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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

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

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

People are complicated. Love is not.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

The world has changed, and neither one recognizes it.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

When we show up, we win.

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

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Saturday Evening Open Thread: Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya…

Saturday Evening Open Thread: Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya…

by Anne Laurie|  May 10, 20255:42 pm| 106 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Republican Venality, Trump Crime Cartel

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Not only is it good news that Ed Martin is out; this is as express an acknowledgment we've seen so far from Trump about how the Senate can reject his nominees. Remember when his term started and he was going to try to force a recess to get his folks through in an authoritarian way?

[image or embed]

— Rick Hasen (@rickhasen.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 12:36 PM

We’re all enjoying the comic potential of replacement Judge Jeanne ‘Winebox’ Pirro’s nomination, but let’s celebrate a righteous citizen’s one-person protest…

we've all moved on to pope stuff but this article has some pretty wild details about Martin's tenure at the DC US attorney's office www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/u…

[image or embed]

— Quinta Jurecic (@qjurecic.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 12:46 PM

WaPo reports on Ed Martin's memory lapses when Senators asked him whether he'd ever called Jan. 6 a staged operation, called J6ers patriots, victims, politically persecuted, and deserving of reparations, called prosecutors despicable, and called for firing Capitol cops who spoke of what they saw.

[image or embed]

— Walter Olson (@walterolson.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 9:07 AM

D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin was spat on during a live interview.pic.twitter.com/L6Ox3on1bn

— Community Notes & Violations (@CNviolations) May 9, 2025

A passerby spat on Washington D.C’s interim U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, as he was giving a live interview.

The incident was captured on video, which went viral.

“We need to get really focused,” Martin started saying to the television reporter, when the unidentified woman pointed her finger at him before spitting at him and then walking off.

According to The New York Post, when the incident happened, Martin was speaking about the withdrawal of his nomination to be the permanent U.S. attorney to Newsmax on May 8, 2025. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was nominated instead to be U.S. attorney for the Washington D.C. district.

It appeared the woman was simply walking past when she spotted Martin because she was also walking a dog.

“You are Ed Martin,” the woman said before spitting on him…

let's go to the replay from another angle fam

[image or embed]

— Microplastics Sommelier (@leastactionhero.bsky.social) May 10, 2025 at 10:19 AM

for some reason, under this video on twitter, all of the brave masculine warriors for conservatism are melting down and calling for this woman's arrest. such stoic bravery from that crowd.

— Microplastics Sommelier (@leastactionhero.bsky.social) May 10, 2025 at 12:20 AM

You can always spit on Ed Martin. It is always morally correct.

[image or embed]

— The Almighty Tallest (@spooknine.bsky.social) May 10, 2025 at 12:08 PM

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Previous Post: « Thanks…and, uh…News
Next Post: Blessed Increase! »

Reader Interactions

106Comments

  1. 1.

    Jeffro

    May 10, 2025 at 5:49 pm

    Ed Martin, Russell Vought, Mike Davis, Stephen Miller…sooooo many shitballs in this goon squad who’d never find a job in any remotely normal administration.

    (and that’s not even counting the monumentally unfit Cabinet officials…Patel, Gabbard, RFWTF Jr, Oz…I’m just talking about the Vanilla Faces of Evil)

    Anyway…glad she nailed Martin and I hope Vought’s next!

  2. 2.

    raven

    May 10, 2025 at 5:56 pm

    Setting up 50 more years of wingnut “OOOO, they spit on me”.

  3. 3.

    sab

    May 10, 2025 at 5:59 pm

    The GOP hasn’t come to their senses. Ed Martin in DC would have jurisdiction over them and their staffs,

    They were just protecting themselves from a rampant nutjob. Still not the least bit concerned with their constituents.

  4. 4.

    Mike E

    May 10, 2025 at 6:04 pm

    @raven: yeah I’m surprised he didn’t don a spare hardhat and chase her down.

  5. 5.

    Ten Bears

    May 10, 2025 at 6:06 pm

    Actually, spitting on someone is assault. You could be carrier of a bug that kills someone.

    Not kidding, I’ve seen it charged …

  6. 6.

    trollhattan

    May 10, 2025 at 6:07 pm

    Not to worry, his replacement will be lit.

    youtu.be/FJdDn006ldI?si=zyyWNaBrgXJc3-2q

  7. 7.

    sab

    May 10, 2025 at 6:07 pm

    @Ten Bears: I agree on spitting as a no-no and also an assault.

