Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Monday Morning Open Thread: The Reason for the Season

by Anne Laurie| December 11, 20237:33 am| 178 Comments

This post is in: 2024 Primaries, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Religion, Vice-President Harris

Credit where due to this Iowa Republican standing up to criticism of the leg for following its policy and allowing a 14 day Satanist display on the grounds, as they do with other religions. https://t.co/wOwxSVgXyc

— David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) (@dburbach) December 10, 2023

Rep. Pastor Dunwell has indeed done well. Full text of his (very long) message at the bottom of this post. (Needless to say, the ‘good Christian’ responses to his message make it clear that for many among the Jesus Flock, it’s not about actually professing the tenets of their faith, it’s about demanding *everyone else* bend the knee.)

Elsewhere…

For 25 years, the International Space Station has impacted our view of Earth and who we are. It has served as a lesson in international cooperation and the importance of taking action to care for our planet.

Happy birthday, @Space_Station! pic.twitter.com/RaccWeQ4I6

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) December 10, 2023

BREAKING NEWS: Vice President Kamala Harris is now the sole record holder for most tie breaking votes cast by any Vice President in US History! https://t.co/qwdey65oX7

— That Unhinged Biden Guy (@What46HasDone) December 5, 2023

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Monday Morning Open Thread: The Reason for the SeasonPost + Comments (178)

Late Night Respite Open Thread: Dolly Parton, Rock Star

by Anne Laurie| December 11, 20231:13 am| 48 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Music, Something Good Open Thread

Dolly Parton on the Most Prolific and Invigorating Music of Her Career

“My songs are like my kids and I expect them to support me when I’m old.” #DollyParton https://t.co/HVHvjd5WmJ

— Lindsay Kusiak (@lindsay_kusiak) November 27, 2023

It’s hard to choose extracts, cuz this whole interview is so good! From NYMag, “Dolly Parton on the Most Prolific and Invigorating Music of Her Career”:

Dolly Parton has always been a rock star, even if it took her a bit of time to weave that title into her coat of many colors. It began last year, when she held a contrarian view of her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination: Parton rejected it — a very Sex Pistols move — believing she wasn’t worthy of the honor. However, she would go on to warmly accept her induction at the annual ceremony, which culminated in the promise of recording a rock album to affirm her acrylics-on-electric-guitar finesse. That opus, Rockstar, features 21 covers and nine original songs with just about every name in the classic canon. (Hell, she reunited the living Beatles.)

The new album is also, somehow, the 49th in Parton’s discography. But her sprawling, decades-long career doesn’t mean we know everything. Rather, the country legend and entrepreneur prefers to channel most of her emotions and beliefs through her songwriting. “If you want to know about me and my life, you’ll find every piece of me in a song,” she explains. “I always write a little bit of something about me without realizing, because it is me. I’m all in, wound and woven in and out of my songs.” This ethos has affected every stage of Parton’s career, dating back to her 1967 Nashville debut, Hello, I’m Dolly; her late-’70s crossover to Hollywood stardom; and now her arrival at Rockstar. And while her succinct Dollyisms might make us smile — as does her exaggerated style, favoring rhinestones and sky-high hair — when it comes to the craft, Parton knows how much of a prolific storyteller she really is. “A lot of people can sing,” she says, “but not everybody can write and make up stuff for other people to sing.”…

Song that cemented your creative freedom
I started making songs before I was able to write them down. My first story of “Little Tiny Tasseltop” goes, “You’re the only friend I got, I hope you never go away, I want you to stay.” It was my little cob doll. I was born with the gift of rhyme, so I knew early on that I was going to love making up songs and doing rhymes and all that. I learned how to play the guitar when I was 7 years old, so after I started writing very serious songs. I love to sing them, of course, because I’m from a musical family, so it was always natural to sing. But as the years went by, I realized when other people recorded my songs that I was more excited about having them sing songs I wrote than I was about singing those songs myself.

