Developing: FBI confirms agents are executing a search warrant at the office of GOP Fundraiser/Consulting firm in Annapolis
— Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) May 11, 2017
FBI investigation of GOP fundraising firm in Annapolis is run out of Washington, not a local case
— Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) May 11, 2017
It is unclear which firm this involves.
In other news that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle, at the 1:50 mark of Senator Markey’s interview with CNN yesterday, he himself broke some interesting news:
Our country could be careening towards a constitutional crisis. I spoke with @CNNnewsroom about #ComeyFiring. Watch here ↓ pic.twitter.com/PTUUeoNBX4
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) May 10, 2017
It appears that Senator Markey has confirmed the RUMINT that NY state Attorney General Schneiderman has convened a grand jury to investigate the President, his business, his business operations, and his business associates.
Oh and the President has admitted that he called James Comey and directly asked him if he was under investigation and that Comey told him he was not (as well as on two other occasions – once at dinner and one other phone call):
BREAKING: I was going to fire Comey anyway, Pres. Trump tells @LesterHoltNBC in exclusive interview at White House https://t.co/MAmo1PE1RL
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) May 11, 2017
We now return you to your regularly schedule Thursday afternoon.
Stay frosty!
Corner Stone
I know no one cann tell Trump “No” but whoever thought him sitting down with Holt at this time was a good idea needs to be sued for malpractice.
LAO
Trump is incredible — never has one man stepped on his own dick with such regularity and force.
I’ve popped the popcorn, although it pains to root for the FBI.
dedc79
Re the Trump/Holt interview – Sara Huckabee Sanders now has to step out into the press briefing and explain how/why everything she and Spicer have told the press the last 48 hours was completely false. Wouldn’t be surprised if she stumbles out with a Neil-Young-Last-Waltz cocaine booger sticking out of her nostril
I’m sure she’ll just deflect/deny/lie some more.
Corner Stone
If you believe any word out of Trump’s mouth, which I do not, he specifically called the Director of the FBI to inquire about an active and ongoing investigation where he and/or his campaign was the target.
Gin & Tonic
What’s a guy gotta do to get a h/t around here?
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: Have you seen the transcripts of his interview with Time? Absolutely nuts. Whoever thinks it is a good idea to let him do these things needs to be fired. At some point they need to understand that crisis communications is not a reference to creating crises with your communications!
Corner Stone
“I was going to fire Comey”
Now Spicey, Sarah Sanders and our oh so innocent and saintly VP all are on record straight lying, or at best stating an untruth, in the last 24 or so hours about the Comey firing.
Pence stood there and flat repeated the talking point about how the firing went down. And that just got fucking torched by Trump. TORCHED!!
Adam L Silverman
@LAO: Sometimes the good guys do wear wing tips, have expensive hair cuts, and are sneeringly referred to as the FEEBs (short for Feebles).
Also, the speculation is that this is the firm being raided:
http://strategiccampaigngroup.com/contact-us
DougJ
Great catch
Corner Stone
@Adam L Silverman: I have tried to read every transcript of interviews as I can not stand to look at his fucking face or hear his disgusting voice. I was screaming how crazeballs they were way back in the summer of 2016. He’s fucking insane. He has no idea or insight into any version of reality we all agree on.
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: Since I’ve not been around in any comment threads, if you linked to some or all of this, I apologize for missing it and you are, most certainly thanked for the hat tip that I did not see.
TenguPhule
Do we have a Congress worthy of the weighty responsibility to confront this grave Constitutional Crisis with the wisdom and intelligence it deserves?
Major Major Major Major
Didn’t he say as much in his letter to Comey?
@Adam L Silverman: Well then he’d be just as bad as that media-dodging no-interview-giving Crooked Hillary or even worse Barack Nobummer.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: I’ve got something on that for you too!
Still trying to find the clip.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
Given how arrogant and stupid he is, we can’t actually rule this out.
David Spikes
Funny stuff-CNN online has section headed Non Comey News-right now it’s all Comey all the time. And on the Hill deputy AG and acting FBI head basically calling Trump a lying liar-sweet.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: I like how he believes he just came up with both the idea of and the term “priming the pump”.
Gin & Tonic
@Adam L Silverman: Just having a little fun. We don’t expect the front pagers to read the comments anyway, due to years of conditioning.
Betty Cracker
Help me out here, fellow citizens: Did Comey not just last week testify that he inserted himself into the 2016 election to such disastrous effect because the “optics” of the Bill Clinton-Loretta Lynch tarmac chat were so scandalous, even though both parties denied they discussed the then-ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email servers?
And in the Holt interview, the shitgibbon just admitted he questioned the FBI director about an ongoing investigation into his own campaign? I hope someone has reinforced fainting couch legs all over DC so they’ll be able to withstand the insensate weight of their collapsing owners!
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: Not with these specifics. All he stated in the letter was that he appreciated Comey telling him three times that he wasn’t under investigation. That itself is bizarre and seems to really fly in the face of how Comey in particular and the FBI in specific operates. What he has indicated here is way beyond that.
Corner Stone
@dedc79:
At this point, if you agree to be a spokesperson for this president or WH don’t you have to have already surgery to remove all your integrity, sense of shame, ethics or scruples?
She is going to come out and tell us the sky is green and the podium is made of green cheese.
dmsilev
@Corner Stone:
Presumably that someone has initials DJT and has famously short fingers.
? ?? Goku ? ?
Man. Those CNN anchors were fucking idiots. They couldn’t wrap their minds around how shady it is to fire a FBI Director while an ongoing investigation into that admin is happening.
“What in this letter do you disagree with?”
Derpyity derpyity derpy derp
?
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: If I’m around and commenting I do. But sometimes I’m doing other things. I know it wounds you all that I am not paying attention to you all 24/7.
Cheryl Rofer
Republican consultants I follow seem to know what the Annapolis firm is. A quick Google gets me Strategic Campaign Group, but I am too far out of that loop for it to mean much to me.
The FBI is going to start moving quickly, before the Trumpies can destroy files and put their toadies in.
ETA: I see that Adam identified Strategic Campaign group upthread.
YellowDog
It could be Strategic Campaign Group in Annapolis. There are reports of a large FBI presence in Northern Virginia, executing search warrants.
TenguPhule
@Betty Cracker: I’ll give odds that Comey is going to have a nasty accident soon to ensure that Trump is the only one able to tell his version of events.
Captain C
@Adam L Silverman: Unless whoever is letting him do these interviews actually wants him out and figures such publicity will accelerate the process. Of course, this presupposes ethics and forethought on the part of a Trump handler.
Adam L Silverman
@Betty Cracker: Allow Joe Scarborough to answer this questions for you in the affirmative:
LAO
@Adam L Silverman: If the choice is between Republican Political Operatives or Trump Administration members and the FBI, rest assured even I would root for the FBI.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
They were never born with any in the first place. It was only sheer luck that they found their natural calling in life, to be Trump’s media whores.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
Just a fun bon bon on top of all the serious stuff. This orange haired moron wants to retrofit all our aircraft carriers with steam catapults.
TenguPhule
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: You’re joking. Please dear gods tell us you’re joking.
Adam L Silverman
I fully expect McCabe to be fired in short order:
Rosenstein too!
The day of the medium sized sporks may actually be a multiday affair!
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@TenguPhule: Nope, it’s in the Time interview, go over to LGM they have a post up about it.
Betty Cracker
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: GTFO! For realz?
LAO
This made me laugh:
Major Major Major Major
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: We removed them?
nastybrutishntall
@Adam L Silverman: I think “admit” is not the right word here, since it could all be completely fabricated, everything Trump said.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: She’s Mike Huckabee’s daughter. She’s both a congenital and socialized sociopath. Nature and nurture working hand in glove. I suppose we should applaud her for not torturing and killing the neighborhood pets like her brother.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: I’m sure that will garner him a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Betty Cracker
@Adam L Silverman: So that explains why the shitgibbon kept emphasizing that he was going to fire Comey anyway, making (well, RE-making) liars out of Pence, Huckabee-Sanders, Spicer, Conway, et al.
Cheryl Rofer
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: Also this:
Mike in DC
RICO, RICO RICO, RICOOOOO, RICO…
…Trump is dead, Trump is dead…
LAO
@Adam L Silverman:
That we know of…
Adam L Silverman
@YellowDog: Yep, RUMINT is dozens of FBI special agents and US Marshalls in the basement of the Eastern District of VA’s US Attorney’s Office basement. As I’ve stated over and over: you will not win a fight with the Intel Community.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: No, this isn’t Moscow. If James Comey gets so much as a late Spring cold it will look suspicious.
Adam L Silverman
@LAO: You’re such a softy!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: You’re assuming that Dolt45 and gang are competent, they’re not.
Adam L Silverman
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: I saw that.
Biscuits
@LAO:
He’s a dick stepping-bed shitting genius.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@Major Major Major Major: If you go over to LGM there’s a post up about it. I just read the “headline”. Since it’s Trump you have to believe he has no understanding of what is going on. The linear motor system is being adopted because it can be “tuned” to the aircraft, thus reducing stress on the airframe. Adam probably knows more.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: @Betty Cracker: From the transcript of the Time interview:
http://time.com/4775040/donald-trump-time-interview-being-president/
Corner Stone
@LAO:
I, for one, am fine with that as long as it ends the exact same way (without the children, natch).
Phylllis
@Betty Cracker:
clay
Grrr….. I picked the wrong day to comment at the end of a dead thread when a new one has just sprung up. Anyway:
Only Trump would think that {Trump} ⊄ {Trump campaign}.
Corner Stone
Sarah Sanders is one disgusting piece of shit. Good God this is fucking reprehensible.
Adam L Silverman
@nastybrutishntall:
hovercraft
@Corner Stone:
According to Mrs. Greenspan, it was scheduled far in advance, I think as a kind of follow up to all the 100 Days hoopla. Now not canceling, dumb as shit. The problem is he is such a confident nincompoop that he believes that he can bullshit hi way through anything. Also too remember he watches his interviews on mute and grades his performances from body language, so to him as long as I look “good” and strong.
Corner Stone
Johnathan Karl is a POS but he fucking nailed Sarah S on her lying about this 24 hours ago. Caused her to pull out her “Yeah, but Democrats” list of statements.
Phylllis
@Phylllis: Screwed it up & no permission to edit. Cooking with gas today.
A Ghost to Most
@Adam L Silverman: This is most excellent.
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman:
Between reading the excerpt from the Economist interview where he claims he invented ‘priming the pump’ and then uses it wrong, and this, I’ve used up my daily allotment of derp!
LurkerNoLonger
Is it just me, or does Trump have really weird hair? I can’t be the only one who has noticed this.
Patricia Kayden
@Corner Stone: Why? Our side needs him to publicly behave like a crazy man as often as possible. A White Conservative associate of mine has edged away from her “he’s cool and totally not a racist” spiel re Trump. I think some of Trump’s supporters are having buyer’s remorse.
clay
@Adam L Silverman: Heh. You seen the new one? I think in a lot of ways it’s better than the first.
