Three Things: Can’t Keep Quiet

/113 Comments/in , /by


This was the unofficial anthem of January 2017’s Women’s March. I needed the reminder this Monday after the insult of Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Speaking of insults…

~ 3 ~

It must be the current propaganda theme common to both Republicans and the Kremlin to mock women who stand up for themselves.

Senator McConnell thinks he and his white gerontocracy were attacked by mean old feminists, telling the audience at a press conference in Kentucky, “I couldn’t be prouder of the Senate Republican Conference. We were standing up for the presumption of innocence in this country . . . And secondly, we were literally under assault . . . There was a full-scale effort to intimidate.”

Oh Turtlehead. You are so feeble and an insult to the state of Kentucky.

Meanwhile Russian media has been pushing a fake video showing women attacking men for ‘manspreading’. The video spread rapidly but goodness knows how much of that is bot traffic. The intent is incitement of anger and violence against feminists specifically and women at large though the truth is the overwhelming majority of women would never attempt anything like that in the fake video for fear of immediate physical reprisal by men.

There’s really no need for incitement. Women are far more likely to be attacked as one woman was this weekend outside Detroit, shot after she refused a man’s advances. Three women die each day in the U.S. of domestic violence.

But McConnell and GOP senators were under assault. Right.

~ 2 ~

After songwriter, musician, and singer Taylor Swift posted on Instagram against GOP senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, another clueless old white dude came out to taunt and insult her and her fans.

Swift’s 28 years old; she’s been a number one hit performer for the last dozen years. The majority of her fans range in age from tweens to retirees, in no small part because she began her career in country music rather than pop rock. She has nearly 84 million followers on Twitter alone and I’m sure there are far fewer bots as a percentage than there are following Trump. Swift’s got one hell of a microphone.

But do go ahead, Huckster Huckabee, and mock them. I’m sure this will persuade them to vote for Blackburn.

~ 1 ~

The only nit I have with Swift’s social media plea to vote for Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen (and not Blackburn) is that she should have done this a week or more ago. There are many states with deadlines for registration TODAY and TUESDAY this week. Celeste_pewter has the details in this Twitter thread.

If you haven’t registered, drop everything and do so now. If you know of someone who hasn’t, drop everything and help them right now.

Pay particular heed to college students living on campus and those who are stuck at home due to disability and illness. Help them with registration and obtaining an absentee ballot.

What are you waiting for? Another insult?

~ 0 ~

This is an open thread.

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113 replies
  1. Rayne says:

    This absolutely infuriating, utterly enraging.

    Laura Packard @lpackard

    Why is my U.S. Senator, @SenDeanHeller, attacking me personally? Last year I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I had to go through 6 months of chemotherapy and a month of radiation while fighting MY OWN Senator to keep my care.

    5:05 PM – 8 Oct 2018
    https://twitter.com/lpackard/status/1049405350959562752

    Read that thread. Heller was such an enormous dildo about health care and meeting his constituents.

    If you are in Nevada, vote this toxic jerk Heller out of office.

    • harpie says:

      https://twitter.com/samswey/status/1049458987287105537

      5:38 PM – 8 Oct 2018 We’ve now heard from several people that Florida’s online voter registration site is NOT letting people register to vote. FL registration deadline is TOMORROW to vote in the Midterms. @mrmidi recorded the error here. This is voter suppression. The state must EXTEND the deadline. / […] / *Meanwhile* we’ve sent more than 13,000 young people to register to vote on the site this past week. Literally thousands of young people will be prevented from being able to register to vote if the site remains down and they do not extend the registration deadline!

    • harpie says:

      And Texas:

      https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/1049363905443782657 11:20 AM – 8 Oct 2018

      I sold my house with an electronic signature. Taxes too. And corporate contracts. // But in Texas, GOP officials have decided – with no legal support – that such signatures for registration can’t be done. They are throwing out 1000s of registrations, largely from young people. / …and by the way, they are rejecting electronic signatures for ONLINE registrations. Perhaps they want people to sign their screens?

      • Tracy says:

        Wow – it is amazing what the GOP will do to consolidate power. I keep thinking of the Lord of the Rings, it really feels like that, like our democracy, truth, justice, fairness, are under attack from all sides. It’s terrifying!!

    • harpie says:

      In Maine: Zoe Tillman 7:47 AM – 9 Oct 2018

      The Judicial Crisis Network is still spending $$ even after Kavanaugh was confirmed — they just rolled out a six-figure TV and digital ad buy in Maine to thank Sen. Collins: “In the midst of chaos, one leader stood out”

    • harpie says:

      In North Dakota:

      Breaking: #SCOTUS allows North Dakota voter ID requirement, which had been enjoined during the primaries, to be enforced during the general election.

      Bart did not take part. Ginsburg and Kagan dissent.
      *
      edit to add from Chris’s thread:
      “In today’s order, Justice Ginsburg, joined by Justice Kagan, dissented, noting that the “risk of voter confusion appears severe here” because different rules applied during the primary election.”

      … Heitkamp’s state.

