US Capitol struck by lightning 12/31/2024
Video: Stephanie Ricker/Twitter— Adam Parkhomenko (@adamparkhomenko.bsky.social) December 31, 2024 at 8:30 PM
Biden will award Medal of Freedom to Soros, Magic Johnson and others https://t.co/HxWv0cZoDW
— Post Politics (@postpolitics) January 4, 2025
The man does know how to tweak his critics, doesn’t he? Not easy to pretend that (for example) Jose Andres doesn’t deserve accolades, but I’m sure the Wingnut Wurlitzer’s brightest minds are already searching for a way. Per the Washington Post, “Biden will award Medal of Freedom to Soros, Magic Johnson and others” [gift link]:
President Joe Biden on Saturday will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a star-studded list of celebrities, donors and former politicians, bestowing the nation’s highest civilian honor on some of the country’s best-known names and others who were integral in securing the victory of Biden and other Democrats in recent elections.
Several of the nominees are already thorns in the side of President-elect Donald Trump, in an indication that Biden is trying to cement a legacy and uphold institutions central to democracy. The honorees include 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, billionaire donor George Soros, actor Michael J. Fox and deceased titans of politics such as Robert F. Kennedy.
The medal is the highest civilian honor, given to individuals who have “made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”
José Andrés: Andrés, 55, first made his name as a chef in the United States, promoting Spanish cuisine through his restaurants, cookbooks and TV. But in 2017, the chef transformed his small nonprofit, World Central Kitchen (WCK), into an influential humanitarian group.
The turning point for WCK came after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, leaving the island without electricity, food and water. Andrés landed five days after Maria hit and, without waiting around for permission, started working with local chefs to prepare stews, sandwiches, paella and traditional Puerto Rican dishes. The group has since fed people after floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and wildfires, as well as in war zones such as Ukraine and Gaza. The organization says it has served 450 million meals across the globe…
Hillary Clinton: The former secretary of state under Obama, Clinton made history numerous times, including as the first first lady who was elected to the U.S. Senate. After serving as secretary of state, she became the first woman nominated for president by a major political party…
Jane Goodall: Goodall’s work as a conservationist helped open up the understanding of primates and human evolution. She has also been an advocate for environmental conservation.
Fannie Lou Hamer: Hamer, who died in 1977, was a founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She challenged the exclusion of Black people in politics and helped press for the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson: The famed basketball player helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships. After retiring, he became an entrepreneur and philanthropist through his Magic Johnson Foundation…
Bill Nye: Nye, known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy” from the public television show, continues to advocate for space exploration and environmentalism. He has challenged deniers of climate change as well as creationists who question evolution…
George Soros: Soros, the Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and philanthropist to liberal causes globally, has been one of the top donors to Democratic causes over the years and has been villainized by the Republican right. A hedge fund manager, he has given billions to his charity, the Open Society Foundations, but also has been a key funder of many organizations that have helped Democrats notch key victories in recent cycles.Denzel Washington: Washington, an actor, director and producer, has served as national spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for more than 25 years. The 70-year-old has won two Academy Awards, a Tony and two Golden Globes. He was expected to receive the award in 2022 but couldn’t attend the event due to covid…
Baud
Yay Hillary!
TBone
Bill Nye the Science Guy! is one of the great loves of my life. I used to get up despite being hung to watch him and PeeWee.
Excellent list of honorees, especially Jane Goodall too.
satby
You’re on fire this morning Anne Laurie! Always appreciate the effort to bring us wide ranging content.
NotMax
Putting politics aside for the nonce, weekend long watch/listen.
Jazz ‘n’ jive jamboree.
Rachel Bakes
So nice to see worthy people getting recognized. And RFK Sr! Illustrate the differences between him and his scion.
OT. Son and I just tested positive for Covid. Daughter probably had it first and was negative. Husband negative but is still a Covid virgin so who knows. I’ve had cold symptoms for 4 days but assumed it was just a cold. I should know better. Grrr. Weekend plans shot and son is repeating “NYC cancelled “ every 2.5 minutes.
Baud
@Rachel Bakes:
Hmm. I recently had cold symptoms.
Suzanne
@TBone: Agreed, what a great list!
Mr. Suzanne and I do a charitable donation every year around holiday time, and we pick an organization that works on something that was especially salient that year. We did World Central Kitchen this year, for their great work, and their tragic losses in Gaza. Jose Andres is a treasure.
Nukular Biskits
@TBone:
Are you bragging?
Nukular Biskits
Great lineup!
When President Biden awarded US Representative Benny Thompson the presidential civilian medal, our state auditor little Hitler wannabe, Trump/Musk fanboi, and general asshole Shad White complained mightily.
I wonder if he’s going to say anything about the accolades for Fannie Lou Hamer.
geg6
Hahahahaha! Jesus, it’s every demon that terrify them and gives them nightmares. I mean, Soros! Hilary! Nye! RFK the Greater (RFK the Lesser is probably not invited)!
