Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Petty moves from a petty man.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Consistently wrong since 2002

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Giving up is unforgivable.

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

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Reason for the Season

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Reason for the Season

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That having been said, what’s on the agenda for the day?
***********

Also, speaking of “homespun” horrors…

Reader Interactions

175Comments

  2. 2.

    ThresherK

    So, a second round of “vote your conscience” is afoot. Fascinated how this’ll be handwaved away.

  4. 4.

    Amir Khalid

    That White House corridor photo doesn’t say “Christmas” to me. It says “three-star hotel”. How do you walk along it without the risk of brushing against a “plant” and inadvertently pulling it down?

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Awwwww, pobrecitos, having to face the fact that the world is NOT all about them: New Zealand broadcasters refuse to stop using Māori words

    High-profile New Zealand media personalities are refusing to back down from using Māori words in their prime-time broadcasting, despite hundreds of complaints from English speakers who say they feel excluded by the use of the Te Reo language.

    Newshub presenter Kanoa Lloyd, who is of Māori descent, first began introducing Te Reo words to her weather reports in 2015 and immediately received a weekly torrent of complaints and online abuse. Many listeners said they were unhappy with Lloyd referring to New Zealand by its Te Reo name of Aotearoa, and to the North and South Islands by their Te Reo names of Te Ika-a-Maui and Te Waipounamu.

    Lloyd defied her critics and has continued using Te Reo words in her job as co-host of The Project NZ. Her staunch approach to preserving the indigenous language seems to have inspired other broadcasters to follow suit.

  8. 8.

    different-church-lady

    Hey you tech savvy BJ’ers who put up with my tech whinging: it’s become obvious I’ve got to ditch my e-mail address of 20-years-standing due to unreliable servers at (borg-owned domain).

    I’m thinking it’s time I got my own domain, and I’m wondering if you have recommendations for a hosting company. Email with really good server-level spam filters and simple webpages (no e-commerce needs), and cheap are the requirements.

  12. 12.

    geg6

    Wow, that is some fugly holiday decorating. Tacky and frightening all at once.

    As for the AL senate race, read an article (can’t remember where) about white women in AL and one of the people interviewed had just planted a Doug Jones sign in her yard and was in tears over it. It hurt her that much to support a Dem but she was determined not to vote for a child molester. Let us all hope there are many like her.

  13. 13.

    Mustang Bobby

    @different-church-lady: I have my own, purchased through Go-Daddy years ago, but now it’s handled by another server, and I’d have to ask my tech support team — my brother, the retired Microsoft exec — who is handling it. I think it’s ASO (A Small Orange) or Google.

  15. 15.

    TS

    @Chyron HR: the big child surely can – but I really wonder who cares as to what this does to the young one. Beyond anyone, he did not ask for this.

  16. 16.

    Immanentize

    Hmmm, is that hallway a reproduction of a circa 1983 Casino lounge entry? Or part of the set of the Off-Broadway version of Twilight — The Battle in the Woods?

    Meanwhile, how many sad Christian Moore supporters will try to recreate it in their homes?

  20. 20.

    Immanentize

    Hmmm, is that hallway a reproduction of a circa 1983 Ca$ino lounge entry? Or part of the set of the Off-Broadway version of Twilight — The Battle in the Woods?

    Meanwhile, how many sad Christian Moore supporters will try to recreate it in their homes?

  21. 21.

    Immanentize

    @different-church-lady: We are getting our domain so we can switch to a new mail system at our house. My last name is pretty unique, so the domain can be @mylastname.net. My brother snagged mylastname.com years ago but has never used it…. I also purchase domains through Go Daddy. Has always worked for me, but for some reason, my son disapproves of Go Daddy…

  22. 22.

    p.a.

