Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

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

Giving up is unforgivable.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

In my day, never was longer.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Fight them, without becoming them!

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Open Thread: The Shoddier the Jury-Rigging, the Quicker the Ship Falls Apart

Open Thread: The Shoddier the Jury-Rigging, the Quicker the Ship Falls Apart

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The warring powers within Lord Smallgloves’ court…

… Or sometimes, all three factors! And the blowback on every trumpstunt continues:

The State Department drafted its own statement last month marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day that explicitly included a mention of Jewish victims, according to people familiar with the matter, but President Donald Trump’s White House blocked its release…

Instead, the White House’s own statement drew widespread criticism for overlooking the Jews’ suffering, and was cheered by neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer…

The White House’s explanations for omitting Jews in its statement haven’t quelled the controversy and in some cases made it worse. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks originally defended the omission to CNN saying, “we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered.” Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said he didn’t regret the wording.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday accused critics of “nitpicking” over the statement. He said it was written “with the help of an individual who is both Jewish and the descendent of Holocaust survivors.” A source with knowledge of the situation told POLITICO that person was Trump aide Boris Epshteyn…

Great job breaking it, Repubs!

This is really reminding me of the Watergate-revelation days, only louder and shoddier, as befits the farce succeeding a tragedy. I need to dig out my beloved copies of The Friends of Richard Nixon (George V. Higgins) and How the Good Guys Finally Won (Jimmy Breslin). Modern reviews complain that they’re insufficiently descriptive, to which I can only reply: You had to be there!

Reader Interactions

199Comments

  2. 2.

    PhoenixRising

    Applause for correct use of ‘jury-rigging’. No one says that anymore, but everyone can tell what it means on first use.

    Also, where are these leaks coming from? Presumably folks who agreed to take a paycheck from this White House predicted that it was going to be a constant shitstorm…

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday accused critics of “nitpicking” over the statement. He said it was written “with the help of an individual who is both Jewish and the descendent of Holocaust survivors.” A source with knowledge of the situation told POLITICO that person was Trump aide Boris Epshteyn…

    I see they have successfully identified another kapo working for Trump.

  7. 7.

    Lyrebird

    Glad y’all are here. Finally commenting on a comment thread that isn’t completely finished.

    Wrote a bunch of emails to my senators,
    planning to write more,
    but mostly focusing on keeping current job
    & getting new one lined up.
    (did follow through on buying a USA-made suit! thank you Pendleton sale…)

    Thanks to Ruckus and Foolishly Literal and Rikyrah and alla those other folks saying things so well on earlier threads that I replied long after the party had moved on.

  8. 8.

    Timurid

    This is really reminding me of the Watergate-revelation days.

    The problem now is that the Republican caucus is every bit as corrupt as the rogue President.

  15. 15.

    Jeffro

    Who knew that “shaking things up” is not necessarily a positive?

    Who knew that someone whose family inheritance would have been better off in an index fund than his stewardship, who never reads, who “has the best words” might not know a whole lot…about anything?

    I can’t believe that Ryan, McConnell, Bannon, or Priebus looked at this piece of crap and said, “I’m going to ride this horse to victory!” And yet here we are. The power of name recognition and a lil’ Russian assistance, amirite there Donnie boy?

  16. 16.

    Peale

    I’m really having trouble making Turnbull into some kind of Immigrant Hero. This was basically a tiff between two equally callous anti-refugee bigots. I guess Turnbull somehow gets credit for recognizing that refugees are human, but the contentious refugee deal is about Turnbull’s attempt to eject them from his country.

  19. 19.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Cacti:

    4. Grenada

    There is precedent.

    By the way, the Australian PM Turnbull, is socially liberal, economic conservative who is nonetheless in thrall to the far right wing of his own party.

    He has followed the far right policies of his predecessor slavishly. The chief of which was to forcibly incarcerate refugee boat arrivals in third world hell holes, where they have been neglected, raped, beaten and murdered.

    Now with the cost of upkeep for these tropical gulags skyrocketing, he has been desperately knocking on doors looking for someone to take over responsibility for these people so that he can wash his hands of them. I assume that Obama took pity on the poor sods that were trapped there and gave them refuge. Trump is obviously not afflicted with such an emotion.

    Trump giving the importunate Turnbull what for, is all to the good. However the way he treated the head of a friendly foreign government did not go down here very well at all. The follow up tweets were appalling. People here are seriously considering their options with regards to the US, which was unthinkable a few weeks ago.

  20. 20.

    Cacti

    @Peale:

    I’m really having trouble making Turnbull into some kind of Immigrant Hero. This was basically a tiff between two equally callous anti-refugee bigots. I guess Turnbull somehow gets credit for recognizing that refugees are human, but the contentious refugee deal is about Turnbull’s attempt to eject them from his country.

    I’m guessing the reason for the spat was something like this:

    Turnbull is the head of the Liberal Party in Australia, which is actually right wing.

    Bannon, or Kushner or whoever was reading about him for Donald on Wikipedia tells him “this guy is the head of the Australian liberals.”

    Donald then decides “I really better show my ass to him then.”

  22. 22.

