Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

You cannot shame the shameless.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

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

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

The willow is too close to the house.

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

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

People are complicated. Love is not.

You are here: Home / Politics / An Unexamined Scandal / Open Thread: Somebody Pull Up the Drawbridge, Y’All!…

Open Thread: Somebody Pull Up the Drawbridge, Y’All!…

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… Release the danged alligators, already!…

CNN:

… With so much on the administration’s plate — leaks, Russia story, pending executive order and Obamacare repeal and replacement — Priebus said he would not go to Florida with the President this weekend as had been previously planned, a source told CNN. He was on the manifest, and a big donor reception by the Republican National Committee which Priebus used to chair was on Preibus’ schedule.

But the President said he thought it wouldn’t be a good idea since he is not happy with the state of matters right now, the same source said.

A White House official disputed that Priebus was supposed to travel to Florida, adding that he stayed home this weekend for a family celebration.

White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who initially decided to also stay in Washington Friday, ended up traveling to Florida Saturday and is joining Trump, Sessions, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at dinner at Mar-a-Lago.

Another Night of the Long Sporks?

Reader Interactions

239Comments

  2. 2.

    Edward Brennan

    “All guests please remember to settle your bill and tip the Chief of Staff. For those of you who missed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, check your email. Special offers to meet the Russian Ambassador may be on the way for select members.”

  3. 3.

    Patricia Kayden

    I don’t see Trump lasting a full two years. He’s worse than I imagined. Didn’t expect such a quick implosion. Everyday brings a new scandal.

  4. 4.

    feebog

    When that awful thing on Trump’s head jumps ship, we will know things are getting serious.

  9. 9.

    Zinsky

    @Patricia Kayden: I agree, Patricia. There is just no way this train wreck can last four years. All things tend toward entropy – just some are faster than others.

  15. 15.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    Don’t look now but the entire Right Wing Media complex is clamoring for Obama to be tried for sedition (or whatever) and alleging that Obama is the Nixonian guy who sabotaged his successor by wiretapping him.

    This is going to get really really ugly.

  17. 17.

    Chet Murthy

    @Patricia Kayden: I remember Smallgloves showing up in Doonesbury in the 80s. Hell, the reruns recently had Doc running a business in Trump Tower, eh? And then there’s Graydon Carter’s Spy magazine. I used to buy copies of that in grad school for the giggles.

    He’s -always- been a tacky lout. Low-rent, mobbed-up, and a grifter.

  19. 19.

    The Dangerman

    @feebog:

    When that awful thing on Trump’s head jumps ship…

    Impossible; that awful thing and cockroaches will both survive a nuclear blast.

    Hmmm. Possible connection there?

  20. 20.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Omnes Omnibus: or, as it probably says on Mar-A-Lago menus: “Mr Trump’s Special Steak Sauce*”

    *also good with “Eric’s Fried Potato Sticks**” and “Master Barron’s Shredded Potato ‘Tots’, Which Many People Say He Named”
    ** “Yeah, put that on the menu” is the most attention Trump has ever given Eric

  22. 22.

    efgoldman

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The tackiness is what amazes me.

    It certainly should have for a little while; it shouldn’t any more, by now. It’s always been the most consistent and predictable thing about him and his whole brood.

  23. 23.

    Ken

    If they’re letting the lawyers manage this, then either they’ve acquired new discipline,

    Discipline? From this crew?

    or the lawyers have told them they’re in deep s—

    “With this much manure around, there must be a pony somewhere!”

  26. 26.

    SFAW

    A White House official disputed that Priebus was supposed to travel to Florida, adding that he stayed home this weekend for a family celebration.

    What’s the over/under on when he “decides” to leave to “spend more time with his family”?

    If only we could get the same announcement for Bannon.

  28. 28.

    TS

    @Dog Dawg Damn: They are sick – they believe a man who speaks with the mind and words of a 4 year old, who has NO idea as to what a government is supposed to do – yet won’t accept that intelligent, well rounded, well educated people tell the truth.

    The world is so full of upside down with a serve of hatred on the side. I admit to being glad I won’t have to live through too much of what is happening all over the world.

  30. 30.

    maye

    @Dog Dawg Damn: Targeting Obama will only highlight probable cause for surveillance. Not a smart move for those who can’t handle sunshine. Obama’s got nothing to fear or hide.

  31. 31.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    @Corner Stone: The Special Prosecutor for Obama theme has been spouted by Hugh Hewitt, Roger Stone, Sean Hannity, and more.

    45* is huddling with his AG and attorney tonight. I’d put good money that he publicly calls for a special prosecutor into Obama over this within a week. Then all hell breaks loose.

  32. 32.

    SFAW

    @maye:

    Obama’s got nothing to fear or hide.

    And when (in recent years) has that ever mattered?

    ETA: To be a little less abstruse: Hillary (among others) should have had nothing to fear or hide. The rationality of the electorate, combined with the venality of the MSM (for which I blame Villago AND Obama, of course), combined with the nihilism that is driving Bannon, probably Miller, and I expect far-too-many of Shitgibbon’s admin, is not encouraging.

  36. 36.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    @maye: I agree with that, in normal times. I think it might not have registered with everyone how silo-ed information is. We inhabit two universes.

    In one–Obama is a dictator with evil connections who is tirelessly pulling strings to sabotage Trump. National Enquirer has been pushing this angle.

    In ours–Trump is the same.

    The GOP is more afraid of their base than they are of the middle, so they’ll go along with it. Some will, at least.

  39. 39.

    Suzanne

    @efgoldman: I can’t help but be continually gobsmacked by the Trump trashiness. Like……he has money, and he still is just so gross and dumb and vulgar.

    Can I tell you what the architectural press and cognoscenti have long thought of Trump Tower (and all of his buildings, for that matter)? Answer: not much.

  40. 40.

    Lizzy L

    @Corner Stone: I was hoping that he and Michelle might have a longer time to just relax and be private citizens. But looks like it’s not going to work out like that.

  41. 41.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Dog Dawg Damn: Isn’t all that Rightwing clamoring boring by now? They’ve been hollering about the Black man since 2007. Yawn.

    P.S. It would be so fitting if President Obama got to see the takedown of the man who led the birtherism charges. Ha!!

  43. 43.

    Another Scott

    Truganini (4:51) – (Quasi-) Live, from a park at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, with the Twin Towers in the background.

    […]

    And the world it won’t stand still

    Blue collar work it don’t get you nowhere
    You just go round and round in debt
    Somebody’s got you on that treadmill, mate
    And I hope you’re not beaten yet

    I hear much support for the monarchy
    I see the Union Jack in flames, let it burn
    I see Namatjira with dignity
    I see Truganini’s in chains

    Everyone, keep your spirits up. We’ve got to fight them every single day…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  44. 44.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @dmsilev:

    Trying to set up a “Trump was stabbed in the back” narrative, are they?

    And only ten more shopping days until the Ides of March.

  45. 45.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: I have an actual reasonable explanation for that. From what I’ve read both of his parents were very frugal. My guesstimate is that they used to buy meat when it was marked down – as in just on the edge of going bad. I’ve known some folks who grew up in financially strapped conditions and this was the only way their families could afford meat. And in order to make sure it was safe to eat, their mothers would cook it well done. If, as I suspect, his parents were this frugal, then he probably grew up eating his meat cooked well done. And it was probably ingrained into him as a child that only meat cooked well done was safe to eat. The ketchup is used to make the well done, bought as it was on the edge of turning bad steak edible.

