Sunday, July 31, 2022
Thou Art Full Of Shit
Quick Sunday post, but Republicans really do play politics on easy mode, and while our glorious political journalists do play a role in that, more Democrats treating them with a bit of the contempt they deserve would help!
A Beat So Sweet I Can Never Let It Go
Years and years ago there was a bit of a back and forth which probably started on private email lists and spilled out into blogs/social media about "beat sweeteners," the very standard practice of political journalists writing puff pieces about people in power which is justified by their access to imagined later scoops.
Take notice after every new presidential team takes power. You'll see puff piece after puff piece.
Of course, generally the "scoops" are just more self-serving bullshit by the various powerful people, each with their own eager stenographer. Gives the journalist stories, and gives the powerful person a free PR person, but doesn't necessarily benefit the reader!!!
Anyway, you don't really need clues like this to know who the symbiotic pairs are. Or, at least, you don't, dear readers, but most casual news readers have no idea.
Take notice after every new presidential team takes power. You'll see puff piece after puff piece.
Of course, generally the "scoops" are just more self-serving bullshit by the various powerful people, each with their own eager stenographer. Gives the journalist stories, and gives the powerful person a free PR person, but doesn't necessarily benefit the reader!!!
Anyway, you don't really need clues like this to know who the symbiotic pairs are. Or, at least, you don't, dear readers, but most casual news readers have no idea.
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Obstruction Of Justice
I'm so old I remember when everyone in DC journalism agreed that dangling pardons, or even someone imagining a pardoned could be dangled, was clear obstruction of justice and Very Bad And Very Criminal.
As Roger Stone prepared to stand trial in 2019, complaining he was under pressure from federal prosecutors to incriminate Donald Trump, a close ally of the president repeatedly assured Stone that “the boss” would likely grant him clemency if he were convicted, a recording shows.
Favorite Journalists
Presented without comment. https://t.co/j5Oc8pD3lk pic.twitter.com/JFicJq1D9B
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) July 29, 2022
This Is What They Wake Up Hoping To Read
Movement anti-abortion people are demented serial killer freaks. They just are. Anyone who has spent time around them knows this. Reporters know this. They or their editors, well, have "edited" the truth about these people forever. Just nice religious people who love "life."
Dr. Valerie Williams, an obstetrician-gynecologist in New Orleans, said in a sworn affidavit this month that a hospital lawyer prevented her from using the preferred method — known as dilation and evacuation — to remove a nonviable fetus from a patient whose water broke at 16 weeks.
“Going back into that hospital room and telling the patient that she would have to be induced and push out that fetus was one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had,” Williams wrote.
The patient lost nearly a liter of blood and “was screaming — not from pain, but from the emotional trauma,” the affidavit said. “This was the first time in my 15-year career that I could not give a patient the care they needed. This is a travesty.”
RSS
Some people are repoprting RSS feed (yes people still do that!) issues. Try this one instead (I've updated the link on the left sidebar, too).
They Love It
I actually think Goldberg knows this, so she should just say it, instead of saying, basically, "maybe they don't really understand what they've done." There's no point in trying to make excuses for the anti-abortion movement. They are cruel liars who love abusing women and love when they suffer and love when they die.
No this is not true of everyone who has thought of themselves as anti-abortion, but the leaders of the movement don't hide what they are - they lie, but they don't even try to be convincing about it - so there's no reason for liberals to do it for them.
No this is not true of everyone who has thought of themselves as anti-abortion, but the leaders of the movement don't hide what they are - they lie, but they don't even try to be convincing about it - so there's no reason for liberals to do it for them.
Friday, July 29, 2022
We All Want The Same Things
I think this version of "both sides" has been eroded, somewhat, but once upon a time, a motivation for covering almost everything that way was the underlying assumption that, basically, Both Parties Want The Same Things They Just Disagree About How To Get There.
It's how, for example, they could claim Paul Ryan really cared about poverty, with his "put poor people in the wood chipper until they earn more money" policies. Paul Ryan's plan to end poverty through suffering! Both sides want to end poverty!
Add that to certain mostly unacknowledged biases - government bad, free market good - and the conservative fake solutions to problems they were not interested in solving always seemed better!
...actually hadn't read this Bouie column before I typed this, but related!
It's how, for example, they could claim Paul Ryan really cared about poverty, with his "put poor people in the wood chipper until they earn more money" policies. Paul Ryan's plan to end poverty through suffering! Both sides want to end poverty!
Add that to certain mostly unacknowledged biases - government bad, free market good - and the conservative fake solutions to problems they were not interested in solving always seemed better!
De-Trumpify
There are obvious and ample reasons to do so...
Both audits were conducted under the leadership of Trump’s handpicked IRS head Charles Rettig, who remains IRS commissioner to this day after President Biden chose not to rock the boat last year by replacing him. As with other Trump appointees left in power, from disastrous USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is currently trying to “get wages down,” the fallout proves that continuity is not the same as stability—especially after Trump’s presidency.I have no understanding of how replacing him is "rocking the boat."
SUPERTRAINS
Progress.
But as for 7.5 hours, reliability and frequency are much more important than speed. Of course it "should" be faster, but....
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — After a nearly 70-year absence, a passenger train running from Vermont's revitalized Burlington train station to New York City is scheduled to head south Friday as part of a nationwide renewal of interest in rail travel.Of course we should build true supertrains, and this is not that, but I do think the American popular train Discourse is hurt by the focus on high speed rail.
The 7 1/2 hour trip between Burlington and New York will be about two hours longer than driving. The top speed between Burlington and Rutland will be 59 miles per hour (94.95 kph), but that could be increased with future technology upgrades."Technology upgrades" means, I am sure, "straightening track, removal of at grade crossings, electrification, and segments of passing track" which aren't "technology upgrades" in the way people understand them. You don't need freakin' magnets, is what I'm saying.
But as for 7.5 hours, reliability and frequency are much more important than speed. Of course it "should" be faster, but....
A Serial Killer's Euphoria
Gets multiple hits every day, guy is high out of his mind on all the deaths he's causing.
In his Rome speech on religious liberty, Justice Alito mocked "foreign leaders" who condemned his opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, including Boris Johnson, Macron, Trudeau, and ... Prince Harry.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) July 28, 2022
Of Boris, Alito quipped: "He paid the price." https://t.co/NPqalw0KA6 pic.twitter.com/xC0qguZ31n
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Every Time
Susan Collins is always prepared to do the right thing but then she makes excuses like "someone did a tweet that mad me very sad" and thinks this reflects well on her.
Susan Collins tells @JNicholsonInDC that same-sex marriage bill may be doomed now bc of what Dems did on the inflation reduction bill https://t.co/ndnTOLxbEt
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) July 28, 2022
Priorities
Making "Focusing on X instead of focusing on Y" complaints isn't always appropriate, but this is an example of focusing on mild discomfort of a tiny number of rich people who run in very specific elite circles versus, well, actual suffering by anybody else.
"Many," "Felt Like"
I appreciate much of this piece, but it was the usual noisy right wing assholes the press always listens to and your colleague, Glenn Kessler!!!
Ok several paragraphs later:
How local journalists proved a 10-year-old’s abortion wasn’t a hoaxAnd your colleague Glenn Kessler!!!!
Many doubted the story of a young rape victim who had to cross state lines for an abortion. But journalists on the ground kept reporting.
It felt like half the country doubted the case existed. The Indianapolis Star had published a story July 1 about a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio who was forced to travel to Indiana for an abortion because of new restrictions in her home state. An indignant President Biden cited the story a week later as an example of extreme abortion laws, and his political opponents pounced. They suggested it was a lie or a hoax. A national newspaper’s editorial board concluded it was “too good to confirm.” Even Ohio’s attorney general called it a “fabrication.”
