This seems relevant to Trump doing things to enrich himself:
First round is from Comey's investigation. But NY AG is hard at it with a separate follow on investigation-expect RICO indictments. https://t.co/MMBi2oWSQd— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) April 14, 2017
5.
geg6
I hate these dystopian ads, but I’m not the audience. The angry white person who it’s aimed at loves these ominous sounding ads. It feeds their fear and anger. That’s usually a GOPer tactic, so we know it’s effective. The bonus is that it’s completely factual and bound by reality. So I get why it’s good. It’s just not what attracts me.
6.
tobie
I think it’s an ad meant to energize the Democratic base, which is good. I’m not sure it will appeal to rural Americans wo hold on to the mistaken belief, fed by years of GOP propaganda, that they pay with their taxes for everyone else.
My inner pedant is also upset the ad blasts out “For who” and not “For whom.” Grammar mavens around the country will be similarly upset.
@GrandJury: if you share it on FB, your mom and your dog will at least see it.
10.
Yarrow
@tobie: I saw that “who/whom” error too. It was a dumb mistake. Could have been avoided by rewriting the script somewhat. I don’t think “whom” would have worked in the context of the ad (sounds too erudite for a shouty, angry ad), so they’d need to rewrite it to make it work.
11.
Uncle Cosmo
I would’ve moved the “gotta do health care deform [sic] to get to tax deform [sic]” up so that “For who[m]?” leads into the piles of $$$ thrown down. And I would’ve found a narrator with a deeper & grittier voice. Other than that, good job, & a good template for ads going forward.
12.
Tom Levenson
Props for the Joe Morgan shout out. Massholes approve.
And yeah, I know about prior uses of the term, but it’s all about the Sox. Hence, “Massholes.”
13.
gene108
Needs a better narrator / voice-over guy. His voice is not deep enough to be truly ominous.
In Maine it is used to refer to the way they drive.
15.
tobie
@Yarrow: Thanks. Glad to know we’re on the same page, and your insight that “whom” would sound too erudite is spot on, as is your suggestion that a new script is needed.
16.
germy
Julian Lennon is looking to nurture a new generation’s commitment to the environment, with a little help from a white feather.
The firstborn son of the late John Lennon has co-authored “Touch the Earth,” a picture book for kids as young as 3 about the world’s water problems, from polluted oceans to the need for clean drinking water in the developing world.
Out later this month, the book from Sky Pony Press has a group of kids loaded into a plane called the White Feather Flier as they span the globe and learn about the need for filtration, irrigation and ocean life protection. With illustrations created both by hand and computer, it’s the first of three children’s books he plans, in line with the environmental and humanitarian work of his White Feather Foundation.
So what’s up with the white feather for Lennon, the former Beatle’s son with his first wife, Cynthia? He shares the story at the back of the book.
“On the odd occasion when I saw dad he mentioned once that should he ever pass, a way he would let me know that he was OK, or that we were all going to be OK, would be in the form of a white feather,” Lennon explained. “I thought that quite peculiar. I told mum about it, too, and we just sort of went on with life.”
Later, while on tour in Australia, he was presented with a white swan feather by an aboriginal tribal elder of the Mirning people.
“It was a freaky moment, but one I took to heart immediately,” he said. “I realized that this was about stepping up to the plate now and, you know, I can sing all I want about this stuff but am I actually going to do something about it? So I spent 10 years making a documentary about the Mirning people.”
This ad is kind of meh, but the idea is good to engage Trump NOW if he wants a permanent campaign rather than waiting till next year (assuming it’s a real buy and not just played in the DC area).
The ad needs to connect the dots a little more. Yeah Trump personally profits off the law, but exactly how much? What about his billionaire cabinet? Who cares if we don’t have enough information to know for sure; ask a liberal think tank to make their best guess of the range based on public information, pick the highest number, and cite the report in the ad. Follow it up with the highest possible number that health spending will go up… and not just your average not-quite-poor 60-64 year old, the even poorer one who can’t get on Medicaid because of new drug testing or work requirements. It’s an attack ad; stop worrying about fact checkers.
I go on twitter and see stories about Giuliani in “legal jeopardy” desperate to make a deal, I see stories about shitgibbon’s spawn’s “criminal wrongdoing” being exposed, I see stories about voting machine malfunctions in swing states. Also a story about “concrete evidence” of collusion between shitgibbon camp and russian authorities, etc.
And I find myself thinking “Any day now, the shit’s gonna hit the fan!”
And then I turn on the evening news, or the morning news, or I open a newspaper, and I don’t see a thing about this stuff.
So are we the left equivalent of the folks who spent eight years of Obama saying “this is the scandal to end all scandals! He’ll be escorted out of the white house in cuffs any day now!” ?
28.
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: The grammatical error. Plus Katrina and her odious husband.
29.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Putting aside the question of whether or not it’s a good ad, per previous comments, who will see this? What markets will it run in?
I thought one of the bigger takeaways from last year was the diminishing return of political/issue TV ads.
Ok, people. We dropped a large bomb on some tunnels in Afghanistan. Was it a large bomb? Yes, it was a large bomb. Was it a very large bomb? Yes, it was a very large bomb with a cute nickname.
Now can we move on?
@germy: Yes. No legal challenge will bring Trump down.
36.
Gin & Tonic
@Major Major Major Major: When you (I mean you personally) are presenting to an educated audience, do you say “the data clearly show” or “the data clearly shows”?
37.
germy
@Gin & Tonic: I always say “As we can see from the data”
Matthew GertzVerified account
@ MattGertz
Fox host: Dropping MOAB is “what freedom looks like, that’s the red, white, and blue.”
Geraldo: It’s one of my favorite things to watch.
ETA: I thought it was a twitter joke: they played Toby Keith over video of the daisy cutter blown’ up. Geraldo: “one of my favorite things in the sixteen years I’ve been at FoxNews is watching’ bombs drop on bad guys”
So are we the left equivalent of the folks who spent eight years of Obama saying “this is the scandal to end all scandals! He’ll be escorted out of the white house in cuffs any day now!” ?
No. This situation is not like that. Far too many people with connections to the intelligence community and FBI are leaking this info. Just because the press is too stupid to see it or willfully ignoring it (my money is on that), doesn’t mean it’s not true.
I don’t think Donald Trump will be escorted out of the White House in handcuffs. I think it’ll go down somewhat differently than that. I think we’ll be treated to perp walks by some of his cohorts, though.
@Gin & Tonic: If it’s off the cuff, ‘shows’, because I speak vernacular English. If it’s a presentation, ‘show’ I guess, but that’s not a sentence I would write.
Is The Nation speaking at an academic conference in that tweet?
@Ric Drywall: Thank you! Let’s see: bad grammar (oooooh!) doesn’t appeal to me (oooooohhhhhh!) narrator isn’t good enough (ooooooohhhhhhhhhh!!). Kibbitzing as an Olympic sport.
42.
StringOnAStick
@germy: Well, the difference might be that there were no Obama scandals worthy of such designation, whereas Drumpf is a seething mass of scandals inside a scandal universe.
I try to look at what is going on and give myself a chance to smile with hope, but I’m not checking every 30 minutes for a righteous perp walk either; I don’t want to live with that amount of constant anger. There was something Adam S said here in a comment: don’t give them too much of yourself; it really hit home for me. Keep resisting, keep calling, keep doing what you can but don’t let it consume your life. We can do this without becoming the liberal version of the crazy winger uncle who forwards every crazy email.
43.
Betty Cracker
@germy: I ain’t counting any chickens — Trump could totally skate! I don’t put faith in the “any day now” tweets either, especially since the GOP has the power and motivation to delay, hamstring and quash legitimate inquiries.
But we know for a fact that at least three of Trump’s campaign operatives (Page, Manafort and Flynn) were working for foreign governments. That’s a big fucking deal! Virtually everyone in his orbit has fishy ties to Russia, and they’re weirdly willing to lie and obfuscate about it all the time, even on official documents.
You don’t have to be a conspiracy nut to believe Trump is up to his eyeballs in Russian mob ties and trying to hide it or even that something far more sinister is going on, i.e., he’s being blackmailed by Putin, directly or indirectly. The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. But that doesn’t mean it’ll come to anything, though I fervently hope it does.
44.
amk
Lucy again holds out a football with "pivot" painted on the side, and Charlie Brown gets another running start https://t.co/PG4BSlS8sL— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 13, 2017
45.
amk
Anti-Defamation League offers to hold Holocaust education class for Sean Spicer, WH staff: https://t.co/k3XwkfpBQd— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) April 14, 2017
No. This situation is not like that. Far too many people with connections to the intelligence community and FBI are leaking this info. Just because the press is too stupid to see it or willfully ignoring it (my money is on that), doesn’t mean it’s not true.
truth.
48.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Betty Cracker: he doubled the membership fees at his tacky club and started using it to host foreign leaders. Besides all the clear security risks– passing around classified information in the dining room, fercrissake– if its not a violation of the emoluments clause (which I had never heard of before last January, but it seems like the foreign gov’ts issue could give trump a technical out), he’s clearly profiting personally from the presidency. And that’s without getting into Uday and Qusay bragging about the increased value of their “brand” and the older one speaking at all kinds of Republican fund-raisers while allegedly being on the other side of a firewall from President Daddy.
But i guess it’s the Russia stuff that’s gonna get Uncle Dub and Aunt Myrt excited, if anything does. And it’s gonna have to be big and clear to get their attention.
The “rules” of grammar have always evolved. My problem with Grammar Nerdism is that it seems to be driven by the conservative impulse to prevent the world from changing, with an added dose of “these kids today and their baggy pants….” grumbling.
52.
mai naem mobile
AP just made a yuuuge deal about the MOAB bombing and the 32 ISIS fighters it killed. The general sounded like he was putting on a show talking about it. Sounded like Iraq redux. I feel sick listening to this stuff.
@Ric Drywall: There’s also the issue that much of prescriptivism, particularly in English, has a deeply troubling classist and racist past. (This particular quibble is not one of the rules that fits that description, but it’s a problem that keeps showing up in ‘Grammar Nerdism’.)