  46. 46.

    Chet Murthy

    @Patricia Kayden: Oops, re-read. Yeah, I think it’d be nice for PBHO to see Dampnut get taken down. In-between kite-surfing lessons and sippin’ mojitos.

    And delicious for us all to get tweets from him doing all that.

  47. 47.

    efgoldman

    @schrodingers_cat:

    He has always been like this from his Taj Mahal days.

    True. He was a “somewhat eccentric” crazy rich guy that nobody liked – but a private citizen. Now he’s the single biggest celebrity politician in the world, maybe in history (because of the explosion of certain kinds of media). Everything he does and says is immediately news. And it’s abundantly clear that he’s barely functional, fucking crazy, maybe in dementia, doesn’t have the first fucking idea what his job IS, let alone how to do it, is overwhelmed, and is incapable of identifying, hiring, and listening to competent people who could help him.
    Other than that, he’s just fine.

  49. 49.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Adam L Silverman: That’s plausible.

    My grandmother, on the other hand, wouldn’t allow ketchup in her house as it was “just for the poor Negroes who can’t afford good meat.”

    Ah, life in the Mississippi Delta!

  50. 50.

    brendancalling

    The CNN article manages to be simultaneously hilarious, depressing, sad, AND terrifying.

    The references to fits of rage, expletives, and aides “in tears” is… wow. Just wow.

    It would be awesome if the “close ally… outside government” turned out to be Melania.

  52. 52.

    efgoldman

    @dmsilev:

    Trying to set up a “Trump was stabbed in the back” narrative, are they?

    Didn’t work for Tricksie Dicksie Nixie either, and his crimes were (relatively) lesser and harder to expose.

  53. 53.

    Yarrow

    @efgoldman:

    doesn’t have the first fucking idea what his job IS, let alone how to do it,

    I think this is key. He not only doesn’t know how to do the job, he doesn’t even know what the job is. He’s got precious few people around him who have any idea. I guess Priebus knows what the job is, sort of, but most everyone else doesn’t. So he has no one even to point him in the right direction.

  54. 54.

    efgoldman

    @Suzanne:

    Can I tell you what the architectural press and cognoscenti have long thought of Trump Tower

    Hell, I’m not an architect and I never played one on TV, but I know ugly and tacky when I see it.

  56. 56.

    Barbara

    @brendancalling: He blames his staff for letting the Russia related developments harsh the nice mellow he was having after his speech to Congress. It’s their job to manage these these things. Just wow.

  59. 59.

    Another Scott

    @Zinsky: In the late ’70s the University of Dayton had an engineering school newsletter with a comic called “Entropy Man”. He was a good guy.

    Donnie is another kettle of fish…

    Cheers,
    Scott

  60. 60.

    Suzanne

    @efgoldman: It just kills me: developers are notorious for being difficult for designers and engineers and contractors to work with, but Trump spent a lot—a lot—of money on Trump Tower, and IT STILL LOOKS LIKE SHIT.

  61. 61.

    Jeffro

    @Yarrow

    :

    He not only doesn’t know how to do the job, he doesn’t even know what the job is. He’s got precious few people around him who have any idea.

    This is why over 500 key appointee positions in the government remain without even a nominee, much less a person awaiting confirmation. Trumpov & Co are so insular and so disliked, they don’t have anything beyond a handful of people they trust, nor a handful willing to work for them.

    They’re a joke. And this week, we bring it all down.

  62. 62.

    efgoldman

    @Yarrow:

    He not only doesn’t know how to do the job, he doesn’t even know what the job is.

    As if we didn’t already know, today’s tell was the accusatory twittle “Obama met the Russian ambassador at the White House 22 times“.
    Well, yes, you pig shit brained ignorant fool, that’s the president’s job. Every president since Washington has met every accredited ambassador. If you could read a map, could find Paris, and ever read a sixth grade history book, you’d know that Ben Franklin spent years as ambassador to France, you blockhead.

  64. 64.

    efgoldman

    @Suzanne:

    Trump spent a lot—a lot—of money on Trump Tower, and IT STILL LOOKS LIKE SHIT.

    All that pyrite leaf doesn’t install itself, you know.

  65. 65.

    Yarrow

    @efgoldman: Yep. He probably thinks he did his job because he read that speech and got good reviews. An hour’s work. Done for the week.

    Saw this and think it’s pretty much on target.

    The moment for the #GOP to announce, "Hey, um, Trump is insane — we can't do this" was a year ago. Now they have nothing but awful choices.— John Schindler (@20committee) March 5, 2017

    The Republicans are screwed.

  68. 68.

    efgoldman

    @ Anne Laurie:

    Another Night of the Long Sporks?

    Congratulations! You have won the intartoobz for the night, the weekend, and maybe the whole week.
    Anybody that doesn’t steal that is a fool.

  69. 69.

    Suzanne

    @efgoldman: It is possible that the interior designers in my office hate Trump more than anyone else alive. Including the undocumented immigrants who are being deported.

  70. 70.

    Yarrow

    @Suzanne: Everything Trump touches turns to shit. Little surprise that when he designs something it’s also shitty.

    I accidentally ended up on Lara Trump’s Twitter feed today–Eric’s wife. Apparently there have been some property openings recently. A hotel in Vancouver. A golf course in Dubai. I had no idea. Are people visiting and staying at his properties? Who would do that?

  72. 72.

    SFAW

    @brendancalling:
    From the CNN article:

    His joint session speech will go down in history as one of the best,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in response to CNN’s reporting.

    If all the other speeches ever given are excluded. And even then …

    And, after looking at the photos in that article: I hope I live long enough to see that fucking smirk wiped off ZEGS’s face.

  74. 74.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Omnes Omnibus: Trump’s money is “older” than Romney’s, but you’d never guess it from watching them. And that difference in affect is not at all incidental to their varied political fates. Of course, they also faced very different opponents. I’ve often said I’m in the camp that thinks Obama would’ve beat Trump. I haven’t given it much thought, but I guess as I do, HRC would’ve beat Romney (and all counterfactuals is bunk).

  75. 75.

    SFAW

    @efgoldman:

    Well, yes, you pig shit brained ignorant fool, that’s the president’s job. Every president since Washington has met every accredited ambassador. If you could read a map, could find Paris, and ever read a sixth grade history book, you’d know that Ben Franklin spent years as ambassador to France, you blockhead.

    I’m sensing … hostility.

    But not quite sure, because the “Fuckem” was missing.

  76. 76.

    Suzanne

    @Yarrow: He didn’t design it. It has that sawtooth with the offices because he wanted more corner offices. UGHHHHH.
    Every time I heard him bragging about “building great structures”, I was reminded how he couldn’t get approved to build a building here in Scottsdale because he wanted to exceed the height restrictions of the zoning code. I mean, the dude couldn’t even get past the Scottsdale City Council, and there is more bad architecture here than you can shake a stick at. “I alone can fix it”, my ass.

  80. 80.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yep. I believe the Russian term nekulturny – no culture/no class – pretty much sums it up. He’s just vulgar. There’s no real refinement, just an immature projection of it.

