Well, ■■■■:
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Kangaroo court in session. I’ve got rope.
And I suspect we’re in a similar state of sobriety so woe betide Barr.
I like vodka.
I drink vodka.
Sometimes I drink too much vodka.
On another note.
Can someone tell me what the hell is the deal with “defund the media”?
I get the sentiment even if I don’t agree with it, but how precisely do people think they can dismantle private media enterprises?
I could sift through the internet but reading the pertinent pages is too painful to bear.
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As far as I know it’s a slogan rather than any sort of concrete plan of action. Albeit a google search does produce a blog post proposing essentially making news a sort of hybrid public/private enterprise a bit like utilities with a board overseeing ethics and standards. Somehow I doubt that represents most of the people asking for this though. The main results are mostly sales of t-shirts and such.
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While on the subject of our Australian friends. Has anyone else noticed they have a weird habit of taking a guess at the answer to the question they just asked you?
What’s your favourite hobby, sport
What’s your name, Sheila
What’s your favourite colour, blue
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Tem already said that it’s not much more than a slogan without a plan behind it.
As one of the local cynics-in-residence, my take is that it’s an expression of the current government to have only the truth published. Many governments do their best to keep their media to the truth and off the perilous path of free speech.
If the autocrat-in-chief is successful in this endeavour, the result is, of course, a press that doesn’t lie at all. For example Russia has the Правда, a newspaper founded by Lenin that was so truthful that it literally got the name “Truth”.
What the US obviously needs is to be done with all those deceitful little media outlets. They shall be replaced with a monolithic Voice Of Truth Network telling the pure truth according to the White House and the Evangelicals. It shall be led by Kayleigh McEnany teaching the ways of the trust-fund Lord! Hallelujah!
Wait, not McEnany? Why?
Well, uhm, she looks a little to woman-ish to teach the Lord’s ways. So, Ivanka? No, also too many X-chromosomes. Jared? Yes, Jared will do. That one hasn’t had an original thought in decades, so no risk there.
Jokes aside, trying to muzzle the press is standard procedure for wannabe authoritarians around the globe. For the US, censorship is a trigger word, so I guess riffing on the ‘defund the police’ slogans just looked like a clever idea to someone. Defunding and bald-faced censoring won’t work, so the way to go would be cranking up the defamation and libel laws and then battle it out in the courts or to keep up the rhethoric until some self-declared defender of freedom goes Charlie Hebdo on the NYT headquarters.
That got rather grim, sorry. But while I am at it, take a look at how many points from the following list were fulfilled in the last four years:
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Anyone actually worried about the R’s making a run and just… not confirming Biden?
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If they do it will be civil war.
That’s not a joke. If the GOP tries to stage a coup the damage will be catastrophic.
I don’t think it will come to that. I do feel like Trump will take advantage of his supporters (he’s doing it right now in fact), use them to pay his debts, and buy OANN or another private outlet and basically become a political televangelist. He will continue to drain his supporters and they will thank him for it.
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The reason I ask is that McConnell went all in yesterday.
Over 0-2-10 lawsuits.
As in to my knowledge… 2 are still pending, ten lost. No clear wins.
The two that are pending are as I stated… in PA.
That… might have been the most chilling thing I’ve seen in my lifetime.
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The GOP has lost all credibility in my book. A new, less hostile conservative party run by those who’ve distanced themselves from Trump would be fantastic damage control in the long term. You know, rational people who handle arguments with words and can pull in the right wing supporters who feel like they have no choice but Trump.
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That… does not seem who that message was directed to.
The Majority speaker of the Senate just went to the mat over several failed lawsuits. He does not do that lightly, because he’s McConnell…
I think he thinks he has the votes to shift the certification.
I don’t know what else to say after that revelation except “I really hope that’s not the case.”
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McConnell would not be invited. He’s made his choice. And oh, is he ever on the wrong side. My alternative is brainstorming possible ways of bringing about damage control.
I am, of course very concerned about all of this, but I’m trying brainstorming positive alternatives for the future.
Yeah I’m uh… I’m coming up blank.
He’s… literally backing up the president talking about nothing.
@TemetNosce , please tell me I’m reading too much into this.
