355 Comments

    • Banjos

      Mornin’

  1. Rat on a train

    Court Blocks Biden’s COVID Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors
    speed of molasses

    • Strange Brew

      Justice delayed is justice denied is now racist and homophobic.

    • Necron 99

      That was the reason I got the shot, j&j one and done. I tried to delay, got Covid in Oct 21 so was exempt for 90 days, but the mandate was still in place once the time was up so I figured it was better than losing my job. Three out of eight of my guys asked for exemptions, two for religious reasons and one for “I am not going to do what the government says because I am a free man” reasons. Not long after it all seems to go away and I feel like a pussy for taking the shot when I wanted to tell them to piss off, but with my career on the line, a house being built, and several people relying on me it was a lot of pressure. What a chump I was.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        I lost everything, but Im pureblood,
        Good enough

      • Rat on a train

        Did you see The Sixth Sense? That’s you.

      • Lackadaisical

        I quit and found a new job. But it wasn’t an easy decision, and I might regret it later. Having a family to support makes it all pretty tough.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Don’t beat yourself up too much. I would have folded along the way too if my employer didn’t hold out long enough for the large employer mandate to be overturned. And there was nothing noble about it, our plant employees were simply refusing to take the shot even with all of the incentives offered to them. The mandate would have crippled our production.

      • Rebel Scum

        I didn’t even participate in mask theater. I am not about to get an injection because the employer says so. But luckily that was not in question for me.

      • Swiss Servator

        I had no work pressure, as we were all wfh at the time – but I was not allowed to see my parents without the shots….so I got them, and have not boosted and won’t. Sometimes you put yourself aside for others, as you did.

    • Lackadaisical

      Yeah, this is ridiculous.

      This is the speed at which places like India move in their administration of justice. The end result is of course the rich and powerful move things to their benefit while the less connected suffer.

  2. SDF-7

    Nunes accuses DOJ of seeking blackmail material during Russia probe after bombshell revelation

    I know I keep saying it, but Congress needs to use the power of the purse and put its foot down. It isn’t supposed to be the rubber stamp of the Executive and the IC isn’t supposed to run rampant over the country.

    Since they enjoy having their real jobs being schmoozing and fundraising, it isn’t going to happen — but it really needs to. Sigh.

    • juris imprudent

      Another bit of brilliant operation of the govt machinery during the Trump admin.

      • Brochettaward

        Trump should have fired everyone at the DOJ and just rebuilt the organization from the ground up. Sounds practical and reasonable to me and it totally wouldn’t have been challenged in court.

        Just filling a couple of positions at the top isn’t going to change the reality that its workforce was over 90% opposed to him in every way.

  3. The Late P Brooks

    In-flight disturbances have plummeted this year since a court overturned President Joe Biden’s mask mandate on the airline industry, according to a new investigation.

    That must be why they were pushing that “TSA found more guns in carry on bags” story over the weekend. You need to know how important the TSA is to keeping you safe.

    • AlexinCT

      Yeah, sure. The fucking assholes groping older women and children and worrying about the fact I ask them if they know WTF they are doing, sure make me feel safe…

  4. The Late P Brooks

    The message from the Cathedral seems to be:

    Things only get worse. They never get better. Surrender your freedoms so we can keep you safe.

    • PieInTheSky

      what have your freedoms ever done for you?

    • AlexinCT

      They are actively destroying the economy and creating panic conditions, because idiots will give up their rights for promises pf something that they never will deliver.

    • juris imprudent

      Surrender your freedoms

      Molon labe

  5. SDF-7

    Judge Approves $10 Million Settlement for Health Care Workers Fired Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

    But within the article — about 500 folks and:

    Each worker who was fired stands to receive $24,225. Each worker who remained at the company stands to receive $3,725.

    Do the words: “A bloody pittance” come to mind?

    • Rat on a train

      It’s better than the usual “$10 off your next purchase” you normally get with class action.

      • AlexinCT

        Yeah, but it is a fucking travesty… How much did the lawyers take?

      • Rat on a train

        It’s not charity. The lawyers need to keep up a lifestyle.

      • UnCivilServant

        Mendicant Monk is a lifestyle

    • Strange Brew

      Sure, I was forced to get injected with an experimental drug that I didn’t need to keep my job, but I was able to parlay that injustice into a 1998 Honda Accord with 176,000 miles… Sweet!

      • Lackadaisical

        That’s bonkers. Used car prices are insane.

      • Swiss Servator

        They are starting to come down a little bit…at least looking around here the past week.

      • Lackadaisical

        That’s what I’ve heard, but those prices are still more than what I paid for a1-year old car with 10k miles on it, 10 years ago.

        Somehow my car didn’t lose any cash value in 10 years?

      • Jarflax

        The cash lost more value than the car.

      • Lackadaisical

        Exactly why I specified cash value. 😂

      • Michael Malaise

        The only reasons I bought new were the minute price difference ($2500?) and the warranty.

      • Lackadaisical

        Yeah, I don’t see why anyone would buy used right now, unless I’m missing something.

      • kinnath

        I bought a five-year-old truck last January to avoid all the electronic horseshit that is in the new vehicles.

      • B.P.

        Good plan, kinnath. I rented a car over the weekend, and all of the “helpful” bleeps and bloops annoyed the shit out of me.

      • DrOtto

        Take the hybrids off the list, and it’s not a bad list, with some caveats (take the 2.5 Fusion, not the 1.6 turbo, also, hybrids are more expensive to repair).

      • Zwak, who has his own double cross to bear.

        You know it’s BS, they list Honda’s as being reliable after 100K. I worked in an auto electric shop, Jaguars are more reliable at that point.

        Disposable cars, nothing more than that.

      • Michael Malaise

        My Pilot lasted 117k before needing a bunch of stuff so I neglected to put $5k into a $17k car and bought a new Telluride.

      • Zwak, who has his own double cross to bear.

        QED

      • slumbrew

        ~ 112k on the Fit right now – so far, so good, aside from the AC going. We’ll see…

    • Rat on a train

      Each worker who was fired
      The employer didn’t use “get the jab or you quit”?

  6. SDF-7

    In-flight disturbances have plummeted since court overturned Biden’s mask mandate

    I haven’t flown since this whole mess began, but based on the last few years — y’all will forgive me for thinking a large part of this is because the flight attendants (or whatever they want to be called this week) don’t get to be petty dictators about how/if folks are wearing their masks, not as much because the cattle car class stuck in coach is much more relaxed. Next they need to go back to not having “Failing to follow orders of the Sky Waitresses!” as a fracking federal crime or whatever.

