The Commentariat -- Sept. 20, 2020

Afternoon Update:

In a compelling speech, Vice President Joe Biden addressed the nation on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: ~~~

     ~~~ Joe is awfully good at showing how small Donald Trump & Mitch McConnell are.

Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post: "The grounds of the Supreme Court bloomed into a memorial to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, drawing thousands who came to honor and remember the trailblazing icon.Mourners began arriving at the high court soon after news of her death came Friday evening, growing to a crowd of more than 1,000 who cried, sang and occasionally applauded. On Saturday, as the sun rose, dozens of people stood in silence as a flag flew at half-staff. And they kept coming by the hundreds. Bouquets, signs and chalk messages honoring Ginsburg multiplied by the minute. Joggers stopped mid-run, bikers paused and rested on their handlebars, and mothers from across the D.C. region brought their daughters to pay tribute to the pioneering liberal lawyer and advocate for equality. Even as lawmakers began to clash over when she would be replaced, the space outside the court was mostly one of quiet reflection. By nightfall, thousands packed the plaza, holding candles and listening to speakers."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Sunday that the Senate should not take up a Supreme Court nomination before the election, becoming the second GOP senator to voice opposition to a vote before Nov. 3. 'For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,' Murkowski said in a statement. 'I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia. We are now even closer to the 2020 election - less than two months out - and I believe the same standard must apply,' she added.... [Mitch] McConnell has not weighed in on the timing. If he wants to hold a vote before the election, he will need to hold together at least 50 of his 53 members, which would let Vice President Pence break a tie. That means in addition to [Susan] Collins [Maine] and Murkowski, Democrats need to win over at least two additional GOP senators."

Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Despite the Biden team’s confidence, the prospect of Mr. Trump's appointing a third justice to the Supreme Court in his first term injects a highly volatile element into the race just six weeks before the election. Court battles have long been seen as greater motivation for Republican voters than for Democrats, though the record sums of money flooding into Democratic campaigns in the hours after Justice Ginsburg's death offered progressives hope that they might be equally energized this time. Still, Biden campaign officials said on Saturday that they did not see even a Supreme Court vacancy and the passions it will inevitably inflame as reason to fundamentally reorient the campaign's approach.... While confirmation fights have long centered on hot-button cultural divides such as guns and especially abortion, the Biden campaign, at least at the start, plans to chiefly focus on protecting the Affordable Care Act and its popular guarantee of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions." A Politico story, by Marc Caputo, is here.

John Parkinson of ABC News: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sunday, calling her a 'powerful, brilliant brain on the court' in an appearance on ABC's 'This Week,' while refusing to take another impeachment inquiry off the table in order to block ... Donald Trump's upcoming nominee to the Supreme Court. 'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country. This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. 'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'" ~~~

~~~ Axios: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on ABC's 'This Week' on Sunday that President Trump is rushing to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because he 'wants to crush the Affordable Care Act....' Pelosi wants to steer the conversation around the potential Ginsburg replacement to health care, which polls show is a top issue for voters, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration has urged the courts to strike down the law, and with it, protections for millions with pre-existing conditions.... The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of the ACA on Nov. 10, one week after the general election. In 2017, 20 Republican attorneys general sued to get rid of the ACA, with the Trump administration's support, charging that because Congress had repealed the individual mandate, the entire law was no longer valid. The law has worked its way back to the Supreme Court after a federal judge ruled the law was unconstitutional and an appeals court said the law's individual mandate was unconstitutional."

Jordan Novet, et al., of CNBC: "... Donald Trump said Saturday he has approved a deal in principle in which Oracle and Walmart will partner with the viral video-sharing app TikTok in the U.S., allowing the popular app to avoid a shutdown. 'I have given the deal my blessing -- if they get it done that's great, if they don't that's okay too,' Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn before departing for North Carolina. 'I approved the deal in concept.' The U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would delay the prohibition of U.S. transactions with TikTok until next Sunday. Shortly after Trump's comments, Oracle announced it was chosen as TikTok's secure cloud provider and will become a minority investor with a 12.5% stake. TikTok confirmed Oracle's role and said it was working with Walmart on a commercial partnership." ~~~

