;)
April 25, 2023
Morning/Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' snark team came out this afternoon to liveblog President Biden's speech.
Peter Keepnews of the New York Times: "Harry Belafonte, who stormed the pop charts and smashed racial barriers in the 1950s with his highly personal brand of folk music, and who went on to become a major force in the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 96."
Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Daniel Ellsberg, the person responsible for perhaps the biggest leak in U.S. government history -- the Pentagon Papers -- said the latest disclosures of classified information show that the world still faces some of the same dangers that spurred him to act more than 50 years ago. Ellsberg, who is 92 and dying of pancreatic cancer, said he is struck by the similarities between the Vietnam War and the current war in Ukraine -- two conflicts in which a superpower, he argued, could be tempted to use nuclear weapons."
Tuck & Don Lawyer Up. Ron Dicker of the Huffington Post: "Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson and CNN anchor Don Lemon ... reportedly just hired the same lawyer to navigate their departures. Multiple outlets say Los Angeles attorney Bryan Freedman is representing both.... The 'famously aggressive litigator' continues to represent Chris Cuomo in his wrongful termination suit against CNN, The Daily Beast noted." MB: "... to navigate their departures"?? Uh, TucK & Don got their cardboard boxes stuffed with fake awards & certificates and a company coffee mug, and they're out. No sextants needed. Thanks to Akhilleus for the heads-up. ~~~
~~~ Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post on how CNN & Fox "News" did the on-air honors of announcing the not-so-dearly-departed had unwillingly departed.
Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Prince William was paid a 'very large sum' by Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group to settle phone-hacking claims, according to court documents submitted Tuesday by the legal team of his younger brother, Prince Harry. Harry is suing Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) at the High Court in London for unlawful acts -- including hacking his voice mails -- that he alleges were committed on behalf of the Sun and the now-defunct News of the World tabloids from 1994 until 2016. The hearing is to determine whether the case should go to trial. In documents submitted to the court, Harry's legal team alleged there was a secret payment from Murdoch's company to William."
~~~~~~~~~~~
** Presidential Race 2024. Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden announced his bid for a second four-year term in a video posted online Tuesday morning, urging voters to let him 'finish this job' and setting in motion the possibility of a rematch with ... Donald J. Trump. In the three-minute, four-second video, Mr. Biden says he has spent his first years in office fighting for democracy and freedom. And he warns that 'MAGA extremists' around the country -- using Mr. Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan -- threaten those freedoms.&" This is the pinned item in a liveblog. ~~~
~~~ Update. Here's the New York Times' main story, by Peter Baker.
Maybe you missed this, because it's a "parting of the ways" that -- at least in theory -- matters: ~~~
~~~ Kierra Frazier, et al., of Politico: "Domestic policy adviser Susan Rice is stepping down from her post. Rice, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, helped the Biden administration with expanding the Affordable Care Act, getting his Inflation Reduction Act into law, and passing gun control legislation. The move comes as the White House is facing controversy over its handling of migrant children who crossed the Southern border.... Rice's departure leaves a major hole within the top ranks of the White House right as it gears up for a likely re-election campaign and as it faces a stare down with congressional Republicans over raising the debt limit. Among those being eyed as a replacement for her include Neera Tanden, Biden's staff secretary and a senior adviser, four people with knowledge of the deliberations told Politico. Separately, a top White House official said no replacement had been identified yet. One former administration official said White House aides were talking openly about Tanden's consideration for Rice's job over the weekend, calling her potential appointment 'pretty damn firm.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ President Biden's statement is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washinton Post: "The far-right Proud Boys believed they were soldiers waging war under the direction of ... Donald Trump when they violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors said in closing arguments at the seditious conspiracy trial of five group leaders.... In wrapping up the 14-week trial, both the government and the defense framed the jury's deliberations as an existential test for U.S. democracy. Mulroe called the court proceeding 'every bit as solemn and important as the one these defendants sought to disrupt.' Nicholas Smith, representing one of the Proud Boys, said guilty verdicts would criminalize political protests." MB: Yes, because there's something in the First Amendment that says you can storm the capitol, injure a lot of police, lead to the deaths of others, spread feces around the marbled halls & stop Congress from doing its business. It's in the very fine print that only the very fine people have read.
