Looks like we could use this. I suppose the only suspense is, witnesses, yay yea or nay.
BTW, I caved, the ducks are in the house. I needed a good reason to bleach the bathroom from ceiling to floor anyway. Photos later.
by TaMara| 326 Comments
This post is in: Impeach the Motherfucker!, Open Threads, Politics
Looks like we could use this. I suppose the only suspense is, witnesses, yay yea or nay.
BTW, I caved, the ducks are in the house. I needed a good reason to bleach the bathroom from ceiling to floor anyway. Photos later.
Comments are closed.
Just Some Fuckhead
Van “Der Ball-Peen” Veen is starting with his usual contempt.
MattF
Current rumors:
NotMax
Bleach. It’s not just for drinking anymore.
//
stinger
@Just Some Fuckhead: All that “anger” is pure theatrics. He’s playing, not to the House, but to an audience of one, squatting in Maggot-Lago.
Hoppie
I would say witnesses “yeah, yay”, or: I see what you did there.
Elizabelle
I hope there is a hell deep enough for van Vile.
Hell certainly exists when you are in his presence. Dreadful little man. Liar, defending the indefensible.
Just Some Fuckhead
@MattF: No rumor. Raskin called to subpoena McCarthy and Herrera Beutler in his opening statement.
Elizabelle
Heh heh. Ven der Veen is a personal injury lawyer.
Car crashes, motorcycle and bike accidents, dog bites.
Leto
“I don’t know why you’re laughing” – Van der Pump
Because you’re a joke, and everyone sees/knows it. Can only hope his practice goes down the shitter.
Just Some Fuckhead
@stinger: Van Der Ween’s presentation is literally manifested by the old chestnut, “If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table.”
germy
@Elizabelle:
“I don’t know why you’re laughing!”
TS (the original)
@MattF:
As if that was ever in doubt.
stinger
@Elizabelle: Ah, that explains the over-emoting. Surprised he’s not wearing a cervical collar.
germy
A threat:
If Democrats call witnesses, Trump’s lawyer will subpoena a ton of people.
Nicole
Hooray! The thought of forthcoming duck photos makes me happy.
Today is the first day I’ll be able to watch any of it. I’ve been alternating scrolling on Twitter between the proceedings and the Joss Whedon stuff all week. Nice to finally see some of the proceedings live, even though I’m angry that the outcome is already decided. The House was still right to pursue it.
Baud
Leto
@Elizabelle: I guess that explains all the dumb theatrics he’s doing right now? Again striking how one side is basically calm, cool, collected, and the other is raving mad. I hope we can find out where Van der got his acting degree.
zhena gogolia
Brothers Karamazov: “Jupiter, you are angry, therefore you are wrong.”
Just Some Fuckhead
@germy: I’m cool with Trump’s personal injury attorney pissing off 50 Republican senators who want this over with stat.
Elizabelle
What’s this vote about? Just tuned in.
zhena gogolia
@germy:
Fine. Why is that a threat? They have nothing.
Cameron
@Just Some Fuckhead: Or, in Roy Edroso’s variation, If you have neither, pound your pud.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MattF:
as surprising as heat in August
germy
@zhena gogolia:
Maybe they want more laughter.
I was quoting Trump’s lawyer. It sounded like a threat to me.
Hoppie
@Baud: As Aragorn said, “Fulfill your oath!” indeed.
NotMax
One of Trump’s lawyers sitting at the table unmasked. He’s consistently done that and the presiding officer ought to cite him and rule he leave the chamber if he will not comply.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@stinger: It’s the Kavanaugh move
Just Some Fuckhead
How many untold hours have been wasted doing voice vote calls when they could put electronics in and vote simultaneously in milliseconds.
germy
@NotMax:
It’s always easy to spot the Republicans. They’re the maskless ones, or the ones with their noses sticking out over their masks.
Dorothy A. Winsor
So, there will be witnesses
Elizabelle
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Yea!
FlyingToaster (Tablet)
@Just Some Fuckhead:
[Topol voice]: Tradition! Tradition!
germy
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Under oath?
And can they refuse to appear?
M31
C-span changed its chyron from “vote on whether to call witnesses” to “vote on whether to subpoena witnesses”
mmmmm subpoenas
LurkerNoLonger
@MattF: what’s the Trump-McCarthy argument?
Elizabelle
Collins. King. Murkowski. Romney. and some I missed. Voted for witnesses. Yea!
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Cool. I guess the Internet will have to look for a new excuse to blame Dems when the GOP votes to aquit.
NotMax
@Just Some Fuckhead
Much prefer it this way as one can immediately put together a name with a vote. An electronic board with 100 names on it not nearly as directly communicative, and probably wouldn’t be on screen long enough to thoroughly scan at home.
germy
Senator PotatoTown voted no.
Lindsey just changed his vote to “yes”
Elizabelle
Graham just changed his vote to aye.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
did this look as bad on TeeVee as it does on twitter?
Just Some Fuckhead
Jesus. The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body is mostly a cockup.
germy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It’s always sunny in Philadelphia.
zhena gogolia
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Even worse, since he said “Philly-delphia.”
Elizabelle
This is going to go on a few more days.
How delightful for Democrats; less so for Republicans. And the press, tracking down everything they can about the McCarthy-Trump call, which van der Vile (I think) says did not happen, which means it did.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Elizabelle: I’m guessing with Graham voting for witnesses that means Republicans have some BLMAntifacorn miscreants lined up.
Damned_at_Random
So TaMara is patient 0 for the 2021 Duck Flu.
Does Trumps defense expect him to pay for 100 depositions in Philadelphia? Or is Van Der Whatever doing one of those personal injury type “you only pay if we win” arrangements?
Leto
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Josie
@Just Some Fuckhead:
It’s the unavoidable Trump effect. He dirties up everything he touches.
germy
Trump lawyer’s epitaph:
“I’d rather be in Philadelphia”
debbie
@Elizabelle:
He’s not even that. He’s an ambulance chaser.