Kathy Harding
http://strategiccampaigngroup.com/ according to Claude Taylor on twitter.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike in DC: No, but between the Feds and Schneiderman, and on RICO especially Schneiderman, he is going to be squeezed in the only place he cares about: his wallet. The Trump Organization hasn’t paid its annual NY state registration for several years. Schneiderman can seize it at any time as a result. If he does bring RICO he can severely financially hurt the President, his business, his wife, his kids, his son in law, his son in laws family, his son in laws/son in laws family’s businesses, and those working for the Trump Organization.
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: Needy jackals are needy. But how dare you ignore us for your real life?
YellowDog
@Adam L Silverman: My fear is that the Comey firing forced the FBI to move faster than they wanted. The feds move at their own pace and only when they have all the pieces in place. I expect there will be quite a few calls to lawyers this afternoon.
Gin & Tonic
@Adam L Silverman: That’s exactly like Kim Jong-Un inspecting a factory and giving the comrades his “guidance.”
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam, not sure how reliable this is, but I posted this comment on the last thread when G&T (I think) first mentioned it, and found the following info in case you know anything about them:
hovercraft
@LurkerNoLonger:
Please, several ferrets gave their lives for that rug, and everyone knows that ferret “hair” does not respond well to harsh chemical treatments.
schrodingers_cat
@Cheryl Rofer: I read it in the comments this morning. I thought it was a joke.
Shalimar
@Adam L Silverman: As G&T says, we have over a decade of Cole conditioning us never to expect him in the comments and we still follow everything he writes anyway. It isn’t a terrible thing to do that, but we also greatly appreciate all the time you spend talking with us.
Immanentize
@Corner Stone: I think the phrase that Sanders and Spicer are looking for is:
“That statement is no longer operative.”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Remember, this is the guy that doesn’t want the military to use email; he wants them to use couriers* instead.
*That may include carrier pigeons.
Major Major Major Major
@Gin & Tonic: @Adam L Silverman: @Shalimar: The best way to get a hold of Adam if you have a tip is an email in all caps.
clay
@Gin & Tonic: Not quite. I am willing to believe that Lil’ Kim can speak in complete sentences and can at least fake like he knows what he’s talking about.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@LurkerNoLonger:
No, most of us noticed that in the 80’s.
Adam L Silverman
@A Ghost to Most: I’ve been telling you all for months that the VP, despite the phony, pious act is up to his eyeballs and can be shown to be demonstrably lying about all of this on a regular basis.
Booger
@Corner Stone: You mean Lucretia, Qusay, Uday & Skippy? Why exclude them?
hovercraft
@Gin & Tonic:
Speak for yourself, I demand to be responded to and have my ego stroked at every opportunity!@Adam L Silverman: We need you to understand that we are in fact your number one priority!
Have you heard from Yarrow again?
Major Major Major Major
@Booger: Skippy?
D58826
Now I understand why Ms. Sanders keeps getting the store wrong. She spends most of the day talking to FBI agents to find out how much they disliked Comey. (sigh)
Marcopolo
@Major Major Major Major: See what no one is mentioning is that 4th time Trump asked Comey if he were under investigation and Comey replied, “Well Mr. President, funny you should ask about that again.” Just before he got fired. Who knows, it might have happened. Inquiring minds gotta consider all the probabilities.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: It is certainly a distinct means of expressing oneself.
Corner Stone
@Patricia Kayden: Trump is mentally unstable so there is no time that is “good” for an interview. But right after dipping his balls in honey and then sitting on a fire ant mound? They haven’t had 24 hours of a consistent message about the Comey firing yet, and he’s going to sit down with Lester Holt? And Lester may be corporate but he is not exactly a pushover. The quips I have seen so far have him pushing Trump back and forth and not letting him get set or settled.
bystander
@Adam L Silverman: I like that Sara looks as if her head was where the congenital twin was joined. The two sides of her face seem to be commenting on each other. Talk about Anderson Cooper’s eyeroll. Sara’s left side seems to be giving her right side the same eyeroll.
Adam L Silverman
@clay: On my list of things to do. Haven’t gotten to the theater yet.
Betty Cracker
@Adam L Silverman: I got blocked on Twitter by Mike Huckabee (or, more likely, his social media flunky) for mentioning the dog-torturing sociopath brother in response to his (Huckabee’s) criticism of the Obamas’ parenting.
Corner Stone
Major Garrett just called Sarah Sanders and anyone who stands up behind the Press Sec podium a liar and why the fuck should anyone believe anything they say until it comes from the mouth of the POTUS?
BOOM!
Shalimar
@Adam L Silverman:
I saw an article somewhere yesterday listing the 4 possible replacements for McCabe as Acting Director. It seemed pretty obvious the only reason McCabe succeeded Comey is because he was next in line and no one in the West Wing had bothered to research the alternatives during the weeks Trump was contemplating firing Comey.
A Ghost to Most
@Adam L Silverman: Yep, and I believed you. Seeing something substantive about that sanctimonious ass being involved, and knowing that he probably won’t become prez if/when shit goes down, warms this atheist’s heart.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: That seems to be the impression.
bystander
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The hair has gotten bigger, bushier and blonder. And the eyebags are crying out for a tuck.
SiubhanDuinne
@SiubhanDuinne:
I see Adam tracked the same thing down, per his #8.
Sorry, @Adam.
Adam L Silverman
@Shalimar: I’m trying to figure out how to turn it into billable hours…
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: Specifically boonie hats or Dan Daley caps!
Betty Cracker
@Corner Stone: ? Gott damn, I wish I could watch this shit live!
AnotherBruce
@dedc79: Naturally, She blamed the hypocritical Democrats.
Adam L Silverman
@hovercraft: Yes. As of last night he’s hanging in there. He knows everyone here is concerned, cares, and is keeping good thoughts.
Corner Stone
@Booger: No, no, no. For those three I demand LEO snuff pron film, or see them dragged out unconscious, bloody and hopefully broken. And I hate that I just typed that but that’s where I am now.
I mean actual children, like kids of people who have nothing to do with this shitshow.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Corner Stone:
Why would that make a difference?
LurkerNoLonger
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Thank God it’s not just me.
Adam L Silverman
@bystander: I try not to comment on people’s appearance, but there is a definite Picasso thing going on.
Adam L Silverman
@Betty Cracker: Good times!
SatanicPanic
Maybe we can’t impeach Trump just yet, but but Sessions? Who knows.
Jennifer Rubin
“In sum, Sessions has risked his law license, whether he realized it or not. He needs to testify immediately under oath; if there is no satisfactory explanation, he must resign. The alternative could be impeachment proceedings.”
aimai
@bystander: That is really funny. I wish it had come with a gif.
A Ghost to Most
@Betty Cracker: I had to turn the sound off. Her voice and tone are grating.
Cicely Strong will kill it, I think
Betty Cracker
@bystander: Someone here offered the theory that Trump’s multi-dimensional comb-over and dye-job stylist / tanning technician, etc., lives in Trump Tower and that was one reason he rarely stayed away from home for more than a day or two on the campaign trail. His present appearance shows how much he’s missed their tender ministrations.
Shalimar
@Adam L Silverman: Concerned, cares, keeping good thoughts, and also miss his contributions. He always adds to discussions.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
Well, c’mon, what are we paying you the big bucks for? ?
Millard Filmore
@Adam L Silverman:
Are they down there hunting or planning?
Adam L Silverman
@Shalimar: The guy running Counterintel at ODNI would actually be a very solid pick. The problem is that the the President and AG are now hoisted on their own petard. They clearly want a loyalist who will play ball and politicize the FBI. Acting Director McCabe, as well as significant numbers of anonymous FBI career personnel have now made it clear they will not allow the bureau to be politicized and coopted. And it isn’t clear that a crony pick could get through even the GOP majority Senate with even 50 votes and the VP breaking the tie. So that leaves a highly respected straight shooter, which is the last thing the President and AG want.
Never interrupt your enemies when they are destroying themselves.
AnotherBruce
@Adam L Silverman: We should keep Trump as far as possible from cutlery. God that is weapons grade insanity.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: No worries.
clay
@bystander: Her face is definitely asymmetrical, bless her heart.
Jess
@LurkerNoLonger: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/06/02/the-100-greatest-descriptions-of-donald-trumps-hair-ever-written/?utm_term=.2db0eaca4e3f
(wapo article)
Adam L Silverman
@Betty Cracker: It was a rare performance. Even in the Spicey Era.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@ Adam L Silverman
I was told there are two grand juries looking into this Russian thing; Is this NY State a third or one of the two?
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: I don’t know that Einstein even ever used a computer. For some reason that’s what gets me. He would’ve understood whatever a “digital catapult” is just fine nonetheless.
Adam L Silverman
Ruh Roh!
Joyce H
The bit I liked best was Trump saying that Comey told him he wasn’t under investigation over dinner, that Comey asked for. So we’re supposed to believe that Comey invites himself to dinner at the President’s house like your deadbeat brother-in-law.
The Lodger
@Adam L Silverman: Sweet Lord Buckley, I thought that Trump quote was a hoax until I read the Time interview. Aaaagh!
Shalimar
@Adam L Silverman: The 4 were all internal, Agent-in-Charge for Chicago plus I think 3 Washington-based that I don’t remember titles for, and I swear it was for Acting Director, not as the permanent choice.
My speculation, but if they can get a crony from that group, maybe they wouldn’t even bother with a permanent choice who had to be confirmed. I will look for the article.
edit: not what I read, but similar:
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/10/527780171/despite-recusal-pledge-sessions-interviewing-candidates-for-interim-fbi-director
Cheryl Rofer
Baltimore Sun:
Adam L Silverman
@Millard Filmore: Law Enforcement Anonymous meeting. There’s coffee and cake in the back!
Adam L Silverman
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Two Federal. Schneiderman’s is a NY state one that he controls and it would be a third total. So two Fed, one NY state. That we know of.
Adam L Silverman
@Joyce H: To ask to keep a job that he’s confirmed him for seven more years to preserve the independence of the FBI as intended by Federal law. That doesn’t scan.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
Clearly I should enjoy a sandwich more often! Back to the computer to catch up…
amk
Is twitler toast yet? Time to stick the forks in?
Adam L Silverman
@Shalimar: No cronies in that group. They’re all career folks. What they want is a crony/lackey/lickspittle for the permanent appointment. The reality indicates that kind of appointment can’t get approved.
Corner Stone
@Joyce H:
To beg for his job. Like your BIL asking for a temp welding gig or some shit.
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
Jesus Christ! Trump was speaking metaphorically! How is this so hard to understand?
What he was really saying was “I’m dumber than a sack of rocks, but I am also president, so what I say goes. Hey you, get that guy Einstein to come over and fix these things. Albert Einstein is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice. Him and Andrew Jackson.”
LurkerNoLonger
@Jess: My favorite: 26. Orange and matted on the sides, and now white/silver, wispy, swept back, defying the laws of physics and practicality on top.
SiubhanDuinne
@TenguPhule:
@Betty Cracker:
From the Time transcript:
Major Major Major Major
@Brachiator:
Uh… duh.
But some metaphors are worse than others.
Cheryl Rofer
sigaba
Someone was opining in a comment thread (on GOS I think) that because Trump discussed his little dinner with Comey with Lester Holt on TV, he can no longer claim his conversations with Comey are subject to executive privilege. Interesting to see how that pans out.
