I am enjoying my schradenfreude and I feel fine as my pleasure is due to millions of people keeping affordable health care as weasel faces the call out to be punched were judiciously judicially punched today. I am also enjoying the wingnut explosion as they see their expectations of complete subservience to the Party dashed.
From the American Clarion:
I just sent this letter to my federal representatives: Senator John Thune, Senator Mike Rounds, and Rep. Kristi Noem. I called for the immediate impeachment of the six lawless rogues on the U.S. Supreme Court who displayed their complete contempt for the U.S. Constitution and the American people by rewriting ObamaCare.
If you treasure freedom and the U.S. Constitution, you might consider contacting your representatives with similar correspondence.
We really should encourage this, although we must do the encouragement while we observe Cleek’s Law.
today’s conservatism is the opposite of what liberals want today: updated daily.
So liberals are terrified of the Supreme Court 6 being impeached as I’ll outline the consequences below the fold:
Let’s game this through.
House passes articles of impeachment and places quite a few Blue-seat holding Republicans at increased risk during a presidential cycle. The articles are argle bargle un-constitutional supporting of Obamacare and Death Panels, Subsidazi-Benghazi, Fuck-Yeah.
The Senate takes the articles of impeachment. Democrats have two choices here. The first choice is to vote en-masse against all articles of impeachment for all the Justices. All articles fail, and the wingnuts have pissed off two people with life tenure, one of which is projected to have a very long memory for revenge.
A lot of cases which would have been 5-4 for conservatives go 5-4 or 6-3 liberal, and more importantly, quite a few cases don’t get cert.
Now if the Democrats are evil political bastards who can execute a good rat fuck, they adapt their voting patterns to create either massive wedges into the GOP coalition as they enter an election cycle on an ugly for Republicans’ map or a friendly Supreme Court majority or both.
For the four Justices that were appointed by Clinton or Obama, Democrats vote en-masse against impeachment. No change here as they stay on the Court. For Roberts and Kennedy, two choices can emerge that fracture Republicans. The first choice is for Democrats to vote en-masse for impeachment, so they are either removed from the bench in conjunction with Republican votes OR they don’t show up in sufficient numbers to stop the articles of impeachment being passed if the Senate GOP votes en-masse to sustain the impeachment (54-27).
Why would the Republicans be fractured and wedged in these two scenarios?
The replacement problem is the reason. Let’s assume that Roberts and Kennedy are impeached and removed from the court. All of a sudden, the balance of the court goes from 5-4 conservative with Kennedy as the typical median voter, to 4-3 liberal with Breyer as the typical swing voter and the Notorious RBG as the Chief Justice. I’ll live with that. Now the Senate Republicans would also have created two vacancies. They can either blockade the positions, although it looks absurd given that they created the positions, or they approve two young, highly qualified conventional Democratic nominees with life tenure with mostly Democratic but some Republican votes so the marginal voter is either Breyer or Kagan and the liberal wing gets a one death cushion against a Republican president or President Obama gets two recess appointments for a year until President Clinton gets to choose her two justices.
So remember, liberals have to be terrified at the prospect of the King Six being impeached….
Cacti
Today in GOP minority outreach:
Puerto Rican singer and actress Roselyn Sanchez has backed out of co-hosting Donald Trump’s Miss USA pageant, citing The Donald’s slur of Mexican-Americans.
Good for her.
Baud
Save some schradenfreude for tomorrow or Monday if, as expected, Kennedy gives some love to the gays.
Richard mayhew
I have a poncho at my desk for tomorrow due to an expected exploding head of sputtering incoherence from a coworker
g
Oh, yes, by all means, let’s encourage the “immediate” impeachment of six justices. Because that’s as likely to happen as…what? Pigs flying to Mars?
EriktheRed
Hey, Richard
Seems the latest Obamacare gloom-and-doom talking point is that, allegedly, most Americans – that’s most, mind you – can’t afford their insurance anymore because of the law. Something about deductibles and rates skyrocketing to the point that people can’t actually use their coverage.
I’m guessing this is overblown crap like the rest of their memes, but do you know anything about it?
(I’ll admit, I haven’t read your other posts explaining insurance in much detail, so forgive me if you’ve already answered this in one)
OzarkHillbilly
I find it especially juicy that Roberts used Scalia’s dissent from the last ACA case against Scalia in this one. Way to twist the knife, sir.
Cacti
@OzarkHillbilly:
The takeaway from that:
Even Nino’s erstwhile right wing allies on the Court think he’s an issufferable ass.
shawn
they won’t try to impeach judges – and if they do, i don’t see Supreme Court Justices being so petty as to let the situation you laid out preside over their judicial…ness
dedc79
Today looks to be one of those rare days when reason trumps crazy:
Schoolchildren in California would be required to be vaccinated unless there is a medical reason not to do so under a sweeping bill approved by the State Assembly on Thursday. The measure would end exemptions for personal or religious reasons, routinely requested by parents opposed to vaccines.
The legislation would make California the largest state by far with such requirements for childhood vaccinations as it joins West Virginia and Mississippi, which have had similar laws for years.
Mr. Prosser
I like your plan, carry on.
Valdivia
Can’t tell you how much joy I got from reading your gaming out of the impeachment.
I am now only worried about the EPA decision. On the other hand I am sure tomorrow or Monday we will all be getting gay married to the constitution.
MattF
@Richard mayhew: Yeah, I think we’re going to see the triple whammy with respect to SCOTUS. Wingers will be unhappy, to put it mildly.
