MAGA types love to talk. That, and watch movies. They must have “Braveheart” and “The Patriot” running in loops in their houses, and over time, the dialogue seeps into their subconscious, and then out their mouths. My assessment is charitable in that I believe they’re mostly just shit-talkers, but even shit-talkers are responsible for what they say, which brings me to this:
Note the paywall, so no link. But here’s the gist:
There was a recount in a local election in December that “got heated.” Recounts are public events, so:
The event drew attendees who were investigating whether there was some sort of wrongdoing in the election, and it became tense.
And then:
At one point in the day, a person, who hasn’t yet been identified by law enforcement, was overheard saying (the county elections director) was going to be “hanged for treason,” (that same director) told The Detroit News in an interview Tuesday.
The recount turned out the way almost all of them do, in that it didn’t change the result and only shifted the totals by one vote:
But on Dec. 16, a day after (the recount), the Michigan Republican Party issued a press release, saying a “citizen-led investigation,” including a “canvassing mission” of homes in Royal Oak, found some voters who said they had cast ballots in the election but their votes were allegedly not reflected in city records.
“This is a time for Michigan Republicans to stand together, regardless of differing perspectives and fight to eliminate election corruption and ensure that no Michigan voters are disenfranchised due to derelict behavior of election officials,” Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Kristina Karamo said in the mid-December press release. “We will not stand by and see our voices diminished or our presence deleted by dictatorial democrats.”
(The elections director) said some individuals at the recount wanted county officials to investigate the claims, but their allegations fell outside the scope of a recount, which is focused on tallying ballots.
This is so typical of these ignoramuses: Show up at a hearing where the activity is constrained by law to one thing, demand another thing, then yell “dictatorial democrats” when it fails, and then someone says “hanged for treason” to just put the cherry on top.
You watch: If this person is charged, they’ll howl about the Deep State uniparty, blah blah blah. “Hanged for treason” sounds real Mel Gibson-y, like something the patriots of old would do.
(I’m reminded of the first Indiana Jones movie, when he faces a foe swinging a scimitar around all fancy-like. Jones rolls his eyes, pulls out a revolver and shoots the guy. I mean, why is hanging always the preferred punishment of these idiots? The potential for spectators would be my guess, but you can make a show out of a firing squad and not have to build a scaffold.)
Anyway, these idiots are getting on my nerves. Fortunately, they’re destroying themselves. You’ve probably heard about the turmoil within the state GOP, and how the state committee tried to remove the above-mentioned Karamo at a meeting last weekend. But she is telling them she’s not going, and now there are lawsuits being teed up on both sides. It’s a People’s Front of Judea v. the Judean People’s Front all the way down the line, and Michigan Democrats are reacting exactly the way you’d want them to, which is to say: By not making a sound, a statement, or so much as a peep. When your enemies are destroying themselves, don’t interfere, etc.
So. Winter has arrived. We’re supposed to get snow today, and then next week, a deep cold snap. I, however, will not be here. A few weeks back, a friend called to pitch a girlfriends’ week away and I said OK, sure, I’m in. So where will I be while the temperatures settle into the single digits here? MIAMI. I am overcoming my distaste for all things Florida to sit poolside and sip tasty drinks. (Dry January is taking a time out, too, but I’m not going to rip the knob off or anything.) Maybe I can finally beat this respiratory crud.
But I’ll have my laptop, so no break planned here.
Peter said on January 12, 2024 at 8:28 am
I may really regret saying this, but this morning I noticed there’s a poll out showing older people (65+) prefer Biden over Turmp by a 60% to 37% margin – and it appears that the margin is growing.
I couldn’t figure out if this was a nationwide poll, or just PA voters, but what caught my eye is the number one reason the older vote is breaking for Biden – older voters are FINALLY fed up with the performance art and the constant crisis mode.
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alex said on January 12, 2024 at 9:58 am
I’m no fan of Florida either, but a week or two lounging in Miami in the dead of winter has always been a special treat, and having friends there is a bonus. The weather forecast for next week also looks like the coldest it’s gonna get is next Wednesday at 66 F, otherwise 70s and 80s.
I wish that the Indiana GOP were imploding as badly as Michigan’s. Alas, the freak show here is being put on by the candidates themselves. Here is a local judge running for Congress in a wide field of anti-woke, pro-Trump candidates: https://www.facebook.com/reel/311360431286450
I’m glad she’s at least vacating her seat in the court for a political race she’s likely to lose because no one with such poor judgment as hers has any business serving as a judge.
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Jeff Borden said on January 12, 2024 at 12:27 pm
Even though my wife is a third-generation Floridian (her great-grandparents did the reverse commute from Missouri, settling near Tampa and building a farm on land that is now Brandon, FL), we give that state as wide a berth as possible. That said, South Florida is a mixed bag. The Cuban-Americans are solidly MAGA , but Miami is very diverse and a beacon for gay people. You’ll be fine. None of the red hats will bother you because they’re scared shitless of homosexuals and strong women.
Generally, I am the voice of doom. I’m a pessimist by nature and 32 years in journalism only solidified my outlook. Yet I’m starting to feel just a little bit better about our future. tRump and his Army of Assholes should never be underestimated and the video of all those white rural Iowans cheering his Hitlerian rhetoric about “poisoned blood” reminds us all how easy it is to be a “good German” and follow your most horrible instinct. So much for that horseshit “Iowa nice” malarkey. But the grotesque orange cancer is getting ever more hysterical, ever more incoherent, ever more rabid. In New Hampshire, the numbers are starting to move toward Nimarata, for example, and there are reports of MAGAts hitting the exits early at his rallies because he’s saying the same shit over and over again. In short, the Orange King is boring.
Despair is no answer to the challenge the MAGAts present. The only thing to do is outwork them, outspend them and outvote them. There are more of us. If we get out and vote in large enough numbers, perhaps we can put this horrible, awful, ugly chapter of ‘Murican history to bed.
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David C said on January 12, 2024 at 12:35 pm
We have a blizzard warning here. We’re well stocked so we don’t need to join the grocery store bedlam. The neighbor’s kid’s junk BMW, known as the Exxon Valdez because it leaks so much oil, will finally be towed (I hope) so it’s not in front of the house and I don’t need to blow snow off a third of the street.
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Jakash said on January 12, 2024 at 1:01 pm
This is just a thought experiment; I’m not trying to stir things up. ; ) But imagine if Hillary had been president and then lost her reelection bid. Imagine she refused to concede after it was clear she had lost (ever — even after 3 years.) Imagine she had encouraged a mob to show up at the Capitol with the specific intent of overturning the results of a legitimate election. Imagine if, over and over, she trashed the very idea that elections in this country are trustworthy, simply because she had lost.
What do you think these patriotic Republicans would believe to be appropriate consequences for that? I’m no legal analyst or historian, but I don’t think her flying around the country motivating her defenders, while being the overwhelming choice of her party for renomination, would be the outcome they’d think their supposedly beloved “founders” would find proper or fair. Especially since they thought she should be jailed because of which email server she used.
One of the predictions I saw yesterday was for 18 inches of snow in Chicago. So far, there’s been too much rain mixed in to get close to that, but we made sure to buy bread and milk last night, regardless. ; )
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Jeff Borden said on January 12, 2024 at 1:09 pm
Jakash,
Since the mindset of MAGAts is always the bizarro version of reality, they likely would be calling for Clinton’s immediate arrest for treason and insurrection. They’d be screaming at the Justice Department to do its duty. They’d want a death sentence or life in solitary.
