Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

No one could have predicted…

We’re not going back!

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Come on, man.

We still have time to mess this up!

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Thursday Afternoon Open Thread (Updated)

Thursday Afternoon Open Thread (Updated)

by | 275 Comments

This post is in: 

Here’s a reminder to keep Thor in Thursday:

goldilocks

Open thread!

ETA: Commenter Keith P mentioned this tweet from Trump in comments below. I thought he was joking, but nope, it’s real:

Holy mole.

Reader Interactions

275Comments

  1. 1.

    Mike J

    Happy Cy Young de Mayo. On this date in 1904, Boston pitcher Cy Young threw the first no-hitter of the modern era.

  2. 2.

    Calouste

    From what I have read today it really seems like a Trump cabinet would be like what we would make up here on a late evening thread:
    Carson for Health and Human Services or Surgeon General
    Cruz as Attorney General, then on to the Supreme Court
    Christie to take over as AG after he has finished as governor

    So who else?
    John Bolton: State or UN ambassador?
    Jeff Sessions somewhere?

  3. 3.

    Chris

    @Mike J:

    My boss came walked in today and gave everyone a brief reminder of what Cinco De Mayo actually is (Battle of Puebla, Mexican victory over invading French forces). He also reminded us all that since Napoleon III was favorably disposed towards the Confederacy, the outcome of the battle might have influenced the outcome of the American Civil War by denying the C.S.A. a potential ally to the south, or at least bogging down said ally in war. Therefore, Cinco De Mayo DOES matter to the U.S!

    Don’t know if I buy it, but hey, it’s a reason to drink and be patriotic. ‘merica.

  4. 4.

    MomSense

    Elon James White and Emily Epstein welcomed a new baby into our world today. Sidney Joyce White. Congratulations!

  6. 6.

    Keith P.

    Remember Jeb’s “America” Twitter pander with the engraved handgun? Trump just blew that out of the water with a taco-based tweet. I’m in stitches.

  8. 8.

    Germy

    @Keith P.:

    Remember Jeb’s “America” Twitter pander with the engraved handgun?

    I still think that was a thinly-veiled threat against tRump for dissing his brother.

  11. 11.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike J:

    On this date in 1904, Boston pitcher Cy Young threw the first no-hitter of the modern era.

    That would actually be the first perfect game (i.e. nobody reaches base) of the modern era, not the first no hitter.

  13. 13.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    …Sanders claiming that the burden was on Hillary to work to win over his supporters. (Imagine Hillary making this demand in 2008.) Nobody in the media demanding that Sanders release years of tax returns, as Hillary had done. One story — one — about Sanders paying for his chartered plane to the Vatican out of campaign funds after claiming that this was not a campaign trip. (And no one accused him of dishonesty or corruption.) No major story about the child out of wedlock, the weird quotes about rape and sexual fantasies. Imagine if a female candidate had had this past.

    Sexism is the new racism.

  15. 15.

    RoonieRoo

    WOW! I just watched a second ad that Hillary has released. It’s on her twitter and I can’t figure out the freaking link to post. But man, this one is even more wow than the first one.

  16. 16.

    Schlemazel Khan

    I think the captions got mixed up in your photos! The second one should say “I found this in the crapper.”

  17. 17.

    raven

    North Carolina Needs You

    North Carolina Needs You is here to encourage artists of all kinds, from musicians and comedians to dance troupes and festival organizers, to keep their dates in North Carolina—and even to schedule new ones—in order to generate the social and financial capital necessary to win in November and beyond.

  22. 22.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @Mike J:

    I thought today was “Revenge of the Fifth” since yesterday was “May the Fourth Be With You”

    But then again, many amateur drinkers will be suffering the revenge of the fifth tomorrow!

  23. 23.

    dr. bloor

    Commenter Keith P mentioned this tweet from Trump in comments below. I thought he was joking, but nope, it’s real

    Talk about leaving something in the crapper…

  26. 26.

    lwestsd

    @Keith P.: He’s trolling all of us. It’s the only thing that makes sense in this utterly senseless Republican primary.

  27. 27.

    Chris

    @Schlemazel Khan:

    I thought today was “Revenge of the Fifth” since yesterday was “May the Fourth Be With You”

    Also from my boss, yesterday:

    “You know, Star Wars is a work of fantasy. But it’s become such a part of people’s everyday lives that they even have a day for it every year. And I think in Britain, Star Wars is even a recognized religion. It’s just fascinating to me how entertainment like this can cross over into the real world. Totally explains Donald Trump.”

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    Willing to suspend disbelief only so far, what with Thor being the only one capable of lifting Mjolnir.

    Or has that part of the mythology been jettisoned now?

  34. 34.

    p.a.

    Certainly not the #1 reason to support Hillary, but could you imagine the renovation results for the White House if this cafon’ should win? “It’s plush, plush I say. Classy…”

  35. 35.

    Tenar Darell

    @Chris: That is actually a valid argument if the battle was consequential enough. (Not familiar enough with that history to say). I can say that the Union Navy’s blockade of Southern ports was very effective from fairly early in the war. Like by 1862/63 it was severely restricting the cotton that could go out and the guns from industrialists in Europe that could get back in. If the CSA had been able to run guns in through Texas etc. that could have lengthened the War, resulted in a potential European ally, and possibly resulted in a negotiated peace. Geography would have been tough of course, like lack of navigable rivers, enough railway lines, and Union control of New Orleans, but small changes could have snowballed.

    So Happy Cinco de Mayo, and welcome to the world young Sidney Joyce White.

    @Betty Cracker: Sidney’s a girl who shall be wearing Batman onesies because Batman is awesome (because Elon is also a proud geek Dad), and not princess stuff, until & unless she decides that’s what she likes to wear. (Can you tell I’ve been listening to TWIB prime?)

  37. 37.

    shomi

    This must be that “pivot to the left” (TM Wrong way Cole) that Cole was warning us that we should ‘fear’. Because everyone will just forget that Drumpf always was and always will be an ahole that called all hispanics rapists.

    All because he took a picture sitting in front of a taco and said he loves hispanics. Cole really has his finger on the pulse….of his own pulse.

  38. 38.

    Gin & Tonic

    Sub-head of the lead editorial in this week’s Economist (just published): Donald Trump’s victory is a disaster for Republicans and for America. Here’s the cover — not quite up to NY Daily News standards, but still.

  39. 39.

    Germy

    @Schlemazel Khan: “This 1999 Saturn has low mileage and a new set of tires. I’ll talk to my manager and see what he says about your counter offer. Wait here. There’s free coffee if you want it.”

