Friday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Friday, May 10, 2024
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153 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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For our local court procedures challenged trumpsters:
It’s not the judges job to do the things his lawyers haven’t.
An ongoing criminal enterprise.
Heh: ‘Madman in a circular room screaming’: ex-aide’s verdict on Trump in book
Haley won 1 in 5 Indiana Republican voters in the presidential primary. She left the race in March (AP)
Nikki Haley’s Zombie Campaign Delivers Huge Blow to Trump in Indiana (Yahoo! News):
Haley’s eye-popping support raises questions for Trump (The Hill):
Nikki Haley won nearly 130,000 votes in the Indiana GOP primary. Here’s what that means for Trump ahead of the general election. (Business Insider):
@DK: NYT Pitchbot: Why this is Bad News for Biden.
No, that was the NYT. Ida Know, who can tell these days?
RFK jr conning people:
“NYT_Gift_Link“
@OzarkHillbilly: There is one place where the gag order would not impact what Trump says about Daniels or anyone else involved in the trial: the witness stand. He could testify and deny it all and call her and everyone else a liar. There is one reason he won’t – cross examination. The difference between Xitter and the witness stand is cross examination, having to back up all the s—t you say. Trump has been living in the no cross examination, no feed back, no consequence zone for so long he thinks he’s entitled to say whatever he wants without ever having to back it up. Well, we’re in court now. So, if Trump has something to say, he can say it from the stand or shut the f—k up.
@Joe: I don’t think he is capable of STFU.
eta: besides, he has all the best words
@Joe:
Cohen hasn’t testified yet. I think the odds are good that Trump won’t be able to contain himself once that happens. Please universe, allow hilarity to ensue.
I think I have a hummingbird with a drinking problem. The other morning she was passed out on their favorite feeder. There were a dozen or more birds buzzing all around her, even hovering above her head to get at the nectar port she was blocking. When they finally had the feeder drained, she was still there, still passed out. I had begun to wonder if she might be dead.
Went out to get the empties for refilling and when I walked up to hers I startled her and she fell flat on her face. Stumbled around on the ground for a bit before she got her feet under her and got the wings working again and finally took off.
I think I embarrassed her, she hasn’t been back.
Heh:
Laura’s got her panties in a bunch.
@Joe:
There’s two reasons: The second is being under oath and risking perjury.
So I just got back to the house and found a copy of “The Epoch Times” in my driveway. So what’s up with that?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times
@charontwo: Reminds me of the Washington Times, started by Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church cult, aka Moonies.
@charontwo:
Sounds a bit like Twitter since it was emuskulated.
🙂
@charontwo: There are billboards all over San Antonio advertising the Epoch Times. We also get the performing arts company Shen Yun come through once a year heralded by heavy billboard and mail advertising.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Well, it’s a gross and unfair comparison.
I mean, while capable of spreading disease, turds, also serve as fertilizer. So there’s an upside to them.
The headline of the day- ‘Eunuch-maker’ mutilator jailed for 22 years
So, there is a black list making the rounds, a list that answers the question, “Is your favorite author a Zionist?”
It’s color-coded: blue for pro-Palestine, green for ‘it’s complicated’, light yellow for ‘no mention of any evidence,’ burnt sienna for ‘Both-sidesing it,’ and red for ‘pro-Israel/Zionist.’
I am burnt sienna due to a single Tweet I sent immediately after Oct 7. The Tweet (I broke my own embargo on this) committed nuance, so I am burnt sienna. My wife is yellow, because, ‘hasn’t said anything but her husband Michael Grant (also an author) is very vocally both sides erring toward Israel.’ Bad color choices, IMO, in honor of Joe McCarthy it should be shades of red to pink.
Progressives do love their black lists and witch hunts.
I decided not to link so as not to spread this further – the person who sent it to me notes that authors are already being hit with hate mail, death threats TK. But I find myself in very good company, I am happy to defend my views, and I am not intimidated. But shading my wife for the crime of being married to me, tells you everything you need to know about the sort of person who assembles such a list.
Top ten baby names of 2023
1 Liam Olivia
2 Noah Emma
3 Oliver Charlotte
4 James Amelia
5 Elijah Sophia
6 Mateo Mia
7 Theodore Isabella
8 Henry Ava
9 Lucas Evelyn
10 William Luna
Fastest rising names:
Boys Girls
1. Izael 1. Kaeli
2. Chozen 2. Alitzel
3. Eiden 3. Emryn
4. Cassian 4. Adhara
5. Kyren 5. Azari
Scott peaked in 1971. Now ranked 599.
@Scott: Falun Gong is persecuted by Chinese Thought Police. Falun Gong is a weird and perhaps dangerous cult. Not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately most people can’t process such a thing. Being a victim automatically makes you a Saint.
I think there’s a good chance Lardass will take the stand.
Remember, he did at his losing fraud trial, after invoking the fifth for about every question in the pre-trial deposition. A move that was deemed stupid and harmful by several legal analysts.
Then, too, Lardass knows more about the law that the lawyers. Not merely his lawyers, but all lawyers combined. He knows what’s best, and anyone who disagrees is an enemyofthepoeple who posinonsthebloodofthecountry andademocrat, manypeoplesaythat.
Finally, if it takes testifying to vent his backed up spleen, he will.
@Bill Jempty: Did not have that on my 2024 bingo card.
I have had a weird avian week. Our small Siamese cat went missing after a barred owl took up residence in our backyard. I finally found the cat under our screen porch after three days. Totally freaked out, wouldn’t eat, looking scraggly. No wounds or signs of injuries. We think the owl may have swooped in her direction and traumatized her. Good news is she’s eating again.
