Scientists had to delete Urban Dictionary's data from the memory of IBM's Watson, because it was learning to swear in its answers. pic.twitter.com/DkllGLplCp
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) November 24, 2017
Watson became self-muthaf*ckin'-aware on November 24, 2017 https://t.co/hcDGXeuzCG
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 25, 2017
.
I, for one, welcome our new SkyNet overlords. Our current “leaders” are failing fast…
The House of Representatives seeks contempt citations(?) against the JusticeDepartment and the FBI for withholding key documents and an FBI witness which could shed light on surveillance of associates of Donald Trump. Big stuff. Deep State. Give this information NOW! @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2017
it just hit me what is bugging me about this tweet. he *genuinely doesn't understand he is the president* https://t.co/FJiB2hganQ
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) November 30, 2017
.
Gosh, Ms. Haberman, you sound bitter! Maybe you can rewrite your ‘exclusive access’ Trump bio as a memoir: “Donald, Glenn, and Other Men Who I Let Lie to Me”…
Speaking of professional liars, anyone old/educated enough to remember the Watergate days should’ve known better than to trust a single word out of Roger Stone’s mouth:
A New York radio personality was Roger Stone's Wikileaks contact https://t.co/9jHVJHU8Ou pic.twitter.com/SYLFxcGoQx
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 29, 2017
Not the Onion:
President Trump’s longtime associate Roger Stone was in contact with a New York radio personality who had conversations with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the 2016 campaign season, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The radio host, Randy Credico, is the individual Stone referred to as an intermediary between him and Assange. Stone initially declined to reveal his name to the House Intelligence Committee because he said they had an “off-the-record” conversation, though he insisted there was nothing untoward about their conversation. Stone later did privately disclose the identity of the individual to the panel.
Credico received a subpoena this week to appear Dec. 15 before the House Intelligence Committee, something Credico’s attorney Martin Stolar says he “certainly” plans to comply with. Credico tweeted out a copy of the subpoena on Tuesday.
“He’s had conversations with Julian Assange,” Stolar said of Credico, noting that Assange and Stone both were guests on his radio program. Stolar said his client also had separate conversations with Assange, but he declined to confirm that Credico was the go-between identified by Stone.Stone’s attorney declined to comment…
I asked Roger Stone in March if Randy Credico was his Wikileaks contact and he lied to me and said no. He just texted me, “A misguided effort to protect Credico who I felt had helped me on an off the record basis. Sorry.” Many reporters use Stone as a Trump source. Beware. https://t.co/OeGwFDeYtT
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) November 30, 2017
If Stone is charged with a crime, his false statements to journalists and others could be used against him. https://t.co/kstOzkDopf
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 30, 2017
Two ways:
1) If he takes the stand, he can be asked about these matters and then can be confronted with prior statements if he changes his story.
2) His prior statements can be used as direct evidence if they are relevant to the offense. A defendant’s statements are admissible.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 30, 2017
Some people say that foundational ratfvcker Roger Stone has survived this long by always knowing when to sell out his latest venal client. As Whitey Bulger discovered, sooner or later, the lawyers will block off all your bolt-holes…
Mueller's team has postponed an anticipated grand jury testimony linked to his investigation into Michael Flynn amid growing indications of possible plea deal discussions. https://t.co/Z6wHlU38Du
— Anthony De Rosa ? (@Anthony) November 29, 2017
Cherry on the shite sundae:
Please shoot me: This limited edition Trump 45 gun finished in 24 karat gold is on sale for between $15,000 and $50,000 https://t.co/zUF63Y8O1G cc: @doctorow pic.twitter.com/SIcXcmPufO
— Christian Nightmares (@ChristnNitemare) November 28, 2017
I'm reminded that the exact moment everyone knew Gaddafi was done was when a rebel was showing off a gold-plated Dragunov on CNN https://t.co/Lzhr4W7qpK
— Zeddy ( me [ person ] ) (@ZeddRebel) November 29, 2017
p.a.
good morning!