  41. 41.

    Cermet

    Not that it really matters but I suspect that tRump no more dislike Hispanics than he does gays; on the other hand, I also suspect he is racist towards blacks (the apple does not fall far from the tree.)

  42. 42.

    Germy

    @Cermet: He had to pay repeated fines because of housing discrimination. And a former black employee said all the black workers were moved out of sight whenever he scheduled a walk-through of one of his businesses.

  43. 43.

    Punchy

    Wait….this isn’t a holiday celebrating that fine eggy, white sandwich condiment we all love on our heros?

  44. 44.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @Chris:
    A little known but important bit of American history is that the battle for Texas was fought over slavery. Mexico had outlawed the practice and the slaveholders and assorted hangers-on decided they could use all that space to expand the practice. The call to “defend” the Texas was made by pro-slavery groups and papers. They could not immediately join the Union because the gentleman’s agreement was that one pro and one free state would join at the same time. The original deal was that Texas could be divided into 6 states and that was so they could always add 2 more slave Senators to “balance” the addition of free states.

  45. 45.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Germy: He would be fighting Jeff “James Guckert” Gannon for Republican clients.

  46. 46.

    TheMainGaucheofMildReason

    @NotMax:

    Willing to suspend disbelief only so far, what with Thor being the only one capable of lifting Mjolnir.

    Or has that part of the mythology been jettisoned now

    The Vision can also lift Mjolnir; this was established in the last avengers installment. I don’t remember if this was the case in the comics or not.

  47. 47.

    raven

    @Tenar Darell: Salt was also crucial. St John’s Bay near Panama City, Fl was a big producer.

    Florida’s greatest contribution to the Confederate war effort was in producing salt. With a total investment of $10 million, Floridian salt plants worked 24 hours a day boiling salt from sea water, mostly in the area between Saint Andrews Bay and St. Marks, Florida. Occasionally, Union forces came ashore just to destroy the boilers.[5] Confederate law made those involved in salt-making immune to being drafted, making it a popular profession in war-time Florida; the estimated total workers involved was 5,000.[6]

    Avery Island, Louisiana, as seen from a distance across a sugarcane field.
    One way Southern families acquired salt was to boil the dirt in areas where they had previously cured meats. They would dig it out, and strain it.[7]

    Avery Island, off the Louisiana coast, gave the Confederacy a huge supply of rock salt until the Union captured it. However, Confederates never realized that similar structures to the Avery Island salt dome were all along the Louisiana and Texas coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, and could have provided a more easily acquired source of salt.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    I just wish he’d written “the Hispanics.” Must’ve run into the character limit.

  49. 49.

    Germy

    @Roger Moore: Why doesn’t Bill Kristol just run for president? Why all the middle men? Why didn’t Koch just push Scott Walker aside and say “here, goddamn it, let me do it.”

    As odious as he was/is, at least Pat Buchanan made an attempt to ruin the country, rather than cheerleading others to do it.

  50. 50.

    gvg

    I am afraid that tweet reminded me of a modest proposal.
    ”I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled …”
    Trump could use some grammar lessons, as well as history and manners and….

  53. 53.

    AkaDad

    I’ll show Hispanics how much I love them by mentioning tacos. That wont be offensive at all!

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    And the topper.

    And according to BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski, Trump Grill doesn’t have taco bowls on the menu. Source

  56. 56.

    SiubhanDuinne

    He couldn’t even be bothered to move that unsightly and unstable stack of newspapers to one side before slapping his lunch plate on top of it? I hope the taco bowl falls in his lap, because you will also notice he’s not using his napkin.

    Didn’t they teach him any table manners at that tough reform military school he attended?

  58. 58.

    Germy

    @NotMax: Not surprising. Didn’t he have his staff buy steaks from various supermarkets for his photo display of “Trump steaks” and they forgot to remove the stickers of the actual stores that sold them?

    Was the wizard of oz the ultimate republican?

  61. 61.

    Matt McIrvin

    @NotMax: I think that’s part of the joke here–Deadpool turns out to be worthy of the hammer and, of course, hardly notices.

    I think in the comics all manner of people have managed to lift the hammer (and were therefore Worthy) at some time or other, including Captain America and Black Widow. In the Marvel movies, Cap managed to budge it just perceptibly, but the only other hero we’ve seen lifting it was the Vision.

  65. 65.

    Chris

    @Tenar Darell:

    I read up a little on the battle this morning. By the sound of things, it would’ve been more consequential if the French had won. As it is, they just came back with more troops later on and eventually did take Mexico City and establish a (short-lived) empire. It took them another year to get to that point, though, and the new emperor didn’t even arrive until the year after that. I suppose the argument is that if the French had secured a victory earlier on, they could’ve come into the Civil War when it still made a difference.

    The reason I said “don’t know if I buy it;” 1) the French eventually lost in Mexico, no reason to assume winning at Puebla would’ve changed that outcome. 2) Even if not, it’s hard to imagine them charging into the Civil War before they’d pacified Mexico, which would’ve taken a long time. 3) Even if they had, it’s still far from certain that they would’ve wanted to join the war. As I recall from studying this in undergrad, the French were wary of involving themselves in the war – they and anyone else in Europe who might be interested were basically waiting to see what the British did, since the British controlled the Atlantic.

    But gunrunning and diplomatic support I could see making some difference.

  66. 66.

    Germy

    @SiubhanDuinne: The Applebee’s salad bar has no sneeze guard. Because that would be unnecessary government regulation.

    Brooks is going through a nasty mid-life crisis and his divorce didn’t help. Ladies: He’s available!

  67. 67.

    Alex.S

    So ummm….

    Why is Trump eating his food on a stack of newspapers and magazines when he has an empty section of his desk nearby?

    Edit: Turns out the bikini-clad woman is a photo of his ex-wife Marla Maples from a recent People magazine.

  68. 68.

    Schlemazel Khan

    The conversation around that picture:
    “Pedro, what do you people eat, tacos?
    “My name is Hector Mr. Trump, sir, and I suppose some people eat tacos, sir”
    “Well Pedro, here is $20 go run and get me something you people like for lunch”
    “Yes Mr. Trump, sir.” . . . sigh
    20 minutes later Hector returns with the first thing he could find, a taco salad from the barn across the street
    “”Here You are Mr. Trump”
    “Where is my change, Pedro and it is Mr. Trump, SIR”
    “Larry get over here at take the damn picture!”
    “Yes SIR, Mr. Trump!”
    “Pedro, get this shit off my desk, here is $50 go get me some decent food!”