Masterful trolling by Biden. Tell me again he’s too addled to be president.
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: no, I was quoting AunT Mame movie.
satby
New ProPublica investigative piece out: The Militia and the Mole. Important considering the events of the last few days and the radicalization of some of our military and LEOs:
Nukular Biskits
@TBone:
Well it’s okay if you were. LOL
I ain’t no hater!
TBone
@Suzanne: good on ya! Last year I asked for, instead of gifts, planting of trees. My elderly aunt donated to
https://myheiferfoundationgiving.org/
and gave seeds that way, which I thought was nicely inventive of her.
New Deal democrat
So why is Dolly Parton, who clearly deserves this honor, not on the list? Apparently, there’s a backstory.
Barack Obama told Steven Colbert that his not awarding her the medal “was a screwup,” because he assumed she’d already received it.
Trump offered her the medal twice, and she turned him down both times.
Now, “Parton says she’d be hesitant to accept a possible third offer [from Biden]. ‘Now I feel like if I take it, I’ll be doing politics, so I’m not sure.’ ”
Source: https://www.npr.org/2021/02/02/963172542/dolly-parton-says-she-turned-down-presidential-medal-of-freedom-twice
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: muah!
ETA I got the joke but it is not yet after dark!
Suzanne
@geg6: I’m curious….. is anyone in your social circle commenting on Biden blocking the U.S. Steel merger? I am curious about the perception locally.
TBone
@NotMax: was wondering where you were yesterday, good to see you (and hear you)!
Baud
@satby:
H E R O
TBone
@satby: VERY important and timely story, thank you for sharing!
Baud
@New Deal democrat:
She’s good people.
eclare
@Baud:
I have them now. Hmmm.
TBone
@eclare: most important advice: rest, rest, rest!
And hydration.
Meant for RachelBakes too.
Princess
Giving an award to RFK Sr is going to make a lot of ignorant MAGAts think RFK Jr is a big Biden guy. Nice way to undermine him.
Nukular Biskits
@New Deal democrat:
That’s sad. She definitely deserves the recognition.
eclare
@satby:
There was something that I saw years ago about the Atomwaffen members in our military, scary. Of course I’m old enough to remember when Janet Reno wanted to study the issue but dropped it because people shouted “lack of respect!” or some such nonsense.
eclare
@TBone:
I have already figured out what I can eat without leaving the house today. I have some of those free US govt tests, I’ll take one once I am officially “up” for the day.
Thanks!
geg6
@Suzanne:
To be honest, I haven’t been out and about much lately except for clearing out my brother’s apartment. But no one has been discussing it among my FB friends. And no one makes steel any more here in Beaver County. We have some finishing mills but no longer any actual steel makers. USSteel is a Mon Valley concern as far as people here look at it. If it doesn’t directly affect the Trumpers around here (they are the majority around here, which is why I don’t go to local watering holes any more), they don’t care. Plus, they tend to look down on the Mon Valley as too Black and white trashy to give a shit about. Which is hilarious considering who these people are. You can’t get more white trashy than most of Beaver County.
Baud
@TBone:
That’s what I do when I’m not sick too.
TBone
@satby: re: Donold
Thank our lucky stars that brave heroes do infiltration.
Ramalama
Sweet Honey in the Rock for the win on that Fannie Lou Hamer song.
Anyway, good work and good trolling, Mr. President.
TBone
@Baud: ha! I was forced into it and didn’t take to it naturally. I had to learn it! Of course, the hard way.
Suzanne
@geg6: It’s an interesting issue….. the union officially opposed the merger, but much of the membership and the residents down there very much wanted it.
My freude has been schadened while reading about these white dudes supporting Trump because they thought he would support the merger — and then Trump came out after the election and said he would block it. And then tearz! Criez of betrayal!
TBone
@eclare: good planning ahead. It’s key!
Nukular Biskits
@geg6:
Mississippi would like to have a word with you …
eclare
@TBone:
Yes! I mean, there are a lot of choices here for delivery, but I’d rather save the fees.
Am I the only one having trouble keeping up with what day of the week it is this week?
TBone
@geg6: I didn’t know who Joe Magarac was until someone posted William Gropper’s map entitled America and Its Folklore yesterday. Dunno how I missed that, being a Molly Pitcher. The map was in a conversation about this, but I can’t remember what all was said.
Ramalama
@TBone: oh! My parents gave bigly to Heifer International. They’ve been dead for a while but boy does that bring back memories.
Baud
@eclare:
No. The mid week holidays tore a hole in the space-time continuum.
TBone
@eclare: no, you are most definitely not the only one, I have that problem every day.
TBone
@Ramalama: hugs
Betty Cracker
The NYT covered the medals thing too in the paper’s familiar absurdly credulous fashion.
Left unsaid by reporter Michael D. Shear (who must fall out of the womb brand new every goddamn day) is that Trump’s “vow” was a big fat lie and that it was in fact obscenely wealthy individuals and corporations who “reaped the rewards of government” on the backs of “the people” in the first Trump term and are poised to stick their snouts even more deeply in the trough during the second.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
That’s a Trump press release, not a news story.
