FAFO Round-Up [DOT 22/8/23]

22/8/23 bryanlsplinter 39

It’s time for a brand-new edition of that grand old Deadsplinter tradition that I am currently inaugurating in defiance of the definition of “tradition”: FAFO Round-Up. In case you’re not hip like me, FAFO stands for “Fuck around and find out.” These days I find more and more examples of this on a daily basis, so I thought I’d share.

Trump FAFO:

So the conditions of Trump’s bail in Georgia are now released. Pay close attention to the ones about not breaking any more laws and not threatening anyone, either directly or indirectly. I’d give Captain Combover … 24 hours before he’s in violation.

Co-conspirator FAFO:

Trump only cares about Trump, Trump voters only care about Trump, Trump co-conspirators are screwed

Quote:

As The Guardian reported back in June of 2022, Trump not only raked in $250 million by whining to his followers about how the “witch hunt” was out to get him, he claimed to be stashing that money away in a “election defense fund” that never existed.

Now, the 18 co-defendants in Georgia and three co-defendants in Florida would like some of that cash to deal with their own, very real, legal concerns. But that’s not happening.

Republican FAFO:

DeSantis FAFO:

Disney-DeSantis feud takes another turn with new damages claim

Quote:

  • DeSantis has cited his fight with Disney while campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. However, he suggested in a CNBC interview on Monday that he wants the ongoing legal battle to end, saying he had “basically moved on.”
  • Disney seems to have other ideas.

Sprots FAFO:

Spain’s soccer president says kissing player on the lips was ‘a mistake’

Quote:

In an Instagram Live video that showed Spanish players celebrating after the game, Hermoso said that she “didn’t like” the unexpected kiss and admitted she was unsure how to react.

Stonks FAFO:

Tesla says data breach impacting 75,000 employees was an insider job

Quote:

Tesla, the electric car maker owned by Elon Musk, said in a data breach notice filed with Maine’s attorney general that an investigation had found that two former employees leaked more than 75,000 individuals’ personal information to a foreign media outlet.

Florida Man FAFO:

Florida man unhappy over traffic stop flips off deputies out of his car window

So what about you, my Deadsplinterites? What FAFO stories do you have? Let me know.

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39 Comments

  1. So I thought under Georgia law you had to already establish that you aren’t a threat to anyone in order to get bail in the first place. Which of course figures that Trump got a pass on that just like he’ll get a pass on all the threatening shit he’ll be doing in the future. He knows this which is why he keeps doing it.

    • “Know” is probably too strong a word for what happens in Trump’s tiny lizard brain. He just does what he wants because he’s never been told “NO” in his entire life. As you say, now that he’s been told NO, will Georgia enforce it?

      He’s got to be a little scared, since he canceled his fake press conference and won’t show up at the debates. Pretty much everything that he spits out of his orange gob or types with his teeny orange fingers is getting entered into evidence. I’m not sure what his remaining lawyers told him, but something is starting to sink in.

      I’m just waiting for Georgia to release his mug shots along with height and weight. He’s got to be hysterical about that. Once and for all, we’ll know for sure he’s short and overweight.

      • This is mostly right — he’s a toddler who has always gotten his way.

        I don’t think he’s scared because I doubt he has the capacity to imagine a world in which he doesn’t get his way, but I do think he has no idea how to navigate a system not designed explicitly for him or one in which he is not the star attraction. Even his very careful legal statements made in depositions (where, shock, he suddenly isn’t deficient in impulse control or slinging word salad) aren’t going to be enough to slither out of trouble.

        And despite the “BIDEN IS SO OOOOOOLD” refrain, Trump is a not-well-kept man in his 70s; not to be ageist but people in that demographic are rarely as sharp as they once were. Suddenly this is a problem he can’t squirm out of with money or hide behind power or let his lawyers handle things on his behalf. Whether or not he’s found guilty — and I note once again that the odds are against this because he’s rich and powerful and they are rarely held accountable — he’s going to be fighting a two-front war with this and the small matter of a presidential race where he’s a pretty big underdog already. It’s a lot, and I’m not sure even a fit man in his 40s would be able to give both his all.

    • I would not assume Trump stays a free man before trial. He’s a rapist who plotted a violent coup and showed off top secret intel knowing the feds were in his case. He is absolutely capable of pushing the most cautious judge over the line.

      The DC insiders will treat it as an impossible dilemma. They’ll moan oh dear, how can we possibly jail a guy caught red handed?

      • I think this has basically been “confirmed” by the fact that he’s entitled to Secret Service protection, convicted or not. They’re not going to set up in a prison.

  2. It sounds like removing the block feature from Twitter would get it dumped from both Apple and Google’s app stores, so Elmo will no doubt change his tune. That man is a FAFO legend and it’s remarkable he has feet left considering how often he shoots himself in the foot.

      • It’s really amazing how much Elmo is like Trump. The meaningless bluster; the casual racism, bigotry, and misogyny; the cowardice; and the inability to conduct business in a rational manner. There’s going to come a day when we’re all saying “Everything Musk touches dies.”