  8. 8.

    John Sterling

    May 10, 2025 at 6:10 pm

    So what’s the news on the Columbus get together next week?  Still on?  Cancelled?

  9. 9.

    sab

    May 10, 2025 at 6:12 pm

    @John Sterling: Nobody has said it was cancelled, so I assume still on.

    ETA I am certainly counting on it being on.

  10. 10.

    trollhattan

    May 10, 2025 at 6:16 pm

    Just want to note the happy addition of tree-wrangling doggie today on the page footer. Tree never had a chance.

  11. 11.

    bbleh

    May 10, 2025 at 6:17 pm

    @Ten Bears: @sab: true.  Assuming she is identified and charged, how long before her defense GoFundMe hits $500,000?

    Also was this DC? Questionable whether she’d even be indicted.

  12. 12.

    NutmegAgain

    May 10, 2025 at 6:17 pm

    So, it seems that it only takes one Repub with a spine (or other anatomy of your choice) to shoot these vicious dinguses down.

  13. 13.

    caphilldcne

    May 10, 2025 at 6:18 pm

    @Ten Bears: sadly it is often charged to people living with HIV. HIV cannot be transmitted through spit. There is literally no known case of this happening. But people get charged all the time and it leads to enhanced penalties or forces people to plea bargain.

  14. 14.

    NutmegAgain

    May 10, 2025 at 6:18 pm

    @trollhattan: Agreed. I’m spending inordinate amount of time looking at pix of various dogs. Also wombats, sloths, and various creatures.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 6:19 pm

    @raven:

    At least they don’t have to make something up this time.

  16. 16.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 6:21 pm

    The mayor has gone head-to-head with the Trump administration over undocumented immigration, pushing back against the opening of the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 1,000-bed detention facility, arguing that it should not be allowed to open because of building permit issues.

    Officials accused Baraka of trespassing and ignoring warnings to leave the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, New Jersey.

    “I’m shocked by all the lies that were told here,” he said, adding he had been invited there for a news conference.

    “No one else [was] arrested, I was invited in, then they arrested me on the sidewalk.”

    aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/10/newark-mayor-denies-trespassing-at-immigration-center-following-arrest

  17. 17.

    eclare

    May 10, 2025 at 6:21 pm

    @sab:

    I agree yet I somehow condone it.  After all, you can’t carry rotting fruit or a rotting fish with you everywhere!

  18. 18.

    HinTN

    May 10, 2025 at 6:21 pm

    Happy fishing, @raven:. Even with rain the OB ought to be lovely.

  19. 19.

    John Sterling

    May 10, 2025 at 6:22 pm

    @sab: Great!  Where and when?

  20. 20.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 6:22 pm

    An early upgrade

    Pope Leo XIV condemns Russia’s ‘imperialist’ invasion of Ukraine

    Go USA!

  21. 21.

    columbusqueen

    May 10, 2025 at 6:23 pm

    @sab: Yes, it’s still on. Just sent a little reminder for WaterGirl to post tomorrow.

  22. 22.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 6:24 pm

    @eclare:

    Or get to prep their food order.

  23. 23.

    Another Scott

    May 10, 2025 at 6:25 pm

    @Jay:

    Rep. Bob Menendez
    ‪@menendez.house.gov‬

    No matter what this Administration tells the American people, the law is very clear: Members of Congress have a legal right to enter any DHS detention facility to conduct oversight without prior notice – something I’ve done twice this year without issue.

    [ image of highlighted section of Public Law 118-47 ]

    May 10, 2025 at 12:12 PM

    As usual, ICE and 47’s goons are lying about nearly everything.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  24. 24.

    different-church-lady

    May 10, 2025 at 6:26 pm

    @Ten Bears: 

    You could be carrier of a bug that kills someone.

    That just makes this one even better.

  25. 25.

    Ben Cisco

    May 10, 2025 at 6:26 pm

    I’ll outsource this one to the Geto Boys:

    I seen this n*’s 9 smokin’
    I seen the same n* with the 9 die with his eyes open
    And simply what this means is
    He didn’t know that every dog had his day
    Until he seen his

  26. 26.

    WV Blondie

    May 10, 2025 at 6:27 pm

    @NutmegAgain: Martin’s problem was he couldn’t get his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Cmte w/o Tillis’ vote – if the nomination made it to the full Senate, he’d have been confirmed.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 6:27 pm

    @Ten Bears:

    It’s assault no matter even without any disease.

