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Tuesday Open Thread: Coastal Grandmothers

I've been reading about the "Coastal Grandmother" trend since April.

You know the Coastal Grandmother. She wakes up early in her white linen-covered bed, seaside sunlight streaming in. “Siri, play ‘The Big Chill’ soundtrack,” she commands, listening to it in her marble bathroom while applying Vintner’s Daughter face oil.

Eager to get to the farmer’s market—it’s peony season, after all—she puts on a crisp light-blue button-up shirt, white jeans and a straw hat. Oversized, the shirt qualifies as a “shent,” .... With a Provençal market basket, Coastal Grandmother is good to go. She hops into her vintage Range Rover and heads out to begin her satisfying, Sancerre-punctuated day.

I haven't played music from "The Big Chill" since the year it was released, But Diane Keaton (and her beach house in the Hamptons) made "Something's Gotta Give" one of my all-time favorite movies.

The New York Times doubles down on the Coastal Grandmother trend today in its review of the new film starring (who else?) Diane Keaton, called Mack and Rita, with a headline proclaiming "Boomers Are All the Rage".

I'm not so sure that's true, but I've definitely been adapting some Coastal Grandmother habits lately. And I can't wait to see Mack and Rita.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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  • Display: Sort:
    I should be embarrassed to admit this (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Peter G on Tue Aug 16, 2022 at 10:15:23 PM EST
    but I also love Something's Gotta Give.

    The lionization (5.00 / 3) (#13)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 06:13:38 PM EST
    of Liz Cheney has eclipsed the continued  good governance of the Democrats.  President Biden's signing of the IRA Act, the very significant climate legislation, has gotten short shrift.  But, then, a Republican who does the right thing and is not a Christo-fascist, is a curiosity.

    According (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 08:51:29 PM EST
    to John Bolton Mike Pence should be given a medal of freedom for not breaking the law. Maybe we should give him a participation trophy.

    Parent
    Pence (none / 0) (#20)
    by KeysDan on Thu Aug 18, 2022 at 01:06:51 PM EST
    is a sad case fueled with delusion and trudging toward oblivion.  The Christofascism that was felt needed in 2016 to lustrate Trump has become superfluous.  The cult has anointed TFG as lord and savior.  All Pence's toadying resulted in his boss looking forward to his being hanged for disobedience.

    Pence is in the catbird seat and should be clamoring to testify.  But, he, apparently, sees himself as a viable Republican alternative to Trump or any of the other fascists.

    Parent

    USA - leading by example (5.00 / 2) (#34)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 22, 2022 at 02:56:54 PM EST
    We are about to see how it works when your lieutenants are not bumbling morons and the military is behind you.

    We should be proud.  We have shown tin pot dictators around the world how to do it.

    The Question Menacing Brazil's Elections
    August 22, 2022 at 3:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 50 Comments

    "A simple but alarming question is dominating political discourse in Brazil with just six weeks left until national elections: Will President Jair Bolsonaro accept the results?," the New York Times reports.

    "For months, Mr. Bolsonaro has attacked Brazil's electronic voting machines as rife with fraud -- despite virtually no evidence -- and Brazil's election officials as aligned against him. He has suggested that he would dispute any loss unless changes are made in election procedures. He has enlisted Brazil's military in his battle. And he has told his tens of millions of supporters to prepare for a fight."

    Said Bolsonaro, in a recent speech: "If need be, we will go to war."



    Good (none / 0) (#40)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 10:32:20 AM EST

    Brazilian Police Raid Pro-Bolsonaro Businessmen
    August 24, 2022 at 7:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

    "Brazilian police yesterday searched the homes of several prominent businessmen allied with President Jair Bolsonaro as the Supreme Court probes the men for discussing a possible power grab in the event the conservative leader loses October's presidential election," the Wall Street Journal reports.

    "Legal and political analysts said the operation was likely to inflame tensions over allegations of antidemocratic behavior on both sides of the political divide in this polarized country."



    Parent
    Woke up (5.00 / 2) (#39)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 03:51:50 AM EST
    this morning to the glorious news that the national "bellwether" NY 19 resulted in a GOP loss. The polls apparently were off by 10 to 15 points.

    De Santis took off (5.00 / 2) (#52)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 08:49:14 PM EST
    his. "Top Gun" costume and headed off to a meeting of Evangelicals where he claimed he was tired of seeing Dr.Fauci and declared that "that little elf should be chucked across the Potomac".   To the cheers of his audience.

    It may be that DeSantis pines for the days that Kings and other authoritarians held midget tossing for sport and humor. But, urging assault is no laughing matter.

    FWIW (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 09:25:24 AM EST
    I think Tom Cruise might be shorter than the Dr.

    Also there was more than a little "Dukakis in the tank" in that photo op.

    Parent

    I know MiniFuhrer has (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 09:31:28 AM EST
    more money than, and is being worshiped like, god.  But I really think there could be some very big surprises in November.

    The world has changed.  In ways people like MiniFuhrer don't yet understand.  He is tripling down on the ugly hateful crap.  I think that might be getting old.

    Parent

    Yes (5.00 / 2) (#64)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 03:52:39 PM EST
    he is obsessed with masks and lock downs and the rest of the country has moved on. I am sure his bullying wins him votes in The Villages where apparently they totally embrace the crazy.

    Remember in NY 19 the GOP candidate outspent the Dem 3 or 4 to 1 and it didn't matter. Perhaps the same thing can happen all over the country.

    Parent

    Three more trigger laws just kicked in (none / 0) (#58)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 09:36:27 AM EST
    Including one in TN with no exceptions.  I believe.

    Parent
    The Hill (none / 0) (#59)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 09:49:42 AM EST
    De (none / 0) (#60)
    by FlJoe on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 10:07:41 AM EST
    Santis is no giant at five 9 but he does have an incredibly shrunken soul. He constantly exudes pure hatred toward anybody and anything that does not follow him in absolute lockstep.

    Maybe his act is wearing thin, but I am not holding my breath, at least Crist comes off as a normal guy and is an experienced pol, so maybe he can chuck that little troll into the Everglades.

    That would be the upset of the year and maybe even pull Demmings along...hey a boy can dream.

     

    Parent

    Corpulent body, (none / 0) (#61)
    by KeysDan on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 11:13:29 AM EST
    shrunken soul.   No room either temporal or spiritual to "chuck" stones.  Just mean and hateful.

    Parent
    I have to say (none / 0) (#65)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 03:54:39 PM EST
    that I saw the interview with Crist on morning joe and his love vs. hate was very refreshing. I am really really burned out on the hate. Maybe there are enough tired of the DeSantis antics to throw him out of the governor's office. If that happens his political career is dead in the water and so I am sure he will try every trick in the book to pull out a win.

    Parent
    Love and hate. (none / 0) (#62)
    by KeysDan on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 11:55:40 AM EST
    Crist may be on the right track.  He says he is on the battlefield of love, while DeSantis is on the battlefield of hate. Hopefully, the DeSantis act will be seen by the deplorables as just a knock-off of the real, genuine crackpot they so dearly love and who loves to hate the same people they hate to have to love.

    Parent
    The (5.00 / 2) (#66)
    by FlJoe on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 04:20:28 PM EST
    funny thing is DeSantis IS the real thing, tRump was the knockoff, almost a clownish caricature of a real fascist.

    Irony is not dead if fascism is defeated because Americans want the comic book version rather than the real thing.

     

    Parent

    I actually think that is an important bit (5.00 / 1) (#68)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 05:00:49 PM EST
    I think maybe only Trump can do Trump.  It has not worked well for others.   I think that might, ironically, be what saves us.  It really is a personality cult.  It can't really be transferred.

