While Donald Trump is trying to singlehandedly dismantle American democracy faster than the Nazis dismantled German democracy, his MAGA troll army is out in force running interference for him, creating their own reality distortion field.

Yesterday, one of our resident right-wing influencers "averagebob" had this to say: "@45 true and even if you vote for the lesser evil, don't point out the problems or they'll call you a Russian troll."

I suppose "point out the problems" is a euphemism for "relentlessly smear Kamala Harris during last year's presidential campaign."

And then he had this to say when I suggested the obvious, that he's not who he says he is: "and who the fuck are you? I don't care to be honest."

I can understand that this individual wouldn't know who I am since they just landed on this blog last year to fulfill whatever their assignment was. But people who have been reading these comment threads for years know who I am. They may not always agree with my views, but they know I am sincerely expressing my views, and they know I'm not a one-trick pony. Even as an anonymous commenter, I have established a little something called credibility.

As for "I don't care to be honest"--I think that is the one truly honest thing "averagebob" has said on these comments threads.

Since I'm just a concerned citizen with a regular job and not a right-wing influencer myself--and I've got my own difficult day at the office ahead of me--I'll have to make myself a one-and-done on today's thread. Have fun.

@1: You talk so much about having a job. It’s not actually an accomplishment. 😆

Always enjoy a Mudede Slog AM.

Apparently, the $50,000,000 was for Gaza Province in MOZAMBIQUE, and not for Condoms.

"Republicans are horrible people" -C. Vel DuRay

@1, it’s time to look up from the laptop. Online grievances isn’t going to right this sinking ship.

@1 Geez, and you say that I am toxic when the only thing you do here, and aren't even good at, is slander left wingers by saying they are "right wing influencers" and "Russian trolls". Concerned citizens don't go around spouting conspiracy theories that have no factual basis beside what's going on in their head. Everything I say, or almost everything, is substantiated by articles on websites with background above suspicion. Why don't you attack the ideas instead of demonizing your opponent by claiming they are disloyal, which as I said is a bread and butter authoritarian tactics

And what's that shtick of yours about your job? Plenty of people work or have worked their entire life. They don't go about incessantly and insinuating other people who comment here don't work.

@4 more importantly, using fascist tactics isn't going to prevent fascism

@1. averagebob is not right-wing at all. I think you've been huffing too much paint. You thought Phoebe in Wallingford was their profile photo.

@1 strange you having to deny you are a right winger. I don't doubt you're not an influencer.
Deal with the fact that Dems run middle right candidates. If you are leftish, it sucks. Part of a 2 party system. You can sing Kamala' s praise, I won't.

@1: How unreasonable for someone to point out that Killemalla Harris gave away all of the public money for her supposed "economic recovery plans" to Bibi for his genocide, and for a US-friendly, ISIS redux government in Syria. There are even some folks mentioning that she did only after she knew she would lose the election. Anyone pointing that out should be tried for defamation. ;(
Seriously, all I had to do was read the unprovoked attack on averagebob and the delusional attempts to shore up the writer's liberal credentials to know that either cressona or tensorna were at work. I scrolled to the bottom, and found the former, sigh...

If seaweed-based cattle feel can reduce methane emissions, farmers only need to be incentivized to switch to it rather than having to monitor cow flatulence and belches, which Charles would be very rattled to do himself.

I imagine this odious regulation will be undone by the new Secretary of Agriculture.

Charles, I’m sure you could perform a doom tour up and down Rainier Ave S, outlining the various shootings, break-ins and stabbings. Nevertheless, it’s the greatest neighborhood in Seattle (ok next to pioneer square)

@9: "Killemalla Harris?" Christ, one hopes you're a bot because the only way a human would type those letters in that order is if they suffered recent head trauma.

Always a
treasure
gracis
Chas.

