Not how I wanted to begin my day…I may have to stay away from twitter during CPAC:
So many questions. Like how are they going to get that onto the alter? And does the venue have a plan for burnt-offerings. #Idolatry https://t.co/NFLoxlQ0W6
— Alt Public Lands ???? (@AltPublicLands) February 26, 2021
I may have to watch Dogma tonight….
Ted Cruz's colleagues mocked him by putting memes of his Cancun trip in the Senate gym locker room: 'Bienvenido de Nuevo, Ted!' https://t.co/49B9MtEt1B
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) February 26, 2021
“Bienvenido de Nuevo, Ted!” the color printouts for the prank read, or “welcome back.”
Early birds turning up for a workout Wednesday morning came across color printouts of Cruz in his airport getup, which included a light polo shirt and a mask bearing the Texas flag, according to NBC, who reviewed the materials provided by two sources.
“The rendering featured a manipulated photo of Cruz from his well-documented trip to Mexico, dragging his luggage across an arctic landscape while holding a tropical cocktail garnished with a slice of fruit in his other hand,” Lee and Caldwell wrote.
I’m grateful it’s Friday. I may have a recipe for you guys tonight since I doubt the Biden administration will be inundating us with Friday night news dumps. ?
Open thread
Baud
Biden should put on robes and hold up the
1510 commandments a la Charlton Heston.dmsilev
I’m not sure it counts if the gold is just spray-painted on.
MomSense
Tamara, if you want some much happier calves and kids to think about, I shared this link to a story in the Guardian about the Somali Bantu farm here in Maine. It was a community effort and such a happy outcome. Even the area yarn shops got involved in raising money.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/25/somali-farmers-maine
“We’re trying to recreate the lives we had”
The Thin Black Duke
Do you remember the sequence in Pulp Fiction featuring the Gimp? That’s the character who comes to mind when I see Republicans still enslaved by the Gospel of Trump lately.
Percysowner
Well this is a thing
Lyrebird
@MomSense: That is truly awesome. I got to show a documentary about the Lewiston Somali Bantu community for a class I used to teach, that was cool. Glad the farm purchase worked out!
germy
Matt Gaetz is “peacocking” around for his young fans.
CPAC is always their big opportunity to shine.
Omnes Omnibus
@dmsilev: It’s all Trump has ever done.
germy
@Percysowner:
I didn’t know so many Texas lawyers were so heavily into cocaine.
Omnes Omnibus
@Percysowner:
People always have filed, and always will file, stupid lawsuits.
germy
charluckles
@germy:
These f-bombing scumbags still can’t be bothered to put on a mask. Just a party of self-absorbed garbage human beings.
Hoodie
That statue is missing something … seems like he should be holding up a cheeseburger.
germy
p.a.
if there is an altar, Pence better STAY AWAY! Waiting for fundegelicals to criticize the idol in 3… 2… 1… *crickets
germy
@charluckles:
MomSense
@Lyrebird:
They are such an amazing community. I feel so lucky that my life has intersected with their community in different ways over the years.
geg6
I just can’t even with these people. Jesus.
scav
Seriously, in flipflops, flag underoos and waving a fairy’s star-wand?
OzarkHillbilly
@germy:
I thought they were against “activist judges.”
patrick II
It is really not strange, but more like inevitable, that the self-described “religious” party would be found worshipping a golden false idol.
Achrachno
Golden calves are forbidden but golden hogs are quite OK. They’re fine with the powers that be.
rikyrah
Saw a picture of that.
They are beyond ridiculous.
Christians….whatever.
literal golden calf.
germy
@OzarkHillbilly:
I guess I didn’t read the fine print.
mrmoshpotato
Holy shitstain, Batman! Are there any Commandments left for the Trump humpers to break?
OzarkHillbilly
@germy: Seriously tho, the judge should throw that lawyer in jail for contempt.
OzarkHillbilly
@mrmoshpotato: No.
O. Felix Culpa
The golden idol looks ludicrous. All attendees would turn away in shame if they had a shame gene. Obviously they don’t, because otherwise they wouldn’t be at CPAC.
I hated Dogma. The scene when the angel first appears was funny, but the rest of the movie was an exercise in grating tedium for me. But there are good people whose opinions differ.
Baud
@germy:
That’s one way around the parliamentarian and the filibuster.
sstarr
Is that golden trump statue wearing high heels?
NotMax
Cook tease.
;)
Baud
FWIW, I would support Trump getting swallowed by a whale.
mrmoshpotato
@Percysowner: LOL!
Judge to dumbass: Your orange assclown is now a twice-impeached, soon-to-be-buried-in-lawsuits loser now.
germy
Also, one of the themes of this year’s CPAC is Holding Hillary Accountable
Cameron
Golden calf, fatted calf, whatevs.
Benw
“We pledge allegiance to the brand,
Of the Donald Trump of America.
And to the towers, on which it stands,
One party, under Don, indefensible,
With liberty and justice for us.”
germy
@Benw:
different-church-lady
Actually, I think that’s a golden ass.
mrmoshpotato
@dmsilev: Are the How Ridiculous guys gonna drop their giant fist on that shit?
Cameron
@germy: …and don’t even get them started on FDR!