  81. 81.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jeffro: Actually its over 500 that require Senatorial confirmation. Between 2,000 and 2,500 others that don’t.

  82. 82.

    efgoldman

    Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnd here we go again!

    Kent police are looking for a gunman who allegedly walked onto a man’s driveway and shot him, saying “Go back to your own country.”
    .
    The victim, a 39-year-old Sikh man, was working on his vehicle in his driveway in Kent’s East Hill neighborhood about 8 p.m. Friday when he was approached by an unknown man, Kent police said, after talking with the victim.
    .
    An altercation followed, with the victim saying the suspect made statements to the effect of “Go back to your own country.” The victim was shot in the arm.

    .The victim described the shooter as a 6-foot-tall white man with a stocky build. He was wearing a mask covering the lower half of his face, the victim said.

    Real proud of his work, I guess.
    The gun fondlers are going to read him out of the club; only shot the guy in the arm??

  83. 83.

    efgoldman

    @SFAW:

    I hope I live long enough to see that fucking smirk wiped off ZEGS’s face.

    Don’t think it’s possible without reversing the surgery that installed it.

  85. 85.

    efgoldman

    @SFAW:

    But not quite sure, because the “Fuckem” was missing.

    It’s a plural construction; I don’t use it for an individual, even a pig shit brained oaf of a buffoon.
    His whole family, however, is another dumpster of rotten fishes.

    Fuckem

  86. 86.

    efgoldman

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Actually that was mine, after a bit of prodding on how to properly revise the title

    Doesn’t matter, I’m stealing it anyway. You can come to New England and sue both AL and me. I have to warn you, I’ve met her several times. She fights to the death and beyond.

  87. 87.

    amk

    Have any elected Republicans had the courage to speak out against Trump's deeply, deranged tweets this morning?— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 4, 2017

  89. 89.

    Patricia Kayden

    @pk: Very telling video. We have a petty man in the White House who is compelled by his lack of self control to respond to each and every criticism, no matter how slight.

    P.S. Since Penn is a Libertarian, I assumed he supported Trump. Good to see that I was wrong.

  90. 90.

    Aleta

    The news now feels no different to me than a very bad nightmare. Another man, a Sikh, has been shot because of Trump and IC. He is wounded in his arm, nowhere else. Every Trump campaign beneficiary is a one of the worst humans I can think of, and they just keep coming. When I do something to balance and take my mind off, the pain of coming back is even worse. It’s frightening, and I’m not being attacked or deported, my physical life is the same and I’m fortunate.

  91. 91.

    amk

    good for teann.

    sucking up to this thug ain’t gonna help in ratings. so, do some real journalism for a change and call out his everyday lies.

  93. 93.

    Patricia Kayden

    @efgoldman: Trump will soon claim that this is all staged by Leftists to make him look bad. Like those Leftists who are making death threats against Jews just to discredit our non-bigoted Bigot-in-Chief. Sad.

  94. 94.

    PPCLI

    @efgoldman: worse, the tweet added “and 4 times just last year.” Since Sessions is already at 3 admitted meetings he met with the Russian Ambassador almost as often as the US President. And I have a hunch that there are a couple more meetings Sessions has “forgotten”.

  95. 95.

    piratedan

    well, what is more likely… that the Trump staff found a listening device, but it’s not been placed there by anyone in our previous administration but rather by the people keeping tabs on their little proxy?

  96. 96.

    LAC

    @Lizzy L: if you think he is going to break a sweat about this Orange tinged buffoon, then you might be a balloon juice worrier.

  98. 98.

    Cckids

    @Suzanne:

    Every time I heard him bragging about “building great structures”, I was reminded how he couldn’t get approved to build a building here in Scottsdale because he wanted to exceed the height restrictions of the zoning code. I mean, the dude couldn’t even get past the Scottsdale City Council, and there is more bad architecture here than you can shake a stick at. “I alone can fix it”, my ass.

    And Captain “I make the BEST deals” couldn’t get a gaming license in Vegas for his shitty hotel. The NV Gaming Commission told him to not even apply. He didn’t measure up to their standards.

    And yet, millions voted for him. I will never comprehend that.

  99. 99.

    Lizzy L

    @LAC: Not worried. I have every confidence in Obama. But I don’t feel particularly gleeful about the scenario.

  101. 101.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Dog Dawg Damn:
    The information is not silo-ed, not really. They live in another world because they refuse to believe the one in front of them, not because they’re not aware of it. In the real world, steadily mounting facts have shown that white Christian men are not superior to all other forms of life, so they’ve decided to reject facts and live in a fantasy world.

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Do not eat meat that is not well done. Please. I took a class in parasitology. I can’t bear the thought of the horrors I saw afflicting another human ever again. Speaking of which, let’s increase foreign aid to wipe out guinea worm, schistosomiasis, and the human bot fly. In conclusion, Flukes Bad.

  102. 102.

    JWR

    @Cckids:

    The NV Gaming Commission told him to not even apply. He didn’t measure up to their standards.

    And yet, millions voted for him. I will never comprehend that.

    I live in SoCal, and I believe that FOX, and far more importantly AM Talk Radio are to blame. If its reach is such here, then imagine how deeply it’s entrenched in the hinterlands.

  103. 103.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @PPCLI:

    And I have a hunch that there are a couple more meetings Sessions has “forgotten”.

    i was wondering about that too and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least…

    Didn’t Sessions end up using nearly identical wording to Flynn recently?

    After getting caught up in his own words, Flynn said something about not being “100 percent sure,” but didn’t remember talking sanctions w/ the Russians, right?

    And now, when being questioned about meetings w/ the Russians*, Sessions has said he didn’t recall over and over again when he announced his recusal…

    *edited for clarity…

  106. 106.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Not sure from this if Stone was at the dinner or just got his orders from Bannon

    LiliTaylor‏Verified account @ lilitaylor 2h2 hours ago
    LiliTaylor
    Looks like Roger Stone is first attack dog loose after Mar a lago dinner with Bannon et al RogerJStoneJr
    The buck stops here. Obama responsible for illegal surveillance of @realDonaldTrump – must be charged, convicted and jailed.

  111. 111.

    Chet Murthy

    @Frankensteinbeck: Two thoughts:

    (1) yep, you’re right. Had a friend who went to med school, used to tell us about “worm load”. That is, of course, on humans, not animals.

    (2) and yet, the French, Japanese, and (usually) Americans manage to eat undercooked animal products of all kinds, without major casualties.

    E.g. in France cheese made from unpasteurized milk is quite the thing. Used to be, you couldn’t import it to the US if it was aged less than 60days (I believe it’s just outright banned now, but not certain). B/c y’know, people could get sick. Somehow, the French have managed to stay alive and with decent overall longevity in the face of this manifest health threat. Of course, -when- listeria breaks out, they send in the Flying Squad to find the offending refrigerator or what-have-you.

  112. 112.

    efgoldman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Looks like Roger Stone is first attack dog loose

    The ratfucker di tutti ratfucki? The guy who taught Tricksie Dicksie Nixie everything there was to know about ratfuckery? THAT Roger Stone?
    There’s a cell somewhere with his name on it.

  115. 115.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @JWR:

    I believe that FOX, and far more importantly AM Talk Radio are to blame.

