Saturday, June 29, 2024

Well, shit.


 
That was an awful debate.

I'm gutted that President Joe Biden didn't do better. He had one job, and he failed. He failed. 

The Felon didn't eviscerate Biden. Biden eviserated himself. 

If you missed it, and I hope you did, here Jon Stewart has it in a nutshell. At least someone can find some humor in it. 



Joe Biden had one task. He was to convince a tiny sliver of voters – a tiny sliver but nevertheless the most important voters in recent history – that he was physically and mentally up to the job. He failed at that mission. Instead, he panicked the entire Democratic Party, as well as many old-school Republicans. He gave abundant fodder to the MAGA bullies on the right. He proved them right, as hard as it is to type those words.

Voters did not want numbers and statistics and calls of "malarkey." They really really didn't want to see jumbled words, blank stares, trains of thought going headlong into a ditch, and golf handicap boasting. Nevermind the raspy voice and imprecise speech. Voters wanted to see a strong push-back to the toxic clown poisoning the debate stage. Voters wanted to see an energetic President. Voters wanted to feel better about choosing him. It simply didn't happen. 

I refuse to be ageist. Of course an 81-year old can do a complex job and do it well. And he is indeed doing a great job. He has passed some impressive legislation and has overseen many strong economic improvements. In today's political reality, though, his age and his aptitude are unmistakably a biggie. His age – and more than that – his apparent ability is the referendum on him. It is unfortunate, but it is the political reality. And this debate was meant to show the naysayers and the undecideds, and frankly, the rest of us, that this 81-year-old can and will continue to strongly and effectively lead the country.


The Felon's Performance
It was what was expected. Lies, lies, lies, hyperbole, and more shameful lies. In fact, I was going to take notes in preparation for an after-debate post, but this is as far as I got:



The Felon's performance did not redeem him in any way. It cemented him as a miserable, mephitic, malicious, mendacious moron. He did not suddenly become a better choice.

It was The Felon's "normal" – far from normal normal – and somehow the prep team or Biden forgot that that was who was going to show up at the other podium. Biden did not prepare for a T****-style come-out-with-all-lies-blazing-style debate. When faced with ridiculousness, Biden still treated it as if it were a "normal" debate with a "normal" opponent. And that's besides his feeble performance.

There's been chatter about the Gish gallop, an argument technique which The Felon seemed to have been employing, either by design or because it comes naturally to him. The Gish gallop is the technique where the debater uses all manner of arguments, lies, half-truths, and misrepresentations in rapid-fire, in order to overwhelm the opponent. It certainly did the trick. 

CNN's Role
The moderators failed to fact check and failed to insist on staying on topic. They were milquetoast placeholders while they let The Felon spout lie after lie after lie. The silence in letting the lies stand, I found later, was designed to be part of the format, a format which Biden agreed to. SMH again.

The Spin
Pundits and spinners point out that in the past, for a half-dozen or so recent incumbent presidents, most of them lost their first debate, their poll numbers went down, sometimes dramatically, and yet they went on to win the election.

Small comfort. This is hugely different. Those other incumbent candidates who lost their first debate? Those were normal political days. Those were less divided times. The stakes of losing were less for the country. But mostly, outward appearance of ability to perform the damn job was not The One and Only Issue. There was no call for them to step aside immediately. The June 27, 2024 debate was a referendum on Biden's aptitude to hold office. It is hard to imagine how he could have done worse. He failed. Period.

Surrogates like Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom trotted out in their cheerleading outfits to all the networks to rah-rah-rah their candidate, pretending that everything was all right, without acknowledging the elephant in the room. Yes, that's their job, but to not acknowledge this disaster was disingenuous. 

Some Dems are continuing their support: Democrats struggle to respond to Biden debate performance

The Immediate Reaction
My reaction? And undoubtedly many others of my ilk? I am sad, I am heartbroken. It was like watching someone you love die. In this case, it is our beloved Great Experiment, seeming to gasp its last breath.

There were calls for Biden to step aside just as soon as the moderators uttered "goodnight." 

Immediately after the debate, pundits were reporting that, privately, Democrats up and down the chain were looking for an exit plan. It didn't take long for it to be a public question. 

So many of us thought the same after watching the train wreck. I was absolutely sick to my stomach. And if someone like me thinks he should drop out, then maybe he should drop out. Let alone the party insiders. Let alone the big donors.


The Calls
Liberal columnists and TV media allies called on him to drop out of the race. From Rachel Maddow and Joe Scarborough at MSNBC to New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman and Susan Glasser of the New Yorker, among others, all questioned his fitness to continue. 

Though we don’t have voter polls yet, here is one early indication: "Most voters, including a 47% plurality of Democrats, say Biden should be replaced as the Democratic candidate for president." 