Just Some Fuckhead
@germy: Prolly gonna be some hot Gaetz on twink action later.
mrmoshpotato
@germy: LOL! Wow!
mrmoshpotato
@Hoodie:
Fixed for accuracy.
VOR
Consensus on Twitter seems to be the golden Trump statue is modified from Bart Simpson on a skateboard. They added a Trump face mask and painted it gold.
germy
@Hoodie:
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
Not just a statue. A very very awfully bad statue. Just terrible. Every bit as dignified as the naked trump balloon. Is he wearing flag shorts? And sandals? Are his legs ridiculously stubby? This they consider a tribute? What…is…happening?
mrmoshpotato
@germy:
What is this, Adam? Is it like Warcriminal Bush’s “compassionate conservative?”
Just Some Fuckhead
@There are those who call me…tim… (Still posh):
Owning the stupid libs! Ha!
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly:
I would consider saying that Biden, the duly-elected current President, has to follow the rules of a traitorous, orange, Soviet shitpile borders on sedition. I can’t believe this ass said that in a courtroom to a judge.
Oh wait, yes I can.
Flanders Other Neighbor
@O. Felix Culpa: To each his own, but I liked it.
In my opinion, Chris Rock’s explanation of hypocrisy by itself was worth the price of admission. It also helped that the religious right was all worked up about the movie before they even saw it. Never missing an opportunity to excite the flock, I suppose.
scav
Heaven forfend they try to memory hole that gilded embarrassment by taking it down and hiding it— that’s HISTORY!
ETA. I’m also wondering what that committee’s take on updating Mount Rushmore would have been.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud:
Cruelty to animals. Especially such a majestic beast. :)
debbie
@Percysowner:
He needs to be preemptively disbarred. I question any client of his being able to get sound representation.
debbie
Trump in flag shorts and flip flops? I should think he would be offended by that. Remember his disappointment in the sloppy attire of his supporters at the insurrection?
Cameron
Here’s something from the Bradenton Herald about CPAC shenanigans.
https://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/article249511905.html
mrmoshpotato
@Cameron: This cult trash would hate Lincoln.
Tim C.
Was this something the CPAC crowd really did or is this like when they got punked into waving Russian flags a couple years ago? I’m not saying I care that much either way, because even if it’s one the good guys trolling them, they still let it wander around the convention. It’s like fuck people, Trump literally hits most of their Anti-Christ checklist and they don’t even notice!
The Pale Scot
The first thing I thought when I saw that was wouldn’t be nice to have the cashiered angels Loki and Bartleby stop by.
Then I scrolled a little further, great minds and all that
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Is the gold plated statue of Floriduh Man for the kissing booth? I assume that’s why it has shorts.
mrmoshpotato
@There are those who call me…tim… (Still posh):
Some metalworks drew up this trash after the deposit cleared?
Almost Retired
I am getting ready to take the deposition of a scummy (accused) sexual harasser. And to get myself all worked up, I’m watching the ballot fraud panel at CPAC on OAN. I am now frothing with anger and disgust for humanity, so this deposition should really be fun. Hey, everyone needs pre-game rituals. Good luck, scummy sexual harasser….I’m coming after ya’
trollhattan
@Percysowner:
“lawyer in Texas” surely ranks coequal with Florida Man.
OzarkHillbilly
@germy: “You are free to leave asshole.”
debbie
@Almost Retired:
? Go all CPAC on him/her!
trollhattan
@debbie:
IIRC that wingnut cartoonist Garrison often presents the public with renderings of boxer Trump. I’ll wager he’s there at CPAC to get his fix on.
On top of everything else, these people are deeply weird, and needy.
Soprano2
I wondered what all the stuff on Twitter about a golden calf was about. They are the Trumpublican Party, full stop. It’s not based on any ideas or a coherent ideology – it’s a cult of personality surrounding Donald Trump. The press should start reporting on it that way, because it’s the truth.
different-church-lady
Wait, I’ve got it: it’s a false false-flag operation. They do the thing that’s over-the-top ridiculous, then blame antifa! It’s genius I tell you…
trollhattan
@germy:
Why, why yes, Hillary at this very moment is getting away with murrrderrr.
germy
The CPAC crowd is depressingly young.
germy
@Soprano2:
Someone on twitter asked if they’d melted down a couple of trump’s toilets to build the statue.
trollhattan
@germy:
Yeah, employees don’t get to pick their gigs and probably don’t have the ability to circle the calendar and take vacation on days really, really bad events are in town.
I understand this from living in a political city, where hotels and the convention center essentially live and die based on hosting political events. Tough bidnez to be in.
VeniceRiley
I feel it is a missed opportunity they didn’t paint the skin copper.
StringOnAStick
I have trouble believing that someone as vain as tRump won’t find that statue insulting. Maybe the plan is to use it to rally the attendees and make sure it’s gone by his Sunday speech. I doubt he even knows who Bart Simpson is or would appreciate the comparison if he did.
trollhattan
@germy:
Reading Perlstein’s “Before the Storm” and it’s instructive to learn a major factor in Goldwater getting the nomination is the College Republicans. Even George Wallace bows out when he realizes Goldwater will do his bidding on civil rights (but is back with a vengeance in ’68).
