.
Good for the Democrats — they should keep fighting the Gorsuch charade, no matter how sad it makes the Media Village Idiots. Per the Washington Post:
Senate Democrats secured enough votes to filibuster the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, increasing the likelihood that Republicans will change the rules of the U.S. Senate to ensure his confirmation later this week.
Democratic opposition to Gorsuch has been building for days, and four more senators announced on Monday that they would vote against him and support a filibuster of his nomination. That gave Democrats the requisite 41 votes to put up a roadblock and compel President Trump and Senate Republicans to either withdraw Gorsuch’s nomination or change Senate procedure.
With Trump and Republicans vowing that Gorsuch will be confirmed despite any filibuster, a change in how the Senate does business — the so-called nuclear option — is expected by Friday…
The outcome of the panel’s vote was never in doubt — Republicans hold a majority of seats on the committee and Gorsuch was approved on a party-line vote. But the testy hearing foreshadowed what is likely to be a combative week over the merits of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee and the way both parties have behaved during years of feuding over the makeup of the federal court system.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) indicated on Monday that they would oppose Gorsuch and vote against cloture — or the motion to end a filibuster that is required to hold a final up-or-down confirmation vote.
During an hours-long committee hearing, Leahy, the longest-serving member on the panel, criticized Gorsuch’s answers during his marathon confirmation hearing as “excruciatingly evasive.” He said that a GOP move to end filibusters of Supreme Court nominees would damage the Senate but argued that he had to vote his conscience, even if it pushes Republicans to change the rules.
“I cannot vote solely to protect an institution when the rights of hard-working Americans are at risk,” he said, “because I fear that the Senate I would be defending no longer exists.”…
The longer the spotlight shines on Gorsuch, the more threadbare his lying professions of absolute innocent impartiality show. The Repubs have been trying to turn the Supreme Court into their rubber stamp since at least the days of Richard ‘Mediocre people are entitled to a little representation too’ Nixon; if they insist on being rabid partisans, we can at least deny them the pleasure of hiding behind hypocrisy when they do.
McCain says he will vote for the rules change to confirm Gorsuch but says it's the beginning of the end of the Senate.
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) April 3, 2017
9 steps to going nuclear — here's how it works. (Complete w/ GIFs!) via @ErinVKelly https://t.co/RaJgacb3Jc
— Paul Singer (@singernews) April 3, 2017
schrodingers_cat
Let the Republicans own this shit show. They want to destroy everything in sight, the Democrats should give them no cover.
JPL
What McCain failed to say is that the filibuster is a sham if you can’t use it. When Reid ended the filibuster for lower courts, the repubs had already used it hundreds of times.
smintheus
Melania’s official portrait is finally here. I think that look’s called “the Zoolander”.
Baud
Proud of Dems.
Suzanne
Oh, John McCain needs to FOAD already. He’s going to vote for the rules change, knowing it’s a bad idea, because party before country. FU.
efgoldman
And who knows? Maybe Hatch or Murkowski or Grandpa Walnuts or Aquah Buddah thinks it’s more important to keep senate prerogatives than to confirm a particular justice.
Or maybe not.
Origuy
@smintheus: You know how they play “Hail to the Chief” when the POTUS enters? I want someone to play “Bird in a Gilded Cage” for Melania.
Adam L Silverman
The world’s greatest deliberative country club.
dmsilev
Johny McMaverick to the bitter end, I see.
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: Is the average age 75?
smintheus
@dmsilev: On the other hand, McCain is such a liar you never know what if anything to believe from him. So maybe he won’t actually follow through on his threat, just to keep everyone guessing.
TenguPhule
It isn’t going to be enough to simply impeach the 5 Republicans on the SC and kick them all off.
Being a Republican is going to have to be an automatic rejection for consideration to the SC from now till the end of time.
Anything less rewards treason.
SFAW
@dmsilev:
I started calling him a whore in 2000, when he gave W a tongue bath after Rove ratfucked him in South Carolina. But I should rethink that, because I expect there is some percentage of whores out there with more integrity than John “I’ll Be a Maverick As Long As It Doesn’t Cost Me Anything” McCain
efgoldman
@smintheus:
I don’t know if he’s a liar, or just a confused old man.