Valdivia
Totally off topic but, kind of wow, at this
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly: @Cacti:
I love that Scalia’s dissent in Windsor was the tipping point for acceptance of marriage equality.
Richard mayhew
@shawn: I am not counting on pettiness, I am counting on a reevaluation of perspectives as it is usually a shock when long term allies try to put your head on a pike
Cacti
Speaking of twisting the knife…
Ken Burns has finally weighed in on the confederate flag debate and says:
It’s about resistance to civil rights, not heritage.
Link
Bad week for the flag groupies.
Mike J
@OzarkHillbilly:
Wait until the marriage equality ruling comes out, Half the circuits that overturned state bans as unconstitutional cited a Scalia dissent. Won’t be surprising to see it in the final decision.
Scalia should be very glad he has a good insurance plan, because he’s going to have a stroke.
Richard mayhew
@g: it is absurd, I agree, but if the teabaggers can make impeaching Roberts or Kennedy a primary litmus test, pass the popcorn
Baud
Kennedy has been an honorary liberal this term. I wonder if Pope Francis is getting to him.
SatanicPanic
@dedc79: I know, this one got lost in the shuffle, but if the SCOTUS hadn’t ruled on the ACA today, it would have already been a great day for reason and common sense
Snarki, child of Loki
It only takes a majority in the House to impeach, and the GOP has that.
The question is, are they man enough to do it? Are they Patriots, or commie-appeasers? Are they going to let Nancy Pelosi be the boss of them; “Nancy-Boys”, if you will.
I predict much whining, foaming at the mouth, screeching in impotent rage, then surrender.
Valdivia
@Cacti: Thanks for that link on Burns.
Richard mayhew
@Mike J: any betting markets on the question if Scalia either literally foams at the mouth or snarls in his dissent
Baud
Repeating a prior comment, I wonder if we’ll see a George Wallace style third party run on the right next year.
Comrade Luke
Can someone give me a Readers Digest condensed version of how to deal with a friend who is convinced “there is something there” wrt Benghazi? Seems like mistakes might have been made, but nothing wrt some kind of conspiracy to save Hillary’s butt, amirite?
This is so exhausting.
LWA
Alternate game-
The two vacancies are blocked by the GOP Senate, then in 2016 HRC’s coattails flip the Senate, allowing the selection of Chief Justice Barack Obama to the Court.
Ahhh, the joy of a midday daydream.
Cacti
This day just keeps getting better:
Bristol Palin announces she’s going to be a baby-mama for the second time.
MattR
@Cacti: And Univision has backed out of airing the pageant, which of course has Trump threatening to sue.
LWA
@Richard mayhew: I’m waiting on a pool for when the phrase “goat raping pedophile” appears in Scalia’s dissent.
D58826
I know it’s OT and it really isn’t funny because it affects real people but it is hard to keep a straight face with this kind of news:
Mike J
@Cacti:
Which is great news that everyone should celebrate. I’m sick of hearing from the emoprogs that the flag stuff is all a meaningless distraction that we shouldn’t waste our time on.
Baud
@Comrade Luke:
Speaking as a sociopath, my advice is to stop being their friend.
Cacti
@D58826:
I disagree.
It’s laugh out loud funny. Former abstinence spokesperson and apprentice moral scold Bristol Palin is knocked up again?
That’s hi-larious.
MattF
@Comrade Luke: Sounds to me like your friend has The Hillary Problem. No cure for it, I’m afraid.
SatanicPanic
@Cacti: Oh god
this week just keeps getting better
TaMara (BHF)
@Cacti:Palin family motto: “Abstinence only” for thee but not for me.
Tree With Water
I well remember ‘Impeach Earl Warren’ bumper stickers, and ones for William Douglas, too.
Valdivia
@Cacti: So this is why she had to cancel her wedding? Because she was having a baby from someone else? This abstinence spokesperson’s life is even worse than a telenovela.
Ryan
Ok, am I missing something or have we just sailed into Latin American 1970s style territory?
Jeffro
@SatanicPanic: Amen.
I mean, thank the FSM.
I mean, oh my…
Steve from Antioch
If you want to taste some particularly tasty salty tears, mosey on over to the Volokh Report at the Washington Post where Adler and other architects of the attack on the ACA are busily trying to shuck and jive their way of of the judicial box canyon they’ve built for themselves.
“Oh, doesn’t really matter because it all comes down to 2016.”
“Obama is lawless [nevermind that 6 Justices seem to disagree with you.”
Hilarious.
Kropadope
@Mike J:
Funny, I thought it was the emoprogs who were driving the flag conversation. A conversation about flags is a conversation about symbols, symbols tie very closely with emotion.
Cacti
@Valdivia:
Yeah, I’m guessing she probably told hubby to be that there was a bun in the oven, but she wasn’t sure if he was the baker.
the Conster
My schadenfreude has schadenfreude today. That’s some lame duck lame duckiness, there O-man. Well played.
-Obot
Comrade Luke
@Baud: That’s really not realistic, but thanks for the advice :)
It’s not a Hillary problem, but he acknowledges that the only reason he doesn’t vote for Republicans every time is that they’re insane. As soon as they field someone who can give the appearance of rational, he’ll board that crazy train.
At any rate, the main reason I ask is that I’ve been rolling my eyes at the whole Benghazi thing since the beginning, but it did seem like people were acknowledging that there were some (fairly benign) mistakes made. I figured that was what he was clinging to, but I’m still not 100% what those mistakes were.
SatanicPanic
@Cacti:
OH REALLY?