Raoul Paste
The statue reminds me of Alfred E Newman
With golden locks, of course
Brachiator
@dmsilev:
And shouldn’t it be bright orange?
trollhattan
@StringOnAStick:
Trump spent enough time around pro wrestling to know the value of spectacle. I think he’ll be fine with it so long as the hands are oversized.
A Ghost to Most
Does Zombie Ronnie jump out of that sarcophagus?
scav
@germy: Where else are they going to get dates?
(we can hope)
Cameron
@trollhattan: But sometimes both Florida and Texas have to take a back seat to Oklahoma:
https://oklahoman.com/article/5635960/rattlesnake-uranium-whiskey-found-during-oklahoma-traffic-stop
patrick II
@dmsilev:
It counts in the TV reality 40% of us live in and the rest of us have to deal with.
SiubhanDuinne
Open thread?
Whatever happened to Higgs Bosun’s Mate? I can’t remember the last time I saw that nym. Anyone know?
Luciamia
I hope that’s gold foil covering A big chocolate Trump. The most he’s ever given to the American people.
sdhays
@different-church-lady: You win the thread.
geg6
@SiubhanDuinne:
Now that you mention it, good question. I don’t know myself.
The Pale Scot
@germy:
I think its ‘shrooms, fresh off the cow patties.
Lotsa of patties down in Texas, if you know what I mean
Steeplejack (phone)
@SiubhanDuinne:
He has been gone for years. I believe there was a bit of closure from the person who rescued him (maybe Mary G?), who said that he had moved on and was doing all right. (This is from possibly unreliable memory.)
O. Felix Culpa
@Flanders Other Neighbor: I get it. Many people liked the movie, but it lost me with the juvenile toilet gag, among other things. Too much 3 Stooges kind of “humor.” But to each his/her own. :)
ETA: I liked the idea of the movie, hated the execution. But, see above.
Cameron
@Luciamia: It’ll be something brown, but I doubt that it’s chocolate.
FelonyGovt
@Almost Retired: Go get him!
The Pale Scot
@charluckles:
At CPAC? Do I care?
Meme; Gene Wilder, “Stop… Don’t”
The Pale Scot
Imagine the tizzies the fundies would be having if it was Obama. Once again they’re trolling their own side more than ours
FelonyGovt
I really think at this point their ONLY position is to troll us. They are probably laughing at all of us saying “what the fuck” about that statue.
mrmoshpotato
@Soprano2:
If they didn’t start 5+ years ago…
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack (phone):
If he’s doing all right, I’m glad and won’t probe further.
(Partially deleted)
Brachiator
@FelonyGovt:
I mock the statue and move on.They have to live with it.
Reminds me of the old Bob’s Big Boy statue. Definitely should have a burger in its hand.
Is it going to end up in the Trump library?
Shouldn’t it be on top of a golf cart?
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack (phone): I remember that but I thought he had passed away. I am not 100% sure though but that’s what I remember.
Steeplejack (phone)
@SiubhanDuinne:
I did a quick Google search, and the last mention of him here was in May 2014. Perhaps Mary G will weigh in later.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Are you sure we can find a whale with a mouth that big?
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack (phone):
Okay, and since you’re so good at this (not snark), what about Arguing With Signposts? I think of him often, but I’m not sure he’s even commented since around 2012-13.
Steeplejack (phone)
@schrodingers_cat:
Are you perhaps thinking of General Stuck?
schrodingers_cat
@FelonyGovt: That’s why I ignore them.
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack (phone): No Higgs Boson’s mate. I think he had some health issues IIRC.
trollhattan
@Cameron:
Talk about nailing the trifecta. Respect!
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack (phone):
I did the same, and May 2014 was the most recent I could find. I would have guessed more recent than that, but not by a lot. Maybe a couple of years ago. But time is very fucking unreliable these days.
leeleeFL
@Percysowner: I am convinced that done of these shitheads are absolutely delusional and that may be both more and less terrifying than thinking they are evil.
WTAF is going on in their minds? A golden tRump in American flag jockeys is about as offensive, anti Biblical and totally stupid as anything I can imagine.
And, thinking any President would bow to the Former Guy in the way described borders on certifiably insane.
Holy schnikes, Batman!
germy
https://shadowandact.com/ta-nehisi-coates-superman-dc-warner-bros-film
schrodingers_cat
That statue looks like a fat overgrown version of the comic character Richie Rich.
Ken
@germy: Would it violate some code of conduct if a judge started giggling uncontrollably?
Kent
Here on the west coast I’m logging in too late to join in on the minimum wage threads.
But thinking this through in my head it seems like we will eventually get to the point where if enough states do minimum wage increases on their own, there will be a very real incentive for minimum wage increase states to mandate it across the nation for competitive reasons. Take Florida, for example. If Florida goes to $15 by state law then there will be very real incentives for Florida businesses and cities to want the same minimum wage imposed on their neighbors like GA, AL, and MS so that FL businesses don’t decide to move across state lines to find cheaper wages in a race to the bottom. In other words, a very real self-interest on the part of FL GOP Senators to vote for a national minimum wage increase just to keep a level playing field.
