Octopus Overlords

a domestic tourist attack.

The cuck-coup

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 12:32 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 12:08 pm Does Tucker Carlson ever have a still shot where it doesn't look like he just took a haymaker from a professional MMA fighter?

It's his carefully cultivated "I'm a complete and utter moron, a literal mouthbreather" look in case he has to appear before a jury.
Tucker's lawyer: "Just look at this supercut of Tucker's face over the years...does this man look like an evil genius that could plot and effect the downfall of our republic? Look at those eyes! He barely comprehends his own exsitence! Notice the constant look of wonder and bewilderment, and the slightly ajar mouth. No, ladies and gentleman, I submit that is not the face of someone capable of the crimes he is being charged with. We should PITY this man, NOT condemn him."

Alternate: It's his carefully cultivated "I'm a complete and utter moron, a literal mouthbreather" look, in order to appeal even more to his audience. Not that "rich frat boy" is hurting him, because these days, if your perceived hate of liberals is sufficient, nothing else matters.

When you watch him, though, you realize that that look correlates with a perfectly performed attitude of dismay, as in "I *can't believe* that the liberals are doing what I'm claiming they're doing."

The character he plays is continually stunned by the foolishness of the liberal world. It's a very effective act.

I love it when Seth Meyers spoofs his slippery slope, just asking questions schtick.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:53 pm I love it when Seth Meyers spoofs his slippery slope, just asking questions schtick.

Seth Mayers is still on tv?! I kid. That's a tough time slot and he does a great job in it.

He isn't right now, he has COVID.

Holman wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:18 pm

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 12:32 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Jan 07, 2022 12:08 pm Does Tucker Carlson ever have a still shot where it doesn't look like he just took a haymaker from a professional MMA fighter?

It's his carefully cultivated "I'm a complete and utter moron, a literal mouthbreather" look in case he has to appear before a jury.
Tucker's lawyer: "Just look at this supercut of Tucker's face over the years...does this man look like an evil genius that could plot and effect the downfall of our republic? Look at those eyes! He barely comprehends his own exsitence! Notice the constant look of wonder and bewilderment, and the slightly ajar mouth. No, ladies and gentleman, I submit that is not the face of someone capable of the crimes he is being charged with. We should PITY this man, NOT condemn him."

Alternate: It's his carefully cultivated "I'm a complete and utter moron, a literal mouthbreather" look, in order to appeal even more to his audience. Not that "rich frat boy" is hurting him, because these days, if your perceived hate of liberals is sufficient, nothing else matters.

When you watch him, though, you realize that that look correlates with a perfectly performed attitude of dismay, as in "I *can't believe* that the liberals are doing what I'm claiming they're doing."

The character he plays is continually stunned by the foolishness of the liberal world. It's a very effective act.

That's exactly it. It's constant disbelief and it works in every situation. The audacity of libs' stupidity and craziness, the failed loyalty tests of supposed GOP faithful, the staggering-yet-true revelations made by his guests...

Yeah, and selling it with his "O-face" is supremely obnoxious. Hell, part of his scheme may be indeed to troll libs. And it's kinda working, the smug bastard! I mean look at us, all a-tizzy because of his stoopid face.

I'm no psychologist, but there's definitely some deep insecurity among these types. Hence the overcompensation with guns, a fixation on aggression and violence, an attitude of smug superiority. Reminds me of every bully I knew in high school.

Looking back I honestly think I may have gravitated towards conservatism when I was younger because I was extremely insecure. I had absolutely zero self-confidence. And even though I felt like a bit of an underdog in my political position, it also provided this (false) thrill of having "secret knowledge" that the unwashed masses didn't have. Though this was pre-internet, so I didn't really push my political opinions on anyone, I just showed up to the polls.

By the time the internet age did come around, I was pretty firmly entrenched in those positions because that's what I had always known. It really took a slow chipping away of that wall and some seismic triggers to finally break me out of it.

