February 1, 2020

I'm sorry. I have rig fatigue.

There are things I'm not reading this morning. And I mean this phrase "not reading" to denote an active process. I should write it as one word: notreading.

For the list of things I'm notreading this morning: "The Senate impeachment trial was rigged!" (by Dana Milbank in WaPo).

Yeah, it was rigged. Everything is rigged. The election was rigged. Trump isn't really President. The impeachment trial was rigged. The acquittal won't count as an acquittal. If Trump wins reelection, it will be because it was rigged. It's all rigged. The Constitution itself is rigged. What's with that 2/3 vote requirement? Rigged. Electoral college? Rigged! Life itself is rigged!...

I'm sorry. I have rig fatigue.

ADDED: 2 things:

1. The trouble with writing "notreading" as one word is it has the "Superbowl" problem. How do you know it's not "superb owl"? How do you know it's not "no treading" — as in "Don't tread on me"?

2. That tag "active non-reading" is not new. "Rig fatigue" is new. But "active-nonreading" has a past on this blog. It's just one post, though, from last February — Sometimes I feel I must make a note of articles I saw and didn't read:

63 comments:

Karen of Texas said...

I'll see your rigged fatigue and raise you a dumbasses fatigue.

Hagar said...

When were Congressional hearings not rigged?

Amadeus 48 said...

I like the concept of “ne post” in the last paragraph. Please don’t fix it.

h said...

Ah yes, we were concerned about our being perceived as too elitist when we should have been concerned with longue duree-ism. I see that now.

Amadeus 48 said...

Awwww...you fixed it.

I understand. There are so few things that one can definitively make right in life, typos must be corrected!

Amadeus 48 said...

I bet Karen from Texas knows an oil rig when she sees one. The Texas GOP must keep the US strong and free in November. Convert those newbies! They didn’t move to Texas because it’s like California.

It’s too late for Colorado. Look at Virginia and be warned.

AllenS said...

Interesting article I saw when I was checking on the 1968 Presidential election was that back then, the California election map was red, and the Texas election map was blue.

rehajm said...

It’s too late for Colorado. Look at Virginia and be warned

I think New Hampshire is cooked, too...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
pacwest said...

"I have rig fatigue."

Just think of it as prearranged. Not nearly as bad.

Karen of Texas said...

I moved to Texas in '84. The trend to red had become firmly entrenched starting with the 1980 election of Reagan. I have participated in that trend ever since.

But I am not convinced we can stave off the blue madness. Too many California imports, border crossings, and GOPe losers. Remember, we had 2 faithless electors in 2016.

And I definitely know what an oil rig is. But you would be astonished at the number of solar panels and wind turbines - some on my husband's family ranch - that dot this haven for deplorable, racist, homophobic, bigoted backwater rednecks.

Big Mike said...

There is no “Superbowl” problem. It is, and always has been, two words.

Chuck said...

I’m notreading Althouse today.

Curious George said...

But our resident dullard says they were rigged! And it's going to be the cause of a Blue Wave! Especially when The Truth comes out.

Temujin said...

I like the action of notreading. I do a lot of very specific notreading and now I have a proper word for it. Right now I'm doing a lot of Kobe notreading because the hysteria is more than I want to contemplate without me thinking the coronavirus came at a good time.

Anyway- now the Superb Owl will be staring me in the face all weekend. I like both teams. Love the potential of this game. It should be superb. Owl.

Big Mike said...

The problem for Milbank is that everything was rigged — against Donald Trump! He overcame it all.

Is there a point where the grownups in the Democrat Party accept the will of the people and start trying to woo them back? Or is it that the Democrats have no grownups left? Time to change the name of that party — Dumbocrats.

Oldest joke in American politics. “The People have spoken — damn them.”

Phil 314 said...

Texas turning red...

That reminds me of my Dad who was generally a lifelong Dem but more in the conservative working class type. He was gung ho about John Connolly as a future President AS A REPUBLICAN. My mom who was more of a lifelong Republican (as a reaction to her exposure to the Pendergast machine in KC) was clearly not impressed with Connolly. to use a Texas expression she felt he was “all hat and no cattle”.

She was right.

rhhardin said...

Althouse is tired of falling for headlines aimed at women, but uncurious why women find the headline interesting; instead, rejects the attempt without analysis.

Gender neutrality attempted.

But a guy might look to see what they're falling for these days. Rightwing political sites thrive on reporting what crazy stuff the left is saying now. In fact, almost nothing else. Guys pile on in the comments. Somewhere a principle will be stated that refutes the left. The guy interest is find the zinger that captures it.

Kevin said...

Kyle Reese: Listen, and understand. Trump Derangement Sydrome is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

rhhardin said...

I'll bet nobody talks about riggers.

Sebastian said...

""The Senate impeachment trial was rigged!" (by Dana Milbank"

So, Hill and her minions rig the election with false oppo research, the Russia hoax, and a deep-state attack on the Trump campaign, then the deep state rigs the entire polity with a Russia-hoax coup attempt based on false premises, then the House rigs its "impeachment" process, in all the ways laid out expertly by Bruce Hayden on this very blog, and Milbank complains about the rigged trial in the Senate.