The question is whether GOP Senators in states that have raised the minimum wage will be voting in their state’s own economic interest (to see a level playing field nationally) or according to their ideology and against their state’s own interest. I expect they will vote their ideology, because their financial backers are big money folks like the Kochs who aren’t tied to specific state interests. But I don’t think it is necessarily a foregone conclusion. It will put them into something of a bind.
Steeplejack (phone)
@SiubhanDuinne:
Couldn’t find anything for AWS later than 2010.
On a vague wisp of memory, I checked and discovered that it was “Higgs Boson’s Mate.” Still nothing after 2014.
Ken
@schrodingers_cat: There are two sub-orders of whales, those with baleen and those with teeth, and the latter chew their food. No one said he had to be swallowed whole.
Ksmiami
@The Thin Black Duke: nah- I’m envisioning the corporate board scene from Dogma… “Don’t Run…”
Betty Cracker
@Kent: Great point, but I suspect the wingnut governor and state legislature will find a way to subvert the will of the overwhelming majority on the minimum wage issue, just as they did on ex-felon voter rights restoration and environmental measures that also won 60%+ approval from Florida voters.
The thing is, FL GOP politicians pay zero political consequences for repeatedly flipping off voters, so they keep right on doing it. Maybe directly screwing low-wage workers out of a raise will cause enough blowback to get elected Republicans’ attention, but I’m not holding my breath. Republican voters are willing to tolerate any level of sociopathic behavior.
Ksmiami
@mrmoshpotato: a shark or anaconda would be more fitting
Delk
Bad outlet mall Christopher Radko.
CliosFanBoy
@germy: it’s those RW assholes you knew in high school and college. The ones even the teachers detested.
Betty Cracker
Speaking of sociopaths, at CPAC today, Ted Cruz joked about going to the Cancun Ritz-Carlton while several of his constituents froze to death. The Republicans among those constituents will almost certainly use their frostbitten stumps to mark yet another ballot for Ted Cruz, even if that nice Beto fella personally delivered a hot meal to their door.
mrmoshpotato
@Ksmiami: Orange snake shit.
smith
The pathetic thing about this is that the guy probably thinks it’s a great compromise that allows Democrats to atone for stealing the election.
germy
@CliosFanBoy:
The ones I went to high school with are old now. Some of them are dead.
Cheryl from Maryland
Ted Cruz has a locker at a gym?? I guess he uses it to store more cans of soup.
JaySinWA
The T thing looks more like a prank that a real tribute. It looks like a cartoon caricature of T. Either the artist was spoofing the people that commissioned it or the people behind it are pulling a Borat inspired prank on CPAC.
Jeffro
Cruz just Dean-screamed his way into being part of a new meme, LOL
schrodingers_cat
IANAL so Lawyers of Balloon Juice can weigh in, but this does not sound like it will pass the Constitutional muster IF it passes (the likelihood of which I put close to 0%).
This sounds like something Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes would come up with. This makes sense if the goal is to demagogue elected Ds for being insufficiently pure not to actually pass anything.
kmeyerthelurker
FIFY
Jeffro
@germy: I don’t care who writes it…just please, lord, don’t re-do the origin story for the 8900th time.
They should just do a fun one, maybe based on his set-to with The Elite (Authority knock-offs) from several years ago. Especially since I own that issue ;)
mrmoshpotato
Liberal fascism is coming for Jonah. He tried to warn himself.
Via Popehat
Mike in NC
May this entire freak show disappear into a sinkhole on Sunday.
Just Some Fuckhead
@schrodingers_cat:
Rube Goldberg wept.
briber
https://balloon-juice.com/2021/02/26/open-thread-actual-golden-calf/?updated=1614362145#comment-8095449
That’s the problem though.
The top item on the checklist for the Anti-christ is that his followers not notice that he’s the Anti-christ.
@Tim C.:
Gravenstone
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: You’re thinking they will be offering “kisses” somewhere lower down?
Chief Oshkosh
@mrmoshpotato: they certainly did the first time around. Put a bullet in his head, in fact.
West of the Rockies
Republicanism is a vile fusion of religion, bigotry, and the patriarchy. This I believe.
Denali
I think this(whatever it is)effigy. is simply a play for attention. Ignore it.
The Thin Black Duke
@schrodingers_cat: It’s performance art that will give the Bernie guys a hard on while providing an alibi for weak-minded ‘progressives’ to vote third party in the next election. As usual. Meanwhile, the hard-working sisters in the trenches will ignore the noise and keep on keeping on.
There go two miscreants
Some of the lawyers on twitter — including some in Texas — have been making fun of that clown and his filings for a while now. Great reading!
O. Felix Culpa
@SiubhanDuinne:
QFT
BruceFromOhio
@The Thin Black Duke:
LOLOL eerily accurate. And it did not end well.
Betty Cracker
@The Thin Black Duke: According to WaPo here, Schumer and Wyden are also working on this plan, and neither of them are noted for anti-Democratic Party performance art. I have no idea whether it will fly or not, but I’m grateful to any lawmaker who isn’t letting the $15 minimum wage effort go down without a fight.
BruceFromOhio
CPAC is one big trolling operation, and it pains me how much attention it gets. The event is geared wholly and exclusively to trigger the libs! and the talking heads, the twatters, fuck just about anyone with a pulse ends up ensnared, plays rights into it.
