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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Page Links
Wednesday
Aug232023

The Conversation -- August 24, 2023

The New York Times is liveblogging the Fulton County, Georgia, hoohah: "A flurry of legal motions were filed on Thursday ahead of [Donald Trump's] appearance, with Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, asking a judge to set a trial date of Oct. 23 and Mr. Trump objecting to that timing, indicating that he wants to move more slowly. Mr. Trump's filing also said that he would seek to have his case severed from that of Kenneth Chesebro, a co-defendant who on Wednesday filed a speedy trial demand in state court. ...

Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court approved the motion of Kenneth Chesebro, one of the defendants in the Georgia election interference case, for a speedy trial, setting a start date for Oct. 23....

Trump is on Truth Social attacking Atlanta as crime-ridden as he heads to Fulton County for his arrest. It's unclear whether any of these posts will test the limits of his social media restrictions under his bond package....

Two more of his co-defendants turned themselves in on Thursday: Mark Meadows, his former White House chief of staff, and Harrison Floyd, a former campaign staffer.

Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Every way you look at this, you lose. ~~~

~~~ Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "Trump's power is entirely due to the vacuum created by the vapidity of Republican leaders. Watching this non-debate was mainly a reminder that none of these politicians possess anything resembling substance. Despite all the chatter from the punditry about 'policy,' the voters these candidates are trying to reach could not care less about the nuts and bolts of governance. The GOP exists mainly as a vehicle for the endless parade of unwarranted, incoherent grievances of the Republican base.... For a base that just wants to hear how they're the real victims here, Trump's 'woe is me' messaging and retribution-oriented rhetoric is political heroin straight into their MAGA veins. Wednesday night's debate was a painful illustration of this.... The party's base actively repels any discourse with real meaning.... There's no such thing as 'policy discourse' in a world built entirely around conspiracy theories."

Annie Grayer & Melanie Zanona of CNN: "The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has opened a congressional investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a development that was first reported by CNN and comes the same day [Donald] Trump is slated to surrender at the county jail after being charged for participating in schemes to meddle with Georgia's 2020 election results. The committee sent a letter to Willis on Thursday asking whether she communicated or coordinated with the Justice Department..., or used federal dollars to complete her investigation that culminated in the fourth indictment of Trump. The questions from Republicans about whether Willis used federal funding in her state-level investigation mirrors the same line of inquiry that Republicans used to probe Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump in New York earlier this year for falsifying business records to cover up an alleged hush money scheme." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In a Congress that refuses to fund the federal government, I am damned sick of their funneling millions of tax dollars into the line item "Trump Defense Expenditures."

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the links.

~~~~~~~~~~

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "Lucrative new tax breaks and other incentives for advanced manufacturing that President Biden signed into law appear to be reshaping direct foreign investment in the American economy, according to a White House analysis, with a much greater share of spending on new and expanded businesses shifting toward the factory sector." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That's very good news, but let's see if Biden rival Donald Trump has a better plan: ~~~

     ~~~ Jeff Stein of the Washington Post (Aug. 22): "Even in the face of growing personal legal peril, Donald Trump summoned his top economic advisers to his private golf club in New Jersey for a two-hour dinner last Wednesday night to map out a trade-focused economic plan for his presidential bid. Trump and top aides, including former senior White House officials Larry Kudlow and Brooke Rollins, as well as outside advisers Stephen Moore and former House speaker Newt Gingrich, spent the dinner discussing how Trump could attack President Biden in the 2024 election on the economy, amid a recent spate of positive economic news that has buoyed Biden's fortunes.... Among the ideas they discussed was Trump's plan to enact a 'universal baseline tariff' on virtually all imports to the United States, the people said. This idea ... could represent a massive escalation of global economic chaos, surpassing the international trade discord that marked much of his first administration.... On Fox Business on Thursday, the former president called for setting this tariff at 10 percent 'automatically' for all countries, a move that experts warn could lead to higher prices for consumers throughout the economy and could likely lead to a global trade war." Emphasis added. Case closed. Fucking dimwits.

