Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Days Since JD Vance Insulted Women Across America: Zero

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Trump makes a mockery of the legal system and cowardly judges just sit back and let him.

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

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

The choice is between normal and crazy.

Republicans would impeach Biden if he bit into a whole Kit Kat rather than breaking the sections apart.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Israel is using food as a weapon of war. Unforgivable.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Wednesday Evening Open Thread: To the Lifeboats! (Whaddaya Mean, ‘There ARE No Lifeboats’?)

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: To the Lifeboats! (Whaddaya Mean, ‘There ARE No Lifeboats’?)

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Donald Trump’s campaign sent out an email to surrogates this week titled “URGENT PIVOT” as the campaign seeks to control the damage from Trump’s war of words with the parents of a Muslim U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq.

The memo, obtained by The Hill, asks surrogates on Capitol Hill to coordinate messaging and push back on attacks on Trump.

“All — As usual, the media is working against our efforts and our messaging specifically as it relates to the tragic death of Capt. Humayun Khan,” Scott Mason, Trump’s director of congressional affairs, wrote…

Mason’s email, which was also sent to Trump aides including Rick Dearborn, MacKenzie Smith, Jeff Freeland and Adnan Jalil, demonstrates how serious Trump’s team is treating fallout from the Khan controversy…

Looks like that memo went out no later than Monday, so it’s not as if his team can realistically blame “the media” for keeping Trump’s insanely self-destructive behavior in the news.

***********
Apart from cheering (continued) confusion to our enemies, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

316Comments

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    The thing that gets me is that the Khans’ speech couldn’t have been a more obvious trap for Trump if it had ‘Acme Trump Trap’ displayed in the big screen and Admiral Akbar gave the introduction. And he walked right into it anyway.

  4. 4.

    jl

    Is that so the surrogates can stop damaging the campaign with hateful nonsense and lies about the Khans, or so Trump gets more attention at rallies wen he laps up his spewed vomit and spits it out again?

    And what will they pivot to? I hear today his ex ‘campaign manager’ / body man thug, now bogus pundit on CNN was raving lunacy about maybe Obama never even attended Harvard at all That will improve things? (I hope it doesn’t).

    And finally, if Trump keeps using his campaign appearances to rehash and re-ignite every piece of BS he’s emitted since his presidential campaign began, his speeches are going to get really really long.

  6. 6.

    BR

    This bit…in which Trump talks about…a tape (?) of cash being taken off plane to be given to the Iranian gov't: pic.twitter.com/zS8JssLXyo— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 3, 2016

    Read the transcript — it really takes some effort to be this deranged every day of the week. I don’t know how he does it.

    This is the same town hall where he reopened a bunch of his previous controversies for no reason.

  7. 7.

    jl

    @dmsilev: Going overly meta, according to Khizr Khan, the HRC campaign had no input at all to what he said. He came up with the speech rehearsing it with his wife. Which in a sense makes it an even better ‘trap’. The mess was a trap that Trump rigged up all by himself on the fly. Which I guess makes it an ever better better trap.

  9. 9.

    hovercraft

    Just saw Katy Tur liken the gop relationship with Trump to an abusive relationship where the abuser keeps telling his partner this time I’m really gonna change, no really, I’ve changed. Wow, just wow.

  10. 10.

    BR

    One thing I don’t get is why Clinton is still running negative ads against Trump. They won’t help her at this point — he’s doing the work himself. Are any of you in swing states seeing positive Clinton ads? I hope she runs way more positive ones, to solidify her support rather than attack Trump any more.

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    @BR: Apparently he brought up the Megyn Kelly ‘blood from her wherever’ thing, I guess because it’s the one year anniversary or something. Has anyone out together a Trump Gaffe-a-Day calendar?

  14. 14.

    Baud

    @BR: I’m sure she has those planned. Few people are paying attention in the summer to positive ads. Negative ads can have people talking.

    The negative ads right now are dealing with Trump’s business dealings. His war against the Khans won’t touch on that.

  16. 16.

    BR

    @Baud:

    The thing is evidence shows that negative ads generally don’t work very well, and Clinton also has a lot of undecideds she could lock in now if she wanted to, and positive ads are needed for that.

  18. 18.

    hovercraft

    @dmsilev:
    He assumed that the Khans being muslim would override the fact that they were a Gold Star family, he thought the fact that the fact that Mrs. Khan stood up there in a hijab not speaking would negate what she and her family has sacrificed for this country. His assumption as far as his base goes was correct, unfortunately for him there are a great many more human beings in this country, many more than the mouth breathers. Thank dog.

  20. 20.

    Schlemazel

    ABC is claiming the GOP is looking for a replacement. Dear lard I hope the cheeto does not quit. Certainly not yet, maybe the last week of October or first week of November OK but not yet!

  21. 21.

    singfoom

    Jesus they’re dumb. First of all, if they want to pivot away from the Khans, all they have to do is this:
    1)Drumpf needs to apologize publically. I don’t think he would do that, but that’d end it.
    2)Memo says “Don’t talk about the Khans. If someone asks you about them say “We respect all Gold Star families and their sacrifice. We disagree with what Mr. Khan said, but he is free to say whatever he wants.”

    That’s it. But hey, I’m just some fucking guy commenting on the internet, what do I know?

    That said, any “pivot” is just them hoping that Drumpf will stop being Drumpf. But since he’s incapable of rising above the emotional level of a 17 year old, that’ll never fucking happen. I’m sure his campaign manager realizes this, but they have to look like they’re doing something to the outside world. (Read big money R donors)

  23. 23.

    jl

    @BR: I read a news article that one common criticism in open ended survey questions on the DNC was that people wanted more details on policies for improving households’ economic situation and terrorist threat. If that is true, might be an audience for that kind of ad. I don’t think HRC would have to into all that much detail if put in contrast to Trump’s proposals. Many would be just ‘ Donald says ‘Trust me” ‘

  27. 27.

