34 Comments
User's avatar
Heyjude's avatar

Has there ever been a ruling class more certain they can do anything (We can change the climate! We can make men into women! We can achieve total equity!), while living in hysterical terror (COVID! White people! MAGA Republicans! Words are violence!)

It really defies understanding.

Expand full comment
Timothy Andrew Staples/pop122's avatar

"Has there ever been a ruling class more certain they can do anything, while living in hysterical terror"

Excellent sentence. Just saying.

Expand full comment
Heyjude's avatar

Yeah, I thought I got too wordy. But then I hit post anyway 😉. Relying on you guys to sort it out.

Expand full comment
Timothy Andrew Staples/pop122's avatar

Ha!

See, I always resort to parentheticals, also, my friend!!

Expand full comment
Ministry of Truth's avatar

You forgot the climate.

Expand full comment
Valerie's avatar

This column is a Friday highlight. It’s hard to believe I live in the same world as some of these people.

Expand full comment
Bill Heath's avatar

In truth, you do not occupy the same world as some of these people. I looked qt your profile; you subscribe to reality-based stacks. Some of these people have no connection to reality,

Expand full comment
Valerie's avatar

True! I’m so glad to be part of Team Reality and Common Sense.

Expand full comment
Blair's avatar

Check this video out. You won't know whether to laugh or cry. This was the summer of 2021.

https://youtu.be/kN_FoVi7Ay0?si=U56-83bEcZheXJxz

Expand full comment
Valerie's avatar

I remember this. He’s been so bad for a long time.

Expand full comment
Dave's avatar

How can Hur in is investigation of the Biden document scandal, make the decision for the jury and say "a jury wouldn't likely convict him because he's senile?" Aren't we supposed to let a jury decide this question?

Expand full comment
Bill Heath's avatar

The rule of prosecutorial discretion is nearly absolute. And, it was not necessary that Hur state his reason for choosing not to charge Biden. That's the legal view. The political view is that once Hur had found that all the elements of the crime existed and could be proven, he was screwed. He could either recommend charging the sitting president, or find some way to keep Trump charged with felonies while letting Biden off the hook, even though the Biden case would be stronger. Short of fabricating evidence, he took the best of many bad options.

Hur didn't decide to release the report unedited; Garland did. He is the only Cabinet Member immune from being fired by the real President, Dr. Jill. I've written elsewhere that this was the first salvo in the battle to replace Joe.

Expand full comment
David Burse's avatar

Prosecutors don't like to bring charges against people if they don't think they will win convincingly. Hur is speaking in prosecutor tone. A democrat president is never going to get convicted in DC. In Idaho or Alabama? Absolutely. But not in DC.

Expand full comment
Timothy Andrew Staples/pop122's avatar

Technically, declining to charge is not the same as making "the decision for the jury".

The answer to your ultimate question is yes.

Expand full comment
Dave's avatar

But Hur's reasoning being that they jury won't convict because he comes off as senile, is that appropriate for him to solely make that determination? I'm guessing so since this is so public and that's what he did. Seems like a bit too much discretion to me. But who am I to say? Thank you.

Expand full comment
Timothy Andrew Staples/pop122's avatar

No, it is not.

Unless...it is the opening salvo in the replacement of a senile POTUS.

Btw, you are just as likely to be right as any "expert" today!

Expand full comment
Clever Pseudonym's avatar

I will just add one more quote that I think puts those other quotes in a larger context.

"The members of the elite did not object at all to paying a price, the destruction of civilization, for the fun of seeing how those who had been excluded unjustly in the past forced their way into it. They were not particularly outraged at the monstrous forgeries in historiography of which all totalitarian regimes are guilty and which announce themselves clearly enough in totalitarian propaganda. They had convinced themselves that traditional historiography was a forgery in any case, since it had excluded the underprivileged and oppressed from the memory of mankind.....Destruction without mitigation, chaos and ruin as such assumed the dignity of supreme values."

"The Origins Of Totalitarianism" Hannah Arendt

Expand full comment
Marc DB's avatar

For Dante King’s thesis, since “whiteness “ & & it’s biological problems are part of evolution, then what percent of white genetics are needed to contaminate the pure black gene line. What percentage would cause blacks to become racist to non blacks, since this is an evolutionary contamination?

Expand full comment
Timothy Andrew Staples/pop122's avatar

Hey! Easy on the logic there!

Expand full comment
DMC's avatar

one drop of blood?

Expand full comment
Marc DB's avatar

How very Jim Crow of you - lol. Genetics belies the theories of racial politics left & right. But if science can’t be used to achieve political ends, then obviously it must be ignored. Dante King is just a white guy riding the guilted white surfboard to selling plenty of books & move away to someplace where there are very few black people - like Vermont.

Expand full comment
DMC's avatar

Actually I think he is black but then again, by who's standard? LOL

Expand full comment
DD's avatar

Oy vey! From the sheer malevolence of Google's Gemini AI, to the unfathomable depths of ignorance of Dahlia Lithwick and Calla Walsh....top hole, Brad, absolutely top hole.

Expand full comment
Tardigrade's avatar

I used to admire Dahlia Lithwick. Either I was delusional, or she changed. Possibly both.

Expand full comment
DMC's avatar

just wondering. when did communism become bad with the MSNBC people?

Expand full comment
Graham Cunningham's avatar

I wonder what will happen if GPT-4 starts to read Quotes and Links?

Expand full comment
David Burse's avatar

I am, again, disappointed your have no Tay Tay Lorenz quotes. But, Calla Walsh quotes will have to do for the time being.

Expand full comment
Ministry of Truth's avatar

She recently sat down with the Libs of TikTok lady. Wearing a mask - Outside (while her counterpart was wearing a T-Shirt with a picture of Tay Tay crying). Saying stupid shit. It's hilarious.

Expand full comment
Timothy Andrew Staples/pop122's avatar

I read this column religiously.

I always feel much more informed afterwards.

Thank you, Brad!

Expand full comment
Tardigrade's avatar

Google Gemini is such a caricature. How could they ever seriously release this? Is there any reason besides totally delusional ideology? Because the amount of delusion involved beggars belief.

Expand full comment
Blair's avatar

This will always be my favorite Biden quote. He was talking to Don Lemon during a July 2021 CNN Town Hall and could not believe Lemon actually got the vaccination.

"You got the vaccination? Are you okay? I mean, you seem…" "No, it works." Or you, you know — or the mom and dad, or the neighbor, or when you go to church, or when you're — no, I really mean it."

"There are trusted interlocutors. Think of the people — if your kid wanted to find out whether or not there were — there's a man on the moon, or whatever — you know, something, or, you know, whether those aliens are here or not — you know, who are the people they talk to beyond the kids who love talking about it?"

Expand full comment
Tardigrade's avatar

Absolute magic, the way the Covid vaccines were pure poison until Biden became president, at which point they were a holy sacrament.

Expand full comment
Blair's avatar

Very true. 🤡

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Feb 23, 2024
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
David Burse's avatar

Brad already clicked on that link, so you don't have to.

Expand full comment