TS
I can’t decide if it is my paranoia or truth – but brexit, trump and the loss of all relationships between the US and a number of European countries leads me to the conclusion that the breakup of Europe and the exit of the USA from Europe is all part of the Russian plan.
Baud
Maybe we can make that understand come true one day soon.
different-church-lady
How smart could Watson actually be if they’re telling him to learn about the world from the internet?
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
OzarkHillbilly
@TS: The Russian plan was to sow chaos and disunion everywhere they could and see where the chips fall. I really doubt they thought it would be this easy.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning! Enjoy your beverage of choice, I sure am! ☕☕☕
Baud
@p.a.:
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
Baud
@satby: Good morning.
different-church-lady
Cooper’s missing the mark: he understands he is president. What he genuinely doesn’t understand is how the presidency works.
At certain limited moments that’s the only silver lining.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly:
Or that they’d have so many willing patsies.
Immanentize
@satby:
????
TS
@OzarkHillbilly:
They were probably more surprised than the western world when trump was elected. After that I think they realized how easy it would be going forward.
p.a.
@OzarkHillbilly: tRump & Farage to Putin: “Hold our beer.”
satby
@Baud: and to you as well!
@OzarkHillbilly: MEH
satby
@Immanentize: ok, I’m game, champagne after coffee.
germy
Ms. Haberman seems unleashed lately.
If she persists, will she lose her ‘exclusive access’ ?
Amir Khalid
@different-church-lady:
The thing is, Watson did learn about the world from the Internet. Including some embarrassing things like any kid does, as any parent will know. That’s all perfectly normal. And why is a computer that knows how to drop F-bombs a bad thing?
Chyron HR
So what exactly happens if the FBI does produce these documents and witnesses related to big stuff deep state surveillance of The Trumps NOW? “Yes, I bugged Mr. Trump’s meeting on July 9 and here is the tape of him saying…” “SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP! No more questions.”
MomSense
Does anyone else feel like this is a perilous time? As the Mueller investigation tightens around the core actors, 45 gets more unhinged. He had a major malfunction during his speech yesterday on top of promoting hate speech on twitter. The GOP response is to rush their tax scam.
Unsettling is not a full enough word to describe how this feels.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@satby: Diet Coke here, breakfast of champions.
different-church-lady
@OzarkHillbilly:
Peale
@TS: Russia wants us out of Europe and doesn’t want an EU or NATO. China wants us out of Asia and would like our nearest naval bases to it to be somewhere east of Bermuda. Both wouldn’t mind if we were bogged down trying to remake Afghanistan and Iraq and Yemen for 20 more years. We seem to be honoring those requesrsZ
satby
@MomSense: I do, every day.
germy
different-church-lady
@Amir Khalid: Then why have a computer? Why not just have a kid?
MomSense
@satby:
It seems to have escalated.
Baud
@different-church-lady: Stupid child protection laws.
OzarkHillbilly
“I’ve picked up bits and snippets of this, but I want to ask you to share your reporting on the president’s adherence to a set of facts that are not at all related to the truth,”
-Nicolle Wallace
Her inability to understand that facts are the truth goes a long ways towards explaining her GWBush years.
satby
They can’t hide that he’s losing it, and the GOP needs to rush their tax cuts through before the calls to do something about the dangerously mentally incompetent in the Oval office get too loud.
Edited to add: even the craven GOP leaders who got on the Trump train didn’t expect him to publicly disintegrate this fast. They haven’t been able to do nearly what they want.
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: Kids are more expensive.
aarrgghh
watson, in deep austrian tones: “fuck you, asshole.”
Woodrowfan
China will also reap a windfall, maybe more than Russia….
Peale
@different-church-lady: well, for one thing, when you’re trying to sell Watson to Fortune 500 businesses, it’s probably best that your pitch doesn’t include references to cum eating, sluts and an obscure, insulting words for minorities
gene108
The news is depressing.
Makes me feel utterly powerless to prevent our destruction.