Also, obviously, because Trump met with Comey over dinner, and not in his plane, parked on the tarmac in Phoenix, everything about it is totally legit.
Corner Stone
@clay: I have a hard time watching her because she has her daddy’s mouth. It moves the same way and makes the same weird shapes he does when he is talking. It freaks me the fuck out, beyond all the hateful shit she is spewing.
Shalimar
@Adam L Silverman: You say that, and it may be true up until now. But Rosenstein had a spotless reputation before Tuesday too.
Cheryl Rofer
Jess
@LurkerNoLonger: My fav: “Hair”
El Caganer
@Adam L Silverman: It might even be worse than The Digital – it might be…..The Cyber!
amk
Do the gopee corrupt cowards even care?
schrodingers_cat
@Brachiator: Einstein had an allergy to anti-Semitic white supremacists.
bystander
@Corner Stone: I’m with Adam about commenting on physical appearance. But I make an exception for the Huckleberries.
Her face is a reflection of the inner conflict.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
I still think it’s going to be Jared. Because Jared can do anything, and it’s not like the Republicans would refuse to vote for him.
LAO
@sigaba: It’s not that Trump disclosed having a conversation, it’s that he disclosed his version of the contents of that conversation which voids any privilege that may attach to that conversation. (Three conversations, in total).
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
Did you read the rest of my comment? I was not disagreeing with you at all. If Trump were in a Road Runner cartoon, there would be an arrow pointing to him along with the caption “Ignoramus Giganticus.”
clay
@Cheryl Rofer:
Anyone have any insight into this? What kind of technology? What kind of use?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator: You forgot Frederick Douglass.
Spanky
@SiubhanDuinne: I want him to demand calliopes be installed too.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: Whose day was it to bring the popcorn?
schrodingers_cat
@Corner Stone: She also needs to hire a stylist based on the couple of photos of her that I have seen.
Adam L Silverman
@El Caganer: Not The Cyber… ?
germy
@Corner Stone:
Have you ever seen Dick Morris give an interview? He’s so crooked it always looks like his mouth is trying to run away from his face when he talks.
Steve in the ATL
@Gin & Tonic:
Score three goals
Corner Stone
@Adam L Silverman: I’ve been scarfing sunflower seed kernels by the handful. Kind of good for you, but probably not in this volume.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: LAO has popcorn @ #2.
Brachiator
@schrodingers_cat:
I laid on a huge amount of snark in my comment about Trump to point out how stupid his invoking of Albert was.
Cheryl Rofer
@clay: I saw a tweet that may have connected them with Cambridge Analytica, but take that as VERY unconfirmed.
@Adam L Silverman: I am popping some now!
Immanentize
@LAO: yes. This. But I suspect ComeY will follow the rules (this time) and oNLY discuss what he is authorised to discuss by DOJ?
Adam L Silverman
@clay: There are a number of small, obscure boutique firms that wound up doing third and fourth party contract work for Cambridge Analytics. The best known is a Canadian company from Vancouver that basically built the programs that CA and the Trump campaign folks used. This may be another one. It may also just have been a conduit for laundering money through to Super PACs.
SiubhanDuinne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Um, excuse me, what now?
Spanky
@clay:
Hmmmm. The kind of technology that alters election results?
LAO
@Immanentize: I agree — because, haven’t you heard, Comey is the last honest man in Washington.
MaryL
@Adam L Silverman: Is that Bill Evanina? He spoke on a cybersecurity webinar I put together a few months back. I liked him quite a bit (in no small part because he kept his remarks blessedly brief, unlike the rest of the panel).
Cheryl Rofer
There was a hearing this morning of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The news just keeps flowing, hard to keep up. Here’s an excerpt, consistent with the Steele dossier.
schrodingers_cat
@Brachiator: So you did. IIRC the Manhattan project did employ analog computers. Don’t know if Einstein used them or not. Most probably not, some low level grad student or a recent PhD must have done the number crunching.
germy
Mercers and/or Bannon?
Major Major Major Major
@Brachiator: yeah, I had a hard time reconciling that with what seemed like hostility, my bad.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone: Trump’s children?
Corner Stone
“If it’s possible, would you let me know? Am I under investigation?”
This is fucking crazeballs.
Gravenstone
@LAO: Even as snark, no. There is no way in the seven hells that Jared Kushner gets in front of a Senate confirmation hearing, for anything. He’d never survive the experience.
eta: and this was supposed to be in response to Mnemosyne right above you.
Brachiator
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
He was busy working on the Manhattan Project.
@Major Major Major Major:
Oooh. Apparently, Trump has probably never used a computer either. If you had intended this as a bit of oblique snark, I salute you!
From a recent Gizmodo story:
Betty Cracker
“Democrats should stop politicizing this is issue. It may turn out president…was not colluding with the Russians.”
— Bernie Sanders, on CNN.
SFBayAreaGal
@Adam L Silverman: Make mine kettle popcorn please.
schrodingers_cat
@Gravenstone: I think he goes with the Martin option does not fill the vacancy.
Gravenstone
@clay: Maybe microtargetting ads in Congressional districts based on leaked Democratic emails?
/sagely strokes chin
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Yeah, I have now scrolled through enough of this thread that I realise not only you but about eleventy-seven other people also remarked on it.
In all honesty, I was just very damn proud of myself for tracking it down on my own as fast as I did, and gratified that I seem to have come up with the right answer.
Simple pleasures.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Russian Sleeper Agent awakens from hibernation.
ETA: Is commenter dm here to condescendingly tell me how I misread the poor misunderstood St Sanders of Vermont.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Why would this stop Trump from going ahead anyway?
He fired the guy, after all.
manyakitty
@Betty Cracker: Are you freaking kidding me?
germy
@Betty Cracker:
Is this a recent quote, or a few months old?
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: How does someone that stupid not drown while taking a shower?!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: No email, couriers.
sigaba
@schrodingers_cat: Einstein wasn’t affiliated with the Manhattan Project, he only signed a very concise letter (written by Teller and Szilard) about how it might be a good idea.
TenguPhule
@Betty Cracker: Source and full quote please. Let’s not jump the gun.
clay
It seems clear that, once Trump gets something in his head that he THINKS is a brilliant insight, he’ll never let it go. This thing about the steam catapults is just the latest example. He’ll about this for weeks, I’m sure.
But we also saw it during the campaign* when he kept harping about “telling them ahead of time that we’re going to invade Mosul” was somehow a bad tactical and/or strategic decision (not that Trump could tell you the difference!), and that HE’D do it in secret.
Because you can conduct a full-scale invasion of a city in secret, apparently.
*Hell, he’s STILL bringing that up in interviews.
schrodingers_cat
Again people saw this dumb as a post and mean as a goat person and decided that he would make a great President. Thanks R voters.
Gravenstone
@Betty Cracker: Can we just get it over with and toss Bernie into the hoosegow with Trump?
Spanky
@Betty Cracker: Da fuck!
MaryL
@Betty Cracker: This is snark, right? RIGHT?
SFBayAreaGal
@Betty Cracker: I had a small amount of despise for him. Now I really, really, really, despise him.
sigaba
@Betty Cracker: Bernie Bothsides.
PS I’m getting really tired of all these senators and congressmen and federal officials telling everybody to stop “politiciizing” things as if that wasn’t the whole reason they’re there in the first place.
Immanentize
@LAO: so I have been told. By Comey himself mostly…. I am wondering why Rosenstein is still in his position. What deal did he cut with Trump and Sessions? The corruption is so pervasive.
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’m sure it would work for cross country, we have those wonderful things called planes that can make the trip in hours instead of seconds.
Spanky
@Spanky: I smell rubles.
p.a.
Honestly, this is horrifying. But goddamn is it funny!!!
germy
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Passenger Pigeons. Or better yet, Heath Hens. (Don’t tell the president, the sad news would ruin his day)
schrodingers_cat
@Spanky: Needs another home on the cape.
Kay
He’s gonna be so mad. The headline is “white supporters flee President” Flee!
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: Preaching to the choir. Pence is a Russian asset and in it up to his neck.
Gravenstone
Fuck me, running . “Removing Comey will help bring Russia probe to an end, Sanders says“. Headline quote on CNN.com right now.
LAO
@Immanentize: IDK — but Rosenstein met with Burr and Warner today and it appears he may testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, so I expect we will hear more from and about him.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@MaryL: Apparently said on CNN YESTERDAY.
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: Goat Anti-Defamation League on line 2.
But, yeah. Thanks for nothing, you asshat Trump voters.
tobie
@Betty Cracker: Oh gag me. Can’t the man put a sock in it? I’ve been reluctant to suspect his Russian involvement, in spite of Tad Devine’s history, but statements like these make me wonder. Is he just full of himself or hiding something?
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
Take comfort that you still have a bit of a ways to go to catch up to me.
Okay, that’s a small comfort but still, take what you can get.
germy
(The Hill)
Immanentize
@Brachiator: Comey (almost?) never used a computer either. It’s really amazing how many senior people running this country are completely computer ignorant.
MaryL
@Gravenstone: It’s Huckabee-Sanders, not Bernie.
germy
rikyrah
President Trump Just Crippled His Legislative Agenda
by Martin Longman May 10, 2017 3:45 PM
Writing in the Washington Post, James Hohmann makes a rather obvious point about the fallout from President Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.
Also noted in that article is the fact that the Senate Intelligence Committee has requested financial records on Trump and Trump associates from the Treasury Department and that the Ranking Member of that committee, Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia, plans on holding up all Trump nominees until he’s gets the information he seeks. That should be lumped together with the Senate Democrats’ decision this morning to invoke the two-hour rule to curtail the majority’s ability to hold committee hearings.
Elizabelle
@Gravenstone: Wait a minute.
Is that Mouthpiece Huckabee Sanders or Bernie Sanders?
Steve in the ATL
@Betty Cracker:
Holy fucking shit. Anyone who has ever defended BS: now is the time to admit you were wrong and swear off third party opioids now and forever.
Gin & Tonic
Seeing rumors that Strategic Campaign Group is tied to our old friend Paul Fucking Manafort. I cannot confirm the truth of that.
sigaba
@Gravenstone: Bernie Sanders or Huckabee Sanders? Lotta Sanders’s lately.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@MaryL: OK that’s better. I saw a tweet where someone said it was Bernie, apparently not. Good.
Major Major Major Major
@rikyrah: didn’t a few mavericks shut down a methane deregulation yesterday too?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@manyakitty: Nope. I just watched the interview.
TenguPhule
@sigaba: Jumped the gun, shot yourself in the face with that banana cream pie.
Wrong Sanders
Jeffro
@LAO:
My co-workers are wondering exactly what’s so funny and I can’t stop laughing long enough to tell them…
TenguPhule
ETA: NM, still checking
Chet Murthy
@TenguPhule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChcnrvPfvec
I watched the entire clip. Two thoughts:
(1) for an independent, he’s doing really well. I cannot fault him … AS AN INDEPENDENT.