    Patricia Kayden

    Actually, there are lifeboats but they will be commandeered by The Donald and his family once this whole thing is over in November. Trump has nothing to lose even when he gets his behind whomped by Secretary Clinton in November because he’s a millionaire and will carry on with living the high life. It’s the Republican Party which will take a beating and be permanently damaged by picking him as their Presidential contender.

  29. 29.

    Kay

    @Dexter:

    I love how he doesn’t even do better than Romney with the people who are supposed to love him:

    Right now he’s underperforming his 2012 counterpart. Romney won whites by 20 points (59-39 percent), men by 7 (52-45 percent), white evangelicals by 57 (78-21 percent), and whites without a degree by 26 (62-36 percent).

    Whites without a degree! We’ve been hearing about how fab he is with them for a year!

    They preferred Mittens. Actually.

  32. 32.

    Patricia Kayden

    @PsiFighter37: I guess we’ll see if this claim is true once the Trump campaign files its financial statement with the FEC. I am skeptical too about anything Trump claims since he’s such a consummate liar.

  33. 33.

    NonyNony

    @BR: I’m in Ohio. I go out of my way to avoid political ads, but I’ve seen quite a few from Clinton this cycle. The only negative one I’ve seen is the “our children are watching” ad. The rest have all been positive Hillary Clinton ads about her bio or jobs or healthcare. I’ve been impressed with the ones I’ve seen so far.

  34. 34.

    Xantar

    @jl:

    I have to believe the Hillary campaign at least had final approval for the speech. Not that it really matters. Its hard to imagine anyone on the Democratic side reading that speech and thinking anything other than, “This is awesome and it’s just too bad we can’t put it on prime time.”

  36. 36.

    Tom Levenson

    @PsiFighter37: I’m betting it’s true. At least, we’re better off assuming it is than betting that its not, if you get what I mean and I think you do.

  37. 37.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Dexter: Beautiful!! I know we’re early in the general election season but this is great news. What a difference a good convention makes!

  41. 41.

    BR

    @Schlemazel:

    It would be amazing if names that are being floated to replace him start leaking out — even if they don’t say anything themselves, Trump will lash out at those folks as being losers or whatever.

  43. 43.

    singfoom

    By the way, ending radical Islam isn’t something that anyone outside the Muslim community can actually accomplish, so the memo is even dumber than I thought.

    Sure, the U.S. could stop, you know, droning people and creating resentment amongst the “Muslim street” as its known. That would help. But even that won’t “end radical Islam”. But you can’t stop radicalism by killing more people. You just create more radicals.

    I’m pretty sure more Muslims are killed by radical Muslims than drones, but I’d have to research that to be certain. Even then, I don’t think you can ever be rid of “radical (insert whatever religion you can think of)” because it’s not a logical thing. But of course Drumpf and his campaign want to keep fucking that chicken. Because that’s what they do.

  44. 44.

    Patricia Kayden

    @jl: The funny thing is that Secretary Clinton was not baited to go after the mother who claimed that she was personally responsible for her son’s death in Benghazi. If Trump wasn’t an egomaniac with no self control, Khan’s heartfelt message wouldn’t have been a trap.

  46. 46.

    jl

    @hovercraft: It took me (literally) a few seconds to search on ‘Khizr Khan’ and see more than one interview Ghazala Khan gave by her own self.

    I notice that it’s gotten so bad the media is just tacking on one or two word fact check conclusions to Trump and Trump spox lies and delusions. The kind of rashness or incompetence that produced Trumps nonsense about why she didn’t speak at the DNC is an example why. So easy to debunk. So we get stuff like “Triump says Islamic law prevented gold-star mom from speaking (False)’ Which I savor, whenever I see it.

  47. 47.

    jl

    @Xantar: I heard Khan say in an interview that his speech was never written down, so nothing existed to approve in any precise way. He says it originated by him rehearsing it and getting advice from his wife. I agree, I cannot imagine that the HRC campaign didn’t check the basic gist of what Khans planned to say, but according to him, there was nothing written down to approve or edit.

    @Patricia Kayden: That is what an ounce of commons sense gets you, I guess. Some good deeds to go rewarded. Or maybe I should say, some maturity and decency.

  48. 48.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @singfoom:

    I’m pretty sure more Muslims are killed by radical Muslims than drones

    I’m pretty sure ISIS kills more civilian Muslims in a day than the US does in a year, whether or not that’s relevant to the question of correct anti-terrorism policy.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Well, Clinton is underperforming Obama w/young people so I thought it might be that, but she’s overperforming Obama w/women, so maybe that’s a wash?

    She has room to grow w/voters under 30. Maybe he picks up enough to stay above 35 there.

  51. 51.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I just heard on MSNBC that Donny Junior and Eric are in Alaska (or maybe it was the Yukon, I can’t remember) on a fucking hunting trip.

    I can’t speak for anybody else, of course, but I think if I were a member of the immediate family and one of Drumpf’s very small number of really trusted advisors, I might postpone the fucking hunting trip and stay a little closer to Campaign Central between now and November. I think I could go a few months without feeling the urgent need to go on a fucking hunting trip. I’m getting the feeling His Orangerie isn’t the only one trying to sabotage his candidacy.

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @hovercraft:

    My (step)mom was raised in a trailer park in the 1950s, so she’s unfortunately pretty racist in her attitudes and reactions. But attacking a Gold Star mother of any race or religion? NOPE!

    ETA: Or, to put it another way, there are a lot of old white people in this country who will never be able to grow beyond the racism they were raised with but are still uncomfortable with nastiness like Trump’s.

  56. 56.

    debbie

    @BR:

    In my part of Ohio, there are both positive and negative ads. Last week, a local reporter thought Clinton should cut back on the ads and start spending money on GOTV.