Feathers
@different-church-lady: This is why the term in the field is no longer artificial intelligence, but machine learning. The is no “intelligence” involved, only a computer fed an algorithm and then lots and lots of data. How much “intelligence” comes out depends on the applicability of the algorithm to the situation and how well the data sets match the real world situation.
germy
@satby:
I’m sure they thought “Well, he has all that TV experience; he’s slick. Maybe he’ll be a good actor like reagan was.”
bystander
The entire Moanin’ Joe is given to discussing how insane twitler is and how craven the repub party is. Guess the Lori Klaustis thing pushed Joe over the edge.
Ari Melber had the guy who ghost wrote Art of the Deal with twitler. He said twitler appears to be “de compensating” and separating from reality. He observed twitler has seriously deteriorated.
ETA Joe is wondering why have a 25th Amendment if you don’t use it.
different-church-lady
@Baud: Have you ever been around an eleven year old? They’re very eager to tell you everything they know. Just reroute the questions to a different sixth-grade playground each day and they’ll do it completely willingly for free.
satby
@Feathers: huh, so they developed a multi-million dollar machine with Tourette syndrome.
different-church-lady
@Feathers: I just find it amusing that they’re going through all this trouble to make a machine as dumb and vulgar as a human.
Amir Khalid
@different-church-lady:
For one thing, most people already know how to make a kid.
different-church-lady
@Peale: Why not? From what we’ve been finding out lately, it would likely match the mindsets of a lot of Fortune 500 execs.
satby
@bystander: drip, drip, drip. Enough media types talking like this and the Republicans start to worry.
Another edit: worried that the con will be exposed, not for the nation with a lunatic as president. It’s all about keeping the con hidden.
different-church-lady
@Amir Khalid: That’s kind of my point.
different-church-lady
@satby: Do people on a suicide mission ever really worry about the news?
MomSense
@Peale:
Hahahahaha! I remember when I got the call from the teacher that some of the kids had started a swear club at school. They were sharing the words they had picked up from older siblings and parents but they got some of the words and gestures wrong. God I loved that teacher for showing them the correct finger before explaining why those words weren’t appropriate at school.
satby
@different-church-lady: see, I don’t think they believe they’re on a suicide mission. The frightening thing is many of them believe their own bullshit. And the rest of them think they’ll have enough money and rich friends to buy their way out of trouble and have a happy landing.
bystander
Meeka has finally hit on an area of real expertise: sex happens in the workplace and it’s not all bad. Listening to Joe and Meeka sneering about sexual harassment, I always have to wonder why nobody asks how their affair when they broke up both their families affected the people in their workplace.
Baud
@MomSense:
Haha. No Child Left Behind done right.
satby
@bystander: “other people”? You think they actually realize other people are around and might matter?
Pull the other one.
MomSense
@gene108:
Sending a big hug to you this morning.
Hey let’s all do a random act of kindness today if we can and then see how it makes us feel. We can share it later today if we feel comfortable doing so.
different-church-lady
@MomSense:
The urges of a pedagog cannot be tamed.
Kay
How does Haberman know “people around him constantly tell him don’t do these things”?
Don’t reporters ordinarily say “I am told..” or “people around him say they tell him not to do these things..”?
What’s odd about her is how she speaks as if she’s a co-worker. The NYTimes acceptance of what the Trump Administration tells them is flat-out bizarre. It would be weird with any politician but it’s insane with this pack of liars.
It is completely within reason to think people around Trump agree with Trump on the anti-Muslim Tweets. All we really know about Kelly is what he says publicly- he went out of his way to lie about that congresswoman- he added an elaborate lie to speech specifically to smear her. The whole rest of the Kelly mythology is second-hand accounts passed along by people who are self-interested, people who have an interest in telling reporters Kelly isn’t a racist nut job. The public evidence indicates Kelly IS a lying nut job.
When do the Trump Administration hires themselves have to publicly prove any of these stories they tell about themselves. DO or SAY something themselves to show they are better than the man they work for? Why should I accept this narrative they promote? I think they accept Trump’s casual, daily racism and nastiness because that is all I see. The rest is what they say about themselves.
Cheryl Rofer
Don’t forget the Republican Congress is out to destroy the middle class, education, and a few other things in the service of their overlords.