Kay
@Suzanne:
They hit World Central Kitchen twice – once in April and again in November.
The 2nd attack was barely covered in the US. Normalization.
geg6
@Nukular Biskits:
Believe me, Beaver County, PA could give any town in Mississippi, or the entire South for that matter, a run for its money when it comes to who is more white trashy.
TBone
@eclare: I learned to keep my pantry stocked at the beginning of Covid and now don’t ever feel comfortable if those supplies run low. The only time I ever ordered online groceries to pick up curbside at Walmart was for a pantry restock. Everything else I must be able to see and touch beforehand.
geg6
@TBone:
When I was a kid and steel was still king here in the Valley, we learned about Joe Magarac in second grade. We had to read a whole book about him.
eclare
@Baud:
I kept waiting for Medium Cool on New Year’s Day.
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
@geg6:
Now I want to turn the competition into a TV series.
TBone
@geg6: truth. And, there is nothing worse than a resentful redneck, the meanest, most vengeful sonsabitches in existence.
TBone
@Betty Cracker: I live for words like this
Spanky
@geg6: That’s a name I haven’t heard in decades. Yeah, maybe about 3nd grade.
Spanky
@TBone:
“Resentful redneck” is redundant.
Baud
@Spanky:
The Liberal Redneck would disagree.
Suzanne
@TBone:
You mean, the kind of white man who voted for Trump for three straight elections because college-educated women won’t date them?
geg6
@TBone:
People must always remember, Beaver County, PA has a border with West Virginia. We are Appalachia. We aren’t Pennsylbamans, like where you live. We’re hillbillies.
geg6
@Suzanne:
Exactly. And their mean, ugly wives are just as bad, if not worse.
Ramalama
@Suzanne:
Nominated.
It’s likely attached itself to my lexicon. I’ll be using this phrase a lot, I’m afraid.
Baud
@geg6:
It’s cuz their husbands keep trying to date college educated women.
TBone
@Suzanne: yes and, at the same time, oh no. Most of these dudes get laid. Some of them are very, very smart and wily when devising ways to retaliate. Vulpine.
Spanky
Is everybody feeling toasty this morning? In a few minutes we will reach perihelion, the point where earth is closest to the sun in its orbit.
TBone
@geg6: we have sprinklings of those here too. Once on a back road out of Bald Eagle State Forest a few years ago, we stopped at a log cabin farmhouse to ask the two inhabitants who were sitting on the front porch about the next nearest village. They had never been out of their own valley. They didn’t know what we were talking about when we named the village.
Suzanne
Apparently there’s a new book out called American Oasis that is piquing my interest. I know there’s a lot of voracious readers here…. can anyone weigh in? (Link is to a WaPo review via gift link; copy/paste to archive.ph if you’re interested but don’t want to give them a click.)
ETA: Just saw that it isn’t out yet. Oh well. Looks interesting, though. Might give it a spin.
NotMax
@TBone
If only DeSoto or Packard had come out with the Vulpine they might still be a going concern.
:)
Baud
@Spanky:
Not close enough.
Rachel Bakes
@TBone: trying!!!
TBone
@NotMax: hahaha!
TBone
@Rachel Bakes: stay down even if you have to use a weighted blanket as a reminder to do so!
I was so dry I had to buy Gatorade and other electrolytes add-ins by the case.
Citizen Dave
I’m not looking it up, but would have thought the Medal of Freedom was for US citizens. Jane Goodall is a 90 year old British citizen. ?
Betty Cracker
@Spanky: Not a bit toasty here. It’s 41 degrees, and I’m PISSED! I don’t live in a state that’s overrun with bugs and Republicans to shiver in January, goddamn it!
It’s also going to be freezing-ass cold next weekend, when we’re going swimming with the manatees. The chill ensures there will be plenty of manatees. And since the springs are 72 degrees year round, it will feel warm when we jump in. But we will freeze our ASSES off when we get out of the water, and that ain’t right.
Suzanne
@geg6: It’s been really disappointing to see how the construction unions here in PA have basically lost political force. And not by declining membership…. but by not hanging together. Leadership makes endorsements, and then nearly half the members vote the other way….. because “white man” comes before everything else.
NotMax
@Suzanne
Looks as if Pittsburgh is gonna be slammed by the winter storm. Stay safe.
TBone
@Betty Cracker: are you allowed to have a campfire? Prolly not. Big huge towels kept in a warm beer cooler with hot rocks like the old school bed warmers…
Betty Cracker
@TBone: Campfires are ill-advised on a boat, but I like the warm towel idea — thanks!
TBone
@Betty Cracker: yours in service! My granny used hot water bottles. Those red rubber bags are called bottles for some reason.
Kay
I have found the magic word for trolling MAGA on TikTok. “Patriot”.
