44 thoughts on “A Crack in the Damned”

  2. speaking of laying down truths and burdens and wars that need studying:

    Biden draws direct link between Putin and Hamas as he urges aid for Israel and Ukraine | Joe Biden | The Guardian

    Joe Biden has drawn a direct, provocative link between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’s attack on Israel as he urged Americans not to walk away from their role as “a beacon to the world”.
    In only the second Oval Office address of his presidency, Biden said he would ask Congress to provide aid for both Israel and Ukraine and denounced the scourge of antisemitism and Islamophobia at home.
    The president’s 15-minute address sought to weave the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts together to convince war-weary voters and hardline Republicans of America’s obligations. It is a conflation that will make some uneasy, especially as Israel, with vastly superior military power, prepares for a ground invasion of Gaza.
    “Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,” said Biden, sitting at the Resolute desk with flags, family photos, gold curtains and a darkened window behind him.
    The duelling crises are providing a daunting diplomatic test for the former chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee who, at 80, is older than the state of Israel itself. That did not prevent him making a whirlwind trip to the country on Wednesday.
    […]
    The president then turned to Ukraine, a cause that has seen ebbing support from the US public and Republicans in Congress. Having spoken to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy hours earlier, Biden said: “I know these conflicts can seem far away. It’s natural to ask, why does this matter to America? Let me share with you why making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital for America’s national security.
    “History has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going and the costs and the threats to America and the world keep rising.”
    Although commentators are likely to question whether the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts are comparable, for Biden it was a way of entreating Congress not to walk away from either.

    He said: “American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, we turn our backs on Israel, it’s just not worth it.”

    […]
    He devoted part of his Oval Office address to denouncing both antisemitism and Islamophobia at home. “To all of you hurting … I want you to know, I see you. You belong. And I want to say this to you: You’re all America.
    “And I know many of you in the Muslim American community, the Arab American community, the Palestinian American community, and so many others are outraged and hurting, saying to yourself, here we go again, with Islamophobia and distrust we saw after 9/11.”
    […]
    “America is a beacon to the world still,” the president said. “But time is of the essence. I know we have our divisions at home. We have to get past them. We can’t let petty partisan angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation. We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants Putin win.”
    [continues]

  3. in other news

    Attribution: Empty Suit by Frank Hansen, PoliticalCartoons.com

    and

    Attribution: Jim Jordan Power Move by R.J. Matson, CQ Roll Call

  4. Former prosecutor Elie Honig says the significance of Sydney Powell’s guilty plea is key in a conspiracy case, how she can help tell the main story:

    “So now they’ve sort of got an ultimate insider, somebody who has remained steadfastly loyal to Donald Trump, to tell the stolen election narrative. Now she has flipped. Now she has come clean. Now she’s going to be a prosecution witness. She will be the narrator. She will be able to say, I was in this room with Donald Trump, with Rudy Giuliani. Here’s what we discussed. Here’s who said what. Here’s what we knew.” (CNN)

  5. Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume praised President Joe Biden’s address to the nation on Thursday, calling it “one of the best, if not the best, speeches of his presidency.”

    More Hume:

    “He was firm, he was unequivocal, he was strong, as he has been particularly in recent days before he went to Israel and while he was over there. I was struck by the fact that he spent as much time as he did on Ukraine and I think it was a good thing that he did because the aid for Ukraine package that he’s talking about, and further aid to Ukraine beyond that, is in jeopardy. And I think that he was hampered a little bit in that effort by the fact that he dare not really mention the best reason— I mean, he mentioned broadly speaking the best reason for sticking with it in Ukraine, which is, “What would the rest of the world and its evildoers think if we pulled out of there?” because that comes on the heels of his having pulled out of Afghanistan, which arguably emboldened all of our adversaries around the world, particularly Vladimir Putin.”

  6. craig,

    brit needs to be reminded that it was Trump in 2020 who signed a peace agreement with taliban promising U.S. would pull out of afghanistan in 2021.

    it was trump (NOT biden) who “arguably emboldened all of our adversaries around the world, particularly Vladimir Putin.”

  8. sturge, thanks for the link. i agree with keith on his observation this morning

    Sidney Powell has flipped on Trump in Georgia. And if she’s flipped on Trump in Georgia, she has to have either flipped on him in Jack Smith’s DC case, or is about to. Because otherwise anything she says on the stand in Atlanta could be used against her in federal court. And she may be, to quote Elmer Fudd, a scwewy wabbit, but she ain’t going to Alcatwaz.

    particularly the “scwewy wabbit” part

  9. Team kraken strikes the tents.
    Flip on, oh krakenless wonder,
    No jail time for thee.  
    But—as anyone can plainly see
    Not so much so for the orange poltroon
    Perhaps he’ll go down on history.

  10. WaPo’s 1st sentence in its Gym, Speaker? You’ve got to be kidding live update string:

    Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the embattled Republican speaker nominee, said at a news conference that he hopes to be elected Friday, despite falling well short of the majority needed in the full chamber on votes Tuesday and Wednesday. 

    Gene Pitney would be proud.
    I’m not generally a fan of speeches, but Joe had a good one last night.  Can you in your wildest dreams envision Dumbass making a speech that might bear any resemblance to that?

    patd, the Elmer catchphrase that springs to mind for me is wascawwy wabbit.

