After a narrow procedural vote, the Senate has begun debating the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The Senate will have up to 30 hours to debate before holding a final vote.
Three of Kavanaugh’s college drinking buddies wrote an op-ed together, washingtonpost.com, after writing separate ones, pointing out his lying during the confirmation hearings:
None of this is what we wanted, but we felt it our civic duty to speak the truth and say that Brett lied under oath while seeking to become a Supreme Court justice. That is our one and only message, but it is a significant one. For we each believe that telling the truth, no matter how difficult, is a moral obligation for our nation’s leaders. No one should be able to lie their way onto the Supreme Court. Honesty is the glue that holds together a society of laws. Lies are the solvent that dissolves those bonds.
Hear that, Flake?
(No, I don’t expect Flake to change his mind.)
The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2018
President Con Man knows the rubes love it when he invokes their most-feared boogeyman, the dreaded George Soros. This is beyond pathetic. https://t.co/yHfcELqtaK
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
Sen. Jeff Flake indicates he will vote yes to make Kavanaugh a Supreme Court justice https://t.co/3so0gDenId
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
The fix is in and the reputation of the court is now in the toilet where this corrupted court belongs.
Note that The Economist will once again downgrade America on their index deeper into their flawed democracy column.
re: #2 Belafon
Three of Kavanaugh’s college drinking buddies wrote an op-ed together, washingtonpost.com, after writing separate ones, pointing out his lying during the confirmation hearings:
Hear that, Flake?
(No, I don’t expect Flake to change his mind.)
the r’s are treating this sort of like a trial with ‘inadmissable evidence’ everyone knows would fry the accused
not in the official fbi report?
then we dont have to consider it (fingers in ears, lalalalala)
re: #4 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
It was always thus
Flake just parlayed it into a week’s worth of attention on him
re: #7 dangerman
It was always thus
Flake just parlayed it into a week’s worth of attention on him
To put it in modern parlance, Flake and those who played at waffling on voting “Aye” for Kavanaugh did it for the fucking lulz.
Here’s the background on Flake’s background-check flip: https://t.co/95AHdHqFrc
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) October 5, 2018
Mitch McConnell Inflates Throat Pouch In Show Of Dominance Over Fellow Congressional Males https://t.co/WZrUSGUe71 pic.twitter.com/4JNIU0NPZG
— The Onion (@TheOnion) October 5, 2018
Have I mentioned lately how much I despise James Inhofe? He’s one of the worst of a very bad lot, a science-denying right wing political hack who has set this country back by decades.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #10 HappyWarrior
Lives up to his name minus the l.
I suspect his spine is made of flakes, Turns to mush when exposed to the milk of human kindness. Becomes crispy again as soon as money appears in the bowl.
re: #12 Charles Johnson
Can’t let a pesky thing like snowballs on the Senate floor get in the way of those petroleum company campaign donations.
re: #12 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
One of the most blatant examples of someone bought and paid for by an industry and his constituents don’t care.
I find myself in an odd position where, for the first time, I see myself, one of the original so-called “Never Trump conservatives,” voting for President Trump in 2020. https://t.co/8tZlJSu93v
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 5, 2018
Every one knew Erick was just looking for an excuse to support Trump, and all it took was for a drunk lying rapist to be nominated to the Supreme Court for him to get there https://t.co/zwetM8PmaL
— Kragar (@Kragar_LGF) October 5, 2018
The Daily Caller sent a camera and a host to Hart Senate office building to offer booze to the protestors (many of whom are assault survivors) and to ask them if they, like Kavanaugh, like beer. The police made them stop handing out beers
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 5, 2018
Amazingly horrible people. This is right wing “journalism.” https://t.co/mIFtlLBl7h
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #16 Kragar
[Embedded content]
Not odd at all Erick. You always go back to Team Rightwing Douche. But thanks for proving that you’re still the goat fucking child molester we know and loathe.
re: #17 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
This ain’t journalism. These are just douchebags. Fucking assholes.
LOL. Poor Erick. The libs made him do it. pic.twitter.com/zOuNynRmSY
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
Man it’s amazing how the RW propaganda works. Guys keep an eye out on SM for an image of DiFi with the caption “This woman should apologize and then resign for what she did to Judge Kavanaugh.” This whole thing makes me so sick.
re: #20 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
Erick, this liberal hates it when you drink battery acid. Please don’t drink battery acid! //
I’m sure other “anti Hitler” conservatives were fond of blaming the German left for why they “had” to support Hitler too. Scratch a conservative, find an authoritarian fuck nugget.
Now we wait for Collins’ decision, because I’m pretty sure Manchin doesn’t want to be the 50th vote for Kavanaugh.
re: #16 Kragar
Erick has been drinking the Kool-Aid for the past several weeks.
The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2018
Trump hates Soros not only because Soros is richer than him, but also because Soros didn’t have to cheat on his taxes to do it. https://t.co/nBiNkntVLe
— Kragar (@Kragar_LGF) October 5, 2018
re: #26 Kragar
[Embedded content]
Soros actually made himself too. Donnie was wealthy due to Daddy when he was shitting the bed.
re: #3 Charles Johnson
You know who’s not rude? DJT, that’s who. Not rude at all. Donny Junior isn’t rude either. At all. Just the nicest, most honest guys ever.
////
ICYMI - Lindsey Graham announced @SenatorCollins is voting to confirm Kavanaugh. You can skip her narcissistic speech at 3 pm and instead start organizing to beat her in 2020.
— Armando (@armandodkos) October 5, 2018
IF Democrats can gain control of both houses and win back the presidency, they need to use that power to make some sweeping, dramatic changes that will reduce the power of evil hucksters in the American system. In particular, a dramatic expansion of the House of Representatives, to something like 2000 members, is necessary to dilute the population imbalance in the electoral college. This is possible and would create a level of representation that is the norm in other democratic countries. For example, the British House of Commons has 650 members for a population of 60 million. A similar ratio in the US house would result in more than 3000 members. Such an expansion would have many other benefits as well. Constituent accessibility would be the norm. Representatives would be much more focused on a smaller area of responsibility. GOP gerrymandering would become much more difficult, if not impossible.
I started trying to get my prescription filled 3 days ago, I called about it again today, it hasn’t come in today. They asked if I wanted to transfer it, except I can’t transfer it because its only covered if I get it through my company’s chain of pharmacies, and it cost about $800 if I’m out of the network. I COULD handle that $800, it would piss me off to no end, but I could do it.
They have been trying, but it hasn’t been coming in from the wholesaler…so, whenever
It’s not like people depend on prescriptions to prevent seizures or anything…
…oh, wait…
Fortunately, I still have a day’s supply left in the bottle, and I have 2 weeks supply of sample packs
re: #16 Kragar
I find myself in an odd position where, for the first time, I see myself, one of the original so-called “Never Trump conservatives,” voting for President Trump in 2020.
erik was never, that word was that was used in the last thread “reasonable” or whatever
never
he plays like flake
he is only one thing
re: #32 dangerman
erik was never, that word was that was used in the last thread “reasonable” or whatever
never
he plays like flake
he is only one thing
Indeed. He was always a dick.
R.J. Matson captured perfectly. pic.twitter.com/FTQkIUDlux
— Jerry Walker (@JerryPW20) October 5, 2018
re: #30 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
IF Democrats can gain control of both houses and win back the presidency, they need to use that power to make some sweeping, dramatic changes that will reduce the power of evil hucksters in the American system. In particular, a dramatic expansion of the House of Representatives, to something like 2000 members, is necessary to dilute the population imbalance in the electoral college. This is possible and would create a level of representation that is the norm in other democratic countries. For example, the British House of Commons has 650 members for a population of 60 million. A similar ratio in the US house would result in more than 3000 members. Such an expansion would have many other benefits as well. Constituent accessibility would be the norm. Representatives would be much more focused on a smaller area of responsibility. GOP gerrymandering would become much more difficult, if not impossible.
Even an expansion to 1000 would help a lot. As would statehood for at least DC and PR.
I hadn’t realized how small our national legislature is compared to other countries. House of Commons is much bigger than they have a 1/5 of the population. So wtf.
re: #17 Charles Johnson
See, I’m done being nice, so I’d take their beer, shake it vigorously and open it in their stupid faces. I’m done being nice, fuck it,
re: #30 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
For example, the British House of Commons has 650 members for a population of 60 million. A similar ratio in the US house would result in more than 3000 members. Such an expansion would have many other benefits as well. Constituent accessibility would be the norm.
New Hampshire state legislature has 400 Representatives and 24 state senators, for a population of less than 1.4 million people.
re: #37 A Mom Anon
See, I’m done being nice, so I’d take their beer, shake it vigorously and open it in their stupid faces. I’m done being nice, fuck it,
Yep.
For all the talk of anti-Kavanaugh protesters being paid, I just saw a group of Confirm Kavanaugh folks whip out a binder with a FreedomWorks logo on it and a printout of all the Senators (with their pictures next to them) who they should lobby
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 5, 2018
re: #37 A Mom Anon
See, I’m done being nice, so I’d take their beer, shake it vigorously and open it in their stupid faces. I’m done being nice, fuck it,
I know a lot of people have some qualms about Avenatti, but he’s definitely not wrong:
And let us remember that we are in this position because we did not go to the mat and do everything we could possibly do to save the Garland nomination. We were out maneuvered and out fought. And now this. #Basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) October 5, 2018
re: #41 Interesting Times
I know a lot of people have some qualms about Avenatti, but he’s definitely not wrong:
[Embedded content]
He ain’t wrong about that.
re: #43 HappyWarrior
He ain’t wrong about that.
Well the Democrats were in the minority in 2016, so I really don’t know what they could’ve done to force the majority to confirm Garland.
re: #45 Big Beautiful Door
Well the Democrats were in the minority in 2016, so I really don’t know what they could’ve done to force the majority to confirm Garland.
I know. I meant the fight back even harder.
re: #41 Interesting Times
I know a lot of people have some qualms about Avenatti, but he’s definitely not wrong:
[Embedded content]
I’d like to know the specific procedural things that the Democrats could have invoke/tried as the minority party regarding the Garland nomination.
re: #26 Kragar
But if the “elevator women” are stating facts, telling the truth, that would be OK, right? That’s what your spokesperson said this week about your rudeness, I mean your stating of ‘facts’ regarding Dr. Ford.
So Republican speak is this. It’s okay to demand a woman be jailed without trial but somehow thinking sexual assault allegations should disqualify you from SCOTUS makes you akin to the lynch mob in To Kill a Mockingbird.
re: #45 Big Beautiful Door
Well the Democrats were in the minority in 2016, so I really don’t know what they could’ve done to force the majority to confirm Garland.
I have no memory whatsoever of Dems/Obama making the slightest verbal fuss about it - not even during prime time coverage of their convention. Obama fell victim to his classic error of grossly overestimating the intelligence of the American public, like they were capable of figuring out all by themselves that GOPers had done something bad.
re: #47 Mike Lamb
I’d like to know the specific procedural things that the Democrats could have invoke/tried as the minority party regarding the Garland nomination.
That’s the problem, since McConnell didn’t want to do anything in the Senate in 2016, so they had no leverage. Maybe offer him a trillion $ tax cut for the 1% for a Garland confirmation?
re: #47 Mike Lamb
I’d like to know the specific procedural things that the Democrats could have invoke/tried as the minority party regarding the Garland nomination.
Aside from shutting down the Senate completely, not allowing votes of any kind to happen, but I don’t know if that would have been possible, either logistically or politically.
Bottom line is there just were not any tools at our disposal to make the GOP’s choice in that case politically toxic. The worst that could happen to them was for HRC to win and nominate a lib for Scalia’s seat. They took their chances.
re: #47 Mike Lamb
I’d like to know the specific procedural things that the Democrats could have invoke/tried as the minority party regarding the Garland nomination.
Specifically, if we had hounded Flake, McCain, Collins, and Murkowski, it might not have flipped anything, but at least it would have been a fight, and might have encourage a whole lot more people to get involved.
re: #30 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
It’s certainly a strange sort of democracy where a lifetime appointment to the highest court can be made by a one-vote majority consisting largely of senators representing a small fraction of the nation’s population, and where the nomination was made by a president who lost the popular vote by millions.
re: #47 Mike Lamb
I’d like to know the specific procedural things that the Democrats could have invoke/tried as the minority party regarding the Garland nomination.
I believe he means a PR offensive, which - even though it couldn’t have done anything concrete to save the nomination - could have helped Dems capture more Senate seats. Even if Cheeto Benito still won in 2016, a Dem senate could’ve held him in check and prevented a SCOTUS nominee as horrid as Beer Keg Brett.
I realize Russian ratfuckery/voter suppression was a huge thing, but there was depressed Dem turnout as well (motivated a lot by the perception that Dems don’t fight hard enough - I even heard this directly from someone I know, complaining about Dems are so bad at politics and “why didn’t Obama fight harder for Garland”)
It’s that old, odious but sadly valid “perception is reality” cliche.
re: #55 whitebeach
In which a nation continues to pay for its original sin of compromising with slavers.
CNN banner now: Kavanaugh nomination appears to have votes to advance to final floor vote.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 5, 2018
Breaking: 51-49 - Kavanaugh nomination advances. https://t.co/6jwhBIeTSF
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 5, 2018
Cosigning @DanaBashCNN who pointed this out on air: It is extraordinary that a Supreme Court nominee’s cloture vote is basically a squeaker. It is very, very unusual. https://t.co/5Tiuncp7kg
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 5, 2018
Hmm, also unusual to slander nominee as serial sex criminal after hearing with zero corroborating evidence. More @cnn “reporters” shows themselves to be part of media wing of the Democratic Party. https://t.co/007nq0De6p
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) October 5, 2018
Nice of United States senators to casually slander reporters for noting a fact about American history. https://t.co/MJh7vqzVQV
— jamelle g-g-ghoulie 👻 (@jbouie) October 5, 2018
re: #31 Sufficient unto the day…
I started trying to get my prescription filled 3 days ago, I called about it again today, it hasn’t come in today. They asked if I wanted to transfer it, except I can’t transfer it because its only covered if I get it through my company’s chain of pharmacies, and it cost about $800 if I’m out of the network. I COULD handle that $800, it would piss me off to no end, but I could do it.
They have been trying, but it hasn’t been coming in from the wholesaler…so, whenever
It’s not like people depend on prescriptions to prevent seizures or anything……oh, wait…
Fortunately, I still have a day’s supply left in the bottle, and I have 2 weeks supply of sample packs
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
Watching the so-called “law and order” party torch the Supreme Court in order to install a man who’s nothing more than an alcoholic, middle-aged Brock Turner on the bench to protect Trump is staggering.
Republicans have lost their goddamn minds.
re: #37 A Mom Anon
See, I’m done being nice, so I’d take their beer, shake it vigorously and open it in their stupid faces. I’m done being nice, fuck it,
and while they are the ones probably breaking six laws handing out beer, you’d be the one arrested for ‘assault’
pansies
It’s GOHMERT!, y’all:
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert says the Democrats should ‘Yell Heil Soros!’ during insane interview https://t.co/ETgJdNJ6RK
— Daily Kos (@dailykos) October 5, 2018
re: #40 Kragar
For all the talk of anti-Kavanaugh protesters being paid, I just saw a group of Confirm Kavanaugh folks whip out a binder with a FreedomWorks logo on it and a printout of all the Senators (with their pictures next to them) who they should lobby
IOKIYAR
Very important point, one that we have made here: Evil itself has been mobilized into a voting bloc.
President Trump and his supporters find community by rejoicing in the suffering of those they hate and fear.
The Museum of African-American History and Culture is in part a catalog of cruelty. Amid all the stories of perseverance, tragedy, and unlikely triumph are the artifacts of inhumanity and barbarism: the child-size slave shackles, the bright red robes of the wizards of the Ku Klux Klan, the recordings of civil-rights protesters being brutalized by police.
The artifacts that persist in my memory, the way a bright flash does when you close your eyes, are the photographs of lynchings. But it’s not the burned, mutilated bodies that stick with me. It’s the faces of the white men in the crowd. There’s the photo of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Indiana in 1930, in which a white man can be seen grinning at the camera as he tenderly holds the hand of his wife or girlfriend. There’s the undated photo from Duluth, Minnesota, in which grinning white men stand next to the mutilated, half-naked bodies of two men lashed to a post in the street—one of the white men is straining to get into the picture, his smile cutting from ear to ear. There’s the photo of a crowd of white men huddled behind the smoldering corpse of a man burned to death; one of them is wearing a smart suit, a fedora hat, and a bright smile.
re: #59 Backwoods_Sleuth
[Embedded content]
Angry little Dick Cheney clone gets angry. And it wasn’t slander you patronizing jackass.
re: #63 Lidane
It’s GOHMERT!, y’all:
[Embedded content]
Says the guy who belongs to the Cult of Trump’s personality. Sorry Louie most Democratic voters don’t give a fuck about George Soros. But yours, you guys worship Trump.
re: #41 Interesting Times
I know a lot of people have some qualms about Avenatti, but he’s definitely not wrong:
[Embedded content]
this is half true and sounds like a campaign speech
what happened to last weeks bombshell?
i’m hoping he’s got something up his sleeve, though powerful as it might be, it will be after the confirmation
the goal was to keep him off the court, not count on impeachment
re: #55 whitebeach
It’s certainly a strange sort of democracy where a lifetime appointment to the highest court can be made by a one-vote majority consisting largely of senators representing a small fraction of the nation’s population, and where the nomination was made by a president who lost the popular vote by millions.
r’s: and the problem is……?
re: #61 Lidane
Watching the so-called “law and order” party torch the Supreme Court in order to install a man who’s nothing more than an alcoholic, middle-aged Brock Turner on the bench to protect Trump is staggering.
Republicans have lost their goddamn minds.
This assumes that 1) They were ever really ever about law and order, and 2) this isn’t all carefully thought through as is. They know exactly what they’re getting into with this: they’re going to get a permanent conservative majority in the Supreme Court because of this. All of it is worth the pursuit of permanent conservative power in the federal gov’t. They’re demonstrating that they don’t care how much earth they need to scorch to do it, not to mention how little consequences they will ever end up paying for it.
If by ‘lost their minds’ you mean they gave in to open sociopathy, then maybe, but they’re just exposing what they always were to begin with. Precisely because they’re seeing they have no incentive to hide it anymore: they’re not going to pay any actual price for being open about their open sociopathy.
Please don’t ever tell me again that I should be nice and appreciative of Jeff Flake when he says some empty words that make it sound as if he has a spine. But I’m not angry at Flake because I never expected him to follow through on his bullshit attention-grabbing act.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #68 dangerman
this is half true and sounds like a campaign speech
what happened to last weeks bombshell?
i’m hoping he’s got something up his sleeve, though powerful as it might be, it will be after the confirmationthe goal was to keep him off the court, not count on impeachment
He and his client were ignored. Just like 90% of the revelations and the second case that have also come out in that time.
Ignoring works on the ignorant. We have lots of them.
re: #61 Lidane
Watching the so-called “law and order” party torch the Supreme Court in order to install a man who’s nothing more than an alcoholic, middle-aged Brock Turner on the bench to protect Trump is staggering.
Republicans have lost their goddamn minds.
re: #69 dangerman
r’s: and the problem is……?
They’re quick to remind us these days that ‘we don’t live in a democracy’, so….
re: #65 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
Very important point, one that we have made here: Evil itself has been mobilized into a voting bloc.
Note also the eagerness with which RWNJs fantasize about shooting, torturing and mutilating their opponents, the actual joy they take in seeing little children thrown into cages, the almost constant daily stories of GOP fatcats and fundamentalist preachers charged with sexual abuse. This is a culture of cruelty. It is also a culture of cowardice, which is the only thing that has saved us so far, but the more they get away with, the bolder they will become. They must be stopped, and we still have the means to do it: the ballot box.
re: #61 Lidane
Watching the so-called “law and order” party torch the Supreme Court in order to install a man who’s nothing more than an alcoholic, middle-aged Brock Turner on the bench to protect Trump is staggering.