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I realized in my teenage years how seriously I was taking myself as a songwriter. “My Tennessee Mountain Home” was one of my first big songs early on in my country-music career. But, I mean, they’re all important to me. My songs are like my kids, and I expect them to support me when I’m old — and some of them are. I feel that way about it because when I write a song, I’ve left something in the world today that wasn’t there yesterday. It’s something that will live on…

Album you sacrificed the most to make
That would have to be New Harvest … First Gathering. It was the first album I did after I left The Porter Wagoner Show, and I had such a struggle trying to get to a place where I was actually out on my own and doing my own thing. I wrote my song of deliverance the day I finally departed the show for good. When I left Porter’s office on my way back to my house, I started writing “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” in the car. It just meant a new day was coming, and the album was my first gathering of songs of my own. I thought New Harvest … First Gathering was a perfect title for that. I had been dying to get to work on my own albums, produce, and get involved in having the freedom to be on my own. It took longer because I savored every minute of it and I wanted it to be good. That’s my album of deliverance and sacrifice, and I’m very proud of it…

Most ambitious thing you have left to do
I’m doing my life story as a musical on Broadway. I’ve written all the songs, and we have the script. We’re hoping to be on Broadway in 2025. That’s very ambitious because there’s about 30 or 40 pieces of music in it. I’ve been involved in writing the book as well as choosing all the songs. I’ve been working really hard on it — about ten years’ worth of work. I’ve really buckled down over the past two years, and we’ve got it pegged down. We’ve just been in the studio recording the music. Once we get it on its feet, we’ll have to cut and change some things and whatnot. I’m so ready for it.

In a new interview, Dolly Parton discusses collaborating with the “great girl rock and rollers,” writing her latest album, and finding light in collective love. https://t.co/xlBT01tWOs pic.twitter.com/m9TuT7lBsg

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) December 3, 2023

From the New Yorker, “Dolly Parton Salutes Rock and Roll”:

… When we spoke last month, Parton—done up in nylon and lace, and seated before a glittery silver star—discussed gender and tradition, and characteristically sidestepped politics. She explained how “Rockstar,” which comprises nine original compositions and twenty-one high-voltage covers, pushed her to grow as a writer and a vocalist. It was clear that she also approached the rock genre as a fan. She collaborates with several male artists, including Elton John and Paul McCartney, and just as many women. Brandi Carlile and Pink (not Mick Jagger) join her on the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”; she sings “What’s Up?” with Linda Perry, of 4 Non Blondes, and “Magic Man” with Heart’s Ann Wilson. The album, in this way, dovetails with recent feminist historiographies of popular music, such as the NPR series “Turning the Tables” (less so with efforts to recover the role of Black women in music, although Parton had hoped to team up with Tina Turner prior to the singer’s passing, and Lizzo plays flute on Parton’s cover of “Stairway to Heaven”). Yes, Parton is a singular icon. But our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, reveals that she also sees herself as part of a collective: a foremother of, and a sister to, other ostentatiously ambitious and experimental women in music.

During our first conversation, in 2020, you said something that has stayed with me: that it’s not true that you’ve never been afraid, that you do experience fear, but your desire to do something has always been greater than your fear. What, if anything, scared you about this project?
Well, if you’re gonna take on a thing like this, you gotta make sure that you’re gonna do it good. Just making the decision to do a rock album was made easier when they decided to go ahead and put me in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I didn’t feel like I had earned it, but they told me that I had. That’s when I thought, Well, I’m going to have to at least have something to say now that I’m in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I had thought years ago that I might one day do a rock album, and it’d be more like a Linda Ronstadt-type album, with some girls singing great rock songs. But this [project] just opened up every window and every door in the world for me to call on some of these great artists who are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I wanted the rock people to be proud of me. I don’t want them to say, “Did you hear Dolly’s rock album? It’s O.K. She did O.K.” I wanted them to say, “Did you hear Dolly’s rock album? Man, she killed it.” So I went through those kind of emotions more than a deep fear. I was determined I was going to do it. And I thought, I’ll cover up any fear I might have by bringing on some of these great people who I know will make it great…

Do you feel like you can be a little freer to take those risks now, at this stage in your career? Like, you might not have gone for it in the studio however many years ago, but you’re willing to do it now?
Yeah, I think there’s a whole lot of freedom that comes with getting older. And, when you’ve done everything, you don’t have to answer to other people. It’s, like, why wouldn’t I be allowed to do this? You know, at my age—I’m seventy-seven years old, and I’m a rock star. I get a kick out of it. The title of the album—it was a little tongue-in-cheek. I thought, What am I going to call this album? Well, I’m going to call it “Rockstar,” duh. Anyway, the whole thing was just kind of fun for me. I took the music serious. I take my work serious, but at the same time I enjoy it.