    AnneW

    Found on Twitter:

    I wonder how long White House staff trying to leak deranged Trump anecdotes to the Washington Post have to wait on hold due to high volume?
    ~~~
    “Your story about Trump acting like an Elephant in musth is important to us, please hold for our next available giddy reporter.”
    ~~~
    “Slow down, were his pants on or off at this point in the meeting?”
    @RSchooley

  26. 26.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @amk:

    it’s the donnie dick that turned turnbull into a hero. even to aussies who hate him. way to miss the point.

    I am almost wondering if Turnbull set Trump up on this. Not only is Turnbull and stern man of principle, but the Refugee abuse is now suddenly the US’s problem.

  27. 27.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    Can anyone recommend a nice, long, absorbing anime series for me? (Subtitled for preference – oh, and could you make it one that will last me four years or more?) I’m nearly a total novice at this – I enjoyed Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit and something along those lines would be great. Arigato.

  36. 36.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @amk: I know, I mean President Mullet is think this is just two corporations negotiating and forgets countries have embassy who report on the host countries leadership. It’s very likely the Australian government has a psych profile on Trump.

  37. 37.

    randy khan

    The gusher of leaks is just astounding. Stunning, even.

    I’ve been trying to figure out why they’re coming in such volume. My best guess is that the least unreasonable people in the White House are trying to force the utterly insane ones out by exposing them, but even that seems unlikely. (For one thing, I have a hard time identifying the least unreasonable people there, maybe outside of Priebus, who’s just a hack.)

  38. 38.

    PhoenixRising

    @Gin & Tonic: leaking like the ’71 Dart’s transmission, you can’t trace it in park or neutral so put this White House in 1st & see what happens if you’re really deliberate.

    These people. Jesus. They knew what he was when they signed on the dotted line.

  43. 43.

    Teddys Person

    @randy khan: Could just be a symptom of the Village. Clueless staffers want to seem like they are in the know to reporters.

    ETA Like mean middle schoolers and their slam books.

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:

    Ask Anne Laurie about the one where a female ninja (samurai?) goes on the run with a child prince or princess she is charged to protect. I didn’t make a note, forgot the name and would love to be reminded of it myself.

    A.L. is good on anime in general, I think.

    ETA: It’s only 24 episodes, but Cowboy Bebop holds up very well.

  47. 47.

    debbie

    Someone on FB pointed out that there are zero ambassadors at the moment. I wonder if Fearless Leader thought he could do it all himself?

  48. 48.

    Peale

    @Cacti: Bannon would know who he was. I’m sure more than a few articles were written about how it was great that Australia was finally doing something real to get even with vermin.

    I think it actually went like this:

    Preibus: O.K. the next call is from the Australian PM. He’s very conservative. He’s going to ask you about the US commitment to taking in his refugees.

    Trump: Got it.

    Turnbull: About that refugee agreement….

    Trump: I think its wonderful. We’re about to sell our public lands and we need sheep farmers and guys who really know how to live in some rough conditions. Terrible. Terrible. What’s been happening to your ranchers. But these are just the type of immigrants we need in our country.

    Turnbull…What? Our ranchers are doing fine. The problem is that we’ve have wave after wave of Iranians and Syrians and Rohingya trying to find asylum in our country.

    Trump: What…that’s not what you promised. I refuse to pay. You were supposed to supply top refugees. This is garbage. I’m not paying. Sue me.

  49. 49.

    Mnemosyne

    @randy khan:

    Somebody posted a story earlier about Trump’s bestie Omarosa stealing another staffer’s office because it had a better view.

    I think they’re all looking out for number one, and are rapidly backstabbing each other in the hope of ending up on the top of the heap.

  50. 50.

    EBT

    @Batten Down the Hatches: You mean FMA Brotherhood. FMA is 51 and a movie, and regarded as not being nearly as well done as Brotherhood. (They both tell the same story, just one is allegedly done better).

    As far as my own suggestions I am partial to Rah-Xephon.

    You would think as an ex-fansubber I would have stronger opinions on the subject.

  51. 51.

    Yarrow

    Save the government money with contractors!

    Five men who had access to the House of Representatives’ entire computer network were arrested in the Capitol Thursday evening following a months-long investigation by federal law enforcement officials, according to a lawmaker briefed on the raid.

    At approximately 5 p.m. Thursday, five men who were working in the Capitol as IT contractors were arrested by law enforcement officials in the Longworth House Office building offices they use.

    The Capitol police and the FBI did not respond to a request for comment.

    According to the member, shortly after the chiefs of staff for 20 lawmakers were summoned to a closed door meeting with House Administration officials, who briefed them on the arrests. The chiefs were told the arrests came as part of a procurement scam, although officials acknowledged the men — who staff were told were brothers — had access to virtually all of the computer systems used by the affected lawmakers. Members were also told Thursday night to change the passwords to their email and other applications.

  52. 52.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mnemosyne: They’ve indicated it was Boris Epshteyn largely to protect Jared Kushner because the initial speculation based on Jewish and grandparents that survived the Holocaust made it seem like Kushner wrote it. So they threw Boris under the bus. Boris is linked to Russian business development interests, and we know who those folks are. And there is speculation that he is one of the sources in the oppo research dossier.

  54. 54.

    PK

    I’ve been trying to figure out why they’re coming in such volume.