Republicans have lost their goddamn minds.
They’ve completed the last act outlined in the Powell Memorandum to seize total power. And I got a feeling there are going to be some nasty Karmic consequences coming their way.
Holy shit, Mad Magazine 👏👏👏
Pulling no punches. pic.twitter.com/UMTNmb7u9G— Dɪᴢᴡɪʀᴇ (@dizwire) October 4, 2018
re: #47 Mike Lamb
I’d like to know the specific procedural things that the Democrats could have invoke/tried as the minority party regarding the Garland nomination.
They could have made it the one and only thing they ever said every time they got within range of a microphone. Every day. Don’t go on tangents about super tuesday or super-delegates or what was said in the most recent primary debate, just harangue on and on and on and on about Garland Nomination Scotus Hearings Garland Nomination Scotus Hearings.
The Dems don’t have a Fox-equivalent, or a wingnut radio equivalent, but every senator can get to a microphone every day in front of the capital. Make it THE ISSUE that everyone has to say something about.
WATCH: “[Kavanaugh] has done more than any nominee in history in terms the amount document he has turned over, hours of testimony, interviews. We certainly hope the senate will hope to confirm him,” @PressSec says https://t.co/8EWF2wqHkd pic.twitter.com/8iVNfRU22g
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 5, 2018
This is Orwellian-style dishonesty https://t.co/C3BJHYSjoA
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) October 5, 2018
re: #76 Joe Bacon 🌹
They’ve completed the last act outlined in the Powell Memorandum to seize total power. And I got a feeling there are going to be some nasty Karmic consequences coming their way.
Kavanaugh is the textbook definition of a Pyrrhic victory. Sure, they’ll get their “permanent majority” until the Democrats retake the Senate and the Justices start retiring/dying, but at the cost of torching the Court’s legitimacy AND cementing their legacy as an anti-woman party.
re: #81 Lidane
Kavanaugh is the textbook definition of a Pyrrhic victory. Sure, they’ll get their “permanent majority” until the Democrats retake the Senate and the Justices start retiring/dying, but at the cost of torching the Court’s legitimacy AND cementing their legacy as an anti-woman party.
I’m hoping this is the case.
re: #63 Lidane
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert says the Democrats should ‘Yell Heil Soros!’ during insane interview
These words are redundant. With “interview”, the “insane” part is a given.
re: #59 Backwoods_Sleuth
[Embedded content]
So all the women are lying, huh? And I know it’s Twitter vs. an interview…but any time Cotton gets fussy about any nomination, he needs to be beaten about the head with the fact that he allowed a nominee to die just to spite Obama.
re: #84 Mike Lamb
So all the women are lying, huh? And I know it’s Twitter vs. an interview…but any time Cotton gets fussy about any nomination, he needs to be beaten about the head with the fact that he allowed a nominee to die just to spite Obama.
Not one Presstitue will do that since he’s Republican.
Wait, there’s an Oogie Boogie version of OPERATION?? pic.twitter.com/KUJRgOo5us
— Graves Make RosesBloom (@GregRozeboom) September 28, 2018
re: #82 HappyWarrior
I’m hoping this is the case.
My one slim hope is that the Court doesn’t end up destroying the country before sanity is restored. At this point, it’s a very, very, very slim hope. I have no reason to trust conservatives or Republicans at all.
re: #87 Lidane
My one slim hope is that the Court doesn’t end up destroying the country before sanity is restored. At this point, it’s a very, very, very slim hope. I have no reason to trust conservatives or Republicans at all.
I don’t either. Not one of them seems to put country first.
re: #87 Lidane
My one slim hope is that the Court doesn’t end up destroying the country before sanity is restored. At this point, it’s a very, very, very slim hope. I have no reason to trust conservatives or Republicans at all.
A court with Kavanaugh on it is not a legitimate court.
re: #81 Lidane
Kavanaugh is the textbook definition of a Pyrrhic victory. Sure, they’ll get their “permanent majority” until the Democrats retake the Senate and the Justices start retiring/dying, but at the cost of torching the Court’s legitimacy AND cementing their legacy as an anti-woman party.
The problem comes in that, if Kavanaugh gets confirmed, the GOP will have the two youngest Justices on the bench and 3 of the 4 youngest (with only Kagan breaking up the line between Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Roberts), while Breyer and RBG are 80s+. The next oldest after those two is Thomas, at 70.
The math on that is extremely bleak barring some health circumstances out of left field.
And what matter is the Court’s legitimacy when they will remain the law of the land with remarkably little recourse around them? Oh…and the problem with the part of cementing their legacy as the anti-woman party…apparently through the entire ordeal, the demo that disbelieved Ford the most? Republican Women.
We’re not getting any peelers from that. Unless we motivate non-voters, the anti-woman stance may just galvanize Republicans into even further power because that’s just the fucking country we are. Between that, and a non-insignificant group on the left doing its best to kneecap us out of the idea that the best way to fight the GOP is to burn the Dem party down first, and we’re walking a thinner tightrope than we should be.
There was much complacency among the ‘establishment’ Dems in 2016, and maybe 2015. Things had been going their way for a while. The surprises were: Sexism still reigns. Racism still runs the country.
Maybe Avenatti should ask why the new Republican strategy is working, not why the Democrat’s old one is not. Or both. To say the Dems screwed it up is ignoring an awful lot. Yes, the Dems can improve. Also, the Republicans can get worse.
Collins: Dems trying to find out if SC nominee is sexual assaulter = “gutter politics”
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) October 5, 2018
re: #89 Kragar
A court with Kavanaugh on it is not a legitimate court.
It shouldn’t be legitimate. But then again, we have an illegitimate president, and that hasn’t kept him from ruling like he earned it.
re: #89 Kragar
A court with Kavanaugh on it is not a legitimate court.
I know.
I’m trying very hard not to lose hope in this country. It’s impossible to believe that this is who we really are. Trump and the Republicans are a goddamn disgrace. They’re ruining everything that’s even remotely good. It’s tragic.
No surprise but Collin’s speech so far sounds like she is a yes.
Going off on “special interest groups” against the nominee.
re: #95 blueraven
Of course she’s a yes. She’s a Republican.
The Republican Party just destroyed the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.
— Kragar (@Kragar_LGF) October 5, 2018
re: #95 blueraven
“special interest groups” against the nominee
Women, the new special interest group.
Collins doesn’t mention $17 million in dark money supporting Kavanaugh
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) October 5, 2018
re: #96 Lidane
Of course she’s a yes. She’s a Republican.
She is also a woman. But I guess, party first.
re: #92 Kragar
[Embedded content]
No, gutter politics is the President attacking a victim and getting cheers from his audience. We have every right to want to know if your party is going to put a sexual assaulter on the court, you hypocritical hack.
re: #100 blueraven
She is also a woman. But I guess, party first.
Republican women are hard-wired to hate their own gender. It’s why they vote Republican.
“Yes, I was very troubled by the nominee’s unhinged rage and repeated counts of lying under oath, but then I remembered how some liberal activists were against him from the beginning. Therefore, I have no choice but to support him.”
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) October 5, 2018
re: #92 Kragar
I’m sorry she missed the Clinton presidency.
I’ve said all along the Collins is nothing more than Mitch’s rubber stamp and she’s done nothing her whole time in the Senate to disprove that.
Is there anybody that can beat Collins in her next race?
re: #92 Kragar
So, should Dr. Ford not have been heard then?
re: #3 Charles Johnson
So no one would ever care enough to take the time to make a professional looking sign?
Fucking idiot.
re: #105 Sir John Barron
I’m sorry she missed the Clinton presidency.
It was somehow different when Kavanaugh himself was working behind the scenes to push the Vince Foster was murdered by the Clintons bullshit but somehow this, a case with an actual witness testifying is “gutter politics.”
So now Manchin will vote yes and the Republicans will claim a bipartisan vote.
re: #100 blueraven
She is also a woman. But I guess, party first.
Actually, GOPer women are perhaps the most odious group of all:
Republican WOMEN, more than any other group, believed Dr. Ford was mostly lying during her testimony. https://t.co/OTDsOOyH7K pic.twitter.com/4P1mgJxC4l
— 😱Very Rude Elevator Screamer😱 Emily A. (@emzorbit) October 4, 2018
This Collins speech is 100% weapons grade bullshit.
re: #108 Tyrion
Is there anybody that can beat Collins in her next race?
This is a clear signal that she ain’t running for anything ever again.
“Brett Kavanaugh will vote to uphold the Affordable Care Act” LOL Christ she’s as shameless a liar as Kavanaugh himself
— Scott Lemieux (@LemieuxLGM) October 5, 2018
re: #95 blueraven
No surprise but Collin’s speech so far sounds like she is a yes.
Going off on “special interest groups” against the nominee.
Complaining that “special interest groups” against the nominee spent X dollars. Even though “special interest groups” in favor of the nominee spent twice as much.
#BREAKING Jason Van Dyke is guilty of ALL 16 counts of aggravated battery
— Erica Demarest (@ericademarest) October 5, 2018
#BREAKING Judge Gaughan revokes bail for Jason Van Dyke. Officer is being taken into custody with hands behind his back. Next court date Oct. 31. https://t.co/vPyPY4JqVm pic.twitter.com/poBKe9ZHbe
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) October 5, 2018
re: #113 Interesting Times
Actually, GOPer women are perhaps the most odious group of all:
[Embedded content]
That does explain why some of the most ugly smears I’ve seen Ford’s way have come from GOP women. Bunch of Aunt Lydias.
re: #116 jaunte
She didn’t actually say that, did she?
re: #99 jaunte
[Collins doesn’t mention $17 million in dark money supporting Kavanaugh]
The whole ‘sexual misconduct’ issue has been a distraction to avert everyone’s eyes from the financial misconduct, because that could seen as serious, by everybody.
Collins is going to vote yes.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
How liberals could declare war on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court: https://t.co/GyT5mKwfxR pic.twitter.com/PCIePZgdSd
— Slate (@Slate) October 5, 2018
If only this could actually happen:
But what happens when Democrats take back the legislative and executive branches? What if Democrats pass Medicare for All, and the Supreme Court strikes it down, with Kavanaugh casting the decisive fifth vote? It’s not hard to envision Democrats marching in the streets, demanding that the president and Congress ignore the ruling. And what if they do? What happens if the Department of Health and Human Services just … implements the law anyway? It’s easy to envision the presidential statement: As the chief executive, it is my duty to enact this legislation, passed through the democratic process, and to reject the illegitimate ruling of Donald Trump’s Supreme Court. The federal government, acting on orders of the president, opens enrollment, and Congress appropriates the funds as planned. What can the Supreme Court do? Send its tiny police force to storm the White House?
re: #92 Kragar
Yes, it’s gutter politics to wonder if a nominee for the Supreme Court is a terrible fucking person who is both professionally and morally compromised…
Sen. Collins proves that she is undeserving of anyone’s faith.— This Is Not Normal, K? (@Citizen_Kryptik) October 5, 2018
She really is dumb as a rock or completely disingenuous.
re: #126 blueraven
She really is dumb as a rock or completely disingenuous.
I think it’s the latter.
re: #126 blueraven
She’s a Republican, so her default setting is that she’s a dishonest snake that operates in bad faith.
So far not a single word from Susan Collins about Dr. Ford. https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C pic.twitter.com/Q6K0BkIMHU
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #124 Interesting Times
No
Just fucking no
If the executive branch refuses to enforce the law as interpreted by the Courts then we are done as a nation.
Because that same logic can be used to:
1. ban abortion
2. ban same sex marriage
3. institute segregation
4. every other bad fucking thing the courts have struck down in the last 75 years.
2/9 of our Supreme Court justices are accused of sexual assault and or harassment. Lovely.
I will withhold invective until she gets to the point but honestly wanted to vomit listening to her naivete while speaking.
This whole thing is such a fucking farce.
America is rotting away before our eyes.
re: #126 blueraven
She really is dumb as a rock or completely disingenuous.
She’s made it fairly clear that it’s the latter. She’s done this song-and-dance time and time again only to circle the wagons over and over again. We just have too many goddamn Charlie Browns holding out a hope for a principled moderate conservative to keep from kicking at the goddamn ball. And she just keeps pulling a Lucy on them, time and time again.
re: #118 Backwoods_Sleuth
[Embedded content]
RIKYRAH: #LaquanMcDonald #VanDykeMurderTrial
This is why ELECTIONS MATTER.
This case would have NEVER been brought if Anita Alvarez was still in office.
ELECTIONS MATTER.
GUILTY FOR EVERY SHOT.
GUILTY.— 3ChicsPolitico (@3ChicsPolitico) October 5, 2018
Lisa Murkowski is the only Republican with any integrity.
re: #132 HappyWarrior
2/9 of our Supreme Court justices are accused of sexual assault and or harassment. Lovely.
2/6 of the men on the SC accused of assault or harassment.
0/3 of the women are accused of assault or harassment.
Just wanted to point that out.
re: #139 blueraven
Lisa Murkowski is the only Republican with any integrity.
We now know who Mitch gave the pass to this time.
Collins is gaslighting furiously, trying to picture Kavanaugh as a hero of civil rights and women’s rights. It’s nauseating.https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C pic.twitter.com/IdXYoQ4nzk
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #140 BigPapa
2/6 of the men on the SC accused of assault or harassment.
0/3 of the women are accused of assault or harassment.
Just wanted to point that out.
That’s a good point. Or 2/5 of the Republican Appointed male judges have. Hey looks like W Bush did something right!
Also, I’m showing my Canadianness here but I really don’t understand the deal where some senators are up for election on Presidential years and others up on off years. Mid term elections have always been a tough concept for me to grasp.
Wouldn’t it be easier to do President/House one year then Senate two years later then President/House two years after that, etc, etc.? That way all terms are universal at 4 years and elections become far less confusing.
re: #142 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
She should tell that to the teenager he made carry her child full term to. Fucking snake. Kavanaugh’s no champion of anyone but himself and the GOP.
It’s twitter, not a damn navy crew.
— Daniel (@mandan1459) October 5, 2018
Fair enough. Give me an analogy more appropriate to Twitter? A shit fight on Monkey Island? A barn full of feral cats with rabies? That scene at the end of Thelma and Louise? What works for you? https://t.co/MuGCBGt3oK
— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) October 5, 2018
It was always going to be this way.
If Kavanaugh had written “Rape Party at Gaudette’s” in his calendar, he’d have said they were all testing whether drinking Canola(rapeseed) oil would prevent getting drunk, and the GOP would have believed it.
re: #144 Eclectic Cyborg
Also, I’m showing my Canadianness here but I really don’t understand the deal where some senators are up for election on Presidential years and others up on off years. Mid term elections have always been a tough concept for me to grasp.
Wouldn’t it be to President/House one year then Senate two years later then President/House two years after that, etc, etc.? That way all terms are universal at 4 years and elections become far less confusing.
It’s how the six year term works. I think it guarantees that if you get more than one term, you’ll definitely be up in a presidential election year at least once.
And also, how about an upper age limit for Congresspeole and Senators. 80 perhaps?
re: #149 Eclectic Cyborg
And also, how about an upper age limit for Congresspeole and Senators. 80 perhaps?
Would that really help here? The GOP electorate just elects worse people regardless of their age.
re: #94 Lidane
I know.
I’m trying very hard not to lose hope in this country. It’s impossible to believe that this is who we really are. Trump and the Republicans are a goddamn disgrace. They’re ruining everything that’s even remotely good. It’s tragic.
Too many Americans still treat politics as, well, politics…that nasty thing we shouldn’t talk about.
As long as they can turn on their TV and see a show, McDonald’s is open, they can buy cheap stuff at the store and they can still breath they just don’t seem to be touched by what goes on in politics.
When they get hit by something traumatic, that is when they pay attention to politics.
Hopefully it dawns on them, they have very little insurance, very little money, very little they can do about it all.
When the next downturn in the economy hits and they lose their homes and find the big banks are back and don’t care, they are sick and they can’t get care, food is expensive and they can’t go to McDonald’s and the TV has been turned off and WalMart is more expensive…they will talk about politics and then do something about it.
We have an ignorant country and a democracy. They really do not work well together.
Where has the Republican party been strong to get this much power? Hindering a decent education that helps the society.
They turn out worker bees with little sense of the humanities and social studies.
Perfect for The Party.
re: #144 Eclectic Cyborg
Also, I’m showing my Canadianness here but I really don’t understand the deal where some senators are up for election on Presidential years and others up on off years. Mid term elections have always been a tough concept for me to grasp.
Wouldn’t it be to President/House one year then Senate two years later then President/House two years after that, etc, etc.? That way all terms are universal at 4 years and elections become far less confusing.
House is every two years, President is every four. Senators serve 6 years, but their terms are staggered, so a third are up every two years. So, in 2000 president, all of the House, and 33 Senators; 2002, all of the House and 33 Senators; 2004 president, all of the House, 34 Senators, and so on and so forth.
Stop with this overturn Roe v Wade shit, Senator. He wont do that. But he will rule for every single case that inhibits abortion rights until Roe dies by attrition.
re: #144 Eclectic Cyborg
Also, I’m showing my Canadianness here but I really don’t understand the deal where some senators are up for election on Presidential years and others up on off years. Mid term elections have always been a tough concept for me to grasp.
Wouldn’t it be to President/House one year then Senate two years later then President/House two years after that, etc, etc.? That way all terms are universal at 4 years and elections become far less confusing.
The entire House is up for re-election every 2 years. Senate terms are 6 years, 1/3 of the seats are up each 2 years.
re: #95 blueraven
No surprise but Collin’s speech so far sounds like she is a yes.
Going off on “special interest groups” against the nominee.
She’s reading the party notes put out by Mitch McConnell. Or else.
re: #150 HappyWarrior
Would that really help here? The GOP electorate just elects worse people regardless of their age.
Well, no, not here but in the future it would keep people like Hatch from sticking around long past their sell by date.
re: #152 KGxvi
House is every two years, President is every four. Senators serve 6 years, but their terms are staggered, so a third are up every two years. So, in 2000 president, all of the House, and 33 Senators; 2002, all of the House and 33 Senators; 2004 president, all of the House, 34 Senators, and so on and so forth.
And the Founders thought this convoluted system was a good idea because?
re: #156 Eclectic Cyborg
Well, no, not here but in the future it would keep people like Hatch from sticking around long past their sell by date.
I hear ya but Leahy got elected the same decade and even before Hatch and he gets it. If we had an age requirement, some other asshole would just being doing the same thing Hatch is. I do hear what you are saying though.
Imagine holding yourself out as being pro-choice and pro women’s rights and then giving this speech, which is essentially a giant ‘fuck you’ to the Maine women who cried and shared their stories with you.
May your socks forever be wet, @SenatorCollins.— Imani Gandy o—€ (@AngryBlackLady) October 5, 2018
re: #157 Eclectic Cyborg
And the Founders thought this convoluted system was a good idea because?
Hot summer day in Philly. They wanted to get to the Alehouse. Joking aside, the country was much smaller and homogeneous when the founding documents were written.
re: #156 Eclectic Cyborg
Well, no, not here but in the future it would keep people like Hatch from sticking around long past their sell by date.
Term limits, not age limits.
re: #139 blueraven
Lisa Murkowski is the only Republican with any integrity.
It’s not even integrity. She’s only doing it because she desperately needs Alaskan native support to win re-election.
It looks like Collins is going to go through her whole repulsive speech without a single word about Dr. Ford. Smiling. https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C pic.twitter.com/joLyYQnSYk
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #162 goddamnedfrank
It’s not even integrity. She’s only doing it because she desperately needs Alaskan native support to win re-election.