55 to 45 is decent, but keep this in mind, you smug shits so sure of the outcome: “Alexander Butterfield, bitchez.”
Immanentize
@germy:
I really did Nazi that coming.
I guess he really does want to “call the FBI.”
Just Some Fuckhead
@NotMax: Have you tried mustard for your leg cramps? I get terrible muscle spasms from one of my medications, think it’s the glipizide, and mustard stops the cramps immediately, miraculously.
Baud
Trump’s lawyer is upset because Trump ain’t paying him for the extra time.
Steeplejack
@LurkerNoLonger:
Phone call on January 6. Covered in detail here.
MattF
@LurkerNoLonger: This. The immediate question is about the Orange Inciter’s intent. The less immediate question is about McCarthy’s betrayal of truth, justice, etc.
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
Who is Senator PotatoTown?
germy
@Immanentize:
I figured Lindsey wants to subpoena HRC. Hell, maybe even Obama.
debbie
@germy:
Google points me to Dan Quayle, so please, who is this?
M31
@zhena gogolia: “Tuberville”
zhena gogolia
@germy:
ka MAH la Harris
Baud
@germy:
I wish a mothetfucker would.
germy
@debbie:
Senator Tuberville.
zhena gogolia
@M31:
Oh, duh.
artem1s
@germy:
yep they will in the hopes of creating impeachment fatigue. probably call Hillary just so the MAGAts can revel in some good old CDS. for sue they are going to try to call Hunter Biden. His Excellency will insist on it
But the longer they keep it up the bigger their bill is going to be and the more $ they lose when His Excellency stiffs them. And they know it. They are visibly losing steam and the Dems are maintaining the right tone and energy. Not sure that tactic will work the way they think it will
debbie
@germy:
Nope, it will be Hunter Biden.
M31
Dan Quayle is “PotatoeTown”
dmsilev
@Just Some Fuckhead: Graham made some vague threats about “if you call witnesses, so will we and you’ll be sorry” a week or so ago. I think mostly bluster, plus a bit of what you suggest of some “it was antifa!” squid-ink.
debbie
@germy:
Thanks. I can get back to cleaning now.
Immanentize
So this was not a motion to call witnesses but to allow debate on the question of calling witnesses.
More fun coming!
germy
Ed O’Keefe on CBS just called this an “escalation.”
“We thought this would wrap up today.”
M31
@zhena gogolia: I had to think about it for a minute but then I was “forget it, Jake, it’s Potatotown”
Honus
@Elizabelle: well, this is a car wreck
Ken
IIUC, impeachment isn’t a trial in either the civil or criminal sense. So, will witnesses be sworn in? Will they be able to take the fifth? Can the Senate grant immunity in exchange for testimony?
NotMax
Subpoena Barr. To under oath affirm he told Dolt 45 what he was doing was “bullshit” and why it was.
H.E.Wolf
I admire many of the Senators on the Democratic side of the aisle.
As we all know, conflating Democrats and Republicans into a single disparaged group, when the two groups behave so differently, plays right into the hands of people who know how to exploit that mistake.
Leto
@germy: That was my thought. They’re looking to turn this into a bigger shit show by going down the Ken Starr route.
Baud
@artem1s:
A lot of GOP strategy involves outlasting our side, because their base only cares about hating us, while our base wants things accomplished. It’s a strategy we need to learn to defeat.
Just Some Fuckhead
Pat Leahy up there struggling to express a coherent thought isn’t a good look for our gerontocracy.
Elizabelle
I’ve thought the press is way too quick in assuring us the trial will go as their Republican sources tell us.
Do wonder if the GOP will drag their witnesses out a lot, to put a delay in confirming Biden appointees. As in Merrick Garland. To see.
The Democrats can call some very good ones, and the Trump counsel has proved so inadequate so far they could score more “own goals” with their own witnesses.
It is shameful to have the vast majority of Republicans play-acting for Fox News and der Trump. I hope it bites them so hard, and sooner rather than later. They, and a lot of the press, are lagging indicators and don’t live in the real world.
TS (the original)
@germy: MSNBC saying it will delay senate business, could go on for weeks, stopping debate on covid bill etc etc etc.
I clicked off.
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia:
Ha!
KA-mah-la will be called and disrespected for FOX viewers.
Leto
@Ken: here’s a partial primer (read the thread):
JMG
I was totally wrong in the earlier thread and damn glad of it. IMO Mitch played himself by announcing his acquittal vote before the witness motion. Made Schumer and other Dems mad enough to want to rub his nose in the case as long as they possibly can.
Elizabelle
@germy: I don’t know why the press was so sure this was going to wrap up today. That is from the Republicans, I am sure.
Lazy press corpse.
Baud
@Immanentize:
You would think the Dem votes would be the same for both. But we’ll see.
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
Oh, then most of twitter is wrong?
Jeffro
Hell yes! Oh, GQP…y’all walked right into this one.
Immanentize
@Leto: That is actually how it is supposed to work as per the procedures for this trial — the question of further witnesses was to be debated AFTER the presentation of evidence and arguments.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Isn’t it usually?
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: That has never happened before.
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
Why does Washington Post say “In a surprise move, Senate votes to call witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial”?
Elizabelle
@Honus: Multi-lane.
Steeplejack
@Just Some Fuckhead:
A-fucking-men. ?
SiubhanDuinne
Which is more surprising?
☑️ I caved, the ducks are in the house.
-or-
☑️ Van “Der Ball-Peen” Veen is starting with his usual contempt.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: I know. Wired for Republicans.
Or maybe Democrats were playing their cards close to the chest?
I truly do not see the downside to witnesses, even realizing the GOP will try to put up some ridiculous ones.
Make a record for history. Make this hurt really, really bad for the GOP who want to convict and speed on to other obstruction. Make it a hard vote for them.