  28. 28.

    satby

    May 10, 2025 at 6:30 pm

    @Baud: Yeah, he’ll surely disappoint on some adherence to outdated church doctrine, but on the whole he’ll be a better Pope than Francis, and since he’s younger he’ll have possibly even more longterm impact. And Francis was a serious upgrade from the previous ones.

  29. 29.

    Ihop

    May 10, 2025 at 6:30 pm

    Was the pupper on board with this obviously craven act?

  30. 30.

    Another Scott

    May 10, 2025 at 6:30 pm

    @Baud: Update – Interview was in 2022.

    Even better.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 6:31 pm

    @Another Scott:

    Thanks for the update.

  32. 32.

    eclare

    May 10, 2025 at 6:40 pm

    @Ben Cisco:

    Damn it feels good to be a gangsta – woman who spit on Martin

  33. 33.

    Matt McIrvin

    May 10, 2025 at 6:44 pm

    @Ben Cisco: reminds me of the Iliad, in a strange way.

  34. 34.

    Another Scott

    May 10, 2025 at 6:49 pm

    Long thread from the DNC chair:

    Ken Martin
    ‪@kenmartin.bsky.social‬

    In recent weeks, there’s been renewed conversation about my longstanding support for a neutrality pledge within the Democratic National Committee.

    Here’s a 🧵 on why the Democratic Party must stay neutral in primaries.
    May 10, 2025 at 12:54 PM

    […]

    [ removing headers and footers below ]

    I championed neutrality pledges before they were common practice and successfully enacted a neutrality policy in the Minnesota DFL—one of the most grassroots-driven state parties in the country.

    When I ran for DNC Chair, I ran on a platform of democratizing the party. That meant expanding committees to include more voices from the rank and file, giving up unilateral appointment authority in favor of direct elections, and holding ourselves—party officers—to a higher standard of neutrality.

    These reforms weren’t about any one person, and they certainly aren’t about me versus David Hogg, someone I deeply respect. They’re about principle, not personality.

    Long before David was ever involved in politics, I was pushing reforms within our Democratic Party—as I’ve said many times over the years, I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

    I will continue to advocate for a party that is open, fair, transparent, and honors the grassroots voices within our Party.

    Whether you’re a challenger or an incumbent, 18 or 80, the rules must apply equally. Do I have opinions? Of course.

    But when you lead the institution tasked with calling the balls and strikes, you don’t get to also swing the bat. Our role is clear: let the voters decide, then work like hell to support the nominee they choose.

    I am more committed than ever to introduce the slate of structural reforms that enshrine these values into the official rules of the Democratic Party.

    These reforms will require all party officers—including myself—to remain neutral in primaries. They will ensure no party official can abuse their position to tilt the outcome of an election.

    The Democratic Party’s charter says it best: “A party which asks for the people’s trust must prove that it trusts the people.” That’s a principle worth fighting for, and one I intend to uphold now and as long as I am Chair of this great institution.

    There seems to be some undiscussed stuff going on (I know about Hogg’s PAC, but I don’t know what else might be going on in the DNC about it or him). It sounds like Martin’s officer neutrality pledge might be a way to address whatever the issues are, assuming everyone signs and abides by it, but we’ll see.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  35. 35.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 6:51 pm

    @Baud:

    They can charge it as assault, but that’s why you should always research sentencing guidelines and convictions, to find an assault that has similar sentencing to find “better”  more impactful alternatives.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 6:55 pm

    @Another Scott:

    Weird. Just do it.

    the slate of structural reforms

     
    Is there a copy somewhere?

  37. 37.

    schrodingers_cat

    May 10, 2025 at 7:00 pm

    @Another Scott: Hogg was badmouthing Ds in general and elected Ds in particular on Bill Maher’s show. And Clyburn was one of the people he criticized by name. With Ds like this who needs Rs.

    Black Twitter is predicting that we will see him at the RNC convention of 2028 at this rate.

  38. 38.

    the pollyanna from hell

    May 10, 2025 at 7:01 pm

    I just found out ubuntu needs to forget networks in order to use a new range extender. Yippee!

  39. 39.

    Another Scott

    May 10, 2025 at 7:01 pm

    @Baud: Dunno.  Presumably any changes have to be voted on and approved.