Presidential Race 2024 -- "Debate" Nite

Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "... it was not [Donald] Trump's chief rival in the polls, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who emerged at the epicenter of the first Trump-free showdown on Wednesday, but instead the political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, whose unlikely rise has revealed the remarkable degree to which the former president has remade the party.... He hewed closely to Mr. Trump not just on substance but also on style. He stirred controversy to soak up screen time, and lobbed some of the evening's most strikingly personal slights.... All eight candidates mostly jostled for position among themselves, and few targeted the front-runner who is set to surrender on Thursday after his fourth criminal indictment.... Rivals mostly ignored [DeSantis]..., often relegat[ing] him to the sidelines.... More than any other issue, the question of America's role in Ukraine divided the candidates and presented two divergent visions for the Republican Party.... When the candidates were asked if they believed human behavior was causing climate change, most seemed to want nothing to do with the question. Only two were unequivocal: Mr. Ramaswamy, who called climate change a 'hoax,' and [Nikki] Haley, who said climate change was 'real.'... Her most aggressive moments came during an intense back-and-forth with Mr. Ramaswamy about Ukraine aid. She came charging at him: 'You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.' Fox News panned out to show the crowd cheering....[Mike] Pence made the most of every moment, crowbarring his way into almost every exchange...." Politico's story is here.

Marie: Hours after I complained to the New York Times that their liveblog of the GOP Presidential* Clown Show & Food Fight Extravaganza didn't work -- and well after the show was over -- they fixed it. The Washington Post liveblog is here (link fixed). CNN's liveblog is here (link fixed).

Frank Bruni's (New York Times) assessment of the "debate" is sorta worth reading: "... the party is not turning away from Trump, and that was the moral of an event at which Trump was physically absent but spiritually present, an oppressive orange specter manifest in the bits and pieces of him that the candidates other than Christie and Hutchinson reassembled into their own political identities -- and in their unwillingness to do what most needed doing and tell their party the full truth about Trump's lies."

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota injured himself playing basketball with his staff on Tuesday and was taken to an emergency room ahead of his planned appearance at Wednesday's first Republican presidential primary debate. Mr. Burgum, 67, injured his leg, according to two campaign aides, and it was unclear on Wednesday morning whether he would be able to stand at the debate." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota will participate in the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday night, despite injuring himself playing basketball with his staff on Tuesday.... [An] aide said Mr. Burgum intended to stand during the two-hour debate but would have a stool to rest on during breaks." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Only the Party of Torture would consider making a guy with a newly-injured leg stand up during a two-hour debate.

Trump Won't Rule Out Civil War. Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "Asked by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson [during a pretaped interview played of X-Twitter Wednesday night] whether the nation is headed toward open conflict, [Donald] Trump responded: 'I don't know. I can say this: There's a level of passion that I've never seen. There's a level of hatred that I've never seen. And that's probably a bad combination.' Trump compared the current volatile mix of passion and hatred to the crowd on Jan. 6, 2021, and pivoted to defending his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol that day -- falsely describing the violent assault as a day of 'love and unity.'... 'People in that crowd said it was the most beautiful day they ever experienced. There was love and unity. I have never seen such spirit and such passion and such love. And I've also never seen, simultaneously and from the same people, such hatred at what they've done to our country.' Trump, the polling leader for the Republican nomination, has repeatedly declined to condemn or rule out political violence.... Trump has received warnings from the judges in the criminal cases against inciting violence and intimidating witnesses."

Trump Family Crime Blotter

The Washington Post is live-updating developments at the Fulton County jail. ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates are here: "... Donald Trump has replaced his top Georgia lawyer ahead of his surrender Thursday evening, sources tell CNN. Drew Findling, the lawyer who has led Trump's defense in Georgia, is being replaced by Steven Sadow, an Atlanta-based attorney whose website profile describes him as a 'special counsel for white collar and high profile defense.'" AND

"The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is expected to open a congressional investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as soon as Thursday.... The committee is expected to ask Willis whether she was coordinating with the Justice Department, which has indicted Trump twice in two separate cases, or used federal dollars to complete her investigation that culminated in the fourth indictment of Trump...."

Two More Fine Public Servants to Be Booked at the Fulton County Jail. Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge quickly shot down bids Wednesday by two former Trump administration officials -- Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clark -- to derail the criminal proceedings against them in Fulton County.... In two six-page rulings by Atlanta-based U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones effectively ensures that Meadows and Clark will face arrest this week, a result both men attempted to prevent in a series of emergency filings. Meadows and Clark had both pleaded with Jones to prohibit District Attorney Fani Willis from arresting them by a Friday deadline for the 19 defendants to turn themselves in. Both men say their cases should be handled -- and ultimately dismissed -- by federal courts because of their work for the Trump administration.... 'Until the federal court assumes jurisdiction over a state criminal case, the state court retains jurisdiction over the prosecution and the proceedings continue,' Jones wrote."