Yep. And they don’t need her to vote for Judge Drunky.
Waiting for the Right To Lifers Forced Birthers to claim Collins as one of their own.
re: #157 Eclectic Cyborg
And the Founders thought this convoluted system was a good idea because?
Ideally, it puts a check on populism and passing political fads.
Also, keep in mind, Senators were originally appointed by the State legislatures rather than direct popular vote (but most legislatures quickly kicked that can to voters).
re: #157 Eclectic Cyborg
And the Founders thought this convoluted system was a good idea because?
Right now I am very happy with the system in place. At least we have the opportunity to take The House now and provide a check on this disastrous president.
rip the bandaid off you hack
— zeddy (@Zeddary) October 5, 2018
somebody start reading the gettysburg address now and see if you can make it to the end
— Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) October 5, 2018
I mean it’s a pretty short speech tbh https://t.co/dXtbQhJWJt
— zeddy (@Zeddary) October 5, 2018
just fucking say it so we can drink.
— zeddy (@Zeddary) October 5, 2018
re: #161 wrenchwench
Term limits, not age limits.
Fuck term limits, that’ll just make the executive branch even stronger. We’ve seen that in states that have instituted legislative term limits.
She’s finally mentioning Dr. Ford, only to claim Kavanaugh deserves a “presumption of innocence.” https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C pic.twitter.com/ZvQN4kOHa3
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
I’ll just reiterate that, outside of perhaps Murkowski, this is not the behavior of a party that sees itself as paying any consequences for their actions on this.
This is not the behavior of a party that sees themselves suffering from this stand in November. That should worry fucking everyone.
re: #160 HappyWarrior
Hot summer day in Philly. They wanted to get to the Alehouse. Joking aside, the country was much smaller and homogeneous when the founding documents were written.
Homogeneous because women and people of color counted for nothing, if not property.
Never forget that this is Anthony Kennedy’s legacy as much as anyone else. He’s the one that looked at Trump and decided he wanted Trump to nominate his successor. He’s the one that wanted Kavanaugh to replace him. It’s as much about Kennedy as anyone.
re: #130 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
That header image of the YouTube video doesn’t even look like her.
It’s like a ghost of Collins or some kind of apparition.
The last vestige of a soul has left her body.
Good night Dear Susan. Rest peacefully with the Devil.
re: #169 KGxvi
Fuck term limits, that’ll just make the executive branch even stronger. We’ve seen that in states that have instituted legislative term limits.
Dynastic limits. All 3 branches.
Is she trying to fillibuster her own decision, hoping that she just dies before having to commit? What are we doing here?
— Brandi, #1 Fan of Cloaks. (@ItsTheBrandi) October 5, 2018
re: #172 wrenchwench
Homogeneous because women and people of color counted for nothing, if not property.
Yes definitely.
re: #167 blueraven
Right now I am very happy with the system in place. At least we have the opportunity to take The House now and provide a check on this disastrous president.
Until the House issues subpoenas and the Corrupted Court votes 5-4 to quash them with Kavanaugh writing the majority opinion…
re: #160 HappyWarrior
Hot summer day in Philly. They wanted to get to the Alehouse. Joking aside, the country was much smaller and homogeneous when the founding documents were written.
and as noted above it was not ‘liberty and justice for all”
the 3/5
women
native americans
etc
“NEVERTHELESS…” https://t.co/HkvGzvhOV0
— Laffy (@GottaLaff) October 5, 2018
re: #179 dangerman
and as noted above it was not ‘liberty and justice for all”
the 3/5
women
native americans
etc
Yep. And that’s why I don’t worship the Founders. They made a lot of mistakes that can’t be ignored.
Shut up. Just shut the hell up. Just shut the fcking hell up.
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) October 5, 2018
yes, this^^
re: #147 Blind Frog Belly White
It was always going to be this way.
If Kavanaugh had written “Rape Party at Gaudette’s” in his calendar, he’d have said they were all testing whether drinking Canola(rapeseed) oil would prevent getting drunk, and the GOP would have believed it.
“SCOTUS candidate’s calendar from HS and college should be off limits anyway, although Travon Martin and Michael Brown got what they deserved, thugs.”
/
re: #180 Backwoods_Sleuth
[Embedded content]
Nevertheless, my party’s desire for judicial domination comes first. Just be fucking honest Collins.
re: #144 Eclectic Cyborg
Also, I’m showing my Canadianness here but I really don’t understand the deal where some senators are up for election on Presidential years and others up on off years. Mid term elections have always been a tough concept for me to grasp.
Wouldn’t it be easier to do President/House one year then Senate two years later then President/House two years after that, etc, etc.? That way all terms are universal at 4 years and elections become far less confusing.
It’s crazy because of Reps serving two year terms and Senate six year.
re: #183 Sir John Barron
“SCOTUS candidate’s calendar from HS and college should be off limits anyway, although Travon Martin and Michael Brown got what they deserved, thugs.”
/
and I still belong to a party headed by a man who said the Central Park Five should be executed after they were cleared.
She was never undecided. This entire thing is a charade. https://t.co/MPnK5LcAgJ
— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) October 5, 2018
re: #173 Mike Lamb
Never forget that this is Anthony Kennedy’s legacy as much as anyone else. He’s the one that looked at Trump and decided he wanted Trump to nominate his successor. He’s the one that wanted Kavanaugh to replace him. It’s as much about Kennedy as anyone.
This right here
when they grandstand pic.twitter.com/bovoVFNLW6
— darth™ (@darth) October 5, 2018
I was prepared for Collins to sell out.
I admit I wasn’t prepared for the sheer degree of vicious gaslighting, self-martyrization and smug privilege on display here. This is a trainwreck.— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) October 5, 2018
She is doing a defense attorney closing for Kavanaugh.
Fuck off, you witch.
So is this speech https://t.co/6Y7tgttUxq
— Laffy (@GottaLaff) October 5, 2018
re: #147 Blind Frog Belly White
It was always going to be this way.
If Kavanaugh had written “Rape Party at Gaudette’s” in his calendar, he’d have said they were all testing whether drinking Canola(rapeseed) oil would prevent getting drunk, and the GOP would have believed it.
they dont believe him
they constructed an absurd, rickety facade that they can point to as they vote for him
Her husband represented the Russian homeland in Alaska and employed a registered foreign agent. Put a reporter on it. https://t.co/avjo3S487E
— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) October 5, 2018
And not one word about the big money that went in favor of his confirmation.
re: #144 Eclectic Cyborg
Also, I’m showing my Canadianness here but I really don’t understand the deal where some senators are up for election on Presidential years and others up on off years. Mid term elections have always been a tough concept for me to grasp.
Wouldn’t it be easier to do President/House one year then Senate two years later then President/House two years after that, etc, etc.? That way all terms are universal at 4 years and elections become far less confusing.
The structure of the Senate was designed to be slow. The House reacts to the will of the people; the Senate is supposed to take a longer term view. That’s why only a third of them are up for election every two years.
Dozens of men are being arrested in D.C. right now for protesting Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Imagine if our Senators stood up for women like this.
Make that reality. VOTE November 6th. pic.twitter.com/etq74341r8— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) October 5, 2018
Collins is senile.
re: #196 HappyWarrior
And not one word about the big money that went in favor of his confirmation.
Thou shalt not discuss finances in public, for you shall be seen as uncouth.
re: #147 Blind Frog Belly White
It was always going to be this way.
If Kavanaugh had written “Rape Party at Gaudette’s” in his calendar, he’d have said they were all testing whether drinking Canola(rapeseed) oil would prevent getting drunk, and the GOP would have believed it.
So many, even here, said it was a done deal. Democrats have no power, fuck it.
Go figure the reactions now, since they already knew then.
I still admire the Dems fight in this. I think they are learning they have to be tougher.
I think they got some mileage out of the fight by extending it and getting more and more people upset at Trump and McConnell’s tactics.
It just didn’t stop Kavanaugh today even though he couldn’t be stopped.
This is nuts.
re: #196 HappyWarrior
And not one word about the big money that went in favor of his confirmation.
That was all grassroots money.
/
“I hope they have lightened their burden,” Collins says of survivors who *confided in her*, right before she announces that she’s voting yes on Kavanaugh.
— Chloe Angyal (@ChloeAngyal) October 5, 2018
re: #172 wrenchwench
Homogeneous because women and people of color counted for nothing, if not property.
Unmarried, property owning women could vote in at least some states, I believe. New Jersey even allowed married women to vote, until 1807. The ban on married women voting was, at least as I’ve read, based on the idea that they’d just vote the same as their husbands. A few states (4, I think), allowed free black men to vote. And white men who didn’t own property were often prohibited from voting as well, at least until about the 1850s.
The history of voting rights in the US is rather complicated and, while we eventually got it (mostly) right, not exactly as enlightened as our founding documents would suggest.
Police have started to clear the hallway, warning that anyone who doesn’t move away from @SenatorCollins’ office will be arrested. pic.twitter.com/F0K7MQrFr0
— Caroline Simon (@carolinesimon66) October 5, 2018
re: #169 KGxvi
Fuck term limits, that’ll just make the executive branch even stronger. We’ve seen that in states that have instituted legislative term limits.
I agree. I’d actually advocate for large pay increases for legislators (especially for State legislators who often make so little that only the independently wealthy can even afford to do the job) in exchange for severe election financing limits, yearly forensic audits of their personal and business finances and a ten year ban on lobbying after leaving office.
One of the reasons that Western democracies have historically had such low rates of public corruption compared to developing economies is that our police, regulators and prosecutors generally made enough in salary to live without bribes. We should take that further, and pay public servants enough (with strict oversight) that truly professional civic minded people can afford to do the job. Because once you start disincentivizing greed you can start attracting more people interested in truly democratic solutions.
Good Lord. Even republicans gotta be saying STFU.
This miserable, moralizing excuse for a party vote is sick.
Is Aunt Lydia Collins still explaining why the other handmaids need to stone that whore Ford?
— TBogg - more or less (@tbogg) October 5, 2018
re: #208 blueraven
Good Lord. Even republicans gotta be saying STFU.
This miserable, moralizing excuse for a party vote is sick.
Nope. Every RepubliKKKlan has to bow down and humble themselves before Zod Trump.
re: #204 KGxvi
Unmarried, property owning women could vote in at least some states, I believe. New Jersey even allowed married women to vote, until 1807. The ban on married women voting was, at least as I’ve read, based on the idea that they’d just vote the same as their husbands. A few states (4, I think), allowed free black men to vote. And white men who didn’t own property were often prohibited from voting as well, at least until about the 1850s.
The history of voting rights in the US is rather complicated and, while we eventually got it (mostly) right, not exactly as enlightened as our founding documents would suggest.
The struggle to become human has been long, and it is not over.
To be fair, Turning Points USA’s activists were still in diapers when Murkowski beat Miller in 2010. https://t.co/wZvo0uyIv2
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) October 5, 2018
re: #169 KGxvi
Fuck term limits, that’ll just make the executive branch even stronger. We’ve seen that in states that have instituted legislative term limits.
And it gives lobbyists a monopoly on institutional knowledge; term-limited legislators never have enough time to learn much about their committee’s topic.
re: #193 dangerman
they dont believe him
they constructed an absurd, rickety facade that they can point to as they vote for him
I think that’s not quite right. I think they believed him when the allegation first surfaced.
I think they started to believe her when she testified. That left them with the tortuous uncertainty that Conservatives are constitutionally incapable of tolerating.
I think Avenatti’s presence in the mix, followed by Trump mocking her at the rally, made it possible for them to stop believing her so much, and once they stopped believing, the relief from cognitive dissonance was so strong it drove them to believing in his innocence 100%.
Me? I can live with uncertainty. I’m comfortable with concluding that it is most likely that it happened as she described, while still being unable to state it with certainty.
If Collins doesn’t run again, she needs to make the speech good enough, for wingnuts, that she can still go on the Wingnut Wurlitzer tour and make some more money.
This is so grotesque. Collins said she believed Dr. Ford was a survivor of sexual assault, then spent 10 minutes calling her a liar in every possible way without using the word. https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C pic.twitter.com/nTzE3Pwwra
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
Question.
If the Dems take Congress can they investigate the allegations against Kav?
I mean if they can get a rock solid case that he committed perjury or lied to the FBI.
This is still a federal crime right?
So, if the perjury happens in the Senate can the Lower House prosecute or hand it off to a special council? Are there options?
I know impeachment is a waste of time but even that delegitimatizes anything he touches.
The reason #Collins is taking so long is she knows this is the last time anyone will ever listen to her ever again as a US Senator.
— Kragar (@Kragar_LGF) October 5, 2018
Where things are at: Senator Collins is defending Dr. Ford in a speech saying she doesn’t believe her.
— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) October 5, 2018
she believes feinstein but not ford, ok
— Tim Dickinson (@7im) October 5, 2018
re: #214 sagehen
And it gives lobbyists a monopoly on institutional knowledge; term-limited legislators never have enough time to learn much about their committee’s topic.
That’s very true as well. And in California, about once a decade we see people coming in proposing some new program that, it turns out, already exists and is underfunded.
Now she’s bashing Democrats for their “appalling lack of respect” for Dr. Ford. I can’t even. https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C pic.twitter.com/gYMHdjoS9j
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #215 Blind Frog Belly White
IOW, I think you underestimate the pain that uncertainty causes in Conservatives, and how much that drives them to sincerely believe something other than what their eyes and ears tell them.
Some of them are cynical. Most of them are delusional.
re: #218 Kilroy was here
Question.
If the Dems take Congress can they investigate the allegations against Kav?
I mean if they can get a rock solid case that he committed perjury or lied to the FBI.
This is still a federal crime right?So, if the perjury happens in the Senate can the Lower House prosecute or hand it off to a special council? Are there options?
I know impeachment is a waste of time but even that delegitimatizes anything he touches.
Dems can investigate him. Other than impeachment, though, all other authority to pursue him on criminal charges lies with the Executive branch.
I have a feeling I could turn off the hearing now and come back to it in 6 hours and Collins would still be gaslighting. https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #223 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
She won’t require that the White House direct a real investigation, but it’s the Democrats who have an appalling lack of respect for Dr. Ford (and Julie Swetnick, probably).
The gaslighting is reaching new and unbelievable proportions…
re: #199 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
Collins is senile.
They were always going to have a female senator deliver this speech. Optics.
Those of us not Republican women are not stupid enough for them. We see the manipulation. They can march as many women up there as they want to support Kavanaugh. The Republicans have lost my generation for good.
Susan Collins: “The fact remains, someone leaked this letter against Professor Ford’s expressed wishes. I suspect, regrettably, that we will never know who did it… To that leaker…let me say that what you did was unconscionable.”
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 5, 2018
“To that leaker…let me say that what you did was unconscionable.”
Yeah. Whoever did that forced her to spend all this energy pretending to give a shit.
re: #231 Mike Lamb
She won’t require that the White House direct a real investigation, but it’s the Democrats who have an appalling lack of respect for Dr. Ford (and Julie Swetnick, probably).
The gaslighting is reaching new and unbelievable proportions…
Ask Dr. Ford who she’s mad at today and it won’t be DiFi or the Senate Dems who were completely respectful to her but it will be Kavanaugh and his asshole enablers in the Republican side of hte Senate. This is just infuriating bullshit.
re: #234 Blind Frog Belly White
[Embedded content]
“To that leaker…let me say that what you did was unconscionable.”
Yeah. Whoever did that forced her to spend all this energy pretending to give a shit.
Fuck you Susan. You say you believe her yet you’re voting to confirm the man that attacked her. Fuck you and your party.
re: #218 Kilroy was here
Question.
If the Dems take Congress can they investigate the allegations against Kav?
I mean if they can get a rock solid case that he committed perjury or lied to the FBI.
This is still a federal crime right?So, if the perjury happens in the Senate can the Lower House prosecute or hand it off to a special council? Are there options?
I know impeachment is a waste of time but even that delegitimatizes anything he touches.
The House can investigate it, for sure. But a special counsel has to be appointed by the AG (good luck), or it has to be referred to the DOJ for prosecution (again, good luck). The only thing they could really do, is impeachment.
Now, if the evidence is strong enough, the threat of impeachment might be enough to get him to resign (that happened with Fortas). But that just means Trump gets to appoint someone else, and if the Dems don’t control the Senate, it’ll be someone with more or less the same judicial make up. Or, they could impeach him, the Senate could acquit him, and he lives with the stain of being The Impeached Justice. It might not mean much, but every opinion he writes after that will be viewed with a jaundiced eye by lawyers and legal scholars.
“I have to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh because otherwise Americans will stop looking at the Supreme Court as above politics.” —Susan Collins
— Samuel Moyn (@samuelmoyn) October 5, 2018
Finally, after more than 40 minutes Collins concludes by announcing she’s going to vote to confirm Kavanaugh, surprising absolutely no one. https://t.co/ayiOOVO07C
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #234 Blind Frog Belly White
“To that leaker…let me say that what you did was unconscionable.”
Yeah. Whoever did that forced her to spend all this energy pretending to give a shit.
Typical GOP: more upset that the letter was leaked than the allegations contained therein.
As my friend said, Kavanaugh is entitled to all the benefits of the “presumption of innocence” but none of the downside—like a thorough criminal investigation…
Now Chuck Todd is blathering.
[click]— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #238 jaunte
[Embedded content]
Yeah I’m voting for the most partisan SCOTUS nominee in my life time to preserve SCOTUS’s independence. Bullshit lady.
re: #157 Eclectic Cyborg
And the Founders thought this convoluted system was a good idea because?
You must keep in mind it has worked for a good time. We just have never had a party that is as power hungry as today’s GOP.
Conceptually it was to prevent too heavy a swing at one time. The forefathers also thought people would be in a party but still vote as an individual and with regard to people in their area. That made everyone unique.
What the Republican have now is everyone in lock step. So it has become monolithic in thought and action. It rolls over everything, even their own.
Look what they are saying about Jennifer Rubin. Democrats/liberals really never liked Rubin. She was pure conservative never to be changed.
Now because of what she has written and what she as an individual conservative feels, it isn’t in line with the party and is mocked. Now they don’t even want her to be referred to as a Republican. She has been excommunicated from the Religion of Trump.
That is the problem. We had a very workable flawed system, now we have a system that has had the flaws used as a tool to run a machine.
But it is still Democratic. The people allowed this.
re: #241 Mike Lamb
As my friend said, Kavanaugh is entitled to all the benefits of the “presumption of innocence” but none of the downside—like a thorough criminal investigation…
Exactly. This isn’t innocent until proven guilty.
The crowdfunding site collecting money to oppose @SenatorCollins went over $2m while she was speaking, then crashed. pic.twitter.com/Atqu4DWbH5
— Ken Schwencke (@schwanksta) October 5, 2018
I’m going to put an onus on our side: There is no reason anymore for a Democrat to ever sit out any election.
re: #238 jaunte
In true Republican fashion, @SenatorCollins casts a vote that claims to put something above politics while only ensuring it remain as politicized as possible.
Fuck you, Senator.— This Is Not Normal, K? (@Citizen_Kryptik) October 5, 2018
re: #237 KGxvi
The House can investigate it, for sure. But a special counsel has to be appointed by the AG (good luck), or it has to be referred to the DOJ for prosecution (again, good luck). The only thing they could really do, is impeachment.
Now, if the evidence is strong enough, the threat of impeachment might be enough to get him to resign (that happened with Fortas). But that just means Trump gets to appoint someone else, and if the Dems don’t control the Senate, it’ll be someone with more or less the same judicial make up. Or, they could impeach him, the Senate could acquit him, and he lives with the stain of being The Impeached Justice. It might not mean much, but every opinion he writes after that will be viewed with a jaundiced eye by lawyers and legal scholars.