Valdivia
@Ryan: Sorry to be a historical pedant but Latin America circa 1970s involves the army taking over in a coup, installing a brutal dictatorship and dissapearing a good portion of citizens, so I don’t think we have quite gotten there. Latin America in other decades might work better as an analogy.
@Cacti: Maybe she didn’t even have to tell him he wasn’t the father, maybe from facts we are not privy to, he figured it out all by his lonesome. ;)
Mike J
@Kropadope:
Nah, it’s the same way they switch between “it’s all just talk” and “use the bully pulpit.”
JPL
@Cacti: She’s handling it with dignity and grace. God is on her side.
Baud
@JPL:
Maybe God is the father. #SecondComing
Ryan
@Valdivia: True. I was mainly going for the subversion of democracy, but other decades are probably more applicable. Though I struggle to find an analogue to the modern Conservative movement at times.
joel hanes
@Comrade Luke:
how to deal with a friend who is convinced “there is something there” wrt Benghazi?
Wingnuts gain rage and volume and self-confidence when opposed.
So don’t oppose.
Act interested.
Ask the friend to explain, in detail, what horrible thing was committed, and by whom.
Keep requesting details.
The friend will have to confront the fact that the friend actually knows very little about what the whole kerfuffle is supposed to be about, and cannot identify the deed that’s supposedly so outrageous.
JPL
How many times can you become a born again virgin?
SatanicPanic
@JPL: dignity and grace are the two nannies that her mom hired
Roger Moore
@Baud:
From your mouth to FSM’s orichetti.
piratedan
@Cacti: yes, but this is obviously a divine birth seeing how Bristol hasn’t married yet and I’m sure that she’s practicing abstinence like a good Christian
Valdivia
@Ryan: After writing my comment I was trying to think what decade would fit best and I would say 1940s and 1950s (maybe some places in the 60s). It’s funny you mention that because I too have been thinking a lot about a good parallel for the conservative movement and haven’t come up with a good answer yet.
@JPL: I think Madonna wrote a song about that ;)
Kropadope
@Comrade Luke:
Some question the “open” diplomatic approach of J. Christopher Stevens, the ambassador there at the time of the attack. While many rightly fault Congress for not adequately financing diplomatic security, Mr. Stevens (if I remember correctly) was not actively pushing for additional security at his embassy. He wanted America to appear some sort of approachable or respectful.
I believe HRC was supportive in this regard, though I’m too lazy to do the research to affirm any of my details at this time. I can’t say I fault them for this approach generally, although perhaps time and place should be more of a consideration.
Roger Moore
@D58826:
And I’m guessing baby daddy is not former fiancee Dakota Meyer, which is why their wedding was called off.
piratedan
@Comrade Luke: have him link out to Rep Gowdy’s website to check on the number of indictments issued based on the Congressional investigation
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Comrade Luke: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report from January 2014 (85 page .pdf). That’s probably the best summary at the moment. It has some additional commentary, but the Majority’s comments on pp 61-65 is probably a decent summary. Pages 66-85 give the Teabagger rebuttals and Susan Collin’s commentary.
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
Speaking of wingnuts: I was fascinated at the little tags the commenters at Free Republic were appending to their ‘nyms. And I’m pretty sure I spotted at least two libtard trolls, but not outing them.
These wingnuts be legends in their own mind.
Elizabelle
@efgoldman: If not that, cotton in your ears.
Kerry Reid
Does the preservation of Obamacare mean that single pregnant women in Alaska are covered? Asking for a friend.
Baud
@Kerry Reid:
She can get free birth control.
MomSense
Richard, just want to say thank you again for all the posts on the ACA. You are exactly what I wish for journalism. We have all learned so much from you.
I also want to say that I hope your son “outgrows” his asthma. I went through that with one of my sons and we had some truly terrifying attacks. He is now asymptomatic but I remember many sleepless nights and know how exhausting it can be.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: You would think Scalia would learn to just STFU, but Nooooooooooooo…..
beltane
@D58826: Dang, you beat me to it. Not very important news in the scheme of things, though it does add to the general mirth of the day.
Germy Shoemangler
@Baud: Since Sarah isn’t running for vp, she doesn’t have to claim it’s hers when the baby’s finally born.
Too soon?
JPL
So can we assume that this is why the wedding was called off?
beltane
Bristol Palin’s pregnancy announcement was actually kind of sad. There is no real mirth in this: http://wonkette.com/589536/looks-like-god-knocked-up-bristol-palin-again
PaulW
If the Republicans really want to game this out, they’d first have to impeach Obama AND Biden, in order to clear a path for a Republican to get the WH (Speaker Boehner).
That will never happen without the 2/3rds needed in the Senate, so it’s a moot point.
The impeachment talk is just impotent raging by the Teabagger ZOMG DEATH PANELS OBAMACARE SHOCIALIZM. I doubt it will even give them any electoral momentum because more than enough American voters will go “f-ck it, move on.”
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I wonder if any of the other Justices will cite it. (snickers)
dedc79
@Kerry Reid: Wonder how Bristol would feel about a pizza delivery company refusing to cater her baby shower because of religious disapproval of her lifestyle choices.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Cacti: I saw him on Morning Hoe this AM, he was quite unequivocal about it.
Cacti
@piratedan:
The only two baby mamas in history that were ever approved of by US religious conservatives are:
1. The Virgin Mary
2. Bristol Palin
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@beltane: Sarah Palin has always struck me as gleefully nasty, she really enjoys her spiteful, toxic and meaningless life– “New shoes! Applause! Yer darn tootin’ I’ll come help open yer great American job-creatin’ used car lot, Honest Fred’s Autos! I’m not too busy playin’ golf like some folks I know! Todd got the gun and I got the rack ya know! You’ll send a stretch hummer with the check in the back seat, right?”. Bristol strikes me more as the sad wreckage of having grown up with that. The blather about dignity, grace and god just makes it all sadder, to say nothing of the two children involved.