@12: You should count your blessings that she was selected to lose the election. Killemalla was going to be her nickname if she won - not everyone is in denial like you about the genocidal traits of DNC prezzes.
And no, I'm not a bot - as I've stated in this comment section, I'm a voting citizen who has observed first hand DNC military-led violence and destruction in the Middle East. Again, not everyone is ignorant and knows nothing about the world like you.

Cows farts have been known to cause holes in the ozone layer since the 1990's. That's nothing new. Feeding them seaweed that grows off the coast of the United Kingdom to rectify (heh, perhaps rectum-ify) their flatus is an interesting solution, one I would hope will work. But having the scientific evidence to prove how much a cow pollutes would be gold so far as justifying subsidies and grants to make the switch to growing more of this magic seaweed. I thought we already had plenty of scientific evidence on cow farts killing the planet, so I wonder why we need more. We need more science on how to get the magic seaweed to grow closer to home.

"Even as an anon-
ymous commenter, I
have established a little
something called credibility."

equating 'credibility' with
'delusional' is Not help-
ing to make your case

but Kudos!
for having 'a
Job'! you must
be Very proud, indeed.

charlesbro as long as you're copy pasting nyt, can we get a hell yeah for 1% chance of 2024 YR4 in '32

Beef (free range, grass fed) is one of the healthiest foods a human being can eat. The more fat, the better. We're just going to have to look past that pesky methane so we can feed America with high quality nutrition.

So, RFKJ should be confirmed soon, how long until Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel get their nods? The sooner Trump can install his cabinet, the sooner he can Make America Great Again. (Although admittedly he's doing a damn fine job even without his appointees in place.)

@18. You're laying it on a little thick, chummer.

@18 When do you (and/or Trump) believe America was Great? 1950? 1850? Just curious.

"The bill is of course rational. Science must determine the impact our addiction to cheap beef has on greenhouse gas emissions.”

Except it will only impact Washington based farmers, it will do nothing to impact beef / dairy products being brought into the state. If we wish to maintain a viable WA beef / dairy industry, then we should avoid adding expenses that are unique to them (and if we want to kill the WA beef / dairy industry, be up front about it).

@10/15 I don't think the legislature honestly cares about measuring how much methane cows are emitting. They just want beef farmers to fall under the jurisdiction of the CCA so they can start taxing them as they do with everything else around here.

I’ve never been a conspiracist but I am increasingly convinced that whoever is behind this “all the deadly foods are actually good for you and vaccines are bad” craze currently sweeping through trump country is trying really hard to kill the stupidest white people in america

Based on the rat story I should have frozen to death a long fucking time ago.

@24 The only comment of note so far. Kudos.

@23 they gave it their Best Shot
in the Pandemic~they'll Gladly
make history Rhyme again if
it means Ownin' them
gottdamn Libs:

no Price is
too Great

well
Onward, then!
& here's to Glory!

@23: Only racists pair skin color with intelligence.

@5: “Everything I say, or almost everything, is substantiated by articles on websites with background above suspicion.”

Oh, like earlier this week, when you tried to pass off a 40-year-old fable from a Reagan fanboy as an actual historical document? Then used that fable as the basis for your claim Reagan was so awesome, he could leap over the IDF with a single call? You mean that comment?

(https://www.thestranger.com/slog-am/2025/01/27/79893133/slog-am-homicides-in-seattle-trump-quietly-fired-independent-watch-dogs-chinese-ai-model-disrupts-stock-market/comments/23)

Yep, that’s about the level of hard factual substantiation you deliver here.

@23 I have wondered the same thing. How long do you think it could take though? I've stopped eating beef myself and I feel healthier than I've felt in a long time. And I can look at cows in the eyes and see how beautiful they are. So cute.

@27, raindrop used to get so mad when I would say anything bad about stupid white people, but that’s a story for another time. I’m not saying all white people are stupid (racist), I am saying stupid white people are speedrunning to an early grave for believing the stupidest things imaginable (not racist). Our country is probably all the better for it, assuming they don’t crater the health care system.