    Sorry to be the turd in the punchbowl, but I’ll believe Alabama’s polling when I see it confirmed on election day. “They are who we think they are.” (Will be interesting to see e-day breakdowns re: rethug bitter-enders, stay homes, crossovers (I’m betting very few), write-ins, and Dems: turnout compared to presidential year elects, off years, and any other recent statewide specials.)

  23. 23.

    Baud

    @geg6:

    It hurt her that much to support a Dem but she was determined not to vote for a child molester. Let us all hope there are many like her.

    Obviously, let’s hope that, but I’ll admit to having mixed feelings about her.

  25. 25.

    Kay

    I put the Christmas tree in front of the living room window – I feel this takes care of both inside and outside decorating since you can see it from outside. That’s it for decorating tips. All I got.

  27. 27.

    raven

    Repost:

    Well, the last day of the best 10 days of weather and worst 10 days of fish catchin I’ve had down here. I’m going to try the bay this morning, there is a really nice fishing pier they made from and old bridge so I’ll try that.

  30. 30.

    Kay

    I hate the people who say this every week, but I think Trump creating a big ruckus at that ceremony distracts from his horrible tax plan and the fact that they’re gutting the CFPB.

    Not much you can do about it though. It works every time.

  37. 37.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Immanentize: It reminds me of the beginning of Narnia. Especially when Melania turns up wearing white.

    Also where is the baby Jesus? Don’t tell me that Trump has succumbed to political correctness already?

  39. 39.

    Betty Cracker

    @TS: Saw a clip of Trump’s turkey pardoning thing, and that boy looked so unwell and haunted it made me want to call CPS for a child welfare home visit.

  41. 41.

    Kay

    @p.a.:

    I’m pleased Democrats have such a quality candidate. It’s hard to recruit people for those races. They have to campaign for a year and the end result of all that work is they probably lose. “Run someone in every race” is easy to say but a lot of times it means “someone” – anyone who will do it.

  43. 43.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Good morning! I’m up early to help milk goats at a small dairy farm in the vicinity. A lot of the does are pregnant, so we’re expecting the first kids to start coming in the next few weeks. I get paid in cheese for my labors.

    As for the Little Shop of Christmas Horrors, I got nothin’.

  45. 45.

    satby

    So now that we’ve endured four days of a hopped up on steroids materialistic shopping frenzy, today is Giving Tuesday. Whoever invented that must have felt like they needed a karma assist.

    Edit: shopping, not shipping.

  46. 46.

    debbie

    I wonder what the pious evangelical Trump supporters think of the decorations. Where is the baby Jesus???

  49. 49.

    Kay

    @debbie:

    We’re getting Cordray for Christmas :)

    Let’s hope the lunatics in the GOP base choose someone other than Husted. He’s their best shot.

  51. 51.

    Tony J

    @rikyrah:

    A lot of it is excitement at being able to shoehorn in pics of Ms Markle in the altogether from TV stills.

    You know, for context.

  53. 53.

    Alain the site fixer

    @different-church-lady: hosting matters, who host this site. Cheap, great service, very helpful.

    And that’s it for me this week. Receiving friends of my mom today and funeral and interment tomorrow. Thoughts and prayers for me and family very much appreciated.

    And JR, I thank you for the kind email. I’ve got it open, awaiting a response but I’ve had too much to do.

    Thanks to all for everything…off to start two very hard, painful days. Hug your loved ones for me, especially furry kitties!

  60. 60.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    I was all upset last night because I got into bed to read and my kindle wouldn’t start. Turns out the charger wasn’t plugged in. The device hadn’t been charged for three days. Problem solved!

    Also Facebook finally decided I could post again. All is well with my tech world.

  64. 64.

    opiejeanne

    @debbie: I saw a creche briefly, looked like one of the expensive ones, so I’m guessing that’s where baby Jesus is, although in some households the baby Jesus is added to the scene after the kids have gone to bed on Christmas Eve.

    ETA: I see Ozark Hillbilly got a photo of it. .