Ok several paragraphs later:
His mention kicked off a frenzied reaction. Some outlets expressed skepticism of the Star’s account because it relied entirely on one doctor, Bernard, who would not share more details about the anonymous girl. “This is a very difficult story to check,” wrote The Post’s Fact Checker. Snopes.com said it had “not been able to independently corroborate the abortion claim.”He wrote a whole column about his mission to debunk it, tho!!!
Fox News
This is the "news" side not the "opinion" side. Doocy's their White House correspondent! Sorry, Doocy Jr. is the correspondent (correx from "amused").
Possibly the most pathetic thing I've seen on TV
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) July 28, 2022
Doocy: 55% of Republicans want someone other than Trump
Kilmeade: If Trump is watching just let him know we didn't come up with those numbers!
(He then tries to invalidate the poll they just bashed Biden w/)
h/t @Payarm18 pic.twitter.com/vguhXXfVSf
Fine Do Anything
I'm not going to worry my beautiful mind too much over the MANCHIN deal until it passes. There's no "outside game" anymore so my approval or disapproval means little (not that it ever meant much, I mean "my" representationally). Tricking the Republicans was kind of cool (by pretending it was dead until they passed the other bill), at least, so I'll give him that!
Dday's take.
Dday's take.
What Did You Think Recession Causing Policies Were Going To Do
I try to avoid making predictions, but when the policy is "cause a recession to stop inflation" (whatever the merits of that), it's probably going to succeed!
Erring on the side of too tight money is almost always the policy, and certainly the most likely policy when Republican Fed chiefs work under Democratic presidents!
The U.S. economy contracted for the second straight quarter from April to June, hitting a widely accepted rule of thumb for a recession, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.Causing recessions is the one thing "we" know how to do! Central banks are very good at it! It's easy!
Erring on the side of too tight money is almost always the policy, and certainly the most likely policy when Republican Fed chiefs work under Democratic presidents!
Well That Was A New Blogger Bug
Google has like 3 million employees and one guy works part time on blogger, I think.
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Not So Unacceptable
Starting to become apparent that anti-semitism was a particularly taboo bigotry in our elite discourse when it was a useful club to use to beat members the left (sometimes justifiably!).
Reporters can do that thing where they chase every Republican down and ask them to respond to this, or they can not do that.
Democrats could be better at justifiably making this an issue, of course.
Reporters can do that thing where they chase every Republican down and ask them to respond to this, or they can not do that.
Democrats could be better at justifiably making this an issue, of course.
Elites
Lots of things make me lose respect for people, because I am old and grumpy, but various excuses for "we can't possibly prosecute elites!" are pretty high up there.
OH NO IT WILL TEAR THE COUNTRY APART.
OH NO IT WILL TEAR THE COUNTRY APART.
“The indictment of a former president, and perhaps a candidate for president, would arguably tear the country apart,” Holt said. “Is that your concern as you make your decision down the road here, do you have to think about things like that?” Holt's "just asking questions" but the asking of questions is often how ideas get mainstreamed and normalized.Lots of things are tearing the country apart right now but aren't brought up in that fashion every time the subject is broached.
Always Running Interference For Her Sources
As it becomes more and more clear (with evidence) that the coup plan was, in fact, a plan, here's how Maggie describes it:
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Don't See How Donnie Two Scoops Wriggles Out Of This One
We'll see!
The Justice Department is investigating President Donald Trump’s actions as part of its criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, according to four people familiar with the matter.I don't know who needs to hear this (and they won't), but publicizing the existence of investigation that ultimately goes nowhere is like (eventually) announcing an exoneration!
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Inflation's Getting Real
NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unilever, the owner of brands ranging from Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s to Dove soap and Domestos bleach, has raised its prices by 11.2% in recent months and expects to do so again throughout the year.
Every Day
"Abortion" was always medical care and it's always been impossible to separate the two - still is - and 30 years of chin stroking centrist dudes writing about abortion "compromises" while being utterly unaware of basic facts of existence still enrage me.
The result has been disarray and confusion for doctors and hospitals in multiple states, and risky delays and complications for patients facing obstetrical conditions such as ectopic pregnancies, incomplete miscarriages, placental problems, and premature rupture of membranes.Not naïve about the benefits of money, but "rich ladies" won't really be able to escape this reality, either. That abortion laws would "only" impact poorer women was often presented be well-meaning people as an additional injustice, but it was also false comfort for, well, comfortable people.
"It's terrible," says Dr. Alan Peaceman, a professor of maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "The care providers are treading on eggshells. They don't want to get sucked into a legal morass. And so they don't even know what the rules are."
Extend and Extend
The right thing to do (presumably) but why do they keep doing it this way.
*This isn't really true, just many people in the administration agree with those people.
A little more than a month before the student debt moratorium is scheduled to end, the federal government has told loan servicers not to contact borrowers about resuming payments, a trade group official said Monday.Even when they (presumably) do the right thing they're so scared of criticism from deranged lying racist substackers that they want to keep it quiet.*
According to Scott Buchanan, the executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, which represents all of the companies that service the federal loans subject to the administration’s moratorium, the Education Department has been telling loan servicers not to reach out to borrowers as recently as “the last couple weeks."
*This isn't really true, just many people in the administration agree with those people.
Grand Bargaining
Merits aside, a "funny" habit of "centrists" is to propose deals that aren't on the table, and suggest, without any basis, that one side in particular is the obstacle to the deal. This is how you know where their sympathies lie.A bold idea: NATO offers to withdraw nukes from Europe (militarily useless, ineffective deterrents as we’ve just seen, & recklessly dangerous) in return for ending the invasion. Putin gets a “win” which costs us nothing worth having. https://t.co/P5txyLEcMs
— Steven Pinker (@sapinker) July 25, 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
Lock'em Up
Lock somebody up!!!
The former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence appeared last week before a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Marc Short was caught by an ABC News camera departing D.C. District Court on Friday alongside his attorney, Emmet Flood.
Atrios Always... Always Angry
After doing this for way too long, my grudge list has grown and grown and grown. I take people off of it (no I don't actually keep a list) when I have forgotten why I am mad at them. But quite often the moment I get mad at pundits and other participants in The Discourse is when they expose an almost sociopathic indifference to the actual impact of their preferred policies.
It is common, as "merely arguing about abstract ideas" is very respectable, while actually giving a shit is not, as it taints everything you do, making you a grubby activist and not a Serious Opinion Haver.
It is very strange.
It is common, as "merely arguing about abstract ideas" is very respectable, while actually giving a shit is not, as it taints everything you do, making you a grubby activist and not a Serious Opinion Haver.
It is very strange.
Kayfabe For Other Journalists
Journalists see print news as "real news" more than teevee news, even the New York Post (especially, with its biggest fan, Maggie Haberman), so Murdoch gets its print outlets to trash Trump to gain respectability while the real audience for Trumpist propaganda get uncut Fox.
It Gets Worse Here Every Day
Adding to this, there are aspects of politics which of course *do* matter, and I am not in denial about those things. All the talk about "voters like a guy they want to have a beer with" isn't wrong in general, even if the specific details are often hilariously wrong as they are communicated by Ivy League weirdos imagining what appeals to Real America.
It isn't wrong that those things matter. Many things about candidates are unknowable, and while those things don't actually matter much for jobs in the legislature, they do matter for executive positions. Unclear ways we form impressions of "trust" and "seems like a good guy" aren't off base! But a big problem with political journalism generally is a tendency to emphasize those things, not just to acknowledge the reality that they do matter but to actively convey that these are the things that should matter.
