The Washington Post is reporting that Roger Ailes is dead.
Archives for May 2017
Thursday Morning Open Thread: Patchworking
Inside an embattled Trump's most consequential evening of turmoil yet https://t.co/sflPwkbwmB pic.twitter.com/TPHfLaR9B7
— CNN (@CNN) May 18, 2017
A longish read [warning: autoplay], but rich in entertainment value:
… Advisers planning Trump’s first foreign trip, which begins Friday, canceled scheduled briefings on the matter to avoid having reporters milling about the West Wing. Vice President Mike Pence roared away in his motorcade.
Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s senior counselor who had been scheduled for an appearance on Fox News, abruptly canceled.
“It does seem a little chaotic over there, I gotta be honest with you,” said her would-be interviewer Tucker Carlson, a frank admission from a host who regularly defends the administration.
Into the night, the White House struggled to contain its frustration. Senior advisers told junior aides to focus on their work and compartmentalize the latest round of drama, which now the West Wing has even less control over.
The President and those around him saw again Wednesday night the limits of his own executive authority, a feeling presidents before him have bemoaned and he has witnessed multiple times in his four months in office.
One aide described the mood in two words: “Chaotically dark.”…
I think we can all agree with the following tweet:
Trump administration is introducing me to the concept of "tantric schadenfreude"
— Erin ??Gloria?? Ryan (@morninggloria) May 18, 2017
What’s on the agenda as we buckle up for another day?
***********
Pelosi: "A special prosecutor is the first step, but it cannot be the last", can't replace "a truly independent, outside commission". pic.twitter.com/sY2bFEl2cM
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 17, 2017
Gonna be weird when the Pelosi-Hatch ticket runs for re-election in 2020 and wins.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) May 18, 2017
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@edroso Has your blog/column gotten easier or harder to do? On the one hand: (literal) embarrassment of riches. On the other hand: ugh.
— Greg Milner (@GIMilner) May 17, 2017
The people I write about were always this crazy. Now they're just a little less inhibited and a little more highly placed. https://t.co/eeguQmZmAX
— Roy Edroso (@edroso) May 17, 2017
Golden oldie, newly relevant:
How do you explain this gap in your resume?
"I was in jail."
Okay. Sure you weren't working for Trump's campaign?
"Swear to God. Jail."
— Leon Wolf (@LeonHWolf) April 4, 2016
Thursday Morning Open Thread: PatchworkingPost + Comments (156)
On The Road
Good Morning All,
This weekday feature is for Balloon Juicers who are on the road, travelling, etc. and wish to share notes, links, pictures, stories, etc. from their escapades. As the US mainland begins the end of the Earth day as we measure it, many of us rise to read about our friends and their transient locales.
So, please, speak up and share some of your adventures, observations, and sights as you explore, no matter where you are. By concentrating travel updates here, it’s easier for all to keep up-to-date on the adventures of our fellow Commentariat. And it makes finding some travel tips or ideas from 6 months ago so much easier to find…
Have at ’em, and have a safe day of travels!
Should you have any pictures (tasteful, relevant, etc….) you can email them to [email protected] or just use this nifty link to start an email: Start an Email to send a Picture to Post on Balloon Juice
Late Night Clown Shoes Open Thread: “No Politician in History… “
Donald Trump says: "No politician in history… has been treated worse or more unfairly" https://t.co/GbCqueTLV9 pic.twitter.com/K80FnX7Sqx
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 17, 2017
A bunch of angry senators and their followers beat Tiberus Gracchus to death with clubs made from benches and threw him into the Tiber https://t.co/0HzVpCJpdP
— Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) May 17, 2017
I heard this clip on the late local news, and went looking for the context. Apparently the President-Asterisk attempted to turn the Coast Guard commencement into another campaign rally… or just a very public self-pity party. It’s not like the graduates are free to throw things at their putative CinC…
@RosieGray As he proposes a 12% budget cut or $1.3 billion. Fucking clown.
— Scott Funk (@Funk_USMC) May 17, 2017
I rounded up tweets from veterans and reporters watching Trump's USCG Academy commencement speech https://t.co/Heka77F6hz
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) May 17, 2017
THANKS, REPUBLICANS!
.@jaketapper: The President is where he is, not because anyone is being unfair, it's because of things HE has said, and things HE has done pic.twitter.com/EJY3IP0FbD
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) May 17, 2017
Late Night Clown Shoes Open Thread: <em>“No Politician in History… “</em>Post + Comments (93)
Late Night Open Thread
Ric says he is not happy with these end-of-day news dumps.
Shall I Step On My Own Post?
Yes, why not.
Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House
WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn told President Trump’s transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign, according to two people familiar with the case.
Despite this warning, which came about a month after the Justice Department notified Mr. Flynn of the inquiry, Mr. Trump made Mr. Flynn his national security adviser. The job gave Mr. Flynn access to the president and nearly every secret held by American intelligence agencies.
The cats are demanding that I go sit in the living room and read dead-tree magazines. I’ll be back later.
Wikileaks Jumps In
In an unexpected coincidence, Wikileaks releases something about FBI Director Mueller delivering highly enriched uranium to Russia. And it’s secret! Scary, right?
WikiLeaks cable Robert Mueller delivering highly enriched stolen Uranium to Russia in 2009 https://t.co/X3Ea2m6kS5 h/t @apblake pic.twitter.com/yhC91B2IBK
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 18, 2017
This is pretty standard procedure for sensitive material: Make sure the Russian Federation is ready for the flight; make sure US chain of custody is in order; check that the Russians will pick it up. Keep it secret to avoid alerting troublemakers. The only question is why the FBI director would be carrying it rather than a courier. One of my followers (a BJ-er?) supplied the answer.
@CherylRofer Wikileaks, leaving out context. https://t.co/fbKDc4EY4P
— stacy (@MoMom2two) May 18, 2017
The material was seized in a nuclear smuggling case in Georgia (the country), and the Russian Federation wanted to analyze the material to double-check where it may have come from. A law-enforcement matter, and it’s likely the US wanted to make a point to Russia that it’s serious. You don’t get more serious in law enforcement than the head of the FBI.
Many thanks to Stacy! I’m posting this now to head off the questions that will arise.
Cross-posted at Nuclear Diner.