55.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@mai naem mobile: well, that is almost twice as many bad guys as the good guys killed by our friendly fire in Syria two days ago, so if you do the math: Winning!
Following a series of flip-flops by Trump, some in the media have once again engaged in their never-ending search for a “pivot” from the president to the center. But I’m much more inclined to agree with how Steve Benen described what’s going on.
I’ve seen some suggestions that the president is pivoting, changing his positions as part of some kind of White House reboot. I’m afraid that’s probably wishful thinking. Trump isn’t adapting to changing circumstances or shift his agenda to become more popular. He’s just swinging wildly in the dark, making up a haphazard agenda as he goes along.
Chalking this up to some kind of new strategy probably gives Trump and his team too much credit. What we’re witnessing is governing chaos, driven by longstanding ignorance and confusion, led by a clumsy president with few core beliefs to help him navigate.
I know that. But I’ve found that if you scratch a descriptivist deep enough, you’ll more often than not find some obscure pet peeve even there. Having spent about half my working life in the business of data, I still try to hold the line on that.
But it appears that what started as a somewhat light-hearted comment riffing off of my known antipathy toward The Nation has taken on a life I didn’t intend. Use the singular to your heart’s content. I’ll just sit here and sneer quietly.
President Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney is displaying a pre-Katrina level of complacency about whether his boss’s hundredth day in office will coincide with a shutdown of the government due to lack of congressionally-approved funding.
Lawmakers are on recess for Easter, set to return four days before current funding runs out at the end of the month.
Despite the short timeline and the disparate positions of the White House and Congress, Mulvaney does not anticipate a shutdown, recently telling CNBC’s John Harwood that chances of a shutdown are “very low” and that he has not yet instructed federal agencies to make preparations for one.
“I don’t see the need to, to be honest with you,” he said. “So we’ve gone to the appropriators and said, ‘Look, if you all can figure out a way to do this, let’s do it together.’ Shutdown is never a desired end.”
Even if lawmakers don’t reach a deal in time, Mulvaney said he does not foresee significant problems in the event of a temporary lapse.
59.
Gin & Tonic
@mai naem mobile: So that’s only a half-million bucks per KIA.
60.
Immanentize
I see Veep Pence is going to Seoul. Good sign? Or human sacrifice?
61.
David Spikes
@Gin & Tonic: C’mon, when was the last time you saw datum? Language changes data is now both singular and plural-get over it.
62.
Corner Stone
@germy: I try to not get burned out by the “any day now” breathlessness of it all. But it really does seem like “any day now” could actually be literally any freaking day now.
The problem is, for me at least, that the main cadre of people reporting the kind of info I *want* to hear are all the conspiracy nuts I have always resisted trusting. And just because they are saying mean things about Trump and his associates does not mean it’s true or even if true will lead to an appropriate outcome. So it’s like I am doing double duty all the time, looking for more up to date info but then having to really push it away to find confirmation somewhere else.
And since the fucking media will talk about nothing else but Donnie Make Boom Boom there does not seem to be more sources. Even though Trump is a moron, he knows his media clowns so we are guaranteed to get more Boom Boom for the immediate future. I just hope he keeps doing it in remote areas so he doesn’t kill a bunch of civilians.
63.
Betty Cracker
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): Really? I love that. I think they also have a special word for getting drunk at home in your underwear. And they seem to have mostly figured out sane governance. Coincidence?
But we know for a fact that at least three of Trump’s campaign operatives (Page, Manafort and Flynn) were working for foreign governments. That’s a big fucking deal! Virtually everyone in his orbit has fishy ties to Russia, and they’re weirdly willing to lie and obfuscate about it all the time, even on official documents.
If you can find anyone associated with Trump who does not have ties to Russia I would be surprised at this point. I wonder why Pompeo came out yesterday and declared Wikileaks a non-state hostile actor?
65.
Yarrow
@Immanentize: I’ve been wondering the same thing. My “Trump will throw everyone under the bus before he goes, with the possible exception of Ivanka” theory leads me to think it could be a way for him to get rid of Pence. Or at least leave him stuck in some bunker in South Korea, unable to come above ground.
But honestly, I don’t think Trump really thinks about much of anything except golf and how to steal more of our money, so him sending Pence may just be a wave of the hand and, “You solve it, Mike.”
For months now, this is the way Josh Marshall has been describing Trump’s appeal to his supporters:
People continue to marvel how a city-bred, godless libertine who was born to great wealth could become and remain the political avatar of small town and rural voters of middling means. The answer is simple. Despite all their differences, Trump meets his voters in a common perception (real or not) of being shunned, ignored and disrespected by ‘elites’. In short, his politics and his connection with his core voters is based on grievance. This is a profound and enduring connection.
I have found that to be a helpful way of understanding what is happening that avoids the divisive back-and-forth about whether this election was about identity politics or economic insecurity. Trump has lived his life feeling aggrieved by the Manhattanites. He was able to use that to appeal to the grievances of enough white people in small town and rural America to win the election.
That is basically the case Jay Bookman makes.
Policy differences, ideology and even narrow-minded self-interest cannot explain the deep and growing divide in American politics. Nor can it explain the popularity of Donald Trump in some quarters. The only way to explain or understand these phenomena is to attribute it to a bone-deep cultural resentment that probably does not originate in politics, but that finds its outlet and expression in politics.
As Bookman goes on to point out, the problem with this is that there is no government policy that can “fix” resentment or grievance, which is probably what draws so many liberals to the idea that this is all about economic anxiety. At least that formulation gives you policy solutions to apply as a remedy.
And David French at National Review is re-tweeting a vet who lost his legs and who claims that wouldn’t have happened if the pansies in the Obama administration had let them use the BIG BOMBS to clear a minefield like this admin has done.
So it really is Obama’s fault, whatever the issue or problem it’s because the black guy was bad or weak or something.
The problem is, for me at least, that the main cadre of people reporting the kind of info I *want* to hear are all the conspiracy nuts I have always resisted trusting. And just because they are saying mean things about Trump and his associates does not mean it’s true or even if true will lead to an appropriate outcome.
But, here’s the thing…they’re not the only ones who are saying this.
70.
Betty Cracker
@Corner Stone: WL has been publishing purloined CIA cyber warfare docs, so now they’re the enemy. Pompeo was retweeting them when they were dragging Clinton and the DNC.
I am getting a little frustrated with how elements of the #TrumpRussia story are continually confirmed and expanded upon without giving us much more clarity. For example, today’s Guardian story provides more insight into which countries were observing disturbing and suspicious contacts between Trump figures and known or suspected Russian spies, but it doesn’t do anything to help us understand why these contacts were so concerning.
For example, we now know that Australia, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Estonia, and the British were all bothered enough by observed Trump/Russia meetings and communications that they separately shared information about it with our intelligence community. But we’re left in the dark about what any of these countries learned.
All these countries are continually tracking Russians who they suspect or know to be covert operators. All of them noticed people of this type coming into contact with folks in Trump’s orbit. All of them found these contacts to be suspicious enough to warrant sharing the information with the Americans. And, of course, Christopher Steele discovered the same thing even though he was retired from MI6 and working in the private sector without the benefit of the signals intelligence or satellite technology, etc., that the national agencies could employ.
In Steele’s case, we have some of his so-called dodgy dossier, which is mostly un-redacted. But we don’t have the transcripts of intercepted electronic communications or geo-positioning data or other travel records. We don’t have the results of any forensic financial investigations.
The U.S. is set to lose $1.6 billion as Mexican vacationers move on to Canada https://t.co/NStVDdUFRm pic.twitter.com/5GbRpVpSiu
— Forbes (@Forbes) April 14, 2017
74.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
this guy’s a county sheriff in Ohio, so of course he knows all about military ordnance and Mexico, to say nothing of foreign policy
Richard K. Jones @ butlersheriff 58m58 minutes ago
I have been saying this for 10 years. Enough is enough. This Moab can b used on Mexican drug cartel. These are good days ahead.
If you can find anyone associated with Trump who does not have ties to Russia I would be surprised at this point. I wonder why Pompeo came out yesterday and declared Wikileaks a non-state hostile actor?
All part of the ‘ now we’re tough on Russia’ scam that BC explained in her post.
Also, do you honestly believe that those at ‘ The Agency’ who are doing the leaking ACTUALLY TRUST POMPEO?
By all means let’s wait to run anything until we have the absolutely perfect ad that will get complete national coverage and instantly convince everyone of everything. Sometimes it’s like people don’t want to win.
Since there are obviously so many brilliant BJ admeisters, how about a contest; write(with production notes specifying voice timbre, etc.) the perfect ad that will change the world-1st prize is a trip to Trump’s second inaugural.
s
78.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@David Spikes: I don’t know which of the three comments that criticized the ad you’re getting hysterical about, but maybe try more fiber.
My own pet peeve is the use of “unique” with a qualifier. Spiky haired fucker on the Food Network, I’m looking at you! Alas, I think it is a lost cause, I feel like Lucy on that assembly line.
When I first started reading balloon juice I saw this comment from Davis X Machina. It explains everything concisely. It is in the balloon-juice lexicon
“The salient fact of American politics is that there are fifty to seventy million voters each of who will volunteer to live, with his family, in a cardboard box under an overpass, and cook sparrows on an old curtain rod, if someone would only guarantee that the black, gay, Hispanic, liberal, whatever, in the next box over doesn’t even have a curtain rod, or a sparrow to put on it.”
I’ve written extensively in recent weeks (for example, here) about a structural political problem that Donald Trump has that is going to prevent him from successfully getting legislation passed through this Congress. A simple formulation of the problem is that Trump ran against the current iteration of the Republican Party but adopted a strategy even before his inauguration that depends on his ability to move his agenda with 100 percent Republican votes. I don’t want to reiterate that argument here, at least not fully, but it now appears that he and many of the people closest to him are beginning to realize their error.
This is why we’re seeing a lot of stories come out about a split between a populist nationalist wing led by Steve Bannon and a more pragmatic wing that is led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, his daughter Ivanka, and his director of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn.