    And Trump is going down

    Parent

    The Little Corpulent (none / 0) (#70)
    by KeysDan on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 06:55:19 PM EST
    and his napoleonic complex are cartoonish, as well. But, I really like your take on this.

    Parent
    Ron DeSantis is no governor. (5.00 / 1) (#67)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 04:28:55 PM EST
    Rather, he's a political warlord who curries favor and support from GOP extremists while treating everyone else disdainfully, as though they were merely the disgruntled inhabitants of a recently occupied enemy territory.

    The media has all but acquiesced to his inevitable re-election, but he does share two vulnerabilities with many of his fellow GOPers: his capacity for overreach and his knack for unnecessary provocation.

    The DeSantis re-election campaign is locked in attack mode with one gear: Drive. It's a brazen strategy for electioneering that can often work until suddenly, it doesn't. The moment such a campaign gets knocked on its heels and forward momentum stalls for whatever reason, it's quickly in serious trouble because there's likely no fallback plan in place to deploy in the face of adversarial circumstances.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Astute analysis. (none / 0) (#84)
    by Towanda on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 10:31:17 PM EST
    Thanks.

    Parent
    Morning Joe (none / 0) (#55)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 04:57:48 AM EST
    was talking about this type of rhetoric and Joe said the conservatives are asking for another Oklahoma City type domestic terrorist attack.

    Parent
    Oz is losing in PA. (5.00 / 1) (#97)
    by Chuck0 on Tue Aug 30, 2022 at 01:03:45 PM EST
    Will lose in PA. And frankly his campaign is so bad he deserves to lose.

    There are two commercials running on TV that are so bad. One is Oz touting his cred as an MD, then devolves into just word salad. Another ends with the tagline, "time for change." Huh? The seat is held by a Republican, you're running as a GQP, is that the change you want. Basically the ad makes Fetterman sound like incumbent. They are just really bad ads. Who came up with this stuff.

    At least PAC attack ads are coherent. Stupid, but coherent.

    Oz is the worst (5.00 / 1) (#100)
    by jmacWA on Tue Aug 30, 2022 at 03:57:48 PM EST
    His commercials are so bad, they are pretty incoherent.

    He could play 3 parts in his namesake movie

    He's brainless
    He's heartless
    He's a coward

    Parent

    Ha (none / 0) (#98)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 30, 2022 at 02:21:16 PM EST

    Quote of the Day
    August 30, 2022 at 2:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 126 Comments

    "The campaign's been saying lots of things. My position is -- I can only speak to what I'm saying."

    -- Mehmet Oz (R), in a radio interview, trying to distance himself from statements made by his own Senate campaign.



    Parent
    As far as I know (none / 0) (#99)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 30, 2022 at 02:27:30 PM EST
    Walker isn't even running ads here in GA. The pacs have taken over and they aren't even saying vote for Walker. They are saying don't vote for Warnock because of his "liberal spending" record. I laugh at the commercials.

    Parent
    Then how is he 3pt ahead in the polls? (none / 0) (#135)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Sep 12, 2022 at 10:23:43 AM EST
    I keep seeing articles that Walker is a horrible candidate yet leads Warnock by 3 pts. Are Georgians really that dumb?


    Parent
    I think the polls are questionable (none / 0) (#136)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Sep 12, 2022 at 06:55:35 PM EST
    They have not been very accurate recently.  I think it's getting harder and harder because of lots f things including who is willing to be looked.

    I think Warnock will win.  Stacy too.

    You heard it here first.

    Parent

    Damn (none / 0) (#137)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Sep 12, 2022 at 06:57:01 PM EST
    including who is willing to be POLLED

    Parent
    I actually think you are correct. (none / 0) (#155)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 05:20:39 PM EST
    At least on Warnock. Regardless of what the polls I've seen say. Walker in the Senate would be an embarrassment to the entire country, not just Georgia. He makes Louie Gohmert sound smart.

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#139)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 02:49:22 PM EST
    there are some Georgians who will vote for someone that attempted to murder their wife. I mean she is a woman after all but mostly that is 1 poll where the majority of them have been showing him leading. More so I'm with Howdy that the polls are all just crap no matter what they say.

    Parent
    These polls remind me of (none / 0) (#145)
    by fishcamp on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 07:04:44 PM EST
    Hurricane Predictions.

    Parent
    Q poll (none / 0) (#152)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 02:41:17 PM EST
    September 14, 2022 at 2:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 153 Comments

    A new Quinnipiac poll in Georgia finds Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) leading challenger Herschel Walker (R), 52% to 46%.

    In the governor's race, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) leads challenger Stacey Abrams (D), 50% to 48%

    Parent

    I hope (none / 0) (#153)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 03:44:08 PM EST
    Stacey can pull it out but I'm becoming increasingly less hopeful on her chances & thinking we are gonna see a repeat of 2018 here in GA. One of her biggest problems is black men will not vote for a woman. There is nothing she can do to change that.

    Parent
    Even accepting that what you mean is (none / 0) (#157)
    by Peter G on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 06:38:56 PM EST
    "not enough Black men will vote for a woman," I am curious whether this reflects actual social science research or polling, or whether it is just your subjective impression as a politically-attuned Georgian.

    Parent
    Polling, (none / 0) (#158)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 08:14:23 PM EST
    articles & results. Black men unwilling to vote for her was one of the reasons she lost in 2018 & she is showing the same problem again. It's really not her fault but it is something that she is going to have to make up votes for in another area.

    Parent
    What? (none / 0) (#160)
    by coast on Thu Sep 15, 2022 at 08:19:34 PM EST
    88% of black men voted for Abrams in 2018.  How does that reconcile with "black men will not vote for a woman"?

    Parent
    Here (none / 0) (#162)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Sep 16, 2022 at 07:38:30 PM EST
    is one article stating 80% of black men are supporting her. It was my understanding that she got 80% of black men in 2018 also and it is one of the things that cost her the race.

    Parent
    Speaking as a former digital effects guy (5.00 / 2) (#101)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 30, 2022 at 05:16:15 PM EST
    This is good (5.00 / 1) (#112)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Sep 02, 2022 at 12:19:39 PM EST

    Veterans Affairs to Provide Abortion Services
    September 2, 2022 at 12:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

    "The Department of Veterans Affairs, for the first time in its history, will provide abortion services and counseling to veterans in cases of health dangers, rape and incest,* even at federal facilities in states that have outlawed the procedure,"* the Wall Street Journal reports.



    A lot of talk about Biden trolling Trump (5.00 / 1) (#117)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 04, 2022 at 05:54:54 PM EST

    Biden Laid the Trap. Trump Walked Into It.

    I think that's true.  But I don't think it's just Trump the bait was for.  Everywhere you read about threats of violence from right wing sites and message boards.  Biden lit them up like the forth of July.

    Here's the thing.  If reporters can read and report n this stuff I'm pretty sure the FBI/NSA whatever is tracking every post.

    The election is coming and people everywhere are warning of violence and chaos.  

    I think Biden, red BG and all, was baiting all of them.  

    And it worked.  Trump sealed the fate of PA republicans last night.  

    As a PA resident (5.00 / 2) (#118)
    by jmacWA on Mon Sep 05, 2022 at 04:28:39 AM EST
    Trump sealed the fate of PA republicans last night.
     

    I have to hope that you are right.  However, we will still have that pesky Republican dominated legislature to worry about, and they will likely be there still after election day.

    Parent

    I get that complaint (none / 0) (#119)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Sep 05, 2022 at 09:54:13 AM EST
    since we have the same problem here in GA. If we knock the entire GOP out statewide can we force the legislature to start working for the majority or are we going to just have a stalemate? Granted a stalemate is better than Kemp signing every piece of nonsense that comes out of the Gold Dome but it doesn't move the ball forward on protecting women's lives.