~~~ Alexis Benveniste of CNN: "The back-and-forth of the TikTok deal has been rocky, but ... Donald Trump is certain that he wants to use the deal to create a $5 billion fund to 'educate people' about the 'real history of our country.' 'I think Walmart is going to buy it along with Oracle,' Trump said on Saturday at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He went on to say that as part of the deal, he requested '$5 billion into a fund for education so we can educate people as to real history of our country -- the real history, not the fake history.'" Mrs. McC: Real History, according to Prof. Trump: Donald Trump never told a lie. Donald Trump freed the slaves. Donald Trump led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. Donald Trump saved the crew of PT-109.

~~~ Jeanne Whalen of the Washington Post: "A federal court granted a preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration's planned ban of Chinese app WeChat, in response to a plaintiff lawsuit saying the ban would harm their First Amendment rights. The United States District Court in San Francisco said the plaintiffs, a group of WeChat users, had shown there are 'serious questions' related to their First Amendment claim. The Trump administration had planned to effectively ban WeChat in the U.S. late tonight by preventing it from appearing in mobile-phone app stores, and by blocking the app's access to Internet hosting services in the U.S. The planned ban stemmed from Trump's Aug. 6 executive order that declared that WeChat posed a threat to national security because it collected 'vast swaths' of data on Americans and other users, and offered the Chinese Communist Party an avenue for censoring or distorting information."

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The Washington Post adopted the alliterative slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness" in early 2017, to an appropriate degree of mockery. While we probably can agree that "sunlight is the best disinfectant" -- a less menacing expression of the same sentiment -- what we have learned these last few years is that democracy is dying in the light of day. We see evidence of its slow, painful death almost daily. A more accurate, if less catchy, saying might be "democracy dies in increments." It may be impossible to pinpoint the first incident that began the United States' descent. You might push it all the way back to nearly the birth of the nation, when the founders adopted a Constitution with a built-in undemocratic structure. Some of the fundamental errors of that original document have been cured, but others continue to plague us: the Electoral College, unequal representation in the Senate, the absence of a right to vote. In our recent history, surely one pernicious infection to our limited democratic body occurred the day the unscrupulous Mitch McConnell became the Senate's Republican leader in November 2006. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: As proof of how very undemocratic the courts are, Ian Millhiser of Vox provides the numbers: "Trump's two previous Supreme Court appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh..., share a dubious distinction.... They are the only members of the Supreme Court in history to be nominated by a president who lost the popular vote and confirmed by a bloc of senators who represent less than half of the country.... The [Senate's] Democratic 'minority' represents 15 million more people than the Republican 'majority').... If Trump fills the Ginsburg seat, fully one-third of the Court will be controlled by judges with no democratic legitimacy." ~~~

~~~ Maureen Dowd is not optimistic: "As it turned out, the founders created a country painfully vulnerable to whoever happens to be president. They assumed that future presidents would cherish what they had so painfully created, and continue to knit together different kinds of people from different areas with different economic interests. But now that we have a president who takes those knitting needles and stabs the country mercilessly with them, we can see how fragile this whole thing really is. All the stuff we took for granted -- from presidential ethics to electoral integrity to a nonpolitical attorney general -- is blown to smithereens.... He clearly doesn't see himself as president of a majority of the country. Whenever he talks about the half of the country that didn't vote for him, he paints a picture of a Scorsese urban hellscape the minute you cross state lines. On Wednesday, the president offered the heinous hypothetical that the death toll from the coronavirus would not be as bad 'if you take the blue states out.'"

** The Good. Nina Totenberg of NPR writes of her decades-long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Bad & the Ugly. Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump pressed Senate Republicans on Saturday to confirm his choice to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 'without delay,' setting up a momentous battle sure to inflame the campaign even as party leaders weighed whether they could force a confirmation vote before the election on Nov. 3. Mr. Trump appears likely to nominate a successor to Justice Ginsburg this coming week after her death on Friday, a selection that if confirmed would shift the Supreme Court to the right for years. But with some Republican senators balking, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader from Kentucky, was canvassing to figure out whether he had enough votes to rush a confirmation in the next six weeks. We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices,' Mr. Trump wrote Saturday morning on Twitter. 'We have this obligation, without delay!'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. "Mr. Trump said he expected to announce his nomination in the next week and told a campaign rally that it 'will be a woman.'... In a telephone conversation on Friday night with Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, according to two people familiar with the call, Mr. Trump identified two women as candidates: Judges Amy Coney Barrett of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and Barbara Lagoa of the 11th Circuit in Atlanta." ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: At the rally, which was held in Fayetteville, N.C., Trump celebrated & joked about his chance to pick another Supreme Court "justice." "The raucous nature of the rally stood in contrast to the vigil held for Ginsburg in Washington by the legions of the liberal justice's fans." Mrs. McC: I was surprised when someone at the White House released an appropriate statement about Justice Ginsburg's death, but I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that it took Trump less than 24 hours to start showing the world how glad he is she died. ~~~

