So one of the insurrectionists was today sentenced to 44 months in prison for punching a cop and a number of other things:
A Donald Trump supporter from New Jersey who assaulted law enforcement during the attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Wednesday, the stiffest sentence handed down so far in connection with the Jan. 6 attack.
Scott Fairlamb ― the son of a New Jersey trooper and the brother of a Secret Service agent who served on first lady Michelle Obama’s detail ― was sentenced by Judge Royce C. Lamberth.
A tearful Fairlamb said he had brought shame upon his family and asked the judge to “show some mercy” when sentencing him for his “completely irresponsible, reckless behavior” on Jan. 6.
“I take full responsibility,” Fairlamb said, adding that prosecutors had been “nothing but professional” from start to finish.
Later on in the HuffPo story this tweet is featured:
“The government has been nothing but fair, honest, transparent, and very reasonable,” says Harley Breite, Scott Fairlamb’s attorney. pic.twitter.com/WkmiMW5Pah
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) November 10, 2021
I watched that and IMMEDIATELY googled Harley Breite because he is the type of person I am drawn to like a moth to light, and man oh man I was not disappointed. He is quite the character, and there is even a film about him:
Enjoy. I can not wait to watch the movie, which has been described as such:
“Eloquently presented and articulated in this documentary, Harley’s story plays out like a train wreck in slow motion; you just can’t take your eyes off it”.
I think if we knew each other we would be friends.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Quite a flashback from those of us who got sucked into political junkiedom by the Vast Rightwing Conspiracy. This guy was Larry Klayman’s favorite judge.
WaterGirl
Cole, I think your math is off. One good thing is this insurrectionist going to jail. The second is your discovering this attorney. :-)
dr. bloor
“Friends?” I think a DNA test is in order.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
well, I played that video.
My goodness.
Chief Oshkosh
Now THAT is something. What, I’m not sure, but definitely something. Cool!
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think I have a new role model.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Who was the old one?
schrodingers_cat
He is bald and he has dreadlocks, how is that possible?
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Thurgood Marshall.
Gin & Tonic
It’s a shame the dude doesn’t have any friends who can tell him he looks like an idiot with that hair and that bowtie.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Um, wow. Okay then. Righteous.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
I know. I feel bad for Cole.
Jess
@dr. bloor: LOL!!!
I used to explain to my European friends that I loved living in American because of all the kookiness of it. More recently, now that benign kookiness has fermented into toxic ignorance and insanity, I’ve been looking back at my previous fondness for our country’s eccentrics and feeling like a naive fool, or the Grizzly Man trying to make friends with the nice bears. But this guy reminds me that there are still plenty of kooks who have maintained their sanity and humanity.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: I’ll chip in for gas money for Cole to drive up to NJ and have lunch with this guy.
Citizen_X
@Gin & Tonic: Hey, he’s living his best life.
You or I may not like it, but you must admit he’s got a sense of style.
dr. bloor
@Baud: An obvious successor, then.
Baud
@Jess:
A lot of the style of the harmful right wing is borrowed from or derivative of other aspects of American culture. They spoil everything.
Jess
@Baud: They sure do. But I know people who were benign who have now turned toxic; it’s just where we are now, sadly. I’m kinda there as well, celebrating the Herman Cain awards.
Argiope
This lawyer guy is what happens when Napoleon Dynamite grows up and becomes middle aged. I’m so in!
Jess
@Gin & Tonic: Maybe Cole could interview him for Balloon Juice!
Starfish
@Jess: I would like to ask, “You are jealous of your mother’s cat. Why?”
hells littlest angel
Man who takes “full responsibility” also asks for mercy. Uh huh.
CaseyL
I think Harley is adorable. Long may he (and his dreads) wave!
Omnes Omnibus
@Starfish: There are questions that are best left unanswered. This is probably one of them.
debbie
One of Jersey’s finest, no doubt.
Suzanne
OMG I kind of love this dood.
dopey-o
In the left-hand picture, Fairlamb has something in his teeth. Any ideas?
eclare
@dopey-o: I thought it was a bullet…
zhena gogolia
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah. I finally got up my courage to watch it. Hmmm.
I thought we had agreed that white people don’t wear dreadlocks.
zhena gogolia
@eclare: Me too.
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: Shouldn’t, not don’t.
Baud
@Jess:
I hear you. They make it hard for us to be ourselves.
WaterGirl
I just watched the video and I find it completely charming. I can see why Cole would be drawn to this character.
HumboldtBlue
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I… I couldn’t stop watching. I’m not sure if I’m wholly and completely creeped out or fascinated.
Harley is the guy you end up talking with at the cookout and he becomes a story you tell for the rest of your life.
“I was at a cookout once and I met this guy named Harley…”
Starfish
I am so tired of Democratic centrist men of Twitter this week. It has been days of whining because The Squad voted ‘No.’
Is “I can’t cope with a woman who says ‘No'” the message they really want to be sending?
The legislation passed, so why are these folks still complaining about The Squad days and days later when these ladies are doing their job trying to get other Democratic legislation passed?