    Parent
    Good news (5.00 / 4) (#120)
    by MO Blue on Thu Sep 08, 2022 at 06:00:17 PM EST
    In a just-released ruling, the Michigan Supreme Court has ordered the Board of State Canvassers to certify for the ballot the Reproductive Freedom For All petition intended to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. "It is undisputed that there are sufficient signatures to warrant certification," notes the court, while shooting down arguments over "sufficient space between certain words."

    This is a very good ad (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 08, 2022 at 06:12:51 PM EST
    Pretty amazing video (5.00 / 1) (#124)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Sep 09, 2022 at 11:47:12 AM EST
    Mastriano has obviously been looking (5.00 / 2) (#164)
    by Peter G on Sun Sep 18, 2022 at 06:23:33 PM EST
    for a way of playing his anti-semitism card against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joshua Shapiro. Mastriano apparently thought he had found an opening when he attacked Shapiro the other day for sending his kids to an "elite, private" school, rather than to public school. (As if Republicans didn't predominate at elite private schools! And as if cutting state funds to public schools were not a top line in Mastriano's platform.) Except the school where Shapiro went and sends his kids (thus allegedly showing "disdain" for "people like us") is an inclusive, non-elite Jewish, religious-values-oriented day school, not some prep school. So Mastriano is apparently attacking families that choose parochial and other religious schools for their kids (a significant part of his own base). Talk about putting his foot in it. Plus, it's the same school where Jake Tapper went, who let Mastriano have it.

    Parent
    When a "Christian" nationalist says (none / 0) (#130)
    by Peter G on Sun Sep 11, 2022 at 09:39:20 PM EST
    Let us be like "Esther and Gideon," what does he mean? What is their interpretation of those Bible stories?

    Parent
    Chose to lead (none / 0) (#131)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 11, 2022 at 11:36:54 PM EST

    Just like Esther, Joseph, and Gideon, YOU were born to lead people in your life into a relationship with Jesus. Through bravely, faithfully, and obediently ...

    google is my friend

    Parent

    Yeah, I read that. I just couldn't make (none / 0) (#133)
    by Peter G on Mon Sep 12, 2022 at 09:27:45 AM EST
    heads or tails of the purported analogy. I thought perhaps someone might have a plain English, non-acolyte explication. That "lesson" assumes you are already inside the Mastriano mind-set, at least so it seems to me. After attempting an (admittedly short-lived) Google search I could not find one. And still haven't.

    Parent
    Not an expert but I do have more (5.00 / 3) (#134)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Sep 12, 2022 at 10:00:41 AM EST
    experience with thumpers than I would prefer

    IMO the short version is it doesn't really need to mean anything specific.  It's like a virtue signal to mention some recognizable bible name.   Vague connections will be made to which ever prejudice or phobia one wishes to service.

    But naming names is important for some reason.  It shows you are all in if you can reel off some bible names.  

    If was fun for me to post my Azazel image in FB.  The thumpers were fascinated.  I was naming names.  Names they were not familiar with.  A few told me so.  Very interesting to me they could be unfamiliar with this whole little story.  Especially when it came from Leviticus.  Which is the source of one of their most useful and convenient slurs.

    Parent

    MOst of these (none / 0) (#140)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 02:51:49 PM EST
    "thumpers" have not even read the bible. They are what I call selective users because basically they work backwards. They find something they don't like and then they find a bible verse to justify their thoughts and actions. Honestly if you can't get the whole message and most important message of loving your neighbor then you've missed pretty much the entire message.

    I only recently learned that there are 2 creation stories and 2 David and Goliath stories in the bible.

    Parent

    Good news bad news (none / 0) (#148)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 07:37:46 PM EST

    U.S. Christian Majority Likely to Fade
    September 13, 2022 at 8:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 39 Comments

    "The United States has long prided itself on people's freedom to choose whatever religion they like. The majority has long chosen Christianity," the Washington Post reports.

    "By 2070, that may no longer be the case, according to the Pew Research Center. If current trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the population -- and as little as a third -- in 50 years."

    "Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated -- or `nones' -- could make up close to half the population. And the percentage of Americans who identify as Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and adherents of other non-Christian faiths could double."



    Parent
    I love headlines like this (5.00 / 1) (#128)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 11, 2022 at 11:03:42 AM EST

    Republicans are in disarray less than 60 days before the 2022 midterms election, according to report published online Saturday evening by The Washington Post.

    Democrats are not.  More than pretty much anytime I can remember.  Democrats are united.  Why.  Well, the supreme court.  But I can tell who would be blamed if we were "in disarray"
    Joe Biden
    The old guy has done some pretty impressive stuff not many people, including me, thought he could do.


    Yes, it is great (none / 0) (#129)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Sep 11, 2022 at 06:15:01 PM EST
    news. I hope it is enough for them to take some massive losses.

    Parent
    Hilary Mantel has died... (5.00 / 1) (#169)
    by desertswine on Fri Sep 23, 2022 at 02:04:20 PM EST
    Land locked crazy Uncle here (none / 0) (#1)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 16, 2022 at 09:54:58 PM EST
    I just watched Liz do her concession/warning she is coming for Trump and the cultists speech.

    I'm gonna say it.  I thought it was impressive.  I was reminded of some movie quote "when a politician quotes Lincoln you know you are in trouble"

    She would be a hoot in a Republican primary debate.  

    I've always thought the first woman president would probably be a Republican.

    I don't see (none / 0) (#3)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 08:48:56 AM EST
    her as the first woman president because the GOP is never gonna nominate her.

    The GOP is currently pushing Nikki Haley for the 1st woman president but I don't see it. Conservative women get more respect from the press because they don't upset the patriarchy.

    Parent

    She has all the money and name recognition (none / 0) (#4)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 09:01:32 AM EST
    needed to run as an independent.  She has said she will do whatever it takes to stop Trump from being president.  Including running as a third party spoiler.

    Parent
    This is like wishing (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by jondee on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 09:06:01 AM EST
    for the good old days of George W Bush.

    Have we really been reduced to that?

    Parent

    Not wishing for anything (none / 0) (#9)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 11:20:11 AM EST
    just looking at what's in front of us.

    Also even if Trump in taken out by an indictment(s) she could do it anyway.
    She made it clear last night her target was Trumpism in general and election deniers in particular.

    All that said I think her being president is far from impossible.  

    The country needs a hero.  Right or wrong she could be it.  Many people might see poetic justice in Trump being taken down by a woman.

    She is IMO the only republican woman who could come close to doing that.

    Parent

    I can (none / 0) (#6)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 09:38:53 AM EST
    see her running as an indy to take GOP votes away from Trump.

    Parent
    Cheney running (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 10:15:25 AM EST
    as an independent or third party candidate would most likely split the anti-Trump vote between her candidacy and Biden's.  And, then there would be those Democrats who would vote for Cheney on the basis of her doing the right thing lately (forgetting her arch-conservative record and  full-throated support of Trump for the first three and a half years of his term, as well as overlooking the quid pro quo shakedown of Zelensky as an impeachable offense). Or, those Democrats who would vote for the 56-year old Cheney because Young Blood.

    A Cheney run in 2024 in an attempted spoiler role would end any hopes of being a Republican candidate for as much as dogcatcher further down the road.

    My hope is that Cheney finds some more effective means for "keeping Trump no where near the Oval Office" that does not actually hurt Biden and inadvertently help Tump.

    Parent

    Running in Republican Primary (none / 0) (#8)
    by MKS on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 10:55:07 AM EST
    would be optimal.  Weakens Trump.  Being in a debate against Trump would be great.