Danny Hakim, et al., of the New York Times: "Rudolph W. Giuliani turned himself in on Wednesday in the racketeering case against ... Donald J. Trump and his allies, surrendering at the Atlanta jail where the defendants are being booked. Mr. Giuliani, whose bond was set at $150,000, arrived in Atlanta as another defendant in the sprawling case, the lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, filed a motion seeking a speedy trial. Under that scenario, which Georgia law allows, the trial for all 19 people indicted in the case would have to start no later than Nov. 3.... Bond for another defendant, Sidney Powell, one of the most prominent lawyers who advanced false claims of vote fraud and advised Mr. Trump to fight his election loss, was set Wednesday at $100,000.... Three of the 19 defendants have filed to remove the case to federal court: Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official; Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump's former White House chief of staff; and [former Georgia Republican party chair David] Shafer. Mr. Clark and Mr. Meadows have also filed court papers seeking to block their arrest." This is an update of a story linked earlier Wednesday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ According to the teevee, Giuliani next made an appearance at Atlanta's A Second Change Bail Bonds.

Marie: For all of Donald Trump's admiration of ruthless dictators like Vlad & Li'l Kim who control their countries with iron fists, do you suppose for a moment he realized that if the U.S. had such a system, Trump would some while back have found himself aboard Trump Air 1, falling from the sky, in the manner that was apparently the demise of Putin's chef Yevgeny Prigozhin? I don't think so. I suspect Trump imagines himself tossing Joe Biden out a window, or worse, but cannot imagine a similar scene in which he is the victim of his own dream of a lawless, dictator-led state. This is similar to the arguments being made by Trump and some of his co-defendants & supporters: they claim that Trump was acting within his inalienable rights as president* when he led a coup attempt. It never dawns on them that what they are arguing today is that Biden -- who despite his senility and general weakness magically defeated the coup -- can declare himself president-for-life and Kamala Harris can reject all the GOP electors' votes. And Joe can do no wrong. Because president.