Then a wren pair decided to build a nest high on a bookshelf filled with sci-fi paperbacks in another porch area. We leave the door open a lot for the cross breeze. Luckily, we noticed the nest before eggs were laid. Getting a screen door in next week.
Finally, and this is very sad, I noticed a rustling in the lower yard we never mow to allow for habitat. I thought it was the owl, who occasionally hunts during the day, getting a vole or something. Turns out it was one of the Canadian geese that live on the lake, in its death throes. I don’t know what happened to it. When I went to pick up the body there were no bullet wounds. It’s illegal to hunt them, but some people around here hate them, so I suspected poison. Hopefully, this one died of old. I sure hope that’s the case.
Many years ago when i wrote my own blog I made it a point to stay anonymous. That was largely because I mostly wrote on health care and some foreign affairs. Especially on health care I tried to be evidence based which meant I had a liberal bias. At the time most of the senior leadership where
i worked was very conservative as were most of the docs. It wasn’t worth the risk/hassle to be seen as a leftist. Anyway, I learned very early that there is absolutely no way to criticize Israel without being called antisemitic. Retired now but still one of the reasons I stay anonymous.
Steve
@charontwo: @Scott:
The Epoch Times is very popular with MAGAs who can read.
@Michael Reynolds:
I’m not sure why you think “no mention of any evidence” is an inaccurate description of your wife’s position? Which category do you think she belongs in?
@becca:..Getting a screen door in next week.
You do not want a wild bird inside your house!
In all the 39 years that I have lived here only once did a bird fly in the front door when I opened it. After chasing it back and forth in my 60 ft trailer house trying to get it out the door I finally had it trapped in the front bedroom. Had to rip out the window screen to finally shoo it back outside where it belonged. The cleanup was no fun at all.
@Stormy Dragon:
She doesn’t belong on any list at all, indeed the list should not exist. A fact that should be obvious to you, would be obvious if you were a wiser person with any appreciation of history. Jesus Christ.
January 6th insurrectionists are running for Congress.
A former President faces four criminal prosecutions. This week, he was forced to listen to a porn star recount a sordid sexual encounter. He now wants the gag order lifted enough for him to post all caps screeds against her on his unprofitable social network.
We’re incapable of doing much to stop mass shootings, in which children are often the targets.
Members of the GOP openly embrace Russia’s cause in the war it started, and repeat Russian propaganda.
A significant portion of the population would be happy with an authoritarian government.
What will future historians call this time? The Age of Debasement?
@Stormy Dragon:
The category of not being put on dystopian lists by excessively online fruitcakes?
@Kingdaddy:
The Roberts Court must be so proud of their rightwing judicial activism.
@MarkedMan:
This is true, and a big factor in the reaction to Israel/Gaza. People seem compelled to choose a side. And to assume that if you don’t support one side you must support the other.
@DK:
One caveat is that Indiana has an open primary, meaning that “1 in 5 voters in the Indiana Republican primary” is not the same as “1 in 5 Indiana Republican voters.”
PA has a closed primary, and Haley did still get about 17%.
I don’t think they’re taking exit polls anymore, so there’s no official breakdown for how many of the Indiana Republican primary voters were actual Republicans.
My off-the-shelf guess is that you can shave about 5% off the numbers to get a sense how many actual Republicans are still voting for Haley. That’s similar to what some exit polls in open primaries earlier in the year were saying, and it would put the results in line with what we saw in PA two weeks ago.
@charontwo: I read it occasionally for some coverage on what’s happening to Uighurs in China and elsewhere. Articles about the Falun Gong itself are also interesting sometimes.
It would crack me up if the Trump defense team entered into evidence Stormy Daniels: The Predator movies.
Exhibit 1 The Predator
Exhibit 2 Predator II: The Return
Exhibit 3 Predator III: The Final Chapter
The judge and prosecutor would lose their minds.
@Stormy Dragon: I thought he was objecting to the color coding, but I stopped reading midway so I may be wrong.
@Michael Reynolds: I’ll agree with you on the list being unimportant. Fortunately, I get enough indirect criticism of what I believe right here, so I don’t have to look for other opportunities to be offended.
Factoid of the day:
All of NASA’s earlier fly-by probes to Mars, Venus, and Mercury that weren’t lost at launch, are currently orbiting the Sun.
All of them were solar powered. Meaning they may still be getting electricity even if nothing inside them works. No one really knows, as NASA did not keep in contact with them. In the future, archaeologists may go on missions to locate them, and collectors will pay millions for them.
@Stormy Dragon: It is absolutely appalling that a list even exists, much less that it is being circulated. It’s gross.
@becca: Just as an aside, I don’t understand why it is still illegal to hunt Canadian geese. They are the most unendangered species I can imagine, as the parking lots, sidewalks and lawns full of goose shit can attest to.
@Andy – I replied in <a href="@MarkedMan: “>yesterday’s thread if you are interested in continuing the discussion.
Nice article from the WSJ about West Virginia and its refusal to accept immigrants. A good bit of interesting data. For example while people push the narrative that blue states are the ones losing people due to their taxes, the five states with slowest growth/population loss is lead by West Virginia, then Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana and Connecticut. The two states with the lowest percentage of immigrants are West VA and Mississippi. The states with the worst Labor Force participate rates are Mississippi, then West Virginia (at least one category where they arent the worst), Kentucky, South Carolina and New Mexico. Anyway, West VA is incredibly set against immigrants, which is their choice, but it will remain a poor state that cant keep its young people.
https://archive.ph/5AJ7D
Steve
@Michael Reynolds:
Every reference to that list I saw from leftist writers was negative. The person who put it together is a nobody and half of it concerns the politics of books about funky dragons teaching teens to be girl-bosses. These are people who fight to the online death about the toxic implications of not liking Taylor Swift.