    If Cheney were to run as an Independent she would take those votes of the GOP suburban anti-Trump women away from Biden.

    Trump's cultists will vote for him no matter what.  No need for competition for the other votes. Let Biden get as many of them as possible--and it does look to be Biden.

    Parent

    Got the impression last night (none / 0) (#10)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 11:47:42 AM EST
    she won't bother with the republican party.  She more or less wrote it off last night.

    She has been quoted as saying the party was sick.

    Plus the comments are correct about her getting surburban anti Trump women.

    To put it another way in a three way race her,Trump, Biden, she could win.  IMO.

    Parent

    I am not (none / 0) (#11)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 03:52:23 PM EST
    so sure women will vote for a woman. We've seen plenty of evidence they won't.

    Parent
    Well, not "that" woman, HRC. (none / 0) (#22)
    by oculus on Fri Aug 19, 2022 at 09:36:43 AM EST
    Not gonna happen (none / 0) (#19)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Aug 18, 2022 at 09:31:44 AM EST

    RNC Won't Let Liz Cheney and Donald Trump Debate
    August 18, 2022 at 10:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 45 Comments

    Ron Brownstein: "The general feeling among Republicans I spoke with this week is that the RNC would go to almost absurd lengths to avoid allowing Cheney to appear on the same debate stage as Trump."

    Aaron Blake: "Imagine Cheney pressing the case against Trump not just in Jan. 6 committee hearings, but also doing it to his face



    Parent
    Liz has been coming (none / 0) (#132)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Sep 12, 2022 at 08:13:02 AM EST
    up in my mind as of late wondering if she knew about all the criminal inquiries into Trump. I have no doubt that she has sources in the DOJ. As many of us surmised she is probably going to come out on top while the rest of the GOP swirls the drain.

    Parent
    So I had (none / 0) (#12)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 05:28:45 PM EST
    to check out exactly what coastal grandmother style was and it is me. It is my style but I never knew there was a name for it.

    Jimmy Fallon performs (none / 0) (#14)
    by Yman on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 07:58:44 PM EST
    In other news of politics and crime, (none / 0) (#15)
    by scribe on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 08:00:12 PM EST
    try this one on:  One day last January, some attorneys from the US Attorney's office, defense counsel, and a defendant walk into federal court in New Jersey.  They're there to take a plea, even though this is the first time the defendant has been in court.

    Judge reads the charges: murder for hire.

    Defendant pleads guilty.

    Judge gets a factual basis.  US attorneys are satisfied, defense counsel satisfied, defendant's satisfied.  Guilty plea accepted.

    Defense counsel applies for bail pending sentencing  - asks for ROR.

    US Attorneys agree.

    Defendant gets home confinement with an ankle bracelet pending sentencing.  He's still there.

    Sentencing was scheduled for June but then was pushed back, by mutual consent, to December.

    The defendant is Sean Caddle, formerly one of the NJ Democratic party's most prolific fundraisers and distributors of dark money.  Worked for Menendez, worked for Ray Lesniak - the de facto head of the party.  The dead guy - it took 8 years to solve the crime - was a low-level operative in Jersey City who'd worked for Caddle at one point.  The two hitmen, lifelong crooks who were picked up shortly after the guilty plea.  Caddle had paid off the hit with thousands in cash in the parking lot of a diner.  (True Jersey, that)

    And that's about all we've heard.  Lots of nervous  
    people, we're led to believe but no subsequent arrests.

    Still, how much cooperation does one have to give to get home confinement after pleading guilty to a contract murder in federal court?

    It's true.  You can look it up.

    Nothing more infuriating in the conduct (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Peter G on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 08:40:30 PM EST
    of federal prosecutors than making deals like this with powerful people to "cooperate down" rather than up the chain of culpability. I've seen it too often.

    Parent
    I don't get Ted Lasso (none / 0) (#16)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 17, 2022 at 08:09:59 PM EST
    It's every sitcom I never watched.  

    I know a lot of people who love it. (none / 0) (#83)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 09:44:06 PM EST
    But, yeah, I don't get it, either.

    Parent
    Weisselberg cops plea deal.... (none / 0) (#21)
    by desertswine on Thu Aug 18, 2022 at 11:42:11 PM EST
    Donald Trump's long time employee and trusted executive, Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg pled guilty to 15 felonies and admitted to conspiring with Trump to commit fraud. In return for a 5-month sentence, he told a judge Thursday morning he will testify against Trump's company over tax schemes.

    ...is heading to Riker's.  Maybe they'll give him the Epstein Suite.

    Epstein wasn't at Rikers. (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by Chuck0 on Fri Aug 19, 2022 at 02:35:26 PM EST
    He was at MCC New York. A Federal facility.

    Parent
    Rats! My mistake. (none / 0) (#24)
    by desertswine on Fri Aug 19, 2022 at 02:59:39 PM EST
    Good SciFi (none / 0) (#25)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Aug 20, 2022 at 08:04:19 PM EST
    Paper Girls

    I liked this a lot more than I expected to.

    Agreed. (none / 0) (#26)
    by Chuck0 on Sun Aug 21, 2022 at 10:07:04 AM EST
    Had a hard time getting started with it. Had to start it over a couple of times. But it turned out to be pretty good.

    Parent
    I picked up HBO (none / 0) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 21, 2022 at 01:05:29 PM EST
    for the big premier tonight but I had a week to watch the new season of West World

    I thought it was very good.  They have not announced a season 5 but I hope they do.  5 is supposed the be the last one.

    Parent

    Fortunately I also have a ROKU (none / 0) (#33)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 22, 2022 at 07:35:23 AM EST

    `House of the Dragon' premiere crashes HBO Max for thousands of fuming Fire TV users

    Sucked to have to watch it in the bedroom but at least I could see it.  Maybe I will move the ROKU into the living room.

    Parent

    I think you have Netflix (5.00 / 1) (#41)
    by MO Blue on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 11:42:54 AM EST
    I just watched the entire season of Echoes. It was IMO worth watching. You might want to check it out if you haven't already seen it.

    Parent
    This is a very cool thing (none / 0) (#28)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 21, 2022 at 01:16:32 PM EST
    You made me look up the word.. (5.00 / 3) (#29)
    by desertswine on Sun Aug 21, 2022 at 06:42:45 PM EST
     gesamtkunstwerk.

    Gesamtkunstwerk is a German term for a design or creation that includes many forms of art. The term can be translated total artwork. Gesamtkunstwerk implies that a single artist or creative entity create the entire artwork.  --  Simplicable

    Amazing.

    Parent

    My weltanschauung (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by jondee on Sun Aug 21, 2022 at 07:37:50 PM EST
    feels as though it's been imperceptibly expanded yet again by the singular contributions of you gentlemen.

    Parent
    It's very (none / 0) (#35)
    by Zorba on Tue Aug 23, 2022 at 08:08:42 AM EST
    Nice, actually, how much we learn from one another.  :-)

    Parent
    There are great pics (none / 0) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 21, 2022 at 07:00:39 PM EST
    of him driving a bulldozer

    Parent
    I think (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 21, 2022 at 07:01:36 PM EST
    this might be a road trip.  

    Parent
    Florida folks..... (none / 0) (#36)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 23, 2022 at 12:22:01 PM EST
    who are we supporting in the Dem gov primary?

