Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

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

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

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

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

I was promised a recession.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

He really is that stupid.

T R E 4 5 O N

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Second rate reporter says what?

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

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

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / Open Thread: Sally Yates for SCOTUS

Open Thread: Sally Yates for SCOTUS

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His fellow GOP-Senator from Texas didn’t exactly cover himself with glory, either:

Get right on this, fella…

Reader Interactions

147Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    Adam Khan‏ @Khanoisseur

    Adam Khan Retweeted FOX Business

    Got this? Ex-Goldman president Cohn pushes Trump tax cuts, which creates $5 trillion deficit, which gov borrows from Wall Street to cover…

  2. 2.

    BlueDWarrior

    This is yet another brick in the wall of examples that Republicans, by choice or accident, are living in a separate reality with separate rules that only by happenstance crosses with the reality and rules that we understand to be in place.

  5. 5.

    burnspbesq

    You know what is getting almost no attention as a result of Yates’ testimony? Oral argument in the Fourth Circuit in the case involving the second Muslim-banning EO.

  6. 6.

    TenguPhule

    I think Texas needs to revert back to a territory until it proves it actually has the maturity to send respectable people to Congress as a full state.

  10. 10.

    rikyrah

    philip harris‏ @pharris830

    “Georgia Republican enraged at court order making it easier for people to vote” by @kira_lerner

  11. 11.

    Hal

    “Yeah but when I asked if you would oppose executive orders that you thought were unlawful that only applied to Obama” is what im getting out of the exchange with Cornyn.

  12. 12.

    lollipopguild

    @BlueDWarrior: With the help of fake news and the other right wing media they have created an alternate universe where they are always right and never wrong.

  14. 14.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @schrodingers_cat: I bet he’s scared to go to that backward overseas island territory of Hawaii. He’s probably be talking about how Andrew Jackson was so upset about the attack on Pearl Harbor because it wouldn’t have happened if we had just rounded up all those Vietnamese people up.

  16. 16.

    Sanjeevs

    Disappointing hearing.
    By walking out the R senators made it very public they don’t care about any of this.
    Also had confirmed that U.K. Informed US about disturbing Trump Russia reports in 2015. Yet FBI didn’t even open an investigation until July 2016 which was then slow walked. Even now it only reportedly has 20 agents.

  19. 19.

    ??‍? Martin

    @burnspbesq: Twitter was all over it earlier. Sounds like judges weren’t buying it, but also that the plaintiffs lawyers weren’t having their A game today.

  20. 20.

    LurkerNoLonger

    Unlike you guys I have to give Ted Cruz credit. He has overcome his crippling battle with Microphallus to become a US Senator. He should be commended not ridiculed.

  21. 21.

    tobie

    @Sanjeevs:

    U.K. Informed US about disturbing Trump Russia reports in 2015. Yet FBI didn’t even open an investigation until July 2016 which was then slow walked. Even now it only reportedly has 20 agents.

    This is disappointing but it doesn’t surprise me. Comey was part of Ken Starr’s investigation of Bill Clinton and self-righteous prick that he is, I’m sure he’s convinced himself that he had to do whatever was in his power to prevent ‘those people’ from ever returning to the White House. Toni Morrison was right: Bill Clinton was the US’s first black President. Hounded, held to standards like no one before him. And the only other President held to such unbelievable standards was Obama. It’s still unbelievable to me that Trump can get away with his manifest conflicts of interest, infantile and unlettered tweets, and overt rudeness like refusing to shake Angela Merkel’s hand or placing a phone call to Macron to congratulate him on his victory. The man’s as uncouth as they come. But since he’s not one of ‘those people,’ the news media just doesn’t care.

  22. 22.

    CM

    For the record, here is the oath that all Senators take: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

    Republicans seem to have missed the part about “the Constitution,” and when it comes to “enemies,” it appears that none have ever heard of a place called Russia or a leader named Putin.

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    I [heart] Chicago.

    This summer, four 30-feet by 15-feet flying pigs will block the sign for Trump Tower in Chicago.