Re: snow. I lived in Charlotte for 4.5 years. Even the mention of snow would lead the populace to rush to the grocery stores and buy everything off the shelves. I never saw anything like it. When Charlotte received a foot of wet snow –very much like what we’re getting today– mail service was delayed for three days and everything closed. Everything. Even McDonalds The only stores ever open were the 24-hour convenience joints like 7-Eleven.
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Icarus said on January 12, 2024 at 1:11 pm
Jakash @5: let’s take a look. When a bunch of peaceful protesters comes to the capitol and a few get out of hand, that’s not an insurrection.
When a peaceful BLM protest gets out of hand, that was the plan from the start and everyone should be rounded up and arrested.
wonder what the difference is?
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Deborah said on January 12, 2024 at 1:34 pm
I have no desire to ever go to Miami again. Having grown up there, I have a lot of bad memories. I went to Miami a couple of times for projects later in my life and both times I couldn’t wait for the project to be over so I could get the hell out of there. Only one time I was there for work in February and the rest of the times always seemed to be in July when it was horrible.
It’s always weird when you put two and two together. I thought the name Neri Oxman (the wife of hedge fund manager Bill Ackman) was familiar. I googled her this morning and I realized she was the subject of one of the “Abstract” episodes on Netflix that I had seen a couple of years ago. Abstract was a great 2 season show about design, her episode was season 2, episode 2. Anyway, she must be extremely embarrassed by her husband’s ridiculous behavior regarding the Harvard anti-semitism issue. Also, I read that Jeffery Epstein helped fund her lab at MIT, which Ackman is trying his damnedest to keep quiet.
My husband is supposed to fly out of Chicago tomorrow, back to NM. What do you think the chances are for that to actually happen as scheduled?
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David C said on January 12, 2024 at 1:50 pm
Chicago itself doesn’t look too bad but the way the airlines prophylactically cancel flights you never know.
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Julie Robinson said on January 12, 2024 at 3:27 pm
We’re planning an overnight in Miami, mostly so we can take the new Brightline train back and forth. Sarah will find us fun and funky places and restaurants. She’s an excellent travel planner and guide.
Nance and friends may be disappointed though, the forecast is for a lot of cloudy weather. I hope it’s wrong.
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Dorothy said on January 12, 2024 at 3:35 pm
Forgive me if you already knew this – but that scene you referenced where Indiana Jones takes out a gun and just shoots the guy is a result of Harrison Ford feeling sick that day. He did it because he was feeling unwell and wanted the filming to be over ASAP. Totally improvised scene! I remember the audience bursting out laughing at that scene the first time I saw that movie.
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David C said on January 12, 2024 at 3:40 pm
I’m probably the only person in the world who has seen neither an Indiana Jones, nor a Star Wars movie.
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brian stouder said on January 12, 2024 at 4:15 pm
Julie, not to be a wise-acre ( I was gonna say ‘smart alec[k?]) but couldn’t decide how it’s spelled…!), but cloudy weather in Miami beats the stuffing out of the snow/sleet/rain mix we’ve been getting rural northwest Indiana for the past several days!
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Mike Berry said on January 12, 2024 at 4:16 pm
Harrison Ford is responsible for some of the best improvisised Lucas-universe lines. He also came up with —
Leia: I love you.
Han Solo: (Beat) I know.
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alex said on January 12, 2024 at 4:58 pm
Guess what, David C. I haven’t seen any of those, or for that matter any Hollywood “franchise” film that I can recall (although maybe 1 or 2 of the “Halloween” or “Friday the 13th” slasher flicks which I would have seen stoned and remembered little about).
Just came back from the grocery with enough stuff to make 1) paella, 2) a Martha Stewart beef stew and 3) a lentil salad (which I just dressed and put in the fridge to “meld”). That should get us through the weekend.
Hubby’s busy re-tiling a tub surround. Originally he was just going to re-grout it but discovered the backer board is disintegrated about halfway up the wall. So in went some new batts of insulation and cement board and now it’s time to put the tile back up. We had considered just purchasing a new prefab acrylic surround but that would have been more costly and troublesome.
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Suzanne said on January 12, 2024 at 5:47 pm
I am making beef stew as well, but I am not expecting much. I used canned beef that we had on hand which is never as good as fresh beef. But it will be warm and keep us full. I baked bread, too, for the first time since before I had cancer (so a couple of years) and that didn’t turn out very well. I am out of practice!
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Jeff Gill said on January 12, 2024 at 6:22 pm
Hanged for treason, eh?
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/435/987/7c6.png
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Dave said on January 12, 2024 at 7:30 pm
“We cannot paint with a broad brush and call everyone who came to D.C. on January 6, 2021 an insurrectionist.
Many people came to peacefully express dissatisfaction with a government that truly became corrupt and tyrannical.
These intimidation techniques are very dangerous.” Congresswoman Victoria Spartz, my Ukrainian-born rep.
I wrote to her and told her I was completely disgusted and how she could sit in Congress among a bunch of members of her own party who say they will no longer support Ukraine.
I was disappointed to see how someone like Wendi Davis could pledge loyalty to Trump but that’s what it takes in northeast, scratch that, almost all of Indiana. Makes me wonder if she always had such low standards.
Meanwhile, I hate Miami, which I learned when our youngest son lived there. I didn’t know it until then and after making numerous visits, I learned it was a very expensive and very rude place to be. Perhaps going to a hotel and sitting poolside for a weekend would be ok but I know I’ll never purposely go back.
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Jeff Gill said on January 12, 2024 at 7:35 pm
Hmm. My apologies, truly, to one and all. The image I clicked and linked did NOT have the caption on it. That wasn’t my intention. If Nancy or JC can delete the whole post, I would appreciate it. Dang internet. My intention was just the image itself, from James Franco and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”
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FDChief said on January 12, 2024 at 8:18 pm
Yeah, well. The MAGAt chest-beating and shit-talking is just that. The tell has always been the lack of brave Second Amendment heroes on the front lines of places like Ukraine or Kurdistan where real actual no-shit tyranny is being fought.
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basset said on January 13, 2024 at 1:11 am
Last time Mrs. B and I were in Florida, Crystal River or Crystal Springs, whichever has the manatee, we did not have a good time and came home early; was well before the latest round of idiot governors and so forth but just being in a place where you can’t do anything without paying, waiting, and doing it in a crowd was no fun. The massive sunburns we got while lost in a rented kayak were right up there too, came home white on the back side and blistered red on the front.
And, as I have said many times before and probably here too, the only way I want to go to Atlanta is in an armored bus with someone else driving.
Meanwhile, deer season is just about over here, for me anyway. The regular season ended last Sunday, then there was a five-day extension in our part of the state for does (we have way too many) on private land. Took advantage of both of those, the Young Sportsmen hunt for 16 and under is this weekend and that’s it but, not having a kid I can take out there, I’m done.
Harvested, that being the polite term to use here, more than I ever have in a season and donated just about all of the meat to food banks once family was taken care of. Also learned that one can make soap out of deer fat so I have been rendering trimmings and ordering silicone molds from Amazon over the past few days. The finished product is actually pretty good, lathers up nicely and doesn’t smell of anything, much less deer.
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Peter said on January 13, 2024 at 3:19 am
Jeff @ #17, when I saw that scene for the first time I couldn’t stop laughing. It has become our go to expression when any of us get nervous about something.
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alex said on January 13, 2024 at 9:43 am
Martha Stewart’s beef stew was just so-so, but I redeemed it by serving it over a batch of mashed potatoes made with half a stick of butter and a whole stick of cream cheese.
https://food52.com/recipes/78027-martha-stewart-s-instant-pot-beef-stew-with-dijon-tomato
It was rather more soupy than stewy, but 60 minutes in the pressure cooker tenderized the meat to perfection.
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Jeff Gill said on January 13, 2024 at 10:48 am
It’s amazing what half a stick of butter will do for almost any recipe.