    Crist always sort of bugged me but I tend to think he would have a better chance against the minifuror

    Well its Charlie (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 23, 2022 at 08:36:45 PM EST
    Woohoo I guess

    Parent
    Charges to be dismissed against Atlanta (none / 0) (#37)
    by McBain on Tue Aug 23, 2022 at 05:45:38 PM EST
    police officers in the shooting of Rayshard Brooks.
    A Georgia special prosecutor announced Tuesday that murder and assault charges will be dismissed against two Atlanta police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks in June 2020, saying the officers acted reasonably in response to a deadly threat.
    "Both acted as reasonable officers would under the facts and circumstances of the events of that night," special prosecutor Peter Skandalakis said. "Both acted in accordance with well-established law and were justified in the use of force regarding the situation."

    Shortly after the shooting, former District Attorney Paul Howard charged both officers with serious crimes including felony murder against Garrett Rolfe. I never thought these charges made a lot of sense. From Howard's ridiculous press conference...

    Brooks' cordial and cooperative demeanor before the attempt to arrest him played a major role in the determination to present charges, Howard said.

    For 41 minutes and 17 seconds, Brooks "never presented himself as a threat," Howard said. He "never displayed any aggressive behavior."




    I read some lawyer yesterday (none / 0) (#42)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 01:57:00 PM EST
    who thinks Trump is trying to set up a "he is delusional" defense by saying stuff like this

    Trump whines: 'I don't understand why I can't have these things'

    Maybe.  I'm not sure about that.  I think he is just really stupid and ignorant.  Which is not the same thing.

    As the last term concluded. (none / 0) (#43)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 02:58:33 PM EST
    the Supreme Court ruled against the EPA (West Virginia v EPA) as to whether the Clean Air Act allowed the EPA to issue regulations across the power sector.  The Court  was asked to address whether.Congress must "speak with particular clarity when it authorizes executive agencies to address major political or economic questions---a theory known "the major questions doctrine".

    In the 6/3 decision, Chief Justice Roberts writing for the majority found the provision of the Clean Air Act the Biden Administration pointed to was too oblique, and ran afoul of the major questions doctrine, advancing a central goal of the right wing/reactionary legal movement to curtail the power of the "administrative state".

    Justice Kagan writing for the dissent, stated that the statute gives the EPA ample authority, noting that the Clean Air Act was major legislation designed to deal with a major policy issue and that Congress gives an expert agency the power to address it.

    In the IRA legislation recently passed, Democrats added language to address the supreme court's reining in the EPA by amending the Act to define carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuel as an "air pollutant". The Amendment gives the EPA explicit authority to regulate greenhouse gas and to use its power to push adoption of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources.(this will enhance the EPA's ability to regulate emissions, but does not force utilities to change how power is generated as a means to do so).  

    Of corse, the Republicans are aghast. Ted Cruz said in horror "it's buried in there" "Democrats are trying to overturn the Supreme Court's  WVA v EPA victory!    Yes, their victory in the calling balls and strikes.  How likely is it that Alito will find some 15th century basis for overturning the entire IRA?

    I saw a guy from the Cook Political Report (none / 0) (#44)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 03:05:55 PM EST
    this morning talking about last night's results and the fall election.

    He said midterm elections are usually a referendum on the current administration but this one shaping up to be a referendum on the previous administration or maybe a referendum on the Supreme Court.

    He also said they are lowering the chances the republicans take the house by the day.

    According to him the court is on the ballot in a way it has rarely been.

    Parent

    I agree (none / 0) (#47)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 05:20:29 PM EST
    The atrocious Dobbs decision will be a major factor in the Democrats holding, and slightly increasing, members in the Senate, and, holding the House.

    Parent
    Other factors (none / 0) (#49)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 07:12:31 PM EST
    PEople (none / 0) (#51)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 07:16:10 PM EST
    are paying attention and they are paying attention before Labor Day. I actually was kind of worried that people would be oblivious to all this.

    Parent
    I (none / 0) (#48)
    by FlJoe on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 05:33:47 PM EST
    will write for for him.

    People have to exhale CO2 to stay alive, the constitution grants the right to life, liberty and the  pursuit of happiness.

    Corporations are people too, so they can "exhale" anything they want. Suck on that libtards.

    Parent

    Love to hear a knowledgeable opinion of this (none / 0) (#45)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 04:28:01 PM EST

    Memo Explains Why Trump Wasn't Charged in 2019
    August 24, 2022 at 4:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 42 Comments

    "The Justice Department has released the entire text of a secret 2019 memo that played a crucial role in the decision not to charge or accuse then-President Donald Trump of committing obstruction of justice in the investigation into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election," the Washington Post reports.

    "The memo, addressed to then-deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, says none of the potential instances of obstruction of justice by Trump cited in Mueller's lengthy final report `would warrant a prosecution for obstruction of justice' regardless of whether the person being investigated was a sitting president."

    Politico: "The Justice Department fought release of the memo for years, arguing that it was part of a deliberative process advising Barr on what to do in response to Mueller's report. However, judges concluded that at the time the memo was written, Barr had already decided not to charge Trump."

    link

    Sorry, I am not Knowledgeable (none / 0) (#46)
    by RickyJim on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 05:09:08 PM EST
    I haven't read the Muller Report.  But the memo basically says that since an underlying crime has not been identified, one doesn't usually charge obstruction of justice.  I am still mystified why Trump was so bothered by an investigation of connections of his 2016 campaign with Russia. The only way I can imagine that mystery be cleared up is that the New York investigations into his financial dealings turn up some Kremlin related shenanigans.

    Parent
    The Mueller Report found ... (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 05:11:36 PM EST
    ... ample evidence of potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence services, with over 200 documented instances of contacts between the two.

    But collusion itself is not necessarily a crime unless and until it evolves into active conspiracy to deceive and defraud, which is indeed a crime. It's on that note that Mueller's report admitted that it failed to establish a sufficient threshold of evidence necessary to gain a conviction in court, likely due to Trump's repeated attempts to obstruct the investigation at every turn, which Special Counsel Robert Mueller documented in detail.

    Aside from the fact that DOJ's enabling memo underscores AG Bill Barr's brazen public mischaracterization of the Mueller Report's findings and subsequent attempt to mislead the court about it, its authors are frankly wrong in their assertion that there can be no criminal obstruction of justice if there's no underlying crime to obfuscate.

    Case law is replete with examples in which people materially misled the authorities for reasons which had nothing to do with the underlying investigation, such as a desire to avoid having an embarrassing personal indiscretion (e.g., marital infidelity, gambling habits, etc.) become public knowledge. There's good reason why lying to investigators is a crime.

    In any event, I would urge you to read both the Mueller Report and the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the Trump-Russia scandal because it was no hoax. The Russians clearly interfered in the 2016 election on behalf of the Trump campaign and at the very least, the candidate and his campaign officials knew about it, accepted the Russian assistance and did absolutely nothing to either discourage it or report it to the proper authorities.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    The lawyers (none / 0) (#50)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 07:14:06 PM EST
    I follow on twitter said it was basically a circular thing where Trump obstructed the investigation so there was no underlying crime and no underlying crime so no obstruction.

    It really was/is ridiculous. However I understand we are supposed to get an unredacted Mueller report soon.

    Parent

    It was a (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 09:32:04 PM EST
    whitewash, in my view, by Barr and the DOJ.   An underlying crime is not necessary to obstruct justice. Justice can be obstructed for different reasons

    Parent
    "Someone needs (none / 0) (#53)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 24, 2022 at 09:15:38 PM EST
    to grab that little elf and chuck him across the Potomac"   (Full quote)

    Will no one rid me (none / 0) (#63)
    by jondee on Thu Aug 25, 2022 at 12:57:30 PM EST
    of this turbulent priest?

    Like King Henry referring to Thomas Beckett.

    These wild-swinging stochastic terrorist a-holes on the right just won't quit.