Ken
Who’d voted just before? That might help us figure out who he’s attached himself to, lamprey-like. (Or wants to attach to.)
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: Next you’ll tell us there’s no Tooth Fairy. I don’t know how much disillusionment I can take today.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
//
Jeffro
What’s the orange moron’s preferred, non-Twitter, method of communication these days?
‘Cause he sure as heck is going to melt down publicly later today, and I (god help me) want to hear/see/read it.
I want him running scared and publicly acting out…you know, like a good, non-inciting Mr. Innocent kind of guy would do.
LOL
MattF
@Elizabelle: Just consider the way Cruz and Rubio reacted to their 2016 humiliation. The abuser and his victims cooperate.
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle:
I mean, Imm says it was just a vote to debate whether or not to call witnesses. But everything I’m seeing, including WaPo, is saying it was a vote to call witnesses. So I’m confused.
ETA: And NYT:
Senate Votes to Hear Witnesses,
Ken
@SiubhanDuinne: They are equally unsurprising. The ducks are in the house because you are a decent person; Veen is spewing because he is the diametrical opposite of decent.
Another Scott
@TS (the original): Yeah. Reporters live on Twitter but apparently don’t read people who know what they are tweeting about…
Cheers,
Scott.
dmsilev
@Jeffro:
Issuing statements on “Office of the 45th President” letterhead, complete with a version of the seal that looks like it was drawn in MS Paint.
RandomMonster
The duck calls are coming from inside the house. ?
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic: wait til we get to Father Christmas!
Jeffro
@Just Some Fuckhead:
@Steeplejack:
Sure would be nice if, post the 2022 elections, the extremely elder leadership of the Dems held a news conference and talked about the need to hand over the reins…and then did so. Sort of their own Captain America-hands-over-the-shield-to-the-Falcon moment.
Also, I would like a pony for Christmas, I know. But still.
M31
my prediction:
Spanky
“I am a shit, I must acquit”.
(Apologies to dead Johnny Cochran.)
Jeffro
@dmsilev: sigh
I was hoping for something really stupid on video. But if a rambling, offensive, misspelled memo is all we’re gonna get…I’ll take it.
NotMax
@MattF
Crockholm syndrome.
Ken
That is certainly my expectation. Remember, Trump thinks it’s a good thing that his followers will get up there and say “The election was stolen and only violent action, as ordered by our commander-in-chief for life Donald Trump, will save the day!”
Baud
@Jeffro:
Did Pelosi already say she’s stepping down after 2022?
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: The fact that the motion passed means — in most likelihood — that witnesses will be called. BUT, there is no provision or vote or agreement regarding how many or under what circumstances. That is why it was a vote to debate the issuing of subpoenas. K?
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: I never heard what the vote was for, to begin with.
Anyway, I never believed this thing would wrap today. Which is nothing but a guess.
I think events are building the Democrats’ way, outside the Senate chamber. More evidence. More stories will come out.
C-Span said this was a vote for calling witnesses.
Also that “Cornyn, Thune and Portman are huddling” in Thune’s office right now.
Maybe they have their fingers out the window, to take the temperature.
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
Oh, the debate is over the issuing of subpoenas. I thought you said it was a debate about whether to call witnesses.
LurkerNoLonger
@MattF: Thank you. That’s some crazy shit. I’m glad they will call him to testify.
Baud
C-Span says Senate will appoint a committee for witnesses.
It’ll be like Benghazi but legitimate.
Elizabelle
@Jeffro: Excluding Nancy Smash! She gets to stay as long as she wants. Love her.
Agree, Leahey seems very frail. Bad decision by him to preside.
MattF
@Ken: Right. Trump’s ‘theory’ for Jan. 6 is that he was doing the correct thing. He’s never moved from that position.
TS (the original)
@Another Scott:
Thanks. I think the media pundits hear many leaks from republicans but are owed no favors by democrats who seem able to not leak information when talking to the press.
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: The motion was whether to debate the issuing of subpoenas. It was not a motion to call witnesses.
Issuing subpoenas will certainly lead to calling witnesses. Or force McConnell to whip 17 senators to vote for conviction.
SiubhanDuinne
@Ken:
I’m not a decent person*. That would be TaMara.
*(ETA: I stand with Baud!)
Baud
@Elizabelle:
After him, the next senior is Feinstein.
JMG
The Senate is both judge and jury in impeachment trials, so every motion on witnesses is subject to a vote. A reporter, forget who, on Twitter said they should just have Romney, Collins, Sasse and Murkowski write up a list of witnesses they’ll vote to hear and save some time.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jeffro:
“extremely elderly”? Schumer and Murray are both 70, Durbin is 76 and doesn’t seem to be losing it to my eye. I wouldn’t call any of them extremely elderly.
germy
japa21
@SiubhanDuinne:
Trick question. Neither one is in the least bit surprising.
Percysowner
@germy:
I’m not sure Lindsey is stupid enough to call Hillary “I withstood 11 hours of your stupid questions and didn’t break a sweat AND I have OPINIONS I’d like to share” Clinton to testify.
I do think he wants to call Hunter Biden and then do his level best to drive him out of recovery and back to using drugs. Because Lindsey is, like most Republican Senators, scum.
MattF
@germy: If Graham is actually underestimating Pelosi, he’s in big trouble.
Steeplejack
@Another Scott:
Is that right? Claire McCaskill said on MSNBC a few minutes ago that the Senate cannot conduct other business while an impeachment trial is on. Can they adjourn it or call a recess while they interview witnesses? And, even if they do, does that allow other business to go forward? The whole situation is murky, to say the least.
Elizabelle
@germy: I remember the stories about Nancy Pelosi and others calling from their more secure locations, once they’d been rushed to safety, pleading and pleading for National Guard backup.
Pelosi called Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia directly, on his personal cell phone. Steney Hoyer was calling Maryland Governor Larry Hogan pleading for that state’s National Guard.
Nancy P told Northam she could hear glass breaking.
Bring them on.