    I think conservative talk radio dominates completely, like 95% of the air time, in some parts of the country… I remember hearing Richard Viguerie talking on the radio, maybe 15 to 20 years ago, about this… they started back in the late 60’s, early 70’s… AM radio stations were considered low tech and passe so they (conservatives) started buying them cheap, left and right, until they reached a point where they controlled THOUSANDS of them… they figured the people listening to them would be mechanics at work w/ a cheap radio in the garage… housewives… truck drivers on the road… and they started filling up the airwaves w/ people like Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity… 24/7… and in some markets, ‘Hot talk’ radio is all you can find on AM…

  119. 119.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Vhh: At least one ex wife. Two daughters with that one. I think he has a third daughter who is in the Army.

  122. 122.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Adam L Silverman: Who knew Blade Runner would turn out to be a documentary?

    Came out the same year as The Road Warrior… seen ’em both 10 or 12 times…

  123. 123.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Chet Murthy: I think raw milk cheeses are legal in the US now.

    I once ordered a steak bloody in Paris just to see if I could see why they like it like that. I didn’t finish it and I was still sick for three days.

  126. 126.

    patroclus

    What is the logic of Trump’s (Hewitt’s, Stones’ etc…) argument? That Obama personally ordered illegal eavesdropping on someone and should therefore be locked up? Wouldn’t there have been a FISA warrant and approval by a court? And wouldn’t the request have come from the FBI or other IC agency? How would it thereby have been “illegal”? What is the evidence of Obama’s involvement? I realize they’re just throwing excrement up against a wall, but it just doesn’t make any sense to me. Can anyone clarify?

  127. 127.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @patroclus: What is the logic of Trump’s (Hewitt’s, Stones’ etc…) argument?

    keeping the mouth-breathers angry and the Senate and House R’s too scared to move.

  130. 130.

    Redshift

    @amk: Oh, the replies to that! The stupid, it burns!

    My favorite was the person who repeatedly posted “this *proves* Obama is guilty!” with a screen capture from Fox.

  131. 131.

    Timurid

    @Dog Dawg Damn: Obama, Biden, Hillary, Kaine and anyone in the inner circle of the previous administration and rival campaign had better have a plan to GTFO of the country at a moment’s notice.

  132. 132.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @patroclus:

    What is the logic of Trump’s (Hewitt’s, Stones’ etc…) argument? That Obama personally ordered illegal eavesdropping on someone and should therefore be locked up

    Well, your first mistake is looking for some sort of logic in what they claim…

    W/out knowing for sure, I’d reckon Trump is going to say Obama PERSONALLY ordered the wire tap, because that’s just the way ruthless dictators role… probably used something like the Bat Phone to call his army of orcs waiting in the WH basement for marching orders…

  134. 134.

    Chet Murthy

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Re: raw milk cheese, …. BE STILL MY BEATING HEART! Gotta say, I doubt it. I continue to see (e.g.) Morbier, but it’s >60days aged. The young crottins de chevre that I used to get in France (nigh on 25year ago, weep weep) …. haven’t seen ’em. This link seems to confirm.

    Re: steak, once had a pretty rare steak at some fancy-schmantzy NYC steak house (the saleswoman on the customer account was buyin’ for all of us) and …. well, I like medium-rare, and even a little less rare than that. But straight-up rare? Naw, not enough tsate for me, I guess. Seems the cooking process does release flavors …

  135. 135.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Thru the Looking Glass…: I tried reading the novel its adapted from when I was in Iraq. I didn’t get very far. Not sure if it was because I’d seen the movie first – and several times. Or if it was because of how the novel was written. But either way I didn’t get far.

  136. 136.

    efgoldman

    @patroclus:

    What is the logic of Trump’s (Hewitt’s, Stones’ etc…) argument?

    “Logic” as we understand it – verifiable facts and reasons – do not exist in RWNJ flying monkey mouth breather world – they just don’t.
    These assholes will tell you that there’s no gravity because airplanes, bats, and birds fly.
    The believed – up to and including the elected AG and governor of the largest state – that the Jde Helm army maneuvers were for the purpose of rounding people (who?) up and imprisoning them in dungeons dug out under abandoned WalMarts.
    I am not making this up.

  139. 139.

    max

    @efgoldman: Well, yes, you pig shit brained ignorant fool, that’s the president’s job. Every president since Washington has met every accredited ambassador. If you could read a map, could find Paris, and ever read a sixth grade history book, you’d know that Ben Franklin spent years as ambassador to France, you blockhead.

    He’s never read Ben and Me – probably because it would involve reading.

    @Patricia Kayden: Trump will soon claim that this is all staged by Leftists to make him look bad. Like those Leftists who are making death threats against Jews just to discredit our non-bigoted Bigot-in-Chief. Sad.

    After that guy shot up Comet Ping Pong, all the Pizzagaters squealed it was a plot. There is nothing they can’t blame on somebody else.

    max
    [‘The Orange Emperor is still buck fucking nekkid though.’]

  140. 140.

    TriassicSands

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The tackiness is what amazes me.

    It doesn’t even matter what, specifically, you’re referring to — everything about Trump is so tacky and that word keeps recurring in my mind, day after day, as “The Adventures of the Paranoid Narcissistic Sociopath” keep unfolding.

  141. 141.

    Chet Murthy

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: My translation of your comment would be: “We’re still a nation of laws”. And I agree with you. It’s not that far-gone yet, that Dampnut can start arresting the opposition just for being the opposition.

    ETA: of course, it could get there, but it’s still a long path to get there, and I think we’ll all have lots of notice. At least, for citizens. Maybe not so much, for noncitizens w/visas and clearly not so for the undocumented.

  142. 142.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    Elliot Spitzers going to be laughing his ass off if Roger Stone ends up in a prison over this.

  143. 143.

    Chris T.

    @Chet Murthy: Cooking meat protein turns some of it into sugars (the difference between an amino acid and a sugar is in some sense just an extra nitrogen atom: the liver will strip N, and S if necessary, from amino acids to make glucose; the N then becomes NH3, ammonia, which the liver must up-convert to urea as the ammonia is toxic). So it adds flavor that way—but it also makes so-called “heterocyclic amines”, which are tasty carcinogens. :-)

  144. 144.

    Adam L Silverman

    @patroclus: There’s no logic as you or I would understand it. Apparently they’ve been passing the Breitbart write up on Marc Levin’s specious and poorly thought out accusations that President Obama is conducting a soft coup against President Trump. This has now been merged with the reporting, starting in Heat Street and then confirmed by the Guardian and NY Times and WaPo, that a FISA warrant was issued in October 2016 in regard to an investigation between the Trump Organization and/or campaign and Russian financial interests (that are tied to Putin). The FISA warrant would have been sought by the National Security Section at FBI, through one of their dedicated prosecutors, from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. None of this would have been directed by the White House. Though, once the IC began reporting up the chain that the Russians were interfering in the election, it is possible that President Obama was briefed that their was an open counterintelligence investigation. That’s how this actually works in real life.

    I recommend giving this a read. Its been recommended by Laurence Tribe and Carrie Cordero:
    https://www.justsecurity.org/38347/tapping-trump/

  146. 146.

    max

    @Adam L Silverman: I tried reading the novel its adapted from when I was in Iraq. I didn’t get very far. Not sure if it was because I’d seen the movie first – and several times. Or if it was because of how the novel was written. But either way I didn’t get far.