Shayna Jacobs & Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in a civil lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll, a writer who has accused Donald Trump of raping her years before he became president. Carroll says Trump assaulted her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, allegations she made public while he was in the White House. Trump, in turn, called her a liar and said an attack never happened. Carroll filed a lawsuit against Trump last year in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York accusing him of battery as well as defaming her with his denials, setting the stage for a high-profile trial in Lower Manhattan."
Richard Fausset & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "The prosecutor leading the investigation of ... Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia said on Monday that she is aiming to announce any indictments by mid-July at the earliest, according to a letter she sent to a top local law enforcement official. In her letter, Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., said that any charges would come during the court term that runs from July 11 to Sept. 1. In January, Ms. Willis said that charging decisions in the investigation were 'imminent.' But her timetable has been delayed, in part because a number of witnesses have sought to cooperate as the investigation has neared an end. Local law enforcement also needs time to prepare for potential security threats, a point that Ms. Willis emphasized in the letter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Show Me the Money. Dan Mangan of CNBC: "Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Monday asked GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for a complete list of gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and evidence that the billionaire real estate developer complied with federal tax law in connection with the long-undisclosed largesse to Thomas.... The letter asks for a list of all flights Thomas took on any of Crow's jets, as well as details of those trips. Wyden requested similar details about the justice's trips on the Michaela Rose and information about the Georgia property purchases. He concluded by writing, 'Please list any additional gifts or payments with a value in excess of $1,000 made to Justice Thomas or members of his family since he was sworn into the Supreme Court that would not be captured by' the prior questions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Elizabeth Preza of AlterNet: "Harlan Crow, the Texas billionaire who showered U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with lavish gifts and even purchased the justice's elderly mother's home in 2014, had at least one case before the Supreme Court, Bloomberg reports. According to Bloomberg, in January 2005, the Crow family had a 'non-controlling interest' in a commercial real estate development company that was sued by an architecture firm for more than $25 million 'for allegedly misusing copyrighted building designs.' The Court declined to hear an appeal from that architecture firm -- a decision Thomas did not recuse himself from.... As Bloomberg reports, Trammell Crow Residential, the commercial real estate development company that was sued by the architecture firm, was founded by Crow's father in 1977.... In 2005, when the case reached the Supreme Court, 'Harlan Crow was Crow Holdings' chief executive officer and chair of its board, a position he still holds,' Bloomberg reports." ~~~
~~~ Marie: At first blush, I was thinking, "Well, it's possible Thomas wouldn't know that some obscure Texas real estate company would have anything to do with one of his wonderful BFFs." Then I got to the part where I find out the company was founded by and named after Harlan's daddy. Then I got to the part where Harlan was CEO & chairman of the board of the company. Clarence, you lying turd, Get Out!!