Not to be petty, but that seem worth the work. That and Trump may be up to his fake hair in legal troubles by then anyways.
And @Sen_JoeManchin says he has “reservations” about Kavanaugh b/c of the allegations and his temperament, but he is YES. pic.twitter.com/pvcV0Il7lA
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) October 5, 2018
That’s it. He’s in. https://t.co/QkP4SaYg6i
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
Well, that’s it. My vote does not go to ANY Dem candidate for D.C. in the ‘20 primaries—assuming they’re allowed to run—who doesn’t make their first priority #ExpandSCOTUS. We need to get #righttochoose, #righttoprivacy and #legalbirthcontrol back as soon as Kav takes ‘em away.
— (((Chrysi Cat))) (@chrysicat) October 5, 2018
You know how sometimes you can hear the rain coming a good 60 seconds or more before it arrives?
And the windows and doors are closed?
yeah…that’s happening here.
This woman coulda got up there and said two sentences about voting yes and sat her disgraceful, treacherous self down, but instead she kissed Donald Trump’s ass for 50 minutes. Because that’s how white women build power under patriarchy.
— spooky andrea grimes (@andreagrimes) October 5, 2018
re: #238 jaunte
By casting a vote that supports your party’s nominee to the SCOTUS is keeping the Court above politics?
How many Supreme Court Justices have been impeached for committing perjury at their own confirmation hearings?
— Kragar (@Kragar_LGF) October 5, 2018
More than ever I’m ready to vote YES if California secession is on the ballot.
re: #245 jaunte
It’s Bizzarro Logic.
It’s Republican Logic.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when owning the libs depends on his not understanding it.”
re: #238 jaunte
Susan, no one with at least a couple of functioning brain cells believes you, you were always going to vote yes and so was Flake; Murkowski got a pass to vote against so she can keep her seat.
Everything from the Republicans (and GOP-lite Manchin) was nothing more than kayfabe.
re: #260 Joe Bacon 🌹
More than ever I’m ready to vote YES if California secession is on the ballot.
Only if we can take Clark County, Nevada and maybe like half of Arizona with us (I don’t want to have to have a passport to go to Vegas or Phoenix).
re: #257 jaunte
Someone really should ask her if her husband preapproved her position.
I will vote to support Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. pic.twitter.com/1FfuMTOZz8
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) October 5, 2018
Oddly enough, it looks like he had this announcement ready to go. https://t.co/kUCdVlvVwU
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #124 Interesting Times
[Embedded content]
If only this could actually happen:
I think it can come to to that. California and other blue states may simply dare the SCOTUS to stop them.
re: #191 blueraven
She is doing a defense attorney closing for Kavanaugh.
Fuck off, you witch.
I’m watching Cleveland baseball. It is not going well for them today.
But it is a damn sight better than watching Collins prattle on.
I know things are real bad. And I hate Republicans…but damn if I will ruin my day rolling in it by watching her. Yuck.
I have a hard time with the fact that a denial by Kavanaugh’s asshole drinking buddy was apparently an important data point for Collins.
And of course, it’s not enough that she is happy to install this dickhead on the court for the rest of his life…she also wants to reassure women that Roe isn’t going anywhere. It’s like she’s saying “Ok ladies, even though Republicans ALWAYS promise to trash Roe, they never do it. Go back to sleep now.”
re: #260 Joe Bacon 🌹
More than ever I’m ready to vote YES if California secession is on the ballot.
Don’t fall for that Russian trap.
re: #251 Kilroy was here
Not to be petty, but that seem worth the work. That and Trump may be up to his fake hair in legal troubles by then anyways.
A real investigation is definitely worth it. Especially given the screed he had at the second hearing. I doubt Dr Ford will ever get justice, but I would not be surprised if more recent cases presented themselves that would be easier to prove.
Manchin’s vote will make it a “bipartisan” confirmation according to Republicans.
re: #263 KGxvi
Only if we can take Clark County, Nevada and maybe like half of Arizona with us (I don’t want to have to have a passport to go to Vegas or Phoenix).
We’ll annex them so we’ve got room to grow.
re: #265 Charles Johnson
Even after bashing Democrats and whining about a Clinton conspiracy at his hearing.
Susan Collins better hope @RonanFarrow doesn’t do the investigation the FBI wouldn’t/couldn’t do.
— Joshua Ford (@jfo_in_dc) October 5, 2018
Tons of conservatives on Twitter trashing Ronan Farrow right now. He’s in their heads.
Hope your constituents enjoyed their health care, Joe because Kavanaugh doesn’t care about that.
What we need is migration from New York city, California and all the big cities into states like Montana,Wyoming, the Dakotas,etc.
Heck, not even that many would be able to change the composition of those small states that have inordinate amount of power in our system.
re: #275 jaunte
[Embedded content]
Tons of conservatives on Twitter trashing Ronan Farrow right now. He’s in their heads.
Unlike James O’Keefe, he’s a real journalist and not a scat enthusiast.
re: #272 Tyrion
Manchin’s vote will make it a “bipartisan” confirmation according to Republicans.
So, I assume we can write off Manchin’s re-election at this point? He’s going to lose support from Democrats, right?
re: #255 Backwoods_Sleuth
You know how sometimes you can hear the rain coming a good 60 seconds or more before it arrives?
And the windows and doors are closed?yeah…that’s happening here.
even more rain now…and the sun is shining.
there’s a rainbow somewhere…
They were reportedly cheering in the White House during Collins’ treacherous speech - and that was the whole point of what she did. It was for Trump.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #279 KGxvi
So, I assume we can write off Manchin’s re-election at this point? He’s going to lose support from Democrats, right?
I think he’ll win re-election regardless which is why I think this was such a shit move on his part.
re: #212 wrenchwench
The struggle to become human has been long, and it is not over.
Sad what with all the religion about with the happy saving talk.
Oh wait. Damn. 12 years of Catholic School and I keep forgetting you pray to get by the hell on earth to get the good stuffs when you die!
Lovely.
re: #257 jaunte
[Embedded content]
that’s how some women avoid being hit.
and then they get hit again and again.
and then they gaslight…again.
rinse and repeat
re: #279 KGxvi
So, I assume we can write off Manchin’s re-election at this point? He’s going to lose support from Democrats, right?
I have no issue with WV going red….. That’s what it is. I know some disagree but in my mind. Manchin needs to go.
re: #281 Charles Johnson
This speech by Senator Susan Collins is the slowest middle finger in human history
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 5, 2018
re: #285 Dave In Austin
I have no issue with WV going red….. That’s what it is. I know some disagree but in my mind. Manchin needs to go.
I mean yeah I can get why he’ll vote differently on things like guns but this?
re: #282 HappyWarrior
I think he’ll win re-election regardless which is why I think this was such a shit move on his part.
He will, and as I said, being a resident of Texas, if he were my rep I would still vote for him, because of the alternative. But, being a Democrat, he’s acting exactly like we want Republicans to act, to care more about they way those around them would be affected than the party line.
re: #282 HappyWarrior
I think he’ll win re-election regardless which is why I think this was such a shit move on his part.
Just feels like this is the sort of thing that will depress Democratic turnout and not the sort of thing that will make someone leaning toward the Republican nominee to change their mind.
I can’t help thinking about McCain just now. I know he was no saint, but I think the GOP has slidden even further since his death. I think especially of his vote killing one of the anti-ACA bills. I don’t think this GOP has anything remotely like that in them. The Drump thing has invasion of the body snatchers captured them.
re: #288 Belafon
He will, and as I said, being a resident of Texas, if he were my rep I would still vote for him, because of the alternative. But, being a Democrat, he’s acting exactly like we want Republicans to act, to care more about they way those around them would be affected than the party line.
I would too but I wouldn’t campaign for him.
While everyone is wringing their hands over Collins serving her own interests as usual, we are about to lose a Democrat Senate seat in Missouri. A little help here please for @clairecmc . It’s a red alert to get out the vote!!!!
— Pamela Walker (@pamelarwalker) October 5, 2018
Let’s help @clairecmc. She is voting NO on Kavanaugh and standing strong for women. https://t.co/7HZLTKKNDS
— Claire Conner (@wrappedinflag) October 5, 2018
re: #289 KGxvi
Just feels like this is the sort of thing that will depress Democratic turnout and not the sort of thing that will make someone leaning toward the Republican nominee to change their mind.
I have no idea. Gah how the hell does WV go from being a Dukakis state and thus seeing through the Willie Horton bs to this hsit?
Is it too early to start drinking?
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
Heitcamp did the right fucking thing Joe. Why couldn’t fucking you?
re: #293 HappyWarrior
I have no idea. Gah how the hell does WV go from being a Dukakis state and thus seeing through the Willie Horton bs to this hsit?
Guns, God, and Coal. Bush stoked the resentment and fear of Dems taking guns away, and further wedged it by paeans to coal. Between that and the general decline of unions, they sold their soul to Massey Energy and the NRA.
re: #253 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
But to be clear, he was in with Collins’ vote. I don’t much blame Manchin here. He’s got those cousinfuckers in WV to appease, and at this point it makes no difference.
re: #296 Citizen K
Guns, God, and Coal. Bush stoked the resentment and fear of Dems taking guns away, and further wedged it by paeans to coal. Between that and the general decline of unions, they sold their soul to Massey Energy and the NRA.
You are correct.
Current status pic.twitter.com/6YFbsGQX6L
— Sara Lang (@SaraLang) October 5, 2018
“I believe Dr. Ford, just not about the things she said under oath,” is a remarkable piece of political jiujitsu.
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) October 5, 2018
re: #297 Blind Frog Belly White
But to be clear, he was in with Collins’ vote. I don’t much blame Manchin here. He’s got those cousinfuckers in WV to appease, and at this point it makes no difference.
I hope those CFers enjoy losing their insurance then because Kavanaugh sure as hell isn’t going to give a fuck about that.
re: #272 Tyrion
Manchin’s vote will make it a “bipartisan” confirmation according to Republicans.
And for 90% of the mainstream media.
“Justice *Asterisk”
“Justice *KeggerBitchslapper”
“Justice *HoldMyBeer”
“Justice *KnowYourPlace”
“Justice **********************************************************************”
re: #300 Blind Frog Belly White
[Embedded content]
Yet Dr. Ford should be mad at DiFi and not spinelsss shits like you, Susan.
re: #303 Dave In Austin
“Justice *Asterisk”
“Justice *KeggerBitchslapper”
“Justice *HoldMyBeer”
“Justice *KnowYourPlace”
“Justice **********************************************************************”
Justice Dickface
Justice Can’t Hold His Liquor
Justice Temper Tantrum
re: #82 HappyWarrior
I’m hoping this is the case.
I’m not so sure. In spite of all the bullshit “pro-lifers” spew about abortion going back to the states if Roe is overturned, I believe there will be a federal anti-abortion law passed within a year of that happening.
I also fear Obergefell could be overturned followed by a federal law banning same sex marriage, invalidating those that already exists.
The confirmation of Kavanaugh is the first step towards Gilead.
We have a fucking frat boy bro on SCOTUS guys.
re: #289 KGxvi
Just feels like this is the sort of thing that will depress Democratic turnout and not the sort of thing that will make someone leaning toward the Republican nominee to change their mind.
Probably true in West Virginia. A lot of Republican pollsters also thought, with good reason, that confirming Kavanaugh would lessen Republican anger while enraging Democrats and driving them the polls in all other races. Manchin didn’t need to do this, and should have followed Heitkamp’s lead. Instead he let himself get used, again.
re: #306 thecommodore
I’m not so sure. In spite of all the bullshit “pro-lifers” spew about abortion going back to the states if Roe is overturned, I believe there will be a federal anti-abortion law passed within a year of that happening.
I also fear Obergefell could be overturned followed by a federal law banning same sex marriage, invalidating those that already exists.
The confirmation of Kavanaugh is the first step towards Gilead.
That is my fear as well. They may have finally gotten what they wanted. So hard we fought for progress and now? We just may have to fight a lot of the 60’s and beyond over again. As Ireland of all places has grown more progressive on choice and LGBT rights. We may take a giant leap backwards here.
A wild scene outside Joe Manchin’s office, a raucous group of protestors shouting at him while we questioned him about his vote, which he defended while claiming he wasn’t influenced by Collins and said he believed Christine Blasey Ford but didn’t know if Kavanaugh did it
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 5, 2018
re: #279 KGxvi
So, I assume we can write off Manchin’s re-election at this point? He’s going to lose support from Democrats, right?
Not really.
The Democrats in WV are, for the most part, Blue Dogs…like apprentice republicans.
This won’t hurt Manchin much at all.
re: #288 Belafon
He will, and as I said, being a resident of Texas, if he were my rep I would still vote for him, because of the alternative. But, being a Democrat, he’s acting exactly like we want Republicans to act, to care more about they way those around them would be affected than the party line.
Which would be fine if there weren’t serious allegations of sexual assault or that display of partisan hackery that he gave at the last hearing. It’d be very easy to say:
While I believe Judge Kavanaugh has the credentials to serve on the Supreme Court, the allegations against him gave me pause. Moreover, Judge Kavanaugh did not show the temperament we have come to expect from Supreme Court Justices, personal attacks of Senators and claims of conspiracies are disqualifying. My hope is that, if his nomination is rejected, the president will nominate another well qualified jurist that could gain near unanimous approval such as Justice Ginsburg and Justice Scalia.
re: #310 jaunte
[Embedded content]
WTF does that even mean. She knows who attacked her, you dumb fuckmop.
re: #307 HappyWarrior
We have a fucking frat boy bro on SCOTUS guys.
It isn’t official until tomorrow, and things may change between now and then. My hope is that Avenatti has a real stink bomb prepared to drop at exactly this point in the process.
re: #310 jaunte
[Embedded content]
HOLY FUCK, is this asshole perpetuating the fucking clone conspiracy theory bullshit?
re: #312 KGxvi
Which would be fine if there weren’t serious allegations of sexual assault or that display of partisan hackery that he gave at the last hearing. It’d be very easy to say:
Right not that hard.
re: #313 HappyWarrior
He’s still trying to have it both ways. Zero courage.
re: #314 EPR-radar
It isn’t official until tomorrow, and things may change between now and then. My hope is that Avenatti has a real stink bomb prepared to drop at exactly this point in the process.
I can only hope.
re: #301 HappyWarrior
I hope those CFers enjoy losing their insurance then because Kavanaugh sure as hell isn’t going to give a fuck about that.
Yeah. I’m past caring for self-destructive voters in the whitest fucking state in America voting to fuck everyone else because in their total fucking ignorance they’re afraid of Sharia, Mexicans, black people, and LGBTQ folks.
re: #312 KGxvi
Which would be fine if there weren’t serious allegations of sexual assault or that display of partisan hackery that he gave at the last hearing. It’d be very easy to say:
I agree. I actually didn’t mean it to be a defense of his vote right now as much as a recognition of what “normal” should be like. But, in that world, Kavanaugh wouldn’t have been nominated.
re: #319 Blind Frog Belly White
Yeah. I’m past caring for self-destructive voters in the whitest fucking state in America voting to fuck everyone else because in their total fucking ignorance they’re afraid of Sharia, Mexicans, black people, and LGBTQ folks.
I care about their kids being fucked but I’m outta fucks to give. They don’t care about sexual assault victims. They don’t care about losing their health insurance. But hey at least you feel nice and safe since you’ve got a President who definitely looks down on you but at least he and you hate the same people, right? Gah! I am so angry right now. Definitely going to need a work out today.
re: #315 Citizen K
In the end, Collins and Manchin and many others just endorsed the Ed Whelan theory without going the extra step of trying to name the “actual” assaulter
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 5, 2018
Everything fucking sucks, and we may as well have Gov’t by 4Chan at this fucking point. What’s the fucking point.
I think a lot of people are feeling exactly like this right now. That speech was just so much insulting, mendacious garbage.
i’d probably be at LEAST 1/64th less mad if susan collins had just posted her fucking “yes” and went.
that speech, though.
i am on FIRE.— fooler initiative (@metroadlib) October 5, 2018
maybe he’ll celebrate by getting blackout drunk and not show up for his swearing-in.
re: #322 Citizen K
Everything fucking sucks, and we may as well have Gov’t by 4Chan at this fucking point. What’s the fucking point.
My 23 year old, 18 year old, and 13 year old.
Dear Katy Tur,
I understand you do not vote.
So, why are you a political news reporter?
Please, with all due respect. What the hell are you doing, what gives you the right to comment when you do not participate?
I don’t think I can watch or ever take her serious again.
Yeah, she is agreeing with some of Collins’ points about it being political and a broken system.
I worked with a young man back in 2010/11 and he was a history major working toward teaching it with a masters he was working on.
He didn’t vote either. And I could never get him to say why beyond “what’s the point?” He’d get upset and smarmy if pressed.
This is why our country is where it is today.
The problem with saying you believe her, but not any of the details she relates is that it goes against everything we know about survivors of traumas like this - they remember the attack and the attacker but generally, after decades, not the ancillary details.
To say that is to invent your own hypothesis of how memory in trauma works, and insist on that hypothesis in the face of considerable counterevidence.
It would be a lot more honest to say, “I want to vote for him, and voting for him requires that I not believe Dr. Ford, so I don’t believe Dr. Ford.”
who wants to run for Senate in Maine? there will be an army of supporters with you
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) October 5, 2018
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) October 5, 2018
Hot takes already starting to fly that it was the protests and demonstrators who caused this to happen. As if the fix wasn’t in from the very start.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
What’s worse?
The senators that allegedly believe that Dr. Ford was assaulted, but are “unsure” that Kavanaugh did it? In other words, Dr. Ford was too…something…to have properly identified her assailant.
OR
The senators that just think she’s lying.
I’d go with the former. Aside from the condescension implicit in that position, at least the latter group are honest assholes.
re: #331 Mike Lamb
What’s worse?
The senators that allegedly believe that Dr. Ford was assaulted, but are “unsure” that Kavanaugh did it? In other words, Dr. Ford was too…something…to have properly identified her assailant.
OR
The senators that just think she’s lying.
I’d go with the former. Aside from the condescension implicit in that position, at least the latter group are honest assholes.
The former for the reasons said.
The very definition of cognitive dissonance: saying you “believe” Dr. Ford, but don’t think Kavanaugh did it, even though she said she was ONE HUNDRED PERCENT certain.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #326 Belafon
My 23 year old, 18 year old, and 13 year old.
My 60 year old (me) and my 79 year old (hubby).
re: #327 ObserverArt
I’ve been urging one of my co-workers to vote for the first time (she’s 30). She won’t register because she says she doesn’t want to be called for jury duty.
re: #328 Blind Frog Belly White
The problem with saying you believe her, but not any of the details she relates is that it goes against everything we know about survivors of traumas like this - they remember the attack and the attacker but generally, after decades, not the ancillary details.
To say that is to invent your own hypothesis of how memory in trauma works, and insist on that hypothesis in the face of considerable counterevidence.
It would be a lot more honest to say, “I want to vote for him, and voting for him requires that I not believe Dr. Ford, so I don’t believe Dr. Ford.”
Every thing they do is anti-science.
Republicans did what they wanted to do. They may have found Ford believable, but they didn’t care, except as far as she was an obstacle and a PR issue to gas their way around.
Now they’re blaming protesters. “See what you made us do!”
re: #335 Flying Squirrel Girl
I’ve been urging one of my co-workers to vote for the first time (she’s 30). She won’t register because she says she doesn’t want to be called for jury duty.
I hope she doesn’t have a drivers license then.