Republicans been drinking their fake ass KoolAid too long.
germy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I remember the old joke:
A man gets on a train with his little boy, and gives the conductor only one ticket. ‘How old’s your kid?’ the conductor says, and the father says, ‘He’s four years old.’ ‘He looks at least twelve to me,’ says the conductor. And the father says, ‘Can I help it if he worries?’
Immanentize
@Elizabelle: It was not entirely his decision. He is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate as the longest serving Dem. Senator (And Senator, period, I believe, making him also the Senate’s “Dean”).
The President Pro Tem serves when the Vice President does not. Or, in cases of impeachment, when the Chief Justice does not.
M31
lol Quevin McCarthy is on the phone to Trump right now saying “turn over your voter list or I talk”
Just Some Fuckhead
Senate Republicans are like 45ish defense attorneys for Trump, not jurors.
Elizabelle
@Baud: Gag.
lollipopguild
@SiubhanDuinne: “Be kind to your web footed friends, because a duck could be somebody’s mother.’
SiubhanDuinne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Just in case that wasn’t a rhetorical question, the answer is Yes, yes it did.
Elizabelle
@Immanentize: OK. Thank you.
Leto
@Elizabelle:
“Do you think they’re hiring at the Federalist Society? Heritage Foundation? Think they’ll take us by Monday morning?”
NotMax
Also subpoena the Secret Service detail on duty at the White House as to what commnication, and when, was made to Dolt 45 on January 6.
@Immanentize
“If the Democrats want to play that game, we’ll call hundreds of witnesses.”
“Ah, fight like hell, huh?”
//
Steeplejack
I am now regretting my decision to watch the impeachment trial because the clients on Love It or List It were more dickish and entitled than usual.
M31
cSpan replaying the opening statements today — Raskin was cool and factual and now Trump’s lawyer is screaming and pounding things
‘when you don’t have the facts or the law, pound your peen’ or something
Immanentize
@MattF: Pelosi is not the greatest public speaker, but she is one of the greatest political leaders of our time, I believe. Witnesses will not be in the well of the Senate. They will be recorded. No Perry Mason moment for Graham.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MattF:
also…. has he been watching trump’s lawyers? Does he think he’s gonna break Nancy with a devastatingly worded question from his desk handed down to VanderVeen?
my recollection of the Clinton trial is that Monica Lewinsky was cool and poised and made the House managers deposing her look like stammering old men. I don’t think Lindsey was in on that— the name Steve Chabot floats down from the attic of my brain– his job was to crank up his accent and be the earnest young Southern lawyer, calling for the Senate to do it’s sad but necessary duty….
Just Some Fuckhead
Katy Tur looks so much like her dad, particularly since he transitioned.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
That’s how NPR is framing it. I’m confused.
SiubhanDuinne
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Do you eat the mustard, or rub it on the affected area, or lose it, or what?
NotMax
@Steeplejack
They can (and have) move to adjourn to regular business, with the impeachment proceedings to resume at such and such a day and time
debbie
@germy:
I look forward to Nancy and Ambulance Chaser debating the meaning of “fight.” He’s lost before he even began!
germy
Elizabelle
Weird headline by the WaPost: Senate to call witnesses, delaying verdict
Well. The trial is incomplete, is it not? Even if the verdict is expected. But events can change.
Ken
There is a Tooth Fairy. Pray you never meet him
(See the BJ Hogfather discussion.)
Immanentize
@lollipopguild: I am quite happy to see your nym again!
Also, too:
Be kind to your friends in Cracker’s swamp,
Where the weather is very very dahmp.
germy
@Elizabelle:
CBS chyron:
Senate Votes 55-45 to allow witnesses, extending trial
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
Yeah, I too was confoozled.
Hm. Have some port wine Dijon mustard lurking in the recesses of the fridge.
debbie
@germy:
When was Van Der Whatever added to the team? I’m surprised he didn’t have a turn to speak along with Castor and Schoen that first day.
Just Some Fuckhead
@SiubhanDuinne: Eat a spoonful. I just tilt my head backwards and squirt it in my mouth.
Elizabelle
@germy: I prefer CBS, with extending trial vs. “delaying verdict.”
Just a weird construct there. “We don’t have to get it right, we just have to get it fast!”
Immanentize
@Elizabelle: That is the thing — the trial was in the bag for Trump unless something big happened. And yesterday, something big happened.
Ken
Really, really hoping someone manages to slip in “Even John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, says that Donald Trump is no longer president.” Just to drive you-know-who’s blood pressure up.
SiubhanDuinne
MSNBC saying they caught up with J. Castro in the hall just now, asked him “How many witnesses are you going to call?” He said, “Lots.”
Hmmmm.
edit: CASTOR, Bruce Castor, not Castro.
M31
lol Van der Peen is hilarious with the sound off, he’s like a histrionic coach on the sidelines miming to the refs WE WUZ ROBBED
and about as credible
Just Some Fuckhead
Why can’t they subpoena Trump? He’s a private citizen.
Immanentize
@debbie: Schoen stand in, as I understand, because of the Sabbath. Schoen don’t roll on Shabbos.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy: Schoen apparently tried to quit Friday night, trump reeled him back in.
Remember when trump brought in Dale Bumpers? I wonder who trump thinks can be that kind of big gun elder statesman for him. Rudi? Lindsey? Pillow Guy?
germy
@debbie:
I honestly don’t know. I think one of Trump’s lawyers couldn’t work on a Saturday. And I read that one of the lawyers threatened to quit Thursday night, until Trump called him to soothe his ruffled feathers.
germy
Adam Schiff is on the phone with CBS right now, and says calling witnesses is the right decision.
Immanentize
@Ken: Sadly, such a statement would probably increase the Q targets on Robert’s back. Sad/not sad? Politically those guys would be better humans if they felt the heat they hoisted on others.
Betty Cracker
From CNN (20 mins ago)
Ha. Dems called their bluff.