I commented that they are not patriots and got 70 + outraged responses in maybe 3 minutes. Its unsettling adopting their code though.
frosty
@geg6: I was thinking exactly that. You’re on the northern tip of the Appalachians, so there’s a reason why Beaver County is the way it is. The rest of us in the Susquehanna drainage have no excuse.
Suzanne
@NotMax: Yeah, it sure is. I’m going to go to the store today and stock up. And then hide in my house.
The neighborhood drama yesterday was absolutely hilarious. We had a bunch of snow and the hills were very icy. Some guy apparently tried to take one of the hills at a pretty good speed, unsurprisingly lost control, and managed to hit a City vehicle twice. He stopped, then tried again, and then hit another car on the way down. Whole thing witnessed by multiple people, and caught on video. Now his wife is all over our neighborhood page trying to find out if he can sue the City for not having the road salted/plowed even though it was still actively snowing.
Can’t fix stupid!
ETA: No one was hurt, so I can laugh.
frosty
@Spanky: If the sun would kindly shove the Polar Vortex back where it belongs I might be able to feel toasty this morning. And all next week. The perihelion isn’t doing its job!
TBone
@frosty: I can see the Appalachians from my house. I could also walk to the river if so inclined.
TBone
@Suzanne: facepalm
Baud
@Suzanne: Yep. Most union leaders are pretty solid. Membership is more mixed.
@Kay:
Excellent. Try unamerican. Might work too. And both are true.
Baud
@Suzanne:
I’m sad he wasn’t driving a cyber truck.
frosty
Yeah, that’s insane. We’re hitching up for our Snowbird Road Trip in a week – decided on Arizona instead of Florida. Unfortunately the route takes us through the heart of the deep freeze. I don’t think we can drain the antifreeze out of the trailer water system until Nashville. Or maybe Arkansas. So flush the toilet with antifreeze and no showers – I’m glad I bought extra wilderness wipes at REI!
TBone
@Baud: and another thing that makes them lose their shit
stinger
@Rachel Bakes:
I expect Frederick Douglass will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom some time during the next four years. After all, he’s done an amazing job.
Mai Naem mobile ¹
Can’t wait till TFG hands Presidential Medals of Freedom to Joe Rogan, Eddie Snowden, Elon Musk, Viktor Orban, Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin(hopefully posthumously) and his assets Tuckems and Tulsi.
frosty
@Kay: I’ll say this again: what fun! It’s good to see someone dedicated enough to do the trolling from our side.
TBone
@Mai Naem mobile ¹: remembering Rush Limpballs
eclare
Another gorgeous photo today!
TBone
@Baud: hahahahaha!
Baud
@Mai Naem mobile ¹:
Their culture. Their heroes.
H.E.Wolf
@Citizen Dave: “I’m not looking it up, but would have thought the Medal of Freedom was for US citizens.”
I’m happy to report that if you do look it up, you’ll find the answer.
NotMax
@Mai Naem mobile ¹
Ivanka and Jared.
Kay
@frosty:
I love the little TikTok reply counter. Its silent but I imagine it sounding like a good run on a pinball machine.
TBone
@Kay: ah, memories. I used to spend hours trolling the RWNJs on fascistbook and especially Donold himself. “Captain Queef” got a lot of responses. Also, about prayer in schools, reminding them about Satanic prayers. That really horrifies them.
lowtechcyclist
@Ramalama:
I’ve given to them too. To quote Groucho, “Heifer cow is better than none.”
J.
Great list, but he should have included E. Jean Carroll and those two election workers who won the suit against Giuliani.
Spanky
@Betty Cracker: Here in balmy Southern Maryland we had a thunderstorm roll in just before sunset yesterday. Continuous thunder and lightning, blowing winds, and … sheets of snow blowing sideways. We got a quick 1/2″, topped off with sleet. Then as the sun set the whole clouded sky turned a bright orange.
Of course that storm ushered in the cold front. It’s 28 degrees and blowing right now, and it looks like that crust is going to hang around to become the base of our 3″-8″ of snow predicted for tomorrow night.
Sorry about your 41 degrees.
danielx
Local tv announcers are having delighted conniptions warning about how we are about to be buried in snow, with estimates ranging from four to ten inches. I may actually have to fire up the snowblower, which I haven’t needed in three years.
TBone
Some tonic masculinity musical interlude!
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/3aTW9DvdXv4
TBone
@J.: whar Stormy?
TBone
@TBone: also
eclare
@TBone:
Drinking a pint of what looks like whiskey with a straw is a nice touch!
kalakal
Musk in his latest “let’s fuck up other countries as well as the US” phase has announced his support for a charmless English yobbo currently serving time called Tommy Robinson.
Amongst Tommy’s ( aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) convictions are drug dealing, attempting to enter the US on someone else’s passport, assault, and fraud.
They’re not sending their best. Even that tool Farage is backing away from this one
Suzanne
Man, looking back at my FB memories is a riot. Last year, I posted a hilarious tweet I saw:
I’m still pointing-and-laughing.
