Writing in “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life” 70 years ago, Richard Hofstadter observed that the committee hearings carried on by Joe McCarthy quickly generated “...an atmosphere of fervent malice and humorless imbecility.” What a perfect description of McCarthy’s overly-inbred descendants.
Give Goldman credit for "Own of the Day" when he asked former FBI agent Baker if his opening statement was merely reading the introduction to his book. When Baker said his statement and the introduction "covered a lot of the same territory," Goldman said "Give us a heads-up next time you're here and we can put up a table over in the corner where you can do a book signing."
Looks like Goldman is going to launch a "few" zingers during this hearing! Great! The loonies will still get their sound bites, but they are going to look even more stupid and addlebrained as time goes on. Let us hope ........ Raskin is going to chew these folks up.
MY my - sure does sound like this "hearing" has far too many really on the ball Dems! I did see Jamie Raskin's opening statement - he didnt miss a thing and THEN Rep. Plaskett did her part. If every one of the Dems on that committee is that sharp - this bunch of jerks wont know what hit them. Considering how Biden Jabbed them during his SOTU speech - they should all be swaying back & forth. Also saw Turley get his comeupance! May have to record these after all. I just saw the highlights on a few videos.
Joe McCarthy was a paranoid and severe alcoholic who died young and disgraced, as well he should have been because he did it to himself. He was also aided and abetted by the reptilian lawyer Roy Cohn whose biggest fanboy was Donald J. Trump. The current government bogeymen seekers are not nearly as smart as the McCarthy/Cohn team was, and boy is it showing. I am hoping for more balloons for the media to chase after and leave these "investigative" committees to fester and rupture beyond the media spotlight.
Cohn was pretty smart, alas. McCarthy has always struck me as a gifted opportunist, but so is a cockroach. smart?...I'm gonna need a lot more convincing.
There are lot of clips out there from today's circus. Jonathan Turley's BS was not tolerated by Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Jamie Raskin was, as always, perfect. I was really impressed by Delegate Stacy Plaskett and Dan Goldman. Was Grassley born in the Mesozoic or Paleozoic era?
'Tis interesting that George F. Will suddenly became "admirable" because he turned on Orange Hitler. He regularly dismisses Hofstadter as the left's resident go-to academic because Hofstadter allegedly looked down on the masses. I'd love to know the last time George Effing Will stopped in at a neighborhood 7-11.
Ha! Will was a friend of friends about 15 years ago. Their granddaughter was a playmate of my daughter. The Wills were visiting one weekend and my daughter was asked to go on a boat picnic with the group. I gave my consent only if grandma promised she wouldn’t return a registered Republican. Grandma was mom to Chris Cox, chairman of SEC at that time. “Those people are weird “ she said, upon her return.
for decades, I've been seeing Will listed as one of the "Conservative Intellectuals." thing is, I've never read a word that came close to convincing me he was especially smart. he has the haughty manner of a Buckley wannabe, but that's as far as it goes.
his occasional piece of baseball talk is obviously meant to make us think he's really a regular guy. transparently bullshit.
and you know I love it when you quote Hofstadter. and what's the evidence that he "looked down on the masses?" sounds like more of the Projection that's gotten to be a terrible habit of his team. "dose bums," as Bill Bendix used to say, just before he got cut down by Japanese machine guns. and speaking of Bill Bendix...didja know his father was a symphony conductor?
Will the House panel members investigating the "weaponization" of the federal government headed by Committee Chairman Jim Jordan suffer a fatal blow to its goal of destroying a fantasized ‘deep state’ America and defeat its the rule of law?
‘Pence Gets Subpoena From Special Counsel in Jan. 6 Investigation’
‘The move by Jack Smith, the special counsel, is one of the most aggressive in his investigation of Donald Trump’s efforts to stay in power and is likely to lead to a battle over executive privilege.’ (NYTimes) See gifted link below
'Sources told ABC News that the subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith requests documents and testimony related to the failed attempt by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.'
'The subpoena follows months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence's legal team.'
'MORE: Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone testifies before federal grand jury.'
'Smith was appointed in November to oversee the investigation into Trump's potential mishandling of classified documents after leaving the presidency and obstructing the government's efforts to retrieve them -- as well as a separate probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.'