While I cannot prove the existence of God, I can absolutely prove the absence of God, as the convention site is not reduced to a smouldering ash heap by repeated meteor strikes.
hilts
They should have went with a statue of a golden ass instead.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@hilts: Sounds like they did.
caring and sensitive
Speaking of “whatever happened to” when was the last time anyone saw Thyme Zone?
Matt McIrvin
@FelonyGovt: The logic behind slamming your nuts in a drawer to own the libs is to trick the libs into thinking you’re the kind of person who would do it for no reason at all. Then you can laugh at them for being so foolish, in between screaming in agony about your nuts.
Jim Appleton
@hilts: They did.
Old School
@schrodingers_cat: IANAL either, but my understanding is that the purpose is to make the minimum wage more of a budget issue so that it can be in a bill passed by reconciliation.
Ksmiami
@mrmoshpotato: blinks. Can’t unsee. vomits
mrmoshpotato
@Chief Oshkosh: Touche
Baud
@BruceFromOhio: I agree.
LuciaMia
Trump had policies?
MattF
So, that huge intel report about Kashoggi’s murder merely points out that MBS is, in fact, in charge in SA, that he is not averse to using violence, and that several people on the assassination team were among MBS’s closest associates. Proving, thereby, that CIA spies read newspapers.
mrmoshpotato
@Ksmiami: Sorry, but everybody poops – including snake that eat orange trash.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t know if it’ll pass reconciliation rules but I don’t know why it would be unconstitutional.
Steeplejack
@caring and sensitive:
Not seeing anything after September 2011.
Steeplejack
@Jeffro:
Ted Cruz’s “Dean scream” moment at CPAC: “Freedom!”
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Gravenstone: They are Trump’s Base after all.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
It sure does the look like the Evangelical Wing of the GOP are purging the Republicans of everyone else. So the Reagan Revolution has entered the Reign of Terror phase.
James E Powell
Word around twitter is that the Sunday shows have decided that the biggest story is the continuing popularity of Donald Trump and the stolen election, so they are giving it saturation coverage.
Citizen Alan
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t know about that. It’s well-known that companies like Walmart literally help their employees apply for gov’t benefits because they don’t pay them enough to raise them above the poverty level. If the practical effect of underpaying employees is to force an increase in entitlement spending, why can’t the federal government tax companies that do so as a way to offset those increased government costs?
Baud
@James E Powell:
It’s Biden’s fault for being competent and boring. He should do something outrageous. Maybe issue an executive order cancelling Republicans.
Martin
@schrodingers_cat: No, that should easily pass. It is directly related to the budget as it changes the tax code, and it’s a clever work-around.
I think the Dems should name the $15/hr bill the ‘Reduce Federal Welfare Spending’ act, since its primary budgetary function is to pay people enough to make them ineligible for welfare benefits. Make Republicans vote against that.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: That’s why I asked lawyers of BJ. Can the government pass laws that affect corporations depending on their size? profitability?
schrodingers_cat
@Citizen Alan: I know about Walmart’s labor practices.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
Yes, easily, unless and until the Trump supreme court decide otherwise.
Martin
@Soprano2: No, because that’s not accurate. It’s straight up fascism. CPAC is 100% ‘the election was stolen’ and ‘1/6 wasn’t us, but it was great’.
Call them fascists.
James E Powell
@schrodingers_cat:
There are a number of laws that are based on the number of employees. Profitability would be tough; accountants have next level creativity. Some of the largest grossing movies in history have yet to show a profit.
Kent
Wait, I thought that’s what they did do! Looks exactly like a golden ass to me.
Martin
@schrodingers_cat: Sorta. they can pass laws based on the number of employees they have – ACA is riddled with such provisions. They can certainly based on their profits – that’s the entire federal tax code. They probably can based on revenue, though I can’t think of an example that does – it’s a bad thing to focus on.
So yeah, they could say ‘any employer with 10 or more employees loses these tax benefits’. That’s totally a thing. And it’s directly related to the budget.
I suspect the reasons the Dems didn’t win the $15 was that the welfare spending reductions were a secondary effect. They couldn’t directly tie the wage increase to a dollar amount in the reduction in spending.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@different-church-lady: Well done!
Biff Baxter
May they wander for the next 40 years.
Ksmiami
@Betty Cracker: Miss Betty.. I think I have an idea for a front pager post and one that could help us Nuke the GOP in 2022. Can I send you a short email?
thx
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: @James E Powell: @Martin:
Thanks!
gvg
@SiubhanDuinne: I think I saw him posting on Little Green Footballs a while back, but I am not sure.
Update yes 2015 http://littlegreenfootballs.com/author/Higgs+Boson%27s+Mate
Geminid
@James E Powell: News networks would do well to wait another few months and then examine trump’s popularity. It’s early still. Aside from the President’s extensive real power, the office itself magnifies it’s occupant. I’m waiting to see how people regard trump a hundred days out.
Baud
@Geminid:
Last I saw, his popularity was fading overall, and even among the GOP compared to when he was president.
...now I try to be amused
Why does TPAC continue to spell it with a C?
