SOTU

Ironically, the State Of The Union target audience is The Confederacy.

-- Rocky Mountain Mike

When it was announced that Rick Perry was the Designated Survivor this year:

Like millions of other atheists, I experienced a Temporary Situational Conversion and offered up a little prayer.

We truly need leadership to unify the nation at this time. After two years of division and demagoguery, President Trump has spoken some words about unity. Unfortunately, what the TelePrompTer giveth, the President’s daily actions and hourly tweets quickly taketh away. #SOTU

— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) February 6, 2019

Don’t worry, we saw your sign! pic.twitter.com/MKX5gSpvA1

— W. E. B. Dem Bois (@WEB_DemBois) February 6, 2019

WaPo:

President Trump’s State of the Union speech once again was chock-full of stretched facts and dubious figures. Many of these claims have been fact-checked repeatedly, yet the president persists in using them. Here, in the order in which he made them, are nearly 30 statements by the president.

Daniel Dale, Toronto Star:

“We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of co-operation, compromise and the common good,” Trump, who has repeatedly spoken of his fondness for punching back at enemies, told a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

“Together, we can break decades of political stalemate. We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future,” he said. “The decision is ours to make.”

Trump’s kumbaya pitch was sure to be greeted with widespread skepticism. He has followed previous moves toward high-minded statesmanship by reverting immediately to his usual bellicosity.

Today's Tweet

It just strikes me as a little odd that someone would've seen Rocky & Bullwinkle as an instructional video.

Would you jump?

I definitely would! I live for thrills!
pic.twitter.com/v6EpE57gJR

— Molly (@MsMollyRachael) February 3, 2019

Hey - We Got Rules, Ya Know

I before E except after C, unless your weird neighbor, Keith, buys eight counterfeit beige sleighs from a feisty over-caffeinated foreign weightlifter.

Everybody got it now?

That Northam Thing

As bad as it is already - and it's going to get worse the longer Northam delays his departure - one of the worrisome aspects is that it's giving the Press Poodles a chance to smash-fit it into their bullshit False Equivalence narrative.

WaPo:

Northam controversy threatens to complicate Democrats’ bid to draw sharp contrast with Trump, GOP on race

The headline is all that's needed for people to stay comfortably numb and disengaged - sitting conveniently paralyzed in the middle.

As Northam defied a nationwide chorus of fellow Democrats calling for him to resign on Sunday, party activists and officials struggled to move past the growing controversy.

“Without question, the longer he stays in, the more of a distraction it becomes and that’s not good for Democrats,” said Gilda Cobb-Hunter, the president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and a veteran South Carolina Democrat.
Buried 9 paragraphs deep:

Democrats argued Sunday that the Northam episode has also highlighted an important difference between the two parties. They argued that their swift and widespread calls for Northam to step down stand in contrast with the way Republicans have handled recent racial controversies in their own ranks.

Shouldn't the media's job include a way for us to keep score on this shit?

Today's Tweet

Just to show - Russians ain't all bad - or weren't anyway - once upon a time.

I leave you with Tolstoy, who reminds us so eloquently that sometimes lifting others up requires getting off of their backs. The defense rests. pic.twitter.com/QC6vXeUG6I

— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) February 4, 2019

Low Tolerance For Bullshit

Safe to say, the comedy shows are practicing most of the the good journalism.

Good acting is a lie truthfully told, and good comedy always has truth at its core.

Notice how truth is what drives the art, even as art creates its illusions in an effort to reflect the truth back to us.

Now think about how "conservatives" are always talkin' shit about what artists are doing.

Today's Quote

When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatise those who let people die, not those who struggle to live.

-- Sarah Kendzior, The View From Flyover Country

@sarahkendzior

Inspired By A Sign

She's someone's

daughter

wife

mom

sister

Today's Pix

click

Sorry Ralph

Full statement demanding that Governor Northam resign immediately. pic.twitter.com/XEf0H6HvOf

— Virginia Democrats (@vademocrats) February 2, 2019

Gov Ralph Northam (D-VA) will have to resign. Stay tuned for all hell breaking loose if he doesn't.

The statement:

And I don't really care about all the tearing at clothing and the gnashing of teeth going on in the halls of power as the operatives try to position things in a way that minimizes the damage and squares things up with blah blah blah. Stop it. Just stop that shit.

Northam fucked up. 35 years ago - when he was 24 years old. I fucked up in somewhat the same way. A lot of us fucked up like that. We told and retold "black jokes", and laughed our asses off, and we tho't using the N-Word meant we were "just keepin' it real". We believed we weren't being the racist assholes we were actually being. 

"It was just a joke".

All of that is by way of explanation and not excuse. Because there is no excuse, because there can be no excuse.

I can say oops, and try to do better, but I'm not the Governor. I'm not the guy everybody has to be able to count on not to be that racist asshole - and not to have been a racist asshole - and at least to have not covered up being that racist asshole.

Seriously - when do these "political smart guys" finally learn that it's the cover up that comes back to fuck 'em?

The feeling of betrayal will never go away. Some will artificially nurture it as a useful political weapon, but for the people who matter - the people who believe public service is an honorable thing - they won't forget or forgive. And they shouldn't.

Northam is done.

And I think we'll be OK with Justin Fairfax.