.
Well, about the only thing I learned from that shiteshow was that in a less smarm-rich environment, Senator Burr would be renowned for both his natural gifts and his deep commitment to professionalism in the field of smarm.
Here’s a palate-cleanser, while we discuss the proceedings.
Mustang Bobby
I learned that Tom Cotton probably gives great head.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
That’s Tom Cotton, the bobble-throated slapdick from the state of Arkansas, as Charlie Pierce calls him.
Bailey
The fact that quick questioning makes Beauregard “nervous” was pretty hysterical to learn.
? Martin
I learned that the Atty General who claims to be very concerned about Russian interference in our elections hasn’t had a single briefing on the matter, indicating that he is really not at all concerned about Russian interference in our elections.
? Martin
@Bailey: From a woman. A brown woman. A woman that should know her place and give sufficient deference to a white man from dixie…
debbie
@Bailey:
Ah say, ah say, ah say, these inquiries are scurrilous!
debbie
@debbie:
Lindsay needs to turn in his Miss Pittypat medallion. He is no longer deserving.
Yutsano
@Bailey: @ Martin: We definitely need more brown women in the Senate now.
ruemara
So… how was the treasonous bastard shitshow?
trollhattan
Oh goody.
Corner Stone
@Yutsano: I’d take like a 100 of em or so, starting yesterday.
TenguPhule
Please have some consideration for us poor folks who need a good stiff drink.
Because Trump is ruining things and its a day ending in Y.
TenguPhule
@ruemara:
On a scale of 1 to 10 drinks?
Shitfaced.
Yutsano
@Corner Stone: She’d probably be as useful as dog slime, but to be honest I would be okay if Mia Love took over for ol’ Orrin in the Utah Senate. Granted that would make A LOT of her constituents uncomfortable but omelette eggs etc.
Baud
OT: Some people expressed worry about the Dem strategy earlier today, so hopefully this will help calm some nerves (warning: Politico).
Corner Stone
Why Eliana Johnson? Why would you firmly believe Sessions did not meet with Kislyak to collude on the 2016 elections? Whi in the fuck do you think you can just say that like it is the truth?
Anne Laurie
@Mustang Bobby:
Hal
On a scale of 1 to Blanche Devereux, how southern was Sessions?
trollhattan
If Trump Tweets “Time to kill ARPA-E, badly wasting tax dollars. SAD!” this is why:
Boussinesque
@Baud: Thanks, I’m glad to see that our side is taking a page from the obstruction playbook and actually implementing it. Republicans have repeatedly demonstrated that they will only take advantage of any common courtesy granted to them–time to start challenging them in the only way they understand.
bystander
@Anne Laurie: I was surprised Cotton would put his tongue where Burr’s had been, but birds of a feather.
Kay
Because no one in the general public knows anything about it. They can’t just keep saying it’s a very serious threat and never tell us what happened. I’m like Wyden. I’m sick of the stonewalling.
Major Major Major Major
Ithink
Oh Dear God, what a phenomenal s***-show that was; and I only caught it from the middle of the performance on…
I now am feeling more favorable to Senators Manchin & Harris, loathe the bobble throated dick head from Clinton’s home state more than ever (previously thought impossible), & have no faith in a thinly-veiled Neo-Confederate AG who responds endlessly in “I Don’t Recall” platitudes like a burgeoning dementia patient. God help this country survive Trump & the sure-to-be slow recovery process post his revaunchist autocratic Pandora’s Box of an administration.
According to a today post from Charlie Pierce, President Agent Orange is sitting @ a 60% disapproval rating and the Republicans majority elected to Congress are about as on the Hunger Games defensive as they’ve ever been with anything regarding him. If Democrats at not able to reduce these mole people to ashes partially in 2018 & then fully in 2018, consider our-once Great Republic to be a dysfunctional stillborn of faux-representation of its people.
Major Major Major Major
Via CNN: “Trump tells GOP senators that the House-passed healthcare bill he celebrated earlier this year was “mean”, calling for more money in the Senate version.”
Corner Stone
@Yutsano: I say that because based just on numbers, and understanding no group is a monolith of ideas or beliefs, about 93 of them would hold ideas and agendas I would agree with at least 85% of the time or more.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
So who’s running the pool on when Czar Manbaby fires Mueller?
Corner Stone
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): The sooner the better.
MomSense
I missed the whole thing but the snippets I’ve caught are infuriating.
Baud
@Major Major Major Major: Well, now I want to remove the statue.
Inventor
@Major Major Major Major: Houston, as Governor of Texas, was against secession and the Confederacy. He was forced out as Governor because of his strong pro-Union position.
Mike J
@Major Major Major Major: Love the way antifa trolled the nazis too. Houston was ousted as gov because he refused to go along with secession. He certainly wasn’t a confederate (although he was a slave owner).
Or what Inventor said one minute before me, dammit.
Mnemosyne
@Baud:
My favorite part of the whole thing is that Sam Houston despised Confederates as traitors and was a strong Unionist. So these jackasses are really showing their stripes since they now assume that any slave-holding white man’s statue is in need of a “defense.”
SiubhanDuinne
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
That’s just not going to happen. Even Trump isn’t that stupid, is he?
He’s not, is he?
Is he?
mdblanche
@Inventor: Tell them that and they’ll tear the statue down themselves!
debbie
@Major Major Major Major:
It’s also a whole lot of stupid.
Major Major Major Major
@Mike J:
Yeah, I wonder to what degree they were hostile to him simply because he looked like he was from the Internet, and that’s where lib’rul protesters come from.
mdblanche
@SiubhanDuinne: If you have to ask, you don’t want to know.
efgoldman
@Baud:
With dynamite.
Fuckem
debbie
@MomSense:
I had to stop listening after a while. Sessions was developing a real case of the vapors.
Waratah
His smirkey smile that he could not control drove me crazy I thought a good punch to the mouth might help and also help his memory.
Mnemosyne
@SiubhanDuinne:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
mdblanche
@? Martin: I knew that Compromise of 1850 was no good, dagnabit. Once we agreed to let California into the union as a free state something like this was bound to happen, I tells ye!
MomSense
@debbie:
It seemed like Coates, Rogers, and now Sessions were just mocking the committee and the idea of oversight. I cannot imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Holder had behaved that way.
efgoldman
@bystander:
We look back fondly on the “country before party” Republiklowns of Watergate era, but especially on the house committee side, some of them were every bit as obstructionist and defensive as their modern counterparts.
Lizzy L
@Major Major Major Major: Yeah, this is bullshit, as I am sure you know. The Senators will solemnly assure the presnit that thanks to his wise and timely counsel they did indeed put “more money” in the Senate version of the AHCA, the presnit will assure his base that he’s looking out for their interests and the Senate bill is great, wonderful, a really stupendous bill, an excellent bill, and the Senate will pass it without ever having read it and with only Republican votes, which is what they were going to do anyway. Then the House and Senate committees will sit down in secret, knock off the corners, and hey presto, if you’re not rich, if you’re under 65, if you’re disabled, or on Medicaid, or have a pre-existing condition, kiss your health care goodbye.