    • Atanarjuat

      Last year I flew to South America. Leaving, they were mask Nazis in the airport and wouldn’t let me on the plane without one. As soon as we got on, flight crew announced this is a US airline and the mask mandate had ended and to respect everyone’s choice. I ripped mine off and proudly looked all of the masked Karens around me in the eye.

    • Bob Boberson

      ^This. Turns out people are a lot less unpleasant when you don’t have a sky nanny nagging you about your chin diaper being pulled down too long between sips of water.

    • DrOtto

      I flew in May of this year and masks were few and far between. That still didn’t do anything for being 6’1″ 225lbs and being stuck between 2 guys bigger than that (one of which was drunk/hungover and gassy). Also, flight delay due to lightning strikes, not missing my connecting flight because the connecting flight was even more delayed due to missing crew resulting in a 3:30am arrival instead of 11:00pm. Flying sucks.

  7. AlexinCT

    6 undisputed facts about Arizona election: Election Day issues, ballot counts, legal threats

    Our elite sure as hell have designated AZ the one state where “fortification” efforts are critical and easy…

    • Drake

      The last state they need to ensure that there is never another Republican President or Senate. Letting a Republican Governor win would ensure reforms to mess up the fortification.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        👆👆👆

        Can’t have Arizona going the way of Florida.

      • R C Dean

        I doubt it. The Repubs had two years to fix elections in AZ after it was completely obvious they were broken. And did nothing. At all. The Repubs in AZ are more McCain than Goldwater. And now it is a dead certainty there will be no reforms, and the new SecState will probably push things even further than Hobbs did.

        AZ delenda est.

      • Zwak, who has his own double cross to bear.

        McCains brain tumor was too late to save us.

      • Rebel Scum

        Plus the optics victory against Kari Lake.

  8. PieInTheSky

    did y’all hear the breaking news?

    • Rat on a train

      That we are broke?

      • Not Adahn

        I’m not! I still have checks!

    • juris imprudent

      The Berlin fish tank again?

    • The Other Kevin

      Yes! Unbelievable.

      Also, did you see the sports game last night? What a finish. Didn’t see that coming.

  9. The Late P Brooks

    The grail

    A vote at that meeting to issue a report to the wider Congress involving Trump’s tax information could open a new chapter in the saga of Trump’s tax returns, which were a source of great frustration for Democrats during Trump’s presidency after he broke with decades of presidential precedent by not sharing them upon entering office. It could also help to close the book on the matter once and for all.

    Stop it. You’re killing me.

    • Rat on a train

      broke with decades of presidential precedent by not sharing them upon entering office
      Cry more. It’s a political matter not legal.

    • Not Adahn

      Reps: Gimme your tax returns!

      Trump: Nuh uh! You’ll just leak them!

      Reps: No we won’t this is legitimate oversight function!

      Trump: Fine.

      Reps *leaks taxes*

    • Michael Malaise

      I’d like to know what the walls are doing.

    • AlexinCT

      Is that a good deal over there?

      • Bob Boberson

        The enemy cannot match our diversity. They will bend and break under the strain of our inclusion. They fear the wrath of our transgendered otherkins. Our Fragility is our strength.

      • PieInTheSky

        I mean a catboy brigade would scare the shit outta russia

      • Shpip

        I made it 57 seconds. That shit is so cringe that The Life of Julia seems staid by comparison.

        By the time I clicked it off, I was thinking “Maybe she can get some tips about Patriot missiles from Lisa Olson.”

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I noted that she was a Patriot missile operator, purportedly a defensive only system.

        It wouldn’t do to try to recruit woke kids with images of knocking down doors in Arab ghettos or droning Yemeni villages.

      • Bob Boberson

        “It wouldn’t do to try to recruit woke kids with images of knocking down doors in Arab ghettos or droning Yemeni villages.”

        Que up the 2023 recruiting video of woke kids knocking down trailer park and log cabin doors and droning white supremacist camps somewhere in flyover country.

      • DEG

        I couldn’t even watch it.

        I get the Russian recruitment video. Unlike some of the folks in the comments on that tweet.

      • Fatty Bolger

        FFS. No wonder they’re having trouble. Yeah, let’s target a tiny group of potential recruits, who won’t sign up anyway.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        “Comments are turned off”
        Good move

    • Lackadaisical

      That’s a shitty ad.

      Save your grandpa’s lada, join the army!

    • The Last American Hero

      I’m thinking of a pimped out Lada with some profile tires, airbags, LED’s underneath, kickin’ stereo, and an “In Loving Memory of Sergei” vinyl sticker on the back.

      • Zwak, who has his own double cross to bear.

        And a “Support your Local NKVD” licence plale frame.

    • AlexinCT

      You say that as if it is not being done to you on purpose by the people in Brussels that sure as hell will not have any problems staying nice and war while they eat caviar, drink champaign, fuck kids, and tell the rest of you to tough it out…

      • PieInTheSky

        , fuck kids, – that is just a Belgian thing, not an elite thing

      • Not Adahn

        *laughs in RP*

      • Michael Malaise

        ” nice and war”

        Typo checks out.

    • Lackadaisical

      “well we are gonna freeze this winter on the old continent”

      … And you’ll be happy about it. /EU
      Time to upgrade your continent.

  10. juris imprudent

    Anyone else find it a bit ironic that Republicans are pushing the pandemic as justification for border control.

    • PieInTheSky

      no.

    • Not Adahn

      Nope.

    • rhywun

      Yes but to be fair, it’s the only thing that worked.

      • Not Adahn

        “No bad tactics, only bad targets.”

  11. The Late P Brooks

    In 2020, the New York Times reported that Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and that he’d paid “no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years – largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.”

    Trump files his return as a Schedule C?

    • Certified Public Asshat

      I don’t understand your question in relation to what you quoted.

    • The Last American Hero

      So no fraud, just not as rich as expected and had some good years and some bad years.

      I bet the next scandal is that he doesn’t have a 10 inch cock.

      • Zwak, who has his own double cross to bear.

        Sounds more like he had good accountants. Worth more than cheap steaks.

  12. Atanarjuat

    It is kind of interesting that the Yoel Roth character, who seemed to be instrumental in banning Trump from Twitter, pushed back against the FBI several times behind the scenes.

    • Lackadaisical

      Was it pushback or just not wanting everything written down because he wasn’t dumb?

      • Zwak, who has his own double cross to bear.

        This. Paper trail is guilt trail.

      • Atanarjuat

        There were a few different instances, not just that one.

    • Ownbestenemy

      It really appears he was worked as a CIA asset.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Or Mossad, with CIA approval. Given his proclivities, he seems a natural target for their type of blackmail.

    • Rat on a train

      I wasn’t aware indigenous was a race, but would go with that since they don’t get many parts.