  57. 57.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kay:
    Quinnipac has decided that with Obama off the ticket, whites will make up a much greater proportion of the electorate. That is certainly part of the polling situation.

  58. 58.

    Schlemazel

    @BR:
    Man how I wish the DNC had some good ratf^cers! They could put out a list of names as if leaked by the RNC. Not only would it get Drumpf lashing out but the morans would believe it & start fighting among themseleves for the chance to be slected.
    First list out:
    Cruz
    Cristy
    Runio

    They would start fighting each other & also urging Drumpf to quit. Then, a couple days later list 2 with Paul, JEB? and Huckabee. That should keep the fires burning

  59. 59.

    Baud

    @Kay: I read an article today that said a lot of young people think she and Trump are the same on climate.

    Makes me less concerned about leaving them a pile of smoldering rubble.

  60. 60.

    Greg

    Is the word pivot some modern day magic word that allows for the instant repudiation of all terrible things said prior to use?

  61. 61.

    cmorenc

    @jl:

    Is that so the surrogates can stop damaging the campaign with hateful nonsense and lies about the Khans,

    The point of the “pivot” memo is that anytime the Khan mess or similar past offensive gaffe is brought up in any media interview or panel, GOP surrogates are supposed to immediately deflect the subject away to another topical thread that’s directed at inflicting damage to Clinton, without responding further or dwelling on any of the past unpleasantness relating to Trump.

  62. 62.

    Mike J

    @PsiFighter37:

    NYT says the GOP raised $82 million in July

    FEC says
    RNC raised $17M, spent $16M, cash on hand $21M.
    Trump raised $26, spent $7M, cash on hand $20

    Still looking for RSCC and RCCC

  64. 64.

    Quinerly

    @jl:
    I think it means so Trump can concentrate on bashing Megan Kelly again. He brought back that oldie but goodie today at a Florida rally. Think someone pointed out on Twitter that it had been exactly one year today since the first bashing. Apparently, he’s out of new material and is starting over. He also brought up the disabled reporter he made fun of many months ago. Same rally. I saw part of it and he actually had notes.

  66. 66.

    Trentrunner

    @dmsilev: You know, considering all the other DNC speakers that could also have been “Trump bait”–disabled, transgender, Dem war heroes, policemen voting for Hillary, the man with dwarfism, et al.–I just KNOW there was somebody on HRC’s team that said

    “You don’t suppose Trump would…?”

    “Nah, even he wouldn’t…”

    “You’re probably right.”

    LOL.

  67. 67.

    scav

    @SiubhanDuinne: After this week, would you want it on the record that you were presumably close enough to the whirling flaming wreck to theoretically do something about it? Far better to keep away in the illusuion of competence blame-free bang-bang sound-byte we’re just like y’all fun zone.

  71. 71.

    Iowa Old Lady

    A response to the Khans was so easy to prepare that anyone with sense could have done it. “I esteem Cpt Khan for his sacrifice and I sympathize with his grieving parents. I’m going to change our policies so no more young men have to die.” That would have left the matter as a two day story. But no, Trump can’t help himself. He was “viciously” attacked. He had the right to defend himself.

  73. 73.

    Anne Laurie

    @BR:

    One thing I don’t get is why Clinton is still running negative ads against Trump.

    I read that the most effective anti-Trump point, with ‘low info’ voters, is that he viciously mocked a disabled reporter.

    Clinton’s ‘Children Are Watching’ ad not only reminded people about that… Trump just finished a rally where he tried to re-litigate every story in that ad, thereby reminding everybody, including NBC News, of all his “greatest hits”.

    I had that all queued up for another post, assuming it can be fit in amidst the nonstop hail of shoes…

  75. 75.

    debbie

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    I’m going to change our policies so no more young men have to die.

    Except that’s not Trump’s policy. He’s planning onwaging many, many YUUUUGE wars.

  76. 76.

    cmorenc

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I just heard on MSNBC that Donny Junior and Eric are in Alaska (or maybe it was the Yukon, I can’t remember) on a fucking hunting trip.

    OTOH, just maybe it’s sunk into these two Trump-sons over the past few days that dad’s put on such a fatal shit-show he’s never going to make it to the White House, and they are going on this to stay out of sight to avoid getting sucked under with the sinking ship. Won’t be the first time any man’s adult kids have felt so toxically embarrassed by their dad acting like a colossal asshole that they deliberately get themselves as far away and out of sight and sound from him as possible for awhile.

  78. 78.

    Quinerly

    @BR:
    And he challenged Obama to a gold game. The winner would get the presidency. Half way joking, I’m sure. Huffington Post article still makes it sound weird. He was rehashing his Scotland trip and Obama vacationing in Hawaii.

  80. 80.

    Trentrunner

    @Greg: THANK YOU. Fucking media-endorsed meme. Can practically see the splooge in Halperin’s pants every time it’s brought up.

  81. 81.

    Schlemazel

    @raven:
    I spent some time if “married student” housing at the U of MN in the 70’s. They were literally pre-fab boxes. I wonder if some sharp operator toured the Midwest and sold a bunch of those things?

    They came in on 40′ trailers & were laid on a foundation, each box was 2 units, 240 sq ft of effiency apt living.

  83. 83.

    jl

    @debbie:

    ” He’s planning onwaging many, many YUUUUGE wars. ”

    I think the most recent reports are that he not planning many huge wars. He is planning on asking his military staff whether we just ‘nuke it’ and get it over with. That might well easily lead to one huge war, but not the ones he’ll be planning.

    “When we meet again.. don’t know where don’t know when… sommmee-daaayyy…”

  84. 84.