'The move will be seen as a major escalation of Smith's probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election, and suggests that Smith's investigation has entered a more advanced stage.' (ABCNews)
Fern McBride, do you have a SubStack Newletter? If you do I would like to read it. Your links are interesting, and I would like to read what you personally have to say about them in a that format. If not, maybe consider it? The truth with footnotes, is always a good thing.
Thank you, Bliss. I appreciate the compliment but just read an article about a pig farm in China, which I don't think even the best among science fiction writers ever dreamed of and another about how Artificial Intelligence will spread disinformation and conspiracy theories faster than !!! Some of what's happening in our world, Bliss, is beyond my powers of description. I am no better at it than most. Quoting, Joyce Vance, MSNBC/NBC Legal Analyst and Podcaster, 'We're all in this together'.
😊 That is the longest "No." that I've ever been delt. About AI GPT in particular, "But so far, my attempts to use ChatGPT to help me write my own blog posts — which I will write about in detail at some point — have all ended in failure, for one simple reason: ChatGPT routinely spews out a lot of fake “facts”. -a someone
As with most things with the GQP, everything is projection. A weaponized wacko committee investigating the weaponization of the government and the DOJ…riiiggghhhttt….sounds legit, yeah? And the clueless media is gobbling up this crap and running lowlights on the nightly snooze reports? Whee…2024 can’t come soon enough…
It could be worse! There might actually be a bunch of Republicans who could make what appears to be a further logical case for raping the American public of their hard earned wages. It has happened. Raygun led the charge.
Instead we have obvious lunatics - wild beasts with absolutely nothing positive to offer (in sheep's clothing). Instead we have the "feral children" you have so aptly described. But here is another analogy. I think they bred with hyenas. Read on from Wiki:
"The spotted hyena has a long history of interaction with humanity; depictions of the species exist from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves.[19] The species has a largely negative reputation in both Western culture and African folklore. In the former, the species is mostly regarded as ugly and cowardly, while in the latter, it is viewed as greedy, gluttonous, stupid, and foolish, yet powerful and potentially dangerous. The majority of Western perceptions on the species can be found in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, though in relatively unjudgmental form. Explicit, negative judgments occur in the Physiologus, where the animal is depicted as a hermaphrodite and grave-robber.[20] The IUCN's hyena specialist group identifies the spotted hyena's negative reputation as detrimental to the species' continued survival, both in captivity and the wild."
I was wondering why he hated Hyenas. Next it will be Vultures. If it were not for these wonderful scavengers, we would run afoul of pestilence. I refrain for naming the pestilence in this case.
I enjoy seeing her and Raskin and Goldman obliterating the obtuse and crude nature of so many Republicans.
Salud, TC. Thank you for your continuing point of view. Your essays have a tendency to promote a center of reason amidst the chaos. (I still am LOL at your response to...what was McCarthy looking at with his blank, dull staring at the so-called rafters during the SOTU?…”and you replied….”His future”. Hahahahaha
hell. I just did a long post, was making corrections, and now it's gone because my finger went somewhere it shouldn't have. one good reason I love typewriters, analog though they are.
I am fazed enough to not try replicating it, and it's late. and it was SO snarky. god-damn.
but this was a terrific piece. everything is true with a vengeance.
I adore Ms. Plaskett (major crush) and Dan Goldman is earning his pay like crazy (even if he hardly needs it).
Turley is a clown and Goldman nailed him to that dumb prop cross he dragged into the room. but hey--he WANTED to be there. so fuck him. the FBI girl is an almost-convincing crier. it must have required a few hours of rehearsal in the mirror, but she left her old day gig, so I suppose she's got time.
since you mentioned Chip Roy...the first time I saw him, I flashed to my memories of Skull Murphy (or am I the only one who remembers poor old Skull, the eternal villain in the wrestling ring?).
Arrrggggg, how often this happens; seemingly brilliant word flow lost to the errant misplaced finger on the “phone of unseen landmines” directing cogent thought into the purgatory of digital bytes and bits
The immediate response is an attempt to conjure back the insight but the brain is already letting you know, The Muse Has Left The Building
I've lost so many passionately stated facts, and observations wanting to smash my laptop, that I started writing those rare occasions in a Gmail letter to myself. you have my sympathy.