@steve:
It kind of makes you think that population dynamics are more complicated than mindless political sloganeering can capture.
I used to live in Connecticut and took a bath on a house we had to sell there due to drop in demand. The immediate cause was two major employers in the area moving out, right before we sold. But I think the ultimate cause is the continued low crime rate in NYC. An awful lot of people and companies moved to CT in the 70’s – 90’s because NYC’s astronomical crime rate made it hard to recruit people. But a quarter century of being one of the lowest crime rate cities in the nation has caused a reversal of that trend. That is a circumstance absolutely unique to CT.
Another population dynamic that I suspect is misunderstood is the exodus of people from cities. Northeastern cities have been built up for centuries. Taking my current town of Baltimore as an example, it’s population has declined by (if I remember correctly from when I did this research a couple of years ago) just over 40% from its peak in the 50’s. But you know what else has declined by just over 40% since the 50’s? Household size. Baltimore has about the same number of households as it did back then, but on average each is significantly smaller. Having the same number of households isn’t a surprise, because it’s not like there are huge tracts of land in desirable places to build new housing, like there are in the suburbs. To be honest, if I only looked at my share of the city (South Baltimore) I’m astounded that we aren’t growing in size. So many warehouses, freight yards, former industrial centers are either being converted into housing or being razed and replace by apartments or condos. Heck, in ten minutes I can walk past thousands of new units in 3-6 story buildings that replaced industrial, warehouse or school infrastructure in the past decade. But I suppose these must be offset by the abandonment of row homes in the really bad areas.
@MarkedMan:
Sorry, no. “Canada geese.” They are not from Canada they are a type of goose called “Canada” and you are welcome to shoot them all near my house.
@Modulo Myself:
I have not had time to go into the source, so thanks for that info – got the list as I was falling asleep last night from a well-known author. I would hope that people of the Left would understand how pernicious this kind of thing is, and I’m relieved by your investigation into it.
I don’t care about myself in this context, but the drive-by re: my wife, is obnoxious, particularly given that last week she went – on her own nickel – to Virginia to defend one of her books on a charge that describing a tree as monoecious, was pro-trans propaganda.
People in the writing community are well-accustomed to attacks from the Right, but before this latest round of conservative book bans it was the Left trying to stop books even being published. It’s a bit much to be attacked simultaneously by ‘friend’ and foe, and invariably on specious grounds.
I was accused of ‘erasing native characters,’ because a throw-away character whose entire purpose was to have a single page of dialog, and was Chumash, disappeared along with every single person of every single race over the age of 14. When I pointed all that out, I was accused of lying on the grounds that the character was not a throw-away since I had obviously studied up, because the character in question points at something with his chin and that’s an Indian thing. No, really, that happened. The character in question was an old man driving a beat-up pick-up truck on a treacherous mountain road, which, a rational person might have thought was pretty good reason to keep both hands on the wheel and point using his chin. The person behind that has a PhD.
We have our share of crazies on the Left.
@Paul L.:
Um, no. Nobody would “lose their minds”. What would happen is the prosecutors and judge would roll their eyes and before the prosecutor could finish saying the word “Objection”, the judge would sustain their objection and they’d move on. If the defense tried to push the issue, it would only serve to make themselves look worse in front of the jury.
I’m not entirely sure what you think this would accomplish, even in the best of scenarios.
@charontwo: A few years ago, YouTube kept showing me endless ads from The Epoch Times. Interestingly, their main pitchman in those ads was a white guy, a typical young conservative. Heavily laced with “what they don’t tell you” garbage.
I’m not sure why they targeted me. Maybe because I watch videos of people playing DCS World with WWII aircraft? Therefore I must be conservative?
@MarkedMan:
I psychology professional once described this phenomenon to me as “Victims of trauma often divide all humanity into Victims, Rescuers, and Perpetrators. Which means that if you aren’t a Victim or a Rescuer, you must be a Perpetrator”.
It’s easy to spot that going on after learning that. It refines what you said a bit. But it also reminds me that as toxic as that is, it very likely comes from a person who has suffered themselves.
It’s a fundamental mechanic in how misery gets passed on from one person and one generation to the next.
I am determined to at the least slow down the rate at which that stuff gets passed around through me, if not stop it. I can’t do a lot to make the world better, but this is something I *can* do. So I do.
@Mike in Arlington:
Shows the working of Stormy’s twisted mind. She was the star, director and writer of those movies.
@Mister Bluster: ….or bats…we had one that somehow got inside and woke my father up. He caught it in a towel and stuck it in a jam jar whereupon it promptly fell asleep. Slept the next day, then we unscrewed the lid and put the jar outside at sunset. Ten minutes later it had flittered away.
@Paul L.:
What does ‘grab ’em by the pussy,’ and, ‘I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look,’ say about Trump’s twisted mind?
More to the point, what does it say about a man so degraded that he’d worship someone like that. Eh, Paul?
@Michael Reynolds:
I don’t worship politicians like you.
How do I worship Trump? Keep simping for Stormy and Cohen.
BTW, DA Bragg included the ‘grab ’em by the pussy,’ tape as evidence so Stormy’s movies are fair game.
@Michael Reynolds:
Is this fundamentally any different than a list for “does this company donate to Republicans?” or “is this a union shop?” Or “is this author a QAnon nutter?” Or “who hates the gays?”
People should be able to decide how and where they spend their money to avoid funding things they are opposed to, and that requires information.
This isn’t the government creating the list, this is random nobodies gathering and organizing publically available data.
What the hell is wrong with people? Use traffic light colors! Everyone understands traffic light colors!
No information should be light grey.
And the categories… what is the difference between “it’s complicated” and “both sidesing it”? Jesus Christ these people are fucking amateurs.