This is now a rage thread. Give us your best venting GIFs and GET. IT. OFF. YOUR. CHEST. pic.twitter.com/lFQzTFbSvd
— Brooklyn Nine-Nine (@nbcbrooklyn99) October 5, 2018
I don’t think there’s been enough discussion of the dominance of the “I believe Dr Ford, but I don’t believe Dr Ford” dance that has essentially become standard now among the Senate GOP
— Dad (@fivefifths) October 5, 2018
The Ed Whelan theory (or some version of it) has basically become the default consensus of the GOP https://t.co/gMVHz0v3AI
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) October 5, 2018
The GOP contends that Ford misidentified her assailant, which is why Kavanaugh committed PERJURY MULTIPLE TIMES on a variety of subjects before Ford even came forward. https://t.co/hLZzf9g2Dk
— Kragar (@Kragar_LGF) October 5, 2018
Collins: “My fervent hope is that Brett Kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the Supreme Court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions.”
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) October 5, 2018
This is the dumbest thing ever said by any elected representative ever. https://t.co/SeyjvZ9OaX
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) October 5, 2018
re: #330 Charles Johnson
“Look what you made me do to you!”
Welcome to the modern GOP, the party of unapologetic asshole abusers.
re: #335 Flying Squirrel Girl
I’ve been urging one of my co-workers to vote for the first time (she’s 30). She won’t register because she says she doesn’t want to be called for jury duty.
Um…please punch her in the face.
Susan Collins gets to go on and on about Kavanaugh on the Senate Floor but Senators are limited to 5 mins of questions during a hearing for a lifetime appointment….
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) October 5, 2018
who wants to run for Senate in Maine? there will be an army of supporters with you
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) October 5, 2018
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) October 5, 2018
November 6th.
“…let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
re: #342 TedStriker
“Look what you made me do to you!”
Welcome to the modern GOP, the party of unapologetic asshole abusers.
With an entire industry of enablers that allow them to get away with it and continue to get away with it with virtually no hope of getting out of the abusive relationship.
re: #245 jaunte
No, it’s gaslighting. This is what rapists and abusers do. And as far as I’m concerned, she might as well been in the room where Dr. Ford was assaulted or in any other room where shit like this occurs, because she’s an accomplice to this culture being SO concerned about a man’s life that the trail of victims he left behind are nothing but shit on the bottom of their shoes. And yes, I’m fucking angry. And heartbroken.
re: #311 Backwoods_Sleuth
Not really.
The Democrats in WV are, for the most part, Blue Dogs…like apprentice republicans.
This won’t hurt Manchin much at all.
re: #331 Mike Lamb
What’s worse?
The senators that allegedly believe that Dr. Ford was assaulted, but are “unsure” that Kavanaugh did it? In other words, Dr. Ford was too…something…to have properly identified her assailant.
OR
The senators that just think she’s lying.
I’d go with the former. Aside from the condescension implicit in that position, at least the latter group are honest assholes.
I’d go with neither. They don’t care if she was assaulted or not. They really don’t. They just want Trump’s backstop on the court. It doesn’t matter that they could have a different conservative justice without Kavanaugh’s baggage on the court. It had to be him because he will protect Trump in any showdown with Mueller that could come before the court. That’s what they care about. That’s all they care about.
In other words, they’re fuckers!
who wants to run for Senate in Maine? there will be an army of supporters with you
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) October 5, 2018
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) October 5, 2018
Whoa. National security adviser in Obama admin suggesting she’ll run against Susan Collins. (And I was today years old when I learned Rice has ties to Maine. https://t.co/yJxjGlNhP0) https://t.co/zyC1eYvhVv
— Oblivier Knox (@OKnox) October 5, 2018
re: #335 Flying Squirrel Girl
I’ve been urging one of my co-workers to vote for the first time (she’s 30). She won’t register because she says she doesn’t want to be called for jury duty.
You have my permission to fart in her cubicle.
re: #341 jaunte
Take two of the liberal justices out and suddenly the court is less divisive.
re: #335 Flying Squirrel Girl
I’ve been urging one of my co-workers to vote for the first time (she’s 30). She won’t register because she says she doesn’t want to be called for jury duty.
I despise that attitude. Jury duty probably isn’t fun (I was only called once, but was deployed to the Med). Under our system of justice, it is a vital component of civic duty, to ensure that those tried get a fair hearing before their peers.
I really wouldn’t want a trial and stand being judged by those who were “too dumb” to get out of jury duty. Those are the sort of people who would throw you under a bus so they could get to lunch quicker.
Maybe that would motivate her.
And not register to vote? Well, today’s Dumpster fire in the Senate is what you get when you don’t care who’s in charge.
I was standing on my deck getting some fresh air and letting some tears flow when I looked and saw a woman on her deck doing the same.
— Jennifer Hayden (@Scout_Finch) October 5, 2018
Consider yourself lucky they’re tears. Up here in Maine right now—-[Looks out window]—-yup, it’s all vomit. https://t.co/HpprngzCKU
— Bill Harnsberger (@BillinPortland) October 5, 2018
re: #27 HappyWarrior
Soros actually made himself too. Donnie was wealthy due to Daddy when he was shitting the bed.
Not a single right winger will do any research on who George Soros is or what he has tried to do with his wealth after the Soviet Union collapse, and how he tried to evolve into modified activism as the world changed.
re: #352 goddamnedfrank
You have my permission to fart in her cubicle.
And that’s not the only way they get you.
re: #354 Anymouse 🌹
I’ve always enjoyed jury duty (called five times). It tends to give you an appreciation for fellow citizens when you’re among a randomly selected group trying to do the right thing.
re: #341 jaunte
Collins: “My fervent hope is that Brett Kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the Supreme Court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions.”
— Jeremy Diamond
Also a pony.
Reminder that Collins represents fewer constituents than a single Los Angeles County Supervisor.
— Dr. Data&Science 🎃 (@dataandpolitics) October 5, 2018
The one theory of the case that really is absolutely without corroboration
- or any evidence of any kind -
is that Dr. Ford was sexually assaulted,
but misidentified the person who assaulted her
even though that person was someone she knew well.— Mark A.R. Kleiman (@MarkARKleiman) October 5, 2018
re: #360 Kragar
Yeah, that makes things much better.
re: #157 Eclectic Cyborg
And the Founders thought this convoluted system was a good idea because?
Besides everything that’s been said up above, by the time even the Articles of Confederation rolled around, the Founders had started to feel that the mechanism responsible for denying colonial representation in Parliament was less His Majesty and more Parliament itself. The last thing they wanted was a unitary parliamentarian government, so with the Articles, they went as far from one as they could. Shays’s Rebellion showed that the Articles’ governmental structure didn’t and couldn’t work, but they were still never going to establish a Westminster system, and figured that they still wanted squabbling fiefdoms, just not quite so powerless as the ones in the Articles.
That meant a Commons analog in the House of Representatives; I’m honestly moderately surprised they didn’t go with 4-year terms offset from the President’s instead of running the risk that coattails could turn the House in the President’s favour for the first two years of his (I use that advisedly; I’m ‘only’ 41, but now expect only male Presidents in my lifetime) term. The Senate was set up to be two things: a check on the House’s “Commons”-type fire, and a directed voice for the state legislatures in the national capitol’s halls. Since it was foreseen that most, if not all, state legislatures would also be constituted in the election that named presidential electors, they’d be just as prone to influence from presidential campaigns as the House was—and since they were supposed to be extra-protective of the legislative fiefdom, it wouldn’t do to have them all appointed in the same year a President was elected. Plus, each year-class was intended to be somewhat-in-opposition to the others—more of the Founders wanting squabbling fiefdoms.
The majority of the Founders thought of the US more as an equivalent to today’s UN than to today’s US or even EU, and they were trying to keep it just as powerless. Then the War of 1812 happened with a few of them still around and they figured out that they were prey for re-colonisation unless they gave still more power to the central government. There’s still an argument whether anyone but the Know-Nothings saw the US as a single nation-state even then, though.
re: #341 jaunte
“I have a dream about Judge Kavanaugh Making The Supreme Court Great Again where all the justices shall become united and produce unanimous decisions that please everyone.”
re: #55 whitebeach
It’s certainly a strange sort of democracy where a lifetime appointment to the highest court can be made by a one-vote majority consisting largely of senators representing a small fraction of the nation’s population, and where the nomination was made by a president who lost the popular vote by millions.
fortunately, the founding fathers anticipated just how stupid the American populace often is, and built impeachment into the system. First, we take Trump. Then we take Kavanaugh. And if Democrats can’t get off their asses and vote in a midterm, then we deserve what we get.
Don’t yell at senators, don’t shout at people in restaurants, don’t rage on about past votes.
1. REGISTER
2. VOTE
3. GET YOUR FRIENDS TO VOTE
You want to change Washington?
You get your chance in 32 days. #Vote— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 5, 2018
These tweets from these people always make my eye twitch, not least because Joseph here has a national media platform from which to communicate to politicians if he wishes, and is telling those of us who don’t that we can’t do the next available thing https://t.co/1Eidshf0yt
— I believe you mean “Frankenstein’s Shaunster” (@NoTotally) October 5, 2018
re: #348 A Mom Anon
No, it’s gaslighting. This is what rapists and abusers do. And as far as I’m concerned, she might as well been in the room where Dr. Ford was assaulted or in any other room where shit like this occurs, because she’s an accomplice to this culture being SO concerned about a man’s life that the trail of victims he left behind are nothing but shit on the bottom of their shoes. And yes, I’m fucking angry. And heartbroken.
They just ensured that Dr. Ford relived her trauma for nothing. Worse than nothing, she’s become the posterchild for ‘lying slut’ for a vast swath of America the same way Trayvon Martin was the posterchild for ‘criminal thug’ for the crime of walking back from a convenience store in his father’s neighborhood.
They’ve ensured that this country, by law, will not only treat sexual assault and rape victims like they don’t matter, but sent the message that ‘you speak up, you will be destroyed because you need to be put in your place’. It’s a reminder that they hold all the power, and they will hold all the power in perpetuity, and to fight back simply will make them stronger because they will always be the ones believed, not you, not ever.
It’s beating victims back into the shadows, forever.
Another variation on “look what the dems made me do?”. Bullshit.
— Deirdre (@Celticlassy10) October 5, 2018
— Rebecca Schoenkopf, Wonkette Editrix, King Of You (@commiegirl1) October 5, 2018
re: #370 Scottish Dragon
[Embedded content]
Avenatti was right about Trump and we’ll find out Kavanaugh too.
I can’t believe this is still happening….
Attention:
This is to inform you that the America Embassy office was instructed to transfer your fund $385,000.00 US Dollars compensating all the SCAM VICTIMS, and your email was found as one of the VICTIMS by the America security leading team and America’s representative officers. So between today the 1st of OCT till 27th Of OCT 2018 you will be receiving the sum of $5,000.00 dollars per day. However be informed that we have already sent the first $5,000.00 dollars this morning to avoid cancellation of your payment, remaining the total sum of $385,000.00.
You have only six hours to Call# email this office upon the receipt of this email the maximum amount you will be receiving per day “starting from today is $5,000.00 and the Money Transfer Control Number of today is below.
NOTE: The sent $5,000.00 is on-hold because of the instruction from US Embassy’s Delegates, they asked us to place it on hold by requesting the (Clean Bill Record Certificate) in order to fulfill all necessary obligation to avoid any hitches while sending you the payment through Western Union money transfer, the necessary obligation i mean here is to obtain the (Clean Bill Record Certificate).
Below is the information of today, you may not be able to track it in our website because the obligation has not been carried out. We haven’t affected it online for security reasons, to avoid hackers stealing the money online.
Sender Name:……. David Okpara
MTCN:………….. 360-0532-391
Question:………. When
Answer:………… Now
Amount:………… $5,000.00
We need the below details from you, to enable us fully activate the payment to your name for it to reflect in your country’s western union branch office, and to update our file records:
1. Your Full Names:………………..
2. Postal Address:…………………
3. Phone Number:…………………..
4. Age:…………………………..
5. Occupation: ……………………
Furthermore you are advised to pay for $155 for the Clean Bill Certificate so that your first $5000 will be available for you to pick up immediately via western union,The fee should be sent to our account department officer with the details below
Receivers Name: David Okpara
City: Lagos
Country: Nigeria
Question: When
Answer: Now
Amount: $155
Please do call us as the instruction was passed that within 24hours without hearing from you, Consider your payment canceled. Contact them with this email ( davidokpara12@outlook.com )
Thanks
Dr Gregory Okasia
(Western Union Management.)
davidokpara12@outlook.com
re: #63 Lidane
It’s GOHMERT!, y’all:
[Embedded content]
damn, dobbs looks like the blood ration got cut back at Vampire Club.
re: #372 HappyWarrior
Avenatti was right about Trump and we’ll find out Kavanaugh too.
He’s a publicity whore who, to date, has accomplished nothing.
The impending narrow Dem takeover of the House, powered by the harder left infuriated by upcoming conservative rulings, means Kavanaugh will likely face but survive an impeachment vote, a war that will cement a gaping partisan divide over SCOTUS’s legitimacy.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) October 5, 2018
re: #368 jaunte
Joe Scarborough, former Republican congressman, who let Trump call it in to his show day after day during the campaign? That Joe? The one who let him get away with insulting Mika Brzezinski? Spare me.
re: #373 Dave In Austin
Is…that…a 419 claiming that they’re to get compensation for being targeted by another 419?
That’s even more brazen than the original!
George H.W. Bush salutes Collins after speech supporting Kavanaugh https://t.co/8VS3S0be5j pic.twitter.com/8XHqZIingS
— The Hill (@thehill) October 5, 2018
Lol. Was gonna say damn he doesn’t look so bad for a 94 y/o.
— Gino Sarducci (@daGreatSarducci) October 5, 2018
re: #375 Skip Intro
He’s a publicity whore who, to date, has accomplished nothing.
I don’t entirely disagree but he should have no bearing in determining if Swetnick is credible. Either she is or she isn’t.
re: #365 Chrysicat
There is a reason why our system is almost never replicated anywhere else (and we did not even try to write this into the new German or Japanese constitutions after WW2) and that is because it becomes self destructive.
it was a tough choice, but in the end, @SenatorCollins felt morally obliged to eviscerate the victims of sexual assault.
— Jesse Lehrich (@JesseLehrich) October 5, 2018
re: #376 Backwoods_Sleuth
[Embedded content]
I hope not. The House should focus on investigating Trump and his Administration, and passing good legislation for the GOP Senate to kill so people can see a clear alternative to Trumpism in the period before the next presidential election.
re: #381 Scottish Dragon
There is a reason why our system is almost never replicated anywhere else (and we did not even try to write this into the new German or Japanese constitutions after WW2) and that is because it becomes self destructive.
Look at the British. Every system has become self-destructive. Evil eventually finds the weaknesses in any system that doesn’t change.
re: #376 Backwoods_Sleuth
Actually, I hope the Democrats take a slightly different track when investigating him. Figure out how he suddenly paid off his loans, and find out how that leads back to Trump.
re: #375 Skip Intro
He’s a publicity whore who, to date, has accomplished nothing.
Michael Cohen might have a differing opinion.
re: #386 Belafon
Actually, I hope the Democrats take a slightly different track when investigating him. Figure out how he suddenly paid off his loans, and find out how that leads back to Trump.
I bet you someone had dirt on him that he (Kav) wanted to go away real fast.
Senator Daines was involved in kayfabe as well in his statement to Mitch McConnell.
Struck most by Collins’ assertion that a survivor’s detailed, specific testimony, uncontradicted by anyone other than the accused, fails to reach a “more likely than not” threshold for belief. The speech didn’t require it, the vote didn’t require it. It was completely gratuitous.
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) October 5, 2018
Republicans like Collins who labeled Ford’s claims “uncorroborated” & “unproven” coupled with “Prosecutor” Mitchell’s shameful report have armed defense attorneys everywhere with new ammunition to defeat sexual assault charges in actual criminal cases. The party of law & order. https://t.co/L0ArVBrSVg
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) October 5, 2018
re: #379 Backwoods_Sleuth
[Embedded content]
Would that be the George HW Bush who grabs women’s asses at photo ops with his “David Cop-a-feel” line?
re: #390 jaunte
[Embedded content]
Yep. Like I said: beating victims back into the shadows, forever, because stepping forward will have even more consequences, and fighting back will be virtually assured failure.
re: #323 goddamnedfrank
I think a lot of people are feeling exactly like this right now. That speech was just so much insulting, mendacious garbage.
[Embedded content]
In a way I am glad she read this speech prepared just for her by The White House.
It will show more women that Republican women do not care about them…just in case they had some inkling it was only white Republican men.
This is just more stank on Republicans. It is getting pretty foul..
Don’t yell at senators, don’t shout at people in restaurants, don’t rage on about past votes.
1. REGISTER
2. VOTE
3. GET YOUR FRIENDS TO VOTE
You want to change Washington?
You get your chance in 32 days. #Vote— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 5, 2018
So very wrong-headed.
YES, yell at senators. YES, shout at people in restaurants. YES, rage about these sickening votes.
AND register, AND vote. https://t.co/POWEVn4CSq— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
But above all, IGNORE these people trying to get you to stop protesting. This is bullshit.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #393 ObserverArt
In a way I am glad she read this speech prepared just for her by The White House.
It will show more women that Republican women do not care about them…just in case they had some inkling it was only white Republican men.
This is just more stank on Republicans. It is getting pretty foul..
I hope so. I really hope so.
re: #391 Blind Frog Belly White
Would that be the George HW Bush who grabs women’s asses at photo ops with his “David Cop-a-feel” line?
Was he doing it before he was a dirty, senile old man, though?
Certainly, Clinton never tried “we’re both womanisers” as a way to save his voter base and you’d think that, with HW already being somewhat rehabilitated, he would have.
re: #87 Lidane
My one slim hope is that the Court doesn’t end up destroying the country before sanity is restored. At this point, it’s a very, very, very slim hope. I have no reason to trust conservatives or Republicans at all.
the one possible saving grace is that Roberts, who I think is probably a decent person in spite of being a corporate whore, may be so repelled by Kavanaugh that he ends up almost having to act as a moderating force on the court. The other outrageously funny outcome would be if Kavanaugh gets on the court and suddenly becomes the liberal he’s always wished to be, but couldn’t out of supreme court ambitions.
re: #326 Belafon
My 23 year old, 18 year old, and 13 year old.
I don’t have kids, but I do have a lot of nieces and nephews that are now having kids, some as young as 2.
I care about them too.
I hope they become educated enough to know right from wrong and how wrong our politics are right now and how it can be in the future for them if they work for it.
re: #330 Charles Johnson
Charles Johnson ✔
@Green_Footballs
Hot takes already starting to fly that it was the protests and demonstrators who caused this to happen. As if the fix wasn’t in from the very start.4:24 PM - Oct 5, 2018
What? Being actual participating Americans is now a bad thing for Republicans. If that doesn’t go to what I have been saying this afternoon, nothing does.
They want to keep their backers dumb and pacified. Just go along.
All Resistance will be put down. Fuck that noise.
(Time to roll this out again…)
If they’re refusing to read your letters or host town halls. Yeah confront and shame the bastards.
re: #365 Chrysicat
That meant a Commons analog in the House of Representatives; I’m honestly moderately surprised they didn’t go with 4-year terms offset from the President’s instead of running the risk that coattails could turn the House in the President’s favour for the first two years of his (I use that advisedly; I’m ‘only’ 41, but now expect only male Presidents in my lifetime) term.
There was some expectation that Electors would exercise independent judgment in voting for president and vice-president, and that the election might often fall to Congress, like in 1800.
re: #385 Belafon
Look at the British. Every system has become self-destructive. Evil eventually finds the weaknesses in any system that doesn’t change.
Parliamentary systems have more stability according to observers since one party has all the levers of power and is accountable to the voters for everything. The party in power gets their chance to do their whole agenda and if they screw it up, so be it.