One simple way of understanding this is that Kushner, Ivanka and Cohn are realizing that they’re going to need Democrats to do much of what Trump promised he would do. To the Bannon wing, such an assertion is nonsensical. He made promises the Democrats have no interest in helping him keep, and he should stick to the agenda that attracted his base to him in the first place. Running to the Democrats is a betrayal.
………………………………………….
Democrats, from the ivory towers of think tanks down to the union halls, all agree on the urgent need for infrastructure spending. The knowledgable among them know that going another four or eight years without major investments in roads and bridges and health and education and technology is a recipe for further wealth disparity and disenchantment among their previous supporters in the hollowed out non-urban parts of the country. They want a big infrastructure bill not to help Trump but to help themselves and the American people. But they have no interest in passing an infrastructure bill that takes the form of what Trump initially proposed, and they won’t help pass that kind of bill. What Gary Cohn, for example, understands is that the Republicans won’t pass the infrastructure bill that Trump proposed, either, so the only way anything is going to get done is to make an approach to the Democrats.
I’ve argued that it’s too late to do this, and that Trump has essentially screwed the pooch in two ways. The first is that he took what was already a toxic campaign (and campaign result) and ramped it up once he came into office. The Democrats can’t afford to work with him now even if they wanted to, and they don’t. The second is that Trump is now vulnerable to congressional oversight to such a degree that he can’t afford to split his own party or turn a significant portion of them against him. He needs a united and enthusiastic Republican Congress to run interference on investigations that threaten to take down his presidency.
85.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@germy: a) The lesson from the Tea Tards is don’t assume there is fire just because of smoke. Trump is an idiot and since he is an idiot he’s surrounded himself with a group of people no sane politician would dare get near so they are plenty of other ways for these Trump minions to get in legal trouble without any grand conspiracy.
b) I was young at the time but I distinctly recall the Watergate Break-in was a bit of joke at the time and then months later Nixon resigned over it.
“The salient fact of American politics is that there are fifty to seventy million voters each of who will volunteer to live, with his family, in a cardboard box under an overpass, and cook sparrows on an old curtain rod, if someone would only guarantee that the black, gay, Hispanic, liberal, whatever, in the next box over doesn’t even have a curtain rod, or a sparrow to put on it.”
Not a Black person who knows the history of America disagrees with this. We have numerous examples of it throughout Black history…>Rosewood, Tulsa anyone?
We need more White people to accept this, and not waste time explaining to us why it’s not true, and it’s just ‘ economic anxiety’.
Also, do you honestly believe that those at ‘ The Agency’ who are doing the leaking ACTUALLY TRUST POMPEO?
I do.
Of course, I also believe in unicorns, the Tooth Fairy, and that Shitgibbon is a good businessman
ETA: In place of “a good businessman,” one can substitute “smart not a moron,” “honest,” “ethical,” usw.
91.
Corner Stone
@Humboldtblue: I saw it was for a 3-pack. I think Hovercraft said something about the $18 for a jar. I still happen to think $6 for one jar is a tad pricey. I’m sure it’s delicious but I’m saving my money for my trip to Paris on the Concorde.
92.
Corner Stone
@rikyrah: I’m not sure how trusting Pompeo matters in the timeline of why he decided to make this blindingly obvious *news* announcement yesterday.
If he’s getting in front of something then we should see it shortly. Otherwise, why make the statement?
I was young at the time but I distinctly recall the Watergate Break-in was a bit of joke at the time and then months later Nixon resigned over it.
Break in: Jan 72
Resignation: Aug 74
94.
Corner Stone
@rikyrah: But they mainly are saying the more speculative, salacious nuggets that are leading nowhere so far. Places like The Guardian are reporting that FiveEyes told us in fucking 2015 how disturbed they were by Trump/associates and connection to Russia. 2015!!
95.
Taylor
From a previous thread entitled “Good Friday / Easter Sunday Weekend”:
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I’m not sure that saying you think a religion is bunk is hate speech.
As for me, I blame the Romans for overfeeding the lions prior to public shows; I also have to say they ran the most feeble and useless “ruthless ChristianJew oppression” campaigns in all human history…either that, or the lead in their pipes led them to be exceedingly weak-minded to fantastic claims, and we’re all still paying the price.
All in good fun, of course.
96.
Frankensteinbeck
@Ric Drywall:
Nah. It suggests that this is Balloon Juice, where nitpicking has been raised to a high cultural art form. I remember losing an argument about the age of Orpheus fondly.
The U.S. is set to lose $1.6 billion as Mexican vacationers move on to Canada
I hope so. I’d like to see more pushback on this.
The only way to explain or understand these phenomena is to attribute it to a bone-deep cultural resentment that probably does not originate in politics, but that finds its outlet and expression in politics.
Resentment and anxiety are two sides of the same coin.
98.
Corner Stone
@trollhattan: The media is reporting. The media are reporting. The media is currently reporting. The media are currently reporting. The media is a pathetic waste. The media are a pathetic waste.
the MOAB bombing and the 32 ISIS fighters it killed.
At $16,000,000 per bomb, that's only $500,000/dead terrorist - what a deal!
How much will it cost us to kill all the terrorists at that rate? Hummm, call it a million anti-Americans willing to take up an AK-47, times 500,000 = 500,000,000,000 or so, just for the bombs. After that, Tax cuts for all!!
Wait, there’s fuel, and bombers, and labor costs. Runway maintenance, paint, food, WOW, it’s starting to build up fast here.
101.
Kathleen
@JCJ: I actually copied, pasted and saved this comment on a Word doc.
So are we the left equivalent of the folks who spent eight years of Obama saying “this is the scandal to end all scandals! He’ll be escorted out of the white house in cuffs any day now!” ?
It’s not quite that because Trump’s issues are grounded in fact. It reminds me more of the constant flow of “Breaking!” diaries at the GOS touting that a new revelation would bring the Bush/Cheney Junta to an end.
None of this stuff is going to do any good. The time to do good was November 8, 2016. The next time to do good is November 6, 2018. That’s what everyone should be thinking about and working toward.
103.
Corner Stone
@Frankensteinbeck: I think you mean:
“I fondly remember losing an argument about the age of Orpheus.”
I’m so old, I’m pretty sure I saw the DXM’s original post of that, but I’m not sure whether it was here or somewhere else. I’ve reposted it and referred others to it more often than I can recall, always with a link back to the BJ lexicon.
That we are debating the grammar of the ad (“shouldn’t that be For Whom?”) suggests that some progressives just don’t get it.
Shouldn’t that be some “progressives” just don’t get it?
107.
Yarrow
@Corner Stone: And that’s not going to reflect well on Obama.
108.
ArchTeryx
With all the complaints about the ad and our completely useless media, one thing seems to be slipping under the radar: Our Democrats Iz Learning (and yes, the atrocious grammar is deliberate).
Ron Wyden coming out and outright saying, “Fund the Obamacare CSR payments by direct appropriation or we shut down the government” is one of the most heartening things I’ve heard in a long time. Did the Rs in Congress suffer one iota for their government shutdown? Nope. They got to take over Congress in the election the year after. Since government shutdowns seem to rebound on the President’s party more then Congress, why not do it?
Between that, the death of ACA repeal (even if the dead-enders keep endlessly trying to dig it up and re-animate it), and the filibuster of Gorsuch, our party is finally starting to act like a genuine parliamentary opposition party, and it’s about f*cking time.
“I’ll tell you at the bottom of it. If you can convince the lowest white man that he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on and he’ll even empty his pockets for you.”
I’ve been saying all along that it is a mistake to assume that the US IC is the source of all the leaks. There are a number of foreign intelligence agencies who have an interest in this.
Clapper said something really chilling (to me anyway) in his interview with Chuckles concerning the supposed distribution of intelligence by the Obama admin before they left. He said it was more like they were trying to bury and protect the intelligence.
112.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And he won’t allow his deputies to carry naloxone, because addicts aren’t worth it (paraphrased). He made that point at a law enforcement luncheon where agencies with opiate response success were honored. Professional asshole, which you already knew.
Asked about privacy changes, GOP rep says internet usage is optional
04/14/17 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
Despite Republican dominance of federal power, GOP policymakers haven’t had any major legislative successes so far this year, though they have had some lower-profile victories. Take online privacy, for example.
As regular readers know, the Obama administration approved privacy protections last year to stop internet service providers from selling information about their consumers’ browsing history without their knowledge or consent. Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump’s White House undid those rules.
The Washington Post recently reported that service providers, including online giants such Verizon and Comcast (MSNBC’s parent company), will now be able to “monitor their customers’ behavior online and, without their permission, use their personal and financial information to sell highly targeted ads…. The providers could also sell their users’ information directly to marketers, financial firms and other companies that mine personal data – all of whom could use the data without consumers’ consent.”
I’ve been eager to hear how GOP lawmakers will respond to concerns about their policy, and American Bridge, a Democratic super PAC, posted a video yesterday of Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) answering a constituent’s question about this. The Wisconsin Republican said:
“You know, nobody’s got to use the internet…. I don’t think it’s my job to tell you that you cannot get advertising through your information being sold. My job, I think, is to tell you that you have the opportunity to do it and then you take it upon yourself to make the choice….”
The congressman’s press office added yesterday afternoon that Sensenbrenner made the case “that nobody has to use the internet. They have a choice.”
I’ve been saying all along that it is a mistake to assume that the US IC is the source of all the leaks. There are a number of foreign intelligence agencies who have an interest in this.
I have long thought that it was an International IC ‘ All hands on deck’ situation. I believe that they’ve been funneling the information to The Spooks and the press.
Sensenbrenner’s been an asshole since Reagan days, I seem to recall.
119.
gvg
There is a medium ground on ads. too many, too carelessly designed so they miss the target audience, and you will at some point stop the ears of the targets, they won’t pay attention. People get saturated. Waiting for the perfect add and not saying anything while you wait has it’s own problems that I trust are obvious here. Somewhere in the middle works. so some criticism is good. On the internet, the audience is often pretty big and everyone has an opinion so we get what gets called piling on that makes all flaws seem proportionately more hated than they really are. If 50 people out of a 100 hate an ad, you probably shouldn’t run it. if 50 out of 10,000 hate it I think its ok, but on the internet how do you tell?