     ~~~ Blake Montgomery of the Daily Beast: "Moments after vowing to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court at his campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday night, President Trump asked some of his female supporters in the crowd if their husbands had approved their attendance ... when he apparently recognized some of the women in Fayetteville from other rallies." Mrs. McC: This is yet another way Donald the Feminist mocks a chunk of Ruth Ginsburg's life's work. Ginsburg expanded women's rights by applying the equal protection clause to women; in Trump's view, the concept doesn't even exist, and wives remain chattel who must ask their husband's permission before doing anything. I doubt the mockery is intentional; it's just what Trump thinks is the "natural" order.

The Most Dishonest Senator. Matthew Schwartz of NPR: Lindsey "Graham [R-S.C.], who as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee would oversee confirmation hearings, said Saturday that he would support President Trump 'in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.' But this is a reversal from his earlier position; Graham has said multiple times that if a vacancy opened up in the run-up to a presidential election, he would hold off on confirmation. 'I want you to use my words against me. If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said, "Let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination,"' he said in 2016 shortly after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. 'And you could use my words against me and you'd be absolutely right.' Graham repeated the sentiment in October 2018 in an interview with The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. 'If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait till the next election.'" Graham has recently put forward phony rationales for going back on his word." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key centrist vote in the Senate, said Saturday that the Senate should not vote to confirm late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's successor before the election and the nominee should be chosen by whoever wins on Nov. 3. 'Given the proximity of the presidential election ... I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election,' Collins said in a statement. 'In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the president or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the president who is elected on Nov. 3.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Pardon my cynicism, but this likely means that Mitch has secured assurances from 50 or more senators that they will vote to proceed with the confirmation process. Collins is behind her Democratic opponent Sara Gideon in recent polls, so Mitch can afford for her to take a fake "principled stand."

Steve M. "I think voters who aren't politically engaged will learn about this, see Trump and McConnell defying her last wishes, and be repulsed by their defiance of her final request. This has been an election about decency vs. cruelty. This will be another reminder of Trump and McConnell's cold-blooded, unfeeling nature. It's not a good look a few weeks before an election." Mrs. McC: I sure hope Steve, who is a cynic nes plus ultra, is right about this. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York Times Editors: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ... will forever have two legacies. The one Americans could be focusing on right now is the one of legal trailblazer: Justice Ginsburg, the second woman ever to be appointed to the Supreme Court, paved the way for women's equality before the law, and for women's rights to be taken seriously by the courts and by society.... The other legacy of Justice Ginsburg's that the country is now urgently forced to confront is the cold political reality that she died in the final weeks of a presidential campaign, at a moment when President Trump and Mitch McConnell ... appear to be dead-set on replacing her with someone who would obliterate much of the progress she helped the country make. The court now faces a serious crisis of legitimacy. Senate Republicans, who represent a minority of the nation, and a president elected by a minority of the nation, are now in a position to solidify their control of the third branch of government."

Katelyn Burns of Vox: "According to the Democratic donor site ActBlue, $6.2 million flowed through the site in the 9 pm hour Friday, immediately following news of Ginsburg's death. It was more money raised in a single hour on the site since its launch 16 years ago -- and it was immediately eclipsed by the 10 pm hour, which saw $6.3 million raised." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Elena Schneider of Politico: "Democratic online donors set a new one-day fundraising record on ActBlue in the hours following Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, pouring money into Democratic Senate campaigns and other causes as Republican senators pledge to vote for a new justice nominated by ... Donald Trump. Donors gave more than $42 million to candidates and groups Saturday via ActBlue, the digital fundraising platform widely used by Democratic candidates and political committees, with more than eight hours to go in the day, according to the ticker on the front page of ActBlue's website." ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Just hours after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death was announced on Friday, the leaders of three of the left's most potent advocacy groups, Demand Justice, Naral Pro-Choice America and Indivisible, were on a call with 1,000 progressive activists and strategists to begin to unfurl a plan they hoped they would not have to use. Demand Justice, a relatively new group led by the longtime Democratic aide Brian Fallon to match the powerful conservative legal apparatus, quickly pledged to spend $10 million 'to fight to ensure no justice is confirmed before the January inauguration.' At the same time, a coalition of President Trump's conservative allies said Saturday that it was preparing for an intense confrontation over Justice Ginsburg's seat, and was gearing up for a lobbying and public relations blitz. The message: Move quickly to replace her." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race, Ctd.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The first signs of the impact of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's absence may come in a flurry of election-related disputes expected to reach the Supreme Court on an emergency basis in the coming weeks.... With scores of court challenges underway across the country seeking or opposing coronavirus-related changes to voting procedures, the change in the ideological balance of the high court could affect the outcome of such fights -- even if a new justice doesn't take the bench until after the election.... Donald Trump signaled Saturday night that he expects federal judges to play a key role in achieving a definitive result within hours of the polls closing on Election Day."

