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Saturday Open Thread

A whole week and I've had nothing to write about. I was hoping to read Ghislaine Maxwell's Motion for New Trial based on the chatty juror who disclosed he told the whole jury about his own childhood abuse experiences, after which some changed their position from leaning towards "not guilty" to guilty on the sex trafficking of a minor count. Unfortunately, the motion and exhibits are all filed under seal.

I also don't understand why the media harps on going after the "john does" who had sex with the underage girls, but is willing to give a pass to them as women, when several of them have testified that as girls, they recruited other underage girls for Epstein. Every time their recruitee visited Epstein they got $200.00. Why isn't that p*mping? Especially for the ones who recruited minors after their 18th birthday. I don't doubt the ones who both serviced Epstein and recruited for him worked hard for the money, but why do they get a complete pass, from the media and the prosecutors? [More...]

I think it would take a book for me to write up the different stories the accuser/victims have told over the years, and especially, how in sworn depositions and civil complaints filed in Florida state and federal courts and New York federal court, prior to Epstein's death, none that I can recall right now even mentioned Ghislaine.

There are big protest rallies Friday and this weekend in Washington by the anti-crowd (anti-abortion, anti-mask, anti-vaccine, anti-Democrat).

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Regarding Maxwell, and speaking not only (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Peter G on Sat Jan 22, 2022 at 03:03:37 PM EST
    for myself but also for other regulars on the blog I am sure, I would really like to read your analysis, J, of the appropriateness of the verdict, given the case that the prosecutors presented in NYC under the statutory charges in that indictment, of course taking into account the defense presentation as well.

    This is great (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jan 22, 2022 at 05:19:17 PM EST
    On Thursday night, former President Donald Trump appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox show. And the two men had the following exchange:

    Hannity: "I want America to do well. I really do, with all my heart. And I -- the only way that I see that he could change course is, as The Wall Street Journal pointed out today, rightly so -- there's no course correction with [President Joe Biden]. He seems locked into every one of these failed policies. So, you know, you know, you keep banging your head against the wall. Why would you expect a different result?"

    Trump: "So, we would have had the wall completed in three weeks. It was largely completed. We did almost 500 miles of wall in the southern border. It was really working. It really had an impact. And we were working along with Mexico, and Guatemala, Honduras. We were -- El Salvador -- all of these countries we were working."



    Yet Biden is deemed "confused." (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by oculus on Sat Jan 22, 2022 at 10:50:01 PM EST
    Where are the guys with the white coats.. (none / 0) (#4)
    by desertswine on Sat Jan 22, 2022 at 08:47:04 PM EST
    and big butterfly nets?

    Parent
    I'm surprised he didn't add (none / 0) (#5)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Jan 22, 2022 at 10:04:52 PM EST
    Mexico agreed to pay us back for the cost of the wall. He's turned into a caricature of his former self -- just like Rudy did.  I still believe he knows he's done, and is just doing this to try and pave the way for his unqualified children to take his place -- he wants to be the next Kennedy or Bush Dynasty. It's not going to happen.

    Parent
    I finally saw the Ortho guy (5.00 / 7) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 10:02:33 AM EST
    And there is no surgery, of any kind, in my future.  At least my near future.

    happy dance!

    Dr. Oz (5.00 / 3) (#32)
    by Chuck0 on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 12:47:35 PM EST
    (whom I think is a quack), is running for the GOP nomination for Senator in PA (Pat Toomey's seat). I have seen numerous ads on TV where he is using "jobs sent to China" and "get PA working again" as slogans.

    I don't know about other parts of PA, but in my area of PA (York County), we don't need work, we need workERS. You can't drive around the block here without being bombarded by Help Wanted signs. Harley Davidson has an electronic billboard on US30 advertising $35.72 wages. These are not service jobs. There are warehouse jobs, manufacturing jobs, technical jobs, you name it, you can find an opening around here.

    I used to go to Philadelphia often, but haven't been there in a couple of years now (dying for roast pork from Johns or Tony Lukes). Peter is it the same around there? Lots of job openings?

    So what Pennsylvania is Oz planning to represent? What the heck is running on? On what planet does his PA exist? This guy, IMO, is a moron.

    Carpet Bagger (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by jmacWA on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 02:38:25 PM EST
    Oz has never lived in PA.  His residence is now in Montgomery county in a house owned by his in-laws.  For the previous 30 years he has lived in NJ and NY.

    Parent
    Did Tucker Carlson (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 06:36:35 PM EST
    insinuate that he was on the verge of date raping a bag of M&Ms before they started dressing less provocatively?

    It almost sounded like it.

    Susan Collins has zero credibility on anything (5.00 / 5) (#54)
    by MO Blue on Thu Jan 27, 2022 at 08:49:48 PM EST
    Manu Raju
    @mkraju
     · 15h
    Susan Collins: "As you know, I felt that the timetable for the last nominee was too compressed. This time there is no need for any rush. We can take our time, have hearings, go through the process, which is a very important one it is a lifetime appointment after all."
    twitter

    Anyone Democratic who even considers trying to negotiate a fair outcome with her on any subject is delusional.

    A friend pointed me to this site (5.00 / 2) (#61)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jan 28, 2022 at 09:01:59 PM EST
    it's a collection of archival photos of all kinds of things.  They are very high res scans of large negatives so you can zoom and Pan for days

    About the Photos
    Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

    Shorpy

    --

    Named for Shorpy Higginbotham

    I'd forgotten about that site, (5.00 / 1) (#64)
    by leap2 on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 03:11:27 PM EST
    which I had first seen years ago. This time, while spending an hour browsing down that rabbit hole, I found myself getting depressed and bitter at what American capitalism has done to this world. In those stark, mostly black and white images--some going back more than a hundred years--you can see what happens with unconstrained "free enterprise." Government-subsided railroads and mining and logging, for instance, attacking the landscape, creating enclaves. After boom-and-bust, the various districts start to melt away, leaving scarred terrains and impoverished people. The top echelons move on to other predatory enterprises, mostly unfettered by the "people's" government. Very few winners, including pillaged ecosystems.

    What an enlightening chronicle, probably unintended to be such.

    Parent

    I think it is (none / 0) (#65)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 03:34:35 PM EST
    much intended.  And it really is.  There is so much stuff there.  Presented mostly as I understand by one guy.  I was looking at photos of my state.

    Why are you leap(2)?

    Wasn't it leap before?

    Parent

    I had to use (none / 0) (#66)
    by leap2 on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 04:32:24 PM EST
    a new name, because a couple of weeks ago, right as I was signing in, one of my kitties stepped on my mouse-hand. I kept clicking on the sign-in box, but it kept rejecting. Apparently something glitched on the automatic password box from whatever movement happened with my hand. Seems that one only has a limited number of tries before you have to create a new sign-in. ?? I blame my cat, and rightfully so!

    Parent
    Cats and computers (none / 0) (#67)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 04:58:05 PM EST
    nothing good can come of it.

    Parent
    Also, too, (none / 0) (#68)
    by leap2 on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 06:58:45 PM EST
    just about zero Black Americans or other POC were represented in that collection. More disheartenment.

    Parent
    That's really not true (none / 0) (#69)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 07:16:07 PM EST
    I have seen several just skimming.

    link

    Parent

    In proportion to the (none / 0) (#70)
    by leap2 on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 07:20:14 PM EST
    number of White people, though? A few tokens.

    Parent
    That is an absurd criticism (none / 0) (#71)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 07:25:23 PM EST
    of archival photos.  I'm pretty sure white people were photographed more that POC.  I'm shocked,

    It's not the fault of the site.

    try music

    Parent

    that's part of why I was (none / 0) (#73)
    by leap2 on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 08:56:32 PM EST
    so bothered by immersing into those photos. They represent the drift of this country. Not just the environmental and human damage, but the base of racism that has been a constant from the beginning.

    Parent
    Don't know what you are looking at (none / 0) (#72)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 07:39:17 PM EST
    I can't remember if I have shared this link here (5.00 / 1) (#75)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jan 30, 2022 at 08:06:27 AM EST
    Stop coddling the morons (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 10:24:29 AM EST
    and start explaining how it they who have screwed us all.

    I so agree with this.  The Dems will not listen.

    Democrats Are Losing the Vaccine Culture War

    February 2, 2022 at 11:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard 108 Comments

    A.B. Stoddard: "A pandemic Republicans have eagerly prolonged has pummeled Joe Biden's presidency and he can no longer fight depravity with good will. There are no more marginal vaccine holdouts to be wooed. No more lives of people who just don't know any better to be saved."