    • AlexinCT

      Deep state politicians and government bureaucrats… that’s y preference..

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Washingtonian

      • PieInTheSky

        Are people in Seattle that bad?

      • Bob Boberson

        Yes.

      • Plinker762

        Yes

      • Bob Boberson

        /high-fives Plinker

      • Gustave Lytton

        Hard Target II: Jet City

      • Plinker762

        It was the most obvious response.

        Of course Spokane isn’t doing much better. Traffic, hobos everywhere and the city can’t even clear snow from the streets.

      • Bob Boberson

        True. Still, except for a few enclaves downtown and on the South Hill, I don’t get the “we’re so progressive we’re totally detached from reality” vibe I get on the other side of Snoqulamie pass.

      • Plinker762

        True, most people I know see the writing on the wall. Unfortunately the proggies in King county and Olympia are feeling their oats of total state government control and are forcing their “values” on all of us.

      • Bob Boberson

        We’re moving out of the area in the next year for work. We plan on coming back to the inland NW afterward. I told the wife that upon our return we’ll be looking in Idaho, not Washington.

    • AlexinCT

      That’s why you only buy lead and orphans with metal exchanges…

  13. The Late P Brooks

    “To generate the $916 million of losses, Trump used other people’s money without ever repaying his borrowings or reversing his tax deductions, as the law requires. And the IRS apparently never challenged,” Rosenthal wrote online on Monday.

    There’s doubt about whether the documents provided to House Democrats go back far enough to be able to give a full picture of Trump’s financial history and corroborate so much bombshell reporting.

    “It could be a case of too little too late,” Rosenthal said. “I expect very little, without a fuller probe.”

    Political strategists say Democrats should be seizing the opportunity to focus on transparency issues around Trump’s business dealings, especially after one of Trump’s main businesses was convicted of tax fraud earlier in December and as the high-profile Jan. 6 Committee considers its own set of criminal referrals against the former president.

    Don’t let him get away, Ahab.

    • Rat on a train

      There are so many things he could have done that we don’t have evidence of. That won’t stop us.

    • Not Adahn

      Congresscritters are much more experter about taxes than IRS auditors. It is known.

    • rhywun

      The only way the “walls are closing in” narrative makes any sense here is if the IRS never audited him. Otherwise, how did they never catch him “cheating”?

      No, I think what they’re really doing is trying to “shame” him with his legitimate returns.

      • juris imprudent

        Funny how he had more success with the IRS before he was President.

    • R C Dean

      Oh, I think there’s some stuffing going on there.

    • Not Adahn

      Is Q Adam Carolla?

      There were pictures of his ex-wife and new girlfriend.

    • DEG

      Face diaper. Blech.

      • Lackadaisical

        Butter faces deserve love too.

        Or at least your only fans money.

  14. Cowboy

    Good Morning yall, vacation time has been busy, its been great. I miss reading yalls excellent comments. Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah and pleasant festivus to everyone. Ill be aback after New Years when I can sit in my office and get paid to surf before meetings begin

    • KK the Porcine Pearl-Eater

      Howdy, Cowpoke

  15. PieInTheSky

    1. Something strange is happening – people are starting to borrow from the Fed!

    This only happens in moments of significant liquidity stress – like 2008 or 2020.

    But supposedly the market is “awash” with excess liquidity right? So what is going on?

    https://twitter.com/LastBearStandng/status/1604916553379708937

    does it even matter, what difference at this point etc…

    • AlexinCT

      Sam Bankman-Fried has all the money in his mattres…

      That or the Ukrainians..

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      What is going on?

      The inevitable.

  16. The Late P Brooks

    Whatever the scale of the disclosures on Trump’s personal tax returns, experts say his case is indicative of a broader set of problems with the U.S. tax system and how its complexities allow it to be exploited in bad faith.

    “For our voluntary tax system to remain stable, we count on taxpayers not to play ‘hide-the-ball,’ or as Trump fashions it, to treat taxes as a sport. Trump once said that’s the way he looks at it,” Steve Rosenthal said. “The system will collapse if taxpayers game it and are successful.”

    How did we get here? Does anybody know? I guess it just happened organically. One minute you have a beautifully manicured formal English garden, and the next minute it looks like an overgrown impenetrable briar patch.

    • Rat on a train

      Whatever the scale of the disclosures on Trump’s personal tax returns, his case is indicative of a broader set of problems with “the ends justify the means” mindset.
      And they wonder why people don’t trust giving information to the government.

    • Nephilium

      For our voluntary tax system to remain stable

      Our what now?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        You will volunteer, or else.

      • Rat on a train

        It’s optional. All you have to do to not pay income tax is not have income.

      • Lackadaisical

        You voluntarily do your taxes. By which we mean you will do our job for free or we’ll bend you over and do it ourselves. /IRS

    • Lackadaisical

      “experts say”

      Time to turn my brain off and stop listening.

    • Homple

      “Voluntary tax system.”

  17. PieInTheSky

    The $11,500 toilet with Alexa inside can now be put inside your home

    https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/19/23510864/kohler-numi-smart-toilet-alexa-ces-2022

    Have you ever sat on the toilet, pondering your day, using your phone even though that’s kind of gross to do on the john, avoiding everyone in the house, and thought, “I wish Alexa was in here with me?” That is, what I assume, the designers of the Kohler Numi 2.0 Smart Toilet were thinking when they made this $11,500 toilet that has Alexa inside.

    • AlexinCT

      Don’t do it! Amazon will then be blackmailing you by demanding you let Bezo’s abuse you seksually or they will put the videos of you coping a squat and squeezing out a turd on YouTubes!

      • Rat on a train

        Or at a minimum give video to police like they do for Ring.

      • Lackadaisical

        Civilian ROAT, Alexa has detected unusual levels of animal protein in your stool. Please report to eating the bugs reeducation camp or be liquidated.

    • Fatty Bolger

      “Open the toilet lid, Alexa.”

      “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave.”

    • Penguin

      And when Alexa analyzes your poop for illegal drug use, you can ask for a minty spray as the cops drag you to prison.

    • Shpip

      “So, what I would say about any social media site is this: I fully expect and would require that leaders in that sector cooperate and work with us who are concerned about national security, concerned about upholding and protecting our democracy, to do everything in their power to ensure that there is not a manipulation that is allowed or overlooked that is done with the intention of upending the security of our democracy and our nation.”

      1) Continuing to make Dan Quayle sound like a master off-the-cuff orator.
      2) Since when are Vice Presidents in any position to “require” anything from anyone?

      • rhywun

        She thinks she’ll be president someday.