Trump Again Plays "How Low Can He Go" Against Himself. Mark Joyella of Forbes: "At a rally in Minnesota, President Trump described an MSNBC anchor hit by a rubber bullet while covering protests after the death of George Floyd in May as 'a beautiful sight,' comments quickly condemned by journalists including CNN's Jake Tapper. 'Absolutely heinous,' Tapper said on Twitter Saturday afternoon. 'Ali Velshi didn't deserve to be shot by a rubber bullet...and it's twisted for anyone, least of all a president, to call it "law and order."'... Velshi was reporting live in Minneapolis when police began firing rubber bullets and using tear gas against protesters -- while seeming to make no effort to avoid targeting journalists. Velshi, who told MSNBC viewers that there had been 'no provocation' before police began using force. 'The police pulled into this intersection, right into the middle of the crowd.' Velshi, video shows, was retreating -- and warning other journalists to take cover -- when he was hit. Despite the president falsely claiming that Velshi fell to the ground wailing 'my leg, my leg,' no such thing actually happened. Velshi told viewers he'd been hit and appeared to lean against a parked car."

Virginia. Nick Corasaniti & Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: "A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting 'four more years' as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site. County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts. Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building. But they acknowledged that some voters and polling staff members felt intimidated by what some saw as protesters.... In an unnerved electorate, where concerns about voting rights and safely voting amid the coronavirus pandemic are at a fever pitch, the demonstration outside of a polling place served as preview of a likely contentious election season, and how groups may be utilizing tactics that rattle or even deter voters over the next six weeks." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's notable that this incident of voter intimidation grew out of a Republican party-sponsored event: "The demonstration originated from a 'Trump Train' parade that began in nearby Prince William County and featured Tommy Hicks Jr., the current Republican National Committee co-chairman. The event was set to end in the parking lot of the government center, which was also serving as the polling location on Saturday. Some of the people who attended the parade walked over to vote. Others gathered outside and began chanting, 'four more years, four more years!'" A party official defended the Trump backers' actions.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. Several news outlets, including NBC News (but not the Times or WashPo) are reporting that more than 200,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** A Dangerous Power Grab. Sheila Kaplan of the New York Times: "In a stunning declaration of authority, Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, this week barred the nation’s health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, from signing any new rules regarding the nation's foods, medicines, medical devices and other products, including vaccines. Going forward, Mr. Azar wrote in a Sept. 15 memorandum..., such power 'is reserved to the Secretary.' The bulletin was sent to heads of operating and staff divisions within H.H.S. It's unclear if or how the memo would change the vetting and approval process for coronavirus vaccines, three of which are in advanced clinical trials in the United States.... Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a former associate commissioner of the F.D.A., called the new policy 'a power grab.'"

Denise Grady, et al., of the New York Times: "AstraZeneca revealed details of its large coronavirus vaccine trials on Saturday, the third in a wave of rare disclosures by drug companies under pressure to be more transparent about how they are testing products that are the world's best hope for ending the pandemic."

Emily Shugerman of the Daily Beast: "The doctor at the center of a scandal over unwanted hysterectomies at an immigrant detention facility in Georgia is not a board certified OB-GYN, The Daily Beast has learned. Dr. Mahendra Amin came under scrutiny after immigrant rights groups issued a report accusing him of conducting unnecessary or unwanted gynecological procedures on women detained at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. On Friday, a spokesperson for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology told The Daily Beast that its records show Amin is not certified by the organization."

Evan Perez of CNN: "A package containing the poison ricin and addressed to ... Donald Trump was intercepted by law enforcement earlier this week, according to two law enforcement officials. Two tests were done to confirm the presence of ricin. All mail for the White House is sorted and screened at an offsite facility before reaching the White House. A US law enforcement official told CNN that investigators are looking into the possibility the ricin package sent to Trump came from Canada. The FBI and Secret Service are investigating the matter. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Shhhh...can you hear it? Underneath the flapping of vampire wings? It’s the sound of...of PERJURY!