    “It’s nearly impossible to miss the logo on any of Donald Trump’s reliably gaudy buildings, but soon Chicago will be spared from the sight of the president’s bold-faced name thanks to one cunningly creative architect,” reports Architectural Digest. “Jeffrey Roberts, of New World Design, has a spectacularly on-the-nose idea for rejecting the sight of Chicago’s Trump Tower. Called ‘Flying Pigs on Parade,’ the scheme will obscure the mogul’s logo with art installation comprising flying, gold-colored pigs.”

    Roger Waters himself signed off on the project using his image rights.

    “While open to a variety of interpretations, the installation’s design is specifically inspired by the artwork of Pink Floyd’s classic 1977 album Animals,” explains Consequence of Sound. “The artwork, conceived by Roger Waters and designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis, was partly inspired by George Orwell’s political fable Animal Farm and features a balloon pig flying between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station in London.”

  24. 24.

    BlueDWarrior

    @lollipopguild: And that in the in the end is the undergirding of all of our political troubles. We have people who are basically arguing the very premise that the government should exist in the manner it does, instead arguing about what it should be doing at any given point in time. And even then it would be an argument that could be had and you would still be able to function if both sides were operating from the same book of facts, instead they are using volumes in a language we can hardly recognize, let alone accept as being valid.

    It means that every political ‘debate’ we have eventually degenerates into nothing, because it’s not possible to have a consensus agreement when, for example, the ‘two sides’ are arguing if climate change is even happening, because they have different sets of measurements (or just will not believe any set because they reject the very premise of climate change, let alone it being anthropogenic).

  26. 26.

    trnc

    @LurkerNoLonger:

    Unlike you guys I have to give Ted Cruz credit. He has overcome his crippling battle with Microphallus to become a US Senator. He should be commended not ridiculed.

    Funny you should mention that. On Jeaportdy tonight, I just saw Trebek announce the category of Anatomically Correct” and then say, “Just like me.”

    What the actual fuck?

  27. 27.

    Mike J

    So they kept talk about 702. Sec 702 authorizes surveillance against non citizens overseas. Kislyak was in Washington. Who else was on the line? I’m guessing it was somebody who fits the description required for sec 702.

    (UNKNOWN): Just to your point, you said the word overseas. Ambassador Kislyak was not overseas on December 29th, was he?

    CLAPPER: That’s correct.

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    @trollhattan:

    This made me LOL:

    Roger Waters himself signed off on the project using his image rights.

    Roger Waters may be an asshole, but he’s not 100 percent a dick.

  31. 31.

    japa21

    @Tenar Arha: Was reading her tweets. Sounds like the plaintiff lawyer did a horrible job, even with the judges trying to guide him.

  32. 32.

    lamh36

    Fuq’n Tweety sexist bastard say Yates had a presentable appearance…naw this sexist mofo talking bout “she attractive…”

    Does Tweety just ignore all the stuff about sensitive training…what da fuq

  33. 33.

    tobie

    @Mike J: I’m probably being dense here but are you suggesting this was a three-way conversation among Kislyak, Flynn and possibly someone from the Kremlin. Obviously any foreign country would work in this case.

  38. 38.

    Patricia Kayden

    @rikyrah:

    “Georgia Republican enraged at court order making it easier for [Black] people to vote”

    Let’s be honest because that’s what Republicans are enraged about.

  39. 39.

    Mike J

    @Taylor: Flynn is a US citizen, and would be protected where ever he was in the world. I was suggesting, as @tobie: implies, that a third person was on the line.

    In the words of Peggy Noonan, “Is it irresponsible to speculate? It would be irresponsible not to.”

  42. 42.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Sanjeevs: There is no way that Republicans are going to investigate their own kind. Just not going to happen. The public must put pressure on them to appoint an independent investigator to get to the bottom of Russian interference in our election. I reached out to one of my Senators and he stated that he and other Democrats have already made this demand. This is something Democrats should be pushing hard in the MSM to the point where they don’t talk about anything else when they’re in the public spotlight.

