;)
The Conversation -- July 28, 2024
Okay, the only Artificial Intelligence here is the intelligence the speaker attributes to himself. This is absolutely the real thing, straight from the horse's ass. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~
Federal Elections
Farah Stockman of the New York Times: "In language echoing legacy Republicans like Ronald Reagan, [President] Biden said [Wednesday] that [the United States] was 'an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant.' But Donald Trump;s Republican Party is turning away from that kind of language. At the Republican convention, JD Vance, his running mate, made a point of saying that America is 'not just an idea' but a 'homeland,' evoking a mountain cemetery in Eastern Kentucky where he said his ancestors are buried and where he hopes that he and his children will be buried as well. Some of his critics immediately denounced those references to his family's land and lineage as coded 'blood and soil' nationalism, the ideology of Nazis. In The Atlantic, Adam Serwer accused Mr. Vance of signaling an 'exclusivist vision of America to his far-right allies' when he asserted that America is a country made up of people who share a history rather than a 'creedal nation' -- one primarily based on ideas like freedom and equality." ~~~
~~~ Marie: An interesting essay, but ultimately, to fully experience citizenship is to embrace a sense of both place and potential. This is not just true for U.S. citizens, either. I have felt out the name of an ancestor seven generations back on a lichen-pocked headstone in a lonely graveyard in the middle of Ireland and felt a kinship that exists less in my genes than in my imagination. But the soil that holds my forebears in this country, whether in Santa Fe or on Cape Cod, is just dirt if I don't embrace those who come later than I. A fundamental failing of blood-and-soil bigots is that they don't understand that they don't "belong" anywhere they can't share. I once heard the poet Carl Sandburg say (in a televised interview) that the ugliest word in the English language was "exclusive." If you can figure that out -- and live by it -- you'll be fine.
Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "By the end of the week -- which saw the four hottest days ever observed by scientists -- dozens had been killed in the raging floodwaters and massive mudslides triggered by Typhoon Gaemi [in the Pacific]. Half of Jasper[, Canada,] was reduced to ash. And some 3.6 billion people around the planet had endured temperatures that would have been exceedingly rare in a world without burning fossil fuels and other human activities, according to an analysis by scientists at the group Climate Central. These extraordinary global temperatures marked the culmination of an unprecedented global hot streak that has stunned even researchers who spent their whole careers studying climate change." (Also linked yesterday.)
Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo demonstrates how Kamala Harris' campaign has come out of the gate running. Against the Weirdos. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Brakkton Booker & Myah Ward of Politico: "When a group of Black women political organizers assembled for a regular Zoom call on Sunday, they suddenly had a new mission.... [To help] Vice President Kamala Harris [win the presidential nomination and election]... Interest in the call had skyrocketed, and some 40,000 attendees logged on.... The Win With Black Women call became a blueprint for other identity-based groups over the week -- Black men, Latinas, Black queer men, white women, white men and young voters. Calls like these were never really available to [Joe] Biden because the base's enthusiasm for him had faded. Each group held their own call to boost Harris and raise mountains of cash for Harris' campaign.... Her nascent campaign is reactivating dormant parts of the Democratic base to act as surrogates, door-knockers and fundraisers in a way that President Joe Biden couldn't." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jennifer Gerson of the 19th: “'Girl, we broke Zoom,' Erin Gallagher said over text at 8:10 a.m., less than nine hours after wrapping up 'White Women: Answer The Call! Show up for Kamala Harris,' a meeting held over Zoom Thursday night. So many more women than anticipated logged into the call that the platform crashed several times, forcing many participants to watch the livestream on YouTube until Zoom was back up. Over 164,000 women logged on to hear from women like the singer P!nk; the actor Connie Britton; the writer and podcaster Glennon Doyle; athletes Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and Abby Wambach; and a long list of elected officials.... By Friday afternoon, the group had raised over $8.5 million. The idea for the call came from Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, the group that changed the face of the gun safety movement...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Carole Cadwalladr of the Observer/Guardian: "This is a misogyny emergency.... It's misogyny -- networked misogyny across multiple global platforms that will earn their tech bro owners billions upon billions of dollars -- that is going to decide the 2024 election. And it's misogyny that's going to dictate the future of Nato, the outcome of the war in Ukraine, whether we have peace in Europe or more war. And because this is going to be a firehose that will be directed at a single woman -- Kamala Harris -- it will be misogyny multiplied: misogyny plus racism, the most toxic combination of all." (Also linked yesterday.)