    Because the novel and movie have very little to do with each other. In fact, basically all Phil Dick adaptions are nothing like the books. Because the books are things unto themselves. Go forth and read The Man in the High Castle. And then read I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon.

    That should get you started.

    max
    [‘Once you get PKD, the rest goes easier.’]

  147. 147.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Adam L Silverman: The novel – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K Dick) isn’t nearly as interesting as the movie… in some ways the film is a completely different piece of business… it just blew us away visually when it first came out…

  149. 149.

    Chris T.

    @max: But is there a cure for PKD, after you get it? :-)

    (maybe it’s “stay off the amphetamines for a while”…)

  150. 150.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Gravenstone: Right… in addition to being a mom’s jeans-wearing coward afraid to stand up to a real he-man like Putin…

  152. 152.

    tkrr

    If the Trump administration was a dying giant star on its way to supernova, it would be in the carbon-burning stage right about now.

  153. 153.

    Chet Murthy

    @max: There’s the famous case of _Total Recall_. (the movie) which is based on a -fraction- of a PKD -short story- by the same name. The man was amazing. Some of his novels, I love. Some, I can’t really get. But his short stories? AMAZING. Just AMAZING.

  154. 154.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Yarrow: Is there any chance that if Trump keeps shooting off his mouth, making insane accusations and batshit crazy claims, that he’ll get sued and forced to cough up his tax returns in court?

    Any chance at all?

  155. 155.

    Another Scott

    @PPCLI: Something like that. He would yell, “Entropy Entropy!” as he did his Super Power stuff. ?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  156. 156.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Yarrow: As I’ve mentioned several times, she seems to be punching above her weight class, based on her rep as a backbencher MP, with excellent sources. But we’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out. Would this surprise me? No. Would it surprise me if this isn’t accurate? Also no. She seems to have an exceedingly high opinion of Director Comey and is convinced that he will save the Republic.

  157. 157.

    max

    @Omnes Omnibus: @efgoldman: The believed – up to and including the elected AG and governor of the largest state – that the Jde Helm army maneuvers were for the purpose of rounding people (who?) up and imprisoning them in dungeons dug out under abandoned WalMarts.
    I am not making this up.

    And Roger Stone is losing his shit. I can’t wait for him to announce, ‘Well, of course I blew the Russian just to get some more of those DNC emails out! Who wouldn’t?!?!?’

    Why is always secret tunnels and dungeons, do you think?

    max
    [‘Wait! It’s because their people who don’t understand engineering. Like making a tower of playing cards. For example. ;)’]

  158. 158.

    TriassicSands

    @efgoldman:

    He not only doesn’t know how to do the job, he doesn’t even know what the job is.

    My guess is he spent most of his first day in the White House trying to figure out where the corners were in the Oval Office. He probably would have formed a task force to find them if someone hadn’t explained it to him. (Secretly, he thought it was all a conspiracy to make him look stupid.)

    I’d like to see a thread on BJ with a single question for each commenter to answer:

    Q: Is it better, as bad, or worse than you expected?

    I have to think that the honest answer for everyone would have to be — Worse. Much worse.

    As stupid and ignorant as I knew Trump to be even before he took office, the chaos, incompetence, dishonesty, paranoia, and wild claims and accusations without a shred of evidence all add up to being more than I could have anticipated. I suppose that is partly because there is a natural expectation that even a stupid president will be able to surround himself with smart people to smooth out the wrinkles. Not so for Trump.

  160. 160.

    Yarrow

    @Adam L Silverman: She sure does. And so far she’s decided that Pence didn’t know what was going on. I disagree with her there. But she’s been ahead of a lot of the stories, so who knows what she knows or what sources she has. Time will tell.

  162. 162.

    Chet Murthy

    @Yarrow: I read someplace that Trump has to be careful about civil actions also, b/c his returns could be subject to discovery in certain cases. IANAL.

  163. 163.

    Jerzy Russian

    @tkrr:

    If the Trump administration was a dying giant star on its way to supernova, it would be in the carbon-burning stage right about now.

    For a 25 solar mass star, carbon fusion lasts about 600 years. The neon fusion stage lasts about 1 year, oxygen fusion lasts about six months, and silicon fusion lasts about 1 day. The FSM does not love us enough to make it silicon fusion, so perhaps oxygen fusion about now? By the way, once silicon fusion is done, the core collapses in less than one second.

    Once these massive stars leave the main sequence, the shit hits the fan relatively quickly. It does seem like that is happening right now to Dolt45.

  164. 164.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Yarrow: Actually I think she’s attributing all of the reported attempts by the FBI National Security Division to get FISA warrants for this stuff to Comey. The one successful and the two unsuccessful attempts. I’m sure he’d have been informed, but he wouldn’t have been the one to take the warrant request to the FISA court. That would have been handled by one of the National Security Division (counterintel) prosecutors.

    From what I’ve seen on the reporting she’s wrong on Pence. But, again, who really knows at this point other than the counterintel team working on this stuff.

  165. 165.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Yarrow: Something to hope for… just the simple fact that if he has nothing to hide, he’d prove it by releasing them but won’t is so damning…

    “Tell us, Mr Trump… when did you stop beating your wife?”

    I came up w/ a theory about this whole business of Trump, the Russians, and the RNC…

    I’m a fan of mosaic theory… you have a bunch of clues but don’t know what they mean so you try to put them into a pattern that makes sense of them all… a narrative that accounts for everything you know…

  166. 166.

    Chet Murthy

    @TriassicSands:

    Q: Is it better, as bad, or worse than you expected?

    That depends on what “it” is, right? If “it” is “the experience our country’s going thru” then for now, I’m going to say “better” b/c it seems Dampnut’s evil is outstripped (and tripped-up) by his incompetence. For now. But that’s only if he get ejected soon. [Yeah, I know: “better”? Really? Yes, it’s actually going better for all of us than I expected.]

    If “it” is “the cray-cray of the Dampnut admin”, yeah, it’s worse than I expected. I figured they’d take their time with all this, take the time to staff up the departments, so that they’d have an -instrument- they could actually wield. I expected Bannon to be more ….. efficient at his villainy.

    Of course, it’s still early days, and maybe they have depths of villainy yet to plumb.

  167. 167.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @TriassicSands:
    I did not have a clear image of what it would look like, but yes, this is the level of incompetence and evil I expected from a Trump administration. Particularly, the only thing they’re good at is persecuting brown people and inspiring hate crimes.

    What has surprised me is Congress’s paralyzation. They haven’t impeached Trump to get their preferred controllable figurehead, hyper-bigot, and evangelical darling Pence, but they also haven’t been passing floods of evil legislation while Trump takes the blame. It’s not like McConnell gives a flying fuck about decency or what anyone who isn’t a white male wants, so what is up with that?

    Also wasn’t expecting the huge marches. Please, let these people stay politically involved and vote.

  168. 168.

    jl

    @TriassicSands:

    ” Q: Is it better, as bad, or worse than you expected? ”

    That’s an easy question. All three.
    As bad: horrid policy started being enacted and planned right away.
    Worse: Trump much worse maladjusted idiot and fool than I expected.
    Better: I didn’t think they would start to sink under the own filth until a year or so in, when their horrid policies (see ‘As bad’ above) started blowing up in their faces. But Trump and his flunkies are such worse maladjusted fools (see ‘Worse’ above) that they started to publicly self-dastruct immediately upon taking office. That nets out to better since it interferes with their ability to mess things up with horrid policies. I hope they keep it up.

