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eg492's avatar

Politico's headline: "Harris refuses to veer off-script in her second high-profile interview."

Wonkette, may I suggest a story on how Politico is pathologically unable to stomach the idea that Kamala Harris has any agency, and feels compelled to describe everything she does in terms of a scripted act?

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Greg Brown's avatar

When Republicans do it, or did it, (those were the days) it was called message discipline.

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Banana Hammer's avatar

Yah - the rightwing punditry is begging their candidate to have such discipline. If he manages it for 15 minutes one time, they give him a cookie.

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Zyxomma's avatar

Ta, Evan. I actually listened to this at work while I did paperwork.

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Terence Dougherty's avatar

In a nation that can be so easily divided over the question of reparations, her approach is brilliant: level the playing field for the sake of the future with housing, small business and child care support for those deliberately (& those not so deliberately, but unfortunately) left behind. Close the wealth gap(s) in ways that also positively affect the overall economy. Take away the racist talking points by empowering the excellence so long strategically thwarted by systemic racism.

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Ambiance Chaser's avatar

Democrats have to start saying Netanyahu will do whatever it takes to keep the Hamas war going because it keeps him out of prison. By avoiding saying that good faith Democratic representatives, like Kamala Harris, wrap themselves in to knots by expressing a balance to our response to the war.

America's response to the Hamas war can never be balanced as long as Netanyahu is a position to make sure it never ends. Then we the Democrats get criticized because we are not doing enough to make it all end.

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Jus_Wonderin's avatar

If it hasn't been said: Did Kamala say something about when Trump decided he was Orange?

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Tessie's avatar

"Remember when Donald Trump went to visit the National Association of Black Journalists and it was so thoroughly humiliating for him and they laughed at him to his face and it went so poorly"

`

"Poorly" by any rational standard? Sure. But considering that the entire reason he went on there was to berate and yell at BLLLLL-ACK women, he achieved his purpose.

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FredRock's avatar

That was so freaking awesome. This is a woman who is a true statesperson! I have so much confidence in having her behind the wheel. There's a very VERY stark contrast between her and her opponent. I call him the Rotting Mango Despot. (feel free to use that if you want)

Thank you Wonkette for the heads up and providing the link. I don't think I'll ever be sorry that I've subscribed to this amazing service.

edit: Thanks again Evan Hurst!

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HI2thDoc's avatar

Lessee, a rabid racist ignoramus at the NABJ. Didn't fare well. Next, a well informed, qualified, dignified, fair minded candidate at the same NABJ. Yeah, different outcome.

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Always Be Ithacating's avatar

I like that the journalists were tough on Harris, and that she had a few "I'm going to finish, then we'll get to that" moments, demonstrating that nobody was in any tank there.

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zb23's avatar

perfect opportunity for Wonkette writers to tell their knee-slappingly HILARIOUS "joke" about black people being "articulate".

sure. it is 100% identical to something an actual racist would say— but if you flippantly declare it to be a joke that actually makes it totally okay. because everyone knows "ironic" racism is cool and acceptable and never leads to any problems ever.

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Pliny the Younger's avatar

You've never read Wonkette, have you?

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You Should Ice That Burn's avatar

I don't recall the joke, do you remember the joke and who wrote it, because that sounds sus

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Chris Lombardi's avatar

But WTF was it with ABC News doing a SPLIT SCREEN of the interview with Diddy's arraignment? Disney's racism can't be more blatant

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babaganusz's avatar

WTAF?!

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Resource NW's avatar

The worse Convicted Felon PAB's campaign goes, the more extreme and dangerous he will get. Traitorous Turtle could have saved us all this, even if he would not have been a hero at home.

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SethTriggs's avatar

It's so refreshing to hear Kamala Harris speak at length showing a wide knowledge of subjects. Too bad that under Murc's Law, only Democrats are actually held accountable for actual knowledge (and accountability for promises).

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Let me sum up's avatar

I can only assume wingnuttia is up in arms over the UnFaIR to TFG aspect of this. I'm assuming, bc I don't want to check - I don't trust any sources that can't be found in wonkette comments.

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WasX's avatar

IK, R?? 😹

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Let me sum up's avatar

If only comments were allowed...

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Lady MS's avatar

Totally OT: Did anyone else see the former CIA op on MSNBC reacting with shock, awe and undisguised admiration at Israel’s latest tech expo? It seems they found a way to detonate all of Hezbollah’s pagers at once. Video showed one guy taken down in a produce market; neither he nor the bystanders knew what hit him. Early report was 9 dead, 2700 injured. Well, this should bring about a ceasefire pdq, right?