Being prog means having the luxury of not having to be self-aware.

Jeff Brokaw said...

Got news for ya Milbank — the Clinton impeachment was rigged too.

Read Sellout by David Schippers. The fix was in.

Also, is there anyone less interesting to read than Dana Milbank?

Sebastian said...

Why has it taken us so long to see Trump's weakness, one prog asks.

Pray tell, what weakness? The guy runs agains the GOP establishment, the Dem establishment, the MSM, and wins. The guy is attacked by Hill's minions, foreign operators, FBI agents, Brennan sidekicks, and deep-staters for nearly three years, and prevails. The guy is vilified 24/7 on nearly all media outlets, and draws tens of thousands to his rallies. The guy couldn't possibly get better agreements from Mexico, Canada, and China, but does. The guy gets attacked by O holdovers scheming to fabricate an impeachment, and the House rigs its impeachment process for maximum pressure, but he gets off easily. The guy administers peace and prosperity, fewer illegals and better judges, positioning himself well for 2020. Weakness?

Jeff Brokaw said...

I’ve now witnessed in my adult life two impeachment proceedings. Both were ridiculous sideshows driven purely by pettiness and politics.

Are we still trying to pretend impeachment is valid? Let’s have one of those National Conversations the the left is always yammering about. Because this system sucks.

Impeachment as a concept was a good one when we had a better class of politician (think George Washington) but today’s politicians are mostly awful people who screw up everything, all the time.

Get rid of it or fix it — this is toxic bullshit that actively divides the nation for no good purpose.

rehajm said...

Somewhere along the line my decaying brain got Dana Milbank's byline confused with Kara Swisher's. Now every time I see Dana Milbank...

Kevin said...

Meanwhile at the DNC:

“DNC overhauls debate requirements, opening door for Bloomberg
The committee is eliminating the donor threshold, which had functionally barred Bloomberg from the stage.”

Jeff Brokaw said...

The Left should ponder the wisdom of Dan Quayle: “what a terrible thing it is to lose one’s mind”.

Awful to watch, especially on the national stage like that. Someone should reach out to them.

roesch/voltaire said...

Nobody cried “rigged” more than Trump, but so what as Alexander pointed out he did And we don’t need to hear any more confirmation of the facts. It was rigged only as much as the Republicans decided his unethical behavior wasn’t bad enough to merit impeachment. I suppose there was some embarrassment over what first person Bolton has said, but nothing more.

PJ said...

Whenever I start to get Rig Fatigue, I think of Diana and the feeling passes at once.

(Is “rig fatigue” pronounced so it rhymes?)

Johnathan Birks said...

I have been notreading the bezosblog for years now and have only good results to report. The milbank purge has been especially beneficial.

Paco Wové said...

I was travelling on business all week, and made a point of notreading and notwatching news the whole time. I caught a glimpse of CNN yesterday as I walked towards baggage claim, and I could tell from the unhappiness radiating from the screens that something had gone poorly for anti-Trump-land. That was all the information I needed, really.

alanc709 said...

Chuck said...
I’m notreading Althouse today.

Get back to use after the election. Perhaps one in 2060.

Leland said...

Texas federally was turning Red in the 80's with Reagan and later Bush, but at the state level, it didn't turn Red until the 90's. People keep acting life Texas has been Red a long time and is slowly turning Blue. It's really the opposite, and it is growing more Red. The Blue is the dense urban areas and Austin. These are all areas that benefit from government largess.

I just find the establishment to be too old, and the apple cart needs to be upset.

Howard said...

Of course it was rigged. Whole process was rigged. Take it from me bye was on the stage crew in junior high and the most fun that we had was working on the rigging so we could fly the flats in and out of the different sets. You can't have theater without rigging. You also can't sail a ship cross the ocean without ringing so it is a vital component too many things. To all of you who love fracking rigs are at the heart of it.

rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rehajm said...

It was the narrative what was rigged. If you were one of the actors the ending was 'surprising'.

Karen of Texas said...

True, Leland. And those dense urban areas like Austin, Houston, and Dallas almost gave us a Senator Beto.

Rory said...

"I’ve now witnessed in my adult life two impeachment proceedings. Both were ridiculous sideshows driven purely by pettiness and politics."

This is bullshit. Andrew Johnson was acquitted, and no one was ever prosecuted under that statute again. Trump will be acquitted, and there's not even a statute existing under which they could prosecute someone again. Bill Clinton was acquitted of things that are still prosecuted every day.

tcrosse said...

It was a rigmarole.

Chris of Rights said...

When I was a child, I had a problem with the word "nowhere". Is it "no where" or "now here"?

Paco Wové said...

What was "bullshit", Rory? Both modern impeachments have undeniably been "ridiculous sideshows driven purely by pettiness and politics."

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The real riggers are the D-hack Hillary Lost Butthurt press. Adam Schitt is king of the riggers. He's rigged. He's a lying riggger-mo-fo.

