If you want to absolve anyone of responsibility for any action, using passive voice is a common way to do so. And Trump did plenty of that on the call too: “Ballots were dropped mysteriously onto the rolls … those votes were put there a number of hours before … you had drop boxes that were picked up,” and so on. But antecedent-less pronouns are just the sneakier cousin of passive voice: They’re typically written in active voice, so they seem to assign responsibility for the verb’s action. But that responsibility is a mirage: A search for accountability leads to an unmanned paper shredder under a desk in Fulton County, Ga.
I would like to say this morning that I have more respect for Rep. Jason Crow than ever before. Yesterday, while members of Congress were hunkered down and trapped and hiding from the mob, he had the presence of mind to comfort another member of congress that was not dealing well with the shit that was going down at the time. I guess the Army Ranger in him kicked in.
I don't think I could have done that. I don't think many of us could have done that. I am very proud of Representative Crow today because he is one hell of a Coloradan.
The FBI has called for crowd-sourcing the identities of the insurrectionists.
A number of the occupiers have already been ID’d as know right-wing bloggers and activists. It is interesting that they were willing to show their faces, as if they feared no consequences.
It is notable that the top three (more?) of the presidential line of succession were in the house at the time: Pence, Pelosi, Grassley. Plus Kamala Harris. Occupiers had handfuls of zip-ties, baseball bats (thanks, KW), and some of the fine people were calling for arrest and execution.
Mega failure on the part of Capitol Police. The question I have is whether orders were withheld or orders placed. If placed, were the estimates of potential violence intentionally downgraded.
I've been seeing lots of reporting and timelining of CPD response. The estimates of potential violence intentionally were not downgraded; they were never upgraded until it was too late.
Poor planning that may or may not have been intentional. 9/11-style commission to follow.
Here is an article naming some of the occupiers, including the guy sitting in Pelosi's desk, the guy hauling off Pelosi's podium and a Wisconsin state representative. Many of them live streamed their own invasion.
This is how Q-bie will go down — it won’t be in a shootout. She’s clearly not smart enough to do proper dog whistle, plus she imagines that every utterance that emanates from her tiny mind is just – oh so cute!
Someday she’ll be trying to impress some cadre of batshit righty Murican fellow-travelers, and the video will go straight to the web.
Even the more experienced ambitious (Cruzian) dog-whistlers will have no choice but to censure and disavow her.
This is the crime that cannot be forgiven, and for which the Republican Party should be held accountable:
The Republican Party that has aided and abetted Trump is all the more contemptible because it fills the press with quotes making certain that we know that it knows better. In a line that will come to define this sordid era (and sordid party), a senior Republican told The Washington Post, “What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time? No one seriously thinks the results will change.” What happened on Wednesday in Washington is the downside. Millions of Americans will take you literally. They will not know you are “humoring” the most powerful man in the world. They will feel betrayed and desperate. Some of them will be armed.
What is the president doing? Is there a president right now, really? The safety line has gone slack in the cave, and we are all waiting to see what kind of thing will come back out.
In an extraordinary move, Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that it would no longer publish a planned book by Sen. Josh Hawley, one of the Republican lawmakers who led objections to Congress certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
And in response, ol’ Joshy described Simon & Schuster’s action as “Orwellian,” whined about his First Amendment rights, and vowed to see S&S in court.
You learn something new every day. Until reading Joshy’s unhinged response, I had no idea the First Amendment applied to private companies and guaranteed wingnuts book deals.
Good luck to Joshy on the whole “see you in court” thing. There is no chance whatsoever that his contract with S&S lacked a mandatory binding arbitration provision. Also, “morality clauses” were once anomalous in publishing contracts but are now commonplace. And finally, Joshy’s contract undoubtedly included a fee shifting clause under which the prevailing party in any arbitration or lawsuit arising out of or in any way relating to the contract can recover its attorney fees and other litigation expenses from the loser.
The best internet comment re: Joshy’s response was something along the lines of, “This is not Orwellian. Orwell got published.”
Lest you ever start to forget who Republicans really are, or kid yourself about their likely ever finally beginning to see the light . . .
Ttump greeted with cheers as he calls in to Republican National Committee meeting
Trump briefly called in to the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting Thursday morning — and received a loud and overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception when RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel put him on speakerphone, according to people in the room.
Today is National Pass Gas Day.
Fine quote for the morning after a failed insurrection.