      • harpie says:

        more [same thread]:

        Those seeking to have the requirement — that a voter’s ID have their “current residential street address” — enjoined say it discriminates against Native Americans in North Dakota. (The district court agreed.) / The state countered that the law is needed to prevent fraud and ensure that people are getting the right ballots.

        I read earlier this week that most Native Americans in ND have PO boxes…not street addresses.

        • Boadicea Carr says:

          If you live in rural alaska, tribal and non-native alike, you dont have a street address — y ou are actually given a free PO box.  Ten years ago, i lived in Nome and then in small non-native village in SE alaska and that was the case.  I voted out-of-state since i worked as a contract employee in both places, so i can ‘t answer how that affected voting. But i know since then, tribal villages are getting very active politically and it is more than “leans democrat” although there is still much widespread support for Murkowski….not so much “Also Too”

        • Rayne says:

          IMO tribes will have to create street addresses for members. It’d be funny if every indigenous person who lives in tribal villages and reservations shows up with a tribal identity card showing they live at 123 Main Street.

        • harpie says:

          So they would have to do this, and then register with that address before the election? Even though the PO Boxes were OK for the Primary?

        • Rayne says:

          That’s my take on the ND state law. I’d defer to a lawyer but I’d play it safe and have a street address for registration. I haven’t checked the state’s deadline, hope it’s not today. Jesus.

        • harpie says:

          According to the NYT:

          North Dakota: Voters are not required to register before Election Day, but must bring acceptable proof of ID and residency to the polls.

          Edit to add, from ND link:
          “When you arrive at the polls on Election Day, you’ll need to show proof of birth date and residency. This can include:

          A North Dakota driver’s license or ID card. // An ID issued by a tribal government. // A form of identification issued by the Secretary of State. // A combination of the options above.”

        • P J Evans says:

          They replaced mail-route box numbers with actual street addresses several years ago in Texas. (I used to live at a box number – UPS and FedEx would deliver, though you might have to give them directions.)

        • Rayne says:

          My folks’ summer address has only had a physical address since 2001, I think. State law here required one clearly posted for fire and police response. It’s just the lot number on which they built. Before that their address was General Delivery, Tiny Remote Village Name. Anybody looking for them could ask in the village and they’d tell them “go toward the lake, turn on the last road, go all the way to the end, look for a drive with a rainbow windsock.” (I don’t think my dad ever caught on that rainbows mean something different to folks who aren’t of his ethnic background…)

        • P J Evans says:

          There are even small cities – towns, really – where the USPS doesn’t deliver at all; everyone collects their mail at the PO, so everyone has a box number for mail, and a street address for other stuff.

      • Rayne says:

        Yeah, this really worries me. IMO (and IANAL) this is a form of poll tax on minority communities since Native Americans may not have traditional physical street addresses on their reservation land. The court is allowing the state to force a western standard on what is sovereign land.

        It may be Heitkamp’s state — and she may lose because of this form of suppression — but we need to help Dems and Native Americans in that state to replace the ND state legislature and governor which have done this. We also need to be prepared for other states to do this same bullshit to states with large populations of American Indian, Aleut, and Hawaiians.

  3. Anura says:

    So what’s the next norm Republicans are going to destroy for the sake of advancing an unpopular agenda? I know they want to change electoral votes to be by district instead of at-large in non-red states. They are pushing for more nationalist, religious, and capitalist propaganda in schools (privatization). They’ve greatly expanded their powers to surveil and oppress leftist activists, and I’m sure it won’t be long before Republicans find ways to push more of their agenda through the increasingly friendly courts.

  4. AitchD says:

    Did you hear Trump address Kavanaugh as “Brett” rather than ‘Justice Kavanaugh’? Happy take: Trump as usual. Unhappy take: It’s scripted and means ‘precedent is for suckers’.

  5. JD12 says:

    I’m a little surprised Mitch is that sensitive. Somehow the airport protest must have become an assault in his mind.

    The same thing happened with Huckabee’s daughter. She said she’s the first press secretary to ever require secret service protection. Except it wasn’t required. She was asked politely to leave a restaurant.

    Trump’s fear mongering really has his people pretty paranoid, I guess.

    • JD12 says:

      Every time Trump gets a win he thinks it validates his narrative 100%. I knew he did that, because that’s what he did after the 2016 election. But people like McConnell—who at least used to have one foot grounded in reality—are starting to do the same thing. This idea that the allegations were made up by Democrats to destroy Kavanaugh is accepted just about unanimously by conservatives now, yet it’s nothing more than a mass delusion.

      I’m relatively young and new to politics so I never understood the argument about Trump gaining legitimacy, but now it makes total sense. The position of the presidency carries so much authority and credibility in some people’s minds that they’ll even believe someone like him.

      • Tracy says:

        You’re going to vote, and bring friends, right? :-D

        IDK how young you are, but Beto O’Rourke has been doing an amazing tour of college campuses in TX and I feel like if our politicians try to involve young people more we could turn out a whole other section of the population to vote.

        And I wonder what will be the influence of the Parkland students and their movement, I hope we’ll see that on election day.