Only Political Wonks and Advanced Politics Knowers Care About Policy, say a bunch of wonks and journalists who spend most days publicly obsessed with political gossip and trivialities.
It isn't wrong that those things matter. Many things about candidates are unknowable, and while those things don't actually matter much for jobs in the legislature, they do matter for executive positions. Unclear ways we form impressions of "trust" and "seems like a good guy" aren't off base! But a big problem with political journalism generally is a tendency to emphasize those things, not just to acknowledge the reality that they do matter but to actively convey that these are the things that should matter.
Only Political Wonks and Advanced Politics Knowers Care About Policy, say a bunch of wonks and journalists who spend most days publicly obsessed with political gossip and trivialities.
SUMMER FUNDRAISER DAY 5!!!
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This Is Our Emergency
I'm one who gets very mad at the way people have "forgotten" the depths of depravity of the Bush administration. You don't have to rehabilitate W.'s ridiculous gang to hate Trump!
Still I admit that I don't quite remember feeling this sense of perpetual emergency. And Democrats control Congress and the Presidency! Trump isn't even in office!
Things felt pretty good in the first half of 2021. Then...
...popularism!
Still I admit that I don't quite remember feeling this sense of perpetual emergency. And Democrats control Congress and the Presidency! Trump isn't even in office!
Things felt pretty good in the first half of 2021. Then...
...popularism!
Rock Stars
The conservative version is especially ridiculous, of course, but there is a liberal version which is cringey too. The cringe is fine, actually, and a bit of fun is fine, of course, but the problem is generally recasting politicians as stars of The Politics Show. Gives people strange ideas about what politicians are for.
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Gonna Be At Least One Angry WaPo Op-Ed If They Try
I'd bet, anyway.Liz Cheney says they’re “fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena” for Ginni Thomas — wife of Clarence Thomas — if she doesn’t come in voluntarily. Also says missing Secret Service texts are “deeply troubling” and says on @CNNSotu to @jaketapper: “We will get to the bottom of it”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 24, 2022
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Well What Are You Going To Do About It
Some things come as a surprise, but some things have plenty of warning, and the only strategy for dealing with this kind of thing cannot be, "win by 17 extra states just in case."
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Christ What An Asshole
Such fun.
Specifically, there’s no money to repay the supporters who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in advance to Cawthorn’s election efforts beyond the primary—to the general election he now won’t be competing in.I'm sure he won't actually suffer in any way for this, but we can still laugh.
Cawthorn is required by law to refund those donations. Instead, according to a campaign source, the campaign already spent the money.
The public doesn’t know any of this yet, however, because the Cawthorn campaign is now a week late in submitting the quarterly Federal Election Commission report that would disclose the collapse. That delay will already trigger an automatic fine.
The Internet You Were Warned About
Back in the dark ages, pre-(what we think of as the) internet, there were various online services you could subscribe to that weren't all that different from "the internet" that came later. The big thing was they were what they called "walled gardens," in that they didn't really communicate with each other.
The content bits of the internet are now increasingly like that, again. The promise of the "HYPERLINK" is basically gone, between apps on the phones and paywalls on everything.
I don't fault people for trying to make money, but there are limits to how many newspapers, how many newsletters, how many sites generally any one person will susbcribe to. Linkability is gone.
Some things do get worse!!!
The content bits of the internet are now increasingly like that, again. The promise of the "HYPERLINK" is basically gone, between apps on the phones and paywalls on everything.
I don't fault people for trying to make money, but there are limits to how many newspapers, how many newsletters, how many sites generally any one person will susbcribe to. Linkability is gone.
Some things do get worse!!!
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They're Coming For It All
The Sensible commentariat/journalists are still mostly not confronting the realities of our post-Roe world*, and they're going to downplay all threats to LGBT rights until they're yesterday's news.
Lots of talk about the Laboratories of Democracy, but important to remember that DOMA is still on the books, given that laws can flicker in and out depending on the whims of Bart.
*There is almost always good reporting and good reporters but as I have always said there is a difference between "the news" and "talking about the news" and what good reporters do often lands and disappears because it doesn't get integrated into "news analysis" and the political reporting which increasingly gets "front page" treatment. They pretend otherwise, but supposedly objective news coverage is increasingly explicitly (not even disguised) "opinion" ("analysis," "political journalism," the awful "newsletter" slants, their tweets, the supposedly neutral reporters going on teevee to shape coverage).
Lots of talk about the Laboratories of Democracy, but important to remember that DOMA is still on the books, given that laws can flicker in and out depending on the whims of Bart.
*There is almost always good reporting and good reporters but as I have always said there is a difference between "the news" and "talking about the news" and what good reporters do often lands and disappears because it doesn't get integrated into "news analysis" and the political reporting which increasingly gets "front page" treatment. They pretend otherwise, but supposedly objective news coverage is increasingly explicitly (not even disguised) "opinion" ("analysis," "political journalism," the awful "newsletter" slants, their tweets, the supposedly neutral reporters going on teevee to shape coverage).
Friday, July 22, 2022
Dangerous Donald
Mastriano is, of course, a danger, but I don't think this is the best way to campaign against him...
A version of "Doug Mastriano hates the constitution and America" is more like it.
Dangerous is pretty cool. The more specific description is aimed at people who already know.I want to remind everybody who is watching the January 6th Committee Hearings right now:
— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) July 22, 2022
My opponent, Doug Mastriano, was there the day of the insurrection — in fact, he bussed rioters and marched to the Capitol himself.
Doug Mastriano is too dangerous for Pennsylvania.
A version of "Doug Mastriano hates the constitution and America" is more like it.
SUMMER FUNDRAISING DAY 2 - AFTERNOON EDITION
I'm A Humorless Scold
I admit I've lost most of my sense of humor about politics. I can't even laugh at the J6 video of Josh Hawley bravely running away.
I think it was during the early Trump administration when SNL would get easy laughs out of making Sean Spicer, or whoever, seem silly, and I'd just think, "These people are not silly! They are dangerous!"
The thing is, I still do think humor is a powerful and important tool (and, also, we should laugh even at the horrors!). But too much of it just seems to trivialize things.
To me!!! Everyone else can laugh!!! I'm not really a scold.
OK, Fetterman regularly ethering Oz does entertain me, probably because Oz is, at the moment, merely silly and ridiculous.
I think it was during the early Trump administration when SNL would get easy laughs out of making Sean Spicer, or whoever, seem silly, and I'd just think, "These people are not silly! They are dangerous!"
The thing is, I still do think humor is a powerful and important tool (and, also, we should laugh even at the horrors!). But too much of it just seems to trivialize things.
To me!!! Everyone else can laugh!!! I'm not really a scold.
OK, Fetterman regularly ethering Oz does entertain me, probably because Oz is, at the moment, merely silly and ridiculous.
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) July 22, 2022
The PR Firm of Haberman&Haberman
For awhile Maggie would regularly tweet out things expressing annoyance that people would, for example, refer to Trump as "the last guy," and argue for his continued relevance and why this was important. All she ever meant was, I AM IMPORTANT PAY ATTENTION TO ME.
As the hearing was just beginning tonight, a diner at a restaurant in upstate Rhinebeck, N.Y., was seated near Charlie Kushner, Jared Kushner's father, who put his son on the phone on speaker to say hello to the waitstaff.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 22, 2022
"Investigation"
I know nothing, but my spider sense tells me this is DHS trying to head off a DOJ investigation.
Joseph V. Cuffari was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General on July 25, 2019. Dr. Cuffari previously served as the policy advisor for Military and Veterans Affairs for Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona, and previously for Governor Jan Brewer.Suspect it's all corrupt at this point!