      • R C Dean

        “The Harris years”

    • rhywun

      And at least half the country is perfectly fine with this.

    • AlexinCT

      GO BUKAKE!

    • Gustave Lytton

      MiL cosplay, of course.

    • Jarflax

      Anal, it is always anal.

      • Lackadaisical

        That’s pretty tame, how else are people supposed to remain technical virgins?

    • Lackadaisical

      “It wasn’t just looking at porn, he has been paying to watch women perform shocking sex acts for him.”

      In other words he’s discovered only fans?

      I mean, yeah, it’s shocking to waste your money like that, and I suppose it is more intimate than porn, due to the live interaction… You’d think he’d actually been with other women or something the way he reacted.

      Get him to stop and go on with your marriage.

  18. Rebel Scum

    Manipulation is only ok if Dems do it.

    Harris said, “So, what I would say about any social media site is this: I fully expect and would require that leaders in that sector cooperate and work with us who are concerned about national security, concerned about upholding and protecting our democracy, to do everything in their power to ensure that there is not a manipulation that is allowed or overlooked that is done with the intention of upending the security of our democracy and our nation.”

    I’ve grown the loathe the term “democracy”.

    • Q Continuum

      Whenever you see “our democracy” just replace with “elections rigged to ensure only Team Blue wins” and you’ll be spot on.

      • AlexinCT

        Same with Bipartisanship.. Team blue wins.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      As with every other word of import, they’ve co-opted and skin-suited it.

      It works well because most normies think the progs are using the old meanings and go right along with their plans.

    • Drake

      Democracy was always the absolute worst form of government ever. Every time I hear it used this way, I’m saddened by our education / indoctrination system.

    • PieInTheSky

      jeeez that needs two trigger warnings

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        set to full auto

    • AlexinCT

      THAT’S A MAN, BABY!

    • robodruid

      Brave man

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘GAH!”

      what’s with everyone messing up their lips? Yeesh.

    • PieInTheSky

      6.4 would kill 1000 in Italy. You people are behind

  19. The Late P Brooks

    people are starting to borrow from the Fed!

    Banks aren’t peepul!!@!!1

  20. PieInTheSky

    The measures adopted so far by the EU have been insufficient to contain the impact of the gas crisis on firms and households. This column proposes an emergency gas policy package to deal with the crisis that threatens European economies and security of supply. The proposal combines an EU-wide gas price cap with binding gas-saving targets and a continued strong price incentive for users to cut gas consumption.

    https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/european-economists-eu-level-gas-price-cap-and-gas-saving-targets

    solid policies for a happier europe. I heard freezing to death leaves one with a smile on one’s face so happy. Who needs an economy anyways. We can import stuff from China.

    • PieInTheSky

      Thing is I always kept my thermostat to 19 gas crisis degrees in winter cause that is how I like it. On the flipside I live alone in a largish apartment and would not really want to drop it bellow 19.

      • Not Adahn

        I keep my house at 61 degrees. Lily thinks it’s still too warm and would rather lay out on the back steps and keep watch for intruders.

      • PieInTheSky

        does she just bark or go directly for the throat should one come?

      • Not Adahn

        If she’s trying to catch it (anything smaller than a turkey), she doesn’t bark. If she’s trying to scare it off, then she barks.

      • PieInTheSky

        by intruders I assume large men with mischief in mind

      • Not Adahn

        She has a rather more expansive definition of intruder.

    • Lackadaisical

      “19 gas crisis degrees”

      *Sensible chuckle*

      That is pretty warm tho. Buy a sweater.

    • Penguin

      “Giulia Valletti Borgnini ” Gee – I wonder what country she’s from.

    • Bob Boberson

      She needs to just bang him and get it over with already.

      • Q Continuum

        Think of how much money he could raise for his reelection campaign if he livestreamed it! I sense a SugarFree opportunity…

      • Bob Boberson

        Count me out

      • juris imprudent

        That would require AOC to make it a 3-some.

      • Michael Malaise

        He could pay people to not watch and make millions.

  21. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Things that make your eye twitch…

    Emails from vendors that read like this:

    Dear Valued Customer,

    Please note, your recent Quill order has been cancelled due to no response to our previous attempts to reach you regarding the issue with your account.

    To resolve your account and have your order reinstated, please call Customer Service (1-800-982-3400).

    Thank you for your attention and we look forward to hearing from you to resolve this issue.

    Past Due Balance: $0
    Account Balance: $0

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Ah, it’s because we don’t use them often enough. Oh well, that won’t be an issue going forward.

      There are some really stupid businesses out there.

      • Rat on a train

        Was that the last final notice or only the first?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Don’t know. They sent it to my branch office. Don’t care either.

        There are plenty of office supply stores.

    • AlexinCT

      That reads like a scam where they will take you to a fake page to have you log in, then they will steal the shirt off your back for being that dumb…

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        It wasn’t. It’s a concept so stupid that only an MBA could have come up with it.

      • Gustave Lytton

        “Fire your low profit customers today!”

    • Michael Malaise

      A woman has used our address to avoid getting late notices, apparently. I guess she doesn’t realize the bills are attached to her name, not my address.

  22. The Late P Brooks

    The proposal combines an EU-wide gas price cap with binding gas-saving targets and a continued strong price incentive for users to cut gas consumption.

    Ow, my head.

    • rhywun

      price cap

      Do the big brains in Brussels have an answer to question of who is going to produce gas for them for free?

      • AlexinCT

        These people think they are divine. If they demand gas prizes stay low, they will magically…

      • Lackadaisical

        Do they really think there’s no where else for the oil to go?

        China may be opening back up now…

      • Grummun

        Our BS sanctions and price caps only work if other countries play along. If China, India and others want the oil, they’ll worry about the logistics first and the US second.

    • Lackadaisical

      That would make me want to actually drink that crap.

  23. Rebel Scum

    It is kind of obvious.

    Team Joe are editing photos of Biden, and posting them to make him look younger. Joe is old and frail, this dude is not.

    • R.J.

      I wish he was just replaced entirely by a crude paste in of Steven Seagal.

    • Lackadaisical

      His hand tho. Zoom in for laughs.

      • Atanarjuat

        Even if that’s a grandkid, he should not be alone with her.

  24. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Re the Twitter Files: Does anyone here talk to non political normies here and what do they think of this I wonder? For the right and most here this is just confirmation of what was already strongly suspected while the left both denies the seriousness while proclaiming that it’s a good thing.

    • Bob Boberson

      My normie in-laws (squishy but not lefty) seem to be distracted by the corporate presses “OMG Elon is such an idiot” narrative. They completely miss the rest.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        This, sadly.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Well that is unfortunate.