I anticipate a rough period, but I hold out hope for much of the GOP continuing to step on their own dicks. I hope that we can enjoy it here when they do!
Scout211
Related to the first bluesky post above:
Adam Parkhomenko got word from his attorney earlier this week that Devin Nunes’ lawsuit against him was dismissed due to inactivity.
lowtechcyclist
@TBone:
I’d just tell them that if they were any good at being Christians, they wouldn’t need to have the government do their proselytizing for them.
Kay
@TBone:
Here’s what I’ve learned. When I started I was getting lots of approving responses from Democrats, because I was speaking their language “MAGA laps up the lies like unpasteurized milk” – my people, gratifying, snarky, but is that what I’m after? No. I want the ordinary TikTok MAGAs, not the liberals who are hyper aware and to reach them you have to speak in their code.
Its not hard. “MAGAs are not patriots” is my most replied to comment.
lowtechcyclist
@Spanky:
We’ll see – the sun’s out and should melt that crust for the most part. But I’m looking forward to the more serious snow – the kiddo was just two and a half years old when we had Snowmageddon back in 2010, and since then he’s seen far too little snow in his life.
Gin & Tonic
@lowtechcyclist: My grandkids (in AA County) must be trembling in anticipation.
jowriter
@Kay: Patriot was a highly consistent part of a maga X handle when I was still there. Transparent as glass that they were all hateful and misinformed at the very least.
Baud
@Kay:
Yeah, good point. Libs too often talk for other libs.
Spanky
@Gin & Tonic: Since the forecasts are (literally) all over the map, it’s probably torture for them. Could be 2″, could be 10″. In just about any case, though, no school on Monday!
RevRick
@Ramalama: Heifer International is one of my yearly contributions. Among others.
TBone
@Baud: I never got real responses from other libs that took time, only “likes” button smashing. The RWNJs would actually waste time typing out comments to point and laugh to.
I once told a fascistbook guy I used to know from long ago that the only time he gets a piece of ass is when his finger punches through the toilet paper.
RevRick
@Suzanne: For my Community of Practice (it’s a United Church of Christ thing for ministers to maintain standing), we’re going to be reading Preaching in the Purple Zone. Basically, it’s how to preach to politically divided churches on issues of justice without blowing up the church or getting yourself fired.
TBone
@Scout211: udderly too busy to attend to it
The Audacity of Krope
I just saw on the NYT homepage (because fuck paying them for articles) that Ann Telnaes, who frequently features on political cartoons selected for BJ’s lovely homepage, seems to have departed the WaPo after having a cartoon depicting Bezos and his billionaire peers kowtowing to Trump.
The NYT said “genuflecting,” but every good Catholic knows that’s like a rolling stop.
Baud
@The Audacity of Krope:
She didn’t even draw them fellating. Pathetic.
The Audacity of Krope
MAGAs are the vanguard of American cultural decline.
Tweaked for the hardcore Western Civ white nationalists
Another Scott
@Scout211: 👍
Best wishes,
Scott.
The Audacity of Krope
They may have been paying and waiting their turn. Mickey sure look spent.
🎶If it’s good, won’t read in the WaPo🎶
–Better than Ezra (Klein)
Baud
@The Audacity of Krope:
The term I appropriated from them is decivilization.
Kay
@The Audacity of Krope:
She fired back with a new one – Trump as Musk’s puppet – they’ll censor that too.
TBone
@eclare: that’s the tonic hahaha!
TBone
@The Audacity of Krope: snort!
eclare
@Baud:
Let’s throw in a rock reference: devolution.
UncleEbeneezer
@Suzanne: According to many historians, this was the whole point of the creation of Whiteness as an identity: using race to prevent solidarity between working class members (From Scene On Radio: Seeing White Ep3- Made In America):
TBone
Atrios has a post up on Telnaes kerfuffle (he calls someone named Trip Gabriel a ridiculous person on social media)
The Audacity of Krope
@Baud: @eclare: ❤️💙💛💚🧡
UncleEbeneezer
Hillary AND Soros!
Well played Mr. President…well played :)
PS- he should’ve added Fauci too!
TBone
@UncleEbeneezer: said recently by someone else that I copied: Gaetz got the “Planter’s Son” treatment. His whole life.
RevRick
@Baud: Like this here blog?
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
@geg6:
Pay-per-view
The Audacity of Krope
@UncleEbeneezer: Preach.
Omnes Omnibus
@RevRick: That shouldn’t be a problem. Not code switching when talking others could be. OTOH simplifying language to much can come off as condescending.
TBone
A great place to see what the trolls are up to, if you can stomach it (comments section).
http://www.thefieldnegro.com/
Huge trigger warning if you are sensitive.
Omnes Omnibus
@TBone: Why would I want to actively seek out trolls?
TBone
@Omnes Omnibus: I don’t advocate it. Kay was talking about trolling today. On TikTok.
Field himself is an attorney.
oldgold
Over time, I have developed the ability to size judges up quickly and accurately.
