26 thoughts on “And the Voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land”

  1. Trump’s day-one dictatorship becomes an applause line – The Washington Post

    “We want total war,” Wax said. “We must be prepared to do battle in every arena. In the media. In the courtroom. At the ballot box. And in the streets.”
    […]
    “Once President Trump is back in office,” he said, according to Politico, “we won’t be playing nice anymore. It will be a time for retribution. All those responsible for destroying our once-great country will be held to account after baseless years of investigations and government lies and media lies against this man.”
    This time, though, there was much less distance between what he said and the mechanism for making it a reality. Unlike last year, Wax’s comments were followed by a speech from Trump himself.
    “Gavin,” Trump marveled near the outset, “that was an excellent speech. That was an excellent speech!”
    The crowd applauded ….

    […]
    This is the actual point. Trump is saying that he needs to step outside the expected boundaries of his power to do [generic things that his base views with approval]. This turns his comments from promises of what he’s going to do into promises of how he’s going to do it — which is exactly the thing that outside observers have grown so nervous about.
    It is what those in his orbit like Stephen K. Bannon — also in attendance at the dinner — have suggested, too. And it’s what Wax said from that same stage: that a second Trump presidency will be about breaking the backs of his opponents, a pledge that is unattached to such niceties as congressional approval.
    That was an excellent speech, Trump told Wax. An excellent speech.

     

    Image result for cartoon red alert

    “The crowd applauded …. ” 

  2. dictator for a day? next day it’s king forever.

     

    A Parody of Good King Wenceslas about the only wannabe king who’s name rhymes with Chump. Lyrics and performance by Don Caron

  4. I only hope he knows he was loved in a way he never thought he was.  
    —Jennifer Anniston on the death of Matthew Perry

    Department of “Weird Circular Sounds Good Stuff”

  6. sturge, you mean this one?

    Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles – Wikipedia

    The Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles (“International Association of Turtles“, “Turtle Club“, or similar title) started as an informal “drinking club” between American World War II pilots, self-described as “an honorable drinking fraternity composed of ladies and gentlemen of the highest morals and good character, who are never vulgar.”
    History of the Order
    According to Denis P. McGowan of the “Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles”, his father, the late Captain Hugh P. McGowan, U.S. Army Air Corps/U.S. Air Force Reserve (Ret.) and several pilots of the U.S. Army Air Corps 8th Air Force founded the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles in an officers’ club while stationed in England during the Second World War: “We were flying daytime bombing missions over Hitler’s Third Reich. We just wanted a little fun. We had seen a sign showing that the ‘Ancient Order of Foresters‘ and the ‘Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes‘ would meet in the local pub, so I devised the name ‘Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles’ for the fun of it. It was not meant to be serious, it had no constitution or by-laws, and was a relief from the horrors and dangers we saw every day on our missions. It spread after the War through the VFW and American Legion posts, and eventually, to Masonic groups, colleges and even to the high schools of the U.S.A.”
    [continues]

    answer: nope

  7. You bet your sweet ass it is.  

    But that article re-triggers that great short story about the air war in Europe c. 1944: “Turn About” by Wm Faulkner

  8. too high a bar for admission

    “an honorable drinking fraternity composed of ladies and gentlemen of the highest morals and good character, who are never vulgar.”

  9. Norman Lear was radioman and gunner on 52 missions (35 sorties) out of Italy to over Berlin.   He mentions the Tuskegee Airmen every time he talks about that part of his life as always showing up and sometimes escorting them over target, and always making them feel safer.   

  10. an honorable drinking fraternity composed of ladies and gentlemen of the highest morals and good character, who are never vulgar.”
     
    Fortunately for most members, they lied about that part.  

    I think.

  13. Get a piece of his clothing for 47 cards at $99 each…

    Donald J. Trump

    @realDonaldTrump

    Due to the great Excitement and Success of my previous TRUMP DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we’re doing it again – The MugShot Edition, available RIGHT NOW. Plus, buy 47 cards and get a piece of the suit I wore for the “Mugshot Photo,” and also get an invite to a Gala Dinner with me at Mar-a-Lago! Don’t wait, they’ll go FAST (I believe!). I’m happy if you’re happy. Have fun. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    https://collecttrumpcards.com/ https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/111568358157766316

  14. Craig…  maybe a bit.  But Sununu is a lame duck governor.  I think it would help Haley more if he was running again.
     
    I do know there’s a big campaign among Independents here to take a Republican ballot and vote for her.

  16. I am floored by Trump’s staying power and apparent political success.
    The man isn’t all that bright.  Just lookng at his time in office.  It’s one failure after
    another and he thinks they were successful.
    He is a liar, cheater, con artist, racist, sexist and lots of other ists.
    I don’t think it possible to be worse.  He is the worst.
    I still believe that people who support him would have sided with the south.

  18. ok i’m tired of Olbermann bragging about how much money he has every show, while taking advertisements from exploitative online-gambling companies 🫤 

  19. so what’s the likelihood of this happening?