Comrade Luke
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: OK, that’s great. I’ll read that summary, and hopefully will be able to come up with a concise rebuttal.
And for the many of you who say “unfriend him”, or something similar: I’ve known this guy for 40yrs, and while we have a lot of things in common – otherwise we wouldn’t have been friends this long – we dramatically differ politically. We have gotten into arguments/debates in the past, but as we’ve gotten older we’ve just put that stuff on the back burner, and focused on our commonalities.
Should that be the basis for ending a friendship? Does that really help anything? And is it even how the world works, or should work?
I loathe Republicans and everyone they stand for, but if I cut off ties with everyone who agreed with some or any part of their platform, I’ll end up awfully lonely. Or surrounded by a bunch of people who think exactly the same way as me, which isn’t necessarily a good thing imo.
If I can talk about this stuff with him, even a little bit, at least it will give us one less thing to argue about. And more importantly, now I have the information necessary to rebut this if it ever gets brought up in public. All to often, crap like this gets mentioned in company, and just plants the wrong ideas when gone unchallenged.
Anyway, sorry for the rant. Thanks for the info.
srv
We will never have single payer now.
Valdivia
@JPL: It seems likely that this is why and that, most probably, the guy she was going to marry was not the father.
Omnes Omnibus
@Valdivia: I see some parallels between the Tea Party and Poujadisme, but I know that you are looking for something broader.
Germy Shoemangler
@Cacti: Possible baby names: “Target” or “Crosshairs” or “Don’t Retreat!”
(Inspired by Sarah’s facebook treatment of Gabby Giffords)
BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: Until it takes, I guess.
Baud
@Comrade Luke:
Best of luck to you.
Cacti
@Germy Shoemangler:
In honor of Bristol’s drunken backyard brawling, I suggest:
Barstool Palin
shell
Dear God , they really are like spoiled five year old brats when they don’t get their way.
Don’t like something Obama did? Impeach, impeach! Hint at armed resurrection, regime change!
Don’t like the results of a national election? Fume that you’re gonna take your little fistful of marbles and seccede from the country.
craigie
@Snarki, child of Loki:
Ironically, it will be potent rage, then surrender.
JustRuss
@Cacti: It’s all fun and games until Puerto Rican singers start infringing on billionaires’ first amendment rights.
/wingnut
Germy Shoemangler
Saw this interesting comment from Mnemosyne (iPhone) in a different thread:
MaryRC
@Cacti: I don’t want to pile on this young woman, who admittedly has made some poor choices in life but at least didn’t get to choose the worst thing that has ever happened to her, namely having Sarah Palin as a mother.
But Bristol, this thing you said: “I do not want any lectures …”
Hon, other people didn’t particularly want the lectures you doled out, either. Think about that. And I wish you the best.
beltane
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: It’s not easy being the child of a deeply narcissistic parent. The Palin children are just props, at best, in the drama of La Palin’s life.
beltane
Now Donald Trump is suing Univision for backing out of the Miss Universe deal. This clown show deserves more than just popcorn.
shell
Yes, cause slut shaming is her job. Ugh, the hypocrisy burns.
I thought she was married to the first baby’s Dad. But it an engagement, later called off.
Keith G
@Mike J:
I would like to read their twisted reasoning and leave vile comments. Who are they?
Valdivia
@Omnes Omnibus: I had not thought of that and it is a good comparison and something to use as a jumping off point in thinking about this. Gracias :)
Cacti
@shell:
Bristol’s beaus seem to have a habit of changing their mind about joining clan Palin.
I’m sure I don’t know why.
Cervantes
Richard, you know better than to think these clowns are deterred by the appearance of absurdity.
MomSense
@Germy Shoemangler:
Let’s see the Palin names so far are Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, Trig, and grand kid is Tripp. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bristol does the all the kids names start with T thing. My guesses are Trace/Tracie, Trek, Taya or Taos.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I will schaden my freude on George Will, who is so steamed about this ruling that the toupee glue won’t stick today.
Cacti
@MomSense:
Or maybe Trap, Tongue ring, Twister, or Taco (no, probably too Mexican).
shell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: You made me laugh out loud
SuperHrefna
@MomSense: Trapper is my guess. And it’s unisex!
the Conster
@beltane:
Won’t a Trump presidency be fun? He’ll pick fights with and/or fire half the country, get in twitterstorms and sue half of America. IOW it would be like electing Kanye West.
Elizabelle
Very nice package from NBC Nightly News about Obamacare victory. Chuck Todd brought up the rear, talking about GOP candidates’ reaction, and made it clear the GOP is ‘”relieved” they don’t have to come up with a fix. Cuz they don’t have one.
I am liking this Lester Holt. Although he has the Trumpster on later.
Switched to the Snooze Hour to see what they say.
muddy
@Comrade Luke: This doesn’t answer Benghazi questions, but does put it in some perspective in regards to Republicans and their reactions previous: https://www.facebook.com/TheBlueStreetJournal/photos/a.115278601973876.22563.115272475307822/162977380537331/
Germy Shoemangler
@Cacti: Trigger, Ticborne, Tinnitus, Tinplate, or Thuggery
SuperHrefna
@the Conster: I think Kanye would make a much better president than Trump, if only because his State of the Union speeches would be EPIC
David Koch
While we’re at it, let’s not forget the emoprog rage:
MomSense
@Cacti:
Ha!!@SuperHrefna: Perfect!
