Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[faberryman]

Trump supporters will be so excited they'll be peeing in their pants on hearing this news.

Jared Kushner nominated for Nobel peace prize

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/01/jared-kushner-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize

Remember what I said a couple of days ago about Black Lives Matter being nominated:

I read about Trump getting nominated before. Turns out just about anyone in government or academia can nominate anyone else. I think there were something like 200-300 nominations for 2020. So getting nominated isn't that big deal but actually winning is.

So guess who nominated Jared?

"The two former deputies to then-President Donald Trump were nominated by American attorney Alan Dershowitz, who was eligible to do so in his capacity as a professor emeritus of Harvard Law School."

Hey, Jared, Black Lives Matter got nominated too.

I am thinking maybe when I am no longer able to use my enlarger, I might donate it to my local community college where I have taken some photography classes in exchange for one of my instructors nominating me for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Too much fun.

In case you have not been following along closely, old Douchawitz, Trump's first impeachment lawyer, was accused by Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's sex slaves, who says she had sex a couple of times with Prince Andrew while underage, of participating in Epstein's pedophile sex ring. I seem to recall Douchawitz's defense was that it was just a massage. I don't know if he specified exactly which body part was being massaged, or how said body part was being massaged, there being a number of different methods and combinations, both concurrent and sequential, or so I have been told. So everybody is suing everybody else for defamation and whatnot.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alan-dershowitz-sued-defamation-connected-epstein-sex-abuse-claims-n995271

And then of course we learn that after five of Trump's impeachment attorneys quit a couple of days ago, Trump appointed two new attorneys, one of whom is named David Schoen, who was going to take over Jeffery Epstein's defense on the pedophile sex ring charges, except Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide while in jail, except David Schoen doesn't think it was suicide. He is in good company. Giuliani doesn't think it was suicide either. To top it off, Schoen was Roger Stone's attorney.

The other new lawyer Trump hired is named James Castor, who used to be a district attorney in Pennsylvania, whose claim to fame is that he declined to prosecute Bill Cosby for rape and related sex crimes. I can't recall if it was alleged that money changed hands. However, Castor's successor did prosecute Bill Cosby for rape and related sex crimes, and now Bill Cosby is in jail. One human interest aspect of the trial was that Bill Cosby would enter the courtroom each day, staring off into space, holding onto his attorney's arm, waving a white tipped cane around, and banging into stuff. When weeks later it was all over, and Cosby was sentenced, he walked out of the courtroom unassisted. He probably drank some holy water from Lourdes and his eyesight was miraculously restored.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-former-president-names-two-new-lawyers-david-schoen-and-bruce-l-castor-jr-for-impeachment-trial-a-day-after-his-defense-team-collapsed/ar-BB1dgs4B

I am not sure how things could be working out any better.

[faberryman]

I am embarrassed on behalf of myself and all of the citizens of my hometown. Read the link. The incident is remarkable. Pocket knives, shivs, aluminum baseball bats, tasers... The vaccination of the country cannot come too soon.

Dispute over face mask leads to stabbing, police officer attacked in Nashville

https://www.wkrn.com/news/dispute-over-face-mask-leads-to-stabbing-police-officer-attacked-in-nashville/

[LesPalenik]

I am embarrassed on behalf of myself and all of the citizens of my hometown. Read the link. The incident is remarkable. Pocket knives, shivs, aluminum baseball bats, tasers... The vaccination of the country cannot come too soon.

Dispute over face mask leads to stabbing, police officer attacked in Nashville

https://www.wkrn.com/news/dispute-over-face-mask-leads-to-stabbing-police-officer-attacked-in-nashville/

Homicides are up, number of 911 calls are up and the number of officers is dropping by the day. This is happening in every major US city, from Seattle to New York and from Minneapolis to Atlanta. Not only that. Dozens of Republicans in former President George W. Bush’s administration are leaving the party, dismayed by a failure of many elected Republicans to disown Donald Trump after his false claims of election fraud sparked a deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol last month.

“But the city also needs a sufficient number of officers who can respond to the most urgent 911 calls in all parts of our city at any time of the day. We are losing an unprecedented number of officers, which makes it even more critical that we recruit and retain officers committed to reform and community policing that reflect the diversity and values of our city.”