Obviously they haven’t done a very good job, as your fine work here would put you firmly in the red.
I’d run over and tell them, but I’m offended by their data presentation (fucking blue?!?!).
Yellow is the “no information” (what the fuck is wrong with these people?!?!), so that seems perfectly reasonable. They aren’t even assuming that she holds your views.
(I assume she is also pro-Israel, as couples tend to have shared values, see Clarence and Ginni Thomas, for example, but I don’t assign enough confidence to this assumption to want to put her in a category)
Free speech comes with consequences. People can gather it, collate it, act on it.
And I don’t see the clear line between lists of:
– queer friendly businesses (list intended to help LGBTetc shop in their community)
– queer friendly businesses (list intended to help bigots get angry)
– nazis (Pacific Northwest Nazi Watch used to do good work tracking our local white supremacists, SPLC looks at larger organizations countrywide)
– this
If you have ideas on how to redefine free speech that allows and encourages the speech I like, but discourages the speech I don’t, I’m interested.
Anyway, I recommend making a list of insane nutters who spend their time making lists.
Hate mail seems appropriate (free speech and all that), but death threats seem a bit much. No idea what TK is.
They didn’t. Their use of color is so fucking awful that it looks like they did, but if the list had “Wifey McWifeface*, gray (married to Michael Reynolds, burnt sienna)” it would be clear they they weren’t shading her, just noting a connection.
——
*: yes, she has a name. I even know it or could look it up**. I see no reason to make things easier for people who make these lists, if only because they screw up the colors so badly. I mean, if they can’t get the colors to make sense you would think they also can’t use google, but they might get lucky while searching.
**: her name, and the name of an actress from “Married with Children” occupy the same bucket in my head (Are they the same? Similar? I have no idea). I used to have the same problem with “falafel”, “farfel” and “farfalle”.
@Paul L.: Hell, the prosecutor might welcome that evidence because it would keep the fact that Trump cheated on Melania while she was caring for Barron. It would make him look even sleazier.
The ironic thing here is that if Trump’s team had just stipulated to the encounter, all of that evidence about Stormy wouldn’t have come into evidence. But now… now everybody knows he’s hung like a tsetse fly.
So, just a word of friendly advice, keep your day job. Law just ain’t for you.
@Modulo Myself:
This does not excuse the terrible colors and the poor categories. They need to do better. I’m not expecting Tufte level work, but borderline competence would be fine.
@Gustopher:
I am not in the least surprised that you don’t see the problem.
@Grumpy realist:
In addition, bats can carry rabies.
@Michael Reynolds:
Indeed we do. But ours tend to not be major party prez nominees, members of congress, or MSM columnists.
I tend to somewhat discount the influence of social media, but it has boosted a lot of fringe that would never have made it into the news in the era of three networks.
@Scott:
Theodore Isabella is an amazing name. I applaud the parents who choose it for their child. Has a touch of “Boy Named Sue”, but so much more elegant.
@Jay L Gischer:
Thanks for that insight. Unfortunately, the desire to make yourself feel better by lashing out angrily and blindly at others isn’t limited by race, political leaning, religion or any other category. As I often say, if the human reaction to getting kicked was to realize how unfair that was and make sure we never unjustly kick someone ourselves we would have had peace and harmony thousand so of years ago. Unfortunately the normal reaction is to look around to find someone it is safe to lash out at in turn.
@Michael Reynolds:
I suspect it’s less “not having a problem” and more “not being uniquely alarmed”. As a member of the queer community, being targeted by internet randos is probably a “Tuesday again?” situation. There are few things in this world more aggrieved than a middle class cishet man becoming aware he’s being treated like a minority for the first time.
@Michael Reynolds: Where do you draw the line between this list and the SPLC’s list of hate groups?
They’re wildly different things, but as you go through all the lists between them (make a list of lists that are ordered from least to most objectionable) I don’t see any bright line that says “and here’s where it goes wrong”.
A lot of people on the right object to the SPLC’s list. (Largely because they are named as the racist, bigoted shitbags that they are.)
I’m not running out to help update and maintain the list, but I don’t see anything inherently wrong with it — aside from the colors and some confusion with categories, which is all, frankly, offensive.
@Mike in Arlington:
100% this. It would have made everything incredibly easier for the defense. Including not having to actively advance the concept that Trump is telling the truth about not having an affair. That ultimately will not help the credibility of other claims he makes.
But due to their client never being able to be wrong, they had to lead in their opening arguments that Trump did not sleep with Daniels. Which seems to be something that only the “truest” of believers believe… cause you know bitches be lying.
Likewise, Trump regular hyperbole of “I know more about [X] than anyone else” is going to come back to bite him since he claimed that about campaign finance laws. Again, under normal circumstances the Defense could represent that as puffery and of course Trump was exagerating at the time. However, it’s unlikely that Trump will let them do that, which again creates all sorts of problems.
I swear that they’ve convinced him that the “gag order” prevents him from being able to testify in order to keep him off the stand. Because, if he was to testify, it has the chance to go far, far worse than Peter Navarro’s self-own testamony.
All that said, as I have mentioned before, this is a really complex and convoluted theory of the crime. From everything I’ve read the AG’s office is doing a good job making the documents speak and then backing the documents up with testamony. But you never know with a jury.
@Stormy Dragon:
A couple weeks ago, I had to help a trans friend move (again!) because her internet stalker found out where she lives (again!) There’s no national discussion of how much of a problem this is though, because a lower middle class trans woman being harassed is considered normal.
@gVOR10:
I’m not suggesting an equivalency, except in the sense that extremists of one side tend to mesh all-too easily with extremists on the other side. No, we have nothing on the level of a Trump or an MTG. Even our progressive caucus is rational, whether you agree with them or not. They live in reality and do not generally lie as easily as they breathe.