BURN UP THOSE PHONELINES
Baud
GMA says Roy Moore is planning to go church to church in Alabama to win the election.
Makes sense.
MomSense
@Baud:
Teacher of the millennia for sure!
?BillinGlendaleCA
For your viewing pleasure(I posted a link on a late night thread), a time lapse of last night’s sunset here in LA.
bystander
@satby: I hope you’re right. To date, the repubs have been able to rely on the blind obedience of their cult so long as they feed them enough racism. They’re just about to rape their cult’s collective wallet just to give money to billionaires and they’re ok with it.
MomSense
@different-church-lady:
Ha! Glad I read that sentence carefully what with the news these days.
Baud
I wonder why Harry and Meghan don’t want Trump at their wedding.
Baud
GMA is strong this morning so far.
MJS
I’d prefer if Trump were decomposing, but I guess decompensating will do for now. I also like to think that Melania may be on our side, and the nightmarish hellscape that she’s passing off as holiday decorating is really just a way to hasten his complete breakdown.
different-church-lady
@Kay:
And maybe driven by a desperate psychological need to believe that someone is minding the toddler.
bystander
I preferred Joe and Meeka when they were played by Don Ameche and Frances Langford.
Meeka just held forth about women who have sex with the boss to get ahead. No, really, she just talked about how she couldn’t compete with that. Meeka, sitting next to the boss she had an affair with.
aimai
@Kay: You’ve put your finger on what was so weird about that haberman interview–she sounds like an old girlfriend, or a co-worker.
MJS
@Baud: I generally don’t pay any attention to the royal family, but God I hope that Obama gets an invite but Trump does not. Better yet, the Obamas and the Clintons get invitations.
different-church-lady
@MJS: Occam’s Razor says it’s just shitty taste.
Anne Laurie
@MomSense:
Ancient NYC variations:
– Three middle fingers: Read between the lines!
– Four fingers: Treat the whole family!
debbie
I can’t be the only one who’s willing to let a computer taking on my swearing for me.
JPL
@bystander: The irony of that statement.. hahahaha
Lapassionara
@gene108: I have started considering back up plans for when communications become difficult if not impossible. Our children live in other cities, and I worry that I will not be able to reach them. I lived through the civil rights and anti-war movements, and we were able to mobilize people for marches and protests by way of land lines and the existing media. I think we all need a plan for communicating when the internet no longer functions the way it does now.
Baud
@bystander: When is Joe going to address Trump’s accusation about the dead intern?
gene108
@different-church-lady:
Better than making SkyeNet to enslave us all.
I hate to think what’s would happen, if Watson was fused with the Echo Dot and all of a sudden they coordinated with your smart-fridge, smart-toaster, internet based home security system you control from your smart phone, your smart phone, etc. and set all those devices against you.
Kay
You have to credit the Trump Administration for not just spreading their lying, mean-spirited bullshit in or about THIS country- they also spread nastiness internationally. They are really ambitious assholes. Over-achievers on the asshole scale. Ordinary asshole Presidents limit their racist fear-mongering to “the water’s edge”- not this crowd. They have to gin up their compatriots overseas, too. Pure poison. Trump’s tweets consist of 2 subjects- attacking other people and boasting about himself. Still, political media search for some silver lining, some “grown up” who is REALLY running the government when all the public statements of all the low quality Trump hires indicate what a rational person would have started with- they’re assholes too. It’s WHY he hired them.
different-church-lady
@Lapassionara: It’s weird how much of our society is starting to resemble the dystopian novels of the 50s.
Baud
@MJS: Yes. That would make my day.
Kathleen
Maggie should title her memoir “A HandMag’s Tale” by OfTrump.
different-church-lady
@Kay:
Thus, like I said, the myth of Kelly.
satby
@bystander: their cult is not ok with it, but I hear over and over the statement that the GOP won’t really do it. Not to them, the deserving folks, just to the undeserving moochers and looters. Until they feel the knife in their own backs, they’ll believe the GOP won’t really do anything that hurts them.
debbie
NPR’s David Green got schooled by Wisconsin’s Gwen Moore in this interview about sexual harassment just now.