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Dorothy said on January 13, 2024 at 2:05 pm
I can’t hear or read Martha Stewart’s name without remembering what one of my brothers calls her: the CF. Which stands for Convincted Felon. This particular brother is a retired FBI agent so he of course has strong feelings about all sorts of wrong doing.
I made gluten free brownies for dessert because my son is coming for dinner with his family; he has celiac disease so any time they come we are super careful about whatever we cook and ensure nothing has any gluten in it. The brownie mix calls for a whole stick of butter and three eggs. No amount of butter can make them the least bit yummy, though. They smell like actual brownies but the texture of the baked product is like sawdust to me. I’m so glad I don’t have to follow a gluten free diet. It would be the end of me. Son was diagnosed about four years ago so naturally it brought about a huge change for him regarding food. Some things taste just fine but brownies are not one of them.
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Jeff Borden said on January 13, 2024 at 2:29 pm
I love Martha Stewart. Anyone who hangs with Snoop Dog is simply a cool person.
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Heather said on January 13, 2024 at 3:04 pm
I’m not a fan of Florida either, but my aunt stays on Marco Island for a few months in early spring, and my friend’s dad has a place in Englewood on the water she invites me to stay at, so…with freelance work being harder to find for the last year, it’s a cost-effective way for me to escape the Chicago doldrums. Will probably head there in March. We tend to just go to the beach and the pool. Florida beaches are pretty great, gotta admit. Last time I saw a dolphin swim by while I was in the water and actually felt the “zing” from its echolocation. I’d like to see a manatee but I’m usually there too early in the spring.
Dorothy, my friend is gluten-free and I tried some chocolate cookies she made that were pretty good. The texture wasn’t like regular cookies, but I liked them. But yeah, going without gluten would be hard for me. I do eat less pasta lately though.
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alex said on January 13, 2024 at 4:47 pm
A server at one of our favorite Italian places noted that I wasn’t ordering pasta much anymore after being diagnosed with diabetes, so she suggested trying the gluten-free pasta to see if it made a difference.
Nope, still spiked the blood sugar. It turns out that gluten-free pasta is just as full of processed carbs as the real deal. But it was great for portion control. The taste and texture were so awful that I could only eat about one-fourth of the meal and threw the rest away.
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Deborah said on January 13, 2024 at 5:23 pm
Anytime I’ve seen products that say gluten free, I stay away from them. I tried some gluten free cookies once and they were awful, yes it’s the texture more than the taste, but texture in food is important to me. I’m so thankful I can eat pasta and bread, they’re my favorite foods.
My husband is back in NM now, and tomorrow we’re going out to the cabin. It’s going to be muddy because it’s been snowing quite a bit, and melting fast. He managed to get from Chicago on schedule which surprised me.
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David C said on January 13, 2024 at 5:50 pm
Try keto stuff and suddenly gluten free tastes pretty good. Mary ordered something once and got a freebie keto brownie bar. It was like asphalt with nuts.
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Julie Robinson said on January 13, 2024 at 7:15 pm
Not a GF fan either, but I had a vegan chocolate cake that was good. It’s been discussed here before as the Depression Cake and maybe another title. I came across the recipe and made it the next time the vegans were coming over and it was quite tasty.
Dorothy, what do you use instead of wheat flour? I’ve seen both almond flour and rice flour. And most importantly, did you fix a yummy dessert for the rest of the family?
It wasn’t fancy cooking, but today I looked in the frig and saw 10 frozen bananas, along with chicken and stock from our last Costco chicken. So we made a classic chicken noodle soup and five loaves of banana bread, the indulgence version with walnuts and chocolate chips. Damn, it was all so good! It’s been cold here and this warmed up the kitchen and our tummies.
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Jeff Gill said on January 14, 2024 at 8:29 am
-4 this am on the northeast corner of Indianapolis; hope Nancy is in Miami enjoying the 70s.
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Jeff Borden said on January 14, 2024 at 11:02 am
Well, it’s minus 7 here in Chicago, but that’s not nearly as cold as the heart of a Texass Republican. An immigrant and her two children drowned in the Rio Grande yesterday because Greg Abbott’s personal army –which is occupying a 47-acre park along the river– prevented Border Patrol agents from attempting a rescue. A couple of days ago, Abbott lamented Texass couldn’t shoot the migrants because the Biden administration would “probably charge us with murder.”
The next time a QOPer calls their party “pro life,” I’m gonna do a Linda Blair and projectile puke in their face.
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David C said on January 14, 2024 at 1:18 pm
Abbott should be given the same lesson on the supremacy clause that Orville Faubus got from Eisenhower. Federalize the Texas National Guard and order them to rip out the razor wire and barriers. Texas doesn’t get it’s own immigration laws and it doesn’t get to block navigable waters. Those are both federal issues. If Abbott’s goon squad tries to stop them, have the FBI waiting to arrest them and add a nice little touch of sending them to Gitmo.
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Sherri said on January 14, 2024 at 3:10 pm
Abbott is among 15 QOP governors who have rejected federal money for summer meals for kids who get free lunches at school. He also said that the reason Texas doesn’t shoot migrants crossing the border is because the Biden administration would probably charge them with murder.
We’ve gone beyond cruelty being the point to reveling in the cruelty.
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LAMary said on January 14, 2024 at 5:24 pm
A high school friend who did catering in NYC about 40 years ago got hired by Martha Stewart to work some event promoting MS’s brand. Friend never got paid. Martha told her, “Mention you worked for me. That’s worth more the paycheck.” This was before her time in the slammer.
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Dave said on January 14, 2024 at 7:18 pm
That sounds like a Trump move, LA Mary.
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LAMARY said on January 14, 2024 at 7:36 pm
They were besties
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Dorothy said on January 14, 2024 at 7:44 pm
Julie @31 – I am not sure what we use instead of wheat flour. I have a few kinds here and the best ones are the ones that say they measure out equal to wheat flour. Or in other words, if I need a half cup of regular flour, then a half cup of the GF substitute suffices. And no, I did not make another dessert. That’s because a few days ago I made a butterscotch cool whip pie for me and the hubs. I put it in a crushed pecan crust that I bought ages ago and I finally got around to using! That was enough temptation to have around for a few days. I really am trying very hard to watch what I eat this year. And I’m trying to get out and walk much more than I usually do. Temps in the teens or lower the last couple of days are not favorable to these attempts.
All day I’ve not been able to get something out of my head. First thing this morning my son texted our group chat to tell us someone he knew in middle and high school had died, presumably at his own hand. He lost a brother to a car accident ten years ago, a sister in 2019 to a drug overdose, and his mother died at the age of 56 two years ago from complications of diabetes. This young man had two sons, around ages 15 and 12. My heart hurts just thinking about the kind of pain he must have been in. His name keeps bouncing around my brain.
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brian stouder said on January 14, 2024 at 9:41 pm
Dorothy, your post made me exhale and mutter an expletive. Isn’t it strange, how things unfold? Rule #1 seems to be that things are not required to make sense. But indeed, it strikes me as genuinely reassuring that your son reached out to you in this moment. (sounds like he’s had some raisin’)
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Julie Robinson said on January 14, 2024 at 9:50 pm
Dorothy, how awful. A friend just buried the remaining member of her nuclear family, losing a son, then in the last 18 months, her husband and remaining son. No one should have to endure such sorrow, yet she has.
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Joe Kobiela said on January 14, 2024 at 11:06 pm
Great Job Lions,
Detroit vs Everybody
On to the next one.
Pilot Joe
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basset said on January 15, 2024 at 10:03 am
And today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year… or maybe not:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Monday_(date)
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Scout said on January 15, 2024 at 11:50 am
My wife eats gluten free as much as possible to reduce inflammation from her polymyalgia rheumatica. I’ve found that Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour is the best for baking.