(2) but he’s not doing a good job as a Dem. Besides this quote, he said at one point something like “the american people doesn’t trust the USG, the Rs, the Dems”. Similarly, he said that the nuclear option was a bad thing that the Dems did.
on balance: bernie’s being bernie, eh? A good Dem would have been able to make his points without allowing a scintilla of shade to be thrown on the Democractic party.
trollhattan
Somebody in the WH certainly knows Trump should never be allowed to give an interview, ever. It is our happy fortune that nobody has the nerve to tell him this.
rikyrah
Trump Names Racist to Co-Chair Voter Fraud Commission
by Martin Longman May 11, 2017 3:17 PM
On paper, Kris Kobach is the kind of guy you’d like to marry your daughter. An Eagle Scout who graduated summa cum laude and first in his department at Harvard, went on to get M.A. and Ph.D. in Politics from Oxford and a law degree from Yale, Kobuch also did missionary work in Uganda, clerked for a federal judge, and obtained a White House Fellowship to work for the Attorney General of the United States.
On the other hand, the Minority Leader of the Kansas Senate Anthony Hensley once stated that Kobach is “the most racist politician in America today,” and with plenty of justification. Kobuch is the brains behind both Arizona SB 1070 and Alabama HB56, the two most notorious anti-immigrant bills to be produced in this country in recent decades. He’s the country’s most famous proponent of bogus voter fraud theories and has boasted of successful efforts to suppress the minority vote both during his time as chairman of the Kansas Republican Party and as Kansas’s Secretary of State.
He’s also a classic John Bircher-style nutcase who has referred to both the American Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters as “communists.”
Donald Trump seriously considered Kobach to serve as his Attorney General and also as his Secretary of Homeland Security:
…………………….
As a former county coordinator for ACORN/Project Vote efforts to boost minority participation in our elections, you can imagine how I feel about Kris Kobach who clearly thinks I should have been prosecuted for my efforts. I’m offended by the very existence of the commission which is an affront to the most minimal grasp of reality, so naming Kobach as the co-chair is little more than confirmation that the whole effort is a fraud on the American public.
No one in American life has less credibility with the left on voting issues than Kobach. And it certainly doesn’t help that he’s not only seen as a racist but as perhaps the most effective racist in the country. Trump doesn’t care about that at all and perhaps even enjoys sending the message that he doesn’t care.
AnotherBruce
@germy: link doesn’t work.
schrodingers_cat
@schrodingers_cat: Sorry! Got my Sanders confused.
TenguPhule
@Steve in the ATL: Now is the time to admit you made a mistake and jumped the gun because you expected the worst without evidence.
Chris
@Betty Cracker:
Are you fucking shitting me?
Please tell me that you’re fucking shitting me.
p.a.
Q: Did Putin misread Trump et al and think they would be competent enough to be valuable assets to advance Russian interests sotto voce, or did he realize they are incompetent buffoons and he’s accomplished his destabilization aim?
A:
Miss Bianca
Wait..color me naive, but isn’t this admission *alone* sort of…actionable?
@Betty Cracker: or, you know…what *you* said!
Gravenstone
@MaryL: Well fuck, that’s no fun. Not surprising from that particular lickspittle, though. Thanks for the clarification.
tobie
Wait, wait, wait. It was Wilmer! Here on YouTube.
rikyrah
While it is just one poll and all caveats apply, the most recent one from Quinnipiac paints a devastating picture for the man in the White House. They note that Trump got a bit of a bump after the missile strike in Syria, but he’s back down now to a near-record negative 36 – 58 percent job approval rating—and that is from a poll conducted before the announcement about Comey being fired. The drop holds true for groups that have been an important part of his base.
………………….
But as Adam Raymond summarizes, it’s not just job approval numbers.
Every number in this poll is bad. The majority of Americans say Trump is “not honest,” lacks leadership skills, doesn’t care about average Americans, is not “level-headed,” and does not share their values. On the economy, immigration, foreign policy, and terrorism, more Americans disapprove than approve of the job he’s doing.
Finally, Philip Bump tweeted the part of this poll that is getting most of the attention.
In total, the poll reported 46 words used by respondents to describe Trump. I did my own calculation and found that 28 of them were negative (idiot, clown, bigot), 10 of them were positive (strong, successful, great) and 8 were neutral (president, businessman, American). But beyond that, it is amazing to hear people describe the President of the United States with words like “idiot,” “liar,” and “buffoon.” Perhaps you’ll agree with me when I say that is disturbing in what it says about our current situation, but encouraging in that so many people are actually paying attention to the horrors we’re seeing from this president.
While the opportunity for American voters to weigh in on this president’s performance is still about 3 1/2 years away, here’s a bit of hope for 2018:
trollhattan
@Steve in the ATL:
Chant “Wilmer, Wilmer, Wilmer” then throw dog poopie on his shoe. “Debil git OUT, a-yay-yeah!”
Or more succinctly: “Shut the fuck up, Bernie.”
Chet Murthy
@Elizabelle: Need a name for Huck-Spawn. In a nod to whomever in a previous thread mentioned Honey Boo-boo, I propose Shitty Boo-Boo.
Chris
@Kay:
Wow, the media’s favorite “white working class voters fleeing in droves” narrative turned against the Republicans? You know it’s bad.
Immanentize
@tobie: So I have thought it was bullshit to think Sanders had any Russian connection — but that is the Russian M.O.: heavily fund the opponent – hell, every opponent – of the candidate you fear the most.
Why would Bernie, who is NOT in the loop on these issues, be trying at all to end the inquiry?
Snowden, anyone?
manyakitty
@?BillinGlendaleCA: So it was the spawn of Arkansas, then. At least that makes more sense.
Spanky
@MaryL: Well, shit. I can’t tell the Sanderses apart when I can’t see the numbers on their jerseys.
The comment about smelling rubles is still operative, though.
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
I was just trying to follow the great opening you provided with your comment by using it to setup a complementary punchline. I deliberately tried to make my fake Trump quote so broad that the snark would be blatant. But a joke doesn’t work if you have to explain it. I will not be quitting my day job anytime soon.
germy
@trollhattan:
Isn’t he sort of right about Don, though?
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
PHUCK.OUTTA.HERE.
Ella in New Mexico
@Cheryl Rofer:
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Immanentize: They’re old! Kidding, kinda. I haven’t seen 50 in a year or 5 or 6 myself.
Thinking of you and yours, and my offer of assistance w/r/t work stands.
tobie
@tobie: I forgot to say: Go to the four minute mark in Wilmer’s interview with Wolf Blitzer .
In classic fashion he manages to get in a few digs that people don’t have faith in the Republican party or the Democratic party.
Jeffro
@Cheryl Rofer: Why, it’s almost like we’re at war or something…
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
Confess a gleeful time was had reading that list this morning. Next round I demand “asshole” be ahead of “businessman” in the ranking.
Miss Bianca
@LAO: Wow, I’d give 10 years off my life to see that! Well, maybe 10 months. Or 10 days. Whatever, I’d pay with *something* to see that!
clay
@germy: Not as long as Sean Hannity is alive…
Shalimar
@Steve in the ATL: Bernie is right, it may turn out that Trump wasn’t colluding with the Russians. The chance of that happening is closer to 0% than my chances of living to 100, but he is technically right.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@schrodingers_cat:
I hate when that happens, very painful.
Jeffro
PS just in case you all were curious, the FBI raid news is not yet up on Fox News’ website. They ARE, however, running as “BREAKING NEWS” that some Dem ex-rep was convicted on tax evasion.
Because that’s just how Fox rolls, guys…
rikyrah
@TenguPhule:
You think so?
I think he’s slime, and up to his neck in the Flynn situation – they all thought they were too smart for words. But, deep into Russia like the rest of them? I don’t think so. Flynn should take him out, nonetheless, but deep into Russia like Dolt45 and the rest of them?
Eh.
trollhattan
@germy:
Not as long as Steve Doocy is fogging mirrors. Besides, Don has a pet black hole!
ETA [Shakes fist at Clay]
?BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah: But, at lease we avoided the lady with the email problems.
Ella in New Mexico
@Betty Cracker: Betty, that “quote” you just created is misleading and taken out of context from the rest of his comment, and really hot helpful at a time like this
Booger
@Major Major Major Major: Jared.
Mnemosyne
@MaryL:
Phew!
But now one can’t help but wonder if the MSM is sowing confusion on purpose. ?
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t think Einstein was allowed to work on the Manhattan Project because security concerns, although most certainly his ideas were both impetus and ongoing inspiration for it.
germy
No reporting yet from WaPo about the FBI raid
Uncle Cosmo
@clay: Steam catapults, obviosomento…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@manyakitty: No, Wilmer.
Elizabelle
@Chet Murthy: Shitty Boo Boo works for me. But I think Huckabee-Sanders — even though she doesn’t use the hypen — would be good for us, to avoid confusion. Could shorten it to HuckSanders or LyingHuckSanders.
@rikyrah: This one isn’t even close, people.
schrodingers_cat
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Apparently not, according to tobie.
Can anybody give a quick recap of the video link tobie has posted. Thanks!
John
Footage of Trump asking Comey if he is under investigation.
Cheryl Rofer
@Ella in New Mexico: Wouldn’t be surprising if there were a Manafort connection. Twitter has gone quiet on the Annapolis actions. There may be another in progress, but nobody on my TL seems to know where. My guess is that the agents are boxing up files and computers. That can take a while.
Steve in the ATL
@Shalimar:
One more in a long list of things BS didn’t need to say that only hurt Democrats.
@TenguPhule: no, my statement applies to any number of stupid, anti-Democrat statements he’s made, whether or not he made this one, which is unclear at this time, so you may be wrong here.
Shalimar
@tobie: Bernie’s great skill is saying everyone other than him sucks. Sometimes that gets confused with political intent, rather than just being a contrarian cranky asshole. It does play well in a time when most politicians do in fact suck, though.
germy
@trollhattan: Christ, I forgot about Doocy!
Chet Murthy
@tobie: I watched the entire segment. And I see nothing objectionable in what he said, viewed from the POV of an *independent*. That caveat is important.
But he claims that he wants to remake the Democratic party. The first thing a leader of a party has to understand and abide by, is message discipline. On three occasions, he failed to toe the line — he provided what could be fodder for the enemy (b/c the Rs aren’t the “opposition” — they’re the *enemy*, of both the left, and the American people) when he could have avoided it.
Truly, it’s rather clever. His “slip-ups” paint him as the Last Honest Pol, eh? It’s a really dangerous game he’s playing.
clay
@trollhattan: You went with Doocy when Not Steve Doocy is sitting right beside him?!?
tobie
@Ella in New Mexico: I normally agree with you but I have to say you are also cherry-picking. He starts out okay but halfway through the interview, he mentions the problems with the Democratic party in general and then specifically says that Democrats should be wary of politicizing the investigation and it’s very possible that the Trump campaign did not collude with the Russians. He can’t help but shit on the party. It’s an ingrained part of his shtick.
Booger
@Corner Stone: Roger that.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Miss Bianca and @ LAO: I’d certainly pay to see that, especially if Kluwe showed up to do color. Hot and smart. Probably some brain damage, but hot, funny, and smart. My idea of a perfect guy.
Spanky
@SiubhanDuinne: The army was suspicious of Einstein’s lefty leanings, so they wouldn’t let him work on it, despite him being the one that convinced Roosevelt to fund the damned thing.