@29, the vaccine thing is probably going to hit their kids the hardest because the parents have already gotten their shots but the food thing is just wild to me. I think they have a general distrust of expertise leading them to believe the opposite of everything they’re told. We’re already seeing declines in life expectancy in this country driven by deaths of despair in rural white communities. If opioids or guns don’t take them out, either colon cancer or heart disease will be waiting for them.

@23. Do recall that it was some of our fair brothers and sisters out there on Vashon Island who made national news with their anti-vax positions. Then along came Christian home schoolers who hopped aboard that train, but passed on the granola. Here on the mainland I knew some Waldorf families that were equally vehement over vaccines.

During Covid "vaccine hesitancy" as it was charmingly called was ski high among Native and African Americans but thankfully the NYT reminded everyone of the horrors of Tuskegee thus facilitaring 206ers rationalization of one populations dereliction while ridiculing anothers.

And oh did they! In the backyard tent of my partner, learning pod parents had many a laugh over the refuseniks while lauding their dutiful adherence to health experts and elected officials. The convo was a ritual of sorts that hit its zenith when red hatted folks marched on Olympia to protest the various government restrictions. Now they were mocked for being dumb enough to gather in crowds.

Then George Floyd died and 206ers filled the streets like so many sardines. "Racism is also a public health issue" was the magic phrase to make it OK.

If some MAGA folks are refusing to do things that are commonly known to have this or that effect on health yet don't comply out of deep seated suspicions, that of course is regrettable but is by no means without precedent ,or company.

@30: That's some real slimey, slippery nuance that you can only get away with if the color is white.

@28: You don't have to reach that far back. Just yesterday, he was on here claiming that the 2024 election was "rigged." 🤪

The Republicans allowed AverageBob-style kooks to take over their party, but I'm hoping the Democrats can continue to ice out the kooks. I'd much prefer to find a way to win elections without relying on illiberal, anti-semitic, and anti-American conspiracy theorists of either the left or the right varieties. 😃

@31 you're "I'm smarter than everyone and I laugh at them" thing is so natural I don't think it's a bit, unlike cressona's "I have a job" which is too absurd and repetitive to be sincere (I hope)

@31 “vaccine hesitancy” has always been a bipartisan affair but there is a very specific strain of anti-intellectualism in maga circles today where all things health-related that have long been settled are turned on their head, and as a result we are poised to have a career conspiracy crank as the head of health and human services

@32 read a history book some time bro, you’ll be blown away

I keep on daydreaming that one day soon, Mein Trumpf and its MAGA loyalists will all choke and drop like flies on BigMacs poisoned by pink slime methane farts.
Pile Shitler!

@37, well, better pink than brown I suppose

@37 ha ha ha ha ha!!!! 🤣 I’m dying!!!! Good stuff.

@28 There are many sources discussing Reagan making Israel stop disproportionately bombing Beirut. Here is another one from the NYT just for you:

REAGAN DEMANDS END TO ATTACKS IN A BLUNT TELEPHONE CALL TO BEGIN

5:10 P.M. (11:10 A.M., New York time) - Mr. Reagan reaches Mr. Begin for 10-minute telephone call. 5:40 P.M. (11:40 A.M., New York time) - Mr. Begin calls President Reagan to say that a ''complete cease-fire'' had been ordered.
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/13/world/reagan-demands-end-to-attacks-in-a-blunt-telephone-call-to-begin.html
It didn't take a day as I said, but the whole of 30 minutes.

And despite your unsubstantiated claim, the president can embargo weapons to any foreign state. If anything, the president have even greater power to do so since the passage the Leahy bill in 1997

Your repeatedly pretending that I am citing this example because I like Reagan is more evidence of how dishonest you are.