    Parent

    It's affidavit (none / 0) (#71)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 10:54:02 AM EST
    zero hour

    PWire (none / 0) (#72)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 11:02:05 AM EST
    Ha

    And the electronic system used to distribute the affidavit has crashed.

    Stand by

    Parent

    Love this (none / 0) (#73)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 11:31:47 AM EST
    Trump is referred to in the affidavit as "FPOTUS."

    Parent
    phonetically (none / 0) (#79)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 06:27:26 PM EST
    that kind of works for him.

    Parent
    The FBI is investigating (none / 0) (#74)
    by KeysDan on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 03:41:55 PM EST
    a 33-year old woman who is speaks Russian and has been posing as "Anna de Rothschild" an heir of the European banking dynasty who infiltrated Mar a Lago and Trump's entourage.   Intrigue.


    Oh, no! (none / 0) (#82)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 09:41:54 PM EST
    Inna Yashchyshyn is a Ukrainian grifter who speaks Russian and appears to be linked to organized crime, so of course she's obviously a Democratic operative from the Deep State who's out to frame Fearless Leader. This is all Hunter Biden's fault.

    ;-)

    Parent

    This would be a perfect talking point (5.00 / 1) (#85)
    by Towanda on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 10:35:44 PM EST
    if you'd just work in a Mexican caravan.

    Parent
    That's probably how ... (5.00 / 2) (#94)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Aug 28, 2022 at 10:45:10 PM EST
    ... she got into the country in the first place - not by a Mexican caravan but rather, by a Cessna Caravan loaded with cocaine that flew secretly from Matamoros to Bill and Hillary Clinton's secret Iran-Contra airstrip near Mena, AR where she was met by Gavin Newsom's supposed ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle, whom everybody thinks is "divorced" but they're actually working in cahoots together to get Donald Trump Jr. hooked on drugs while they planted classified material at Mar-a-Lago that had conveniently disappeared about the same time that Vince Foster, you know, "shot himself" in Ft, Marcy Park but we all know better and you can't fool us.

    You know, being a conspiracy theorist is exhausting work.

    Parent

    So (none / 0) (#95)
    by FlJoe on Mon Aug 29, 2022 at 11:57:39 AM EST
    obviously you have had Hillary's e-mails this whole time.

    Parent
    Release of the affadavit (none / 0) (#75)
    by KeysDan on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 03:48:41 PM EST
    has large blocks of redacted text embedded in just enough context to suggest great jeopardy for Trump. Also, danger for some people close to Trump (e.g., "criminal confederates"). Language such as need to be sealed because of risks to witnesses who are helping in the investigation and persons who might "flee."  

    Multiple witnesses (none / 0) (#76)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 05:39:38 PM EST
    What if they really did catch him in a sting.

    The possibilities are boggling

    Human Intel.  The identity of spys.  Maybe the one or ones giving us info on his buddy Putin.

    Parent

    Much more (none / 0) (#77)
    by KeysDan on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 06:05:14 PM EST
    going on.   Some are diverting with criticism of why it took so long for the DOJ to act when 1. They know so little and 2. It really is not so long---The National Archives did not make a DOJ referral to early this year, negotiations proceeded, subpoenas followed, and then the search warrant.  And, TFG and politically charged to the point of possible civil disorder.  Not to mention a possible sting operation. And, too, there is the "sloppy" packing of boxes with other extraneous materials, a common white collar criminal way of getting important items out in the mix.  This is a crime scene according to the warrant.

    Parent
    National Archives (5.00 / 2) (#86)
    by Towanda on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 10:44:22 PM EST
    acted after only four months. There are complaints that it took that long, but the whiners have never done an inventory of historical documents. It often takes years, even decades, to process a collection far smaller.

    Ask me or any historian how we know this, as we wait years, even decades, for an inventoried collection to do research.

    And to conduct research into an uninventoried collection is hellish. I have dealt with boxes full of disorganized documents, mixed in with grocery lists and other detritus, similar to descriptions of what the archivists are dealing with from the chaotic Trump administration.

    Parent

    absolutely agree! (5.00 / 3) (#87)
    by leap2 on Sat Aug 27, 2022 at 09:57:41 AM EST
    As an archaeologist, I often needed to go into various archives for background research on projects. Museums, libraries, agencies with archives usually don't have budgets to organize boxes and boxes of donated materials. Sometimes no one cares. It takes a person to do that time-consuming work, and it can get expensive quickly. Maybe there are grey-haired volunteers to do it, but there needs to be consistency in the process. On the one hand, I always loved poking through stuff like that. There can be huge and deep rabbit holes! With lots of interesting diversions. On the other hand, I was usually on someone else's clock, not my own fun time, and I had to self-impose time-limits and, to some extent, wear blinders. Sometimes, when given a box of "no-one-knows-what's-in-this" but it's labeled "County records," a muffled arrrrrrggghhhhh echoes through the stacks.

    As much "fun" it would be to go through FatNixon's trash, the people doing that work at the National Archives had to stay focussed while being in, and trying to ignore, an intense political pressure-cooker. I hope their names are redacted!

    Parent

    It looks like Trump did (none / 0) (#78)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 06:24:59 PM EST
    the exact unbelievably stupid and flagrant thing of just keeping paperwork after classified briefings.

    Stuffing them in a box in case he needed them later.

    You never know when you might need a get out of jail card.  Or two.

    And he needs millions in cash because personally guaranteed debts are coming due.

    Parent

    Of the 15 boxes (5.00 / 1) (#88)
    by KeysDan on Sat Aug 27, 2022 at 01:01:03 PM EST
    turned over in January 2022, a year after Trump left office, 184 documents marked as classified were found, including some labeled HCS (Human Intelligence Control System).  This finding was a very concerning revelation in the eyes of intelligence agencies.

    Last year, a top-secret memo was sent to every CIA station around the world warning about the unusual and troubling number of informants being captured or killed.  

    Parent

    According to reporting (5.00 / 1) (#89)
    by KeysDan on Sun Aug 28, 2022 at 12:10:26 PM EST
    in the Washington Post, boxes of documents came along with Trump on his foreign travel, following him to hotel rooms around the world, including countries considered to be hostile nations.

    The dots seem to connect themselves. . It is not inconceivable, for the transactional Trump, to have been selling documents for personal remuneration or to use them for goodwill and diplomatic courtesy so as to cozy up and develop personal relationships.  A list of US spies would certainly be endearing.  And, of course, it may be both, a floor wax and a dessert topping.

    The first impeachment of Trump, the "perfect call" to Zelensky was arms for dirt on (at the time) a family member of a possible political opponent.  Not just conceivable.  The."why" in Trump's stealing of the documents make little sense in the absence of the obvious.

    Parent

    I've noticed the rationalizing (none / 0) (#90)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 28, 2022 at 12:51:05 PM EST
    from the peanut gallery has been muted a bit.  Pretty clear there are other shoes to drop at this point.

    Kind of raining shoes


    Parent

    Except for (5.00 / 1) (#91)
    by KeysDan on Sun Aug 28, 2022 at 02:06:39 PM EST
    Lara Trump, wife of Eric.   Lara, a distinguished graduate of cooking school, rendered her legal scholarship on the issue as being unconstitutional.  After all, what if there is some lawyer/client information in amongst the human spy stuff, say Rudy telling TFG about the best hair dye to use for a legal deposition appearance?  

    Lindsey once proclaimed Lara was the future of the Republican Party.   That may be true.

    Parent

    Apparently (none / 0) (#80)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 06:28:32 PM EST
    Kash was actually named. Going on by what I have read because I have not read the actual affidavit myself.