Major Major Major Major
@tobie: I’m often reminded of a Big Lebowski quote when he does this: “you’re not wrong, you’re just an asshole!”
The Moar You Know
@Betty Cracker: Says the other guy who was colluding with the Russians. Jesus Fucking Christ.
SiubhanDuinne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Ohhhhh-kay then. Thanks.
Shalimar
@Steve in the ATL: I really don’t think anyone is picking out this contrarian bullshit from long Sanders statements at this point except solid Dems who really don’t like Sanders. You could just as easily focus on what he said in the other 5+ minutes, or not even know he was on Blitzer’s little-watched show at all.
LAO
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
Nah, he was a punter, no brain damage. Agree with you on the rest though.
Betty Cracker
@Chet Murthy: Agreed. But in that case, he should STFU about remaking the Democratic Party in his own image. You can’t have it both ways.
SiubhanDuinne
@TenguPhule:
You’re way ahead of me. I was thinking Phædippides.
manyakitty
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Wait, so he really did say that?
Chet Murthy
@Shalimar:
Brilliant pol that he is, he could have said something different, like:
Immanentize
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Hey there, you. I may have an ask for you and LAO. I am working on an actual innocence amicus and I am trying to run down how many states require appellate courts to resolve sufficiency of the evidence claims (like Jackson v Virginia claims) when raised. Oddly, Massachusetts does not!
And thank you for your good thoughts. With all this crap going on in this country and in this crazy mixed up world, it makes me realize that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans… But it is all I can manage to really care about.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
Doubtful, he was a punter, even the NFL rules keeps kickers and punters pretty safe.
Steve in the ATL
@Shalimar: this shit gets picked up the right wing noise machine and used against us. These statements he keeps making help the republicans and hurt the Democrats. Not sure why you and others feel compelled to keep defending his behavior.
And non-Democrats don’t get to tell Democrats how they should change their party.
Elie
@Mnemosyne:
Speaking of Jared, where has he been lately. For a person with so many heavy loads to carry, he has been pretty much invisible. He is pretty much always silent, but not this invisible.
And his pretty wife has also gone to ground after her well received appearance in Europe…
Tsk tsk tsk — and these are supposed to be Daddy’s closest advisers with offices in the West Wing. And where has Steve Bannon been lurking these days? I just do not accept that he has a diminished role… I like to see creeps like that and keep tabs on what they are up to. What a group!
schrodingers_cat
@Chet Murthy: I was the whomever.
hedgehog mobile
@Betty Cracker: Oh fuck me. BS needs to go away NOW.
Chris
@MaryL:
Oh, thank God.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@LAO: Sometimes punters get tackled, and coming up he’d have been tackled. He wasn’t Ray Guy, but nobody ever was.
I do, however, doubt he got so many knocks that it hurt him. My favorite punter ever. And Ray Guy was, until Kluwe, so I’m loyal. : )
Chet Murthy
@Betty Cracker:
Damn straight. Damn straight. As I noted, he’s fine *for an independent*. He ain’t no Dem. He ain’t even in the same same set of trenches in this fight. Maybe most of his fire goes towards the Rs. But it’s reckless to lob attacks at the Dems, at a time like this.
Mike J
Glad the FBI is doing something, but I tend to think that anybody who rips off Cuccinelli can’t be all bad.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/fbi-searches-republican-political-consulting-firm-in-annapolis/2017/05/11/43949a9e-367a-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html
Geeno
@TenguPhule: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA — Oh, shit! Were you being serious? Um, then, no.
Doug
From the original post “Our country could be careening to a constitutional crisis.”
It bears repeating, but the constitutional crisis arrived on November 8.
schrodingers_cat
@Steve in the ATL: Russian sleeper agent, helping the Russian stooge in WH.
sigaba
@Elie: I was just wondering about Jarvanka– I thougt their whole portfolio in the White House was to keep BossMan’s story straight day to day. They’re really slipping up.
Chet Murthy
@schrodingers_cat: It was a nice catch, connecting her to HBB. I’m gonna use Shitty Boo Boo from now on for that spawn.
AnotherBruce
@Ella in New Mexico: It’s true the quote was used out of context. But why the hell does Bernie throw that shade? The Democrats should definitely politicize this Buffoon’s statements. Because, you know, they’re politicians.
Immanentize
@Uncle Cosmo: Won’t steam catapultS get us to MARS?
Ella in New Mexico
@tobie: No,that’s just not accurate. He said “look, maybe we’ll all find out later that there were no connections, but we need to have independent investigations…”. As in, “we may all be wrong about this, but I doubt it”.
Here’s a full statement he released this morning. I don’t hear a thing except that he’s on our side.
But hey, what’s a Balloon-Juice 300+ comment thread without the usual suspects having to find a way to drive into “I fucking hate Bernie Sanders” territory.
Meanwhile the Goddamn Republic is falling as we speak.
Betty Cracker
@Ella in New Mexico: The video link is posted above. People can draw their own conclusions. I think Chet at #226 nailed it. YMMV.
Major Major Major Major
@Chet Murthy: if he was an independent pundit or gadfly backbencher I’d be happy to have him on the team, it’s as a party spokesman that he’s less than useless.
Gelfling 545
@Adam L Silverman: It’s like a PG Wodehouse story where Bertie says he knows he shouldn’t judge on appearance but it’s hard to imagins someone could get to look like that without it being mostly his own fault.
rikyrah
This Tom Perez statement on Trump’s voter fraud commission is blistering pic.twitter.com/KA1eWUjwpV
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 11, 2017
germy
palmer report
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elie:
Don’t know, but I’m guessing a bottle of vodka is involved.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@rikyrah: I wonder how Pence could be Trump’s VP and, before that, his running mate and then head of the transition team, and not be deep into Russia. Wouldn’t knowledge and acceptance of Russian involvement be a requirement for someone in Pence’s position(s)?
Shalimar
@Steve in the ATL: I’m not defending him, and I agree completely that he should shut the fuck up about Democratic strategy. It pissed me off when he quit the party after only joining to run in the primary.
I’m saying most Bernie supporters agree with him on some specific issue and got more involved politically because of that but don’t hang on his every word and analyze each statement like people do here. He isn’t going to be important to the 2018 race.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: Wait, when was this? Just now? Or earlier in this godsforsaken year? Because I thought Wilmer was finally starting to get a clue about attacking Republicans, rather than Democrats…
ETA: Ah…seems like it might have been a different Sanders? The Huckabee Spawn-Sanders?
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: He has been actively harmful.
maryQ
I was just saying like, two days ago, something along the lines of “It bumps me out that, as a citizen of the Commonwealth, I can’t name a thing Markey has done”. Well, shame on me. Go, Ed!
manyakitty
@Miss Bianca: That’s what I thought, but it looks like Wilmer gotta Wilmer
schrodingers_cat
@Shalimar: Oh please, we will soon be swarmed by his supporters telling us how we are misreading the sainted senator. Some are already here, in fact.
Steve in the ATL
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
I like you.
schrodingers_cat
@maryQ: At least he hasn’t been shooting his mouth about Obama’s speaking fees.
The Moar You Know
@trollhattan: Well, he’s not 100% daft. He’s right about “black holes” Lemon.
schrodingers_cat
@Ella in New Mexico: While your hero is attacking the only thing that stands between that failure.
Corner Stone
@sigaba:
And oddly, where is Reince? Where is ZEGS? Why hasn’t any news outlet pinned them down after the blurbs from the Lester Holt interview came to light?
Uncle Cosmo
@schrodingers_cat: Einstein had no scientific connection with the Manhattan project or any atomic bomb work beyond E=mc^2, which dated from 1905. His sole connection was merely to sign a letter drafted in 1939 by Leo Szilard (with contributions from Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner) expressing concern at the possible consequences of nuclear research in Nazi Germany & recommending that the USA undertake a concerted effort in that direction. The letter was addressed to FDR & hand-delivered to the President by Alexander Sachs, & served as the initial impetus for what would become the Manhattan Project.
And that’s it.
FTR there is no real chance that Einstein would ever have used a computer for anything. His postwar work was theoretical & largely conceptual, & the use of computers to solve systems of nonlinear equations by means of numerical analysis & massive iterative number-crunching was largely unknown & unavailable outside of highly classified projects before his death in April 1955.
Jeffro
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
Pence can try to make that case, but it ain’t gonna fly.
It’s like that article I linked to a thread or two ago: it’s looking likely that we’re going to end up with President Hatch at this rate.
Elie
@sigaba:
They are so full of shit. None of this is serious… they pop in and out as it suits them… They aren’t in charge. The frightening thing is that it seems that no one is. Truly. We are on a “ghost ship”. There are warm bodies seemingly running around but no one seems to be steering the ship.
Brachiator
@Immanentize:
Swear to high heaven that I once worked for a company where the top execs had the fastest, most modern desktops. I had to go to a VP’s office one day and discovered that about the only thing he used the PC for was to play solitaire.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: @rikyrah: More here:
And I say, Good for Prerez, and bring it on! The more time he spends on stuff like this the better I’ll be feeling about our chances in ’18!
Chet Murthy
@Shalimar: Shalimar, first, I agree with you 100%. What I wish Wilmer would understand, is Malcom Tucker’s message here:
Walk the fnckin’ line!
trollhattan
@germy:
If they indict Roger Stone does it have to be written as “Roger Stone and the thing atop Roger Stone’s head”?
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: Hey, since I know you’re at least in the neighborhood I’ll be bold and ask: are you affiliated with Fletcher? I suspect not based on some other writings of yours, but just wanted to make sure.
Elizabelle
@Corner Stone: PRBS and baby blue sociopath Ryan might be making themselves scarce.
That or the MSM is holding them in strategic reserve for when they have to deal with “serious” Republicans and going through the cannon fodder (Huckabee-Sanders in the meantime.
You think Andrea Mitchell wants to discredit the media’s great wonky blue eyed president in waiting, Mr. Ryan?
Mnemosyne
@Shalimar:
I’m going to go off on a rant that’s not directed at you or EllaInNM:
One of the things that drive me nuts is that many of the same people who critiqued every single word that came out of Hillary’s mouth and froth about how the “basket of deplorables” remark was incredibly stupid and ill-judged will simultaneously complain that Sanders is always being taken out of context and what he meant to say was …
We’ve got to have a single goddamned standard. Either both Sanders and Hillary get raked over the coals for out of context remarks, or we stand up for both of them when something is taken out of context. No more special pleading when Sanders says something out of context.
Again, this is not directed at you or Ella specifically, but it’s a maddening phenomenon I’ve seen over and over again. We’re supposed to give Sanders’ remarks the most charitable interpretation while picking Hillary’s remarks apart, and I’m damned sick of it.
Chet Murthy
@Ella in New Mexico:
Quite. Quite. Ella, do you think that, at a time like this, a “leader” of the Democratic Party should be offering ammunition to the Rs? And what is this, if it isn’t ammunition?
ETA: Even *Nancy SMASH* (PBUH) has joked about wishing W43 were Prez. How are Dems politicizing this?
cckids
@The Lodger: Do you suppose that Trump understood (without being told) that the catapult launches the planes, and isn’t some medieval war engine tossing giant rocks at enemies??
