;)
June 16, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
The New York Times is live-updating developments related to Thursday's January 6 committee hearing: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans on Thursday to present new details of the intense pressure campaign ... Donald J. Trump and the conservative lawyer John Eastman waged against Vice President Mike Pence to try to get him to overturn the election, which the panel says directly contributed to the violent siege of Congress."
Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "Thursday's January 6 committee hearing will begin at 1pm ET.... Retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig, a Republican who is testifying at Thursday's January 6 committee hearing, will provide a sharp condemnation of ... Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, saying Trump and his allies 'instigated' a war on democracy 'so that he could cling to power,' according to a written statement he intends to submit for the committee's record obtained exclusively by CNN. Luttig outlined in his statement how close he believed democracy came to the brink." A printout of Luttig's prepared statement, via CNN, is here.
Andrew Solender of Axios: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack plans to seek testimony from conservative activist Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the panel's chair said Thursday.... 'We think it's time that we, at some point, invite her to come talk to the committee,' Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters." See related NYT report by Broadwater & Haberman & WashPo report by Alemany, et al., both linked below.
Ukraine, et al. Loveday Morris, et al., of the Washington Post: "The leaders of the European Union's three largest economies on Thursday said they were backing Ukraine's candidacy to join the 27-member bloc, a move that President Volodymyr Zelensky has fiercely advocated as his country loses ground in the face of Russia's invasion. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pledged the backing after traveling by overnight train to Kyiv. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is also visiting Kyiv to meet with Zelensky, accompanied them. 'We are at a turning point in our history'" said Draghi, calling the visit 'an unequivocal confirmation of our support.'"
Georgia. Herschel Walker Has a Lot of Children. Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker (R) has confirmed that he has a third son and an adult daughter, a revelation that comes just a day after his campaign acknowledged he had a second son previously unknown to the public. In a statement from his campaign to The Hill, Walker acknowledged he had four children total: one son with his first wife, Cindy Deangelis Grossman, and three other children reportedly with other women, according to the Daily Beast. 'I have four children. Three sons and a daughter. They're not "undisclosed" -- they're my kids. I support them all and love them all,' he said."
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Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday launched its biggest broadside yet against inflation, raising benchmark interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point in a move that equates to the most aggressive hike since 1994. Ending weeks of speculation, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee took the level of its benchmark funds rate to a range of 1.5%-1.75%, the highest since just before the Covid pandemic began in March 2020. Additionally, members indicated a much stronger path of rate increases ahead to arrest inflation moving at its fastest pace going back to December 1981, according to one commonly cited measure." The Washington Post's story is here. The New York Times report, part of a liveblog, is here.
Pippa Stevens of CNBC: "President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on U.S. oil refining companies to produce more, saying they need to help alleviate the burden of high prices on consumers. 'At a time of war -- historically high refinery profit margins being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable,' the president said in a letter to oil companies including Exxon Mobil and Chevron. '[C]ompanies must take immediate actions to increase the supply of gasoline, diesel, and other refined product,' the letter added.... Refining capacity has dropped since the pandemic took hold, which is a factor in the rapid advance of fuel prices.... Loss of Russian refined products has exacerbated the imbalance, with Europe now looking elsewhere for fuel."
Lisa Mascaro & Mary Jalonick of the AP: "The 1/6 committee is set to plunge into Donald Trump's last-ditch effort to salvage the 2020 election by pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to reject the electoral count.... With two live witnesses Thursday, the House panel intends to show how Trump's false claims of a fraudulent election left him grasping for alternatives as courts turned back dozens of lawsuits challenging the vote.... The committee will hear from Greg Jacob, the vice president's counsel who fended off [attorney John] Eastman's ideas for Pence to carry out the plan; and retired federal judge Michael Luttig, who called the plan from Eastman, his former law clerk, 'incorrect at every turn.' Thursday's session is also expected to divulge new evidence about the danger Pence faced that day as the mob stormed the Capitol shouting 'hang Mike Pence!'..." ~~~
~~~ According to CBS News, the hearing is to begin at 1:00 pm ET Thursday.
