Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

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96Comments

  3. 3.

    lamh36

    Because of course…

    @AP

    Follow
    More
    BREAKING: Jury finds white Oklahoma police officer not guilty in fatal shooting of unarmed black man.

  6. 6.

    eclare

    Looks like a wonderful feline overlord, although maybe a bit nervous. But hey, aren’t we all these days?

  8. 8.

    lamh36

    I’m going to bed, but first wanted to post this but I kept forgetting…

    @SabrinaSiddiqui
    Jimmy Fallon on infamous Trump interview: “I didn’t do it to humanize him. I almost did it to minimize him.”
    https://twitter.com/SabrinaSiddiqui/status/864874699825741824

    Whatever Jimmy…you NORMALIZED him…much as I love the Roots, I’ve never like Jimmy Fallon. I prefer Conan, Colbert, Kimmel or Corden…NEVER Fallon…even before the Trump interview

    But I can tell ya ALOT of folks I know who did watch Fallon, haven’t watched SINCE that interview.

  10. 10.

    Mike J

    Mueller hired his CoS from when he was head of the FBI to assist him. He also picked up another guy from Wilmer Cutler. Assistant special prosecutor on Watergate.

  15. 15.

    mai naem mobile

    I think Donnie thought he could deal with Comey the way he dealt with Giuliani and give him some cash/privileges whatevs to make him go away. He must be so used to throwing away money or making threats to make bad consequences go away.

  17. 17.

    Marcopolo

    So DeNiro is playing Bernie Maddoff in some biopic about the pyramid scheme. Not sure why anyone would want to spend money watching that story. We all know how it ends and if Maddoff is the central character there ain’t no protagonist to root for.

  18. 18.

    seaboogie

    I hope that greennotGreen is able to absorb the news of the day and that this will give her some comfort…hugs to her and her sis…

  19. 19.

    JWR

    @lamh36:

    I’ve never like Jimmy Fallon.

    Me neither. If I had my way, I’d rename his show “The Jimmy Fallon laugh at my own jokes Comedy Hour”.

    ETA, Love the Roots, however. Just wanted to make that clear.

  20. 20.

    scott (the other one)

    If McCarthy and Ryan really had any reason to be suspicious that Russia really was behind Trump and kept silent—and encouraged others to do the same—does that mean any laws were broken?

    Also, what’s the prevailing theory behind Trump hiring Flynn despite knowing he was under investigation? Is it simply, as someone said, because Obama told him not to, and that made him more determined than ever? Or is there any chance Putin really had/has Trump under his thumb that securely?

  21. 21.

    Mike J

    SwiftOnSecurity‏ @SwiftOnSecurity
    Now that @SheriffClarke is in the DHS maybe Gorka will let him borrow some flair.

  25. 25.

    randy khan

    So, two more or less unrelated things, plus one semi-related thing:

    1. Having Mueller in place (apparently with something of a team, to boot) by today tells me that Rosenstein started on it last week. You don’t just call somebody up on Wednesday morning and have him take a job like this by late Wednesday afternoon, and Mueller having picked two top aides already means he had talked to them about it before the announcement, so that adds more time.

    2. I’m in Atlanta, so I went to a Braves game tonight. The new stadium is nice, more intimate than Turner Field, and less of a hassle to get to than I expected, although the parking is a mess and I felt like I walked half a mile from the lot to the stadium. On the downside, I was sitting next to a woman who, once she established I was from D.C., immediately told me she was a very conservative Republican and really hoped Trump could do what he promised to do. The advantage of this was that I knew what not to say if I wanted to enjoy the game, but since I usually don’t talk politics at baseball games anyway, it wasn’t much of an advantage. (I did briefly consider asking her what she thought of the appointment of Mueller, but decided I didn’t want to be distracted from the game.) I wish I knew why so many Republicans feel the need to tell you they’re Republicans almost as soon as they meet you; it’s more than annoying.

    3. The game featured two bench-clearings, but no actual fights, something I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen at a game. One was after a strikeout, when a Blue Jays batter was annoyed about one of the pitches in the at bat, and the other was after Bautista hit a home run and did a bat flip, to which Kurt Suzuki objected when Bautista touched home. (If I were Suzuki, I wouldn’t mess with Bautista, but he was wearing a mask and padding, so maybe it wasn’t that crazy.) There also was a runner called out for interfering with a fielder, which in this particular case seemed like a correct, but unjust, call, as he really didn’t have much choice about it in the context of the play.

  28. 28.