    "It's time for Democrats to stop worrying about alienating the unvaccinated and start explaining to the rest of the country how the unvaccinated--and the Republicans who coddle and truckle to them--have screwed the rest of us."

    "To win this culture war, Biden and the Democrats have to actually fight it. Otherwise, the Republican Covid radicals are going to clobber them."



    Interesting quote. (none / 0) (#122)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 11:55:14 AM EST
    I think it's bigger than the US's Left v Right, although I think it could, and probably will be, be used in that way.

    The entire world needs to be vaxed up to the "herd immunity" level which is about 70% in order for the rest of us to not be "screwed."

    Worldwide we're at about 50%. And in almost every nation there is a significant percentage of the populace (20-40%) that have a "wait and see" mindset.

    What can you do about the (generally) young, less educated, more disaffected with authority, and unmarried?

    Parent

    If you look at comparisons of western countries (none / 0) (#123)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 12:20:05 PM EST
    as far as vaccination rates 2 stand out.  The US and Russia.  Each have about twice as many deniers as the rest.  It IS a left right problem.  It's just a world wide left right problem.  

    The point of the quote is we should stop begging and wheedling a trying to save the antivax morons  and start explaining to the rest of the country whos fault it is.

    Parent

    This (none / 0) (#124)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 12:23:11 PM EST
    young, less educated,

    Not in my experience.  Many are very educated.  With, or in the process of getting, advanced degrees.

    Education is not the problem.  It's indoctrination.

    Parent

    comment.


    Unvaccinated Adults Younger, Less Educated

    Adults who had not received any doses of the COVID vaccine differed from those who had received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine across several measures.

        They were younger, on average, than those who had been vaccinated. Roughly 75% of the unvaccinated were under age 50. Among the vaccinated, less than half were under age 50.

        They had lower levels of education, on average, than those who were vaccinated. Survey respondents who had received at least one dose were twice as likely as the unvaccinated to have a college degree or higher.

        They were much less likely than vaccinated adults to be married (46% vs 56%).



    Parent
    China, India, and the US (none / 0) (#126)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 01:05:16 PM EST
    have not gave (none / 0) (#127)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 01:08:38 PM EST
    and google at the same time.

    Parent
    According to (none / 0) (#130)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 01:26:30 PM EST
    this the US is above the world average in vaccinations. Russia is below.

    I was surprised to see South Africa so far below average.

    Parent

    You need to tell the NYTimes (none / 0) (#133)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 02:27:13 PM EST
    Behind a paywall (none / 0) (#134)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 02:36:03 PM EST
    Did you try it? (none / 0) (#135)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 02:39:46 PM EST
    It is not for me and most of their covid news is not.

    Parent
    I do not pay (none / 0) (#136)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 02:40:29 PM EST
    The NYTimes

    Parent
    per month. Apparently I'm over that number. This is all I get:
    Thanks for reading The Times.
    Create your free account or log in to continue reading.


    Parent
    Bloomberg is not behind a paywall and (none / 0) (#139)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 02:53:50 PM EST
    says US is at 74.6% population with at least one dose and Russia is at 52.4.

    So assuming no significant distribution issues approx 25% of the US is anti vax? No idea if Russia is having distribution issues.

    Parent

    Here (none / 0) (#140)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:00:58 PM EST
    And here (none / 0) (#141)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:04:26 PM EST
    However, since Morning Consult began tracking attitudes towards vaccination around the world, the number of vaccine skeptics decreased by an average of 19 percentage points across all 14 countries, except for the United States. In the U.S., the number of vaccine skeptics only went down a total of 6 percentage points.

    I am (happily) surprised that the US "vaccine skeptics" percentage is lower than the 25% the raw data suggested, but (sadly) unsurprised at the level of our stubbornness.

    Parent

    Reuters says (none / 0) (#142)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:06:51 PM EST
    the same thing: US one dose 76%, Russia one dose 53%.

    Parent
    OMG (none / 0) (#144)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:11:21 PM EST
    you need visual aids?  Maybe a white cane

    here is a graph.

    Like I said about 20 comments ago, the US AND Russia have more than twice as many skeptics as anyone else.

    And I'm done here.

    Parent

    You should be. (none / 0) (#147)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:20:10 PM EST
    WTF is wrong with you?

    I just saw your link to the polling and commented on it. Sorry we all don't just have time to sit at our computers and talk to you.

    Parent

    Meathead Rogan (5.00 / 1) (#138)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 02:52:13 PM EST
    is turning into an absolute menace. It's a mistake to view this guy as a momentary pop culture blip on the radar. He has a huge audience and is the epitome of the just-enough-brains-to-be-dangerous syndrome. The guy talks almost as much sh*t as his friend Alex Jones, but does it in a superficially reasonable-sounding way and the quests he's been having on recently,  like Robert Malone, Peter McCullough, Jordan 'Word Salad' Peterson, adhere to the same m.o, with the added bonus of having academic credentials.

    Rogan fans who see him as a sober, fair-minded arbiter should go back and listen to the time when he childishly attacked a PhD primatologist who questioned the existence of mythic "Bondo Apes" or the few times when Rogan has gone-off about the faked moon landing. The trouble now is, that the people who would normally be calling Meathead out, are holding their tongues the way they hold their tongues with Maher, seemingly because continued invitations onto the show are more important than calling-out the BS.

    i had (none / 0) (#145)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:14:12 PM EST
    someone tell me on Facebook the other day that they got their medical information from Joe Rogan. He's killing off conservatives. He's a grifter finding a lot of useful idiots.

    Parent
    Although I don't want (5.00 / 2) (#164)
    by Zorba on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 01:39:22 PM EST
    Anyone to die, I cannot say that I will be as sad if the people who listen to and believe Rogan die, as I would be when vaccinated but immunocompromised do.
    Or those of us who are fully vaccinated but have co-morbidities. Like me- asthma, high blood pressure, heart problems.  I'm very careful when I go out, which is seldom.

    Parent
    I don't think (none / 0) (#148)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:31:21 PM EST
    it's just conservatives Rogan could be killing off.

    A big part of his audience is young men still finding themselves and who are into ancient aliens, MMA, and edgy comedians.

    Rogan's schtick is having a superficial knowledge about a bunch of different things that makes him sound authoritative to the aforementioned group.

    Parent

    Saw a guy talking about how that happened (none / 0) (#149)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:37:06 PM EST
    that earlier he was not crazy but crazy became his audience and he is only giving them what they want.

    I agree he is very dangerous.  But maybe a good test case.  The more he talks, the more he says, the more idiotic he sounds.

    Parent

    Anyone who has not seen this (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:56:56 PM EST
    his Instagram statement

    You don't need an account to hear it.

    It's pretty amazing.  He says (paraphrase) `'I don't really prepare.  I just sit down and talk.  You know, I just open my mouth and shite rolls outl. You know, just conversations'

    And a few million morons hang on every word.

    Parent

    It's one of the oldest games (none / 0) (#152)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 04:40:50 PM EST
    in town: spout shite with supreme confidence and an overlay of cheap charisma, and the impressionable, looking-for-easy-answers minions start hanging on every word.

    Parent
    I don't know (none / 0) (#150)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:49:08 PM EST
    I think Rogan's been a little 'off' for awhile. That incident when he practically went berserk brow-beating the PhD primatologist was like fifteen years ago.

    I think he's a few too many kicks in the head and a little too much DMT, HGH, and roids.

    Parent

    Joe gets his time in the barrel (none / 0) (#176)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Feb 05, 2022 at 12:27:23 PM EST
    warning extremely offensive content

    Joe Rogan Apologizes Again for His Podcast

    February 5, 2022 at 1:41 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 0 Comments

    Joe Rogan has responded to a resurfaced clip of him using the N-word almost two dozen times while hosting his wildly popular podcast, the New York Post reports

    He called the clip "the most regretful and shameful thing I've ever had to talk about publicly."

    ...so far.

    Parent

    The more he talks.... (none / 0) (#179)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Feb 05, 2022 at 02:49:17 PM EST
    Text book example of not knowing when, or even how, to STFU


    "I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, nevermind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven't said it in years."


    Parent
    The National Butterfly Center in Mission... (5.00 / 1) (#158)
    by desertswine on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 12:53:59 AM EST
    Texas is closed indefinitely because of right-wing Nazi threats.

    The Rings of Power (5.00 / 1) (#166)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 06:17:50 PM EST
    a beautiful set of promo posters for the new Prime series

    I hope the series is as beautifully done as these images

    Bingo (5.00 / 1) (#203)
    by FlJoe on Mon Feb 07, 2022 at 09:39:39 AM EST
     
    big Russian and possibly other foreign money coming into or through the RNC?
    , and tRump has the receipts?