  72. 72.

    Germy

    @lollipopguild: I remember something Hunter Thompson wrote (over thirty years ago) about talking to Buchanan’s secretary. Hunter expressed concern about Buchanan’s health. “Don’t be silly,” the secretary replies. “He’ll outlive us all.”

    And sure enough, the old sage is still spreading his wisdom on PBS.

  73. 73.

    ET

    Donald. Donald. Hispanic voters aren’t as stupid or as brain dead as many of your voters. Eating a taco bowl and saying you love Hispanics isn’t going to make up for the they are all rapists and murderers. You can’t unsay that., and most sane people can’t hear/unthink it.

  75. 75.

    NotMax

    @Germy

    Not supermarkets, IIRC, but from the same wholesaler who had supplied them before the steak biz went bye-bye, Bush Provisioners.

    (emphasis added)

  78. 78.

    Cacti

    @ET:

    Eating a taco bowl and saying you love Hispanics isn’t going to make up for the they are all rapists and murderers.

    Not mention, a taco bowl is about as Mexican as kielbasa.

  80. 80.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @VOR: Superman and Wonder Woman don’t exist in the Marvel 616 Universe and don’t really count.

  81. 81.

    Gravenstone

    @NotMax: Even in the comics, a handful of “worthy” individuals have been able to wield Mjolnir. Assuming you’ve not seen Avengers 2 (from which the above PS is derived), you’ll see someone else was deemed worthy.

  82. 82.

    catclub

    @RoonieRoo: I assume the new one is the one that Plum line has highlighted. I agree. All things that Trump
    has said and said again. Much more effective than the one with all the prominent Republicans.

  83. 83.

    Patricia Kayden

    Trump meant to say: “I love Hispanics” who aren’t rapists like those Mexicans I mentioned in my kick off speech.

    What a cheesy dude.

  84. 84.

    Major Major Major Major

    The people at the next table are arguing about whether to vote for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson as a protest vote. Pink-haired people with “wheat sensitivity” in San Francisco are going to vote third party! Democrats better watch out

  85. 85.

    catclub

    @Germy: One of the Kochs did run as either Libertarian or constitution party candidate. Evidence of learning that he did not repeat the effort.

  87. 87.

    Librarian

    @Chris: Yes, the battle was part of the French occupation of Mexico which ended in 1867 with the execution of emperor Maximilian. It was just a temporary setback for the French.

  89. 89.

    Elie

    I still can’t get over the shame for our country that this — this — low-life, ignorant, spiritually and physically ugly person is even anywhere near winning the candidacy for president… This has to be one of the lowest points for this country ever. He represents a major political party and millions of voters. I still struggle with what it means and why this happened. We should be mortified and ashamed as a nation that this has occurred….

  91. 91.

    glory b

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: Hey, I pointed this out in another thread a couple of days ago.

    In 2008, Clinton had to convince her people to get behind Obama because she lost.

    Now, she has to cajole Bernie supporters into voting for her (without assistance from him, it seems) because she won.

    Funny how that works. In both instances, win or lose, she shouldn’t expect any help form the guys.

  93. 93.

    Betty Cracker

    @Elie: Shame was my first reaction when I realized Trump had clinched the nomination too — even though I’ve never voted for a Republican in my life. It would go a long way toward redeeming our national honor if Trump were utterly crushed in the general election. I don’t know about y’all, but I am going to contribute more and work harder as a campaign volunteer to make that happen than I ever have before.

  95. 95.

    Mike J

    @Cacti:

    Erin Gloria Ryan ‏@morninggloria 1h1 hour ago
    Of course Donald Trump eats taco bowls, the only Mexican food that comes with a wall built around it.

  96. 96.

    JPL

    Wish I had said this
    Excited for Trump to eat some falafel for his general election outreach to Muslims.

    Thanks goes to Ben Jacobs (guardian) twitter

  97. 97.

    Emma

    @ET: Besides which, I am a Hispanic and I despise taco bowls. Now, some carnitas, or some Baja fish tacos, or snapper Veracruzano, I could go for.

  101. 101.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    Are we sure we’re not all living in an alternate universe scripted by The Onion? Gah.

  102. 102.

    Matt McIrvin

    Also, on this date in 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, with a 15-minute suborbital flight in the Mercury capsule Freedom 7.

    (He was grounded for several years after that for an inner-ear condition, but was eventually cured and made his second and last flight, to the Moon, where he made the famous lunar golf drive.)

  103. 103.

    ? Martin

    I wonder if Trump grills or sautees the Hispanics he puts in his taco bowls?

  104. 104.

    Chris

    @ET:

    Donald. Donald. Hispanic voters aren’t as stupid or as brain dead as many of your voters. Eating a taco bowl and saying you love Hispanics isn’t going to make up for the they are all rapists and murderers. You can’t unsay that., and most sane people can’t hear/unthink it.

    The point behind these kinds of outreaches isn’t to reach out to minority voters. It’s to show to white people that you’re trying hard to reach out to These People, but they just keep spitting in your face and turning you away. (Ditto Mitt Romney and Rand Paul’s “outreach” to black people a few years back). Then you can talk about how unreasonable they are, there’s just no pleasing them.

  105. 105.

    Trentrunner

    Someone found out that under his taco bowl, Trump has a photo of his second (NOT CURRENT) wife Marla Maples clad in a skimpy bikini.

    Guess how he worked up that appetite!

    #StubbyVulgarianFingersStillGetTheJobDone

  107. 107.

    Elie

    @Betty Cracker:

    Absolutely! It still hurts my citizen pride that after Obama’s tenure and the dignity he brought in the face of unbelievable resistance and hate — that THIS is their answer? THIS? That millions of people think that this guy is fit for anything besides drunk creepy uncle is shocking — and I didn’t think that I shocked that easily… Even if he is crushed, what do we do with those people? What do they do with themselves?

  108. 108.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Schlemazel Khan: Perfect! You have Trump down to a “t”. Wonder why he didn’t photograph himself eating fried chicken with the caption “I love the Negroes” during Black History Month. He needs to pander to all of us minorities.

  109. 109.

    WJS

    Who was the overpaid political consultant who stuck that thing under his nose and begged him to say something nice about Hispanics? This is how you know Corey Lewandowski is no longer running things because the TRUMP STEAKS have been replaced by taco salads.

  112. 112.