When is a "disclosure" not a disclosure? When you leave out the single element that would reveal a glaring conflict of interest. ~~~
~~~ ** Heidi Przybyla of Politico: "For nearly two years beginning in 2015, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch sought a buyer for a 40-acre tract of property he co-owned in rural Granby, Colo. Nine days after he was confirmed by the Senate for a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, the then-circuit court judge got one: The chief executive of Greenberg Traurig, one of the nation's biggest law firms with a robust practice before the high court.... On April 16 of 2017, Greenberg's Brian Duffy put under contract the 3,000-square foot log home on the Colorado River and nestled in the mountains northwest of Denver, according to real estate records. He and his wife closed on the house a month later, paying $1.825 million, according to a deed in the county's record system. Gorsuch, who held a 20 percent stake, reported making between $250,001 and $500,000 from the sale on his federal disclosure forms. Gorsuch did not disclose the identity of the purchaser. That box was left blank [on the 'disclosure' form]. Since then, Greenberg Traurig has been involved in at least 22 cases before or presented to the court...."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha
It's Cable News Clean Out the Anchor Desks Day
We'll be back on Monday. -- Tucker Carlson, his last words on Fox "News," Friday evening
** So Long, TuKKKums! Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Fox News said Monday that it was parting ways with Tucker Carlson, its most popular prime time host who was also the source of repeated controversies and headaches for the network because of his statements on everything from race relations to L.G.B.T.Q. rights. The network made the announcement less than a week after it agreed to pay $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit in which Mr. Carlson's show, one of the highest rated on Fox, figured prominently for its role in spreading misinformation after the 2020 election. In making its announcement, Fox offered a terse statement of gratitude. 'Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,' it said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "In a shocking announcement, Fox News announced Monday that prime-time host Tucker Carlson is leaving the network.... His Fox News colleagues were stunned by the departure, which seemed out of the blue." CNN's story, by Oliver Darcy & Marshall Cohen is here. MB: Gosh, TuKKKer, I was going to write you a nice farewell poem like that beautiful one by W. H. Auden. But I couldn't think of a single, solitary word that rhymed with "Tucker." (Well, okay, maybe I thought of two, but then you couldn't read the poem to your children.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: The similarity of Carlson and Trump's sensibilities might derive from the similarity of their resentments. Both were children of privilege -- Carlson was kicked out of a Swiss boarding school -- who sought the respect of the establishment but never got it. It's worth noting, given his loathing of the putative deep state, that Carlson tried to join the C.I.A. but was rejected. He shifted his ambitions to cable news, but before landing at Fox News, he struggled to fit in.... Like Trump, he would find success by catering to people who despised the world that had spurned him. He made revenge into a career.... Carlson has achieved the rare cable news trifecta of flaming out at CNN, MSNBC and Fox.&" ~~~
Why? Why? Why? Oh how could this happen to TuKKKer? ~~~
~~~ From Michelle Goldberg: "[Tucker's ousting] suggests that Dominion was responsible for shaking loose the information that brought Carlson down.... The Los Angeles Times reported that Carlson was defenestrated by Rupert Murdoch himself, and that his exit was related to the discrimination lawsuit filed by Carlson's former head of booking Abby Grossberg." ~~~
~~~ From Jeremy Barr: "It was Carlson's comments about Fox management, as revealed in the Dominion case, that played a role in his departure from Fox, a person familiar with the company's thinking told The Post." (Yeah, Eric Wemple of the WashPo asks, "Who at Fox News ever -- ever -- would have supposed that the guy willing to smear others willy-nilly would similarly bash his colleagues?") ~~~
~~~ And the folks at the Lincoln Project are going to miss TuKKKer's insightful segments:
SO THEN. Doha Madani of NBC News: "Don Lemon was terminated from his anchor role at CNN, he announced Monday. The news comes after Variety published a story earlier this month on allegations that he mistreated his female colleagues over the course of his career there. And earlier this year, he faced backlash over widely criticized comments he made on-air. Lemon announced the news on Twitter, saying he was informed by his agent that he was being terminated. 'I am stunned,' Lemon wrote. 'After 17 years at CNN I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.' CNN CEO Chris Licht said that the network and Lemon have 'parted ways,' according to a memo provided to NBC News Monday." The New York Times story, by Michael Grynbaum & others, is here. MB: Perfect timing. People will be so thrilled to see the back side of TuKKKer, they'll hardly notice that CNN's Mr. Misogynist has left the building. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