PS: I want the trial to last forever. I think it’s the only thing keeping Trump’s big fat mouth shut (aside from the social media ban).
SiubhanDuinne
@SiubhanDuinne:
CORRECTION via MSNBC:
Not Castro, as first reported. CASTOR, Bruce Castor.
(I knew those two names would trip someone up sooner or later.)
Immanentize
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Tuberville, of course!
JWR
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler was on Firing Line last night, taped earlier than what’s happening right now, and from what little I saw, she struck me as a bog standard R, meaning an old-school, GWB type R, and not a Ted Cruz R, and so my fear that she may be some sort of Marjorie Taylor-Greene operative has eased.
Ooo, Adam Schiff calling in to CBS.
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
Yep.
Immanentize
@SiubhanDuinne: I was thinking — I can’t imagine the House managers saying that. Caster is going to quickly learn he is not in charge of the number of witnesses called.
rikyrah
YEAH
Ducks are in the house ??
zhena gogolia
@SiubhanDuinne:
Yeah, that sounded rather injudicious for Castro to say.
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker: re: calling bluff. Those digits railed against the House managers for not having witnesses. They really can’t cry now that they are getting what they complained about.
Due Process!
germy
@JWR:
She votes 95% of the time with Republicans. Wanted to make Medicare a voucher system. Opposes same sex marriage. Voted to repeal Obamacare. Voted for Paul Ryan’s tax cuts.
But the Q stuff is a bridge too far for her.
This is why Schiff just called her a better potential witness than McCarthy.
Cameron
@germy: He’s losing it. How can this be helpful to his cause? I think she’d be a really formidable witness.
SiubhanDuinne
@Immanentize:
Yeah, that was why I put “Hmmmmm” in my first (erroneous) comment.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Immanentize: does the Senate still have to vote on the witnesses they’ll allow?
I remember a reporter asking Nancy Pelosi if she was surprised by I forget what. She gave him that level stare for a couple of beats and then said, “I’m never surprised in this job.”
I wonder if Mitch was surprised today.
NotMax
@Jim, Foolish Literalist
“You have my word I’ll triple the fee which I have no intention of ever paying.”
//
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
Yesterday on MSNBC Nicolle Wallace, as a veteran of the Dubya White House, said that it is preposterous to believe that Trump didn’t know what was going on with Mike Pence. The Secret Service details are in constant communication with one another and with high government officials, e.g., Trump’s chief of staff. She gave examples: “All stations, Roadrunner [Dubya] is moving to [wherever].” And so forth. The Secret Service at the Capitol would have informed their counterparts at the White House, if only to alert them to be on the lookout for problems there.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
On MSNBC, they’re extolling Mitch’s political genius.
Just Some Fuckhead
Chuck Todd is the most vapid political observer on the planet, even more than Luke Russert when they made him a politico on his 13th birthday in honor of his dead dad. In a meritocracy, Chuck Todd would be explaining to you why they ran out of roast beef on his Arby’s shift.
Baud
Man, Chuck Todd makes a decent point.
I hate agreeing with him.
rikyrah
@NotMax:
Muscle cramps
I always have a Gatorade in the fridge
Also, I have Leg Cramp tablets by Hylands
NotMax
@rikyrah
And everyone has tiptoed around making a comment including the words duck and dynasty.
;)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I bet they’re praying he doesn’t get a bee in his bonnet about testifying. Or calling a press conference. Or making a phone call to an old friend, like Judge Box-O’Wine
Elizabelle
An alert from the FTF NY Times, making it sound like only one witness. I don’t know that I believe the only one at this juncture. To see.
BREAKING NEWS
In an unexpected turn, the Senate voted to call witnesses in Donald Trump’s trial, delaying a verdict. Follow live updates and analysis.
Saturday, February 13, 2021 10:40 AM EST
The Senate approved delaying a final verdict in former President Trump’s impeachment trial so that Democrats could call a Republican congresswoman as a witness and subpoena her notes after she confirmed she was told that Mr. Trump had sided with the mob during as rioters were attacking the Capitol.
M31
GOP witness list:
Hunter Biden, Hilary Clinton, uh, Ben Ghazi, uhhhhh, Saul Alinsky, uhhhhhh
Just Some Fuckhead
@Steeplejack: Roadrunner sounds way cooler than Snackchoker.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
I think I recall that she plans to step down as Speaker/Leader after the 2022 elections. Haven’t heard that she intends to resign her House seat just yet. Happy to be corrected by someone who actually knows.
TriassicSands
@Just Some Fuckhead:
They don’t want it over. The outcome is known no matter how many witnesses are called. Republicans want to call “100” witnesses in order to disrupt Biden’s agenda. Their goal is always obstructive and negative.
zhena gogolia
@Baud:
Wha?
Just Some Fuckhead
lol
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne:
That’s what I meant.
zhena gogolia
@Baud:
What was it?
Steeplejack
Katy Tur and Chuck Todd are reminding me of the Tappet Brothers on Car Talk once saying that sometimes two people can actually know less about a topic than one person.
germy
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Working fast food requires the ability to think on one’s feet, to juggle multiple responsibilities, and quickly deal with a variety of personalities. It’s not easy work, or dumb work.
I think your analogy would work better if an Arby’s employee said “You’re looking for Chuck? He was fired last week.”
NotMax
@rikyrah
Have had a problem with Gatorade since first it appeared. Knocks me out faster than listening to Ben Stein recite The Iliad.
And not a good nor a restful sleep, more like blank unconsciousness.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
About the media leading to false expectations about timing and the practice of not holding people accountable because it would rock the boat.
Just Some Fuckhead
@germy: I literally said he ran out of roast beef in a roast beef restaurant to make that exact point. And don’t talk to me like I’m shitting on fast food employees. I’ve worked fast food. You need to apologize and then step down.
Elizabelle
@germy: “He’s the one who forgot to order the beef.”