Elizabelle
@the Conster: Caught Trump during my brief Fox-watching interludes today.
He railed about Obamacare being the worst thing ever, then was asked about the impact of Obamacare on his own business.
Not a problem. They treat their people very well and the employees all have great benefits.
Well all right then.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SuperHrefna: @the Conster: let us cross the streams: Trump Palin. He can be godfather, and the godmother…. Jean Schmidt? Snooki?
ETA: got that wrong: Megan McCain is the politi-spawn who was publicity hunting with Snooki.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Germy Shoemangler: South Korea’s single payer is pretty limited, most folk have supplemental insurance to cover a lot of stuff.
Ask a Korean(post on Health Care).
ThresherK
@beltane: I know this may not be “politically correct” for me to say, but: Why didn’t they send her to a nunnery when they had the chance? Is that still a thing?
Something odd about the clan Palin pining for the good ol’ days, and totally incapable of raising their kids in these days.
JPL
@Germy Shoemangler: I think waiting fifteen years is a trade off. Our nation has been trying to pass a health care law for the last century.
Baud
@David Koch:
I was watching MSNBC waiting for Obama’s statement earlier today, and it was all about single payer. I had to mute.
MomSense
@Germy Shoemangler:
Tinfoil Typhoid Trollope
Cacti
@Germy Shoemangler:
Tent, Tack, Treasure, Trophy, or Tetanus
Davis X. Machina
@Germy Shoemangler: She must have been a biiiiiiiig hit at DailyKos back then.
karen marie
@Comrade Luke: Ask them to define what the “something” is that they think comprises the conspiracy. I’m still waiting to hear that question answered.
MomSense
@Cacti:
I almost went with Tetanus
Cervantes
@JPL:
Yes, but LBJ and company would have you know that we did succeed in one or two particulars.
beltane
@Cacti: What about Trailer or Tramp?
SatanicPanic
@MomSense: Tepid, Tumble (goes well with Tripp), Turd
BillinGlendaleCA
@beltane: Or Trailer Tramp.
beltane
Will Jeb! take this opportunity to publicly scold Bristol for being an evil single-mother?
Davis X. Machina
@Snarki, child of Loki: I want to see what the ‘high crime’ is. Pretzels aren’t the half of it — we’d see logic twisting into shapes heretofore unbeknownst to topology
JPL
@Cervantes: True.
Applejinx
Oh, you can do better than THAT, Richard. Let me just say it for you. How does this feel?
“so the marginal voter is either Breyer or Kagan and the liberal wing gets a one death cushion against a Republican president or President Obama gets two recess appointments for a year until President Sanders gets to choose his two justices…”
I need a cigarette just saying it. Damn, talk about going for broke. What would it be worth to get BERNIE to pick two Supreme Court justices? What would you do to see that happen? I would literally fucking die on that hill. Holy crap!
I don’t suppose we can force the wingnuts to impeach the six justices, but man…
srv
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Clearly, we have so much to look forward to.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Davis X. Machina: As we all learned from President Clinton, grounds for impeachment are whatever the House sez it is.
gelfling545
@Snarki, child of Loki: I find it difficult to imagine even the most tea-stained Republican representative being interested in impeaching 6 judges at once. Sure, true loonies like Gohmert would be chomping at the bit & maybe 1 or 2 others for the sheer publicity orgy but it is really just too, too over the top even for the current Mad House of Representatives.
Elizabelle
Paul Krugman: Hooray for Obamacare
Discusses coverage, cost, and economic impact.
Time to tip a glass! Hooray!
Roger Moore
@SuperHrefna:
Imma let you finish, but Barack had one of the greatest SOTU addresses of all time!
Davis X. Machina
@Applejinx: Bernie would be circumspect in his choices because although he caucuses with the Democrats, he is an independent, and I doubt whether he can take all of the Senate caucus votes for granted.
Rather more heavy on the ‘advise’ end of the advise-and-consent teeter-totter, I think.
beltane
@gelfling545: It would be good if they tried. They would fail miserably, but they might sucked at pissing off the Chief Justice.
Germy Shoemangler
@JPL:
I know. And that’s the sickest thing about this country, right below its treatment of minorities.
Elizabelle
Comment in moderation. Not sure why ….
OH! It’s Scalia’s damn p o k e r dissent.
Gin & Tonic
@beltane: There is no real mirth in this
I am a bad human being, but I find mirth aplenty in this.
Davis X. Machina
@David Koch: All of FDL’s complaints are more or less true under the ACA/new status quo.
What the piece doesn’t mention is what the alternative was — the old status quo, in other words, and not some NHS/USA.
FDL’s problem on the issue was that they were always fighting about the color of the BMW you weren’t going to find in your driveway.
MomSense
@SatanicPanic:
Traz (short for trazodone), Tuberculosis TB for short, Tap, Temper
Baud
@Elizabelle:
That’s just applesauce.
Cervantes
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Well, impeachment is a political act, after all.
Roger Moore
@Germy Shoemangler:
I don’t think those are truly separate issues. We would have had a much easier time getting healthcare passed if the bigots weren’t worried about Those People benefiting.
srv
Finally, someone is putting Real Americans in positions of power.
SuperHrefna
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Trump is good – especially if they could work out some kind of financial deal with The Donald. And it maintains the tradition of male Palins having Tr names. I still like Trapper best though, cause it reminds me of MASH. And if it isn’t feminine enough for a girl, what about Cessna? Female Palins seem to be largely named after air craft…
David Koch
@Baud: I didn’t see that, but I can only imagine. The usual suspects are never able to answer why hasn’t anyone ever done single payer if it’s so easy. I mean, even deep blue, homogenous, socialist lovin vermont decided to scrap plans because they found it would be to big a lift.