    I think it’s because everyone loathes him. I don’t think there is even one person in this world who truly loves him. Certainly not his wife. His sons probably fear him. As far as Ivanka, there’s just something creepy and unseemly about that relationship. He has no redeeming qualities. I have never read a single article which said that he has done anything good for another human being. He’s surrounded by either downright evil people or spineless power hungry morons who’ve sold their dignity and self respect for power. He does not command respect, only disgust and hatred. Even the people who voted for him did so despite knowing he’s awful. A whole lot of people voted for him because they thought he would hurt people that they don’t like. He’s entire persona is negative. That’s why there are so many leaks.

  56. 56.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Viva BrisVegas: My understanding from afar is that Turnbull has the tiger by the tail. He has a very slim majority and he can be deposed within his own party without a call for new Parliamentary elections. So he basically doesn’t have a lot of room to maneuver. Feel free to set me straight if this is an incorrect read on the situation.

  57. 57.

    Anne Laurie

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Two long sagas that bear re-watching, IMO: Cardcaptor Sakura and Hikaru no Go.

    Sure, they *look* like ‘kiddy cartoons’… both of them start as sweet little product-placement-friendly tropes, but like the middle schoolers at the heart of each, they mature.

    Crest of the Stars isn’t as long, but it’s the closest in spirit I’ve seen to the original Star Trek. (Lois McMaster Bujold readers seem to like it, too.)

    Also excellent — but possibly only if you were a major geek in your college years: Genshiken.

  59. 59.

    Peale

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I agree on fullmetal alchemist. Also try Death Note. (I really could use that book about now. Write their name, they die of a heart attack. Unless you specify a different death.)

    Now, for something completely different…Its only 10-12 episodes – but I really enjoyed Yuri on Ice, which won a bunch of awards last month. Yeah. Completely cheesy. But actually very fun to follow. I used it as my escape hatch in November/December when I just couldn’t follow the news. That probably colored my feelings about it. But WE WERE BORN TO MAKE HISTORY!

  61. 61.

    Percysowner

    @EBT: Actually Full Metal Alchemist originally a manga that ran from 2001 to 2010. It was adapted into an anime in 2003. Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood was a second adaptation of the original manga. The 2005 movie was more or less as a follow up to the 2003 anime. Apparently a live action version is being made to be released in 2017.

    I’ve only seen the 2003 anime which was fantastic.

  62. 62.

    Adam L Silverman

    @debbie: This is not completely accurate. The new administration took the unprecedented step of telling all the ambassadors, who serve at the President’s pleasure, that their service would end once he was inaugurated. My understanding was that this was supposed to be for the non career foreign service appointees. These would be the outside of the foreign service folks appointed by President Obama for being long time Democratic officials (elected or appointed) or large scale donors. Regardless, every Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), who are the second in command at every embassy, and who are the real diplomats at the embassies with the non-career foreign service ambassadors/chiefs of mission are still all in place. All of them are career foreign service. All of them are Senior Foreign Service/Foreign Service Executives and carry ambassadorial rank in their own right. So while this was stupid and demoralizing and did I mention stupid it is not like the US is suddenly without professional supervision at its embassies.

  69. 69.

    EBT

    @Percysowner: Yeah I know I was one of the faithful who waited for Spoon to finish the last 3 episodes of the original after it got licensed, instead of just putting up with whoever was churning it out. Took a year but was totally worth it.

    If people want longer more epic stuff, watch the various Universal Century Gundam series in chronological order.

    Or One Piece. It’s sort of WWE man drama at times but you also have a talking reindeer pirate.

  70. 70.

    Adam L Silverman

    @PK: They’re coming because there’s no actual team. There are several different strong personalities that are all jockeying for position with the Boss in the attempt to get their pet agendas implemented. Some of them overlap, like Bannon and Miller, some don’t. And none of them trust each other. So they’re all leaking to put the knives into their rivals, to get the Boss’s attention that someone else is the screw up, and to make themselves look better.

    I’ve served on small teams. In fact I led one. And the most important thing is that everything stays in the team room/within the team. This includes disagreeing with the Boss. And recognizing that before, during, and after every disagreement that the team is family and no matter how angry or how much opposition to an idea, the team looks out for its own.

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Lyrebird: I’ve read it and I think its an accurate take/as accurate a take as any other, but again this is viewing from afar.

  74. 74.

    Adam L Silverman

    @debbie: My take is they meant the non-career, but wrote the order in a way that collected everyone. Or, at least, that was the best spin I heard/read. Now that the Secretary of State has been approved they will begin to backfill those billets.

  77. 77.

    TS

    @Peale:

    I’m really having trouble making Turnbull into some kind of Immigrant Hero. This was basically a tiff between two equally callous anti-refugee bigots. I guess Turnbull somehow gets credit for recognizing that refugees are human, but the contentious refugee deal is about Turnbull’s attempt to eject them from his country.

    I’m with you on this. Trump has done for Turnbull what none of his political policies could do – make some of his detractors like him. He is a right wing politician whose party hates on the poor & wants to give tax cuts to business. He does have some enlightened social views but to keep his job he rarely lets them impact any government policies.

    Joe Hockey was a failed treasurer who was ousted from political power when Turnbull took down Tony Abbott. His reward for failing was a diplomatic post to the US. He and those he met with today would have much in common.