  70. 70.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker: HA HA HA HA! And what’s gonna do – this is a RICH WHITE GUY criticizing him! (answer: nothing, same as Mark Cuban, same as those NBA coaches, etc etc) LOL

  73. 73.

    HeleninEire

    @Betty Cracker: Awesome. Trump’s gonna say he’s to busy presidenting to go. Didn’t want to go; nope. “I BROKE UP WITH YOU HARRY. YOU DIDN’T BREAK UP WITH ME!!!”

    Morning, morning crew.

  75. 75.

    randy khan

    @Baud:

    Obviously, let’s hope that, but I’ll admit to having mixed feelings about her.

    On the other hand, the first vote is the hardest one, so maybe this is the start of her seeing the light.

    (I want to be optimistic about these things.)

  83. 83.

    Bruce K

    Surprised I haven’t seen this formulation of the stark choice between Moore and Jones in Alabama:

    Roy Moore threatened young girls. Doug Jones avenged them.

  84. 84.

    opiejeanne

    @Baud: Yeah, hmm.

    We have one we purchased from a friend; it was a fund raiser for her dad’s church. It’s a very simple representation of a stable and all of the figures were left plain and glazed in a clear finish. It was pretty cheap to produce. I like it because of all of the pieces: two camels, three or four sheep, a couple of donkeys, two or three shepherds, as well as the Magi, Joseph and Mary and the angel. Jesus is the smallest piece, lying in the manger, which reminds me. I saw an article when I was waiting in a doctor’s office about preparing to bring your newborn baby home from the hospital and the guy who wrote it mentioned having the manger ready. I couldn’t get past that sentence. I think he meant “bassinet”.

  87. 87.

    Baud

    @randy khan: Let’s hope. I just really can’t imagine what we’ve done to anyone that would drive them to years in having to vote for one of us.

    Them again, the tears probably reflect the fact that she’s likely ostracising herself from her society. Perhaps forever.

  91. 91.

    Patricia Kayden

    @OzarkHillbilly: Melania is trying to tell us something. It’s a cry for help. If she didn’t support her husband’s birtherism, I’d actually feel sympathy for her but alas.

  94. 94.

    JMG

    Special elections are notoriously hard to poll, because turnout modeling is pretty much just an educated guess as it lacks a specific data comparison. Moore could win by 10. Jones could win. The election is still two weeks away. Besides this week 70 percent of the state is in deep mourning because Alabama lost to Auburn.

  97. 97.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    Tax plans don’t really get people worked up the way millions dying from lack of healthcare do. Understandably. But we need the money to fund the healthcare.

    It’s not real. Not reality. The Trump supporters here will think they got a tax cut the same way they thought Obama raised their taxes, or the same way they say the exact same economy is GREAT under Trump but sucked under Obama. It’s not real, it’s perception so if we can trash the tax plan enough it might sink in that it’s taxing lower incomes to subsidize rich people, which is also the truth.

  102. 102.

    Dave

    Can’t lie I’m sorta enjoying Melania’s I hate all of you approach to Christmas in the Whitehouse. Her resentment at the fact that enough yahoos voted for her dumpster fire of a husband to install him in the Oval Office and stick her with being FLOTUS is boiling over and it’s kinda amazing.

  103. 103.

    JMG

    @Kay: All available polling shows that a majority of people know that the tax bill benefits the rich and almost nobody else and that they don’t like it. Nothing will reach the cultists, but repeating the message on a daily basis is just good politics, because the cultists are not a majority in most places.

  104. 104.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: @Citizen_X: Harry and Meghan should invite the Khans. I mean, they could invite LaVar, Jemele Hill, Jeff Flake, and Colin Kaepernick to tweak Orangemandias (and I won’t complain a bit if they do) but they’re a wonderful, honorable rebuke to Trumpov and Trumpism just by being them.

    Then again, Harry and Meghan inviting Obama and dissing Trumpov is going to be something to behold.

    Maybe both?