SUMMER FUNDRAISING DAY 2
Need it to afford air conditioning. This weather is bullshit!
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At Long Last
Obviously the J6 committee take their jobs, and the subject of their investigation, very seriously, but the only consequence of it can't be the country rising up in unison and saying, yes, we agree, the bad orange man is bad. Not just because it isn't going to happen.
Somebody should do something!!! I'm just a powerless blogger so I get to say that, but people with actual power should, you know, do something!!!
Somebody should do something!!! I'm just a powerless blogger so I get to say that, but people with actual power should, you know, do something!!!
Happy to be wrong, but I picture half the House Dem caucus sending angry emails to Bennie Thompson, saying, "wrap this up so we can get back to talking about those prescription drug prices we haven't done anything about in the 16 years we've been talking about them!!!"
Thursday, July 21, 2022
In The Old Times
The Trump appointed DHS IG will be investigating the Trump appointed Secret Service IG so I'm sure all is well.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General has launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the destruction of Secret Service text messages that may have been relevant to inquiries about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The results of the investigation could be referred to federal prosecutors, the sources said, depending on the results.
Using Your Power For Good
Maybe it's a small thing, and it probably won't be rewarded on election day, but using your power to make life easier, even in "small" ways, is a very good thing to do!
The increasing uselessness of phones as phones isn't actually even a small thing, really.
More like this, is what I'm saying.
The increasing uselessness of phones as phones isn't actually even a small thing, really.
More like this, is what I'm saying.
Fundraising - Afternoon Edition!
As I have said repeatedly, "blogging" is easy, blogging (almost) 7 days a week for years is... much less easy! Even if my takes are stale and boring by this point, I hope there's some value in maintaining this site as so many others have withered away.
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Don't You Dare Make Me Stick Up For Mayor Pete
But more importantly, Fox is not a real news outlet, they do this all the time, and any Democrats who go on without treating them like a hostile opponent (debatable whether they should even do that) are just lending credibility to things like this.
America's Greatest President
Joseph Robinette Biden.
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered phone companies to stop carrying traffic related to robocalls about scam auto warranties.
wHy dOn'T tHey hAvE aIr cOndItioning in Yurp???
Lumping "Europe" together is like lumping Maine in with Texas. There are cultural reasons, historic/housing stock/technology reasons, and, of course, MANY PLACES YOU ONLY NEED IT TWO WEEKS A YEAR, MAX.
Spain and Italy are also big countries that have widely varying climates, and even in the hotter areas the buildings were constructed in ways which keep them surprisingly cool during hot days (and in the hotter areas there is quite a bit of A/C, if not quite Dallas levels). Not every building of course - generally older ones are better for this - but I've stayed in places that mostly handled 90 degree days fine (especially true in hot places that still have reasonable overnight temperatures).
It would be absurd for a couple of days of ridiculous temperatures in Britain (for example) to motivate large numbers of people to install them. Even in balmy southern England, 75 is a scorcher of a day!
Of course exciting trends in climate change could change that, but one heat wave, or even one annual heat wave, should not cause an A/C retrofit in Manchester. Or even Torino.
Spain and Italy are also big countries that have widely varying climates, and even in the hotter areas the buildings were constructed in ways which keep them surprisingly cool during hot days (and in the hotter areas there is quite a bit of A/C, if not quite Dallas levels). Not every building of course - generally older ones are better for this - but I've stayed in places that mostly handled 90 degree days fine (especially true in hot places that still have reasonable overnight temperatures).
It would be absurd for a couple of days of ridiculous temperatures in Britain (for example) to motivate large numbers of people to install them. Even in balmy southern England, 75 is a scorcher of a day!
Of course exciting trends in climate change could change that, but one heat wave, or even one annual heat wave, should not cause an A/C retrofit in Manchester. Or even Torino.
SUMMER FUNDRAISING DAY 1!
Looking around the rest of the internet, you have probably noticed that paywalls/subscriptions/contributions keep much of it afloat now, unlike the past when the ads/click model did. This very fine blog is no different! The ads/amazon pay a bit, but it's been a long time since they covered much of my extremely valuable time.
At this point you pretty much know what you get here, and know if it's worth an Avocado Toast or Frappucino or two. After 20 years I can't really do much of a pitch - what you see is what you get!
Patreon:
Become a Patron!
Thanks to all for keeping this going!!!
At this point you pretty much know what you get here, and know if it's worth an Avocado Toast or Frappucino or two. After 20 years I can't really do much of a pitch - what you see is what you get!
Paypal:
Patreon:
Become a Patron!
Thanks to all for keeping this going!!!
Sticking Up For Themselves
I recognize that there are plenty of things I don't know and am happy to be proven wrong about lots of things, but (apparently) not dealing with obvious problems with the Capitol Police and the Secret Services is a bit concerning. Aside from the rather obvious concerns about rogue security services, a seeming unwillingness of the president and congressional leadership to defend themselves is not a good look!
Also frightening for other reasons!!!
A watchdog agency learned in February that the Secret Service had purged nearly all cellphone texts from around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but chose not to alert Congress, according to three people briefed on the internal discussions.I WILL NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR YOOOOOOOUUUU doesn't seem too credible when they won't even save themselves.
Also frightening for other reasons!!!
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
251K new lucky duckies.
Uptick, the policies are working!!! (The put us into a recession policies).
Uptick, the policies are working!!! (The put us into a recession policies).
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Play Offense On Your Home Field (And Act Like It)
One can focus too much on "messaging," especially as there's not much point in trying to call it from the sidelines, but my simple messaging advice is basically that. Act like you're winning, that you're winners, and the other guys are losers. Put them on defense.
People say they want "compromise" but the process of trying to get there, at least, makes you look like a wimp.
I suspect Trump, who was never popular, managed to avoid become incredibly unpopular simply by making everyone always react to him.
At the very least, the president should be the main character of the American Politics Show.
People say they want "compromise" but the process of trying to get there, at least, makes you look like a wimp.
I suspect Trump, who was never popular, managed to avoid become incredibly unpopular simply by making everyone always react to him.
At the very least, the president should be the main character of the American Politics Show.
Oh, Elon
I am very grateful that Elon did in a few short months what I failed to do over many years, and make conventional wisdom "lol Elon's a ridiculous stupid con man."
Delaware Court of Chancery Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ruled in Twitter’s favor on Tuesday for an expedited trial to force Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the company. The five-day trial will take place in October.
Obergefell
Just stating the obvious here, but these Supremos will overturn Obergefell and I am quite astonished at how many people leapt, right after the Roe leak, to say, basically, "but of course gay marriage is safe!"
John Roberts - who now is the "good conservative" on the Court - was fucking pissed about Obergefell! It was only 7 years ago! Why would it be safe?
Elite Law "journalism" is so corrupt (there are exceptions).
Strange Club
Appropriate for Chotiner to filet him, so I'm not criticizing that, but I must ask why, a couple of summers ago, the NYT had multiple prominent stories that were, basically, "people on Martha's Vineyard are mean to Dershowitz, now."
There is never a monocausal explanation for why media organizations do the things they do, but, especially now, versions of "for the clicks" or "it's popular" rarely provide much of the correct explanation. Maybe "a small group of weirdos in New York want to hear about Dershowitz" is true, but that small group of weirdos is basically, "New York Times reporters/editors and their friends," and it is important to remember that when they try to explain Real America to you.
There is never a monocausal explanation for why media organizations do the things they do, but, especially now, versions of "for the clicks" or "it's popular" rarely provide much of the correct explanation. Maybe "a small group of weirdos in New York want to hear about Dershowitz" is true, but that small group of weirdos is basically, "New York Times reporters/editors and their friends," and it is important to remember that when they try to explain Real America to you.