  79. 79.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: And every other one. As reporting has indicated these are not being staffed and vetted through the normal channels or, rather, what we understood normal channels to be until 20 January. As a result its an attempt to get these things in front of the Boss and have him sign them. There is speculation in the reporting that he may not be actually reading them or, if he is, not understanding because he’s never held elected office, the effects of what he’s signing in terms of being in conflict with both different parts of the Constitution and/or US statutory law.

  80. 80.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steeplejack: That would be Moribito — CC and I agree you should look it up!

    Special for you, since you’re good at finding stuff on the web: Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, wherein a handful of misfit Japanese teenagers put together a not-the-Red-Hot-Chili-Peppers band in a world of off-center popcult tropes… and

    Twin Spica… the juvenile Heinlein would’ve written if he wasn’t a sexist authoritarian. Great opening theme:

  82. 82.

    andy

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Not along those lines at all, but I just sat down and watched all of Oniisama E (Brother Dead Brother). I saw part of it back in the VHS fansub days, and I’m so surprised at everything I missed the first go-round. That’s the only long one I can recommend (I tend to avoid long shows). Come to think of it, though, have you checked out the original Captain Harlock? That was a fairly long show too. As for new stuff, I’m really loving Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid- I’m finding it very soothing and relatable.

  83. 83.

    Lyrebird

    @Adam L Silverman: My take is not worth much in this particular debate, I’m just hoping that each awful moment of reckless bluster scares the few non-sociopaths in the top ranks of this Republican administration enough to keep the leaks coming and keep the inner group from consolidating more power than they have. There are plenty of Republicans who’ve been slavering for war with Iran (because they are stupid????? like it worked out so well having a proxy war with them through Iraq????), but not many of them think that sending troops to Mexico and provoking a war with China at the same time is a good idea. Not THAT stupid.

    Gah!

  85. 85.

    PK

    I’ve served on small teams. In fact I led one. And the most important thing is that everything stays in the team room/within the team. This includes disagreeing with the Boss. And recognizing that before, during, and after every disagreement that the team is family and no matter how angry or how much opposition to an idea, the team looks out for its own.

    But were you ever on a team where the boss was a certifiable lunatic and the team consisted of people who are just in it for themselves and their own agendas?

  88. 88.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Lyrebird: There are many that have never gotten over the hostage crisis. Just as Vietnam before it and 9-11 after it have warped our politics.

  96. 96.

    Adam L Silverman

    @PK: Well I was in charge, so yes! More seriously, I’ve been in assignments where the leadership was toxic and everyone was just basically trying to do their own thing because the boss was aggressively passive (which is worse than passive aggressive) and if you didn’t just look out for yourself and not really give a damn you weren’t going to make it through the day. I left after 8 weeks, partially because I was asked to do something that seriously violated my professional ethics, as well as the Law and despite with coming up with a way to get everything back on the right side of legal was being both ignored (in terms of solution) and badgered (to just do what had always been done, which was illegal – though not intentionally, until I got there no one had the expertise to know they had a problem) by my toxic boss.

  97. 97.

    Peale

    @Adam L Silverman: and ISIS has crawled into our heads and we can’t get them out. We can’t take two steps outside the country without someone asking “does it help ISIS? Does it hurt ISIS?” Our metrics are just odd. “Don’t let this student back in. He may be a spy.” “Let this sick woman in for surgery or there may be war with Iran!”

  100. 100.

    GregB

    Just saw on the Twitter that a former PM of Norway was detained at Dulles because he had visited Iran.

    I will simply assume this is true without looking for a second source.

    Clown show.

  101. 101.

    Anne Laurie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    A manga is different than an anime?

    Manga is the comic book (graphic novel). Anime (Japanese shorthand for ‘animated’) is the video cartoon, usually adapted from the manga.

    As with pop-culture everywhere, the relationship between the original ‘book’ and the subsequent ‘movie’ is… not always exact. Especially since those manga are ongoing serials in Japanese monthlies, and for particularly popular series, a one-season anime (usually 13 episodes) may be commissioned and aired before the manga series is finished.

    Not that you’re liable to care, but there’s a ton of sports-related manga in Japan, mostly published in the serial magazines intended for teenage boys. Every sport imaginable, including American-style football (Eyeshield 21) and of course soccer (Whistle!). And for some reason, a bunch of basketball series. Since teenage boys were the primary American market for anime, quite a few of these series are available in American translations.

    Which reminds me — Princess Nine is a great ‘starter’ anime, too: the story of nine girls competing to be the first female team in the all-Japan high school baseball leagues, which are as serious in Japan as high school football is in Texas…

  103. 103.

    Lyrebird

    @Peale: Sorry, “executive order.” Typo mine — I wish this Republican administration would stick to being merely malodorous vs malfeasant (?) and malevolent and so forth!

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    @Cacti:

    4. (your prediction here)

    BOOM! goes London, and BOOM! Paree,
    More room for you and more room for me

    They don’t respect us, so let’s surprise them,
    Let’s drop the Big One and pulverize them

    Except I guess kangaroos actually ARE going to get hurt.

  106. 106.

    Yarrow

    This is funny. Future CNN.