@Betty Cracker:
Independents might not be so forgiving when they see it replayed in a campaign ad.
J R in WV
@mrmoshpotato:
Via Popehat
We’ve started getting those calls too… starts out: “This is Michael Brown, Security Officer with the Social Security Administration. I’m calling to inform you that your social security number has been associated with numerous illegal online scam operations, and your account will be frozen until you contact me to explain what has been going on!”
Of course this whole message is delivered in a monotone with some words barely pronounced well enough to figure out what he’s trying to say. Plus not what goes on in the Social Security organization. So now I hang up after just a few words.
Someone is still trying to sell me extended warranty on the F-350 which was totalled out years ago. Those calls don’t last long either.
CaseyL
@Baud:
Where did you see this? The last I saw, T* still had the GQP faithful by 87%.
scav
@Kent: Ass is good, but the golden calf/ves interpretation does explain the star-spangled shorts.
Leto
@Biff Baxter:
Just a bit longer.
James E Powell
@Baud:
The poll saw on CNN showed that his approval among Republicans had plummeted from its pre-election 86% all the way down to 83%
They will say they love him because there is no one else. Sycophants can’t take over his spot
And with respect to polls, I suspect Republicans think, “Which answer will totally piss off the libs?”
Betty Cracker
@Ksmiami: Sure! Email address is: BettyCrackerFL[at sign]gmail.com
gvg
@schrodingers_cat:
Sure, pretty much all taxes do. The ACA does….a lot of laws do.
Ksmiami
@Betty Cracker: awesome I’m writing u now
Ruckus
@patrick II:
It’s OK, the gold is fake as well as the idol.
gvg
@J R in WV:
I got that call yesterday. Michael Brown! I reported it to AT&T through their anti spam ap.
Leto
@Ruckus: you’re telling me, that’s fool’s gold? UNPOSSIBLE!
Ruckus
@Baud:
What do you have against whales?
I mean damn, letting them ingest a known toxin?
Baud
@CaseyL:
@James E Powell:
I thought he was in the 90% range as president.
I also wonder if the Republican Party is significantly smaller than it was a month ago, which would actually cause his poll numbers among Republicans to rise.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I have my first reviews of THE TRICKSTER on Goodreads. And it’s sunny and in the 40s and I walked outside. Life is good.
Calouste
@Percysowner: They should try some secondary shaming, although I doubt this guy works for any kind of reputable law office, but he might have a law degree from a vaguely reputable school. So mention his employer and law school. Worst case it would make it clear that this “lawyer” is just a self-employed crank with a mail-order degree.
smith
@Baud: The most recent Gallup poll on party ID has the Rs at 25%, but so are the D’s (https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx) 50% independent, and it looks like that’s the highest it’s been in this poll since at least 2004. Both parties are down from Nov 2020 (30% for R’s, 31% for D’s). Don’t know if this is some sort of realignment, but probably too early to tell.
I suspect that for favorability ratings they push respondents to say how they lean, and I don’t know what the party ID looked like for those.
Old School
@Baud:
According to Gallup, 25% of the population identified as Republican at the beginning of February. It was 24% in the first poll of 2021. (It was 33% a year ago.)
ETA: smith was quicker!
Leto
@Dorothy A. Winsor: on Tuesday it was almost 60 here (in the sun), and the past few days have been above 45. The snow is melting, the sun has felt amazing, and the dog has received more walks. Fingers crossed that we don’t have any more winter storms.
Ruckus
@Steeplejack (phone):
I believe you are correct. He was at a confab in the LA area, what feels like 4 lifetimes ago. So before last week…..
Nice guy, we talked quite a bit, compared navy stories. He won hands down.
catclub
@J R in WV:
I just got that call from Customs and Border protection.
They said a package is at the border with Drugs and Money and my name on it. Not sure who would wish to speak with CBP officer at that point. But they asked if I did.
catclub
@Calouste: Texas lawyer, crank, why not Ted Cruz? ETA: Who has no shame, so that won’t work.
Ruckus
@JaySinWA:
I actually doubt this. These people are not playing with a full deck. Hell I’m not actually sure there are numbers and J, Q, K on them. It might be a deck of business cards from the town dump they use to sort out their political desires.
To me this is exactly the stage the conservative party is at, all logic and intelligence has been completely wiped out and they are out to prove this to anyone with any doubt left that they are all insane. And still suck their thumbs. And there are way, way too many examples that this is true to ignore.
Pennsylvanian
@schrodingers_cat: There are lots of laws that require employers with over 50, or 100 or 500 employees to do things like provide certain benefits (sick leave, FMLA, health insurance).
Not sure why they can’t tie required minimum pay to employer size. But Republican judges and SCOTUS would find a way to kill it I imagine.
Gravenstone
This is a nice bit of news. The Atlanta WNBA team, previously owned by the execrable Kelly Loeffler has been sold. I would imagine the players are quite relieved to be free of her malign presence.
Gravenstone
@catclub: Did you tell them you’d take the money, but they can have the drugs since it’s obvious they need better than what they’re obviously on?
Leto
Via WaPo: Capitol riot defendants facing jail have regrets. Judges aren’t buying it.
One judge verbally smacked down an attorney who tried to use the QAnon conspiracy theory to explain his client shouting “kill them all.
