Frezik

I’m guessing Roberts Rules stuff.

As a quick and dirty thing, you can call a voice vote of ayes and nays. If it’s not particularly close, it’ll be obvious what the outcome is, the Chair will call the result, and everyone moves on. However, any member can call bullshit on the Chair, and then it goes to a more formal process.

So without watching the whole damn video, it’s probably that the voice vote went one way, the Chair said it was the other, got called on it, and the roll call vote went against him.

They ate their Wheaties this morning. Tomorrow, back to Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

You’re doing the FSM’s work.

Yes, that explains very neatly why authoritarians want to get rid of it.

Sometimes, there are downsides to being on an instance that disables downvotes.

Good idea!

Hey, Canada, we need all your dirt.

I checked, and Alex Jones has brought her up. Yes, she is on their radar.

His sycophants are not capable of taking over from him. That’s not how these things ever work.

They won’t because there are almost certainly big Democratic donors on that list. And Bill. Both parties slow walked this whole thing for decades.

The AOC and Bernie types don’t care about that, but they don’t serve on the Oversight Committee. Still, just getting Maxwell there should stoke the fires.

I mean, they could try. It would toss nitroglycerin into the MAGA rage that’s already forming. So yeah, go right ahead.

She could still be subpoena’d by Congress–House Oversight Committee already has–and I don’t think she could plead the fifth on anything if she’s already pardoned. So yeah, go ahead and do that.

Try reading again. I didn’t say he was smart. I said he was the smartest in the room. Which he is. It’s not that hard to be the smartest when you’re surrounded by idiots.

They legit had no clue Trump was involved. That’s how much of an echo chamber they had. Now the faction that cared the most about the Epstein files is clashing with the rest.

There are almost certainly high level donors to the Democrats in there, too, and probably Bill Clinton and a few other politicians. Naturally, the left in the US is happy to have them released, anyway, but MAGA doesn’t think in those terms. They think everyone to the left of Hillary is brainwashed into supporting Democrats, and would never support releasing the files. That’s why they were able to pretend it had nothing to do with their side.

It matters a ton, and I wish people would stop saying otherwise.

Every dictator needs support among the people. They cannot function without it. Trump is starting to lose a chunk of his own MAGA base over Epstein. Not all of it, but the core MAGA support is not that big. He can’t lose much of it before things turn against him fast.

And it may happen very fast. Nobody thought the Soviet Union was going to dissolve right up to the second that it actually did.

Really, just Marco Rubio. He’s the only kinda competent person around; he’s not that smart, but if he walks into a room in the White House, chances are good he’s the smartest one there. That’s why they keep giving him new jobs to do.

Except you can’t manage people like that. Dude is going to burn out, and then what?

The bad news is that this is going to be very bad for a lot of people.

The good news is that he’s escalating to avoid dealing with the fact that he’s already losing grip on power.

You’d be naive to jump right to that conclusion.

The worldwide pedophile ring of rich people definitely does exist. That doesn’t mean we throw out rational skepticism in other ways.

He was 80 years old and sick. Just like with Scalia’s death, there’s no reason to jump to conclusions about foul play. Of course, that won’t stop the Alex Jones crowd from doing it anyway.

So I think this is actually a little bit of a naive viewpoint. The next level beyond it is to consider why they’re saying something. You don’t have to assume they’re telling the truth, but politicians say things for a strategically chosen reason.

I do think the fact that Johnson even piped up about the Epstein files is meaningful. There is a break in the thinking between the coalitions of the Republican parties. Johnson was probably trying to woo some of them, got pressured, and then backed off. But even the fact that he had to be pressured means they had to expend effort to keep him in line. That can’t keep working forever.

Which is also why I think the Epstein files are no mere distraction. There is a breakdown, and they’re not easily falling in line.

Oh, good. For a moment there it almost seemed like Johnson had a spine.

“Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything,” the note began.

Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.

Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.

Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.

Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?

Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.

Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.

If I didn’t know any other context, I’d say these two were exploring each others brown starfish.