        • JD12 says:

          I’m older than those Parkland kids, but I’m still not eligible for president.

          I’m definitely going to vote, though my district is blue already.

          I’ll be a little surprised if Beto pulls it off, but that would be great. I used to live in Tennessee and still have friends there, and I think Bredesen has a much better chance than the polls are giving him.  If he can’t win that seat then no D can. Blackburn is an evil woman and even Tennesseans thought her abortion stunt a few years ago was too much. Trump has had to go there 4 times, I think, and she still can’t get ahead.

        • Rayne says:

          Trump’s been there four times?? Wow. Can only mean Blackburn is hurting if he has to whip up the ugliest part of the base.

        • Tracy says:

          Good to know! Glad to hear about Bredeson!

          As for Beto, I just wonder – if you look at his twitter feed, he is going from multiple packed stadiums and auditoriums in a day, and registering young people who are excited about him to vote. I’m wondering if this is his main opportunity, to turn out voters who don’t normally turn out (heard on Chris Hayes tonight that TX is LAST in the country for midterm turn out). I’ve also heard that he needs to do this, as well as turn out the Latino vote.

          @Trip – well, that’s sad news about FL, TX – and has the situation in GA been remedied, where the office of the guy running against Stacey Abrams has jurisdiction over those dibold (sp) voting machines that can’t be backed up?

          And whatever happened to NC redrawing their districts?

        • JD12 says:

          Of course. As soon as I say that Steve Kornacki says the latest poll has Blackburn 50% to Bredesen 42%. I really hope this Kavanaugh bump came a little too early and things equalize by Nov 6.

        • Tracy says:

          I think so, although early voting (but how many people vote early?) – yeah, I think that all this is hype and it will fizzle. The animus, underlying grievance and pain is on our side.

  6. Eureka says:

    About the Republican-Russian anti-women tack: Folks, I saw a ratfucker IRL the other day doing just this, in a sneaky ratfucker way. At first it seemed like a standard pizza(gate) rat. After consulting the naturalist’s compendium (twitter), it seemed to be a real Ratfuckerus (PAC unknown).

    A guy “interrupts” Kathy Griffin’s show asking if she ever confronted her brother about being a pedophile (KG talks about this in one of her books). She says, Yes, I did. He starts to speak again, KG says, “Guys, we’ve got a Trumper,” signaling security to come get him and she further tells audience ~don’t worry, we have procedures in place to handle this. Etc. Men in the audience are standing shining lights on this guy as security comes. Loud boos, Etc.

    So the show continues, with this “interruption” forgotten after having served to reinforce the theme of her entire show and current tour: her story of how the President of the United States used the power of the Presidency and the “Trump wood chipper,” as she calls it, to try to quash her 1A rights, and her career besides.

    The event was but a blip in a three-hour woven cautionary tale of our times. With a Qaashole to prove the point. Mixed with raucous funny!

    Later, I see on KG’s tweets thanking her audience that this guy and his conspecifics are begging for attention in her comments sections. He/they posted a short twitter clip of his stunt. Most of the audio is obscured, and it also fails to represent other things a witness would have observed. Though you can hear some of the booing noises, and the men.

    But more interesting, and pointing to organized ratfuckery as opposed to ‘some guy’ was his twitter. He had also posted a long video (23+ mins.) replying to questions from his ‘fans’ as he left the theater. The story he told departed from the incident in some oddly consistent ways.

    He repeatedly spoke of these ‘women’ all around him during and after the stunt that were scaring him in various ways. He referenced another time he infiltrated a Hillary talk, hoping HRC was going to address pizzagate. Back to the topic of the KG show, he tells of this really scary woman there, ~ screaming at him from the aisle *as she held a baby in her arms.*

    LOL, a baby. OK. Otherwise silent for three hours (plus unheard during the blocks-long wait to get in) at a show for adults . Also, I’d say there were more men than women at the show. (Based on something else said while waiting for security, the guy may have worn something to pose as a gay fan.)

    The recurring themes of his comments: pedo-; women bad/scary; (HRC) (pedos); women bad/scary (including one holding a baby); Oh, plus libtards.

    A scroll through his timeline reveals the typical hashtags one might imagine from the above, plus walk away.

    All with a professional polish.

    Today, a ‘news site’ published his story, and Junior retweeted it. The trollnets/botnets were already out before that; KG did a thread about it tonight.

    I was waiting for an open thread to tell you this story, figuring you all are possibly the only ones who might care, and how appropriate that said thread opens with the R-R woman-bashing propaganda tactic. From the ratfucker’s patterns, it seemed to me like the theme is anti-women with some pedo/implied failing to protect from pedos twist.

    If interested, you could safely navigate with twitter-only links via info here: https://twitter.com/kathygriffin/status/1049458659430883328

  7. Trip says:

    I ignored the swearing in, and any subsequent coverage. I will continue on that route today should the MSM carry Trump’s water for campaign BS. There is no reason to indulge in this masochistic behavior. Maybe they’ll get the message if enough people avoid it.