    Quinerly

    @Schlemazel:
    I can’t link on my phone for some reason. The best piece I have seen on how hard it is to replace Trump is at “Think Progress.” Long piece on the RNC rule and how the state rules work in conjunction. Trump would have to agree to step aside (or die). Extensive explainer on the ballot situation in various states. Worth the read

  85. 85.

    jl

    @Greg:

    ” Is the word pivot some modern day magic word that allows for the instant repudiation of all terrible things said prior to use? ”

    Maybe it is how pundits pronounce ‘EPlebanista’?

  86. 86.

    Kay

    @Anne Laurie:

    In the Clinton ad that plays in Ohio the clip is shown without any context- it looks like he’s mocking a random disabled person. Obviously mocking a disabled reporter is just as bad but if you don’t know that’s what happened (and most people probably don’t) it looks REALLY bad, like mocking disabled people is just something he does at rallies.

  88. 88.

    Mnemosyne

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    FWIW, I’m pretty sure that Qinnipac is full of shit. African-American women are now the most reliable voting block and have surpassed white women and white men in their willingness to show up for every election.

  89. 89.

    Chris

    @dmsilev:

    I cracked up out loud at your description.

    But what really makes it beautiful is that it came right as Hillary said “you can’t trust a guy who can be baited by a tweet.” And he proceeded to demonstrate in painstakingly comprehensive detail just how true that is.

  90. 90.

    Quinerly

    @cmorenc:
    Are you sure they aren’t hunting down Bristol Palin’s Medal of Honor husband for his tweet demanding Trump to apologize to the Khans?

  92. 92.

    lamh36

    Ok…so Marc Lamont Hill was on the Breakfast Club this morning. He was talking his new show and his book or whatever.

    But the most interesting thing I heard before going into work, was when he was talking a bit about his time at Fox News. First off, he said he was fired…and he said Fox News is like the WWE to real wrestling…it’s all about the show.

    Then he talked about the day of the 08 election, when he walked into Fox News HQ and they told him to go up to the executive floor. There he said was Ailes, on camera personalities (like Sean Hannity) etc. He said, it was a somber mood and he expected to hear somebody got shot or something. But then somebody said “he’s gonna win” and they were all in a piss about it…according to Hill, Sean Hannity even said “I did everything I could to stop it” but Obama was gonna win anyway.

    Then he said, Ailes (he believes) perked up a bit and essentially said, “that’s ok, we are gonna make his life a living hell for the next 4 years, and make ALOT of money doing it too”

    Now ain’t that about a bitch…

  93. 93.

    Baud

    @jl: The funny part about Trump’s nuke fascination is that it wasn’t that long ago that the NYT tried to portray Clinton as more hawkish than Trump.

  95. 95.

    Schlemazel

    @Quinerly:
    I don’t actually think it would happen unless there was a very golden parachute. My guess would be depending on the time left the central committee would simply vote to change the rules with the provision that they are only temporary until they can be approved at the next convention.

  97. 97.

    debbie

    @jl:

    I saw that about the nukes. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall and seen the briefers’ faces! However, a President McCain would have us in 7 wars by now, so you know Trump will have to top that.

  98. 98.

    Baud

    @lamh36:

    that’s ok, we are gonna make his life a living hell for the next 4 years, and make ALOT of money doing it too”

    It’s what they did with Bill.

  99. 99.

    Schlemazel

    @raven:
    DIdn’t have to spend a winter but they were not air conditioned & the summer was a beast. I swear it was hotter inside than out many nights. But I grew up without AC so I wsa used to it I guess.

  101. 101.

    Steve in the ATL

    @raven: FYI my daughter is going to Athens tomorrow to get a consult at the vet school on her dog’s knee. So if you see a blonde girl in a BMW with sorority letters on it…ah, never mind.

  104. 104.

    divF

    @Chip Daniels:

    Once, off the hump of Brazil I saw the ocean so darkened with blood it was black and the sun fainting away over the lip of the sky.We’d put in at Fortaleza, and a few of us had lines out for a bit of idle fishing. It was me had the first strike. A shark it was. Then there was another, and another shark again, ’till all about, the sea was made of sharks and more sharks still, and no water at all. My shark had torn himself from the hook, and the scent, or maybe the stain it was, and him bleeding his life away drove the rest of them mad. Then the beasts took to eating each other. In their frenzy, they ate at themselves.You could feel the lust of murder like a wind stinging your eyes, and you could smell the death, reeking up out of the sea. I never saw anything worse… until this little picnic tonight the 2016 Republican presidential campaign . And you know, there wasn’t one of them sharks in the whole crazy pack that survived.

    – Lady from Shanghai

  105. 105.

    Frank Wilhoit

    The deaths of soldiers in the line of duty are not “tragic”. They may be regrettable, they may have been avoidable, they may sometimes be substantially in vain, but they are not “tragic”. This is simply another example of the use of words as phonemic talismans.

  111. 111.

    Keith G

    My plans for the evening include continuing to read Patton Oswalt’s Twitter feed as he spends the evening rolling Paul Ryan.

    If you are with Hillary and have a Twitter account then there is no excuse if you are not following Patton Oswald.

  113. 113.

    one_particular_harbour, fka Botsplainer

    Feeling nostalgic, in honor of the fact that Donald J Trump is basically a talking and farting Free Republic thread, come to life.

  117. 117.

    jl

    @Baud: I don’t think it is that Trump is ‘hawkish’ as just an ignorant moron. Apparently he thinks nukes would be a great no-fuss-no-muss way to end miscellaneous conflicts. Getting to be a royal pain the neck to make progress on ISIL in Syria? Nuke it! NK keeps making progress on missiles? Nuke it! Hey, its ‘surgical’ and like horseshoes, close is good enough if you get the nuke close to a missile test site. Apparently Trump was upset that the US has been putting up with the unfairness of the US having all those handy nukes and not being able to use them to end trouble in trouble spots.

    It’s not an unprecedented crazy and monstrous idea. The late Bill Buckley thought it would be a great approach to international relations too.