... I saw this disease, the culture of silence, the disease of silence, I saw it first amongst my Republican colleagues during Trump's presidency. Many of them would excoriate him privately, and then get in front of the cameras and just count the blessings and tell people how much they loved him and supported him. And then I saw the same thing on my side, where people would express concern about [President Biden's] abilities and his decline privately, and then get in front of the cameras and say everything is fine. But that's part of the rewards system in Congress. We are rewarded for being cowards and punished for being courageous.... -- Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), to right-wing media host Greta Van Susteren
Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Early in his speech in Minnesota on Saturday night..., Donald J. Trump made clear just how quickly he has jettisoned the appeal for national unity that he made after he survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania two weeks ago.... 'No, I haven't changed,' he said. 'Maybe I’ve gotten worse. Because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day.'... Mr. Trump on Saturday once more escalated his attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee.... During a speech lasting roughly 90 minutes, Mr. Trump called Ms. Harris 'evil,' 'unhinged' and 'sick.' He lied about her views on abortion in an effort to paint her as extreme, and he mocked her laugh and her demeanor.... Still, Mr. Trump's speech highlighted his struggle to adapt to a new opponent after years of preparing to face [President] Biden. Though Mr. Biden is no longer on the Democratic ticket, Mr. Trump revived his derisive impressions of the president, caricaturing his gait and speech to suggest that Mr. Biden is not fit for office."
Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump vowed Saturday [in an all-caps social media post] to stage more outdoor rallies two weeks after surviving an assassination attempt and claimed the Secret Service has agreed to 'substantially step up their operation' to protect him.... The Washington Post had previously reported that the Secret Service has encouraged Trump to stop large outdoor rallies and his campaign was scouting indoor venues.... Trump's Saturday post followed another on Truth Social on Friday night in which he promised to return to Butler for a 'BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY' that would honor the firefighter, Corey Comperatore, who was killed at the rally and those injured.... Trump has not appeared at an outdoor rally since the shooting." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump is posing his "right" to hold outdoor rallies as a First Amendment issue: "NO ONE CAN EVER BE ALLOWED TO STOP OR IMPEDE FREE SPEECH OR GATHERING!!!" But it isn't more a matter of his being too cheap to pay for indoor venues, which probably cost more to rent than fairgrounds & cornfields? After all, he has a "right" to give a speech while hang-gliding off a Rocky Mountain precipice, but I doubt the Secret Service has an obligation to endanger its agents to protect him in such a circumstance.
Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump vowed on Saturday that he would turn the United States into a 'Bitcoin superpower' if returned to the White House, wielding much of the same rhetoric of persecution that he has applied to himself and his supporters to appeal to cryptocurrency enthusiasts who want to see less regulation. 'Sadly, we see the attacks on crypto,' Mr. Trump told a gathering of cryptocurrency fans in Nashville. 'It's a part of a much larger pattern that's being carried out by the same left-wing fascists to weaponize government against any threat to their power. They've done it to me.'... The former president offered promises of sweeping deregulation and the establishment of a 'strategic national Bitcoin stockpile.'... 'It should be no surprise that these same totalitarians are hell bent on crushing crypto,' Mr. Trump said of [President] Biden and [Vice President] Harris, adding 'That's where this country is going. It's a fascist regime.'... Mr. Trump has been competing with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate, for the support of cryptocurrency holders, and his remarks represented one of his most direct pitches yet."
Christians, get out and vote. Just this time. You won't have to do it anymore, you know what? Four more years, it'll be fixed, it'll be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, you got to get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote. -- Donald Trump, during a speech Friday
Our democracy is under assault by criminal Donald Trump: After the last election Trump lost, he sent a mob to overturn the results. This campaign, he has promised violence if he loses, the end of our elections if he wins, and the termination of the Constitution to empower him to be a dictator to enact his dangerous Project 2025 agenda on America. -- James Singer, Harris campaign spokesperson, in a statement Saturday ~~~
~~~ Maegan Vazquez & Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "Democratic lawmakers and Vice President Harris';s campaign joined a chorus of online critics in calling out remarks Donald Trump aimed at a Christian audience on Friday, arguing that the former president and current Republican presidential nominee had implied he would end elections in the United States if he won a second term.... The Harris campaign is calling Trump's remarks 'a vow to end democracy.'... The Trump campaign, however, says the comments, made at the event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action, were about how Trump would unite the country.... In front of a different Christian audience last month, Trump made a similar suggestion about Christians not needing to vote after this years election." An ABC News report is here.