What To Do About The Secret Service
Above my pay grade, I suppose, but disband it or, "defund it," as the kids might say seems to be the only reasonable option!!!
The Secret Service was only able to provide a single text exchange to the DHS inspector general who had requested a month’s worth of records for 24 Secret Service personnel, according to a letter to the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, and obtained by CNN.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
Fake News
People do, I think, overstate the importance of "fake news" style misinformation that was of concern after 2016. I think the real "fake news" is, well, the news, much of the time. But anyone concerned with that should recognize the importance of actually communicating things to people. I think communicating true things has quite a lot of value. You can't just expect people to somehow know things, and you should know this if you're worrying about them knowing wrong things.
For example (and this is just one example), our nation's leading "Public Intellectuals" spent years misunderstanding the basic point that abortion and health care can't be disentangled. Why would you expect random voters to understand this fully?
Gotta explain things.
For example (and this is just one example), our nation's leading "Public Intellectuals" spent years misunderstanding the basic point that abortion and health care can't be disentangled. Why would you expect random voters to understand this fully?
Gotta explain things.
The New Normal
I expect newspapers will stop publishing these stories soon, as "woman almost dies from miscarriage because Sam Alito won't let doctors treat her" gets put in the "dog bites man" column.
Eight months later, in January, Amanda, who asked to be identified by her first name to protect her privacy, experienced another first-trimester miscarriage. She said she went to the same hospital, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, doubled over in pain and screaming as she passed a large blood clot.This was after the 6 week ban, before Dobbs.
But when she requested the same surgical evacuation procedure, called dilation and curettage, or D&C, she said the hospital told her no.
Amanda said the hospital didn’t mention the abortion law, but sent her home with instructions to return only if she was bleeding so excessively that her blood filled a diaper more than once an hour. Hospital records that Amanda shared with The New York Times noted that her embryo had no cardiac activity during that visit and on an ultrasound a week earlier. “She reports having a lot of pain” and “she appears distressed,” the records said.
Tide Comes In, Tide Goes Out
There are examples of politicians who do well in tough districts or states despite not conforming to the DC notion of "Moderate." I'd guess spending time in your district, good constituent services, and supporting some genuinely popular things instead of fake-centrist things are probably how they manage to do it, even as Rahm's children and grandchildren get flushed out in every wave election.
The "moderates" who do stick around are actually in pretty safe seats, generally, and absent primary challenges will stay there. They're popular within the party because they raise lots of money.
The "moderates" who do stick around are actually in pretty safe seats, generally, and absent primary challenges will stay there. They're popular within the party because they raise lots of money.
The Sensible Hustle
We all agree on these goals, BUT...
On policy it's always, "don't do it like this, do it like that." On climate change specifically I can never remember if the Sensible solution is a cap-n-trade, a carbon tax, or regulation, because we seem to cycle through those about every 3 months or so. Propose carrots, they demand sticks as the carrots are too expensive, propose sticks, they say the sticks are politically unpopular or will DESTROY BIDNESS.
We don't have to listen to these people or engage with them as if they are acting in good faith. They are not.
On policy it's always, "don't do it like this, do it like that." On climate change specifically I can never remember if the Sensible solution is a cap-n-trade, a carbon tax, or regulation, because we seem to cycle through those about every 3 months or so. Propose carrots, they demand sticks as the carrots are too expensive, propose sticks, they say the sticks are politically unpopular or will DESTROY BIDNESS.
We don't have to listen to these people or engage with them as if they are acting in good faith. They are not.
Armed Gangs Roaming Our Cities
Can't believe liberal DAs aren't doing anything about these thugs.
Denver police injured five bystanders when they opened fire in the busy Lower Downtown nightlife district as bars closed early Sunday, shooting a man they allege pointed a gun at officers.
Those bystanders — three women and two men — were either shot by police or injured with shrapnel from the officers’ bullets, Denver police said in a news release Sunday afternoon. All five are expected to survive.
Sunday, July 17, 2022
The Sequel To 300 Is Really Shit
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Report: Findings reveal nearly 400 officers were at Uvalde elementary school as police waited to confront gunman.
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) July 17, 2022
Everybody
Even wealthy people can't escape the consequences of a health care system that won't provide proper medical care when they need it.
The idea "rich ladies will still be able to get abortions" was always fantasy that lulled middle class people into a false sense of security. True enough for the very narrow situation of "choosing to terminate a pregnancy not due to specific health concerns" but as I keep saying, women can't get any health care safely in a post-Roe world.
The idea "rich ladies will still be able to get abortions" was always fantasy that lulled middle class people into a false sense of security. True enough for the very narrow situation of "choosing to terminate a pregnancy not due to specific health concerns" but as I keep saying, women can't get any health care safely in a post-Roe world.
Heat Waves
Heat waves across Europe (100+ in London forecast!). Long time followers of our cursed discourse remember the 2003 heat wave in France (especially) which killed 15,000 (probably many more, heat deaths aren't easily countable). This was high comedy for conservatives, because we officially hated France (cheese-eating surrender monkeys) and what kind of loser country doesn't have enough air conditioning???
Lots of people die in heat waves, largely the elderly, though usually for official reasons that sound like "normal deaths" but which can be seen in excess death numbers. This book about the Chicago heat wave was good.
Lots of people die in heat waves, largely the elderly, though usually for official reasons that sound like "normal deaths" but which can be seen in excess death numbers. This book about the Chicago heat wave was good.
The Grand Centrist Abortion Compromise
Haven't seen one yet, but have we had a single "overturning Roe wasn't quite as fun as I thought it would be?" piece from one of the Sensibles who spent years telling us that overturning Roe would "turn down the temperature on politics and let us focus on really important things" or some nonsense?
Probably working on their "libs overreacting, AGAIN" pieces.
Probably working on their "libs overreacting, AGAIN" pieces.
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Every Day
A tiny, tiny minority of the horrors of the post-Roe medical reality for women will ever make news, or certainly national news, and the Right and their mainstream enablers like Kessler will be there to check the kitchen counters every time.
After an arrest was made on Wednesday, those who scrutinized the story doubled down on their previous skepticism, arguing there was no way to have known if the account was true without confirmation from state officials or police. The fact that the doctor who performed the girl’s abortion was on the record seemed to carry no weight, nor did widely-available statistics showing that most rapes go unreported, or the idea that an abused minor might have privacy protections in place.
It’s clear that traditional journalism—and male reporters, in particular—are not ready for the complicated stories that will come out of states where abortion is illegal. Consider The Washington Post’s fact-checking columnist Glenn Kessler, who defended his piece by calling the abortion provider an “activist on one side of the debate.” Why would a police officer’s account, or a state official’s, be more reliable than a doctor’s? Are we to believe that in a state where abortion is criminalized, law enforcement and government officials are objective?
Choose Your Fighters
The problem is a lot of the people in a position to be fighters are, actually, either bad or ineffectual or both. Watching the actual do-gooders get treated like the problem while the "jobs for our fancy friends" crowd relies on their favorite journalists to keep the scam going is, well, a bit disheartening!
I get why people just say fuck it and start hawking crypto, or whatever.
Game On
Remember how Time's Up was co-opted by a bunch of rich donors and their social circle who then ran a side for profit business offering consulting on how to protect powerful men from their accusers?
Tina Tchen, co-founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, will become executive vice president and chief strategy and impact officer at the Obama Foundation.They keep showing us who they are.