Brachiator
OT (headed off to some meetings) Lifehacker offers some tips on contacting Congress folks about the Health Care Bill
The Best Ways to Make Your Voice Heard About the New Health Care Bill
If this is useful, please repost in an upcoming open thread. Among tips
Aleta
I like this thread from David Simon (of the Wire afaik) about Trump not being curious about Russian involvement. https://twitter.com/AoDespair/status/872966218738741250
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m sorry, are you asking this seriously? There isn’t anything so fucking stupid that this clown won’t do it. Would a remotely sentient being have ever gotten mixed up with a scam like Trump University? Would a remotely sentient being have told some random dude on a bus that he likes to assault women? This guy is an idiocy idiot savant.
Zach
The man-splaining and other condescension to Senator Harris was terrible but not as bad as at the meeting with all the intel chiefs. Or maybe I’m just dazzled by the drawl.
1. Sessions name dropped his chief of staff twice as a corroborating witness. Once specifically saying that “I know that’s his recollection as well” … getting your stories straight not typical of folks with nothing to hide.
2. Here would be my line of questioning: “Have you ever known James Comey to tell a lie? A serious lie? A lie to you? Ok, now what about Donald Trump?”
TenguPhule
@SiubhanDuinne:
Trump: “HOLD MY BEER!”
Aleta
Sessions would probably argue that the health bill is a privileged conversation.
gene108
@Mnemosyne:
Wonder if they could be trolled to “defend” the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial
lamh36
TenguPhule
@Aleta:
Nope.
Sessions would say that healthcare involves drugs.
Drugs are bad.
Therefore those who want healthcare are bad drug dealers and need to be locked up.
And there is no Man in Black with a built up iocaine immunity to stop him.
lamh36
Hmmm…what could it be…
Zach
In general these Democrats are pretty bad at this except for Harris, King and, less good, Heinrich. But in everyone’s defense Occam’s razor says Sessions doesn’t actually know about any criminality. He’s invoking the same quasi privilege of everyone else because what he’s protecting is a line of questioning that ends up reveal how Trump’s a petty moron with no interest in things other than what boosts his ego. If you open the discussion up to cover anything Trump says in private it will be embarrassing. Source: everything single thing he’s said in private that’s been revealed so far.
And Sessions indignation is actually half righteous because he’s pissed he looks guilty as hell and is skirting going down in history for contempt because his job requires protecting Trump’s fragile ego… not that he deserves any forgiveness since he only seems to want the job to make sure there’s more black people in jail and fewer voting.
Baud
@lamh36: Let’s ask Valerie Jarrett or Susan Rice.
Aleta
@Aleta: Hiding the health bill is actually the opposite of “lives are at stake if this top secret information is revealed.”
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Have you seen this thread yet? Is there any way to get word to Elizabelle? I know you both were concerned.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Mnemosyne:
I am sure they people will claim Sam Houston had a post mortom conversion to being a Confederate,
Mnemosyne
@Zach:
Given Sessions’ multiple meetings with Russia’s top spymaster, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume he’s innocent. Just sayin’.
Aleta
@Zach: Yes. Or, “To your knowledge, how many times has Comey lied?” Same question about Trump. Then “What about when Trump said …”
Mnemosyne
I wasn’t able to read the whole Sessions thread since I’m at work. I’m assuming he lied his ass off when he wasn’t obfuscating the truth.
SiubhanDuinne
Only because it’s an Open Thread, and in the full realisation that 99+% of BJers won’t care a whit, but today is the 124th anniversary of the birth of my, probably, favourite writer, Dorothy L. Sayers.
I raise my glass to her.
Uncle Cosmo
@efgoldman: E.g., Rep. Earl “Don’t confuse me with the facts!” Landgrebe (IN-02)
D58826
Senator: did trump tape conversations?
Sessions: I don’t know
Senator: if the tapes exist must they be retained?
Sessions: Doesn’t know for sure but thinks yes
My Question : were you awake during Watergate?
On a larger point – I understand the need for information being discussed in closed session. I also understand that under most circumstances executive privilege is necessary.
Now if this was a debate over Obama setting up the Bears Ears national monument or the best approach to the keystone pipeline I would have no issue with withholding testimony (even if it did frustrate my gossipy button). But this is the cyber equivalent of Pearl Harbor.
Surely the national interest would be better served if some of this information was discussed in open session. I find it hard to believe that we can’t work around the needs of keeping sources and methods secret and yet explain to the public what is/has happening.
Aleta
@Mnemosyne: Like a frightened animal, a noisy attack was his defense when cornered.
Quinerly
@debbie:
Alain emailed Elizabelle.
scav
@SiubhanDuinne: You will have company in a glass as soon as. can find one!
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
Thank you very much, Debbie. I did see it earlier, and am actually thinking about driving to Nashville for the memorial service on the 24th. Haven’t dcid d yet, and may make up my mind following the discussion this Friday. I’m so grateful to Alain for making it happen.
Don’t know whether Elizabelle is aware, but am FB friends with her and will pass along the information. I’m sure she’ll want to contribute her own memories and thoughts.
That is going to be one long-ass Tbogg-unit thread on Friday, I predict.
lamh36
Evening peeps!
Busy day at work today. Well not busy for me. I was finished my assigned task by like 12:30. I spent the rest of my time and bout 40 min over my time, helping other folk with their assigned areas.
But I don’t mind…any time over my scheduled time is OT, so every min over is more money on my check.
Good thing bout busy, I don’t have much time for the interwebs.
efgoldman
@Zach:
I suppose the fact that he signed a false statement under penalty of perjury on his SF-56 was ignored.
dogwood
@lamh36:
It’s not just about her race and gender. They see her as a potential presidential candidate, and they’re going after her to set the narrative right away. They will probably succeed too. One of the things that really helped Obama was the fact that when he went to the Senate, he did his job well, but he didn’t deliberately set out to be noticed all the time. So he always controlled his own narrative. Never let the opposition define you.
Iowa Old Lady
I’ve been bored with Trump’s tweets but this one was whiny enough to make me blink:
Lyrebird
@lamh36: “Things that make you go HMMMMMMMM”
If only we could see the day when Sessions is tried for the best-documented of his various wrongs, and Sen. Harris and BJ’s own hovercraft get to prosecute the case.
A girl can dream sometimes.
Elie
I know we can’t afford to be panicked yet, but damn, I am feeling scared as hell that we are too far gone to recover. The GOP doesn’t even pretend any approach except ramming in its power and at every turn, this administration is allowed to block and lie without consequence. We have learned that there was a significant attempt to tamper with actual votes in 39 (!) states — and no evidence that anything has been done to identify where and correct any breaches. No wonder the GOP are stone walling! What.Do.We.Do? is my question. How do we stop this? He is at 60% disapproval and continues to drop, but how do we make it matter? And this shit is spilling over into the states and local races. Our Republican House and Senate members here in WA state are doing the same — refusing to negotiate, to cooperate or do anything to get the state budget passed at the risk of enforcing harsh cuts to the state’s services. How do we overcome this? (more rhetorical than actual question). I have literally laid awake nights thinking about this predicament and what to do about it…
efgoldman
@scav:
You can drink directly from the bottle or the can. On BJ, no-one can see you.
NoraLenderbee
@SiubhanDuinne: Happy birthday to the creator of Lord Peter Wimsey! She’s one of my favorites, too.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@Kay: Someone somehow needs to start talking or leaking significant stuff and soon.