Victims of Their Own Success. Jonathan Weisman & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "The choice of Senator JD Vance as ... Donald J. Trump's running mate reflected the confidence of a campaign so sure of victory in November that it could look beyond a second Trump term to the legacy of his movement. But in less than two weeks, Mr. Vance has found himself on the defensive, and his struggles have dented the sense of invulnerability that only a week ago seemed to be the overriding image of the Trump campaign. A stream of years-old quotes, videos and audio comments unearthed by Democrats and the news media in recent days has threatened to undermine the Trump campaign's outreach to women, voters of color and the very blue-collar voters to whom Mr. Vance, a first-term Ohio senator, was supposed to appeal.... And his first handful of appearances on the stump have drawn unflattering attention.... In a sense, Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance were the victims of that success.... Republican momentum helped chase President Biden from the race.... On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal's editorial page savaged Mr. Vance's early debut...."
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "... somehow, Trump managed to choose a vice-presidential pick whose views on women are even more draconian and meanspirited than his own.... He went on Megyn Kelly's podcast Friday for cleanup on Aisle Feline....'Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I've got nothing against cats.'... He doubled down on the substance of his earlier argument, that only women who are in a traditional marriage, using their uteruses in a way JD Vance deems proper, can have 'a direct stake' in America.... Unless women are fulfilling their duties as breeders and helpmates, they're not fully Americans? It's an un-American stance that's beneath contempt.... Vance also said in a speech three years ago that parents should 'absolutely' get a bigger say in how a democracy functions and more voting power; in different remarks, he said that childless Americans should pay higher taxes." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "On Friday night, [Elon] Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X, reposted an edited campaign video for Vice President Kamala Harris that appears to have been digitally manipulated to change the spot's voice-over in a deceptive manner. The video mimics Ms. Harris's voice, but instead of using her words from the original ad, it has the vice president saying that President Biden is senile, that she does not 'know the first thing about running the country' and that, as a woman and a person of color, she is the 'ultimate diversity hire.'... The account that first uploaded it Friday morning, @MrReaganUSA, noted in its post that the video was a 'parody.' When Mr. Musk reposted the video on his own account eight hours later, he made no such disclosure, stating only, 'This is amazing,' followed by a laughing emoji. Mr. Musk's post, which has since been viewed 98 million times, would seem to run afoul of X's policies, which prohibit sharing 'synthetic, manipulated or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.'"
Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: Reporters are suddenly excited to cover the presidential race.
Failure to Communicate. Josh Dawsey & Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "Members of ... Donald Trump's Secret Service detail and his top advisers have privately questioned why they were not informed that local police were tracking a suspicious person before that person opened fire on Trump at his July 13 rally in western Pennsylvania, according to people with direct knowledge of the concerns. Approximately 20 to 25 minutes before Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the former president, local countersnipers noticed him behaving strangely and sent his photograph to a command center staffed by state troopers and Secret Service agents, the head of Pennsylvania State Police told a congressional committee Tuesday. Members of the Secret Service detail that protects Trump and was with him backstage have complained to ... that they were never made aware of that warning.... They also said they were not aware that the local countersnipers eventually lost track of Crooks, or that another local officer -- hoisted up to the roof of a building just outside the rally site's security perimeter -- saw Crooks perched there with a gun." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If this report is accurate, it's stunning. Not only were their protectee and rally-goers in Crooks' line of fire, so were the agents themselves. And nobody thought to mention there was a guy with a long rifle aimed at them?
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "While most Americans have focused their attention on the made-for-Hollywood presidential campaign, House Republicans have continued sputtering along in the shadows the past three months in their traditionally chaotic fashion.... Pushing ahead with ... GOP-only bills, Republican leaders have repeatedly forced their most politically vulnerable members to cast votes in the committee and on the House floor that aren't exactly appealing to centrist voters.... [Meanwhile, Vice President] Harris might energize her base out of their Biden-induced slumber -- possibly setting the stage for a net gain of at least four seats that would vault Democrats into the House majority next year."