Congratulations to @ObamaFoundation & dear friend Tina Tchen on her new role as Chief Strategy & Impact Officer! Tina is such a brilliant lawyer but also so COMMITTED to doing good. This is excellent news. https://t.co/KcLMj47u6q
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) July 6, 2022
Friday, July 15, 2022
Send One To Kessler, Too
The letter reads in part, “Please cease and desist from making false and misleading statements about alleged misconduct by Dr. Bernard in her profession, which constitute defamation per se.”
— Sarah McCammon📻 (@sarahmccammon) July 15, 2022
Mysteries
I admit the persistence of the Tesla share price, at a p/E ratio of over 90, is, um, interesting!
Even Tesla skeptics (me) could see something in the company a few years ago, perhaps even buying some of Elon's promises, if not the more ridiculous ones. Now?
Even Tesla skeptics (me) could see something in the company a few years ago, perhaps even buying some of Elon's promises, if not the more ridiculous ones. Now?
America's Worst "Fact Checker"
Glenn Kessler.
WHAT DOES A fact-checker do without facts? Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post's Fact Checker columnist, decided to write an article anyway.
...
Why did the idea that a law blocking abortions would block an abortion demand debunking? It's what this law was written to do. The news was only shocking because the Supreme Court and the Ohio state legislature set out to do something shocking. The Ohio abortion ban is real, and a real child ran into it. The Washington Post's Fact Checker columnist looked at a set of facts in the world, reported by a newspaper, and he decided they were too ugly for him to believe in.
...The Democrats!
Can't even "make things get worse a bit more slowly."
Defense Department appropriations legislation for the current fiscal year funded more than $58 billion worth of military projects that the administration did not request, according to a first-of-its-kind Pentagon report.Fortunately defense spending is not inflationary, for reasons.
Dumb People
I've known scary smart people in my life, but not too many. I've also known (actually known and known in the cursed Discourse) lots of people who, by pedigree and the fact that not enough people told them to shut the fuck up in their lives, truly believe they're scary smart.
Even the scary smart people aren't usually scary smart about everything, or in all ways.
A post inspired by seeing too much dumb stuff before I've finished my morning coffee.
THEY [journalists] HAVEN'T LEARNED ANYTHING
I try not to wear my cynical longtime observer hat too often, but this was one of the more frustrating thing refrains of the Trump era, as if the conseqeuences of the 2016 campaign coverage (Trump) would have led to any soul-searching from journalists.
I've been watching this shit for 20 years, and other than, "Oh, boy, looks like our right wing critics have a point, again!" there is absolutely no criticism mainstream journalists acknowledge or show any awareness of even processing honestly.
The abortion coverage is going to continue to be an absolute shitshow. Women and children will die, and they will continue to do, "is it bad when children die? views differ" stories.
Can't believe both sides of this issue have been so terrible. The bad-faith liars, and the people who say l say "hey those people are bad-faith liars, why are you giving them any credence?" these are the exact same thing. https://t.co/LZkqmEfoHM
— Blaise Bailey Finnegan IV (@StuTheLimey) July 15, 2022
Thursday, July 14, 2022
Sounds Bad
Better take care of this stuff.
THE SECRET SERVICE erased text messages from January 5 and January 6, 2021, according to a letter given to the January 6 committee and reviewed by The Intercept. The letter was originally sent by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General to the House and Senate homeland security committees. Though the Secret Service maintains that the text messages were lost as a result of a “device-replacement program,” the letter says the erasure took place shortly after oversight officials requested the agency’s electronic communications.Device replacement. lol. lmao.
DC CW
If, 6 weeks ago, you'd sat a bunch of DC political journalists down and said, "Republicans will pass laws that will force 10-year-old rape victims to carry children to term or their death, whichever comes first," they would have rolled their eyes at you and then sent texts to each other about how ridiculous you are.
These are the very savvy people who explain politics to us. Now they're in the denial stage. Next they will be in the, "editors don't let us report on this stuff because it's too controversial" stage.
These are the very savvy people who explain politics to us. Now they're in the denial stage. Next they will be in the, "editors don't let us report on this stuff because it's too controversial" stage.
Yes They Want These Horrible Things
Awhile back (sorry, too lazy to find it) there was a piece about how a problem Dems had was that if you told focus groups what Republican policies are, they didn't believe them. No one could be that monstrous! ha ha.
DC political reporters are that focus group, basically.
DC political reporters are that focus group, basically.
What If These People Want Horrific Things To Happen
Generally I think political reporters refuse to let their beautiful minds consider the consequences of policies, rather than how they impact the horse race, and they also refuse to believe those dynamic Republican governors they write puff pieces about really support 10-year-old girls being forced to attempt to give birth (and likely die in the process).
The culture of political journalism promotes these naive dullards, and actively excludes people who function in reality.
I don't expect the Kessler event to improve things, in fact they'll just continue to push in that direction. The exonerative tense of copaganda will be straightforward compared to the euphemistic gibberish for any coverage of the health care (and lack of) of women and girls.
The culture of political journalism promotes these naive dullards, and actively excludes people who function in reality.
I don't expect the Kessler event to improve things, in fact they'll just continue to push in that direction. The exonerative tense of copaganda will be straightforward compared to the euphemistic gibberish for any coverage of the health care (and lack of) of women and girls.
Check The Kitchen Counters
One problem with influential guy like Glenn Kessler - his awarding of Jiminies for things that don't vibe right with him let politicians and other journalists declare them LIES - is that he's really fucking dumb.
It's RARE. Yes, so in one state, Ohio, that means that when it was legal one under 15 girl received an abortion every week.
An abortion of a 10-year-old is pretty rare. The Columbus Dispatch reported that in 2020, 52 people under the age of 15 received an abortion in Ohio.He wrote this in his piece suggesting the story was bullshit because nuh-uh reasons.
It's RARE. Yes, so in one state, Ohio, that means that when it was legal one under 15 girl received an abortion every week.
Minor rape victims are going to be unable to get abortions daily. Women are going to die daily. This is what the laws are for! The Right is going to try to Raise Questions about every single one, go after the doctors, smear the journalists, and guys like Kessler are going to promote them every time because they want to drive this all underground and not let people know what they have done.
Monsters who are cowards and their enablers.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Subtle As A Hand Grenade In A Barrel Of Oat Meal.
Good luck, Lindsey!
Lindsey Graham has now formally challenged a subpoena issued to him out of Georgia concerning the 2020 election.
A Country of 330 Million
"A 10-year-old girl being raped and impregnanted" can be both a rare event and a daily event.
...More:
Kessler doesn’t go into why a doctor who performs abortions might have professional, non-nefarious reasons for declining to share the names of her colleagues — presumably a staffer or volunteer at the clinic where she works — or why she might be loath to (slash legally prohibited from, due to privacy laws) providing details like the name and address of her patient who was raped to a national newspaper.
“An abortion by a 10-year-old is pretty rare,” Kessler notes. (That “by.”) “The Columbus Dispatch reported that in 2020, 52 people under the age of 15 received an abortion in Ohio.” But if 52 under-15-year-olds got abortions in Ohio in 2020, that’s one a week, not that rare — and that’s just abortions that were reported, during a pandemic when a lot of abortion clinics were closed.
The Ghost Of Howie Kurtz Haunts The WaPo
I've been watching this kind of thing for decades (!) now. A story comes out that makes the right look "bad" somehow. A bunch of internet malcontents kick up a storm casting "doubt" on it based on, well, "nuh-uhhh!!!!", basically, or finding fake inconsistencies in trivial details if you deliberately misunderstand things.