    Nothing’s jumping out at me in a quick search.

    I do see some FTFNYT and Politico stories about Martin and Hogg, that they seem to be trying to pump up into Democrats in Disarray™ Part MCMXLVIII, but no clicks from me for them.  Maybe they have slanted stories about the Martin proposals.

    FWIW.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  40. 40.

    kindness

    May 10, 2025 at 7:01 pm

    @Another Scott: David Hogg has been talking smack about elected Democrats and pushing to have them primaried.  He’s done this to some who are actually good Democrats.  It seems as if many in the party find this annoying and counterproductive.

  41. 41.

    Another Scott

    May 10, 2025 at 7:02 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: and @kindness:   Ok.  Thanks.

    [ eta: ]

    Martin’s right that leadership in the DNC shouldn’t be squashing debate.  But the Party is a party of Democrats and if Hogg doesn’t want to be a Democrat, then he should move on.  Drawing the line can be difficult, but always needs to be done.  The Neutrality Pledge seems sensible.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  42. 42.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 7:08 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    @kindness:

    Definitely not something someone in a leadership position in the DNC should be doing.

  43. 43.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 7:10 pm

    @Another Scott:

    The neutrality principle seems like one of those norms that will now be a rule. I don’t know if there are other proposals that are more controversial.

  44. 44.

    Baud

    May 10, 2025 at 7:13 pm

    Via reddit, meme.

  45. 45.

    raven

    May 10, 2025 at 7:15 pm

    @HinTN: We’ll be there for a week. Tuesday is the offshore trip and it looks rough but I’m hoping the rest will be good.

  46. 46.

    NaijaGal

    May 10, 2025 at 7:16 pm

    @Ten Bears: Bashing in police officers heads during January 6 was assault. Ed Martin had no problem with that, so I’m sure he’s fine with a little spit.

    (I don’t really disagree with you, but it’s often enlightening to see rightwingers’ reaction to conduct they’d condone against a person they oppose when it happens to them. I’m sure he’ll eventually call for her arrest plus the death penalty.)

  47. 47.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 7:21 pm

    @NaijaGal:

    Naw, he’ll just start up a Give,Send,Go bleg asking for $1 million to cover the drycleaning costs.

  48. 48.

    eclare

    May 10, 2025 at 7:25 pm

    @Baud:

    That’s pretty good.

  49. 49.

    Kelly

    May 10, 2025 at 7:35 pm

    As far as I know the guy that punched Nazi Richard Spenser remains unidentified.

  50. 50.

    Ben Cisco

    May 10, 2025 at 7:38 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Yeah, he can officially get…stuffed.

  51. 51.

    Jackie

    May 10, 2025 at 7:42 pm

    @Baud:

    @Ten Bears:

    It’s assault no matter even without any disease.

    Both spitting and coughing deliberately on someone – or as during the Covid scare – deliberately coughing on produce in grocery stores.

  52. 52.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 7:46 pm

    @Kelly:

    The NAZI Richard Spencer never filed a Police Report or a complaint, so there was no investigation.

  53. 53.

    Ben Cisco

    May 10, 2025 at 7:47 pm

    @eclare: HA!

  54. 54.

    Ben Cisco

    May 10, 2025 at 7:47 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: They were poets for a new age, to be sure.

  55. 55.

    oldgold

    May 10, 2025 at 7:49 pm

    Harriet Miers> Sam Alito; Matt Gaetz> Pam Bondi; Ed Martin> Jeanine Pirro

    I am not sure when these nominations get pulled that they necessarily end up being wins for us.

  56. 56.

    NobodySpecial

    May 10, 2025 at 7:54 pm

    @oldgold: Pirro is a win in that she’s even more unqualified, less respected even by her supposed allies, and much more likely to get pushback or resistance internally. Just like in the first administration, damage will be mitigated largely because these fools dream about unlimited power but have no ability to handle it.

  57. 57.

    TONYG

    May 10, 2025 at 8:02 pm

    Ha ha ha.  That video of the woman gave me the first good laugh that I’ve had in months.  The fact that she had that tiny dog on a leash just made it extra funny.

  58. 58.

    Shalimar

    May 10, 2025 at 8:02 pm

    @oldgold: Miers would have been better than Alito and I think most Democrats realized that at the time without knowing even 10% how bad Alito would end up being.  But I think Gaetz and Martin are such lawless thugs that Bondi and Pirro won’t be as bad even with all the stupid shit Bondi has done so far.