Patrick Marley & Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Patrick Byrne, who has funded efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 election, said in an online forum Thursday that law enforcement would face 'a piano wire and a blowtorch' if they did not drop a case against an ally. Byrne, a former CEO o online retailer Overstock, used the phrase half a dozen times Thursday as he participated in a nearly three-hour-long event on X Spaces.... He acknowledged during the event that his references to strangling or blowtorching officials were threatening and could be considered felonies. On Friday, he downplayed his comments, saying he had been speaking metaphorically and is committed to peace. The 'Cyber Crisis: Saving Tina Peters' event was aimed at rallying support for the former clerk of Mesa County, Colo., who faces charges accusing her of tampering with election equipment three years ago. Peters has pleaded not guilty, and her case goes to trial next week." (Also linked yesterday.)
Lulu Garcia-Navarro of the New York Times interviews Pete Buttigieg about politics. (Also linked yesterday.)
Isabella Kwai & Emily Schmall of the New York Times: "A man in Las Vegas has been charged with threatening to assault and kill federal officials, judges and state employees across several states, according to a federal indictment, including at least two people involved in the prosecution of ... Donald J. Trump. The man, Spencer Gear, 32, was charged with 10 counts of threatening a federal official and 12 counts of transmitting a communication containing a threat to injure. Mr. Gear was taken into federal custody on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to the charges in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. In a detention order signed on Thursday, Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler cited a recording of a telephone message on June 3, 'which was directed at a judge and a district attorney,' referred to in the indictment as A.B. and J.M., the initials of Alvin Bragg, the lead prosecutor, and Juan Merchan, the presiding judge in Mr. Trump's hush-money trial.... Weksler said the language in the message was 'of great concern to the court.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
Texas. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washington Post: "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is suing the Biden administration over a policy that allows adolescents to access birth control without their parents' consent, arguing that the rule violates state law requiring guardians to consent to their children's use of contraceptives. Paxton said in a statement that he was protecting parental rights, a popular GOP rallying cry used by Republicans to talk about culture-war issues such as education and transgender care.... The lawsuit, filed Thursday in a division of the Northern District of Texas that has one federal judge, is unlikely to change much in the state, analysts said. That's because a similar case ended in March with a ruling that required Texas providers to begin obtaining parental consent this spring without wholly striking down the rule.... [But] some worry this week's lawsuit is an attempt to build Paxton's political clout by ending confidential care for teens not just in Texas but across the country."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al. Adam Rasgon & Aaron Boxerman of the New York Times: "A rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field on Saturday in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing at least 12 people, mostly teenagers and children, according to the Israeli military. It was the deadliest single attack from across Israel's northern border in months of hostilities and raised fears of an escalation in the conflict. Israeli officials accused Hezbollah, the politically powerful Lebanese armed group, of firing the rocket and vowed to respond. Hezbollah denied responsibility, although the group did say it had launched several barrages of missiles at northern Israel on Saturday." ~~~
~~~ Update. Patrick Kingsley and Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had conducted overnight strikes in Lebanon, hours after a rocket fired from its northern neighbor killed at least 12 people, most of them children, in a town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights."
Abigail Hauslohner & Louisa Loveluck of the Washington Post: Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the U.S. did nothing to advance the peace process. "Nearly 10 months into Israel's Gaza offensive, amid deepening frustration from the Biden administration and isolation on the world stage, Netanyahu made no gestures toward compromise. There was no talk of Palestinian autonomy. No discussion of Palestinian rights to life and freedom. No attempt to address the grievances that have fueled Palestinians' decades-old anger toward Israel. Instead, he spoke of a 'demilitarized and deradicalized' Gaza; a Gaza under Israeli control 'for the foreseeable future.'" Read on. MB: It's ridiculous to think Netanyahu has any intention whatsoever to grant Palestinians fundamental human rights.