    Fear of the base is a convenient but unconvincing explanation of their behavior.

    I understand the electoral math, but any normal party would be trying to at least triangulate between the loons and rest of the country.

     

    The lunatics have taken (5.00 / 2) (#205)
    by jondee on Mon Feb 07, 2022 at 04:05:18 PM EST
    over the asylum.

    And not in an entertaining King of Hearts kinda way either.

    Sometimes it almost borders on the crazy stories you hear about things that went on in Europe during the Plague: processions of flagellates, dances of death, and pogroms..

    Campaign financing (none / 0) (#2)
    by jmacWA on Sat Jan 22, 2022 at 03:17:14 PM EST
    In a recent discussion on another blog, I was complaining about Citizens United and the affect it has on political campaigns, and someone pointed out to me that the real problem was really Buckley v Valeo.  This decision was 1976, and I paid no attention to it at the time, I was in my mid-20s.  The Citizens United decision was made when I was way more aware so I tend to blame it for all campaign funding issues.

    I would like to hear what some of the people on this blog think regarding this.  After reading the Buckley decision (IANAL) as best I could, I think that this actually (i.e. money is speech) may be the bigger problem.

    Thanks

    For those (none / 0) (#7)
    by KeysDan on Sun Jan 23, 2022 at 11:28:04 AM EST
    who have stopped watching Bill Maher, here is an update on what you are missing: in summary and conclusion, nothing.

    Thought I would take another look after a long hiatus. Based on his Friday show, he has only gotten worse,  His monologue sputtered along in the vain search of a joke, but to be fair it was mercifully short.  Bill managed to make his interview with the very interesting Yale scholar of fascism and totalitarian regimes, Timothy Snyder, into a meandering bore.

    The panel, consisting of the young congressman from the Bronx, Ritchie Torres and former NYTimes writer, Bari Weiss, turned into an opportunity for Bill io ride his ageist, woke and anti-public heath hobby horses.  He seems to still bel smarting over not being able to hold those lucrative stand-ups around the country owing to pandemic restrictions. His wokeness ranting took the awkward track of asking Congressman Torres, who is part Puerto Rican, if the new Westside Story movie should have had Puerto Rican actors.  And, Bari Weiss was to field his questions about Jews in Hollywood.  

    Bill seemed a little out of date in the culture department citing the Playboy Mansion and Hugh Hefner and wondering why his young audience reacted with glazed over eyes. Unable to report on the New Rules segment---just could not go any further.

    Maher might as well (none / 0) (#14)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 04:31:03 PM EST
    make Hasbara Bari his cohost at this point.

    Weiss has been making a big noise lately about helping to launch the new, no-degree, Theil-funded, Austin University, for "discriminated-against right-leaning students" and to strike a blow against cancel culture and wokeness and whatever other boogie men keep people like Bari and Peter Thiel awake at night.

    Parent

    Me. Weiss, (none / 0) (#24)
    by KeysDan on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 07:50:58 PM EST
    brought in to the NYTimes to add a center-right or right perspective (as if it did not already have that) went out in a major huff.  In a lengthy resignation letter to the publisher she alleged bullying and hostility.  Colleagues were nasty to her.

    Austin University has been compared to Trump University, although it has a nano-patina of something better having been able to attract sone educational names to its governing board.  If you consider Gordon Gee or Lawrence Summers as good names.

    Parent

    Lawrence Summers grew up in the town (none / 0) (#25)
    by Peter G on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 10:04:20 PM EST
    where we now live. In the high school's "hall of fame" along with Kobie Bryant, et al. His brother and sister-in-law -- a great couple -- are friends of ours. Summers was a colossal embarrassment as president of Harvard, especially when he let slip his true opinion in 2005 that women are inherently not as good at the computational sciences as men.

    Parent
    Today the new fiber optic TV and internet (none / 0) (#8)
    by fishcamp on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 02:37:38 PM EST
    was installed and it's much clearer, faster, and less costly than my old Direct TV and ATT internet service.  Before I was paying over $100 per month for TV, and the same for internet, but I always ran over my limit on internet and was charged more almost every month.  I upgraded to higher levels but still got charged more regularly..  The new fiber optic has unlimited usage and costs about $40 per month by sharing it with my roommate.

    My old download speed was around 60 mbps and the upload speed was way down there.  The new download  speed is very fast at 370 mbps with the upload speed just slightly less.  This new setup is much better.

    You had satellite internet? (none / 0) (#10)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 04:02:23 PM EST
    That's the worst.  I think it's the only thing that has data caps.

    One Netflix movie and you have used your bytes for the month.

    Parent

    No, I didn't have satellite internet. (none / 0) (#15)
    by fishcamp on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 04:43:02 PM EST
    I had ATT internet and Direct TV

    Parent
    And you had data caps (none / 0) (#17)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 05:13:39 PM EST
    or limited usage?  I didn't know that was a thing.

    Parent
    Comcast (none / 0) (#18)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 05:38:00 PM EST
    used to do it to us. They said we had "unlimited" internet but it was only "unlimited" to a certain point and with 4 in the house streaming we regularly went over. You go over one byte and it kicks in $25 more to your bill because they assign you another 10K or something. My bills were supposed to be $180 but routinely were between 225 & 250.

    Parent
    That's just weird (none / 0) (#20)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 05:45:14 PM EST
    cable and DSL have been providing unlimited usage here for at least 10 years which is how long I've been back.  The only time I ever had limited bytes was when I briefly had satellite internet.  

    I don't know if DirecTv does this everywhere but here, years ago the last time I did it, you uploaded through the phone lines with ATT and downloaded with a satellite dish.  Just like DirecTv.   And there was data caps.

    Parent

    I have (none / 0) (#22)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 06:18:00 PM EST
    Windstream broadband now because I have a choice and they upgraded but for a long time Comcast was the only game in town. There still are not a lot of choices.

    Parent
    Hopefully (none / 0) (#23)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 06:43:13 PM EST
    Some of this infrastructure money will help with that.

    Parent
    Fulton County (none / 0) (#9)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 04:00:42 PM EST
    Judges Greenlight Special Grand Jury In Trump Probe

    January 24, 2022 at 4:34 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 65 Comments

    "A panel of Fulton County judges on Monday cleared the way for a special grand jury to be used as part of District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation of former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results," the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

    "Special grand juries, which include 16 to 23 people, are rare in Georgia. They can't issue indictments but can subpoena witnesses and compel the production of documents and information. Unlike regular grand juries, they can be seated for longer than two months and are focused on a singular case."



    This a-hole is a role model (none / 0) (#11)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 04:05:06 PM EST

    Basketball Star Claims 100 Athletes Died of Vaccine

    January 24, 2022 at 5:26 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

    Hall of Fame basketball player John Stockton falsely told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that more than 100 professional athletes have died of Covid vaccination.

    Said Stockton: "I think it's highly recorded now, there's 150 I believe now, it's over 100 professional athletes dead - professional athletes - the prime of their life, dropping dead that are vaccinated, right on the pitch, right on the field, right on the court."



    Probably planning (none / 0) (#12)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 04:08:03 PM EST
    a run for some political office.

    Parent
    Stockton has a heavy (none / 0) (#26)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 12:02:21 AM EST
    Jim Caveziel vibe.

    I can only imagine what other sorts of secret, inside-info he thinks he's privy to.

    Parent

    I've often wondered of late ... (none / 0) (#80)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jan 30, 2022 at 11:13:10 PM EST
    ... what factors lead otherwise smart, normal and balanced people to venture into the realm of unbridled crackpottery. I think we've all known someone who got swept away by the right-wing tides. How'd that happen? The QAnon phenomenon is as fascinating to me as it is horrifying.

    Parent
    There seems to be a huge (none / 0) (#165)
    by jondee on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 05:44:47 PM EST
    backlog of free-floating anxiety in society that too few people have positive outlets for.

    It's interesting to me that the Trump-Q-Alex Jones-Pizzagate-Cernovich-Mark Dice etc right-wing weirdness complex kind of reached a fever pitch at the exact same time that the opioid crisis started getting out of control.

    I'm not claiming there's a direct connection, but opiates have been known to induce hallucinations and paranoia. Maybe we should just say drugs aren't exactly renowned for maximizing clarity and critical thinking. Especially in people who didn't have much to begin with.

    Parent

    OK by me... (none / 0) (#13)
    by desertswine on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 04:19:47 PM EST
    Sarah Palin's positive tests for the coronavirus have forced the postponement of a civil trial set to start Monday over her defamation claims against The New York Times.