BREAKING: Jan. 6 committee seeks information from House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy

You mean the guy playing stall techniques until he can remove people from positions he doesn't like because MGT and other Jan 6 cheerleaders were removed from positions after the nonsense they wanted to pull?

I see him fully cooperating.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 5:14 pm You mean the guy playing stall techniques until he can remove people from positions he doesn't like because MGT and other Jan 6 cheerleaders were removed from positions after the nonsense they wanted to pull?

I see him fully cooperating.

Just in: House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy says he won’t cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee. McCarthy accuses the Jan. 6 committee of "an abuse of power" and of "not serving any legislative purpose" -- an argument already rejected by federal courts.

Benghazi!! But real…

CNN

The Justice Department has charged 11 defendants with seditious conspiracy related to the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, including the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes.

The new indictment, handed down by a grand jury on Wednesday and made public Thursday, alleges that Rhodes and his co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy to "oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force, by preventing, hindering, or delaying by force execution of laws governing the transfer of power."

The latest court filings revealed that Oath Keeper Thomas Caldwell, who was arrested in January, claimed to take a reconnaissance trip to Washington, DC, before January 6. The indictment also surfaces previously unknown communications Rhodes is alleged to have sent that prosecutors say encouraged the use of force to oppose the lawful transfer of power.

Well I gotta say I'm really glad to see that. I'm still waiting to see whether any of the political figures involved are charged, but great to see a leader indicted in addition to the various foot soldiers.

Who thought this was a good idea:

Who thought this was a good idea, part 2:

RIP ‘No January 6 Sedition Charges,’ the Right’s Favorite Trump Defense

An amusing history of people using the lack of sedition charges as a talking point, right up until there were sedition charges.

At 10:30 this morning, Brit Hume became probably the last major conservative pundit to get this opinion in under the wire, writing, “Here’s a thought. Let’s base our view on whether 1/6 was an ‘insurrection’ on whether those arrested are charged with insurrection. So far, none has been.”

A few hours later, the Justice Department charged 11 members of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing paramilitary group, with seditious conspiracy under, yes, 18 U.S. Code §2384.

Few people get to be proven wrong so conclusively so quickly. Presumably Brit Hume changed his view on whether 1/6 was an insurrection as soon as the charges dropped.

These guys are playing a high risk game. I am trying to unpack why having been charged with sedition against the United States, that they then authorized their attorney to go on CNN. Especially this sort of weak case he is arguing that the prosecutors are lying/overcharging. Is this recruitment? Division making? Delusion?

El Guapo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:31 amFew people get to be proven wrong so conclusively so quickly. Presumably Brit Hume changed his view on whether 1/6 was an insurrection as soon as the charges dropped.

Don't get me started. Resident Twitter #FormerTrumper AJ Delgado has been saying it wasn't an insurrection. Her take is astoundingly dumb. Even for her which is a low, low bar.

Wait until they pivot to the pardon strategy. "We are confident that our client will only do a year or two before being pardoned and awarded the Medal of Freedom. Or, as it will be known in 2025, the
Limbaugh Medal."

malchior wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:39 am These guys are playing a high risk game. I am trying to unpack why having been charged with sedition against the United States, that they then authorized their attorney to go on CNN. Especially this sort of weak case he is arguing that the prosecutors are lying/overcharging. Is this recruitment? Division making? Delusion?

Well, you figure these guys are True Believers, and so presumably they would hire a true believer lawyer.

In addition to that, to the extent that it's a strategy, it may be to dial-up the culture war and make them a cause celebre in MAGA world, in order to complicate the prosecution of them (and maximize the chances of a Trump pardon in 2025).

Impossible to distinguish between the two here, though if I had to guess it's more of the former than the latter. And either way, Mr. Fed's eye is twitching a little more than normal this morning.

It's not 100% clear to me, but the news is saying Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, a founder and leader of the Oath Keepers was arrested in Little Elm,TX right before noon yesterday. Around that same time, a bunch of black SUVs and interesting activity was noted two streets away in my neighborhood, which is less than a mile away from Little Elm. It looks like possibly the news got the location wrong or one of his associates was holing up in my neighborhood. Living in Texas is fun!

