Tuesday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Tuesday, January 3, 2023
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81 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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George Santos
@Santos4Congress
BIDEN IS A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR!
6:58 PM · Aug 30, 2021
@Kylopod: The GOP in a nutshell, “I know you are but what am I?”
Trump seems to have a large war chest – but is he struggling to raise money?
Long story short, “Maybe.” He is playing legally dubious shell games with his many different yet similarly named campaign funds/SuperPacs etc. Not that he will ever be charged for any such crimes:
Same song, different day.
@OzarkHillbilly: Every accusation is actually a confession.
I don’t watch a lot of football, and wasn’t watching last night’s Bills vs. Bengals game, but coincidentally saw the replay of Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsing on the field after a play.
He had just completed a tackle and apparently an impact to his chest happened at just the right (wrong) time, and it stopped his heart, an occurrence termed commotio cordis.
According to news reports, CPR was performed and an automated external defibrillator applied to restart his heartbeat. He’s in the hospital in critical condition.
Hopefully he was not without a pulse for too long and will recover, although he may never play again.
So on brand:
McCarthy Proposes Gutting Office of Congressional Ethics in Bid for Speaker
@Mikey: Yep, pure projection.
@Mikey:
My thoughts are with Hamlin, a solid kid and victim of a freak accident. Details are sketchy but it appears he will survive.
Meanwhile on Elon Musk’s Bluebird Cesspool, formerly known as Twitter, is abuzz with anti-vaxxers claiming that, without question, the incident is vaccine related. And anyone who cannot see that is a conspiracy theorist.
@Scott:
In other news, water is wet.
@Mikey:
That was a terrible thing to happen.
In today’s chapter of Mr. Santos goes to Washington. Of course R’s will seat him and stripping power of the ethics committee will protect him, at least from his peers. The emerging Federal and State criminal investigations will complicate his life, but R’s will rally behind him, claiming that Dems are persecuting him.
But then there is this little tidbit: Brazilian Authorities Will Revive Fraud Case Against George Santos
Here’s hoping that Lula’s DoJ files an extradition request.
Today in shitty billionaires news, ‘Burned the hill down’: billionaire’s runaway fireworks spark New Zealand furore
Like a bad neighbor,
Malkin is there.
He’s lucky they were able to contain the fire to his property.
It’s a good read, and short too.
The NYTimes has a guest essay today by Mara Altman positing that tall people cause climate change.
I guess those of us who are over 5’8″ should show our commitment to halting environmental destruction by killing ourselves.
@CSK: Hmmmm… I’m 5′-8 without my boots but 5′-9 with them. Guess I better just go barefoot from now on.
@CSK: As someone who has to stretch to make it to 5′ on a good day, I guess yay me?
@Jen:
Mara Altman is 5’0″, so she probably has a vested interest in this.
I wish this was all on the tube:
‘I earned this job’: Republicans explode in meeting before speaker vote
Again, my neo-Confederate so-called legislator Chip Roy:
BTW, I hope the Democrats make life hard for the Republicans here just by kibitzing, parliamentary roadblocks, etc. And have a blast doing it.
@Scott: I remember a cartoon during the 2000 Florida debacle, I haven’t been able to dig it up. Gore and Bush are having a literal tug of war with a life-sized cutout of the state of Florida. Gore says “I had it first.” Bush says “But Jeb promised it to me!”
@CSK: I read the piece, and it reads like something from The Onion.
I don’t know what to make of it, really. I mean, I joke about being the only one who might be okay with airline seats (although frankly those are becoming uncomfortable even for me), but…the piece is odd. I mean sure, if everyone was shorter we’d use fewer resources, but…that would also hold true if there were just fewer people. It’s a ridiculous thought experiment with little thought behind it.
@Mikey:
That was awful. Watching it in real time was confusing and heartbreaking. I commented on the vaccine thread, but I’ll say it here as well:
A bunch of morons were attributing his condition to the Covid vaccine immediately.
@CSK: Being 5’6″, I have an opinion on this but I think I’ll keep it to myself.