    @Adam L Silverman: Ugh. I know what you’re talking about. I worked for a horror show of a boss in a small group. Passive aggressive. Aggressively passive. Lies. Lawbreaking. It really never quit. It takes a real toll on your life. Only after I left did I realize how bad and dysfunctional it had gotten.

  110. 110.

    Adam L Silverman

    @GregB: Yes, I saw the reporting on it. He was traveling on a Norwegian diplomatic passport. He’s not supposed to be touched by any level of law enforcement in the US unless the State Department has been notified and they’ve gotten permission from the Norwegian government to permit it. A formal complaint will likely be forthcoming in very polite language.

  111. 111.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @PK:

    I think it’s because everyone loathes him. I don’t think there is even one person in this world who truly loves him. Certainly not his wife. His sons probably fear him. As far as Ivanka, there’s just something creepy and unseemly about that relationship. He has no redeeming qualities. I have never read a single article which said that he has done anything good for another human being. He’s surrounded by either downright evil people or spineless power hungry morons who’ve sold their dignity and self respect for power. He does not command respect, only disgust and hatred. Even the people who voted for him did so despite knowing he’s awful. A whole lot of people voted for him because they thought he would hurt people that they don’t like. He’s entire persona is negative. That’s why there are so many leaks.

    Whether you intended it or not, you have accurately described Alberich in Wagner’s lengthy four-opera Nibelungenring cycle. Alberich, a physically repellent dwarf (small hands!) renounces love — really, all human interaction or cordiality — in order to get his hands on gold and power.

    This all happens in the first opera; the rest is commentary.

  116. 116.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Yarrow: In this case the sad thing was that personally he was a nice guy. And he meant well, but no one knew/realized that what I had discovered was a problem was a problem simply because of lack of experience. In simple terms they’d been doing something one way since the program had been set up (14 years earlier). He’d been one of the people to help set it up. None of those people, nor the subsequent folks in the program had my particularly unique experiences working with the military. All of these folks were retired colonels with multiple advanced degrees including doctorates. But what was being done wrong was not something you’d have realized was wrong unless you’d done some of the jobs I’d done. Which is what happened. So I worked out a way to make everything kosher, which I thought was getting traction. It didn’t stick for long. And when I realized nothing was going to be done and I was going to continue to be pressured to just get the project done without doing the fix (which wouldn’t have derailed it, just delayed its completion), I decided it was time to go. And I did.

  121. 121.

    GregB

    I read that trump’s about face on Israeli settlements may have occurred over his meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan and that whoever has his ear last is who’s opinion he repeats.

    I thought of alternate theory on this.

    He’s pushing the Russian line on Israel line.

  122. 122.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @amk:

    While swimming in the sea just now,
    A jellyfish approached my brow,
    Who wants my jellyfish?
    I’m not sellyfish.
    — Ogden Nash

  123. 123.

    Anne Laurie

    @andy: That’s the problem, though — it’s such a broad range that “Recommend some anime for me” is like asking “What’s good in genre fiction?”

    Which, confession — I found Captain Harlock (sweeping space opera) unwatchable when it first bobbed up at sf conventions in the 1980s, and just as unwatchable thirty years later, but then we just tried watching Babylon-5 for the first time and bailed out after the third episode, because it’s ridiculously cheesy & overwrought by current standards. And Brother, Dear Brother (softcore girls-school pr0n) is just too histronic for me, although I might have watched the whole series when I was in high school and had all the time in the world…

  127. 127.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yarrow:

    We’re living in a Wagner opera? That can’t be good.

    It’s not all bad. There’s incest, infidelity, magic potions, treachery, murder and vengeance yet to come. And Valkyries.

  128. 128.

    Anne Laurie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Everyone is ignoring the second sentence in that comment.

    This comment section is like a dinner table conversation; some of the remarks are intended for a particular individual, but some are directed at the whole table.

  130. 130.

    fuckwit

    @Adam L Silverman: Ugh, something about that is way too Mafia for me. Just ugly. Like corrupt.

    I’m anti-team. I don’t believe in trying to put on a unified front for anyone. A Democrat to the bone, I like all the disagreements and debates to be out in the open.

  138. 138.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: I saw both the article in The Weekly Standard (because I wanted to know who the person behind the pseudonym was) and Jonathon Chait’s analysis. What I find interesting, that The Weekly Standard ignored, but Chait highlighted, is the core of this guy’s argument: that unless government in the US (and while its not clear, I’d gather at all levels – locals, state, and Federal) is run by white people, then it is illegitimate. This is not just illiberal (as in not small “l” liberal), it is also anti small “d” democratic and anti small “r” republican. It is not even a populist understanding of politics, civil society, and political culture to use Seymor Martin Lipsett’s typologies, it’s monist.

    Moreover, the context that is laid out to justify this conclusion simply bears no resemblance to reality. I’m not looking or interested in litigating the campaign Secretary Clinton ran, or whether it would have been better had she done something else or if someone else was the nominee, but to look at a potential Clinton presidency and conclude that it would be the end of the US is just delusional. Yes, I would have expected a potential HRC administration to try to strengthen and and expand the ACA. I would have also expected her to have selected a pro-choice/pro-women’s reproductive rights and choices nominee to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat, as well as to fill other Federal district and appellate court openings, as well as to possibly try to pursue some reasonable restrictions in regard to firearms and several other things (minimum wage increase, pay parity/equity, etc). While these would certainly wouldn’t be, and clearly from what we’re seeing aren’t the policy preferences preferred by the GOP, but only an extremist would think that these things are the end of the Republic. This individual is clearly not simply highly ideological, he is a full fledge ideologue. He is also clearly a white supremacist, because that’s exactly the preferred form of government and governance he’s articulated.