That expressed, Judge Merchan has remained an enigma to me. At times he seems resolute and decisive and at others indecisive and dilatory.
The sentencing, if it occurs next week, (Our criminal justice system is seemingly unable to deal with the billionaire class. The abuse of serial interlocutory appeals being a big player in this.) should be interesting.
Anyone other than Trumplethinskin, given his comments over the past few days concerning Merchan, would be at a minimum facing the prospect of a few days in the cooler for contempt.
Omnes Omnibus
Lots of people are attorneys.
TBone
@oldgold: I’m hoping for surprises including serious humiliation (I am a sweet, summer child sometimes). I know he’s not capable of being humiliated.
Nukular Biskits
@RevRick:
I would think being a pastor (at least one who truly cared) would rank among the most stressful jobs.
The Audacity of Krope
@Omnes Omnibus: And many attorneys are people.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, Dean Baker asks Mr. Arithmetic about S&P 500 valuations and projections:
Nobody knows the future, and the (unmentioned fact that) the US not being in a large active war is a good thing that can help prosperity at home, but …
Be careful, peeps.
Best wishes,
Scott.
TBone
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes indeed. One of them is in Philly and has a blog that is interesting.
TBone
@The Audacity of Krope: 🎯😆
“Attack librarians!”
Omnes Omnibus
@The Audacity of Krope: It doesn’t necessarily follow.
The Audacity of Krope
@Omnes Omnibus: Hence the clarification.
Sometimes I wonder if I missed my calling for law school. The current Supreme Court has dimmed that impulse.
Omnes Omnibus
@TBone: I got it. You don’t advocate reading about trolls. You just are pointing out an interesting blog that does that. Okay.
TBone
@Another Scott: I don’t like to think about becoming an instant pauper. I’m diversified but even that isn’t great. Wish I could remember who said “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” Either Molly Ivins or Anne LaMott, maybe.
DUCK YOU autocorrect! I didn’t say Jake LaMotta!
Omnes Omnibus
@The Audacity of Krope: I would never suggest law school to anyone who doesn’t have a burning desire to be a lawyer. The days when it was something that you could do with a liberal arts degree that would guarantee a good living are over.
Another Scott
@UncleEbeneezer: Fauci got the Medal of Freedom from W in 2008 (for his AIDS work).
Hmm…
From a PDF at CRSReports.com:
I haven’t seen Bunker’s name in ages. He was US Ambassador to South Vietnam among other things. Hmm…
So I guess Fauci can receive it again.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
TBone
@Omnes Omnibus: thank you! Sometimes I get tongue tied trying to be explanatory so just use illustrative examples instead.
TBone
@Omnes Omnibus: Ronald Raygun is why I’m not one
The Audacity of Krope
@Omnes Omnibus: What would you propose for as an alternate career for someone highly interested in things like semantics and rules?
sentient ai from the future
@eclare: ARE WE NOT MEN?!?!
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
The Audacity of Krope
I mean, not by choice.
Omnes Omnibus
@The Audacity of Krope: Copy editor?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@oldgold: Does Trump actually have to be there for the sentencing?
TBone
@The Audacity of Krope: menopause made me more masculine in some areas. Took some getting used to. Do not recommend!
CliosFanboy
@TBone:
or so they told the city slickers asking them for directions. ;)
Nukular Biskits
@TBone:
Don’t recommend being a man? Or menopause? Or either?
JMG
@Dorothy A. Winsor: No, he can appear virtually, since there’s no jail time or fine being imposed.
dnfree
@RevRick: That sounds very interesting—please report some of what you learn.
The last UCC Church we attended we were very active in and it almost disintegrated back in the later 1990s into early 2000s. My husband was on the search committee that brought in a new minister who troubled some of the long-time older members by using terms like “our father-mother God” and “fisherfolk” instead of “fishermen”.
There were petitions and walkouts and the minister was eventually fired. The congregation was divided and angry. Some kind of reconciliation ministry was brought in and there was a special service on the theme of not casting the first stone, in which a collection plate of stones was passed around and everyone took a stone. At the end of the service, the plate was passed again and everyone was supposed to put their stone back in as a token of congregational unity. Some people wouldn’t put their stones in, just held them in clenched fists.
That church is now liberal and “open and affirming”, but it was a tough battle getting there. Some of the older members who had grown up in the church had to die off.
Edited to add that in our experience there was a difference between UCC churches that had come out of the Congregational tradition and those that had been Reform. This church had been German Reform until the merger in the 1950s. Maybe that’s far enough in the past now that it isn’t so noticeable.
The Audacity of Krope
@Omnes Omnibus: You’re right. Good call. Thinking about it, game design would be good too. Magic card judge, but not a lot of money in that unless you own the venue.
stinger
@RevRick: That’s interesting. I hope you’ll keep us updated as you go through the reading and discussions.
eclare
@sentient ai from the future:
Perfect!