Overnight after the disaster, there was a ton of speculation about how a replacement could happen. I had trouble sleeping that night, and my phone kept me busy reading article after article outlining if and how a new candidate could be placed. 

Here are some of them:


TL;DR version: It would be hard and it would be complicated to replace Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. Joe Biden himself is the only one who can pull the plug. It would mean an very unusual convention in August. It would be democratically unfair for him and/or a bunch of Democratic Party bigwigs to choose the replacement candidate. It would be difficult to know which replacement candidate could win. At this point, though, there is enough panic that it may be the only chance for Dems to retain the presidency. 

It's hard to be optimistic now. 


Help me, Pollyanna LSR, you're my only hope!: Pulling out some optimism
  • The Felon didn't do well either. He lied and lied and lied. He exaggerated, he untruthed. He avoided answering the questions (Will he accept the results of the election? How does he respond to January 6?). He hammered at immigration and inflation without giving any substantive answers. He was at times calm and collected while he spouted his lies - lies - lies. And at times he was unhinged. "Aborting a baby after it is born"? He repeated this accusation several times. Do you mean to say murder? Cuz that ain't happening. He didn't help himself any. Heather Cox Richardson outlines this well:
June 27, 2024 (Thursday) 
Tonight was the first debate between President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and by far the most striking thing about the debate was the overwhelming focus among pundits immediately afterward about Biden’s appearance and soft, hoarse voice as he rattled off statistics and events. Virtually unmentioned was the fact that Trump lied and rambled incoherently, ignored questions to say whatever he wanted; refused to acknowledge the events of January 6, 2021; and refused to commit to accepting the result of the 2024 presidential election, finally saying he would accept it only if it met his standards for fairness.
Immediately after the debate, there were calls for Biden to drop out of the race, but aside from the fact that the only time a presidential candidate has ever done that—in 1968—it threw the race into utter confusion and the president’s party lost, Biden needed to demonstrate that his mental capacity is strong in order to push back on the Republicans’ insistence that he is incapable of being president. That, he did, thoroughly. Biden began with a weak start but hit his stride as the evening wore on. Indeed, he covered his bases too thoroughly, listing the many accomplishments of his administration in such a hurry that he was sometimes hard to understand.  
In contrast, Trump came out strong but faded and became less coherent over time. His entire performance was either lies or rambling non-sequiturs. He lied so incessantly throughout the evening that it took CNN’s fact-checker Daniel Dale almost three minutes, speaking quickly, to get through the list. 
Trump said that some Democratic states allow people to execute babies after they’re born and that every legal scholar wanted Roe v. Wade overturned—both fantastical lies. He said that the deficit is at its highest level ever and that the U.S. trade deficit is at its highest ever: both of those things happened during his administration. He lied that there were no terrorist attacks during his presidency; there were many. He said that Biden wants to quadruple people’s taxes—this is “pure fiction,” according to Dale—and lied that his tax cuts paid for themselves; they have, in fact, added trillions of dollars to the national debt.  
Dale went on: Trump lied that the U.S. has provided more aid to Ukraine than Europe has when it’s the other way around, and he was off by close to $100 billion when he named the amount the U.S. has provided to Ukraine. He was off by millions when he talked about how many migrants have crossed the border under Biden, and falsely claimed that some of Biden’s policies—like funding historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and reducing the price of insulin to $35 a month—were his own accomplishments. 
There is no point in going on, because virtually everything he said was a lie. As Jake Lahut of the Daily Beast recorded, he also was all over the map. “On January 6,” Trump said, “we had a great border.” To explain how he would combat opioid addiction, he veered off into talking points about immigration and said his administration “bought the best dog.” He boasted about acing a cognitive test and that he had just recently won two golf club tournaments without mentioning that they were at his own golf courses. “To do that, you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way,” he said. “I can do it.” 
As Lahut recorded, Trump said this: “Clean water and air. We had it. We had the H2O best numbers ever, and we were using all forms of energy during my 4 years. Best environmental numbers ever, they gave me the statistic [sic.] before I walked on stage actually.” 