Garrett Haake & Zoë Richards of NBC News: "... Donald Trump knew violence had taken hold at the Capitol on Jan. 6 when he tweeted that Mike Pence wasn't willing to overturn the election, according to a member of the House committee investigating the insurrection who told NBC News the panel will show the former vice president was in more physical danger than previously known. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif..., [said] that Pence was 'evacuated in just the nick of time' from the quickly advancing mob after a disparaging tweet from Trump. Aguilar said that just minutes after the doors to the Capitol had been breached, while Pence was in his ceremonial office, Trump tweeted that his second-in-command didn't have the courage to overturn the election results. Moments later Pence was whisked to an evacuation area by Secret Service agents, Aguilar said. 'We notice right away, you know, within 90 seconds, the vice president is being evacuated right after that Trump tweet,' Aguilar said in an interview...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: We know that Trump denies any hint of wrongdoing in anything, but he also seems to be quite aware of how to set up "plausible deniability." For instance, here's the text of the tweet he sent out as the danger to pence became imminent: "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!" He's not standing on the balcony haranguing "Hang Mike Pence!" but in a far more subtle way, he is urging his army to do just that.
"The Plot Thickens." Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... for the first time, we have real detail on what evidence the Jan. 6 committee ... [has on a 'reconnaissance' tours of the Capitol the day before the insurrection]. And while far from conclusive, it further calls into question the misleading denials and explanations offered by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). The Jan. 6 committee on Wednesday morning released new details about the group Loudermilk led around the Capitol complex on Jan. 5.... According to surveillance footage, the letter says, Loudermilk led a tour of 'approximately ten individuals' through a trio of House office buildings and near entrances to the tunnels to the Capitol. The committee indicates participants acted in an unusual manner, taking photographs of areas 'not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases, and security checkpoints.' It says one of those people ... marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6. While near the Capitol, someone the committee identifies as the same man recorded a video with threatening words for Democratic members of Congress. 'There's no escape, Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler; we're coming for you,' the man says in footage provided by the committee." A Politico story is here. A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: There's no publicly-released evidence that Barry was anything but a dupe in this guy's plan to assault Nancy Pelosi & others, but Barry's shifting stories make him seem, well, shifty. A normal person would cooperate with the committee to get to the bottom of this man's motives to go on a Capitol tour & take photos of areas that to you & me would be of no more interest than the stairwell in our local parking garage. ~~~
~~~ Update: Rachel Maddow said twice that the "tour" went on for hours and that Loudermilk himself acted as tour guide. Unless these constituents were deep-pockets donors (and there was nothing about their appearance to suggest they might be), it is inconceivable to me that a Congressman would spend hours giving ordinary Americans a tour of the fairly unremarkable House office building. So I amend my remarks. The FBI should question Loudermilk and that guy taking photos of security checkpoints. ~~~
~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Loudermilk said the committee was engaging in a smear campaign against him, causing his family and staff to receive death threats.... But the committee said that several people who participated in Mr. Loudermilk's tour attended President Donald J. Trump's rally on the Ellipse on the morning of Jan. 6."
Robert Legare of CBS News: "In the week leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio received a nine-page memo titled '1776 Returns' that laid out detailed plans to occupy congressional office buildings to protest the counting of the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election. The memo, which was filed in court as part of a recent motion made by one of Tarrio's co-defendants, outlined a goal to 'maintain control over as select few, but crucial buildings in the DC area for a set period of time, presenting our demands in unity.... We must show our politicians We the People are in charge,' the memo said. Targeted buildings allegedly included the three Senate and House office buildings, the Supreme Court of the United States, and CNN -- to 'at least egg doorway,' according to the filing." The person who sent the document is unknown." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Rachel Maddow linked Barry's Tours with the 1776 memo. I don't know that there's any direct connection between the two, but I do know that the 1776 memo makes a mockery of Barry's excuse that he couldn't be culpable of conducting -- or aiding & abetting -- reconnaissance because he never took his tourist group into the Capitol building proper. The 1766 memo talks about occupying other buildings, including the one Barry's tourists surveilled.
Michelle Cottle of the New York Times writes about something we discussed in Tuesday's thread: In snippits of an interview the January 6 committee released Monday, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said, "'I didn't mind being characterized as being part of Team Normal ... I've built up a pretty good -- I hope -- a good reputation for being honest and professional. I didn't think what was happening was necessarily honest or professional at that point in time. So that led to me stepping away.'... A more accurate, less self-aggrandizing way might be to say that he slunk away ... in the hopes that no one would notice him fleeing the spiraling freak show to which he had sold his services and his soul. And he has since taken pains to stay on Mr. Trump's good side: In the 17 months after the Jan. 6 insurrection, he has served as a consultant to the former president's Save America PAC and signed on to work with Trump-backed candidates who have peddled, or have at least flirted with, the election-fraud fiction.... He is apparently cool with Mr. Trump's basic plan to burn down the nation by advancing conspiracy theories about a rigged election.... This, apparently, is what constitutes 'normal' in today's Republican Party." Cottle gives props to Bill Barr, too, as the most craven representative of this bunch of reprobates. (Also linked yesterday.)