    She's urged people not to get vaccinated, telling an audience in Arizona last month that "it will be over my dead body that I'll have to get a shot."

    Several people who who made the (none / 0) (#16)
    by MO Blue on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 05:11:12 PM EST
    statement "over my dead body" followed through with that plan in a very literal way.  No shot and a very dead body.

    She wasn't considered relevant when she was a VP candidate. Not sure why she thinks anyone other than right wing talk shows cares about her now.

    Parent

    Disagree (none / 0) (#19)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 05:40:35 PM EST
    Palin was relevant as VP. She continued that relevance as the tea party queen and then just fell back into obscurity but today I would say she's not relevant for sure. Nobody really cares what she has to say.

    Parent
    I remember her as being more (none / 0) (#27)
    by MO Blue on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 07:00:12 AM EST
    Of a liability than an asset. In fact, after the election, I read many Republicans said that choosing her was a huge mistake.

    Parent
    The hard-right loved her (none / 0) (#34)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 05:18:40 PM EST
    or at least talked as though they did. And seemingly still do.

    I still remember ex-Reagan speechwriter Peggy Whats-her-face crowing that Palin "knocked it out the park" in the VP debates.

    It all about substanceless culture war validation with these people. Which is why the Palins, Flynns, Lindells et al will be able to milk shekels from the hard-right 'event' circuit for the foreseeable future. Surprised Palin didn't get in on the racket earlier.

    Parent

    I remember David Mamet (none / 0) (#35)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 06:08:44 PM EST
    who, imo, lost his effing mind awhile back, going around proclaiming that he was "crazy about Sarah Palin". In his alleged book Mamet went even more barking-mad talk radio crazy juxtaposing Palin to Karl Marx, of all people, claiming that Dems hated Palin because she represented actual "working people" whereas Marx "never worked a day in his life."

    By bringing up Marx, Mamet was evoking the tired bs trope of red-baiting Democrats while championing people like Palin as representative of real Americans.

    Parent

    Go Joe (none / 0) (#21)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 24, 2022 at 05:54:34 PM EST

    At the end of a photo op, Peter Doocy of Fox News shouted a question to President Biden:

    DOOCY: Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?

    BIDEN: It's a great asset--more inflation. What a stupid son of a b!tch



    Are Asian Americans Ditching the Democrats? (none / 0) (#28)
    by RickyJim on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 09:39:03 AM EST
    This article says yes.  But is it so?

    No idea (none / 0) (#52)
    by Yman on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 06:12:06 PM EST
    But an opinion article from a rightwing Federalist writer is not really any kind of evidence one way or the other.

    Parent
    Asian American (5.00 / 2) (#53)
    by BGinCA on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 07:24:21 PM EST
    Is probably the most useless demographic classification. Including Phillipinos, Vietnamese Japanese Indian Pakistani Chinese Korean etc as one group with shared political interests is just lazy. Worse than including Cubans Mexicans Chileans Dominicans as Latino.

    Parent
    Or for that matter, ... (5.00 / 1) (#172)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 01:05:30 PM EST
    ... classifying all Americans of European descent in the same generic racial category of "White."

    The terms "Asian", "Hispanic", "Black", "Pacific Islander", "Native American" and "White" serve a useful purpose as demographic classifications for the U.S. Census. But they were never meant for use in attempts to divine a given group's political interests.

    Further, the political art of race-baiting was developed and exploited by wealthy interests as a means to divide and control the hoi polloi. Probably a far better barometer of a group's politics is socio-economic class.

    Honestly, poor and working-class white Americans share many more common interests with their Black and Latino brethren, than they do with the rich white folks who populate the Hamptons and spend their winters in Palm Beach.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    The power of certiorari (none / 0) (#29)
    by KeysDan on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 09:46:45 AM EST
    needs to be taken out of the hands of the Supreme Court. According to the constitution, the supreme  Court is to decide cases, but is not necessarily the body that decides which cases to be reviewed.

     Unfortunately, the prospects for expansion of the court (or unpacking the presently packed)  are bleak, but a reform that alters the case selection process may be less politically-charged (probably because it is less understood) and may be a way to save the progress made over the past hundred years from the reactionary court we now have.

    The justices have even given clues along the way such as we can't decide that matter now, but bring us a case...And, the power of certiorari facilitates the Court's policy-making. Policy-making by an unelected branch that can't be voted out.

    The court took a case on affirmative action in higher education (any bets on a ban.), case on overturning Roe (any question on the outcome), a case of a public high school football coach determined to hold after game prayers on the field with the players (as an opportunity to strengthen the establishment clause? Yeah, right). And, then there was the voting rights gut job that no one was calling for, or the goal of dismantling regulatory agencies.

    How and what cases are selected for the Supreme Court to take could be studied by the congressional judiciary committees and enacted into law.  Perhaps, something like a rotating, term-limited, six-membered panel of District and Appellate judges---three Republican-appointed, three Democratic, chair to be elected from among the panel with chair having two votes in the cases of a tie. The panel appointed by the Chief Justice.

    Plenty of Questions About Judicial Supremacy (none / 0) (#31)
    by RickyJim on Tue Jan 25, 2022 at 10:27:55 AM EST
    1. How do other countries handle it?  I remember an interview with former Chief Justice Rehnquist where he said that he learned on a trip to Sweden that the Supreme Court there could overrule a legislative action but had never done so.
    2. Nobody disputes that one should be able to appeal a judicial decision to a higher court but executive and legislative decisions are more problematical.
    3. Was there any attempt to impeach Andrew Jackson for telling the Supreme Court to GtH?
    4. If a law was passed by Congress and signed by the President that spelled out exactly what the powers of the Supreme Court were, how could they do anything about it but pout?


    Parent
    No Hall of Fame for Bonds or Clemens (none / 0) (#37)
    by McBain on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 09:28:47 AM EST
    Link
    Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, arguably the best hitter and pitcher of the last 50 years, were not voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America in their tenth and final year of eligibility. The BBWAA announced its 2022 voting results Tuesday and neither Bonds nor Clemens reached the 75 percent threshold needed for induction.

    I have mixed feelings on this.  We still haven't figured out what to do about PEDs in sports.  Impossible to prevent all of it, so the ones that use them and get away with it have an advantage over those who play by the rules.  I guess it's like anything else, if there's big money and fame involved, some people are going to cheat.  

    Maybe there will be a special vote in the future if we grow to have a different opinion of PEDs.

    Quality of life is very subjective (none / 0) (#38)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 10:16:50 AM EST
    I just saw this and it made me laugh.

    "WalletHub study: Arkansas ranks as one of worst states to retire in 2022"

    It say this -

    Arkansas fell among one of the worst states to retire in, receiving an overall ranking of 43.

    ....

    Two metrics that affected this ranking were museums per capita and theaters per capita, where Arkansas ranked as one of the worst states.

    It does go on to say it's very cheap to live here.

    Now, I like museums and theaters and I understand why this might be the most important factors in the quality of your life.  They are not mine.

    Just sayin,  it made me laugh.

    Plus, you do have the Walmart-heir-funded museum. (none / 0) (#131)
    by oculus on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 01:27:51 PM EST
    Justice Breyer (none / 0) (#39)
    by KeysDan on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 11:19:00 AM EST
    announced his plan to retire from the Supreme Court at the end of this term.  Justice Breyer was appointed by President Clinton in 1994. At 83 years of age, he is the oldest member of the court.   Justice Breyer has served the court and the country well.

    During the campaign, Joe Biden indicated that, given the opportunity, he would appoint an African American woman to the court.  Among top contenders is DC Appellate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.   Judge Brown Jackson served as a District Judge in DC until her appointment to the circuit court in 2021 by President Biden.  She is 51 years old.


    This is good (none / 0) (#40)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 12:20:22 PM EST
    for many reasons.  It will be great to have something good to talk about.

    Parent
    Yes, (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by KeysDan on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:19:17 PM EST
    including playing Trivial Pursuit.  Did you know that Judge Brown Jackson is married to Patrick Jackson, a surgeon, who is the twin brother of former Speaker Paul Ryan's brother-in-law?  

    Parent
    I have been predicting for a year now (none / 0) (#41)
    by Peter G on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 12:47:23 PM EST
    that Breyer would announce his retirement around this time. After his protegee and former law clerk, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, had gotten enough experience as an appellate judge (a year; she was among Biden's first judicial nominations, if not literally the first) to be an unstoppable nominee. I know her a little, and admire and like her a lot.

    Parent
    Thomas is no spring chicken (none / 0) (#42)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 12:47:38 PM EST
    and from the looks of him he's no health nut.  It would be poetic if he kicked off now and gave Biden the chance to balance the court.