  106. 106.

    MomSense

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    When I heard trump say that, I really wanted to shout that it’s better than the hard on for crime that Moore has.

    I assumed the deep decorating state would prevent the tackiest family in America from messing up Christmas decorations but the deep state hasn’t exactly been on their game lately. I’ve been to some creepy cemeteries in my day but wowza that hallway is like a dungeon.

    @Immanentize:

    Or part of the set of the Off-Broadway version of Twilight — The Battle in the Woods?

    HA! You owe me a new keyboard.

  107. 107.

    MomSense

    @Bruce K:

    Surprised I haven’t seen this formulation of the stark choice between Moore and Jones in Alabama:

    Roy Moore threatened young girls. Doug Jones avenged them.

    I think the answer is in your statement. I wish I were surprised that choice wasn’t made clear in Alabama.

  110. 110.

    Ohio Mom

    What I don’t get is, what is the purpose of having Melania wear a coat indoors? I guess it is supposed to look seasonal, but to me it looks like someone better turn up the thermostat before the White House pipes start freezing. Really, are we to believe she is so cold she can’t bear to take off her coat?

  115. 115.

    rikyrah

    FreedomWatch sues to remove Mueller
    BY JONATHAN EASLEY – 11/27/17 04:36 PM EST

    A conservative group filed suit on Monday seeking to remove special counsel Robert Mueller from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian meddling.

    Conservative lawyer Larry Klayman, the founder of the watchdog group FreedomWatch, filed a complaint in U.S. district court that seeks to force the Justice Department to investigate leaks from the special counsel, as well as “the obvious conflicts of interest among staff.”

    The complaint against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI director Christopher Wray states that “it is a criminal offense to leak grand jury information” and seeks Mueller’s removal.

  116. 116.

    rikyrah

    Uh huh

    The problem with America is that Trump Supporters view Putin as an ally to them and to America because he helped put Trump in office. To them, Putin is a hero. To them, collusion isn’t a crime. To them, President Trump is their leader, their king, their dictator!

    It’s a CULT!

    — Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) November 28, 2017

  118. 118.

    Ajabu

    I posted this in a dead thread yesterday but it bears repeating:
    I just want to drop some empirical observations from our Thanksgiving trip to visit Mrs. Ajabu’s family in Mobile, AL last week.
    1) Lots of Doug Jones ads on TV – none for Roy Moore.
    2) Only Moore signs we saw were off the highway between Montgomery and Opelika*,
    3) The neighborhood we were in was awash in Doug Jones signs.
    Granted, this is a Black neighborhood so Roy Moore signs were as likely as Confederate flags but still, if these folks turn out it could make ALL the difference in this upcoming election.

    ETA: * Stedman isn’t crazy about her, but Opelika.
    (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist…)

  119. 119.

    laura

    @Alain the site fixer: let the tears come. Your mother was a beautiful woman and the memorial service will draw those who loved and knew her too. You’re in my heart and my thoughts today. Grace and Peace.

  120. 120.

    rikyrah

    Changes to Senate GOP tax plan may benefit Trump
    BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY – 11/28/17 09:11 AM EST

    President Trump may benefit from changes to the Senate GOP’s tax plan, The Washington Post reports.

    A change being weighed by Republicans includes expanding a tax credit that lets certain entities decrease their taxable income. The change regards pass-through entities.

    Pass-throughs are companies such as sole proprietorships and partnerships that are taxed through the individual code. Most U.S. businesses, including many small businesses, are pass-through entities.

    Trump has investment stakes in about 500 entities that may be impacted by these potential changes, according to The Post.
    “You hold interests as the sole or principal owner in approximately 500 separate entities,” Morgan Lewis attorneys Sheri Dillon and William Nelson wrote in a letter released last year by the Trump campaign.

  124. 124.

    germy

    After this business with the WaPo “sting” isn’t this rather obvious?