Remember when I said earlier that I had often thought of doing a rock album? But, as the years went by, I thought, Nobody’s going to take me serious now, you know, getting older. But then it was just laid right in my hands when they put me in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And I am not one to miss timing. Timing means everything. And I always think [with] these things that a higher wisdom is speaking to me, saying, “Just do it. You got your chance. If you ever had a thought about doing it, do it now.”…

Late Night Respite Open Thread: Dolly Parton, Rock StarPost + Comments (48)

War for Ukraine Day 655: Zelenskyy Goes To Argentina & DC, Orban’s Allies Go to DC To Meet with GOP Representatives

by Adam L Silverman| December 10, 20238:08 pm| 83 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

(Image by My Dog Sighs)

Both President Zelenskyy and Hungary’s elected dictator Victor Orban were in Argentina today for the inauguration of Argentina’s new hard libertarian president. Words were spoken:

And a close-up of what looks like a tense Zelensky and Orban chat. pic.twitter.com/S9s83nsc7W

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 10, 2023

President Zelenskyy is headed to DC tomorrow. Zelenskyy is going for a working visit to meet with President Biden:

On December 11, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will commence a working visit to the United States. The President of Ukraine will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and hold a series of meetings and negotiations.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will focus on ensuring unity among the United States, Europe and the world in supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russian terror and strengthening the international order based on rules and respect for the sovereignty of each nation.

Key topics for discussions in Washington will include the continuation of defense cooperation between Ukraine and the United States, particularly specific joint projects on the production of weapons and air defense systems, as well as coordination of efforts between our countries in the coming year.

Orban’s allies and proxies, however, will be going to DC to meet with Republican members of Congress at a Heritage Foundation event where he will tell them that the US should abandon Ukraine. The Guardian has the details: (emphasis mine)

Allies of Hungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán will hold a closed-door meeting with Republicans in Washington to push for an end to US military support for Ukraine, the Guardian has learned.

Members of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy in Washington will on Monday begin a two-day event hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank.

According to a Republican source, some of the attendees, including Republican members of Congress, have been invited to join closed-door talks the next day.

The meeting will take place against a backdrop of tense debate in Washington over Ukraine’s future. Last week the White House warned that, without congressional action, money to buy more weapons and equipment for Kyiv will run out by the end of the year. On Wednesday Senate Republicans blocked an emergency spending bill to fund the war in Ukraine.

A diplomatic source close to the Hungarian embassy said: “Orbán is confident that the Ukraine aid will not pass in Congress. That is why he is trying to block assistance from the EU as well.”

Orbán is a frequent critic of aid to help Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Seen as Vladimir Putin’s closest ally inside the EU for the past few years, he was photographed smiling and shaking hands with the Russian president two months ago in Beijing.

Orbán recently demanded that Ukraine’s European Union (EU) membership be taken off the European Council’s agenda in December. The Hungarian leader posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: “It is clear that the proposal of the European Commission on Ukraine’s EU accession is unfounded and poorly prepared.”

The Heritage Foundation is leading Project 2025, a coalition preparing for the next conservative presidential administration, and has in recent months hosted speeches by leading British Conservative party members Liz Truss and Iain Duncan Smith.

The thinktank has also been a vocal opponent of US assistance to Ukraine. Last year Jessica Anderson, the executive director of its lobbying operation, released a statement under the headline: “Ukraine Aid Package Puts America Last.” In August, Victoria Coates, Heritage’s vice-president, posted on social media: “It’s time to end the blank, undated checks for Ukraine.”

Dalibor Rohac, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute thinktank in Washington, said: “The Hungarian embassy in DC has been very active lately, trying to repair ties with the Republicans and strengthen them where it’s appropriate.

“It is also not surprising that Heritage is the venue of these talks because they are different from other thinktanks in DC; they are more partisan, and their funding model heavily overlaps with the Trump base.”

But, Rohac said, despite his good relations with some Republicans it was “unlikely” that Orbán would have any leverage over US funding for Ukraine.

Supporters of Ukraine have also been making their case to Republicans in Congress. This week David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, held meetings on Capitol Hill. He told a press conference: “I am sure that goodwill will prevail and the money will be voted through, and it will have a huge effect not just on morale in Ukraine but also making sure that European countries keep asking themselves what more can they do.”

I will remind everyone that Lord David Cameron was also sure that Brexit would not pass.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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The peoples of Ukraine and Argentina above all value freedom, their identity, and strive to live with dignity – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

11 December 2023 – 01:27

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today was full of meetings and negotiations in Argentina. Furthermore, other Latin American countries have heard Ukraine’s voice here today.