Yvonne Sanchez, et al., of the Washington Post: "A Trump supporter indicted last week in Fulton County, Ga., for allegedly harassing an election worker was charged earlier this year with attacking an FBI agent working on the Justice Department's parallel investigation of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The arrest of Harrison William Prescott Floyd III, which has not been previously reported, offers new information about the breadth of the federal probe led by special counsel Jack Smith, who has charged ... Donald Trump for allegedly attempting to obstruct Joe Biden's election victory.... Floyd, 39, also known as Willie Lewis Floyd III, is a little-known player who helped run Trump's 2020 campaign outreach to Black voters.... Agents went to Floyd's apartment in Rockville, Md., on Feb. 23 to serve a grand jury subpoena, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.... The affidavit accuses Floyd of body-slamming an agent and hurling expletives at the agent and his colleague." The story details Floyd's actions surrounding service of the subpoena. ~~~

~~~ Hatch Act! Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Georgia prosecutors unfurled their most detailed case yet against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday, sharply rejecting his assertion that his efforts to keep ... Donald Trump in power were part of his official government responsibilities. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis contended that Meadows repeatedly violated federal laws prohibiting political activity by federal government officials when he convened meetings, arranged calls and participated in efforts to help undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election.... Willis argued [that Meadows repeatedly] violated the Hatch Act, a federal statute that bars government employees from using their official roles to affect the outcome of an election.... [District Judge Steve] Jones has called an Aug. 28 hearing on the matter to discuss the evidence in the case." Willis's reponse to Meadow's motion is here. Andrew Weissmann, speaking on MSNBC, recommended the filing as tour-de-force. MB: It looks to me like a "gotcha" response. We'll see what Judge Jones says.

Robert Legare of CBS News: "The Mar-a-Lago IT employee who, according to a federal court filing, implicated ... Donald Trump and two of his aides in an alleged pressure campaign to delete security camera footage at the Florida resort was advised by special counsel Jack Smith's team that he would not face perjury charges after he amended his testimony [upon being provided with a public defender], a source familiar with the investigation told CBS News. Yuscil Taveras was assured by federal prosecutors in recent weeks that he was no longer the target of a criminal probe into whether he had lied in his grand jury testimony and would not be charged for allegedly lying to investigators by telling them that he had no knowledge of efforts to delete the footage that was of interest to Smith's team, the source said.... After receiving a target letter and switching lawyers, the documents said, Taveras 'retracted his prior false testimony and provided information that implicated [Walt] Nauta, [Carlos] De Oliveira and Trump in efforts to delete security camera footage, as set forth in the superseding indictment.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Michigan. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Three men -- Michael Null and William Null, who are twin brothers, and Eric Molitor -- are on trial on a charge of providing material support for a terrorist act [in a domestic terrorist plot to kidnap and possibly kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D)]. Prosecutors said the plot had been fueled by anti-government sentiment, militia activity and anger over pandemic lockdowns.... William Barnett, a lawyer for Mr. Molitor, noted for the jury that Ms. Whitmer had blamed [Donald] Trump's rhetoric for the plot. 'It' all politics, folks,' Mr. Barnett said. 'There's something going on here. I don't know what's going on. But it looks like weaponization of the government.'" MB: Got that? These guys planned to use weapons against a sitting governor, her family and her security detail, but it's the government that has been weaponized. This might be the first time an insanity defense means that the lawyer for the defendant is insane.

South Carolina. Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the state's new near-total ban on abortion by a 4-1 vote, reversing a decision it had made in January that struck down a similar ban and declared that the State Constitution's protections for privacy included a right to abortion. The courts decision was not unexpected, because the makeup of the bench had changed, and Republicans in the State Legislature had passed a new abortion law in the hopes that it would find a friendlier audience with the new court. The decision in January was written by the court's only female justice; she retired and South Carolina now has the nation's only all-male high court." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Russia. From the New York Times' liveblog of developments in Russia's war on Ukraine: "Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary leader of the private Wagner paramilitary group, was listed on the passenger roster of a private jet that crashed in Russia on Wednesday, killing all 10 people aboard, Russia's aviation authority said. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said that the plane, an Embraer jet, crashed in the Tver region, north of Moscow, according to the state news agency TASS. Minutes later, the news agency, citing Russia's aviation authority, said that Mr. Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on the plane.... The flight manifest for the plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday night contained at least one other notable name in addition to Yevgeny V. Prigozhin -- that of Dmitri Utkin, his longtime lieutenant in leading the Wagner private military company...." MB: Looks as if defenestration is not dramatic enough a means to ridding Putin of this meddlesome beast. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ From CNN's liveblog Wednesday: "Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group, was on board a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said." ~~~

     ~~~ Update: The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here: "Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, who led a brief mutiny in June, was listed as a passenger on a plane that crashed. There was no confirmation that he had died, and Russian officials including President Vladimir V. Putin did not comment on the incident."

Russia. Valeriya Safronova of the New York Times: "The pretrial detention of Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who has been held in Russia since March, has been extended by three months, a Moscow court said on Thursday. Mr. Gershkovich has been detained in Moscow's Lefortovo prison on espionage charges that he, the U.S. government and The Journal have vehemently denied. The United States has said he is wrongfully detained."

News Lede

New York Times: "At least four people were dead, including a gunman, and six others were injured after a man believed to have been a retired law enforcement officer opened fire at a popular biker bar in Southern California on Wednesday evening as a crowd gathered for a rock music show and spaghetti night, the authorities said. The shooting occurred at about 7 p.m. at Cook's Corner, a bar in Trabuco Canyon, a rural community in eastern Orange County, Jeff Hallock, undersheriff at the Orange County Sheriff's Department, said.... He added that law enforcement officers responded within minutes of receiving multiple 911 calls of shots being fired, and after deputies confronted the suspect it was 'safe to assume that they engaged the shooter.' The gunman died at the scene, and at least one weapon has been recovered, he said. Another law enforcement official who was not authorized to speak publicly ... said the suspected gunman, who had retired several years ago from an agency elsewhere in Southern California, had been targeting his estranged wife, who was among the dead."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (18)