    Parent
    Thomas and (none / 0) (#43)
    by KeysDan on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:10:19 PM EST
    his wife, Ginny, have been under fierce attack of late on an ethical basis and an unwillingness to recuse himself.  Jane Mayer's investigative report (Is Gianni Thomas a Threat to the Supreme Court) in the New Yorker is devastating.  In appearances alone, Clarence and Gianni, can be looked at as a Mom and Pop political hack operation---she doing the far right wing activism and lobbying of matters before the court and he judging.  

    And, the January 6 insurrection-adjacent activities of Mrs Thomas and former Thomas clerk, John Eastman being in the hot center of Trump's failed coup do not burnish the legacy of Justice Thomas.

    Parent

    Virginia Thomas' (none / 0) (#45)
    by KeysDan on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:13:33 PM EST
    nickname is Ginni.  Darn you autocorrect!

    Parent
    Thomas (none / 0) (#44)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:10:19 PM EST
    has the insurrection problem too. How much did he help his wife?

    Parent
    IMO (none / 0) (#47)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:22:55 PM EST
    There is zero chance of him being "removed".

    Mortality is another issue.

    Parent

    Agreed (none / 0) (#48)
    by KeysDan on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:29:57 PM EST
    He will stay on until his teeth sink into the bench.

    Parent
    I don't (none / 0) (#50)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:44:44 PM EST
    think he will be removed. Kavanaugh is more likely to be removed than Thomas. However he will truly be shown for the hack he truly is for all eternity. And maybe the rest of the court can talk him into retiring instead of continuing to discredit the supreme court.

    Parent
    Just (none / 0) (#49)
    by KeysDan on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:32:26 PM EST
    pillow talk.

    Parent
    She can be hauled (none / 0) (#51)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Jan 26, 2022 at 01:47:20 PM EST
    into the J6 committee to testify publicly. That ought to get a big whine out of Clarence.

    Parent
    I keep picturing (none / 0) (#55)
    by jondee on Thu Jan 27, 2022 at 10:04:43 PM EST
    Clarence snapping and using a fire poker on her like the mayor in The Witches of Eastwick.

    Parent
    Reminder --Today, January 28, (none / 0) (#56)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jan 28, 2022 at 01:35:56 PM EST
    is Justice Amy Coney Barrett's 50th birthday if you want to send a gift.  Or, at least a card.  But, if you forget you will have 33 years more to do so while on the court if she retires at the age of Justice Breyer.  

    So many rights to take away, and so little time.

    I Hope it Takes Less Than 33 Years (none / 0) (#57)
    by RickyJim on Fri Jan 28, 2022 at 03:02:10 PM EST
    to get a new constitution which features, among other great things, a completely civil service judiciary with a much curtailed form of judicial supremacy.  Of course, Ms. Barrett could be part of it if she is able to pass the exams.  

    Parent
    Considering that the one we have (none / 0) (#59)
    by Chuck0 on Fri Jan 28, 2022 at 03:27:23 PM EST
    is nearly 250 years old, I wouldn't hold my breath.

    But then again, I don't think the US has another 25 years left in it. Perhaps one of the countries that rises out of the ashes of the chaos to come will adopt the judiciary. I'll bet it won't be the one that contains the past members of the Confederacy.


    Parent

    Amy is a heroine (none / 0) (#58)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 28, 2022 at 03:20:43 PM EST
    in the new (I kid you not) children's bedtime picture book series entitled 'Heroes of Liberty', along with the Gipper and Thomas Sowell.

    I wish this was a joke.

    Because, as the song says, they have to be carefully taught.

     

    Parent

    Season 3 of Britannia is here on EPIX (none / 0) (#60)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jan 28, 2022 at 05:08:55 PM EST
    I love this.  It's one of the great odd things that would never have made it into production before the Golden Age of TV gold rush where show runners run wild.

    It's hard to understand why playwright Jez Butterworth's historical epic Britannia isn't one of the country's most-loved TV shows.



    A sweary historical (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by jondee on Fri Jan 28, 2022 at 11:26:01 PM EST
    romp to be taken too seriously.

    They said the same thing about Titus Andronicus and King Lear.

    Parent

    The credits music (none / 0) (#63)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 10:58:22 AM EST
    for seasons 1 & 2 is Donavan.  Season three is Violent Femmes.

    Parent
    There was a meme going (none / 0) (#74)
    by jondee on Sat Jan 29, 2022 at 10:08:58 PM EST
    around for awhile about Hurdy Gurdy Man being Ted Cruz's theme song..which was connected to another meme going around about Cruz being the Zodiac Killer.

    Unfortunately the dates don't match-up.

    Parent

    Coups all over (none / 0) (#76)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jan 30, 2022 at 02:32:53 PM EST
    Coups, which had seemed almost on course for extinction, are making a comeback.

    By the numbers: Between 2015 and 2020, the world never saw more than two successful coup attempts in a year. But there have now been eight coups in the past 12 months -- most recently in Burkina Faso, where soldiers seized power last Monday.

    This is why book banning is ill advised (none / 0) (#77)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jan 30, 2022 at 02:50:26 PM EST

    Sales soar for `Maus' after its banning in Tennessee
    Art Spiegelman's graphic novel is at the heart of an educational controversy.

    An idea along the lines of telling your followers to die to own the libs.  

    How can we be losing to these people?

    Lately (5.00 / 1) (#85)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 12:20:37 PM EST
    every time I think Georgia can't get more crazy Tennessee says HOLD MY BEER.

    There is a definite benefit to having a GOP civil war here. So far at least they are not banning books etc. Of course tomorrow Brine Kemp may make me eat those words.

    Parent

    Ban more please (none / 0) (#83)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 12:18:22 PM EST
    Next do An Inconvenient Truth.

    Holocaust Book Hits Bestseller List

    January 31, 2022 at 12:42 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 46 Comments

    The Pulitzer-prize winning Holocaust graphic novel Maus: A Survivor's Tale has become a bestseller on Amazon, after a Tennessee school board banned it.



    Parent
    As I was saying (none / 0) (#78)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jan 30, 2022 at 03:32:06 PM EST
    how can we be losing to these people?

    Anti-Vax Kidney Patient Rejects Transplant

    January 30, 2022 at 4:37 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

    A North Carolina man who desperately needs a new kidney is rejecting a transplant because the hospital requires him to be vaccinated against Covid-19, WSOC reports.

    Said Chad Carswell: "No sir, I was born free. I will die free. I'm not changing my mind."

    He added: "I've had conversations with my family and everybody who is close to me and they know where I stand and there will not be a situation that occurs where I'll change my mind on this topic."



    I feel so owned (5.00 / 1) (#81)
    by jmacWA on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 04:13:22 AM EST
    No sir, I was born free. I will die free.

    But I don't feel so stupid.

    Parent

    The next in line for a kidney (5.00 / 2) (#82)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 06:50:02 AM EST
    and the gene pool thank him.

    Parent
    OK by me. (5.00 / 2) (#86)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 12:26:10 PM EST
    "Said Chad Carswell: "No sir, I was born free. I will die free. I'm not changing my mind."

    Parent
    There is a lot of chatter (none / 0) (#79)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Jan 30, 2022 at 03:42:48 PM EST
    about the increasingly extreme and dangerous stuff coming out of Trumps mouth like calling for massive demonstrations and promising to pardon insurrectionist if he is elected.

    It's easy to call this delusional.  For example, can he not know he will never be re-elected?  Does he not know he is more likely to be indicted?

    I think he does know that.  But I don't think what he is doing is delusional.  Like he built the foundation for his charges of election fraud starting back when he won he is saying what he know his fans want and then he will tell them, when he is indicted, that is being done to silence him.  

    The crazy thing is, hopefully it's true.

    At least it's admission (5.00 / 2) (#88)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 01:02:28 PM EST
    that the insurrectionists are orange moron supporters and not antifa, or FBI, or BLM or katzenjammer kids or well, take your pick.

    Parent
    I assume you saw (none / 0) (#89)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 01:14:50 PM EST
    this weekend he admitted he wanted Pence to overturn the election.  The fact that even republicans want to pass new laws, he says, PROVES he could have.   If only he was man enough.

    Admission doesn't get much clearer than that.  They say it could impact the civil suits against him.

    Parent

    The guy (none / 0) (#84)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 12:18:35 PM EST
    is basically a stochastic terrorist at this point. I worry about bombs being set in polling places and polling places being locations for conservatives to commit genocide and mass murder.