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/two-n ... s/2858086/

Yeah that helped, looking at that I realized the mailboxes are wrong (ours are enclosed in brick structures) for our neighborhood, so the one on our side must have been someone else.

I live to serve.

Dumb and dumber:

January 6th committee has obtained phone records for Eric Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle

And:

NEW: 1/6 committee has subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Boris Epshteyn. All Trump allies involved in efforts to challenge/overturn 2020 presidential election.

The best is yet to come!

Hey maybe they will collect all the people right before the investigation gets cancelled. There's zero chance they get anything meaningful before the midterms and then boom gone.

Octavious wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:24 pm Hey maybe they will collect all the people right before the investigation gets cancelled. There's zero chance they get anything meaningful before the midterms and then boom gone.

They've already got some pretty compelling stuff from what we know so far. I assume that they're aware that they effectively have a Jan. 2023 deadline (unless the midterms go much different from current expectations). I doubt they'll be able to do everything that they'd like to do, but they should be able to release a pretty damning report by then.

Now, will anyone be able / willing to actually hold the relevant people fully accountable is another question.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:43 pm

Octavious wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:24 pm Hey maybe they will collect all the people right before the investigation gets cancelled. There's zero chance they get anything meaningful before the midterms and then boom gone.

They've already got some pretty compelling stuff from what we know so far. I assume that they're aware that they effectively have a Jan. 2023 deadline (unless the midterms go much different from current expectations). I doubt they'll be able to do everything that they'd like to do, but they should be able to release a pretty damning report by then.

Now, will anyone be able / willing to actually hold the relevant people fully accountable is another question.

Agreed. This one will be the dynamite that the Mueller report should've been, and it will only release when they run out of time. Then there will be two big questions. Is there solid enough criminal evidence to compel the DOJ to indict trump? And, will it be enough to punish Republicans at the polls? The first question has a corollary: Since convicting trump of insurrection would disqualify him for office, will the DOJ have the stones to prosecute if the facts support it? But that's getting ahead of things.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:43 pm

Octavious wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:24 pm Hey maybe they will collect all the people right before the investigation gets cancelled. There's zero chance they get anything meaningful before the midterms and then boom gone.

They've already got some pretty compelling stuff from what we know so far. I assume that they're aware that they effectively have a Jan. 2023 deadline (unless the midterms go much different from current expectations). I doubt they'll be able to do everything that they'd like to do, but they should be able to release a pretty damning report by then.

Now, will anyone be able / willing to actually hold the relevant people fully accountable is another question.

I assume they are aware they have a deadline prior to November of 2022 since anything they do after that point will rapidly be undone by newly elected extremists. Only by getting the information public prior to the election can they hope to have any impact.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:43 pmNow, will anyone be able / willing to actually hold the relevant people fully accountable is another question.

I think we all know the answer to that.

We will see the Cyrus Vance (?) model play out here: say you are going to do something, LOOK like you are doing something, actually DO something...kinda...but then RIGHT when you are on the verge of completing The Something, miraculously, your time at working on it is up, and the problem is no longer yours.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:43 pm They've already got some pretty compelling stuff from what we know so far. I assume that they're aware that they effectively have a Jan. 2023 deadline (unless the midterms go much different from current expectations). I doubt they'll be able to do everything that they'd like to do, but they should be able to release a pretty damning report by then.

Now, will anyone be able / willing to actually hold the relevant people fully accountable is another question.

And likely the best we can hope for is that it influences the 2024 election enough to do more than just counteract the GOP sense of "fair elections".

Things are going well here. These people really want authoritarianism. From the framing of capitol riot folks to political prisoners which Crenshaw outrageously agreed with to silently letting the question hang out there to implicitly agree that there is an abuse of power happening and then reacting with mock surprise to calls for authoritarian action? Shameless. And he isn't "conservative" enough for these people?! Trouble is coming.

"Ugly American" as we used to know the term seems so quaint, now.