Aleta
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
@SiubhanDuinne:
Just posted on Elizabelle’s Book of Faces Wall, and I’m sure she’ll be an active participant in the memorial thread.
lgerard
@Major Major Major Major:
This reminds me of the “on the spot guidance” Kim Jung Il was famous for
In North Korean propaganda, “on-the-spot” guidance furthers the image of a caring, omniscient, and great leader offering “benevolent guidance” to the people.
scav
@efgoldman: Indeed. was just hopng for a glass as that would mean it was celebratory instead of HolyshitIneedthisnownownowwhew!
Mnemosyne
I just came across this on Facebook: someone on Twitter live-tweeting about a little girl having a meltdown because her mom only packed the movies her brother likes for their trip, and then the whole thing becomes awesome beyond words.
You will end up loving the little girl, her brother, and the adults around them (except maybe bad choices mom). Trust me.
BBA
@Hal: It’s like, how much more Southern could he be? And the answer is none. None more Southern.
SiubhanDuinne
@scav:
@NoraLenderbee:
Thank you, and Cheers!!
Coincidentally, it is also the birthday (1914) of Dr. Barbara Reynolds, a colleague and collaborator of DLS, who wrote an exhaustive biography, edited her papers, published her letters, and completed her Divine Comedy translation.
Dorothy’s 125th next year may be my last chance to celebrate her in her natural habitat, and in the company of one or two people who still remember her in person (she died in 1957). I’m thinking it would be a good time to travel to Britain. If I can make the finances work, I think I’d like to do that.
Uncle Cosmo
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
except the Mormons probably got to him first…
efgoldman
@lgerard:
All will be well. Ambassador First Class Dennis Rodman is there
Aleta
This site is simple and clear about what issues are coming to a vote, and easy ways to call and express oneself on each. Enter a zipcode and it’s nicely laid out.
https://5calls.org/issue/recvn5iJK4NCRKDQm
Mnemosyne
@Elie:
It’s okay. You’re getting a little burned out. Call and/or fax both of your Senators to tell them your opinion of AHCA and then take a break from the news. We all need to rest, recharge, and take care of ourselves.
This is going to be a long marathon, not a sprint, so rest when you need to.
debbie
@Quinerly:
Good to know, thanks.
@SiubhanDuinne:
Good. Sometimes my worrywarting gets the better of me.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
So I’m going to see Some Like It Hot tomorrow afternoon. As with so many of these Fathom TCM presentations, I’ve seen it several times on TV but quite possibly never on the Big Screen.
Any advice for things I should specially look out for?
Major Major Major Major
@efgoldman: Hey, he’s done more good in 48 hours than Barack HUSSEIN No’Bummer did in eight years.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Major Major Major Major:
“Rein/reign” still at the top of the charts, but “led/lead” is coming up fast. Been seeing that one a lot lately.
trollhattan
@lgerard:
Speaking of double-little Kim, Rodman’s back.
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
Not a worrywart at all. It means you pay attention, and remember, and know things.
Mike in NC
@Iowa Old Lady: I hope that after yesterday’s festival of obsequiousness, Trump demands a full cabinet meeting every other week to have his fragile ego massaged, and it’s carried on live TV.
lamh36
JPL
Earlier someone mentioned Session’s looked like Chucky, of Child’s Play, and I agree with that. Luckovich chose the elf, like many of you did.
https://cmgajcluckovich.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/lk061417_color.jpg
Cheryl Rofer
I don’t EVER want to be on the receiving end of Kamala Harris’s questioning.
JPL
Neighbor’s husband had a snake fall out of a tree, near him. Oh goodie! I have trees. Google tells me that rat trees climb trees, and they are non venomous. Fortunately, I cleared the side with lots of trees last weekend. SiubhanDuinne, will tell you that I have trees. ugh
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
Luckovich is genius, once again.
ETA: They ought to just give him a Pulitzer per week and be done with it. He is that good.
JPL
@Cheryl Rofer: lol That’s an understatement, and apparently Burr has to protect the repubs from her.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
Yes, it is true, JPL has many trees. I am thankful beyond measure that when I visited I saw no snakes!
If I were you, dear JPL, I’d probably be donning hazmat gear every day before venturing into the garden!
Barbara
@Mike in NC: Excruciating. He is doing an experiment to see the level at which embarrassment might really be fatal.
MomSense
@Elie:
It sucks. I’m losing sleep over it all, too. It does help to try to focus on one thing you can do every day. Some days that means calling your senator. Some days it could simply be smiling and being kind to someone. Some days you just have to take a break. Sending a hug to you.
NeenerNeener
@Mnemosyne: The tweeter is Seanan McGuire, an outstanding author of Sci Fi (as Mira Grant) and Urban Fantasy novels. This is so cool (having nerdgasm right now).
Princess
@SiubhanDuinne: At least I am the 1% of something. *clinks your glass*
scav
@Mike in NC: Jobs creating! Trumpie’s outsourced his daily affirmations — to mutiple voices to do homage to the multiple voices in mis mighty personality — and then engaged the jobs multiplier effect by having them televised, bringing easy daily sustenance to open-beaked, flightless, baby journalists.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: At first I thought you were saying it was your birthday, and then I read what you had actually written. I had no idea I shared a birthday with Dorothy Sayers! That’s not quite as good as sharing a birthday with you, but it’s close. :-)
Kay
@Tilda Swintons Bald Cap:
People always allege election interference. This time it actually happened and no one will tell us anything.
I have many questions! :)
WTF? They almost flipped votes? Did someone stop them or were they just bad at it? I’ve spent the last 15 years telling people “no, that’s not a conspiracy that’s just an error, no dead people don’t vote even if they’re registered, there are no white vans full of immigrants voting illegally”. Now we have a real one and no one wants to talk about it.
JPL
@WaterGirl: How are you, relieved to be over the nightmare work environment, or worried about what comes next?
Morzer
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/06/13/trump-property-buyers-make-clear-shift-secretive-llcs/102399558/
I am sure there’s a perfectly innocent explanation.
NeenerNeener
@Kay: What scared me was the hacking into voter rolls. They don’t need to change actual vote totals if they can just mess with voter registrations and make every 5th registered Democrat ineligible to vote by changing middle initials, street addresses, etc.
Elie
@Mnemosyne:
Thanks… I DO need to step away a little bit. I am just so so angry!!!! and ANGUISHED…. Its the AHCA thing… I have already called my Senators, but golly… they have heard from me over and over and already oppose this. Thanks for noticing that I am a bit frazzled these days. You help me take care of myself…
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
Oh, happy birthday to you, WaterGirl! Hope it’s been a great day! You are much better off sharing a birthday with DLS than with me (although if you shared with me, you’d also share with our own OmnesOmnibus, not to mention P. D. James, Tony Bennett, Edward Petherbridge, La Scala, Jay North, the launch of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, and so much more).
Many happy returns! Hppy pappy bthuthdy!!
(Edit: Could be misremembering, but I think also the birthday of Corner Stone? August 3rd?)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: Hey, just ask any of his cabinet secretaries, they’ll tell ya.
hovercraft
@efgoldman:
According to Wolf Blitzed, the timing is coincidental, the 22 year old kid is in a coma, from botulism. He got sick shortly after he was sentenced, and when Sweden finally got access to him, they notified us and conveyed the urgency. We talked to North Korea in New York and arranged to have him
medi-vaced to I think it was Duke Medical Center. Kim would rather not have an American who looked healthy a year ago, die in his custody.
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: Our birthday is too full already.