    Calouste

    @Chris:

    As I recall from studying this in undergrad, the French were wary of involving themselves in the war

    The French also had the Italian and German unifications going on at their doorstep. They couldn’t really afford to have a lot of troops weeks, if not months, away.

  114. 114.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @glory b:

    Infuriating. Absolutely infuriating on so many levels, it makes me want to hit somebody.

  115. 115.

    MattF

    I’ll bet that the Hispanic cook who made that taco bowl added a little extra something… just as a bonus.

  116. 116.

    Chris

    @Calouste:

    Well, yeah. That’s one of the big reasons no one in Europe got involved: they had bigger fish to fry closer to home. Not to mention their own interests in every other continent in the world, as well.

  117. 117.

    Elie

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Like anti-matter — yep — he is the manifest repudiation of everything Obama stands for from his appearance to his intellect and morality. Trash…. And apparently a lot of people want that leading this country somehow….

  119. 119.

    glory b

    @Betty Cracker: Nice thing about being brought up by Civil Rights era African American parents, we don’t feel the need to feel ashamed of stuff white folks do.

  120. 120.

    El Caganer

    “I never knew this salted-dick taco bowl was so delicious! Hey, you – yeah, you – what’s Spanish for yoooge?”

  121. 121.

    scav

    @JPL: Details, details — he’s a big picture guy. Does it really matter that he dropped the bombs on Georgia (Atlanta) rather than Georgia (Tbilisi)? He’ll lunch on some corn pone and BBQ and everything will be hunky-dory.

  125. 125.

    WarMunchkin

    @Betty Cracker: I spent some time thumbing through my old history books. And when you do that, you gain an appreciation for the magnitude of it. People still talk about Adlai Stevenson as an example of a weak liberal, and Dewey defeats Truman, and other elections, and so forth.

    For Donald Trump to be this close to the American presidency is shocking me to the core just by virtue of appreciating the history of the republic, in a way the possibility hadn’t all of these months.

    Just think – a hundred years from now, people will study the election of 2016, and it will be Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. And if we don’t stop him…

  127. 127.

    cmorenc

    @Tenar Darell:

    If the CSA had been able to run guns in through Texas etc. that could have lengthened the War, resulted in a potential European ally, and possibly resulted in a negotiated peace.

    The South almost won as it was – we can be grateful that Robert E. Lee never could quite keep his grasp on the notion that he didn’t actually need to win the war – all he had to do was wage a protracted war of attrition long enough to prevent the North from decisively winning, and wear down northern political support for continuing the war. True, the north had clear superiority in men, munitions, and supplies (but so did the US in Vietnam). And for quite awhile, he had an unwittingly cooperative Union general in the habitually hesitating George McClellan. Lee’s undoing was the tempting cherry of successfully seizing Washington, DC and/or achieving a decisive battleground victory, especially on Northern soil, either of which would supposedly be the quick undoing of Lincoln’s and the Unionists’ sometimes-fragile political support for continuing the war – which is what Lee’s army was up in the leadup to Gettysburg. About the same time as Gettysburg, finally a decisively capable Union General (Ulysses Grant) emerged when he successfully broke through at Vicksburg by driving his army through swampy, difficult territory to outflank, surround, and strangle Confederate defense of that key city along the Mississippi. After that point was when Confederate losses of men, material, and supplies began to gradually wear down the south’s continued ability to successfully parry the Union – and it became apparent enough across the North that eventual victory was probable that Lincoln was able to assure enough political support to hold off the contingent of politicians (Copperheads etc) in the north who pushed for the Union to cut the south loose or else negotiate an armistice with the south short of real Union victory.

    We can be eternally grateful that Lee and the arrogant southern leaders failed to understand that a war of attrition, rather than decisive battleground victory (or capture of Washington) was the more likely winning strategy for the south. The south might have lost anyway even with a consistent war of attrition approach, but the odds of succeeding with it would have been greater.

  128. 128.

    chopper

    @Mike J:

    Erin Gloria Ryan ‏@morninggloria 1h1 hour ago
    Of course Donald Trump eats taco bowls, the only Mexican food that comes with a wall built around it.

    BWA HA HA HA

  130. 130.

    AkaDad

    @john b: Your friends are awesome.

    I lol’d hard at selling uncooked batter insisting they were cupcakes.

  132. 132.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Calouste: The French colonial empire, back before Napoleon, always was just about an afterthought to events in Europe. The French just didn’t have the advantage that both England and Spain did with some geographical isolation of the homeland from everything else going on on the Continent.

  133. 133.

    Hal

    Trump’s America.

    http://wlos.com/news/local/tow-truck-driver-refuses-to-tow-motorist-over-bernie-bumper-sticker

    A tow truck driver refused to a help a customer stranded on Interstate 26 in Asheville on Monday.

    “Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave,” said Ken Shupe of Shupee Max Towing in Traveler’s Rest, S.C.. “And when I got in my truck, you know, I was so proud, because I felt like I finally drew a line in the sand and stood up for what I believed.”

    Motorist Cassy McWade says she was in a car accident, and the family called their regular mechanic to drive about 45 minutes north in order to tow her home to Traveler’s Rest from the side of the Interstate. He wasn’t able to make the trip, so McWade says he called Shupe.

    He arrived after about an hour and began the process of towing the vehicle.

    “He goes around back and comes back and says ‘I can’t tow you.’ My first instinct was there must be something wrong with the car,” McWade told News 13 on Wednesday. “And he says, ‘No, you’re a Bernie supporter.’ And I was like wait, really? And he says, ‘Yes ma’am,’ and just walks away.”

  135. 135.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Chris: Of course, the flip side of that argument is that this stupid, tone-deaf and condescending photo op will motivate Hispanics voters to keep Trump out of the White House.

  136. 136.

    Trollhattan

    @Germy:
    Would “Hyspanics” make it a two-fer by simultaneously bringing in “the women, who also love me”?

  140. 140.

    Elie

    @glory b:

    No — but I feel ashamed as a citizen of a country that aspires for justice and equality — even if we don’t get there at any one point, it was something I held (and hold dear) and what keeps me trying to make a life here to try to make things better — “Bending the arc of justice towards freedom” as was quoted by Obama. I can’t so easily just blame white folks for this and feel better. All our black (and white) brothers and sisters who have literally died to make this country better are owed better than this… I am ashamed for all of us who care — past and present….

  141. 141.