MomSense
@SuperHrefna:
I love Cessna!
How ’bout Traill for a boy?
SuperHrefna
@MomSense: ooh, Traz Palin. I like it!
the Conster
@Davis X. Machina:
Unicorn not BMW, but yes, exactly this. We still get the occasional commenter here, like the Japanese holdouts on one of those remote Pacific islands, that will insist that Obama had 60 votes, made a secret deal with the pharma cos., didn’t really want single payer, wants to cut Medicare or SS, or some other progressive zombie myth that gives those people a reason to hate daddy, cut themselves, and run away from home.
beltane
Would Trollop for a girl be too highbrow sounding?
Germy Shoemangler
@SuperHrefna:
Is Hindenburg feminine enough? What was the name of Amelia Earhart’s plane?
Germy Shoemangler
@beltane: tondelayercake
Germy Shoemangler
@MomSense: Short for Chemtrail?
David Koch
@Davis X. Machina: not true at all. I have medical and dental and my employee contribution for combined coverage did not change under ACA, and it’s 1.33% not 8%. In fact the co-pays on drugs were cut in half. and it did not establish any federal restrictions on roe v wade or lead to it’s reversal. their puma scare tactics were no less false than “death panels”
beltane
Sarah Palin was fired from Fox News earlier this week. If Bristol’s pregnancy cost her a seat on the Gravy Train, Momma Grizzly is going to be so pissed.
jl
@Snarki, child of Loki:
” It only takes a majority in the House to impeach, and the GOP has that. ”
But they will never be convicted and removed.
So, what would impeachment do, other than enrage a good chunk of the electorate soon enough before an election to do some good?
Might intimidate some justices. But not Notorious RBG, Steve ‘OG’ Breyer, The Kage or Soto.
Bob and Irish Tony might wilt though. They aint tough for a street fight.
Roger Moore
@Germy Shoemangler:
I’m going with Talon.
MomSense
Palin baby name guessing just isn’t the same without Violet. I miss her!
Baud
@MomSense:
What happened to Violet?
boatboy_srq
@Comrade Luke: The only “there” there is that the GOTea significantly defunded DoS (especially DoS security) in the race to the fiscal bottom, then complained incessantly about the resultant breaches and loss of life. But of course neither Issa nor Gowdy are interested in looking at spreadsheets. If this translated to HC&M-level misdeeds by HRC, Saint Ronnie would have been ousted for the incident in Beirut long before the campaign for his second term even started.
Germy Shoemangler
@beltane: If Momma Grizzly had obeyed Roger’s edicts – do a live show in front of a live audience rather than a few lazy “voice-overs” and manage to form coherent sentences – he would have kept her on Foxx. He probably wouldn’t care if Bristol gave birth to a two-headed goat. Hell, he’d probably sell tickets to the event and bottle the afterbirth as an energy supplement.
Sarah was not renewed because Roger felt her obvious stupidity was hurting “the cause”
MomSense
Trapp or Troll
Elizabelle
@SuperHrefna: re the aircraft names:
Tucano Palin.
The plane that took out Oscar winning composer James Horner earlier this week. (Too soon for the joke? RIP, JH.)
Although it might be too many syllables for a Palin.
MomSense
@Baud:
I don’t know. I haven’t “seen” her here in a long time.
muddy
@David Koch: They dropped the plans because Vermont is really too small to start up something like this. No economies of scale. And there were tremendous problems with the website.
David Koch
@beltane:
how could the national spokesperson for abstinence get knocked up?
Out of wedlock preggers is a problem for the coloreds and liberal hippies, not god fearing white christians.
Germy Shoemangler
@Roger Moore:
Talon I like. Sound predatory enough to be a Palin.
boatboy_srq
@SatanicPanic: If I were BP, I wouldn’t be expecting too much sympathy.
trollhattan
Here’s a tiny Schadenfreude amuse bouche for Gator-fan Betty.
Nice team you got there, Jimbo.
muddy
@MomSense: My google-fu is pretty weak, but the most recent thing that I found was April 28 on a Nepal thread. I had thought it was about a month, but seems like it’s 2. I did find several instances of you looking and not getting an answer though!
Baud
@muddy:
I didn’t realize it had been that long. Hope she is OK.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@EriktheRed:
From what I’ve seen, a lot of employers took the opportunity to reduce their costs by slashing coverage and then claimed that Obamacare made them do it so they wouldn’t look like the opportunistic assholes they are.
Similarly, a lot of insurance companies moved people who had private insurance to gold or platinum plans and claimed that was the only equivalent to their existing plan. Which was, again, a lie.
IOW, a lot of companies are blaming “Obamacare” for their shitty decisions that hurt their employees or clients, and some people bought into that.
Snarki, child of Loki
@jl:
“But they will never be convicted and removed.”
Didn’t stop them in ’98, did it?
But that was back when men were manly men, not like the whining pissants of the modern GOP.
MomSense
@muddy:
It has definitely been a couple of months and she was very stressed out about a construction project next door so I’m hoping that she is recovering from that stress and will be back soon.
danielx
@Cacti:
Sir, show some respect – you are speaking of one of the finest legal minds of the fourteenth century.
realbtl
Trichomoniasis maybe.
Roger Moore
@Germy Shoemangler:
Anyone who is interested in baby names should bookmark the Baby Name Wizard Blog, which is where I found Talon. If a “T” is not strictly necessary, I might suggest Colt or Wesson.