ETA:
How many glasses have you raised to DLS?
@WaterGirl: Happy birthday!
Corner Stone
@Kay:
And why won’t they tell us anything definitive? What’s the hold up?
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
Did you get your computer fixed? I sat down, hard, on my iPad Sunday morning and shattered the screen into a thousand points of light. Happily, there’s a “U BREAK I FIX” store literally around the corner from me, and they replaced the screen in a few hours. But that was a very tough time, being without my iCrap fix. Missed all you guys.
TenguPhule
@Elie:
A good stiff drink may help.
Kay
@NeenerNeener:
I feel like street addresses would be caught if not by poll workers then by the voters themselves. They wouldn’t know where to sort the voter- they’d be mixing up precincts, polling places, etc. You would have people standing there “I did NOT move since the last time I voted”. All voter fraud claims rely on the “real” voter never showing up and saying “I did NOT already vote” which is why no one would ever try to swing an election with one of them.
This would get attention – people saying they don’t live where the poll book says they live. It would be big news in poll worker world. If you wanted to steal an election you would do it after the vote is cast- then it can’t be identified. It’s just “a vote”- it’s no longer a name and an address of an actual person who can make a fuss.
SiubhanDuinne
@Omnes Omnibus:
Dammit, OO, that was a quote.
But several, if you must know.
WaterGirl
@JPL: I am ecstatic about the end of my involvement in that toxic environment!
Not at all worried about what comes next, because now I’m back to just the clients I had before that gig fell into my lap. I was able to pay off my new porch with the money i earned, which is awesome.
I worked an average of 60 hours a week just for her for the 6 months, on top of my other clients, with only 4 days off since the first of the year, and that was WAY too much. But now I know that I would like to be working more than I had been before this came my way. But I’m not going to try to line up even one more client until the weather turns cold, and while I would like to add another client or two, I do not want to give up my life again like I have since November.
divF
@Cheryl Rofer: Senator Harris’ previous career as a criminal prosecuting attorney serves her well here. The Repubs are afraid of her, and rightly so.
TenguPhule
@Steeplejack (phone):
To be fair, we don’t know how much lead poisoning contributed to this mess.
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone:
Verification?
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: It crashes, and I need to finish some banking stuff, before it fails completely. I ran scans and removed some programs, and hopefully that helps. We’ll see. I glad that you were able to fix your screen.
hovercraft
@Lyrebird:
You are way too kind, I’m not a lawyer, and I might be tempted to beat the crap out of the little shit. As an aside, my sister decided that he should be dubbed Smeagol. I wouldn’t mind being one of Senator Harris’s researchers, I’d happily sit behind her while she handed the detestable shit his ass.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Guess you’re going to soon find yourself apologizing to all those folks for getting it wrong on one of the above.
Quinerly
Someone may have posted. Haven’t read thru the comments. Josh Marshall’s take on Sessions’ testimony is worth the read: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-few-thoughts-on-the-sessions-hearing
hovercraft
@lamh36:
When even Louie Gohmert is throwing shade……………
Dang!
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
I keep wondering, if these were our cars that acted like this, would we shrug and say “Oh well” and put up with the annoyances?
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Thank you! I have had a lovely birthday. Celebrated last night with my oldest friend, had dinner, picked a million cherries from my cherry tree, got a box of my favorite chocolates from Boston. Lots of birthday calls and texts and cards – though none from my BJ peeps, you slackers!
What’s that you say? You have to know when a birthday is in order to acknowledge it? Excuses, excuses. :-) More birthday celebration next week when I will celebrate with another good friend who is out of town. Took myself out for a late afternoon meal and then got my current favorite drink the bar – you’re not the only one who has a favorite bartender!
It’s nice to be out from under the burden of all the work and the drama from the evil CEO at the nonprofit, and I am starting to relax, though I still dream every night that I still work there and in my dreams I am trying to finish what I was working on when I left.
Baud
@WaterGirl: Happy birthday! ?????
sm*t cl*de
@SiubhanDuinne:
Does it contain arsenic, as part of your plan to develop an immunity?
Kay
@TenguPhule:
Right! An actual conspiracy! Imagine if there were a conspiracy that targeted exclusively Republican electeds. We’d all be lining up for interrogation. There would be sweeps and raids and curfews. Sessions is like “ah, who cares? I’ll just sit here and smirk for another 6 months”.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@hovercraft: Don’t cast aspersions on his asparagus.
JPL
@WaterGirl: Good. Now it’s time for cake! Happy b-day.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Good thing you added that happy birthday… I was feeling a bit miffed that I was being kicked out of your birthday club because it was too full. sniff sniff
lamh36
Steeplejack (phone)
@SiubhanDuinne:
I’ll drink to that. May have to go back and reread one of the Wimsey novels. It has been decades: which would you recommend?
Also, what did you think of The Godfather?
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: You have your own day. Which is yours.
jl
@lamh36: I guess better than Trump trying to make the decision himself.
WaterGirl
@Baud: That’s what I was missing! Cake and balloons and party hats! (Does tiramisu count as cake? How about the southern cherry cobbler I will be making tomorrow with the cherries from my tree?) Since you are a renowned BJ attorney, I feel it’s appropriate to ask you about the fine print.
edited to add missing letters at the end of multiple words.
efgoldman
@lamh36:
Oh shit.
You’d think a four star would recognize, after all these years, THAT THERE’S NO FUCKING “WINNING” OVER THERE!
lamh36
@jl: flies in the face of that whole “civilian control of the military” thing
Aleta
JPL
@efgoldman: Who do you trust more?
Baud
@WaterGirl: Do you want it to count as cake?
lamh36
jl
@lamh36: True. But we are operating under a very ‘second-best’ set of assumptions now.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Happy birthday!
WaterGirl
@Baud: No, I would like cake, please. Do you deliver?
WaterGirl
@debbie: Thank you! You may have some of my cake, if I get one. :-)
Mary G
@WaterGirl: Happy Birthday!
Jennifer Rubin doesn’t mince words in Jeff Sessions wilts on the hot seat:
Jeffro
@lamh36: Whaaattt?
efgoldman
@JPL:
I wouldn’t trust Saint Theresa, the Pope, or the deity itself if it attached him/herself to that gibbering buffoon.
Show some fucking honor in your position, service and history.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: You don’t want Baudcake. Just trust me.
JPL
@Omnes Omnibus: Happy cake day to you also.
WaterGirl
@efgoldman: I know. My stomach flipped over when I read that. We are living a collective nightmare, where a rabid orange fox is in charge of every henhouse there is.
jl
@WaterGirl: Baud is an expert in convenience store pastries, snacking cakes and related edible sundries.
Mnemosyne
@SiubhanDuinne:
Sorry I wandered off to have a cupcake with the rest of the June birthdays in our office (though mine isn’t until Thursday).
I wouldn’t say to watch for anything in particular, except maybe Jack Lemmon’s reactions within the scenes, all of which are priceless. Wilder has a lot of fun with making a movie in the late 1950s that takes place in 1929, so there are some fun in-jokes there.
And if you don’t recognize him, the aging millionaire in Florida is played by Joe E. Brown, who was a star comedian in the early 1930s. He steals the movie.
Baud
@WaterGirl: Not after the incident.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Mmm, cake!
Baud
@Jeffro: Is that significant?