Luke Broadwater & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A lawyer advising ... Donald J. Trump claimed in an email after Election Day 2020 to have insight into a 'heated fight' among the Supreme Court justices over whether to hear arguments about the president's efforts to overturn his defeat at the polls, two people briefed on the email said. The lawyer, John Eastman, made the statement in a Dec. 24, 2020, exchange with a pro-Trump lawyer and Trump campaign officials.... 'So the odds are not based on the legal merits but an assessment of the justices' spines, and I understand that there is a heated fight underway,' Mr. Eastman wrote.... The pro-Trump lawyer, Kenneth Chesebro, replied that the 'odds of action before Jan. 6 will become more favorable if the justices start to fear that there will be "wild" chaos on Jan. 6 unless they rule by then, either way.'... Mr. Chesebro's comment ... was striking for its link to the potential for the kind of mob scene that materialized at the Capitol weeks later. And Mr. Eastman's email, if taken at face value, raised the question of how he would have known about internal tension among the justices about dealing with election cases. Mr. Eastman had been a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas. The committee is also reviewing emails between Mr. Eastman and Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Thomas." ~~~
~~~ Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol has obtained email correspondence between Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and lawyer John Eastman, who played a key role in efforts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to block the certification of Joe Biden's victory, according to three people involved in the committee's investigation. The emails show that Thomas's efforts to overturn the election were more extensive than previously known, two of the people said."
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Wednesday denied Stephen K. Bannon's motion to dismiss his criminal contempt case, rejecting arguments that he was legally protected from having to appear before a House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.... At a three-hour court hearing in Washington, [U.S. District Judge Carl J.] Nichols, a 2019 Trump appointee, repeatedly challenged Bannon's claims and ultimately decided in the Justice Department's favor."
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A Delaware man who flew a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was convicted with his son on Wednesday by a federal judge of the top count in their indictment: obstructing the certification of the 2020 presidential vote. The two men, Kevin and Hunter Seefried, were also found guilty at the bench trial by Judge Trevor N. McFadden of four misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct and illegally entering a restricted area.... A key witness at the trial was Officer Eugene Goodman, whose actions on the day of the attack were captured in a widely circulated video recorded by a reporter in the Capitol.... Officer Goodman ... testified that he had attempted to prevent Kevin Seefried from progressing toward the Senate chamber and that Mr. Seefried 'jabbed' at him three times with the Confederate flag." ~~~
~~~ Marie: So even Judge McFadden, a Trump appointee, figures that poking a Black man with a pole holding a Confederate flag is not standard behavior for "ordinary tourists."
Reid Epstein & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "The potential for far-right Republicans to reshape the election systems of major battleground states is growing much closer to reality. As the halfway point nears of a midterm year that is vastly friendlier to Republicans, the party's voters have nominated dozens of candidates for offices with power over the administration and certification of elections who have spread falsehoods about the 2020 presidential contest and sowed distrust in American democracy.... With Republicans widely predicted to make gains in November, it is possible that 2023 will bring newly installed far-right officials willing to wield their influence to affect election outcomes and a possible Supreme Court ruling that could give state legislatures unchecked power over federal elections."