  3. I read the Daily Kos article about that poll. I don’t know how we’re supposed to coexist with people like this.

    As shocking as that was, there is one even bigger shock in the poll: Twenty-nine percent of Trump voters don’t feel that Trump himself tells them the truth. That is, a significant portion of Trump’s own voters think he’s full of shit, and they still support him!

     

    • Because most human beings would rather hear comforting lies or things that fit their preconceived notions than a hard truth. It’s how you get the “Well, all politicians lie…” so it’s OK if their guy does it because he doesn’t lie about [thing they care about, probably racism or sexism].

      • I intellectually understand why they are this way. But I’m finding it increasingly difficult to see how we, as rational people, can continue to live next door to them, school our children together, and do business with them.

        • The answer is not that Trump has suddenly created this parallel universe but that these people have always been there, just not as clearly defined. Many people are more guided by fear than anything else, always have been, probably always will be, and that’s just who they are. There are ways to reach them, but it’s difficult and there’s a whole spectrum of things that exist that play to those fears which are easier and probably comforting to them and are hard to drown out with sense.

        • I think for me it’s a reflection of my white privilege.

          Like I look at the last decade and go, yep, a black man being president really unglued a lot of these clowns that I didn’t realize where this bad. Respectability politics and all that.

          I’m reasonably sure that a black or brown person in America would be like they were always that unglued, it just wasn’t as obvious to you, white lady in Missouri. E.g. complaining about welfare queens in Reagan’s or Bush’s day but not openly calling for violence against minorities…but also totally fine with that violence happening.

  4. How many times does it bear repeating: “EVERYTHING TRUMP TOUCHES DIES?”

    That includes much of the GOP, but the GOPers and the MAGAt cult aren’t going quietly. The death shriek is going to get louder… and louder.

    A few cups are going to be broken (unfortunately) as the thrashing gets worse.

  5. Biden has been getting a bunch of crap from Rethugs on his Maui response because they ran out of other things to be appalled at.  I watched his press conference there yesterday and he said all the right things and put a competent person in charge of the recovery without any paper towel or water balloon tossing.  I can only imagine Papaya Pol Pot trying to tell the people of Maui how he would like to see the biggest Trump tower built on the Lahaina waterfront as a gift to them.

    and how about this shit?

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/house-freedom-caucus-let-trump-walk-or-well-shut-down-the-government

    and I am not sure that the Georgia cases will ever make it to trial…

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/17/republican-georgia-moves-impeach-fani-willis

     

    • The Guardian article should have said the impeachment is dead in the water. They don’t have votes, in the same way that they don’t have the votes to overturn the Georgia law which would allow Trump to be pardoned — right now, the governor can’t issue pardons at all.

      There are still angles out there for screwing up the Georgia case, but that one is just a publicity stunt.

  10. Anyone else getting the feeling that Covid is about to surge (or is currently surging but no one is tracking it)? I’m seeing more articles about it across the world and anecdotally hearing about it from friends in different countries.

  11. Dear Abby Deadsplintherapists,

    A family member is becoming more sharp tongued and demanding with age (to put it nicely). They are used to getting their way through charisma or cruel bullying. Both tactics fail to work on me because I can see them for what they are and am no longer afraid to stand my ground. When I set boundaries or call them out on their behavior they take offense and play the victim because they have the most fragile ego. In the past, they have ceased talking to me for months at a time because I disagreed with them.

    My aunt recently cautioned me to steel myself because people’s negative personality traits generally get worse with age.

    I’m naively hoping that there’s a way to break through to this person.

    Have you ever managed to convince someone with an entitled narcissistic personality to get therapy?

    Thank you,

    Ever The Optimist

    • NOPE. One of the ways that that illness manifests is that the person believes that everyone ELSE is the problem, not them. If there’s nothing wrong with them, why should they have to go to therapy/counseling? My MIL is steadfast in this way, and it sucks because we will never have a good relationship with her.

      Wish I could offer some encouragement or hope, but we’ve not been able to improve things for 20 years now.

       

      • That’s what I feared. Ugh. It’s like their feelings of anger and resentment fuel them. At the same time, they are terrified of being abandoned and lonely. What a sad and miserable way to live. Less and less of their family and “friends” are willing to put up with them. To feel like they are in control, they lash out and then declare that they are the ones cutting everyone else off.

      • Concur. My MIL is the same. She’s 88 and there’s no point in even attempting to moderate her behavior. She’s in a nice phase at the moment because my crackhead sister-in-law wrecked her car and she’s losing her insurance. Not being able to drive is a serious problem in Florida. I’m not sure what her gameplan is but I’m absolutely sure she’s trying to manipulate my wife. I’m not going to forget over 30 years of abuse because she acts nice for a day or two.

    • Alas, the odds are not in your favor. I used to call this the “Grandparent paradox” because many will talk about how much they want to see their family but then spend the entire visit complaining that the family doesn’t come enough to see them, making it unpleasant for everyone involved.

      So, stick to your guns, hold your boundaries and make it clear that you have limits for what you’re going to take before you just shrug and head out.

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