AND THIS. Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: "Jeff Shell was fired as NBCUniversal/s chief executive after an anchor at one of the company's news networks lodged a sexual harassment complaint against him, a lawyer for the anchor said on Monday. The lawyer, Suzanne McKie, said her client, Hadley Gamble, a senior international correspondent at CNBC, had given investigators at NBCUniversal messages that documented instances of harassment by Mr. Shell." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If you're seeing a theme here, there is one, if it is rather obscured by the differences in networks, situations & personalities. In each of these dismissals -- at Fox, CNN & NBC -- the firing is alleged to have been, at least in part, because the big stars done women wrong. Grossberg's allegations of a disgusting, sexist work environment -- which again may end in a signficant financial settlement -- may have been the last straw for Rupert. It isn't likely, after all, that Rupert fired TuKKKer because TuKKKer wasn't a good enough fact-checker or even that white nationalism & Putin adoration were too radical. Don Lemon was unceremonious dispatched with after his comments about women past age 40 (that is, CNN's morning audience) being "past their prime." And Shell, allegedly, got the boot, at least in part because he harassed a female anchor. It's possible that in any or all of these cases, firing a guy because he disrespected women is an excuse for something else -- lawsuits, lower ratings, whatever -- it's also possible that finally, some corporations have figured out that misusing or abusing women is not good for the brand. If only GOP politicians (see North Dakota story linked below) could figure this out, too. Oh, and Happy Rape Trial Day to Donald Trump.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Arek Sarkissian of Politico: "Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo personally altered a state-driven study about Covid-19 vaccines last year to suggest that some doses pose a significantly higher health risk for young men than had been established by the broader medical community, according to a newly obtained document. Ladapo's changes, released as part of a public records request, presented the risks of cardiac death to be more severe than previous versions of the study. He later used the final document in October to bolster disputed claims that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were dangerous to young men. The surgeon general, a well-known Covid-19 vaccine skeptic, faced a backlash from the medical community after he made the assertions, which go against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and American Academy of Pediatrics. But Ladapo's statements aligned well with Gov. Ron DeSantis' stance against mandatory Covid-19 vaccination." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't see what the problem is. Sure, young Floridian men may have died because they believed Ladapo's warning & chose not to be vaccinated. But everyone knows Republicans -- including Republicans who work in science-based professions -- are not bound by the boring factual world and can change "inconvenient facts" to "alternate facts" when it suits them.
North Dakota. Ava Sasani of the New York Times: "North Dakota became the latest state on Monday to enact a near-total ban on abortion, just one month after the State Supreme Court temporarily blocked a similar ban from taking effect. Under the new law, an abortion in the case of rape or incest would be permissible only in the first six weeks of pregnancy, a time when most women have not yet realized they are pregnant. Abortion is permitted without gestational limits if terminating a pregnancy can 'prevent the death or a serious health risk' of the mother. Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, signed the bill into law on Monday.... The new law, which takes immediate effect, is a dramatic shift for the state, where abortions had been legal up until 22 weeks of pregnancy." The AP's story is here.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the U.S. and its allies of bringing the world to a 'dangerous threshold.' In a speech Monday at the U.N. Security Council in New York, Lavrov said the United States and the 'collective West' were undermining global multilateralism by unilaterally imposing their own rules on the rest of the world.... Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a violation of the U.N. Charter and international law, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said, speaking at the same forum as Lavrov.... If Russia wins and Ukraine falls, central Europe 'may well be next,' wrote the leaders of Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic [in a letter published in Foreign Affairs].... At U.S. behest, Ukraine held off anniversary attacks on Russia..., Shane Harris and Isabelle Khurshudyan report."
Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "China moved quickly on Monday to limit damage to its relations with Europe, repudiating the comments of Beijing's ambassador in Paris who had questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet nations like Ukraine in a televised interview. The comments by Lu Shaye on Friday caused a diplomatic firestorm over the weekend among European foreign ministers and parliamentarians, with several countries summoning China's envoys for explanations. His remarks threatened to throw a wrench in China's ongoing efforts to balance courting European leaders with trade while supporting Russia, with which it has declared a 'no limits' partnership.... [Friday, Mr. Lu] said that Crimea was Russian historically and had been handed over to Ukraine, then added: 'Even these countries of the former Soviet Union do not have an effective status in international law, since there is no international agreement that would specify their status as sovereign countries.'... China's Foreign Ministry ... on Monday insist[ed] that it recognized the sovereignty of all the former Soviet republics that have declared independence, including Ukraine." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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Reader Comments (21)
How can we arrange for a Faux style “parting of the ways” for Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court? I’m open to suggestions.