@mattklewis
At this point, I can’t understand why McCarthy still wants the job. This is just a small preview of the utter shrieking shitshow he’d have to deal with for the next two years (at least).
@Mikey:
Because he’s a talentless idiot whose hubris has convinced him that it’s his chance to shine. This moron thinks he can actually control these maniacs.
Jeffries should have exactly one Democrat vote for the Idiot every couple of ballots. Just to give him a little hope.
@CSK:
A lot of Trans women hate being, on average, tall. Not me. I luxuriate in it. I‘m 6’0 and I love wearing all boots or heels. There is something very enjoyable about watching men trying to figure out how they feel when confronted by a tall woman.
Also, being able to get things from a high shelf is a superpower.
@Scott:
I think Democrats should, um, help, by publicly endorsing McCarthy as a ‘Republican we can work with.’ Joe Biden should support McCarthy.
@CSK:
To Mara Altman, I am tall. To Beth, not so much.
Watching the vote on House.gov. They are only up to the H’s and it looks like McCarthy already had enough votes against him to preclude a win on the first vote. So far 3 votes for Biggs and 2 for Jordan. Though Jordan will probably turn his votes back over to McCarthy.
Tesla stock is currently at $104.84.
I think it might be worth buying if it dips below $100.
But that’s just my opinion.
@Beth:
I think Jeffries could win if he could get a Republican to put his name on a ballot.
@Kurtz:
Yes. Every time a young person dies unexpectedly it’s because she or he was a victim of the “clot shot.”
@Beth:
I’m very glad you relish it.
@Joe:
It’s so silly. Height is often relative.
@Mikey: McCarthy always supported Gaetz despite the corruption, despite the sex trafficking of minors, despite Jan 6th, because he wanted to be Speaker so bad and felt he needed Gaetz’s support. I wonder how it feels to abase and humiliate yourself for nothing? Worse than nothing! Gaetz is actively against him!
@daryl and his brother darryl:
Bottom fishing is about the toughest call while investing. I saw the other day that even at `$104/share, that Tesla was trading at about 3x more expensive than other automakers. And Tesla is an auto maker, and not a tech company.
@daryl and his brother darryl:
Hakeem Jeffries go more votes in this first round than ANY Republican.
I can’t with to hear why the NY Times thinks this is bad for Joe Biden.
@Sleeping Dog: Yep. And Tesla has a huge liability hanging over it – it has promoted “Full Self Driving” and charge people a whole lot of money for it, without delivering. And quite likely their limited self driving capability is going to be held liable for a number of accidents and deaths. I don’t even know how you begin to factor that into their valuation.
@Michael Reynolds:
The vote is alphabetical and aloud, as I understand it.
So, if it’s clear Kevin will win, AOC should vote by saying: After what he promised me, of course I vote for Kevin.
Annnnnd….in the first round of voting for Speaker in the Republican-led House, the person who received the most votes is…
Rep. Jeffries. (D-NY8).
Republicans IN DISARRAY.
@Scott:..house.gov…
I have found the live video feed. Now that the first round is over is there anywhere that I can see a tally of the votes?
Edit: Just saw the clerk read the votes.
Gym Jordon is telling jokes!
Gaetz just nominated Jordon for speaker in the second round.
Was Jordon nominated on the first round?
David French Joins The Times as an Opinion Columnist
Soon, the Times opinion page will be accused of being the Yankees of punditry.
Here’s what I’m thinking for next weekend:
Sautee a lot of mushrooms with a little oil, add 1/4 cup sherry and let it be consumed. Next take about half and liquefy in a blender with some milk, cottage cheese, and beef broth (from bouillon cubes).
In the same pot saute some onions and garlic, add some ground beef, stir. add 2 cups of beef broth (hot), add some lentils, cook the lentils. Add back the liquefied mushroom mix, add back the rest of the cooked mushrooms. Stir, season, add some corn and chickpeas.