Danno said...

Howard, your ship's rigging became ringing. Either autocorrect is involved or you might be a dumbbell.

Howard said...

Thanks Danno. Yeah I'm just a dumbbell. Normally I have a girl review everything that I write to make sure the spelling and grammar is corrected. Thanks for stepping in and filling that void with your feminine clerical skilz.

Howard said...

In my defense ship's rigging can ring out in high winds. You know you're in trouble when the ringing rigging sings out Nearer, My God, to Thee

traditionalguy said...

Rigged? The stuffed ballot boxes was the first method. Among others, it gave us the miracle of LBJ.

But in the last 20 years Soros had actually rigged the electronic voting counts. That is why Hillary has been so angry. She knows Trump's Q team unrigged them.

narciso said...

Yale '90, they must be so proud,

Paul Zrimsek said...

One of my FB friends shared a rant from someone or other that complained about the "gerrymandered Senate". Now that's a pretty neat trick.

Shouting Thomas said...

Thanks for stepping in and filling that void with your feminine clerical skilz.

Aha! So, the Biggus Dickus act is still operational!

You just threw down a coupla drinks, Howard?

I've missed your alter ego with the lisp. Get down! Biggus Dickus is in the house!

Bruce Hayden said...

“It’s too late for Colorado. Look at Virginia and be warned.”

Which very much depresses me. My grandfather homesteaded in CO more than a century ago, riding a horse up from Beaver County (center of the panhandle), Oklahoma on weekends to work the land, and moving there permanently 97 years ago with my grandmother and 6 mo old father (we all teased him about being a New Yorker, while we were all CO natives). Still have two brothers there, along with my kid. Would love to get them all up to MT. Almost the exact same trees as where my brothers live, and my kid grew up in (primarily a slightly different variant of Ponderosa Pine). But ours are noticeably taller. Might have a chance with my youngest one, but my next brother is still ski racing, despite being now on Medicare and spends weekends during the summer mostly above treeline hiking and climbing. Still, we have Wilderness Areas under an hour away in either direction. And our family business is there too.

Howard said...

So many Cucks, so easily triggered

Shouting Thomas said...

So many Cucks, so easily triggered

I'm glad you've had a few drinks and you're back to the Biggus Dickus bit, Howard.

Still trying to get over that trip to the steam room last night at the YMCA? Bad taste in your mouth?

It's OK, Howie. Really.

When you're drinking you seem to forget that liberals are supposed to be horrified by homophobia and sexism. Remember?

The Biggus Dickus act is entertaining! More!

Squints said...

The best cure for rig fatigue is to listen to a bunch of trucking songs. Dieselbilly, babes.

Narr said...

I think the big issue isn't Notreading and Notwatching (I was an early and consistent adopter of both, for huge swathes of the human experience) but Nothinking (Notthinking?)

Narr
It's de rigueur nowadays

Known Unknown said...

Longue durée in a subhead?

That's one way to keep your article off-limits to the deplorables.

Steven said...

I mean, yes, of course it was rigged. By the House Democrats.

If the House Democrats had actually wanted to remove Trump, they would have fought through the executive privilege claims on the subpoenas in court, they would have included actual criminal charges in the articles of impeachment, and they would have avoided saying utterly ridiculous senator-alienating things in their presentation (like the "heads on pikes" lie about what Trump said in private to the senators themselves).

Rather, the whole thing was political theater designed to whip up the Democratic base, while explicitly rigged to not run any risk whatsoever of making Pence the president.

Jeff Brokaw said...

I like the new word “notreading” and already adopted that concept as my default mode with MSM political coverage in late 2015.

It’s exhilarating to push back on obvious partisan lies and just not care in the slightest what any of these people think any more.

And it’s 100% their own damn fault, so I have zero sympathy for them.

JAORE said...

If Trump is not exonerated because there was no "fair" trial....
Then he obviously was not really impeached.

JAORE said...

"I have rig fatigue."

Ah ain't no ways tared.

Lazarus said...

I would think that the media is pretty clear that they saw Trump's weaknesses from the beginning. Voters may not have found them to be weaknesses, though. If Corey Robin missed the weaknesses, it's no surprise. He misses a lot. Ideology fogs his glasses.

gilbar said...

In the stupid boomer movie, THE BIG CHILL, the only non asshole said
Nobody said life would be fair
At least, nobody said it to me

gadfly said...

Dana Milbank is apt to believe wild theories. Back in the day when Jack Abramoff held sway over Republicans as a lobbyist, he told Milbank that there was an Asian pig that chewed it's cud, so it would be kosher under Jewish dietary laws. Unfortunately, cud-chewers also have split hooves but real piggies do not. Sadly Jack missed his chance to make a fortune legally, so he schemed to get cash from a bunch of Indian tribes instead of opening the world's first kosher restaurant featuring bacon and pork sausages.

Ken B said...

If garner is just pretentious get why isn’t notreading just pretentious ignoring? You are ignoring or avoiding something. Why do you need a new word for that?