I would NOT bet on it.
trollhattan
@Jeffro:
The Pence defense: “I don’t know, I was too busy praying for all the fetuses to notice.”
sigaba
@Brachiator: When it comes to people like Comey I assume they don’t use a computer because they want to minimize their document trail and are just paranoid of hacking. I know that former JAG Lindsey Graham expressly doesn’t use emails under any cricumstance and makes his staff tell him everything over the phone for exactly this reason.
Elizabelle
Hillary was so right about the deplorables. She needed not apologize one syllable for that.
Let the media clutch their pearls.
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle:
I think that The Wonk’s Wonk, Mr. Ryan, may be in a spot of trouble of his own re: Russia & RICO.
Ben Cisco
@bystander: I caught a coughing spell just as I read this, and now I think I’m looking at my spleen on the floor.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator: I worked for folk like that, they were lawyers.
germy
@trollhattan: Palmer Report, so I don’t know if it’s news or conjecture. He gets carried aways sometimes. Lots of interesting research, though.
Elie
@Jeffro:
My concern is this: Getting rid of Trump will be a pretty heavy lift. If we add trying to also get rid of Pence at the same time, it becomes that much harder. I don’t see Pence as being as big a threat — almost wholly without charisma and as has already been demonstrated, very ideological but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He would already also be damaged goods by the process used to remove the old man, so un-electing him in an election would be reasonable priority rather than trying to remove both of them. And then we have the clean up necessary in the House particularly. One big mistake we could make is to try to do too much. Our goal should be narrow — to remove Donald J. Tump from the presidency of the United States. Lets keep that in our sights.
Steve in the ATL
@Shalimar:
Fair enough. I am frustrated that he is saying things that both the republicans and his followers use against the Democrats. That is not ok. If he actually cares about any of the policy outcomes he espouses, he needs to push his followers to support the Democratic Party 100% until the existential-threat-to-the-USA republican party is dead and buried. But he doesn’t do that, which makes him at best a useful idiot for the right and at worst a sleeper agent.
Uncle Cosmo
@TenguPhule: The Sheeple Look Up…???
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
Thanks.
Yarrow if you’re lurking, hang in there, we miss you ; D
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: No, Roger Stone and his Nixon tat.
MaryL
@Chris: Just to clarify, I was referring to a specific headline on CNN that Gravestone mentioned. Apparently Bernie has said something else that people are unhappy about and others find unobjectionable.
Mnemosyne
@Chet Murthy:
It’s no surprise that our “No Labels” MSM absolutely loves an independent who insists that the Democratic Party is bad even if the Republicans are worse. But it does drive me up the fucking wall that Democrats are apparently supposed to hang their heads in shame and admit that they’re terrible people while the Republicans merrily move forward on their voter suppression plans.
rikyrah
@sigaba:
LOL @ Jarvanka
Miss Bianca
@manyakitty: Oy.
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic: Not Fletcher, Suffolk. But I work with people at Fletcher and Kennedy pretty often. I do live in West Medford, tho!
Steve in the ATL
@Elie: my strategic preference is to take out all the treasonous collaborators below him first
trollhattan
@Elie:
Yup, because if we rid ourselves of Trump the entire family and entourage get the simultaneous boot. That’s a reach far enough for me, as of 5.11.17.
Chyron HR
@Ella in New Mexico:
Remember, kids, when a political leader goes on TV and/or holds a rally to announce that Democrats are scum, that’s all well and good. But if those Democrats go on a blog and complain about that political leader it is BEYOND THE PALE.
Kay
Huckabee- Sanders says “countless” FBI agents told her they were glad Trump fired Comey.
How did this happen, specifically? They called her? A lot of FBI agents called the assistant press secretary? Why would they call her and tell her that?
They’re all just crazy liars. They’ll say anything up there.
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: Huh, there’s a *West* Meffa?
Was just asking because my son will be at Fletcher beginning in September.
Immanentize
@sigaba: Because phones are secure? That is the lamest technophobe rationale ever. I get the old Boston political addage: “Never speak if you can wink and never wink if a look will do.”. But phones are speaking.
Chet Murthy
@Mnemosyne:
Indeed. And they all have him on all the fricken’ time. There are lots of great Dems who could make these points. Adam Schiff. Swalwell. Nancy SMASH. Merkley. List goes on and on. Sigh.
Elie
@Elizabelle:
As much as part of me agrees with that, as a call out, she would have been better off not to have said it. All water under the bridge and certainly true, for gosh sakes, but was it really worth it? It didn’t give her any power on reframing that helped her or give her better positioning, no Nope.
Shalimar
@schrodingers_cat: I have all the Bernie Bros pied. Bad for the blood pressure to waste time on their bullshit.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@LAO:
And seeing how often he plays golf, we can only hope a few of those stomps did occur with golf shoes on…
SiubhanDuinne
@Uncle Cosmo:
Courier!!!
Kay
Maybe the FBI agents came to see her. 20, 30 just one after another. They all decided to contact the press secretary and express their appreciation.
Trump hired another crazy person. She’s a bigger liar than Spicer. She says these things happened to her.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Kay: It’s like they don’t care if we know they’re lying. Kinda Putin doesn’t care that we notice what he’s doing.
They’re rubbing the fascism in our faces.
Uncle Cosmo
@LAO:
FTFY!! =:^D
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: Did anyone ask her to name a few of these “countless” FBI guys?
clay
@Kay:
C’mon Kay, it’s technically the truth if she doesn’t know how to count!
batgirl
@Kay: I don’t know, Kay. I’m overhearing a conversation between two white men (one middle age and one older) talking about how we finally have an intelligent man in the WH after Obama and then comparing Trump’s and Obama’s wives as another reflection of the men. I actually laughed out loud. Wanted to ask them if they had any proof of Trump’s so called intelligence beyond his “whiteness.”
les
@Brachiator:
Hey! You say that like it’s a bad thing!
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic: Tufts is in West Meffud. And congratulations to your son! He will love it!! Seriously, let me know if he needs any help in the fall. I doubt young man wants old guy assistance, but I would be happy to do so.
? Martin
@Immanentize: Email is less secure than phones. But more importantly, email leaves a trail, phone conversations are much less likely to. Of course, there are plenty of option that are better than both of them.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Immanentize: When I was doing IT support for Satan’s Legal department, the lawyers didn’t use the computers except for playing solitaire because they were technophobes and they had secretaries to do the computer stuff. Now my experience is somewhat dated and more lawyers may now be more comfortable with the “thinkin’ machines”.
TenguPhule
@Steve in the ATL: I prefer to only shoot people for crimes they’ve actually committed. Not crimes they’re not guilty of.
Major Major Major Major
@Chet Murthy:
But if they had other Dems on, how could they complain about our lack of rising stars?
Elie
@Steve in the ATL:
I dunno. We would have to see what would shape up first. My concern is that the old man has the power to continue to broadly destroy our government… the crooks under him have a narrower threat. Trump has way too much power to ignore while we fool around with the crooks. We will all know who they are and the legal process is going to get many of them anyway (Lord willing). Also, its the old man who has the charisma and the following. We have to make sure particularly, that this is crushed and that all associated with him are humiliated into denial.
Gelfling 545
@Immanentize: Because other people do the actual work – like Chris Collins saying that well, no, he hadn’t red the AHCA but he thinks some of his staff did, probably.
A Ghost to Most
@Kay:
I saw an article somewhere that claimed they lie for sport. It’s plausible
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
Brava! ???
Shalimar
@Mnemosyne: I understand and agree with you. I stand up for Hillary because she deserves the support and doesn’t deserve 1% of the bullshit she has gotten over the years. I’m not standing up for Bernie Sanders.
What I’m saying is that he deserved all the criticism he got last year. He was a destructive force and contributed to Trump getting elected, even if only in a small way. Small ways matter in an election that close. That said, I think people waste too much effort on him now. His time is past, he hasn’t kept enough of an organization to have any impact on next year, and the vast majority of his followers still believe in whatever drew them to Bernie last year but don’t remain in his cult if they are still active in politics.
The remaining Bernie Bros are mostly trolls. People are indirectly feeding trolls by giving a crap about parsing every little thing Bernie Sanders says.
rikyrah
@Gin & Tonic:
Fletcher?
Wow.
Good for him.
Chris
@schrodingers_cat:
“All of them, Katie!”
Brachiator
@Elie:
I think that a number of people have made similar comments about Pence before. I don’t get it. Trump is possibly the dumbest man in the universe, but this only makes him incredibly dangerous to the country. Pence is a different kind of danger. An uptight Puritan who cannot be in the same room with a woman not his wife is not anyone that I would want to see in the Oval Office. Ultimately, I want to see all the Republicans swept out of office, but I would praise the Lord, praise Him, if I could get rid of Trump, Pence and Ryan early on. And I am not religious at all.
Chet Murthy
@Shalimar: Care to share your list? *grin*
germy
@Chyron HR: We need a new name for Huckabee-Sanders, because mentioning her name brings out the wilmerites. Shuckabee-Handers?
EDIT: Others above have come up with some good alt-names.
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne:
Here?
Its the other way around.
I have no beef with the deplorable comment or the rest of Hillary’s statements. Fuck the haters.
But some of the shit being dumped on Sanders is for stuff he’s not actually guilty of. We had people jumping the gun when it was HUCKABEE-SANDERS saying treasonous guff.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but perhaps the lynch Sanders crowd could reign it in just a little and only kick him for stupid shit he actually does?
TenguPhule
@Elie:
Didn’t see Trump being a big threat either. At first.
Look what happened.
rikyrah
@Elie:
I disagree. We need to rid ourselves of both of them.
As a woman, just say no to Pence.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Jeffro:
I wouldn’t be so sure. I could see a lot of people thinking, “Okay, we got Trump. Good enough.” And then Pence and the rest of the Russia-compromised Republicans will be free to do whatever damage they want, simply because Pence looks better on TV and nobody has the stomach to completely clean house.
TenguPhule
@Shalimar:
Now replace every Sanders reference with Hillary and read that whole thing back.
Step back from the abyss and focus on the Republican enemies please.
Chet Murthy
@TenguPhule: TP, is it obvious that it was for Shitty Boo-Boo’sremarks, that people got riled? As opposed to Wilmer’s “Democrats should stop politicizing this is issue” ?? B/c I was riled about the latter, and I suspect a lot of others were, too.
Barbara
@Chet Murthy: I propose to call her “Hucky Boo-Boo.” Rhymes with the original.
Peale
@batgirl: Michelle is still kind of sacrosanct to me. If she’d dump that husband of hers, I’d consider working a little harder on that whole heterosexuality business I’ve not been very good at. Comments like those make me miss gauntlets and dueling.
MomSense
@Corner Stone:
I hope all the GOP fuckers go down.
BTW I think my interview went well but you never know. And thank goodness I brought extra clothes because it is hot and sunny here.
Ok now back in the car for my four hour drive home. If anyone is on 495 or 95 north and sees an overdressed woman in a blue outback yelling at her radio, it’s me yelling at NPR.
KithKanan
@TenguPhule: I… actually agree with this, but it’s really hard. By this point I have an instant, immediate reaction of “Fuck That Guy!” whenever I see or hear his name, and being constantly amped up about everything Trump and the Republicans are doing isn’t helping me relax and try to work on that.