    Chris

    @cmorenc:

    In Lee’s defense, I believe part of the point of winning a decisive victory on Northern soil – as opposed to just defensive actions in Virginia – was to prove to the European powers that the C.S.A. was a serious power and a worthwhile investment (the same way Saratoga is supposed to have helped convince the French to come into the Revolutionary War).

    That’s yet another reason there was no European intervention on the side of the South: what was supposed to be their big demonstration of power backfired and broadcast the message that they were doomed instead.

  142. 142.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @MomSense: Cool. The shows leading up to this have been very entertaining.

    —

    To steal from Bess Truman, I wonder how long it took some to get Trump to use the term “Hispanics”?

  147. 147.

    scav

    @JPL: It’s not as though the media — defined generously — are anything but big-picture guys either. We are rather faced with a co-dependency in both sides of that equation. Hey, it got clicks!

  148. 148.

    Linnaeus

    @Hal:

    “Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave,” said Ken Shupe of Shupee Max Towing in Traveler’s Rest, S.C.. “And when I got in my truck, you know, I was so proud, because I felt like I finally drew a line in the sand and stood up for what I believed.”

    He must not be talking about this Lord:

    But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”

    Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbour to him who fell among the robbers?”

    He said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

    Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

  149. 149.

    Elie

    @Hal:

    As I said, there is gonna need to be huge clean up (?), something after this…. Something is deeply rotten inside too many of us….

  150. 150.

    Jeffro

    @Patricia Kayden: we are indeed living through quite the moment in history, aren’t we?

    I’m starting to wonder if the establishment strikes back, points out that Trump never won a majority of Republican voters anyway, and decides it’s worth the risk to steal it back from him. In theory they are only going to offend about 10 million people and will come off as heroes to the other 340 million of us in this country

  151. 151.

    Calouste

    @NotMax: Some more trivia related to that I just found out: Charles Bonaparte’s grandmother was Elizabeth Patterson. She was the first wife of Napoleon’s youngest brother, and hence Napoleon’s sister-in-law. Elizabeth’s brother was married to a woman named Marianne Calton, who after his death remarried to the brother of the Duke of Wellington.

    So the sister-in-law of Napoleon and the sister-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, his greatest enemy, were sister-in-laws. (Although this all didn’t happen at the same time, it happened over more than two decades).

  152. 152.

    Barbara

    @Major Major Major Major: They probably moved on to wheat sensitivity and pink hair when they began to notice how many other people all of a sudden seemed to have gluten sensitivity and purple hair. In other words, there is a whole set of people whose personal identity revolves around what separates them from other people. This is not limited to San Francisco millennials but infects many people, for instance, conservative religious folk and anti-vaxxers — what they have in common is a strong vested interest in being disappointed by the rest of us. This tendency is especially annoying when it is manifested by progressives, however, because they ostensibly stand “with the people.” These are the kind of people who would abandon Sanders as soon as he became a mainstream winner. Or if they couldn’t bring themselves to do that, they would constantly remind you that they began supporting him before you did.

  155. 155.

    Roger Moore

    @Dork:

    What’s “modern” about 1904?

    The modern era of MLB is considered to start in 1901. 1901 is considered a dividing line largely because it was the first season the AL was considered a major league, but it’s also convenient as the first year of the 20th Century.

    From a baseball history standpoint, the 19th Century was a time of great instability. The rules were still changing rapidly to the point that the game was substantially different from one year to the next, the teams in the majors were changing, and even the league structure was not close to constant. Around 1901, stuff really settled down. There were a few remaining minor changes- a couple of AL teams moved after the 1901 and 1902 seasons, the AL didn’t adopt the foul strike rule until 1903, and the World Series didn’t become fully accepted until 1905- but 1901 is a good boundary line between the wild and woolly 19th Century and the relatively stable 20th.

  156. 156.

    NotMax

    Peeling layers of the onion yet further.

    Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca offered clients advice on how to hide their money in private foundations, and make it seem as though they were contributing to the Red Cross, UNICEF and the World Wildlife Fund. There’s been no sign, however, that even one dollar has gone to the charities. Source

  158. 158.

    ? Martin

    @Barbara: Let’s just be honest here – San Francisco is weird. Even liberal Californians think they’re weird. We love them, but they’re weird.

    For all of their liberal purity, they keep opposing low-income housing because it’ll screw up their view. At the end of the day, a lot of them are really just entitled rich white people that care more about their entitlements than the things they proclaim to support. There’s a lot of awesomeness there as well, so it’s worth taking the bad with the good, but they’re not like the other people here in the trailer park.

  159. 159.

    NotMax

    A bit more on the tow truck driver referenced above.

    “Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave,” Shupe told an ABC affiliate. “And when I got in my truck, you know, I was so proud, because I felt like I finally drew a line in the sand and stood up for what I believed.”

    According to Fox Carolina, Shupe identified himself as a conservative Christian who supports Donald Trump. Source

    *Le sigh* Christian “values.”

  160. 160.

    Cermet

    @NotMax: I live about a mile down from his former home in Glen Arm; his barn is still there and really a huge (four stories tall) building. He was interesting

  161. 161.

    Calouste

    @Villago Delenda Est: It also worked somewhat the other way around. France had opportunities to expand on the continent, and they expanded their borders quite a bit over the centuries. Natural barriers prevented England and Spain from doing the same.

  165. 165.

    Brachiator

    @Linnaeus:

    ” Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbour to him who fell among the robbers?”

    Also, too, there was a reason that the merciful person was identified as a Samaritan.

    At the time, Samaritans were despised as adhering to a nonstandard form of Judaism.

    Because of their imperfect adherence to Judaism and their partly pagan ancestry, the Samaritans were despised by ordinary Jews. Rather than contaminate themselves by passing through Samaritan territory, Jews who were traveling from Judea to Galilee or vice versa would cross over the river Jordan, bypass Samaria by going through Transjordan, and cross over the river again as they neared their destination. The Samaritans also harbored antipathy toward the Jews

    Some people never learn that who you are and where you come from does not define or limit who is decent.

  167. 167.

    Chris

    @? Martin:

    At the end of the day, a lot of them are really just entitled rich white people that care more about their entitlements than the things they proclaim to support.

    I mean, it comes with Silicon Valley. One of the greatest economic capitals of the United States.

    Which makes it kind of like New York City: yes, there’s a lot there for a liberal to love, yes, liberal politics have done a lot to create the city we know and they’re still continuing to change it, but it’s also where you find Wall Street, which means there will never not be a strong voice for more conservative instincts, especially the economic kind.

    On the plus side, San Francisco is still the most beautiful city in America. No, I’m not from there – only ever passed through. But it really is.