Brachiator
@MattF:
We know for an absolute fact that Trump refused to directly lead the mob, and that he refused to call off the mob.
We know for an absolute fact that the Republican leadership assumed that Trump was in control of the mob. We know for an absolute fact that Trump enjoyed this nasty bit of power.
And yet, the Republicans may foolishly let Trump continue to be politically relevant. The man who didn’t care whether they lived or died.
germy
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Well that certainly escalated.
Damned_at_Random
@Just Some Fuckhead: Yeah. we have MSNBC on. My very mellow spousal unit just opined “What a fucking abortion”
Just Some Fuckhead
@germy: Why did you feel the need to escalate it?
Steeplejack
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Schoen briefly quit Thursday night, not Friday.
Spanky
OK, what the hell just happened?
rikyrah
@Elizabelle:
The Chief Justice refused to preside, didn’t he??
sdhays
@M31: I think you give Qevin too much credit.
Baud
@Spanky:
JSF is correct as a general matter. MSNBC this morning is awful. But Todd made one decent point in the middle of the garbage.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Spanky: Baud is always looking for the good in people.
NotMax
@Brachiator
As mentioned downstairs, nonfeasance of office.
JWR
@germy: Oh wow, guess I shoulda watched more of the show. Either that, or update my definition of what a bog-standard R actually is. But she talked about lower taxes, personal freedumb, all that buzz word BS.
Delk
Just woke up. Pondering whether to go back to bed. I’d play in the snow if I didn’t have the bone density of a man forty years my senior.
SiubhanDuinne
@lollipopguild:
“… Be kind to your friends in the swamp,
Where the evenings are cold and dahmp.
You’re hoping that this is the end,
Well, it is.”
RandomMonster
I so agree! I don’t think the Republicans can pull any sympathy or goodwill from hearings, either.
zhena gogolia
@Baud:
Good for him.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: The members of the defense team may need to move on to some paid work. Even if they got some money up front, from now on they probably are working pro-bonehead.
germy
@JWR:
She didn’t mention those details on the show. She stuck with the “freedom” buzzwords
I’d never heard of her before, so I check wikipedia last night during the show.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I don’t really want them to subpoena him, but I hope somebody can work into their sworn testimony that Lindsey Graham was hiding under a desk trying desperately to get Ivanka on the phone.
RandomMonster
@Damned_at_Random: Ignatius!
NotMax
@Spanky
Calling what Arby’s dishes out roast beef is stretching the point from the get-go.
“Use lots of horsey sauce. It makes up for the dearth of taste.”
;)
Leto
@Steeplejack: Trumpov should’ve gone with the prestigious law firm of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe. I’ve heard nothing but great things about them from those guys.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
Eat it!
JWR
Norm Ornstein now up on PBS.
Ken
@Geminid: Narrator: They did not get some money up front.
germy
Phil·a·del·phi·a law·yer
noun
INFORMAL
a very shrewd lawyer who is expert in the exploitation of legal technicalities.
Steeplejack
@Just Some Fuckhead:
I would love to see a listicle of all the code names the Secret Service has used for its subjects (clients?) through the years.
Elizabelle
@JWR: I’d love to see Norm Ornstein. Checking if PBS has a free online feed …
does anyone know, while I go searching?
Found it! https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics-features/trump-second-impeachment
sdhays
I am really curious about why Dump’s last minute temps installed at DoD and DoJ were not only unwilling to prepare adequately for violence and supporting the Capitol Police on January 6, but why they failed to respond quickly when it was clear that support was necessary. Considering how these people were installed just a week or two (if my memory isn’t failing me) before the insurrection, it seems pretty relevant.
It sure looks like a potential conspiracy.
NotMax
@Jim, Foolish Literalist
“This may be my last chance to share a dick pic and I don’t have Jared’s number on this phone. Please forward it to him. And cc your dad.”
//
sdhays
@germy: But what about Phillydelphia lawyers?
germy
Republicans in disarray.
Steeplejack
Just Some Fuckhead:
He was great as Jackie Treehorn in The Big Lebowski.
germy
@sdhays:
I wonder if he’s on the phone with Trump right now.
SiubhanDuinne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
No, don’t remember that at all. And Bumpers died five years ago, more than a year before Trump even became Prez.
Ken
@Steeplejack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_code_name
sdhays
@germy: I wonder why Johnson is so personally worked up over this. It suggests that he’s worried about something coming out that affects him personally. Or is it just “defense of the cult”?
Elizabelle
@Ken: I loved that, in Carl Hiaasen’s recent parody, the unnamed president’s (
Trump’s!!) secret service code name was “Mastodon.”germy
@sdhays:
Good question.
JMG
The Senate can and has during this trial conduct committee meetings in the morning so as to advance Biden nominees. It can by majority vote suspend the trial and appoint a committee to gather evidence to report back to the full Senate whereupon the trial can be reopened. And above all, the Senate was gonna go on Presidents Day recess next week anyhow, so no part of the Biden agenda would be delayed.
rikyrah
@NotMax:
Try the pills
And yellow mustard
sdhays
Also, there was that extraordinary letter in late December from all living previous Secretaries of Defense, including Darth Cheney, warning members of the military of their oaths. What were they hearing that compelled them to write and sign that letter?
Damned_at_Random
When does Jewish Sabbath end? Because IIRC, Shoen has no idea any of this is going on.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
Turns out it’s Cabernet. Grey Poupon Rouge.
Tastes more like port to me, more rich and earthy than a Cab.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne: dammit!
When Clinton brought in Dale Bumpers…..
@sdhays: he does seem to have gotten angrier and nuttier in the last year or so. I’d like to think it’s those fabled “internal polls”
Ken
@germy: @sdhays: Further down that twitter thread:
“Grotesque.” Definitely sounds like there’s something he doesn’t want a matter of public record.
sdhays
Elizabelle
@sdhays: Calling Dick Cheney, in support of the Democrats. That could be rich.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
I miss that program so hard. Saturday mornings have never been the same since Tom died and the show ended. (Yes, I know there are archives. Not the same. It was part of the weekend ritual, and now it’s not.)
germy
@Ken:
Republicans are getting hot under the collar.