Trump also directly accused Biden of his own failings and claimed Biden’s own strengths, saying, for example, that Biden, who has enacted the most sweeping legislation of any president since at least Lyndon Johnson, couldn’t get anything done while he, who accomplished only tax cuts, was more effective. He responded to the calling out of his own criminal convictions by saying that Biden “could be a convicted felon,” and falsely stating: “This man is a criminal.” And, repeatedly, Trump called America a “failing nation” and described it as a hellscape. 
It went on and on, and that was the point. This was not a debate. It was Trump using a technique that actually has a formal name, the Gish gallop, although I suspect he comes by it naturally. It’s a rhetorical technique in which someone throws out a fast string of lies, non-sequiturs, and specious arguments, so many that it is impossible to fact-check or rebut them in the amount of time it took to say them. Trying to figure out how to respond makes the opponent look confused, because they don’t know where to start grappling with the flood that has just hit them. 
It is a form of gaslighting, and it is especially effective on someone with a stutter, as Biden has. It is similar to what Trump did to Biden during a debate in 2020. In that case, though, the lack of muting on the mics left Biden simply saying: “Will you shut up, man?” a comment that resonated with the audience. Giving Biden the enforced space to answer by killing the mic of the person not speaking tonight actually made the technique more effective. 
There are ways to combat the Gish gallop—by calling it out for what it is, among other ways—but Biden retreated to trying to give the three pieces of evidence that established his own credentials on the point at hand. His command of those points was notable, but the difference between how he sounded at the debate and how he sounded on stage at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, just an hour afterward suggested that the technique worked on him.  
That’s not ideal, but as Monique Pressley put it, “The proof of Biden’s ability to run the country is the fact that he is running it. Successfully. Not a debate performance against a pathological lying sociopath.”  
A much bigger deal is what it says that the television media and pundits so completely bought into Trump’s performance. They appear to have accepted Trump’s framing of the event—that he is dominant—so fully that the fact Trump unleashed a flood of lies and non-sequiturs simply didn’t register. And, since the format established that the CNN journalists running the debate did not challenge anything either candidate said, and Dale’s fact-checking spot came long after the debate ended, the takeaway of the event was a focus on Biden’s age rather than on Trump’s inability to tell the truth or form a coherent thought.  
At the end of the evening, pundits were calling not for Trump—a man liable for sexual assault and business fraud, convicted of 34 felonies, under three other indictments, who lied pathologically—to step down, but for Biden to step down…because he looked and sounded old. At 81, Biden is indeed old, but that does not distinguish him much from Trump, who is 78 and whose inability to answer a question should raise concerns about his mental acuity. 
About the effect of tonight’s events, former Republican operative Stuart Stevens warned: “Don't day trade politics. It's a sucker's game. A guy from Queens out on bail bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade, said in public he didn't have sex with a porn star, defended tax cuts for billionaires, defended Jan. 6th. and called America the worst country in the world. That guy isn't going to win this race.” 
Trump will clearly have pleased his base tonight, but Stevens is right to urge people to take a longer view. It’s not clear whether Trump or Biden picked up or lost votes; different polls gave the win to each, and it’s far too early to know how that will shake out over time. 
Of far more lasting importance than this one night is the clear evidence that stage performance has trumped substance in political coverage in our era. Nine years after Trump launched his first campaign, the media continues to let him call the shots.
  • Most polls aren't out yet. Maybe it didn't do any more damage with voters. We just have to wait and see. 
  • Biden has some time to rehabilitate his image and mitigate the damage. This June debate was extraordinarily early. We still have 51 days until the Democratic National Convention.
  • The Dems still have time to install someone new. We still have 128 days until Election Day.
  • Historian Allan Lichtman, who successfully forecasts presidential races, feels it is "foolhardy nonsense" to try to replace Biden.
  • But on the other hand, as Zach Beauchamp in Vox writes, this may be a silver lining. It may show that we as a Nation can rise engergetically to this challenge and swiftly make some changes. It may give a boost to the doldrums that we've been facing with these two as our only choices. What if we found an exciting new candidate?!