    Parent
    I (5.00 / 1) (#81)
    by FlJoe on Fri Aug 26, 2022 at 06:35:04 PM EST
    just glanced thru it and that unredacted name jumped out at me, very interesting. That POS has been up to no good since he worked for Nunes.

    Parent
    Kash is about to .... (none / 0) (#92)
    by Yman on Sun Aug 28, 2022 at 03:23:31 PM EST
    ... "go through some things", for real.  Leaving asidce whatever exposure he might have for his role at DOD on Jan. 6th, he better have a damn good, criminal lawyer.

    Parent
    The "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" (none / 0) (#93)
    by desertswine on Sun Aug 28, 2022 at 10:08:07 PM EST
    guy dies.  

    He first got involved in Republican politics by doing advance work in Florida for Ronald Reagan's unsuccessful presidential primary run in 1976. He later worked for a consulting firm led by Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, who went on to play key roles in the political rise of Donald J. Trump.

    Link - NYT

    From that picture (none / 0) (#96)
    by jondee on Mon Aug 29, 2022 at 03:45:14 PM EST
    you'd almost think he was a good guy.

    I'm sure very very deep down he was.

    Parent

    Sorry Sara (none / 0) (#102)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 31, 2022 at 07:09:29 PM EST

    Candidate Mary Peltola answers questions from a reporter prior to the forum. Candidates for the U.S. House participated in a forum at the Alaska Oil and Gas Association annual conference at the Dena'ina Convention Center in Anchorage on August 31, 2022. (Marc Lester / ADN)
    Democrat Mary Peltola was the apparent winner of Alaska's special U.S. House race and is set to become the first Alaska Native in Congress, after votes were tabulated Wednesday in the state's first ranked choice election.

    Peltola led Republican former Gov. Sarah Palin after ballots were tallied and votes for third-place GOP candidate Nick Begich III were redistributed to his supporters' second choices. Peltola, a Yup'ik former state lawmaker who calls Bethel home, is now slated to be the first woman to hold Alaska's lone U.S. House seat.

    If results are confirmed as expected by the state review board later this week, she will succeed U.S. Rep. Don Young, the Republican who held the office for nearly five decades -- since before Peltola was born. The special election was triggered by Young's death in March.



    This loss does my heart good (5.00 / 2) (#104)
    by MO Blue on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 11:19:05 AM EST
    Any day that Palin is defeated at the polls is a good day.

    Does anyone know why the Republicans changed to Ranked Choice?

    Parent

    .I don't know (none / 0) (#105)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 12:18:21 PM EST
    but this is good news for many reasons.  I think I heard a Dem has not won that seat in 50 years.

    It's another sign of energy on the left.

    Parent

    Also read (5.00 / 1) (#106)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 12:20:03 PM EST
    With AK Dems doubled their geographical representation in sq miles.

    Parent
    Tom Cotton (none / 0) (#103)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 10:49:21 AM EST
    had a meltdown over this result on twitter calling it a "rigged election". I guess he doesn't know that the RCV was a Republican idea.

    Parent
    The rule is (5.00 / 1) (#107)
    by KeysDan on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 02:03:30 PM EST
    if a Republican loses, the election is rigged, Not semi-fascist when losers do not recognize the winner and do not accept their loss.  That's fascist, the full variety.

    Parent
    I heard Mary Pertola, on the PBS news show, (none / 0) (#108)
    by desertswine on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 06:31:59 PM EST
    say that she had 176 long guns in her home.  Must do a lot of hunting.

    But I do want to make sure that Alaskans (none / 0) (#111)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Sep 02, 2022 at 11:32:21 AM EST
    But I do want to make sure that Alaskans understand that I am a staunch advocate for our Second Amendment rights. I myself have 176 long guns in my home. We are avid hunters. We are very, very tied to our subsistence resources and having access to wild game.

    And, really, the most important factor in terms of being a successful hunter is having access to guns and ammunition.



    Parent
    176 is kind of a lot (none / 0) (#143)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 04:31:01 PM EST
    But I'm sure I have multiple relatives with over 100.

    Parent
    And I thought I was out there (none / 0) (#146)
    by fishcamp on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 07:19:36 PM EST
    with four long guns.  They are inherited from my father and grandfather.  We all hunted every year when dad came home from WWll.  During duck and pheasant season I would keep my .12 gauge shotgun in my high school locker ready to skip out and go hunting.  I used to hunt pheasants in Beaverton, Oregon until Nike paved over my hunting grounds.

    Parent
    Two people that have over 100 firearms (5.00 / 1) (#159)
    by Jack E Lope on Thu Sep 15, 2022 at 11:47:40 AM EST
    ...who I knew/know are not into shooting.

    A recently-deceased uncle made his living as a gunsmith, firearm parts manufacturer and owner of firearms-related intellectual properties (patents and trademarks). He had a test rig and bullet trap in his shop, and I think that was the only place he fired any gun after about 1966.

    The other is a friend who buys eclectic/unusual/impractical firearms - and most of those remain unfired (since the factory proofing). He has fired some of the used guns on rare occasion, but he hasn't done any shooting for a few years now.

    On another note, Beaverton Schools used to allow us to bring long guns to school.  In elementary school, it had to be turned over to the teacher, then retrieved at the end of the day. In junior high and high school, it had to stay in the locker for the day - except when going to riflery class or practice. When I took riflery class, the school issued us guns for use during class. (Airguns for the indoor range, gallery guns for the outdoor range.)

    We kids in the neighborhood had a fort in the woods by Windolph Farms - now Nike campus.

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    The collect them (none / 0) (#147)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 07:28:35 PM EST
    like DVDs

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    Curious to see (none / 0) (#109)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 06:44:48 PM EST
    what Biden says.  

    He is saying (5.00 / 2) (#110)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 01, 2022 at 07:12:59 PM EST
    a lot that needs to be said.  Like 'this is not who we are'.

    The accomplishments are pretty impressive when you list them all.

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    Allahpundit jumps off the Trump train (none / 0) (#113)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Sep 02, 2022 at 12:28:44 PM EST
    this s worth a read

    LINK TO A CONSERVATIVE SITE

    I'm the only member left from the team that launched this site in 2006. It's always been owned by others, first by Michelle Malkin and then by Salem Communications, but when you're part of a project from the jump and you invest 36,591 hours into making it work (many more than that, truthfully) you come to think of it as yours.

    I have no identity as a writer apart from my site. When I wake up tomorrow, Hot Air will belong to someone else and I'll be a different person.

    What cause does the Republican Party presently serve? It has no meaningful policy agenda. It literally has no platform. The closest thing it has to a cause is justifying abuses of state power to own the libs and defending whatever Trump's latest boorish or corrupt thought-fart happens to be. Imagine being a propagandist for a cause as impoverished as that. Many don't need to imagine.

    The GOP does have a cause. The cause is consolidating power. Overturn the rigged elections, purge the disloyal bureaucrats, smash the corrupt institutions that stand in the way. Give the leader a free hand. It's plain as day to those who are willing to see where this is going, what the highest ambitions of this personality cult are. Those who support it without insisting on reform should at least stop pretending that they're voting for anything else.

    Lastly, to those who spent the last seven years barking insults at me in the comments for not genuflecting to Trump, I'll give you this: You're not phonies. You believe what you say. We have that much in common. I respect honesty and paid you the respect of being honest. It would scandalize you to know how many of your heroes sound like you in public and like me in private. Audience capture has brought most of conservative media to ruin by making it predictable and shrill.

    I hear Lincoln's words in my head as I write that: "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies." Let's hope. But let's also be real: To a certain sort of Very Online Trumpist weirdo, having the right enemies is what politics is all about. To any who insist upon having me as one, I'm okay with it. Few badges of honor shine as brightly as the scorn of authoritarians.