  168. 168.

    The Dangerman

    @? Martin:

    For all of their liberal purity, they keep opposing low-income housing because it’ll screw up their view.

    Low income housing? Shit (literally), they can’t get it together enough to have enough public bathrooms. In San Francisco, it isn’t dog poo you are trying to avoid on sidewalks.

  169. 169.

    Sad_Dem

    @Elie:

    drunk creepy uncle

    I’ve heard that Donald Trump is a teetotaler and that his brother died of alcoholism. So while the short-fingered vulgarian may be a misogynistic, racist, narcissistic, pathological liar, evidently he’s not a drunk. He just sounds like one. Which means that if he ever did get drunk, he’d somehow manage to become even more of a bloviating ass.

  170. 170.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Jeffro: If the Republican elite tries to pull the rug from under Trump, there probably will be riots throughout this country by his redneck supporters. I just don’t see that happening. Right now, I assume that the Republican establishment is trying to coalesce around Trump, even if they know he cannot win in November.

    @Hal: He needs to be drummed out of business.

  171. 171.

    Mike J

    @Chris: Needs some mountains. Also, the bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle. The hills the greenest green in Seattle.

    And any city without at least one volcano is hardly worth calling a city. Don’t you believe in housing for Bond villains?

  173. 173.

    Iowa Old Lady

    CNN story saying that the FBI probe of Clinton’s email is ongoing but has found no evidence of willful violation of the law so far. The probe is expected to be completed in a few weeks.

  174. 174.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap: Sanders is really testing me this election cycle. Cannot wait for the primary season to end so I can start liking him again. I’m sure he’s a really nice person when he’s not campaigning for President.

  175. 175.

    catclub

    A majority — 57 percent — of the country believes that the U.S. should “deal with its own problems and let other countries deal with their own problems as best they can,” the survey found. Sixty-two percent of Republicans agreed with the statement, compared to 47 percent of Democrats.

    Reverse the party of the President, ask again, and the numbers reverse. So there is really no point.

  178. 178.

    Patricia Kayden

    @srv: And most of all, she’ll make a fabulous President. Looking forward to November. Make sure you post on election day to honor the day when the first Black President gets to welcome the first woman President. Your tears will be so delicious with my hot cocoa.

  180. 180.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Germy: Sasse could win the Presidential race in which alternative universe? Who the hell is Sasse? When has Kristol ever been right about anything?

    P.S. If this mysterious Sasse fellow can draw away Republican voters from Trump, then I’m all for his candidacy.

  181. 181.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @MattF: Completed in a few weeks is good news. We don’t need this hanging over her during the campaign. That article says the FBI intends to interview her.

  185. 185.

    Elie

    @Sad_Dem:

    I had heard of his “clean” habits — including his obsession with cleanliness. You don’t have to drink, however to have a creepy personality — and that he definitely does. Something is definitely not right in his ol brainola… He is very gross, very crass. His use of vocabulary is very simplified, using the same terms over and over and he has difficulty with self expression at times. I’ve speculated whether he is on the edge of some sort of cognitive decline, but if so, it wouldn’t be fast enough to impact election, I don’t think.

  187. 187.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MattF: @Iowa Old Lady: Oh, the tears that will be shed over this.
    ETA: ‘Completed in a few weeks’ means it’s over.

    i was gonna say I hope someone will keep an eye on HaHa Goodman, then it occurred to me I don’t really care if anyone does or not

  188. 188.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @srv:

    That’s how I feel about this whole blog.

    And yet, you’re still here.

  190. 190.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Elie:

    His use of vocabulary is very simplified

    Because he is a simpleton.

    His public speaking reminds of nothing so much as a middle-schooler who has to give an oral presentation about a book he hasn’t read.

  191. 191.

    Elie

    @MattF:

    So true —

    That said, just because he doesn’t drink doesn’t mean he can’t have blood pressure or cerebral perfusion issues. He is, after all, 70 years old, under stress, decidedly overweight, his face is puffy and he does not move well or evidence a fit lifestyle. His glycemic index may be pretty high because he has that big fat stomach.. That fat stomach is a marker for certain metabolic abnormalities… He may be borderline diabetic. Of course, he could be fit as a horse. He just doesn’t look or sound to be that.

  192. 192.

    Chris

    @Mike J:

    Needs some mountains. Also, the bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle. The hills the greenest green in Seattle.

    I’ve never been to Seattle, so I can’t judge. I remain open to the possibility of my wrongness – everything I’ve heard about it sounds great.

    And any city without at least one volcano is hardly worth calling a city. Don’t you believe in housing for Bond villains?

    A Bond villain who’s willing to share his habitat with an entire city’s worth of people doesn’t have enough megalomania and hatred of all mankind to be concerned with. They belong in volcanos on abandoned islands, or artificial aquacities they’ve built themselves, or space stations.

  193. 193.

    Elie

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I hear you but I was getting at something else. There are patterns of speech and expression that are associated with cognitive problems…. people think memory loss is the most telling, but sometimes before or during early memory loss other types of thinking and expression are affected… Wildly speculative of course…

  194. 194.

    Trollhattan

    @The Dangerman:
    SF can never be made “affordable.” There isn’t enough of it (tiny city, like Donald’s hands) and the only way to go is UPward. And then you have Hong Kong–phenomenal density, can neither enter nor leave, and still yoogely expensive.

  195. 195.

    Mart

    My French comment for Cinco de Mayo. I read that back when Napoleon needed war funds, imported oriental sugar was only for Royalty, and crack cocaine like expensive. When he learned that you could process sugar out of beets, he built production facilities all over Europe with sugar funding the war campaign. Since the sugar production technology was developed, per capita consumption of sugar has skyrocketed across the globe. Think the US leads with going from about zero before beet sugar, to over 150 pounds of sugar per person today (cane, beet, and corn based).

  198. 198.

    Elie

    @Chris:

    San Francisco IS pretty awesome but I give a hat tip to Seattle and to Chicago — both also on large bodies of water with lots of open public space, trees etc. If we leave the US, Vancouver BC is spectacular — also on water with mountains like Seattle.

  199. 199.

    Elie

    @MattF:

    I will grant you that fall and winter in the NW WA is grim but we have awesome, just right temp, low humidity with great blue skies from June to October. We don need no fckn air conditioners (:-)) either….

  200. 200.

    NotMax

    @Mart

    Somewhat later in the 19th century, Claus Spreckels, the sugar baron of America, pushed heavily into sugar beets in addition to cane.