And finally....

The Speech-Language Pathologist's Eye
We know that Joe Biden has a stutter. It was more apparent than usual on Thursday night. A stutter is not a sign of incompetence. Not in the least. Some who know less than you and me will think that it is, especially the MAGAts. They will pounce on this like stink on shit. That, they are good at. Put the stutter aside.

There were the blank stares and what we call masked facies. There was the low-volume, hoarse or raspy voice and the rapid, imprecise speech. Biden's motor movements were limited, and he does indeed shuffle rather than stride. He seemed to not blink much. And he doesn't swing his arms much when he walks. 

I was working with a patient the morning after the debate on his voice disorder resulting from Parkinson's Disease. As I was encouraging him to use more power in his voice, I very nearly said, "You know, speak like Joe Biden should have spoken last night." 

And then it hit me hard. All those behaviors during the debate? They are signs of Parkinson's disease. And I wonder now if Joe Biden is suffering from PD. NOTE: I am not diagnosing! I am pointing out that his physical and voice traits look like the same traits that a typical Parkinson's patient demonstrates. Remember: the majority of PD patients do not have cognitive changes. Some do, however, often taking the form of word-finding problems or problems finishing their thoughts, as well as memory issues.

Biden doesn't have a tremor that I have seen, but not all PD patients have tremor. Symptoms he does exhibit:
✅ Masked facies
✅ Low-volume voice
✅ Hoarse/raspy voice
✅ Imprecise phonemes 
✅ Rapid speech
✅ Stiff or shuffling gait
✅ Reduced arm swing
✅ Reduced blinking
✅ Slow movements
✅ Falls
✅ Stuttering (though Biden has a childhood "classic" stutter, many PD patients develop stuttering, too)

 I don't know if this is part of Biden, and I don't know if it is a factor. LSR is just reporting what LSR sees.

Sorry. Not in the mood for cartoons today. But I will submit a thought. Maybe Jimmy Carter is available to run?  Has anyone reached out? 

Have a better day, Resisters. Much love to all. 



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Thursday, June 27, 2024

SCOTUS decisions and what what: A news digest

Nothing deep and wide from LSR today, just a catch-up on the latest from news sources.


RECENT SCOTUS DECISIONS

It is the end of the term for the Supreme Court of the United States. Though they usually recess by the end of June, this year they are likely to go into July. There are some doozy decisions coming down.

The biggie, looking at the question of 45's claim of absolute immunity, will likely be the last decision released. Not only do they undoubtedly want to wait until after the first presidential debate tonight, but more importantly, they want to delay the trial as much as possible, as well as be able to issue their decision and then quietly slink away to their MAGA Flag-festooned homes and bribery-financed luxury vacations. 

Recent decisions:
  • Bump stocks, which when attached to a semi-automatic rifle to make it in effect a machine gun, however, are allowed.

Michael Ramirez
  • The SCOTUS website accidentally and briefly posted a ruling about emergency room physicians and abortion. It appears that the decision rejects Idaho's ban and will ensure access to abortion in emergency situations where the mother's life is in danger. However, because it was accidentally released, it may not be the final ruling. (Late reporting: it is official as of Thursday morning.)
  • Late reporting. SCOTUS upended the opioid settlement with maker Purdue Pharma. Breaking 5-4, not along idealogical lines, they sent the deal back for more negotiations, saying it was improper to shield the Sackler family as they had negotiated. It's devastating for the victims and the families, as the $6 billion settlement is now kaput. Back to the drawing board. They may never see a dime.
The Washington Post lists other decisions coming. They update the list as judgements are published. 

JUSTICE SHIT
Ann Telnaes

Justice Samuel Alito and his wife Martha-Ann were both caught on tape by undercover documentary filmmaker, Lauren Windsor. She posed as a religious righty, and asked questions appearing to be sympathetic to Alito's ideological views. Though some rebuked her for her sneaky ways, I think she was perfectly justified, as this justice has been secretive and disingenuous for a long time. The justices should always behave and speak as if they are always "on," because they are. They are lifelong appointees to the highest, and what used to be considered the loftiest, ground. If they can't find their way to act like it, so be it. 

They were caught saying what they think. If they object, then they shouldn't talk. 

She caught him saying that the U.S. indeed should be made to be more "godly," among other things. Mrs. Alito showed her homophobia and transphobia in full colors. She is odious. 

Here are some of the recordings:



Windsor justified her methods in an interview with Politico. 

Alito was also in the news for racking up a couple of unexcused absences last week.

And problem child Clarence: more and more undisclosed gifts bribes to Justice Clarence Thomas are coming into the sunlight.

Pat Bagley



Ed Wexler


THE STABLE GENIUS STRIKES AGAIN

The Stable Genius: LSR's attempt at AI "art"

The MAGA Moron is still so so so proud of his "acing" a dementia screening exam. You remember the MOCA, a test that I have administered hundreds of times to people with cognitive decline in my career as a speech-language pathologist. It's a simple exam that looks at the most basic cognitive functions to screen for dementia or other cognitive deficits. It takes 10 minutes and gives no more information than if the person should be tested further for cognitive decline. It is far from an IQ test.

He is so proud of his exam, in fact, that he challenged Joe Biden to take the same test. In a truly laughable moment (or cryable, depending on how you are feeling in the moment about our potential doom), during his challenge to Biden, he called his Whitewash physician by the wrong name. Ronny Jackson became "Ronny Johnson" in his cognition-boasting rant.

You just can't make this stuff up.

Here it is: 
 



DEBATE PREP 

Clay Bennett

The candidates have been preparing for the first debate for the last couple weeks. Well, one of them has, anyway. Li'l Donny hates homework, so he's been out doing what he luvs: appearing before his not-nearly-close-to-being throngs but nevertheless adoring crowds, making verbal salad:




The majority of The Felon's debate prep is trying mightily to reverse his years-long narrative of "Sleepy Joe" Biden. All these years campaigning against Biden, he has set very low expectations for the President by calling him names and mocking his stutter. 