It’s time for the DOJ to crack down on murderous policies like those being committed in Texass. Abbott should face manslaughter charges.
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Sherri said on January 15, 2024 at 1:40 pm
Some many words have been spilled, particularly at the NYTimes, trying to explain the appeal of Trumpism. Adam Serwer gets it.
“The specific dissonance of Trumpism—advocacy for discriminatory, even cruel, policies combined with vehement denials that such policies are racially motivated—provides the emotional core of its appeal. It is the most recent manifestation of a contradiction as old as the United States, a society founded by slaveholders on the principle that all men are created equal.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/the-nationalists-delusion/546356/
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alex said on January 15, 2024 at 3:45 pm
Desperate for some exercise, today I opted for a climate-controlled stroll through the local mall, where I hadn’t set foot in God knows how many years. I found it lightly populated, which was good for walking. Lot of empty storefronts and the retail mix now includes such things as tattoos and piercings, nail salons and other disreputable-looking places in addition to the usual Aeropostale, Forever 21, Kay Jewelers kind of fare.
I was taken aback by the piles of overpriced merch on the tables at Macy’s. A pair of Levi’s chinos would set me back a whole lot farther than the ones I order online from the Gap which have always provided a reliable fit and decent longevity. I don’t know how such stores are still making a profit.
Well, the mall hasn’t hit total rock bottom yet. Several years ago the property management was contemplating leasing space to the half of a megachurch that was homeless after a schism but backed down when other tenants threatened a mass exodus. Still, the place seems to be doing better than the other mall in town, which shut down 21 years ago owing to rampant crime and a severe decline in traffic.
Per my smart phone, today I managed 1.57 miles or 3,899 steps, which is less than half of what I’m supposed to be getting. Guess it’ll just have to do. I’m not going back to that mall.
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Julie Robinson said on January 15, 2024 at 4:50 pm
Apologies to Macy’s fans, but after the takeover from Ayres in Fort Wayne, I only bought Clinique there. They tried to go for the urban look, but it looked like ho clothes to me, plus they were overpriced and poorly made. When that didn’t work they brought in some Kohl’s brands, but at twice the Kohl’s price.
Next they cut the suit department by 2/3 and lost their good salesmen. Oh, and they only had black and navy suits for sale. I know suits are on the way out, but when I think of the beautiful glen plaid and gray pinstripes we used to find, it’s a real loss.
Not that I’m there anymore, or buying suits. Retirement, yay!
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alex said on January 15, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Retirement yay indeed. I’m getting out more and seeing a world I had no time for when I was on the labor force treadmill.
I should mention that I lunched at Red Robin, where I’d never been before. It has its own outside entrance and was busier than any other place in the entire mall. The menu consists mostly of burgers as big as your head and limitless refills on French fries. I opted for a so-so salad with a chicken breast perched atop and garnished with deep-fried doodly-dads and ordered from a greasy tablet on the table.
As one who seldom patronizes fast-food establishments, my few recent forays have been startling as well. Post-COVID, the facilities are quite pared down with minimal staff, flimsy and spartan tables and chairs with nary a clean one, and greasy touch screens where every sick person in town has left his or her mark. Hubby and I did Subway yesterday. Place was deserted, no doubt on account of the weather, and there were three staff present yucking it up behind the counter and not a clean table in the entire house. At least they still take your order in person.
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Dorothy said on January 15, 2024 at 8:31 pm
Alex I think my favorite place to grab a sandwich these days is Jersey Mike’s. They build the sandwich right in front of you, it’s fresh and reliable and I take it home to eat with my own beverage (usually my own homemade iced tea) and chips if I’m in the mood. No greasy screens to touch, and the ingredients for the sandwich come right off the slicer. I used to get the #8 Club Sub with no mayo or bacon, but now I switch off and on to the Famous Philly sandwich with provolone substituted for the white American cheese, hold the peppers!
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Suzanne said on January 15, 2024 at 9:10 pm
I have only been to the mall a handful of times since COVID hit and every time it felt weird. As Alex stated, it’s now full of things like tattoo and nail places and other oddities. Last time I did serious clothes shopping there, several years ago, I had difficulty finding a clerk and a clean dressing room. Macy’s had salespeople but the store is set up so oddly that I had difficulty finding clothes that were regular size (not petite, not plus size) and not designer.
We don’t frequent fast food often but when we do, I agree that it’s generally not a pleasant experience. I do not want to order from a touch screen and I want to eat at a reasonably clean table. Is that too much to ask? Take out is better but I have learned to always check the bag because it’s frequently not what I ordered.
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Julie Robinson said on January 15, 2024 at 10:34 pm
We always liked eating at Culver’s because it was clean, had great service, and it seemed more like real food. They had a salad with half a chicken breast, grilled with no skin or breading. Next someone will tell me it’s run by the red hat guys. The closest one is half an hour away so I’m not going. Good ice cream, but we have a local shop that makes its own three blocks away.
Speaking of red hats, he won, no surprise, with the other two basically tied as of now. Cue the despair.
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Mark P said on January 16, 2024 at 3:26 am
I sometimes eat at McDonald’s or Del Taco. Neither ever has many people eating in; it’s usually two or three people. Almost their entire business is takeout these days. I went to McDonald’s Monday night at about 8, and the doors were locked. So I went down the street to Del Taco, and I was the only one there. Another guy came in while I was eating, but he took his meal out. I think Covid caused a permanent change in the fast food business.
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Little Bird said on January 16, 2024 at 11:51 am
The choices of fast food is somewhat limited here in Santa Fe, I’ll get McDonald’s from time to time, but I never eat at their tables. Same with Burger King. Same with Subway. We don’t really have any other options close to my place for much else on the fast food side of things. We don’t actually eat out much when my folks are here (and even less when they aren’t) because I’m a pretty good cook and when I cook we have more control over things. Deborah can attest to this this.
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Deborah said on January 16, 2024 at 12:19 pm
Trump got 50 thousand votes in the Iowa caucus last night, out of 2 million registered voters. I realize that some of those registered voters are Democrats and didn’t vote in the Republican primary. So we’re talking about a small, small percentage, like 2 and a half percent, if I did the math right.
Yes, LB is a good cook.
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Jakash said on January 16, 2024 at 2:24 pm
Good point, Deborah.
The daily “The Morning” email I get from the NYT, written today by Nate Cohn, “Chief political analyst,” is practically gushing in its description of the outcome in Iowa. The subject line is “Trump’s big win in Iowa,” followed by terminology like “sweeping victory,” “landslide,” and “excelled.”
It links to an article titled “The Most Durable Force in American Politics: Trump’s Ties to His Voters.”
Over 8 years into this dystopian political nightmare, and it’s still being covered like your average horse race.
The rather wordy analysis I’d prefer to see in an alternate, less disturbing universe: “A small subset of disgruntled Iowans, unbelievably remaining in thrall to the 2020 loser who has never conceded that election and who fostered a blatantly illegal putsch attempt on 1/6/21 and has been indicted 4 times since, put the misogynistic orange carnival barker atop several other fascists in caucuses in their benighted state.”
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brian stouder said on January 16, 2024 at 2:59 pm
What Jackash said! Trump is essentially Nixon, without Trick Dick’s brains. I suppose the philosophical question to solve is – When we compare a dark-hearted, self-aggrandizing egomaniac with a successful (by some measures) backstory to a carnival-barking hot-air balloon flying fail-his-way upward fraudster, which one is worse?
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jcburns said on January 16, 2024 at 3:31 pm
I think the philosophical question to solve is—why give any of these goofballs, including Trump, space in your brain for more than 15 seconds?
