How I pine for the good ol' days when the Young Guns were at their zenith. I can visualize their riding off into the sunset, protectors and vanguards of truth, justice and the American way.
Thank you, thank you, thank you "Reader Stephen D." for the link to this 2020 podcast (just as Roger Stone was sentenced to 40 months jail time) regarding the Larry Klayman deposition of Roger Stone.
Many of us will have seen short clips of Stone's extraordinary tooth-gnashing, grimaces, facial tics and explosive swearing under questioning - but this hilarious broadcast puts the whole glorious debacle into context.
I've saved it for regular re-listening.
MorningShots
*How Larry Klayman deposed Roger Stone… Reader Stephen D. says: “it’s more unhinged then you can possibly imagine”*
Hey Charlie, I know you and Mona are always looking for good TV shows. Check out "City Homicide", an Australian cop show from the mid aughts. Not a bad episode among the 84. Excellent.
It literally hurts me to read these articles. It's not the corruption or the grift---America was built on both. It's not the lying---politicians lie all the time. No, it is the sheer STUPIDITY of the lies, and (the real kicker) the realization that more than 40% of the country is either 1) too stupid to recognize them as lies or 2) too jaded to care, as long as they have SOMETHING to grasp onto.
What my life feels like now:
Average American MAGA: "Trump was the greatest President of all time because he made peaches and bananas out of beef, while Biden deserves to be impeached because derp di derp."
Me: "Trump did NOT make peaches and bananas out of beef, but even if he did, why would that be a legitimate argument? Derp di derp is not a high crime or misdemeanor---heck, they're not even words."
Two books: It Was All a Lie by Stuart Stevens, and Everything Trump Touches Dies, by Rick Wilson. Says it all about the Republican party last 40 years, and about and Trump.
You know, I am really getting sick of Robin Vos and these f**king Wisconsin Republicans. A week or so ago, Charlie talked about how angry and *seething* they were about the balance shift on the court. Are they now.
It is the height of gall the way these anti-democratic jackasses consider themselves to be entitled to rig voting districts to guarantee they remain in power. And just what is Vos's rationale for considering impeachment of Protasiewicz? Because she "prejudged" the case by making a remark at one point that Wisconsin's maps were rigged.
Which is damn near the most asinine justification for removal of a judge I have ever heard. *Every* judge has preconceptions and political values. Tell me Robin, did you plan on demanding that Daniel Kelly recuse himself from votes regarding the state's abortion laws, since he touted his support from the state's three major anti-abortion groups? Oh, he didn't say how he'd rule, but neither did Protasiewicz. She told voters what her *values* were, something which every judge signals in one way or another, while risibly claiming that they aren't making any commitments on how they'd rule. Protasiewicz hasn't "prejudged" the case any more than any other partisan judge.
Of course, what Vos is really upset about is the mere fact that Democrats may now be able to break his corrupt stranglehold on power. After the 2018 midterms, when Republicans' gerrymandered maps produced another perversely lopsided result in the state legislature, despite Democrats winning an overall majority of the votes (53%-45%), Vos went straight to the usual Republican tactic of dismissing areas that vote for Democrats. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
--------------
But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) says the maps are drawn to ensure the Legislature represents the majority of the state and not just the populous Madison and Milwaukee. He said Democrats won on Tuesday in statewide races because the two largest voting blocs are in liberal cities of more than 300,000 people.
"If you took Madison and Milwaukee out of the state election formula, we would have a clear majority — we would have all five constitutional officers and we would probably have many more seats in the Legislature," Vos said. "As much as they complain about gerrymandering and all things that I think are made up issues for their failed agenda, I think we won a fair and square election."
---------------
You see? They just want the maps to represent "the majority of the state" – even though the majority of the state voted for Democrats.
Oh, but that's only because of Milwaukee and Madison, you see. If you just remove them from the equation, then Republicans have a majority – so let's pretend we did that! And then the maps are fine! It's just two cities, after all ... two cities that contain one seventh of the population of the state, but that's a trivial number of people to ignore given that they're all bunched into one place, which everyone knows ought to reduce their voting power. Especially when that one place is full of Democrats.
This is a constant refrain we hear from Republicans – that Democrats don't deserve to be counted in full because they aren't spread out enough. It just isn't fair. Look at all those sparsely populated counties painted red – it really looks like they should have more! The Democrats may have more people, but they've got more dirt, and that should count for something. In fact, it should count for everything. Can dirt vote? Well it should, and that's why they have to gerrymander, to make sure Republican dirt isn't subjugated to Democratic people.
Which, by the way, is the *only reason* Democrats win statewide races in Wisconsin. Y'know – having more people. Why should something like that determine who wins an election?
God Bless the rank-and-file pols in state and especially local venues (of both parties) who are serious about governing.