Here are a few examples;

Now, after President Biden's strong State of the Union speech, The Felon is frantically back-pedaling. Now he is setting up the expectation that Biden will come out strong at the debate, but is insinuating that Biden is on mental-acuity enhancing drugs.

Speaking of back-pedaling, he is also back-pedaling his imaginary sinking boat, to get far, far away from the imaginary circling sharks. Here's more stable-geniusing (and more bad AI art):



If you missed it, hear ranting Uncle Don (can we please stop inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner?): 


If you can't stand to see his face, I submit the words. Or better yet, watch Sarah Cooper. 
“I say, ‘What would happen if the boat sank from its weight, and you’re in the boat, and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery’s now underwater, and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there?’

“By the way, a lot of shark attacks lately, do you notice that? Lot of sharks. I watched some guys justifying it today: ‘Well they weren’t really that angry, they bit off the young lady’s leg because of the fact that they were not hungry but they misunderstood who she was.’ These people are crazy. He said, ‘There’s no problem with sharks, they just didn’t really understand a young woman swimming.’ No, really got decimated, and other people, too, a lot of shark attacks.

“So I said, ‘There’s a shark 10 yards away from the boat, 10 yards, or here. Do I get electrocuted if the boat is sinking, water goes over the battery, the boat is sinking? Do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted, or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?’ Because I will tell you, he didn’t know the answer.

“He said, ‘You know, nobody’s ever asked me that question.’ I said, ‘I think it’s a good question. I think there’s a lot of electric current coming through that water.’ But you know what I’d do if there was a shark or you get electrocuted? I’ll take electrocution every single time. I’m not getting near the shark.”

Ummm.....can we choose both?

The Felon may be revealing his tell with this story. What is he afraid of most?  The battery (the court system, chugging along with power to spare) or the sharks (the voters, ready to end this nonsense once and for all)? 

Our sweet, sweet WaPo tried to actually make sense of the scenario and answer the question. Just give up, WaPo. Let it die in darkness. 

(It's actually worth the read.)


"Milwaukee is a horrible city"
The Felon just had to run his mouth about Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention will be held in a few weeks. No it's not horrible! And Milwaukeeans don't take lightly to insults.

Don't like the city? Stay home!

He tried to backpedal that one, too, saying it is the crime numbers that are "horrible."

Rep. Gwen Moore's response?




Gawd, this is tiring. 


BOASTING ABOUT THE SIZE OF HIS... CROWD

He is still obsessed with crowd size. It ain't nothin' to brag about, kid.

A real-life selfie of a high-as-hell Junior at a mostly-empty rally auditorium



THE TRIALS

The Felon's trials are all still on hold. Judge Aileen Cannon, overseeing the Federal classified documents case in Florida, continues to make perplexing – no, maddening – rulings and hearings. The latest is an upcoming hearing to hear the motion by the defense to question the constitutionality of the special counsel in the matter. WTAF.

There are increasing calls for her to step down, as she is clearly in over her head with this case as well as being biased in favor of the defendant. As it stands now, she has delayed the trial so much that it will almost surely not start until after the election. If it starts at all. It's on hold "indefinitely."

More information was released this week about how and where some of the classified documents were found. They were tossed in boxes, mash-mashed with clothing, old newspapers, Christmas decorations, and Diet Coke. Here's the deets:




The federal insurrection trial is on hold until SCOTUS rules on the immunity question. If the machine can be started back up quickly, the trial may be able to start before the election.

The Georgia election interference case is paused due to challenges against Fani Willis, the prosecutor. Until those are sorted out in court, the case is stalled.

There are election interference cases in four other states: Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and Wisconsin. None of them have brought charges against The Felon, but he has been named an unindicted co-conspirator in these other cases. 

The Felon's sentencing for his 34 felonies in the hush-money coverup case is happening on Thursday, July 11.

Ten Commandments SHIT

Ann Telnaes

Louisiana, oh, problematic little Louisiana! What are we going to do with you?

Louisiana lawmakers made it mandatory for schools to post a copy of the Ten Commandments in every K-12 classroom. Of course it's wrong, it's outrageous, and it goes against the First Amendment – the first 16 words of the First Amendment! Many civil rights groups, including the ACLU, and parent groups are suing. It will make its way up to the Supreme Court in due time.

Chris Brennan, writing in USA Today, makes it plain that this is the game plan: "Louisiana law isn't about Ten Commandments. It's Christian nationalist bait for Supreme Court."

Of course, meme makers are clamoring for fairness....