Immanentize
@? Martin: hi Martin. I agree completely. It’s just that most of the day to day stuff requires NO security. “Lunch meeting moved from 12 to 12:30 ” is 90%of the work even in the most secret jobs. To require phone calls for that is not about security or paper trails.
And I saw your question on the morning thread. We still have a few weeks before our big meeting, but we just got some discouraging info. Trying to stay positive!!
Major Major Major Major
@Shalimar:
Your ‘trolls’ won half the spots in my precinct delegation for the state party convention.
Gelfling 545
@TenguPhule: Maybe but try wrapping your mind around the idea of “President Ryan”. I hope we can hold onto Pence as he is unlikely to get elected to his own term on his own dubious merits.
schrodingers_cat
@Chet Murthy: I couldn’t see the video so I took tobie at her words till you paraphrased the Senator. Turns out my original comment was not off the mark at all.
Mnemosyne
@TenguPhule:
There was some slight confusion based on a similar thing that Huckabee-Sanders said, but now we have the tape showing that Sen. Sanders just can’t stop himself from reflexively bashing the Democrats.
Chet Murthy
@Shalimar: Look at the big picture. At a time like this, even if we can’t expect everybody on the *left* to toe the line, to observe strict message discipline, we MUST be able to expect it of the LEADERS of the Democratic party. And Wilmer wants to be that. It’s unacceptable for him to go around leaving ammo for the enemy to pick up and use against us.
rikyrah
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
Here’s the thing.
Dolt45 HAS NO HONOR.
So, the thought that he’d take one for the team and NOT take everyone down with him…
Lies outside the realm of possibilities for me.
SiubhanDuinne
@? Martin:
I’m thinking, 2:00 a.m., empty DC parking garage?
Immanentize
@MomSense: people yelling at the radio driving Outbacks is the norm. It’s the well dressed part that will distinguish you. Congrats on the interview!
Johio
Listening to Jake Tapper who has Kamala Harris on. First time I’ve heard her. I’m impressed. Measured, intelligent, serioys and not getting ahead of facts or process. She’s good!
Thru the Looking Glass...
@Uncle Cosmo: Yes… that was the intent of mentioning golf shoes…
TenguPhule
@Chet Murthy: It was both, I saw. But they started getting mixed together and people were going completely into rant mode “I knew he was a Russian traitor!”.
I don’t mind when people kick Sanders for stupid shit he says. I do mind when he gets blamed for stupid shit he didn’t actually say. Let’s not become a dark mirror of Bernieb-bros here, okay?
germy
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: I agree, he has no institutional loyalty to the Rs either. Dems need a Kautilya* who can play the T faction and Congressional Rs against each other.
* Kutil == Sanskrit word for cunning is derived from his name. He was the advisor of the first Indian Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya.
TenguPhule
@KithKanan:
Redirect and channel at Republicans.
At this point I basically ignore Sanders and just look at him as a vote we need in the Senate. That’s what he was before the election and that’s what he is now.
TenguPhule
@Gelfling 545: Get him for treason too. If we can impeach Trump and Pence, we can keep on going down the line.
germy
rawstory:
schrodingers_cat
@TenguPhule: Not true, his profile on TV is more prominent now since he has taken to bashing Dems all the time.
Gin & Tonic
@rikyrah: Thanks. Final choice was between Fletcher and Georgetown.
gvg
I just want to mention that googling led me to think both Sanders and Huckabee-Sanders had said this maybe he wasn’t guilty within hours of each other. If so, that would probably confuse the media and everyone else. B Sanders I read said it in the middle of a long spiel suggesting we slow down and check for proof etc. The usual comments about not having learned to talk more carefully now he gets more attention should apply. H Sanders I would assume was a malicious liar and only worth laughing at.
germy
cont.
Chet Murthy
@rikyrah: With all due respect, rikyrah, I think you’re not going far enough. It’s not important whether we -can- impeach Pence/Yertle/ZEGS/whomever. The question is whether they’re complicit. If so, they gotta go. It’s not a question of political expediency. It’s a question of patriotism. Full stop.
So if the Rs offered a compromise “Trump resigns and we shut down this investigation” the answer has to be (and on TV, full-blast) “What? Are you a TRAITOR? Were you involved? Why are you covering for Putin’s traitors?”
SatanicPanic
@Johio: She is! I think she’s got a good chance of being our next president
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne: And that’s fine. When he’s fucked up he properly deserves to get kicked. Just don’t attribute to him stuff from other people because that has a way of coming around to bite us. Last thing we need is for a narrative to develop that Sanders is the “last true hope” because he’s being slandered by Republicans AND Democrats based on lies.
Honesty and the facts are some of the last things we have going for our side. We literally can’t afford to lose that.
Thru the Looking Glass...
@rikyrah:
Boy, do you ever have that right…
If Donnie goes down, he’ll take half the world down w/ him…
I’m kind of wonder if he’ll flee the country and set up a tRump Presidency in Exile out of the Kremlin…
Try to rally the faithful for a counterinsurgency…
I would not be surprised if his legal team is currently trying to find ways to move as many of his assets out of the country as possible right now…
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: Thanks. He’s pretty excited.
trollhattan
Amidst…well…everything I missed that Trump interviewed with The Economist. Has a wee bit of the Dubya in him.
Must be extra painful to be a Brit and have to converse with the moron.
TenguPhule
@schrodingers_cat: If we have to put up with Manchin, we can put up with him. Half of his power now is that he riles people up that would be better off shrugging him off.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: Unfortunately the media likes to talk to the junior senator from Vermont and he’s happy to talk to them. I watched his conversation with the Wolfman. I was fine with everything he said, except for the comment that Betty referred to and his statement immediately proceeding that about people not trusting Democrats or Republicans.
clay
@germy: I’m too dumb to know what this means. Is it good? Bad? A smokescreen? A lie?
schrodingers_cat
@TenguPhule: If he shuts up and stops criticizing the Dems then I will shut up and stop criticizing him.
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Which is why I agree with Village.
clay
@trollhattan:
That must be why we’re so worse off economically than the rest of the world. Oh, wait…
rikyrah
@Chet Murthy:
YES YES YES
TRAITOR
TRAITOR
TRAITOR
come sit by me..
I feel you.
Shalimar
@Mnemosyne: He bashes everyone. That is his schtick. Sanders is on the Dem side on just about every issue. Yes, all the little digs are annoying, but that is all they should be. He’s no Joe Lieberman.
germy
@clay:
I don’t know, and I’m hoping Adam Silverman or one of the other front pagers can connect the dots later on.
rikyrah
@trollhattan:
And, The Economists are such snobs..LOL
Brachiator
@MomSense:
Which show interviewed you? I will be on the lookout for the segment.
TenguPhule
@schrodingers_cat: I don’t want you to stop criticizing him. I just want you to criticize him for his own stupid shit, not someone else’s who just happens to have a similar last name.
As far as I’m concerned, we just need his vote in the Senate. Anything else, that’s the fecking DNC’s job to control the messaging. Perhaps direct enough complaints to them to get them acting?
gvg
@rikyrah: This is true but its complicated by the fact that nobody will be left that really believes him. He’ll try to take others down, but he’ll probably lie about whatever he claims, which will get discovered and will discredit his accusations. I don’t think he is connected enough to reality to be effective at taking down others. Smearing yes, actual prosecution? Not sure. It will depend on the investigators ability to sift through the evidence which is always actually hard. Other people may give things away but Trump is chaos. Sometimes he’ll give someone away correctly and other times he’ll screw it up. I also think he isn’t too good at knowing what is illegal and what is serious. look at the recent news where he unprompted revealed he had asked Comney about an investigation of himself, etc. he does that all the time, doesn’t even know to keep his mouth shut.
Shalimar
@TenguPhule: That has been my point too, actually. We agree.
Major Major Major Major
@trollhattan:
Why? I don’t know that the British are exactly sterling examples of towering intellect, what with the way they’ve been voting.
Wyatt Derp
@? ?? Goku ? ?: They give a bad name to the Derp clan.
Shalimar
@Major Major Major Major: San Francisco is not like … well, anywhere else. That was a few months ago, iirc. Are they still as unified as they were then? Trump has a way of making petty differences seem less important compared to his existential threat.
KithKanan
@TenguPhule:
Easier said than done. Honestly it’s somewhat personal. The handful of people in my life I know voted for Trump are already dead to me and have been since the election. I have strong Bernie supporters I still care about, and we basically can’t talk about politics anymore.
Millard Filmore
@rikyrah:
Ah, now that is a viewpoint that I, as a man, would not come up with on my own.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@rikyrah:
Good point.
schrodingers_cat
@TenguPhule: Tobie was wrong, BS did say what BC quoted.
Shalimar
@Chet Murthy: That is a line that he can’t be allowed to cross. If Sanders wants to criticize the Democratic party as a holy outsider, fine. But he isn’t a Democrat anymore, by his choice, and he should have no say in the direction of the party. To me, that is a different issue that doesn’t come up as often.
Major Major Major Major
@Shalimar:
They’re happy to work together, by which they mean they’ll go back to attempting to burn the party to the ground after they’re done helping hold the protest banner.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
It’s the DNC’s job to put a muzzle on Sanders? I wish it were, I wish it could, but I don’t think that’s remotely in any conception of what the DNC is supposed to do
ETA: As I’ve said before, someone should point out to the old asshole that Putin is one of the billionaire-iest billionaires in the world. Maybe then the vile old asshole will decide a hostile foreign power interfering in our elections is something to be “politicized”
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@germy: I find it hard to believe that the FBI is going to tell you specifically what they are investigating.
germy
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap:
Here’s the latest from WaPo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/fbi-searches-republican-political-consulting-firm-in-annapolis/2017/05/11/43949a9e-367a-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html?utm_term=.e1ca42605b6f
Elie
@TenguPhule:
Please don’t be so literal… I get your point but my only point is that getting Trump alone will take enormous effort and political will. The opposition will be fierce as fierce can be. Its not that Pence might not present his own issues but that if we have to pick one to focus on — who would that be? Would you go after Pence over Trump? Well, no, is my guess. Again, its not that Pence is less evil or may be a threat — its just unlikely we will be able to remove both of them in the same action, so on which one should we focus..
Shalimar
@Major Major Major Major: We will see how things shake out over the next year. I agree with them about Wall Street and billionaires. What I think is insane is equating Wall Street with Hillary Clinton and seeing her as the focus of all evil because she gave a few well-publicized speeches. I hope that focus of theirs changes since she won’t be running for anything again.
Elizabelle
@Barbara: Hucky Boo Boo. Yes!
TenguPhule
@Elie:
Which is why they need to be tied together. When you shoot at the king, don’t miss.
We can’t afford to leave any of them standing. NOT ONE OF THEM. The country will not survive otherwise.
Peale
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Maybe control by foreign oligarchs is somehow better?
TenguPhule
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
If they’re going to let him fundraise and stump for them, hell yes it is.
Elizabelle
@SatanicPanic: Yeah. Add me to the I like what I’ve seen of Kamala Harris brigade.