To the side I’m thinking garlic potatoes au gratin. For that I figure mixing some sweet cream with a lot of minced garlic and chives, and let it stand for some time. Next a baking dish with a layer of potatoes, a layer of cream, and a layer of cheese. Next more potatoes, then more cream. Bake covered in foil. When done, remove the foil, adda last layer of cheese,a nd bake again for 10-20 minutes for the top layer to melt and brown.
My deep desire to watch things burn makes me want the Democrats to vote for the most insane, least capable Republican. Make the face of the Republican Party be a lunatic.
So many opportunities for mischief.
Heh, my son doesn’t have to worry much, yet. His eldest (14 yo) daughter is 5′-9″, plays defensive end on her HS football team, is on the girls wrestling team, rides horses regularly (steeplechase) etc etc etc. All the boys are terrified of her.
Now, when it comes to his 2 youngest daughters….
HA! You’ve got a sinister side I did not know of.
McCarthy loses again on the second round of voting, according to CNN.
This is…not a good look for him.
@Jen: Popcorn anyone?
@OzarkHillbilly: @Jen:
With crap like this being published, it’s no wonder climate change advocates have a hard time.
@CSK:
5′-18″, so my reply to Mara is…
I’ve got a random prediction for the Senate: The lobbyists are going to run all over Bernie Sanders on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. This article is talking about how, as chair, he’s putting the fear of god in to them, but it’s all based on his hostility. In reality he has never really seemed interested in legislation or understanding the ins and outs of it. This excerpt from a 2020 Daily Beast article sums up one aspect:
But there’s another, perhaps more important facet of Bernie’s character: he is easily manipulated by stroking his ego. As an example, he was totally rolled by the Dem Party bureaucrats during his crusade to reform the Democratic Primary Caucus system. For years, Party officials have been trying to get the individual states to move away from caucuses in favor of primaries. Bernie did better against Clinton in caucuses and so he favored them. But he also felt cheated out of the Iowa Caucus, but couldn’t prove it because caucuses by their very nature leave little written documentation behind, and so he wanted to reform that part of the process. Long story short, Dem officials let him take charge and “helped” him make sure everyone had equal opportunity to vote in each round, including people who couldn’t attend because of disabilities, age, etc, and that each round was rigorously documented. This was the one thing that Bernie expended political capital on after his loss. The result? Because of the added complexity and expense and potential for disaster (see Iowa 2020) we will likely go from thirteen caucus states when he ran to at most three in the next election.
@CSK:
6′ 1” here, and glorying in the misery I inflict upon a helpless world of lesser beings! Bwahahhhaaha!
Now, where’s that “how to turn into snake” spell?
@Beth: “There is something very enjoyable about watching men trying to figure out how they feel when confronted by a tall woman.”
One advantage of being 5’5″ is that I assume most people will be taller than me, and have never had a problem with women who are part of that vast majority of humanity…
@CSK:
In the movie Hook, when Robin Williams as the grown up Peter Pan first confronts the famously short Dustin Hoffman as the titular Captain, Pan says to Hook, “I remember you as taller” to which Hook deadpans, “to small children I am a giant.”
6’2″ when I wake up in the morning.
After news, work, assorted bullshit from kids and accountants, I’m about 5’8″ by the time I crawl into bed.
@daryl and his brother darryl:
@Sleeping Dog:
Just remember the European auto industry innermost secret truth:
|￣￣￣￣￣￣|
|WOLFSBURG|
| ALWAYS |
| WINS |
| ＿＿＿＿＿__|
(\__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
OK, two more random predictions:
One, I’m pretty sure of: Kevin McCarthy will not be Speaker
Two, less so: Jim Jordan will, and the sexual assaults that took place under his watch will be re-litigated for months
And, not a prediction, but a delicious scenario: McCarthy and his backers eventually recognize that he will never win and, angry and frustrated, they toss the ball to the crazies, who are also incompetent buffoons. In the chaos that ensues, the Dems get a vote called when 211 or fewer Republicans are on the floor, and Jeffries becomes Speaker.