    • Tracy says:

      Me too, Trip! I’m disgusted with how the MSM has just switched over to accepting all of this and covering it like any other thing. Disgusted in how they kept replaying DJT “mocking” Dr. CBF at his rally. This is all disgusting and we shouldn’t indulge them.

      • Trip says:

        I’m glad to hear I’m not alone. They run his shit on a loop. They know he is a liar. And yet they afford him free spin time. Leave that balderdash over on Trump/Fox TV!

        • Tracy says:

          If/ when we win back House/ Senate in 4 weeks’ time, we will have done so IN SPITE OF: extreme gerrymandering, massive voter suppression efforts, POTUS on the campaign trail almost every day in the last month, AND the MSM’s sycophantic/ lapdog/ fake-shock-horror coverage of him.

          I know you’re a fan of Chris Hayes, me too – did you see last night he had a great piece on how we are now officially being governed by the minority w/ a minority-vote president and SC justice w/ 51% disapproval, 41% approval, whose votes from confirming Senators represent just 44% of the country?

          This is a real crisis of democracy, we have to be all over this.

        • Trip says:

          I would like to add that NBC needs to kick Megyn Kelly to the curb. She is dishonest and a propagandist. On top of that, she is insufferable and detestable (never mind unlikable).

  8. harpie says:

    Predictably getting pretty nasty.

    ‘A betrayal beyond words’: The far right melts down over Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Democrats October 8 at 7:34 PM 

    A myth that began with a kitten took a dark turn a few years later, when a neo-Nazi blogger came across a joke meme that mashed up photos of Swift with quotes from Adolf Hitler. He apparently mistook these as authentic and published them on the Daily Stormer under the headline: “Aryan Goddess Taylor Swift: Nazi Avatar of the White European People.” // Probably not many people believed Swift was a Nazi — but between the 4chan rumors and the Daily Stormer memes, a vague but widespread belief spread across right-wing circles that the star was on their side. 

    Speaking of the Daily Stormer, read this Zarina Zabrisky thread 6:52 PM – 8 Oct 2018

    Thread. Nazi–#Kavanaugh posters found yesterday on the campus of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY and all around the Hudson Valley region. Designed by The Daily Stormer (a reference to “Der Stürmer,” the Nazi tabloid), a webzine formerly known as Total Fascism. [THREAD] 

  9. peacerme says:

    My only consolation…the real life “disease” of alcoholism. If BK has the disease, and we don’t know that he does, but his level of reported drinking was not normal as a teen. His anti social behaviors were not normal. His behavior during the the hearings were not “normal”. In that, he was overly emotional and defensive and he lied, under oath. He appeared to be “constitutionally” unable to tell the truth about his past and perhaps? his current drinking. This is a symptom of the disease demonstrated in the here and now. Addicts in recovery do not struggle to speak openly about past drinking. They can talk about it without shame because they have toppled the shame with truth and new behavior. A religious shift also brings a decrease in shame about past behavior.  In fact these are the signs you look for as a therapist. Can they remember the day they quit. Can they talk about past behaviors (12 steps does help with the shame and truth). Can they admit and talk openly about getting help and support? Do I see evidence of high use and abuse (a dui, with a .38 alcohol indicates an alcoholic level of alcohol tolerance) and a reported subtle decrease? In his case we have many eyewitness reports. It’s not likely that he drank that way as a kid, and needs to lie about it today. Even in light of the legal charges, he could have threaded that needle but he demonstrated a constitutional inability to admit the truth about his past drinking. He does not report himself to be an addict that saw the light and quit. He couldn’t admit to anything!! Denial is physiological. If he is still deflecting, he is likely still drinking alcoholically.

    The only good news about that is that the disease is progressive. It’s a chronic fatal disease if left untreated. I’ve known many high functioning addicts, doctors and lawyers who could function for years in this way. But it doesn’t stop pancreatic cancer or liver and kidney disease. It doesn’t stop throat and oral cancers. It doesn’t stop falls down stair or face plants on concrete. My only consolation is that he gets sober and has a fundamental unpredictable shift in personality? (Maybe? But dry drunks aren’t known for open mindedness) Or perhaps the disease shortens his life.

    I know we can trust the disease. It will do what it does, if he has it. That is predictable. More will be revealed but he’s not likely to be able to stop under present circumstances, (he will be enabled by power and money), the disease will progress and eventually, he will die. If he’s just an abuser of alcohol who was able to slow down and keep it under control, alcohol will continue to take its toll, as well. Not one bone in my body buys the two beer minimum and that puffy face, defensiveness and lies. I would not bet on a long life for BK, the disease has real and predictable consequences.

    I remember when my husbands drinking was at its worse. He’s an electrician, with 11 years sobriety. He rarely missed work, was never late. Drank all night long. He usually drank beer punctuated by an occasional bottle of gin or tequila. Beer was his drink of water at 4:00 am. Some nights he’d be up drinking in the garage until 2:00 am and get up at 5:00 am to go to work on dangerous industrial sights. He was always able to hide it from his work place. But the disease progressed. The longer BK lives like that, the sooner he dies. If he gets sober, we have a chance at a shift in personality. So, I am betting on the disease. It is far more predictable than his personality.

