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Happy Indictment Day! Open thread

Lock him up!

By David Futrelle

Three, three indictments in one! Three former Trump campaign officials are in the hot seat today. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is the big name on the list (along with his pal Rick Gates), for such fun things as conspiracy against the U.S. and money laundering. But even more intriguing is the GUILTY PLEA of relatively unknown Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, whom Mueller has presumably flipped, who seems to have been doing some active COLLUDING WITH THE RUSSIANS.

So here’s an open thread to discuss the news and any other indictment fun that transpires today.

NOTE: Sorry to have gone missing for so long. I’m still dealing with a combo of health issues that have made it very difficult to work. Thanks again for your patience and support.

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Weird (and tired of trumplings) Eddie
Weird (and tired of trumplings) Eddie
7 years ago

It turns my stomach to ask this question, but honestly, who is it that has to die in a hail of gunfire for any of these people to give a damn? How close does the Red Death actually have to get? Within the gates? Within the walls? Within the room? Does it have to be breathing down your neck, Paul Ryan? At what point does this bloody Masquerade end, Mitch McConnell? You tell us, because it’s only a matter of time before the world loses more people in a needless bloodbath that you could have prevented. And it’s only a matter of time before it’s somebody that matters to you.

I’ll put this as clearly as I can:

THEY.
DON’T.
GIVE.
A.
SHIT.

It does not matter WHO dies. It does not matter if it’s the President’s Press Secretary… (that was 35 years ago, and he was pilloried by the ammosexuals for SUGGESTING that something needed to change). It does not matter if it’s the wife and children of the sitting Speaker of the House… it does not matter if it’s the wife and children of the CEO of Sturm, Ruger and Company.

THEY.
DO.
NOT.
GIVE.
A.
SHIT.

They care about money. They care about keeping an issue that will compel 35 million bigots to vote for them so they can continue their agenda of making the mega-wealthy even mega-wealthier.

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
7 years ago

@ olhmann

I can see from where come the people who still want to honor the good thing he do.

It would have been nice if they’d at least acknowledged his victims. But sexual harassment is still seen as no big deal.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/05/corbyn-defends-promotion-of-mp-reprimanded-for-inappropriate-behaviour

(I’ve no doubt that attitude is common across all the parties, from the blokes anyway)

Weird (and tired of trumplings) Eddie
Weird (and tired of trumplings) Eddie
7 years ago

If the ammosexuals think that the NRA, the right-wing congresspeople, the gun manufacturers give a rat’s ass about their “right to keep and bear arms”… well, Denial ain’t just a river….

weirwoodtreehugger: chief manatee

Looks like some more comments from Jjj showed up on the previous page.

A) My pronouns are they / them

B) I’m a suicidal trans minor.

C) can you folks be nicer???

D) nothing I say will make much sense as my mental health is shit.

E) I’m feeling very sad, I’m confused why everyone is angry with me.

F) I feel like crying

@Mish of the Catlady Ascendancy
is nice.

Oh great. Now I’m crying.

I don’t think anyone is angry. I’m not anyway. You got some snark because your comment looked like you were drawing a false equivalence between MRAs and feminists. If that’s not the intent, please clarify. I think everyone understands that anyone can have a communication fail. No biggie. But we do get a lot of MRA trolls who pretend to be neutral so false equivalence is something that sets off the alarm bells and can trigger a quick snark deployment reaction is all.

In the future, it’s best to just give a simple clarification and not go the “you made me cry” route though. Can you see how it’s not really fair to put the responsibility for your mood on strangers on the internet? People can only take other’s posts at face value. We’re not mind readers. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt that you’re just sensitive and not a manipulative troll, but feminists (particularly those that are women or perceived as women) are frequently tone trolled. There’s definitely a subset of misogynists that like to say shitty things in civilized tones and then scold us for not being all nice and ladylike in our responses. So for a lot of us, and definitely for me, the requests for niceness can be read as trollish.

Shadowplay
7 years ago

Trump to nominate notorious anti-feminist to be ‘Ambassador for Women’

No fucking comment. Not one that would pass the policy, anyroad.

Gussie Jives
Gussie Jives
7 years ago

It does not matter WHO dies. It does not matter if it’s the President’s Press Secretary… (that was 35 years ago, and he was pilloried by the ammosexuals for SUGGESTING that something needed to change). It does not matter if it’s the wife and children of the sitting Speaker of the House… it does not matter if it’s the wife and children of the CEO of Sturm, Ruger and Company.