    Holy Shit. I think you just figured out who made the "Bernie Bernstein" calls.— Jeff Bradshaw (@JBradshaw1984) November 28, 2017

  125. 125.

    rikyrah

    The long, slow death of white America
    by Liberal Librarian

    ……………………….

    In our own time, the fear which so much of white America feels is encapsulated in this video.

    Raw video: Man wearing Roy Moore sticker physically attacked a cameraman attempting to film Moore’s arrival outside campaign rally a few minutes ago here in Henagar, Alabama. Another man w/ Moore sticker verbally assaulted a second cameraman. pic.twitter.com/faJVV8YpE0

    — Connor Sheets (@ConnorASheets) November 28, 2017

    People calling themselves “Christian” support a man accused of vile acts. Why? Because he speaks to their fear, their smallness. Their smallness, but also their sense of self-importance, and that he will defend that self-importance.

    It’s what we see with Trump. Trumpism existed before Trump. Trump merely gave it voice, allowed it to be spoken aloud. Eight years of an intelligent, erudite, exceptional black man as President almost destroyed the myths of white supremacy on which so many white Americans have suckled since the Civil Rights movement. And people hold on to their myths. Their myths give them meaning. And when someone comes along to reify those myths, they will latch onto him, even if he as a person is a scurrilous scoundrel who flouts all of their beliefs.

    White America is the Centauri, living on past glories, on memories which have no utility in a modern world.

    “White America” has to die for America to fulfill its potential. The idea of a country founded as a refuge for the “white race” has to meet its deserved end. It’s doing so, as I indicate in the title to this piece. It’s a long, slow death. But it’s a death with the promise of rebirth. A rebirth into something new, something never seen before, in which the very Western constructs of race are upended, in which people of color advancing doesn’t mean white Americans regressing. A country which finally lives up to its founding creed: All people are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.

    It really is our only hope. White America has to pass for America to live.

  127. 127.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Ajabu:

    Lots of Doug Jones ads on TV – none for Roy Moore.

    Would indicate that his fundraising is dead.

  128. 128.

    rikyrah

    According to CBO, the Senate GOP tax bill is even worse than we thought.

    The Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation’s poorest would be worse off, according to a report released Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

    By 2019, Americans earning less than $30,000 a year would be worse off under the Senate bill, CBO found. By 2021, Americans earning $40,000 or less would be net losers, and by 2027, most people earning less than $75,000 a year would be worse off. On the flip side, millionaires and those earning $100,000 to $500,000 would be big beneficiaries, according to the CBO’s calculations.

  130. 130.

    Sab

    I remember the Clinton,Bush and Obama Christmas Whitehouses. They were pretty, bright, colorful and friendly. This one is stark and creepy.

  131. 131.

    schrodingers_cat

    @rikyrah: But Tamara Keith of the vapid face and giggly countenance and taste for tacky jewelry assured me yesterday that the tax cut bill was exactly like the ACA, and spiky haired giggle sister, Amy Walter agreed with a giggle.
    TK and AW’s political commentary on the Snooze Hour must be among the worst political analysis on TV.

  132. 132.

    Ajabu

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Is you family pro Auburn or pro Nick Saban?

    Damn if I know. I don’t do oblong ball, that’s my BIL’s thing. If there’s no basket involved I’m not interested. I actually had to Google Nick Saban to find out who the hell he is…

  135. 135.

    ThresherK

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Your nod to “Axis Sally” made me laugh.

    That’s an accomplishment in an environment where R’s are paining themselves to explain how voting for a pedophile is okay because the actual age of the victim means he’s not a child molester. “There’s a difference, voters!” comes the cry.

    Also, I’m a great speller, but thanks to Roy Moore, millions of Americans like me are learning that they’ve been spelling “molestor” wrong for decades. Because we haven’t been using the word hardly at all.

  136. 136.