Whoops indeed, mf’ers.
Nelle
@J R in WV: we’re up to about eight call each for car warranties now per day. What does any company..or fraudster…get out of this?
Kent
I think Biden can also require it of all Federal contractors and subcontractors with a stroke of the pen. So any concessionaires on Federal property or national parks, custodial staff and contractors in Federal buildings, landscapers for Federal properties, etc. etc.
Geminid
@Old School: Last month’s Wason Center poll of Virginia registered showed self-identified Republicans at 37%, down from 31% November 2019. Democrats up from 34% to 37%. Independents were around 31%.
Miss Bianca
@Martin:
Ooh, I like the way you think.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Leto: I love that judge
Poe Larity
The NYT’s editors and others are unhappy with David Brooks’ Aspeny blogging odes to Facebook Groups.
Leto
@Dorothy A. Winsor: He absolutely doesn’t play around. I hope more of these shitstains wind up in his courtroom.
Cameron
Doughy Pantload, Public Enemy #1
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kent: it’s apparently more complicated than the stroke of a pen, but he started the process for that order on his second day in office
Van Buren
On Wednesday my wife went to a seminar at a public health agency and at the end they casually mentioned that they been alloted more doses than they needed and did anyone have an eligible family member and that is why I am now waiting with my autistic son for a jab, and my asthmatic son is scheduled for 530 if they don’t run out.
Leto
@Nelle: spam enough calls and get 1 sucker to pay out. The sheer volume they’re doing factors into it. My phone blocks 99% of those spam calls.
raven
@Nelle: \\
Simple ways to stop them, especially with iPhones
The worst thing you can do when you get these calls: Pressing 1 or 2 to opt out. That tells them you are a live caller, and you may get even more calls in the future.
Doesn’t that stink?
If you have an Apple iPhone, there is an almost-secret setting to now block them.
In iOS 13 or 14:
You can then silence unknown callers, any number that is not in your contacts or was not recently called. They will just go to your voice mail, where robocallers usually don’t leave a message.
Have an Android phone? Check with your cell provider on how to block unknown callers, or consider purchasing a call blocking app on Google Play, such as NoMoRobo or Robostopper or others.
Old School
@Van Buren: Here’s hoping there is enough for both sons!
Mai Naem mobile
@Van Buren: that is fucking awesome. Good for you and your family.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Geminid: how is 37% down from 31%? Possible typo?
Leto
@Van Buren: That’s really good news! Just found out my parents got their first dose today. They’ll get their second shot a month from now. Takes a bit of worry off my mind.
Ruckus
@LuciaMia:
He had one policy.
One.
It wasn’t a nice policy. One can’t write about it in decent society.
Fortunately we aren’t a decent society. His one policy was suck my dick and pay me for the privilege.
Mary G
@Steeplejack (phone): Lost contact and neither HBM nor myself does much Facebook, but at Thanksgiving he posted that he, Mrs. HBM, their son, and adorable dog Leland were doing well.
raven
@Flanders Other Neighbor: Great movie.
CaseyL
@Van Buren:
That’s great! Hope there’s enough for both kids!
Steve in the ATL
@Gravenstone: finally, the last superrich rightwing asshole sports team owner is gone!
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
Only have a cell phone. So my phone allows me to turn off the ringer for any call not in my contacts. I get a screen notice, which of course tells me the number to block, which of course I do, so of course they robo call me from another number. Get at least one a week. The number is always a computer generated number and almost always not a working number. Funny how that is. One would think this is a pretty easy scam for the service provider to stop. I guess that the cell phone company makes money on each and every call, so it’s going to take a working government to stop them, something we haven’t had for 4 yrs.
Geminid
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): Sure was a typo! That was Republicans at 27%, not 37%. Thank you! I’d like to think that’s from commenting on a break, but I am just not as good a proofreader as I should be.
Mary G
@Geminid: The magic number!
Gravenstone
@Ruckus: Think I became an instance of “not always a non-working number”. During a recent spate of robocalls, all appearing to be from the local exchange, I actually had someone leave me a voicemail asking why I was calling them? I can only guess that my number was among those being spoofed.
Kent
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Well, OK, point taken. It will take them a couple of months to do all the correct analyses and findings of fact and such. But Congress isn’t involved. It is all executive branch.
Ruckus
@Nelle:
Have you considered that it might be the phone company making the calls? They know what numbers are out of service to use as the calling number, they quite possibly benefit some way from the number of calls made…..
cain
@Betty Cracker:
Bravely fighting against “communism/socialism” – when you fuck over the workers you know it isn’t socialism!
cain
It’s where he keeps his balls. He occasionally needs to remind himself that while he might be a dick, he doesn’t need balls – likes to keep them safe in his locker.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
In shocking news, sedition and insurrection are popular at trumppac
opiejeanne
@Delk: Those Radko ornaments were crappy from the beginning
So, yes.
Ruckus
@Gravenstone:
I’ve only called the number shown a couple of times, just to see if it actually worked. But if it’s a straight robo call then it is a computer generated number, and if where you live is anything like LA, they have to create new area codes because the old ones run out of available numbers. So they are going to be using working numbers.