    Anyway, I think Trump should meet the Goldwater standard for dangerous by now.

  124. 124.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Trollhattan: Ha!

    To tie it all together, last year her college gave an honorary doctorate to an alumnus who had gone on to become a teacher at Montgomery-Bell Academy in Nashville. One of his students was so inspired by his teaching that he wrote a screenplay based on the man. It became the major motion picture “Dead Poet’s Society.”

    Where is this going? Well, MBA’s sister school is Harpeth Hall. It’s most famous graduate? Why Reese Witherspoon of course!

  125. 125.

    jl

    @Baud: You loser liberals, so hung on ‘thoughts’, whatever they are, and stuff. What, is a ‘thought’ some kind of magic or something? Yeesh. Vote Trump and he will end bad stuff by just being president. You need to get practical about things.

  126. 126.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Ryan: My coronation as Tsar of all the Russias is much more likely than Drumpf ever apologizing for anything.

  128. 128.

    Baud

    Democratic Patriot
    ‏@puppymnkey

    The Hillary rally today was packed and turned people away. Only 6k allowed in. Huge lines in 102 degree heat

    Stupid fire marshal.

  135. 135.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Headline at CNN right now:

    Despite panic in GOP, Trump tells crowd that all is well

    So, he’s ripping off Kevin Bacon as Chip Diller in Animal House now?

  136. 136.

    raven

    Clint Eastwood blasts ‘pussy generation,’ praises Trump for ‘saying what’s on his mind’

  137. 137.

    BR

    @BR:

    And yes I know that sounds like concern trolling — it’s not really, because I doubt there’s anything truly bad in them, but they will give Trump a news cycle on the offense, and I’d rather him play defense full time.

  142. 142.

    jl

    @BR: I hope things continue as they have recently, with news focusing on Trump playing defense against his own offense, and doing it offensively. Trump is a real innovator in political campaigning. You have to give him that.

  143. 143.

    hovercraft

    @Baud:
    I saw my first Jill Stein commercial today, it says Trump says bad/stupid stuff but Clinton does evil stuff, shows images of bombed out street/ neighborhood , so vote for her and everything will be great, 20 million green jobs no more oil wars. Many of the youngs believe this.

  144. 144.

    japa21

    @BR: The problem for Trump is that even when he goes on the offensive, he gets so offensive that everybody is offended so he has to go on the defensive to deal with all the offensive things he did when he was on the offensive.

    ETA, or as jl put much more succinctly.

  145. 145.

    goblue72

    Trump and the RNC just hauled in $82MM in donations, for a net $74MM war chest, almost completely erasing Clinton’s fundraising advantage in the span of two months. Bulk of it raised from small dollar ($10 – $25) donations.

  152. 152.

    Schlemazel

    And the pretend liberal shows up to show he can misunderstand numbers – cool

    I thought you were busy knocking on doors for Dem candidates you ol liberal tiger you

  155. 155.

    Shalimar

    @PsiFighter37: The Trump campaign lied their asses off about June fundraising, everyone could tell the numbers were fudged, but still, real numbers were released late in the evening during the convention and there was an almost complete silence from the press. Part of that was because the convention was such a disastrous spectacle, but it was still incredibly annoying that places like TPM that knew the press release numbers were false never followed through and compared the lies to the reality.

  158. 158.

    Tim C.

    @Villago Delenda Est: The better analogy if you are going to go with the 1933 Elections in Germany is Jill and the Bernie Deadenders are like the KPD (German Communist Party) They really really felt that any compromise with the Social Democrats would be the worst thing possible and that Hitler would be so inept that it would bring the revolution quicker. Likewise the Catholic “Center” party was so obsessed with ending abortion and hated hated hated the Social Democrats that again……. any compromise with the SDs was unacceptable. So… yeah… that didn’t end well.

  160. 160.

    Shalimar

    @goblue72: Trump and the RNC have a recent history of lying about their numbers. Also, too, you’re comparing the RNC’s numbers combined with Trump to Clinton’s numbers alone.

  161. 161.

    Mnemosyne

    @goblue72:

    I guess all those Berniebros turned to Trump after all. Almost like they were never actually Democrats to begin with or something.

  162. 162.

    TriassicSands

    According to the NY Times Trump brought in $82 million dollars last month, mostly from small contributions and enough to allow him to compete with Hillary Clinton in the closing months of the campaign.

    What do you want to be that sometime down the line we discover that the Trump campaign engaged in numerous serious illegal fund raising activities? A man who simply oozes sleaze and dishonesty can never be beyond suspicion.

  163. 163.

    Fair Economist

    I didn’t realize until now that Trump has been doing SO badly a certain someone couldn’t find ANYTHING to post.

  165. 165.

    CalD

    Wonder if he sent copies to all the members of parliament in every country in Europe and the UK, as he apparently does with all his fundraising e-mails.

  166. 166.

    The Ancient Randonnuer

    @BR: The original tweet came from LTG Flynn’s son who has now deleted the tweet. I suspect it is much ado about nothing. The BS coming out of the Trump campaign and their assorted henchmen is an attempt to redirect attention away from the Angry Circus Peanut.

  168. 168.

    aimai

    @lamh36: that’s a pretty interesting interview, in a horrifying kind of way. One thing that struck me is that he calls this a “p**sy” time filled with “political correctness” which is “kissing up.” Of course political correctness isn’t about kissing up to powerful people, its about protecting vulnerable people. Its about not kicking down. But white guys gotta white guy, I guess. For people who talk all the time about how easily offended women/black people are they are the pissy-esed and most easily offended people of all time. They seem to have the emotional stamina of a slug on salt.