    WaterGirl

    I have no idea who Carlos A. Rodriguez is, but I am considering printing what he wrote on card stock and sending it out as a Christmas card to everyone I know. Including or especially to everyone I know who voted for Trump or foolishly voted third party or stayed home. They are all responsible.

    Christmas is about believing what a woman said about her sex life.
    Christmas is about a family finding safety as refugees.
    Christmas is about a child in need receiving support from the wealthy.
    Christmas is about God identifying himself with the marginalized not the powerful.

  137. 137.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Betty Cracker: WOW. Now Trump has to tweet rage about that because he cannot stand any criticism no matter how minor it may be. I’m glad that Prince Harry hates Trump just as much as many of us over here do. He’s an awful human being. His racial slur in front of Native American heroes was yet another example of this.

  139. 139.

    Shalimar

    @Spanky: No possible standing that I can see. But that is a problem with most of Larry Klayman’s endless lawsuits. He has already gotten the publicity he wanted out of it, so it really doesn’t matter that a judge will throw it out a month from now.

  141. 141.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: She is the 2017 version of the guy from Indiana who told the Obama canvasser: “I guess I’ll have to vote for the nigger” because of McCain and Palin.

  142. 142.

    rikyrah

    From WaPo:

    Why a historically conservative county in Virginia is making national Republicans nervous

    ……………………………………………….

    For the first time since 1961, Chesterfield County backed a Democrat for governor — and the driving forces in this Richmond suburb included women who defiantly trumpeted a political label their party has ducked for decades…

    Until Gov.-elect Ralph Northam (D) won Chesterfield County three weeks ago, the stretch of suburban and rural communities southwest of Richmond had been considered reliably Republican.

    Yet voters infuriated by Trump, many of them women and Hispanics who have migrated to the county in recent years, are redefining Chesterfield and alarming Virginia Republicans who have depended on the area to make up for the support the party lacks in urban areas.

    ………………………………….

    On the night Trump won the presidency, Kim Drew Wright became so infuriated that she took a Sharpie and, on poster board, compared the Republican mogul to a slang word for the male sex organ, and added: “And so are you if you voted for him.”

    She then duct-taped it over the “Hillary for President” sign in her front yard, and was pleased when a few neighbors emailed to thank her for sharing their sentiments (she took it down the next day, afraid that kids on school buses would see her invective). A week later, Wright posted on the Clinton-inspired website “Pantsuit Nation” an open invitation to women to meet at a local tavern to share their angst over Trump.

    Ninety people showed up.

    …………………………

    LWCC now has 3,000 followers on Facebook, with 13 neighborhood chapters that knocked on 50,000 doors prior to the election

  144. 144.

    Ajabu

    @tybee:

    i spent a bit more than 20 years just south east of auburn/opelika. i assume you were coming down i-85?

    Correct. Driving down from Atlanta.

  146. 146.

    rikyrah

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 11/27/17
    Warren: This is Donald Trump bringing his chaos to the CFPB
    Senator Elizabeth Warren talks with Rachel Maddow about Donald Trump’s effort to bigfoot the leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with his own appointee instead of following the order of succession established by the law.

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 11/27/17
    Cordray: CFPB leadership ‘shouldn’t be decided by tweets’
    Richard Cordray, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, talks with Rachel Maddow about Donald Trump’s effort to force a new director on the Bureau outside of the order of succession specified by the law.

  150. 150.

    rikyrah

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 11/27/17
    Schiff: Flynn investigation at critical point
    Rep. Adam Schiff, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about what is means that Mike Flynn’s lawyers are no longer working with Donald Trump’s lawyers.

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 11/27/17
    Schiff to probe Sessions on Trump overstepping on Uranium One
    Rep. Adam Schiff, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about what he hopes to learn from Jeff Sessions when he testifies before the committee this week.

  151. 151.

    Scotian

    @rikyrah:

    White America is the Centauri, living on past glories, on memories which have no utility in a modern world.