  10. Jenny says:

    World consciousness is changing.  The old patriarchal beliefs are diminishing; however many still hang onto expressing “macho,” aggressive masculine pride, toughness, chauvinism, sexism, bravado.

    The old patriarchal system is deeply embedded in world consciousness, therefore clinging to patriarchal power to feel superior over others is the macho response for fear of losing power.  The actions of rape, sexual assault, assault, harassment, belittling, demeaning, insulting, disrespecting women shows their continued fearful actions stating “I am dominate, I am the big cheese, my way or the highway.”  They are super glued to the past in fear of losing power.

    We have imbalance.  Insecure men lording over women.  NOW women are standing up, speaking out and saying “Hello NO!”  Presently, the old patriarchal system is now experiencing women who are taking their power back.  Flexing their power.  Speaking truth to power.

    This is evolution.  The pendulum is wildly swinging beyond the center.  What women are seeking is balance.  To be treated as equals.  It starts with the self.  Standing up for the self.  Speaking for the self.  This is evolution to create change.

    “Men of equality are not threatened by women of equality.”

    • Bruce Olsen says:

      I wish I were as optimistic as you.

      I don’t speak to the rest of my family, mostly due to their racism but they’re GOPers so misogyny is also part of the mix. I’ll never forget the look that overcame my attorney brother at the mere mention of Eric Holder’s name. It wasn’t due to jurisprudential differences of opinion.

      • Jenny says:

        Bruce, I understand.  I like my wine glass half full.  It is a perspective.  For me, it feels better to be optimistic.

        With experience I have my own personal beliefs, morals and values.  Experience is knowledge.  Also gratitude is vital.  I work with children ages 3 – 5.  At the end of my yoga class we all state one thing we are thankful for.  It is sweet hearing them say they are thankful for a toy, their family or a pet.  Gratitude is appreciation for what one has in the moment.

        I too have a few family members who are GOPers.  I  don’t talk politics with them.  If it starts, I walk away removing myself from the equation.  Instead, I surround myself with like minded people.  A friend of mine created a new family who shares her values in helping one another, being good stewards of the earth, working with animals and believing we are all equal. Positive energy produces positive results.

  11. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Trump is the “law and order” president about as much as Al Capone was the principal architect of Prohibition.

    But Prohibition did make Capone rich and powerful. By pretending to be in favor of “law and order,” Trump hopes to immunize himself from his own crimes, while he holds the average person to a repressive level of “order”. Law, not so much.

  12. Trip says:

    Lawrence Hurley‏Verified account @lawrencehurley

    Supreme Court just declined to hear this case

    :
    Lawrence Hurley added,
    Supreme Court on Friday is scheduled

    to consider whether to review a ruling that struck down an Obama-era rule regulating HFCs, a potent greenhouse gas. The lower court ruling was authored by … Brett Kavanaugh

  13. Tracy says:

    I replied this to Trip above but also wanted to say here how DISGUSTED I was over the weekend and last week, seeing repeated clips of Trump “mocking” Dr. CBF in MI, repeatedly saying how this was the moment that turned the tide and agitated the base to rabidly defend Kav. The MSM has a responsibility, which they abdicate at every moment in their abysmal coverage of DJT.

    They are elevating the “victimhood” of an alleged sex offender, liar, manipulator, and much worse – and twice over, b/c the messenger (DJT) has the exact same problems as Kav!

    I am so disgusted by how this coverage reinforces rape culture – it is beyond horrifying and horrific to see where we still are as a country, and how our MSM contributes to the disrespect to assault survivors by slavishly covering every damn thing this morally bereft president does.

    It is infuriating! Not only are Dr. CBF and the other survivors humilitated once by DJT, but they are humiliated over and over and over again every time they turn on the TV and the MSM is repeating or replaying something he says to disrespect and discredit them – all for “news.”

    And Brett Kavanaugh – we will NOT forget this, you will get yours! There will be justice!

    • Jenny says:

      Tracy, I am with you.  Male victimhood, mocking Dr. Ford, blaming survivors, these are tactics by insecure men.  The patriarchal abuse system builds fear turning the tables on women to create a false separation from the self.  Fear because they are fearful of losing their power over others.

      F-renzy  E-energy A-ltering R-eality – my definition.

      Exposure in so many ways.  So, I am directing my frustration, disgust and anger with the intention of voting, helping others and standing up and speaking out.  Anger is good fuel to get things done providing equality for ALL.

      Whenever one person stands up and says, ‘Wait a minute, this is wrong,’ it helps other people to do the same.  Gloria Steinem

      • Tracy says:

        Beautiful! Way to go!!

        I’m reposting Dr.CBF’s address for anyone who wants, thanks for posting this yesterday:
        Dr. Christine Blasey Ford
        Palo Alto University
        1791 Arastradero Road
        Palo, Alto, CA  94304

        • Jenny says:

          EXCELLENT!  Yes, I sent her a post card today.  Sent a card a week ago.  I figure the more support for her, the more support for all survivors.