  43. 43.

    jharp

    I just love watching smart tough women kick the shit out of Republicans.

    Sally Yates is amazing.

    I sure hope we hear a lot more from her. A lot more.

  45. 45.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Marcopolo: Great!! Perfect way to talk directly to voters and to get them to flip their votes in the next election. If you cannot face your constituents, what the hell are you in office for?

  46. 46.

    tobie

    @Mike J: It’s hard to keep track of all the scandals in this administration but if I recall correctly there was speculation that a FISA warrant was issued in October that gave the FBI (I think) authority to surveil Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak. Bloomberg was one of many news organizations that reported on this.

  47. 47.

    debbie

    @lamh36:

    I’m listening to This American Life. The subject today is inept pirates. I think this bunch could be added to that list.

  48. 48.

    Texasboyshaun

    @TenguPhule: We were never a territory, and we have good congresscritters like Gene Green, Joaquin Castro, and Eddie Bernice Johnson. Not all 28 million of us are as dumb as Cronyn or as slimy as Cruz.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @debbie:

    He’s from Louisiana, and — if this afternoon is anything to go by — he is a pure, unadulterated bag of stupid. Had no idea when the Inauguration was (“When was Trump sworn in, around the 17th? 18th? Something like that.”) He was sarcastic as all fuck with Sally Yates, including that line about “So who appointed you to the Supreme Court?” I didn’t recognise him and couldn’t read his name plate, so had to do some digging to identify him. Now I’m sorry I went to the trouble. What an almighty tool.

  53. 53.

    sanjeevs

    @Patricia Kayden: Based on what we’ve seen in the last 3 months I never really expected Congress to investigate. And the party on the lawn last Friday told you all you needed to know. Todays events were no surprise.
    But Comey is a bit of an enigma. Will he investigate this properly?
    Reality is he was warned in 2015 about this. By April 2016 Manafort, with his many ties to Putin was in charge of Trump’s campaign. Carter Page was also involved, and we now know about the 2013 court case, so Comey would have known he previously tried to sell info to the Russians.
    And Flynn was involved, and we now know he had relations of some kind with a Russian in Cambridge and didn’t report it 2 months prior to being fired Then he went and received money from RT. And Comey knew that in April 2016.
    And still Comey did nothing until July 2016.
    Then he slow walked the investigation until just before the election when he reopened the Hilary case.
    And now he has massively upgraded the most important CI investigation in world history to a massive 20 agents.
    Just saying that the revelation under oath from Clapper about the 2015 warning from UK is the most significant event of the hearings , at least for me.

  54. 54.

    dr. bloor

    @Mai.naem.mobile:

    I bet he’s scared to go to that backward overseas island territory of Hawaii. He’s probably be talking about how Andrew Jackson was so upset about the attack on Pearl Harbor because it wouldn’t have happened if we had just rounded up all those Vietnamese people up.

    Wait–didn’t the Germans bomb Pearl Harbor?

  55. 55.

    patrick II

    I don’t know the legal term, but there is a term in law enforcement that roughly equates to “the proof is in the pudding”. Ms. Yates was right about the questionable constitutionality of the order because the courts agreed with her. Ms. Rice was right to be concerned about who foreign agents were talking to because it is clear now that there was at minimum illegal relationships and contacts and perhaps collusion with Russian, Ukrainian, and Turkish government agents.
    It seems nonsensical that republican senators would complain about Ms. Yates decision that an order would be unconstitutional to enforce when in fact it was found to be unconstitutional to enforce.

  58. 58.

    TenguPhule

    @sanjeevs:

    But Comey is a bit of an enigma. Will he investigate this properly?

    No. SATSQ. When Comey goes, he’s going as someone who sold his soul to the Republican party.

  59. 59.

    jl

    The Trumpsters are going full ‘Blame Obama’. Spicer said Obama didn’t do enough to warn them about Flynn. Obama’s fault.
    Not sure who will take that seriously besides the rabid racist Trumpist hard core.
    But if they want to discredit themselves, I guess that is a good thing.