 
...and I'm hopeful the non-theistic secular religious group The Satanic Temple (not the Church of Satan!!) will get involved to attempt to post their Seven Tenets, similar to what they did in response to Arkansas's attempt to post the Ten Commandments at the State Capitol. And by the way, if you haven't seen the movie "Hail Satan?" I encourage you to do so. The Satanic Temple is working hard to fight fire with fire with regard to separation of church and state, abortion rights, and more. 

Here are The Satanic Temple's Seven Tenets, for good measure. Words to live by.
I. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

II. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

III. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.

IV. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.

V. Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.

VI. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

VII. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.


C .I .A. SHIT
This was a blip in the news cycle, but shouldn't have been just a blip: Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic Shameful. How many lives lost because of this shit? 


A COUPLE POSITIVE STORIES
Resistance works! Here's an uplifting story about a Vietnam-era draft resister and a judge. 

Music from K-pop could be a literal life-saver in Korea.


OUTTAKES OF A.I. ART
I had fun. I had to share more of the creations.

















UNTIL NEXT TIME!
See all you resisters after the debate! Tune in tonight (Thursday June 27) at 6:00 p.m. Pacific / 9:00 p.m. Eastern!



Jack Ohman

Robert Leighton



Thanks as always to my sister and brother Resisters for the memes n toons! 



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Sunday, June 9, 2024

Positive Stuff

There are a lot of positives happening! 

ACCOUNTABILITY
Some of the worst offenders against our nation and her sensibilities are finally facing consequences, particularly when it comes to conservative media potty mouths spouting doo-doo.

The Pillage Idiot
Breitbart idiot Steve Bannon has been ordered to prison by July 1 for his contempt of Congress charge. You remember that he was subpoenaed to appear in front of the January 6 committee, and he refused.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a T**** appointee, ordered him to report to prison after his sentence had been on hold for a year and a half while he appealed. Finally, Judge Nichols stated that the "original basis" for the stay of sentence did not exist any longer; an appeals court had upheld the conviction. He going to jail, baby!




You may know Judge Nichols. He has overseen many January 6 cases, and he is the one who raised the question of whether the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding is proper for January 6 defendants. This issue has been heard by the Supreme Court and a decision is pending any day now. 

Alex Jones facing liquidation

Bill Bramhall

The odious Alex Jones was ordered to pay the families of the Sandy Hook tragedy a whopping $965 million for his vicious torment of the families after their tragic loss. That judgment came down in October, 2022. Finally, he is now facing liquidation of his assets, including his shit platform Infowars, to pay the judgment. 

If you haven't seen the video of widdle Alex weeping over his fate, check it out below, along with commentary by David Pakman. 

¡Pobrecito!



The Big Lie faces The Big Truth
You may remember the "documentary" 2,000 Mules that furthered the Big Lie by falsely claiming that Democrats worked to actively steal the 2020 election, including alleging voter fraud. One of the lies that the film purported was that people were stuffing ballot boxes with fraudulent ballots. The film, by right-wing streaming platform Salem Media Group, depicted a Georgia man, Mark Andrews, placing ballots in a drop box. He was legally placing ballots from family members, but the film depicted him as a criminal "mule." 

Andrews sued the company and the director, right-wing big-mouth Dinesh D’Souza, for defamation. This week Salem Media Group finally pulled 2,000 Mules and its accompanying book and apologized to the man they demonized and defamed. The film and book will no longer be distributed. 

All the claims in the film have been thoroughly debunked. 

The defamation case is ongoing. 

An epic charge against The Epoch Times
The Falun Gong-produced ultra-right-wing newspaper The Epoch Times has finally seen the bottom of a birdcage. The chief financial officer of the publication, Weidong “Bill” Guan, has been arrested and charged with federal money laundering charges involving the paper. Guan has been suspended by the publication. The Epoch Times is cooperating with the investigation, and I hope that this is a death knell for that horrid piece of toilet paper. 

You may also know Falun Gong as the religious group behind the propaganda dance group Shen Yun.

Conservative media is circling the toilet bowl
The Atlantic reports that in general, conservative media is collapsing. Why? Because Facebook changed, deemphasizing news posts. The conservative news sites had depended on social media because they weren't well established (or legitimate), but since Facebook's changes starting in 2018, many outlets have started a decline.

A little schadenfreude
The Felon is feeling unhinged and anxious. Good. Feel the terror. Feel it deeply.

Here is a comforting video essay from Brian Tyler Cohen on MSNBC. Check out 5:19, where it's clear that The Felon is scared shitless. 



Felons Can't Possess Guns

American Justice: Sad but right
President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, is on trial, facing federal charges for making false statements on a gun application. He indicated on the application that he was not using drugs, when in fact he is an addict. He claims that he was not actively using at the time he purchased the gun, so he answered "no." Not sure that matters, given the wording on the question. We know that once an addict, always an addict. 