  59. 59.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 8:03 pm

    @NobodySpecial:

    Pirro told Kegstand to hold her beer, he drank it.

    Judge Boxwine is a perfect DJTdiot nominee.

  60. 60.

    Lauryn11

    May 10, 2025 at 8:05 pm

    Have any of you received a snail mail letter from the IRS saying they need to verify your identity before they can process your return ( a 5071 form)? I signed in on ID Me and they had some security add-ons (scan your DL/take a selfie) and then I got on site and filled in some questions about my return. Then I got a screen saying they needed further information and either call the IRS 800 number or make an appointment with the local office.

    In 47 years of filing returns I have never had an issue. They know it’s me because my address and other info popped right up on the screen w no input. This is probably some DOGE / Elon fuckery. God knows how long I will have to wait on the phone or get an appointment thanks to them gutting the IRS. 😡😡

  61. 61.

    Ben Cisco

    May 10, 2025 at 8:05 pm

    @Jay: BWAHAAHAAHAAA!!

  62. 62.

    Ben Cisco

    May 10, 2025 at 8:06 pm

    @Lauryn11: Don’t engage! It’s some straight up DOGESHIT.

  63. 63.

    arrieve

    May 10, 2025 at 8:06 pm

    Since this is an open thread: I am always grateful for any reminder of non-assholery, so I’m sharing this one.

    Today was the last ESL class of the semester, and we had a party (with an amazing array of food including guacamole made on the spot). I love teaching this class, and I love my students, who are amazing smart, funny, hardworking people, many of whom have survived hardships MAGAt’s couldn’t even imagine.

    One of my students this semester was a trans man. I was a little worried about how students in the class would respond to him because some Latin or Muslim cultures are very conservative, but everyone was kind and respectful. He was also pregnant, and had the baby a couple of weeks ago. And he came in today, and seeing the responses of my students to the baby was heartwarming. They treated him like anyone else who happened to have an adorable baby. And I thought, these people are so much better than the assholes in the government who are demonizing them. It is a privilege for me to get to know them.

  64. 64.

    oldgold

    May 10, 2025 at 8:12 pm

    Mike Waltz> Stephen Miller ?

  65. 65.

    Sally

    May 10, 2025 at 8:13 pm

    Whiskey Pete and Jeanine Pinot

  66. 66.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 8:13 pm

    @Lauryn11:

    irs.gov/newsroom/what-taxpayers-should-do-if-they-get-an-identity-theft-letter-from-the-irs

  67. 67.

    cain

    May 10, 2025 at 8:14 pm

    @NobodySpecial:

    She will be drunk most of the time and crying because she has a kush job earlier

  68. 68.

    Princess

    May 10, 2025 at 8:16 pm

    Yes, spitting on a Nazi is assault as is punching a Nazi. I prefer to watch the latter on a loop, with Just Cant’t Get Enough in the background. If you’re like me, here it is:

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=LVCg8FmPlC8

    Im guessing most of Balloon Juice won’t be on the barricades — can’t promise I’d be there either. But there may come a time, or maybe this is already the time when in order to stop these people, some other people are going to have to do things that are illegal.

  69. 69.

    stinger

    May 10, 2025 at 8:17 pm

    So how many members of the administration, so far, are former Fox News talking heads?

  70. 70.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 8:18 pm

    @cain:

    So she does Hindu Kush as well as boxwine?

  71. 71.

    MagdaInBlack

    May 10, 2025 at 8:19 pm

    @Jay: Since this “administration” has pretty much devolved into a surreal shit show, I think Judge Boxwine is a perfect addition.

  72. 72.

    Ben Cisco

    May 10, 2025 at 8:20 pm

    In lieu of a Saturday Night Music Thread, a musical interlude…

    This one’s for you Steep…

    Gil Scott-Heron – B Movie

    “You don’t need to be in no hurry.
    You ain’t never really got to worry.
    And you don’t need to check on how you feel.
    Just keep repeating that none of this is real.
    And if you’re sensing, that something’s wrong,
    Well just remember, that it won’t be too long
    Before the director cuts the scene.
    Yea

    This ain’t really your life,
    Ain’t really your life,
    Ain’t really ain’t nothing but a movie.”

  73. 73.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 8:21 pm

    @stinger:

    23 so far.

  74. 74.