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Snowolf100's avatar

It's either malware or they got explosives put in and sold them the pagers. They also got the location of a couple of top guys a couple of months ago that everyone wondered how they'd found them but if they sold and were tracking the pagers that would explain it.

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Werewolf's avatar

Horrible escalation from the (checks notes) daily rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon since October (including the drone attack that deliberately murdered a dozen children in Majdal Shams, a Druze village).

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Lady MS's avatar

Currently, it appears to me that none of the arcs in this perpetual circlejerk is the least bit interested in a rational resolution of this, so far, irreconcilable conflict. More’s the pity for all innocents buried in the madness.

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IncognitoTXusLibrul's avatar

My dumb thought:

People still use pagers???

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Always Be Ithacating's avatar

I understand Hezbollah only went back to pagers when they learned Israeli intelligence was deep into their cell phones.

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IncognitoTXusLibrul's avatar

I mean, what's next, a Betamax weapon?

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subterrene's avatar

I read about the explosions at the Guardian. I figured the "directed energy weapon" conspiracists have been raving about for years has been perfected.

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Elderly John's avatar

That's like something out of a :B: movie. Effin' amazing.

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Stulexington's avatar

CIA operatives immediately ditch their pagers.

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Anonymous Venezuelan's avatar

It's a real life candygram for Mongo.

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Lady MS's avatar

omg🤭snort

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R. Riddle's avatar

Here's some more theorizing on how it was done:

"How was this pulled off? Here are the theories

From CNN's Christian Edwards

Experts have shared two competing theories as to how hundreds of pagers could have exploded simultaneously.

One theory is that there was a cybersecurity breach, causing the pagers’ lithium batteries to overheat and detonate.

Another is that this was a “supply chain attack,” where the pagers were tampered with during the manufacturing and shipping process.

David Kennedy, a former US National Security Agency intelligence analyst, told CNN that the explosions seen in videos shared online appear to be “too large for this to be a remote and direct hack that would overload the pager and cause a lithium battery explosion.”

Kennedy said he found the second theory to be more plausible.

“It’s more likely that Israel had human operatives… in Hezbollah… The pagers would have been implanted with explosives and likely only to detonate when a certain message was received,” he said.

“The complexity needed to pull this off is incredible. It would have required many different intelligence components and execution. Human intelligence (HUMINT) would be the main method used to pull this off, along with intercepting the supply chain in order to make modifications to the pagers,” he added."

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/lebanon-pagers-attack-hezbollah#h_fae744b5f17886dd7ce2bec9ff9ab047

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Resource NW's avatar

Pretty sure all pagers have in internal clock, hackable software and complex power supplies. Add a charge in the battery, a countdown on the clock and boom. What was needed was awareness of the shift to pagers and a contact in the supply chain.

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defpac's avatar

That explanation makes a lot of sense, but it also implies that Hezbollah is unable to assess such a risk, and lacks the skills to ensure that devices aren't coming with explosive materials inside.

And both those premises ... sound wrong. Hezbollah is well trained and very professional ... and heck: they are terrorists; knowing about explosives is their bread and butter business.

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Bobathonic's avatar

OTOH, lithium batteries burn, not explode.

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defpac's avatar

Wrong. Yes, normally batteries rather burn when damaged.

But: it is very well possible for them to explode, under certain circumstances.

Now, if it is possible to send an exploit over the air to pager devices, to take full control of that device, to then even override potential hardware protections in the battery controllers to get the device into a condition that leads to explosion ... sounds a bit far fetched, too.

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Elderly John's avatar

I would suspect that it was very few operatives, and I fully expect to see this in a movie inside of 9 months. Even if the pager wasn't on someone's person, it could start a fire with a lithium battery, so a glass of water wouldn't out it out. Will we see ouse of this YouTube?

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Lady MS's avatar

Collective “holy fuck!” heard from Intel agencies worldwide.

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Satanic Pancake's avatar

Or at least convince them to get a new service provider.

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LP's avatar

Everyone my age knows not to touch anything from the ACME brand.

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Always Be Ithacating's avatar

The first Road Runner cartoon was shown in theaters in 1949, so the 6-year-olds in that audience are now 81. I have to go lie down now.

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LP's avatar

Wow, I did not know that. I always associate the aesthetic (LOL) with the late 50's (coincidentally. when I was born).

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Always Be Ithacating's avatar

Me either, I guessed the first RR would have been about 1961, which is we got our first TV, and I was 7.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uj8OACYl9Y

The aesthetic does not look much different from my memory. I have to go lie down again.

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Lady MS's avatar

Valid point

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defpac's avatar

Incredible how her tone and stance is so much different compared to the debate.

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Livi C.-Hall's avatar

I have no doubt VP Harris will have a better connection with the journalists!

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