Don’t know if Faux had TuKKKer escorted out by armed guards (they killed his e-mail right away so as to make sure that little fucker couldn’t fire off some parting shots that might cost the Murdochs a few more millions), but that would be a nice touch while walking Coke Can Pubic Hair Man out the front door and down the steps.
As dangerous and debilitating as KKKarlson was/is to democracy and the health of the nation, Thomas and his Lady Macbeth represent a far greater danger to the country. KKKarlson operated out in the open. Thomas and Ginni Macbeth have been working largely in the dark, protected by their lies and the august and cloistered conclave of the Court. His arrogance and jaw-droppingly unethical operating system makes a mockery of American jurisprudence at the highest level.
Time for Clarence to go write his book about how another high tech lynching removed him from his cushy throne.
Just wondering what cheap tricks Fatty and his legal team will come up with to fuck with the proceedings at his trial for rape.
Rape, defamation, illegal business practices, treason, fomenting a deadly riot, stealing and hiding top secret documents…his place in the pantheon of worst figures in American History is assured. Top spot, no question.
And as anxious as we all are for Fani Willis to lower the boom on that fat traitor, I’m encouraged that it seems like she’s getting all the pieces in place to send a bunch of treason loving Trumpies to prison.
Meanwhile, Trump is designing an authoritarian plan of control, revenge, and police state tactics for the country should we be stupid enough to put this barking mad criminal moocher back in the White House. Any trial result that guarantees his removal from any possibility of running for public office is devoutly to be wished.
The shock of Tucker's departure is coupled with an almost giddy feeling of revenge. I'd give my old buffalo nickel to learn how the little man is taking all this. Sour grapes for this formidable Fox who in the end will, I imagine, have to EAT BUGS!
If I only had a gun!
I missed my chances these past few days to shoot the doorbell
ringers and drivers into the driveway like all those gun lovers do.
One was the lady across the street, owner of a Bed & Breakfast inn
who brought strawberry pastries. Yum.
And the lady next door brought over garlic bagels that she had just
received from New York City, real bagels. For that I wouldn't have
shot anyone who rang the doorbell.
Yesterday the kid who adopted us a couple of years ago drove into
the driveway and came in with a bag of groceries, explaining that
he just has too much food in his house from too much shopping.
Who would want to shoot people like these?
An article in Rolling Stone is revelatory regarding the Little Man Who Would Beat Mickey.
It appears that Ronito DeSantolini creates waves of hatred in his wake. Hatred espoused by those who know best what a raging asshole this guy is:
“The nature of the conversations among the people who used to work for Ron is just so frequently: ‘OK, how can we destroy this guy?’ It is not at all at a level that is normal for people who hold the usual grudges against horrible bosses. It’s a pure hatred that is much, much purer than that … People who were traveling with Ron everyday, who worked with him very closely over the years, to this day joke about how it was always an open question whether or not Ron knew their names … And that’s just the start of it.”
Doesn’t.Even.Know.Their.Names.
Wow.
Then add to that, Mouse Man is out of state on a “Wheee Look at Me!” tour while one of the biggest cities in Florida is under water. I’m reminded (again, because it was so funny) of former Washington DC mayor, Marion Barry who was lounging in the sun in California while his city was paralyzed by a blizzard that dumped over a foot of snow on DC residents. Reporters, catching up with Barry, margarita in hand, asked if he had a plan for snow removal. “Yeah. Spring!” Haha. But DeSantis had no comment about the dangerous flooding in Tallahassee. No funny quip, no thoughts and prayers. Just…nothing. Nothing impedes his self-aggrandizements.
And now he has a battery of former aides flocking to help Fatty bury this strutting little dictator with bruising anecdotes like the pudding story, which, to a vengeance monster like Trump, are pure gold.