Grammar police can be a drag or a passive aggressive conservative attack, but I try to keep in mind the goal is to communicate clearly. If you write so sloppy I can’t tell what your point is, you have done something wrong. Sometimes I can’t even tell what the subject and verb are. Sometimes the slag or in group phrasing makes it incomprehensible to me. Not enough comma’s or run on phrases are a problem, and I do that myself. some of the little rules really do help make things clear. Others aren’t as important.
So are we the left equivalent of the folks who spent eight years of Obama saying “this is the scandal to end all scandals! He’ll be escorted out of the white house in cuffs any day now!” ?
Difference is, there was never any formal FBI investigation into Obama period, let alone one focusing on his connections and his campaign’s collaboration with the Russians. There is with Trump. Among the things that most infuriated the GOP about Obama was that they could never plausibly connect him to any sort of scandalous behavior, other than pure tinfoil-hat bullshit like the birther crap.
121.
Immanentize
@Corner Stone: if Pompeii says Wikileaks folks are the bad actors, then the first to be revealed are those who have the contacts with Wikileaks. Stone and Bannon through Farge in the U.K. are the closest to Assamge.
So, announce Wikileaks is anti-American. Then media does stories about links between them and Russia. Then they drop the bomb on the wiki links co-conspirators.
Yesterday Martin led his piece about the current status of the Trump/Russia probe with news from the Guardian about European intelligence services sharing information on disturbing contacts between Russians and Trump’s people. Most of the response to that article has been to examine the time table of how this FBI investigation was triggered.
But it is very possible that the Guardian buried the lead. At the very end of their article they report this little bombshell:
There are now multiple investigations going on in Washington into Trump campaign officials and Russia. They include the FBI-led counter-espionage investigation and probes by both the House and Senate intelligence committees…
One source suggested the official investigation was making progress. “They now have specific concrete and corroborative evidence of collusion,” the source said. “This is between people in the Trump campaign and agents of [Russian] influence relating to the use of hacked material.”
It could be that they de-emphasized this news because it came from “one source” and wasn’t verified elsewhere. But if there is “concrete and corroborative evidence of collusion,” that’s the ballgame right there.
Donald Trump has spent years complaining about China and its alleged currency manipulation. As a candidate, the Republican not only blasted President Obama on the issue, he publicly vowed to label China a currency manipulator literally on his first day in office.
That didn’t happen, of course, though as recently as last week, the president continued to posture, calling China the “world champion” of currency manipulation. This week, however, Trump dramatically changed direction, declaring that China isn’t actually manipulating its currency at all.
The reversal hasn’t gone unnoticed in Beijing, where the American president is now the subject of mockery.
Te-Ping Chen, a Beijing-based reporter for the Wall Street Journal, notes that Chinese media are gleefully mocking Trump for doing such an abrupt 180 on an issue that was one of the staples of his 2016 presidential campaign – in fact, Trump had originally vowed to officially label China a currency manipulator on the first day of his presidency.
“Eating his words!” reads one headline, as translated by Chen.
“Trump slaps self in face, again,” reads another.
124.
Corner Stone
Panetta dropping Obama under dat Red Line bus!
125.
Van Buren
@Corner Stone: While there, be sure to dine at the George V….
Well, I’m sure we got $16MM worth of psychological benefit from that bang!
And I want a magic 8-ball like yours!!
I always wanted one as a kid when they first came out, but my parents thought they didn’t teach good thinking habits.
So when I became manager of the software shop I worked in, I treated myself to one as a desk toy. Looking at the advice from the magic 8-ball gives you time to think about the real answers.
Or just go with the mystic 8-ball’s advice. Is that what Trump’s doing? Signs point to yes!!
127.
Betty Cracker
@GrandJury: As an English major, allow me to respond with my most erudite “fuck you.”
128.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: Dare I hope that “grammar nazi’s” in this case was snark, or am I safe in presuming that it’s GJ’s usual iggerance showing itself?
129.
Peale
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Not really. Remember, the grandest demonstration of freedom is sticking up for the rights of slaveholders from the tyranny of the federal government. That freedom = death and slavery is kind of baked in the whole idea of American liberty.
So when I became manager of the software shop I worked in, I treated myself to one as a desk toy. Looking at the advice from the magic 8-ball gives you time to think about the real answers.
Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Magic Eight-Ball where one of the answers was “two weeks.” Which, as every hardware person knows, is the standard software response for when “X” will be done. [Where “X” equals any piece of software, from a piddly-ass DO Loop, to a full-blown operating system.]
Disclaimer: It’s been awhile since I worked with S/W persons, so the new baseline response may be “two months,” due to code bloat.
A lot of white people do have “economic anxiety,” because they’ve been getting screwed since the 1970s at least. The problem is that they look at the Civil Rights Movement as the event that caused them to get screwed and ignore what the white oligarchs have been doing to them. It’s a classic let’s you and him fight ploy by the oligarchs.
A Grand Jury is who is in charge of indictments, them and a prosecutor presenting cases and evidence to the jury. They hand them up to the judge on his bench.
That’s BS. Ask anybody in Sales and they’ll tell you the real answer is “tomorrow”.
You do realize that Sales and Software “Engineering” are two different parts of an organization, right? Production also has their own answer (“Hmmm, that could take awhile, we haven’t even seen the design, don’t know if it’s manufacturable”), Management has theirs (“It hasn’t shipped YET!!! Someone’s head is gonna roll.”), Hardware (“Yeah, call me when the softheads get an alpha version running”), and Marketing theirs (“How about some unicorn steak? It’s deliciious!”)
Good point. I had (mistakenly) assumed it was (figuratively) aimed at the terrists and Kim Jong-Un.
144.
ArchTeryx
@James E Powell: Let ’em swoon. They were swooning over the idea that ACA Repeal was going to force the Democrats to make tough choices, until us grubby peasants – who depend on the ACA for our insurance, unlike the Vichy courtiers – got in the way.
They always swoon. Sometimes, it makes a difference. Other times it’s just noise. They’re wired for Republicans no matter what happens, and frankly many of them are so puffed-up with their own self-importance they don’t realize their shit does not play outside the Beltway.
Our major media organizations, on the other hand…they are a serious problem.
145.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: And this is why you fail. Anyone who has ever dealt with Sales knows the real answer is, “Yeah, sure. It already does that.”
Schneiderman’s been waiting for something like this for years, They won’t be able to stop him.
147.
Brachiator
@James E Powell: RE: Allegedly, it was dropped for psychological impact, not body count.
It had the desired psychological impact. The intended targets were the Beltway Courtiers. They swooned.
Very true. I saw a YouTube clip, from John Oliver’ satiric show, of NBC’s Brian Williams talking about how “beautiful” it was to see the missiles in the night sky. This was in reference to the attack on Syria. The responses to the bomb dropped in Afghanistan were equally ridiculous.
The shock and awe nonsense never made any sense to me.
As Bookman goes on to point out, the problem with this is that there is no government policy that can “fix” resentment or grievance, which is probably what draws so many liberals to the idea that this is all about economic anxiety. At least that formulation gives you policy solutions to apply as a remedy.
This absolutely.
Rationalists of all stripes love the “economic anxiety” theory, because it reduces fascism to a comprehensible “problem” which they can “solve” in ways that they understand. If economic anxiety => fascism, then just make sure the economy keeps running and that its benefits are widely distributed enough and you’ll preempt them.
Allegedly, it was dropped for psychological impact, not body count.
Rumor has it Trump picked Mattis to be his SecDef purely because he liked that the man’s nickname was “Mad Dog.”
Last week he dropped a ludicrous number of missiles on a Syrian installation while at the same time taking action that made it virtually certain that it would be evacuated and no WMDs taken out.
Yeah, I’d totally believe that he dropped a MOAB for no purpose other than “psychological effect.”
155.
Aleta
We’ll be paying for the JD to defend Trump against our right to know.
The Trump administration announced Friday that it would discontinue former president Barack Obama’s policy of voluntarily disclosing the names of most visitors to the White House complex, citing “grave national security risks and privacy concerns.”
Instead, the Trump administration said it would release information only under far more limited circumstances: for those visiting components of the White House classified under the law as separate agencies, such as the Office of Management and Budget. Under the new policy, it will be up to the White House to decide whether to release names of visitors coming to meet with the president, vice president and their senior staff.
The Trump administration was sued in federal court earlier this week by a coalition of watchdog groups in a bid to compel the release of records made public under Obama, which were published on a White House-maintained Web page.
Since Trump took office in January, the page where the visitor logs had been publicly available has gone dark, and Trump administration officials said Friday that they will no longer maintain it, a move that the White House said would save taxpayers $70,000 by 2020.
Obama’s policy was crafted in 2009 in response to lawsuits. The policy permitted some exceptions to disclosure, including purely private visits to the Obama family, such as friends arriving for sleepovers with the president’s school-age daughters. The Obama White House also maintained the prerogative not to release records of particularly “sensitive” meetings, such as interviews with potential Supreme Court nominees.
@SFAW: We need all we can get for that Pentagon budget.
160.
gvg
@SFAW: Yes I think the bombs are supposed to impress Trump. Didn’t he recently refer to the US army as “his”?
I hope our armed forces are plotting how to keep him entertained without hurting anyone such as our own soldiers and allies. Lots of flashes and bangs.
The original shock and awe was the Iraq war I under Bush senior and it was. Lots of light tracer streaks and visible verifiable results like blown up tanks and a retreating army. Maybe it made more of an impression on me because I thought it was OK to repel an invader who could destabilize a whole region and my father worked on designing some of those weapons. He had never been able to talk about them before they were used but he could say he worked on some things. Helicopter night vision stuff was what he liked best.
Bush II had daddy issues and I have to say Afghanistan and Iraq II weren’t nearly as flashy and science fiction theater though he and his circle clearly wanted it to be. It made me angry how obvious it was that they treated it like TV or video games. Trump is even more childish and immoral.
the flashy stuff cost money but we need to keep the toddler entertained until he can be removed. Argh!