That deliciously evil sound that gives confederates the giggles every time one of their lying sack of shit Supreme Court candidates slithers in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “What, me? Not act fairly? Allow my oft repeated religious belief that only hard right Christians get to rule and that everyone else better do whatever the fuck we tell them to to control my efforts on the court? Play politics on the Supreme Court? Never! How could even suggest such things? You all better bow down and apologize right fucking now, or when I get on the court, I’ll...um, I mean, of COURSE I’ll abide by the Constitution and the, ahem, what is it called, “rule of law”? And precedent? And stare decisis? Well, sure I will. Natch and double natch!”

This is the same hypocritical song and dance we get from EVERY SINGLE R CANDIDATE for the court for the last 40 years.

And this is what we’re already hearing. The snickering “Sure I’ll behave! Heh-heh.”

Democrats have been killing themselves (and democracy) by bending over backwards trying to be fair to these liars. And what do we get in return? The back of their hands.

No more! Obama should have raised holy hell when this lying creep McConnell told him to fuck off. Al Gore should never have given in and let the Decider and his monkeys win.

Schumer, Schiff, Pelosi, and the brain trust need to pull out all the tricks they know to halt this gigantic, disgusting, fascist power grab.

And when and if these people are voted out, kick them when they’re down. Spit in their faces when they whine about “Fairness” and “bi-partisan comity”, the sort they never gave us.

And they never will.

Here comes the perjurers.

[Akhilleus]

Fatty sniffs “Too bad!” when it’s pointed out to his Royal doucheness that trying to install his nominee through in a way they (treasonous R’s) would not allow the last real president,especially given that he and his vile MAGA monkeys are partying around the grave of RBG even before she has been interred. “This is the consequence of losing an election!”

But we didn’t lose. It was stolen. And if Biden and the Democrats take back control of the country, we should show all these motherfuckers what it means to lose an election. Fat Fuck should be put in handcuffs the second after inauguration. Hypocritical confederates who lectured us about Obama’s choice but flip flopped when it was their turn to “do the right thing”, as they see it, should be shoved into a black pit of irrelevance.

But that’s saying we win. And we know that Fatty and Russia and their goons in the federal government have already decided that voting doesn’t matter.

Criminals should be locked up. Let’s add a few dozen to the prison rolls. Consequences? We’ll show you consequences, you fat traitor. I wonder if Trump Tower can declared an EPA super site? The stench from toxic fumes is smothering the country. It needs to be destroyed and the land it’s built on plowed under with lye. All except that escalator. It should be flown to whichever federal Super max prison will be the Orange Menace’s home for the rest of his horrible life. He can ride it down into the dungeon in shackles. And we won’t have to pay extras to come and cheer. There’ll be thousands, thrilled to do it for nothing.

[RockyGirl]

It’s time - high fucking time - that we start playing hardball with these motherfuckers. We take the majority (pres, house, senate) we get rid of the filibuster, add DC & Puerto Rico as states, and add 2 more Supremes. We’ve been engaged in asymmetrical warfare for far too long.

[PD Pepe]

"I HAVE THE GREATEST MEMORY"

If you have the time feast your eyes and ears on this video Mother Jone's has obtained re: the deposition taken during the Trump University law suit. Notice that when Fatty has to read the transcript he puts on glasses–- have we ever seen him with glasses? Nein–-and that, my friends, reveals the inner core of this man: Look pretty, lie pretty, and pretty well screw the country while doing it. Without good eyesight the world looks fuzzy–-out of focus and this fool has deliberately given us his world and it's damn well killing us.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-university-video-forgets-great-memory-boast_n_5f669400c5b6480e896ff8af

[Ken Winkes]

Impossible to feel sorry for the slimy and unprincipled Lindsey, but I do not envy the position he's put himself in: The land of the damned if you do, and....

In order to keep in S. Carolina Republicans' good graces he has abandoned any pretense of respect for the law, principle or for that matter, himself, and moved loudly and gracelessly into the Pretender's circle.

Now he's running for re-election in a tight race with his former stands on impeachment abandoned and now his remarks about late presidential term SCOTUS appointments tossed overboard, his adherence to party (for Graham, read: self interest) over principle complete.

