Moms Against Naked Mopping, Animals Organizing for Second Breakfast, and the Betty Cracker Estuary, Commentary and Cocktail Hour. All sponsored by love, resources and sheer will. As it has been, and, something-something, and ever shall be.

  77. 77.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Kayla Rudbek: ​
     

    @lowtechcyclist: a constrained space where they are recycling the air. This is why I prefer to sleep on flights…

    Like you, I’ll sleep on the plane if I can manage it. Being unconscious is the best way to pass the time.

  78. 78.

    lowtechcyclist

    @sab: ​
     

    At age 69 1/2 I got my first leaf blower (battery operated) and I must say I love it. After years decades of raking.

    Electric blowers are still somewhat noisy, but much less so than gasoline-powered. The motor on my wet/dry vac converts to a blower, which is what I use to blow stuff off the deck and the front walk and occasionally the driveway. Doing the driveway requires an extension cord, but that’s less of a hassle than sweeping.

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