Why? Why!?!?
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brian stouder said on January 16, 2024 at 3:48 pm
JC – I’ll ignore the orange-haired goofball (I love that term! ‘Goofball’ captures him precisely and exactly!) right after President Biden is re-elected, and/or when the goofball descends from this world to the netherworld (where, I’m sure, he probably already has a time-share with [fill in the blank with whatever horrible, no-good, very bad demagogic historical figure you wish…..I’m thinking Mousilini). Or – ‘that’s the way the (goof)ball bounces’……..
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Jakash said on January 16, 2024 at 4:22 pm
“Why?” I thought I explained why, right off the bat.
Because the country is in a significant crisis, with a demagogue possibly making his third attempt (after all the legal efforts following the election in 2020, and the uprising on Jan. 6, 2021) to jettison this nation’s small-r republican form of government and install himself as emperor. Yet, our vaunted, freaking “newspaper of record” is covering the story as if it’s just another campaign season. The Iowa story is the top headline there, and, along with a huge photo of the guy, spreads across the whole page, which I imagine you’re aware of.
Uh, it’s kinda in the news, whether one wants it to be or not. I spent all of 2015 and a large part of 2016 ignoring the blowhard, as did many; that strategy didn’t turn out well. This story needs to be covered; IMHO it needs to be covered differently than I saw today. That being said, I still pay very little attention to him aside from days like this, when it’s somewhat hard to avoid.
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jcburns said on January 16, 2024 at 4:31 pm
I just worry about y’all’s mental health and well being when he’s Topic A.
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Jakash said on January 16, 2024 at 4:41 pm
Thanks for your concern, J.C. Despite the overheated rhetoric above, he’s way, way down the list of things affecting my mental health, however. ; )
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brian stouder said on January 16, 2024 at 4:43 pm
A good point, indeed. But I will say, maybe another metaphor applies. When my FIL would occasionally belch (or expel gas from other points), he’d matter-of-factly say “better out than in”….. which is true!
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FDChief said on January 16, 2024 at 4:54 pm
The obvious problem with trying to ignore Orange Foolius and his cult is it presumes they will ignore you if 1) you’re on their lists, and 2) they win.
Which, as any fascist going back to Sulla would gleefully remind you (as they escorted you to your cell…), ain’t gonna happen.
I mean…c’mon! Outside of the tiny bankroll of fatcats still in it for deregulation and tax giveaways the GQP is just a wretched hive of scum, villainy, and emotional priapism for sticking it to everyone and everything they hate…which is pretty much the whole last half of the 20th Century.
That is so blindingly obvious that anyone with a functioning hindbrain should be able to see it from long rifle-range.
That a vast proportion of supposed “citizens” of this country either can’t or won’t is an indictment of us as a people and our nation as supposedly self-governing.
If We the People can’t overwhelmingly reject this human smegma this year we are, indeed, unfit to govern ourselves.
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Jeff Borden said on January 16, 2024 at 4:59 pm
We’ve had frightening flirtations with dictatorial figures in the past –consider the American bunds that supported Hitler and Nazism– but this time the figure is the leader of one of two viable political parties. A majority of those party members –including a very sizable chunk of the House and Senate– are actively supporting the person who is explicitly telling us just how horrible he will be the second time around.
What’s infuriating to me as both a citizen and former reporter is how blasé national media outlets are about this. It’s not important that tRump won a record majority of an extremely small turnout of angry rural white voters. What IS important is telling people over and over and over again WHAT this orange lunatic will do. Every fucking day. The MAGA morons are going to despise you regardless of your actions. They hate you. Quit trying to appeal to them with bothsiderisms.
Every story must mention not only the 91 indictments, but the rape, the sexual assaults, the double-dealing in the White House, the missing Top Secret documents, the Chinese patents for Princess Nepotism and the $2B from Saudi blood money to Prince Jared, the ties to tyrants like Putin.
I hate spending a moment of time on the cretin, but destroying him electorally is the imperative of the year. Fail and we won’t know what hit us.
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Julie Robinson said on January 16, 2024 at 5:01 pm
I’m with jc. DeSantis gave his state of the state address last week, and hubs wanted to tell me all about it. I’m just not going there. The daily newspaper can give me a summary, which I can read or not read as I choose. Or as my mental health dictates. And double that with Trump, unless it’s another conviction.
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Deborah said on January 16, 2024 at 5:42 pm
I’m sorry, ignore Trump at your peril. Pay attention to what a corrupt shit he is and proclaim it from every mountain top. Pay attention to how his minions are being set up for armageddon. Pay attention, don’t make the mistake we made in 2016 thinking he couldn’t possibly win, and ho hum. Pay attention.
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brian stouder said on January 16, 2024 at 5:54 pm
Julie, understood. To be honest, the genuine surprise – or even astonishment – that engulfed me when that guy won was one of those classic “where were you when you heard the news about (fill in the blank)” moments. 40 years ago (give or take), when I was in my mid-twenties, I remember being at my then-girlfriend’s house, when her sister came into the room to complain about how all that was on TV was news about the President when she wanted to watch (whichever soap opera was her fave at the time). We asked what was going on with the President, and she said something like “ohhh – someone shot at him”……whereupon we (my then girl friend, her mom and I) immediately grabbed the poker and popped on the other TV, and got immediately yanked into the still-unfolding saga of the Jodi Foster-obsessed shooter who nearly killed President Reagan. Makes one genuinely enjoy quiet days with forgettable news
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FDChief said on January 16, 2024 at 6:23 pm
Here’s the thing, though; you don’t have to spend time listening TO him (or his whackadoodle culties). You can ignore the ranting rallies and the mispelled Truths (or Consequences or whatever they call the posts on his Lie-a-palooza site).
But, like Rome with Carthage, you can’t ever, ever ignore him. Every day you need to think and act that Trump and the GOP must be destroyed,
Any way you can you need to fight him and his flying monkeys. You have to help get out the vote against him. You have to propagandize and speak out against him when you can. You have to donate money to others fighting him and his people.
Ignoring him, like silence, implies consent.
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alex said on January 16, 2024 at 6:32 pm
I remember my soap getting cut off when Reagan got shot and I was livid. I had to miss a giant cliffhanger that had been building for six months. I was on spring break in NYC and even so I still made time for my “stories.” It was “All My Children” and the true parentage of one of the characters was about to be revealed to the shock of everyone and all hell was going to break loose. And then fucking Reagan fucking fucked it all up.
On a brighter note, I’m gifting a WaPo piece that should put everyone’s minds at ease:
https://wapo.st/3tK5uHi
Turnout at the Iowa caucuses was abysmal, even when you factor in the weather, and what it tells us is that Trump has very little support in ‘burbs and cities. And in the thinly populated areas where he has the most support, it’s really not all that enthusiastic.
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FDChief said on January 16, 2024 at 6:41 pm
As Alex points out:
2 million registered voters in Iowa.
718K are Republican
102K actual Republicans actually showed up
53K voted for Trump, i.e. 2.5% of Iowa voters
2.5%
But…here’s the problem:
The Media: IT’S A BLOWOUT FOR TRUMP!
Jim Wright makes a good point:
“Let them confidently march into November behind their serial fraud, rapist and pathological liar of a demigod, thinking it’s gonna be a blowout. All you have to do to beat him is show up. You don’t need guns, or violence, or intervention from your deity.
You just have to show up.”
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brian stouder said on January 16, 2024 at 7:34 pm
Alex – you got me laughing! And indeed, I’d bet the upset sister was watching the same cliff hanger!