@33 I linked to a video discussing voter suppression, which is standard operating procedure by the GOP since 2000. The author of the study, Greg Palast,, who uncovered the 2000 voter purge in Florida, claims the 2024 election was stolen because 3.5 million votes, mostly minority voters, were thrown away, purged from voter lists, etc ... The purpose of voter suppression is and has always been election theft, after reconstruction and now. The right wing that suppresses the vote of minorities and the poor like you also claims that they aren't suppressing the vote and that claiming so is all a conspiracy theory.

This is what I said:
"The role of voter suppression in the 2024 US elections? The author of the study, Greg Palast, has documented voter suppression at least since 2000.

DID TRUMP LOSE? Shocking Proof Trump Rigged 2024 Election w/ Greg Palast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LN65qFUDDo"

I cited the title of the video claiming the election was rigged but I also question marked the role of voter suppression in this election primarily because I haven't read the whole study and I haven't checked his math for swing states, which you haven't done either.

@40: “I haven't read the whole study and I haven't checked his math”

Ha ha, I can’t wait to read the results of your analysis! Say, when you get done debunking the 2024 election theft, maybe you can also weigh in on the Zapruder film? 🤣 And what about the steel beams on 9/11? And that suspiciously flappy flag from the moon landings? 🤣🤣🤣 Hey, Bob, I think I just saw Bigfoot running off with a ballot box! Quick, you better call Thom Hartmann! 😂🤣😂🤣

we'll get intellectual honesty
outta wormmy and his a i
sockbott the very Day
they shut Down
derr Schlogg

lol! lol!

lol!

@40: "Post hoc, ergo, propter hoc." It's charming you believe international diplomacy actually works that way -- and especially, that quickly. If there was barely half an hour between Superman Reagan's IDF-leaping call and Begin's agreement, then it should be obvious the Israelis already had a plan to cease fire, and if anything held implementation of it until Reagan called, so he could feel like he did something, and take credit for it. (Buttering up more powerful allies being a huge part of actual diplomacy in the real world.)

Indeed, the very short time involved should itself be taken as an indication the entire show was a stage-managed media event, and the Reagan presidency took the stage-management of such public events to a new high. (No, that's not a compliment.)

Again, if you want to claim that another war, in another country, in another century, makes for a valid analogy, then you have to show it is valid. You don't get to assume that.

"And despite your unsubstantiated claim, the president can embargo weapons to any foreign state. If anything, the president have even greater power to do so since the passage the Leahy bill in 1997"

You really have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, do you? First, the link to the definition of Israel's "Qualitative Military Edge" is in the other thread, and it sets a very high bar for the US to maintain that. Randomly threatening an arms embargo is pretty much the opposite of what that law requires. Second, the Leahy Law applies per-unit, not to an entire country at once. To use the Leahy Law to justify an embargo against an entire country, the administration would need to show that every last military unit in that entire country had intentionally committed serious human rights violations. If even one unit had not been shown to do so, then the US could still export arms to that country.

"Your repeatedly pretending that I am citing this example because I like Reagan is more evidence of how dishonest you are."

I'm actually citing it as an example of how painfully naive and foolishly gullible you are, but since you won't ever admit to those, I had to package it in a way to which you'd respond. You've already demonstrated that hand-waving dismissal and (extremely juvenile) name-calling are your only responses when you actually have the slightest understanding of what I wrote.

@9b ~ gotta say that Ukranian flag's
a dead giveaway, saving Oodles of
Time not to mention anguish
but Othewise BINGO.

we All (or Nearly
all) need
Icons

and
maybe
even an
Edit button
which'd be Nice.