– Impeachment managers Ted Lieu and Joaquin Castro
– Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris
– Mazie Hirono
– Elizabeth Warren
– Ayanna Pressley
– Chuck Schumer
– Maxine Waters
(Miller’s waving the list around for reporters to see. He’s trolling, as usual)
sdhays
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He’s one of those Republican Senators who spent July 4 in, was it 2018?, in Moscow. I always try to keep that context when thinking about Senator Johnson. And Rand too.
Geminid
@Damned_at_Random: I think the Sabbath goes from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. At least that’s how Seventh Day Adventists do it.
Steeplejack
@sdhays:
It also makes you wonder about Bill Barr resigning in December rather than serving out the final month.
Ken
@NotMax: Just to clarify, are you putting the mustard on bread or a cracker, or just eating spoonfuls out of the jar?
Elizabelle
From WaPost website: heh heh.
Graham’s post-election call with Ga. secretary of state to be scrutinized in probe, person familiar with inquiry says
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) is serving as a juror in former president Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and is advising his defense.
JPL
Apparently, I chose the wrong time to turn off the TV. Has trump fired his lawyers yet?
Just Some Fuckhead
I really think Ivanka is missing an opportunity by not starting a Twitter account called “Stupid Things My Dad Says”.
NotMax
@rikyrah
Downed a teaspoonful. Not noticeable change except now I want pastrami.
;)
Jeffro
@Leto: ha!
I was wondering when that particular firm was going to make an appearance in one of these here impeachment threads ;)
catatonia
@SiubhanDuinne: I listened to it just for the Randy Newman lead-in music from “Land of Dreams.” But, yeah, that was a great show.
NotMax
@Ken
As with my martinis, straight up.
Steeplejack
@Ken:
Thanks. I didn’t know this:
Ksmiami
@Elizabelle: villago delenda est
Just Some Fuckhead
Shorter Republicans: Nancy Pelosi didn’t save us from Trump’s attack on us.
dmsilev
@JPL: Has he paid his lawyers anything yet? If not (by far the likeliest answer), could they really be said to be working for him?
sdhays
@Steeplejack: Yes. Barr should be interviewed as well.
There was a whole lot of dark shit going on in December inside the administration. Bill Kristol was freaking out over what he was hearing. He got the timing wrong, but what was he hearing and who was it from?
Amir Khalid
@Geminid:
That’s my understanding too. Can any Jewish jackals confirm?
sdhays
@Just Some Fuckhead: Until mid-January, that was simply “@realDonaldTrump”.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
Wikipedia to the rescue!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_code_name
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne:
me too. I remember a friend describing it to me (it’s about cars, but it’s not really, it’s these two brothers…) and thinking, Why would I want to listen to that? I can’t remember how or why I started, but I got hooked, and I miss it
ETA: On topic: the Senate votes again on a list of witnesses, no? Do they really think they want to back Elder Romney into a corner, now that the ghost of George seems to have finally paid him that midnight visit?
Tazj
@germy: ?You love to see it.
I can’t believe I actually agree with Chuck Todd today. Stephanie Rhule has been playing the devil’s advocate on MSNBC wondering if calling witnesses will backfire on Democrats because it will interfere COVID relief. Todd said something about the fact that the media has conditioned the public into having a short attention span, which I think was an argument in favor of lengthening the impeachment trial.
Ted Cruz now wants to call Pelosi as a witness.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: That is oneof the problems with being pre-disappointed. Sometimes people disappoint your disappointment.
Ken
@Elizabelle: I don’t have a WaPo account. Is that inquiry the Senate impeachment trial, or the Georgia DA who’s considering charging Trump (and Graham?) with violating election-tampering law?
Just Some Fuckhead
@sdhays: Right, but now it would have a snappy millennial feel to it.
Betty Cracker
@Just Some Fuckhead: Heh heh. I’ve missed you. :)
patrick II
@Ken:
I think you can ask Ollie North and why he never went to jail if you want to know about Congressional immunity.
NotMax
@Geminid
Mmm. Cholent.
;)
Ken
@Amir Khalid: I’m not Jewish, but yes, Shabbat is from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.
pajaro
IMO, this is about yesterday and last night, not McConnell’s statement. Yesterday, Collins and Murkowski asked Trump’s lawyers for specific information on what he was up to during the riot. The lawayer said there was no time for an investigation, which is kind of funny given who their client is. Anyways, it’s at least possible that they really want more information about what Trump was up to, in order to justify their possible vote to convict. Then, last night, a Republican Congresswoman drops the statement about the call and says she’s happy to go public. I know it’s really contrarian to be non-cynical, but I think it’s a legitimate possibility that there are people in Congress who want to supplement the record that’s there, and I believe it’s that expression of interest that the managers are responding to.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
Same. Here’s a callback to the episode I mentioned. Good to hear their voices again.
Elizabelle
@Ken: I will read the story now and put up some excerpts.
Ken
@NotMax: Wait, you’re making port wine mustard martinis now? Sounds like a Chopped episode gone horribly wrong
(Cue six jackals pondering, “Hmm, port wine mustard martini….”)
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I went back and added an edit to your comment for clarity. I can remove that if you want.
Steeplejack
@Jeffro:
I think it’s “Cheatham.” He hates when people misspell it. Gives the wrong impression.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
Thanks.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
Those contagious laughs!
debbie
@Immanentize:
Thanks, hope that means he’ll disappear after sundown tonight.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
Thanks. Would have done the same if the edit window hadn’t already closed.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
What I can’t figure is why Graham switched from nay to yea on the witness vote? How the heck does that benefit him?