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David C said on January 16, 2024 at 7:41 pm
A Democrat flipped a seat in the Florida Statehouse this evening. Look at how Dems are doing in special elections. There are hardly any where they’re not over performing. We’re going to show up, we’re going to win, and the billionaires with their pet news orgs can eat crow.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/01/16/democrat-keen-wins-state-house-35-special-election-over-gops-booth/
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Julie Robinson said on January 16, 2024 at 10:55 pm
That district is on the other edge of town, but sure enough someone came to the church this morning to vote. She lives nearby, not in that district, but we applauded her anyway and invited her back for the next election.
The woman Keen defeated was a real stinker.
I should add, I’m not ignoring Trump but I can’t go deep in the weeds without being pulled down. We’re dealing with some heavy-duty issues in this house and I have to put on my own oxygen mask, so to speak.
David C, how are you accessing the Sentinel? Our subscription cost goes up with each renewal but they aren’t offering us digital only.
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Dexter Friend said on January 17, 2024 at 1:08 am
I was in a Russian Tea Room in Philadelphia on March 31, 1981, having lunch with my fellow basketball-loving work pal, Murray. We were there to see Indiana U play NC for the championship. This tea room was just a bar-restaurant. Loud whiskey-drinking was emanating from the bar as our salads arrived. Then silence…Reagan had been shot in D.C. So Murray, a well-read veteran of Viet Nam jungle warfare in the US Army as a draftee, stood and screamed, “He is an extremist and should have been shot!” Even quieter silence. Then the bar din continued. The game was played. IU 67, NC 50.
Working on a stuck wiper blade, I got frostbite. Doc said it’s going to be OK after a few weeks. I have never had frostbite. Now I have. Friday, my furnace broke down, got it temporarily working thanks to a $339 after hours service call. New motor due by Friday. It’s cold, right?
We enjoyed Weeki-Wachee and the manatees, Crystal River. Boaters kill them and scar them with propellers.Poor things.
I spend a couple weeks in Naples, many days in Sarasota, Daytona, but never had any desire to visit Miami. My daughter lived in Homestead for a couple years but moved to more peaceful Port St.Lucie.
Since I can’t have grapefruit anymore, why would I want to go back to Florida?
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David C said on January 17, 2024 at 6:05 am
I got the link from someone’s post on Spoutable, Julie.
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basset said on January 17, 2024 at 11:06 am
We’ve only been to Crystal River once, didn’t enjoy it and came home early. The “resort” where we stayed turned out to be a rundown motel with a golf course, first morning there we went to breakfast and there was no orange juice. What do you mean there’s no orange juice, aren’t we in Florida? “It’s because of the storms up north.”
Aside from that, though, it just wasn’t anyplace we wanted to be, crowded and we felt like prey, there’s a price tag on everything and usually a wait too… hardly any manatees either, apparently they move from the clear river out into the muddy bay at times and that’s when we were there. Of course.
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Sherri said on January 17, 2024 at 11:43 am
Rick Perlstein and Jeff Sharlet on how journalism is ill-equipped for covering fascism.
https://prospect.org/politics/2024-01-17-metaphors-journalists-live-by-part-i/
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Julie Robinson said on January 17, 2024 at 11:48 am
basset, from what I hear the manatees are quite elusive. For starters, you have to go when it’s cold enough that you’re miserable being outside. For this reason, I’ve never even tried. But often they just aren’t there, and when it’s busy you may not even be able to get into the park. They are wild animals after all, not trained seals. So I think a lot of tourists share your disappointment.
Sounds like your resort was Old Florida. I hear about Old Florida from time to time; it seems it was also poor, uneducated, no building codes, and dumb Florida. Of course, many believe that is also New Florida. YVMV.
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alex said on January 17, 2024 at 11:55 am
Speaking of how journalism is ill-equipped for covering fascism, the local paper just hands over the op-ed page to Wendy Davis and lets her fly her freak flag:
(Paywalled so I’m pasting it)
Trump alone can fix disasters of past four years
All judges swear an oath of impartiality. They swear to leave their personal opinions and political leanings out of their work. It is their duty to put aside their own biases and let the objective facts of the case inform their decisions.
I know how hard that is because that’s what I did for 12 years.
I made the decision to step away from the bench and run for Congress because it became impossible to simply react to the devastating effects of the radical liberal policies I saw in my courtroom, such as our wide-open borders bringing fentanyl and more crime into northeast Indiana.
As the Circuit Court judge, I was forced to preside over minor gender changes and needless litigation produced by the weak economy. I could either compromise my integrity as a judge or compromise my integrity as an American.
I had to be proactive, and in order to do that, I resigned my spot on the bench and launched my campaign for Indiana’s 3rd congressional District.
That’s why it makes me so concerned to see the Department of Justice and the justice system transform into a political tool of the radical left.
Neither liberal judges nor a secretary of state should determine our next president. They are deploying one of our great American assets to attempt to block the candidacy of a former president because they don’t like his politics. It’s absolutely un-American.
It is the responsibility of the court to protect democracy, not threaten it or infringe upon it.
Democrats know that Donald Trump is the only one who can reverse the devastating effects of President Joe Biden’s disastrous four years in office. That’s why they are doing everything they can to block his candidacy. And they know he will win.
Under Trump, America was strong. Our border was secure. Our communities were safer. We were respected as a powerhouse on the world stage because we had a leader who commanded respect.
Biden took all of that, shook it up, turned it upside down and left American families with a mess to clean up.
He swung our southern border wide open, destroyed our economy, enabled cartels and criminals, and threatened our American values and way of life. I have seen it firsthand in my courtroom.
Trump instituted the Remain in Mexico policy and successfully began a physical border wall. He kept the promises he made, deincentivized illegal border crossings, ended catch and release, and made America a safer place to live and raise a family.
Since Biden took office and reversed many of these policies, more than 8.5 million illegal immigrants have crossed our border. That’s almost 2 million more than the population of Indiana.
The border is a humanitarian and national security crisis because we have a weak leader in the White House who cares more about political posturing than the security of the nation he swore to protect.
As a military wife and mom, I am also worried about our weakness on the world stage. Our military is prioritizing pronoun sensitivity and DEI training over combat readiness. Rest assured, our adversaries are taking notice.
We need a strong leader in office who will treat an ally as an ally and an adversary as an adversary, and a strong military that is equipped to defend us from any foreign threats.
Trump’s years in office were marked by strength – here at home and abroad. We desperately need to bring back a strong America – a nation with secure borders and a strong and prepared military. A nation where everyone is free to dream the American dream for generations to come.
That’s why I am proudly endorsing Trump for election in 2024.
We need his strong, unashamed and unwavering conservative leadership in the White House. He is the only candidate who can beat Biden and restore our nation to true greatness.
Democrats know that and are attacking him with all they have. But I know conservatives across the country will not back down and will stand up against the left’s two tiers of justice.
I look forward to supporting him any way I can this year, and hope you join me.
Wendy Davis, a Republican, is running for the 3rd District congressional seat. She served as an Allen County Superior Court judge for more than 12 years, the first female elected to the Allen Circuit Court.
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Dave said on January 17, 2024 at 11:56 am
Julie Robinson, all good and well and glad to see another candidate go down to defeat but the Democratic Party in Florida is in sad shape and these victories are sadly few and far between. It’s in sad shape here in Indiana, too, but it may be worse there.
I’ve been cold plenty of times and spent a lot of time in all kinds of weather throughout my working days but I never got frostbite. May you heal well, Dexter.
Alex, I saw that in the daily JG headlines but since I’m not a subscriber, I didn’t click on it, I knew it would only irritate me.
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jcburns said on January 17, 2024 at 12:12 pm
I think there’s a difference between knowing that Trump and his followers are a problem and spending huge amounts of time quoting his idiocies and saying “look! now the crazy people are doing…this!”