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/new-report-shows-record-number-of-seattle-police-officers-leaving-department/281-8e440b22-7592-41eb-aa27-08f431ea4632

[faberryman]

I think I may have mentioned that some of Trump's supporters may be mentally handicapped:

They stormed the Capitol to overturn the results of an election they didn't vote in

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/us/capitol-rioters-non-voters-invs/index.html

I am surprised that Trump didn't call in the National Guard. I mean why not call in the pros to beat and pepper spray your supporters who didn't vote. Serves them right. And he would have received praise for quelling the riot. A twofer. And maybe not have been impeached. A threefer. Another example of Trump's poor strategic thinking.

[jeremyrh]

In general I'm not in favour of the police beating people with with sticks and spraying them with nasty chemicals.  But I may be prepared to make an exception in this case.

Unfortunately they prefer to assault children:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/01/police-pepper-spray-girl-new-york-rochester-video-incident

[faberryman]

Unfortunately they prefer to assault children:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/01/police-pepper-spray-girl-new-york-rochester-video-incident

Look on the bright side; they didn't shoot her or put a bag over her head, so this is real progress.

From the bodycam:

"The video shows officers wrestling with the nine-year-old in the snow. At one point an officer says: “You’re acting like a child.”

"The girl responds: “I am a child.”

[faberryman]

A whistleblower has alleged this is the national security threat Trump was trying to prevent when he banned TikTok.

GameStop Challenges Employees To TikTok Dance Contest To Earn Extra Hours During Black Friday

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-challenges-employees-to-tiktok-dance-contest-t-1845572312

[Robert Roaldi]

A whistleblower has alleged this is the national security threat Trump was trying to prevent when he banned TikTok.

GameStop Challenges Employees To TikTok Dance Contest To Earn Extra Hours During Black Friday

https://kotaku.com/gamestop-challenges-employees-to-tiktok-dance-contest-t-1845572312

TikTok is baned?

[faberryman]

TikTok is baned?

Trump signed an executive order, sometime around September I think, saying that TiKTok would be banned in 30 days unless the stock was sold to an American company. He said TikTok was a grave national security risk, but was vague about what that grave national security risk was. So TikTok tried to do some sort of deal with Walmart I think, but they couldn't complete it in 30 days, so Trump gave them an extension. The deal fell through, but by that time Trump had lost interest in the issue. Meanwhile, TikTok sued Trump to get an injunction stopping the executive order. I have no idea where the lawsuit stands, but the DOJ doesn't seem all that hot to follow up, so TikTok is just going merrily along its way.

[Robert Roaldi]

Trump signed an executive order, sometime around September I think, saying that TiKTok would be banned in 30 days unless the stock was sold to an American company. He said TikTok was a grave national security risk, but was vague about what that grave national security risk was. So TikTok tried to do some sort of deal with Walmart I think, but they couldn't complete it in 30 days, so Trump gave them an extension. The deal fell through, but by that time Trump had lost interest in the issue. Meanwhile, TikTok sued Trump to get an injunction stopping the executive order. I have no idea where the lawsuit stands, but the DOJ doesn't seem all that hot to follow up, so TikTok is just going merrily along its way.

To someone even more cynical than me, that would sound like a shakedown, but I'm realistic enough to recognize simple bonehead incompetence.

[faberryman]

To someone even more cynical than me, that would sound like a shakedown, but I'm realistic enough to recognize simple bonehead incompetence.

I seem to remember that Trump hates TikTok because he announced a rally and a bunch TikToc users reserved places, and Trump supporters couldn't get tickets, and then the TikToc users didn't show up, which was obviously the plan all along, and the rally was a bust. It may have been Tulsa. And he got back real late at night, and there are photos of him walking on the grass toward the White House looking haggard and despondent in a rumpled suit with his tie off and in his hand. Poor old Trump. Nobody loves him.

[Robert Roaldi]

I seem to remember that Trump hates TikTok because he announced a rally and a bunch TikToc users reserved places, and Trump supporters couldn't get tickets, and then the TikToc users didn't show up, which was obviously the plan all along, and the rally was a bust. It may have been Tulsa. And he got back real late at night, and there are photos of him walking on the grass toward the White House looking haggard and despondent in a rumpled suit with his tie off and in his hand. Poor old Trump. Nobody loves him.