    Parent
    He's acting like a man (none / 0) (#87)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 12:39:55 PM EST
    who expecting to have a net thrown over him at any moment.

    He probably has good lawyers and good reason to feel that way.

    Parent

    Well, (5.00 / 1) (#91)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 05:06:43 PM EST
    I hope the indictments are timed to coincide with the midterms :)

    Parent
    I (none / 0) (#90)
    by FlJoe on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 04:52:23 PM EST
    don't know about the good lawyer part, judging by history his law advice seems to come from grifters and loons and any sane lawyer that  crosses his path usually ends up running for the hills (and probably stiffed for their fees).

    Parent
    If he didn't have good lawyers (none / 0) (#92)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 05:15:35 PM EST
    when it mattered he would have been in jail long ago.  If there is one thing he is smart enough to know it's when to have actual lawyers and when Rudy is good enough,

    Parent
    He (5.00 / 2) (#94)
    by FlJoe on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 05:44:20 PM EST
    was smart enough to commit crimes that were very rarely even investigated, and could be made to disappear by a timely political donation.

    Admittedly in the past his law and accounting advice came from competent grifters, not the complete loons of his recent past.

    As if he listens to his lawyers anyway, if so he wouldn't be out in public confessing to his crimes and threatening prosecutors.

    Parent

    Also (none / 0) (#93)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 05:25:08 PM EST
    I didn't really mean good lawyers.

    Only good enough to tell him the noose is tightening and he might get his affairs in order based on what various prosecutors are doing.

    Parent

    His lawyers (none / 0) (#95)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 07:24:46 PM EST
    have been meeting with the Fulton County DA here in GA. It seems Fanni Willis may get the first crack at Trump.

    Parent
    It seems so (none / 0) (#96)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 07:46:12 PM EST
    After his call for "massive protests in DC, NY and Atlanta" it was pretty clear he knows where the threats are.

    And she has now officially requested FBI support and protection for her and her staff.

    Parent

    This (5.00 / 1) (#97)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 07:49:33 PM EST
    There was just an interesting bit on Rachel (none / 0) (#98)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 31, 2022 at 08:21:42 PM EST
    with Chuck Rosenberg about this.  Even I know the FBI doesn't usually do protection.  He was explaining why and how what she did makes sense here and he pointed out it was unusual for her to write an open letter.

    He suggested it indicated she was making a very open ask for help and protection.

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#99)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 04:08:48 AM EST
    we're all aware here in GA of what happened after the election and is still happening. Election workers were threatened with their lives and they had to go into hiding. I'm sure Willis does not want a repeat.

    Parent
    Can we just take a moment (none / 0) (#100)
    by jondee on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 01:23:04 PM EST
    to appreciate what a miracle it is that some armed-to-the-teeth nutcase who hangs on every word of the Trumps and Michael Flynns of the world, hasn't committed a horrific act of mayhem? Yet.

    Flynn just took to the airwaves the other day to announce that COVID was intentionally released by the WHO, U.N, and Gates and Soros in order to thwart Trump's reelection and with the endgame of "ruling the world."

    There are times when I wish this was China, if just for a few days.

    Parent

    ... of more political violence and insurrection over the government, as potential leverage against any attempts by federal and / or state law enforcement officials to indict him.

    I think it's rather weak as far as leverage goes but hey, he started this game of political 3-Card Monte. It's hardly law enforcement's fault that he's now running out of cards to play.

    That said, the very fact that Trump is going there underscores both his obvious legal predicament and his grudging acceptance of the growing likelihood that he'll be charged, perhaps in multiple venues.

    Personally, I'm now resigned to the likelihood that this country will endure an accelerated cycle of Trump-inspired far right political violence. It's karma for the foolishness of ever having elected this sad sack of maladjusted malevolence as president in the first place.

    Aloha.  

    Parent

    That Trump rally (5.00 / 1) (#102)
    by jondee on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 03:20:22 PM EST
    in Conroe, Texas (saaaalute!) was like a Burning Man for far-right crackpots that our best fiction writers would have trouble dreaming up.

    I don't see any going back to sanity for the GOP now. They've nurtured and coddled this impervious-to-reason, apocalyptic freak show and now they and we are stuck with it.

    Parent

    I was just talking to my brother (5.00 / 1) (#104)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 04:22:41 PM EST
    about his three vaxx refusing grandsons he said, `you know, it really is like they are cult members'.

    On another subject

    We are about to an ice storm.  The weather channel says 1/10 to 1/2 inches of ice.  Along with snow and sleet.

    I'm stocked,   Totally.  I just cranked up my little genny to make sure she's available so my fish don't die and I can watch tv.

    Parent

    Ice storm scheduled for St. Louis as well (none / 0) (#111)
    by MO Blue on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 10:08:09 PM EST
    Texas is scheduled to be hit pretty hard also. I wonder if Cruz's daughter is begging him to book their trip to Cancun.

    Parent
    The Groundhogs (at least 2) (none / 0) (#112)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 07:13:24 AM EST
    who live just beyond my backyard fence will definitely not see a shadow today.

    Parent
    Groundhog family values (none / 0) (#114)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 07:22:05 AM EST

    In general, groundhog social groups consist of one adult male and two adult females, each with an offspring from the previous breeding season (usually female), and the current litter of infants. Interactions within a female's group are generally friendly.Feb 2, 2012

    I have never seen them together but I have seen at least 2 that are identifiable different.

    My property is like a sanctuary city for groundhogs.  They are hated here.  They do things that are annoying to most people.  But I think they are adorable.  Fat little squirrels.  And I don't have a vegetable garden.

    Parent

    I like groundhogs (none / 0) (#129)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 01:10:21 PM EST
    myself and will throw them a few carrots etc on occasion. But they will eat and eat if they start getting used to people feeding them. I know this because a lonely old lady down the street feeds a couple that come to her backdoor that are so fat they can barely walk. I'm starting to wonder if she's giving them old Halloween candy or something.

    I don't begrudge her her little animal friends, but don't leave em so fat that they can't escape from predators or get sick.

    Parent

    About that lights staying on thing..... (none / 0) (#115)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 07:35:40 AM EST
    Nov 2021


    Gov. Abbott says he can 'guarantee the lights will stay on' this winter in Texas - Houston Chronicle

    Nov 29, 2021 -- Gov. Greg Abbott promised that the state's electric grid would be able to withstand pressures caused by any potential winter storm

    Now


    Abbott Warns of More Power Outages in Texas

    February 1, 2022 at 10:58 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 146 Comments

    "With freezing weather expected to hit a large portion of Texas this week, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday tried to assure Texans that the state is better prepared this year than last, but said there could be local power outages throughout the state," the Texas Tribune reports.



    Parent
    I think that (none / 0) (#103)
    by jondee on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 04:03:16 PM EST
    Blacks For Trump contingent that's always parked directly behind Trump is the most sad/hilarious thing I've seen in my life.

    Peter Thiel's houseboy Eric Weinstein says Trump does these things because he worked with Vince McMahon, which proves Trump is secretly really smart, or something.

    Parent

    I don't understand the fealty (none / 0) (#116)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 09:35:23 AM EST
    that so many in GOP still show this criminal. He has proven over and over that he will stab anyone in the back without a second thought. How do you continue to be a loyal to a dirtbag who returns absolutely no loyalty? And dirtbag is being kind.


    Parent
    It's (none / 0) (#118)
    by FlJoe on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 09:48:56 AM EST
    all about the numbers, the GOP knows they can't afford to lose tRump's loyal base.

    Parent
    For some it is (5.00 / 1) (#119)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 09:54:42 AM EST
    I personally think a fair number are straight up fascists.   They like what he is selling.

    Parent
    With the more cynical (none / 0) (#132)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 01:42:20 PM EST
    right-wing billionaire types like the Thiels and Mercers, it's 99.9% about policy. Trump being just the convenient point man for the ongoing deregulation privatization jihad. So much the better if there's a few table scraps and symbolic gestures thrown in for the religious conservatives. Keeps the yahoos distracted.

    This evangelical and orthodox jewish weak-in-the-knees adoration of Trump is a spiritual mystery that truly passeth all understanding. They might as well go back to human sacrifice and worshipping the golden calf.

    Parent

    For some (none / 0) (#143)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 03:07:14 PM EST
    evangelicals it is all about white supremacy and Trump delivers that kind of thing for them. I have no idea about the orthodox Jews who apparently have no idea that the evangelicals they are aligning themselves with consider the orthodox Jews useful idiots.

    Parent
    I don't get the orthodox thing (none / 0) (#153)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 05:07:17 PM EST
    either. More folks the evangelicals say are destined to burn in HE double hockey stick. Strange bedfellows.

