In The Old Times

I know I am repeating myself, but that our system has a lot of corruption is not new. We miraculously define corruption of other governments in ways that excuse us! Funny how that works. But "put a bag of cash on my desk" corruption is actually new and bad and if we let Trump get away with it...

Nap Time

Sadly not really. Busy!

We Are The Priests Of The Temples Of Syrinx

There are more important things in the world since Elon has (I think) mostly failed at his recent grift attempts but wow is he dumb and we all need hobbies.

The @Tesla #Cybertruck 'Armor Glass' demo didn't go exactly as plannedpic.twitter.com/gl88Yhs35b

— Engadget (@engadget) November 22, 2019

LOL

Nobody *expects* the Cybertruck pic.twitter.com/khhYNFaVKs

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2019

Morning Thread

Whatever will we do without hearings. Gonna be a slow day.

I Am The Worst Blogger

True.

Nobody Knows In America

Including me. This blog sucks but I am busy.

Ancient History

I am mad that "but the Iraq war!" invites "ok Boomer" now.

It was a long time ago. But they are all still here because... Boomers.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, As Written

I've done a lot
God knows I've tried
To find the truth
I've even lied

I have been watching people making phone calls my entire life. My hearing is, and has been, great. Never have I been watching a person making a call, which was not on speakerphone, and been able to hear or understand a conversation. I’ve even tried, but to no avail. Try it live!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2019

The Not Lost Stoppard Play

As written:

Bernard: Ezra wasn't a botanist! He was a poet!
Hannah: He was not much of either, but he was both.

The Lost Beckett Play

Didi: can we have nice things?
Gogo: no because a billionaire might rub against those nice things
Didi: can we tax them
Gogo: oh no
Didi: well? shall we go?
Gogo: yes, let's go
[they do not move]

Morning Thread

From The Right From The Right From The Right

I don't like these debates because they mostly involve centrist pundits trying to box Democrats in from the right. One doesn't have to think they have a sinister agenda to think this. It is just how DC media people think. Nice things? Without a 38 page eligibility form? This is the kind of madness which will turn us into France, where I vacation often!

Better Things Aren't Possible

Who's going to do the best version of this song?

Pre Debate

Exciting!!!

Debate

None of the candidates are perfect because the only perfect candidate is the one who AGREES WITH ME ABOUT EVERYTHING which would be me and also I would be a horrible candidate. It's complicated. I get even if I don't like Biden. I don't get Mayor Pete.

THE CALL WAS PERFECT

I get a lot of what goes on in mushbrain's mushbrain. A lot of it isn't supposed to make sense, just a kind of vapid slogan for the MAGAs. Could be "FRITOLAY!" But sometimes it seems like he's trying to make sense, and bragging about the phone call being PERFECT repeatedly never made any sense to me.

Afternoon Thread

What Was It All About

There isn't going to be much soul-searching from New York Times journalists about how they, specifically, were the marks for this Ukraine stuff.

Donald Trump is the stupidest man in America, but he is smart enough to know that the New York Times would run with "battling accusations of corruption" every time they mentioned Candidate Biden.

And I mean the New York Times. They were the target. Whether they are active players or dumb saps is another question.

The Job Is Basically To Go On Fox, Right?

This is too much for a dumb blogger, but I recommend someone smarter than me write a good piece about how being the incentives for being a hardworking member of Congress - especially but not just in the House - are lacking in that there isn't really all that much good (or EVIL) work for any individual member to devote themself to. I have a sense of why this has changed. There are many reasons. But the incentives - ON BOTH SIDES - for either doing nothing or going big with theatrics trump trying to accomplish, well, anything.

Treason

I don't know if this is true (either my memory or that if I did actually hear/read it the person saying it knew it was true), but I have this memory of someone communicating that during the Plame Affair, people started throwing the word "treason" around and Ari Fleischer was scared shitless that he was going to be executed and ran as fast as he could to Fitzgerald's office.

Maybe I had a dream, maybe it was a joke, but it always gives me a chuckle.

Progressive Taxation

Any politicians who say we can't have "free" health care or education or whatever because what if the children of BILLIONAIRES get it for free is just lying to you. In theory billionaires pay a lot of taxes - or should - and they can drive on the highways without paying an extra toll, too.

As for education specifically... there is a huge problem with the whole concept that we tie higher ed aid to parental income. Also, too.