A column with a similar thought: Philadelphia Inquirer: The Angry Grammarian – "The case of the mystery ‘they’ in Trump’s unhinged call to Georgia officials" It ends:
American Carnage, by Donald and the Deplorables
And Hillary was attacked for calling Trump's followers "deplorables".
How right did that description turn out to be.
I would like to say this morning that I have more respect for Rep. Jason Crow than ever before. Yesterday, while members of Congress were hunkered down and trapped and hiding from the mob, he had the presence of mind to comfort another member of congress that was not dealing well with the shit that was going down at the time. I guess the Army Ranger in him kicked in.
I don't think I could have done that. I don't think many of us could have done that. I am very proud of Representative Crow today because he is one hell of a Coloradan.
The FBI has called for crowd-sourcing the identities of the insurrectionists.
A number of the occupiers have already been ID’d as know right-wing bloggers and activists. It is interesting that they were willing to show their faces, as if they feared no consequences.
It is notable that the top three (more?) of the presidential line of succession were in the house at the time: Pence, Pelosi, Grassley. Plus Kamala Harris. Occupiers had handfuls of zip-ties, baseball bats (thanks, KW), and some of the fine people were calling for arrest and execution.
Mega failure on the part of Capitol Police. The question I have is whether orders were withheld or orders placed. If placed, were the estimates of potential violence intentionally downgraded.
I've been seeing lots of reporting and timelining of CPD response. The estimates of potential violence intentionally were not downgraded; they were never upgraded until it was too late.
Poor planning that may or may not have been intentional. 9/11-style commission to follow.
Informative post, but I think you meant baseball bats.
No, Kw. They had baseball hats, size extra small. They wore them to emphasize their support for the designated hitter rule.
V- please never use my name.
I deleted it, but you once posted that we should address you as kwtree OR that name.
Given the number of Trumpgoons around, I can understand your wariness, am only noting this to specify that I didn't intend to offend you.
Here is an article naming some of the occupiers, including the guy sitting in Pelosi's desk, the guy hauling off Pelosi's podium and a Wisconsin state representative. Many of them live streamed their own invasion.
Beware: PayPal phishing texts state your account is 'limited'
I do not worry. I do all my shopping right at Colorado Pols.
Pols has no limts—even when I am batshit crazy.
~ Rep. Lauren Boebert
Is she dumb as dog shit or a real, live fan of de jure racial segregation? (Yeah, I realize the two are not mutually exclusive.)
Way to go, Western Colorado. Good jerb!
This is how Q-bie will go down — it won’t be in a shootout. She’s clearly not smart enough to do proper dog whistle, plus she imagines that every utterance that emanates from her tiny mind is just – oh so cute!
Someday she’ll be trying to impress some cadre of batshit righty Murican fellow-travelers, and the video will go straight to the web.
Even the more experienced ambitious (Cruzian) dog-whistlers will have no choice but to censure and disavow her.
Give Q-bert a break. She was reading up on Elvis Pressley versus Turd Ferguson.
This is the crime that cannot be forgiven, and for which the Republican Party should be held accountable:
From Ben Mathis-Lilley at Slate:
"Is there a president right now, really? "
In my eyes, this president has never fulfilled the expectations of the office.
He's been more like day-old sushi left in the sun.
He was sooooo close to having his new Virginia digs paid for…
Sen. Josh Hawley's book canceled by publisher citing 'deadly insurrection' at Capitol building
And in response, ol’ Joshy described Simon & Schuster’s action as “Orwellian,” whined about his First Amendment rights, and vowed to see S&S in court.
You learn something new every day. Until reading Joshy’s unhinged response, I had no idea the First Amendment applied to private companies and guaranteed wingnuts book deals.
Good luck to Joshy on the whole “see you in court” thing. There is no chance whatsoever that his contract with S&S lacked a mandatory binding arbitration provision. Also, “morality clauses” were once anomalous in publishing contracts but are now commonplace. And finally, Joshy’s contract undoubtedly included a fee shifting clause under which the prevailing party in any arbitration or lawsuit arising out of or in any way relating to the contract can recover its attorney fees and other litigation expenses from the loser.
The best internet comment re: Joshy’s response was something along the lines of, “This is not Orwellian. Orwell got published.”
Lest you ever start to forget who Republicans really are, or kid yourself about their likely ever finally beginning to see the light . . .
Maybe Ronna missed Unky Mitty’s speech?? . . .
As fucking awful and beyond the pale as Ttump is, he’s still merely a symptom.