  171. 171.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    This was three hours ago, looks like Reince and Newt really got through to Trump

    John Harwood ‏@ JohnJHarwood 3h3 hours ago
    Trump now going off on “terrible” Serge Kovaleski of NYT, saying he’d been acting out “groveling” not mocking disability

  172. 172.

    hovercraft

    @Baud:
    Chucky hints that a whole bunch of polls are coming down the pike, that will show Hillary taking big leads in national and state polls over the next week. So by the middle of next week we can rejoice and step up the pressure, donate, phone bank, volunteer. Step on the gas.

  175. 175.

    Quinerly

    I posted this this morning. No press coverage on it today. Are we now so jaded that the Republican candidate for POTUS can give an interview wherein he advises people NOT to invest in the stock market and no one even notices? Yes, that happened yesterday in the middle of this shitshow. Trump on Fox Business Channel essentially said he didn’t invest in the stock market, so we shouldn’t invest.

  181. 181.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Iowa Old Lady: Trump was viciously attacked by Khan but Secretary Clinton wasn’t viciously attacked by Christie (leading a lynch mob in a mock trial), Patricia Smith (mother of soldier killed in Benghazi), or the many other RNC speakers who listened to a whole audience shouting “lock her up”? So delusional.

  182. 182.

    hovercraft

    Steve Cortes a Trump surrogate says the media frenzy is a media creation, media has been predicting Trumps demise and been wrong every time, so they’re trying to make it happen now. They’re having a great week, well except that tiny little mistake with the Khans. The establishment is scared of Trump coming in to DC and cleaning house so they’re trying to derail Trump.
    Move along everyone nothing to see here.
    It’s a scratch just a scratch.

  183. 183.

    Mnemosyne

    @hovercraft:

    I’ve suspected for a while now that Republicans are flipping out because the RNC has internal polling that’s really, really bad for them. It’ll be nice to see some of that in the real world, though.

  185. 185.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    You’re trying to trick me, aren’t you? Trying to make me forget that you didn’t already acknowledge my birthday at #102. Trying to make me feel ~~old~~

  194. 194.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Hey hey hey, you got your avalanche of birthday wishes late last night, after us olds had gone to bed! Give a girl a chance here.

    (Oh, and I hope you’re having a perfectly splendiferous day.)

  195. 195.

    jl

    @SiubhanDuinne: Happy Birthday.

    Edit: I don’t see where you announced it, so I am feeling old too.

    Edit: and remember, Baud has revealed that he is bot. Look for another good wish from the Baudbot soon

  196. 196.

    Quinerly

    @Patricia Kayden:
    I’m amazed that there has been no coverage. Short article on CNBC early this morning. He said something like “bad things could happen” and “a lot of bad scenarios with the stock market.” In the olden days?, this interview alone would have disqualified a candidate.

  197. 197.

    Patricia Kayden

    @hovercraft: Unfortunately for Cortes (and other Trump surrogates), we all don’t live in his Rightwing bubble. Several Republicans of note have escaped that bubble and have stepped forward to vow that they will not be voting for Trump in November. In Cortes’ defense, if I was being paid, I would say good things about Trump too.

  198. 198.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    Thanks, JPL! When you have a chance, shoot me an email at my nym (at) gmail (dot) com so we can find a time to get together for lunch (thought I had your email in my contact list but apparently it disappeared in the Great Crash last year).

  203. 203.

    Quinerly

    @hovercraft:
    I think he’s the same guy who was harping earlier today about HRC using the Khans…they didn’t know what they were doing.

  204. 204.

    Patricia Kayden

    @hovercraft: It must irk Chuck Todd to have to report that Secretary Clinton is doing so well. Love it!

    @lamh36: Well, they both have had multiple marriages, so there’s that.

  205. 205.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @jl:

    Thanks. I didn’t really announce it except for wishing Omnes an almost-happy late last night, and he responded with a “same thing right back atcha.” For several years now, OO and I have made note of our shared birthday.

    Also: Martin Sheen, Tony Bennett, P. D. James, Edward Petherbridge, Martha Stewart, Jay North, La Scala, and Columbus’s first voyage to the new world. Among others.

  206. 206.

    rikyrah

    The Associated Press ‏@AP 2h2 hours ago
    BREAKING: Texas reaches deal to weaken voter ID law for November election, spend $2.5M on voter outreach.

  211. 211.

    aimai

    @rikyrah: I wish they wouldn’tcall it “weaken voter ID laws”–it should be “Texas forced to stop preventing people from voting” or “restoration of voting rights in texas” or something.

  213. 213.

    rikyrah

    Alfre WoodardVerified account
    ‏@AlfreWoodard
    “Ava Duvernay Will Be First African American Woman to Helm $100 Million Film” by @melsil

  214. 214.

    rikyrah

    uh huh
    uh huh

    OuterBoroughPrincess @Kimberly124
    This Jill Stein ad is running in FL right now. That’a right. Critical swing state Naderpocalypse fulcrum: Florida.
    5:06 PM – 3 Aug 2016

  216. 216.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @debbie:

    Well, it didn’t surprise me, only because I’ve known for years and years that she’s exactly a year older than I am. But they don’t mention me at the top of the hour on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

  222. 222.

    Schlemazel

    @schrodinger’s cat:
    Hope you see this, I have a question about the sufi music you linked to a couple days ago, “My Name is Khan”. listening to the series on youtube it looks like a movie, are you aware of the movie? The lead appears to be serverly autistic and traveling in the US but there is not much dialog and what there is is mostly not English. What can you tell me about the show?

    And, again, thanks for the links I love the music.

  229. 229.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @CaseyL:

    Love it! I actually follow Sandra Boynton on FB just because I always get such a kick out of her drawings and humor. “Hippo birdies” is indeed classic.

  232. 232.

    Quinerly

    Esquire interview of Clint Eastwood is out. Eastwood on Trump’s racism: “just fucking get over it.” Eastwood also said, “Trump’s onto something b/c secretly everybody’s getting tired of political correctness, kissing up.” He added, “We’re really in a pussy generation.” Personally, I’m really surprised he didn’t speak at THIS RNC convention, aren’t you?