WaterGirl
Longer McCain: This is the beginning of the end of one of the three branches of government, the one that I have devoted my (albeit miserable and pathetic) life to. So where do I sign?
smintheus
@Origuy: Bird is too kind to her. She’s pretty poisonous.
smintheus
@efgoldman: Yeah, he’s a liar. I speak from personal experience.
WaterGirl
Is there not a single statesman (or woman) in the republican party???
trollhattan
@smintheus:
Somebody’s PS cloning tool burst into flame when they were done sanding her face. It actually does her a disservice but everything’s done through hubby’s lens.
opiejeanne
@Origuy: My grandmother sang that at a church party when I was a kid. She was hilarious and none of us knew she could do that except Dad. It was for a play they put on, a melodrama complete with a mustache-twirling villain and a fainting heroine ala Pauline. Dad was the villain’s sidekick, a hunchback with really bad teeth, who had a fit of conscience and shot the villain before he could complete his dastardly plans. He had borrowed one of my cap guns but it didn’t make the right noise, so he just shouted “BANG!” That was his only line in the play. Grandma sang that song at the intermission. I was 8 so they had to explain why it was so funny.
TenguPhule
@WaterGirl: No.
This has been another depressing edition of SATSQ.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: ha! Dammit, how am I going to maintain my snarling jackal grimace if you all keep making me laugh??
Another Scott
@trollhattan: She does look like one of those Japanese humanoid robots in that picture. :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
TenguPhule
All we need is a Death Star and we can finally abolish that tired old relic of the Republic known as the Senate. Let the governors decide!
lamh36
@WesleyLowery
Big: Sessions orders review of all police consent decrees – potentially imperiling Obama era police reforms
It could soon be very bad out there…smh…
trollhattan
@WaterGirl:
RINOs all, they’ve been driven into the sea. I often ponder what my Republican parents would make of this mess, but they more or less got the picture during the St. Ronaldus days.
Thru the Looking Glass...
Yuuuuup… Gorsuch will get confirmed but I feel better seeing the Dems stand up and refuse to buckle…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
It was barely four months ago that McCain admitted to group of party donors that the blockade on Garland had nothing to do with any bullshit Biden rule or the last year of Obama’s term. They were going to stonewall President Clinton, too
Thru the Looking Glass...
@schrodingers_cat: Yes…
crawdad
The Democrats are gonna kill the filibuster for Gorsuch, and the next 2-3 Trump SCOTUS nominees will sail thru.
Thanks, Harry Reid.
Lizzy L
I would not so respectfully like to suggest to the folks commenting here about Melania Trump that you find another hobby. I especially dislike the statements and suggestions about her body and/or her appearance.
lamh36
I’m finding myself seeking out great article about anything other than politics lately…so if it seems that I’m posting more about non-politics, it’s my way of practicing mental self care…self care will be important for the next 4 years at least…
To that effect..
Great Read!
I am NOT a wrestling fan. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a tv wrestling match (although G.L.O.W. comes to mind and might age me some…lol). So for me to read this entire article, not only does it show the strength of the Rock star power, but also it’s just a well written article for anyone, even those of us who do NOT know wrestling.
Dwayne Johnson has been wrestling with the politics of race and Hollywood for years http://undf.td/2nmkwKX
TenguPhule
@lamh36: Lovely, just what we need, an impending Race War to top off the Russian agi-prop. Somehow I don’t think black and brown men and women are going to just let themselves be shot at by white police and other white gunnuts while white supremists are in charge.
Sooner or later, fire is going to be returned. With interest.
SiubhanDuinne
Carswell, Bork, Meirs, Gorsuch.
(Who am I forgetting? I don’t mean in forever, I mean within living memory.)
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: Yep. This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: something like that
TenguPhule
@crawdad: FO and door is to your right.
Trolls and their lack of history lessons. I despair.
Parmenides
Well, I guess if the Dems do not want this dude then death to unanimous consent.
Nora
@crawdad: And what else should they have done, in your opinion?
It’s not the Democrats killing the filibuster, it’s the Republicans. And if anyone has abused the filibuster, it’s been the Republicans, so let them destroy it. They’re not always going to be in the majority, you know.
Another Scott
@crawdad: Only the majority can change the rules. If they want to change the rules, there’s nothing the Democrats can do about it. Except work doubly hard to get the majority back again, and an important piece of that is making the GOP own their policies.