To the state of the world from Christoffer Hobson on substack today: "In a quip attributed to Larry Summers, ‘Let’s be honest here: Europe’s a museum, Japan’s a nursing home and China’s a jail.’ To which could be added, the US is a madhouse"
And like Lady Macbeth, may they all be driven completely mad by the steady and persistent unveiling of their evil cruelty, willful ignorance, and grotesque hatred of their fellow Americans in their last for power.
Give Goldman credit for "Own of the Day" when he asked former FBI agent Baker if his opening statement was merely reading the introduction to his book. When Baker said his statement and the introduction "covered a lot of the same territory," Goldman said "Give us a heads-up next time you're here and we can put up a table over in the corner where you can do a book signing."
Perfect!
Looks like Goldman is going to launch a "few" zingers during this hearing! Great! The loonies will still get their sound bites, but they are going to look even more stupid and addlebrained as time goes on. Let us hope ........ Raskin is going to chew these folks up.
MY my - sure does sound like this "hearing" has far too many really on the ball Dems! I did see Jamie Raskin's opening statement - he didnt miss a thing and THEN Rep. Plaskett did her part. If every one of the Dems on that committee is that sharp - this bunch of jerks wont know what hit them. Considering how Biden Jabbed them during his SOTU speech - they should all be swaying back & forth. Also saw Turley get his comeupance! May have to record these after all. I just saw the highlights on a few videos.
oh yeah. Dan Goldman was superb, even if it was like using a water cannon to put out a brush fire.
We certainly can use some more of those water cannons to do the job.
Lol!
Joe McCarthy was a paranoid and severe alcoholic who died young and disgraced, as well he should have been because he did it to himself. He was also aided and abetted by the reptilian lawyer Roy Cohn whose biggest fanboy was Donald J. Trump. The current government bogeymen seekers are not nearly as smart as the McCarthy/Cohn team was, and boy is it showing. I am hoping for more balloons for the media to chase after and leave these "investigative" committees to fester and rupture beyond the media spotlight.
Cohn was pretty smart, alas. McCarthy has always struck me as a gifted opportunist, but so is a cockroach. smart?...I'm gonna need a lot more convincing.
There are lot of clips out there from today's circus. Jonathan Turley's BS was not tolerated by Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Jamie Raskin was, as always, perfect. I was really impressed by Delegate Stacy Plaskett and Dan Goldman. Was Grassley born in the Mesozoic or Paleozoic era?
Cenozoic.
Aren't their text msgs that directly tie Gym Jordan to J6? It irritates the
hell out of me, that with all the
evidence DoJ and special counsel
have at their fingertips, the grand
grand jury testimony, not 1 of these
cretins has been indicted or sharply
slapped on the wrist. They're in
the House and doing their damned best to not only destroy the government, but make a daily mockery of Congress. They are
SLUGS!
hey, if Pence got subpoenaed today, I wouldn't give up on the other scumbags quite yet.
Hope springs eternal, doesn't it.
If subcommittees had Tinder profiles: "Two lost crazy storms looking for teacups."
'Tis interesting that George F. Will suddenly became "admirable" because he turned on Orange Hitler. He regularly dismisses Hofstadter as the left's resident go-to academic because Hofstadter allegedly looked down on the masses. I'd love to know the last time George Effing Will stopped in at a neighborhood 7-11.
Ha! Will was a friend of friends about 15 years ago. Their granddaughter was a playmate of my daughter. The Wills were visiting one weekend and my daughter was asked to go on a boat picnic with the group. I gave my consent only if grandma promised she wouldn’t return a registered Republican. Grandma was mom to Chris Cox, chairman of SEC at that time. “Those people are weird “ she said, upon her return.
Our of the mouth of babes. I love the plain spoken honesty.
George is only slightly less looney that the MAGAts. A brain is a terrible thing to waste.
You are, of course, alluding to the old meme, A mind is a terrible thing to waste, which some dieters changed to A waist is a terrible thing to mind.
I laughed out loud.