    Senate Democrats press Thomas to recuse himself from Trump immunity case  | The Hill

    […]
    Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and other Democrats on the panel argue that Thomas faces a conflict of interest because his wife Ginni was outspoken in support of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
    “There are so many unanswered questions about the relationship of the Justice and his family with the Trump administration that I think in the interests of justice he should recuse himself,” Durbin said.  
    Durbin added that “of course” he is concerned that the conservative leaning Supreme Court, to which Trump appointed three justices, could wind up ruling that the former president is immune from prosecution by special counsel Jack Smith or Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) over actions he took while president to block the peaceful transfer of power in 2021.  
    “If we say certain people are above the law I believe it diminishes values in this country,” he said.
    Durbin and other Senate Democrats are stepping up pressure on Thomas to recuse himself from hearing Trump’s immunity claim because they don’t have much faith in Chief Justice John Roberts enforcing ethical or recusal guidelines among members of the court.  
    “When they came back with their supposed code of conduct, it didn’t address recusal like we did in the bill that we passed,” he added, referring to the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, which the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced in July.  
    Durbin made his comments after Smith, the special counsel, asked the Supreme Court Monday to consider and issue a speedy ruling on Trump’s immunity claim.  
    […]
    Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Ginni Thomas’s support for the pro-Trump crowd that demonstrated on the National Mall on Jan. 6, some of whom later stormed the Capitol, raises serious concerns about the prospect of Justice Thomas ruling on a federal prosecution of Trump.  
    Blumenthal noted that the special counsel’s case against Trump for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election “concerns Jan. 6, which involved [Justice Thomas’s] wife.” 
    Blumenthal also said “the argument could be made that anyone” else on the Supreme Court “with whom [Thomas] has discussed his wife’s involvement” in efforts to overturn the election “may have an improper interest.” 
    […]
    Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), another member of the Judiciary Committee, said Justice Thomas has both a conflict of interest and the appearance of a conflict of interest in any case about Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election.  
    Hirono said “recusal usually applies when there’s an actual conflict and when there’s an appearance of conflict.” 
    “I think in Clarence Thomas’s case, it’s both,” she added.  
    Hirono said Thomas should have recused himself from other matters, such as his grant of a stay on a lower court order that would have required Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to testify before an Atlanta special grand jury about efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. 
    “I think Justice Thomas should have recused himself from some of the other cases that came before him where his wife was very much involved. The fact he didn’t really raises concerns for whether they have a recusal practice that makes any kind of sense,” Hirono said. 
    [continues]

  22. Pat, snowball in hell. All that shit about standards for recusal was utter horse crap. Thomas is going to rule in Dumbass’ favor. Bet on it. 

  23. https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/whitmer-michigan-abortion-insurance/index.html

    “Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday signed the final piece of the state’s Reproductive Health Act into law, which repealed a requirement for a separate insurance rider for abortion coverage.”

    “The move comes after voters enshrined abortion rights to the battleground state’s constitution in last year’s midterm elections, and ahead of 2024, when Democrats will continue to highlight the issue.”

    “Today, 10 years after I gave a speech on the Senate floor and shared my own story as a survivor of sexual assault, I am honored as governor to repeal the ban on insurance coverage for abortion,” Whitmer posted on X after signing the bill. “The moral of the story is, never stop fighting for what you know is right,” she said in the post.

    “The Republican male majority continues to ignorantly and unnecessarily weigh in on important women’s health issues that they know nothing about,” she said, according to MLive.com.

    Yeah, and the evangelical women who think it’s “God’s will,” even though men are making the rules.

    Of course, if there’s a national ban on abortion care, what Michigan did won’t matter. Gotta vote out those Republicans.

  24. @RepRaskin
    ·
    Dec 11
    Dear
    @RepStefanik
    :
    Last week you challenged Ivy League presidents to denounce antisemitism with “moral clarity” by answering yes/no questions. Dissatisfied by their answers, you agitated for their removal. What about tolerance for antisemitism among presidential candidates?
    Raskin to Stefanik
    Following your yes/no format, I present five easy questions for you to address with “moral clarity” on presidential tolerance for—and embrace of—antisemitism. (Please avoid the waffling evasion you rightfully denounced!)
    2. Will you support for president a candidate who proclaimed that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the savage antisemitic and racist riot that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017? Yes or no?

    To refresh your memory, this was the violence that began with neo-Nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us” outside a local synagogue and ended with the premeditated murder of Heather Heyer by a violent white supremacist in a car.
    3. Would you support a presidential candidate whose final 2016 TV ad paired images of George Soros, Lloyd Blankfein and Janet Yellen, three prominent Jews, with voice-over about “global special interests” who “don’t have your good in mind”? Yes or no?
    4. Do you regret endorsing Donald Trump for president in 2016 just days after he tweeted an image of the Star of David superimposed over Hillary Clinton’s face and a thick pile of cash? Yes or no?
    5. Are you prepared to renounce the antisemitic “Great Replacement Theory”—which you have previously dabbled in—which inspired the perpetrators of the Tree of Life Synagogue, Buffalo supermarket, and El Paso Walmart massacres? Yes or no?

Comments are closed.

Join the Trail Mix

Get an alert when Craig goes live, and the link when our Open Thread heats up.