    Suzanne

    May 10, 2025 at 8:23 pm

    @Baud: I am cautiously optimistic that this Pope will be a good one, relatively speaking. And he’s fairly young, so he’ll be around a while….. so fingers crossed that he proves to be a positive influence.

  75. 75.

    Another Scott

    May 10, 2025 at 8:27 pm

    @Lauryn11: @Jay:

    I think Jay’s on the right track here – someone may have tried to claim your refund or who knows what else.  There are all kinds of scams now, and just about everyone’s SS # and everything else is out there for the scammers to try to use.  The IRS is trying to protect you.

    I would: 1) Check the return address/phone numbers, etc., in the letter to make sure they’re legit, and if so 2) do what the letter asks, keeping my wits about me.

    Good luck!

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  76. 76.

    sentient ai from the future

    May 10, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    @Ten Bears: perhaps the editors of the NEJM can be persuaded to weigh in on this, and clarify the situation.

  77. 77.

    JMG

    May 10, 2025 at 8:37 pm

    @Lauryn11: Do you have a Democratic rep? Call their office. Do you have a Republican rep? Call their office and your local newspaper or TV news outlet.

  78. 78.

    WaterGirl

    May 10, 2025 at 8:38 pm

    @trollhattan: I always forget that phones get the sidebar stuff after the end of the comments!

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    May 10, 2025 at 8:39 pm

    @trollhattan: A frequent phrase heard at my house is “you’re not helping” – works for the dog and the cats.

    I’m sure the pup was just helping TaMara!

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    May 10, 2025 at 8:41 pm

    @columbusqueen: I sent you email just now, asking for more info for the post.

  81. 81.

    mrmoshpotato

    May 10, 2025 at 8:42 pm

    Ed Martin may be out, but the next nominee will be crap as well.

  82. 82.

    Jim Appleton

    May 10, 2025 at 8:46 pm

    @NobodySpecial:

    damage will be mitigated largely because these fools dream about unlimited power but have no ability to handle it.

    I like this.  The Keystone Kleptomaniacs.

  83. 83.

    Lauryn11

    May 10, 2025 at 8:51 pm

    @Another Scott: I did what the letter said but you have to go on the IRS website to accomplish it. That requires logging in with ID Me.

    ID Me now is requiring you to scan your DL and a selfie to have an account (which I need to have to login/comply/communicate w the IRS). I’m not happy with them having my scanned DL and selfie linked to my IRS info but I can’t ignore the requirement or the IRS will not process my return. I probably should have just done everything the old fashioned way at the local IRS office, though they probably will make a copy of my ID, too, to verify it.

  84. 84.

    Princess

    May 10, 2025 at 8:55 pm

    Omg, don’t ever think your vote doesn’t count: a riding in Québec just flipped to the Liberals after a recount shows they won it by one single vote. They are now two shy of a majority government with more recounts to come.

  85. 85.

    Another Scott

    May 10, 2025 at 9:00 pm

    @Lauryn11: i had to do the ID.me thing with the drivers license and selfie thing this year to file our taxes as well.  I didn’t like it either.

    ID.me Privacy policy – Section 8:

    8. Data Retention

    Personal Information will be retained until we have fulfilled our legal, contractual and policy obligations. ID.me stores your Personal Information for as long as needed, or permitted, based on the reason why we obtained it (consistent with applicable law and contractual obligations). This means we may retain your Personal Information even after you close your account with us, for up to three (3) years. Users may request that ID.me delete certain Personal Information at any time at account.ID.me or through our Privacy Rights Center, where applicable. We acknowledge all such requests, however we reserve the right to retain data tied to certain high-risk transactions, particularly in government and healthcare settings, exclusively for fraud prevention and government audit purposes.

    ID.me aligns to the National Archives recommended guidelines for data retention when supporting government agencies. Personal Information provided by users in connection with a public sector agency as part of their verification may be retained for up to three (3) years after account closure, unless applicable regulations require a shorter retention period.

    Selfie Image and Associated Biometric Information. Certain pieces of Personal Information, such as a selfie image and the associated Biometric Information submitted by users for certain types of verification Services, are retained in line with ID.me’s obligations to our partners, with the specific retention periods determined by the first partner with whom a user first verifies their identity (e.g., IRS, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, etc.) Certain partners may require this information to be purged within twenty-four (24) hours following a successful verification, other partners may require a longer retention period, but under no circumstances will ID.me retain this information for longer than thirty-six (36) months absent a subpoena, warrant, or other legally compelling justification.