  234. 234.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Kathleen:

    Wrong time of year for that, although I’m sure they would be happy to go back next March. But this is likely to be more about caribou and wolves from a helicopter. Fuckers.

  235. 235.

    Quinerly

    Well, my post about the Eastwood interview in Esquire is in moderation. Must have been those salty words…he basically said for us to get over Trump’s racism and that we are living in the kitty cat generation. He didn’t use kitty cat, though.

  236. 236.

    hovercraft

    @Shana:
    For anyone who has not seen the Jill Stein Ad. here it is.

    EDIT It’s running on CNN and msnbc, I don’t know if it’s on FOX, but it’s target audience is the Bernie voters who can’t bring themselves to vote for Hillary.

  237. 237.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @satby:
    @Kathleen:

    Thanks very much, both. And satby, I might have said this morning, but I am just thrilled at the news about your house! All best for the big move. Hope it’s not too stressful for the menagerie.

  238. 238.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Quinerly: No, the salty words are fine. It’s references to “male enhancement” products and other spamlike things that get you tossed into the bin. Or, it’s just FYWP being FYWP.

  244. 244.

    dmsilev

    Via Josh Marshall’s Twiiter feed, this article in US News is hilarious. Favorite bit:

    “Trump is Trump,” observes John Noonan, a former national security aide to Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush who has sworn off voting for the GOP nominee this year. “You can pull somebody out of the insane asylum and staff him with the best people in the business, and he’s still going to be in the parking lot screaming about the book of Revelations and there’s nothing you can do about it. Hillary’s the placekicker on the field. She’s shanking every kick. And Trump’s the guy pleasuring himself in the stands.”

    The subtitle of the article also presages much lols to come:

    Furious with his top campaign command, Trump’s response is to go it alone

  245. 245.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Tomorrow is PBO’s 55th birthday! His last b/d in the White House (at least as President — he might return one day if Michelle or Malia is elected Prez). Anyhow, I am happy to wish him not only a wonderful birthday but profound gratitude for his leadership, accomplishments, and inspiration over the past eight years.

  247. 247.

    hovercraft

    @Quinerly:
    The man talks to empty chairs, being politically correct in this case is pretending he is sane or relevant. STFU old man no one gives a shit what you have to say.
    Apology to anyone who resembles ‘old’, not all olds are irrelevant, only those who speak to empty chairs on national TV, the rest of you carry on.

  248. 248.

    satby

    @Emma: It is. The entire time my Marine son was deployed into combat (5 times to Iraq and Afghanistan), I didn’t think about how proud I was of him, though I was very proud. I just worried that he would come home alive. His wife gave birth to their second daughter during his last deployment. If anything had happened to him, we would absolutely consider it tragic.

  249. 249.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @rikyrah: They are being liberated from the bonds of “Political Correctness” by Drumpf

    @Quinerly: THAT word will do it, yes. Clint can go fuck himself. See how easy?

  253. 253.

    Emma

    @dmsilev:

    Hillary’s the placekicker on the field. She’s shanking every kick. And Trump’s the guy pleasuring himself in the stands.

    I don’t know if the appropriate response to this is laugh like a hyena or throw up dinner. Maybe both?

  254. 254.

    Quinerly

    @hovercraft:
    As I said, it’s shocking that he didn’t knock out Chaichi for his slot…or the underwear dude. This Esquire interview could have been his script. No chair needed.

  255. 255.

    Emma

    @satby: People sometimes fail to see the personal past the political. Then again, some people reverse that. Both are annoying habits.

    Is your son home now?

  256. 256.

    Schlemazel

    @satby:
    I know what that means. Every day we worried how our boy was doing. Knowing he was outside every day & only hearing a couple times a week. Even though he couldn’t tell us what or where we could guess some stuff. When he got home we learned worse things. Hope your kid is doing OK, our is getting better after a rough readjustment period the last time.

  257. 257.

    Quinerly

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    I now know why my comment last week about British tabloid coverage of the Bernie Dead enders holding “Bern stock” in Philly and joining forces with The P**IS Foundation (People Encouraging Niceness In Society) never got out of moderation. I didn’t use **. Good to know.

  258. 258.

    Technocrat

    @hovercraft:

    Wow! She’s going to:

    Create 20 million jobs
    Halt climate change
    Cancel student debt
    And…wait for it…end systemic racism.

    Not mentioned in the ad:

    Reverse entropy
    Expose a naked singularity
    East just one Lay’s potato chip.

    Jill Stein is basically Galactus.

  259. 259.

    JMG

    Clint Eastwood is a great American artist of film.Why that would make him worth listening to on politics is beyond me. Our country’s belief that celebrities have more to contribute to politics than money, a real case where Both Sides Do It, is an amazing case of national stupidity, I exempt Al Franken, who put the work in for years and is about as hard working a Senator as there has ever been.

  261. 261.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Schlemazel: When I was stationed in Germany, any bad news out of Germany distressed them. When I was stationed in Korea, same thing. This was in peacetime, too. It’s natural for military families to feel that way.

  272. 272.

    Jeffro

    Went to a fundraising BBQ for my local Delegate (state legislator) – nice to meet some new folks and do something a little concrete.

    Registering voters on Saturday.

    Going to donate to DCCC, DSCC, and Hillz tomorrow too

    We can do this!

  274. 274.

    Monala

    @hovercraft: Washington state just had its primary for state and local races. At least a dozen people ran for governor, from a half dozen political parties. Not one of them was a Green party candidate.

  277. 277.