    One of the better use of fictional event comparisons to real world realities I have seen in a while. What I wonder to carry the comparison forward whether there is and if so who the Vir/Londo analog is to Trump’s Emperor Cartagia.

    And even so let us not forget the eventual fate of the Centauri…

    I love B5 references…lol

  152. 152.

    rikyrah

    Children’s health program imperiled by Republican tactics
    11/28/17 08:00 AM
    By Steve Benen

    The Republican-led Congress was supposed to extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by Oct. 1. As regular readers know, that was the day current funding for the program, which has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support, expired. The deadline passed, however, because GOP lawmakers were focused on trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

    Health care advocates initially hoped lawmakers would act soon after, and the missed deadline would be inconsequential. That was 59 days ago, and as of now, there is no solution and Republicans don’t appear to be working on one.
    ………………………..

    There’s long been a buffer built into the system, which is why no one panicked on Oct. 1. Everyone involved in the debate understood that states would move some money around until lawmakers got their act together. In fact, this wasn’t the first time federal policymakers missed a CHIP deadline.

    The point now, however, is that the GOP Congress’ indifference has gone on so long that buffer is starting to disappear. Colorado is warning affected families now, and the Washington Post reported last week that “nearly a dozen” states are preparing to do the same thing.

    The article added that five states may exhaust existing CHIP funding “in late December if lawmakers do not act.”

  154. 154.

    Shalimar

    @rikyrah: They aren’t indifferent. They don’t support spending tax dollars on healthcare for other people’s children, but they’re too chickenshit to say so or vote against it. So they will let the program die and pretend they supported it.

  155. 155.

    rikyrah

    WHEN did Country Last shut up?
    I wanna know WHEN?

    Al Gore shut up…
    But, Country Last?

    WHEN did he shut up?

    McCain Tells Clinton To “Shut Up” Like He Did
    Newsweek
    Graham Lanktree

    Senator John McCain says Hillary Clinton should not have published her book so soon after losing the 2016 election because it makes her look like she’s still campaigning and has nothing else to do.

    “What’s the f—–g point? Keep the fight up? History will judge that campaign, and it’s always a period of time before they do,” McCain told Esquire magazine in a long interview Monday. “You’ve got to move on. This is Hillary’s problem right now: She doesn’t have anything to do.”

    McCain, 81, spoke with the magazine about his recent cancer diagnosis and the mutual animosity between him and President Donald Trump. But he had sharp criticism for Clinton as well, arguing that the defeated Democratic candidate should have taken a page from his 2008 presidential run as a Republican against Barack Obama.

    “One of the almost irresistible impulses you have when you lose is to somehow justify why you lost and how you were mistreated: ‘I did the right thing! I did!’” He said. “The hardest thing to do is to just shut up.”

  156. 156.

    Immanentize

    @rikyrah:

    “it is a criminal offense to leak grand jury information”

    Not true if you are the person who testified (or your lawyer if you debriefed and allowed her to discuss the contents of your testimony). Grand jury witnesses are allowed to tell the whole world what they told the grand jury. Of course, prosecutors often prefer that you don’t discuss it. But it is not a crime to discuss what you said, what the questions were, etc.

    Further, I really have not seen any leaks from the grand jury anyway. Have others?

  158. 158.

    Patricia Kayden

    @rikyrah: Out of respect for McCain’s medical condition (which I understand to be dire and incurable), I’ll refrain from saying what McCain can do with himself. Hubby used to watch “The View” all the time but recently told me that he can’t do so any longer because Megan McCain has made it unwatchable. Like Father, Like Daughter.

  159. 159.

    Shalimar

    @Immanentize: It is a criminal offense for Mueller or anyone on his staff to leak grand jury testimony, though I don’t know of any instance in history where that offense has been prosecuted. Ken Starr in particular would have served millions of sentences if it had been.

  160. 160.

    ThresherK

    @WaterGirl: I remember a Keith Knight cartoon quoting that vebartim, and the voter there was in WV.