    No One You Know

    @Cheryl Rofer: One of my cats is comfort grooming. As am I. But at least I’m not bringing up hairballs.

    Although, it was the sort of day to bring up a hairball. The interview was in a semi-safe part of town, and as usual, I was early. A woman smoking on a greenway took exception to my suit and briefbag and started shadowing me, shouting, “Are you waiting for me? Are you waiting for me? Who are we waiting for?” She got progressively closer, still shouting. I slid into my car and locked up, and she kept me there for several more minutes while I wondered what I’d do if she keyed my car or tried to break a window. I kept my eyes in front and eventually she left, swinging her own big angrily.

    I held it together for the interview (by phone) but I was shaking afterwards.

    It’s good to be home.

  30. 30.

    Yarrow

    @scott (the other one):

    If McCarthy and Ryan really had any reason to be suspicious that Russia really was behind Trump and kept silent—and encouraged others to do the same—does that mean any laws were broken?

    If they knew that Russia was funding Trump, which is not at all legal, and didn’t report it, they are guilty of collusion.

    Also, what’s the prevailing theory behind Trump hiring Flynn despite knowing he was under investigation? Is it simply, as someone said, because Obama told him not to, and that made him more determined than ever? Or is there any chance Putin really had/has Trump under his thumb that securely?

    The Russians have been Trump’s financial saviors since the 90’s. They own him financially. They may have told him to hire Flynn or they’d release some things he doesn’t want made public. The fact Obama told him not to was probably just a bonus. Flynn was with the campaign well before Obama told Trump not to hire him. He spoke at the convention.

  31. 31.

    Major Major Major Major

    @amk: i would say that fits easily into the “stupidest possible scenario” bucket.

    ETA: more serious matters: my power went out! Just my building. So I went for ice cream and now I’m eating it, this is an outrage.

  32. 32.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Timurid: What was even worse is the President didn’t shake the hand of the officer that handed him the gift.

  34. 34.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @No One You Know: Jeez

    My cats have been wrestling. I was away for a week, and the woman taking care of them overfed them. I’ve been trying to slim them down and bought a food tree to help regulate their intake. It’s not hard for them to use, and they’ve figured it out, but they do like to complain about it, by pawing at me or by wrestling each other. I feed them when I go to bed. That’s what they are looking for now.

  40. 40.

    opiejeanne

    @No One You Know: That sounds like a thing that would happen to me when I was younger, but it was usually someone not as deranged as your encounter. People would turn to me at a bus stop or in a store and just tell me the most intimate things of their lives that were worrying them. One time an old lady flagged me down on the way to the mall and asked for a ride. I gave her one because I was afraid someone else would pick her up, someone not very nice. I tried to wangle some info from her so I could call her kids but she was wily and wouldn’t tell me. This was in front of her house a couple of blocks from the mall, but they were long blocks and it was very hot. I offered to take her home afterward but she wasn’t having it, said she’d get a ride from someone else.

    I hope you get a job you enjoy.

  42. 42.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @randy khan: 1. Having Mueller in place (apparently with something of a team, to boot) by today tells me that Rosenstein started on it last week.

    I had the same thought. This is what he did instead of resigning. A much more effective revenge. Probably.

    I have never been able to put my finger on what I didn’t like about Fallon. he’s obviously talented– the musical stuff, the side-by-side Springsteen thing for example, is damn good– but something about him always grated on me. Not so much on SNL where he was just some dopey kid, but on what little of the Tonight Show I saw. But I was always a Letterman guy.

  45. 45.

    dww44

    @randy khan:

    I wish I knew why so many Republicans feel the need to tell you they’re Republicans almost as soon as they meet you; it’s more than annoying.

    I’ve decided that this is a characteristic peculiar to Southern Republican women. They just push their political biases to the fore particularly in situations where that isn’t the polite or appropriate thing to do. I’ve a very conservative, talk radio listening cousin who inserts political statements into every conversation;. When Obama was elected, the lady who owned the Assisted Living facility where my MIL resided used the occasion of a social gathering for the families of all the residents to make digs at the new President. They also automatically assume if one’s skin is white then one is also a Republican and conservative and proceed to proclaim their views assuming that yours are the same.

    Along these lines, on tonight’s Daily Show Trevor Noah did a segment on Fox News and how it was treating the whole Trump-Russian-Comey issue by talking about “But Obama did worse….. . Since I never watch Fox, I now have a fresh understanding of how that woman at the Braves game is STILL a true Trump supporter. They all are truly b…..t insane!

  46. 46.

    Marcopolo

    @randy khan: Your first point is spot on, thanks for pointing that out.