          Silent No More! Speak Up, Speak Out and Vote!!!

  14. harpie says:

    wrt: Andrew Miller’s challenge to the Mueller Investigation: Steve Vladeck

    5:36 AM – 9 Oct 2018 The D.C. Circuit panel that will hear Andrew Miller’s appeal of his contempt citation (which challengeswhether Special Counsel Mueller’s appointment & investigation is lawful) on Thursday, November 8 has been posted—Henderson, Rogers, & Srinivasan, JJ.:

    I wonder who Trump will nominate for Bart’s seat on the DC Circuit.

    • harpie says:

      https://twitter.com/MarshallCohen/status/1049793651793104896
      3:48 PM – 9 Oct 2018 The Roger Stone aide challenging Mueller in court hopes to take his fight to SCOTUS. Andrew Miller says with Kavanaugh on the bench, “I feel nothing but great. I’m cool as a cucumber now.” His lawyer says Kavanaugh “would be a good ally” to their case. [CNN]

  15. harpie says:

    About today’s Royal Court News I think bmaz is probably right about this:

    Congratulations to Attorney General Graham and Senator Haley

    7:51 AM – 9 Oct 2018

    • Trip says:

      Haley is supposedly in a million dollars worth of debt. Maybe she’s gonna trade out the gov’t job for the private sector. You know how that goes, get incredibly wealthy after pushing along some outsider agenda while ‘serving’.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        The number includes a $250,000 mortgage and $500,000 line of credit.  Her disclosure does not say how much of that credit line was used.  Using the maximum possible debt without some sort of verification would seem incorrect.

        Oddly, her disclosure included $10K income as governor, but did not include any of her $180K annual salary as UN Ambassador.  I assume that’s explicable because of a timing cut-off.  Whether the debt is reasonable depends on her spouse’s income.  Her degree is in accounting, so no gimme on the accuracy of her disclosure.

        If she’s planning to stay in politics, she’ll need a bigger personal war chest.  That suggests reports that she’s headed for the private sector might be correct.  But bmaz’s guess seems likely: Lindsey replaces Sessions and Haley replaces Lindsey, assuming SC’s governor temporarily fills the seat. Sessions gets to go home and clean his fur.

  16. tinao says:

    GREAT song and video, THANKS RAYNE! Its Jackson Browne’s 70th birthday today, and WYEP is playing songs through out the day. He had his wakeup moment years ago as to male dominance as well did Rothlisburger, and I have forgiven both. So to kavano I say, WAKE THE FUCK UP dude you get forgiven when you deserve to be.

  17. Tracy says:

    The Time cover is really powerful. Dr. CBF’s image in that iconic picture of her taking her oath (contrasts w/ Kav’s complete disdain for his oath), written in HER OWN WORDS from her testimony. She has not been silenced and her words will live on (I wrote “love” originally, which is also appropriate).

    The Repugs REALLY misjudged this moment and how much they can bully and try to silence us. It’s the oppression of the woman/ assault victims in macrocosm, the microcosm of which was Kav’s attack on Christine Blasey Ford. I think they’ll be surprised in Nov.

  19. 200Toros says:

    To paraphrase from an old saying about goats, “there is no situation so bad that Trump can’t make it worse.”

    • Fran of the North says:

      Unfortunate that the perp didn’t do a better job with the accelerant. Looks like the damage was pretty inconsequential.

  21. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Progressive author Ari Rabin-Havt, from Oct. 7 on twttr:

    Brett Kavanaugh celebrated his confirmation last night at a party at the home of Facebook’s top lobbyist.

    Google is one of the Federalist Society’s largest donors.

    Next time conservatives claim tech companies are biased against them, please laugh in their faces.

  23. harpie says:

    Bart gets his “first big test” [Politico]

     1:02 PM – 9 Oct 2018  New: US appeals court says Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross can’t dodge deposition in lawsuit over citizenship question on 2020 census / 2nd Circuit pauses ruling: ‘A stay of the deposition will remain in place for 48 hours to allow either party to seek relief from the Supreme Court.’ https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4999238/Ross-ca2-20181009.pdf USDOJ will take order to SCOTUS, marking first big test for Kavanaugh: [Politico]

  24. harpie says:

    Yesterday: ACLU RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S INCORRECT ATTACKS ON “STOP AND FRISK” IN CHICAGO  

    “Today, President Trump attacked the ACLU’s 2015 agreement with the City of Chicago to ensure that police only use “stop and frisk” when it is constitutional. Yet again, this administration encourages strong-arm tactics and unconstitutional behavior by law enforcement, instead of supporting commitments by local police to do the hard work of building respect and relationships with the communities they serve. […]

    Today [from Zoe Tillman]

    2:18 PM – 9 Oct 2018 New: AG Jeff Sessions says in a statement that DOJ will oppose a proposed consent decree for Chicago police department reforms 

    • tinao says:

      Ya know I have a friend that works in chicago, we talked recently and she told me even when she preforms in neighborhoods most of us would be scared to go, they love the arts so much she gets escorted by locals to make sure she gets in and out ok. Her old man is a retired cop, I have a lot of respect for. Goes to show, always two sides. I just hope we as a people are not too blind to see the lines that divide us.