@OzarkHillbilly:
There a several similar stories from the early days of the war. Especially the Battle of Mykolaiv and the Battle of Voronesensk.
IMO it illustrates something in modern Ukraine.
I remember a quote somewhere, but damned if I can remeber byy whom:
Funny thing is, Ukraines have a massive anarchist streak, but its anarcho-communitarian, not libertarian-individualistic.
With good reason.
When your history of governments includes Mongol khans, Ottomans, Russian Tsars, Bolsheviks, and dodgy oligarchs as the recent best of the bunch, a good deal of inherited cynicism re. the benevolence and competence of governments is understandable.
But also, the knowledge that as a cossack band, a settler village, a serf community, workers in that new factories, whatever, you’re best hope is to stick together.
It’s a legacy that has had it’s darker side (suspicion of those outside the community) but at least it is realistic and capable of organization in emergencies. And now it is welding together a nation.
…they (Republican Representatives who oppose McCarthy) are our enemies now…
Dan Crenshaw R-Tex
CNN
@MarkedMan: More delicious scenario — Democrats threaten to support a complete Q loon if 5 Republicans won’t vote for Jeffries on the next ballot.
And then just keep alternating between voting for Jeffries one ballot, and Boebert or someone on the next. Can the Republicans keep everyone for voting for the loon?
Anyway, i guess I support a Gym Jordan speakership, because whoever is Speaker is going to be completely destroyed by the process.
What a bunch of slugs. Can’t pull an all nighter’. Adjourned till noon tomorrow.
Because of the Republican failure to elect a House Speaker, my Senator, Patty Murry, is now second in line for the presidency.
On Twitter today, I saw a bunch of folks talking about a new column by Rod Dreher. I read the column. It was a rambling tale of his recent discovery (outed by a journalist) that his dad was a member of the KKK. I couldn’t clearly understand his point(s), which included how when he was young and stupid, he used to argue with his dad about racism being wrong, and now thinks that racism is still wrong but maybe his dad had a point (think about how terrible and sexual black culture is!). How his dad was still a good man, because he used to paternalistically sometimes do nice things for his black tenants, even though he considered them inferior. How his dad ruined his marriage and led his (Rod’s) wife to leave him. How he hopes his dad repented of his racism on his death bed. How “woke” liberals are no better than his dad. Etc…
Back to the height discussion. I am watching The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly right now. Eli Wallach (5’7”) does not impress less than Clint (6’4”). The fact that I am a 5’7” Ashkenaz like Eli didn’t influence my thinking at all.
@Slugger:
No reason why it should.
Does anyone know if the Dems can call a vote since there is no speaker yet?
@Monala: But, can Patty Murray kill the President and Vice President, and then pardon herself?
I’m not saying she would, or that she should, but if this was a terrible tv show, would that work?
I was out plowing snow today, and about 40 ft away I noticed a jackrabbit hunkering down in a snow hole. Next thing I knew, a bald eagle dove down on him and grabbed him with his talons, flapped his wings and landed about 6 ft away in a big puff of snow. He looked at me, I looked at him, he looked at his rabbit and took a big chunk right out of his neck with his beak. I didn’t want to disturb his meal, so I turned around and went the other direction. When I went back by, all that was left was a few bits of fur, blood stains and some really impressive wing impressions on the snow.
So that was my fun for the day, other than watching the GOP meltdown. 😛
@Jax:
That does sound like a great time.
@MarkedMan:
I wonder what the conditions for this to happen are?is it that support for McCarthy just starts dribbling away and then stabilizes at a large, but not convincing about? Do the Dems decide to hang together for the long haul. I don’t mean voting for McCarthy, just showing up.
@Monala:
Uhhh, WTF? Slightly related, I mentioned to my partner that I don’t like the new Disney movie “Strange World”. It’s got a bunch of stuff I should like, but I don’t. I was like I don’t get why I don’t like this movie. Her response was that of course I don’t like it, it’s about dads. Maybe Dreher watched it a couple of times and got agitated.