  140. 140.

    Yarrow

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    It’s not all bad. There’s incest, infidelity, magic potions, treachery, murder and vengeance yet to come. And Valkyries.

    Okay, I’ll play along. We’ve got Ivanka (and maybe Tiffany for the first one.
    Marla for sure and who knows how many others for the second.
    Magic potions? Is that his whatever causes his sniffing problem?
    Treachery! Has that part begun yet? Are the leaks part of it?
    Murder! I’m sure Vlad is involved somehow.
    Vengeance! Son-in-law Jared getting back at Chris Christie is part of it. Seems a bit old news at this point. Is there more to come?
    Valkyries! Tell me more about this. When do they come in?

    And when does that fat lady start warming up?

  142. 142.

    PK

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    It’s not all bad. There’s incest, infidelity, magic potions, treachery, murder and vengeance yet to come. And Valkyries.

    I believe we can check mark the incest and infidelity. Nothing about war? Because that one’s coming for sure.

  144. 144.

    Yarrow

    I said a bad word. Trying again.
    @SiubhanDuinne:

    It’s not all bad. There’s incest, infidelity, magic potions, treachery, murder and vengeance yet to come. And Valkyries.

    Okay, I’ll play along. We’ve got Ivanka (and maybe Tiffany for the first one.
    Marla for sure and who knows how many others for the second.
    Magic potions? Is that his whatever causes his sniffing problem?
    Treachery! Has that part begun yet? Are the leaks part of it?
    Murder! I’m sure Vlad is involved somehow.
    Vengeance! Son-in-law Jared getting back at Chris Christie is part of it. Seems a bit old news at this point. Is there more to come?
    Valkyries! Tell me more about this. When do they come in?

    And when does that fat lady start warming up?

  146. 146.

    Mike G

    @TS:

    Joe Hockey was a failed treasurer who was ousted from political power when Turnbull took down Tony Abbott

    In Australia there is a long tradition of giving the Ambassador to the US post to senior politicians who lose out in intraparty struggles and need to be thrown a conciliatory bone while conveniently removing them from the scene, like Peacock in the Howard years.

    Still, it’s better than the US system where the ambassador to Australia post goes to some non-diplomat business tool who raised lots of cash for the Prez’s campaign, like a car dealer or paving contractor.

  151. 151.

    danielx

    Diplomacy is overrated.

    Having what diplomats call a frank exchange of views with (20 lb) cat, about an hour ago.
    Me: THIS IS MY BED! (muttering) Move your furry ass!
    Cat: Ignoring me and going completely boneless as I attempt to shove her aside. Like trying to push a 20 lb bag of furry jello with ears.

  152. 152.

    Yarrow

    @Anne Laurie: Anime figure skating? Go figure. I love Johnny Weir. He is so out there. Cracks me up. Always felt he was cheated at the Olympics because he didn’t play their game.

  156. 156.

    Timurid

    pursue some reasonable restrictions in regard to firearms

    The gun rights people are right about somebody coming one day to take all our guns, but they’re wrong about who will be doing the taking. It won’t be the Democrats; it will be the Republicans. Almost certainly, it will be this Republican administration. Gun rights only matter as long as elections matter, and they think they are past that now.

  161. 161.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Yarrow: He did what Katarina Witt (shut up all of you – I was 19 during the 1984 Winter Olympics) did in her last few years. He did beauty as opposed to athleticism.

  165. 165.

    Peale

    @Anne Laurie: Johnny Weir is a fan of the show. The skating choreography is very good. It is like watching an event. It flows well. The skaters fall. I liked that part of it. It’s an attempt to animate actual skating. No slow-motion. No unrealistic super jumps. The skaters get tired, and one never knows if they’ll make all their rotations.

  169. 169.

    JordanRules

    @Adam L Silverman: I think Hillary expressly calling them out on their racism and tying her rejection of that to how she plans to govern may have felt like another nail in the coffin for a U.S. that needs to be run by whites. They were already 8 years deeper in the hole because of the black dude so it might feel especially threatening to know that the liberal lady would continue along the same trajectory and broadcast it. She was going to govern with diversity as an affirmative action and educate on why it’s necessary. Super threatening to them.

  170. 170.

    Yarrow

    @Omnes Omnibus: He did both but his more flamboyant style and refusal to play the games the skating world plays probably kept him from medaling. It’s a really political sport. You still have to be good on the day, though.

  173. 173.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @danielx: She did. The sport changed and she stayed on for a while as a reminder of what it was. Weir did something similar on the men’s side, but he was never at Witt’s level as a skater. As a personality, he does well.

  174. 174.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Adam L Silverman: Yes, things are supposed to stay in the family. In functioning military units, that’s how it goes. You are fiercely loyal to your commander when you speak with those outside the unit.