    While we store your Personal Information, we use approved industry-recognized encryption methods to protect it from unauthorized access. Likewise, when we destroy your Personal Information, we use industry-recognized methods to affect such destruction.

    It’s annoying, but I think everything the IRS and ID.me are asking of you is within their normal policies and not out of bounds. It’s the world we live in now.

    I’m probably a little more sanguine than most about this stuff given my [redacted] job, so I commiserate. But I don’t think that DOGE or the other wrecking of the systems can be blamed (yet anyway). Jay’s link is from 2022 (if I recall correctly).

    Good luck!

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  86. 86.

    Matt McIrvin

    May 10, 2025 at 9:03 pm

    @NobodySpecial: “Crush the lesser races! Conquer the galaxy! Unimaginable power! Unlimited rice pudding! Etcetera, etcetera…”

    –The Seventh Doctor, mocking Davros with cosmic levels of sarcasm

  87. 87.

    NotMax

    May 10, 2025 at 9:22 pm

    @Shalimar

    Hitler’s dog: Blondi.
    Dolt 47’s lapdog: Bondi.
    //

  88. 88.

    laura

    May 10, 2025 at 9:38 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Black Twitter is not wrong, ever. David Hogg is the young fresh face of White Men, ever centered, ever large and in charge.

  89. 89.

    JoyceH

    May 10, 2025 at 9:47 pm

    Is this thread still alive or has everyone gone over to the kitten thread? In case this is still being read, I’d like to repost something I just posted to Facebook that I’m still steaming about. Here it is:

    Sigh. Once again I am disgusted and appalled, but not surprised, by the stupidity and incompetence of the Trump administration. Why? Because they fired the Librarian of Congress. Just saw a panel discussion on the topic and of course they’re right that the woman was fired because she is a black woman. But the panel skipped over the really enraging thing, which is this – nobody in this administration even knows what the Library of Congress IS.

    Here’s administration spokes-chipmunk Karoline Leavitt on the firing – “We felt she did not fit the needs of the American people,” Ms. Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”

    Putting inappropriate books in the Library? Guys, here’s the thing. Yes, inappropriate books are in the Library of Congress. But they’re not checked out to children. They’re not checked out to anyone. You want to read a book in the Library, you go to the Reading Room and you read the book there, but you don’t walk out with it.

    The Library of Congress is the repository of all the books published in the United States. Not the “appropriate” books. Not the books that meet the administration’s standards of worthiness. ALL. The. Books. And yes, some of them are awful books, some are stupid, some aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Doesn’t matter. If it was published in the United States, it goes into the Library of Congress. Fercryinoutloud, the US Copyright Office is a department of the Library of Congress!

    So while it’s important that this administration fired a black woman for being black (and you know damn well that’s what they did), let’s not overlook the fact that this gang of morons is running an immense government with absolutely no clue in the world what that government even does.

  90. 90.

    Craig

    May 10, 2025 at 9:53 pm

    Thanks for this. I lived close enough to DC that I got to go to reading room a few times as a teen. Amazing place.

  91. 91.

    mrmoshpotato

    May 10, 2025 at 9:53 pm

    @Princess: How do you say “FUCK TRUMP!” in Canadian French?

  92. 92.

    Jay

    May 10, 2025 at 9:58 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    reddit.com/r/Quebec/comments/1iuqf1m/inspired_by_someone_asking_the_best_way_to_say

    It’s a whole thing.

  93. 93.

    Sally

    May 10, 2025 at 9:59 pm

    @JoyceH: Thank you.

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    May 10, 2025 at 10:16 pm

    @Jim Appleton

    The Keystone Kleptomaniacs.

    They aren’t that bright.

  95. 95.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    May 10, 2025 at 10:23 pm

    @JoyceH: I had not yet seen that.

    This regime is full of petty, silly, unserious people.

  96. 96.

    Ruckus

    May 10, 2025 at 10:29 pm

    @JoyceH:

    with absolutely no clue in the world what that government even does.

    It’s not just what the government does that they have no clue about.

    They don’t have a clue, period, the end.

    They want a world that does not exist and never will. They want a world that gives them everything  and everyone else nothing. But other than being fuckups they’ve got nothing. They weren’t the smartest in their kindergarten class, hell the chairs were smarter. And they haven’t gotten any better since. I don’t call him shitforbrains for no reason – and he’s their chosen one.