    But these people are hopeless ignorant and very arrogant losers and fools. Really, much worse on that front that I imagined. Makes Dub and his team look like geniuses.

  169. 169.

    efgoldman

    @TriassicSands:

    As stupid and ignorant as I knew Trump to be even before he took office, the chaos, incompetence, dishonesty, paranoia, and wild claims and accusations without a shred of evidence all add up to being more than I could have anticipated.

    Based on his history and the way he was exposed during the campaign, I expected he had no floor. On the one hand, I’m sorry I was right; on the other, that’s what’s keeping him, his boss president Bannonazi, and Granny Starver actually from moving forward on all the hideous things they’d like to do.

  170. 170.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @jl:

    Makes Dub and his team look like geniuses.

    Tell me about it… who would have ever thought there could someone so bad he’d make you miss George Bush?

  171. 171.

    Jerzy Russian

    @TriassicSands:

    Q: Is it better, as bad, or worse than you expected?

    The chaos, the amount of self-dick-stepping-on*, and the overall dumbshittery are worse than expected. On the other hand, I was/am pleased with the large numbers of protests, the growing number of negative headlines about the administration, etc.

    *this is when a man (it is nearly always a man) steps on his own dick because he is too stupid/incompetent to avoid doing that

  172. 172.

    jl

    @Jerzy Russian: A man with small hands stepping on his own dick takes a lot of dexterity.

    Edit: So I’ve read, that is, in the research literature on the topic.

  173. 173.

    Major Major Major Major

    Iiiii can’t believe these people are running our country.

    Why did I even take a break from video games? Stupid meat body, needing food.

    ETA: also, the ensuing ram-through of Obamacare repeal has me down. I know there’s still time for them to fuck it up, but I see no reason for optimism.

  174. 174.

    efgoldman

    @Chet Murthy:

    Trump has to be careful about civil actions also

    And his solicitor general [Mr Kelly Anne] (has he been confirmed?) won the SCOTUS case against Bill Clinton where they ruled that the sitting president DID have to answer a civil suit while in office.

  176. 176.

    jl

    I remember, grimly chuckling to myself just now, that Trump gave several interviews, proclaiming his self-command, and his ability to shape himself as he willed to best craft his persona to rise to meet whatever challenges he would face. He said he could do that very easily, very very easily.

    I heard some clips from a couple of these interviews. Would be interesting to post them and listen, if you have the stomach for it.
    The sad mess is an infantile narcissistic fantasist.

    Edit: easy to over think what Trump is doing. All we know for sure is that Trump is a credulous fool who heard or read some reactionary propaganda nonsense in right wing media and he lost his shit, until he remembered to dump on Arnold for quitting the Apprentice show.

  177. 177.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Jerzy Russian:

    *this is when a man (it is nearly always a man) steps on his own dick because he is too stupid/incompetent to avoid doing that…

    Nearly always a man? Nearly?

    If they’re stepping on their own dicks, they must have some of the shortest legs ever seen on a hominid life form… and hopefully they’re all wearing golf shoes…

  178. 178.

    Keith P.

    @Chet Murthy: YES! I have a book of his short stories (light blue hardback), and it is badass. I remember first reading it thinking “This is a gold mine for movies with stories that haven’t been done to death” until I started piecing together all the movies that have already been made from the stories. Unfortunately, the first movie that came out after I read the book was “Paycheck”. The trailer looked so much shittier than the story I couldn’t ever watch it; the image that sticks in my head is Affleck and some woman on a motorcycle leaning out of the way of some obstacle during a chase…if this is what they put in the trailer to sell the film, then how lame must the rest of the film be?

  181. 181.

    efgoldman

    @jl:

    Makes Dub and his team look like geniuses.

    Somewhere, Dubya’ is sittin’ back in a comfy chair, feet up, relaxed, sippin’ a Diet RC, sayin’ to himself “Thank Ronny Raygun’s ghost! There’s that doofus in the White House who actually makes me look not so bad!”

  182. 182.

    Redshift

    @TriassicSands:

    I suppose that is partly because there is a natural expectation that even a stupid president will be able to surround himself with smart people to smooth out the wrinkles.

    I know Republicans tried to sell that line during the campaign, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a natural expectation. At best, it’s one that can seem plausible only if you don’t think about it too hard.

    In reality, an outsider president who doesn’t have a lot of knowledge about government could possibly surround himself with smart, knowledgeable people and have the judgment to make decisions based on their input. But a stupid president doesn’t have the ability to choose smart people, or to make intelligent assessment of what they’re saying. And a stupid president who also has a long history of only tolerating yes-men is by definition very easily manipulated.

  184. 184.

    Jerzy Russian

    @Thru the Looking Glass…: Well, it is a figure of speech, of course. As I was writing that it did occur to me that there are at least a few women associated with the administration that are not the sharpest tools in the shed, so it wouldn’t be 100% men.

  185. 185.

    jl

    @Redshift: The Dub administration demonstrated that natural expectation cannot be relied upon, even with a far shrewder and more competent person than Trump. So, don’t know why anyone would buy that line with Trump.

    There is a line is King Lear that I don’t remember exactly, Something like “Filths savor only their own”. Uncivil, I guess, but it’s Shakespeare, so perfectly OK to use for serious affairs.

  186. 186.

    Chet Murthy

    @Redshift:

    And a stupid president who also has a long history of only tolerating yes-men is by definition very easily manipulated.

    I think the -key- mistake I made in my judgment of Dampnut, was thinking that he could effectively cede his signing pen, fingers and tongue to Bannonazi. I truly did not expect that Bannonazi would have such trouble controlling his meat-puppet. I really didn’t. Of course, it could all be the breaking-in period, and any day now Bannonazi and his minions will “move on it like a bitch”.

    ETA: obviously I’m assuming Bannonazi is actually effective and disciplined. I think it would be dangerous to think otherwise, and there’s at least some evidence that it’s true.

  187. 187.

    TriassicSands

    @efgoldman:

    Yeah, but that was a very different SCOTUS. One would hope, if any of what they say about Gorsuch is true, that he won’t vote along party lines, but we’ll have to wait and see.

  189. 189.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @jl: Indeed… indeed… and again, I can only hope he was wearing golf shoes at the time… and given how often he goes to Florida and plays golf… that just might have happened…

    Perhaps that why Melania stays at the Trump Tower while Donnie’s off Presidentin’… she’s seen this before, knows what to expect, and can’t stand watching it one more time…

    ***cue up Benny Hill theme music***

  190. 190.

    Jerzy Russian

    @amk:

    And just when the fucking wapo called his ‘speech’ to congress surprisingly presidential. Sad!

    Well, it is not 100% negative headlines, of course. There is the grading of a curve and so on. But still, you see things like that recent CNN headline stating that Trump is falsely accusing Obama of wiretapping him. Baby steps.

  191. 191.

    Calming Influence

    @SFAW: Republicans: the family values party, because so many of them leave government to spend time with their families.