I usually like these dudes, but they have been exhausting this week.
schrodingers_cat
@Starfish: I am not a man and I am not centrist but I have had it up to here with the Squad and their antics.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: I’m the outlier here. I like genuine oddballs and eccentrics, but this guy seems to being trying too hard. It’s good press for his practice, but the whole thing seems cultivated to me. OTOH, kudos to him for being willing to represent those that others won’t.
schrodingers_cat
BTW Google Translate is terrible, it does a literal translation missing nuance and idioms.
Geminid
@Starfish: Jamaal Bowman is one of the “Squad,” and one of the six who voted against the infrastructure bill. And I’ve seen women criticizing that vote as forcefully as men have. So this is not just a matter of men beating up on ladies.
The “Squad” and their allies criticize other people in the party incessantly. If they can dish it out, they can take it.
guachi
@Starfish: If the BIF vote had failed like The Squad wanted how would that have helped BBB pass? Because if BIF failed then BBB had no chance and we’d have passed exactly nothing.
I criticized their actions because they weren’t helpful in any way. A 100% D vote yes at least allows the argument that 100% of House Ds voted for what Manchin wants so 100% of Senate Ds need to vote for BBB.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
good god
Poe Larity
We should brigade for a screening in WV
John Revolta
I don’t know what’s up with the hair but he certainly has the “keep a civil tongue on the Judge’s boots” approach down. And the Judge gave the guy the minimum that the guidelines called for, so……….
Joe Falco
@Starfish:
Same. I’ve already muted one of them I follow on Twitter for just non-stop dumping on the Squad 24/7. I might un-mute them in the future, but for right now, my Twitter experience is better without them.
Omnes Omnibus
@Starfish: @Joe Falco: Twitter is such an individual place. I’ve seen virtually none of that.
Omnes Omnibus
@John Revolta:
Given the facts of the case, he did the best for his client that anyone could have done.
schrodingers_cat
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Squad is never wrong, it can only be wronged.
Yesterday the most famous squad member was out there
slamming the infra bill from the left
Always on Camera
Votes against Infra
Spins like a top On Insta
While stans cheer, brava
BerkeleyMom
@dopey-o: I read somewhere that thing in his teeth is a pepperball.
Baud
@Geminid:
When did the Squad expand?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
So…. the Appeals court can now issue some kind of hold on the hand-over to the committee, but hey have to do it by Friday? anybody know which court? Is this one of those things that goes to a committee of three judges?
If they tell trump to pound sand, can he appeal said order to pound sand to Amy Coney Barrett?
LeftCoastYankee
“I really thought hiring Sideshow Bob as my attorney would help with the sentencing….”
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
DC circuit. 3 judges. And it would go to Roberts after.
Geminid
@Baud: Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman beat Lacy Clay and Elliot Engel in primaries last year.They were both sponsored by Justice Democrats, and are grouped now with Tlaib, Pressley, Omar and Ocasio-Cortez as the new “Squad.”
Redshift
@hells littlest angel:
Hmm, it seems to me that’s what someone who’s guilty is supposed to do – accept responsibility and show remorse, so I can’t fault it. Sounds like unlike most of these yahoos, he’s actually following advice instead of insisting he did nothing wrong and complaining he’s being treated unfairly.
Baud
@Geminid:
Thanks.
Redshift
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
And tomorrow is a federal holiday.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud: thank you
some interesting characters there, Noemi Rao, David Sentelle and Laurence Silbermann (speaking of the VRCW….), Tokin’ Douglas Ginsburg… who I gotta say I always kinda felt got a raw deal. And I thought he had passed a couple years ago, actually. I have a very clear and apparently false memory of that.
Wasn’t Sri Srinivasan always said to be on Obama’s short list for the SC?
Dan B
@Starfish: Well, at least one progressive woman is getting noticed. Pramila was interviewed by NPR. Seems she’s become on of the most influential pols from WA, probably from anywhere in US. Sad she’s no longer my rep but she could be our Senator.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@Baud:
In the sequel they expanded the Squad to include Sgt Slaughter and Mr. Freeze
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yes. As appeals courts go, it’s a pretty good one. But Trump could draw a good panel. I would count on a short stay though. The Supremes are where the real action will be.
Baud
@Dan B:
Good. She deserves it. I really hope she can crow about the BBB in a couple of weeks.
dww44
@Redshift: I agree. His is a refreshing response. None of the “I’m the victim” whining we typically get. His response was adult and appropriately contrite.
Mike in NC
Law enforcement in this country is overwhelmingly composed of male white supremacists, including the FBI and the Secret Service.
Starfish
@Geminid: In the context of Paul Gosar posting anime of himself killing AOC, would it make sense for centrist Democrats to stop?
James E Powell
@guachi:
It allows for the argument but does nothing to get BBB passed. Manchin doesn’t give a shit about arguments, reason, the success of the president of his party, the lives of ordinary people, or the good of the nation.
Picking on the Squad for their protest “no” vote – a legitimate protests since they were lied to by anti-BBB Democratic house members, is deflecting from the reality of who made this mess.