We are the ONLY presidential democracy that has no fallen into chaos and dictatorship (all the South American countries that tried our example failed) and one of the major problems is that we have no clear idea of “who speaks for the people”. Does the POTUS speak for the people or does congress? That division is what McConnell used to his benefit when he said that Obama would never be allowed to fill a seat in the SCOTUS since the American people had elected the GOP to stop him.
But of course…55% of the Senate reflects less than 20% of the American population.
This division did not matter so much when the parties where somewhat heterogeneous. As the parties are utterly homogeneous today, we have effectively broken the government and all there is left is raw power, meaning we are drifting towards the Latin American experience of chaos and strongmen.
And no doubt there will be people who are registered as Republicans saying they can work to reform the party from the inside (perhaps even here at LGF).
That vote right there in the Senate, that is why I’ve never been a Republican. That party cannot be reformed, that’s who they want to be. Gutting the Treasury to feed the voracious appetites of the wealthy, they are not the party of fiscal conservatism (Democrats are). They are not the party of law and order (Democrats are).
GOP delenda est. What the party needs is a mass exodus of voters who realise their party was never what they thought it was. Until that happens, they will never change.
You only get a say with your Republican representatives or senators if you bring a big bag of money.
re: #399 ObserverArt
What? Being actual participating Americans is now a bad thing for Republicans. If that doesn’t go to what I have been saying this afternoon, nothing does.
They want to keep their backers dumb and pacified. Just go along.
All Resistance will be put down. Fuck that noise.
(Time to roll this out again…)
[Embedded content]
I think it plays into the idea that Republicans would have done the right thing, but all those scary protesters caused them to change their minds. If it did, then they really don’t need to be in office.
My compromise….. This would work for me.
I still support Manchin’s candidacy. Mainly because Morrisey is so loathsome and because anything that adds to our caucus is good.
However, he should be stripped of all Committee assignments in the next term of Congress. There must be consequences.— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) October 5, 2018
re: #404 Belafon
This whole fucking country needs Civics 101 lessons.
I doubt Kavanaugh will be eating out in any DC establishments any time soon.
— MsJoanne (@MsJoanne) October 5, 2018
re: #402 Scottish Dragon
Parliamentary systems have more stability according to observers since one party has all the levers of power and is accountable to the voters for everything. The party in power gets their chance to do their whole agenda and if they screw it up, so be it.
(rest cut).
Parliamentary systems are subject to a party with nearly complete control having to make coalitions with fringe parties to get power.
In the case of conservatism, since gaining and maintaining power is the only goal, you get things like the UK’s Conservative coalition with Northern Ireland’s DUP, Israel’s Likud coalition with fringe religious parties, or Canada’s Progressive-Conservatives under Stephen Harper aligning with parties such as the Reform Party and Wildrose.
re: #406 A Mom Anon
This whole fucking country needs Civics 101 lessons.
Not least because they were last a common thing sometime around 1991, with the exception of some red places where they never went away, but the curriculum got corrupted to make people completely misunderstand their government and their rights.
re: #356 Ming5000
Not a single right winger will do any research on who George Soros is or what he has tried to do with his wealth after the Soviet Union collapse, and how he tried to evolve into modified activism as the world changed.
They do not care about the real George Soros.
It is the cartoon picture drawn by Republicans they see.
In other words, who the fuck needs reality when you can get your hate on.
who wants to run for Senate in Maine? there will be an army of supporters with you
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) October 5, 2018
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) October 5, 2018
Many thanks for the encourgement. I’m not making any announcements. Like so many Americans, I am deeply disappointed in Senator Collins’ vote for Kavanaugh. Maine and America deserve better. https://t.co/6oGFTFuO1Q
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) October 5, 2018
re: #409 Anymouse 🌹
Parliamentary systems are subject to a party with nearly complete control having to make coalitions with fringe parties to get power.
In the case of conservatism, since gaining and maintaining power is the only goal, you get things like the UK’s Conservative coalition with Northern Ireland’s DUP, Israel’s Likud coalition with fringe religious parties, or Canada’s Progressive-Conservatives under Stephen Harper aligning with parties such as the Reform Party and Wildrose.
True, but the ruling party gets complete say in the executive branch and the legislative.
We have effectively become a semi-parliamentary system without the benefits and with ALL the drawbacks.
re: #412 Anymouse 🌹
Sorry, Ambassador, your tweet has already popped up on your wikipedia page, you’re running.
I’m at the point where I’d rather deal with honest racists, misogynists, and such than with people like Collins and Flake.
I’ve said before that I could respect an honest Conservative who would admit that their economic policy preferences would lead to ever-increasing concentration of wealth, slower growth, and more poverty with no safety net, but that they believe that low taxes and lack of regulation are more important. But no, they claim, against all evidence, that their plan will solve all the problems, which is either dishonest or delusional.
Similarly, Collins tortured claims that Kavanaugh will NOT vote the way all 99 OTHER Senators KNOW he will is either dishonest or delusional. I can handle the troglodytes honest declarations that he WILL vote to repeal Roe v Wade, to empower corporate America at the expense of individuals and the environment, and to allow anyone to get any gun they want at any time for any reason.
I can deal with honestly bad people. It’s the ones who pretend to be good people while doing all the same things bad people do that I can’t take.
re: #414 KGxvi
Sorry, Ambassador, your tweet has already popped up on your wikipedia page, you’re running.
LOL
Finally, parliamentary democracy risks producing weak coalitions that can’t govern at all, because no party commands a working majority. In these circumstances, small parties hold the balance of power, and they may demand a high political price for participating in a governing coalition. In this sense, parliamentary systems can be biased in favor of fringe parties and ideas. Italy, with its many parties, is an apt example of ungovernability.Again, this applies to our current situation, though that’s not immediately obvious. Superficially, the Republicans have congressional majorities as well as the White House. But appearances are deceiving. Although we lack hordes of small parties, we do have many “caucuses,” on both right and left, that play a similar role. On the right, we have the House Freedom Caucus; on the left, we have the Congressional Progressive Caucus. They can leverage their support, as the Freedom Caucus is now doing with Obamacare.
A parliamentary system works best when there is general agreement about the role of government; when voting discipline is followed slavishly by its legislators; and when minority parties or their substitutes don’t exert undue influence. None of these conditions exists in the United States today.
re: #397 steve_davis
the one possible saving grace is that Roberts, who I think is probably a decent person in spite of being a corporate whore, may be so repelled by Kavanaugh that he ends up almost having to act as a moderating force on the court. The other outrageously funny outcome would be if Kavanaugh gets on the court and suddenly becomes the liberal he’s always wished to be, but couldn’t out of supreme court ambitions.
The funniest outcome would be if he has a single-car drunk driving smashup the day after a Democrat is elected president. Or falls down the stairs, or off the roof while putting up Christmas lights, or just about any other kind of alcohol-related fatality.
Nope….. They’re already sending money…. Just do it.
— 🦈Dave’s Now Evil🦈 (@DaveoutofAustin) October 5, 2018
re: #405 Dave In Austin
My compromise….. This would work for me.
[Embedded content]
Manchin, in the end, was just a profile in cowardice who didn’t matter anyway. By waiting for Collins to be the deciding vote, Joe became just (ironically) a “me too.” Even if he’d suddenly announced he was a no vote, it would have been 50-50 at that point and Pence would have broken the tie in Kavanaugh’s favor.
What should happen to Manchin in the next Senate? Depends. If he wins (and I still hope he does), if he’s our 51st vote we have to suck it up and get along with him, because he can always hold out the threat of switching caucuses.
If he’s our 53rd or 54th vote, then he’ll be an irrelevancy anyway.
So much can happen between now and November, never mind January.
re: #59 Backwoods_Sleuth
You only think of the real news outlets as a wing of the Democratic party because Conservatives got addicted to propaganda, and left the American mainstream.
Actual news seems alien to you, because you want to live in a comforting cocoon of propaganda.— Jeff “We call BS” Furlington (@FurlingtonJeff) October 5, 2018
re: #415 Blind Frog Belly White
There was a book I read once by a real estate guy called “Looking out for number one.”
The essence of the book was dividing certain people in business or politics into three categories.
Folks always look out for number one, the ones who tell you right up front they will screw you then try to do it.
Number twos were the folks who are gaslighters, who tell you they’re on your side and stab you in the back.
Number threes were those who sincerely believed they were on your side, and stab you in the back anyway.
Fellow’s name was Ringer; he also wrote “Winning through Intimidation.” Real cynical guy. Described the GOP perfectly with his descriptions of real estate.
re: #421 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis
[Embedded content]
All the reporter did was point out 51-49 for cloture and Cotton threw his little fit about CNN. Trump’s pathetic ness is rubbing off.
re: #369 Citizen K
They just ensured that Dr. Ford relived her trauma for nothing. Worse than nothing, she’s become the posterchild for ‘lying slut’ for a vast swath of America the same way Trayvon Martin was the posterchild for ‘criminal thug’ for the crime of walking back from a convenience store in his father’s neighborhood.
They’ve ensured that this country, by law, will not only treat sexual assault and rape victims like they don’t matter, but sent the message that ‘you speak up, you will be destroyed because you need to be put in your place’. It’s a reminder that they hold all the power, and they will hold all the power in perpetuity, and to fight back simply will make them stronger because they will always be the ones believed, not you, not ever.
It’s beating victims back into the shadows, forever.
I see it a bit differently.
What Dr. Ford did was allow thousands, millions of us to tell our own stories of sexual assault. She caused us to dedicate ourselves to engaging in our democracy, especially voting. This all allowed men who were not aware of what we go through to see it. That dedicated them too. We also got to find the truth the assholes in our society are trying to bury. She ripped a scab off, a tremendous scab.
She won. She told her story openly and honestly and inspired a movement that will last way past Kavanaugh and it will impact so much more than one Supreme Court justice. It will impact Congressional races and maybe a presidential one.
It’s a lot bigger than Kavanaugh.
re: #419 Dave In Austin
The replies to her tweet are pretty solid.
re: #414 KGxvi
Sorry, Ambassador, your tweet has already popped up on your wikipedia page, you’re running.
Yes ! Do it Susan. I was just just in Maine a few weeks ago and your neighbors there love you. https://t.co/O5TEn6373Z
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) October 5, 2018
Conservatives always find a rationalization to do the wrong thing.
— Jeff “We call BS” Furlington (@FurlingtonJeff) October 5, 2018
re: #377 Anymouse 🌹
Joe Scarborough, former Republican congressman, who let Trump call it in to his show day after day during the campaign? That Joe? The one who let him get away with insulting Mika Brzezinski? Spare me.
I used to sometimes watch his first half hour because it was an indication of what the Republican points were going to be that day and it was more news that first half hour (outside of Joke acting like Brett Kavanaugh being a smarmy conservative frat boy).
I stopped doing that back in late May. Have not been back since. I finally reached the total saturation of assholeness emanating from my video. Slime.
I no longer could take either Joke or Mika.
By the way, never did hear any of those Trump call ins, unless some video/audio was posted here. They came later in the show.
Shorter Collins:
I acknowledge that terrible abuses happen, but I can’t conceive that those abuses are done by *my* people. Any proposal that *my* people can be part of such wrongdoing is a kind of abuse.
re: #139 blueraven
Lisa Murkowski is the only Republican with any integrity.
Even Lisa only voted no because 1)the count was such that she could; 2) Alaskans had let her know in no uncertain terms that she would be out of a job if she voted yes.
I know we’ve got an election 32 days away and all that, but…
Lining up some top flight challengers for 2020 in places like Maine, Texas, both Carolinas, Montana, and any other state where Democrats might have a chance, seems like a decent idea.
re: #424 BlueGrl21
I see it a bit differently.
What Dr. Ford did was allow thousands, millions of us to tell our own stories of sexual assault. She caused us to dedicate ourselves to engaging in our democracy, especially voting. This all allowed men who were not aware of what we go through to see it. That dedicated them too. We also got to find the truth the assholes in our society are trying to bury. She ripped a scab off, a tremendous scab.
She won. She told her story openly and honestly and inspired a movement that will last way past Kavanaugh and it will impact so much more than one Supreme Court justice. It will impact Congressional races and maybe a presidential one.
It’s a lot bigger than Kavanaugh.
More women who choose to run for office is a good thing in my book. I hope some more of these women do.
Sen. John Cornyn: “We will not be bullied by the screams of paid protesters and name-calling by the mob.” https://t.co/Y30neoLUzY
— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) October 5, 2018
The descent into “the opposition isn’t legitimate” continues https://t.co/VuPAUeJc0Y
— Grad School Imposter (@darinself) October 5, 2018
Conservatives always ALWAYS use “mob” as a designation for any liberal protest in any form.
— Deirdre (@Celticlassy10) October 5, 2018
re: #420 ipsos
Manchin, in the end, was just a profile in cowardice who didn’t matter anyway. By waiting for Collins to be the deciding vote, Joe became just (ironically) a “me too.” Even if he’d suddenly announced he was a no vote, it would have been 50-50 at that point and Pence would have broken the tie in Kavanaugh’s favor.
What should happen to Manchin in the next Senate? Depends. If he wins (and I still hope he does), if he’s our 51st vote we have to suck it up and get along with him, because he can always hold out the threat of switching caucuses.
If he’s our 53rd or 54th vote, then he’ll be an irrelevancy anyway.
So much can happen between now and November, never mind January.
Strip him of his committee assignments as suggested above.
re: #428 ObserverArt
One of the truly great benefits of living on the West Coast is that Morning Joe is long over by the time I wake up.
re: #433 Scottish Dragon
[Embedded content]
Whatever enabler. After Cruz, we’re coming for your seat next.
re: #433 Scottish Dragon
“I, elected representative of The People, will not listen to The People! How dare they speak to me!”
It’s not OK for Senators to pretend the protesters are paid, like they work for Fox. That’s propaganda, pure and simple.
— Jeff “We call BS” Furlington (@FurlingtonJeff) October 5, 2018
At this point, patriots need to start stepping up in this country and do what is necessary.
re: #438 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis
[Embedded content]
They do work for FNC. The GOP is its political arm.
popehat got a case of the ass and blocked me after he complained about a New Yorker profile mocking Kavanaugh’s man tears and I tweeted this at him:
I strongly recommend that men just shut the fuck up today. Just shut up. Don’t talk. Don’t make jokes. Just shut up.
— “Celia” (@_celia_bedelia_) October 5, 2018
Libertarian dudebro FREEZE PEACH warrior got all snowflake on me. Sad.
re: #428 ObserverArt
Joe Scarborough Details Trump Falling Out: ‘He Screamed at Me’ (Rolling Stone, June 29, 2017, more at the link):
Donald Trump has had plenty of volatile exchanges with the press since he announced his candidacy, but he’s saved some of his most searing personal attacks for Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. In the course of the campaign, Trump went from promoting his many appearances on the show - and having off-the-record phone calls with the hosts - to calling Brzezinski “a neurotic and not very bright mess” and suggesting she “had a mental breakdown while talking about me” last summer.
But Trump unleashed one of his more vicious verbal assaults on the duo Thursday morning when he tweeted: “I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mike, along with Psycho Joe, came…to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!” The tweets were widely derided on both sides of the political spectrum; Speaker Paul Ryan called them inappropriate. “It’s a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying, lying and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job,” a spokesman for MSNBC said.
In 1939, some 20,000 Americans attended a Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden, New York. In this clip, Fritz Kuhn, leader of the German-American Bund (the US wing of the Nazi party), attacks the media & minorities… pic.twitter.com/MPNtiBqDlr
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) October 5, 2018
Another chilling clip from that night… pic.twitter.com/Ys4LYCwX8u
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) October 5, 2018
re: #439 rhuarc
At this point, patriots need to start stepping up in this country and do what is necessary.
And that is?
re: #424 BlueGrl21
I don’t see that Dr. Ford won anything given that she and her family have had to leave their home under death threats and she now has to live under guard. Unfortunately, “the b*tch accused the wrong person” meme has won the day. That’s pretty much what Collins and Manchin said to justify their votes to confirm Kavanaugh. What happened to Dr. Ford confirmed for many women that they won’t be believed if they come forward. Not good.
re: #405 Dave In Austin
My compromise….. This would work for me.
[Embedded content]
Yeah, but the Dems won’t do it. No guts.
re: #447 Skip Intro
Yeah, but the Dems won’t do it. No guts.
Let’s say after the election, the Senate’s at 51-59 Ds-to-Rs. What do you do about Manchin?
re: #447 Skip Intro
Yeah, but the Dems won’t do it. No guts.
If the Dems remain in the minority, or have a 51-49 majority, and they strip him of committees and what not, he could just caucus with the Republicans. Would not be the first time something like that happened. There was a Republican who switched sides after 2000, I believe.
re: #446 Patricia Kayden
I don’t see that Dr. Ford won anything given that she and her family have had to leave their home under death threats and she now has to live under guard. Unfortunately, “the b*tch accused the wrong person” meme has won the day. That’s pretty much what Collins and Manchin said to justify their votes to confirm Kavanaugh. What happened to Dr. Ford confirmed for many women that they won’t be believed if they come forward. Not good.
I suppose that depends on what rape and sexual harassment victims take away from this next. If it’s galvanised them to change the way they are treated, that will be reflected at the ballot box.
re: #448 Belafon
The Senate’s at 51-59 Ds-to-Rs. What do you do about Manchin?
Feed him to the sharks. He can never be trusted.
re: #446 Patricia Kayden
I don’t see that Dr. Ford won anything given that she and her family have had to leave their home under death threats and she now has to live under guard. Unfortunately, “the b*tch accused the wrong person” meme has won the day. That’s pretty much what Collins and Manchin said to justify their votes to confirm Kavanaugh. What happened to Dr. Ford confirmed for many women that they won’t be believed if they come forward. Not good.
I’m in the ‘let see how this plays out over time before giving out final scores’ camp.
After all, the Dred Scott decision was the end of the world for abolitionists, until it wasn’t.
In this case, everything depends on the midterms. A red wave there, driven by rampant misogyny and celebration of rape culture, would indeed be grounds for despair.
Hopefully the Kavanaugh confirmation will wake America up to the fact that SCOTUS is an undemocratic political entity imposing far right minority rule on the country.
Look at these Brave Sir Robins running away.
These Republican senators literally ran away from people asking them about the realities of sexual assault in America pic.twitter.com/v0enNx90gi
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) October 5, 2018
re: #449 KGxvi
If the Dems remain in the minority, or have a 51-49 majority, and they strip him of committees and what not, he could just caucus with the Republicans. Would not be the first time something like that happened. There was a Republican who switched sides after 2000, I believe.
You know what, if the Dems get a 51/49 majority he’ll do it anyway.
re: #451 rhuarc
Whatever you want it to be. There is more than one way to skin a cat.
So, Second Amendment solutions? You ok with that?
Or do you actually have anything constructive?
re: #456 Skip Intro
You know what, if the Dems get a 51/49 majority he’ll do it anyway.
After the Trumpocalypse in the GOP Primary, we had a state senator here flip from the GOP to the Libertarians. This can go more than just Joe Manchin abandoning the Democrats.
I thought this was from Handmaid’s Tale pic.twitter.com/ynakp2xIJN
— 𝐾𝑎𝑦𝑙𝑎 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎 𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑠 𝑀𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑠 (@Maria_Giesela) October 5, 2018
re: #455 The Vicious Babushka
Look at these Brave Sir Robins running away.
[Embedded content]
They’re so confident that Kavanaugh is a good person.//
re: #450 Anymouse 🌹
I’m sure like me, you know a few women who have been sexually molested but never came forward. In some cases, they didn’t even tell their own parents. The way that Dr. Ford has been treated (she was assaulted but she’s too dumb to know who the assailant was) isn’t helpful in making women feel comfortable in speaking out. This sends a painful message to young women too.
re: #403 Anymouse 🌹
Jon Meacham, the presidential historian made a great point right before I turned back to baseball from MSNBC/Nicole Wallace.