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie: One way, we can only hope. If he never leaves Russia (asylum), it solves a lot of problems. Then let the impeachment of Pence commence.

  61. 61.

    jl

    @patrick II: Some of the distinguished GOP Senators at the hearing today were signing themselves onto the Deep State conspiracy line. Yates, all those judges, one on some weird tropical island out in the ocean some place are partisan Democratic agents! Who are defying their Commander In Chief!

  62. 62.

    Taylor

    @sanjeevs:

    And now he has massively upgraded the most important CI investigation in world history to a massive 20 agents.

    I can offer three possible explanations:

    1. He’s trying to keep the investigation under Trump’s radar.
    2. He’s trying to keep the investigation to agents that he can trust i.e. no-one from the NY field office.
    3. He’s conning all of us wanting to believe in him (even if we also think he’s a stupid self-regarding sanctimonious prig).

    (3) is frankly too terrible to consider at this point.

  63. 63.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @debbie:

    Just like that damn Phil Gramm. I hate these pigs.

    I hate them too, but, uhm, Phil Gramm hasn’t been in the Senate for years. Do you mean Lindsey Graham, maybe?

  64. 64.

    TenguPhule

    @Taylor: (4) He’s trying to have the investigation die on the vine and he doesn’t give a shit who knows it.

  65. 65.

    jl

    WP doesn’t like my comments anymore.

    Edit: and now it does like them. Weird.

    My reply to Patrick is in moderation (it said that some of the GOP Senators at the hearing today publicly identified themselves with Trumpster Deep State conspiracy theories, or should I say the Trumpster Deep State cover-up line).

  66. 66.

    TenguPhule

    @dr. bloor:

    Wait–didn’t the Germans bomb Pearl Harbor?

    Indeed. Fearsome Zeppelin Airstrikes like Eagles of Thunder.

  67. 67.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:

    Roger Waters may be an asshole, but he’s not 100 percent a dick.

    I get the impression he’s unhappy with Mr. trump, who seems to be ripping off Pink’s obsession with fascism and walls. He was bandying about the idea of doing a concert of The Wall at the US/Mexico border.

  68. 68.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie: Inept pirates don’t succeed in stealing the money. Whatever else they may be, the Trumps are good at that.

  69. 69.

    Mike J

    @tobie:

    there was speculation that a FISA warrant was issued in October that gave the FBI (I think) authority to surveil Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak.

    Yes, but not a 702. 702 requires the target be outside the US. You can get warrants for people inside the US, but not a 702.

  70. 70.

    debbie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    No, I’m back in the 1990s, when Brooksie Born (FDIC) testified about the dangers of letting investment banks diversify. I still haven’t recovered from Gramm’s dismissive, patronizing, and bullying questions.

  71. 71.

    sanjeevs

    @Taylor: Yes on its own I suppose that might be plausible in isolation. But how can you explain the failure to open an investigation for at least 7 months after the warning from UK and three months after the Trump-Russia links were visible in public. And Steele reportedly returning to America in the autumn with his hair on fire because he thought the investigation was being slow-walked.
    Seems to me Comey is fine with whats happened, just doesn’t want to have his name in infamy

  72. 72.

    Mnemosyne

    @Taylor:

    I’ve said before that if I was writing the spy novel of this, the big shocking reveal at the midpoint would be that Robert Hanssen was a low-level pawn who was sacrificed to protect the real Russian mole: Comey.

    But that’s my fiction writer’s mind at work, not something I actually think happened.

  73. 73.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @debbie:

    Ah, gotcha (or “tracking,” as Adam would say). I don’t recall that particular hearing, but I certainly have an overall sense and memory of his being “dismissive, patronising, and bullying.” Odious man.

  75. 75.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne:

    But that’s my fiction writer’s mind at work, not something I actually think happened.

    I suspect, once we know the full facts of this sorry episode in our history, that truth will yet again prove to be stranger than fiction.

  76. 76.