    Ruckus

    @Xantar:
    Why is it so hard to believe? He is a well known lawyer in DC, his son was killed 12 yrs ago, he gave some sort of speech about it in 2005. His views are probably well known in the political circles, and some times you just have to trust someone like him to do the right thing. That he went way past the right thing is great. But I doubt that there was any feeling on the Clinton team that this might have gone wrong. They did talk to him and arrange to have him speak so I’m pretty sure that he was well vetted, even if they didn’t review his speech.

  279. 279.

    Jean

    @PsiFighter37: Wasn’t it just two days ago that the report said Clinton had raised almost double what Trump did in July? There have been two contradictory reports about his July fundraising in just a couple of days.

  281. 281.

    Ruckus

    @debbie:
    It’s not planning. Planning is not a word he understands. His random word generator will spit it out every once in a while but he doesn’t really understand the concept. And his bullshit generator is stuck on maximum and no one has figured out how to fix it. I mean there are ways but they are frowned upon. Legally frowned upon.

  282. 282.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @SiubhanDuinne: Hey Happy Birthday. I hope it’s been dandy and that next year is but one of many that are even better. Those ending in 0 and 5 are indeed worthy of being doozies!

  283. 283.

    cynthia ackerman

    @Baud: Ha! I cannot figure out how to do it, but I am certain his SS code name is (in tiny font size) “goldfinger”

  284. 284.

    Anne Laurie

    @Kathleen:

    Why do I have this feeling that the “hunting trip” will produce videos of the Who-Deys clubbing cute baby seals?

    Wrong season for baby seals, but they can probably find some adorable fox cubs to torture for the cameras. Or maybe they can tag-team stomping ptarmigan chicks. Or shooting nursing caribou and laughing about their frantic calves…

  285. 285.

    Ruckus

    @Quinerly:

    I’m really surprised he didn’t speak at THIS RNC convention, aren’t you?

    Too many empty chairs, he couldn’t make up his mind which one to talk to.

  286. 286.

    SFAW

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Thanks. Just trying to keep you on your toes.

    Seems like there are a boatload of August babies here. I’m guessing it might be as high as 8 or 9 percent.

  288. 288.

    Brachiator

    @JMG:

    Clint Eastwood is a great American artist of film.Why that would make him worth listening to on politics is beyond me.

    Eastwood was once mayor of Carmel, California, and apparently took the job seriously. I find his statements dumbass and despicable, but every citizen has the right to express his or her views, and to run for office. Celebrities often get a bigger microphone, but it’s up to the rest of to decide whether they have something worth listening to.

  297. 297.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Brachiator:

    Yes! Thank you!

    (Also, I have a comment in moderation and would be most appreciative if some kind FP could unlock the doors of the dungeon.)

  300. 300.

    J R in WV

    @Patricia Kayden:

    In fairness, now I’m wondering how much it would cost Trump to hire me to say something, anything good about him and his broken crap of a campaign.

    I’m thinking Trump may not have enough money to hire me, really. Not to say good things about his skillz and hard work. Not enough money there. Him AND the RNC.

    Now if the Koch bros. were willing to kick in a few way large, maybe. I could use the money to buy a network to use to pound them. Rat basterds all and every one…

  301. 301.

    Taylor

    @raven: Eastwood’s J. Edgar is a revisionist history that would have made McCarthy proud, that shows Hoover saving us from the evil of Emma Goldman by exiling that Commie. Not quite the same as Maureen Stapleton’s Goldman in Warren Beatty’s Reds.

    Still love his westerns, the first Dirty Harry film, heck even Gran Torino. But J. Edgar definitely gave pause.

  304. 304.

    satby

    @Emma: yes,he mustered out for good three years ago

    @Schlemazel: he’s doing ok, but had a tough readjustment too. He’s divorced now, but things seem to have stabilized. Hope yours continues to do well. I think very few people grasp what we ask of our combat troops and what a toll it takes.

  305. 305.

    J R in WV

    @Mandalay:

    There’s a great pivot for us to admire.

    I was in the Navy just after Ali got his court decision restoring his rights. He started fighting again, and I was willing to bet on him, against the lifers who hated on him for not giving in to his (all white) draft board. I made a lot of money there when he was winning all those fights as Ali.

    What a great man, to do it his way like that. And Trump can’t make up his mind whether Ali was a great guy, or a draft dodger.

  307. 307.

    Miss Bianca

    @Quinerly: You know, I hate to have to think ill of Clint Eastwood, but seriously…? Fuck that guy. Sorry, UNfuck that guy.

  312. 312.

    Dadadadadadada

    @SiubhanDuinne: If I were a member of that family, and had a smidgen of self-awareness (which, granted, they might not), I would go on all the hunting trips. I would literally never get within 100 miles of Campaign Central until 5 years after the old man dies.

  313. 313.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Miss Bianca: @SFAW:

    Seems like there are a boatload of August babies here. I’m guessing it might be as high as 8 or 9 percent.

    Captain Obvious would like to point out that 31/365 = 8.5%, so yeah, you’d expect the population value to be right there.

    Here is a report of US births by month in 2006. The highest number was in August, but it’s still < 9.1%, & not all that much higher than September (12,510 births/day vs 12,490) but 14% higher than the month with the lowest births per day (January [10,977], followed by April [10,994] and February [11,401]; yearly average of 11,686).

    /pedant

  314. 314.

    No One You Know

    @BR: Standard marketing technique: recency and frequency. Her campaign is doing the right thing, and a very reasonable one after the GOP made this normal behavior. She already has a strong record. We know what she stands for–and who she stands for.

    And what we need right now is the strongest possible condemnation of the behavior the makes the GOP brand as noxious as it is: gleeful slander, willful ignorance, emotional decision-making sans facts and science, and above all else, a will to power unencumbered by the will to serve.

    Name their shame!

  316. 316.

    Ab_Normal

    @jl:

    Maybe it is how pundits pronounce ‘EPlebanista’?

    * heart eyes * That episode has been in my head for weeks now! “That is a Yang worship word!”

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