    Now they will be able to fuck up anything and everything they touch, or likely even look in the general direction of, that’s how bad and stupid they are.

    The big question is how long, how easy and how much will it cost to fix everything they fuck up? Because it isn’t going to be cheap. Or easy.

  97. 97.

    Ruckus

    May 10, 2025 at 10:43 pm

  98. 98.

    Ruckus

    May 10, 2025 at 11:02 pm

    @Another Scott:

    They wouldn’t be them if they weren’t lying. If they told the truth their jaws would drop off. Their pants might actually catch on fire. After their jaws dropped off so they can’t yell – anything.

    This entire whatever the hell one might call this group of effectively morons has to be a negative, because that’s who and what they are, huge negatives. Not one iota of positive anything about them except the purity of the shit that comes out their mouths.

  99. 99.

    NaijaGal

    May 10, 2025 at 11:35 pm

    @JoyceH: Oh, it’s OK – they’ll appoint one of the Afrikaner refugees arriving on Monday to be the new Librarian of Congress in place of the woke, DEI hire, Carla Hayden. The Afrikaners can add Hendrik Verwoerd’s thesis and expand the catalog of books to include the best South African books and articles exploring why apartheid makes great neighbors and is good for everyone.

    Snark aside, it’s amazing to me that no one from the Senate has said anything about the firing. Carla Hayden rocks and will land on her feet. The loss is the US’s.

  100. 100.

    Soprano2

    May 10, 2025 at 11:55 pm

    @kindness: It’s dumb to primary someone just because they’ve been around for awhile. What I want is people who are effective regardless of age. Younger isn’t always better.

  101. 101.

    Timill

    May 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm

    @Soprano2: Moreover, ex hypothesi incumbents are people who can get elected in the constituency…

  102. 102.

    Scamp Dog

    May 11, 2025 at 12:37 am

    @Lauryn11: Scanning your ID isn’t a new thing for ID.me, it’s been that way for a couple of years now. So I would recommend going ahead and doing it. I’ve helped several of my tax clients with that, and even signed up myself.

  103. 103.

    different-church-lady

    May 11, 2025 at 12:51 am

    @Lauryn11: It’s a new thing, but it’s legit. I went through it two years ago. If you have a refund coming the IRS wants to verify there’s a real taxpayer behind the return.

    It was a pain in the ass for me, because apparently the IRS systems are so antiquated that they don’t scan paper returns; a human being enters the data by hand. And for my return they had entered my credit forward to the next tax year into the field for refund. So the validation system coughed up an error that I had to get sorted out through a series of phonecalls.

    Any rate, ID.me is legit and it works. I was impressed because I started the process at about 2 in the morning figuring I’d hear from someone days later, but instead there was a real person at the other end of a video call almost immediately, and all I had to do was hold my identity documents up to the camera and then I was validated.

  104. 104.

    Lauryn11

    May 11, 2025 at 1:34 am

    Thank you all for your helpful advice and comments about my tax / ID situation. It has allowed me to de-stress and feel more informed.

  105. 105.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    May 11, 2025 at 2:21 am

    @JoyceH: It gets worse

    This president fired without any cause the Librarian of Congress in part to fire Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights.  Yes.  Those copyrights !

    A statement from Representative Joe Morelle (D-NY) tonight

    “Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis. It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.
    “Register Perlmutter is a patriot, and her tenure has propelled the Copyright Office into the 21st century by comprehensively modernizing its operations and setting global standards on the intersection of AI and intellectual property.
    “This action once again tramples on Congress’s Article One authority and throws a trillion-dollar industry into chaos. When will my Republican colleagues decide enough is enough?”

    democrats-cha.house.gov/media/press-releases/morelles-statement-abrupt-firing-shira-perlmutter-regis…

  106. 106.

    Ten Bears

    May 11, 2025 at 3:37 am

    @Princess: I’m not adverse to engaging in illegal stuff, have no problem committing assault. I just don’t think its a good idea for civilians to be engaging in illegal stuff, or committing assault. What’s done is done, we all got a good chuckle out of it, but as others have also pointed out ~ it’s not a good idea. It’s not the way to do this. The jackboots could be kicking that little girl’s door in right now, not to mention martin is a suit … there ain’t no telling how an old outlaw might react to being spit on (that would be “with aforethought”)

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