I’m certainly NOT saying ignore Trump. But I am saying you’re playing into his hands by echoing him.
So let’s not vote for him, eh?
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susan said on January 17, 2024 at 1:14 pm
I wonder what Wendy Davis thinks about Judge Aileen Mercedes Cannon.
Oh, I probably know. And don’t care what Davis thinks.
(I was confused about this Wendy Davis person changing her political stripes so acutely, when she was such a progressive Dem in Texass back in the day. Did she move to Indiana and turn to right-wing mush from being exposed to Republican dreck in Indiana??? This made no sense!)
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Dexter Friend said on January 17, 2024 at 1:34 pm
Trump acted like an asshole this morning, dissing E. Jean Carroll’s words , speaking out of turn loudly to influence the jury, against the judge’s rules, then back-talking the judge, who repeatedly told Trump’s lawyer to sit down and quit making statements out of protocol. Trump is trying to get kicked out of court to add more coal to his fire which stirs up his base. Alex Jones was ordered to pay $1.5B to Sandy Hook families; Trump is on the hook for maybe 10M. Any jury would say that’s way too low, and may go as high as $30M. If Trump really is a billionaire, this seems appropriate. We all know these awards are always knocked down in appeals, and some never are paid at all. E. Jean Carroll is 80 years old…I hope she gets some cash, sooner better than later.
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Jakash said on January 17, 2024 at 2:00 pm
That screed quoted by Alex contains so many lies that it would take too long to refute them all. So, I’ll just pick 2! She sees the Biggest Loser as “a strong leader in office who will treat an ally as an ally and an adversary as an adversary.” Except for certain adversaries, such as Russia (hey, didn’t Republicans used to consider them the biggest threat?) which he’ll coddle since he’s Putin’s lap dog, of course.
“stand up against the left’s two tiers of justice” Uh, you’re the one who thinks there should be a separate tier for a certain former president who mustn’t be held to account for his malfeasance, lady.
I will say, she’s got the main strategy of her fuhrer down pat, though. Lie boldly and repeatedly and see how many of the minions will fall for it.
Dexter says “Trump acted like an asshole this morning…” Jeepers, that was no act! : )
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Jeff Borden said on January 17, 2024 at 2:53 pm
tRump’s attorney, Alina Habba, has primarily concentrated on practicing law in the business arena, where she represented owners of parking garages. When it comes to more sophisticated legal issues, she’s green enough to hide in short grass. The judge has repeatedly slapped her down for absurd behavior including not rising when addressing the judge and introducing frivolous asides into the proceedings. A story I read today by someone who studies jury reactions said Habba already has alienated the jury with these antics. Let’s face it. She’s tRump’s attorney because she is relatively attractive, not because she is a sharp legal mind. It’s all about image with the Orange King.
Meanwhile, the House QOP is down to the absolute barest majority as a result of departures, recoveries from surgeries and illnesses. the bible-thumping speaker already is in the crosshairs of the Freedumb Caucus. It’s only a matter of time before they oust him, too. It’s clear the QOP party not only has zero interest in governing, but has completely forgotten how to do it. It’s just a freak show now.
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David C said on January 17, 2024 at 2:53 pm
There are nature assholes and many more nurture assholes. Trump is one of the rare nature and nurture assholes. He was an asshole the moment he hit the atmosphere and learned advanced assholery from the masters, his old man, and Roy Cohn.
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Dave said on January 17, 2024 at 4:04 pm
That’s a different Wendy Davis, Susan at 82, she’s a longtime Fort Wayne-area Allen County Circuit Judge who is running for the congressional seat being vacated by Jim Banks, now running for the Senate, who himself poses as a religious, military-experienced right wing nut but that’s my characterization. From her campaign site, she looks to be trying to follow right in his footsteps.
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jcburns said on January 17, 2024 at 4:29 pm
Happy birthday, Michelle Obama. Sure hope all your out-of-the-public moments are happy ones.
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Deborah said on January 17, 2024 at 4:41 pm
Indiana Wendy Davis is the polar opposite of Texas Wendy Davis. The Indiana version is living in a delusional force field. What a buffoon.
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Sherri said on January 17, 2024 at 6:44 pm
At least in their SCOTUS coverage, Slate has recognized that the old style of journalism is not appropriate. Here’s Mark Joseph Stern doing a good job of laying out the context and the stakes of the case the Court heard today challenging the Chevron doctrine: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/01/supreme-court-democrats-president-chevron-precedent.html
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FDChief said on January 17, 2024 at 8:02 pm
As Sherri pointed out; the MAGAts on SCOTUS are flapping THEIR gums in hopes of repealing the 20th Century.
You think there’s issues with things like door plugs popping out of airliners? Imagine returning to the 19th Century when your meat was whatever the butcher had lying around and your railroad considered “safety” a luxury good.
That’s what these freaks want – an end to the regulatory state that we’ve built one death and injury at a time. No FDA, no OSHA, no FHWA, no FAA. Just a phalanx of wingnut lawyers arguing for the legal Day of Jubilee for their criminally negligent clients who are lambasting the public.
Ceterum autem censeo the GOP esse delendam!
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susan said on January 17, 2024 at 8:20 pm
Absolute assentior! Mors ad GQP!
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alex said on January 17, 2024 at 10:09 pm
I’d chime in with some Latin snark too if I hadn’t had a Latin teacher who pronounced epitome as EP-uh-TOAM. Other than that I was too stoned to retain anything else he ever said.
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susan said on January 18, 2024 at 11:01 am
Alex, Google Translate is your friend.
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Sherri said on January 18, 2024 at 12:24 pm
Part 2 of Rick Perlstein’s article on Jeff Sharlett and journalism’s lack of readiness for the moment: https://prospect.org/politics/2024-01-18-metaphors-journalists-live-by-part-ii/
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Jeff Borden said on January 18, 2024 at 1:39 pm
To those who counsel trying to understand and work with the drooling morons in MAGA hats. . .
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/01/trump-wants-revengeand-so-does-his-base/677147/
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Suzanne said on January 18, 2024 at 1:58 pm
I highly recommend Jeff Sharlet’s books The Undertow and The Family. He has been one of the few journalists really delving into the underlying dreck of American Conservatism.
This interview with him is excellent:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conspirituality/id1515827446?i=1000642084364
Also, Peter Schickele aka PDQ Bach has passed.
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alex said on January 18, 2024 at 2:37 pm
I’m looking forward to the third installment of the Pearlstein/Sharlet interview.
Sharlet is a shoe-leather reporter in the truest sense. He can muster the courage to approach people in homes flying Fuck Biden flags where most would be terrified to tread, and his adventures go well beyond the typical flyover Cletus safaris.
Today I tried to do some sleuthing, without any luck, to uncover the identity of the smug NYT schmuck who thinks the paper is doing a fine job of reporting on creeping fascism without calling it that.
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Deborah said on January 18, 2024 at 5:01 pm
There was a documentary about The Family that I watched, don’t remember if it was on Netflix or where? It was creepy as hell, as I recall. The scariest part was the thinking that the ends justified the means as long as they felt it was promoting their version of Christianity.
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Sherri said on January 18, 2024 at 5:16 pm
The Family documentary is on Netflix.
The thing to understand about white conservative evangelical Christianity is that it’s about power, not religion. I can’t help bit roll my eyes at the articles by people like David French and Tim Alberta who are just not figuring this out after having lived in that world for decades. Guys, it was always right there in front of you, but because you were white and male and straight, it was possible not to see it.