    Then there’s the problem that happens when the unit is dysfunctional. I’ve experienced both. I’d been in two “high performance” battalions, back to back, in my 2LT/1LT days. Then, years later, when I got to Korea, I was in a unit that the battalion commander imagined was “high performance” but it was anything but. And it was agony. The most functional I saw the Bn Hq was when the battalion commander was out of country for two weeks on leave. You didn’t dread going into the office in the morning.

  175. 175.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Adam L Silverman:

    You are absolutely correct.

    Turnbull is basically a socially liberal beard fronting a far right party, whose small “l” liberal wing is in the process of being purged by the far right.

    He replaced the previous Liberal PM Abbott, in a party room coup on the basis that Abbott’s brand of right wing populism wasn’t popular enough to win the next election. The upshot was that Turnbull, after enjoying an extended honeymoon as PM, found that presenting the exact same policies as Abbott also made him about as popular as Abbott.

    He scrapped back in at the last election only because he called it early, and is now even more at the mercy of his right wing. Many of the members of which are very loudly trumpeting the Trump triumph. Based on his own rationale for deposing Abbott, if the polls keep being dire he should be facing a challenge early next year.

    Of course the thing that is most likely to keep him in his job, is the lack of talent at almost all levels of the parliamentary Liberal Party. They simply don’t have anybody to replace him with.

  177. 177.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Villago Delenda Est: I have had great bosses in the army and horrible ones. I tried to learn from each. Good and bad. Oddly in the business world, I learned that the focus on making sure that the soldier/employee does the job and is taken care of is fucked. Budget is more important. I gave someone time off because he had a funeral to go to. She objected. I am looking for new jobs.

  178. 178.

    Boussinesque

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I tend to prefer shorter series, but over the past decade I’ve really enjoyed Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (and 2nd Gig, the second season), Code Geass (and R2, the second season), and Psycho Pass (24 episodes season 1, 13-ish for the sequel, movie covering time in-between). Those are all sci-fi, though. I haven’t really watched anything fantasy that’s run more than 24 episodes recently, but I’ll definitely second (and third, and fourth…) the earlier recommendation of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Depending on how old-school you’re willing to go, Escaflowne, Fushigi Yuugi, or Inu-Yasha, maybe?

  179. 179.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    In a rational world, it would be the siren of the ambulance coming to take him away to Bellevue (or the local equivalent psych ward).

    Sadly, we don’t live in a rational world right now.

  181. 181.

    Mnemosyne

    @Viva BrisVegas:

    Many of the members of which are very loudly trumpeting the Trump triumph.

    Any idea how this brouhaha will play out? Will it be a sign that the PM is weak and needs to step aside for someone Trump will really respect, or will the Trump fans feel a need to distance themselves from Trump?

  182. 182.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Mnemosyne: it’s a parliamentary system and the far right parties (the racist shitlords) have jumped gleefully in the fray. If the Labor party weren’t largely lacking in moral compass and also totally in thrall to the mythical working white men of the western sydney suburbs they could really make some hay.

  183. 183.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    Thanks to all for the great anime suggestions. I took a few minutes in the middle to watch ep 1 of Yuri on Ice – kinda like a super-sweet slushie when I was going more for an elegant glass of Bordeaux, but still fun. I really appreciate the tips. As I mentioned, I’m so new to anime that I have no idea what I like. Off to find out!

  184. 184.

    Mnemosyne

    @TheMightyTrowel:

    it’s a parliamentary system and the far right parties (the racist shitlords) have jumped gleefully in the fray.

    I guess that’s my question — are they saying they would have bent over for Trump, or are they swaggering around claiming that Trump never would have disrespected them that way?

    (Protip for them: of course Trump would have disrepected them the exact same way. It’s what he does.)

    If the Labor party weren’t largely lacking in moral compass and also totally in thrall to the mythical working white men of the western sydney suburbs they could really make some hay.

    Wow, Australian politics really is like US politics! ;-) Did you guys get stuck with a Sanders type babbling about the neglected white working class, too?

  185. 185.

    dm

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Going by your appreciation for Moribito, the recommendations for Full Metal Alchemist (FMA) is good. It’s a fantasy setting in a world somewhat like the early 20th Century, but with “alchemy” (magic), too. A 2003 series which departed early on from the original source material (graphic novels) and a more recent series with only a bit of overlap to the original series. Both series have a plot that centers around politics and a sub-plot of invasion of a distant land, and the refugees stemming from that war. Both series were pretty long — 48 or 64 episodes, I think. That will last you a good long time.

    Cowboy Bebop is pretty much an animated version of Firefly (Bebop came first). Among other things, Bebop has an absolutely brilliant soundtrack. Production quality on par with Moribito. Outer-space down-on-their-luck bounty-hunters instead of the medieval Japan setting.

    If you’d like to see a surprisingly good adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, though one that puts Venice on the Moon, makes Haydee an alien princess, and the transformed Edmund Dantes into something akin to a vampire, there is Gankutsuoh. All those SF trappings, yet it still manages to be an excellent adaptation of the novel (it bollixes the ending a bit, sadly).

    Sticking with the historical theme, if you’d like an older, melodramatic series that features a cross-dressing female bodyguard of Marie Antoinette, there is Rose of Versailles, which may be sampled here. From the 1980s, I think?