It's a sad, sad set of circumstances. Hunter Biden is a recovering addict; he was dependent on alcohol and crack cocaine for decades, and his addictions were especially dreadful following the death of his brother Beau in 2015. He has been more than open about his addictions, even writing a book about it, but now all of it is all being laid bare in court, with loved ones and family sharing their pain. 

The positive part? Here is the non-weaponized Department of Justice following the facts and the law and charging this citizen with a felony. The President told David Muir at ABC News that he has ruled out a pardon for his son. 

This is how it is supposed to work, and it has rendered the Repugs speechless. 

Walt Handelsman


The stock market and the economy in general is doing better
Inflation is easing, 401ks are looking more stable, and the Fed is poised to ease interest rates. By every measure the U.S. economy is doing well. The Atlantic calls it "Superstar Status."

Thank you, Tom Hanks 
Actor Tom Hanks, known for his work on the film Saving Private Ryan and other WWII pieces, was on hand at the D-Day observance in France last week. I thought these words from him were great.


Now, for some non-political positive news 
  • Go out and get you some awesomeness! Experiencing awe helps the brain. Go find yourself some. 
  • Extinct storks are again flying above Great Britain! I wonder how Britain's babies were brought for the last 600 years.... In any case, we give great thanks to dedicated naturalists who helped reintroduce them to Great Britain. And bonus - click the link for a nest-cam! Awesome!
Bookmark this information
I'm ready to do what I can to help elections across the country this fall. Will you join me? Tony the Democrat (Postcards to Voters) is a great postcard-writing movement that helps to get the word out to registered Democrat voters. I've already bought some postcards. Get your pens ready!

Don't like to write? Maybe you can volunteer for a call bank, knock on doors, help register voters, or donate money. The League of Women Voters can point you in the right direction, or contact your local Democratic Party office. 

And one more warm fuzzy




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Saturday, June 1, 2024

Questions? Answers!

The news of a former president being convicted of 34 felonies has started to sink in. Now passed another historic day, we have questions.

Can a felon really run for – and hold office of – president? President of the United States of America?
Yes. Yes he can. There is nothing in the Constitution that says otherwise, nor any other laws anywhere that forbid it. The qualifications for president remain the same as they were for George Washington:
  • Be a natural-born citizen of the United States.
  • Be at least 35 years old.
  • Have been a resident of the United States for 14 years.

...and that's all, folks!

Can a felon vote?
This one will likely be able to. You may have the inkling that felons lose their right to vote. It's mostly true. And it's mostly true that Florida has one of the strictest disenfranchisement laws of all the states. Due to a quirk in Florida law, however, Florida defers to the felon disenfranchisement law of the state in which its resident was convicted. And in this case, New York State changed its law in 2021 to allow felons to vote as long as they have completed their prison term. If they are on parole, if they are on probation, or anything else other than in prison, they may vote. Damn! So close!

He'll appeal, won't he?
Yes. This felon, of course, is afforded all the rights to appeals as every other convicted criminal. It won’t be quick – the wheels of Justice and all that – so don't expect any resolution of an appeal until after November 5. The Felon will need to wait to go forward with an appeal until he is sentenced. After the July 11 sentencing, he has 30 days to file an intent to appeal, and then some more time to actually file the appeal.

And what about that sentence? Will he pretty please go to prison?
The possible penalties for these felonies range from a fine of zero to $5000 and from zero to four years in jail for each offense. The Felon could also receive home confinement, probation, or community service.

It is unlikely that he will get prison, as he has no previous convictions, he is old, and white-collar crime does not often come with prison, especially for crimes of this nature. But it's on the table. 

What might tip the judge to a harsher sentence?
Judge Merchan will, like in all cases before all judges, consider several factors, including the demeanor of The Felon before him, as well as his behavior. In general, you don't want to piss off the judge who has the power to book you a stay at the Greybar Hotel.


You really should not:
  • Show contempt
  • Insult the judge
  • Call him names
  • Villify his family
  • Violate gag orders
  • Show disdain for the process
  • Call his court a "kangaroo court," "crooked," "rigged," and all the things
You really should
  • Stay quiet 
  • Stay respectful of the judge 
  • Stay respectful of the judicial process
  • And most importantly, show contrition
The judge will consider memos from both the defense and the prosecution. Each side will present a case for the punishment that they believe The Felon deserves. The Felon will also meet with a probation officer, who will assess his contrition, his mental health, and his physical status. The officer will also report on The Felon's employment status, economic status, and prior criminal history.