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Suzanne said on January 18, 2024 at 5:42 pm
This an interview of Tim Alberta with a podcaster who mentions his problems with Alberta’s book is quite good.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/straight-white-american-jesus/id1441649707?i=1000641681918
It’s the same issue I had with a podcast series about Mars Hill Church and Mark Driscoll done by, I believe, Christianity Today. They came close to admitting that there is a rot at the core of Evangelicalism, but they couldn’t quite get there. Same with David French. He gets right to the edge, but cannot step over the line.
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LAMary said on January 18, 2024 at 5:57 pm
I think the parking garage lawyer is the only one who was dumb enough to work for a guy who never pays his bills.
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Sherri said on January 18, 2024 at 8:30 pm
Yep, Suzanne, I agree. If only those men could listen to the women who have been telling them about that rot for years!
There aren’t enough people of color to tell them, which should also give them pause, but doesn’t.
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Dave said on January 19, 2024 at 12:28 pm
Not on topic.
Dexter, do you know much about this story of compassion in your town?
https://www.13abc.com/2024/01/11/bryan-pastor-pleads-not-guilty-zoning-code-violations/
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Sherri said on January 19, 2024 at 2:09 pm
Sports Illustrated has apparently finally ceased to exist. It’s been dying for quite some time, like most media. Ever since the private equity guys came along and decided that journalism was a great place to jump in, lard everything up with debt, and then strip it for parts. Like they do everything else.
Makers and takers, indeed.
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FDChief said on January 19, 2024 at 2:19 pm
The final gasp of SI is just the latest death of the glossy dead-tree magazine victims of the internet.
The skin mags were the first to go, IIRC (Remember “the Internet is for porn”? Yep…) but the sports and political rags weren’t long for the world once sport and political journalism moved to the intertoobs AND the various outlets figured out that they had to charge subscriptions because the old advertising-based model didn’t work.
What’s frustrating is that the vulture capital guys have chased the bucks on-line and started wrecking things there, too. The killing of Deadspin was the first big giveaway that the enshittification was underway.
There really should be a bounty on brunchlords. Ten bucks a pelt, like coyotes.
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alex said on January 19, 2024 at 2:52 pm
Darn, I was hoping we’d see another skeletal old lady resurrected as an airbrushed cover model this spring.
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Sherri said on January 19, 2024 at 4:08 pm
I’m often critical of David French, but here, he gets it. The people afraid of the consequences of applying the 14th amendment to Trump are ignoring the consequences of *not* applying the 14th amendment to Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/18/opinion/trump-14th-amendment-history.html?unlocked_article_code=1.O00.zWUX.fLMGSrdxkJpi&smid=url-share
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Sherri said on January 19, 2024 at 4:27 pm
On a different topic, in two months I will term out of my stint on the local planning commission. I’ve served 8 years, the last several as chair. I will also finish my term as board president of the ACLU-WA at the end of the year. I’m not sure what’s next, but I know it’s time for me to take a break.
Especially from planning commission. Too many years of public hearings from people who can only see one part of the picture, while everyone pays lip service to affordable housing as long as it doesn’t cost them anything or change their neighborhood.
I’m not just talking about NIMBYs, though there are plenty of them. Developers, too, can be a pain. We’re currently trying to increase our inclusionary zoning requirements in one part of the city, and developers are talking like we’re prohibiting development. One of the more reasonable developers told me, “you know, the best rent control is a 10% vacancy rate.” I’m having trouble not rolling my eyes.
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brian stouder said on January 19, 2024 at 11:25 pm
Sherri – I very much admire your literal ‘get it done’ approach. Other than paying taxes and voting, I’ve done no public service. Looked at possibly going after a school board seat a few years back, and even at that level, the pro/con equation appeared quite daunting (to me!), especially when considering whether I could really bring anything to the table (compared to the good folks who were already there). In any case, over the course of 5 or 6 years I hardly ever missed one of their meetings downtown, and came away with genuine admiration for the good folks there (and system-wide), and the successful way they proceeded.
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jcburns said on January 20, 2024 at 11:24 am
Sherri, the folks on the east side of the lake have been lucky to have your labors. And if it’s time to step away from that, it’s certainly understandable.
My brother in law lives on the west side, and when we’re visiting and looking across past the fancy homes, I think of you.
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Julie Robinson said on January 20, 2024 at 12:06 pm
Thank you so much, Sherri. I really admire people who can sit through interminable meetings of blahblahblah. Clearly, I’m not that person! Just give me a job to do. That’s why I’m back in front of the computer two days a week handling non-profit finances.
Brian, a very easy way to get started with community involvement is working at a polling place. Now that you’re retired, you presumably could sit at a table for a day and check in voters or the like. I know many of us here at nnc are happy participants in this aspect of democracy. I also know every single polling place struggles to find enough helpers. (Have just witnessed my daughter trying to fill out her dance card for the local poll.)
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brian stouder said on January 20, 2024 at 6:20 pm
Julie, back in the day, I used to work election days (in Ft Wayne). My mom was a precinct committee person, and was very plugged-in on all the stuff that needed done, that one would otherwise take for granted.
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Jeff Gill said on January 21, 2024 at 8:14 am
Sherri, having just been overruled by village council on a recent BZBA decision, I’m certainly reflecting on where I should put my civic time and involvement. Not that we’re infallible, but we made a decision we (most of us) didn’t want to make, but was required by the ordinance written by . . . wait for it . . . council. The appeal by neighbors was sustained because they got enough people in the room to fuss at them, and frankly the original applicant (who again was not a sympathetic character at all) should he appeal to Common Pleas Court, the next step in the process, will win in a walk, because council acted politically, not in the administrative tribunal mode these decisions require.
Anyhow, I’m feeling for your decision. And developers, large or small, are such a pain. Every time I have to give them what they want, no matter how deserved, I feel a piece of my soul drift away . . .
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Sherri said on January 21, 2024 at 1:34 pm
I don’t think developers are the enemy; after all, who else is going to build the housing we need? They are obviously going to argue for their benefit, it’s just they have a lot of resources for doing so, so whenever we deal with them, we see a lot of them. One of the things I’ve tried to get across to other commissioners is that what we hear from anybody is just a part of the picture, that we’re also representing the people who aren’t showing up to our hearings and sending us email.
Right now, developers are unhappy because we want to expand our mandatory inclusionary zoning requirements in one part of the city, the part most primed for development. Currently, any development of more than 10 homes has to make 10% affordable at the 80% level, we want to change it to 12.5% at 50%. We are doing other things to make development more attractive, like reducing/eliminating parking requirements, but developers just see the IZ costing them. Of course, we already have one of the stricter IZ requirements on the Eastside, and as result, have more affordable units than all the other Eastside cities combined.
Yes, it can be frustrating to see council overturn our decisions just because loud people fussed at them, ignoring their own ordinances, but we’re just an advisory body to council. Fortunately that happens rarely here. What has happened more has been a council member blaming planning commission for their own political cowardice. We don’t set the direction, we try to come up with the policies and code to implement the direction.
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Sherri said on January 21, 2024 at 3:23 pm
Has anyone done more damage in a failed presidential run than Ron DeSantis? And he’s out before New Hampshire.
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Jeff Borden said on January 21, 2024 at 3:51 pm
Craven to the end, the meatball from fascist Floriduh endorsed the traitorous Orange King. The great thing –maybe the only great thing– is that DeathSantis is absolutely dead as a political entity. He’s gone. Couldn’t happen to a nicer piece of shit, eh?
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brian stouder said on January 21, 2024 at 4:15 pm
If I was one of the remaining Republican candidates, I’d adopt the rally cry: Flush the Toilet! They either move past the Donald, or put up with the stench for the rest of the decade
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Julie Robinson said on January 21, 2024 at 4:20 pm
Now DeSantis gets more time to make mischief in Florida, whee.
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