I want to be wrong here.
So… so much.
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“President Trump is 100 % within his rights to look at the allegations of irregularities and consider his legal options.” 
McConnell obviously forgot to mention that the incumbent is the single person who casts said allegations. Just accidentally, I’m sure. Mitch ain’t gettin’ younger with 35 years in the Senate. Hm, talk about establishment…
Yep, like he did constantly over the last four years. I’m not Temet, but you’re reading too much into this, Ars.
McConnell cast his lot in with Trump a while ago and became one of the chief enablers. It’s no wonder he’s not stopping to act as Partisanimus Prime now. And it costs him nothing, Kentucky voters already confirmed him in his seat.
At the moment the narrative is that the election isn’t over and McConnell follows that. Him pointing out that most states haven’t finished counting is not wrong and of course there can be recounts if the margin between the candidates results is not over 0.5 %.
But for now it’s just posturing in order to allow the incumbent to not feel like a loser yet. File under: remora talk. And at least McConnell isn’t calling for total war.
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What I’m worried about is the signal it sends to the rest of the R’s.
“This is not legitimate. We will not observe it.” - to trump “You will get party support.”
That had at least been in question the last few days.
I don’t think it is now.
And now we’re back to plan C I was worried out: the courts ■■■■ us.
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Too late. The cat is out of the bag. His beloved Twitter told him he is the biggest loser. It must be like the evil queens mirror in Snow White and can not lie to him.
You really do have to love the beautiful irony of searching for loser and his face popping up first 
EDIT That leads me to an interesting question. If you become the number 1 loser do you instantly lose the title because you won something?
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I prefer them talking about recounts and law suits to them calling on ‘the second amendment people’ (to quote trust-fund Donny).
Though Don Jr. doing the Goebbels thing via Twitter isn’t soothing. Neither is the thought of faithless electors.
The courts aren’t the biggest problem as of now, because a recount under scrutiny will not change the outcome of the count.
Translation: then I’ll be queen instead.
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There are no winners in that situation. To be the best at losing is to just be the worst winner.
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Haha! That’s kind of what we have taught kids from a young age in schools starting with the millennial generation. The every kids a winner type fantasy instead of explaining to them sometimes in life you lose and that’s OK. What matters is you gave it your best shot. Say well done to the winners and you may have better luck next time. I just don’t think we do kids any favours sending them out in a world they expect to always win in. Then reality hits and they have no clue what to do lol.
I have been the worst winner for a while now. Feels odd now Trump has relieved me of it.
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On the question why GOP members are still backing Trump:
GOP leaders’ deference to Mr. Trump’s position reflects the popularity he maintains with GOP voters. Strategists from both parties said this week that Mr. Trump’s presence on the ballot helped Republicans gain seats in the House and likely keep control of the Senate, even as he lost his own re-election race.
Congressional GOP leaders are “still in fear of Donald Trump. They’re afraid of his influence within the party, they’re afraid of being targeted by him, they’re afraid of going crosswise against his supporters,” Peter Wehner, a critic of Mr. Trump who worked in three previous GOP administrations, said Sunday.
“The hold that Trump has on the party, and therefore them, will recede; it just hasn’t receded enough yet because he’s still president and we’re only days” after Mr. Biden was declared the winner, he said.
From:
It’s the Party Of Trump right now. He is the undisputed leader (yes, conscious choice of the word) of them. And right now, instead of clinging to Trump, where can the sheepublicans look to? Cruz, Rubio, Graham, McConnell? Those all are sycophants. Don’t even start with Ms. Collins from Maine…
Right now, none of the lickspittles dares to say that the emperor wears no clothes.
I know, chances are slim, but at some point a few of them have to come out of the closet and admit that country is more important than party 
Yep, fantasy. Though the US is remarkably schizophrenic between that and the ‘winning isn’t important, winning is EVERYTHING!!!’ philosophy. Maybe how you win or lose will become a little more important again 
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Cowardice.
It’s why the jester costume exists.
SEAN HANNITY:
I used to gave integrity!
Mitch McConnell snorts loudly and shoots Ensure out his nose.
MITCH MCCONNELL:
Oh goddammit, you HAVE to stop doing that, Sean!
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