He pointed out how deep conservatives have been pissed off at their presidents and senators in the past for putting too damn many moderates on the Supreme Court to go with moderate and progressive Dem choices.
And since Eisenhower they have been boiling and churning.
This was their chance under Trump to get the “real conservative” court they have wanted all along.
That tells me this is the Kochs, Adelsons and their ilk that have been pushing Mitt and Trump like never before. Along with the Evangelicals used to preaching their choir to do the voting.
Shoving ‘em over the hill they will die on to get what they want.
This is why the old time Republicans were all being huge assholes. Graham, McConnell, Grassley, Hatch…they knew this and they knew the future of money for the Republicans was tied to getting this done for their money men.
And many of those old farts aren’t going to be around to see the damage done.
But it also is leading to a cleansing of the party. They do not want the NeverTrumpers back at all no matter what. They have all flunked the purity tests that do not exist.
re: #457 KGxvi
So, Second Amendment solutions? You ok with that?
Or do you actually have anything constructive?
Massive disobedience. Break shit. Encourage California to ignore the SCOTUS when Kavanaugh rules to destroy their net neutrality and pollution laws.
If this is going to be a cold civil war, then start acting like it.
re: #457 KGxvi
So, Second Amendment solutions? You ok with that?
Or do you actually have anything constructive?
A lot of people are OK with calling for blood, assuming it will not be theirs.
re: #458 Anymouse 🌹
After the Trumpocalypse in the GOP Primary, we had a state senator here flip from the GOP to the Libertarians. This can go more than just Joe Manchin abandoning the Democrats.
I don’t see a single Republican switching to the Democratic side. None of them have shown the slightest bit of independent or fortitude.
re: #463 ObserverArt
Meacham also did a great job pointing out that Collins voted for a Kavanaugh who doesn’t exist. She painted him as some kind of moderate when he’s really hard right.
This bird keeps itself in the air by sheer force of anger alone. pic.twitter.com/svaRdUhHkk
— Paul Tweedy (@Paul2eD) March 25, 2015
This year finally has an official bird. https://t.co/vGVFw9TM8A
— Kashana (@kashanacauley) October 4, 2018
re: #468 Blind Frog Belly White
[Embedded content]
Well you’d be pissed too if everyone always requested you do Surfin Bird at Karaoke.
re: #464 Scottish Dragon
Massive disobedience. Break shit. Encourage California to ignore the SCOTUS when Kavanaugh rules to destroy their net neutrality and pollution laws.
If this is going to be a cold civil war, then start acting like it.
The moment we start ignoring Supreme Court rulings because we don’t like them is the moment we stop being a democracy. As I said above, the same logic can be used to undo all sorts of constitutional protections because the other side doesn’t like them.
Protest, vote, run for something, sure I’m down for all of those. But ignoring the law? Nope, that’s a line we can’t cross as a nation.
re: #412 Anymouse 🌹
[Embedded content]
Well, she’ll be lucky if she can be elected dog catcher if she doesn’t come clean about the four Americans left to die at Benghazi.
re: #471 KGxvi
The moment we start ignoring Supreme Court rulings because we don’t like them is the moment we stop being a democracy. As I said above, the same logic can be used to undo all sorts of constitutional protections because the other side doesn’t like them.
Protest, vote, run for something, sure I’m down for all of those. But ignoring the law? Nope, that’s a line we can’t cross as a nation.
Yes. That is what I meant by breaking things. That cow left the barn. Now, this is about power and we are fighting for our lives in a rather real sense.
re: #471 KGxvi
Ignoring the law when the law is unjustifiable is fine with me. That’s how we had the Underground Railroad despite laws which mandated the return of slaves to their masters. It’s also how we fought Jim Crow laws during the Civil Rights Movement.
re: #453 EPR-radar
I’m in the ‘let see how this plays out over time before giving out final scores’ camp.
After all, the Dred Scott decision was the end of the world for abolitionists, until it wasn’t.
In this case, everything depends on the midterms. A red wave there, driven by rampant misogyny and celebration of rape culture, would indeed be grounds for despair.
Problem is, it took a Civil War to change that…
re: #474 Patricia Kayden
Ignoring the law when the law is unjustifiable is fine with me. That’s how we had the Underground Railroad despite laws which mandated the return of slaves to their masters. It’s also how we fought Jim Crow laws during the Civil Rights Movement.
Those are individuals ignoring laws. That’s different from the government doing so. People saying the president/congress/states should ignore rulings are arguing for an Andrew Jackson approach to the law. That can’t stand.
re: #430 steve_davis
Even Lisa only voted no because 1)the count was such that she could; 2) Alaskans had let her know in no uncertain terms that she would be out of a job if she voted yes.
I got a flash vision of a Republican Bingo/Lottery type machine with 4 ping pong balls with the names Flake, Collins, Murkowsky and Corker on them.
When Mitch gets ready for a vote he turns the air on, the balls get blown around and mixed up and then he opens the little shoot up for a ball to make it up and pop out.
That name is the entitled no vote for this round.
And Manchin wins on his bingo card…or something.
re: #476 KGxvi
Or for a more recent example, it is George Wallace yelling “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” because after all, why does the governor of a state have to listen to the Supreme Court?
re: #471 KGxvi
Protest, vote, run for something, sure I’m down for all of those. But ignoring the law? Nope, that’s a line we can’t cross as a nation.
Didn’t the people who ran the underground railroad for escaped slaves and the lunch counter sit-in protestors “ignore the law”?
Conversely, you had segregationist governors doing the same thing for the opposite cause, which resulted in the National Guard being called in.
So in the parlance of disingenuous milquetoast mainstream pundits, “both sides” ignored the law. But in those instances (at least temporarily), the good guys won.
Now that America is a new, cold civil war, the only choice is to work for the same outcome. Ends justify the means at this point.
re: #478 KGxvi
Or for a more recent example, it is George Wallace yelling “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” because after all, why does the governor of a state have to listen to the Supreme Court?
Yep. I understand the distinction here.
re: #457 KGxvi
So, Second Amendment solutions? You ok with that?
Or do you actually have anything constructive?
Wouldn’t be my first course of action I’d suggest, but I wouldn’t object to that. After all, you’d still be a British subject without such a solution.
re: #471 KGxvi
because we don’t like them is the moment we stop being a democracy.
As I said, I think we have already passed that moment in a real sense when the last POTUS was told he would never fill another seat on the SCOTUS and Hillary Clinton was told she would never fill any seats either.
The court has been effectively captured by far right donors (who ran ads on TV the entire time this has played out, which I have never, ever seen before) and I cannot in good conscience call it legitimate.
re: #479 Interesting Times
Didn’t the people who ran the underground railroad for escaped slaves and the lunch counter sit-in protestors “ignore the law”?
Conversely, you had segregationist governors doing the same thing for the opposite cause, which resulted in the National Guard being called in.
So in the parlance of disingenuous milquetoast mainstream pundits, “both sides” ignored the law. But in those instances (at least temporarily), the good guys won.
Now that America is a new, cold civil war, the only choice is to work for the same outcome. Ends justify the means at this point.
Private citizens ignoring the law and elected officials ignoring the law. Two very different things. If we can’t understand the difference, and the effect that elected officials being able to ignore the law would actually have, then well, we don’t deserve the democracy we have.
chit chit chit chit CHIT CHIT chit chit whiddly squeek-a
— Korben the Budgie (@korbenisabird) October 5, 2018
re: #476 KGxvi
Those are individuals ignoring laws. That’s different from the government doing so. People saying the president/congress/states should ignore rulings are arguing for an Andrew Jackson approach to the law. That can’t stand.
I think it is time to cross that line. The GOP understand power and they use power. If they want to buy the SCOTUS with Koch money, why are we obligated to go with it?
re: #481 rhuarc
Be careful with that here. We don’t need to go Sharon Angle.
re: #483 KGxvi
Private citizens ignoring the law and elected officials ignoring the law. Two very different things. If we can’t understand the difference, and the effect that elected officials being able to ignore the law would actually have, then well, we don’t deserve the democracy we have.
LGF is being screwy for me today, so I didn’t see your earlier responses to the same effect before posting mine. HOWEVER, we DO already have state and local governments “ignoring” certain trumpian laws (e.g. Sanctuary Cities). Granted, I don’t know all the technicalities of where things stand at this point, but what if Beer Keg Brett’s SCOTUS rules that ICE decrees are obligatory and override state/city rights? Is it okay for the sanctuary cities to keep defying such laws, in your book…?
re: #443 Single-handed sailor
[Embedded content]
Never forget your history they were told.
And told again. Reminders.
Shit, they forgot their history.
History of Man, since the dawn of time.
re: #486 Scottish Dragon
Be careful with that here. We don’t need to go Sharon Angle.
Yep, we can keep being careful with that even when they’re leading us to camps for re-education.
*edit: And anyway, I said that was not my preferred option. There are many people in positions of power that could use their power and access to information to topple the whole thing.
A few dozen protesters are milling about outside the Supreme Court. General sentiment: pic.twitter.com/j7jwxUjTG8
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 5, 2018
Heyyyyy!!! It’s #Arachtober !!! Yaiiiii!!! Leucorchestris sp. in threatening posture, Swakopmund, Namibia pic.twitter.com/MbrnC2NNpe
— Emanuele Biggi (@EmanueleBiggi) October 5, 2018
There are ticks! And scorpions! And water mites! But mostly spiders. #Arachtober
re: #457 KGxvi
So, Second Amendment solutions? You ok with that?
Or do you actually have anything constructive?
Violence is NOT the answer because Republicans want a martyr for their cause.
re: #487 Interesting Times
LGF is being screwy for me today, so I didn’t see your earlier responses to the same effect before posting mine. HOWEVER, we DO already have state and local governments “ignoring” certain trumpian laws (e.g. Sanctuary Cities). Granted, I don’t know all the technicalities of where things stand at this point, but what if Beer Keg Brett’s SCOTUS rules that ICE decrees are obligatory and override state/city rights? Is it okay for the sanctuary cities to keep defying such laws, in your book…?
The most recent rulings, as I understand them, is that a federal agency can’t force state or local governments to enforce federal laws or to participate in federal law enforcement activities. If the Court ruled the other way, then, yeah, as terrible a policy as I think it is, the state and local governments should abide by the law. Because they take an oath to protect and defend the constitution, as the supreme law of the land; and if an otherwise valid Supreme Court ruling says they are obligated to help, then as individuals their choice is to comply or resign.
re: #492 Joe Bacon 🌹
Violence is NOT the answer because Republicans want a martyr for their cause.
This I agree with - humiliate and mock them instead. Strip them of any “glamor” and make them look as pathetic as possible (there’s a reason fascist regimes go after comedians with a vengeance).
re: #493 KGxvi
This is, ultimately, the flip side of the Kimberly Davis issue. She was a government official and tried to ignore a Supreme Court ruling because she didn’t like it.
re: #489 rhuarc
qvNgtXrkWcIaAXysDKM9oFx09AfVoPxBRiMzu3TfEJlVag13fSDBh6KZGmfSX7tYysElmBQNE2Tdkwc2L7MIS+WSSoLuVpoNsHcoFTiTvaR6ie6W5RkqzO7viEXpGCyrCIlmnce5d3gI1KTzix63iJak8j0NP1nDBNQG01d/4AhHBxXipUsmpkj055JoHZx2hYBGHqYSXNyncprxWWttLXRHT2IKeeLy3yxgj3SDbXPADva3Dj/5PfinuccGAoSpirFplYVc0J9xYFTav23iEDefyFlNINrDHL3vuHKG/j7KOPV6WEI2Ozyb+NnEASw76SXWEbuUIum7aXLv3cddP5udh1D4zWzJiEVHuZYA20JeGb9nX8bZzxJnY8hHSdxB5YOpFROLG8UqsnvFb6tTJA==
re: #492 Joe Bacon 🌹
Violence is NOT the answer because Republicans want a martyr for their cause.
For the record, I’m not advocating violence. I’m just annoyed by the comment I was responding to.
re: #492 Joe Bacon 🌹
Violence is NOT the answer because Republicans want a martyr for their cause.
Violence is not the answer YET, but I’m not sanguine that it will never be the answer. I’ve largely lost all my ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ illusions, and if It Does Happen Here, what’s left? Strongly worded letter?
re: #498 Blind Frog Belly White
Violence is not the answer YET, but I’m not sanguine that it will never be the answer. I’ve largely lost all my ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ illusions, and if It Does Happen Here, what’s left? Strongly worded letter?
I’m all for self defense. Get a CCW if you really, really think that is what you need.
Like other said, though…the right wants a martyr and if my history degree tells me anything at all, it is that this country is very, very forgiving of right wing violence and not at all forgiving of left wing violence (or for that matter any sort of left wing protests at all)
If Trump had spoken more and Avenatti had shut up, Kavanaugh would be drowning his sorrows with PJ, Judge and Squi right now.
— Nunca Trump (@NeverTrumpTexan) October 5, 2018
Wrong.
Liberal Republicanism, an idea for our time, latest in @TheAtlantic https://t.co/XelRe7DR3k
— David Frum (@davidfrum) October 4, 2018
Just saw that @davidfrum quoted me in this piece on liberal/moderate Republicans, on fact that moderate Rs are the ultimate partisans, so loyal that they never use leverage to force party to change. Collins speech was a perfect example. https://t.co/23jWlYk26R
— Mark Schmitt (@mschmitt9) October 5, 2018
For what it’s worth: @JaneMayerNYer told @PreetBharara’s that she’s still getting tips and sworn declarations on Brett Kavanaugh.
There’ll be more stories. More as-yet secret documents from the National Archives will drop. There’ll be a cloud over Brett Kavanaugh for a while.— Cristian Farias (@cristianafarias) October 5, 2018
re: #499 Scottish Dragon
I’m all for self defense. Get a CCW if you really, really think that is what you need.
Like other said, though…the right wants a martyr and if my history degree tells me anything at all, it is that this country is very, very forgiving of right wing violence and not at all forgiving of left wing violence (or for that matter any sort of left wing protests at all)
I’m thinking more along the lines of what happens if the country really does go full-on fascist, which I never thought could happen.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
When conservatives are doing something they know is wrong, the tell is that they say liberals are forcing them to do it. It’s how they reconcile their stated principles with the ones they practice.
— Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) October 4, 2018
Grassley suggests his panel has trouble attracting women because “It’s a lot of work—maybe they don’t want to do it.”
He later clarified: “We have a hard time getting men on the committee.” (The 11 Republicans on the panel are all men.) https://t.co/8VXbzzzHzZ— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) October 5, 2018
Yeah, that’s the ticket. Women don’t want to be on the committee, except for those Democratic women.
re: #500 jaunte
[Embedded content]
Wrong.
I disagree. Avenatti is not to blame for Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
re: #500 jaunte
[Embedded content]
Wrong.
Exactly. That reflects a very poor understanding of the dynamics at work.
‘Grassley suggests his panel has trouble attracting women because “It’s a lot of work—maybe they don’t want to do it.”’
Your Ranking Member would like a word.
re: #507 Patricia Kayden
Avenatti AND Trump were side issues in this. The Republicans wanted to push Kavanaugh through, so they did, despite his inadequacies.
re: #506 Single-handed sailor
[Embedded content]
Yeah, that’s the ticket. Women don’t want to be on the committee, except for those Democratic women.
Hmmm who does the committee appointments. But thanks.
The fix was in. The Republicans made sure we never saw Kavanaugh’s record from the White House, made sure the FBI never interviewed the relevant witnesses, and allowed Kavanaugh to lie repeatedly under oath. This is a national disgrace. https://t.co/znBoC7b5b7
— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) October 5, 2018
re: #507 Patricia Kayden
I disagree. Avenatti is not to blame for Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
I’ll split the difference: It was Avenatti’s involvement in her coming forward that hurt the credibility of Mrs. Swetnick’s allegations.
re: #504 Blind Frog Belly White
I’m thinking more along the lines of what happens if the country really does go full-on fascist, which I never thought could happen.
We’ll all still be here wringing our hands talking about how we should be civil and to not upset the apple cart too much.
re: #510 jaunte
Avenatti AND Trump were side issues in this. The Republicans wanted to push Kavanaugh through, so they did, despite his inadequacies.
Not certain I agree WRT Trump. I feel like his coming out and mocking Ford at the rally was intended to signal the troops that they could stop worrying about whether she was telling the truth and just go all in and believe Kavanaugh was 100% innocent.
re: #504 Blind Frog Belly White
I’m thinking more along the lines of what happens if the country really does go full-on fascist, which I never thought could happen.
We will cross that particular Rubicon if necessary, but that isn’t operative yet.
re: #514 rhuarc
We’ll all still be here wringing our hands talking about how we should be civil and to not upset the apple cart too much.
You must be reading a different set of comments than I am.
re: #494 Interesting Times
This I agree with - humiliate and mock them instead. Strip them of any “glamor” and make them look as pathetic as possible (there’s a reason fascist regimes go after comedians with a vengeance).
Tubas
re: #510 jaunte
Avenatti AND Trump were side issues in this. The Republicans wanted to push Kavanaugh through, so they did, despite his inadequacies.
To bottom line this, a SCOTUS nomination is always an ordeal for the nominee. Kavanaugh’s ordeal was worse than most, perhaps fairly, perhaps unfairly.
So he was tested, and Kavanaugh failed that test at last week’s hearing.
The weepy and abusive Kavanaugh of that hearing, ranting about Democrats and the Clintons, and vowing partisan revenge is the real man. His judicial career is the mask
re: #514 rhuarc
We’ll all still be here wringing our hands talking about how we should be civil and to not upset the apple cart too much.
I am sure as fuck not being civil. Going off half cocked is not going to help us, though.
Elections are coming. THAT IS OUR FOCUS NOW!! Take every bit of your rage and use that! Vote! Register people! Drive them to the fucking polls! Show up at demonstrations (and there will be some I’ll guess) and network! There are ore of us than there are of the other side, and it is time we show them that and start making it hurt. If that means shutting roads and businesses, I’m good with that. I have other ideas, but I’m not going to say them here in public.
But whatever you do…leave out the fucking guns. We are not the Bundy’s.
re: #502 jaunte
And Kavanaugh and Republicans will shrug their shoulders and carry on. This is a power grab. Kavanaugh doesn’t care about clouds. He’s going to rule as if he was confirmed by each and every Senator. Look at how Trump acts as if he has a mandate even though he lost the popular vote.
re: #516 Scottish Dragon
We will cross that particular Rubicon if necessary, but that isn’t operative yet.
Hence my saying ‘not yet’. And I’m not saying I’d advocate violence, but I’m afraid it will come, and it will be wholly justifiable. Note that we’re already a lot farther down that road than we ever imagined we would get.
I’ve pointed to the current and future skewing of the Senate to become less and less representative of America. If the less populous states were smart, they’d work with the other states to develop a plan to address this, but they won’t, and eventually a small minority of the population, much whiter and more rural than America itself, will hold veto power over legislation and the judiciary. What then? At what point, all electoral and legislative solutions having failed, will the majority of Americans no longer tolerate that?
That’s what I worry about.
Going to unplug for now. Everybody be well. Do something healthy.
re: #491 wrenchwench
[Embedded content]
There are ticks! And scorpions! And water mites! But mostly spiders. #Arachtober
touchdown!
re: #479 Interesting Times
Didn’t the people who ran the underground railroad for escaped slaves and the lunch counter sit-in protestors “ignore the law”?
Conversely, you had segregationist governors doing the same thing for the opposite cause, which resulted in the National Guard being called in.
So in the parlance of disingenuous milquetoast mainstream pundits, “both sides” ignored the law. But in those instances (at least temporarily), the good guys won.
Now that America is a new, cold civil war, the only choice is to work for the same outcome. Ends justify the means at this point.