    (Not that there wasn’t an Indianan who said that too. And for obvious reasons I’m not Yahoogling it.)

  161. 161.

    Immanentize

    @rikyrah: Klayman has filed these types of suits since the Clinton administration. The theory here, I suppose, is that grand juries are technically part of the judicial branch functioning, so he is basically asking for a mandamus to the Judge overseeing the specific grand jury to take actions which he believes are appropriate to the judicial oversight role. Weak sauce.

  162. 162.

    Patricia Kayden

    @rikyrah: That’s a great article. Stories like that make me hopeful that we’ll have a true Democratic wave next November. By then, Trump will have pissed off pretty much every group except straight, Christian, White male bigots.

  164. 164.

    Immanentize

    @Shalimar: I know that the prosecutors/bailiffs/judges cannot leak testimony — but when has this happened in these cases?

    I was just responding to the blanket statement that leaking grand jury information is a criminal act. It isn’t in all cases.

  165. 165.

    Gin & Tonic

    There’s been a kerfuffle brewing for a while at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Our favorite short-term WH employee, Anthony Scaramucci, an alumnus, was on the School’s Board of Advisers (pretty much an honorary posting, from what I can tell.) So the students started a petition to have him removed, as not being representative of Fletcher values. There was an opinion piece in the student newspaper supporting their position. Scaramucci, being Scaramucci, threatened suit against the author of the piece, a Fletcher student, and the editor of the paper, a Tufts-but-not-Fletcher student, for defamation. Simultaneously he expressed a desire to speak on campus, presumably to turn this into a free speech issue and not a we-want-you-off-the-board issue. Tufts disinvited him, based on his threats to sue their students. This morning he resigned from the board.

  166. 166.

    Patricia Kayden

    @chris: They’re married now. Perhaps for a Republican gal, the fact that her hubby is a plagiariser is a plus. Looking at Trump, Huckabee Sanders, Spicer, Sessions, Conway, etc., it’s obvious that you must be a liar to represent or speak for the GOP.

  167. 167.

    Immanentize

    @Gin & Tonic: I heard about this mess this morning — but I hadn’t heard the ‘Mooch resigned from the board! Good for Tufts for supporting their students. The op eds were very mild, not slanderous at all.

    Frankly when I first heard the report, I assumed the lawsuit threat came during one of Scaramucci’s coke fueled night sweats.

  168. 168.

    Shalimar

    @Immanentize: Klayman is alleging in the lawsuit that Mueller and his subordinates are leaking grand jury testimony. Which is basically libel in the absence of any evidence whatsoever, but we are talking about Larry Klayman.

  169. 169.

    rikyrah

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to marry in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – and are planning ceremony themselves
    By Hannah Furness, royal correspondent Olivia Rudgard, religious affairs correspondent
    28 NOVEMBER 2017 • 3:44PM

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to marry in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May, it has been announced, as is it was revealed they are planning the wedding themselves.

    Ms Markle, a protestant who went to a Catholic high school, will be both baptised and confirmed ready for the religious ceremony. She also intends to become a British citizen.

    The Royal family will pay for the wedding – including the church service, the music, the flowers and the reception, Kensington Palace said. The couple want a “fun” wedding to make the public feel involved in a ceremony that is likely to be televised.

    Take a Tour of St. George’s Chapel:
    https://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/experience-st-georges/360-virtual-tours/

  172. 172.

    Immanentize

    @Shalimar: As it is a crime to leak that type of testimony, it is libel per se to claim someone did it if they did not — regardless of “public person” status. But that kind of response is just what Klayman would love — I mean, he is way past his use-by date.

  175. 175.

    J R in WV

    @Alain the site fixer:

    Alain, hoping everything goes well today, and that being surrounded by your family and your mother’s friends helps soothe your wounded heart.

    Be Well! We rowdy jackals are with you…

    JR

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