So, no, the Democrats aren’t “kill[ing] the filibuster”. The GOP is – if they decide to do so.
Cheers,
Scott.
TenguPhule
@Lizzy L: All’s fair when at war, luv. Preach unilateral disarmament to the Trumpsters and run along.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
Yup, this. Freedom’s just another word, etc.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Fortus.
schrodingers_cat
@Miss Bianca: He can sing, too!
lamh36
A Huge Sports Sex Abuse Scandal Is Unfolding, And You Probably Haven’t Heard About It
USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar is accused of sexually assaulting over 100 girls and women
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m not saying this isn’t a big deal but: 1) Did anybody think the filibuster would last till 2018? 2) The filibuster is not in the Constitution
jl
I wonder what tides move the trolls to and fro. Whence they come and wither they go? Does anyone know?
Lee Hartmann
There’s a “bothsidesdoit” thumbsucker in the NYT now. Gah.
gene108
Went to an Indivisible meeting this evening. Seems like there is a lot of energy percolating now that is just beginning to take shape.
Lee Hartmann
@Adam L Silverman: Fortas.
MaxUtil
@crawdad: Yeah, there’s no way the Republicans would have thought to abolish the filibuster if Harry Reid hadn’t brought it up (despite the fact that they’ve been threatening to do it for years.) Republicans broke the filibuster by routinely blocking huge numbers of judicial appointments purely as partisan obstruction. The practice was doomed anyway. At this point it is just a matter of deciding when and where to draw the line in the sand and force the majority party to pull the trigger.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne: Douglas Ginsburg , between Bork and Kennedy, because he had smoked the EVIL WEEEEEED! ! ! !
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
Oh, WaterGirl, WaterGirl, WaterGirl. You’ve been here long enough to know not to tee up a perfect SATSQ like that.
:: shakes head sadly ::
SiubhanDuinne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
OMG YESSSS!! How could I forget him??
Adam L Silverman
@lamh36: I think I mentioned this in a comment last year during the olympics.
Adam L Silverman
@Lee Hartmann: That’s him.
opiejeanne
@TenguPhule: I think the “run along” comment was uncalled for.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
.
TS
@Lizzy L: If she lived with her husband, or vaguely tried to fill a 1st lady role – you might have a point. Trophy wife is what she is and always will be – illegal immigrant – liar about her previous career – her life in the US has been defined by her appearance. It is what she is.
efgoldman
@lamh36:
CBS has done at least two or three major stories about it.
Villago Delenda Est
The Rethuglican Party has thoroughly embraced the meme of the party of treason. Fuck them all.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
.
Baud
Trolls are active tonight.
Mike J
@SiubhanDuinne:
Clement Haynsworth, Jr.
Full list of votes: https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/nominations/Nominations.htm
Anybody want to take a crack at editing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Wolcott ? Says Wolcott lost by most. Bork lost by 16, Wolcott lost by 15, but there were only 33 votes. So largest percentage, but not largest vote.
efgoldman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Clement Haynesworth; Tricksie appointed two failed nominees, Haynesworth and Carswell.
ETA: Dammit! @Mike J:
SiubhanDuinne
@jl:
Trolls go in, trolls go out. Never a miscommunication. You can’t explain that. You can’t explain why the trolls go in.
Lizzy L
@TenguPhule: Fuck off, luv.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
Had entirely forgotten Haynesworth. Thanks!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
one poll and all, but he got 63% of the white male vote, so I think we can safely call that a ten point drop
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
???
Fortas was confirmed, and served.
Another Scott
@Lizzy L: Sorry.
I thought that trollhatten was referring to the way the portrait was over-processed. That was my take on it as well. The her humanity had been removed.
At times, I have great sympathy for her. At times, I think she has her heart in the right place (e.g. doing a “greatest hits” version of Michelle’s speech). She is a beautiful woman in a bad situation (in many respects). But it’s not a good portrait of her – it looks fake.
No offense was intended by my comment, and I’m very sorry it annoyed you.
Cheers,
Scott.
schrodingers_cat
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He is embarrassing the men who are capable of being embarrassed.