On Bloody Sunday John Lewis and the other Demonstrators were told to disband their protest and stop their march immediately. I imagine some law was spouted before the newly deputized white town’s men began beating on them all with clubs.
Yep, breaking the law.
Tea Party too…broke some British laws.
re: #482 Scottish Dragon
As I said, I think we have already passed that moment in a real sense when the last POTUS was told he would never fill another seat on the SCOTUS and Hillary Clinton was told she would never fill any seats either.
The court has been effectively captured by far right donors (who ran ads on TV the entire time this has played out, which I have never, ever seen before) and I cannot in good conscience call it legitimate.
But the Democrats “politicized” it.
re: #519 EPR-radar
To bottom line this, a SCOTUS nomination is always an ordeal for the nominee. Kavanaugh’s ordeal was worse than most, perhaps fairly, perhaps unfairly.
So he was tested, and Kavanaugh failed that test at last week’s hearing.
The weepy and abusive Kavanaugh of that hearing, ranting about Democrats and the Clintons, and vowing partisan revenge is the real man. His judicial career is the mask
The real man also went on national TV and wrote an op ed in support if his own nomination. No one has ever done either of those things afaik
re: #482 Scottish Dragon
As I said, I think we have already passed that moment in a real sense when the last POTUS was told he would never fill another seat on the SCOTUS and Hillary Clinton was told she would never fill any seats either.
The court has been effectively captured by far right donors (who ran ads on TV the entire time this has played out, which I have never, ever seen before) and I cannot in good conscience call it legitimate.
re: #513 Targetpractice
I’ll split the difference: It was Avenatti’s involvement in her coming forward that hurt the credibility of Mrs. Swetnick’s allegations.
How? He was her lawyer. I’m not going to play along with demonizing Democrats.
re: #498 Blind Frog Belly White
Violence is not the answer YET, but I’m not sanguine that it will never be the answer. I’ve largely lost all my ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ illusions, and if It Does Happen Here, what’s left? Strongly worded letter?
Fuck that. I’m keeping my passport current and heading for the border when SHTF. Hopefully the Gordie Howe Bridge will be open by then.
re: #514 rhuarc
We’ll all still be here wringing our hands talking about how we should be civil and to not upset the apple cart too much.
African Americans didn’t use violence to fight Jim Crow so I don’t think we have to consider using violence now. Being uncivil doesn’t mean being violent.
re: #506 Single-handed sailor
[Embedded content]
Yeah, that’s the ticket. Women don’t want to be on the committee, except for those Democratic women.
that’s because Democratic Senators are all woosie soy men…
re: #530 The Vicious Babushka
Fuck that. I’m keeping my passport current and heading for the border when SHTF. Hopefully the Gordie Howe Bridge will be open by then.
By the time “the Rubicon” was crossed in Germany it was already too late for the Jews. People have to stop being so naive about this. This shit has happened all over the world. Just because it hasn’t happened her yet doesn’t mean anything.
New from NBC News…
“Hellllllooooo. Don’t F****** TELL PEOPLE BRETT GOT IN TOUCH WITH ME!!! I TOLD YOU AT THE TIME THAT WAS IN CONFIDENCE!!!”https://t.co/WcYkJLy6mH— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) October 5, 2018
re: #500 jaunte
[Embedded content]
Wrong.
Nope. Trump would not have turned off any Republicans. They want to make it out as Ford And the Democrats’ fault, but this is solely because they want the man who will completely back Trump.
— (((IntheNumbers))) (@ItsNumbersMan) October 5, 2018
re: #457 KGxvi
So, Second Amendment solutions? You ok with that?
Or do you actually have anything constructive?
<ctrl-f “general strike until Trump and Kav are removed from office”>
<not found>
Friday night!
Thank God for guitars…and beer…and…
re: #536 Chrysicat
Finally fixed that reply. Been too long since I had to simulate a bracket, because virtually nothing runs pure html anymore :”>
re: #524 Backwoods_Sleuth
touchdown!
🎶 Spider friend, spider friend
Does whatever a spider can
Does he make me happy?
Yes he does, he’s a friend
Look out!
Here comes the spider friend 🎶#Arachtober pic.twitter.com/371nH4EvwC— Nadine Gabriel, Hunter of Rocks (@NadWGab) October 5, 2018
Does that need to be hidden?
re: #540 wrenchwench
I’m not quite triggering myself, but there may be bigger arachnophobes here.
I’m not sure how the model for that shot isn’t getting bitten either.
This hurts. But even the fights we lose matter. Every time you called, and marched, and tweeted, you helped move us closer. And it was so close.
It’s ok to step back for a minute and take a breath. But you cannot give up. We still need you in this.— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) October 5, 2018
Expensive doorstop: A professor in @cmichSE identifies a rock from a nearby farm as a rare meteorite possibly worth $100,000. https://t.co/iIMlPasNv7 pic.twitter.com/UMPHEpUHar
— Central Michigan U. (@CMUniversity) October 3, 2018
Imagine grabbing what you thought was a normal, random rock to use as a door stopper…only to find out decades later, it’s an extremely valuable meteorite!
Doorstop turns out to be meteorite worth $100K -> https://t.co/B7N756ntNG pic.twitter.com/VqOHKALC74— Local 12/WKRC-TV (@Local12) October 5, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man recently learned that a rock he’s been using as a doorstop is a meteorite worth $100,000.
The Smithsonian Museum and Central Michigan University say the nearly 23-pound hunk of iron and nickel is the sixth largest meteorite found in Michigan.
David Mazurek says he took his doorstop to the university for examination after seeing reports in January of meteorite pieces selling for thousands of dollars.
Mazurek says the meteorite came with a barn he bought in 1988 in Edmore. He says the farmer who sold him the property told him it landed in his backyard in the 1930s.
More tests are being conducted to see if the meteorite contains rare elements.
Mazurek says that when he sells the meteorite, he’ll donate some of the money to the university.
re: #540 wrenchwench
Gorgeous spider; you know the species?
.@NBC exclusive:
Kavanaugh Yale classmates ignored by the FBI speak out, reveal new text message about Kavanaugh advising alleged eyewitness before New Yorker story:https://t.co/8D8GZH4DnH— Heidi Przybyla (@HeidiPrzybyla) October 5, 2018
This is why the GOP was so desperate to rush Kavanaugh’s confirmation through the Senate, and it’s just the beginning. They undoubtedly know there’s more coming out. https://t.co/PxNQvCWS6a
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) October 5, 2018
re: #541 Chrysicat
I’m not quite triggering myself, but there may be bigger arachnophobes here.
I’m not sure how the model for that shot isn’t getting bitten either.
Spiders don’t often bite the substrates they walk on, unless that substrate does something threatening.
re: #541 Chrysicat
I’m not quite triggering myself, but there may be bigger arachnophobes here.
I’m not sure how the model for that shot isn’t getting bitten either.
Most spiders like to wrap up their little snacks in lots of web, then give it a little bite. They don’t care for the big snacks that could take all of their web and still be free to bite back.
re: #547 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
This is why the GOP was so desperate to rush Kavanaugh’s confirmation through the Senate, and it’s just the beginning. They undoubtedly know there’s more coming out
And they’re all gonna be “sorry too late nothing we can do”
re: #546 Colère Tueur de Lapin
Gorgeous spider; you know the species?
Looks like some kind of garden spider to me, but that’s like saying, ‘It’s a mutt’ when somebody asks what kind of dog you have.
re: #550 dangerman
And they’re all gonna be “sorry too late nothing we can do”
“If only we’d known about this at the time…”
re: #552 Targetpractice
“If only we’d known about this at the time…”
If only we hadn’t slammed the door on all these closely held secrets…
With any luck, as soon as the country has a decent president again, Kavanaugh will have to retire to spend more time with his liver.
re: #551 wrenchwench
Looks like some kind of garden spider to me, but that’s like saying, ‘It’s a mutt’ when somebody asks what kind of dog you have.
Mrs. FBW is attempting to divine what Dory’s heritage is comprised of. Whatever we think, we’ll be wrong. Whatever it is, she’s got a remarkably sweet disposition - cuddly, quiet, playful.
re: #554 Targetpractice
[Embedded content]
— ggggG-unit! (@Novaesoul) October 5, 2018
Darn! The one at the top had to go with the one on the bottom.
re: #556 Blind Frog Belly White
Mrs. FBW is attempting to divine what Dory’s heritage is comprised of. Whatever we think, we’ll be wrong. Whatever it is, she’s got a remarkably sweet disposition - cuddly, quiet, playful.
Pure pupper. Requires much scritching.
re: #557 wrenchwench
[Embedded content]
Darn! The one at the top had to go with the one on the bottom.
re: #555 whitebeach
With any luck, as soon as the country has a decent president again, Kavanaugh will have to retire to spend more time with his liver.
If he still has a drinking problem, this will be a big test for him. John Roberts don’t mess around with the Roberts’ legacy.
re: #556 Blind Frog Belly White
Mrs. FBW is attempting to divine what Dory’s heritage is comprised of. Whatever we think, we’ll be wrong. Whatever it is, she’s got a remarkably sweet disposition - cuddly, quiet, playful.
DNA testing?
re: #562 prairiefire
If he still has a drinking problem, this will be a big test for him. John Roberts don’t mess around with the Roberts’ legacy.
Even if Kavanaugh’s drinking is now under control, I can imagine the only opinions Roberts will give him to write are the boring ones that even a hyper-partisan SCOTUS can go 9-0 on.
re: #558 wrenchwench
Pure pupper. Requires much scritching.
Most mornings when I come out to the Living And Dying Room - er, I mean Living and DINING Room - she comes running over all wiggly and then rolls over for me to rub her belly. Rango does much the same, but for him it’s a lot more effort - moment of inertia and all that.
re: #563 A hollow voice says, Covfefe.
DNA testing?
Until you know the truth, she could be anything. Schrodinger’s puppy - she is simultaneously all possible breeds, till you open the email with the results. Then you’re stuck with it.
re: #565 Blind Frog Belly White
Most mornings when I come out to the Living And Dying Room - er, I mean Living and DINING Room - she comes running over all wiggly and then rolls over for me to rub her belly. Rango does much the same, but for him it’s a lot more effort - moment of inertia and all that.
There are various cats who are greeted as I walk to and from work. At least three of them will fling themselves to the ground and wait for a belly-scritch, but my two at home? Never. They don’t even have the leg-rubbing maneuver down. And they are 11 years old. Inadequate kittenhood is my theory.
Law school exam question: SCOTUS strikes down California’s stricter environmental standards. California says fine, we will give tax breaks to any auto manufacturer, power company, etc. that complies with these aspirational emissions standards. Constitutional?
re: #567 wrenchwench
There are various cats who are greeted as I walk to and from work. At least three of them will fling themselves to the ground and wait for a belly-scritch, but my two at home? Never. They don’t even have the leg-rubbing maneuver down. And they are 11 years old. Inadequate kittenhood is my theory.
Bubby (u pronounced like the oo in book), Mrs. FBW’s indoor/outdoor cat when she moved out here in 1982, was not at all affectionate with us. But when people came by, they’d ask who owned that incredibly affectionate kitty outside the apartment.
And yet, we kept feeding him.
re: #566 Blind Frog Belly White
Until you know the truth, she could be anything. Schrodinger’s puppy - she is simultaneously all possible breeds, till you open the email with the results. Then you’re stuck with it.
It’s the ancestry.com commercial
re: #539 Skip Intro
Bwana Melania heads into darkest Africa with her bearers, wearing the latest in 19th century colonial fashion.
[Embedded content]
Melania Trump Raises Eyebrows in Africa With Another White Hat
NAIROBI, Kenya — A half a world away from the spectacle of Washington, Melania Trump still managed to create one of her own during a Kenyan safari on Friday, riding out into the grassland wearing a crisp white pith helmet — a common symbol of European colonial rule.
It may not have been the most glaring faux pas the hyper-scrutinized Mrs. Trump has ever made. That title probably goes to the “I really don’t care. Do U?” jacket she wore on the way to visit detained migrant children in Texas in June.
But to some — especially those who study African history — her fashion choice in Kenya was still a big error on the global stage: the sight of a first lady wearing something so closely associated with the exploitation of Africans.
re: #572 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
Melania Trump Raises Eyebrows in Africa With Another White Hat
They’re pithed, you might thay.
//
re: #568 Mike Lamb
Law school exam question: SCOTUS strikes down California’s stricter environmental standards. California says fine, we will give tax breaks to any auto manufacturer, power company, etc. that complies with these aspirational emissions standards. Constitutional?
First, technically most auto manufacturers don’t operate inside California so the tax break would go to dealers, so there’s not much incentive for the people making gas guzzlers. Also there’s already rebates for extremely low emissions vehicles in the form of rebates, my Dad got at $2500 check from the State after he bought his model S. The problem is those programs actually cost the State money directly, so they don’t really come close to substituting for things like our cleaner fuel and gas efficiency requirements.
re: #572 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
I have to ration my outrage these days. Melania’s hat is stupidly offensive, which gets it to about the 10th percentile of Trumpist outrages. That thing with one of the stupid Trump brats and the elephant’s tail was much worse.
re: #577 EPR-radar
I have to ration my outrage these days. Melania’s hat is stupidly offensive, which gets it to about the 10th percentile of Trumpist outrages. That thing with one of the stupid Trump brats and the elephant’s tail was much worse.
Doesn’t deserve outrage. Just a rolling of the eyes.
re: #575 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel
Guess who else wore pith helmets:
[Embedded content]
Also:
re: #578 Blind Frog Belly White
Doesn’t deserve outrage. Just a rolling of the eyes.
That can actually be a bigger deal than it sounds like. E.g., I’m just getting over a stye that made it painful to blink wrong for several days.
re: #576 goddamnedfrank
First, technically most auto manufacturers don’t operate inside California so the tax break would go to dealers, so there’s not much incentive for the people making gas guzzlers. Also there’s already rebates for extremely low emissions vehicles in the form of rebates, my Dad got at $2500 check from the State after he bought his model S. The problem is those programs actually cost the State money directly, so they don’t really come close to substituting for things like our cleaner fuel and gas efficiency requirements.
One thing California could probably do is change the law so the smog testing requirements are statewide instead of county by county. Then they could just say “okay fine, you win, people can buy whatever shitty gas and new cars they want, but they won’t be able to drive them legally if they can’t pass the stringent licensing emissions test.”
re: #577 EPR-radar
I have to ration my outrage these days. Melania’s hat is stupidly offensive, which gets it to about the 10th percentile of Trumpist outrages. That thing with one of the stupid Trump brats and the elephant’s tail was much worse.
I was more amused than outraged. It is clueless but as the NYT article points out, it was more of a concern on social media than in local media.
.@RepSwalwell (in Devin Nunes’ hometown paper): Nunes buried evidence on Russian meddling to protect Trump. I know because I’m on the committee. https://t.co/nYYR3Gshrb
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) October 5, 2018
Throwin’ down.
There was reportedly a photo op with Melania feeding baby elephants during this trip. I have to leave or I would dig it up and contrast it with Uday holding the elephant’s tail.
re: #581 Targetpractice
“We ain’t found shit!”
Bonus trivia: the Spaceball pictured above that says that line is Tim Russ, later much more well known as Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager (and is a pretty damn good guitarist too; someone posted a link to a performance he and his band did a couple of ears ago and it was damn good)
Advocate for the party of personal responsibility blames Democrats for radicalizing Kavanaugh.
Congrats progressives. You so overplayed your hand that you
(A) fired up the Republican base;
(B) pissed off Susan Collins; and
(C) Radicalized the newest Justice on the United States Supreme Court.— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 5, 2018
re: #588 Blind Frog Belly White
Advocate for the party of personal responsibility blames Democrats for radicalizing Kavanaugh.
[Embedded content]
“Look at what you made me do!”
re: #588 Blind Frog Belly White
He’s really got the Rush Limbaugh talking points down.
The party of “personal responsibility” is coming up with all sorts of excuses for why their abhorrent behavior is not their fault.
re: #591 Targetpractice
The party of “personal responsibility” is coming up with all sorts of excuses for why their abhorrent behavior is not their fault.
When conservatives are doing something they know is wrong, the tell is that they say liberals are forcing them to do it. It’s how they reconcile their stated principles with the ones they practice.
— Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) October 4, 2018
re: #588 Blind Frog Belly White
All of that was going to occur anyway. Collins was trying to appease her lobbyist husband.
— (((IntheNumbers))) (@ItsNumbersMan) October 5, 2018
re: #588 Blind Frog Belly White
Advocate for the party of personal responsibility blames Democrats for radicalizing Kavanaugh.
[Embedded content]
We will see in November who overplayed their hand, fuckstick.
And we radicalized the guy that wanted to embarrass Clinton and his family by asking the most sexually explicit questions possible? The dude that called Hillary a bitch? The operative that used stolen materials during his time in the W Administration? What the fuck was he before?
And last but not least…so Son of Erick is tacitly acknowledging that Kavanaugh won’t be impartial?
re: #588 Blind Frog Belly White
Advocate for the party of personal responsibility blames Democrats for radicalizing Kavanaugh.
Once more with feeling from the GOP flacks like Erickson:
“Look what you made us do!”
The whole Republican response to all of this was preordained, nothing but kayfabe to rope in the naive and gullible who normally don’t pay attention to politics and to dash their hopes on the rocks of Flake and Collins voting “Aye”, in hopes of depressing liberal turnout next month.
Erick, you can join the rest of your party and get fucked; as Kavanaugh huffily threatened during the hearing, “what goes around comes around”, but I think that it is you who will find that out sooner than later.
And @WSJ decides to go with a rape joke pic.twitter.com/ooQAtACBz0
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) October 5, 2018
Alone in a Bathroom: The Fear and Uncertainty of a Post-Roe Medication Abortion Angel tucked two white pills into each side of her mouth, bracing herself as they began to dissolve. Her deepest fears and anxieties took over. Angel had wanted to talk to a doctor before she took the pills to ...
Cheechako
They Were Desperate to Get Pregnant. Then IVF Gave Them Extra Embryos. One morning last spring, Ashley Harrolle put her 1-year-old daughter down for a nap and went to the kitchen. She pulled up her fertility clinic’s contact information. It was time to make the call. In a freezer several hundred ... Cheechako
Joe Bacon ✅
March FavoritesYou've seen these all already but looking back, just because. These are my favorite shots of this last month. That 1937 Zeiss Sonnar is such a gloriously wonderful bit of glass. Thanks for looking.
William Lewis
Russia’s New Combat Robots Blown Up by Drones Near Avdiivka When we landed on the moon, I thought about how science fiction had become real. Now, the robot wars have begun. It's more poignant somehow on the ground than in the missile wars we have in the air as ...
Rightwingconspirator
Why Did More Than 1,000 People Die After Police Subdued Them With Force That Isn’t Meant to Kill? An investigation led by The Associated Press has found that, over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them through physical holds, stun guns, body blows and other force not intended to be lethal. More: Why ... CheechakoKGxvi
Abortions Outside Medical System Increased Sharply After Roe Fell, Study Finds The number of women using abortion pills to end their pregnancies on their own without the direct involvement of a U.S.-based medical provider rose sharply in the months after the Supreme Court eliminated a constitutional right to abortion, according ... Cheechako
Detroit Local Powers First EV Charging Road in North America The road, about a mile from Local 58's hall, uses rubber-coated copper inductive-charging coils buried under the asphalt that transfer power to a receiver pad attached to a car's underbelly, much like how a phone can be charged wirelessly. ...
Backwoods Sleuth
Texas County at Center of Border Fight Is Overwhelmed by Migrant Deaths EAGLE PASS, Tex. - The undertaker lighted a cigarette and held it between his latex-gloved fingers as he stood over the bloated body bag lying in the bed of his battered pickup truck. The woman had been fished out ... Cheechako