Listened to a little MSNBC commentary following the "debate." Did seem there's no going back for the Bozo Party. It is incorrigible. The elephant in the Republican room that was not even in the room was still in the room, and I see little sign that he will be going away soon.

Most revelatory is not so much what Republicans are willing to talk about but what they are not: Reality.

When it comes to intellect and ideas, Republicans many or may not be listless vessels, whatever they might be, but they sure are empty ones.

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

“Hullo mum, hullo dad.”

“Morning, son”

“Who won the debate last night?”

“It wasn’t a debate, sonny.”

“No? What was it?”

“Mud wrestling…and I’m not sure there wasn’t some pig shit mixed in.”

“Okay, then who won the mud wrestling with pig shit?”

“Donald Trump.”

“I thought he wasn’t there.”

“He’s never all there, but it doesn’t matter. With Trump vs. traitors, liars, and mental defectives, he wins by default. Accent on fault.”

“So who lost?”

“Everyone. Truth, rule of law, morality, justice, and America. Even the MAGAts, they just don’t know it.”

“Well that sucks.”

“Yup. Here. Eat your oatmeal while we can still afford it. If Trump gets elected again, the economy will collapse and there’ll be revenge squads roaming the streets.”

“Jesus.”

“Him too.”

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

MEANWHILE, Next Door:

Kid: "Who won the debate, Dad?"

Dad: "President Trump."

Kid: "But I thought he wasn't there."

Dad: "Donald Trump is the greatest leader in the history of the world. He wins everything even when he doesn't show up."

Kid: "Then why did they have a debate?"

Dad: "Because they all are auditioning for a spot as a temporary acting secretary of state or something like that."

Kid: "Maybe a Supreme Court Justice?"

Dad: "Yep. President Trump will have a lot of Supreme Court jobs to fill because he's making them all acting temporary jobs, too."

Mom: "Well, I guess he's good for something, after all. Go, Joe."

Epilogue:

Kid: "What's on teevee tonight, Mom?"

Mom (smiling brightly): "The mug shot."

August 24, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Look for this very good news stemming directly from the actions of the Biden administration’s advocacy for a robust economy to be used by Fox and the right-wing media as proof of Donald Trump’s genius. Biden is just taking credit for the wonderful plans set in motion by the Dear Leader, for which he needs to be impeached. Ten times. Oh, yeah, and hanged too. Can’t forget the hanging.

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

PREFABRICATED Gallows Available Cheap. Previously designed for another former vice president but never used due to police interference. No assembly required.

August 24, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

The defense lawyer in Michigan may be on to something when he sees weaponization of the government.

Governments have ALWAYS been weaponized to cope with criminal activities. In most places, governments have insisted on monopolizing the weaponry, but in the US of A we let the potential criminals have a fair shot by allowing them to have pretty sophisticated weaponry. So it appears unfair, in the minds of the crime set, when the government arrests them for using those weapons against citizens, much less against government officials like Gov Whitmer. Surprise! All governments, all the time, have weapons and eventually will disarm the patriots who use weapons to commit crimes.

Unfortunately, these days "eventually" takes a long time.

Most of these patriot-gun types would not live five minutes in, say, Somalia, carrying weapons like cosplay.

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

R Debate?

If I found that sort of thing amusing, I could just stroll over to my next door neighbor's and watch their 5 year old twins squabbling in the sandbox.

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterSkeptic

Biden showed up at the debate last night and in Milwaukee

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Radley Balko has a few questions for the Republican candidates.

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

We did not watch, as we had a nice dinner we wanted to keep in our stomachs past 9pm. We tuned in periodically while watching Hacks on Max. And of course we have seen the occasional clip. Consensus in our household of three: they are all horrible, for different reasons. I can't imagine any of them, plus the Golden (Be)hind, moving into the White House. The networks have declared Rommyslobby and his teeth the only one who set himself apart. Ms. South Carolina sounded "reasonable," and we know she fancies herself "reasonable," but she was the usual R pig when she was in the past administration, and she sucked up to the Golden Behind every chance she got.

In other news, apparently the networks found it okay that a number of mainstream reporters dinnered pre-"debate" with members of the Behind's campaign people. Among them, Bob Costa, Kristen Welker, Dana Bash, and that little bothsideser who had appeared in PA politics Dasha Burns and is now sent around by NBC and others. They ate with Jason Miller and others, for gods' sake... Steak. It is not known who paid. See Charlie in Esquire.

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterJeanne

@Jeanne: I know "Charlie in Esquire" is firewalled, but please provide a direct link to the post you're asking readings to "see."

That's the whole idea here now; I'm begging people to "pay their way" by linking to pieces that may be of interest to other readers.

August 24, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Yikes-- Marie, I have always been averse to learning about how to actually link something--but I will give it a try, after I go back to the top of a column to find out the easiest way to do it. I will henceforth not cite others' writings, unless I can learn to do it. I fear I am really a dinosaur when it comes to tricks of the computer trade...Sorry!

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterJeanne

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a44891839/milwaukee-reporters-trump-team-rare-steakhouse/

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterJeanne

Well, it isn't in blue, so I assume it is not correct...I was using the Link Generator but somewhere I lost it...

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterJeanne

@Jeanne: Do it the easy way:

Click on the address box to highlight the URL of the page you want to link, copy the highlighted code. Then go to the Comments box on the Reality Chex page & paste the URL you just copied into the comment.

That's all there is to it. You're just copying and pasting.

August 24, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Jeanne: You beat me to it and you did it just right. Readers just have to block the URL you've provided and copy it into an address box (in another tab, if they wish), then hit return. That will call up the page.

August 24, 2023 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

I love Michael Cohen, or at least his use of our language.

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

Saw the mug shot.

Angry? Yes. But even more, petulant. He's still a spoiled little boy...

August 24, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes
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