  192. 192.

    jl

    @Chet Murthy: Bannon, besides holding vile views, is totally effing nuts. So, no telling what is going through Bannon’s head. He may still think his grand plan to destroy the rot started by the Magna Carta, Treaty of Westphalia, and the Geneva Convention (edit: and UN Charter, can’t forget that enormity that is dooming his precious White Race), is just swimming along fine.

  193. 193.

    max

    @Chet Murthy: here’s the famous case of _Total Recall_. (the movie) which is based on a -fraction- of a PKD -short story- by the same name. The man was amazing. Some of his novels, I love. Some, I can’t really get. But his short stories? AMAZING. Just AMAZING.

    Exactly! (The Short Happy Life of Brown Oxford!) There’s no way you could turn half his stuff into movies because it’d be too damn long and the audience would be like, ‘What the FUCK was THAT?’

    I suggested I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon because PKD wrote like an 8 page intro for it that basically explains…PKD fiction. (‘I make worlds that immediately begin falling apart.’ ‘…Oh. It’s supposed to go like that.’)

    Trumpworld might be a PKD novel if talking ducks or robot Hitler or Jesus Hernandez of the unhittable sinkerball, second coming of The Son, and his mother the 50 year-old virgin Marianne Hernandez, start showing up.

    max
    [‘And then Roger Stone starts getting the stigmata.’]

  194. 194.

    Chet Murthy

    The Short Happy Life of Brown Oxford

    Holey moley, yeah, as I was writing about _Total Recall_, I was thinkin’ of that one. And the one about the toys that are invaders. And the one about the postman who’s actually an evildoer, and the dogs are defenders for real. And on and on and on, so many that could never work as movies, but are brilliant stories.

  195. 195.

    Redshift

    @TriassicSands:

    Q: Is it better, as bad, or worse than you expected?

    It’s a mix. I was expecting him not to care about much except being worshipped, but to sign whatever conservative wet dreams the wingnut Congress put in front of him, which would be horrible. So far, that’s been less horrible than I expected because of the incompetence and infighting of the GOP congress, and because Trump doesn’t have anyone who knows enough about government to provide any direction or cover.

    On the other side, although I knew about Bannon and his ilk, I didn’t anticipate how central their influence would be, and how quickly white supremacist policies would be put into action. While they’re not nearly as smart as they think they are, they’re still able to cause a lot of damage.

    Similarly, I expected the Russian connection to be a big deal, and it is. I’m really concerned that the gutting of the State Department is going to be really bad for all of us (and the world), and unfortunately not in ways that will be as obviously Trump’s fault as some of his other disasters. But on the other hand, he hasn’t been able to lift the sanctions yet, so in some ways it’s not as bad as I was expecting.

  196. 196.

    max

    Dan Balz, ladies und gentlepersons:

    After all, the FBI, which Sessions now oversees, was one of three main signatories, along with the CIA and the National Security Agency, on that January intelligence document. Sessions also could have added that he did not think that Russian interference changed the outcome of the election and that Trump was duly elected president.

    This is a pattern that has compounded the administration’s problem. Trump apparently sees the entire issue as an attempt to delegitimize his presidency. The president also has continued to equivocate on the question of whether he truly believes the intelligence community’s findings. As a result, he and others have tried to wish away that something significant happened.

    With Sessions under fire and more reports about contacts between Trump officials and Russians, the president on Thursday labeled calls for further investigation of the Russia issue a “witch hunt.” On Saturday, in classic fashion, the president sought to create a new controversy. In a tweet, he accused the Obama administration of a plot to wiretap Trump Tower. He cited no evidence to back up the accusation.

    {stage whispers} That’s because Trump goddamn well knows getting the FBI to cover for the Russians shivving Hillary made his fucking election illegitimate – he wants to believe that since he cheated and won, he’s entitled to get away with it. This not getting away with it that’s going is making him fucking nervous as fuck, because he has no idea how this shit works, he just knows he’s getting bad press. AND HE HATES BAD PRESS.

    max
    [‘He’s used to just paying to make problems go away. That’s doesn’t work with election swinging felonies.’]

  198. 198.

    amk

    @JWR: Her good work notwithstanding, she is still a conserv woman who believes fucking comey and fucking pence will save the republic.

  199. 199.

    mai naem mobile

    Wtf? SNL had two weeks off and they didn’t have neither Alec Baldwin nor Melissa McCarthy on tonight. Sad!

  201. 201.

    Bruce Baugh

    @max: There’s at least two exceptions, when it comes to Philip Dick-based movies. A Scanner Darkly was quite close, and Radio Free Albemuth – which a lot more people should be – was even closer. (One cautionary note: the first scene makes many viewers think Dick’s a complete callous asshole. It turns out that they’re trying to show him in shock, but it just doesn’t work. Take the knowledge of shock and let the rest of unfold.)

  202. 202.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Chet Murthy:

    My translation of your comment would be: “We’re still a nation of laws”. And I agree with you. It’s not that far-gone yet, that Dampnut can start arresting the opposition just for being the opposition.

    Sessions made his name as an Alabama US Attorney in the Reagan Administration jailing Democrats on trumped up and invented charges.

    If you want something more modern, look to Don Seigelman, who finally got out of jail last month.

    They can, they have, and they will.

  203. 203.

    Brachiator

    @Dog Dawg Damn:

    This is going to get really really ugly.

    It’s been ugly ever since Trump entered the primary, and has got uglier since Trump was elected president.

    I had been out and away from the Internets. Now I’m seeing stuff about fist fights at a Trump rally.

    Is there any such thing as Peak Ugly with Trump?

  204. 204.

    TriassicSands

    @Redshift:

    But a stupid president doesn’t have the ability to choose smart people, or to make intelligent assessment of what they’re saying.

    I think that is way overstated.

    All a stupid president needs (outsider or not) is his own Dick Cheney. Just one smart person he’s willing to listen to. The complicating factor with Trump, which doesn’t depend on intelligence, is his ego. However stupid he is and however ignorant, he considers himself an expert on virtually everything. As has been pointed out, the most dangerous people are those who are so stupid they don’t realize that they are stupid. Trump is the world’s best example of that.

    I used the term “natural expectation” because it is a widely held expectation that presidents, in general, will choose cabinet secretaries and other subordinates and aides to fill in the knowledge and experience the president lacks. You don’t have to be very smart to see the need for that.

    So, I disagree with your contention that no stupid president could surround himself with smarter people, but in Trump’s case, he considers himself smarter than everyone else so it won’t happen.

    Note: Trump’s outsiderness is unique. Think of all the presidents of the twentieth century and up until Obama. No president compares, even remotely, to Trump’s lack of preparation or qualifications for the presidency. Trump’s problem is exacerbated by his stupidity, which when coupled with his profound personality disorders, left him uniquely unqualified to be president. If he weren’t so insecure and such a self-appointed know-it-all — when he knows almost nothing about almost everything and you can remove the almosts when it comes to government — he could easily recognize that he needs to appoint smart people. Again, Trump’s biggest problem, and it’s more a problem of personality disorders than native intelligence, is that he can’t recognize his own inadequacies. Of course, if he were capable of an honest inventory of those inadequacies, he wouldn’t have run for president.

  205. 205.

    Redshift

    @Chet Murthy:

    obviously I’m assuming Bannonazi is actually effective and disciplined. I think it would be dangerous to think otherwise, and there’s at least some evidence that it’s true.

