…pretty sure I used that header image before…& it feels like I’ve heard a lot of this before
Mr. Trump’s ruinous tenure already has gravely damaged the United States at home and around the world. He has abused the power of his office and denied the legitimacy of his political opponents, shattering the norms that have bound the nation together for generations. He has subsumed the public interest to the profitability of his business and political interests. He has shown a breathtaking disregard for the lives and liberties of Americans. He is a man unworthy of the office he holds.
End Our National Crisis
…so I guess maybe I might be slacking…but damn it all
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/19/fauci-trump-coronavirus-not-surprised
…I feel like I’m losing my tenuous grip on reality
President Donald Trump on Monday attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci during a phone call with campaign staff, calling the infectious disease specialist a “disaster” and saying every time he goes on television there is a “bomb,” but there would be “a bigger bomb if you fire him,” according to a recording of the call obtained by NBC News.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/fauci-says-he-s-not-surprised-trump-contracted-covid-19
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/19/trumps-attack-on-fauci-makes-no-sense
…let alone sanity
…I know they need to lower the bar (or, I guess, the Barr in this case…like so many others…) for what it means to “act presidential” if the incumbent sack of flop-sweat in a hairpiece is going to clear it…but this is some outrageous shit…not only should the asshole be facing these charges WHICH ARE THE DEFINITION OF PERSONAL (since they can not logically be leveled against the office of the president) on his own fucking dime…but to have the fucking DoJ going to bat for him on the taxpayers’ is about seven different kinds of a fucking travesty all rolled up together & vomited out as if words basically have no meaning any more…& I just about fucking gave up right about when I ran into that…still…at least it might prove a little harder to have his latest thumb on the scales, electorally-speaking?
A 2009 Supreme Court ruling may require Barrett to recuse herself from 2020 election cases
…so…let’s hope there’s a new guy come January…even if he’s still going to be kind of an old guy…because at least he might act like being president means something…& stay in his lane while an actual AG at the head of an actual Department of actual Justice comes after some of these good for nothing sons of bitches for the nothing good (& plenty of not-good) they’ve done
There are many ways a future presidential administration could pursue accountability for Trump-era transgressions. Inspectors general at a range of federal agencies, investigators and prosecutors at the Justice Department, the Office of Government Ethics or even some new truth commission might each lay claim to some aspect of what is sure to be a considerable task.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/biden-white-house-prosecute/2020/10/16/story.html
…because I am entirely fucking sick of this kind of shit
…let alone this kind of wanton long-term vandalism
…& let’s face it…it’s not new
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/19/republicans-your-racism-is-showing
…& it ain’t just me
President Trump stormed into the White House meeting with congressional leadership on Oct. 16, 2019, and launched into a diatribe loosely connected to a discussion of the Syrian civil war.
Trump said he had not invited any of the Democrats, but several were present and he quickly belittled House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), calling her a “third-grade politician.”
“I wish you were a politician,” Pelosi shouted back, as she retold the story later that day at the Capitol.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-pelosi-coronavirus-election/2020/10/17/story.html
…& it isn’t hard to see the lady’s point, either
The Washington Post compiled the candidates’ stances to inform readers about the issues defining the 2020 election. Both campaigns were given an opportunity to confirm or correct the characterizations. Biden’s campaign clarified several stances; Trump’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/trump-policies-vs-biden-policies
…but then I guess before you can defend a platform you have to…you know…have a fucking platform to defend
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/north-carolina-biden-slams-trump-covid-lie-warns-things-are-getting-worse
…& not some kind of bullshit reality tv shtick that falls apart the minute you do something they aren’t expecting…like have a fucking brain
…because that would seem like the proverbial no-brainer…except it clearly takes less brains than that to think it works as a line to attack Joe…meaning the guy running with that line (& anyone thinking it works) would need to have negative amounts of brains to their name
…I mean
…the math checks out
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/18/democrats-stunning-fundraising
…& frankly it seems a lot like the alleged president has, too
The president sometimes seems more interested in relitigating his race against Clinton than pursuing his current opponent. He hasn’t articulated a clear second-term message. And he seems to be running as much against the news media as against Biden. After Thursday’s town hall on NBC, Trump’s campaign declared that he “soundly defeated NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/why-trump-vs-biden-lot-2016-why-it-s-not
…& it’s uncomfortable to feel like there’s comfort to be taken in that at this point
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-biden-clinton-election-dejavu/2020/10/18/story.html
…but despite the way one side of thing seems to be trying to play the race
…it’s not 2016
…I mean…2020 is a fucking shitshow…but it’s hard as hell not to notice that it’s 2020, you know?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/why-biden-s-poll-lead-different-hillary-clinton-s
…so maybe there’s a shot at clawing back some kind of dignity, here
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hunt-michigan-s-lost-democrats-can-biden-lure-them-back
…because the embarrassment of effluent emanating from the erstwhile office of what has for some years now been essentially the highest orifice in the land has been choking the national discourse for long enough
A federal judge on Sunday formally struck down a Trump administration attempt to end food stamp benefits for nearly 700,000 unemployed people, blocking as “arbitrary and capricious” the first of three such planned measures to restrict the federal food safety net.