Germy Shoemangler
I was curious about what Jeffrey Toobin would say about today’s decision. Just saw this:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/doom-for-a-cynical-assault-on-obamacare
dogwood
I can’t feel much of anything other than sympathy for Bristol. The Palin children have essentially been raised by wolves. No education, no goals, no discipline, no adult guidance other than the example set by her wacked out dysfunctional parents. The demise of the Palins was inevitable. They are who they are.
opiejeanne
@Elizabelle: de Havilland is probably too fancy for a Palin name.
boatboy_srq
@BillinGlendaleCA: That’s a very double-wide thing to say.
Roger Moore
@realbtl:
Toxoplasmosis.
raven
@dogwood: Fuck em.
Germy Shoemangler
@Roger Moore: Perhaps Triggerwarning would be the best choice.
skerry
Just heard a wingnut say that we shouldn’t let the actions of a few “Confederate Americans” condemn all of them.
An oxymoron if I ever heard one.
Brachiator
@Roger Moore: If you choose a name like Wesson, your wife’s name better be Olyve, and your last name better be Oyl.
Elizabelle
Putting this up again: good column by K-Thug this evening.
NY Times: Paul Krugman: Hooray for Obamacare
Discusses coverage, cost, and economic impact.
We cannot allow “conservatives” anywhere near the White House again. Period.
Time to tip a glass! Hooray!
Elizabelle (on second glass of red wine)
Roger Moore
@skerry:
Unsurprising, because it sounds as if the person who said it was a regular moron.
danielx
@SatanicPanic:
And in a total break with Palin white trash tradition, no publicity either.
I vote for Trollop if it’s a girl, Bubo if a boy.
Roger Moore
@Brachiator:
I think Wesson is meant to be the name for a member of the Smith family.
JPL
Roberts today ruled in favor of ACA but he also ruled in favor of insurance companies. His opinions favor businesses and corporations. I fear that tomorrow, the EPA and the President will be stripped of some of their powers, in favor of the polluters.
raven
@JPL:
and somewhere in the distance
there’s seven new children born
David Koch
Bristol Palin is trending on twitter. It is hilarious!
piratedan
@danielx: well someone should inform Bristol that sympathy won’t be forth coming and lectures are a damn sight better than the mockery she should receive.
and Congrats on the new kid, hope it’s healthy and has the opportunity to enjoy a long healthy life, not that her family supports anything like that for everybody else
Germy Shoemangler
@Elizabelle: I admire your work as an undercover Fox News viewer. As I have said, it reminds me of when Hunter Thompson visited the Las Vegas police convention in 1971. Your analysis is indispensable. Count me as a fan.
It would be fun if we could sneak you into one of their live events.
Brachiator
@Cacti: How about a good Republican T name? Tricky.
Elizabelle
Sadder topic: have y’all heard anything about broadcast plans for tomorrow’s services for State Senator Clementa Pinckney? PBO and VP Biden to attend.
Thinking C-Span will cover. What have you heard?
the Conster
@Elizabelle:
It was Bill Kristol who warned Republicans back in Clinton’s term that it would be the end of Republicanism if health care became a right that Democrats gave them. It was the first and last time he was right about anything.
Brachiator
@Roger Moore: Yep. Saw that one, but I decided to go for a trick shot on the name thing.
JPL
@Elizabelle: The funeral is at 11. I assume that MSNBC will carry it on air and it should be available for streaming in several places.
Villago Delenda Est
@Snarki, child of Loki: I propose we send all of them to bed without their supper.
Because they are behaving in ways that would embarrass three year olds.
Iowa Old Lady
@the Conster: Republicanism isn’t ended yet. Fingers crossed.
JPL
Linda Greenhouse has a piece up at the NYTimes about the ruling.
Gin & Tonic
@raven: Amen.
Elizabelle
@JPL:
You know President Obama is working on his eulogy again tonight, even as it should be a night to celebrate the Supreme Court decision on ACA (and fair housing; huge issue).
@the Conster: I would like to see voters wipe the floor with Republicans in 2016. To see.
Dana Bash gushing about Paul Ryan’s replacement plan for Obamacare today (he’s got legislation written! or so we are told) was vomit-inducing and a reminder of their toxicity. If not ebola, what will CNN and the legacy networks be going with 24/7 in late October?
realbtl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: In spite of my snark I tend to agree. We don’t choose our parents and they can warp us in terrible ways. I feel sorry for Bristol given the role models she was raised by. Hopefully age will bring an understanding for her and she will become a better model for her children.
JPL
For those who can’t read Greenhouse’s opinion
Woodrowfan
@Elizabelle: Sand88? “88” is white supremacist code for Heil Hitler so you see “88” a lot on their sites. (H is the 8th letter, so 88 is HH which is Heil Hitler) Why am I not surprised a Freeper would use it…
Elizabelle
@Woodrowfan: Disgusting.
I like that we have a commenter here nymed Just Some Fuckhead.
Where is he? Where is Violet?
gf120581
@David Koch: Normally, I would be appalled at slut-shaming a pregnant girl, but Bristol Palin’s rank hypocrisy makes her a deserving target. You can’t preach abstinence and slut-shame others when you can’t keep your pants on or at least bring a condom to the rodeo.
She doesn’t really deserve sympathy, but I do have to remember that having Sarah for a mother is not a way to become a smart, healthy, and well-adjusted person. I remember back in 2008 hearing stories from folks in Alaska that she and her husband were never around, so the kids basically ran wild.