Lizzy L
@TS: You like to shoot fish in a barrel, too? I strongly disagree, but more than that, I don’t see the point of attacking her. Shits and giggles? It’s unnecessary, and it’s ugly.
raven
@Lizzy L: You’re not from around here are you?
Steve in the ATL
@crawdad: welcome, newbie! we are delighted that you joined our humble group for the sole purpose of trashing Democrats, then disappearing back to Eastern Europe/breitbart.com/your parents’ basement. Please be assured that your contribution to our discourse is considered valuable and has led many of us to rethink our liberal values and become staunch republicans/putinists. Well done!
mai naem mobile
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: just as well, he died a few years ago. He wouldn’t have served that long on the court.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
Right. Not for long, though. There was some mishegas where LBJ felt he needed him more… in the cabinet?
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@SiubhanDuinne: Fortas (who already was on the court) was nominated to fill retiring Earl Warren in 1968, with Homer Thornberry filling Fortas seat on the bench. Fortas was filibustered, leaving Warren’s seat to be filled in 1969.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Until he was nominated to go from Associate Justice to Chief Justice. His elevation to Chief Justice was filibustered and he ultimately resigned from the Court.
Omnes Omnibus
@Lee Hartmann: Fortas made it onto the Court. He didn’t get the promotion to Chief. He resigned under a cloud, sure – but he also was Gideon’s counsel in Gideon v Wainwright.
raven
@efgoldman: Fuck LBJ
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@SiubhanDuinne: you mean this guy
smintheus
@Another Scott: What exactly about Melania makes her sympathetic? Sure she’s married to a goon, but that’s her choice. She has backed him publicly in all of his most repulsive actions and statements, including his birtherism. She gets no pass for that.
efgoldman
@Steve in the ATL:
Too late; s/he’s gone for a midair refueling of Cheetos.
raven
@smintheus: The complaint is about objectifying her.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Another Scott: I’m sometimes tempted to feel sorry for Melania, then I remember her hyperventilating birtherism
Steve in the ATL
@smintheus: was it her choice? My usually reliable sources (that is to say, no one here at BJ!) tell me that she was a Slovenian escort who was given to trump by his Russian mafia money men as a gift.playtoy, but he went and married her, in a typically well thought out decision.
Or maybe my sources are wrong, and it was true love.
Lizzy L
@Another Scott: Thanks for this. Your comment didn’t particularly annoy me, but the hammering on Melania is seriously offputting. As I said in another comment, it’s unnecessary and it’s ugly.
mai naem mobile
@Lizzy L: Melania isn’t some innocent little princess. She went right along with the birther theory. She’s more than happy to make money off the WH gig. She suing the London tabloid. She could offer to move to another residence in NYC where it wouldn’t cost the NYC and US taxpayer an arm and a leg to protect her and her kid’s gilded asses. But she doesn’t give a shit. She only gives a shit about herself. Maybe I would be a littleore sympathetic if the GOP hadn’t gone after Michelle Obama and HRC is such ugly ways.
Quinerly
@TS:
If there was any decency to Melania Trump, she wouldn’t be married to Donald Trump. She knows what she married. She’s no innocent and deserves anything thrown at her.@Lizzy L:
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Ah, right, okay. I never specified parameters. You are correct.
Jeffro
@TenguPhule:
The Senate is anti-democratic in multiple ways…I’d be okay with getting rid of it entirely. It serves about as much purpose as the Electoral College when it comes to cooling the passions of the majority, bucking ill-considered ideas, and holding off demagogues. All it does is serve as a brake on Democrats when they’re in charge, while at all other times it acts as a parliamenary rubber stamp – both insititutionally and in terms of mindset – for Republicans.
And yes, I would like a pony, why do y’all ask?
Still worth pushing for.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@schrodingers_cat: I wonder if the Russia stuff is at last taking hold, or the Kushner stuff, or Meals on Wheels stuff, or the stumblebum incompetence stuff, or…
raven
@Quinerly: It’s ok to hammer her being, just stay away from her caboose.
Lizzy L
@raven: Yes. I have no issue with attacks on her politics.
Another Scott
@smintheus: I think I said that her taking Michelle’s speech for inspiration (and more) shows that she’s not a total monster like her husband.