We have motes in our eyes, they have beams*, but that doesn’t to me suggest that we should be indifferent to our own failings.
*Not my analogy. See: some sandal-wearing Hebrew hippie, circa 33 AD.
@Stormy Dragon: It’s also a list of public figures. (In a loose definition authors are public figures — they are also brands, etc.)
That’s where I would draw the line between SPLC’s list of hate groups and Libs of TikTok targeting random teachers.
@Gustopher:
Over in the fediverse, there’s several communal moderation list where admins share info on accounts or servers tied to content they don’t want to allow. So these literal blacklists as they’re used to filter out hate content. I wonder if MR thinks say, our queer friendly server, should be forced to let known transphobes target the members of the community rather than resort to some horrifying list?
@Gustopher:
Give me the equivalence of “Internet personality” Nick Sandmann from Libs of TikTok?
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Judge Merchan orders Michael Cohen to keep quiet about Trump after he posted mocking video
@Stormy Dragon:
Sin A is not justified by referring to sins B, C and D.
And I’m not ‘uniquely alarmed.’ Or even alarmed – I’m too much of a cynic. But there is a wee bit of history behind lists of Jews – and that’s largely what this is. And there is the HUAC and McCarthy lists of commies, commie sympathizers, pinks, fellow travelers, etc, which was used to destroy people’s careers, some of whom probably had it coming, but most were just innocent people put on a list so as to be easily targeted.
If you want an analogy you might understand, consider the case of people who find themselves on a sex offenders list alongside rapists and pedophiles because at age 18 on prom night they had sex with a 17 year-old. Lists are brilliant for guilt by association. What if turns out you’re a pedo, and here I am conversing with you, which puts me on the list as well. Right?
As for harassment of trans people, I’d remind you my daughter is trans, and has in fact been sheltering a victimized person in her apartment. (I don’t know the details, she is very discreet.) In addition my wife and I regularly plan travel – or anticipate relocation – with an eye to whether or not our daughter could visit us in safety. So, shock! Amaze! I am actually read-in on the topic. I’ve even considered arranging for discreet security for her, but she’d veto that. I worry about her safety every fucking day and every fucking night at 3 AM.
@Paul L.: In a recent interview, the Libs of Tik Tok lady (Chaya Raichik) stated that she regards anyone with an account on social media as a public figure. That’s not a misquote, that’s literally what she said.
@Kylopod: Well, to be fair, she’s really not very smart.
@Paul L.: And has absolutely nothing to do with the case at hand.
@Paul L.:
Wait, I thought he was completely biased against Trump. You mean he, checks notes, did exactly what he treatened to do if Cohen continued to attack Trump on social media?
It’s almost like… gasp… he’s actually a solid judge dealing with a complex case.
Or is it going to be that the fact he did this demonstrates he’s really REALLY biased against Trump and throwing the case.
@Matt Bernius:
That does not look like a gag order. 50/50 odds Cohen doesn’t shut up.
Judge Merchan is trying save face. A solid judge would not blame others for his poor performance and mistakes.
Merchan Scolds Prosecutors for Doing What He Let Them Do
Since Daniels’s testimony was fair Stormy’s movies should be entered in evidence.
It invites the jury to exonerate Trump because Stormy is a demented rogue
@Matt Bernius: It’s also completely consistent with his previous rulings on the gag order. Trump’s comments about Cohen, especially when they were responding to something that Cohen said, were not ruled to violate the gag order.
@OzarkHillbilly: I’m not sure if hummingbirds ever do this, but any chance she ran into a window? Once when I was a kid, I went outside after a bird hit the big windows that my mom kept fastidiously clean. The bird (maybe a robin but I don’t remember for sure) was dazed and just standing there. I pet the poor thing and talked to it gently, then left it be. 10 minutes later it flew off on its own.
@Paul L.: Why are you here?
@Gustopher:
Shame kink
@Paul L.: “The judge and prosecutor would lose their minds.”
If by “lose their minds,” you mean the prosecution would object and the judge would sustain, then sure.
One thing MAGAs all have in common with ten year-olds is their inability to imagine that an adult will be able to ignore their ludicrous attempts at juvenile provocation.
@Franklin: If she’d hit a window, that is where she would most likely be. I’ve had plenty of birds hit windows and they usually get up and fly away after a brief moment of stunning. Sometimes, they sadly die. (recently found a Cardinal like that).
I suspect she was a recent arrival from down south. We are nearing the end of the migration season. The cold that night may have played a role too (mid-upper 40s). Sometimes a bird needs a little sunshine to rejuvenate them (vultures always do, they love dead snags in the middle of a field that catches the morning sun, they will sit and spread their wings for 20-30 mins just soaking up that warmth)
This one was just simply sound asleep. And cute as a button while sleeping.
@Michael Reynolds: You are equating government maintained lists with a third party list. There’s no equivalence until that third party list gets to the level of, say, credit reporting agencies.
To the extent that there is a discussion to be had, this pissant* little list of “the politics of books about funky dragons teaching teens to be girl-bosses” doesn’t rank as a footnote.
It’s not even a list of prominent Jews in the field of books about funky dragons teaching teens to be girl-bosses, as most Americans are pro-Israel, and a lot of Jews are opposed to the slaughter of Palestinians.
——
*: I get the red underline of a misspelled word. Surely it can’t be “piss ant,” can it? “Ant piss” could make sense, but not “piss ant.”
@Michael Reynolds: Sorry to hear you were targeted by some online asshole.
Would be sorrier if you didn’t continue your crusade to redefine “progressive” as “anyone Michael doesn’t like today.”
@Gustopher: It’s “pissant.” Spell-check dictionaries are not comprehensive.
