If he actually had CPR there is zero chance that the picture is real. There would be very little chance he would even survive, and if he did he wouldn't be looking like that picture. If he had CPR why no rush when he was taken into the ambulance? If he just fell and he is awake and sitting up, why no video interview? Also what the heck was up with his wife flying off to China right after he went into the hospital? Who does that? This whole thing is preposterous. (Someday we will find out the truth and I hope that anyone with a hand in covering this up at the very least gets called out publicly - not sure there is any way to prosecute unless they get called to testify under oath.) We need a law saying that if members of congress don't SHOW UP PHYSICALLY for a certain amount of time they are automatically removed. Also age limits to running for office. The law relating to our public officials needs to catch up with the fact that people now live long after they are capable of holding a job like lawmaker/congress person/president.
The problem of people staying in office when they're too old is a bipartisan one (the Dianne Feinstein situation also springs to mind), so I hold some hope that a Constitutional amendment could be passed that establishes an upper age limit, though presumably not until we have a younger President. A mandatory retirement age for federal judges seems like a reasonable ask too. The extent to which modern medical science can keep people going at low levels of functioning really is one of those things that the Framers couldn't have foreseen.
The gerontocracy is a serious and growing problem in our civic life. Ruth Bader Ginsburg wasn’t quite as old as Feinstein, and Joe Biden wasn’t quite as old as Ginsburg—and compared to all of them Lindsey Graham was a spring chicken. They were all too old. Nancy Pelosi, one of the more high-profile Democrats to suggest that Biden should step down after his disastrous debate performance, said in 2022 that she wouldn’t seek a party leadership post in the next Congress, and last year she said she would retire in 2027. She still hung around too long.
"SHOW UP PHYSICALLY" reminds me that I read recently about two congresswomen who faced enormous difficulty post-partum, because the rules absolutely forbid proxy voting even by brand-new mothers. Yet there's nothing that says a Kean or a McConnell needs at least show his face within a reasonable time period, or he will lose his seat.
You say that this is all unimaginable 10 years ago, but wasn't it exactly 10 years ago when Senate Majority leader McConnell was denying the seating of judicial appointments, including for the Supreme Court, until after an election? This seems like a move from the exact same playbook, and that was before Trump even was seated.
You know, I had this exact incident nagging at my mind but not quite rising to the surface, but I was thinking that ten years wasn’t enough. I will expand the timeframe!
I’m now thinking of a version of this song that has a turtle in it. Not sure if it would be “Am I a turtle or an I a Muppet?” or “Am I a man or am I a turtle?” “I’m a turtle of a Muppet” is good, but so is “I’m a very manly turtle.” Is there a way to combine all three??
All of this joshing is predicated on the assumption that McConnell is fine, as the official story states. If he’s dead, or even brain-dead, I’m very sorry!
I certainly wasn’t trying to be insensitive to the actual man! As you say, we have a right to know his true condition, and IF he is dead, we should know so we can mourn him. And if he’s alive, we should know that too and be glad of it. The people of Kentucky in particular have the right to know.
EDIT: I was going to continue the thought with a generality, but I’ve thought better of it. Doing that has gotten me in trouble once before, so I want to get out of the habit.
Andrew Egger of the Bulwark has come up with what's become my favorite conspiracy theory to explain this curious incident: McConnell did indeed suffer only a minor fall and is recovering well, but is deliberately being vague and evasive about his condition in order to avoid returning to DC and the incessant harassment from Trump over the dishonestly-named "SAVE America Act". I can't say I believe it, but it strikes me as roughly as likely as any other theory, and is a lot more fun besides.
I'm sure we'll learn part of the truth next week, but who knows how long it'll take for the entire truth to come to light.
LOL that reminds me of a comment Jonah Goldberg made on a podcast during one of the Trump impeachments: "Of course I think McConnell has more cards up his sleeve, because *he's made of cards.*"
Egger’s speculation about McConnell’s disappearance is about as satisfactory as any, which is not to say it’s highly plausible! Somehow there is no highly plausible proposal, because we’re in such uncharted territory.
I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but, hard evidence or not, current AI image generators are fully capable of producing those pictures of McConnell, and they could probably produce a fairly convincing video too. The fact is that photographic evidence these days just doesn't mean very much without some level of trust in the source (which is understandably lacking in this case). I think we'll end up confronting this problem repeatedly going forward.
Michael Sellers, a former CIA analyst whose Substack I linked to above, says the video technology isn’t there yet. He’s more reserved about the photo, which he does not unequivocally declare to be authentic, but based on his analysis he seems to consider it likely authentic, bolstered by what he considers the extraordinary difficulty in maintaining what he calls “a literal proof-of-life conspiracy.” (Though, to be fair, he does not consider the lesser but still significant difficulty in maintaining complete secrecy of where McConnell is.) And, yeah, this is indeed a harbinger of much more factual indeterminacy to come.
Actually, make that #8: I just now noticed that you have two #7s. And this is not the Monty Python Philosopher's Sketch, though the ongoing saga definitely rivals it in absurdity.
If he actually had CPR there is zero chance that the picture is real. There would be very little chance he would even survive, and if he did he wouldn't be looking like that picture. If he had CPR why no rush when he was taken into the ambulance? If he just fell and he is awake and sitting up, why no video interview? Also what the heck was up with his wife flying off to China right after he went into the hospital? Who does that? This whole thing is preposterous. (Someday we will find out the truth and I hope that anyone with a hand in covering this up at the very least gets called out publicly - not sure there is any way to prosecute unless they get called to testify under oath.) We need a law saying that if members of congress don't SHOW UP PHYSICALLY for a certain amount of time they are automatically removed. Also age limits to running for office. The law relating to our public officials needs to catch up with the fact that people now live long after they are capable of holding a job like lawmaker/congress person/president.