It will be interesting. Harrison will pound him for his slavish devotion to the Pretender: Lindsey, the milksop who stands for nothing.

And millions more will flow into the Harrison campaign to pay to spread that message.

The question for S. Carolina will come down to this: Will it elect someone as their "leader" who has deliberately diminished himself by publicly rejecting any semblance of self-respect?

Or how high or low an opinion does S. Carolina have of itself?

[Ken Winkes]

Now that it appears I was wrong to predict another male SCOTUS nominee, I've been thinking of the effect on the nine women Republican senators of a pre-election vote confirming a woman anti-abortion nomineee.

Since anti-abortion sentiment is in the minority all those women senators, especially those in currently tight races, by my count three or four, will have some serious figgering to do in the next few weeks.

More senators I won't be feeling sorry for.

[PD Pepe]

@Ken: Yeah, and Harrison's message should be: "How can you trust Lindsey Graham when he obviously tells you one thing (relate it) and turns around and then says the opposite (relate it). Do you want someone that wishy-washy representing you? If you don't care about trust, then go ahead and vote for him, but I would think if you are someone who values the truth, values integrity, you will cast your vote for me. I can't promise you miracles but I can promise you I will be working for YOU and that will never change."

Word has it that protesters are gathered outside the turtles' shell and giving him "what for"–––Can't you imagine his chagrin which wipes that smarmy smile right off that wizardly face while the missus hovers in the background listening for planes overhead thinking perhaps the two of them are way over their heads.

[safari]

It appears that Bob Woodward's book details info on Russian malware ops they've stuck into some local voting machines that can essentially delete every tenth voter if activated, thereby throwing close victories to the loser.

This has been sticking in my craw for some time now.

The United States, that "shining light" of democracy, is LETTING itself get blackmailed by its most fervent enemies. How can this be allowed to stand? Every election that we use these hackable machines riddled with malware, our government officials are essentially just HOPING that foreign actors don't hit the "on" switch and throw our country into complete and utter political chaos. What good does the biggest military presence in the history of the world do if a few strategically hacked voting machines can bring such enormous psychological damage to our country? Or even potentially (?) throw the entire vote to a candidate that will further your own foreign interests? What world power with such capabilities wouldn't try to neuter the pentagon and take over areas as the US cedes its standing?

You would think a true democracy that wanted to safeguard its interests and protect against all attacks, internal and external, would find a way to organize un-hackable elections (like, say, tried and true paper ballots). But what are we doing? Using faulty machines filled with foreign malware and just HOPING they don't tip us into chaos. We're actively aiding & abetting foreign blackmail over own security and stability regarding the most sacred process our democratic system centers upon, the vote.

[NiskyGuy]

I recall the maker of some of those defective voting machines bragging that he would deliver Ohio to W. The defects are features.

[Jeanne]

I don't believe that anyone sent a toxic gas to Fatstuff. Why do they say it came by mail? It's not anthrax powder... Of course I know nothing about ricin, except what I thought it was, but I do know Fatty, and he lies with every breath, along with his toadies of every stripe. Reading further in Mary's book, he has been a useless piece of manure since he was born. No kidding.

Must stop and do some phone bank calling if they can get their act together (local Dems) and I don't hold out much hope, as they ARE Dems, after all...

[Akhilleus]

Pelosi is talking about impeachment? Great! Let’s do it. As Rockygirl suggests, it’s time to play hardball with these treasonous bastards. Why are we always bringing a knife to a gun fight? Time to break out the RPG’s and the flamethrowers. How about some fricasseed assholes? Starting with Fatty, McConnell, Cruz, Graham, and Barr. Fry their asses. What do we have to lose? That confederates won’t like us? They already detest actual democracy, decency, and fairness. Impeach away. It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.

Oh yeah, also love the idea of making DC and Puerto Rico states. While we’re at it, let’s make the Dakotas one state and the Carolinas too. Fewer lying racist pricks to deal with.

[Bobby Lee]

@AK Instead of making North and South Dakota into one state, let's be politically incorrect and "Give 'em back to the indians".

[carlyle]

Joe Biden should announce or start the thought of the beloved former first lady for the SCOTUS. She was a better lawyer than her husband when she hired him. The last two confirmed for the court were men who had never met or understood working people that have not participated in this supposed great economy

[Akhilleus]

Bobby Lee,

Hahaha. They might just say “Keep ‘em”. All that fracking has turned the place into a wasteland.

[Ken Winkes]

Some familiar names:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54226107

Drain the Swamp.