There has been a push to get some prominent authors, science educators and the like to make comments on the Israel-Palestine kerfluffle of death. People were hounding the Green brothers on TikTok for instance.
I oppose that.
1. Hank Green does a lot of science education, and getting dragged into this would limit his audience, and do more harm there (some) than the good in having him potentially say something about the slaughtering (none). His recent cancer vlogging (he had cancer, he shared the experience and the science behind the treatments and side effects) has been excellent. His brother does stuff with tuberculosis.
2. If someone knows enough to shut up about things that they don’t know enough about, people should praise them for that. Just every topic, across the board.
@Gustopher: “Why are you here?”
Because he’s got so little going for him that he feels a need to try to annoy total strangers in hopes of feeling some kind of accomplishment?
What’s really sad is that he’s not even good at it.
@Jen: You actually don’t want spell check dictionaries to be comprehensive, as there are a lot of obscure words that when used are most commonly just typos for common words.
I am saddened to learn that pissant, a perfectly wonderful word, has somehow been deemed to more likely be just the wrong word. It’s not like I’m about to “piss ants” (and, if I did, I would need to see a doctor)
@wr: He sometimes brings Matt Bernius a little joy. Like my cat swatting around a toy mouse.
I guess that’s something.
@Michael Reynolds:
I’m just reading this as your wife is opposed to transgender trees. 😉
I will add her to my poorly-sourced list of kids-lit authors opposed to transgender trees. That list now has exactly one person on it. I will not maintain the category of “no information” as that would be exhaustive.
*: I considered editing the “is obnoxious” out, but it amuses me how pulling this 3/4ths of a sentence out changes the context and the meaning so much.
From the same social media source mocking the list of writers came an earnest color-coded spreadsheet of someone listing the jokes they told to various members of their polycule and the member’s reaction (with details).
I think there might an online contingent of people who approach life via spreadsheets. Books, sexual partners, life decisions, etcetera. The dystopia is not the list itself, it’s the mind that creates it. Personally, I would rather die alone and miserable than be on someone in a polycule’s spreadsheet. Tastes vary.
@MarkedMan: I have found that resisting the impulse to “kick the dog” is hard work. And also rewarding. It’s not about “being a goody goody”, but having a life that is more calm and pleasant.
I may have started on this road with intentions of following some rule or rules laid down externally, but that’s not what has kept me on it.
@Modulo Myself:
These weirdos need a hobby. I’d suggest gardening. Or marijuana. Hell, they can combine the two.
@Paul L.:
The Orange Turd sure can pick em.
When Trump — the favorite of evangelical Christians — was stepping out on his pregnant wife by by disappointing Stormy Daniels sexually, Trump told Stormy that she reminded him his daughter of Ivanka.
Demented rouges of a feather, flock together.
@Gustopher:
To try and defend a politician that he claims not to worship?
For a guy who claims not to worship politicians, he sure seems to be the man that doth protest too much.
He seems to be straining his back carrying an awful lot of water for someone he claims not to love.
Happy Friday folks!
@Modulo Myself: this American Life had a great episode about people who use numbers where they shouldn’t.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/88/numbers
Wow, it’s from 1998. I’ve been remembering this for 26 years. My recollection that that it is great.
Just reading the blurbs for each section is making me giggle, as I remember them.
@Paul L.: Unlike Trump, Cohen is not yet subject to the jurisdiction of the Court. The Judge cannot order Cohen to do anything and can only direct the prosecution to request him to shut up.
@wr:
I assume you are talking about our rape-y poster whose name has been so prevalent above? I gotta disagree. I think he gets a tremendous reaction from this crowd. It seems the past few days his name has been attached to an inordinate number of posts, either as originator or in the responses. And there have been a handful like the one this responds to: name not mentioned (so I can’t just skip over it) but about him anyway. I honestly can’t think of anyone who occupies more posts on this blog, except perhaps for our other resident trumper. It’s gotta be 25% or more, lately, between the two of them. Even Michael and Stormy and the usual crew don’t get that percentage even when in full spitting angry mode.
So yeah, the poster in question and the three letter one are very good at what they want to accomplish. Very good.
@Gustopher:
Jeebus. Well at least I know what my nightmares will be about tonight.
@Michael Reynolds:
Michael,
You will have to turn in your liberal ID card at once. Everyone who was blacklisted was totally innocent.
@Michael Reynolds: You know, if it were my book, I would be sorely tempted to just blurt out something like, “You’re damn right I’m protrans. I’m pro-child, particularly my child, and I’m surprised that people who advertise themselves as ‘pro-family’ don’t share my feelings. But the tree being monoecious? That’s a normal state of affairs for a tree. Walk outside and pick a tree that you can see. It’s probably monoecious. I have no idea why you would think this is propaganda.”
Sigh. I think I would not be interested in “defending” a book that I had written that in. Kudos to her.
@Jay L Gischer: I don’t watch YouTube to any great degree, but a while ago, every video I watched had an Epoch Times ad. Maybe ET was simply purchasing a lot of ads then.
@MarkedMan:
I am totally guilty as charged on these. I broke a rule I had set for myself. I am pleading stress and trying to finish the culmination of a year long community research project. Combine that with ADHD and I am desperate for distraction–which means my “someone’s wrong on the internet” (or at least deeply inconsistent) kink is working overtime.
I’ll be better about that going forward.
@DK:
I suggest replaying past baseball seasons with the help of Strat-O-Matic baseball. More are needed.
On the other hand, one dung beetle fiction writer is sufficient.
@Paul L.: IANAL, but I have taught a few. I’m not sure that I’d be able to contextualize showing pornography to a jury in a way that would simultaneously endear a client like Trump to a jury while discrediting a witness whose main value appears to have been impeaching a claim that no sexual liaison took place.