      • Bob Boberson

        It’s willful ignorance for the most part. Accepting that we live in a banana republic where our rights only exist if and when it’s convenient for the people with power is too upsetting for most people. It would take the dull metallic thud of the cattle car door being latched for them to come to that realization.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Yes

  25. Gender Traitor

    Yesterday my boss’s boss went home early because he was sick. Today my boss is sick. So far both have tested negative for the ‘VID, and so far I feel fine… but prayers, incantations, or appropriate blood sacrifices on my behalf would be gratefully welcomed. 😳

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I know I’ve got a goat lying around here somewhere….

      Now where did I put that altar?

    • rhywun

      Ugh that reminds me, at this time last year I was just catching it. (Or something that knocked me out for a few days including Xmas, I didn’t test.)

    • PieInTheSky

      I hope you dont get sick and use the opportunity to steal their jobs cause they weak

  26. The Late P Brooks

    Democracy was always the absolute worst form of government ever. Every time I hear it used this way, I’m saddened by our education / indoctrination system.

    let the mob decide.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      At the level of power and language, Rothkopf’s usage of “deep state” is brilliant. It reflects a propaganda technique we may call acrolectic privilege, in which the low may not even utter the name of the high. When “deep state” is spoken in a political acrolect—for example, while fly fishing—it is the best thing in the world. When spoken in a basilect—say, on a bass boat—it is a “conspiracy theory” and may not be uttered.

      How very Moldbug.

      No, they do not believe in democracy or oligarchy. They believe in nothing. Nothing is true to them, unless it is useful. Nothing is useful, unless it makes them powerful. History and law and logic and the Constitution and morality have one lesson for them: Might makes right. Whatever is strong is true, legal, constitutional, and right.

      Ultimately, Rothkopf and his party are practicing Nietzcheans and Machiavellians—not in the philosophical sense, but in the colloquial sense. Power has consumed them.

      Their faith is nihilism—and only nihilism can defeat them. To pretend that they believe in anything, even to offer contrary arguments, is simply to play their game.

      I like this. It’s solely about power. And postmodernism has removed most of the rhetorical arguments against that power.

      • juris imprudent

        Their faith is nihilism—and only nihilism can defeat them.

        I can agree with the former, but the latter is totally wrong. You don’t beat them at their own game – you change the game to beat them.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I interpret it as meaning that you cannot deal with them, and them in particular, in good faith.

    • Tundra

      Really good, thanks for the link!

      Their faith is nihilism—and only nihilism can defeat them. To pretend that they believe in anything, even to offer contrary arguments, is simply to play their game.

      That’s an interesting take. Men of honor will always lose to these fucks, so the solution is to become like them. I actually think that’s true, but isn’t building parallel worlds another?

      Still, I like the way he laid it out and it does really hit home how we are constantly misdirected. I liked this:

      Not 1 in 10 NPR progressives will peek behind anything alleged. Nor can anyone challenge Rothkopf’s claim. It is alleged that the Holocaust happened. Duh. It did happen! Why, there is not a lie in the book.

    • Trigger Hippie

      ‘Dear Americans, this is why your vote in the big election doesn’t count. The election isn’t stolen on Election Day, in the voting machines. It is stolen later, in Washington. It isn’t even stolen by any person who you can scream at. Rather, it is stolen by design—and the designers are long since dead.

      It works like any con: If you lose, you lose. But if you win, you don’t win. Like a child on a ship, you get to sit in the captain’s chair and spin the captain’s wheel. But you are not steering the vessel.’

      Indeed. The biggest lie the American voting public tells itself is that every upcoming election is the most important ever/yet.

      • Fourscore

        Things we learned early in life…

  27. The Late P Brooks

    Last night I watched the “Liberty Ships” episode of War Factories.

    Henry Kaiser… holy shit. I can’t believe that guy was so completely off my radar.

    • B.P.

      I toured the functioning liberty ship at Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s amazing. It sailed to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

  28. Grumbletarian

    Daily Quordle 330
    6️⃣7️⃣
    4️⃣3️⃣

    Acceptable.

    • Tundra

      Daily Quordle 330
      7️⃣6️⃣
      5️⃣4️⃣

    • rhywun

      Meh.

      Daily Quordle 330
      6️⃣7️⃣
      4️⃣5️⃣

    • Sean

      Daily Quordle 330
      7️⃣6️⃣
      5️⃣4️⃣
      quordle.com

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Boom…

      Daily Quordle 330
      6️⃣5️⃣
      4️⃣3️⃣

    • SDF-7

      Blew way too many guesses in DuoTri:
      Daily Duotrigordle #293
      Guesses: 37/37
      Time: 04:38.23
      https://duotrigordle.com/

      But got lucky on a guess or two in the Main Event… pretty darned good for me:

      Daily Quordle 330
      5️⃣6️⃣
      4️⃣2️⃣
      quordle.com

    • kinnath

      Daily Quordle 330
      5️⃣6️⃣
      7️⃣4️⃣

      Boring

  29. Jarflax

    Good Morning Banjos!

    and
    Personal best at Quordle!
    Daily Quordle 330
    5️⃣4️⃣
    6️⃣3️⃣
    quordle.com

  30. Rebel Scum

    If you see something say something.

    New Zealand has gone full police state🧐
    Anyone with a different POV is an enemy.

    New Zealand govt booklets being released telling the public that if they suspect their friends or family are opposing govt policies, incl COVID measures, they should be reported as terrorists

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Their Prime Minister looks like the Devil’s slowly eating her soul. Either that or she has worms…very unhealthy and severe looking.

    • Lackadaisical

      Pretty standard now. Not like the US is any better here. Though, if we have any Aussie adherents, they’re smart enough not to post.

    • The Last American Hero

      I thought the NZSIS were the bad guys?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Since Cavill announced he would be moving on from The Witcher, fans of the show have set up a petition on Change.org asking Netflix to replace the show’s writers instead. The petition currently has more than 285,000 signatures.

      And Netflix will learn nothing from it.

      • Lackadaisical

        Yeah, their audience is going to shrink by at least half without Cavil.

      • R.J.

        Correct. They have your money. Netflix will do what they want with it until people give up on them.

      • UnCivilServant

        Netflix has $0 of my money.

  31. Tundra

    Good morning, Banjos!

    I am shocked that forced masking resulted in crankier passengers. Shocked, I tell you.

    I will say that the first flew flights I took after the mandate were amazingly pleasant.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    They even smoothed out Dr Jill.

    Ewwwwww.

  33. Rebel Scum

    R’s always find a way to fuck themselves over.

    To help protect America’s youth from the dangers of pornography, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced a bill on Dec. 13 that would require all pornographic websites to use an age-verification tool to prevent kids under the age of 18 from accessing porn online.