    I am off to bed but I think today’s probably the first one since the election where my overall wtf-are-we-doing-as-a-country mood has lightened just a smidge. Just a smidge. But even with the appointment of Mueller, I want to urge everyone to still double-down on calling Congresspeople to enpanel a select committee. It’s been noted by others smarter & more knowledgable than me that at the end of the day whatever Mueller discovers (if he doesn’t get fired) and reports out might not be released to the public. A select committee would hold public hearings & make a public report ala Watergate or 9/11. As a country we need that.

    And goodnight.

  47. 47.

    mskitty

    Several threads back, someone – Scott? – posted the order by Rod Rosenstein naming Robert Mueller as Special Counsel – and it caught my eye that it made a point of stating he had authority under 28 CFR sec. 600.4(a), which I looked up (okay, IAAL) and it’s subject-matter jurisdiction – after it says he shall investigate whatever the Atty General tells him to to, it adds specifically: “…perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses”. How very nice.

  51. 51.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oddly enough, I’ve been getting MORE into Fallon this year. Probably because (like me) he is a complete and total Nintendo fanboy, and his love affair with the Switch is awfully public. :)

    But until that started up, I’d basically stopped watching after the Trump debacle.

  52. 52.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Marcopolo: Bobby 3 Sticks earned a Bronze Star for Valor for leading his Marines into heavy enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade. When 9-11 happened he is reported to have been the only senior Bush 43 administration official (he’d been FBI Director for 7 days) that didn’t freak out and lose his shit (unlike Tenet and Rumsfeld and Cheney and Ashcroft and Bush). He’s not going to be pushed around. He’s not going to be intimidated.

  53. 53.

    Peale

    @Yarrow: yep. He gave what was the most negative speech about the condition of the world I’ve ever heard. I’m surprised anyone who believed that speech ever would take a foreign trip, much less step outside their house.

    Flynn was an early supporter. So was sessions. But before we run to the Russians, there were four big business backers early who I’d like to look at for how Flynn got involved. Mercer, Ross, Icahn, and Mnchin. Hedge fund/pe types. I think at least three of those four might be worth looking into.

  54. 54.

    GregB

    So, this doesn’t seem to have aged well.

    “Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to “leak” into the public. One last shot at me.Are we living in Nazi Germany?”

  55. 55.

    danielx

    @Marcopolo:

    We all know how it ends and if Maddoff is the central character there ain’t no protagonist to root for.

    Doesn’t mean it won’t be a decent movie. Much the same could be said about Downfall, and it’s a great movie. Hell, if Bruno Ganz got the royalties to which he ought to be entitled for the use of his performance, he could pay Donald Trump enough money to retire.

    Hmmm….what would it take, monetarily, for Trump to declare victory and go home, one wonders. Something along those lines would be entirely consistent with his former behavior in business:

    1 get involved in a business
    2 suck money out of the business until the walls cave in
    3 declare the whole thing a fantastic success and further proof of his genius

    Then again, he’s never been president before.

  59. 59.

    Another Scott

    @danielx: I don’t think Donnie will run away. He’ll just withdraw into his gold-plated cocoon in NYC and eat taco bowls, or Xanadu and play golf.

    “You’re not the boss of me. You can’t make me do anything!!1”

    He’ll have his yooge rallies, and sign his EOs, and fire people occasionally, but he’ll let his minions do what they want while he sits back.

    Remember how he delegated the Afghanistan troop level decisions, dropping the MOAB, etc., etc., to the generals? Expect more of that.

    He’s not going to go willingly. There’s no way to spin running away as anything but failure.
    And he’s not going to take responsibility (“I delegated to him/her, it’s their fault!!11”)

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  60. 60.

    Morzer

    @danielx:

    2 suck money out of the business until the walls cave in

    Given that this is exactly what Ryan wants to do to the government, it’s rather puzzling that he and the Orange-utang don’t get along like a White House on fi…. ooops!

  62. 62.

    Morzer

    Molly Ball ✔ @mollyesque
    Asked a longtime House GOP staffer where things are headed. “This is like Reservoir Dogs. Everyone ends up dead on the floor.”

  63. 63.

    danielx

    @randy khan:

    I wish I knew why so many Republicans feel the need to tell you they’re Republicans almost as soon as they meet you; it’s more than annoying.

    I’ve run into the same thing. At this point it’s kind of like somebody saying he/she is a (baptist/evangelic/godbotherer) Christian, because both their politics and religion are akin to a cult. Often enough – okay, almost always – their politics and religion are one and the same.