THEY.
DO.
NOT.
GIVE.
A.
SHIT.

Now that’s a depressing thought. Even Prince Prospero spurred into action once the Red Death was inside his walls. Did Poe paint too rosy a picture of the elite? O.o

Jesalin
Jesalin
7 years ago

In all honesty the NRA should be known as the NRMA, National Rifle Manufacturers Association.

Jesalin
Jesalin
7 years ago

Also, just saw this:

Texas police stop naming killer in aftermath of shootings, hoping to discourage copycats

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/texas-shootings-killer-not-named-1.4390751

Call me cynical but I suspect this is only ’cause it was a white guy.

Sheila Crosby
7 years ago

@Gussie Jives I think the guys with major arsenals believe Alex Jones and Co, so they’re terrified that the government/evil liberals will start rounding them up and sending them off to the gas chambers any day now. That’s why they don’t give a shit about mass shootings.

I think. Just my theory.

TreePerson
TreePerson
7 years ago

Honestly I think mass shootings are a feature not a bug for the NRA,
after every mass shooting sales skyrocket especially of the weapon used,
its better then advertising for them.

Robert Walker-Smith
Robert Walker-Smith
7 years ago

A college friend told me once how surprised she was when her family moved to California and suddenly became white. Jews could live safely in the part of the United States she was from, but were certainly not considered white.

Looking at my own family history in North America, I’m struck by how differently the Scots-Irish and Irish were viewed upon arrival. Don’t know how current it is, but there used to be a general category of ‘white ethnic’ in this country, typically looked down on by those whose ancestors were already speaking English prior to arrival. “Bioshock: Infinite” references this phenomenon.

Of course, economic and cultural assimilation was noticeably easier for some groups than others.

Regarding the ammosexuals, I’ve been in some Facebook threads with people who seem to believe that mass shootings are like earthquakes or comets; forces of nature that no human agency could possibly affect or contain. Coupled with that is the conviction that American society would be worse off if it was made more difficult to obtain high powered firearms and ammunition, although they’re vague on exactly how.

Jules
Jules
7 years ago

It turns my stomach to ask this question, but honestly, who is it that has to die in a hail of gunfire for any of these people to give a damn?

Their own nuclear family. Seriously. And even then the shooter has to fall within certain very narrow guidelines or they’ll just blame it on Those Others.

These are people who would rather see teachers and their own elementary aged kids (but not other people’s kids, at least, not the ones they don’t personally trust) armed to the teeth than make it one iota harder to obtain high capacity weaponry.

Weird (and tired of trumplings) Eddie
Weird (and tired of trumplings) Eddie
7 years ago

mass shootings are a feature not a bug for the NRA,

no doubt

the conviction that American society would be worse off if it was made more difficult to obtain high powered firearms and ammunition, although they’re vague on exactly how.

excerpt from Kurt Andersen’s “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire”

Americans who own guns today keep arsenals in a way people did not 40 years ago. It seems plain to me that that’s because they—not all, but many—have given themselves over to fantasies.

This is, in its distilled form, the “reason” why America would be worse off (read the Slate piece for a broader view). The gun fondlers, the ammosexuals, the conspiracy fantasists, all have this in common; the fantasy that they ARE the militia the constitution speaks of. And WHEN the government gives the country over to the U.N., the Jews, the mud people, the One-worlders, or [insert fave “bad guys” here], THE ARMED RESISTANCE will swoop in and save the day.

E.T.A. and, of course, the absolute conviction that we are only days, if not only hours, away from seeing the invisible government plot carried out.

Haise, the husky puppy
Haise, the husky puppy
7 years ago

From another article I read about Penny Nance..

..“Hollywood in general has often sent the message that men are stupid, in the way, and if they contribute anything to the family, it’s a paycheck,” Nance said. “The question for us as moms is when we bring our daughters to see Frozen, or whatever the movie is, we often have our little boys sitting there, and is this message helpful? We want them to know that they’re essential.

When not everything is about men, it’s an issue. Media with a strong, interesting female protagonists that aren’t centered around men? but what about the males? Because there aren’t enough films, tv shows, books and games featuring strong, interesting male protagonists.. /s That convo is so worn out and tiring.. Good grief.