NY Times:
There’s that name again… :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Just One More Canuck
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: you’re even more concise than usual tonight
pattonbt
@crawdad: Whatever, dude. In the end, Gorsuch was going through regardless (either through D complicity or the nuclear option). At least this way we can start to put the nails in the coffin of the “deliberative body” nonsense the Senate pretends to be. The D’s needed to stop expecting the senate to be something it hasn’t been for decades. I’m perfectly fine with open war – one side has been there for decades, it’s time for the other side to fight back.
different-church-lady
@Another Scott: She, herself, appears to have been “overprocessed”.
seaboogie
@Origuy:
I want them to play this.…and show his big ol’ lady-butt golfing, and hair blowing sideways as he boards AF1.
schrodingers_cat
@Steve in the ATL: This person is not new. I have seen this nym before.
Jeffro
So…related to my earlier comments about how Fox News is essentially fear conditioning for its viewers…I managed the Herculean labor of…Googling “Fox News fear conditioning”
And voila, came up with this interesting article (or rather a series of articles) from 2015 on Alternet.
I’m going to read through the whole series, but the first one in the series essentially notes the one-two punch of 9/11 and the Great Recession has left half (or better?) of America quite susceptible to fear messages. Muslims are coming to blow you to smithereens. Mexicans are coming for your jobs and welfare benefits. Trans folks are just waiting to rape your kids in bathrooms. And so on.
I don’t know any good cures for fears except openly talking about them, education, and then more talk (“sunlight”) and more education.
We’re going to have to keep pointing this stuff out to the “economically anxious” until at least a few of them snap out of it, peel off, and help us find a majority again.
Lizzy L
@mai naem mobile: Where did I say she was innocent? Nor did I ask anyone to feel sorry for her. I have no objection to attacks on her political positions. I think attacking her looks, including whether or not she’s had cosmetic surgery, is sexist bullshit. That’s all.
seaboogie
@seaboogie: Sorry – bad link. It was Yakety Sax.
Trentrunner
@Lizzy L: Melania Trump is fair game. Her appearance is not, except to say “Melania Trump is as ugly on the inside as she is beautiful on the outside.” Thank you, Dan Savage.
Quinerly
@raven:
Would it be acceptable to point out that no previous portrait featured a diamond as prominent and as big? Poor taste. Just as I would expect. Rather queen like. I know exactly WHAT she is.
Trentrunner
@Lizzy L: LOL “whether or not” Is there any doubt?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: Tides come in, tides go out; you can’t explain that.
schrodingers_cat
@Lizzy L: Her looks are her only qualification for the position she currently occupies, so they are fair game.
Steve in the ATL
@Quinerly: CZ is my guess
Mnemosyne
@Nora:
@Another Scott:
What you guys said. Claiming that it’s the Democrats’ fault that the majority Republicans are going to blow up the filibuster is some of the stupidest victim-blaming I’ve seen in a while. Do the Republicans have no agency since everything they do is apparently the Democrats’ fault?
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat:
Elegantly put.
Fair Economist
@efgoldman:
Who watches network TV anymore?
Mnemosyne
@Lizzy L:
It did get a little weird because the comments started as a critique of the really crappy Photoshop job on the portrait and others turned that into a critique of her actual looks.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Thanks!
I am tired of hearing that Democrats have to play nice, sign on to Cassidy-Collins, not criticize Melania’s looks, while Republicans want to destroy us.
Quinerly
@Steve in the ATL:
Wouldn’t surprise me.
dmsilev
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Not only can I explain that, I can also answer ‘fucking magnets, how do they work?’
sigaba
@Mnemosyne: If everything you do is whatever the liberals hate, updated daily, by defintion you have no agency.
magurakurin
@smintheus:
this expresses my view in terms of sympathy for her. she deserves none.
clerks: death star contractors
But the advice to try and avoid attacking bad people about their looks is basically sound. As an example, Chris Christie would be an odious creature even if he was as skinny as a rail.
schrodingers_cat
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I can, in one word, gravity.
smintheus
@Lizzy L: I said her official pose looks absurd in the way models posing often look absurd. I think that’s perfectly fair, and it has nothing to do with her gender.
Omnes Omnibus
@dmsilev:
No one can do that. It’s one of life’s mysteries.
Quinerly
@schrodingers_cat:
Nailed it at #109.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: Not if you know quantum mechanics.