In a scathing 67-page opinion, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell of Washington D.C., condemned the Agriculture Department for failing to justify or even address the impact of the sweeping change on states, saying its shortcomings had been placed in stark relief amid the coronavirus pandemic, during which unemployment has quadrupled and rosters of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have grown by more than 17 percent with more than 6 million new enrollees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/trump-food-stamp-cuts/2020/10/18/story.html
…& most of the nation (not to mention the rest of the fucking world) is sick of the sight of that orange ass hanging out there where we all have to look at it
There was a time when Kevin Van Ausdal had not yet been called a “loser” and “a disgrace” and hustled out of Georgia. He had not yet punched a wall, or been labeled a “communist,” or a person “who’d probably cry like a baby if you put a gun in his face.” He did not yet know who was going to be the Republican nominee for Congress in his conservative district in northwestern Georgia: the well-known local neurosurgeon, or the woman he knew vaguely as a person who had openly promoted conspiracies including something about a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/17/kevin-van-ausdal-qanon-marjorie-greene-georgia
What if the United States is not as divided and unhinged as it has seemed these past four years? What if the result of the 2016 election was primarily the product of a flawed electoral-college system, the mistaken assumption of too many voters and pundits that Donald Trump couldn’t win, and a last-minute intervention by an FBI director?
What if Americans complain a lot about government but count on it to solve or contain major problems? What if the vast majority of Americans don’t like extremism?
The answer: You would get something that looks an awful lot like the 2020 election going into its final two weeks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-crazy-uncle-trump-puts-right-wing-extremism-on-the-ballot/2020/10/18/story.html
Ever since Russian agents and other opportunists abused its platform in an attempt to manipulate the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Facebook has insisted — repeatedly — that it’s learned its lesson and is no longer a conduit for misinformation, voter suppression and election disruption.
But it has been a long and halting journey for the social network. Critical outsiders, as well as some of Facebook’s own employees, say the company’s efforts to revise its rules and tighten its safeguards remain wholly insufficient to the task, despite it having spent billions on the project. As for why, they point to the company’s persistent unwillingness to act decisively over much of that time.
“Am I concerned about the election? I’m terrified,” said Roger McNamee, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and an early Facebook investor turned vocal critic. “At the company’s current scale, it’s a clear and present danger to democracy and national security.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/is-facebook-really-ready-for-the-2020-election/2020/10/18/story.html
Much of the outrage around the Trump era and social media platforms — like, most recently, the decision by Facebook and Twitter to reduce the reach of a highly questionable New York Post story about Hunter Biden — is actually about government power and accountability. More specifically, people are angry about the absence of those things.
Going back to the 2016 Republican primaries, institutions that many people thought would act as a check on Donald Trump’s rise to power have failed to stop him. Rules around emoluments and the Hatch Act have gone ignored. Even broader efforts to rein in Mr. Trump — the Mueller investigation, his impeachment — changed little about the president’s behavior.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/opinion/ny-post-biden-twitter.html
…so it’s not hard to see where some folks are getting their motivation from
A 72-year-old voter in Dayton, Ohio, said, “I’m angry about everything.” A retired veterinary technician in Detroit said she voted for one reason only: “Donald Trump. To make sure he’s not reelected.” A federal employee who waited in line for 10 hours in suburban Atlanta explained simply: “I have three Black sons.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/black-voters-2020-election/2020/10/18/story.html
A third white court officer commented to a white colleague that he would have done better on a firearms test if he had been given a “Sean Bell target,” a reference to an unarmed Black man killed by the police in 2006.
…but much as I’m loathe to draw attention to it just when it feels like we might be nearing some sort of finishing line
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/19/does-the-constitution-protect-your-right-to-vote
…we’re gonna need a second wind
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/18/2024-race-begins-for-republicans-nov-4
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/19/lies-republicans-will-tell-in–2021
…so maybe it’s time to cut some things short
…& on that note
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/10/19/twitter-mute-donald-trump
…can I just say…thank fuck for this
And there it is: “embarrassment of effluent emanating from the erstwhile office“. Also, the attempted cut of food stamps – informed by casual cruelty and disdain one’s fellow humans – really, that is yet another facet of evil in 2020.