Certain mainstream journalists love that stuff, and run with it. Back in the day, Howie Kurtz was the Unreliable Source, now Glenn Kessler is one. And then, oh no, it's true. Doing it to a 10-year-old pregnant rape victim is especially... well, I'd say gross, but more "on brand." Fact chucker Glenn:
A right winger complaining (justifiably!) he stole her definitely true story.New #FactChecker —-> A one-source story about a 10-year-old and an abortion goes viral https://t.co/mzaIarvCKw
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) July 9, 2022
Reality:HEY GLENN! Hi! Remember me? I'm the journalist you stole this story from without crediting me, without linking @PJMedia_com or my viral tweet. Do you have a comment on that before I write about what you did? I'm under deadline. I'd appreciate a response ASAP
— Megan Fox (@MeganFoxWriter) July 9, 2022
A Columbus man has been charged with impregnating a 10-year-old Ohio girl, whose travel to Indiana to seek an abortion led to international attention following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade and activation of Ohio's abortion law.Christ who knew Pajamas Media still existed. Just reliving 2005 here.
Wave Goodbye
Sensibles who win House races in swing districts like to tell themselves that it was because of their unique genius, but mostly they simply come in with the tide and go out with it. Their fortunes don't depend on displaying some sort of Bipartisan Independitude but rather on the fortunes of The Democratic Party. A few are simply eyeing their next meal ticket, but a lot really believe that running against their own party, along with sabotaging its agenda, is the ticket to success.
Democrats suck, vote for me, a Democrat, but not like those other crazy Democrats, is not a winning message.
There wasn't one single reason for the Dem wipeout in 2010, but part of it was due to all of Rahm's shitty 2006 candidates thinking they could win by running against Obama. If people want to vote against the party in power, because you've told them they should, they're smart enough to know how to do that.
The Sensibles
It's a term left wing shitposters in the UK use to describe what we could call "the moderates" or "centrists." It's useful because it distances from any positioning on the ideological spectrum as there is nothing necessarily 'centrist' or 'moderate' about their politics. Sensibles is ironic, of course, as there's nothing sensible about them, but being Sensible, the belief that they are the only people who should be in charge, is core to their self-perception and, more importantly, how they are portrayed by political journalists.
Being sensible, they can never be wrong and their critics can never be right. They almost always get exacly what they want, and the resulting horrors are then everybody else's fault. The Squad, "defund," whatever.
Anyway, our Sensibles are at it again. They have been sabotaging the Biden agenda for the year, succeeding, and somehow this and everything else is the fault of The Left. You know, inflation is the fault of BBB which didn't even pass because they sabotaged it.
Being sensible, they can never be wrong and their critics can never be right. They almost always get exacly what they want, and the resulting horrors are then everybody else's fault. The Squad, "defund," whatever.
Anyway, our Sensibles are at it again. They have been sabotaging the Biden agenda for the year, succeeding, and somehow this and everything else is the fault of The Left. You know, inflation is the fault of BBB which didn't even pass because they sabotaged it.
What Are They For
I think Biden and the Democrats mostly handled the police protests in 2020 surprisingly well. And then some centrist ghouls lost their House seats in 2020 and they spent 2 years complaining about activists saying, "defund."
They missed their genuine chance for police reform, and pushed the needle in the other direction, failing to come to terms with the useless armed gangs that exist all over the country. They won't save you, they won't save your kids.
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Your Moment Of Zen
https://t.co/n33j69IORv pic.twitter.com/ZK3RFVXeMo
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 12, 2022
The Omniscient Tense
Perhaps Maggie could provide details or how she can know such things with certainty. What is the point of this?
Almost to a person, every official adviser working for Trump told him his claims were baseless. But one important thing to remember - what people say they effectively told Trump, and what they actually told Trump, are not always the same.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 12, 2022
Sounds Bad
Does Merrick have a teevee?
Former President Donald Trump planned days before Jan. 6 to send his supporters to the U.S. Capitol but decided not to announce that until his speech, according to evidence presented by the Jan. 6 committee.
Newt
You can trace a lot of the ills of the country back to Newt Gingrich. Not the man himself, but how the press treated him.
Real oldsters remember how when he became Speaker, the press started treating him like some sort of co-president. He had daily press briefings which CNN would cover with the eagerness they'd later show for an empty podium 3 hours before a Trump rally.
And there were plenty of "open secrets" about him they all knew about during impeachment that they kept to themselves.
Real oldsters remember how when he became Speaker, the press started treating him like some sort of co-president. He had daily press briefings which CNN would cover with the eagerness they'd later show for an empty podium 3 hours before a Trump rally.
And there were plenty of "open secrets" about him they all knew about during impeachment that they kept to themselves.
Give Bill Barr A Chance
Oh no.
Former Attorney General William Barr has been subpoenaed as part of an ongoing 2020 election defamation lawsuit against Fox News brought by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems, according to the court docket in the case.
Never Tango With A Troll
If only they had paid me a lot of money for my wise guidance.
Now, as Mr. Musk, a billionaire, tries to back out of the blockbuster deal, he is inexorably leaving Twitter worse off than it was when he said he would buy it. With each needling tweet and public taunt, Mr. Musk has eroded trust in the social media company, walloped employee morale, spooked potential advertisers, emphasized its financial difficulties and spread misinformation about how Twitter operates.
“His engagement with Twitter took a severe toll on the company,” said Jason Goldman, a member of Twitter’s founding team who has also served on its board of directors. “Employees, advertisers and the market at large cannot have conviction in a company whose path is unknowable and which will now go to court to complete a transaction with a bad-faith actor.”
Progress
This isn't a one day thing, though, enforcement has to happen.
In new clarifying guidance announced Monday, the Biden administration said that federal law preempts state abortion bans when emergency care is needed and that the federal government can penalize institutions or providers that fail to provide abortions as needed to treat medical emergencies.
Monday, July 11, 2022
A Mouth Like An Outboard Motor
Oh no Lindsey!
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - A judge ordered U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham to testify in front of a special grand jury in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Toddlers With Strawberry Ice Cream All Over Their Faces
Repeating myself, but sometimes I realize that the social norms of DC (political and journalistic DC) involve a discourse that is actually incomprehensible to outsiders and deeply complicated for participants. That treating obvious lies with politeness and respect, to actually pretend they are not lies, is quite psychologically harmful!
Complaints about supposed incivility often stem from the failure of the great unwashed to understand proper manners. Incivility is recognizing bullshit!
Complaints about supposed incivility often stem from the failure of the great unwashed to understand proper manners. Incivility is recognizing bullshit!
Sore Winners
Pareene.
I would ask Marshall and From—and Carville and Teixera and the heavy-breathing authors of Politico’s Playbook—only to acknowledge that they won. They got what they wanted. Barack Hussein Obama may have temporarily disrupted the natural order, but the “special interests” were routed, and the white suburban voter granted pride of place in the scrum for electoral power. Union membership is down to single-digits in the private-sector workforce. The communities of color that Clinton-era Democrats made such a performative point of rebuffing on the principle that they were securely captive constituencies have grown disenchanted, and in some cases started to edge rightward. The president’s approval among young people in particular is shockingly dismal.Joe Biden is the president of the United States. Bill Clinton’s “PC” cabinet lost the 1994 midterms. Congratulations to the anti-PC brigade. You have gotten what you’ve wanted, over and over again, for many years. How’s it going?
The Kids Today
An obvious thing in some ways, but still a bit hard to grasp in the particulars, is that people not much younger than me (and you and you and you) have a very different frame of reference and foundational knowledge. That's exacerbated now by the complete collapse of anything resembling "traditional media" that I grew up with and lasted probably until about the election of Obama. I mean, almost no one under 30 (35?? 40???) has ever purchased a newspaper, and I don't bring that up to fetishize print in any particular way.