@43 "First, the link to the definition of Israel's "Qualitative Military Edge" is in the other thread, and it sets a very high bar for the US to maintain that. Randomly threatening an arms embargo is pretty much the opposite of what that law requires"

Also in the other thread is a link to the actual law, which does not say what you claim it does. Here it is again:

https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ429/PLAW-110publ429.pdf

@43 Your capacity to ignore the facts is tiresome

All arms transfer including that covered by the QME are for defensive purpose only and they are subject to humanitarian law including the Leahy Law, and a slew of other bills like NSM20. Security assistance is discussed by the Israel Policy Forum that can hardly be accused of an anti-Israel bias:

"Notable Restrictions and Oversight
Defense articles provided by the U.S. must be used for their intended purposes. Both Congress and the president have the authority to block the sale or transfer if the recipient is determined to be not complying with U.S. conditions.

Self-Defense Only
In Israel’s case, the arms it receives from the U.S. are designated to be used only for self-defense.

Third-Party Arms Transfers
Israel needs U.S. consent to transfer arms it acquired from the U.S. to another party.

Humanitarian Considerations

FAA Section 620M (Leahy Law)
Section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act, known as the Leahy Law, bars the U.S. from providing weapons or aid to foreign security forces that have committed gross human rights violations—defined as “torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, and rape under the color of law.” Both DOS and DOD take this law into account when vetting a recipient for security assistance. This law was introduced in 1997 and made permanent in 2008.

FAA Section 502B
Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act bars the provision of security assistance to foreign governments that have a “consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” This gives the executive branch the authority to deem a country ineligible to receive security assistance. Congress can also request a report from the State Department to evaluate compliance, and subsequently restrict or end aid via a joint resolution based on the report’s findings.

FAA Section 620I
This law bars security assistance to governments that directly or indirectly restrict the provision of U.S. humanitarian aid. The president can issue a waiver based on national security interests.

National Security Memorandum 20
The Biden administration issued NSM-20 on February 8, 2024. This requires foreign governments to credibly certify in writing that they are using U.S. defense articles in accordance with international humanitarian law and that they are not impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid in conflict zones. Rather than creating new legal requirements, NSM-20 emphasizes existing conditions and creates new oversight mechanisms.

The secretaries of state and defense must submit annual reports to Congress assessing compliance with these humanitarian requirements. If a country is found to not be in compliance, the U.S. government must halt the transfer of defense articles. This does not apply to purely defensive or non-lethal articles, such as missile defense systems. The president has the authority to waive these requirements under extraordinary national-security circumstances."

https://israelpolicyforum.org/security-assistance-explained/

@41 So you are denying that a) voter suppression is a well known fact and b) preventing some types of people to cast a vote is done to steal elections. The GOP denies it too.

@47: Stop the Steal!!! 😂🤣😂🤣

@48 There is no evidence that the 2020 election was stolen. There is however no doubt that the GOP has been implementing various means of voter suppression since 1998. This said you are clearly a troll or a conservative denying the obvious.

Block the Vote: How Politicians are Trying to Block Voters from the Ballot Box

Suppression efforts range from the seemingly unobstructive, like strict voter ID laws and cuts to early voting, to mass purges of voter rolls and systemic disenfranchisement. These measures disproportionately impact people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities. And long before election cycles even begin, legislators redraw district lines that determine the weight of your vote.

https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020

@46: And your citations of laws that require reports and processes contradicts the idea the president can simply order an arms embargo against any country at any time.

(That’s the trouble with loving authoritarian leadership. It leads to believing problems can be “solved” by executive fiat, instead of governing processes, checks and balances, etc.)

Although you’re now ignoring everything the pro-Palestinian side demanded last year, they didn’t demand a President Harris go through the processes you’ve mentioned. They demanded she immediately stop all arms shipments to Israel. Period. They didn’t care what our laws were.

@50 "They demanded she immediately stop all arms shipments to Israel. Period. They didn’t care what our laws were."

No they just, unlike you, actually knew what the law (linked above) said.

@51: I'm pretty sure their slogan was, “Not Another Bomb,” rather than, say, "Nominate for Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense Who Will Find Israel Not In Compliance with NSM-20," but then, considering just how hard you guys are now lying to avoid responsibility for Trump, I'd be hard-pressed to find any denial you make surprising, really.