I don’t disagree, my love, but then again I have no window into someone else’s marriage! Absolutely regarding changes in the law.
The problem of people staying in office when they're too old is a bipartisan one (the Dianne Feinstein situation also springs to mind), so I hold some hope that a Constitutional amendment could be passed that establishes an upper age limit, though presumably not until we have a younger President. A mandatory retirement age for federal judges seems like a reasonable ask too. The extent to which modern medical science can keep people going at low levels of functioning really is one of those things that the Framers couldn't have foreseen.
The gerontocracy is a serious and growing problem in our civic life. Ruth Bader Ginsburg wasn’t quite as old as Feinstein, and Joe Biden wasn’t quite as old as Ginsburg—and compared to all of them Lindsey Graham was a spring chicken. They were all too old. Nancy Pelosi, one of the more high-profile Democrats to suggest that Biden should step down after his disastrous debate performance, said in 2022 that she wouldn’t seek a party leadership post in the next Congress, and last year she said she would retire in 2027. She still hung around too long.
"SHOW UP PHYSICALLY" reminds me that I read recently about two congresswomen who faced enormous difficulty post-partum, because the rules absolutely forbid proxy voting even by brand-new mothers. Yet there's nothing that says a Kean or a McConnell needs at least show his face within a reasonable time period, or he will lose his seat.
You say that this is all unimaginable 10 years ago, but wasn't it exactly 10 years ago when Senate Majority leader McConnell was denying the seating of judicial appointments, including for the Supreme Court, until after an election? This seems like a move from the exact same playbook, and that was before Trump even was seated.
You know, I had this exact incident nagging at my mind but not quite rising to the surface, but I was thinking that ten years wasn’t enough. I will expand the timeframe!
Thank you for bringing this up. I was aware of that, but it wasn’t until just now that I made the connection. I agree.
Is it bad that the Muppet looks better than the man?
Is he a man or is he a Muppet?
I’m now thinking of a version of this song that has a turtle in it. Not sure if it would be “Am I a turtle or an I a Muppet?” or “Am I a man or am I a turtle?” “I’m a turtle of a Muppet” is good, but so is “I’m a very manly turtle.” Is there a way to combine all three??
All of this joshing is predicated on the assumption that McConnell is fine, as the official story states. If he’s dead, or even brain-dead, I’m very sorry!
I certainly wasn’t trying to be insensitive to the actual man! As you say, we have a right to know his true condition, and IF he is dead, we should know so we can mourn him. And if he’s alive, we should know that too and be glad of it. The people of Kentucky in particular have the right to know.
EDIT: I was going to continue the thought with a generality, but I’ve thought better of it. Doing that has gotten me in trouble once before, so I want to get out of the habit.
Andrew Egger of the Bulwark has come up with what's become my favorite conspiracy theory to explain this curious incident: McConnell did indeed suffer only a minor fall and is recovering well, but is deliberately being vague and evasive about his condition in order to avoid returning to DC and the incessant harassment from Trump over the dishonestly-named "SAVE America Act". I can't say I believe it, but it strikes me as roughly as likely as any other theory, and is a lot more fun besides.
I'm sure we'll learn part of the truth next week, but who knows how long it'll take for the entire truth to come to light.
LOL that reminds me of a comment Jonah Goldberg made on a podcast during one of the Trump impeachments: "Of course I think McConnell has more cards up his sleeve, because *he's made of cards.*"
Goldberg has a way with words, no doubt, and in this case his wit highlights an important truth.
Egger’s speculation about McConnell’s disappearance is about as satisfactory as any, which is not to say it’s highly plausible! Somehow there is no highly plausible proposal, because we’re in such uncharted territory.
I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but, hard evidence or not, current AI image generators are fully capable of producing those pictures of McConnell, and they could probably produce a fairly convincing video too. The fact is that photographic evidence these days just doesn't mean very much without some level of trust in the source (which is understandably lacking in this case). I think we'll end up confronting this problem repeatedly going forward.
Michael Sellers, a former CIA analyst whose Substack I linked to above, says the video technology isn’t there yet. He’s more reserved about the photo, which he does not unequivocally declare to be authentic, but based on his analysis he seems to consider it likely authentic, bolstered by what he considers the extraordinary difficulty in maintaining what he calls “a literal proof-of-life conspiracy.” (Though, to be fair, he does not consider the lesser but still significant difficulty in maintaining complete secrecy of where McConnell is.) And, yeah, this is indeed a harbinger of much more factual indeterminacy to come.
In #7 under "The following details ...," your last sentence should start with "Governor Beshear."
Unless he's resigned and been replaced by the doctor from Deep Space Nine.
Hahaha thank you! I find myself committing that kind of phonetic typo more and more, and often it’s more obviously nonsensical than this!
Actually, make that #8: I just now noticed that you have two #7s. And this is not the Monty Python Philosopher's Sketch, though the ongoing saga definitely rivals it in absurdity.
Fixed also! This is another type of mistake I make with alarming frequency, especially for someone as enamored of numbered lists as I am.
I'm going to chalk these goofs up as collateral damage from the forever war on reality.