161.
dww44
@Corner Stone: I’ve not read this;do you have a link to that at the Guardian. And, forgive my ignorance but who is “Five Eyes”.
The CliffNotes: Five Eyes is a longstanding cooperative intelligence program between the big Anglo countries (Britain, Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand). Goes back in some form or other to the Second World War, and mainly about signals intelligence.
164.
Captain C
@rikyrah: i think Trump’s only core principle is keeping himself in luxury, attention, and hot women (Lucrezia included). And maybe dominating others, or at least being able to rationalize that he did so.
Jerzy Russian
Any 30 second clip featuring him is a good anti Trump ad.
Halcyan
Who published that ad? It was hard to find.
Doug!
@Halcyan:
American Bridge PAC
Yarrow
This seems relevant to Trump doing things to enrich himself:
geg6
I hate these dystopian ads, but I’m not the audience. The angry white person who it’s aimed at loves these ominous sounding ads. It feeds their fear and anger. That’s usually a GOPer tactic, so we know it’s effective. The bonus is that it’s completely factual and bound by reality. So I get why it’s good. It’s just not what attracts me.
tobie
I think it’s an ad meant to energize the Democratic base, which is good. I’m not sure it will appeal to rural Americans wo hold on to the mistaken belief, fed by years of GOP propaganda, that they pay with their taxes for everyone else.
My inner pedant is also upset the ad blasts out “For who” and not “For whom.” Grammar mavens around the country will be similarly upset.
Gin & Tonic
Yet another reason to despise The Nation: “the data is”
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Gin & Tonic: Wait, what? The article itself doesn’t seem particularly objectionable.
satby
@GrandJury: if you share it on FB, your mom and your dog will at least see it.
Yarrow
@tobie: I saw that “who/whom” error too. It was a dumb mistake. Could have been avoided by rewriting the script somewhat. I don’t think “whom” would have worked in the context of the ad (sounds too erudite for a shouty, angry ad), so they’d need to rewrite it to make it work.
Uncle Cosmo
I would’ve moved the “gotta do health care deform [sic] to get to tax deform [sic]” up so that “For who[m]?” leads into the piles of $$$ thrown down. And I would’ve found a narrator with a deeper & grittier voice. Other than that, good job, & a good template for ads going forward.
Tom Levenson
Props for the Joe Morgan shout out. Massholes approve.
And yeah, I know about prior uses of the term, but it’s all about the Sox. Hence, “Massholes.”
gene108
Needs a better narrator / voice-over guy. His voice is not deep enough to be truly ominous.
MomSense
@Tom Levenson:
In Maine it is used to refer to the way they drive.
tobie
@Yarrow: Thanks. Glad to know we’re on the same page, and your insight that “whom” would sound too erudite is spot on, as is your suggestion that a new script is needed.
germy
Major Major Major Major
@satby: I sincerely doubt GrandJury’s mom wants to be associated with GrandJury, even on Facebook.
Mayyyybe a dog though.
@Gin & Tonic: Mister prescriptivist over here.
Sab
@satby: I never let my dog do Facebook.
zach
This ad is kind of meh, but the idea is good to engage Trump NOW if he wants a permanent campaign rather than waiting till next year (assuming it’s a real buy and not just played in the DC area).
The ad needs to connect the dots a little more. Yeah Trump personally profits off the law, but exactly how much? What about his billionaire cabinet? Who cares if we don’t have enough information to know for sure; ask a liberal think tank to make their best guess of the range based on public information, pick the highest number, and cite the report in the ad. Follow it up with the highest possible number that health spending will go up… and not just your average not-quite-poor 60-64 year old, the even poorer one who can’t get on Medicaid because of new drug testing or work requirements. It’s an attack ad; stop worrying about fact checkers.
Librarian
You forgot the “sonny”.
Gin & Tonic
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): But “the data is” is objectionable.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: You hate nation because of its grammatical error or because of the content of the tweet?
Ric Drywall
That we are debating the grammar of the ad (“shouldn’t that be For Whom?”) suggests that some progressives just don’t get it.
zach
Are there ads in the States hitting Trump’s vacation spending yet? What about in the special election districts?
Gin & Tonic
@Major Major Major Major: Some battles are worth fighting.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic: The media is ignorant.
germy
I go on twitter and see stories about Giuliani in “legal jeopardy” desperate to make a deal, I see stories about shitgibbon’s spawn’s “criminal wrongdoing” being exposed, I see stories about voting machine malfunctions in swing states. Also a story about “concrete evidence” of collusion between shitgibbon camp and russian authorities, etc.
And I find myself thinking “Any day now, the shit’s gonna hit the fan!”
And then I turn on the evening news, or the morning news, or I open a newspaper, and I don’t see a thing about this stuff.
So are we the left equivalent of the folks who spent eight years of Obama saying “this is the scandal to end all scandals! He’ll be escorted out of the white house in cuffs any day now!” ?
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: The grammatical error. Plus Katrina and her odious husband.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Putting aside the question of whether or not it’s a good ad, per previous comments, who will see this? What markets will it run in?
I thought one of the bigger takeaways from last year was the diminishing return of political/issue TV ads.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: Well played. Very well played.
schrodingers_cat
@Gin & Tonic: Word.
Major Major Major Major
@Gin & Tonic: I’d imagine your energy would be better spent on ones that weren’t already lost.
Doug!
@Librarian:
I know
Corner Stone
Ok, people. We dropped a large bomb on some tunnels in Afghanistan. Was it a large bomb? Yes, it was a large bomb. Was it a very large bomb? Yes, it was a very large bomb with a cute nickname.
Now can we move on?
aimai
@germy: Yes. No legal challenge will bring Trump down.
Gin & Tonic
@Major Major Major Major: When you (I mean you personally) are presenting to an educated audience, do you say “the data clearly show” or “the data clearly shows”?
germy
@Gin & Tonic: I always say “As we can see from the data”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Corner Stone: Why do you hate Freedom?
ETA: I thought it was a twitter joke: they played Toby Keith over video of the daisy cutter blown’ up. Geraldo: “one of my favorite things in the sixteen years I’ve been at FoxNews is watching’ bombs drop on bad guys”
Yarrow
@germy:
No. This situation is not like that. Far too many people with connections to the intelligence community and FBI are leaking this info. Just because the press is too stupid to see it or willfully ignoring it (my money is on that), doesn’t mean it’s not true.
I don’t think Donald Trump will be escorted out of the White House in handcuffs. I think it’ll go down somewhat differently than that. I think we’ll be treated to perp walks by some of his cohorts, though.
Major Major Major Major
@Gin & Tonic: If it’s off the cuff, ‘shows’, because I speak vernacular English. If it’s a presentation, ‘show’ I guess, but that’s not a sentence I would write.
Is The Nation speaking at an academic conference in that tweet?
ETA: FWIW the AP style guide says “data is” for that kind of usage https://www.facebook.com/apstylebook/posts/436148523074906
Emma
@Ric Drywall: Thank you! Let’s see: bad grammar (oooooh!) doesn’t appeal to me (oooooohhhhhh!) narrator isn’t good enough (ooooooohhhhhhhhhh!!). Kibbitzing as an Olympic sport.
StringOnAStick
@germy: Well, the difference might be that there were no Obama scandals worthy of such designation, whereas Drumpf is a seething mass of scandals inside a scandal universe.
I try to look at what is going on and give myself a chance to smile with hope, but I’m not checking every 30 minutes for a righteous perp walk either; I don’t want to live with that amount of constant anger. There was something Adam S said here in a comment: don’t give them too much of yourself; it really hit home for me. Keep resisting, keep calling, keep doing what you can but don’t let it consume your life. We can do this without becoming the liberal version of the crazy winger uncle who forwards every crazy email.
Betty Cracker
@germy: I ain’t counting any chickens — Trump could totally skate! I don’t put faith in the “any day now” tweets either, especially since the GOP has the power and motivation to delay, hamstring and quash legitimate inquiries.
But we know for a fact that at least three of Trump’s campaign operatives (Page, Manafort and Flynn) were working for foreign governments. That’s a big fucking deal! Virtually everyone in his orbit has fishy ties to Russia, and they’re weirdly willing to lie and obfuscate about it all the time, even on official documents.
You don’t have to be a conspiracy nut to believe Trump is up to his eyeballs in Russian mob ties and trying to hide it or even that something far more sinister is going on, i.e., he’s being blackmailed by Putin, directly or indirectly. The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. But that doesn’t mean it’ll come to anything, though I fervently hope it does.
amk
amk
Gin & Tonic
@Major Major Major Major:
The AP also employed Ron Fournier for years and years.
My battle will continue, valiant even if futile.
rikyrah
@Yarrow:
truth.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Betty Cracker: he doubled the membership fees at his tacky club and started using it to host foreign leaders. Besides all the clear security risks– passing around classified information in the dining room, fercrissake– if its not a violation of the emoluments clause (which I had never heard of before last January, but it seems like the foreign gov’ts issue could give trump a technical out), he’s clearly profiting personally from the presidency. And that’s without getting into Uday and Qusay bragging about the increased value of their “brand” and the older one speaking at all kinds of Republican fund-raisers while allegedly being on the other side of a firewall from President Daddy.
But i guess it’s the Russia stuff that’s gonna get Uncle Dub and Aunt Myrt excited, if anything does. And it’s gonna have to be big and clear to get their attention.
Major Major Major Major
@Gin & Tonic:
Seems accurate.
rikyrah
Low Energy Voter Suppression>> Iowa Gov: Polls Should Close Early So We Don’t Have To Stay Up To Watch Results https://t.co/Dd2119JBCa
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 14, 2017
Ric Drywall
@Gin & Tonic:
The “rules” of grammar have always evolved. My problem with Grammar Nerdism is that it seems to be driven by the conservative impulse to prevent the world from changing, with an added dose of “these kids today and their baggy pants….” grumbling.
mai naem mobile
AP just made a yuuuge deal about the MOAB bombing and the 32 ISIS fighters it killed. The general sounded like he was putting on a show talking about it. Sounded like Iraq redux. I feel sick listening to this stuff.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Ric Drywall: There’s a Scandinavian term for this type of behavior that translates to “comma-fucker.”