    • harpie says:

      Outline of what happened from Vanita Gupta , former head of DoJ Civil Rights Division:

      7:10 PM – 9 Oct 2018 First, in the name of local control, Sessions abdicates DOJ’s mandate from Congress to advance constitutional policing. Now he’s trying to kill a consent decree negotiated amg LOCAL gov’t parties w/ buy in from police Cmsr after DOJ walked away. So much for principled federalism

  26. Trip says:

    OT: But WTF?

    US Citizen Detained In Israel for alleged boycott support

    In a groundbreaking case, Israel has detained an American graduate student at its international airport for the past week, accusing her of supporting a Palestinian-led boycott campaign against the Jewish state…Lara Alqasem, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen with Palestinian grandparents, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport last Tuesday with a valid student visa. But she was barred from entering the country and ordered deported, based on suspicions she is a boycott supporter…In the meantime, she has been spending her days in a closed area with little access to a telephone, no internet and a bed that was infested with bedbugs, according to people who have spoken to her.

    https://www.apnews.com/59cb3c23483f436ea91fefd4b8ed54c0

    • JD12 says:

      In the past week or so you have this incident; Russian prosecutor helicopter crash where the pilot was found with bullet holes; China detaining head of Interpol; and, of course, Jamal Khashoggi.

      I can’t help but think Trump’s “sovereignty speech” at the UN was a factor in these. I could see one or two of these happening before, but all of them? And in such a short period of time?

      Xi, Putin, Netanyahu, and MBS already have authoritarian tendencies that need to be checked sometimes. Trump is the first president that I think may actually be jealous of them.

      • Trip says:

        Did you see this?

        Hussein Ibish @Ibishblog

        According to ⁦@washingtonpost⁩

        “Before Khashoggi’s disappearance, U.S. intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture him, according to a person familiar with the information.”

        https://twitter.com/Ibishblog/status/1049827851414003712

        Why didn’t they intercede?

        Don’t forget Pecker, from National Enquirer fame and Trump bud, put out a glossy that went into Walmarts on what a great guy the prince was.

        And Netanyahu turned into the Nazi leader, repeating the historic suffering of the Jews, but perpetrating it on the Palestinians instead, through apartheid.

        • JD12 says:

          I could really see if the Saudis just misread the situation due to Trump’s rhetoric and thought he wouldn’t care.

          We all know he calls the press the “enemy of the people,” but since we speak English and have a free press we know it’s (mostly) hyperbole. But someone like MBS could interpret that literally.

          Then at the UN Trump slams the Human Rights Council and the ICC, and the whole concept of global governance really. He said it’s up to each country to choose how to live, (at one point referencing the Middle East specifically) and that as long as they respect our sovereignty we’ll respect theirs. Once again, if MBS were to take that word “sovereignty” literally, the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where Khashoggi was either snatched or killed is technically sovereign territory of Saudi Arabia.

          Looking at the transcript, his UN speech looks more balanced than watching him give it. The impression I got when he gave it was he wanted to make clear the US wasn’t going to police the world. He may have sent the wrong signal by accident.

          Either way, I have a hard time imagining the Saudis trying something like this with Obama or Bush.

  27. tinao says:

    I am not saying in the above statement that chicago police reforms are not needed. They are. The center they were running torturing minorities was fucked up. Soon as they get get rid of rahm they will all be better off.

  28. harpie says:

    Trump Rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa

    https://twitter.com/EliStokols/status/1049793730302087168

    3:48 PM – 9 Oct 2018  Have covered a lot of Trump rallies, but never seen press pen as locked down as it is here in Council Bluffs. Have now been escorted to the bathrooms and yelled at by advance team for attempting to talk with Trump supporters in the crowd. 

    https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1049800473572569088

    4:15 PM – 9 Oct 2018 Trump is doing a campaign rally around 7:30 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Tweets in this thread, mute thread if you hate thread. / Right Side Broadcasting, my go-to rally livestreamer, is interviewing a man attending his fifth Trump rally. Tonight, he says, “We’re hoping that he’ll announce the immediate arrest of Hillary Clinton and Hussein Obama for riggin’ the general election.”

  29. tinao says:

    Jebus what an idiot. But damn there is a lot of new news. I would like to read the book, what was it, “War Presidents” ?

  31. Trip says:

    MSNBC is continuing to give free campaign air-time to Trump for the midterms. They learned no lessons from 2016 or they are actively promoting the GOP. Which is it?

    • harpie says:

      Heh. Christopher Steele “breaks his silence today [via Kyle Griffin]:

      Christopher Steele has finally broken his 18 months of silence in an email to Vanity Fair: “In these strange and troubling times, it is hard to speak unpalatable truths to power, but I believe we all still have a duty to do so.” / Christopher Steele: “At a time when governance is so distorted and one-sided, as I believe it currently is in the United States, the media has a key role to play in holding it accountable.” 