I would be interested in knowing how that works if you can explain it, though.
@Matt Bernius: I was actually glad to see Paul L’s correction that it was a suggestion from the bench, not an order, to Cohen. Merchan’s charge is to protect the integrity of the trial, not to worry about anybody’s PR. As far as I’m aware, nothing Cohen said approaches witness intimidation.
@a country lawyer:
Thanks for that confirmation.
@Matt Bernius: It is a mutually satisfying relationship. The trumpers get to say, “Man, I went over to OTB and really got their panties in a twist! Totally shut down three separate threads today!” And the people here who reply get the satisfaction of smacking a Tee-Ball out of the park. It annoys the heck out of me but I’m only one person and it’s not my mosh pit.
@Paul L.: I’m not sure I’m following your thinking (or lack thereof); why is Judge Merchan doing his job hilarious to you?
@Gustopher:
John Green is on the list, in my ‘suspected of thought crime’, category’, along with Neil Gaiman and Rick Riordan. Good company.
@Modulo Myself: Thank you for introducing me to the word “polycule.” Unfortunately it is only 4:24, so I have to wait another 36 minutes before I can start drinking to erase it from my mind.
@wr: It is an hour ahead in Sao Paolo, Brazil. So I am happy to buy you a virtual Caipirinha, with virtual money, in a virtual bar. You are free to convert that locally as needed.
@Gustopher: Pissant is the correct spelling, but our friends at Google have declared the word as slang and their AI system is reacting accordingly.
Rudy’s been cancelled!
By a conservative talk radio station
No link. Sorry about that, it’s on a live blog.
This proves the woke mind virus is everywhere Or it would be, if it were a real thing, and not some excuse for why the unpopular political side is unpopular.
@Michael Reynolds: This has stuck with me while getting coffee and pondering if I want to do anything today (the answer was no)
The Mormon genealogy projects have every single Jew in America identified. And likely 23 And Me.
(And, as soon as they die, they are promptly baptized, which is honestly better than bothering people while they are alive (and the dead person still has to choose to accept the baptism, so it’s more an offer of baptism). Look, if it turns out I am bathing in hellfire because the Mormons were right, I would consider embracing the non-hellfire option. I’m pretty sure that Anne Frank doesn’t need to be baptized yet again though.)
There was a time when you needed to hire IBM to track every Jew in Germany, and gathering that data was alarming, but now that data just exists. Which is also probably alarming.
Some of the southern states are trying to build up lists of all the trans folks, and that definitely is alarming because that’s the government doing this and the same government that is attacking trans folks.
But all of that is very different from kidlit authors being tracked for their political statements.
@wr: why they went with polycule rather than poly pile or polyhedron is a mystery to me.
Polyhedron even reminds people of hedonism, which I suspect is appealing to people who discuss their polycules.
Can I point out the irony of people getting the vapors over “The List” and how judgemental lefties are, followed immediately by a two minute hate because some people who are probably on the spectrum are expressing their affection for each other in an unapproved manner?
Anyways, at risk of telling on myself, if anyone knows a spreadsheet positive polycule looking for more people, please ping me, because I would consider being valued enough to include on your joke tracking spreadsheet very romantic. =3
@Kathy:
I think we’ve seen throughout history that hatred works far better as a mind virus than anything woke.
If you look at the alt-right, the TERFs, and the Q-pilled, it’s often clear that a reasonably normal person with normal person problems and grievances can become a monster once they let in one of the “truths”, and that none of these ideas exist in a vacuum. The various hateful mind viruses are really carriers for other ideas.
Show me a TERF who doesn’t think taxes are too high and strangling the job creators. They exist, but they are incredibly rare.
@MarkedMan: @Matt Bernius: I just enjoy trolling some of them back when the opportunity presents itself, but I’m also still frequently failing at not being the person I could have become.
@Gustopher: Your question triggered my curiosity so I asked and Google directed me to Dictionary dot com which told me the “cule” is from “molecule,” which makes sense regarding polyamory.
@Gustopher:
Irrelevant to the discussion of Reynold’s list, but I’ve read a few times that the NRA has a pretty complete list of gun owners. You remember the NRA. The guys who are adamantly against registering guns.
@Stormy Dragon: Well you could if I understood which other post/s you were thinking about. (Think of me as a troll containing universes.)
@Michael Reynolds:
It bothers me they have you in the wrong category. You clearly shouldn’t be in “suspected of thought crimes”, you’ve clearly stated your thought crimes loudly. There’s nothing to suspect.
I get that you’re not as big a name, so they may not have done as much research on you, but it bothers me from a thoroughness perspective. Mighty Morphing Miscreants and Bubble Children* might not be Good Omens or Percy Jackson level, but they’re popular enough that a little more research should have been done.
You should correct them. Demand that your thought crimes be properly recorded.
Anyway, that’s my only problem with the list — poor implementation. Presumably, if it were indicative of anything more than a few people, then there would be someone doublechecking the work.
Otherwise “oh, noes! Someone is trying to hold you accountable for your words!” Meh.
I’m much more interested in where the line is between SPLC tracking hate organizations, the ADL tracking antisemites and antizionists, this twit, PNW Nazi Watch and Libs of TikTok. Because that last one is awful.
(and the ADL equates antizionism with antisemitism far too often to be useful, but if they want to track them together, they should go for it)
——
*: again, I see no reason to help someone who has a Google alert for the name of your series and various taboo phrases fill up their list when the algorithms suddenly put this site at the top for unknown reasons. They need to do the work, and put in the effort. And learn that blue doesn’t mean “good” in a color system, it’s not “green but more so”.
@DK: I want to believe Melania would smack Donald across the head if he passed up a chance to tap Karen McDougal in her prime.
