Today's Tweet

Of all the shitty things we remember Tricky Dick for, sometimes he was straight up and dead on.

EPA
Clean Water Act
Clean Air Act

But look where we are now.

What has happened to us? pic.twitter.com/0edEyAZGJh

— banksy (@thereaIbanksy) September 6, 2017

And also too:
Title IX
Cancer Research
26th Amendment
Ended the Draft

Market-Based Solutions

I think we can all say we're fairly well aware of the Natural Disasters that're piling up all around us, even if way too many of us are still resistant to the reality that hurricanes and wild fires are Human-Exacerbated.

But let's not dwell on the past. Let's talk about sensible Vienna School solutions.

You see, it's not a problem of happenstance - it's a simple problem of distribution and logistics.  So all we have to do is transfer some of the western states' fires to the Gulf Coast, and send some of the rain in Texas Louisiana and (soon) Florida to Alaska Oregon and California.

Can you imagine the payoff for some bright young entrepreneur with a good idea and mom's garage to work in?

And of course, we start the ball rolling by providing incentive - like, say...oh I don't know...a tax cut.

So c'mon, libtards - trade in those Birkenstocks for a nice pair of Khakis and a white polo shirt, and let's get to work.

Let's Review

(former) Sheriff David Clarke is a douchenozzle extraordinaire - actually, he's not all that extraordinary considering all the other douchenozzles 45* keeps huddled around him.

The good news being, of course, that John Kelly is whittling away at that huddle, with Clarke being the latest wood chip to hit the floor without even becoming part of the stick (how's that for stretching the metaphor beyond its tensile strength?).

But anyway, with his book and all, the guy's convinced he's hit the big time, so now he's headed out onto the Wingnut Welfare Circuit to become the new Sarah Palin.

I think we can expect some very small things from this fuckwad.

As a reminder, here's a tour of all that weird shit he puts on his uniform trying to make us think he's impressive.

BTW - this is about half-a-hair short of Stolen Valor. Which would be plenty of reason for a General Kelly to stomp this clown into a greasy carpet stain.

WaPo gave us a rundown a while back:

1. Clarke’s four-star epaulets are standard for a chief of police or sheriff.

2. This is a pin that reads “Sheriff” made and branded by the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company. (Thanks to Charlie Deck for spotting it.)

4. A U.S. flag lapel pin.

5. A “thin blue line” pin. The expression “thin blue line” is meant to evoke the role of police in society: a thin blue line of people willing to stand between us and them. This pin mirrors similar others that are popular in the United Kingdom.

6. This is a pin for the Israeli civil guard, a branch of the Israeli police that serves as a sort of neighborhood watch since terrorist attacks in the mid-1970s. (You can see a more clear version of it here.) At other times, Clarke has worn a badge for the Israeli traffic police. (Much thanks to Naomi Fry, Jacob Kornbluh and Noga Tarnopolsky for their help tracking down this badge.)

7. Clarke’s actual sheriff’s badge.

8. A 9/11 memorial pin, presumably of the sort Clarke mentioned in the interview above.

9. This appears to be a small lapel pin that says “WTC” (like this one), a reference to attacks at the World Trade Center. (Thanks to Ryan Shyffer for helping identify this.) Pins similar to this were given out to New York Police Department officers who helped in the aftermath of the attacks.

10. Almost certainly a badge for the General Mitchell International Airport division of the Milwaukee County Sheriffs Department. A source who wished to remain anonymous sent a photo of a similar badge, depicting a five-pointed star on a background of extended wings.

11. A pin from the National Rifle Association. Clarke has been a proponent of the organization for some time, including starring in an ad for the NRA.

12. A U.S. flag bar pin.

13. A small replica of a 19th-century U.S. Secret Service badge (like this one). (Steve Hager identified it as being a souvenir given out to those who help out with a presidential visit. Thanks to Johanna Farkas for finding the original.)

14. A 75th anniversary FBI National Academy pin. The academy provides professional training on intelligence, terrorism, management and forensic science. You can see a more clear version of this pin here. (Thanks to Kyle McAllister-Grum, who identified this.)