    Steve in the ATL

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I hate them too, but, uhm, Phil Gramm hasn’t been in the Senate for years. Do you mean Lindsey Graham, maybe?

    Phil Gramm was so horrible that it is perfectly reasonable to have residual hate for him even in 2017. Very long half life on that hate.

  79. 79.

    Corner Stone

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Phil Gramm was so horrible that it is perfectly reasonable to have residual hate for him even in 2017. Very long half life on that hate.

    You don’t have to go back too far. He was a big supporter/proponent of astroturfing the nascent “Tea Party” movement as well.

  80. 80.

    amk

    From gopee thugs, who are supposed to ‘investigate’, to the smarmy comey who is supposed to be doing the ‘investigating’, they are all actors of bad faith. Not much hopeful anything will come out as this drags on.

  81. 81.

    opiejeanne

    @rikyrah: How is that supposed to work? Did none of these idiots take a semester of Economics in college? It was required when I was in college in the late 60s/early 70s..

  83. 83.

    Duane

    I got thru on the Mark Levin Show.When I began to make the point that we can easily pay for health care for all, he screamed,”Get this idiot off my phone”.
    Nice guy.

  85. 85.

    Mnemosyne

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    It’s all going to turn out to be even stupider than fiction. The Republicans will turn out to have sold us out for $20,000 donations apiece.

  87. 87.

    Roger Moore

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I suspect, once we know the full facts of this sorry episode in our history, that truth will yet again prove to be stranger than fiction.

    Better make that “fuller”, not “full”. I don’t think the full facts will ever be known, and I can only hope we’ll learn enough of the facts to give us a reasonable picture of what happened. I fear that the facts will be successfully buried and we’ll never have a good idea of what happened.

  88. 88.

    greennotGreen

    Her niece typing for her: Glad this is an open thread, though I would have written this anyway. I just woke up sitting on the toilet having no idea how I had gotten there, was unable to get up, and retched several times. I really thought that was it, and then I slowly came to consciousness. My sister was able to help me back to bed, I have reasonable consciousness again (I think, at least well enough to dictate). I chewed up and swallowed some really nasty zofran (antinausea medicine) followed by some grape juice which is the strongest flavor I can handle. Now I am sitting on a really really really uncomfortable bed pan cushioned with an incontinence pad just in case my gas has a little more substance behind it. I feel restored, but as my sister quoted a hospice nurse, it is a “unique experience.” Come to think of it, I have been in and out of it all day, barely maintaining consciousness with my visitors.

    Edit: Recommend morphine before bedpan use for comfort.

  89. 89.

    Marcopolo

    @rikyrah: I would like to see more of this. I suspect it would work best in CA & NY w/ the number of possible congressional D participants. Or to target the swingier districts–which describes NY19 & Faso. Not sure how my congressman, Lacy Clay, would come across in a rural MO district.

  91. 91.

    Another Scott

    @Starfish: It’s great that she’s giving us the play-by-play, but Twitter is such a horrible medium for such things.

    (sigh)

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  94. 94.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Charlie Pierce:

    There are a number of things I learned from Monday’s hearing and first among them is that I want to live out my life without ever being prosecuted by Sally Yates.

    LOL. Welcome back, CPP!

  98. 98.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @greennotGreen:

    Again, I am grateful to you for allowing and inviting us to participate in your “unique experience.” I hope you can get comfortable. Love to you and your family. Holding you in the light, very dear greennotGreen.

  99. 99.

    Keith P.

    Am I the only one who thinks that Lindsey Graham was promised the next SCOTUS seat by Trump? That’s the only explanation I can come up with for his sudden enthusiastic turn as Trump’s water boy.

  101. 101.

    Taylor

    @sanjeevs:

    But how can you explain the failure to open an investigation for at least 7 months after the warning from UK and three months after the Trump-Russia links were visible in public.

    Someone once gave me some good advice: Never ascribe motives to a bureaucracy that could not be explained as plain incompetence.