Venezuela. Jule Turkewitz, et al., of the New York Times: "Millions of Venezuelans head to the polls on Sunday for a presidential vote that represents a pivotal moment for the socialist movement that has governed the oil-rich nation for 25 years. Over the course of a generation, Chavismo, as the movement is called, has shattered the nation's democracy, presided over an extraordinary economic contraction unlike any seen outside of war, and become the source of one of the largest migrant crises in the world. The election, held on the birthday of the movement's founder, Hugo Chávez, pits Mr. Chávez's successor, President Nicolás Maduro, against the previously little-known Edmundo González, a former diplomat. But Mr. González is essentially the surrogate candidate for María Corina Machado, a hard-charging former lawmaker who has emerged as the nation's newest opposition leader, rallying people behind a promise to restore democracy and bring Venezuelans back home. When Mr. Maduro's government barred Ms. Machado from running for office, her coalition managed to get Mr. González on the ballot instead....
"If the opposition fails to secure a landslide, the government's usual tactics of voter suppression, coercion and confusion could be enough to secure Mr. Maduro a win, analysts say.... The next president wouldn't assume power until January, leaving a lengthy period for uncertainty."
News Lede
New York Times: "Edna O'Brien, the prolific Irish author whose evocative and explicit stories of loves lost earned her a literary reputation that matched the darkly complex lives of her tragic heroines, died on Saturday. She was 93."
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Trump "Maybe I’ve gotten worse. Because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day."
This statement was followed by articles describing how he is now declaring that he will continue outdoor rallies that he knows put himself and his followers at greater risk of death. Then another about him promising to deregulate crypto which has failed continually while wiping out fortunes and requiring massive energy demands that can stress our power grids and stress our environment. Two of thousands of examples of Trump's incompetence. Every once in a while he temporarily wakes up from his dystopian fantasy world to look in the mirror to see what an utter incompetent failure he is and what utter losers he has attracted to his side. So yes that would explain why he is so angry.
@RAS: Yeah, that's the thing about Trump, isn't it? He does occasionally speak the truth, but only if you substitute his name for whomever it is he's criticizing. Projecting his own inadequacies on others is the way he "deals with" his shortcomings.
So now he's calling Harris "evil," "unhinged," "sick," and "dumb as a rock," among other insults -- all of which would apply to him. And where there's little to no evidence that these labels can be applied to Harris, there's plenty of evidence they all work for Trump.
Trump’s “fury” at being told to cool it on the big outdoor fascist hootenannies is completely made up. It’s all performative. First, Trump cares about himself more than anything in the universe. He’s Johnny One Note, to borrow a line from Rodgers and Hart. His one note is “Me”…me me me me me me…
Second, Trump, like all bullies, is a coward. The idea of him putting his life on the line for anything or anybody is ludicrous.
But Trump is also a con man. He knows how to pull the levers and push the buttons. He knows the language of the confidence game. He loves being told no more outdoor rallies because on one hand, there’s less of a chance he’s gonna take a bullet in his fat ass. But on the other hand, it gives him a chance to perform.
“Oh! See? My wonderful MAGA morons! Your beloved leader, who is ready to die for you and for the MAGA ideals we all hold so dear, is being FORCED BY THE DEEP STATE to stay away from the big Bund rallies you all love. I’m being PERSECUTED! Again!!! Aieeee!!”
See?
It’s all performative. Any chance he gets to play the holy martyr, he’ll grab it.
He could say “Ya know, in light of what happened recently, where innocent people who came out to hear me got shot, one of whom very unfortunately was killed, I think it best to change things up so as to minimize a repeat of that terrible event. I don’t want to put anyone else in harm’s way.”
That would be both prudent, reasonable, and thoughtful. But Fatty is none of those things. Because it’s all about me me me mee me me….
By the way, if you’re not familiar with that song, here’s Larry Hart’s very clever lyrics to “Johnny One Note”. They kinda fit, no? We’ll just adjust it for Donnie…
“Donnie could only sing one note
And the note he sang was this: aieeeee
Poor Donnie One Note
Sang out with Gusto
And just overloaded the place
Poor Donnie One Note
Yelled willy-nilly
Until he was blue in the face
For holding one note was his ace
Couldn't hear the brass
Couldn't hear the drum
He was in a class
By himself, by gum
Poor Donnie One Note
Got in Aida indeed a great chance to be brave
He took his one note
Howled like the North Wind
Brought forth wind that made critics rave
While Verdi turned round in his grave.”
There’s more, but you get the idea. Only one voice matters.
Sing it, Donnie!
@Akhilleus: Enlightening times two. It didn't really dawn on me that Trump was just blowing hot air about wanting to hold more open-air rallies, but of course you're right.