And more awful news.
Fox published another article on Jan Shedd’s commentary too and the comments.. are what you’d expect from Fox’s audience. Fat-shaming sprinkled on top of misogyny and racism.

http://s.cimg.163.com/i/bd1img.heibaimanhua.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/21/20160721_5790a42de90fa.jpg_s.0x0.auto.jpg

MrsObedMarsh
MrsObedMarsh
7 years ago

r/incels is gone! r/incels is gone! R/INCELS IS GONE!!!!!

E: This community has been banned

This subreddit was banned due to a violation of our content policy, specifically, our sitewide rules regarding violent content.
Banned 37 minutes ago.

weirwoodtreehugger: chief manatee

I’m sure some other subreddit will pop up and take its place soon enough, but tonight, we celebrate!

http://37.media.tumblr.com/e284a43b4c83735284f0a5578c821864/tumblr_n7hguqzF6J1rgvfxho1_500.gif

Also, remember to vote, USian Mammotheers. There’s still time! Local elections are important too.

Fishy Goat
Fishy Goat
7 years ago

@MrsObedMarsh Wonder where they’ll turn up next….

Fishy Goat
Fishy Goat
7 years ago

@WWTH:CM CloneParty!!! <3

Shadowplay
7 years ago

@Fishy Goat

Wonder where they’ll turn up next….

Just took a peek over on VOAT and on lookism – they’re both all “We don’t want the whiny manlets here.” 😛

Buttercup Q. Skullpants

@Weird Eddie – There’s also the fact that guns are expensive, and many of these militia types have invested tens of thousands of dollars in their arsenal/prepper fantasies. So every time there’s a mass shooting, they feel their investment is justified. They have a monetary stake in continued chaos and suffering. If their longed-for racial armageddon never materializes, they’ll be disappointed, and feel cheated.

Think how hopelessly cynical someone would have to feel about the future to spend their fortune turning their house into a fortified bunker. It’s no suprise that they would resist any vision of society that rewards people who don’t pour all their disposable income into Smith & Wesson products.

Robert Walker-Smith
Robert Walker-Smith
7 years ago

Reddit reminds me – our favorite non-profit boss, menumessages, has been posting more disturbing screeds about the woman he was totally not trying to manipulate into a relationship. Good news: he’s attracted a coterie of debunkers who comment on his alternative fact posts with links to the original story. He can’t run and he can’t hide, ’cause all his lies they will deride.

IBH Ardipithecus
IBH Ardipithecus
7 years ago

On thoughts and prayers:

http://www.collinsho.me/pics/prayers.jpg

tim gueguen
7 years ago

Sad news for baseball fans. Retired pitcher Roy Halladay has been killed in a plane crash. The play he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico 10 miles from St. Petersburg, Florida. He was 40. Strangely he wasn’t the first former Blue Jay killed flying a plane. Corey Lidle, a New York Yankee at the time, was killed when the plane he was flying hit a New York apartment building in October of 2006.

Brony, Social Justice Cenobite

For anyone interested I’m wondering what you think about the following. It’s a commentary on the commentators in a blog about an authority figure accused of sexual assault. Yeah, it could be a whole lot of people and it’s a generalization. I’m hoping for the best and prepared for the worst.

>I’m wondering how many of the commentators here are ignoring the evidence in the words above when they all parrot “where’s the evidence?” out of ignorance versus how many are ignoring it out of willful dishonesty. It’s interesting to think about the proportion of enablers versus the proportion of of sexual assaulters.

A person accusing another of assault is evidence, we just add the “testamonial” in “testamonial evidence” as jargon for court rooms. The “where’s the evidence” gossipers are part of why society does not take sexual assault seriously and “gossip” fits since they should already be displaying the parts of the evidence they have a problem with if they have any ideas about being reasonable people in a society that does not take sexual assault seriously.

Even when they are reasonable people in the way I just described, they still don’t seem to care about sexual assaulters. They just want to saddle victims with all the work.

Shadowplay
7 years ago

@Brony

Testimonial, not testamonial. You know what sods people are for spelling if they’re reading something they don’t want to hear. (There’s a meme about it 🙁 )

Otherwise, looks good from this angle. Luck with it.

Spooky getting on OK?