But there’s still the problem of what might happen should Trump and electoral politics come to a “parting of the ways”. As another former DeSantolini associate put it, the only people who like DeSantis are the ones who don’t know him.
If the Fat Fascist augurs in, will he be replaced by a mouse obsessed fascist?
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/donald-trump-campaign-ron-desantis-personal-attacks-explained-1234722045/amp/
PD,
It appears that TuKKKums has lawyered up (Don Lemon as well) in order to massage his hurt fee-fees. Fine. Who cares? No matter how much his lawyer weasels out of Faux, nothing obscures the fact that the white supremacists’ favorite mouthpiece has now been fired by all three of the biggest cable news operations.
Faux is filling the KKKarlson crater with a rotating list of other Faux liars.
I guess there’s something to that great replacement idea after all.
Suck it, TuKKK.
Forest: Aren't you the lucky lad to have such splendid neighbors! and I imagine their largesse is due to you and yours who are just as generous and the Welcome sign is prominent. Hugs instead of guns.
How much will you bet that Rupes and Lack-lan have issued a blanket decree to all Faux liars ordering them not to put anything in writing. No e-mails, no text messages, no hand written notes, no character assassination missives inscribed in Babylonian clay tablets, nothing. Especially ones calling them stupid idiots. Nothing opposing lawyers can mine during future discovery disclosures (because there will be more…this is Faux, after all).
That shit is right out.
In the WaPo today, I read a follow-up story about what was happening to the approximately 210 million tons of debris left by the Earthquakes in Turkey. One of the toxic dump sites is on the beach in Samandang, Hatay province, Turkey. The debris, with all its toxic vapors, is being dumped on a wide beach next to the Mediterranean. The water is turquoise there. Or was. The locals who live on the beach have been displaced by a large tent encampment of earthquake refugees from inland. And there is a huge mound of debris large enough to eliminate the wetland behind the beach.
I ate at the restaurant mentioned in the article. The fish plate was exquisite. The owner was proud of his restaurant and showed me photos of his father and grandfather who ran the restaurant before him. The restaurant is now next to a huge toxic mountain. Who's going to eat there now?
I'm not even there, but I feel a kind of displacement as well - not necessarily limited toTurkey - in these tumultuous times.
This is funny:
https://digbysblog.net/2023/04/24/real-women-of-politics/
And this:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cooze#:~:text=%2F%20(ku%CB%90z)%20%2F,girl%20or%20woman%20considered%20sexually
Victoria: "I'm not even there, but I feel a kind of displacement as well - not necessarily limited toTurkey - in these tumultuous times."
Yes! I hear you and feel the same way that day after day we learn of the suffering and displacement of so many and coupled with our own "troubles" it takes its toll on our minds and hearts.
@Patrick: Funny, yes. And pathetic. But I like the deep, manly, Southern voiceover. Just right for a product where the target market is fellows who aspire to be deep, manly, Southern men (who squeeze their lady coozies??).
I think "coozie" is an okay word; sounds like "cozy," like a tea cozy, one of which I have. I think I've heard people calling those can covers "coozies" without snickering.
While I was looking up all the meanings & spellings of "coozie," I took the quiz & missed one. But I think I'm right about it. I think you should write it the way you say it -- and different people may say the possessive form of a word ending in "s" in different ways. and even by the same person depending upon the initial sound of the word that follows.
So if my (imaginary) neighbor Iris had a dog, I would call the mutt "Iris's dog," which I would pronounce "Irises dog."
But I don't know how Iris would refer to my dog: would she call it "Marie Burns' dog" or "Marie Burns's dog"? To my tongue, "irises" is easy to say, and "burnses" is awkward (maybe because the possessive form of "iris" follows an unstressed syllable? I don't know).
@Forrest Morris: Yeah, you could have shot the Instacart kids.
The shooter's story sounds ridiculous. And the cops -- no surprise here -- would seem to be dumb.
I read somewhere that April 25th is National Hug A Plumber Day.
Don't think our plumber would appreciate that. I don't think she is
interested in men of any kind.