@raven:
This is what I do on my iPhone. Works great.
chopper
@J R in WV:
“hi, this is joey gilchrist with the federal reserve’s extended auto warranty department…”
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@Just Some Fuckhead: Thanks large, mac. Not enough injectable bleach in creation to get that stain out of my brain now.
Chief Oshkosh
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’ve long thought that CPAC is a missed opportunity for our evel sientists to test their latest batch of Legionaires Disease culture.
Soprano2
I’ll call them that too, but calling them “Trumpublicans” emphasizes how much it’s now just a cult of personality rather than a serious political party.
Redshift
My favorite take on the statue.
Redshift
@Chief Oshkosh:
Evil? More like heroic!
Soprano2
@J R in WV: I keep getting calls saying that my Amazon account has been frozen because (insert expensive thing here) was purchased with it, and if I’ll just call this number they can verify it all for me so my account can be unfrozen. Of course, it’s just a bullshit scam.
Redshift
@Gravenstone: I got a text like that from someone once. I replied back that I hadn’t called, and it was probably a scammer using a spoofed number. The person was actually quite pleasant after the first text.
Ivan X
@germy: Who but the young would have the fortitude or naïveté for such a thing?
Sm*t Cl*de
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m sure they know the Horst Wessel song. Can’t they just change the name?
Redshift
@Ruckus:
Yeah, I would think it would be technically trivial for phone companies to restrict calls to having “from” numbers that are owned by the owner of the calling line, rather than letting robocall systems spoof any number they want. It happens on landlines, and it wouldn’t be profitable for scammers to randomly spam numbers if the phone company was actually making a significant amount of money on the calls.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a misinterpretation or an unintended consequence of some telecom regulation, or it’s just that it would cost them money to stop letting the spoofed numbers through.
Brachiator
@Soprano2:
Yep. They are definitely fascists.
They have to be taken serious enough to make sure that they are soundly defeated in every election. They are doing everything they can in a number of states to enact voter suppression laws. They are intent on trying to steal future elections.
They have no ideas and don’t care whether they can appeal to any voters with any coherent policy. It is all about power.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Soprano2: I’ve received those calls, and they left voicemail since I don’t pick up unless it’s on my contacts. I checked my Amazon account, nothing there.
J R in WV
@Nelle:
Well, If you are dumb enough to fall for a line this stupid, you just may be dumb enough to give them your bank information, or even just a credit card number. Like the Nigerian Prince emails with mis-spelled words to filter out smart people…
I dunno, but there must be some tiny number of people who fall into the phone call, or they wouldn’t be able to afford to keep it going.
Matt McIrvin
@Brachiator: The CPAC stage is in the shape of the Odal rune used in some Waffen SS uniforms, a common white-supremacist symbol:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2/26/2018265/-Yes-They-Are-Fascists
I confirmed this looking at TV-station video of Ron DeSantis’s appearance, so it’s not just a doctored photo.
This is exactly the kind of semi-plausibly-deniable “coincidental” dogwhistle these people pull all the time.
Sm*t Cl*de
@Matt McIrvin: Someone has edited the Whackyweedia entry. The language is not the approved style of Wiki neutrality, so it may change.
Matt McIrvin
@Sm*t Cl*de: Yeah, I saw that, it’s not gonna stand long.
Brachiator
@Matt McIrvin:
We are beyond dog whistles. These fascists are now using Trump as an excuse as well as a justification for their actions and beliefs.
I recently saw a video clip of some GOP politician say that voting was a privilege, in defending legislation that would restrict voting rights.
So, they are slowly moving towards an open assertion not just that Trump was “robbed,” but that only the “right” people should be allowed to vote at all.
This is not “coded” language. It’s is pretty damn explicit.
raven
@Brachiator: And what they LOVE the most is liberals freaking out.
NotMax
@Brachiator
Heckuva travail to get an amendment successfully through the process, but mirroring the second in a new one is one not completely implausible suggestion.
An equitably represented electorate, being necessary to the performance of a free State, the right of the people of eligible age to vote shall not be infringed.
Brachiator
@raven:
No. What they love is power and hurting people.
KSinMA
@MomSense:
Belatedly: What a neat story. Thanks for sharing!
Bill Arnold
@Sm*t Cl*de:
In a pinch one can link an older version of a Wikipedia entry from the history (Like a few days ago.)
I’m impressed. Golden Trump idol at CPAC 2021, and the CPAC 2021 stage in the shape of a Nazi symbol also used by contemporary Nazis.
AnotherBruce
Should we overturn CPAC ? Get a thousand Antifa and bust up the conference.
The trouble with that scenario is that there probably not enough Antifa to be effective. Oh well.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
But it’s a strange,lazyman form of Fascism with it’s contempt for military service – remember Hitler’s, Mussolini’s and Franco’s claim to power was their military service. Their idea of brave movement warrior they are cheering is Ted Cruz for going on vacation at the moment of crises. These Trumpites aren’t so much bundling sticks and axes so much at bundling stick and TV remotes.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
More like the privilege to hurt people. They really have no ambition with power beyond that.
it also occurs to me that really aren’t racists, it’s just Blacks make an easier target for their cruelty because of the institutions the real racists put in place. But their one real passion is make other people suffer.