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack (phone):
As to Godfather: I see why everyone says it is such a fine film. Glad I saw it, but not sure I would have felt especially deprived if I hadn’t.
As to Lord Peter: For a standalone, I would go for Murder Must Advertise, or The Nine Tailors. (Personally, I have a great affection for Five Red Herrings, but I get that not everyone likes the heavy Scots dialect and/or the timetable.)
For a small series, I always love reading the four Lord Peter-Harriet Vane novels in chronological order, and watching their relationship develop and grow richer. In sequence, they are Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night, and Busman’s Honeymoon. (Then there are the Jill Paton-Walsh sequels, which are good enough reads but not DLS by any stretch: Thrones Dominations, A Presumption of Death, The Attenbury Emeralds, and The Late Scholar.)
Much more than you wanted, I’m sure.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I almost googled Baudcake just for grins, to see if anything would come up. But last time i googled from something you wrote I ended up watching “fuck me because I love Jesus”, which was a teachable moment. Sadly, that was before I knew anything about private browsing.
Full disclosure, I thought the video was awful and awesome at the same time, and I watched it to the end.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Was law enforcement involved?
efgoldman
@jl:
These are food of the gods!
WaterGirl
@Baud: I am intrigued.
If you modified it slightly, that would make a great first sentence for a novel or short story.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: There were handcuffs.
jl
@Mary G: Thanks,
From your link:
” The contrast with Comey was striking. Sessions, grayer and older, looked nervous and shrunken in his seat, growing defensive at times. ”
In defense of Sessions, he is unavoidably older and grayer than Comey. Obama was mean and didn’t lend him the time machine so he could freshen up for today’s hearing. And Sessions always looks nervous, shrunken and defensive.
Josh Marhsall and TPM reporters have some good analysis of the Sessions testimony. Here is their analysis of his hinky tales regarding the Mayflower hotel thing, whatever it was:
What Really Happened At The Mayflower? Sessions Gives Conflicting Answers
By ALICE OLLSTEIN Published JUNE 13, 2017
TPM
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/sessions-mayflower-hotel-trump-kislyak-russia-senate
Edit: ‘hinky’ is a word I remember from an old Dragnet rerun I saw as a kid. Means ‘fishy’. Just so you know I am all up on this cops and robbers and true crime stuff.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Not too much for me! I loved all those stories.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: That’s not what I asked, handcuffs could be used in other situations.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Do male strippers dressed up as cops count as law enforcement?
?BillinGlendaleCA
WaPo says Northam won in the VA Dem primary.
Omnes Omnibus
@JPL: No, mine is later this summer. I share with SD not WG.
efgoldman
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Have you been deputized?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: No. Happy B-day.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Oh wow.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I will share my cake with you anyway.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Happy birthday!!! I hope you had a nice day.
Steeplejack (phone)
@WaterGirl:
Happy birthday to you, too!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: No, I don’t have any handcuffs.
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I don’t remember why that’s significant.
Spanky
@Kay: Depends on what data they actually have. Did they only pick up communications that discussed what they did in general terms, or in really specific terms, or did they find actual evidence on the voting systems themselves? What they found could range from heresay evidence to a hot smoking gun. And I can see why they’d be reluctant to burn a source that is probably still providing intel, especially if there are third party sources.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: My influence is often bad.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Oh wow, good? Or oh wow, bad? I have been out of the loop and unaware of that election.
jl
@WaterGirl: Don’t talk about making anything from the fruit of your tree. Gets Baud confused about your intentions and other things.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: That’s one of the reasons we love you.
WaterGirl
@jl: I see what you mean. So I probably shouldn’t invite Baud over to eat my cobbler. Noted.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
Oh please, Mnem. I’m almost 75, of course I remember Joe E. Brown.
And I do recall him in SLIH, but suspect his scenes will be much greater on the large screen. Will come back with comments tomorrow.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Morzer:
Jesus, talk about a smoking gun.
Mary G
Well, to get on my hobbyhorse again, the Senate voted 53-47 to let a portion of the arms sales to Saudi Arabia go through. The vote was much closer this year than last year, when Chris Murphy only got 27 votes. The Hill says
Chuck Schumer finally joined the good side, saying that SA has to stop supporting Wahhabi teaching of violent jihad.
Baud
@WaterGirl: They were both good candidates AFAIK. I thought I heard that Periello was polling ahead.
Omnes Omnibus
@jl:
Fucking Milton.
Aimai
@Zach: no occams razor says he met with the russians three times for a reason.
efgoldman
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Well, damn. You’re no fun!
jl
@WaterGirl: Especially not on your birthday.
It is your birthday, right? There are two birthdays here today.
Anyway, happy birthday, if that is what today is.
JPL
@Omnes Omnibus: Mine is whenever we celebrate. My ex never had time to buy cake, so sometimes we’d celebrate in the fall, even though my birthday is in July. The adult sons are still confused, about when my b-day is. lol
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: Per the WaPo notification on my computer, he won over the candidate that was endorsed by Sen. Warren and the junior Senator from Vermont.
randy khan
The main D.C. news radio station is reporting that Northam is projected to win the Dem primary for Governor of Virginia.
Edit: I see I’m late to the party.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Risotto man (Podesta) also endorsed him though.
Aleta
@WaterGirl: If they are coming out of a cake universal laws will be enforced.
ETA And Happy Birthday!
efgoldman
@Aimai:
When all is said and done, I bet it was to receive (or arrange to receive) some kind of illegal money.
lamh36
Mnemosyne
@SiubhanDuinne:
Well, I never know where people’s knowledge gaps are! ?
The one criticism that G and I had of the broadcast was that the picture seemed a little softer than it should be, but that may have been our theater.
If you’ve seen it before, then I would keep an eye out for how the themes of the opening scene echo throughout the movie, where nobody is what they seem and danger is in unlikely places.
schrodingers_cat
@?BillinGlendaleCA: So, the neoliberal won?
/end snark.
Steeplejack (phone)
@TenguPhule:
Why, I oughta . . . [fist clenched]
randy khan
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
More or less every Virginia Dem endorsed Northam, along with NARAL. Periello was a little bit squishy on choice (and gun control, too).
Corner Stone
@jl: By their fruits shall ye know them.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I’m just reporting the way WaPo had it in their notification on my thinkin’ machine.
amk
Mnemosyne
@Aleta:
Are we talking about Some Like It Hot again?
(That film’s cake scene … doesn’t end well for some characters.)
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I had a lovely day two days. I got a pedicure and a massage, had a lovely meal, got 3 different kinds of chocolate, heard from friends and family.
efgoldman
@JPL:
My late paternal grandfather claimed not to know the day, or even year, of his birth. Of course he had no paperwork from the old country (did Russia even register Jewish births in the late 1880s?) and we found out very late in his life that he was afraid of the Cossacks coming up the street in Boston(!) and dragooning him into the Russian army – even though he knew very well that the Czars were gone.
JPL
@lamh36: He attacked Trump by calling him a narcissistic maniac, and I wish Ossoff would also.
Corner Stone
@lamh36: I’m so fucking confused. Bernie was running for something in VA?
Baud
@amk: Good.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack (phone): Thanks, Steepl
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Lamh36 answered my question in #208.
If Wilmer’s candidates aren’t doing well in majority-white states, and they’re not doing well in states with large minority populations, where will they do well?
jl
@amk: OK, great. Trump did something 5 of the 6 last presidents never did (including, very importantly, Obama) and he beat Dub by over 1,600 days, and did it without a botched invasion or major national disaster.