    “Every day, we’re learning more about the negative psychological effects pornography has on minors,” said Lee in a statement. “Given the alarming rate of teenage exposure to pornography, I believe the government must act quickly to enact protections that have a real chance of surviving First Amendment scrutiny.”

    “We require age verification at brick-and-mortar shops,” he added. “Why shouldn’t we require it online?”

    There are seriously more important things than little Johnny seeing tits online. Besides the fact that parents are perfectly capable of censoring what their children see online.

    • Rat on a train

      Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act
      barf

      • Rat on a train

        Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue a rule to require commercial pornographic websites to adopt age verification technology to ensure that users of the website are not children.

        Free porn sites still open.

        Today’s mainstream pornography is no longer the softcore centerfold of past decades but is child-, incest-, and rape-themed, hardcore, violent, highly degrading material.

        Q, they are saying you are outside the mainstream.

      • R C Dean

        I think they just told us what they search for on PornHub.

      • Grumbletarian

        No, that’s the Boors Against Recorded Fucking bill.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Also, Lee (and Paul) were pretty much silent on the Yemen War defunding amendment. Fucking disappointing to say the least.

    • juris imprudent

      that parents are perfectly capable

      Parents may be capable, but they don’t want to have to actually be parents – let’s just outsource that to the govt.

    • Lackadaisical

      “Why shouldn’t we require it online?”

      Because of the risk of identity theft, and a ton of other privacy issues.

      Also, where are the parents?

    • Certified Public Asshat

      It is weird we have age controls for gambling and alcohol sites but not for this. I mean even in a gas station the naughty magazines are wrapped away (for the children?) but type on a keyboard and they can see everything.

    • Endless Mike

      If you’re going to succeed in Utah politics, you need to show you are a Mormon first, and a party member second. (See Romney, Mitt) Lee is likely just shoring up his bona-fides here with some theatrical legislation that either won’t go anywhere, or won’t change anything.

  34. hayeksplosives

    Today I haz a sad. 🙁

    1) Mark Steyn is in poor health after 2 heart attacks
    2) My conference in Vegas today got cancelled at the last minute
    3) haven’t seen my BFF in over a year
    4) Husband is ill (at least I think so)
    5) Still have to deal with car accident fallout

    On the amusing side, my 9lb “kitten” hooked a claw into my wrist while falling off the desk and made a deep puncture wound and jagged cut in his wake. Actually had to use the styptic pencil and a bandaid. Little jerk. But cute; that’s how they get away with it.

    I do get to see my bestie in about a month, so that’s cool too. Would like to lose some weight before then, but holiday food…

    • Count Potato

      Sorry 🙁

  35. The Late P Brooks

    Liz Cheney says Trump “is unfit for any office.”

    Liz, on the other hand, is being fitted for a spacious and well lit office on K Street at this very moment.

    • Michael Malaise

      “Well Liz, I have several spectacular offices in many, many wonderful cities around the country. Amazing offices, really. Some people say they are the best offices—the best— they have ever been in. So true, so true.”

  36. UnCivilServant

    Things I can’t say, but so want to part [Index out of Bounds Error] –

    It’s in the damn email chain you’re responding to – there’s no excuse for mixing up what request we’re talking about. And no, no build request I’ve sent in has been missing the network diagram. And no, [Redacted] cannot help me fill in the network flows because A: there is nothing wrong with the request, and B: the request is not related to his work at all. This is not the one for his dev boxes, this is just a request for one database related to [Big Project] not the reverse proxies for [Little Project].

    /rant off

    • Lackadaisical

      Depending how your interviews went, I think you should send that email.

      • UnCivilServant

        I’m not that confident.

      • Lackadaisical

        Sounds like you need to send a similar email regardless.

      • UnCivilServant

        He won’t read it.

        He didn’t read the subsequent emails and is asking me to send a statement equivalent to one that has already been sent.

  37. Scruffy Nerfherder

    The Rules-Based Order has lost its damned mind.

    https://news.antiwar.com/2022/12/11/pentagon-gives-tacit-support-for-ukrainian-drone-attacks-deep-inside-russia/

    The Pentagon has given its tacit endorsement of Ukrainian attacks inside Russian territory and no longer fears such operations could lead to a “dramatic” Russian escalation, The Times reported on Friday, citing unnamed US defense officials.

    The US position appears to only be based on the fact that up to this point, Russia hasn’t responded to attacks on its territory with nuclear weapons or by attacking NATO countries.

    The Times report reads: “Moscow’s revenge attacks have to date all involved conventional missile strikes against civilian targets. Previously, the Pentagon was warier of Ukraine attacking Russia because it feared the Kremlin would retaliate either with tactical nuclear weapons or by targeting neighboring NATO nations.”

    • Rat on a train

      Keep poking the bear.

      • Swiss Servator

        What are they going to do….attack cities and civilians? Oh, wait…

      • Michael Malaise

        I have mad respect for Poland.

    • MikeS

      Oh! All they are doing is making retaliatory conventional missile strikes on civilian targets? Well, carry on! Collateral damage and all that.

    • R C Dean

      Well, it is a war. I have zero problem with attacks on military targets inside Russia. Retaliatory strikes on civilian targets are little more of a problem, but given the way wars have been fought since WWII, I have hard time saying its out of bounds for the Ukes to do it.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        So the Ukrainians are NATO-trained, NATO-armed, NATO-funded, given NATO intelligence, and they’re given the greenlight to attack inside Russia.

        At some point, the Russians will respond in kind to NATO and the proxy war will cease to be proxy.

      • AlexinCT

        It is funny that when the USSR engaged in similar arming/training of forces the US military and NATO ended up facing back during the Cold War we didn’t nuke their asses or even threaten to do so. Note that the USSR didn’t even go there when we were helping their enemies in Afghanistan and we turned a blind eye to them and the CCP returning the favor after 9-11.But for some reason today a desperate asshat is threatening nuclear war because someone is arming the proxies their at war with.

        There are no good guys in this fight. I hope both the Russians and the Ukraine end up losing. NATO may not be the good guys either, and while I would have preferred they had avoided this idiocy, it is on the idiot that sent troops into his neighboring country.

    • juris imprudent

      The Times reported on Friday, citing unnamed US defense officials.

      Our national security depends on transparency, not unnamed sources.

      • Rat on a train

        I need to see their tax returns.

  38. robc

    On Sunday, Hikaru Nakamura defeated Magnus Carlsen in the Speed Chess Championship (Format: 90 minutes of 5+1, 60 minutes of 3+1, 30 minutes of 1+1. X+Y means X minutes on clock plus Y seconds added after each move).