  201. 201.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Trollhattan: I’ve posted this before, but it bears repeating. If San Francisco doubled its population it would be half as dense as Manhattan is today.

  202. 202.

    MattF

    @Elie: I’ve visited Seattle a couple of times– the surprise was that it’s so hilly. No one ever mentions that.

  203. 203.

    Elie

    @MattF:

    It is VERY hilly — and slippery when we get occasional snow falls in winter… you aint stopping at the bottom or going up the next so stay home… learned THAT!

  205. 205.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @cmorenc:
    At no time was the South ever close to winning the Civil War. They never won a victory that mattered while the North cut them off from the Mississippi and was gradually grinding down the pitiful resources the CSA could develop. They were unable to sell cotton & being starved. With no industrial base, a male population much less than the North by far and partially tied down because of the fear of slave uprising there only hope was to make the North tired of the fight & the one real genius of the period, Abraham Lincoln, was not going to allow that to happen.

  206. 206.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Elie: I was very amused watching folk drive when it snowed when I lived in Seattle. Walking up to my gf’s house I saw a car going down the hill sideways(Seattle folk drive in the snow like folk in Southern CA drive in the rain).

  207. 207.

    Elie

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Seattle and the whole NW has great rainbows.

    I came from Chicago which I still love but the NW and West coast is pretty fine living. I like things a little slower and more natural… I would be hard pressed to go live elsewhere but you never know….

  208. 208.

    Elie

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    LOL — so true! Another reason to stay off the streets when it snows… NOBODY knows what they are doing! Opposite of Chicago where snow and bad winters are just par for the course…

  210. 210.

    NotMax

    And now for something completely different.

    My Fair Lady – in Japan.

    Mayhaps someone more familiar with there could explain what, if anything, the equivalent of a Cockney accent would be in spoken Japanese.

  211. 211.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Elie: As much fun as I make of the PWN, it was like a second home to me and I loved my time living up there(grad school at the U).

  213. 213.

    Elie

    @Chris:

    DC does not have harsh winters (I lived there and in VA for a few years)… they don’t have the hills of Seattle but like Seattle, they don’t do snow at all well… Not enough snow removal equipment. Chicago knows how to do it and they are out plowing and salting before the snow even falls… Very aggressive snow removal but it tears up the streets. In Seattle and in the NW we use cinders and much less salt because we know that stuff combines with motor oil and rolls into rivers and streams with a lot of impact. We wait it out and let it melt more…

  214. 214.

    Redshift

    Trump’s attempts to appeal to minorities are going to be continually hilarious. He’s never had to deal with anyone outside his class who wasn’t either a suck-up yes man or someone who couldn’t afford to say no to him. So no one has ever dared to tell him that his crude “I know what you people like” antics are embarrassing.

  215. 215.

    Mart

    @NotMax: That was sweet of you to comment. I did not know about Mr. Spreckels. Wikipedia tells me he is by way of Germany, NYC, California, and Hawaii. I found the sugar book (think copywright 1913) describing Napoleon’s sugar business in a basement office of an abandoned building at a Western Sugar site. Wikipedia tells me that Western Sugar was founded by, who else, – Spreckels. Oh the circle of life is grand.

  216. 216.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @BillinGlendaleCA: There’s a 45 second window in early August where the sky is actually blue. That’s when they run the Seafair hydroplane race.

  217. 217.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Elie: I was up in Seattle for 3 years and I think we got a total of 3 weeks of snow.

  218. 218.

    RSA

    @Cacti:

    Not mention, a taco bowl is about as Mexican as kielbasa.

    Coincidentally, when I searched for the origin of crispy tacos…

    Multicultural tacos emerged in San Antonio, with Polish tacos (kielbasa with beans and cheese in flour tortillas) and German tacos (bratwurst) dating back to at least the 1970s.

  220. 220.

    A Ghost To Most

    I’ll take the Denver weather over any of those cities, which are beautiful. Lot more usable days here, and lots of places to go without being there with 1000 other people.

  221. 221.

    Trollhattan

    @Gin & Tonic:
    If SF weren’t so horribly isolated vis a vis transportation, it might scale up gracefully. But as things are….

  222. 222.

    Calouste

    @MattF: There’s a mountain chain 40 miles west from Seattle, and another one 40 miles east from Seattle (from some points, you can see them both). It’s not really a surprise that the terrain in between is a bit hilly.

  223. 223.

    Trollhattan

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    Grew up in Seattle and in 13 years of school, had four snow days. Yeah, I felt cheated! Never got remotely near 100 degrees either, so the extremes of the last couple of decades are unrecognizable to me.

  224. 224.

    MattF

    @Calouste: Also, geologically, it’s typical Left Coast– ocean and then hills (and even mountains) a little inland.

  227. 227.

    The Dangerman

    My last Summer in Seattle, I went to an outdoor concert (Nanci Griffith, backed by the Seattle Symphony) at one of the Piers on July 2nd. JULY.

    It was so cold and wet that I was in my down jacket and wondering about hypothermia; halfway through the show, the Symphony packed up and left because they were fearing the cold would harm their instruments. Nanci put on a helluva show still, but it wasn’t what it could have been.

    Seattle’s pretty when it’s pretty, but the shit you have to put up with when it isn’t pretty isn’t worth it….

  228. 228.

    Punchy

    Trump just announced he cant support Pretty Blue Eye’s platform. Ruh roh.

  229. 229.

    Roger Moore

    @MattF:

    I’m glad to see Kristol joining the people who are trying to promote a third party as an alternative to Trump.

    Why are you happy to see Krisol support it? That means it will never happen, and a competing right wing third party run would doom Trump.

  230. 230.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Punchy: When I see shit like that, I have to remind myself that Trump is, in fact, worse than many Republicans

  232. 232.

    A Ghost To Most

    @geg6:
    Seconded. Grant and Sherman stopped the’generalin’ and showed the traitors the math. They shortened the war, at great cost. Heroes.

  233. 233.

    MattF

    @Roger Moore: I see your point, but I don’t believe it was ever going to happen, even without Kristol’s endorsement. There will be a virtual third candidate, ‘None of the above’, for people who can’t stand either of the major party candidates.

  234. 234.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Ryan, Cruz, Christie, maybe Rubio, hell maybe even Katich and god knows how many others…. they all think that 2020 will be their moment, now they just have to navigate all the cracks he’s opened up in their party.

    If I were capable of optimism, I might be feeling optimistic right now.