So, Trump wins! Someone let Trump know. He might declare victory and resign.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Cossacks, Sox fans from Southie – is there really a difference?
Baud
@Corner Stone: Proxy fight. A dumb one IMHO. Periello seems like a decent guy.
efgoldman
@lamh36:
Hardly a surprise, except maybe to Bernie and the Bots.
And once again his endorsement proves to be less than worthless.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack (phone):
You little . . .
?BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman:
I’ve heard about Massholes and their “driving”.
Morzer
@Steeplejack (phone):
I think that dirty money from Russia is the key to everything about Trump and his illegitimate regime. That’s where everything ends up if you look at the various trails and lies and evasions. It’s what links Kushner, Sater, Trump’s solvency after a series of disastrous attempts to be a business man, the refusal to release the tax returns, the choice of pay-to-play oligarchs for his cabinet. If we ever do get to see the Trump/Kushner financials, my bet is that we see two families that were so heavily in debt that without Russian money they’d have crashed and burned years ago. It’s a good bet that they still are heavily in debt and are trying desperately to pay back their owners, which is why they’ve blatantly violated the Emoluments clause repeatedly.
Morzer
@jl:
60% is 3/5 is it not?
jake the antisoshul soshulist
@JPL:
I go with Warwick Davis.
efgoldman
@Mnemosyne:
I understand Marvin Martian’s family are huge Bernie supporters.
He needs to shut up and go lie down. Now he’s just embarrassing himself.
Aleta
@efgoldman: There’s a story in USA Today about 70% of investment in Trump Org properties since the election being from shell companies, iirc.
Accurate story here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/06/13/trump-property-buyers-make-clear-shift-secretive-llcs/102399558/
Something like 100 million $.
Keith P.
LOL, KIrsten Power just put her foot down on Jason Miller throwing out calling a female Senator “hysterical”. Rather than let it go or just talk about it for a second or two and then moving on, she insisted on Jason Miller explain why the woman is “hysterical” but the man (Wyden) is just “dogged”. Then Jeffrey Lord wanted some, so KP gave him some. It was awesome.
lamh36
efgoldman
@Omnes Omnibus:
Were all scared shitless of hosses.
Chyron HR
@efgoldman:
It’s like people don’t even understand that Big Bird’s disciples are automatically entitled to their votes because he woulda won.
Baud
@lamh36: Excellent news.
Morzer
@Aleta:
Try #113 on this very thread.
lamh36
So does this mean, the GOP candidate has to double down on the neo confederacy bullshit? Or will he try to tack center?
Hal
@efgoldman: It’s interesting how little weight Sander’s endorsement has had so far in these races. But if he has encouraged these candidates to move further left and be more progressive, that’s still great. I just wish Sanders and his supporters would realize that fact.
Mnemosyne
@Morzer:
Don’t forget the Super PACs. We were warned years ago when the Supreme Court first decided Citizens United that Super PACs would allow foreign governments to funnel money into our elections without being held accountable. I suspect that’s why the Republicans are closing ranks — they know there’s Russian money in their coffers and they’re trying to conceal it.
Aleta
@Morzer: Thanks, missed it!
Josie
@WaterGirl: I’m so glad that things are better for you. Happy birthday and congratulations on getting out of that vexing work environment.
lamh36
Something for Dems to think about…esp in states where AA voters makes up a large chunk of Dem voters and can make a big difference…
Morzer
@lamh36:
It’s almost like a significant number of Republicans are racist crackpots who regret that the Southern traitors lost their war against the United States.
Elizabelle
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yea! Ralph Northam is great. Happy to see that outcome.
And: fun with the New York Times: this is their blurb, but check it against results so far (on the GOP side):
Uh huh. The “overwhelming favorite”, with 77% of votes in, is leading by 1 percentage point.
The runner up is Corey Stewart, chairman of Trump’s Virginia campaign, who was described in the WaPost as:
Confederate nostalgia is having a night in the Old Dominion.
Mike in NC
@efgoldman: “War Machine” on Netflix nails the quagmire in Afghanistan.
Steeplejack
God, this is where Chris Hayes is at his weakest: he is letting Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) spew out inky clouds of obfuscation going back years—the IRS “attack” on Tea Party groups!—to cloud the waters today. C’mon, man,
reignrainrein that fucker in. Joy Reid would be having none of this bullshit.(I’m 20 minutes behind on the DVR.)
lamh36
lamh36
Baud
@lamh36: I hope now people can settle down instead of doubling down. But I can’t say I’m optimistic.
lamh36
Morzer
@Mnemosyne:
That’s definitely another piece of the puzzle. I don’t think the GOP can stop and remove Trump at this point, even if they wanted to. Either they go pedal to the metal and rely on vote-suppression to hold onto power, or they face exposure as a party owned by a foreign power with anti-American interests and strategies at the top of its agenda. What will happen if they look like losing power? Heaven only knows, but I suspect it’s going to get very ugly, very fast.
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
Gosh, it’s almost like Trump’s win empowered and emboldened the white supremacists, just like we’ve been saying since November.
Too bad there was nobody willing to warn the Republicans about the basket of deplorables who were supporting them, huh?
Baud
@lamh36: Excellent. Like I said, I thought he was a good guy.
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
Yay! That’s what I want to see from Democratic primary losers!
Hal
@Steeplejack: As much as I like Hayes, I didn’t even bother to watch the interview because I knew that’s what he would do.
Baud
@Mnemosyne: Too bad indeed.
Shana
Looks like Virginia will be Ralph Northam (Gov.) and Justin Fairfax (Lt. Gov.) for the Dems this year. Only 14% turnout at my precinct, running about 2 to 1 for Dems according to the election officials. I was only there from 6am-9:30am, 12N-1:30pm, and 5-7pm. The Rs had no one outside. There were folks from a non-partisan group pushing for redistricting reform for a while (good for them).
I was gathering info for people who want to get info/involved in helping elect the Dems this year and had a lot of conversations ranging from “Hell yes, we’ve got to take back our country” to “What the f*&k has happened to my country?” My precinct has gone from 2/3 R to about 2/3 D in the 10 years I’ve been doing this. Even most of the Rs are disgusted with Trump is my take on it. We’re a fairly wealthy section of Fairfax County with lots of federal employees as well as government contractors. They may be R but they’re not stupid.
lamh36
Tell me again the Republican party w/Trump at the head isn’t about hate and bigotry. this guy likely wins cause of confederate monuments
Morzer
@Mike in NC:
And apparently the Tangerine Traitor has just given Mattis the power to throw more troops into the meat-grinder any time he feels like it. If only there were somebody in Trump’s Coalition of the Corrupt and Cretinous who had written a book about generals giving bad advice to the president who could step up and point out that this is not a winnable war…..
Corner Stone
Can we please, PLEASE, put a fucking moratorium on using the god damned awful Cats in the Cradle in any commercial. EVER AGAIN.
Elizabelle
Actually, here’s the WaPost’s GOP endorsement, from same article that endorsed Ralph Northam:
Fetid Fields is making a night of it, and the Post’s endorsee is trailing with 13% of the vote, most of it probably from Hampton Roads area.