'As You Know' Bob
Donald Trump is a declared candidate for President (in 2020).
McConnell has said (2016) that the Senate should not confirm a SCOTUS nominee during a Presidential campaign.
Trump has started the campaign;
therefore….
PPCLI
@SiubhanDuinne: Douglas Ginsberg (nominated after bork. Withdrew in face of Repub. opposition when it came out he had been seen smoking a joint at a party). Also Haynsworth.
ETA: I see many people got in before me…
Montysano
@Lizzy L: Melania Trump arrived at her current station in life solely by trading on her looks. Not her education or her accomplishments or her record of public service or her brains. Her looks were her ticket. Why should that buy her a pass?
Keith P.
Oh, man, Carter Page is gonna roll over so fast. That dude does not hold up well under questioning.
Beth Hanson
@Another Scott: “She is a beautiful woman in a bad situation”…
If only you had said “she is a woman in a bad situation”. But no. Her beauty gives her currency beyond the average woman, and earned your sympathy in her beauty. And she traded her genetic gifts for a gold penthouse with a douchebag, and espoused some of his beliefs in order to keep her place there.
This is bullshit.
dmsilev
@Omnes Omnibus: The short answer is ‘because quantum’.
jl
@‘As You Know’ Bob:
Excellent point. I’ll remember that.
But I’m waiting for what McCain has to say. He is the Straight Talk Express, so independent.
He doesn’t follow the herd like some cynical crooked pol.
Edit: might be some snark in that. Actually, when McCain almost got nailed with the Democratic crooks in that old S&L scandal, that was one of the bipartisan highlights of his career. Not many Senators can say that.
efgoldman
@Fair Economist:
Old people of which I’m one.
Or you could find it on that new fangled “webb” thingie.
ETA: CBS has also been unsparing in reporting the grifting, lying, and disloyalty of this maladministration. They have called things what they are, and no beating around the bush.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@dmsilev: I can tell the difference between butter and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
dmsilev
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: But do you believe it’s not butter?
RealityBites
She obviously has a deep interest in money, but it is also possible that being married to DT is starting to sour on her.
One the one hand, I would not be surprised if he is emotionally or physically abusive; but even if she now hates his guts, he has a LOT of leverage over her. Things she presumably cares about – her son and being rich. And maybe her past is even more shady than we suspect and he has evidence. Maybe he has a strong prenup. But don’t ignore her. She can’t testify against him, and in the 10-11 years they have been together, she likely knows where a lot of the bodies are buried. It would be interesting to have some the legal experts on this blog inform us of the limitations of her not testifying, but Trump could be using her supposed lack of importance and her legal status as a cover for a lot of activities. Remember the con man’s strength is misdirection.
Steve in the ATL
@dmsilev: he believes whatever fox news tells him to believe, and that is that butter is real and climate change is not!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@dmsilev: I’m agnostic on that question
WaterGirl
@lamh36: I am most certainly not laughing about the subject matter at your links. But when I saw what you linked to, I did kind of laugh at the thought that you are posting about non-political stuff because it’s less stressful subject matter! :-)
And now I’m off to be depressed by reading what some other sick bastard has done to over 100 women and girls.
Ian
@TenguPhule:
And should we disenfranchise their voters too? Your policy proposal is as disgusting as their policy proposals.
Lizzy L
@Steve in the ATL: From an article in The WaPo: Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday”:
He didn’t let up.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: My only excuse is that hope springs eternal.
Another Scott
@Beth Hanson: I probably should quit digging….
I really don’t care about her. I haven’t kept up with everything she’s said or done since she married Trump. She’s plainly miserable being around him. And he treats her very badly at times.
I’m not inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt about her actions over the last 6 months or so (since the convention) because of her appearance, but because of the situation she’s in. She’s shown some signs of being a human being, unlike the brain damaged monster that she’s married to.
Yes, she made her choices. But deciding to marry him on January 22, 2005 (their anniversary was 2 days after he was inaugurated) wouldn’t usually cause someone to think that she would be under a giant microscope 24 hours a day 12 years later…
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He still has the approval of nearly half of all white men. Wow, how sad is that as a statement about the human race. Or humans in this country. Or maybe it really is about race.
different-church-lady
@dmsilev: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck…
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl:
By which you mean other than Trump?
different-church-lady
@magurakurin:
WaterGirl
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Is this your version of “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all?”
dmsilev
@different-church-lady: 42.