@a country lawyer:
Everyone subject to the jurisdiction of the Court which is why Judges can ban recording inside, around or near a courthouse. Bergquist v. Milazzo
Trump says he’ll end anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people on “day one.”
@Gustopher:
The entire term TERF is a joke. Not only are most of the people commonly identified as TERFs not “radical feminists,” but not feminists in any sense, remotely whatsoever.
When you have J.K. Rowling heaping effusive praise on Matt Walsh, a full-on raging hyper-misogynist troll who openly says women belong in the kitchen, you know the term TERF has lost any useful meaning it may have once had.
@Paul L.: Cute. Am internet rando lecturing a person with an actual bar card on the law incorrectly as well as incoherently. Good job! 🙁
@gVOR10: I don’t object to lists of public data in general. They can be used badly. They can have inaccuracy problems. But generally it’s really hard to contain information, and I think that’s a losing battle.
Libs of TikTok uses publically available information to target people and school districts for death threats. There’s no other purpose than ginning up hate. Mr. Trump does the same.
That’s bad.
“These authors are Zionist scum so don’t buy their books” seems fine.
I’m sure there is the sporadic death threat, but they aren’t above the “here’s a person existing online, hey they’re a woman, or trans, or some other flavor of queer, or black…” level. I find it hard to get worked up about that with regards to a particular list. (Find a way to stop that shit in general, and I may be ok with that, but using that base level of nastiness as an excuse to condemn a pretty normal thing, fuck that)
Barron Trump has declined to be a delegate to the Florida RNC this summer because he has prior commitments.
@Paul L.: You’re an idiot. Terry v. Ohio has nothing to do with Jurisdiction. Terry created an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment and applies everywhere not just near a courthouse.
Google search does not equal three years of law school.
Clearly, I had too much free time today. 🙁 Fortunately, I’ve a commitment to help a friend assemble some IKEA stuff shortly and bid you all (a probably welcome and long sought) adieu.
@a country lawyer:
Bergquist was arrested for recording a courthouse. John Robert Blakey, United States District Judge cited Cady v. Sheahan to justify it.
Driving to a bar, I’ve pondered the Libs of TikTok and why I bend over to not reference Michael’s pen name or actual works in these threads.
MR isn’t using his platform to broadcast his thought crimes, so they don’t need to get any real level of attention.
And with Libs of TikTok it’s a hateful woman taking very, very local, barely public moments and broadcasting them to a wide group of rabid fascist bigots.
(Also, I just enjoy referring to MR’s creations with dismissive silly names — I recommend it to everyone as a bit of juvenile humor)
Author McAuthorface should get pushback for what Author McAuthorface does and says, not what MR says. And it’s Author McAuthorface who is on this list.
And the list has roughly no audience, anyway.
Anyway, cheers all, I’m drinking a disappointing Fort George Short Sands Lager while waiting for my friend to show up, and will switch to the excellent Chuckanut Kolsch for beer #2. (I wish they had the even more excellent Chuckanut Pilsner.)
If this lager were bad, I would just pour it into the bushes, and switch now. But it’s not bad, just disappointing.
ETA: 78 degrees and sunny in Seattle, and Hilltop has a lovely backyard patio with shade where you can see sunlight without having to be in it.
ETA 2: PNW Nazi Watch also exposes private people doing public acts, but if you take a visible gun to a protest, then fuck you.
@a country lawyer: Trust me you don’t want to go down this path. It’s not worth it.
The path leads to Qualified Immunity. The bane of Rule of Law.
@Paul L.: I don’t know where you live, but most states have great hiking within a reasonable drive time. It’s great to get outdoors, especially during spring. It’s a refreshing experience that really helps snap the brain out of unproductive loops. If you can bring a friend along, even better.
@CSK:
Mom said no.
@Paul L.: This case has nothing to do with jurisdiction or the fact that the arrest was near the courthouse. It is a Terry case where the court found a reasonable suspicion to search for weapons for the officer’s safety. The fact that it was near the courthouse was incidental.
You’re still an idiot.
@mattbernius: You’re right. This asshole has me giving away free what I charge $700 an hour for.
@a country lawyer:
The court found a reasonable suspicion and probable cause for court security officers to arrest a self-described “First Amendment auditor,” for exercising her rights to record outside of a courthouse.
@DK:
Of course she did. I’ve read that she plans to follow Barron wherever he goes to college.
@Gustopher:
I think you misunderstand the Orwell reference. It’s not thought crime that I’m smarter and better-informed than you.
@Gustopher: TAL is fantanstic. They grabbed me when they did an episode on pathological liars… Something I had first hand experience with but was still grappling with.
Ya think??? 🙂
@OzarkHillbilly:
So a Terry Stop is enough to ID, detain and arrest someone not Reasonable Articulable Suspicion (RAS) .
@Michael Reynolds:
Oh, I got the reference to Georgian folklore, I just thought it was kind of dumb and over the top and the silliest way to respond to it was to pretend to take it as a serious, reasonable claim of a serious, reasonable thing that regularly happens.
You silly goose.
(Day drinking is excellent because you have so much time left in the day when you’re done. Is this how morning people feel all the time?)
@Paul L.: Just in case anybody was wondering why I have this earworm.
And where the fuck is de Stijl, anyways?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th4Czv1j3F8
@Mister Bluster:
People who aren’t gross porn stars pay their court ordered attorney’s fees.
Bragg’s case hinges on a usedup whore.
According to you, Donald Trump’s “used up whore”.
“Stormy and E. Jean must longingly dream of their experience with Trump cursing that foreign bitch Melania…”
Posted on OTB by Paul L
Wed 8 May 2024 21:17
@Mister Bluster:
Certainly whores do not change and become used up over 17 years.