James E Powell
@Baud:
And then to the shadow docket where it will sit till 2023.
Mary G
Went to Lowes yesterday and had dinner in a restaurant. All employees were wearing face marks, and only one customer beside me had one on. Our numbers are inching up week to week and I feel so full of rage.
Sorry for the OT, I hope to sleep through the night.
dexwood
@schrodingers_cat: Science! Or polyester. Saw this guy on something somewhere early today and thought, really, we should see you as a serious guy?
West of the Rockies
@Mike in NC:
Overwhelmingly composed of male white supremacists…
White and male, yes. I’d like some evidence for that last word.
Wag
@Redshift: Agreed. And I’m sure that his brother the Secret Service agent who was on Michelle Obama’s team leaned HARD on his brother to try and wake him out of his delirium
eclare
@Mary G: As I have said a few times, my county just ended its mask mandate because it was working so well. Even chamber/business types here in Memphis were shocked because they expected the mandate to stay in effect through the holidays.
Whoever made this decision should remove the brakes in their car under that reasoning. Hey, they worked in the past, time to drive without them!
I predict happy holidays for Delta here, we’re less than 50% vaxxed.
Another Scott
@Mike in NC: Relatedly, …
I’ll bet there were a lot of letters like that… :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
DonnaK
@Baud: True. They’ve ruined boating, which I find unforgivable.
Suzanne
@eclare: We are really highly vaxxed and Covid is still climbing.
Shots for the littles!
Urban Suburbanite
What a glorious weirdo.
Dan B
@Baud: She is an excellent communicator and has a voice that is easy to listen to.
ian
@Starfish: One would think that Gosar’s behavior and the increasing likelihood of Republicans taking back the house just from gerrymandered seats alone would get both wings of the Democratic party to lay down the weapons in the circular firing session, but there seems to be no one we want to hate on more then our fellow dems.
Dan B
@guachi: Im baffled why you state with certainty that the squad wanted the BIF to fail since the evidence is they supported Biden. What they objected to was passing the BIF without passing the BBB.
Seems like they are playing chess and you believe they’re playing checkers. Their game is trying to prevent conservative corporations from being the winners.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
anybody know better, or different, than Gerstein?
could the Chief Judge unilaterally decide to hear it en banc?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I wish, I sincerely wish, “the Squad” were as savvy and effective as people here work so hard to pretend they are. It would mean we live in a much better country that was much closer to my own political goals and ideals.
But we don’t.
And they aren’t.
topclimber
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Well, don’t give up hope for them that easily.
gwangung
Meh. The Squad’s vote on the BIF was strictly a matter of vote counting. There were plenty of symbolic votes before them. No need for all this discussion.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@topclimber: Oh, hell, I’m an Obot. I’m all about hope. But I also have a long memory, and I’ve seen how much damage the anti-Democratic Left can do the Democratic Party, and thus to the country. We gave up three Supreme Court seats to block something called /checks notes/ TPP.
And all this self-deception about “the Squad” is part and parcel of one of the biggest problems the Democratic Party, specifically the “progressive” wing, has: Having drawn all the wrong lessons from 2016, and then having learned nothing from 2018. Or 2020. Or 2021…..
Omnes Omnibus
@gwangung: That is my take on it. We have bigger worries.
topclimber
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Seems like they have learned a tiny bit less than I have over those years. So much less than the pragma-ponies of Balloon Juice, no doubt.
I get the anger at leftists who identify more as such than as Democrats. I don’t get the carping (not by you perhaps) that the Squad gets WAY too much credit for blah, blah or blah. I do not give a BM. YMMV.
It takes ponies of work and show, full of purity and pragmatism to move things forward. Let us gallop to victory, together!
Omnes Omnibus
@topclimber: I am going to apply the same metric that I have used with Manchin. Have they ever failed to come through when needed? So far, the answer is no. Also, right now, they aren’t the ones holding up the Democratic agenda. Do I agree with all of their position? No. Do I like all of their rhetoric? No. But then, I can live with that.
eclare
@gwangung: I could not agree more.
brantl
@zhena gogolia: I think that’s a dum-dummed bullet. Which is ironic, like it’s cannibalism.
J R in WV
@brantl:
It is a pepper-ball round, perhaps a 40mm, but definitely a pepper-ball round.
Regarding the “squad”, while I do not agree with all of the squad progressives all of the time, I don’t even agree with my wife all the time. Certainly no politician gets me all the time on everything.
I make monthly contributions to Ocasio-Cortez because I think she does good work, is a good person, tries to keep the rest of her party honest, and most of all will work against corporate interests, which is important to me.
evodevo
@eclare:
It looks like a shotgun slug, but I can’t really tell…if so, it’s been “dum dum” marked with an X on the end…
Chris Johnson
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: They’re friends with Pelosi.
mic drop
H-Bob
The Blue Dogs need to attack the Squad to validate their “moderate” credentials. The Squad needs to frag the Democratic majority to burnish their leftist credentials. While neither should be doing it through journalists, they could at least turn down the volume from 11.