Tom_23
Late to the b fest. What pissed me off this AM was listening to Nina Totenberg not even bring up the situation with Merrick Garland when reporting on the issue for the so called liberal NPR. BS
Omnes Omnibus
@different-church-lady: Q: How much wood would Chuck Woodson chuck if Chuck Woodson would chuck wood?
A: All of it.
different-church-lady
@WaterGirl:
Lizzy L
@Tom_23:
Never do that.
WaterGirl
@schrodingers_cat: He joined us in mid-november for the Pence / Hamilton thread:
different-church-lady
@dmsilev: I think the problem such as it was, was too broadly based…
Christine Harrison
The wringing of hands by some Democrats fearing who might be nominated next if Gorsuch is rejected makes absolutely no sense to me as it is clear Gorsuch will be approved anyway as Republicans will simply eliminate the filibuster, right? So why not make a stand now? It is the obstructionist Republicans who, determined to deny Obama his right to appoint judges, abused the use of the filibuster at unprecedented levels (not to mention what they did to Merrick Garland) so go ahead, let them eliminate it. Some day they will want it back and then we can play the tiny violin for them. If losing the filibuster would mean “the death of the Senate” as McCain warns, he can blame Mitch McConnell and the rest of the bullies in the Republican Party.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: That woud be correct, sir!
Suzanne
@Lizzy L: Can I mock the fact that they picked a “blue steel” expression for her official portrait instead of one in which she looks happy/well-adjusted/serious?
magurakurin
@different-church-lady:
lol
opiejeanne
@smintheus: Don’t forget her mistreatment of Julia Ioffe by Melania’s anti-semitic fans whom she egged on.
Millard Filmore
@RealityBites:
I get all my legal education from TV, so I am sure she cannot be FORCED to testify against her husband. The theory is that married couples are really a combined One in the eyes of God, so spousal chatter is really just talking to yourself. Thus by the 5th amendment, you cannot be forced to testify against yourself.
That is for criminal cases. Pre-nup restrictions in civil cases have their own set of rules that TV shows do not really expound on.
Steve in the ATL
@Tom_23:
Disabuse yourself of that notion tout de suite. NPR hasn’t been liberal since the 1980’s.
Steve in the ATL
@Suzanne:
has there ever been such a thing?
amk
@crawdad: moran.
seaboogie
@Another Scott: Replying under my nym – got lost signing in and my actual name appeared…
Anyway – I fully appreciate what you are saying. And yet – we are more sympathetic towards beauty in women. I think that this is one of the very many reasons why Hillary took it in the shorts in November. Women – and our level of attractiveness and sexual currency – are held to a different standard than the sheer manly loveliness of Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. I mean – the hair alone on those two!
Suzanne
@Steve in the ATL: Yes, there are plenty of pictures of her looking somewhat normal. But they intentionally picked one that looks model-y and like editorial fashion photography.
Quinerly
Quartz has a piece up about the Melania pic. Apparently, she is channeling Nancy Reagan!
Villago Delenda Est
@Suzanne: Because that’s what Donald wants her to look like. A model. It’s all a reflection on him, and he is the only thing that matters to Donald Trump.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Brian Williams, of all people, pretty WTF? on the Kushner portfolio
dww44
@Tom_23: Well you shuda listened to Robert Seigel interviewing Sen. Maize Hirona of Hawaii on ATC this afternoon. He countered her explanation of why she voted No on Gorsuch in the Judiciary committee and would vote No on the Senate Floor with how she felt about Heidi Heitcamp’s plan to vote yes. It wasn’t the fact of the question it was the tone and approach. “If she’s voting to confirm, why can’t you?” is what he might as well have asked and announced that he was taking the GOP position. I guess they are all worried about being defunded and it’s the GOP with the power of the purse these days. Hence, more of the bowing and scraping. Golly, I don’t know how they sleep at night.
Steve in the ATL
@Quinerly:
You know, irregardless (j/k) of physical appearance, I actually prefer Melania to Nancy.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Bobby Ghosh of the Hindustan Times on Kushner: He might prove effective in the Middle East, as it’s perfectly normal there for powerful and influential people to have no qualifications other than being closely related to a strong man.