    There actually are some (relatively) liberal orthodox jews, but the noisier right-wing ones are doing things lately like taking Marjorie Taylor Green on a tour of Brooklyn, and there was at least a couple who stormed the capital on January 6th.

    Social issues and the Holy Land is where the two groups converge, I imagine.  

    Parent

    Cyrus (none / 0) (#154)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 05:22:55 PM EST
    Oy (none / 0) (#155)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 06:10:04 PM EST
    or as the soiled masses say, wtf!

    Parent
    They are taking anti-semite (none / 0) (#156)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 07:58:30 PM EST
    MTG around Brooklyn? I hate to tell those dudes but MTG would have them lined up and shot. Research Jews for Hitler and you might have some answers. It really was a thing.

    Parent
    Her Brooklyn meshugganah (none / 0) (#157)
    by jondee on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 08:21:25 PM EST
    hosts said MTG wasn't being anti-semitic because she only accused the Rothschilds, who had intermarried and were barely Jewish.

    I kid you not.

    Parent

    The GOP has jumped the shark. (none / 0) (#167)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 01:27:10 AM EST
    While the Republicans can still cause a lot of damage in the short term, I don't see a path to recovery for them. They doubled down on the crazy pseudo-Mussolini authoritarian shtick and if Trump & Co. get taken down legally, they have no Plan B. The whole right-wing kit-and-kaboodle likely collapses like a house of cards, just as it did in 1932.

    Parent
    I (none / 0) (#168)
    by FlJoe on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 07:30:30 AM EST
    see zero cause for your optimism.

    They don't no stinking plan, they never had one in the first place, just ride the fascist wave, cowabunga!

    If tRump goes down, it will be "tRump who?", or "witch hunt!, or some form of "tRump failed tRumpism". With most of them taking all of the above depending on the day of the week.

    They pay no price for lying, they pay no price for hypocrisy, many pay no price for being actual scumbags.


    Parent

    The GOP Relies On (none / 0) (#170)
    by RickyJim on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 10:50:18 AM EST
    1. Fear that immigrants from south of the border will overwhelm the US's resources.
    2. The coddling of BLM, Antifa violence by liberals.
    3. Fetus and gun owners rights.

    If you don't think that is enough, even without Trump, to be a formidable force in 2022 and 2024, you are denying history.  There is no analogy with 1932 when the depression was on everybody's mind.

    Parent
    All of this is true (none / 0) (#174)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 08:33:27 PM EST
    but you also have to admit that it has lost its salience over the years. All of that would have produced landslides back in the 1980's but a lot of people have wised up to the GOP tricks. The only one that truly seems to have any ability to move people to the polls is fetus rights and it's anybody's guess how that is going to play out of the supreme court overturns Roe v. Wade. Lots of guesses that the fetus obsessed will drop out of politics.

    Parent
    True, (none / 0) (#175)
    by ladybug on Sat Feb 05, 2022 at 11:34:39 AM EST
    these are all front and center. But the right is also animated by the economy, lockdowns, censorship, icreased polarization, fear and distrust of big government and big tech and more. Some of these things also worry people who are not right wingers.

    Parent
    Republicans love censorship (5.00 / 1) (#180)
    by MO Blue on Sat Feb 05, 2022 at 05:48:15 PM EST
    as long as they can do the censoring. They scream "freedom" as they work timelessly to resist the freedoms of everyone else.

    Parent
    That should be (5.00 / 1) (#183)
    by MO Blue on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 09:14:37 AM EST
    Works tirelessly to restrict the freedoms of everyone else.


    Parent
    I finally got around to (none / 0) (#181)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Feb 05, 2022 at 06:00:07 PM EST
    The Unforgivable I think you mentioned in a comment.  It's really good.  

    I said something about Sandra Bullock being under rated.  I think the RT score is an example.  the critic score is 40.  The audience score is 74



    Parent

    I'm not sure why the critics rated it so low (5.00 / 2) (#184)
    by MO Blue on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 09:18:45 AM EST
    My entire family thought it was excellent. Haven't talked to anyone who watched it who didn't like it.  

    Parent
    Ok (5.00 / 2) (#185)
    by MO Blue on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 09:31:37 AM EST
    After reading the critics reviews, it seems most gave good reviews of Bullock's performance but thought the movie too grim. Not enough emphasis on redemption.  Guess they seem to think that the lives of convicts released from prison is not grim in this country. Redemption in our prison system and after release. What's novel concept not often realized here.

    Parent
    Ironically (5.00 / 2) (#187)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 12:31:50 PM EST
    too many seem to have this idea that transitioning back into the general public is easy for convicts. They also seem to think jails are spas. I don't know whether to laugh or cry about all the people so suddenly "concerned" about the J6 prisoners and hence the condition in prisons.

    Parent
    I thought the reviews (5.00 / 1) (#188)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 12:56:02 PM EST
    which I generally ignore and often loath were particularly stupid for this one.
    Like this one

    The film, in contrast, is all business and a bit of a plod. It's time for Bullock to cheer up

    That kind of goes beyond missing the point

    Parent

    I'd like to see (none / 0) (#189)
    by ladybug on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 01:13:16 PM EST
    the original British mini-series, Unforgiven, as it apparently has time to flesh out the social issues better and is supposed to be excellent. It is on Britbox.

    Parent
    I can see their point (none / 0) (#186)
    by ladybug on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 09:55:43 AM EST
    that is it rather grim and slow-moving, and it can't flesh out the characters more since it was adapted from a 3-part series, but it is interesting to see Sandra Bullock in such a different role, and the story is good. The ending was a surprise for me.  

    Parent
    I liked it too. (none / 0) (#182)
    by ladybug on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 09:03:53 AM EST
    Also, The Power of the Dog and Lost Daughter. Just finished The Expanse. Loved it.

    Parent
    Not sure your point. (none / 0) (#177)
    by Chuck0 on Sat Feb 05, 2022 at 02:08:11 PM EST
    The right is pushing for book bans and silencing teachers. The economy is actuallg cranking along pretty well. See yesterdays job numbers. They've always claimed to hate big government. They also refuse to govern.

    Parent
    Just agreeing (none / 0) (#178)
    by ladybug on Sat Feb 05, 2022 at 02:18:45 PM EST
    that there is not just one major issue today as there was in 1932, and why many votes went republican in 2020 and, according to polls, might  trend that way in 2022. Independents are not wedded to a single party.

    Parent
    Well, people (none / 0) (#105)
    by KeysDan on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 05:04:12 PM EST
    are saying that Trump tried to overturn the election and incite a violet overthrow of the government---using the mechanisms of government such as the military, homeland security and the justice department.  But, some say it is Biden, Soros, Hillary's emails, intergalactic lasers, and the Chinese smuggling bambo ballots into Arizona.

    Both sides do these things, politicians just can't be trusted. So it is easy to see why the Democrats are at risk of losing the House and senate in 2022.  And, Biden's polls are down, not flashy, too government-y.  So many of those economically anxious Americans in diners just don't like all that critical race theory being taught in middle school.  And, don't even mention all those gay books in the libraries. (Tomorrow's NYTimes, probably).

    Parent

    I wonder if this might be related (none / 0) (#106)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 06:46:03 PM EST
    to Trump attempt to get DHS to seize voting machines


    Federal agents raid home of high-ranking Homeland Security official


    On the other hand, it could also be (none / 0) (#107)
    by Peter G on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 08:23:06 PM EST
    something like downloading child p*rn on his home computer.

    Parent
    As a (none / 0) (#108)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 08:36:09 PM EST
    high ranking Homeland Security person in charge of child sex crimes you would think he might know how to get away with that if that was the issue.

    The piece made a point of mentioning the raiders wore no official insignia.  So there was no way to know what agency they were with.

    Just an odd story on a day when a Homeland Security is in the news

    Parent

    This is a couple of day ago (none / 0) (#109)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 08:48:31 PM EST
    Worth noting Michigan was one of the states Trump was probably trying to get into.

    Who Is Vance Callender From Detroit? HSI Agent Arrested and Charges, What Did He Do?



    Parent

    Really, it could be anything from C/P (none / 0) (#110)
    by Peter G on Tue Feb 01, 2022 at 09:53:47 PM EST
    to espionage to something Jan 6 or election-related. As for c/p, the men I have represented on such charges tend to be acting on a compulsion (often traceable to childhood trauma of their own) that produces reckless behavior rooted in shame. But as I say, it could be anything, perhaps some other sort of sex crime, or even bribery or embezzlement.

    Parent
    Yes, it could. (none / 0) (#113)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 07:15:34 AM EST
    That's why I said "I wonder..."