      He’s on Vanity Fair’s 100 most influential list. Sky News quotes his letter of regret for not being able to attend the ceremony:

      “In more normal times, I would have welcomed the opportunity to join you at your New Establishment Summit in the US this week,” Mr Steele wrote. // “Sadly, in the present legal and political situation I am unable to do so, but I sincerely hope and trust that these circumstances will change soon.” 

  32. harpie says:

    Add Georgia to the list above:

    5:30 AM – 10 Oct 2018 More than 53,000 voter registration applications are sitting on hold with Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office. #gapol #GAGov [WABE.org]

    Mr. Kemp, the Sect’y of State mentioned above is ALSO the Candidate in the election!

    His opponent is Stacey Abrams, Yale Law graduate from Atlanta, and former state legislator. She is hoping to become the country’s first female African-American governor.
    *
    CHEATING IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN WIN

  33. harpie says:

    ROSENSTEIN gets out of his date with House Investigators:

    7:26 AM – 10 Oct 2018 Rod Rosenstein had been scheduled to meet with House investigators in aftermath of reports he discussed wearing a wire and invoking 25th Amendment. But sources tell @jeremyherb @LauraAJarrett and me tomorrow’s meeting has been scrapped. Unclear if they’ll talk before midterms

    Joyce White Vance:

    Interesting development. House investigators were chomping at the bit to have Rosenstein testify. But all seems to have been forgiven after his plane ride with Trump 

    • Trip says:

      Hmm. That makes me lose confidence in him.

      BTW:

      Kyle Griffin‏Verified account @kylegriffin1

      This whole 4-minute clip is worth watching. Kamala Harris grills FBI Director Chris Wray on the Kavanaugh supplemental background investigation, Wray confirms that the investigation was “limited in scope” by the White House. (via CSPAN)

      https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1050035797792092161

      Who is in charge of ‘Security Services’ at the WH? Also interesting question on if the FBI investigated whether Kavanaugh ever lied. Wray said he couldn’t answer ‘here’.

  34. harpie says:

    CRAIGSLIST AD for TRUMP RALLY

    Bwahahaha – this is not a joke, actual link to craigslist here 1:15 PM – 10 Oct 2018  

    Linestanders needed for Trump Rally on Wednesday October 10 (Erie Insurance Arena)
    We need numerous people to stand in line to get into Trump rally. $100 per person. Wednesday October 10 only, from 9:00AM to 4:00PM. Meet at front of the line to get inside to Trump rally. Call or text me with questions or to confirm.

  35. harpie says:

    Zoe Tillman wrt: those ethics complaints against Bart:

    1:39 PM – 10 Oct 2018 NEW: Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to #SCOTUS, but the ethics complaints filed against him haven’t gone away — per letter just made public, Chief Justice John Roberts is transferring them to the 10th Circuit / What happens now? Judicial ethics experts have said they expect the complaints against Kavanaugh ultimately to be dismissed — the misconduct review process that applies to lower court judges doesn’t cover justices, and #SCOTUS doesn’t have its own system / Notably, the 10th Circuit is where Roberts sent an ethics complaint against former DC federal district chief judge Richard Roberts, re: decades-old allegation pre-dating his time as a judge that he sexually abused a teenage witness in a case he prosecuted / The 10th Circuit dismissed that case, finding that conduct pre-dating a judge’s time on the bench fell outside the purview of the judiciary’s discipline system. Here’s our previous story on that: / A key distinction here: Of the Kavanaugh complaints we’ve seen (some have been made public or provided to BuzzFeed), they’re about Kavanaugh’s *response now* to the decades-old sexual misconduct claims, not the allegations themselves

    • bmaz says:

      I am sorry to report that anybody who thinks this shit is going anywhere is nuts. First off, little to anything moves forward as to ethics in the DC jurisdiction. Secondly, these kind of complaints got to Roberts, and if, again, you think that is going anywhere, you are nuts.

  36. new-radical says:

    Just maintain the rage. Keep up the activity/interconnectivity and energy and the system will self-adapt. see Kauffman’s (1995) “At Home in the Universe”.
    But beware of what you wish for. The right will cheat because they have no choice if they wish to survive. Demographies and public education will slowly strangle them, that’s why Ditsey the Fox wants to destroy the public education system. Ignorance is bliss…
    Simplicio must shut down several of the systems (Justice etc.) because he cannot survive Meuller.

  37. Tracy says:

    @Trip, yeah, I’m thinking we can’t rely too much on Rosenstein. Sounds like he caved in terms of being willing to or offering his resignation, now this airplane ride love fest, after which Trump says “I think we will be treated fairly.” Hard to explain just how impossible it would be for Trump to behave with this level of complacency if he felt he remotely threatened – or had not been assured some level of “loyalty.”

    I really wonder if everyone in that JDA and Trump himself thinks everything is hunky dorey. I guess we will know in time if Manafort has tried to get away w lying to Mueller, stay in Trump’s good graces, and has stayed in the JDA to further poison the well. There’s just so much we don’t know!… and now it sounds like Trump is lining up Session’s horrid chief of staff for AG role.

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