:-)
for decades, I've been seeing Will listed as one of the "Conservative Intellectuals." thing is, I've never read a word that came close to convincing me he was especially smart. he has the haughty manner of a Buckley wannabe, but that's as far as it goes.
his occasional piece of baseball talk is obviously meant to make us think he's really a regular guy. transparently bullshit.
and you know I love it when you quote Hofstadter. and what's the evidence that he "looked down on the masses?" sounds like more of the Projection that's gotten to be a terrible habit of his team. "dose bums," as Bill Bendix used to say, just before he got cut down by Japanese machine guns. and speaking of Bill Bendix...didja know his father was a symphony conductor?
Will the House panel members investigating the "weaponization" of the federal government headed by Committee Chairman Jim Jordan suffer a fatal blow to its goal of destroying a fantasized ‘deep state’ America and defeat its the rule of law?
‘Pence Gets Subpoena From Special Counsel in Jan. 6 Investigation’
‘The move by Jack Smith, the special counsel, is one of the most aggressive in his investigation of Donald Trump’s efforts to stay in power and is likely to lead to a battle over executive privilege.’ (NYTimes) See gifted link below
Will America’s rule of law stop them?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/us/politics/pence-subpoena-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=H0E0jPiS-qBccLzBNCvyoOm1i-rfXH8EKxyYj4OLndFXsoq0R582sXi8kXJaCg4ca0ceXez8MLbpWmfm8KUYG8EFOMeNWNaaLzC_2QjgFNt7Iu5OcGycGnAMaLkQ2vaGx4o0xIeIC9jU4bAGHMtwYf89zF3QKgty27LiiZK6nU21pH5TCdyEwfb4nVuA6vVHuwcRN470zjSW6ccici7S04HV1EEu7mPkD5TbvtlKxGE0G5gGje4DVcwEPlRQA3rt55lnvaS9ay3GHXYe0PabR3qLgR_Y9njAOALRe6nznjX-GRUm7kVIwQuXlwMBh6YIZ3El6wr8Zp0b6nDeWE-fT2tT&smid=share-url
'Sources told ABC News that the subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith requests documents and testimony related to the failed attempt by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.'
'The subpoena follows months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence's legal team.'
'MORE: Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone testifies before federal grand jury.'
'Smith was appointed in November to oversee the investigation into Trump's potential mishandling of classified documents after leaving the presidency and obstructing the government's efforts to retrieve them -- as well as a separate probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.'
'The move will be seen as a major escalation of Smith's probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election, and suggests that Smith's investigation has entered a more advanced stage.' (ABCNews)
Fern McBride, do you have a SubStack Newletter? If you do I would like to read it. Your links are interesting, and I would like to read what you personally have to say about them in a that format. If not, maybe consider it? The truth with footnotes, is always a good thing.
Thank you, Bliss. I appreciate the compliment but just read an article about a pig farm in China, which I don't think even the best among science fiction writers ever dreamed of and another about how Artificial Intelligence will spread disinformation and conspiracy theories faster than !!! Some of what's happening in our world, Bliss, is beyond my powers of description. I am no better at it than most. Quoting, Joyce Vance, MSNBC/NBC Legal Analyst and Podcaster, 'We're all in this together'.
😊 That is the longest "No." that I've ever been delt. About AI GPT in particular, "But so far, my attempts to use ChatGPT to help me write my own blog posts — which I will write about in detail at some point — have all ended in failure, for one simple reason: ChatGPT routinely spews out a lot of fake “facts”. -a someone
You see, Bliss, I demonstrated exactly why I couldn't possibly live up to your imagination!
Never underestimate ADD
Interested in knowing about that pig farm? If you subscribe to the NY Times, I suggest you check it out. I'm out of gift options for that paper.
As with most things with the GQP, everything is projection. A weaponized wacko committee investigating the weaponization of the government and the DOJ…riiiggghhhttt….sounds legit, yeah? And the clueless media is gobbling up this crap and running lowlights on the nightly snooze reports? Whee…2024 can’t come soon enough…
Maybe media’s poor excuse for journalists never studied about Goebbels propaganda measures. It was in all the papers..
👏👏👏👏
I am laughing out loud. And really liking Goldman.
He's definitely becoming a star. Pretty good for the heir to Levi Strauss.
It could be worse! There might actually be a bunch of Republicans who could make what appears to be a further logical case for raping the American public of their hard earned wages. It has happened. Raygun led the charge.