I think we had a child's 78 rpm record of Johnnie One Note, and I used to sign along with at least the first verse. Later, it never occurred to me that the song was more than a novelty song. But it fits Trump so well, it's tempting to think that Hart had some dickhead in mind when he wrote it.
In Digby, quoting Politico quoting WSJ:
"... we’ve been hearing from some corners of the right all week: Does DONALD TRUMP regret picking Vance?"
DiJiT regrets nothing, to malquote Piaf. However ... he may well be busy blaming others for not properly thinking this through and allowing him to decide on JD prematurely. He is never wrong. Just, often, poorly served by others.
https://digbysblog.net/2024/07/28/ruperts-pissed/
Young Kamala
Marie,
It’s likely. Larry Hart was a character. He was the polar opposite of Richard Rodgers. Rodgers was a studious, buttoned down, upper middle class kid who got up early, had breakfast and was at the piano working by 8:00 am. Larry Hart, out partying all night, was just going to bed at 8:00 am. Both came from New York Jewish families and met as students at Columbia. Rodgers’ dad was a doctor. Hart was descended from the German poet Heinrich Heine.
Rodgers was a workaholic. Hart worked at drinking and partying. His genius was like a water tap. Just turn it on. Once, pissed that he was still waiting for lyrics for a song needed to complete a musical they had to finish, Rodgers hijacked Larry out of a party, dragged him into a cab and told him he couldn’t get back to drinking until he gave him a lyric. In about 15 minutes, Hart scribbled out the lyrics to “My Funny Valentine”. “There. Now take me back!” he demanded.
“My Funny Valentine” is almost a self portrait. Hart was a short guy, not great looking. Some suggest his drinking was a result of self loathing.
“Is your figure less than Greek, is your mouth a little weak, when you open it to speak, are you smart?”
When Dick brought him home to meet his parents for lunch, Larry was already half in the bag. His mother, though she liked him, said “That boy will be dead in five years.” She was off a little, but she was right.
Still, Hart got around. He knew a lot of blowhards and assholes. The theater business was full of narcissistic douchebags, so it’s very likely he knew plenty of Trump-like characters.
But you know how they say Fred Astaire gave Ginger Rogers class and she gave him sex appeal? Rodgers may have given Hart a certain respectability, but Larry made Rodgers hip.
The Rodgers and Hart oeuvre was, and still is, a goldmine for jazz musicians. When Hart died, Rodgers teamed up with Oscar Hammerstein. They wrote some great stuff, but hardly any of it translates to the much hipper world of jazz (one notable exception). Jazz musicians still play “My Funny Valentine”. Pretty much none of of them are playing “Surrey With a Fringe on Top”.
Hillbilly Funeral lol
RAS,
Hang on…
Hahahahaha. Perfect. “RJ Reynolds”! Haha.
Word is that Shady Vance (I mean RJ Reynolds…) was the choice of Eight Ball Junior and Stoopid Eric. Their influence won out over other Fatty insiders who saw land mines around Vance (Sex with furniture? Failed VC career, law suits against a company he personally vouched for, the cat lady thing, DOLPHINS?!?)
But no matter. But as Patrick points out, nothing is Trump’s fault. Something, something, something, bad advice…
Eight Ball Junior has gotten a lot of props from the white supremacists and Nazi fucks he hangs out with, and he’s done a good job of spreading hate like a Trumpified Johnny Crab Appleseed, so Fatty seems to be relying on his wonderful insights more and more.
He used to think Junior was a loser shithead. He was right about that. And if he loses because of the Vance pick, he may go back to that assessment.
Because nothing is ever his fault.
Thanks RAS. Now that TFG has picked TJ Watt for the ticket, I don't like Mike Tomlin's chances of yet another winning season.
Why can't DiJiT get the name right? DB Cooper, no?
Jack,
With TJ Watt off the team, the Steelers won’t have to suffer the ignominy of being knocked out in the wild card round like last year. They might not make it to the wild card. I’m not sure who Kamala will pick as her running mate, but I’m guessing whoever it is, TJ will not be allowed to tackle them during the VP debate.
Patrick,
I have no doubt DB Cooper is in Fatty’s Hall of Fame. DB had pecuniary panache. Fatty is just a greedy prick. But he may decide, at some point, that Shady Vance will need to bail out from the campaign. Preferably somewhere over the Cascades, like DB. But without a chute.