GOP Mobilizes Vast Voter Intimidation Squad Made Up of Election Deniers. Isaac Arnsdorf & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "The Republican National Committee is spending millions this year in 16 critical states on an unprecedented push to recruit thousands of poll workers and watchers, adding firepower to a growing effort on the right to find election irregularities that could be used to challenge results. The RNC was until recently barred from bringing its substantial resources to bear on field operations at polling sites because of a decades-old court order.... The RNC has so far signed up more than 14,000 poll workers and 10,000 poll watchers nationwide, and political director Elliott Echols said the party plans to have more than 5,000 in each state for the November midterms.... While Democrats have set up legal hotlines and mobilized volunteers by stressing a need to help those denied a chance to vote, the Republican operation is centered on challenging ballots, spotting potential fraud -- and for poll watchers, reporting those concerns directly to party attorneys on Election Day, according to the RNC." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Marie: I still think the day the floodgates opened and we began to become not-a-democracy was the day Antonin Scalia dropped dead, and Mitch McConnell & Chuck Grassley decided not to fill his seat with an Obama nominee. With Trump's election (by a minority of voters), the process escalated, and now we seem to be at a point of no return. The decline & fall of the American experiment seems almost inevitable.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal from several states led by Republicans that had sought to step in to defend a Trump-era immigration policy that the Biden administration has abandoned. The court's decision was one sentence long and said only that the states' petition seeking review was 'dismissed as improvidently granted.' In a concurring opinion, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the case had presented 'a host of important questions.' But he added that a 'mare's nest' of procedural issues stood in the way of a clean resolution of those questions. Chief Justice Roberts stressed that the dismissal 'should not be taken as reflective of a view' on how the questions should be answered, and he suggested that the court may resolve them in another context.... The Trump-era policy at issue in the case revised the 'public charge' rule, which allows officials to deny permanent legal status, also known as a green card, to immigrants who are likely to need public assistance." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Lindsey Tanner & Mike Stobbe of the AP: "The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for the littlest kids. The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under 5 -- that's roughly 18 million youngsters. They are the last age group in the U.S. without access to COVID-19 vaccines and many parents have been anxious to protect their little children. If all the regulatory steps are cleared, shots should be available next week." ~~~
~~~ Florida. Michael Wilner of McClatchy D.C.: "Every state has placed an order with the federal government to ensure coronavirus vaccines for young children are delivered as soon as regulators authorize their use -- except for one. Florida missed a Tuesday deadline to request delivery of COVID-19 pediatric vaccines for children under 5, guaranteeing a delay in access for parents across the state, according to two U.S. government sources.... Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for the Florida Department of Health, confirmed the department 'chose not to participate' in the vaccination program because the state health department is not following federal public health recommendations.... Florida's surgeon general and secretary of the state department of health, Joseph Ladapo, has long criticized vaccination requirements for adults. In March, he recommended against vaccinating healthy kids, and the News Service of Florida reported Wednesday that Ladapo would not support inoculating the state's youngest children either -- frustrating pediatricians who say the need for COVID vaccines is clear."
Mark Osborne of ABC News: "Dr. Anthony Fauci, a senior adviser to the president on the pandemic, has tested positive for COVID-19.... Fauci, who has mild symptoms, tested positive via a rapid antigen test, according to the NIAID.... He's fully vaccinated and received two boosters, the NIAID said in a statement. Fauci's office told ABC News that he's taking Pfizer's antiviral treatment Paxlovid."
Beyond the Beltway
New Mexico. The Ghost in the Machine Was Hugo Chavez. Or Something. Morgan Lee of the AP: "New Mexico's secretary of state on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to order the Republican-led commission of rural Otero County to certify primary election results after it refused to do so over distrust of Dominion vote-tallying machines. Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Olive's request came a day after the three-member Otero County commission, in its role as a county canvassing board, voted unanimously against certifying the results of the June 7 primary without raising specific concerns about discrepancies. The commission's members include Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin, who ascribes to unsubstantiated claims that ... Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Griffin was convicted of illegally entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds ... amid the riots on Jan. 6, 2021, and is scheduled for sentencing later this month." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Annie Gowan of the Washington Post: "New Mexico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the county commissioners in rural Otero County to do their jobs and certify election results, two days after they refused, citing unsubstantiated concerns about fraud. The court granted the emergency motion by New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, who earlier this week asked the court to intervene and compel the three-member board to approve vote totals from a June 7 primary. The commission had voted on Monday not to do so." An NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Ja'han Jones of MSNBC espies a preview of things to come: "A New Mexico county run by Donald Trump loyalists is putting the disgraced former president's fascist election-undermining schemes to the test." MB: Otero County is leans hard Republican. So I'm not sure all those nice white MAGA people will be pleased if turns out that many of the votes their "leaders" throw out are their own. Had Cowboy Couy & his dimwitted co-commissioners prevailed, that's exactly what would have happened.