The whole panel was pretty incredulous about the whole situation, using strong language to describe the confusion of foreign diplomats and the demoralizing effect on State Dept professionals.
Suzanne
@Villago Delenda Est: It’s weird. Like, STAAAAAAHP. She looks like she’s trying to sell me something. An official portrait is supposed to convey something about the person, and to create a sense of gravitas and personality. But DERP.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Quinerly: the Trumps brought in a foreigner in to take an American job!
Another Scott
@seaboogie: I think there are at least two things going on with women’s appearances in politics:
1) Beauty attracts attention.
2) Beauty brings along a bunch of other cultural baggage that lets the beautiful person be easily dismissed.
Hillary was relentlessly attacked for 30+ years (mostly) because she was more than attractive, she was (and is) brilliant and tough. She couldn’t just be dismissed as a politician’s wife. She was dangerous to the GOP.
Trump’s people are more than happy to use Melania’s appearance to attract attention (especially among their male supporters), but it seems pretty clear that she has negligible influence on Trump or anything that his administration is trying to do. Trump only cares about her to the extent that the attention she attracts reflects upon him.
Women do have it tough in politics because their appearance is relentlessly judged all the time, while men can look like homeless people, or like that Trivago guy who looks like he just got out of detox. ;-) Look at the hateful things said about Carly (by Trump, among others).
Beauty can be a double-edged sword.
The main constant seems to be that the GOP will attack any Democrat with any technique, fair or not, accurate or not, hateful or not. And lately they’ll turn their party over to a grifting brain-damaged incompetent who as surrounded himself with traitors of various stripes. They only care about winning.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Steve in the ATL
@Another Scott:
Lord, don’t I know it….
ETA: yeah, I know I shouldn’t post after the second bottle of wine
Quinerly
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yep! Fell into that Quartz piece when I was looking for Bobby Ghosh. I had forgotten how much I liked him when he was at Time. His Wiki page hasn’t caught up with his new gig and still had him at Quartz. That piece on Tesla is worth a read too.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Quinerly: that headline makes me very nervous– like Tesla is the Pets dot com of a new bubble
efgoldman
@Tom_23:
I knew her when. I also knew her father (a great violinist and a greater teacher). It’s sad what’s happened to her – she’s gone complete Villager.
At least Mike Wallace’s kid, Chris, has decided to come back to reality a bit.
efgoldman
@Christine Harrison:
Maybe McTurtle has the votes, maybe not. Some of the old line Republiklowns, RWNJs though they be, feel very strongly about protecting senate prerogatives. Enough? Who knows.
McTurtle has been making a lot of noise about it – like the animals on Planet Earth who make a big deal about displays but don’t actually attack. If he was positive he had the votes, he wouldn’t threaten, he’d shut up until time to act.
seaboogie
@Another Scott: I agree with you on all points, but I also belive that at a visceral level, it gets to be very much more reductive:
1. She’s hawt and I want to f*ck her (all the ladies with their legs out on Fox News)
or
2. She reminds me of my mother/MIL/ex-wife… “f*ck her!”.
GOP used #2 against Hillary for 30 years.
laura
@smintheus: Dan Savage covers why Melania doesn’t merit a pass on a recent Savage Love podcast. I appreciate his take. That said, opining about women’s looks is usually another variation on punching down. Mrs. Trump is attractive, but beauty is as beauty does. By that standard, she’s no beauty.
RinaX
@lamh36:
FWIW, it’s gotten a lot of coverage on the People magazine site.
TenguPhule
@Ian: You can FO too. Trump supporters are guilty of being stupid and evil and deserve to be punished. Voting should be the least of their concerns.
AnonPhenom
Let him forever be referred to as “Justice ByHookAndByCrook”
Debbie1
@schrodingers_cat: You tell ’em. That’s basically what it is, you play nice while we punch you. F-that.
Debbie1
@Steve in the ATL: That’s because the Kochs & other conservatives have bought their way into cash-strapped NPR’s ranks with BIG donations, and the only thing they asked in return was the right to present “alternative” facts about slavery, climate change, you name it. They are doing the same thing at universities too. Nice racket.