Major Major Major Major
@Ric Drywall: There’s also the issue that much of prescriptivism, particularly in English, has a deeply troubling classist and racist past. (This particular quibble is not one of the rules that fits that description, but it’s a problem that keeps showing up in ‘Grammar Nerdism’.)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@mai naem mobile: well, that is almost twice as many bad guys as the good guys killed by our friendly fire in Syria two days ago, so if you do the math: Winning!
rikyrah
Does Donald Trump Have Any Core Principles?
by Nancy LeTourneau April 13, 2017 2:02 PM
Following a series of flip-flops by Trump, some in the media have once again engaged in their never-ending search for a “pivot” from the president to the center. But I’m much more inclined to agree with how Steve Benen described what’s going on.
Gin & Tonic
@Ric Drywall:
I know that. But I’ve found that if you scratch a descriptivist deep enough, you’ll more often than not find some obscure pet peeve even there. Having spent about half my working life in the business of data, I still try to hold the line on that.
But it appears that what started as a somewhat light-hearted comment riffing off of my known antipathy toward The Nation has taken on a life I didn’t intend. Use the singular to your heart’s content. I’ll just sit here and sneer quietly.
rikyrah
Mick Mulvaney Seems Complacent About a Government Shutdown
by Martin Longman April 13, 2017 3:48 PM
President Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney is displaying a pre-Katrina level of complacency about whether his boss’s hundredth day in office will coincide with a shutdown of the government due to lack of congressionally-approved funding.
Lawmakers are on recess for Easter, set to return four days before current funding runs out at the end of the month.
Despite the short timeline and the disparate positions of the White House and Congress, Mulvaney does not anticipate a shutdown, recently telling CNBC’s John Harwood that chances of a shutdown are “very low” and that he has not yet instructed federal agencies to make preparations for one.
“I don’t see the need to, to be honest with you,” he said. “So we’ve gone to the appropriators and said, ‘Look, if you all can figure out a way to do this, let’s do it together.’ Shutdown is never a desired end.”
Even if lawmakers don’t reach a deal in time, Mulvaney said he does not foresee significant problems in the event of a temporary lapse.
Gin & Tonic
@mai naem mobile: So that’s only a half-million bucks per KIA.
Immanentize
I see Veep Pence is going to Seoul. Good sign? Or human sacrifice?
David Spikes
@Gin & Tonic: C’mon, when was the last time you saw datum? Language changes data is now both singular and plural-get over it.
Corner Stone
@germy: I try to not get burned out by the “any day now” breathlessness of it all. But it really does seem like “any day now” could actually be literally any freaking day now.
The problem is, for me at least, that the main cadre of people reporting the kind of info I *want* to hear are all the conspiracy nuts I have always resisted trusting. And just because they are saying mean things about Trump and his associates does not mean it’s true or even if true will lead to an appropriate outcome. So it’s like I am doing double duty all the time, looking for more up to date info but then having to really push it away to find confirmation somewhere else.
And since the fucking media will talk about nothing else but Donnie Make Boom Boom there does not seem to be more sources. Even though Trump is a moron, he knows his media clowns so we are guaranteed to get more Boom Boom for the immediate future. I just hope he keeps doing it in remote areas so he doesn’t kill a bunch of civilians.
Betty Cracker
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): Really? I love that. I think they also have a special word for getting drunk at home in your underwear. And they seem to have mostly figured out sane governance. Coincidence?
Corner Stone
@Betty Cracker:
If you can find anyone associated with Trump who does not have ties to Russia I would be surprised at this point. I wonder why Pompeo came out yesterday and declared Wikileaks a non-state hostile actor?
Yarrow
@Immanentize: I’ve been wondering the same thing. My “Trump will throw everyone under the bus before he goes, with the possible exception of Ivanka” theory leads me to think it could be a way for him to get rid of Pence. Or at least leave him stuck in some bunker in South Korea, unable to come above ground.
But honestly, I don’t think Trump really thinks about much of anything except golf and how to steal more of our money, so him sending Pence may just be a wave of the hand and, “You solve it, Mike.”
zhena gogolia
@germy:
That’s what worries me.
rikyrah
Certain liberals. Folks like me, knew that ‘ economic anxiety’ was nothing but bullshyt.
What Can We Do About the Politics of Resentment?
by Nancy LeTourneau April 14, 2017 8:07 AM
For months now, this is the way Josh Marshall has been describing Trump’s appeal to his supporters:
I have found that to be a helpful way of understanding what is happening that avoids the divisive back-and-forth about whether this election was about identity politics or economic insecurity. Trump has lived his life feeling aggrieved by the Manhattanites. He was able to use that to appeal to the grievances of enough white people in small town and rural America to win the election.
That is basically the case Jay Bookman makes.
As Bookman goes on to point out, the problem with this is that there is no government policy that can “fix” resentment or grievance, which is probably what draws so many liberals to the idea that this is all about economic anxiety. At least that formulation gives you policy solutions to apply as a remedy.
Humboldtblue
@Gin & Tonic:
And David French at National Review is re-tweeting a vet who lost his legs and who claims that wouldn’t have happened if the pansies in the Obama administration had let them use the BIG BOMBS to clear a minefield like this admin has done.
So it really is Obama’s fault, whatever the issue or problem it’s because the black guy was bad or weak or something.
rikyrah
@Corner Stone:
But, here’s the thing…they’re not the only ones who are saying this.
Betty Cracker
@Corner Stone: WL has been publishing purloined CIA cyber warfare docs, so now they’re the enemy. Pompeo was retweeting them when they were dragging Clinton and the DNC.
rikyrah
We Need to Know What the Intelligence Community Knows
by Martin Longman April 13, 2017 12:40 PM
I am getting a little frustrated with how elements of the #TrumpRussia story are continually confirmed and expanded upon without giving us much more clarity. For example, today’s Guardian story provides more insight into which countries were observing disturbing and suspicious contacts between Trump figures and known or suspected Russian spies, but it doesn’t do anything to help us understand why these contacts were so concerning.
For example, we now know that Australia, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Estonia, and the British were all bothered enough by observed Trump/Russia meetings and communications that they separately shared information about it with our intelligence community. But we’re left in the dark about what any of these countries learned.
All these countries are continually tracking Russians who they suspect or know to be covert operators. All of them noticed people of this type coming into contact with folks in Trump’s orbit. All of them found these contacts to be suspicious enough to warrant sharing the information with the Americans. And, of course, Christopher Steele discovered the same thing even though he was retired from MI6 and working in the private sector without the benefit of the signals intelligence or satellite technology, etc., that the national agencies could employ.
In Steele’s case, we have some of his so-called dodgy dossier, which is mostly un-redacted. But we don’t have the transcripts of intercepted electronic communications or geo-positioning data or other travel records. We don’t have the results of any forensic financial investigations.
rikyrah
It costs ICE more than $10,000 to deport someone….Trump wants to deport millions https://t.co/ybuiMQ0Rnh
— America’s Voice (@AmericasVoice) April 14, 2017
rikyrah
The U.S. is set to lose $1.6 billion as Mexican vacationers move on to Canada https://t.co/NStVDdUFRm pic.twitter.com/5GbRpVpSiu
— Forbes (@Forbes) April 14, 2017
Jim, Foolish Literalist
this guy’s a county sheriff in Ohio, so of course he knows all about military ordnance and Mexico, to say nothing of foreign policy
he was also a Trump elector
rikyrah
@Corner Stone:
All part of the ‘ now we’re tough on Russia’ scam that BC explained in her post.
Also, do you honestly believe that those at ‘ The Agency’ who are doing the leaking ACTUALLY TRUST POMPEO?
Come on, now.
trollhattan
@gene108:
“In a world gone mad…”
David Spikes
By all means let’s wait to run anything until we have the absolutely perfect ad that will get complete national coverage and instantly convince everyone of everything. Sometimes it’s like people don’t want to win.
Since there are obviously so many brilliant BJ admeisters, how about a contest; write(with production notes specifying voice timbre, etc.) the perfect ad that will change the world-1st prize is a trip to Trump’s second inaugural.
s
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@David Spikes: I don’t know which of the three comments that criticized the ad you’re getting hysterical about, but maybe try more fiber.
jeffreyw
My own pet peeve is the use of “unique” with a qualifier. Spiky haired fucker on the Food Network, I’m looking at you! Alas, I think it is a lost cause, I feel like Lucy on that assembly line.
JCJ
@rikyrah:
When I first started reading balloon juice I saw this comment from Davis X Machina. It explains everything concisely. It is in the balloon-juice lexicon
Humboldtblue
@Corner Stone:
And going back to yesterday, the mustard you looked at was a 3-pack for $18 not for just one jar.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
“Cultural resentment” is a polite way to say “pissed off that white people are no longer in total control of everything.”
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
I did technical engineering reports for fifteen years and always delineated between datum and data. Also write media are.
rikyrah
Legislating: What Underlies the West Wing Split
by Martin Longman April 14, 2017 10:24 AM
I’ve written extensively in recent weeks (for example, here) about a structural political problem that Donald Trump has that is going to prevent him from successfully getting legislation passed through this Congress. A simple formulation of the problem is that Trump ran against the current iteration of the Republican Party but adopted a strategy even before his inauguration that depends on his ability to move his agenda with 100 percent Republican votes. I don’t want to reiterate that argument here, at least not fully, but it now appears that he and many of the people closest to him are beginning to realize their error.
This is why we’re seeing a lot of stories come out about a split between a populist nationalist wing led by Steve Bannon and a more pragmatic wing that is led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, his daughter Ivanka, and his director of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn.
One simple way of understanding this is that Kushner, Ivanka and Cohn are realizing that they’re going to need Democrats to do much of what Trump promised he would do. To the Bannon wing, such an assertion is nonsensical. He made promises the Democrats have no interest in helping him keep, and he should stick to the agenda that attracted his base to him in the first place. Running to the Democrats is a betrayal.
………………………………………….