    I believe history will regard this as the single greatest intelligence failure in US government in history, a sheer failure of imagination. Bigger than Pearl Harbor (where Kimmel was thrown under a bus by the DC establishment).

    There is going to be plenty of blame to go around.

  103. 103.

    sharl

    @greennotGreen: It is an honor and privilege you and your loved ones bestow on us, that you make the effort to keep us updated on how you are doing. Please know how much it is appreciated.

    My thoughts and hopes are with you.

  107. 107.

    Tazj

    @greennotGreen: From an occasional poster, longtime lurker and nurse. Oh honey, I hope you have a better night, thanks for sharing your journey. Peace to you. You’re right Zofran tastes terrible. I wonder if there is any chance they could get the sublingual Zofran for you.

  108. 108.

    tobie

    @greennotGreen: I hope you know how many lives you are touching with your posts. You are in all of our thoughts. Thank you for sharing with us what you’re going through. It’s something we will all face and you’re doing it with extraordinary grace and humor.

  111. 111.

    TenguPhule

    Here we go again.

    Trump’s most senior military and foreign policy advisers have proposed a major shift in strategy in Afghanistan that would effectively put the United States back on a war footing with the Taliban.

    Yeah, that worked out so well for us last time.

    Everything old from the Bushies is new again with the Trumps.

    ETA: And here’s why.

    The net result of the changes would be to reverse moves by President Barack Obama to steadily limit the U.S. military role in Afghanistan, along with the risk to American troops and the cost of the war effort, more than 15 years after U.S. forces first arrived there.

  114. 114.

    danielx

    @greennotGreen:

    All the best thoughts to you, and may your journey onward be without too much….discomfort? Words are ever so inadequate, but they’re all we have to make the heart’s soft cry audible.

  115. 115.

    amk

    Sen. Lindsey Graham, the chair, remains the only Republican still present at this hearing— Tim Mak (@timkmak) May 8, 2017

    you walk out of your own hearing called by you? this is all just sham.

  116. 116.

    Chet Murthy

    @amk: R senators have esp. sensitive noses. The stench of butthurt got too rank in there, one presumes.

  117. 117.

    danielx

    @lollipopguild:

    You noticed this when, exactly?

    Also too – would I be correct in thinking that Sen. Kennedy (R-dumbfuckistan) either 1) practices that constipated pig expression in the mirror, and/or 2) learned it by watching videos of the human-shaped pile of orange human waste currently adorning the Oval Office?

  118. 118.

    Another Scott

    @TenguPhule: I hear that all they need is more training and equipment. What’s the big deal?

    Wikipedia:

    Desertion remains a problem. One in every four combat soldiers quit the army during the 12-month period ending in September 2009, according to data from the U.S. Defense Department and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The problem was so severe that the army was forced to write off 2,000 soldiers and officers in a usual month. In order to filter potential deserters from the rank, some of the soldiers are trained by being deployed in real operations.[85] According to NATO statistics, the attrition rate averaged 32 per cent annually over the 12 months that ended in November 2011.[86] In December 2011, The Globe and Mail stated that due to problems with officers calculating the number of soldiers within their own ranks, “one educated guess at the true size of the Afghan army puts the force at perhaps 100,000 personnel on duty”.[87] A study published in the U.S. professional journal Military Review in 2009 estimated the ANA could never grow larger than 100,000 men, because it is currently losing 42% of the entire force every year to desertion and non-reenlistment.[88]

    In December 2011 Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman of the Ministry of Defense, said the ANA numbered 180,000 personnel, which is expected to reach at least 240,000 in the coming years.[89]

    Yup. A few more trainers and advisers will fix that problem right up.

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (Who wonders how many Taliban, Daesh, etc., etc., we have trained over the years.)

  119. 119.

    opiejeanne

    @amk: When did they walk out? Obviously before it was over, but how long before the end? Did Cruz scurry away right after his turn at taking a beating from Sally Yates? Did they all leave as their turn to question her ended?

  122. 122.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @greennotGreen: I am holding you and your family in the light. There are no adequate words, but I wish you peace and as much comfort as modern medication can provide.