I represented Ukraine at the inauguration of the new President of Argentina. I also held my first talks with Javier.

Today, on the squares and streets here, many people chanted the word “freedom” – libertad – and this is what unites us – Ukraine and Argentina, our peoples who value freedom, their identity and strive to live with dignity above all else. Javier wants strength for his country, and I felt that he wants honesty in international relations. I thanked him for supporting Ukraine and invited to work with us to restore peace. We discussed bilateral cooperation between our countries, which could contribute to economic strength and jobs for our people. It was a good, cordial meeting. I genuinely wish Argentina sound decision-making and sustained growth: may poverty decrease and strength increase. May freedom continually flourish.

Here, in Buenos Aires, I also held talks with three other leaders from the region: Paraguay, Uruguay, and Ecuador. We discussed our international work and cooperation with them.

On the sidelines of the inauguration, I spoke with Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán. It was a highly straightforward conversation, focused on our European affairs.

Today, I also spoke with French President Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – two phone calls. We talked about joint work at the EU level and about joint defense of Europe. I am grateful for their support.

I met with our community in Argentina – those whose roots here date back decades. I am grateful for the preservation of our culture, our identity, our language. Thank you for maintaining ties with Ukraine despite the distance, despite any adversity.

Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I will be in Washington with my team – we have meetings and negotiations scheduled. President Biden, Congress. Important matters. Every day, every hour we utilize to give more to Ukraine, to our people – more opportunities, more protection, more strength.

I thank everyone who helps! I thank everyone who fights and works for the interests of our country, our society, our freedom and our victory!

Glory to Ukraine!

Today, I participated in @JMilei’s inauguration in Buenos Aires and congratulated the new President.

This is a new beginning for Argentina and I wish President Milei and the entire Argentinian people to surprise the world with their successes.

I am also certain that bilateral… pic.twitter.com/WFjsZsDYIQ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 10, 2023

Here’s more of the context surrounding President Zelenskyy’s trip to DC:

Zelensky visits Washington Tuesday. Latest FT-Michigan Ross poll finds 48% of voters believe US spending “too much” in military and financial aid to support Ukraine, compared with 27% who said Washington was spending the “right amount” and 11% who said US not spending enough. 👇 https://t.co/iWW8QdRK3F

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 10, 2023

“Opposition was particularly pronounced among Republicans, with 65 per cent saying the US was spending too much in Ukraine, compared with roughly half — 52 per cent — of independents and just a third — 32 per cent — of Democrats.”https://t.co/qVkyHTsUcE

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 10, 2023

New: “Biden has invited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to the White House for a meeting on Tuesday, December 12 to underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal invasion.” pic.twitter.com/VzEZwuCAp4

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 10, 2023

Here’s the whole press release:

Talk is cheap. Time to put up or shut up. Because the Ukrainians are not going to stop.

We in 🇺🇦Ukraine simply stick to doing what is right and having a good hope in this war.

We were doing so as half of the world was burying us alive in February 2022, we were doing so as our military defeated Russia at Kyiv, we were doing so as we were persuading the free world…

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) December 7, 2023

We in 🇺🇦Ukraine simply stick to doing what is right and having a good hope in this war.

We were doing so as half of the world was burying us alive in February 2022, we were doing so as our military defeated Russia at Kyiv, we were doing so as we were persuading the free world into giving us weapons to curtail the biggest European war of aggression since Adolf Hitler, and we were doing so as our military having so little resources managed to liberate half of our territory lost to the aggressor – and as it continued combating the world’s biggest nuclear power with valor and efficacy rarely seen in history.

And we will continue believing in what is right and doing the only thing that is right in our situation, like it or not.

Putin has decided to take a premature victory lap:

A) Admits he's a coward for attacking a smaller country with "no industry". All the talk about NATO expanding but he invaded a non-NATO country and bogged down.

B) If Ukraine is so weak, why is the second army in the world struggling so much? Losses already at x10 of Afghanistan… pic.twitter.com/mZpwjJPQyw

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) December 10, 2023

A) Admits he’s a coward for attacking a smaller country with “no industry”. All the talk about NATO expanding but he invaded a non-NATO country and bogged down.

B) If Ukraine is so weak, why is the second army in the world struggling so much? Losses already at x10 of Afghanistan with prospects of losing many times more than that.

The Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, General Micael Bydén, visited the positions of the #UAarmy in the Eastern direction and met the artillery men from the 45th Artillery Brigade.

We are grateful to our Swedish partners for their steadfast support!
🇺🇦🤝🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/5H2USDPHdL

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 10, 2023

For those of you marking Advent on your calendars this year:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1733863405855846790

10th Day of the Ukrainian Advent Calendar.

Today, we’d like to say thank you to our Canadian friends at @NationalDefence for their constant support in our fight against evil. We are especially grateful for Roshel Senator military armored cars.

Senators help save the lives of Ukrainian warriors. This vehicle provides a high level of protection against explosive devices and ambushes, ensuring the safety of the crew. Our soldiers feel even more confident when they know that you feel safer when they know that under their feet is special protection against russian mines.

The first decade of Weapons of Victory has come to a conclusion. More to come!

#UAMoDAdvent #StandWithUkraine

The left bank of the Dnipro, Russian occupied Kherson Oblast:

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1733818157796651165

Russian blogger is complaining that General Teplinsky is trying hard to improve the situation on the Dnipro river but is facing “lies on all levels of reports”. Teplinsky replaced previous General Makarevich who only had negative feedback with regards to his performance. The blogger says Russians are sent into kamikaze assaults by senior leadership who are misled by the same people who carried out previous assaults.

https://t.me/osetin20/7460

Here’s the full translation by Dmitri:

Krynky, the left bank of the Dnipro, Russian occupied Kherson Oblast:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1733895573147681235

Avdiivka:

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1733784640660340792

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1733938329647751567

Mariinka:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1733945355853512928

For Omnes and the red legs:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1733804249749025279

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1733838545649852671

For you Ukrainian drone enthusiasts:

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1733826520135721018

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets tonight, but here’s an adjacent one from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1733895804853649527

Touch not the cat but a glove!

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Вгадали чи ні?🤨 #песпатрон

♬ Which meow is real – oreocatsu☆

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

Did you guess right or wrong? 🤨 #песпатрон

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 655: Zelenskyy Goes To Argentina & DC, Orban’s Allies Go to DC To Meet with GOP RepresentativesPost + Comments (83)

Jack Smith Response to Trump’s Previous Motion

by WaterGirl| December 10, 20236:35 pm| 19 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

The government response to Trumps motion was due today at 5 pm.

Here’s a PDF file the full filing.

Quick summary, mostly in English. :-)

According to Roger Parloff, who is part of Lawfare:

Govt says there’s no automatic stay during appeal of Chutkan’s immunity ruling in USA v Trump (DC). She can “make headway” on all other motions, keep March trial date, govt says.

Paging the Balloon Juice attorneys:

Jack Smith Response to Trump’s Previous MotionPost + Comments (19)

The Man Has A Point (Open Thread)

by WaterGirl| December 10, 20232:30 pm| 174 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Seeing the articles that say “Trump jokes about being a dictator” makes me want to scream.

At least none of these people are promoting the lie about it being a joke.

It’s getting weird. Donald Trump isn’t joking about being a dictator on day one. Was he joking with the “grab them by the 🐈” comment? Wasn’t trump charged with sexual assault 🤔 and forced to pay $5 million to the victim pic.twitter.com/WG51EpfFEP

— 2RawTooReal (@2RawTooReal) December 8, 2023

h/t rikyrah for the tiktok guy above

🌸

(Medium)

Fascist Dictatorship is Not a Laughing Matter

Are we really at the point where we need to explain that?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. It was a joke, Fox News said it was.

Here’s the thing: no it wasn’t. And you know it wasn’t, so stop pretending that it was. We all know who Donald Trump is. His repeated praise of dictators and strongmen is a matter of public record.

For years, Trump has been making comments like this and his supporters have brushed it off as an easily baited public freaking out over nothing.

Then January 6th happened. Suddenly it’s not so funny anymore, is it? Suddenly, it’s sounding an awful lot like a genuine call to arms.

🌸

(Salon)

A dictator on “day one”: The time to push back on Trump is now.

As Trump returns to his old playbook, defenders of democracy must not lose hope.

🌸

(BBC)

Dictatorship – or at least the threat of it – has been a topic of much discussion in American politics this week.

As Donald Trump continues his seemingly easy march to the Republican presidential nomination, critics have been sharpening their attacks on him.