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: both! I never needed deodorant before, really I mean never! Now I smell like a three day old hoagie someone left out in the sun.
Omnes Omnibus
@TBone:
TMI
The Audacity of Krope
Being a man is historically a pretty good gig, if you can get it. Just not for me. Not that I feel a strong pull from womanhood either.
I haven’t found a eunuch wizard cult to my liking yet, though.
TBone
@Omnes Omnibus: body odor? Is it not universal, I mean we laugh here at home about Lume all the time. Just a joke.
Nukular Biskits
@TBone:
What
@Omnes Omnibus: said
dnfree
@Omnes Omnibus: One daughter had a burning desire to be an environmental lawyer, and she was for a while. She later retooled and is now a librarian, and happier. She still uses some of her legal background.
The Audacity of Krope
I know this isn’t an intentional reference to my breakfast, yet I feel targeted
TBone
@The Audacity of Krope: snort!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ge9bRjfeGtQ
Omnes Omnibus
@dnfree: If you are the right kind of person, being a law librarian can be a pretty good gig.
ETA: A fraternity brother from college is the chief research librarian for a good sized city in IN. He seems very happy in his work, more so than most lawyers.
Another Scott
@Kay: Don’t cartoonists submit their work to their publishers days/weeks in advance? There’s not a later one on her https://anntelnaes.substack.com/ thing yet, so I assume what you saw was submitted to WaPo (?) earlier.
If not, a pointer would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Kay
Does anyone know what happened to the huge cadre of free speech warriors? The middle aged male anti woke pundits who whined incessant!y that they were being cancelled?
Major media companies in the US are censoring criticism of billionaires and Donald Trump. Its ok as long as its the Right shutting down political speech?
I knew that was the end game.
dnfree
@The Audacity of Krope: You might consider becoming a librarian also. Lots of details and rules but also lots of interesting information and interactions with others.
Kay
@Another Scott:
Oh sorry. I don’t know. I just saw it posted.
The Audacity of Krope
This is nothing new. Bill Maher was a direct victim of this very principle, and is its biggest supporter.
dnfree
@Omnes Omnibus: She interned at a law school library and enjoyed it, but those jobs are few and far between, apparently.
dnfree
@Another Scott: Political cartoonists work on a much shorter timeframe because their work is so topical.
Kay
Matt Taibbi, Glen Greenwald, Bari Weiss, the 37 full time anti woke columnists who work for the NYTimes?
Where are they? How far is this speech crackdown going to go?
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: makes me wonder how some of us got through those icky sex ed classes in high school. Icky is real and will only get more real in the coming onslaught.
The Audacity of Krope
@dnfree: You’re right. I’m in arrears with my university because of a loan goof. Im about ready to start fixing that.
TBone
@Kay: yup
raven
@TBone: You should have seen the VD films we got!
Kay
@The Audacity of Krope:
Oh sure. Him too. MIGHTY quiet now that billionaire owned media are shutting down political speech. But then he’s employed by billionaire media, isn’t he?
Omnes Omnibus
@raven: Army or high school?
The Audacity of Krope
@TBone: Outraged people of good conscience complaining on the internet: Cancel culture
Individuals granted vast wealth and power using it to control the means of communication and choose who gets to speak to the public: Properly ordered society
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: Funny you should mention that. There is a couple here who are heavily connected in the hipster/arts community. They are also heavily connected in the Federalist Society . I’ve always found it strange how they straddle both worlds.
The Audacity of Krope
Evidently now for life.
Kay
Remember “the censorious Left”? How they scolded us for five years?
It was an entire cottage industry. Poof! Gone. Substack may have to file for bankruptcy.
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: Army, heavy stuff. There was always this rumor that there was a strain of syphilis that you would go to an island somewhere for life if you got it!
The Audacity of Krope
@Kay: Who knew cancel culture referred to cancelling one’s own subscriptions? People freely choosing whom they want to associate with, both socially and professionally, is tyranny.
BellyCat
Mother was a reference librarian in the card catalog days, so I’ve paid some attention to the transition to digital in libraries. Am struck by how well the library profession has embraced digital content, with many libraries also including maker spaces. Bravo!
Omnes Omnibus
@raven: I never got to see those. I did get to see some nasty films of Iraqi chemical warfare victims though.
Harrison Wesley
@raven: That’s not a rumor. The ISIS strain gets you sent to Guantanamo.
JoyceH
The Chef Andres award is going to irk Trump too. He’s now most famous for WCK, but I first heard of him before that, when he pulled out of a deal to open a restaurant in Trump International in DC (the old post office) after Trump’s slurs against Mexicans. Said publicly he didn’t want his restaurants to be associated with bigotry. Trump sued him and he countersued. It got settled somehow. But after Trump Org sold the hotel to Waldorf Astoria, he came back and opened a restaurant there, underscoring that his issue was with Trump.
raven
@Harrison Wesley: This was long before any Isis.
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: Ugh.
raven
@Harrison Wesley: aha.