  123. 123.

    Anne Laurie

    @debbie:

    I believe as his first trip, Trump’s planning to go to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.

    Vatican City, IIRC. Lord Smallgloves wants to harangue the Pope in person, one supposes. Not that much political influence in the US, but he’s still important to Lord Smallglove’s voters… as long as he doesn’t stray into that Marxist “be humble, treat your neighbor like yourself” revisionism!

    (Besides, a certain other 2016 candidate got an audience with His Holiness — if only by lurking in a hallway at dawn — so Trump needs to check that item off his bucket list!)

  124. 124.

    SFAW

    @Mnemosyne:

    Roger Waters may be an asshole, but he’s not 100 percent a dick.

    Perhaps he will help us in our battle against Shitgibbon the Accuser?

    ETA: I’m hoping that changes to “the Accused” before too long.

  126. 126.

    satby

    @greennotGreen: as Alternative Fax, aka BellaQ says, wishing you peace and as much comfort as medication can offer. We’re all holding you in our thoughts with love.

  128. 128.

    Denali

    @greennotGreen:
    We are all thinking of you and wishing you strength and peace.

  129. 129.

    Scamp Dog

    @greennotGreen: Like many of us (most of us, I imagine), I’ve been thinking of you. Best wishes, and thanks for taking the time to let us know how you’re doing.

    And thank you, niece!

  130. 130.

    Tenar Arha

    @japa21: Started following her during the whole Oracle vs. Google case I think. She was good, & helped a lot explaining the IP stuff.

  131. 131.

    greennotGreen

    This is greennotGreen’s sister. She has tried to read/listen to your well wishes, but is just not very aware. I, however, am touched by them and grateful for the prayers and good thoughts.
    My sister also expressed regret that she couldn’t focus enough on the Sally Yates thread, as she was very interested in it.
    I will try to add more tomorrow, based on how tonight goes.

  132. 132.

    James Powell

    @Taylor:

    I’m going with No. 3. Comey is a partisan hack who deliberately swung the election to Trump and has no regrets about it. He’s an asshole.

  133. 133.

    Another Scott

    @greennotGreen: Thank you for helping her, and for passing along our best wishes and her thoughts to us. I think all of us know, to some degree, how hard this is for you and gnG and we appreciate you sharing this special and very personal time with us.

    Rest easy.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  134. 134.

    greennotGreen

    @Lapassionara: Her niece here! All dogs are being placed in new, loving homes, and we get updates daily. I am taking her big coonhound mix to join my little ragtag group (lab/rott mix and mini schnauzer mix!). Thank you for your concern :)

  135. 135.

    greennotGreen

    @Lapassionara

    Update: I was told by gnG that concern was too formal, but thank you for your thoughtfulness and kindness!

  136. 136.

    Mnemosyne

    @greennotGreen:

    We have kind of a running joke around here that “thank you for your concern” is a polite way to tell someone to eff off, so you know that gnG is keeping her sense of humor through all this.

  137. 137.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @greennotGreen: I hope you’re not in any discomfort. I’m glad you have good support with your family around you. I’m glad you got your pets situated . That must bring you some relief. My thoughts are with you.

  140. 140.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @greennotGreen: (((HUGS))) to you all. We realize how hard this is for all of you, and thank you all for staying in touch.

  142. 142.

    CaseyL

    @greennotGreen: Keeping greennotGreen, and all of you in her family, in my thoughts. I’m touched more than I can express by her and your presence here, during gnG’s last days. I hope the love and fellowship here has been some comfort to you.

    And thank you for letting us know the critters have found good homes!

  143. 143.

    greennotGreen

    gnG’s sister here. She wanted me to report that when she closes her eyes now, she sees very pretty lights flashing. As you all know she has a wonderful sense of humor, which has not left her – she claims the lights are probably a synesthetic response to all the noise I am making doing dishes and other chores!

  147. 147.

    Philip J. Huber

    Why isn’t Flynn being tried by general’s court martial under uniform code of military justice section 2?

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