But she's a great plumber nevertheless.
That koozie ad? Wow. If ever you wanted to produce something that looked and sounded like a complete parody, this is it. But if it’s all about “Reaaaal Woooomen”, why hire Mr. Ba, ba, ba bassman, Teddy Testosterone to do the VO? Why not get a, ya know, Real Woman?
Cuz women are still far down the list on right wing power lines. Far down. These assholes still worship a guy on trial for raping a woman then sniffing that he would never rape her because she wasn’t his type (to rape). So much for how much women are valued in MAGA world.
And what’s all this crap about “faking it”? “Real women don’t have to fake it!” Fake what? Orgasms? Power? Their cooking chops? What? What the women highlighted here don’t have to fake is being fascist, theocratic assholes. They are the genuine article.
And what’s with the fish? Teddy seems to be suggesting that big (liberal) corporations try to pass off fake stuff to consumers (well, plenty of giant GOP supported corporations actually do that). Dunno about you kids, but I tend to avoid the Fake Fish Store.
And then this business about “Real Women doing Real Things”, along with a picture of Sarah Liarbee Sanders in camo with a dog and a shotgun. That’s the real thing? Shooting stuff? How about teaching, serving as judges, running companies, or, maybe owning a restaurant and telling a lying piece of shit that no one will serve her and to get her fascist ass out. That’s pretty real.
Moreover, can you see a bunch of tabacca-chewin’ Bubbas tailgating at an Alabama football game pulling out their Real Woman” koozies?
Just…wow.
And not for nothin’, but how did they get Sanders to smile? They must have had to work hard to get past the usual scowling sneer. Maybe they showed her a picture of immigrant babies in cages.
Nothing to see here I'm sure, "A Miami-based development firm founded by a Russian-born billionaire paid $76.25 million this week for nearly 1 acre of land at the base of Aspen Mountain where the sellers had planned to build a slope-side hotel called the Gorsuch Haus.
The deal was recorded Friday and came less than one year after Norway Island LLC — a partnership including Jim DeFrancia of Lowe’s Development, Jeff Gorsuch [Neil's cousin] and Bryan Peterson — acquired the same piece of land for $10 million from Aspen Skiing Co. in July. This week’s closing amount surpassed last year’s price by more than seven times."
Just wondering if TuKKK had a non-compete clause in his contract. Maybe that could be something he’ll get his bulldog lawyer to try to kill. Most non-competes are rock solid though, impermeable to legalistic legerdemain. Which means (please, please, please, please, please), that KKK boy could be in the freezer with the Swanson Salisbury steak for a while.
So who will Rupes promote next?
First they had Glenn Beck, who imploded in a haze of whack job paranoid conspiracy theories and drove away advertisers by the dozens. Then it was Loofah Boy who sexually abused one too many Faux employees and was shitcanned along with Roger Ailes, another misogynistic abuser. Now it’s White Supremacy Jack Off out on the street.
There must be some traitor trash heap out there not currently in prison or under indictment.
Can’t wait.
@RAS: Apparently some local yokels foresee in GorsuchHaus less of a hotel and more of a fancy laundromat -- for laundering rubles, that is.
Am disappointed that the GA DA felt the need to tell us we have to wait two or three more months for the anvils to drop on heads. No one seems to be in a bit of a hurry, even knowing Fatstuff will be charging ahead in his bid to follow himself as president, assuming of course that he is secretly the prez now. I hated the TuKKKer but can sincerely assert that I have never sat through his show. And now never will, darn it...I have missed a lot...
My Favorite Incomplete Sentence of the Day: "Which means (please, please, please, please, please), that KKK boy could be in the freezer with the Swanson Salisbury steak for a while. "
Here Akhilleus has packed the Life of TuKKKer into a few words: his privileged boyhood, his shoddy career, his bigotry, his defenestration, & finally a choral dream of a catastrophic cold-storage conclusion.
We ain't perfect here in Washington, but we try:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/25/washington-gun-control-laws