These folks are the ones (well, here in West Lafayette, IN) who get money to have community projects accomplished.
Parties here are mostly meaningless. A four term Republican mayor, who succeeded a five term Democratic mayor, will be succeeded by a Democratic mayor.
Why?
Becuase there is no primary challenger and there is no Republican challenger.
Why?
Because she has been a professional in a number of COMMUNITY positions, who is now on the the mayor's staff.
So...it seems that here in the bubble of sanity in local government (200k in our county that includes the larger City of Lafayette) we are living the political life intended by the philosophical Founders.
BTW - John Dennis, the Republican mayor of West Lafayette (born and raised here) was the Lafayette Police Department Detective partner of Tony Roswarski (born and raised in Lafayette), who has been that city's Democratic mayor for 20 years.
As a Poly Sci major in college, all I can say is..."You can't make this shit up!!"
When Reagan sold weapons to Iran in a secret back room deal, he sent a message to conservative voters that their candidates are above the law. The media accepted this, too, then went after the Clintons over the non-scandal of Whitewater, even as it was becoming clear that Reagan and Bush had committed treason, sending a message to Democrats that our journalists support a two tiered justice system--one for the party of Jefferson and another for the party of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Causing harm to Clinton's voters and reveling in the Schadenfreude was the driving force of the GOP for a quarter century, and ALL of the big names we mention here today were a part of that sophomoric behavior. They wanted to harm those of us who voted against them in 1992, and they got their wish. They harmed our country and they harmed our families. They wanted to harm us out of spite for their having lost an election, and so they did. Where are they now indeed?
While I appreciate your warnings about what bad things we might have to go through in 2024 with the Republican's trying to destroy our country, I wonder sometimes if the Bulwark is a bit too pessimistic.
So for another perfective, I wanted to share with you all this alternative theory from today's Daily Beast.
Oh Charlie, Charlie, Charlie,
How I pine for the good ol' days when the Young Guns were at their zenith. I can visualize their riding off into the sunset, protectors and vanguards of truth, justice and the American way.
Thank you, thank you, thank you "Reader Stephen D." for the link to this 2020 podcast (just as Roger Stone was sentenced to 40 months jail time) regarding the Larry Klayman deposition of Roger Stone.
Many of us will have seen short clips of Stone's extraordinary tooth-gnashing, grimaces, facial tics and explosive swearing under questioning - but this hilarious broadcast puts the whole glorious debacle into context.
I've saved it for regular re-listening.
MorningShots
*How Larry Klayman deposed Roger Stone… Reader Stephen D. says: “it’s more unhinged then you can possibly imagine”*
The failure started in the Senate. People like McConnell, and yes even Mitt aromney, failed us. Where are our Barry Goldwater’s today?
https://www.azcentral.com/story/azdc/2014/08/03/goldwater-rhodes-nixon-resignation/13497493/
Hey Charlie, I know you and Mona are always looking for good TV shows. Check out "City Homicide", an Australian cop show from the mid aughts. Not a bad episode among the 84. Excellent.
WTF is happening?
It literally hurts me to read these articles. It's not the corruption or the grift---America was built on both. It's not the lying---politicians lie all the time. No, it is the sheer STUPIDITY of the lies, and (the real kicker) the realization that more than 40% of the country is either 1) too stupid to recognize them as lies or 2) too jaded to care, as long as they have SOMETHING to grasp onto.
What my life feels like now:
Average American MAGA: "Trump was the greatest President of all time because he made peaches and bananas out of beef, while Biden deserves to be impeached because derp di derp."
Me: "Trump did NOT make peaches and bananas out of beef, but even if he did, why would that be a legitimate argument? Derp di derp is not a high crime or misdemeanor---heck, they're not even words."
Average American MAGA: "Groomer!"
Two books: It Was All a Lie by Stuart Stevens, and Everything Trump Touches Dies, by Rick Wilson. Says it all about the Republican party last 40 years, and about and Trump.
More Mike Murphy please!!!
You know, I am really getting sick of Robin Vos and these f**king Wisconsin Republicans. A week or so ago, Charlie talked about how angry and *seething* they were about the balance shift on the court. Are they now.
It is the height of gall the way these anti-democratic jackasses consider themselves to be entitled to rig voting districts to guarantee they remain in power. And just what is Vos's rationale for considering impeachment of Protasiewicz? Because she "prejudged" the case by making a remark at one point that Wisconsin's maps were rigged.
Which is damn near the most asinine justification for removal of a judge I have ever heard. *Every* judge has preconceptions and political values. Tell me Robin, did you plan on demanding that Daniel Kelly recuse himself from votes regarding the state's abortion laws, since he touted his support from the state's three major anti-abortion groups? Oh, he didn't say how he'd rule, but neither did Protasiewicz. She told voters what her *values* were, something which every judge signals in one way or another, while risibly claiming that they aren't making any commitments on how they'd rule. Protasiewicz hasn't "prejudged" the case any more than any other partisan judge.