(I do almost admire your dogged insistence that saying, "No, it isn't," counts as an 'explanation.' If you really want to explain something here, then do tell us how "Not Another Bomb" would have satisfied the requirement of maintaining Istael's QME. Go ahead, we'll wait.)

I have forwarded a copy of the Department of Ecology survey to each member of my herd. They are busy processing them at this moment. I'll submit them to the DoE the moment they are complete.

@52 "do tell us how "Not Another Bomb" would have satisfied the requirement of maintaining Istael's QME"

I linked to the law figure it out for yourself

@54: And I quoted more from the law than you did.

The answer, of course, is they are totally incompatible, which the protesters neither knew nor cared.

@50 "contradicts the idea the president can [..] order an arms embargo"

No it doesn't.

"Section 3(c)(1)(B) of the AECA (22 U.S.C.
2753(c)(1)(B)) prohibits the sale or delivery of U.S.-
origin defense articles when EITHER THE PRESIDENT or
Congress find that a recipient country has used such
articles in substantial violation of an agreement with the
United States “for a purpose not authorized” by AECA
Section 4 or FAA Section 502. (See also Section 505(d)
of the FAA (22 U.S.C. 2314(d)).)"
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11197

You can posture as much as you want but facts are facts.

@56: First, the protestors demanded Harris promise them an embargo ("Not Another Bomb"), not that she promise to investigate whether Israel "... has used such articles in substantial violation of an agreement ...", which, as you've quoted, is the actual process required by law.

Second, how does a potential conflict between these laws get decided? Your entire argument depends completely upon your assumption of the AECA always and absolutely taking precedence over the QME requirement, but as we have seen, the law which imposes the QME requirement for Israel actually amended the AECA. So you have merely asserted as "facts" (sic) something you need to demonstrate.

@56 We aren't talking about what the protestors wanted but Biden being able to declare arms embargo based on the fact that Israel didn't respect international humanitarian law

You are the one who claims there is a conflict so now you show us where it says that QME requirement supersede the Leahy law.

@58: "We aren't talking about what the protestors wanted..."

Maybe you're not, but if you look up-thread, that is the context of this dialog. That you're now trying to ignore what those protestors actually said and did is your problem, not anyone else's.

"You are the one who claims there is a conflict so now you show us where it says that QME requirement supersede the Leahy law."

First, nice attempt at moving the goalposts. You relied on the AECA, until I noted the law which establish the QME requirement had altered it, so your assumption the AECA always took precedence went unsupported by fact.

Second, you really don't know what you're talking about, do you? The Leahy Law applies per-unit, not per-country. Half the military units in the IDF could behave in the way you claim they have, and the other half would remain eligible to receive military aid from the United States.

If you want to explain how an arms embargo against Israel would allow the US to satisfy its legal requirement to maintain Israel's QME, please go right ahead. If you cannot, then there is a conflict, and you have to describe how that conflict would be resolved. So far, you've simply assumed it would be resolved in favor of the embargo. You don't get to assume what you need to prove.

@38 Phoebe in Wallingford and @39 Hayduke Forever!: My mention of "pink slime" is legitimate, in regarding what is used nowadays to make McDonald's fast-food burgers. The glory days of USDA prime beef are over. It's go cheap and unhealthy for profits, profits, profits. Even if real beef is still used for fast food anymore, it's so pumped full of toxic chemicals and GMOs---and most likely Big Ag is making sure of this---it's basically a heart attack in a bag. Woe be to those living in regions labeled as food deserts.
I'm surprised that McDonald's regular consumers, particularly in red states, counties, and communities aren't already bitching en masse to Mein Trumpf for FEMA cleanup money once diabetes, obesity, and heart disease rear their ugly heads.
I can't help but wonder if Mein Trumpf's addiction to BigMacs is at least partially why it's so batshit crazy.