  64. 64.

    divF

    Checking in on the night shift again, except I am in Frankfurt and it is 7 AM here. The flight for the final leg of my trip departs at 9:45 AM, arriving Jeddah at 5 PM local time. Given that I am already feeling like a wet rag, I’m sure that I will just want to collapse. Fortunately, my hosts at KAUST will have someone to meet me inside customs and immigration to walk me through.

  65. 65.

    Aleta

    @lamh36: Also:

    Lorne Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live” and executive producer of “The Tonight Show,” said that at the time of Mr. Trump’s “Tonight Show” visit, he was regarded incorrectly as a presidential also-ran.

    “I don’t think anybody was focused on him winning, or that possibility,” Mr. Michaels said. “It had been absolute, bedrock certainty that Hillary Clinton was winning that election. There was no doubt, certainly in the news department in our building.”

    Just not true. It was September. All kinds of people were worried about the possibility. Including President Obama I think.

  66. 66.

    sanjeevs

    @dww44: Watched a bit of Fox today (which I never do) . Progam was the Five and four of them were still spinning furiously for Trump. But one guy, Bob ? , was calling Trump a whiner and a punk. He looked like a 2 year old who didn’t like his food. I think some of them know the jig is up , at least for a while.

  68. 68.

    Mnemosyne

    I did come to see The Designated Mourner even thing I seem to be pretty ill. I’m not sure if it’s a little surreal because I’m sick or it’s just a little surreal.

    Time for act 2.

  71. 71.

    danielx

    @Another Scott:

    He’s not going to go willingly. There’s no way to spin running away as anything but failure.
    And he’s not going to take responsibility (“I delegated to him/her, it’s their fault!!11”)

    Ordinarily I would agree, but you’re judging by the standards you would apply to even the nuttiest pol, which don’t apply to Donald Trump. What anybody else would regard as failure, he states to be success. His version of success is that Donald Trump came out on top in a transaction of whatever sort, and his view of transactions is commercial, always and forever. If he was offered ten billion dollars to step down, or twenty, or thirty and full immunity for any crimes actual or suspected – not to be delivered until a successor had taken the oath, of course – I’ll bet he’d at least give it serious thought, or what passes for serious thought with Donald Trump.

  72. 72.

    efgoldman

    @danielx:

    Then again, he’s never been president before.

    He’s never been under serious, public criminal investigation before, either.
    I expect the freak outs will be regular and epic.

  73. 73.

    efgoldman

    @NotMax:

    Bookend to his waahmbulance performance today at the Coast Guard graduation.

    ‘Fie was the valedictorian, I’d have thanked him for proposing to eviscerate the Coast Guard budget.

  75. 75.

    Aleta

    This was at kos in March. (Not saying these sources are necessarily truthful. Same with the story about the mechanical problem on the plane being used to take Tr away from Christie–who knows.)

    According to two sources with knowledge of the Trump presidential transition process, Manafort—whose formal association with the president-elect ended in August—is heavily involved with the staffing of the nascent administration.

    “I think he’s weighing in on everything,” the former official said, “I think he still talks to Trump every day. I mean, Pence? That was all Manafort. Pence is on the phone with Manafort regularly.”

    Another Trump campaign source who worked alongside Manafort confirmed to The Daily Beast that he is heavily involved in selecting the incoming administration’s “personnel picks.”

  76. 76.

    efgoldman

    @danielx:

    If he was offered ten billion dollars to step down, or twenty, or thirty and full immunity for any crimes actual or suspected

    But ain’t nobody gonna’ do that. In fact, if things go as we’d like, his “fortune” will be eviscerated, and unless his kids have their own trust funds, they might find themselves taken down a financial peg or fourteen, too.

  77. 77.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @dmsilev:
    I don’t think Trump’s Razor covers Russia. It doesn’t account for how consistently, even monolithically Trump has been pro-Putin. Trump is an imbecile, the worst kind of senile narcissist. He can’t keep his lies straight for thirty seconds. But Russia? From day one he has been specifically pro-Putin, pushing policies Putin wants, even while he wandered all over the map with everything else. Putin has a hold on him. Blackmail, bribery, really good flattery, I don’t know. Whatever it is, Trump has not wandered randomly into this Russian connection. He is the center of it.

  78. 78.

    Aleta

    @Aleta: Everyone who’d heard about things he did as governor knew he was as corrupt as his lily whiteness. How far under his skin was that embedded tick called Manafort. I’d like to know.