Also flashing back to De Palma’s “The Untouchables”, specifically the bit where the judge ordered the bailiff to swap the juries on Al Capone. I know, never happened, would have been utterly illegal, yada yada, but it gave that same sort of shifting-foundations, the-fix-was-in-but-now-it-isn’t vibe.
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
And yet, how lovely is it that we not being shrieked at on Twitter?
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Sometimes we have what feels like 50 people correcting the same error, so I was kind of hoping to forestall that. :-)
stinger
@Elizabelle: “He’s the one who forgot to order the beef.”
Mmmm, David Soul. (I’m assuming that’s an UNSUB reference.)
citizen dave
@Tazj: “Ted Cruz now wants to call Pelosi as a witness.”
Ted Cruz again proves his utter stupidity. Just to remind him, this picture: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story-photo-pelosi-trump-angry-white-house-meeting/story?id=66350339
We received this photo in a fundraiser mailing, and it has been on our refrigerator ever since.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@citizen dave: I suspect Ted is as sincere in his desire to call Nancy Pelosi as he was when he said he would argue trump’s “case”– that assemblage of delusions– before the Supreme Court. He’s confident he’ll never catch that car, but if he barks the words Nancy Pelosi loud and long enough, he’ll be able to capture the trump base and ride it to the White House (his own delusion).
NotMax
@Ken
Is there any Chopped episode which isn’t horribly wrong?
“It’s a red licorice-squid-egg white-peanut butter-zweiback paté.”
Death rattle of cuisine. No coincidence the chefs and the baskets are all decked out in black.
debbie
@Amir Khalid:
I’m not an observant Jew, but I’m about to snack on a hamentashen, so I am an authentic Jew. Yes Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is the Sabbath.
Ivan X
@Geminid: Occasionally observant Jew here. Close to correct. It’s a few minutes before sunset to being able to see three stars in the sky the next night. In practice that means 25 hours following sunset. Of course, not everyone observes equally, and many will choose to cut it a little short.
NotMax
@debbie
Prune, apricot or poppy seed paste?
Inquiring minds….
Brachiator
@NotMax:
I am not a lawyer and do not pretend to be one for purposes of the Internet, but this does not seem quite right. I like this example.
What is it when the lifeguard deliberately pushes a non-swimmer into the water, refuses to help, and interferes with other lifeguards attempting a rescue?
Geminid
@Ivan X: Interesting. Thanks.
debbie
@NotMax:
Poppyseed, indubitably!
Brachiator
@WaterGirl:
You may know this already, but there is comment box weirdness with Firefox 85.0.2
For example, I wanted to update a comment, and nothing showed in the box at all until I switched to text.
Problems creating this reply as well.
Cheers.
Amir Khalid
@Brachiator:
It’s been like this for the past couple of weeks.
Just Some Fuckhead
He was just being dramatic. He was saying, “Oh girl, if you want witnesses, I will bring you witnesses!” It’s important to understand most of Lindsey’s schtick is just performance. In a meritocracy, Lindsey would live at home with his mom, unemployed, and perform as Eddie The Motorcycle Guy at the weekend Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Steeplejack
@Brachiator:
It has been a known thing for a while.
And I just answered you with Firefox 85.0.2 and the edit box worked fine. But it has been flaky on and off this morning. Can’t pin down a cause.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Brachiator: Does Nancy Pelosi own the pool? Why did she hire homicidal lifeguards?
WaterGirl
@Brachiator: Yeah. I knew it was a problem with 85.0, then 85.01 and then yesterday someone said it is still a problem with 85.02.
John said we would wait until Valentine’s Day in the hopes that a Firefox update would resolve the issue. If not, on 2/15 I will contact the developers.
Not looking good for Firefox to come through by end of day on 2/14.
I will look for someone to let me know the score on 2/15.
J R in WV
@Brachiator:
Murder. That’s what those people who mobbed into the Capitol deserve, they collectively killed 5 or 6 people in the commission of a felony.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ken: No, a martini contains gin and a tiny amount of vermouth. Anything else is simply a drink served in a martini glass.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Dan B
@pajaro: Several of Rep. Herrera-Buetler’s constituents point out that her district is turning blue as the Vancouver, WA suburbs grow. Vancouver, USA is a suburb of Portland for the most part. She may be positioning herself as the moderate. At the same time many of the white terrorists call the area home base.
I believe she fits into Adam’s “delegate” category. She may only be interested in working for her constituents but there is the possibility as a woman in congress she felt the threat of the mob quite keenly.
Dan B
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: Graham’s change to Aye means he has the ability to vote against witnesses if it comes to a vote in the future. It may be he gets the opportunity to vote against any and all witnesses.
Emperor Tang 45 will probably not understand. I’m rooting for a beat down.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: You can mention whatever you want, but a Firefox change caused the break. The code for the site was there and functioning for well over a year before Firefox came out with their new version.
It is not unreasonable to wait and see if an update from 85.0 would un-do whatever change they had made that caused the break.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: The decision NOT to call witnesses makes no sense to me – wondering if, given the information that came out last night, you have thoughts on why they would have decided that and whether you think that was a good decision or not.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: I’ll be honest. I am not watching or paying really close attention. I think the end result is a foregone conclusion. Then again, I am watching England vs Italy in a Six Nations rugby match, and, if that result isn’t a foregone conclusion, I don’t know what is.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Firefox did not cause the flaw, it revealed it.
There hasn’t been a massive surge in reports of the same behavior happening on sites across the width and breadth of the web.
dnfree
@Ken: often in a governing body, if one side loses a member of that side will change their vote to the winning side, expressly because if the body (city council etc.) is following Robert’s Rules, only members of the winning side can make certain motions. I don’t know if the senate follows those rules or similar, but a switch by one member of the losing side can be tactical, not a change of heart.
There go two miscreants
@Just Some Fuckhead:
YES, seconding the mustard rec for leg cramps. Def works for me.
Just Some Fuckhead
@There go two miscreants: Right? It’s totally bizarre and somewhat unscientific but damned if it doesn’t work.