  11. 5 years ago the genius of the stable pontificated on flippers. wonder what his rants will be on sydney’s flip.

    excerpt from an old cnn story:

    “It’s called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal,” Trump said in the interview, adding he’s witnessed similar scenarios over his decades in public life. “I know all about flipping, 30, 40 years I have been watching flippers. Everything is wonderful and then they get 10 years in jail and they flip on whoever the next highest one is or as high as you can go.”
    […]
    “It almost ought to be outlawed. It’s not fair,” Trump said of Cohen, who he described as only a “part-time” lawyer. “If you can say something bad about Donald Trump and you will go down to two years or three years, which is the deal he made, in all fairness to him, most people are going to do that. … And I have seen it many times. I have had many friends involved in this stuff. It’s called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal.”

  13. Seems like the orange cockwomble will soon be the last rat standing.   

    Seems like Rudy might be the last rat to flip. But then you KNOW that guy will at some point be flipping like a Waffle House line cook on National Pancake Day.

  14. Refusal to denounce threats infuriating Jordan holdouts. IN THE MEETING yesterday between JIM JORDAN and hold outs, close Jordan ally WARREN DAVIDSON said it’s not Team Jordan’s fault that holdouts are getting death threats. They are getting the death threats, he said, because they voted against Jordan.

  19. Please, any Republicans who actually care about our democracy, if they exist, just vote for Hakeem Jeffries.

    Biden/Harris 2024!

  20. Steve Bannon on his show just now. to Jordan: “Don’t bend the knee.” To his viewers: “Keep calling. Oh they say it’s so mean. So what, it’s working. How do we know? Because they’re so upset. So continue to pound them, it’s a free country”

  24. Another day without a functioning House and budget. 
    George Carlin — ‘Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.’ Where oh where doth the Jordan sit?
     

  25. Jordan – the definition of sailing applies – Slowly going nowhere at great expense while getting cold, wet and ill. OK, the cold wet and ill may not apply, but certainly the first part does (except it should be “Slowly going backward…”)

  27. Chesebro was the loudest (other than Dumbass) “relying on advice of counsel” witness in that case.  Rudee’s sweat bullets are growing in caliber by the day. And Dumbass can’t be happy about the flippers – oh, and it’s perfectly legal. The others should take note that the earlier they do this the better deal they can get/ e.g. Powell, misdemeanor and probation. the next day Chesebro – felony and 1-5 (although I expect it will be suspended so long as he doesn’t commit another crime).

  30. Gym’s out.  Bad day for Dumbass. Next….

    From WaPo:

    “Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has lost an internal conference vote by secret ballot that asked whether Republicans wanted him to remain as the speaker designate.

    “Washington Post colleague Paul Kane reports that Jordan received just 86 votes in favor of him continuing his campaign.”

    …Quickly going backward…

  32. … and just when you think you’ve seen the heights of Republican idiocy… Azi Paybarah, WaPo…

    Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) who led the ouster of the former speaker, vented to reporters about the downfall of the current speaker candidate, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
     
    Referring to Jordan, Gaetz said, “The most popular Republican in the United States Congress was just knifed by a secret ballot, in a private meeting in the basement of the Capitol. It’s as swampy as swamp gets. And Jim Jordan deserves better than that.”

    Monkeys, footballs.
    Renee, I’m in on the popcorn.

  36. Darn I was hoping for a weekend of watching GYM Jordan lose some more. But can still watch brilliant Democrats like Raskin and Golden humiliate him and Mr. Haney (Comer) in their stupid Hate Biden hearings

  37. Stolen Election! Rigged! 

    Gaetz said, “The most popular Republican in the United States Congress was just knifed by a secret ballot, in a private meeting in the basement of the Capitol. It’s as swampy as swamp gets. And Jim Jordan deserves better than that.”

  38. Not that he was ever going to return to the speakership, but McCarthy’s support dropped by 60% from votes 1 to 3.  The Speaker candidate forum Monday should be interesting – I wonder if the Gaetz’s of the party will continue their mistaken path that they can get the conference to elect a far right wing zealot as speaker.  If so, bring on the monkeys and the footballs.

  39. What’s that clacking sound? Oh, it’s falling dominoes.  Powell, Chesebro, Jordan.  Everything tRUMPsky touches dies.

    ***

    https://lastnighton.com/2023/10/19/jimmy-kimmel-responds-mike-lindell-telethon-invite/

    “MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is reaching out to Jimmy Kimmel once again. The embattled pillow salesman invited the late-night TV host to join his upcoming telethon, and Kimmel responded.”

    Lindell invited Kimmel to participate in the telethon, going so far as to offer to pick up the comedian in his private plane. Kimmel responded during his monologue on Wednesday night.

    “Wait a minute,” Kimmel said in response. “You still have a plane? How is that possible? I love you Mike, but I’m sorry, I’m not going to be part of a telethon for anyone who has a plane.”

    ***
    https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/20/media/alex-jones-bankruptcy-pay-sandy-hook-families/index.html

    “Judge rules Alex Jones can’t use bankruptcy to avoid paying $1.1 billion to Sandy Hook families”

    https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-rules-alex-jones-bankruptcy-protection-avoid-paying-104171699

    “He has been telling his audience to donate to him and shop on the Infowars website so he can keep doing his program and pay his legal costs.”

    “But Jones’ personal spending topped $93,000 in July alone, including thousands of dollars on meals and entertainment, according to his monthly financial reports in the bankruptcy case. The spending stuck a nerve with Sandy Hook families as they have yet to collect any of the money that juries awarded them.”

  41. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/20/jodey-arrington-roger-williams-jim-jordan-house-speaker/

    “Texas Reps. Jodey Arrington, Pete Sessions and Roger Williams are making moves to become U.S. House speaker”

    “In interviews, both Williams and Arrington stressed the need to find a speaker, even if it’s not them, quickly. Both Texans voted against ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month and voted to support Jim Jordan in all three floor votes.”

    “Federal funding runs out in less than a month and both Israel and Ukraine are requesting major defense aid packages.”

    Turds of a feather…

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