    My understanding (none / 0) (#115)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Sep 04, 2022 at 12:28:30 PM EST
    was that he was a never Trumper. I won't be sorry to see that site go down the toilet though.

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    This is true (none / 0) (#114)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 04, 2022 at 10:22:54 AM EST

    Every poll we consume over the closing weeks of this election will rely on a likely voter model for which we have no benchmark.

    NYTimes

    "In my 28 years analyzing elections, I've never seen anything like what's happened in the past two months in American politics: Women are registering to vote in numbers I've never witnessed. I've run out of superlatives to describe how different this moment is, especially in light of the cycles of tragedy and eventual resignation of recent years. This is a moment to throw old political assumptions out the window and to consider that Democrats could buck historic trends this cycle..."



    Dinner with Don and Mark, at the White House. (none / 0) (#116)
    by KeysDan on Sun Sep 04, 2022 at 03:35:29 PM EST
    At a Pennsylvania rally supporting Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano, (his first rally since the FBI effected a search warrant for stolen government property), Trump reported a "sir" story he had at the White House with Mark Zuckerberg in August 2022:

    "Last week, the weirdo--he's a weirdo--Mark Zuckerberg came to the White House, kissed my a$$ all night."   "Sir, I'd love to have dinner, sir.  I'd love to bring my lovely wife.  All right, Mark, come on in. Sir, you're number one on Facebook. I'd like to congratulate you.  Thank you very much, Mark, I appreciate it."  

    So it's not bad enough the dead (none / 0) (#122)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 08, 2022 at 06:59:06 PM EST
    Queen is crowdng out coverage of anything I care about.  When they take a break from her they have to talk about Bernard Shaw.
    I think I'm not supposed to say anything bad about him today so I'll just say remember Dukakis.

    I wish (none / 0) (#123)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 08, 2022 at 08:00:35 PM EST
    we had journalists who would ask questions like that of the GOP. Like can they ask a candidate whether they think the 2020 election was stolen?

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    Tell (none / 0) (#125)
    by FlJoe on Sat Sep 10, 2022 at 06:01:58 AM EST
    me about it, this is starting to get vomit inducing.

    WTF people. Americans rejected monarchy centuries ago, now the media is treating it as some kind of holy grail.

    Meanwhile some truly remarkable things are happening in Ukraine.

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    At the point (none / 0) (#126)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Sep 10, 2022 at 07:30:17 AM EST
    A Brit accent sends me scrambling for the remote.

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    Winter forecast (none / 0) (#127)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 11, 2022 at 09:12:26 AM EST
    Farmers Almanac (Facebook)

    Not that good.  Glad I got a new fire place this summer.

    40 (at least) new subpoenas (none / 0) (#138)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Sep 12, 2022 at 07:08:26 PM EST
    Ken Starr is dead (none / 0) (#141)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 04:19:55 PM EST
    at 76

    good (3.67 / 3) (#149)
    by leap2 on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 08:50:29 PM EST
    .

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    Ms Lindsey (none / 0) (#142)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 04:27:08 PM EST
    Great quote (5.00 / 1) (#144)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 13, 2022 at 04:37:52 PM EST

    I don't think there's an appetite for a national platform here.

    Ha ha

    In other words.

    We haven't had a platform for years.  I can't remember the last time we were FOR anything but closing the border or stopping CRT.

    So now we are going to be FOR something that's a 70-30 issue.  

    Thanks Lindsey.

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    For (none / 0) (#150)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 08:24:53 AM EST
    42 years the GOP has had as its stated goal a total ban on abortion nationwide. Why anyone is surprised at what they are doing is beyond me.

    I got a push poll from the GOP yesterday. It was about "raising taxes in a recession" and the "87K IRS agents". I told the person that those supposed "items" made me less likely to vote for a Republican because I know they are pure T BS. I also told the person that the GOP is a disgusting sucky party.

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    According to Roger Stone Lindsey is (none / 0) (#151)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 02:21:16 PM EST

     purposely helping the Democrats to ensure that we do not take back the US Senate."

    I also had the thought.  It is just so badly timed.  But I refuse to give Lindsey that much credit.  I think he is being a craven opportunistic POS.

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    A few months ago I, rightfuly, criticized (none / 0) (#154)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 04:45:04 PM EST
    one of our LA County Supervisors, Sheila Kuehl.

    I had no knowledge until today, but apparently she is being investigated for corruption.

    Sheriff's Department Serves Search Warrant at Home of LA County Supervisor Kuehl


    Prosecutors want Adnan Syed to get a new trial (none / 0) (#156)
    by McBain on Wed Sep 14, 2022 at 06:38:31 PM EST
    Link
    Baltimore prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday asking for a new trial for Adnan Syed, whose case was the subject of the hugely popular first season of the "Serial" podcast.

    A statement from the state attorney's office cited newly discovered evidence.


    I watched a documentary about Syed's conviction years ago and thought he deserved a new trial.  Apparently, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby finally agrees...
    As stewards of the court, we are obligated to uphold confidence in the integrity of convictions and do our part to correct when this standard has been comprised," Mosby said. "We have spoken with the family of Ms. Hae Min Lee and (they) fully understand that the person responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable."

    The state will request that Syed be released on his own recognizance pending the investigation if the motion to vacate his conviction is granted.

    "We believe that keeping Mr. Syed detained as we continue to investigate the case with everything that we know now, when we do not have confidence in results of the first trial, would be unjust," Mosby said.


    I'm curious how common it is for prosecutors to request a new trial for someone who's been locked up that long (20+ years)?

    In the last 5 or so years, progressive (5.00 / 1) (#163)
    by Peter G on Sat Sep 17, 2022 at 06:53:28 PM EST
    (and relatively progressive) prosecutors have created "conviction integrity units" in their offices to investigate credible claims of miscarriages of justice. So, such changes of position are now a regular occurrence, although hardly common or routine.
      The excellent Baltimore criminal defense lawyer who originally tried the Syed case was a friend of mine. It kind of broke her heart. She died young several years ago.

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    That's too bad she didn't get to see this (5.00 / 1) (#165)
    by McBain on Mon Sep 19, 2022 at 09:47:37 PM EST
    As expected a judge has vacated the conviction.
    In explaining her decision to vacate, Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn cited material in the state investigation ​that was not properly turned over to defense attorneys​, as well as ​the existence of two suspects ​who may have been improperly cleared as part of the investigation.

    As for what happens next...
    Prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether to pursue a new trial, and they are waiting for DNA analysis that they are trying to expedite to determine whether Adnan's case is dismissed or the case is set for trial. But that mandate, Mosby said, is "separate and apart" from the investigation into who killed Lee.

    In the meantime, Syed will wear an ankle monitor with tracking, according to Becky Feldman, chief of the Sentencing Review Unit of the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office.



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    This video report questions Mosby's timing (none / 0) (#161)
    by McBain on Fri Sep 16, 2022 at 06:54:07 PM EST
    suggesting it might a distraction effort from her own legal troubles.
    Whatever her intention, a new trail for Syed is long overdue.

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    Falling down a flight of stairs (none / 0) (#166)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 22, 2022 at 08:31:11 AM EST
    can believably be accidental.  Falling down "several" flights of stairs less so.

    A former ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin died after "falling down several flights of stairs,"



    A lot of high ranking Russians (none / 0) (#167)
    by MO Blue on Thu Sep 22, 2022 at 11:10:09 AM EST
    haven become extremely accident prone lately.

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    Several flights ..... (none / 0) (#168)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 22, 2022 at 12:04:08 PM EST
    they are not even trying anymore.

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