  79. 79.

    efgoldman

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Putin has a hold on him. Blackmail, bribery, really good flattery

    I expect Deadbeat Donnie has at least one major transaction for himself or his businesses that constitutes money laundering or doing business with identified Russian Mafiosi.

  80. 80.

    Aleta

    Ukraine (and Crimea)

    At about the same time as the revolution, the world price for amber, which is found around Rivne, was soaring because of surging demand from China, where it is thought to bring luck and good health. Thousands of villagers in the area began destroying local woodlands and the surrounding countryside in search of it. Soon, mafia clans began clashing for control of the business. Dyuh said that there are now plans to legalize and regulate the amber trade, but so many people are making so much money from it, apart from the state of course, that those involved have conspired to prevent this from happening. Money from amber, Dyuh told me, “flows like a river up to Kiev,” referring to deputies in parliament who were blocking regulation efforts.

    In videos on YouTube you can see gangs of armed men clashing in amber turf battles. “If someone is killed,” said Dyuh, “the authorities say it is a ‘domestic dispute,’ but everyone knows what is going on.” Meanwhile, those who make money from stealing state property or trading in amber are investing in real estate. This accounts for many of the new houses, the construction of which has boosted employment and injected money into the local economy. Little can be done to stop this, says Dyuh, because the authorities themselves and the police and intelligence services are so closely involved. He told me that he and his friends had filed three corruption cases over local abuses but did not expect anything to come of them.

    http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/05/25/will-ukraine-ever-change/?

  81. 81.

    amk

    Trump: joking when he asked Russia to hack Clinton email. Joking again when he asked Comey to lay off Flynn. Now more hilarity from McCarthy— David Frum (@davidfrum) May 17, 2017

  83. 83.

    Wapiti

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I don’t think Trump’s Razor covers Russia. It doesn’t account for how consistently, even monolithically Trump has been pro-Putin. Trump is an imbecile, the worst kind of senile narcissist. But Russia? From day one he has been specifically pro-Putin, pushing policies Putin wants, even while he wandered all over the map with everything else.

    That’s an interesting point. During GWB’s time, my wife and I thought that Bush was a sloppy talker most of the time. But when he talked about people getting hurt (like executed, bombed, etc.) his language and diction changed, like this was something he really got into.

  84. 84.

    seaboogie

    @Yarrow: Whatever you get stuck in, just know that I and we are really glad you’re here, and your comments are appreciated, also too…

  85. 85.

    Morzer

    @amk:

    Trump’s presidency was “just a joke”, I can see that one being pulled out just before the roof falls in.

  86. 86.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @efgoldman: Donald needs to be hauled into a Supermax cell, after he’s watched the Ivana spawn and Jared go first.

  88. 88.

    ??‍? Martin

    Trump always wants to be dominant, but he’s been a rube for Putin for years. He was the guy stupid enough to launder cash in exchange for positive attention from a world leader. I would hope that with Putin offering transcripts of the Oval meeting to Congress that it might be dawning on him that Putin has played him hard.

    My guess is that this investigation will lead to a lot of stupid, self-serving but short term misdeeds by Trump, a larger overarching effort by GOP staffers around Trump, and an even larger effort by Russia. In the end I think we’ll still get an independent commission to look strictly at Russia’s larger influence and how US institutions should change.

  89. 89.

    Anne Laurie

    @randy khan:

    I wish I knew why so many Republicans feel the need to tell you they’re Republicans almost as soon as they meet you; it’s more than annoying.

    It’s “virtue signalling” — that horrible social failing they’re always accusing liberals and Democrats of committing.

    (With a Republican, it’s always about projection… )

  91. 91.

    Morzer

    I wish I knew why so many Republicans feel the need to tell you they’re Republicans almost as soon as they meet you; it’s more than annoying.

    Ethics in game journalism.

  93. 93.

    workworkwork

    @Cheryl Rofer: I’ve never heard of this food tree. We currently free-feed our two kitties but this looks like it might be a better solution. Not only slow down their intake but give them something more to do.

  95. 95.

    No One You Know

    @Marcopolo: I’m fortunate that my reps and senators are blue, and I’ll call them anyway to encourage more of the same. And find a few bucks to throw at Act Blue.

    Can’t wait for my next Democratic survey. I’ve started including a 1-page brief of the best advice I see here and at LGM.

    My own form of drip, drip, drip.

  96. 96.

    MoxieM

    @dww44: People from Harvard are worse. It’s a known fact. The best version is, “I went to college in Cambridge,” with a knowing sideways glance. But always, always within the first 5 minutes of conversation. At least in MA. (Like anybody gives a shit?)

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