Democrats, from the ivory towers of think tanks down to the union halls, all agree on the urgent need for infrastructure spending. The knowledgable among them know that going another four or eight years without major investments in roads and bridges and health and education and technology is a recipe for further wealth disparity and disenchantment among their previous supporters in the hollowed out non-urban parts of the country. They want a big infrastructure bill not to help Trump but to help themselves and the American people. But they have no interest in passing an infrastructure bill that takes the form of what Trump initially proposed, and they won’t help pass that kind of bill. What Gary Cohn, for example, understands is that the Republicans won’t pass the infrastructure bill that Trump proposed, either, so the only way anything is going to get done is to make an approach to the Democrats.
I’ve argued that it’s too late to do this, and that Trump has essentially screwed the pooch in two ways. The first is that he took what was already a toxic campaign (and campaign result) and ramped it up once he came into office. The Democrats can’t afford to work with him now even if they wanted to, and they don’t. The second is that Trump is now vulnerable to congressional oversight to such a degree that he can’t afford to split his own party or turn a significant portion of them against him. He needs a united and enthusiastic Republican Congress to run interference on investigations that threaten to take down his presidency.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@germy: a) The lesson from the Tea Tards is don’t assume there is fire just because of smoke. Trump is an idiot and since he is an idiot he’s surrounded himself with a group of people no sane politician would dare get near so they are plenty of other ways for these Trump minions to get in legal trouble without any grand conspiracy.
b) I was young at the time but I distinctly recall the Watergate Break-in was a bit of joke at the time and then months later Nixon resigned over it.
SFAW
@Gin & Tonic:
Don’t you mean “good”?
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Betty Cracker: “Pilkunnussija” — it’s a Finnish term, so it’s technically Nordic, not Scandinavian.
Aleta
@Humboldtblue: Have you ever made cooked mustard? I did once, for Christmas presents, and luckily it tasted good, fresh.
rikyrah
@JCJ:
Not a Black person who knows the history of America disagrees with this. We have numerous examples of it throughout Black history…>Rosewood, Tulsa anyone?
We need more White people to accept this, and not waste time explaining to us why it’s not true, and it’s just ‘ economic anxiety’.
SFAW
@rikyrah:
I do.
Of course, I also believe in unicorns, the Tooth Fairy, and that Shitgibbon is a good businessman
ETA: In place of “a good businessman,” one can substitute “
smartnot a moron,” “honest,” “ethical,” usw.Corner Stone
@Humboldtblue: I saw it was for a 3-pack. I think Hovercraft said something about the $18 for a jar. I still happen to think $6 for one jar is a tad pricey. I’m sure it’s delicious but I’m saving my money for my trip to Paris on the Concorde.
Corner Stone
@rikyrah: I’m not sure how trusting Pompeo matters in the timeline of why he decided to make this blindingly obvious *news* announcement yesterday.
If he’s getting in front of something then we should see it shortly. Otherwise, why make the statement?
Mike J
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Break in: Jan 72
Resignation: Aug 74
Corner Stone
@rikyrah: But they mainly are saying the more speculative, salacious nuggets that are leading nowhere so far. Places like The Guardian are reporting that FiveEyes told us in fucking 2015 how disturbed they were by Trump/associates and connection to Russia. 2015!!
Taylor
From a previous thread entitled “Good Friday / Easter Sunday Weekend”:
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Slightly edited:
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
All in good fun, of course.
Frankensteinbeck
@Ric Drywall:
Nah. It suggests that this is Balloon Juice, where nitpicking has been raised to a high cultural art form. I remember losing an argument about the age of Orpheus fondly.
Brachiator
@tobie:
I agree with you that the ad might rally the Democratic base, but is a dud for anyone else.
I don’t think that the average viewer would give a rat’s ass about the “who/whom” grammar issue.
@rikyrah:
I hope so. I’d like to see more pushback on this.
Resentment and anxiety are two sides of the same coin.
Corner Stone
@trollhattan: The media is reporting. The media are reporting. The media is currently reporting. The media are currently reporting. The media is a pathetic waste. The media are a pathetic waste.
Hmmm…that’s toughie.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That’s the thing with Fox lately, one gets the felling they are just being saracastic now.
J R in WV
@mai naem mobile:
At $16,000,000 per bomb, that's only $500,000/dead terrorist - what a deal!
How much will it cost us to kill all the terrorists at that rate? Hummm, call it a million anti-Americans willing to take up an AK-47, times 500,000 = 500,000,000,000 or so, just for the bombs. After that, Tax cuts for all!!
Wait, there’s fuel, and bombers, and labor costs. Runway maintenance, paint, food, WOW, it’s starting to build up fast here.
Kathleen
@JCJ: I actually copied, pasted and saved this comment on a Word doc.
James E Powell
@germy:
It’s not quite that because Trump’s issues are grounded in fact. It reminds me more of the constant flow of “Breaking!” diaries at the GOS touting that a new revelation would bring the Bush/Cheney Junta to an end.
None of this stuff is going to do any good. The time to do good was November 8, 2016. The next time to do good is November 6, 2018. That’s what everyone should be thinking about and working toward.
Corner Stone
@Frankensteinbeck: I think you mean:
“I fondly remember losing an argument about the age of Orpheus.”
burnspbesq
@germy:
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III is making sure that no Federal charges are brought. It’s going to be Schneiderman doing the heavy lifting.
James E Powell
@JCJ:
I’m so old, I’m pretty sure I saw the DXM’s original post of that, but I’m not sure whether it was here or somewhere else. I’ve reposted it and referred others to it more often than I can recall, always with a link back to the BJ lexicon.
James E Powell
@Ric Drywall:
Shouldn’t that be some “progressives” just don’t get it?
Yarrow
@Corner Stone: And that’s not going to reflect well on Obama.
ArchTeryx
With all the complaints about the ad and our completely useless media, one thing seems to be slipping under the radar: Our Democrats Iz Learning (and yes, the atrocious grammar is deliberate).
Ron Wyden coming out and outright saying, “Fund the Obamacare CSR payments by direct appropriation or we shut down the government” is one of the most heartening things I’ve heard in a long time. Did the Rs in Congress suffer one iota for their government shutdown? Nope. They got to take over Congress in the election the year after. Since government shutdowns seem to rebound on the President’s party more then Congress, why not do it?
Between that, the death of ACA repeal (even if the dead-enders keep endlessly trying to dig it up and re-animate it), and the filibuster of Gorsuch, our party is finally starting to act like a genuine parliamentary opposition party, and it’s about f*cking time.
SFAW
@J R in WV:
Allegedly, it was dropped for psychological impact, not body count.
One hopes that the Vinson carrier group does not try anything similar. Which actually raises another question:
If we bomb/attack North Korea preemptively (because they’re going to light off a test nuke), will ZEGS or Turtle do anything about it?
[Magic Eight-Ball says “Are you fucking stupid?”]
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Kathleen:
And it’s a variation of an LBJ quote:
“I’ll tell you at the bottom of it. If you can convince the lowest white man that he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on and he’ll even empty his pockets for you.”
MomSense
@rikyrah:
I’ve been saying all along that it is a mistake to assume that the US IC is the source of all the leaks. There are a number of foreign intelligence agencies who have an interest in this.
Clapper said something really chilling (to me anyway) in his interview with Chuckles concerning the supposed distribution of intelligence by the Obama admin before they left. He said it was more like they were trying to bury and protect the intelligence.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And he won’t allow his deputies to carry naloxone, because addicts aren’t worth it (paraphrased). He made that point at a law enforcement luncheon where agencies with opiate response success were honored. Professional asshole, which you already knew.
rikyrah
Asked about privacy changes, GOP rep says internet usage is optional
04/14/17 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
Despite Republican dominance of federal power, GOP policymakers haven’t had any major legislative successes so far this year, though they have had some lower-profile victories. Take online privacy, for example.
As regular readers know, the Obama administration approved privacy protections last year to stop internet service providers from selling information about their consumers’ browsing history without their knowledge or consent. Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump’s White House undid those rules.
The Washington Post recently reported that service providers, including online giants such Verizon and Comcast (MSNBC’s parent company), will now be able to “monitor their customers’ behavior online and, without their permission, use their personal and financial information to sell highly targeted ads…. The providers could also sell their users’ information directly to marketers, financial firms and other companies that mine personal data – all of whom could use the data without consumers’ consent.”
I’ve been eager to hear how GOP lawmakers will respond to concerns about their policy, and American Bridge, a Democratic super PAC, posted a video yesterday of Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) answering a constituent’s question about this. The Wisconsin Republican said:
The congressman’s press office added yesterday afternoon that Sensenbrenner made the case “that nobody has to use the internet. They have a choice.”
Humboldtblue
@Aleta:
No, I have never cooked mustard.
@Corner Stone:
See if I ever talk about good mustard with you again. Hater.
germy
@rikyrah:
Obviously not true, as anyone who is searching for a job knows. Most places want online applications. Also colleges, etc.
It’s not ALL cat videos. Is the congressman stupid, evil or (most likely) both?
rikyrah
@MomSense:
I have long thought that it was an International IC ‘ All hands on deck’ situation. I believe that they’ve been funneling the information to The Spooks and the press.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Mike J:
Thanks and wow, this Trump thing is moving fast then.
SFAW
@rikyrah:
Sensenbrenner’s been an asshole since Reagan days, I seem to recall.
gvg
There is a medium ground on ads. too many, too carelessly designed so they miss the target audience, and you will at some point stop the ears of the targets, they won’t pay attention. People get saturated. Waiting for the perfect add and not saying anything while you wait has it’s own problems that I trust are obvious here. Somewhere in the middle works. so some criticism is good. On the internet, the audience is often pretty big and everyone has an opinion so we get what gets called piling on that makes all flaws seem proportionately more hated than they really are. If 50 people out of a 100 hate an ad, you probably shouldn’t run it. if 50 out of 10,000 hate it I think its ok, but on the internet how do you tell?