…I know “the cruelty is the point” has become kind of a cliché these days…which is another of those things that just shouldn’t have been able to happen
…but I wonder sometimes if it’s almost looking at it backwards…like what actually happens is they start with a number of dollars they want to “release” from a budget & simply never trouble themselves to drill down through the relevant data & figure out what removing it means at the operating level?
…they have an ideological distaste for the kind of assistance that food stamps provide & give zero fucks about the people who need it but it’s plausible to me that they entirely lack the empathy &/or imagination required to see how fucked up an idea taking money out of the system would be…let alone under current circumstances
…to them it’s just another pot of money to funnel into something that serves their interests &/or they think will play well with their supporters…which says a lot about either which of those they actually think about or their faith in the levels of cognitive dissonance the harder up ones have going for them
…either way it’s characteristically callous & pretty much disgusting that someone suggested it & the relevant people thought “sure, let’s go with that”
Is it Monday again? It feels like Monday.
…we could just start calling it “2nd Monday” through “4th Monday” & keep Friday/Saturday/Sunday as “the good ones”?
I said it a few days ago late in the day of the DOT, so I’ll push my own conspiracy theory again :
Trump IS Qanon.
After observing his denial on his town hall last week, that is the conclusion I’ve come to. He denied knowing John Barron, the proud boys, and dozens of others that he def knew. And the theory is that it’s some one in his cabinet…well who’s left?? Most were fired or left and wrote books. When it comes out around April next year, you can say you heard it here first.
…I saw that comment the other day…& you know what?
…I can’t refute that theory…aside from thinking that the scale of the thing lines up better with the russian style of “active measures” fuckery…but if he were “the guy” that might make more sense than literally anything else about that whole phenomenon
…so if we ever find out I’ll be happy to give you the credit
Maybe men are too emotional and impulsive to be in charge. Maybe the women should take over for, IDK, the next thousand years.
WTF.
Is it really that hard to not masturbate while on a staff meeting Zoom?
So far, I haven’t had to tie myself down while on a Zoom meeting, so I can’t answer this question with the necessary air of authority.
i dont know?
ive never had a zoom meeting
but typically i try not to masturbate during working hours..lol
(working out instead of working during working hours on the other hand…lol farscy now gets his 15k steps in with ankle weights on the bosses dime…neato)
(turns out the ankle weights are really comfy on top of me work boots..who knew)
…Maggie Thatcher isn’t remembered altogether fondly…so I dare say it wouldn’t solve everything in one fell swoop
…but I’m pretty sure it’d be worth it just to never have to hear about another of these insane stories about dicks with their dicks out?
the maybe is quite unnecessary… 🙂
That 4-4 US Supreme Court tie that narrowly upheld the PA Supreme Court ruling in favor of counting mailed ballots — it’s chilling.
Roberts joined the three remaining liberals to stay out of the PA Court’s decision, but we don’t even know why. He may just have voted for tactical reasons. And with Barrett getting rammed through, we’ll see the balance tipped shortly no matter what.
Overruling the state court is the sign of a rabidly radical, activist court. The right wing is following the model of Bush v Gore in federal courts trouncing the judgment of state courts in elections for the most nakedly partisan motives.
If there is a silver lining somewhere, it is that it is looking like the radical right justices will give Biden every reason to expand the courts from the beginning, But it is obvious they are not just doing this for Trump. They are doing this for every Republican on the ballot, and they will be doing everything possible to block Democrats from winning the Senate.
Remember, when right wingers make shit up as they go along, that’s called “judicial restraint.”
When even centrists, much less liberals, adhere to the intent of the law and abide by well established precedent, that’s called “legislating from the bench.” Also known as “judicial activism.”
…I am not a lawyer & that sort of thing…but didn’t the decision in Bush vs Gore explicitly say something along the lines of “so that’s our decision but don’t ever try to quote it as precedent because there’s basically no foundation for it & that way lies madness”
…but in republican-lawyer-speak?
Basically they said this isn’t a precedent but the unsaid part is we can’t stop you from copying off our paper if we happen to leave it sitting out there in plain sight while we go sharpen our pencil for a really, really long time.
Eh, I shouldn’t joke. These people are that bad. They have no problem throwing out longstanding precedents, inventing precedents where none exist, they’ll intentionally misread the explicit language of the Constitution.
They have latched on to the idea that the Supreme Court will be even more powerful than Trump and even less constrained by anything, and they’ll ride it as long as they can.
30 years too late, but I’ll take it.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/20/media/rush-limbaugh-cancer-update-trnd/index.html