@Jax:
Umm, ewww.
@Monala: ” I couldn’t clearly understand his point(s)”
I know the feeling. His columns are interesting in the train wreck kind of way.
Marco Rubio has a piece on that site today. Some of it sounds like he’s channeling Bernie Sanders.
“Both parties sided with Warren Buffet over the rail workers last month.”
“we need to rebalance our domestic economy by putting Wall Street in its place. ”
Some of it sounds like he’s channeling MTG.
“Our schools are a cesspool of Marxist indoctrination.”
“The left would be at home in a fallen America that hands out crack pipes to its citizens and a world dominated by an atheistic, communist regime.”
Maybe he’s getting ready to run for president again.
@CSK: It was pretty fun plowing snow, too. I wish I had a real plow and not just a tractor and bucket on the loader. You can make some pretty big piles with two feet of snow on the ground! Finally got my car plowed out…..good thing, cuz I’m almost out of booze. 😛
@Beth: Yeah. PETA should really have a talk with those birds of prey about how they just rip pieces off like that. I’ve seen hawks start with the legs when they catch mice. Not sure how long the poor bastards last after that.
Democrats win the PA house by one seat, giving them control of a chamber in the state legislature for the first time in 12 years, nominate an anti-trans Roman Catholic guy as speaker who immediately after being elected speaker leaves the Democratic Party, so they now no longer control the chamber.
Seriously, moderates can go fuck themselves
Who could have predicted a party fundamentally opposed to good governance would be unable to execute one of the most basic, nug-level actions of government?
And who knows what godawful shit will eventually be required to finally elect a Speaker? Instant no-confidence votes that will periodically throw the House into chaos? Reinstatement of the Holman rule so the QAnon Caucus can threaten federal agents with the elimination of their salaries if they dare to investigate Republican malfeasance?
If there is any silver lining to this utter debacle, it’s that it is now abundantly clear to the American people which party wants to do the actual fucking job its members were sent to Washington to do. Hopefully the message sinks in.
@Stormy Dragon: The take from my deep-into-politics and further-left-than-me PA relations is quite different. Dems gain control by one seat but because some Dems got elected to higher office, three seats are vacant. The Republicans therefore have the votes and the Dems are going to lose control for the session, even though they will have the majority when the seats get filled by special election or appointment. All looks lost until they cut a deal with the devil, a former Dem turned independent. Yes, it might be a disaster, but it certainly would have been a disaster if there had been a Republican speaker.
@Monala: Gee thanks. I pay a little attention to TAC but hadn’t seen that Dreher column. So I felt I had to go read it. Gave up on reading and started skimming. It’s still ten minutes I’ll never get back.
If I squint a bit, I think I may see what he was trying to say, but he buries it in so many words it’s hard to know. Who was it who apologized for the length of a letter, saying he didn’t have time to write something shorter? Dreher puts out a really impressive volume of writing. I wonder if he’s ever considered outlining before he launches off. I believe one’s writing style reflects one’s thinking. Dreher’s seems a bit confused.
Stubbed my toe going to the fridge. I blame it on the vaccine shot I got a couple months ago.
Steve
@Scott: @Jen: It keeps getting worse, too!
Injuries! Injuries! Rah-rah-rah!
@steve: Hey! I stubbed my toe going to the fridge too. I blame it on the vaccine shot you got a couple months ago.
@MarkedMan:
@steve: I, too, stubbed my toe on the corner of the fridge, and it’s definitely steve’s vaccination shot’s fault. I’m prepared to sue for damages. Stay tuned for my new gofundme link and youtube/podcast address!
I was thinking about this yesterday and today in the tractor. Alllllll these people making money off the rubes being gullible….money in the MILLIONS…..and all they gotta do is sound convincing and piss people off. I mean….I could do that. And then I wouldn’t have to plow all 3 miles of my own damn road, I could easily pay someone to do it.
Sorry! If only I had realized Fauci was really trying to kill me, or at least my toe.
Steve