Grammar police can be a drag or a passive aggressive conservative attack, but I try to keep in mind the goal is to communicate clearly. If you write so sloppy I can’t tell what your point is, you have done something wrong. Sometimes I can’t even tell what the subject and verb are. Sometimes the slag or in group phrasing makes it incomprehensible to me. Not enough comma’s or run on phrases are a problem, and I do that myself. some of the little rules really do help make things clear. Others aren’t as important.
cmorenc
@germy:
Difference is, there was never any formal FBI investigation into Obama period, let alone one focusing on his connections and his campaign’s collaboration with the Russians. There is with Trump. Among the things that most infuriated the GOP about Obama was that they could never plausibly connect him to any sort of scandalous behavior, other than pure tinfoil-hat bullshit like the birther crap.
Immanentize
@Corner Stone: if Pompeii says Wikileaks folks are the bad actors, then the first to be revealed are those who have the contacts with Wikileaks. Stone and Bannon through Farge in the U.K. are the closest to Assamge.
So, announce Wikileaks is anti-American. Then media does stories about links between them and Russia. Then they drop the bomb on the wiki links co-conspirators.
rikyrah
Evidence Is Building That the Trump Campaign Colluded With Russia
by Nancy LeTourneau April 14, 2017 11:25 AM
Yesterday Martin led his piece about the current status of the Trump/Russia probe with news from the Guardian about European intelligence services sharing information on disturbing contacts between Russians and Trump’s people. Most of the response to that article has been to examine the time table of how this FBI investigation was triggered.
But it is very possible that the Guardian buried the lead. At the very end of their article they report this little bombshell:
It could be that they de-emphasized this news because it came from “one source” and wasn’t verified elsewhere. But if there is “concrete and corroborative evidence of collusion,” that’s the ballgame right there.
rikyrah
Trump faces Chinese mockery following embarrassing reversals
04/14/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 04/14/17 08:08 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump has spent years complaining about China and its alleged currency manipulation. As a candidate, the Republican not only blasted President Obama on the issue, he publicly vowed to label China a currency manipulator literally on his first day in office.
That didn’t happen, of course, though as recently as last week, the president continued to posture, calling China the “world champion” of currency manipulation. This week, however, Trump dramatically changed direction, declaring that China isn’t actually manipulating its currency at all.
The reversal hasn’t gone unnoticed in Beijing, where the American president is now the subject of mockery.
Corner Stone
Panetta dropping Obama under dat Red Line bus!
Van Buren
@Corner Stone: While there, be sure to dine at the George V….
J R in WV
@SFAW:
Well, I’m sure we got $16MM worth of psychological benefit from that bang!
And I want a magic 8-ball like yours!!
I always wanted one as a kid when they first came out, but my parents thought they didn’t teach good thinking habits.
So when I became manager of the software shop I worked in, I treated myself to one as a desk toy. Looking at the advice from the magic 8-ball gives you time to think about the real answers.
Or just go with the mystic 8-ball’s advice. Is that what Trump’s doing? Signs point to yes!!
Betty Cracker
@GrandJury: As an English major, allow me to respond with my most erudite “fuck you.”
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: Dare I hope that “grammar nazi’s” in this case was snark, or am I safe in presuming that it’s GJ’s usual iggerance showing itself?
Peale
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Not really. Remember, the grandest demonstration of freedom is sticking up for the rights of slaveholders from the tyranny of the federal government. That freedom = death and slavery is kind of baked in the whole idea of American liberty.
SFAW
@J R in WV:
Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Magic Eight-Ball where one of the answers was “two weeks.” Which, as every hardware person knows, is the standard software response for when “X” will be done. [Where “X” equals any piece of software, from a piddly-ass DO Loop, to a full-blown operating system.]
Disclaimer: It’s been awhile since I worked with S/W persons, so the new baseline response may be “two months,” due to code bloat.
SFAW
@Betty Cracker:
William Safire and Edwin Newman got nothin’ on you.
SFAW
@J R in WV:
Almost forgot:
Looks like it wouldn’t have mattered.
Peale
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Thank God Rogers and Rivera weren’t tasked with writing the Sound of Music.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
A lot of white people do have “economic anxiety,” because they’ve been getting screwed since the 1970s at least. The problem is that they look at the Civil Rights Movement as the event that caused them to get screwed and ignore what the white oligarchs have been doing to them. It’s a classic let’s you and him fight ploy by the oligarchs.
Corner Stone
@Betty Cracker: Good said. Very good said.
Mnemosyne
@burnspbesq:
So if Sessions is found to have done something indictable, who can indict him?
J R in WV
@SFAW:
Haw! Good one….
Thanxz
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
That’s “goodly,” smartass.
ETA: Or should it be “well-ly”? I need to check my Chicago Manuel
J R in WV
@Mnemosyne:
A Grand Jury is who is in charge of indictments, them and a prosecutor presenting cases and evidence to the jury. They hand them up to the judge on his bench.
Corner Stone
@SFAW:
That’s BS. Ask anybody in Sales and they’ll tell you the real answer is “tomorrow”.
James E Powell
@SFAW:
It had the desired psychological impact. The intended targets were the Beltway Courtiers. They swooned.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
You do realize that Sales and Software “Engineering” are two different parts of an organization, right? Production also has their own answer (“Hmmm, that could take awhile, we haven’t even seen the design, don’t know if it’s manufacturable”), Management has theirs (“It hasn’t shipped YET!!! Someone’s head is gonna roll.”), Hardware (“Yeah, call me when the softheads get an alpha version running”), and Marketing theirs (“How about some unicorn steak? It’s deliciious!”)
So my original response still holds.
SFAW
@James E Powell:
Good point. I had (mistakenly) assumed it was (figuratively) aimed at the terrists and Kim Jong-Un.
ArchTeryx
@James E Powell: Let ’em swoon. They were swooning over the idea that ACA Repeal was going to force the Democrats to make tough choices, until us grubby peasants – who depend on the ACA for our insurance, unlike the Vichy courtiers – got in the way.
They always swoon. Sometimes, it makes a difference. Other times it’s just noise. They’re wired for Republicans no matter what happens, and frankly many of them are so puffed-up with their own self-importance they don’t realize their shit does not play outside the Beltway.
Our major media organizations, on the other hand…they are a serious problem.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: And this is why you fail. Anyone who has ever dealt with Sales knows the real answer is, “Yeah, sure. It already does that.”
debbie
@burnspbesq:
Schneiderman’s been waiting for something like this for years, They won’t be able to stop him.
Brachiator
@James E Powell: RE: Allegedly, it was dropped for psychological impact, not body count.
Very true. I saw a YouTube clip, from John Oliver’ satiric show, of NBC’s Brian Williams talking about how “beautiful” it was to see the missiles in the night sky. This was in reference to the attack on Syria. The responses to the bomb dropped in Afghanistan were equally ridiculous.
The shock and awe nonsense never made any sense to me.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
So you’ve given two quasi-contradictory responses [“tomorrow” and “it already does that”] and I’m the one whose (Hi Betty!) failing?
I think the Shitgibbon Maladministration might have a spot for you.
SFAW
@debbie:
I just wish Spitzer could share in some of that action.
Gin & Tonic
@SFAW: You had to use “Spitzer” and “action” in the same sentence, didn’t you?
SFAW
@Gin & Tonic:
Yeah, I actually considered not phrasing it that way, but I’m lazy.
Doug R
@rikyrah: … And Canada is offering FREE passes to ALL our national parks for the 150 anniversary. Parks Canada pass site.
Chris
@rikyrah:
This absolutely.
Rationalists of all stripes love the “economic anxiety” theory, because it reduces fascism to a comprehensible “problem” which they can “solve” in ways that they understand. If economic anxiety => fascism, then just make sure the economy keeps running and that its benefits are widely distributed enough and you’ll preempt them.
Chris
@SFAW:
Rumor has it Trump picked Mattis to be his SecDef purely because he liked that the man’s nickname was “Mad Dog.”
Last week he dropped a ludicrous number of missiles on a Syrian installation while at the same time taking action that made it virtually certain that it would be evacuated and no WMDs taken out.
Yeah, I’d totally believe that he dropped a MOAB for no purpose other than “psychological effect.”
Aleta
We’ll be paying for the JD to defend Trump against our right to know.
Wapo
SFAW
@Chris:
It just occurred to me that one of the targets of the “psychological effect” might be Shitgibbon himself (“I wanna see shit blow’d up! Now!!!”)
SFAW
@Aleta:
Well, that right there will fix the deficit.
Chris
@SFAW:
Oh, totally.
Aleta
@SFAW: We need all we can get for that Pentagon budget.
gvg
@SFAW: Yes I think the bombs are supposed to impress Trump. Didn’t he recently refer to the US army as “his”?
I hope our armed forces are plotting how to keep him entertained without hurting anyone such as our own soldiers and allies. Lots of flashes and bangs.
The original shock and awe was the Iraq war I under Bush senior and it was. Lots of light tracer streaks and visible verifiable results like blown up tanks and a retreating army. Maybe it made more of an impression on me because I thought it was OK to repel an invader who could destabilize a whole region and my father worked on designing some of those weapons. He had never been able to talk about them before they were used but he could say he worked on some things. Helicopter night vision stuff was what he liked best.
Bush II had daddy issues and I have to say Afghanistan and Iraq II weren’t nearly as flashy and science fiction theater though he and his circle clearly wanted it to be. It made me angry how obvious it was that they treated it like TV or video games. Trump is even more childish and immoral.
the flashy stuff cost money but we need to keep the toddler entertained until he can be removed. Argh!
dww44
@Corner Stone: I’ve not read this;do you have a link to that at the Guardian. And, forgive my ignorance but who is “Five Eyes”.
Humboldtblue
@dww44:
Five Eyes
One of several Guardian stories that deal with Trump and Russia
Chris
@dww44:
The CliffNotes: Five Eyes is a longstanding cooperative intelligence program between the big Anglo countries (Britain, Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand). Goes back in some form or other to the Second World War, and mainly about signals intelligence.
Captain C
@rikyrah: i think Trump’s only core principle is keeping himself in luxury, attention, and hot women (Lucrezia included). And maybe dominating others, or at least being able to rationalize that he did so.
David Spikes
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: There’s not enough fiber in the world to clear you out.