    If you think you would like heavy surreal symbolism and fluid gender roles, there’s the 35-episode Revolutionary Girl Utena. You can sample it on Youtube here to see if you are intrigued enough to want to go on. Utena is a puzzling classic, it may not be for everyone, but it has a devoted fan following.

    That will keep you busy for a while. Probably not for four years, though.

  186. 186.

    dm

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Oh, and Spice and Wolf — a vaguely medieval European setting. As the church spreads its influence, a wandering merchant undertakes to help a harvest goddess (who can shift between human and wolf form) to make her way to her ancestral homeland in the North. They travel, have adventures, and share banter. It may be sampled here.

    A few years after finishing Bebop, the same director made Samurai Champloo, nominally set in the era just before Japan opened to the west, but chock-a-block full of anachronisms.

    (I give Youtube links because they’re easy to find and sample. Many of these series are available through paid streaming services or on DVD or Blu-Ray.)

  187. 187.

    MisterForkbeard

    @dm: I was about to suggest Cowboy Bebop, as it’s much beloved and the composer (Yoko Kanno, I believe?) is just fantastic. Glad to see someone else mentioned it.

  188. 188.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Mnemosyne:

    are they saying they would have bent over for Trump, or are they swaggering around claiming that Trump never would have disrespected them that way?

    the former, but perhaps more in the sense of ‘he is our ideological twin and we would gleefully work with him to ban muslims, jail gay people and keep women perpetually pregnant and in the kitchen.’ they’re really rabid open white supremacists and assholes.

    I mean Shorten, head of the ALP, is all about the working class white men and couldn’t stand up to a fart if he thought a racist white guy from the western sydney suburbs was the one who let it rip. The big dif from Bernie is (a) head of party and (b) life long party hack – the principled outsiders all run as independents or form their own parties. Nick Xenophon might be the closest of those you’d find.

  189. 189.

    dm

    @MisterForkbeard: Someone mentioned Bebop earlier in the thread, I just wanted to give it some context.

    Yes, the music by Yoko Kanno is a real tour-de-force, from blues to heavy metal to jazz (no bebop, though). All original work that captures the styles perfectly (to my untrained ear, anyway).

    Oh, gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t mention Haibane Renmei — loosely inspired by the fantasy half of Haruki Murakami’s Hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world. A group of young women with halos and wings live in an abandoned school, preparing to move on to their next existence, with no memory of their past. That might fit your search for a bordeaux, Colette. Here it is.

    Oh, and Kino’s Journey…. I’ll stop now.

  193. 193.

    Anne Laurie

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: If you’re looking for ‘bordeaux’, you might sample Mushishi — it’s only 26 episodes, but it’s very elegant, halfway between Akira Kurasawa and Studio Ghibli.

    Not so elegant, but charming in a very Japanese-scroll-art way: Kami-Chu! Like Jane Austen, a whole world painted on a tiny slice of ivory…

  194. 194.

    dm

    @Anne Laurie: Oh, yes, those are both good. Mushishi, especially (the live-action film is not bad, too). Kamichu! is very sweet.

    Also: Baccano! — hyperkinetic, 30s-era, gangsters and… alchemists? Kind-of like a Robert Altman sprawling ensemble piece played at double-speed.

  196. 196.

    Boussinesque

    @dm: wow, I think this is the first time I’ve met someone other than me who’s seen Haibane Renmei–it’s one of my very favorites. Wanted to give another vote for the Crest of the Stars series (Banner of the Stars and Banner of the Stars II are the follow-ups, and it’s very rewarding to see the characters grow over that time period). I actually picked up the set of 9 novels they were based on–they’re still sitting on my “someday, when I know enough kanji” shelf.

    Also wanted to plug something slightly more recent–Erased is a fabulous drama/mystery with a bit of…for lack of a better word, time travel. It’s currently available in its entirety (12 or 13 episodes) on Hulu. I marathoned it straight through when I was home sick one day.

  197. 197.

    Aussie Sheila

    @Mnemosyne:

    No. Because we actually have a functioning smal d social democratic polity-just barely functioning. It is true that Australia’s record on refugees who arrive by boat is simply appalling, and Turnbull is stuck between a mad right wing rump and his own small l liberal instincts. The ALP is no better on these issues than Turnbull, but it would be a mistake to map US politics onto Australian politics.

    US levels of inequality, cruelty and gun madness are simply incomprehensible here, and if tried would be roundly rejected . However the ALP always needs a robust TU movement and civil society movement to be pushed in the right direction.

    Turnbull is currently being getting some love from senior ALP figures on the basis of ‘respect’ for Australia’s standing as a ‘loyal ally’.

    I am over all of this. If the US can’t comport itself properly as a respectful towards both allies and the rest of the world, why the hell are we flap doodling about it all.

    It is what it is. Simply gobsmacking and terrible.

    Exceptional indeed.

  198. 198.

    Proudgradofcatladyacademy

    @Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I only liked short ones. I loved cowboy Bebop but anime that hooked me was Witch Hunter Robin. I have the discs and am downsizing if you want them. I also liked Sword Art Online and both fate zero series Psychopass (spelling it wrong I am sure) were also good. They are only season or two though so I don’t know about long. Oh loved Gunslinger girl also! I am watching Log Horizon but I played EverQuest dabble in EverQuest 2 now so I would like both Log Horizon and Sword art Online.

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