Of course, what Vos is really upset about is the mere fact that Democrats may now be able to break his corrupt stranglehold on power. After the 2018 midterms, when Republicans' gerrymandered maps produced another perversely lopsided result in the state legislature, despite Democrats winning an overall majority of the votes (53%-45%), Vos went straight to the usual Republican tactic of dismissing areas that vote for Democrats. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
--------------
But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) says the maps are drawn to ensure the Legislature represents the majority of the state and not just the populous Madison and Milwaukee. He said Democrats won on Tuesday in statewide races because the two largest voting blocs are in liberal cities of more than 300,000 people.
"If you took Madison and Milwaukee out of the state election formula, we would have a clear majority — we would have all five constitutional officers and we would probably have many more seats in the Legislature," Vos said. "As much as they complain about gerrymandering and all things that I think are made up issues for their failed agenda, I think we won a fair and square election."
---------------
You see? They just want the maps to represent "the majority of the state" – even though the majority of the state voted for Democrats.
Oh, but that's only because of Milwaukee and Madison, you see. If you just remove them from the equation, then Republicans have a majority – so let's pretend we did that! And then the maps are fine! It's just two cities, after all ... two cities that contain one seventh of the population of the state, but that's a trivial number of people to ignore given that they're all bunched into one place, which everyone knows ought to reduce their voting power. Especially when that one place is full of Democrats.
This is a constant refrain we hear from Republicans – that Democrats don't deserve to be counted in full because they aren't spread out enough. It just isn't fair. Look at all those sparsely populated counties painted red – it really looks like they should have more! The Democrats may have more people, but they've got more dirt, and that should count for something. In fact, it should count for everything. Can dirt vote? Well it should, and that's why they have to gerrymander, to make sure Republican dirt isn't subjugated to Democratic people.
Which, by the way, is the *only reason* Democrats win statewide races in Wisconsin. Y'know – having more people. Why should something like that determine who wins an election?
God Bless the rank-and-file pols in state and especially local venues (of both parties) who are serious about governing.
These folks are the ones (well, here in West Lafayette, IN) who get money to have community projects accomplished.
Parties here are mostly meaningless. A four term Republican mayor, who succeeded a five term Democratic mayor, will be succeeded by a Democratic mayor.
Why?
Becuase there is no primary challenger and there is no Republican challenger.
Why?
Because she has been a professional in a number of COMMUNITY positions, who is now on the the mayor's staff.
So...it seems that here in the bubble of sanity in local government (200k in our county that includes the larger City of Lafayette) we are living the political life intended by the philosophical Founders.
BTW - John Dennis, the Republican mayor of West Lafayette (born and raised here) was the Lafayette Police Department Detective partner of Tony Roswarski (born and raised in Lafayette), who has been that city's Democratic mayor for 20 years.
As a Poly Sci major in college, all I can say is..."You can't make this shit up!!"
Trump had the power of the Presidency behind him in his Coup attempt in 2020.
In comparison 2022 was weak sauce to 2020
The 2024 election cycle will be crazy because Trumps a part of it either as the Republican nominee, a third party nominee or from a jail cell.
Will it be the shit show that was the post 2020 election? Nope.. not even close.
O I’m
When Reagan sold weapons to Iran in a secret back room deal, he sent a message to conservative voters that their candidates are above the law. The media accepted this, too, then went after the Clintons over the non-scandal of Whitewater, even as it was becoming clear that Reagan and Bush had committed treason, sending a message to Democrats that our journalists support a two tiered justice system--one for the party of Jefferson and another for the party of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Causing harm to Clinton's voters and reveling in the Schadenfreude was the driving force of the GOP for a quarter century, and ALL of the big names we mention here today were a part of that sophomoric behavior. They wanted to harm those of us who voted against them in 1992, and they got their wish. They harmed our country and they harmed our families. They wanted to harm us out of spite for their having lost an election, and so they did. Where are they now indeed?
That Klayman story is WILD. Full-on SovCit B.S. 🤪
While I appreciate your warnings about what bad things we might have to go through in 2024 with the Republican's trying to destroy our country, I wonder sometimes if the Bulwark is a bit too pessimistic.
So for another perfective, I wanted to share with you all this alternative theory from today's Daily Beast.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/americas-in-much-better-shape-than-you-think
The Michigan scenario is what scares me the most. These men/women who safeguarded the 2020 election results with integrity have been ousted.
What’s the Wisconsin legislature doing now with the woman who oversees elections? Trying to railroad her out?
Doesn’t bode well. Only a truly indisputable victory will survive through the meat-grinders...