And the NY Times changed their blurb, within the last few minutes:
Mnemosyne
@Shana:
California has had very good luck with a nonpartisan redistricting board. Arizona has one, too, but theirs worked so well that AZ Republicans sued to shut it down.
Nonpartisan redistricting is the way to go.
magurakurin
@schrodingers_cat: yes…like in France. But the loss will be spun as a great victory like in the UK.
Morzer
@lamh36:
VLADIMIR
Well? Shall we go and vote for the moderate Republican?
ESTRAGON
Yes, let’s go.
[They do not move.]
Iowa Old Lady
@lamh36: That’s the spirit!
Elizabelle
@Shana: Good on you, Shana. Proud of you. And very happy with our nominees.
I was emailing my buds from afar to remind them to vote. They did. :-)
efgoldman
@Chyron HR:
Why are you slandering Big Bird?
Elizabelle
New thread about Virginia? Could be fun to discuss. Thanks!
lamh36
lamh36
One to watch?
efgoldman
@lamh36:
Depends how ideologically delusional he is.
Chyron HR
@Corner Stone:
So you want commercials with no damn cat, and no damn cradle?
magurakurin
@Baud: by all accounts is and he is hitting the campaign trail together with Northam from tomorrow. Hopefully, neither will tell Sanders about it.
Morzer
@lamh36:
I thought Trump was more of an Orange Vulture than a Black Swan.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Mnemosyne: “Well, nobody’s perfect!”
Elizabelle
@debbie: Thank you so much. I did happen to see the obit for the late, great Ms. Carol Ann Bonner earlier today. Was at the beach, on my iPhone, and just did not respond yet because of the finality of it all hit me. But have been thinking of her all afternoon and evening, and so glad we have a name. Alain made that happen. I will respond in the obit thread later, and am glad to hear of our virtual wake on Friday. Hope to be there.
Barbara
@lamh36: Gillespie’s vote in Northern Virginia is mostly inside the Beltway. He is doing well in Richmond and Virginia Beach and that is pretty much the story. Northam basically took the eastern half of the state plus some southwrstern counties. Perriello won his home turf and most of the west.
Barbara
@lamh36: I met one of the other candidates for this seat — Kahlon — and he seemed like a really good guy.
debbie
@lamh36:
If only for the irony.
WaterGirl
@JPL: That’s funny! If you play your cards right, you could end up with two birthdays and two celebrations each year.
efgoldman
@Morzer:
They can’t regret what they think never happened.
lamh36
TenguPhule
@Steeplejack (phone): How much of a led will you give me?
Morzer
I can’t imagine how a cult of Trump’s personality could possibly lead a party wrong….
scav
@SiubhanDuinne: Hppy pappy bthuthdy!! Indeed, Winnie der Pooh! The official cake of most of my childhood.
WaterGirl
@Josie: Thank you! This has been part birthday celebration and part celebration of my new found freedom. It’s like 4th of July for me, where are the fireworks??? :-)
Elizabelle
@Morzer: Trump did not revolutionize the GOP. He channeled them. They built an electorate for him, he grifted onto their already radicalized party.
Tell us another one, Mr. Podhoretz.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
I like the detailed information! I read all, or almost all, of the Wimsey novels back in the ’70s, when the BBC series was on PBS. But I haven’t looked at them since then, so it was good to get a refresher and some suggestions for which one to sample.
As with a lot of crime-novel series, the narrative sort of runs together in my mind as one long super-novel.
hovercraft
@Morzer:
Soo what you’re telling me that if you take out the blah people, the Mexicans, the Asians, the Native American people and anyone not considered a “Real American”, Twitler is really popular.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I don’t think I realized until just now that in Virginia the governor can only serve one term. Has it always been that way?
germy
Morzer
@Elizabelle:
I have been grimly amused at the sight of the right wing Never Trumper “resistance” insisting that he is somehow a unique and viral contagion of an innocent party that never had nothing to do with their own diligent falsehoods and scaremongering.
Jeffro
@JPL:
Northam’s going to win this now solidly-blue Commonwealth in November. Ed Fucking Gillespie – if he even pulls out a win here – can enjoy trying to have it both ways with Trumpov and see what that gets him.
Dems, take note: there is no downside to calling Trumpov a narcissistic maniac, full stop.
Shana
@Corner Stone: Bernie endorsed Perriello. Sorry if this has already been answered.
germy
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/terry-mcauliffe-is-thinking-of-running-for-president.html
Jeffro
@Baud:
it was, and he is, and there was never more than 1-2% difference between them on the issues…much like a certain other Dem race that took place about this time a year, year and a half ago.
I can’t tell y’all how many calls I got from both sides, and both sides were equally shocked when I told them I was taking a pass and going to throw my support and efforts wholeheartedly behind whomever won this coming November. Keep yer powder dry – save it for Republicans!
efgoldman
@Corner Stone:
Worse, the use misconstrues the intent of the whole song – like when the RWNJs use Born in the USA.
Immanentize
?@germy:
ZOMG
NO thank you
ETA. But he is so youthful. Only 60 now
Morzer
Man, I bet Paul Ryan has a spring in his step and a song in his heart after hearing that little bon mot from Donnie Putinobitch.
germy
@Morzer: Cue the record needle scratching sound effect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qle5J85-RI
Morzer
@germy:
I am not wild about the Macker, although he’s grown on me in his Virginia governing days, but he really doesn’t seem comparable to Trump.
Jeffro
@germy: Good luck with that, Terry, you’re going to need it.
Lots of other good choices out there, btw.
Baud
@germy: I’m glad we’re finally taking a break from worrying about Andrew Cuomo.
Peale
@germy: ??? I had heard he was a decent governor. How is he like Trump?
Morzer
@Baud:
So the Baud campaign is officially issuing a Cuomo No-No?
Shana
@Mnemosyne: I agree. I’d love to see non-partisan redistricting here. Depends on how many Ds we elect this year (I’m not holding my breath for the House of Delegates).
hovercraft
@lamh36:
I remember when he was one of his early supporters and that he voted for the ACA knowing it would cost him his seat, which was I was rooting for him today. The BS taint was too much to overcome though. SAD!
Perhaps someone could tell BS that traveling the country talking about the need to appeal to wwc voters, while his Johnny come lately discovery of BLM as an important issue has all but disappeared, is not the way to endear yourself to the actual base of our party.
I feel bad for Perriello, but we still got a good candidate.
Uncle Cosmo
@efgoldman: Born at home (in SW PA) my father (so the story goes) was so sickly he wasn’t expected to survive. After he made it through his first month he was taken to the local Catholic church for baptism, which provided the earliest documented record of his existence. When he needed an official birth certificate the family backed off the date of baptism by a month & reported that, which became his official birthdate – but no one still living is absolutely sure how accurate that is. Close enough for government work, one supposes.
Morzer
The high 20s… as in.. 27%?
jl
@hovercraft:
” Soo what you’re telling me that if you take out the blah people, the Mexicans, the Asians, the Native American people and anyone not considered a “Real American”, Twitler is really popular. ”
Trump’s rising unpopularity is due mainly to loss in support from white dudes. He lost most of everyone else long ago.
Can check this by doing a search of ‘Trump support whites’ Lots of stories on starting in April.
Baud
@Morzer: He’s not going to be the nominee. Neither is Terry.
WaterGirl
@Peale: I thought he was pretty smarmy when he was head of the DNC, but I have liked what I have seen of him as governor. Still, I don’t think he is presidential material.
edit to add: On the other hand, see Trump, Donald.