    Parent
    Senator Ben Ray Lujan, (none / 0) (#117)
    by KeysDan on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 09:42:27 AM EST
    Democrat of New Mexico suffered a stroke. In the cerebellum. His treatment plan included decompressive  brain surgery so as to ease swelling.   Senator Lujan is 49 years old and was elected to the senate in 2021. He is expected to recover, but the length of absence from the senate is unknown at this point.  We all hope for a speedy recovery.

    The illness of Senator Lujan underscores the fragility of the Democrat's 50 -50 majority.  The senator is not on the Judiciary Committee, but a floor vote on a nominee for a successor to Justice Breyer may be delayed as will legislative processes. It is amazing that President Biden and Leader Schumer have accomplished so much in the first year given this senate split and it's tenuousness given Manchin and Sinema.  

    The Governor of New Mexico is a Democrat and has authority to appoint a successor to fill a vacancy, if that should become necessary.

    Not a good look. (none / 0) (#120)
    by KeysDan on Wed Feb 02, 2022 at 10:16:20 AM EST
    Justice Neil Gorsuch will be the banquet speaker this weekend at the annual meeting of the Florida chapter of the very conservative Federalist Society.

    The banquet is closed to the press.  The meeting will also feature Mike Pence and Ron DeSantis, as well as a session billed "The End of Roe v Wade?", moderated by a federal judge appointed by the former guy.

    The Federalist Society has been in Gorsuch's corner from the get go.  Cheer leaders with pom poms in red, white and blue.

    And, at least two attendees will not be wearing a mask: Gorsuch and DeSantis.

    Who needs Court reform? Ethics policies for Supreme Court members similar to other federal judges?

    Hmmmm..... (none / 0) (#159)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 07:50:17 AM EST
    Biden says US raid in Syria killed ISIS leader

    Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi--the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation.



    Accusations (5.00 / 1) (#160)
    by FlJoe on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 08:07:54 AM EST
    of "wag the dog" in 3,2,1...


    Parent
    After the bad press of Afghanistan (none / 0) (#162)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 08:43:50 AM EST
    I think there might be thoughts of reasserting etc.

    Not that's its a bad thing IMO.

    This combined with Biden being pretty darn stern with Vlad probably will help put the minging  of the Afghan pullout behind us.

    Maybe.

    To be clear I am not suggesting any wagging of the dog.  Shite happens.  

    Parent

    Jeralyn, (none / 0) (#161)
    by ladybug on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 08:15:06 AM EST
    The media did not cover the Maxwell trial well and I am sure you followed it more closely. Did the two witnesses claiming to be 14 at the time seem credible? The others were of legal age, so did the conviction come down to Maxwell's grooming and recruiting them? It does seem to me that the girls themselves, and especially Virginia, actively went out and recruited others, so how much recruiting did Maxwell do? The media had a big role in this conviction, but I am not so sure that's a good thing. What are your thoughts?  

    To clarify (none / 0) (#163)
    by ladybug on Thu Feb 03, 2022 at 09:26:45 AM EST
    I mean that the media attention pressured the prosecutors to bring a new case against Epstein and then Maxwell. We don't know what effect it had on the jury. But have you heard anything more about the motion for a new trial based on the juror's revelations?

    Parent
    Really can't make it up (none / 0) (#169)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 09:03:04 AM EST
    1/6 Suspect Asks Judge for 'Right to Defend Himself' From Prison Guards


    In a tense exchange in court Thursday, Josiah Kenyon, 34, who was arrested in Reno, Nevada, asked Judge Carl Nichols to acknowledge that he has the right to defend himself if corrections officers try to assault him, according to Politico's Kyle Cheney.

    Before his comment, Nichols warned Kenyon to consult with his attorney before speaking. "I have a high enough IQ range to not screw up there, boss," Kenyon shot back to the judge.



    The Republican National Committee (none / 0) (#171)
    by KeysDan on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 01:01:25 PM EST
    voted overwhelmingly by voice vote, without discussion or debate, to condemn, by censure resolution, Representatives. Liz Cheney (R. WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R. IL) for opposing the violent overthrow of the government.

    The Chair of the RNC proclaimed " we've had two members engage in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse."

    Interesting bit about the practical logistical (none / 0) (#173)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Feb 04, 2022 at 04:32:59 PM EST
    The worst part of this latest wave of insanity (none / 0) (#190)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 01:41:14 PM EST
    might be that it will make good smart people even less likely to enter the teaching profession,  which has forever been underpaid and under appreciated.  
    It really shows how terrified and desperate they are I think.  

    Having been a teenager and more than most still being one at heart it's almost endearingly pathetic that they seem to think the fact their children are rejecting their fears and prejudices is because of the schools.

    GOP Bills Would Allow Taxpayers to Sit In on Classes

    February 6, 2022 at 12:37 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 180 Comments

    "Lawmakers in at least a dozen states are backing bills meant to increase transparency around school curricula, the next iteration of movements under way to bar teachers from promoting concepts perceived as divisive," the Wall Street Journal reports.

    "The bills, introduced by Republican legislators, would in some states allow taxpayers to sit in on classes or make staff professional development sessions open to members of the public."



    Desperate people do really stupid things (5.00 / 2) (#191)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 01:46:17 PM EST
    This was very very stupid.  Trumpers don't care about the National Review but the National Review is dead right.

    RNC Censures Gets Blowback on the Right

    February 6, 2022 at 12:27 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

    The National Review calls the RNC's censure of Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) "both morally repellent and politically self-destructive."



    Parent
    Why (none / 0) (#194)
    by FlJoe on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 03:59:26 PM EST
    are they so desperate? After all, asides from the "optics" problem, tRumps problems are not technically the RNC's problem.

    What do they expect to accomplish with censure anyway? It is not going to slow down the committee in any way, and it does scream desperation.

    Even Mike"The man who saved democracy" Dense is beginning to read the writing on the wall, maybe.

    Parent

    Maybe not technically (none / 0) (#195)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 04:04:48 PM EST
    but practically I think they totally are.  Not even just because the RNC has basically become part of the Trump operation.

    They have been very publicly paying his legal bills.  For one th No,

     

    Parent

    Perhaps (none / 0) (#197)
    by FlJoe on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 05:24:39 PM EST
    I should rephrase the question, why has the RNC become a part of the tRump organization?

    That's not the way it has ever worked, eyebrows were raised over the legal bills, but it got shrugged away.

    The RNC, like the DNC are supposed to be neutral or at least pretend to be, they could have easily passed on this with perfect cover.

    I just don't get it, another chance to step away from tRump, or at least not embrace him as he teeters on the edge of a legal cliff but they instead clith him tighter.


    Parent

    Off the top of my head (5.00 / 2) (#198)
    by jondee on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 05:55:55 PM EST
    I'd say it's because the Repubs have painted themselves into a corner wherein they can't get a person elected head dogcatcher without appeasing the religious right, which has now mutated into the religious-Q-conspiracy-Trump worshipping right - who are all still head-over-heels in love with God's Chosen One Donald.

    Parent
    Hang together (none / 0) (#199)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 06:09:23 PM EST
    or hang separately?

    Parent
    As long they're well hung (5.00 / 1) (#200)
    by jondee on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 07:23:30 PM EST
    and by that I mean metaphorically done away with.

    Parent
    As long they're well hung (5.00 / 1) (#201)
    by jondee on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 07:23:41 PM EST
    and by that I mean metaphorically done away with.

    Parent
    I would (none / 0) (#196)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 04:41:45 PM EST
    guess they are desperate because they know that indictments are forthcoming at some point. And the indictments are going to keep rolling on. DOJ has been issuing indictments for a year now and then there's trials too.

    They are anchored to Trump. Here in GA it has become who can be the Trumpiest in the GOP primaries.

    Parent

    Yes (none / 0) (#192)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 02:47:02 PM EST
    but in the meantime we do what? I remember back in the 80's when I was in college teaching did not attract the best and brightest for a number of reasons.

    Racism is taught and if the school aren't teaching it then everybody is gonna get along and that scares them to death.

    Parent

    No idea (none / 0) (#193)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Feb 06, 2022 at 03:03:26 PM EST
    It's probably smart in the most craven way.  

    Parent
    About the RNC (none / 0) (#202)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Feb 07, 2022 at 09:04:41 AM EST
    I don't feel like searching but remember a while back when there was talk of big Russian and possibly other foreign money coming into or through the RNC?

    I think hang together or separately might be it.

    Key word there: "normal" (none / 0) (#204)
    by jondee on Mon Feb 07, 2022 at 03:59:10 PM EST