    Hmm. I agree it’s safer to operate on that basis (at least if it affects how you decide to oppose him; if it’s not changing anything other than giving you more heartburn, then don’t.) But I don’t actually believe he’s some kind of evil genius. He could be a lot more effective if he didn’t have the disdain for expertise that is all too common these days on the right. He’s good at the knife fight that is a chaotic White House, but he’s limited by the fact that he can’t accomplish as much with that chaotic environment, but he would have less influence without it.

  207. 207.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Roger Stone is having a mental breakdown on Twitter tonight.

    It’s glorious.

  208. 208.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @Brachiator:

    Now I’m seeing stuff about fist fights at a Trump rally.

    Well… amongst other places, that did happen in Berkeley today… very stupid…

  209. 209.

    Chet Murthy

    @Viva BrisVegas: That’s true. But it’s one thing to come at low-level opposition figures, and another to come at leaders, esp. a former President. If (knock wood) they did that, seriously, I think you’d see massive reaction of several different kinds on the left. There’d be civil unrest (and I don’t mean just demos) and bona fide flight by citizens. Living in CA, I think from such an action to open civil war isn’t such a large step.

    So in that sense, no, I don’t see it happening. Maybe I’m being foolishly optimistic.

  210. 210.

    Brachiator

    @Redshift:

    But a stupid president doesn’t have the ability to choose smart people, or to make intelligent assessment of what they’re saying.

    Trump is fulfilling this prediction to the max, despite his selection of some strong, smart generals for some administration posts.

    And a stupid president who also has a long history of only tolerating yes-men is by definition very easily manipulated.

    Has there been much written about the people in Trump’s business operations? I originally got the impression that he demanded loyalty, but not necessarily wanted yes men and women. There was one woman executive who later became dismayed with Trump, but who seemed to suggest that he let her operate with a fair amount of autonomy and respected her judgment.

  212. 212.

    JWR

    @amk: Re: her opinions of Comey and Pence, of this I was not aware. Also, this being the first time I’ve paid her any mind, I didn’t connect her name to Heat Street, where this latest brou-ha-ha began..

  214. 214.

    Chet Murthy

    @Brachiator: Found this but I’m sure there’s more. Three thoughts:

    (1) the story of the constructive executive (woman) has been told and retold, but as far as I’m aware, there are no other examples

    (2) His history is -replete- (truly, a cornucopia) with stories and lawsuits/liens by contractors who got stiffed. It seems to be the rule, rather than the exception.

    (3) the stories of counterparties who *didn’t* get stiffed seem to be much rarer, and almost invariably amongst those with a lot of money too.

    But I’m sure the two guys who’ve written bios on him (one of whom died recently) have lots of info on this.

    ETA: Oh, and (4) his liberal (even invariable) use of NDAs speaks volumes, doesn’t it? A man who inspired loyalty wouldn’t demand that his employees sign NDAs, eh?

  215. 215.

    Origuy

    @Adam L Silverman:

    And in order to make sure it was safe to eat, their mothers would cook it well done.

    Remember his mother was Scottish. Today you can get some great meals in Scotland, but when she was growing up, a Sunday roast was the height of cuisine.

  217. 217.

    amk

    Looks like all those ‘military leaders’ didn’t bring in the much touted ‘discipline’ to this fubar admin after all.

  220. 220.

    Chet Murthy

    @amk: Hey hey hey, I hear that Mattis, Kelly, and McMaster have a pact that one of ’em will be in DC at all times, in case …. well, you know, in case.

  223. 223.

    Brachiator

    @Chet Murthy:

    ETA: Oh, and (4) his liberal (even invariable) use of NDAs speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

    Not necessarily. Again, I would be interested in actual reporting about the people in the Trump organization.

    One of the things that made Trump look good among the larger public were his two judges on The Apprentice, a man and a woman. Both were long time Trump employees, and neither appeared to be weak or yes people.

    Here it says something, though, that they were later replaced with his children. The woman judge later either quit or was fired, with some hints that Trump had become jealous of her popularity on the show. I don’t know what became of the male judge.

  224. 224.

    TriassicSands

    @Brachiator:

    I think the thing Trump can’t tolerate is criticism or people saying unflattering things about him.

    Again, it’s not a problem with native intelligence, but Trump’s personality disorders. That’s why people like Elliot Abrams get nixed. (Not that I thought Abrams was a good choice.) There is no question that Abrams had the requisite experience to be Tillerson’s second, but he’d made comments critical of Trump during the campaign. Tsk. Tsk.

    If someone said to Trump, “I disagree with you (or better with “that”) it might be very different from someone saying “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Or in the all-too-common current phrasing: “With all due respect…you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  226. 226.

    TenguPhule

    @patroclus: Projection. Look for Trump trying to illegally wiretap people and either someone in IC told him No, or he found some goons in the FBI who said yes.

  227. 227.

    JoeyJoeJoe

    @Brachiator: The male judge was George. He just retired. I used to watch the show and ready recaps of it on televisionwithoutpity.com

  228. 228.

    TriassicSands

    @Chet Murthy:

    But I’m sure the two guys who’ve written bios on him (one of whom died recently) have lots of info on this.

    The one who died, Wayne Barrett, wrote a biography published in 1992. Trump’s comment is vintage Donald:

    “I have not read it, it’s a piece of fiction, it’s a very boring book,” Trump told Newsday in 1992. “Wayne is a very bad writer.”

    “I have not read it…” OK.
    “…it’s a piece of fiction…” And you know that how, since you haven’t read it?
    “…it’s a very boring book…” See previous question.
    “Wayne is a very bad writer.” Always the insult claiming the person is a loser or is terrible at what they do. These two sentences from Trump are so revealing, typical, and predictable.

    The guy’s a real prince.

  229. 229.

    TriassicSands

    @Brachiator:

    The woman judge later either quit or was fired, with some hints that Trump had become jealous of her popularity on the show.

    And isn’t her popularity a kind of implicit criticism of Trump — I mean, if you’re a demented, insecure POS who has to be top dog at everything?

  230. 230.

    TriassicSands

    More from Trump biographer Wayne Barrett, who didn’t expect Trump to win in November.

    When Trump ultimately triumphed, Mr. Barrett told the New Yorker from his sickbed, “Donald just has no interest in information. He has no genuine interest in policy. He operates by impulse. And I don’t see any of that changing. . . .

    No interest in information. Check.
    No interest in policy. Check.
    Operates on impulse. Check.
    Hasn’t changed. Check.

    Wayne knew his man. RIP Wayne.

  235. 235.

    Lurking Canadian

    @m.j.: If you are an American taxpayer, you are paying for that shit. Report yesterday that Trump family security & travel costs already exceed the total equivalent costs for eight years of Obama.

    A tweet blaming the cost on Obama is expected anytime now.

  238. 238.

    Ninga

    When Bannon was filmed (through the white house window) going ballistic, it appears to me that he said to whoever it was that he was pointing at, “f*** you”. It wasn’t Ivanka or Jared, for they both walked across the window. Who knows who he was addressing? It could possibly have been, Little Donny Donut!

  239. 239.

    Phoebes

    @Suzanne: I live in Chicago and think that Trump Tower here is one of the most gorgeous buildings along our river-front. Too bad it’s marred by those hideous letters. I’d love to go in and see the interior but I won’t til he’s out of office and those letters are off the building.

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