  235. 235.

    Roger Moore

    @NotMax:

    Mayhaps someone more familiar with there could explain what, if anything, the equivalent of a Cockney accent would be in spoken Japanese.

    I assume it would be some kind of Osaka ben.

  236. 236.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @MattF: a national write-in campaign? wouldn’t surprise me, but I can’t imagine a candidate all the players could agree on, and any R’s currently in office would most likely be afraid to rile up the Trumpeters in their own constituencies. Well, not Ben Sasse, virtuous son of the plains.

  240. 240.

    A Ghost To Most

    I’ll just leave this here

    Prosecutors and FBI agents investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server have so far found scant evidence that the leading Democratic presidential candidate intended to break classification rules, though they are still probing the case aggressively with an eye on interviewing Clinton herself, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

  241. 241.

    Tom Q

    @Roger Moore: It’d also bring more discouraged GOPers to the polls and improve the prospects of their down-ballot candidates. A straight-up Clinton blowout is much more Dem-favoring.

  242. 242.

    jl

    @Tilda Swinton’s Bald Cap:

    Thanks for the link, but I don’t read it the way you do at all.

    Sanders ends with “I think the Democrats will do just fine.” and you say he is blaming the Democrats for Trump?

  245. 245.

    jl

    @A Ghost To Most: The ‘Clinton rules’ again? Scant evidence of anything wrong,but they are eager to interview her? For what? As one of the heads of the old Soviet secret police once said “Give me the man and I’ll give you the case.”

    Or maybe some people just want to keep it going even if nothing is there and produce as much smoke as possible. Some House GOPers promise continuing emailghazi hearings if he is elected president.

  248. 248.

    MattF

    @jl: As I said upthread– they’re cops (and bureaucrats). They have their procedures and regulations, and their boxes to check off. It sounds to me like they’re letting the word out a little ahead of time so interviewing Clinton won’t spark hysterical accusations of plots and bias.

  249. 249.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @jl: I’d prefer to have no stone left unturned so Joe in the Morning won’t be screaming about the administration covering for her(he will but will look more idiotic than normal).

  250. 250.

    rp

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I’m sure he’s a really nice person when he’s not campaigning for President.

    I work in DC, and according to everyone I spoken to who’s interacted with him, no, he’s not. He’s a self-righteous asshole. His colleagues can’t stand him.

  254. 254.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @rp: From what I’ve heard of his colleagues say about him, he’s the Ted Cruz of the Democratic caucus.

  255. 255.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @redshirt: Surprised I’ve not seen anything like that here in Glendale, we have a large Mexican and Armenian population.

  257. 257.

    Mart

    @A Ghost To Most: Think the plan is to get her for breaking the law by hiding emails from The Freedom of Information Act. Investigate Benghazziiii and bust her for FOIA. Kinda like investigating financials and getting busted for a blow job. (Never mind the 5 million emails “lost” on the GOP server back in the Bush days.)

  259. 259.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @rp:

    Yup. If there was anyone who had something positive to say about him they’d have come forward by now. Instead all we’ve heard is what a total PITA he is. His only supporter, Jeff Merkley, has told him it’s over, but he’s doubling down because he’s an egotistical old white guy who simply refuses to acknowledge he’s lost to a girl.

  263. 263.

    Mike J

    When Rita Khanchet saw images of a vicious wildfire destroying homes and uprooting tens of thousands in Fort McMurray, she immediately thought of Syria, the homeland she fled just five months ago with her husband and young son.

    Khanchet and her family know firsthand how scary it is to leave a community, home and possessions behind and she was determined to help the people of Fort McMurray.

  264. 264.

    D58826

    @A Ghost To Most: So what exactly is your point?
    I’m not a lawyer but every article that I have read by people who are knowledgeable in the legal aspects have said ‘intent’ the key element in these types of cases. And yes politics will enter into the final decision. If they find evidence that Hillary was sending classified information to the Russians via her server then the decision is easy. If on the other hand they find that she may have violated some obscure provision of the criminal code will they file an indictment and blow up the 2016 presidential race. If this was May 2015 they might because there would be plenty of time for other democrats (Biden?) to jump into the race. At this stage it would almost as bad as the Bush v Gore decision in 2000 in terms of political impact.
    Unfortunately the right wing, judicial watch and it seems dare I say it at least 1 Bernie supporter want to see just that. Yes I guess Bernie could step into the vacuum at this point but it would still have a huge negative impact on the democratic side of the race and give Trump a huge boost. And lets be honest, if all the FBI comes up with is she mailed a letter with insufficient postage Judicial Watch will spend the next year demanding documents and an investigation. Trey Gaudy will continue his witch hunt and it will be off the races again. And for those who do not remember Judicial Watch was one of the leading members of the pack of jackals from the 1990’s Clinton ‘scandals’. If there is any doubt as to their political motive, they were fairly quiet during W’s administration. I did see that they filed a couple of FOIA requests but nothing like when a D is in the WH.

  265. 265.

    Enhanced Voting Techinques

    @Hal: That will be some powerful witnessing come Sunday service. I can see the tow truck driver now standing in the front of the congregation as the painting of Christ, George Washington and Ronald Reagen look down upon him “Just like Jesus on the road to Damascus, I told her ‘Get thee behind me Liberal, Get me behind me”” to the cries of “Glory!” and “Amen!”.

  266. 266.

    feebog

    @Mart:

    Except the FOIA request goes to the Agency, not the individual. The pissing match is between Judicial Watch and the State Department. Clinton did not want to release the server because it has numerous personal emails on it, but that’s what JW was after in the first place.

  268. 268.

    bemused

    @Mike J:

    Beautiful. I’m sending this around and to a few people I suspect are not sympathetic to immigrants.

  269. 269.

    Mart

    @feebog: I ain’t a lawyer and reading this crap gives me a headache, but from Freedom Watch’s website, “The creation and operation of clintonemail.com for State Department business, as well as the State Department’s approach and practice for processing FOIA requests that potentially implicated former Secretary Clinton’s and Ms. Abedin’s emails and State’s processing of the FOIA request that is the subject of this action.” I think that makes it perfectly clear. There is something something and we gonna get her.

  270. 270.

    ksmiami

    @Emma: Give me Birria or give me death.. taco bowls are muy gringo y trump is un pendejo grande

  273. 273.

    BruceFromOhio

    Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics with a light demi glace and a nice Reisling!

    Eat Them Up. Yum.

  275. 275.

    LAC

    “The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!”

    To eat?

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