DL Open Thread Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021

This has been obvious for a while now, but media people are starting to say it: Vaccine resistance by top Republicans is part of a strategy to fuck things up on purpose so Biden can’t succeed. They literally would destroy the country’s prosperity rather than share it with the Blah people.

Thom Hartmann makes a good point: A quick way to know who owns your senators and congresscritters is to look at how they vote. Hartmann is looking at the so-called Democrats who scuttled Biden’s plan to let the government negotiate drug prices. Their fecklessness will cost us $60 billion a year. They sold out for pennies on that amount.

Sometimes Joe Biden comes out with something that makes you think The Onion’s Joe Biden really is hiding in there someplace. According to Bob Woodward, when Smilin’ Joe moved into the White House found Donald Trump’s jumbo-screen golf simulator, his reaction was short and to the point: “What a fucking asshole!”.

Excerpts from Bob Woodward’s forthcoming doorstop are providing evidence for lots of stuff most people assumed years ago. For example, Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans have no love for Trump, and laughed the laugh of the truly fucked when Rex Tillerson called him a “fucking moron.” It’s pretty clear Republicans politicians cling to Trump not because the base loves him, but because he’s the only reason a segment of that “base” votes. When he’s not on the ticket, even their umpteen vote-skewing methods aren’t enough.

Trump inserted himself into the news stream this week by claiming he’ll file suit against the New York Times and his niece over leaked tax documents. Legal experts not only say it’s bullshit, they question whether the courts should stop allowing Trump to file lawsuits altogether. I did not realize this was a thing, but it should have been done years ago.

Other legal experts, such as George W. Bush’s ethics lawyer, argue a special prosecutor is needed to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection. I repeat, this is George W. Bush’s ethics lawyer arguing this.

Finally, on a lighter note, the makers of Jelly Belly candy, which peaked when Reagan kept a jar on his desk, tried to drum up publicity by running a stunt worthy of Willy Wonka — a “golden ticket” would give the winner a candy factory. The guy who won had a big decision to make. Where’s that useless slacker Grandpa Joe when you finally need him?

The floor’s yours.