Judge Merchan, by all legitimate reports, was extremely fair and even-handed during the trial. I believe that he will continue to treat this as any other case and will explore all sentencing options carefully. As much as we may want The Felon to go to prison for 136 years, the more likely scenario is probably a fine and probation. But if I were able to influence the judge, I would urge strongly for community service! Of all felons that walk around in the U.S.A., this one is prime for community service. Imagine it: the orange one in an orange jumpsuit, out there picking up trash up and down Broadway.

*LSR sighs and enjoys that image for a moment*

An ankle monitor would be supremely sublime, too.

What about The Felon's lies? Do they change American law?
Felonious Punk will lie and lie and spin and spit. The lies are shameful, but they don't change anything. They continue to misinform his base, but the MAGAts are so far gone it simply doesn't matter anymore. It makes the rest of us crazy, but remember, it's just noise. It doesn't change law, it doesn't change reality, it doesn't change the truth. 

And the truth is: 
It was a routine court case, fair and by the book. The jury was chosen by both sides – with 10 strikes for each side so that a potential juror could be eliminated by either side for any reason. The jurors were a cross-section of ordinary Manhattanites. There was even one juror who indicated he got his news from one source: Truth Social.

Each side was able to present a case with the facts as they saw them, with as many witnesses as they felt they needed. They had every opportunity to call any witnesses they chose, including the defendant (now convicted Felon). 

The gag order that is so often cited? It was in place to limit dangerous language that threatened the safety of the court, the participants in the trial, the jury, and their families. It did not DID NOT prevent the defendant from getting on the stand and saying what he wanted about the case to the jury. The jury was there to hear what he had to say. If he denied them that, then so be it.

The 12 members of the jury unanimously found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No one else.

The system worked. 

The law is the law is the law. His deranged rants don't change anything.

What about those deranged rants?
I hesitate to give them oxygen, but on the other hand, it's important to bring his madness out into the sunlight. 

After the conviction, The Felon ranted for over half an hour at T**** Tower. It was the usual balderdash, and here are a few highlights. Thank you to our friends on Twitter for these clips. I don't think any of us have the stomach to watch the whole thing. 

"If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone." For once, he's right. 100%. Anybody who pays off a porn star in the hopes of influencing an election and falsifies business records to hide it will be convicted. But the obverse is true. If it can happen to any citizen, it can happen to you, you orange turd!



Oh, NOW he wants people to think of him as old. 


Come on, it's not that bad! Everybody has NDAs!

Vote for me! The Democrats don't want you to have cars!

More nationalistic vilifying of immigrants.

And more racist diatribes about the scariness of "languages that we haven't even heard of." 

He mentioned the "literal" crucifixion of his witness (presumably awful Costello, crucified by the Roman soldier Judge Juan Merchan, I assume?). I think I missed the news of a literal crucifixion. Did Fox cover it?

More tangents and "sentences" that literally have no meaning:

James Austin Johnson made more sense:





Will this felony conviction on 34 counts influence voters?
In short, yes. It's true, this conviction won't sway most voters. But the people who haven't been paying attention and don't care to pay attention will not be able to miss this news, and they are the ones that will be swayed. If some of those step up to vote, their vote will likely be influenced by this news and they will vote for Joe Biden. 

Will it be enough? LSR predicts, yes. The left is getting fed up with the autocrats who want to take away our freedoms. They will come out in force to vote. The Felon's fans, I really believe, are bluff and bluster and won't get off their duffs to make it to the polls. There will be enough undecideds out there where this issue will help them decide. Even a few percentage points tipping toward the preservation of democracy and away from The Felon will be enough.

Bluff and bluster does not win elections. Polls do not win elections - ignore them. Voters win elections. We will prevail in November - but we must not be complacent! Keep doing the work to get the right people elected! Donate - write postcards - make phone calls - knock on doors - get people registered to vote!



What other scary stuff is happening?

  • Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on Fox and Friends: "I know some of the Supreme Court justices personally."
"I do believe the Supreme Court should step in, obviously, this is totally unprecedented.... I think that the Justices on the court – I know many of them personally – I think they are deeply concerned about that, as we are. So I think they'll set this straight." 
So, let me understand this, Mr. Speaker. The justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are your personal friends, and they are at your behest?
  • There are threats of doxxing jurors, and they, the judge, D.A. Alvin Bragg, and others have been threatened with violence. It's really upsetting stuff.
  • The MAGA memes. Though "meme" doesn't quite fit. They aren't funny – though some are laughable. Many are kinda scary. This is what is out there:






What. the. actual. fuck.




It took me several readings to figure out what the hell this meant!




I don't get the significance of the number. Shouldn't it be "34"?







What can make me feel better, LSR? 
The system worked. 
The system will work again.
Money doesn't vote. 
Voters will vote.
Democracy will prevail.

The headlines from coast to coast – just look at dat mug!
More here.










And more memes!










Lalo Alcaraz



Nick Anderson

























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