The Audacity of Krope
@raven: 🧡💚💛💙❤️
TBone
@The Audacity of Krope: net neutrality just died also too. Grumblefuck!
TBone
@raven: I had to use medical books with color photographs in law office medical cases. I know of what you speak!
Also, I’ll never forget the day I had to learn what priapism means.
TBone
@raven: my boss who represents ALL the cops also ran a very lucrative criminal defense practice simultaneously.
JanieM
@Another Scott: Maybe someone already posted the link, but the puppet cartoon was in the WaPo on 12/27.
The Audacity of Krope
@TBone: After so many years on life support, seems a shame.
TBone
I had an Iraq war buddy who brought home color photos and created an album he showed at parties. Camels and people without skin.
TBone
@The Audacity of Krope: I’m awaiting a good throttling hahaha I mean going so slow I give up.
The Audacity of Krope
@TBone: 😏
BellyCat
@TBone: Fun guy at parties… 🤷♂️
TBone
@BellyCat: it went well with the coke fueled arguments about why we were even there. I always shouted NATURAL RESOURCES and was promptly the center of much FREEDOM attention.
Another Scott
@JanieM: Thanks muchly!
Best wishes,
Scott.
TBone
@CliosFanboy: no, the number of teeth between them was a dead giveaway.
CliosFanboy
@dnfree:
the stone grippers were a bit unclear on Jesus’s message, weren’t they?
TBone
@The Audacity of Krope: did you forget the
“Lawyers are just attack librarians” joke? All good jokes have a kernel of truth.
Another Scott
MM has a new thread upstairs, but I don’t want to go OT so soon there, so I’ll put this here.
DW.com on VW’s challenges, etc:
Public policy matters a lot. Especially in times of transition. It’s a cautionary tale for us as well…
Best wishes,
Scott.
TBone
@Another Scott: damn.
Mr. Bemused Senior
[heavy sigh]
I continued Bemused Senior’s WaPo subscription but now I see I have to cancel this one too.
P.S. [waves to JanineM] good to see you. –ral
TBone
Oh and BTW the blogspot by the Black attorney in Philly is good for much more than watching trolls befoul themselves. Field is an awesome person.
http://www.thefieldnegro.com/
TBone
@Mr. Bemused Senior: I canceled anything in my life having to do with Bezis years ago. He perpetrated a credit card fraud on me. I reported it and was victorious, but the thought that he needed to steal a measly hundred bucks from me still turns my stomach.
Autocorrect misspelling left as is.
Gravenstone
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Reportedly, yes the judge wants him there in person.
Glory b
@TBone: Me too! Trust, I WILL be stealing that one, Betty.
Peke Daddy
@TBone: First heard of Joe Magarac from Jean Shepard’s In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. It was in reference to the foundry worker father of a Polish girl who invited the teenage protagonist to dinner. “He could have been Joe Magarac, capable of rolling out ingots between his bare hands.”
lowtechcyclist
@RevRick:
It looks like at least a good chunk of Preaching in the Purple Zone is online for free, so I’m gonna give it a read.
Her talking upfront about the Purple Zone as “the place where the boundaries of red and blue merge, mix, and produce another shade altogether” though, made me think of C.S. Lewis’ intro to The Great Divorce: “Blake wrote the Marriage of Heaven and Hell…I have written of their Divorce.”
What have I to say to persons identifying as Christian who ally with a cult of vengeance and retribution, of racism and misogyny, other than you have lost your way? As Lewis also says in that intro, “I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road.”
I am also reminded of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof finally reaching the point where he goes, “on the other hand…” and then realizes “There is no ‘other hand.’” We Christians can have a big tent, but not so big that it embraces, or is simply silent about, great evil. Heaven and Hell cannot be married.
Anyhow, I’m going to read it and see if she has any answers for my questions. We’ll see how that goes.
The Audacity of Krope
@TBone: No, I love that. A stroke of brilliance
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus:
Do those even still exist?
BellyCat
@TBone: Sounds about right…
RevRick
@dnfree:
@stinger:
Our first Zoom conversation will be January 8th. But our granddaughter has her winter concert that evening so don’t expect to hear from me for a day or so.
Citizen Alan
@The Audacity of Krope: i passed the bar four months before bush v gore was handed down. I have always been dismayed by the fact that I got a law degree just in time to see the beginning of the total collapse of SCOTUS ‘s integrity.
Ramalama
@lowtechcyclist: I am absolutely going to steal-use that line with my family.
Ramalama
@Kay: is TikTok the only place where you try to rile up the magas?
TBone
@Peke Daddy: I posted this fascinating history upstairs (Roy Cohn!) but it’s so fascinating I’m reposting.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/william-gropper-map-american-folklore
I am a sucker for all things Jean Shepard too!
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: In publishing, I would think.
Mart
@Kay: On Sirius XM the liberal talk station is named “Progressive”, and the conservative station is named “Patriot.” Stay in you lane!
Gloria DryGarden
@Kay: thank you for your work.