Neoconservative scholar Robert Kagan penned an essay in the Washington Post warning that “the odds of the United States falling into dictatorship have grown considerably”. And former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, another vocal critic of Mr Trump, told CBS the US was “sleepwalking into dictatorship”.

The former president dismissed these warnings as more evidence of “Trump Derangement Syndrome”.

Then, at a town hall forum in Iowa on Tuesday night, Trump – who has frequently lavished praise on strongmen like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un – threw petrol on the fire and danced around the flames.

As some US news headlines put it, Trump seemed to confirm the worst fears of his critics – that he would become a “dictator” if re-elected to the US presidency.

However, the exchange was a bit more complicated than that.

Fox News moderator Sean Hannity was attempting to prompt the former president to dismiss the accusation that, if elected next year, he planned to abuse presidential power to punish his enemies, as Trump has sometimes implied in past comments.
“You are promising America tonight, you would never abuse this power as retribution against anybody?” Hannity asked.
And that’s when Trump, again venturing into that grey area between humour and seriousness, said he wouldn’t abuse his power… “except for day one” of his next term in office.

🌸

(Yahoo)

Hannity was practically begging Trump to deny he would ever do such a thing. Alas, Trump refused to take his cue.

“Except on Day One,” he replied, to half-hearted cheers and laughs from the friendly audience. The former president seemed to find the whole thing amusing. “This guy, he says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’” Trump joked to the crowd, motioning at Hannity. “I said, ‘No, no, no, other than Day One.’ We’re closing the border. And we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”

You should not find that last line to be very reassuring. Trump, for all his lies, is being remarkably candid about what will happen if he wins in 2024. He will govern this country without any regard for the rule of law, and he will jail anyone who tries to stop him. His campaign platform is dictatorship.

This is not hyperbole. In fact, Trump and his allies have boasted about their extremist plans for a potential second term. To recap: Trumpworld is scheming to install ideological loyalists throughout the federal government, purge the civil service of any dissenters, centralize all power in the executive branch, and unleash the Justice Department on Trump’s perceived political enemies with sham prosecutions.

Open thread.

The Man Has A Point (Open Thread)Post + Comments (174)

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Big Tent, Big Problems

by Anne Laurie| December 10, 20238:52 am| 208 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

It is popular & often fashionable to drag Democrats over messaging. But messaging for Dems is different than messaging for Republicans. You can serve Republicans shit & their base would be like "mmm mmm best shit I ever had." You could serve Dems the best filet mignon & half https://t.co/Ttk5s0wiRa

— John V. Moore (@johnvmoore) December 9, 2023

the base would be like “but we are vegan.” The demands & expectations of our base are different. Often times on any issue we serve constituencies with competing interests/goals/beliefs/objectives. We have a broad, informed coalition, that scrutinizes everything.

If you understand the diversity of our party. The need to message to environmentalists, labor, Black folks, Black church going folks, Latinos, immigrants, the LGTBQ community, young folks, women, etc. creates challenges that you cannot ignore. In Chicago we are dealing with

an influx of migrants bussed here by Greg Abbott, Black folks, working class whites & even immigrants of all stripes who have been here for a while see the extraordinary resources thrown their way and are outraged. Republicans just come out and go anti-immigrants. Dems can’t

do that, we have to be more nuanced. Don’t even get me started on the challenges that the current crisis on the Gaza Strip presents. It is easy to criticize Dem messaging but to do so you must acknowledge that our mission is different and more challenging.

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Sunday Morning Open Thread: Big Tent, Big ProblemsPost + Comments (208)

Saturday Night Open Thread

by John Cole| December 9, 20239:30 pm| 120 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

So STARZ is my streaming service of the month. Since cutting cable and everything down to basic internet, I’m just relying on Netflix (which comes with my internet), Amazon Prime (which I have because I have things delivered all the time), and one other service per month, rotating. So I have Starz until I work through every series I want to watch, and then I will move on to something else.

With Startz, I have been screaming through the historical fiction drama- watched the White Queen and the White Princess, and now moved on to the Spanish Princess, which I am very much enjoying. They are great fun, and the casting has been so great- Rebecca Ferguson as Elizabeth Woodville, Jodie Comer as Elizabeth York, and Charlotte Hope as Catherine of Aragon. They were so good I can’t imagine anyone else playing them.

It got me to thinking- if I had to be a king/queen/prince/princess, when and where would have been the best- which royal family? Which era? What would have been the best civilization not in the modern era.

Saturday Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (120)

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He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

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You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

I really should read my own blog.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

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