    He reviews his games here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaEmwFgK_cA&t=447s

    At about the 12 minute mark, his comment is “Apparently, I am just a bad chess player.”

    Umm…yeah.

    This was the 6th year for this tournament. Carlsen one the first and Nakamura has won the last 5. Carlsen is the best player in the world and maybe the GOAT, but Nakamura is slightly better at speed chess.

    • PieInTheSky

      What about boxing?

      • robc

        The big chess boxing event was about a week ago.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    To help protect America’s youth from the dangers of pornography, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced a bill on Dec. 13 that would require all pornographic websites to use an age-verification tool to prevent kids under the age of 18 from accessing porn online.

    What we need is a digital national ID based on your social security number and your phone number.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      The Reps are just straight up dumbasses. Eat a dick you Puritan fuck.

      • PutridMeat

        I suppose it depends on the meaning of the phrase ‘Puritan fuck’. The implication of the term is that simply questioning whether easy access to all manner of weird ass porn is a good thing for a developing humans makes you some how un-cool. Libertine vs libertarian if you will.

        If one takes it’s meaning to be that the state has no business bringing its guns and threats of violence into the question, I think we’re on solid ground and in agreement.

        Voicing a position that it is legitimately within the states authority to require this sort of thing deserves being called out.

        Voicing a position that exposing young kids to all manner of porn might not be a great idea for their healthy development does not deserve the derision that often gets heaped on such a concern.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        It’s the moralizing and the either ignorance or willful ignorance of the fact that a digital ID requirement for accessing a whole category of websites won’t be expanded upon and all shielded in the “it’s for the children” nonsense. If they get the camel’s nose under the tent on this one it will not be a good thing.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        But I also get where you’re coming from and kids shouldn’t be exposed to that stuff. Let the parents handle it.

      • PutridMeat

        I agree about the digital ID requirement being expanded, camels nose, etc. Those are all legitimate (IMO) concerns and I don’t support this bill or any like it.

        What I object to is when we (the generic libertarian we that is) feel the need to throw in ‘moralizing’ as if that’s a bad thing and expressing concern about a 10 year old male seeing a woman choked out while her asshole is prolapsed makes one a Puritan or a prude, not sophisticated like those of us who embrace our sexuality. It’s the equivalent of the “it’s for the children – and you don’t hate children do you?” trope.

      • rhywun

        I guess we know what’s in your browser history now.

        Eeew!

      • UnCivilServant

        Don’t be silly, he’s the Cameraman.

      • PutridMeat

        It was purely research!

        Plus, with Pat’s help, my browser history is clear.

      • PutridMeat

        he’s the Cameraman.

        It’s the smell that gets you.

      • Rat on a train

        Show me some ankle, Goody.

    • Not Adahn

      What we need is a digital national ID based on your social security number and your phone number. DNA sequence.

      • UnCivilServant

        “DNA is Transphobic!” – Prog

  40. MikeS

    -18F air temp. -44F windchill. Days like this I think about moving one or two states farther south.

      • MikeS

        At least.

    • R.J.

      Can you keep smoking ribs at that temp? Or does all outdoor activities cease?

      • pistoffnick

        I tried grilling a steak (Aldi had nice ribeye roasts on sale for $8 per lb.!) and several bratwurst this past weekend. My propane tank froze up and wouldn’t allow full gas flow.

        I finished cooking it in cast iron with butter and olive oil, some smashed garlic, and fresh thyme. It was really tasty.

      • R.J.

        Yes, propane definitely stops flowing well once you get close to 0. I would think the amount of charcoal to slow cook or smoke would be really high too. You’d have to overcome a huge temperature difference to maintain heat. It would be depressing.

      • robc

        I have a Traeger. I did some steaks the other night, they were warmer than the grill at the start. But the grill got up to T just fine. It was about 20F at the time, quite different from -20F.

        I know most instructions say to warm up the grill before putting the meat on, but I do reverse sear, so like the steaks to smoke on the top shelf while the grill is heating up anyway.

      • MikeS

        Yeah, come to think of it, it was below zero the other day when I did my 3-2-1 ribs and everything went well. Dropped from around 0 to -8 by the time I was done. Had it in the icehouse to keep the wind off it. And the thermal cover must help a lot, too.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Try a bigger propane tank. You may still have issues with the regulator freezing up though.

      • R.J.

        I always wanted to try wrapping it like a pipe. Maybe add in a battery powered thermal heater strip.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        You can put heat to the regulator to prevent freeze up, just be careful as consumer grade propane regulators aren’t always that tolerant.

        The simplest solution for the tank is just to get a bigger one. The bigger the tank, the greater the available propane flow without icing up (scaled to outside temperatures of course).

      • MikeS

        They make little propane tank blankets for ice fishing. That’ll help some.

      • MikeS

        I’m going to smoke some burgers tomorrow. The smoker is still in the ice house. I may hook up the ice house heater to give it a little help. The smoker also has a thermal blanket on it, so I don’t think I’ll burn through too may extra pellets. We’ll see.

    • robc

      We are having the same in CO in the next two days, so, a few states south might not even help (and yes, that is also one step west).

      • Tundra

        Two days.

        Then low 50s on Christmas. Not comparable.

      • robc

        He didnt say how long his was going to last.

        Plus, I figure if you choose to live in ND, you are used to it.

      • MikeS

        We’re supposed to eek past 0 on Sunday. Up to +19F on Tuesday. Yes, we’re used to it, but that doesn’t mean it feel like anything other than brutally cold.

        Also, it’s something to bitch about.

    • Mojeaux

      Well, it’s only 19F here, so you’ll have to move farther south to get any relief.

      • MikeS

        +19F is almost 40 degrees warmer. That’s quite a lot of relief.

      • Lackadaisical

        It’s 50 here, come on down!

    • Drake

      It was 19F in SC yesterday morning, Christmas Eve is supposed to be 16F. I thought I had left this stuff behind.

      • robc

        The lowest it got while I was in SC was 28. I think we dropped below freezing 4 nights across 2 winters. Of course, I was pretty much right on the coast, the further you go inland, the colder it got. The western part I am sure had plenty of freezing days.

      • Drake

        Winter appears to be a real thing here in the Upstate. Not like what the maniacs get in the upper midwest, but cold and damp.

    • Animal

      -26 here at the moment, weather app says “feels like” -39. No wind to speak of, so not sure what that means.

      It’s in “fucking cold” territory. That’s all. But it’s to be expected.

    • Michael Malaise

      There should be only One Dakota.