Shana
@WaterGirl: Yes, unfortunately, only one consecutive term. I suppose someone could come back after a term out of office and run again. Any VA people know?
amk
@germy: terry may or may not be prez material but he sure ain’t no fucking twitler.
Morzer
@Baud:
How could either of them be the nominee for the Baud 2020 campaign? I was asking about Presumptive Candidate For Life Baud’s views on his VP pick.
WaterGirl
@Shana: The google says the answer to your question is yes. It’s consecutive terms that are term-limited. I suppose that gives the governors the freedom to do what they think is right without having to worry about what it will mean for reelection chances.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
You know your ’30s movie dialogue!
WaterGirl
@Baud: I know it’s way too early to think about 2020, but I apparently can’t help myself. Do you think Kaine might run?
Baud
@Morzer: Jared Kushner, of course. The guy can do everything.
jl
@Morzer:
” I was asking about Presumptive Candidate For Life Baud’s views on his VP pick. ”
Can Baud trust you to hold his beer? I’d guess that is the most important of the various litmus tests.
Baud
@WaterGirl: I think he will give it serious thought.
Morzer
@Baud:
So you plan to push the Kush, while at the same time he’s going to be the VP (Everything) for the Tangerine Scream’s campaign?
Innovative!
Morzer
@jl:
So the ticket is going to be Baud/S.Umtable?
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Checking on it a little more, but I think it’s a mid 20th century fix. To stop the Byrd machine in Virginia. Old Southern Democrats. I think governors could originally succeed themselves. Will be back with response on that …
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Interesting! I will await further info…
randy khan
@lamh36:
Good for Periello. I supported Northam, but didn’t think Periello was a bad guy, and am glad to see him doing this.
The VA Dems have their act together better than they have in a long time – they have a much better slate of candidates for the House of Delegates than in years.
hovercraft
@jl:
I was being facetious, I was channelling Twitler, if you discount the views of those people, then I’m very popular, kind of like when you subtract the illegals I won the popular vote.
Lyrebird
@hovercraft: Yeah, I couldn’t watch him on the news without wanting to destroy something, I do hear you! Sorry I got my legal eagles mixed up here, but I know you could destroy his evasion and obfuscation!
Thanks also for Smeagol. Yes. Others use “Keebler elf” — not devious enough.
Steeplejack
@Hal:
Jeez, wish I had seen that promo. I would have given that segment a miss!
Hayes does not do well with the rude, overtalking asshole types. His staff needs to do more vetting so they don’t get on, or maybe they need to send Hayes to attack-dog host school. Not the whole course, maybe just a weekend seminar to steel him up a bit.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: I was wrong about it being a 20th century innovation. The rule barring Virginia governors from serving consecutive turns has been around since before the Civil War. From a letter to the editor of the Richmond Times Dispatch a few years ago,
Bonus info: Linwood Holton, a genuinely moderate Republican governor, is Tim Kaine’s father in law.
hugely
@lamh36: she’s a super hottie? I’ve seen her on a plane, stone cold fox – no lie
hugely
@efgoldman: Ambassador General Rodman you mean – heh
jl
@hovercraft: I kind of figured you were at least semi snarking. Your comment sparked my curiosity so I looked up some recent polls with breakdowns. Trump is falling across the board. Besides white men, recent big drops in rural areas and in military, Trump is underwater with both those groups now, and not by a few points close to margin of error, but substantially for example -9 points with military.
WSJ: Trump’s Approval Among Military Drops 16 Points
NewsMax
Tuesday June 13, 2017
I don’t feel like linking to NewsMax, but it’s just a report of a WSJ poll.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Interesting! The only part I already knew was the Kaine father-in-law, though I didn’t know his name. Thanks.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: Hayes just needs to stop having them. There is zero reason for it. His audience doesn’t tune in to see Jim Jordan or some fucking Trump flack.
It’s the same problem I have with Joy when she books a Trump mouthpiece on. She’ll have three decent, mostly reasonable people and then one fucking mouthbreather.
Even when she smacks them around every 15 seconds it is still a waste of an entire panel. They ruin whole segments of her show, and she doesn’t get enough airtime to be doing that very often.
Just don’t have them on. Send me the guest list. I can pre strike the whole thing in 20 seconds.
Corner Stone
Adding on, Hayes gets fucking rolled. I have never seen a show host get rolled as hard as Hayes routinely does. Tweety will let them go for a minute and if they don’t answer his question or say something he doesn’t like he will bulldog their ass. He ain’t there for that bullshit.
Rachel does her own polite disagreement but doesn’t get rolled like CH does.
And Greta. My fucking God. Her entire job is to let the RWNJ on her show talk and talk and talk unobstructed until the segment break. She is, and remains, completely unwatchable.
scott alloway
@SiubhanDuinne: Lay down 5 to 1 he is.
Steeplejack
@TenguPhule:
Your ded to me.
Uncle Cosmo
Refresh my memory here: Since last November, how many Democratic candidates endorsed by BS have won anything? I can only think of one – Heath Mello, who won the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Omaha (& then lost in the general to the Republican incumbent). Seems to me that a Wilmer endorsement has for the most part been the Kiss of Derp.
Barbara
@lamh36: Say what? Douglas Wilder anyone? Virginia is a southern state with an awful legacy of segregation but it was one of the first — if not the first — states to elect an African American as lieutenant governor. I listened to the swearing in on the radio. It was conducted by Lewis Powell, who finished by saying that it was a great day for America. How could someone commenting on politics not know that?
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Yeah, I agree.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Oh, hell, I don’t watch Greta at all. In fact, that promo spot she does now that I cannot avoid not only makes me never want to go to Martin’s Tavern, it has me thinking about quitting drinking entirely.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: I don’t either 99% of the time. But the other day I woke up trapped on a couch in a soft blanket and she was on with awesome guest Gov Sununu (sp?). She let that motherfucker just spout off and lie for as long as it took me to unwind myself and find the remote.*
*Full disclosure – coming out of a Boss Nap isn’t easy.
sukabi
@Lizzy L: hmmmm, the “more money in the Senate version” is likely more money derived from bigger tax cuts for the wealthy.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Corner Stone:
[Burton Guster voice:] You know that’s right!
Shalimar
@sukabi: In this case, finding more money for healthcare could only happen by making the big tax cuts for the wealthy smaller. Since those tax cuts are their main motivation for pushing through the bill amidst overwhelming national disgust, they are not going to find any more money.
D58826
Watching the horrible videos of the fire in London. No one has mentioned the T word and I have absolutely no reason to think that it was anything other than an accidental fire. But if a person can use a pressure cooker, a car, a truck, or a hammer, why not arson? It’s not like it’s never been done for profit. Wasn’t the Honorable (caught cough) Cong Critter Issa involved in an arson scheme before he moved on to DC?
Here you have a building with building code violations and a flammable curtain wall. Just jam open the elevator doors on a couple of floors (creates a drought and prevents use to escape) starting from the top of the building throw Molotov cocktails around the fire exits (also creates a drought and blocks escape routes), douse the outside wall will gasoline, drop a match and bingo you have a towering inferno.
D58826
Huffington and AP are reporting that a Congresscritter has been shot while playing baseball in No. Va. One report is there are three others shot as well and it was pickup baseball game involving GOP congressmen.