Instead we have obvious lunatics - wild beasts with absolutely nothing positive to offer (in sheep's clothing). Instead we have the "feral children" you have so aptly described. But here is another analogy. I think they bred with hyenas. Read on from Wiki:
"The spotted hyena has a long history of interaction with humanity; depictions of the species exist from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves.[19] The species has a largely negative reputation in both Western culture and African folklore. In the former, the species is mostly regarded as ugly and cowardly, while in the latter, it is viewed as greedy, gluttonous, stupid, and foolish, yet powerful and potentially dangerous. The majority of Western perceptions on the species can be found in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, though in relatively unjudgmental form. Explicit, negative judgments occur in the Physiologus, where the animal is depicted as a hermaphrodite and grave-robber.[20] The IUCN's hyena specialist group identifies the spotted hyena's negative reputation as detrimental to the species' continued survival, both in captivity and the wild."
😄 You're defaming hyenas.
You are right, of course. I'd rather hang with a hyena than a hyper hypocrite.
I was wondering why he hated Hyenas. Next it will be Vultures. If it were not for these wonderful scavengers, we would run afoul of pestilence. I refrain for naming the pestilence in this case.
hyenas are famous for their ambiguous genitalia. this fact might be excellent raw material for some really funny metaphors, if anyone's's interested.
I have no words for this circus that is being done by the feral children of the RepubliQan party. They are absolutely batshit crazy.
To state the obvious: these committee members are not AT ALL matched in IQ.
Stacy Plaskett is a warrior light in darkness.
I enjoy seeing her and Raskin and Goldman obliterating the obtuse and crude nature of so many Republicans.
Salud, TC. Thank you for your continuing point of view. Your essays have a tendency to promote a center of reason amidst the chaos. (I still am LOL at your response to...what was McCarthy looking at with his blank, dull staring at the so-called rafters during the SOTU?…”and you replied….”His future”. Hahahahaha
🗽
hell. I just did a long post, was making corrections, and now it's gone because my finger went somewhere it shouldn't have. one good reason I love typewriters, analog though they are.
I am fazed enough to not try replicating it, and it's late. and it was SO snarky. god-damn.
but this was a terrific piece. everything is true with a vengeance.
I adore Ms. Plaskett (major crush) and Dan Goldman is earning his pay like crazy (even if he hardly needs it).
Turley is a clown and Goldman nailed him to that dumb prop cross he dragged into the room. but hey--he WANTED to be there. so fuck him. the FBI girl is an almost-convincing crier. it must have required a few hours of rehearsal in the mirror, but she left her old day gig, so I suppose she's got time.
since you mentioned Chip Roy...the first time I saw him, I flashed to my memories of Skull Murphy (or am I the only one who remembers poor old Skull, the eternal villain in the wrestling ring?).
Roy looks like a Confederate Colonel.
I just looked up Skull Murphy, and take it back. Skull had Alopecia and I remembered a guy with Chip Roy's facial hair.
I apologize for this misidentification. and he DOES look like a Confederate Colonel, once you imagine the hat.
Arrrggggg, how often this happens; seemingly brilliant word flow lost to the errant misplaced finger on the “phone of unseen landmines” directing cogent thought into the purgatory of digital bytes and bits
The immediate response is an attempt to conjure back the insight but the brain is already letting you know, The Muse Has Left The Building
Alas
well said
you got it!
When I start a comment or post that starts to be long, I transfer it to Word, finish it, then copy and paste it where I want it.
I've lost so many passionately stated facts, and observations wanting to smash my laptop, that I started writing those rare occasions in a Gmail letter to myself. you have my sympathy.
To the state of the world from Christoffer Hobson on substack today: "In a quip attributed to Larry Summers, ‘Let’s be honest here: Europe’s a museum, Japan’s a nursing home and China’s a jail.’ To which could be added, the US is a madhouse"
It's a Snake Pit, and it makes me feel quite sane. If you haven't seen the movie you should give it a try.
Reminds me of Mowgli when Bandarlog had lowered him into a snake pit. He knew the magic words to keep safe: "we are of the same blood, you and me."
Now I want to watch Jungle Book again.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040806/
And like Lady Macbeth, may they all be driven completely mad by the steady and persistent unveiling of their evil cruelty, willful ignorance, and grotesque hatred of their fellow Americans in their last for power.
Lust, not last.