  41. Scruffy Nerfherder

    If anyone thought the GOP would seek to tame the Biden administration’s warmongering…

    https://news.antiwar.com/2022/12/19/house-republicans-to-pressure-biden-on-china-with-new-panel/

    Republicans are forming a committee on China for when the GOP takes control of the House this January that will pressure the Biden administration to be more hawkish on China, Nikkei Asia reported on Monday.

    President Biden has pursued a hardline China policy by maintaining Trump-era tariffs, ramping up the economic pressure through sanctions, increasing support for Taiwan, and working to build alliances against China in the Asia Pacific. His administration has made clear countering China is its top priority, but Republicans are likely going to push Biden to be even tougher.

    • Not Adahn

      Pretty sure nobody here thought that.

      • juris imprudent

        [Team America Matt Damon voice] LIZ CHENEY [/TAMDv]

  42. DEG

    Left-wing attorney Marc Elias, however, noted that the judge dismissed eight of Lake’s ten claims and limited the remaining two allegations to “intentional misconduct,” meaning she must prove that printer malfunctions were intentional and affected the outcome of the contest. She must also demonstrate the faults in the ballot chain of custody were intentional and also impacted the final result.

    If she has to prove intent… that’s going to be a problem.

    A U.S. appeals court on Monday said the White House could not require federal contractors to ensure that their workers are vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of government contracts.

    Good.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      If she has to prove intent… that’s going to be a problem.

      And that’s not how the law is written. Intent is not a requirement.

      • juris imprudent

        Any bureaucratic function would require showing willful intent, not simple incompetence – to protect the bureaucrats.

      • Rat on a train

        Hillary Clinton disagrees.

  43. Grummun

    I installed Pi-hole on the home network last night. I’m unreasonably proud for having really just followed basic instructions. Created a new VM on the home VM server, installed Alma Linux (my day job is all RedHat so I’m more comfortable there than Debian), ran Pi-hole installation script, updated DHCP server config to point DNS to new VM, and bango: this morning’s Quordle and Waffle were blessedly ad-free.

    Yet to be seen: if my wife will find something to be “broken” in her online experience.

    • Lackadaisical

      “I’m not getting the ads I like anymore”

      😛

      • slumbrew

        My wife complains every time she hits a ‘sponsored’ link and it doesn’t work. I may whitelist her phone.

    • Michael Malaise

      “I installed Pi-hole on the home network last night”

      These euphemisms are getting too technical.

  44. The Late P Brooks

    -18F air temp. -44F windchill. Days like this I think about moving one or two states farther south.

    Last couple of days were sunny and calm, mid-20s. I can live with that.

    • Raven Nation

      Yeah, where I live which is several states south of Mike S., windchills will be -45 Wednesday.

    • MikeS

      Calm being the key.

  45. The Late P Brooks

    Collective guilt is the best kind of guilt


    The House Jan. 6 committee held its final public meeting on Monday, capping off months of investigative work and public presentations on the makings of the 2021 insurrection. Reflecting back on the past year and a half, the committee did one thing superbly well: It was successful in its comprehensive demonstration of former President Donald Trump’s intentions and culpability for the insurrection.

    The committee made a compelling case that Trump was not a deluded actor who haphazardly encouraged an unpredictable mob to march up to the U.S. Capitol, where things got out of hand. Instead, the evidence shows he deliberately spread disinformation and summoned an armed and partially organized militia to try to seize control of the government. The case was made so thoroughly that the committee’s four criminal referrals against Trump only seem prudent.

    But the committee’s success in nailing Trump’s role was also accompanied by a failure, or at least a missed opportunity.

    The House committee was right to focus on Trump’s role as the kingpin on Jan. 6, and was also right to make criminal referrals against a handful of his top henchmen, like his final chief of staff Mark Meadows and his lawyer John Eastman. But Trump and a few of his most loyal friends weren’t the only people trying to ensure he stayed in power. Much of the GOP was cheering Trump and his movement on — and actively participated in trying to help him pull off a coup.

    The laser focus on Trump obscured the complicity of the GOP party establishment in the event. That in turn will narrow the public’s historical understanding of the radical nature of today’s Republican Party as a whole. It could also weaken the kind of vigilance needed to guard against other right-wing authoritarian politicians in the future.

    Armed? Oh, that’s right; 97.2% of the J6 charges involved weapons violations. Every emergency room in a fifty mile radius was stacked full of dead and dying policemen.

    Obviously the only reasonable remedy to this political crisis is to outlaw the Republican party and arrest all members. Otherwise the nation will slide into authoritarianism and decay.

    • rhywun

      Not one word of that is true. It is amazing.

    • WTF

      They don’t even try to hide the fact that they are Democrat propagandists.

  46. The Late P Brooks

    But over the longer run, it would be tragic if this results in the GOP getting off more lightly in our analyses of this historical moment. Guarding against future authoritarian politicians on the right requires understanding that Trump wasn’t at odds with his party — he was working in concert with it. On the right there’s a systemic receptivity to authoritarianism, and it won’t end with Trump.

    Right wing authoritarianism can only be stopped by left wing authoritarianism.

    Lock them up.

  47. kinnath

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2022/dec/20/trump-tax-returns-vote-house-jan-6-us-politics-live

    House panel prepares to share Trump tax secrets

    If Monday was a day of reckoning for Donald Trump in Congress, Tuesday is likely to be another when a House committee meets this afternoon to vote on whether to release six years of his tax returns to the public.

    A Supreme Court ruling last month cleared the treasury department to hand the documents to the ways and means committee, ending a three-year fight by the former president to shield many of his closest financial secrets.

    More horseshit from the lame ducks.

    So the House has the authority to look at individual tax returns in order to maintain oversight over the tax system. Thus, they can look at the former president’s tax returns against his will. And somehow, this authority allows the house to release these private tax records to the public, because . . . . . FTYW.

    • rhywun

      Pretty sure that is illegal but yeah, FYTW.

      • Tundra

        illegal

        You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

  48. The Late P Brooks

    Pretty sure that is illegal but yeah, FYTW.

    If the President Congress does it, it’s not illegal.

  49. MikeS

    Kid: Santa, what’s the story of your reindeer names?
    Santa: Why I name them after memories, like Prancer frolicking through the snow!
    Kid: What about Donner?
    Santa gets an ominous look on his face and says. “The year was 1847, snowfall had trapped us in the Sierra Nevada…”

    • Tundra

      LOL!

    • WTF

      Kid: What about Blitzen?
      Santa: Well, it was 1939, we were running late over Poland…

    • robc

      Bad riddle on the board at my daughter’s music school:

      Which of Santa’s reindeer is best at football?

      • Not Adahn

        Elway?

      • Michael Malaise

        He’s a horse-faced drunk, not a reindeer-faced drunk.