But I'm more thinking of the former. People under 40 don't have fond memories of the older party stalwarts, for example (for better or for worse). They don't remember Clinton impeachment. The examples aren't the point, but I bring up the examples to suggest there's a weird lack of continuity, of "shared history." Not simply because The Kids Today don't know the past, but because of an actual discontinuity. Probably not going to explain this well.
The Kids Today, even the D ones, don't have the fond memories of the Dems of past. Except Obama, and I'm not sure that's been fond for awhile.
The Good Republican
Paul Ryan's turn for that designated media slot for awhile.
Ryan's such a good Republican that he's on the board of Fox News.
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan was “sobbing” as he watched the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol unfold on television, a new book reports.It's getting harder to pretend that Youngkin or DeSantis are, so they gotta find another one.
Ryan's such a good Republican that he's on the board of Fox News.
The Audacity Of Hope
Whatever one thinks of Obama's actual governance, he did not run on "Better Things Aren't Possible" in 2008 or "I love my dear friends, the Republicans" in 2012.
I prefer substance to marketing/comms, but I don't think this crew is very good at the latter!
I prefer substance to marketing/comms, but I don't think this crew is very good at the latter!
Popularism!
The worst ghouls got the Biden "course correction" they wanted and this is the result. Their solution of course will be demanding "moderation" and "Sister Souljah moments" because it's all they know.
"Popularism" rivals libertarianism in its record on achieiving its stated, though not actual, goals.Times/Siena Poll: Biden’s Approval Hits 33 Percent; Democrats Want 2024 Options - The New York Times https://t.co/414kWWvGOv
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 11, 2022
Numbers for 18-29 are abysmal, and I expected the general response will be something along the lines of, "fuck the young people, they don't vote anyway," and, well, if you think Dems can't win any elections without 2018 (midterm) levels of young people turnout/support...
"Young people don't vote" is the binky of enraged liberal boomers, but young people have actually been voting in relatively high numbers recently! High relative to "young people" in the past! Those former young people are now not young people, but when they were they voted less!
Anyway, you go to politics with the electorate you have, and not the one you want, and people are being paid much more money than I am to achieve these poll numbers!
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Yelling At Them
Elected officials always have people pressuring them. Some of those people wear fancy suits, walk into the White House and congressional offices regularly, and are paid handomsely for their efforts to engage in constructice mendaciousness.
Then there are the much maligned "activists" who do it largely for free or cheap and who somehow inhabit an unreality that is not Real America, unlike the people who live in NoVa and own 3 boats (4th coming soon).
The Political Science Story
The story of American presidential politics (Dem edition) is, basically, that Dem candidates run "to the left" to win the primaries, as Dem primary voters are more left than the general public, and then run "to the center" to win the coveted median voter.
A story with a certain logic to it, but it doesn't actually conform to reality. What actually happens is that Dem presidential candidates fight to be dubbed "the moderate," because NPR listening Dem primary voters are convinced that only "the moderate" can win the general election. They are all pundits, you see.
THEN the candidate puts together a fairly lefty agenda (good enough) for the general election. And wins! Must be popular! All the highly paid big brain consultants say, "this is how you win!" And it works!
THEN you win the election, are immediately informed that the agenda you ran and won on is, AKSHUALLY, unpopular, and some sort of sinister plot by the left wing activists who somehow run the Democratic party.
THEN you retreat from that agenda (not just by failing to pass it, but by sending all your surrogates out to trash it and agree that it was some left wing bullshit).
This strategy results in poll numbers in the 30s which is, somehow, all the fault of those Left Wing activists!!!
And this is "objective wisdom" from New York Times reporters.
That reporter of course had no answer to numerous polite good faith critics. They never do.The explanation for why this isn't against the Times rules about tweeting opinions is incredibly bleak pic.twitter.com/Z5goKfvr0M
— Tom Scocca (@tomscocca) July 10, 2022
The Play
My bet, given yesterday's obscenities, is they are going to try to pass a federal "life of the mother" exemption, "don't let women die from ectopic pregnancies" will be the new moderate abortion position, they will fail to do even that (it won't work in practice, anyway, it's the means testing of abortion), and then blame, I dunno, AOC.
Or you, dear voter, for not voting harder.
This is an incredibly damning admission. pic.twitter.com/SSvS2ww2eU
— Marshall Steinbaum 🔥 (@Econ_Marshall) July 10, 2022
Blaming voters works too, I guess.
They had months to plan for this and this is what they've got.
Fucking ghouls.
Saturday, July 09, 2022
Welp
“Joe Biden’s goal in responding to Dobbs is not to satisfy some activists who have been consistently out of step with the mainstream of the Democratic Party.” - @WHCommsDir
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) July 9, 2022
A deep dive on Biden’s response to Roe w/ @AshleyRParker + @yabutaleb7 https://t.co/7Bs9KIRo1x
Poor Elon
I don't want to pretend to an expert on this stuff, but my understanding is that the way this deal was done, Elon's on the hook for the full purchase as agreed to, there is no "pay $1 billion to just walk away" clause the way people think, any dumb claims about bots he was not told of are as dumb as they sound, and while anything can happen in a Delaware court, they tend not to favor trolly shitposters.
More from someone who is more of an expert.
Pay Me For My Genius
While I'm revisiting "proved fucking right about Elon," I do want to remind people that the dream of self-driving cars (in any kind of coming soon timeline) is over and our glorious capital markets allocated billions and billions to the project when they just could've handed me a bit of cash.
Here's a recent piece describing the experience of the cutting edge in service self-driving cars. The basic point is that technology is absolutely amazing and impressive, total science fiction rocket surgery, but it just isn't good enough to be useful or commercially viable.
People always underestimated just how well these things need to work to, well, work. "Safety" was always a bit of a distraction, because if they work they'll be safe enough but the point is they just won't work.
Here's a recent piece describing the experience of the cutting edge in service self-driving cars. The basic point is that technology is absolutely amazing and impressive, total science fiction rocket surgery, but it just isn't good enough to be useful or commercially viable.
People always underestimated just how well these things need to work to, well, work. "Safety" was always a bit of a distraction, because if they work they'll be safe enough but the point is they just won't work.
The problem was that there was construction happening right there. Instead of a side walk there was a temporary pedestrian walkway constructed from scaffolding and wooden structures in the parking lane, and no way to get out to the road from there. Brownie stopped in the traffic lane waiting for us. We had been in an empty parking spot about 30 feet north of there, and waved to Brownie as one would with an Uber to get it to come pick you up. Brownie did not respond, so we had to walk along the active traffic lane, admittedly with Brownie blocking it, to get to Brownie. This was a mistake that even the most taciturn taxi driver would not make.A basic thing like "can't just wave it over" is a big problem! There's just a level of necessary flexibility given the reality of our built environment that the robot brains aren't going to manage. A car that works great 95% of the time is... not a car that works well enough! It's annoying!
As for the business model, how much are these things really going to save in labor costs given how much taxi drivers generally make? Just a bizarre obsession.
I Don't See How Elon Wriggles Out Of This One
I dialed back on my TESLA-watching a few years ago because somehow the man did it, he managed to escape what was almost certain BK of his company and turned his stock into a soaring "meme" stock despite there being nothing there. I thought it was about to die and this ridiculous man managed to con his way out of it.
I don't know why Twitter was dumb enough to try to do business with him, but, as I said, lots of lawyers are going to get rich!
Should've paid me ONE MILLION DOLLARS to be a consultant and saved themselves a lot of trouble. Or just read this dumb blog for free.
Twitter should ban him and see how much he'll pay to get his account back. He will never stop posting.