Roger Moore
@David Koch:
The best one I saw was describing Bristol’s stance as “Screw as I say, not as I screw”.
gf120581
@efgoldman: Yeah, wolves are loving, caring parents! I don’t know how they ever got that bad reputation.
Elizabelle
@Germy Shoemangler: Now there’s an idea. I think we should send a team.
muddy
@MomSense: I hope so too, I’ve missed her.
LanceThruster
Tralfaz.
(Bonus points for the pop culture regetence).
the Conster
@Elizabelle:
Of course, Bill Kristol didn’t anticipate back then when they were always screaming about the liberal media, that NOW Republicanism has a force multiplier in our FAIL media which is always willing to catapult whatever bullshit the GOP forces into the puke funnel, so, if our FAIL media actually reported and not opined, he’d be right. So, knock on wood this is the beginning of the end of Republicanism but like I said yesterday, they’ll be claiming Obamacare as their own idea and all they were doing was subjecting it to stress testing, and automatically 47% of voters will believe it because the FAIL media will report it without pushback if a Republican says it.
catclub
@Cacti: I am still waiting for someone to say it about treason in defense of slavery.
On some national broadcast network.
catclub
@the Conster: No, he was wrong about that also.
different-church-lady
OK, I’m not understanding: if it’s 6-3, and the ball is in the penalty area, but not near the goalkeeper, then offsides resets, but if it’s 5-4 and the barometric pressure is above 30 then there’s a yellow card?
Woodrowfan
she’s really trying for that reality show.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@dogwood: You are being spectacularly unfair to wolves; indeed arguably defamatory. Wolves are generous and caring parents and as a result raise significantly better behaved and community minded offspring. Honey badgers is a more apt comparison.
ETA: late to the comment party as always.
catclub
@Roger Moore: What about Ruger, Roger?
LanceThruster
@LanceThruster:
s/b ‘reference’
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Baby names:
Treezon, or Tackle, or Truthy.
catclub
@Germy Shoemangler: what about Trump?
Bobby Thomson
@Kropadope: swap ODS-stricken firebaggers for emoprogs. All this good news is getting in the way of TPP misery. To which I say, let’s have a good day or two, especially when misery won’t change anything.
Older
How about Teton? Sounds right manly, don’t it? (shhh, you!)
Richard mayhew
@different-church-lady: yed
magurakurin
@TaMara (BHF): Abstinence only except when I’m horny
Jay C
If a boy: Typhus. Toxin. Truck.
If a girl: Tinkle, Titter. Twee.
Prescott Cactus
@MomSense: Agree 100% on RM’s writing !
Also wish the asthma away. My Doc told me childhood asthma is usually outgrown. Patients also are likely to get it around age 30 (which is a more controllable asthma) or around age 50 (which is more severe).
Family / heredity play a role too. My Ma’s side is chock full of asthmatics. Finding out what the triggers are helps (exercise, allergy, climate – humid or cold).
Prescott Cactus
@Germy Shoemangler: South Korea is a success except for that MERS thing. . .
Davis X. Machina
@David Koch: If you’ve got 90/10 (common enough), the policy premiums you share cost together is about 9%.
SiubhanDuinne
@MomSense:
Trite.
Twist.
Toggle.
SiubhanDuinne
@beltane:
Sarah isn’t bright enough to understand the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, so since the two announcements happened during the same week, she’ll probably blame Bristol anyhow.
SiubhanDuinne
@skerry:
Ooh, I just love ethnics!!
SiubhanDuinne
Tits.
Tweezer.
Tsetse.
SFAW
@gelfling545:
Now you’ve done it.
You DO recall what happens when a TV/movie character spouts some variation of “nothing can go wrong now,” don’t you?
SFAW
@different-church-lady:
Exactly right, except you forgot about the wicket scrum.
Maybe Richard can get you a few games as an AR? You would be AWESOME.
SFAW
The only way this statement makes sense is if he’s so drunk or addled that he’s seeing two Scalias, two Alitos, and two Sockpuppets, because they’re the only ones who seem capable of disregarding the Constitution in order to further their political goals. But if he wants to impeach all “six” of them, I say good on him.
LanceThruster
@LanceThruster:
Tralfaz. Yeccchh!
Matt McIrvin
@Cacti Trump!
Matt McIrvin
@Germy Shoemangler:
It was an Electra, which works.
catclub
@SiubhanDuinne: I am torn between ‘southern swastika’ which is more euphonius, and ‘confederate swastika’ which is more accurate.
swastika of slaveholders?
Matt McIrvin
@the Conster:
I don’t think he’s right about that at all, actually. The ACA is helping a lot of people, but there’s no sign of Democrats benefiting politically from it, because “Obamacare” the buzzword is still unpopular.
Matt McIrvin
@Woodrowfan: 88 is also an auspicious number in Chinese culture, so it shows up a lot in Chinese-derived names, which always boggles me a little because I heard about the “Heil Hitler” connection first.
Joe Falco
@SFAW: “Well, what’s the worst that could happen?”
fuckwit
@LWA: That would be amazing. He’d be fantastic at it, if he wanted the job. What an interesting turn of events: former First Lady becomes President, and former President becomes Supreme Court Justice.
SFAW
@Joe Falco:
Yes, that too.
SFAW
@fuckwit:
That will happen shortly after all of the following happen:
1) The Knicks, Jets, and Mets win their respective championships
2) I become smart and good-looking
3) Republicans start acting as if the welfare of the country (and world) matters
4) Peak Wingnut
That list is in decreasing order of likelihood, by the way.
Well, #2 will never almost-certainly happen, but I can dream, can’t I?