15. Clarke’s name tag.

16. A “thin blue line” ribbon from Concerns of Police Survivors, an organization for the family members of law enforcement officials killed in the line of duty.

17. An FBI National Executive Institute pin. The institute trains law enforcement executives in leadership.

18. A pin labeled “NSI,” perhaps for the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative of which Milwaukee is a part.

19. An FBI National Academy completion pin. Clarke’s relationship with the FBI over the years means that one can stumble across politically interesting photos like this one.

20. Pin for the CeaseFire crime reduction program of which he was once a liaison for the Milwaukee Police Department.

21. A pin depicting a baby’s feet (“the precious feet”), signifying support for the antiabortion movement.

22. Blue Knights law enforcement motorcycle club pin.

Keith

...on the existential subject of right and wrong, they don't care.

Today's Quote

--John Ehrlichman

Dan Baum uses that quote (in a piece he wrote for Harpers' last year) as a way of illustrating his points on the failure of "The War On Drugs", and to boost his argument on how we could be doing it a whole lot better.

Duly noted, but Ehrlichman's quote is almost text-book Daddy State, and a very nice window into the soul of the wingnuts who just can't stop trying to rule; and to dominate; to do exactly the things they accuse the Lefties of trying to do. And that brings us around (again) to one of the main tactics of "the right" - Every accusation is a confession.

So, again: History doesn't really repeat itself - but it sure as fuck rhymes.

Sleight Of Hand

Vox, Matthew Yglesias:

Donald Trump took time out of his busy schedule of disaster tourism and tweeting about the media to deliver a speech in Missouri on Wednesday about a seemingly far-less entertaining topic — comprehensive tax reform.

An overhaul of the tax code would, Trump promised, “bring back Main Street by reducing the crumbling burden on our companies and on our workers.”

Meanwhile, Paul Ryan’s been touring the nation waiving around a vaguely postcard-shaped piece of paper that he believes Americans will be able to use to file their taxes once the simplification nirvana of tax reform is enacted.

Congress is facing a crowded September full of “must pass” bills to keep the government open, replenish FEMA’s Harvey-depleted coffers, and avoid a debt ceiling crisis. But when those deadlines are in the rearview mirror, tax reform is the next Republican policy priority. And while achieving the sort of comprehensive reworking of the tax system that Trump is talking about is extremely difficult, the stars are far better aligned for Republicans to pass something than they were on the disastrous effort to replace the Affordable Care Act.
My take-away, as always:

Rich people will throw us a few tasty ribs, knowing we won't notice (or we'll deliberately ignore) the simple fact that they're eating the whole fucking pig.

The obvious musical accompaniment:

Everything old is new again - especially the part about how a few uber-dicks will always fuck it up for the rest of us if we're not very watchful.

Today's Tweet

When the payoff is worth the wait

I have no sympathy for these kids.

Their parents broke the law.

They don't have jobs.

They cost taxpayers money.

Deport Eric & Don Jr.

— Ben Wexler (@mrbenwexler) September 4, 2017

Today's Tweet

I'm not that big a fool

Timeless response to "not all white people are racist". When the entire system is rotten, seeking solace in a few good apples is no solution pic.twitter.com/V8tG5SCTK0

— Huda🌼 (@hudaelmi_) September 3, 2017

Fun Fact

WaPo, Margaret Sullivan:

Right-wing extremists committed 74 percent of the 372 politically motivated murders recorded in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Left-wing extremists committed less than 2 percent.
- snip -

But it’s safe to say that most news consumers, if they know anything about antifa, know what the president has told them, and what they’ve gleaned from the club-wielding protesters shown endlessly on TV: that it’s roughly the left-wing equivalent of neo-Nazis and white supremacists. 

That’s not only untrue, but it has the effect of tarring everyone who protests Trump, as well as those who peacefully march for climate-change awareness or rally against hate-mongering speakers such as Milo Yiannopoulos, the onetime Breitbart provocateur.

The best thing journalists can do is to relentlessly explain the beliefs, scope and scale of antifa, and to resist conflating it with liberal groups. And most important, to challenge politically motivated efforts to create a false equivalency between antifa and the rising tide of white supremacy. There is no comparison.

By The Numbers

Math is not invented - it is discovered.