Being annoyed about a prank is one thing, but using the power of the office to threaten sanctions seems not exactly correct to me, if that's what it was about. Anyway, wasn't his squabble with the users who pulled off the prank, why blame TikTok itself. Isn't that a bit like a loan shark putting the screws to you because your cousin racked up some debt?

Didn't Dubya Bush do something similar with the Dixie Chicks? That one is a bit hazy in my mind, too long ago.

I thought society decided a long time ago to keep government separate from business and religion?

[MattBurt]

I may have missed it if someone else posted this article but this is pretty interesting.
The claim is that the Russians have secretly been grooming Trump for this role since the 1970s.
It will take more people or documentation to confirm if it is true but it seems pretty plausible to me. Quite the long term project and pretty successful in significantly weakening their adversary (USA).

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book

[faberryman]

Being annoyed about a prank is one thing, but using the power of the office to threaten sanctions seems not exactly correct to me, if that's what it was about. Anyway, wasn't his squabble with the users who pulled off the prank, why blame TikTok itself. Isn't that a bit like a loan shark putting the screws to you because your cousin racked up some debt?

Surely you are not suggesting that Trump acted irrationally?

Didn't Dubya Bush do something similar with the Dixie Chicks? That one is a bit hazy in my mind, too long ago.

I believe one of the Dixie Chicks dissed Bush for invading Iraq, and all the country music fans who supported Bush boycotted Dixie Chicks albums. I think everything has now been forgiven. By the way, as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Dixie Chicks are now just The Chicks.

I thought society decided a long time ago to keep government separate from business and religion?

Not on the planet I live on.

[faberryman]

I may have missed it if someone else posted this article but this is pretty interesting.
The claim is that the Russians have secretly been grooming Trump for this role since the 1970s.
It will take more people or documentation to confirm if it is true but it seems pretty plausible to me. Quite the long term project and pretty successful in significantly weakening their adversary (USA).

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book

I read the article yesterday or the day before, but refrained from posting it. Obviously, the FBI needs to get cracking with some FISA warrants to run the story to ground. There could easily be six or eight pee-pee tapes. Not that anyone really cares now. I guessing this guy's book is not going to be a runaway best seller.

[LesPalenik]

Alarming statistics from Germany - as a result of the lockdowns, in 2020 Germans drank 500 million liter less beer than in the previous year. That's despite the fact the a bottle of beer can be had there for about $1.

[faberryman]

Also in the spirit of unity, all of the <insert usual suspects here> seem to have abandoned ship.

On second thought, they may be doing time. The other thread kind of went off the rails.

[faberryman]

Looks like Trump's base may be starting to leak a few evangelicals.

Over 16,000 Christians Demand Cancellation of Josh Hawley's New Book Deal

https://www.newsweek.com/over-16000-christians-demand-cancellation-josh-hawleys-new-book-deal-1565873

[Robert Roaldi]

Looks like Trump's base may be starting to leak a few evangelicals.

Over 16,000 Christians Demand Cancellation of Josh Hawley's New Book Deal

Is that what they mean by "cancel culture"?

[faberryman]

Is that what they mean by "cancel culture"?

"Cancel culture" is perhaps the most overused word in the English language. For example, Trump's idiot son Eric whines about being "canceled" if the pro shop calls him up and tells him his tee time has been canceled because of rain. I think it takes a little bit more than that, say pervasive efforts in the public and private sphere to ostracize someone for some odious behavior or moral transgression. A good example might be found in novel The Scarlet Letter.

Here is a good article about the history of the practice. It is in the New York Times. Hopefully, you can read it. It is early in the month so maybe you still have a couple of free articles left.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/t-magazine/cancel-culture-history.html

My own view is that if you can be heard whining about being canceled, you haven't been canceled. You are just whining.

Claiming you have been canceled may even be a right-wing phenomenon. I haven't done any research, but I don't recall hearing anyone on the left claiming to be canceled, just people on the right. Sort of fits with the whole victim shtick. I could be wrong about that though. If so, I am sure someone will tell me. Then we can play dueling internet articles.