New York. Carolyn Thompson of the AP: "The white gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket was charged Wednesday with federal hate crimes and could face the death penalty if convicted. The criminal complaint filed Wednesday against Payton Gendron coincided with a visit to Buffalo by Attorney General Merrick Garland. He met with the families of the people who were killed and placed a bouquet of white flowers tied with a yellow ribbon at a memorial outside the store, which has been closed since the attack." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "In a diplomatic show of support for Ukraine, the leaders of France, Italy and Germany -- all members of the European Union -- arrived in Kyiv on Thursday morning.... French President Emmanuel Macron said the leaders brought a 'message of unity.' Ukraine has pressed for E.U. membership, which is seen by some European leaders as a somewhat lofty goal and one that cannot be realized in the near term.... President Biden on Wednesday responded to calls from Ukraine for more weapons as he announced another $1 billion in security assistance to the country, which is struggling to hold back intense attacks.... The United States said Chinese President Xi Jinping risked being 'on the wrong side of history' after he declared his support for Moscow's 'sovereignty and security' during a call with ... Vladimir Putin. Two U.S. military veterans have gone missing in Ukraine, and it is feared they have been captured by Russia, family members of the missing Americans said."
News Lede
AP: "A fisherman confessed to killing a British journalist and an Indigenous expert in Brazil's remote Amazon and took police to a site where human remains were recovered, a federal investigator said, closing out 10 days of suspense as teams searched for the missing pair. Authorities said Wednesday night without giving any details that they expected more arrests would be made soon in the case of freelance reporter Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira of Brazil, who disappeared June 5."
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Reader Comments (11)
More on Florida's ostrich medicine:
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2022/06/10/floridas-covid-death-toll-leads-nation-262-one-week/7498191001/
This morning's cranky thought:
Children really are victims of their parents... Maybe the pro-life folks just want more victims...
Looks like that Milky White Lounder guy is gonna get his competence for pretending he was just hosting a nice quiet family on a tour in the halls of the Capitol; tis amazing how easily lying has become them.
Comeuppance!!!! correction.
@P.D. Pepe: Yeah, you don't want to put Loudermilk and "competence" in the same sentence!
I just can't believe a Congressman would spend hours showing regular constituents around a boring office building. It just seems reasonable to suspect they -- and that includes Loudermilk -- had to be up to something nefarious. Barry's Sedition Tour took place when the offices & Capitol were closed because of the pandemic. I think they just figured the coast was clear & they could do what they wanted & nobody would be the wiser. Normal Congresscritters will give constituents a few minutes, not a few hours.
A long but trenchant way of saying IOKIYAR:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/6/13/2103841/-This-Ex-Republican-Just-Tweeted-The-Best-Thread-About-What-The-GOP-Is-About-Ever?detail=emaildkreicymi&pm_source=DKRE&pm_medium=email
Thought it pretty good, myself.
Bollocks! Normal Congressmen or Congresswomen have staff to
do their interaction with the public, answer their phones, pick up
the laundry.
They don't have hours on end to do personal tours for tourists.
Guilty as sin. (But I'm not a judge, just judgmental).
Forrest, Forrest, Forrest,
Now you know you’re talking about an R congressthing, right.
You’re absolutely correct that real, working members of congress don’t have time for three hour tours of security checkpoints with a recon team planning an assault on the capitol building, but R’s don’t do shit.
They hang out, make shit up, post and re-post lies on their Twitter pages, suck up to white supremacists and scramble for their twenty minutes on Faux. Other than that…
Insurrection? Yeah! C’mon down!
Herschel Walker for President!
Reading one of those trashy "publications" on line at the store this A.M. about the Republican nominee from Ga. who has been most
critical of African American absentee fathers.
Turns out some sleuths have turned up two more "secret kids" that
he has fathered. That makes 4 altogether. He recognized only one
previously.
He's the perfect poster boy for the R. party. Trump loves him so much,
O-ho! “Heated battles” among SCOTUS justices about whether to consider Fatty’s attempted government overthrow or whether to, ya know, let it slide. Traitors will be traitors, right? No harm done. OR, perhaps there was/is even a movement from inside the court to assist in the treason.
Now who could have leaked all that juicy stuff to a lawyer working for the Fat Fascist? Hmmmm?
So now, John Roberts and Clarence Thomas, will there be a search and destroy, Fourth Amendment-less hunt for that leaker? Whadaya say?
Hold on, I can’t hear you. Did you say “Heil Trump”?
The Fall
If you read Gibbon’s investigation into the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, he offers a number of reasons for the second part. The biggest are the infiltration of governmental offices by incompetents there to pad their pockets, to reward their pals and punish their political enemies, the dissipation and corruption of the courts, and the advancing control and influence by Christians, all of which rotted the empire from the inside out.
Sound familiar?
I'll just quote the title to a song by Waylon Jennings: "This is getting funny, but ain't nobody laughing."