Elie
@rikyrah:
Not disagreeing the Pence is terrible — only that the reality of the removal process will be very intense and difficult for our country. There is no one process that would remove both of them at the same time so we are looking at two processes — (I actually do not know if you would impeach a VP or use some other process). Sometimes you have to stay focus on one thing or your risk not getting any of it done. We MUST remove Trump, IMHO. That is my priority, all truth aside about Pence being a horrible person.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Peale: I don’t know, aren’t they still mill-yun-airs and bill-yun-airs?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: Heh, good luck with that; he loves to hear the sound of his own voice. Then again, most politicians do.
Peale
@trollhattan: Well, nothing in Trump’s speeches suggest that he’s actually interested in reciprocity. What he wants is other countries to agree to buy our things in exchange for buying nothing from them. So maybe reciprociality is the word that covers that.
Mnemosyne
@Shalimar:
I know, and I’m not mad at you, because I know we’re on the same side. I’m just still pissed at the assholes who were wringing their hands about Hillary’s interview and screaming for her to sit down while Sanders is running around saying his own series of dumbass things that can be taken out of context.
You know who else is a loser who shouldn’t have anything more to say about national politics? This asshole right here who couldn’t even manage to win the primary and yet is being feted as some kind of political genius.
(I actually don’t hate Sanders this much, but the Hillary-bashing after the Amanpour interview really got on my last goddamned nerve.)
Major Major Major Major
@Shalimar:
It’ll be interesting, that’s for sure.
The one’s I’m talking about think that “lobbyists” should be kicked out of the party and we should ban “corporate funds”, which even their pal Keith Ellison thinks is fucking stupid.
TenguPhule
Presuming we get the power to impeach Trump, impeaching Pence and getting Ryan arrested for treason would be peanuts in comparison.
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Its about time they earned their princely paychecks.
Elie
@TenguPhule:
I am pretty certain that we cannot tie them together in the same action. I don’t want to lose the big fish trying to net five other smaller fish around him. Besides, if we can get Trump, the remaining, incompetent and understaffed assholes will be pretty finished. You also have to think how we would manage the executive branch without anyone in it. There would be a lot to think about and decide if we are so fortunate to bring Trump to the point of removal from office. I may not have all the details right, but please consider this to be a very complex process that will be extremely difficult to carry out, so focusing on the essentials and command/knowledge of the legal process options is absolutely necessary.
MoxieM
@Gin & Tonic: Of course there’s a West Meffa — next to the now hoity-toity Summavul. Formerly Summavul, gateway to Meffid. (LHS, class of ’76, Bicentennial, bitches!).
tobie
@schrodingers_cat: I didn’t say that Betty Cracker’s quote was wrong. I don’t know what the heck you’re talking about. And I stand by my original characterization that around the 4 minute mark of the video he goes into his shtick about people not having faith in either the Democratic party or the Republican party.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m sure if given their druthers and allowed a secret vote, most elected national Dems would have Bernie go back to being the quietly obscure junior Senator who went on the Thom Hartmann program once a week, in spite of his email lists. But we are where we and the old fool has convinced a lot of people that his simplistic, poorly thought out solutions are The Answer. They’ve tried to accommodate him, from the platform committee to the “Unity Tour”, they’ve found out that he’s an old asshole won’t take yes for an answer. I could’ve told them that a year ago, but I don’t have a better solution to dealing with him than Perez has tried.
It might’ve taken a little longer, but Keith Ellison probably would’ve found out the same thing.
TenguPhule
@Elie:
And that would be dead wrong. We can’t afford to have any of them take up the reins of power after Trump.
Beyond the pardon power, there’s the rest of their agenda to consider not to mention that restaffing all of the major agencies.
Peale
@TenguPhule: Yeah. I don’t know if we could stop with Trump and still maintain any momentum. The next Democrat who says that for the good of the country we need to “look forward and not back” and gives off a whiff of letting one of the elite Republicans or their backers off the hook is going to have a very short career indeed. I think we’ll know that we’re winning after the next round if we start to get complaints from Canada and Switerland that there are too many undocumented former US Senators in their countries.
rikyrah
@Millard Filmore:
Those who say that Pence wants to usher in The Handmaid’s Tale, aren’t exaggerating in the least. So, as a woman, we need to cut that possibility off at the path.
Elie
@Brachiator:
Again, the reality of having a vehicle to get rid of all three at the same time does not exist except in our fantasies. We have impeachment and the 25th Amendment for Trump. Not sure what we have for Pence or Ryan in their respective roles (which are not the same). This isn’t Fantasy Football. If we are fortunate enough to get removal, the path with the most laid out route is the removal of the president — and even that is pretty squishy. Again, I appreciate the need to envision all of these folks as gone, but getting to that practical reality will be a challenge — in fact, it will be an extremely difficult undertaking for our country…..
schrodingers_cat
@tobie: Sorry I had you confused with another commenter at 213.. My apologies. I should not comment while working.
dogwood
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Angus King is an Indpendent and he is not buying any of the WH or Republican spin on this stuff. Saw him interviewed and he is genuinely concerned. He’s certainly not telling democrats how to do their messaging. Bernie doesn’t give a shit about Russian ties to the WH or Russian interference in the election. He used to be a minor media whore during the Obama years. Then 2016 happened and he’s in the big leagues now. Can’t do anything about it, but he really is a Class-A asshole. I would no more listen to his advise than any Republican in Congress. But it’s a free country and there’s lots of attention to be given and money to be made for white populists like Sanders.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
pointless speculation at this point, but I think in the event Trump is gone, one way or another, Pence would be given to understand that ambition was not in his long-term interest, and a speech announcing his humble intention to serve the nation by running out the clock would be written for him, maybe even by the Magick Dolphin Lady herself. Then all hell would break loose in the R-primary.
tobie
@schrodingers_cat: No worries. I was having a hard time keeping track of which Sanders we were talking about at any point. Not thrilled with Shitty Boo Boo for Huckabee Sanders. It’s so many letters to type.
Betty Cracker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I sure don’t envy Perez that aspect of his job. Well, any of it, really. But especially that.
Elie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Sounds as good as any fantasy and better than most. I’ll take it!
I’m all for getting rid of these creatures. I just know that our system was not designed to be easy to do anything, removing an elected official, esp a president, definitely not. To make this situation worse, we are not just talking about Pence and Ryan, but a GOP House and Senate filled with rotten assholes who are traitors to our country and democracy. It is infuriating, but we have to plan this well to have a hope for executing at least Trump’s removal. Since that egotistical crazy man will not go without a fight, consider how much damage he could do… He is NOT Nixon or like any other President we have had. He might be the devil. To use a medical metaphor, he is a vascular tumor wrapped around the carotid artery…. successfully removing the tumor is a huge risk but absolutely necessary if we are to live free again. And Trump is the one with the following so it must be him that goes, in my opinion.
Brachiator
@Elie:
As long as the Republicans are in power, “we” don’t have the 25th Amendment for Trump. So, right now, anything about Trump’s removal is a fantasy. So, why not dream big?
Also, I think that Pence would be as much a disaster as Trump if he became president. Trump has no core beliefs, but is an empty, vindictive little shit. Pence is a religious zealot, a Protestant Ayatollah in the making. Ryan is a soulless zombie.
Major Major Major Major
@Brachiator: I’ll take fundamental differences about the benefits of theocracy over literally being in thrall to a foreign power.
ETA: Assuming (as in this case) that it isn’t necessarily clear which would be worse.
TenguPhule
@Elie:
There is no path to removing Trump that does not involve the complete elimination of the GOP House and Senate majorities. At that point, sky is the limit.
TenguPhule
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Putin’s means of persuasion are more effective then ours.
The Lodger
@cckids: Or possibly flinging diseased dead sheep at enemy vessels. (Dead-cow-flinging capabilities are in development.)
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
It’s sad to think that we have to even think about debating which of the two alternatives might be worse. But either option is the death of democracy.
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: The get US and US missiles out of Europe group he was involved with in the late 70s and 80s was a Stasi front group.
Miss Bianca
Ha ha! When CNN starts trolling you, rather than cheerleading, watch out! They’ve put out their own “job description for the post of FBI Director”, since they’ve noticed that Trump hasn’t posted one yet.
http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/05/11/cnn-just-trolled-trump-hilarious-job-posting-new-fbi-director/
Top requirements:
Major Duties and Requirements:
Must not have “something wrong” with you.
Must be a self-starter (who knows when to self-stop) and quick learner (who doesn’t want to learn too much about certain things).
Must continue to lead the federal investigation into reports of Russian meddling into the presidential election process, allegedly by hacking into the Democratic National Committee email and the personal account of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
Must continue to lead investigation into possible collusion between certain campaign officials and Russians, although the President who used to employ these campaign officials thinks the whole thing is “phony.”
That, but only up to a point. If you are too aggressive — or too forthright or colorful while be questioned under oath about your work — you may be terminated, without notice.
Must keep in constant contact with the President, who likes reassurances — three is the standard — that he is not the subject of any investigation.
Read the whole thing – it’s pretty funny!
Adam L Silverman
I just got back in, but in case it hasn’t come up, the guy who owns/runs the firm raided today used to work for the successor firm to Black, Manafort, and Stone…
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: I used to teach Kautilya at USAWC.
Adam L Silverman
@clay: @germy: I do not know. Very little is being reported other than that the raid occurred.
germy
NYMag is calling this a false alarm.
germy
I is in moderation?
Adam L Silverman
@germy: Just freed you.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: Thanks. Also, we only six more comments to make a TBogg Unit. Let’s get with it people!
germy
@Adam L Silverman: the New York Mag article is sort of throwing cold water on any Trump connection, unless I’m not reading it correctly.
Our friends on the right were screaming “coup!”
Uncle Ebeneezer
@Adam L Silverman: Just doing my part…
Ella in New Mexico
@schrodingers_cat: Sigh. This weird, creepy compulsion you have to negatively personalize your comments towards me like I stole your boyfriend in middle school? It’s really , really sad. And it’s what makes you so hard to take seriously anymore.
Corner Stone
@Adam L Silverman: Screw you, loser!
Corner Stone
No one has gone with the classic, “Your momma was a snowblower!” ?
chopper
looks like we Boggin’ this thread.
Corner Stone
Oooo
Uncle Ebeneezer
@Elizabelle: It was the most god-damn honest moment of the election. Well, except she said they were just a small amount of T voters.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@chopper: Yeeeeaaaaaggggghhhh!!!!
Major Major Major Major
Congrats everybody.
Bill Arnold
Adam, any comment on the new Presidential Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure?
In particular Sec 2 (e)(f) seem strangely worded to me but maybe its just an overly twitchy paranoia sense. (About potential false flag stuff (including Russia I suppose but there are other actors); cyber attacks are extremely hard to reliably trace if some talent is behind them.)
Adam L Silverman
@germy: That’s what it looks like so far.
Adam L Silverman
@Bill Arnold: The only thing that looks funky, on a quick read through, is that I think that DOD report is supposed to be sent to Gorka. Who will have no idea what it means.
Davebo
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap: Still, lot’s of problems with it.
And the old steam catapult system also tuned to not only each aircraft but also the ordinance/fuel load.
It will work itself out in the end. After about a billion or so in cost overruns and delays but that’s the way it goes.