I must say it was good to hear him give her the time to respond without interruption and then to apologize.
Baud
@gene108: Sometimes I blame Bill Clinton for fixing Y2K.
But that’s mostly because it’s hip to blame Bill Clinton for things.
different-church-lady
@gene108: The Monsters really are due on Maple Street.
Brachiator
So, if the president is having a breakdown, but signs the tax bill, should it be allowed to become law? Can responsible parties deliberately delay applying the 25th Amendment until it is convenient for them?
Not that there’s a Constitutional crisis or something.
I was away from the internet and news last night, and missed Trump telling the UK prime minister where to get off.
And now, Haberman confirms that Trump is getting agitated about… something. And so his tweets get wilder.
What a day.
Kay
@aimai:
The insistence that what she is told is “the real truth” and what other people SEE publicly is a “myth” is really strange. “People think” these things because that’s what’s happening. She has this backwards. Her “insider” truth is the story. THAT’S what should be questioned. What we SEE and HEAR is just fact- the public record.
No one does this. Advocates don’t even do this. An advocate would say “they tell me…” – that small distance is always there- she’s positioning herself as one of them- in the room when Trump is supposedly handled.
It’s bizarre to say “don’t believe the public record- believe what they tell me”. WTF? Why?
satby
@different-church-lady: context matters. It’s a cool hallway for somewhere else and for a different occasion, but it’s hugely fugly for Christmas at the White House.
Woodrowfan
Joshua: Hey! Assh**e. Would you like to play a motherf****g game?
Kathleen
@satby: I blame spineless Dems.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
More like that while everyone thought they’d back off after the interference, Russia’s instead doubled down.
OzarkHillbilly
@debbie: The day I need a computer to do my swearing for me is the day I’m dead.
Lapassionara
@different-church-lady: I keep seeing scenes from “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” in my head.
different-church-lady
@Brachiator: Some day, the world will once again be normal.
Or over. But even now the odds are still on normal.
gene108
@MomSense:
Thanks. That’s a good idea.
debbie
@MomSense:
I agree. I compared Trump to a spinning quasar last night. I’m still right. I’m convinced Trump’s entire day is spent watching tv, tweeting, and plotting how to get back at his critics. There’s no time left for governing, and while that may be a good thing, it’s still wrong.
aimai
@Kay: Yes!!
gene108
@Baud:
I blame Bill Clinton for balancing the budget, and making us feel the country was going in the right direction.
It didn’t prepare us for the nihilism of Republican rule.
debbie
@Baud:
I was told that is fake news.
Amir Khalid
@MJS:
Harry’s already said Trump isn’t welcome at the wedding. Given how friendly he is with Barack, and how much his grandmother took to Michelle, it’s pretty much nailed-on that the Obamas will be there.
Kay
@different-church-lady:
All we really know about Kelly is he went out on his own volition and told an elaborate (and completely unnecessary – he could have given that speech without the smear) LIE to protect his boss. The rest is the ordinary puffed-up biography and story telling of self-interested co-workers promoting powerful people. We’re not WRONG to think he’s a lying racist. That’s the public record. At any time he can rebut that but it has to be HIM. It’s nuts to put this on us. It’s not my job to divine some better intent to his words.
Baud
@different-church-lady: I nominate you to be the 50 Foot Woman.
NotMax
Keyboards of the future will have to incorporate a spot for a “time out” key.
In other news, the ultimate Lorena Bobbitt?
:)
OzarkHillbilly
@different-church-lady: Define “normal”.
different-church-lady
@Baud: Can we just start with eight feet and see how it goes?
Baud
@Kay: If people didn’t trust the NYT over their own lying eyes, Hillary might be president right now. You wouldn’t want that, would you?
Gin & Tonic
I really hate long-form Twitter rants (looking at you, Tom Levenson) but in this one, Douchehat actually raises some interesting points, and even shows some self-awareness.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly: President Baud!
germy
@Amir Khalid: Also dolt45 made comments about Harry’s mother on Howard Stern. About three years after Harry’s mother was killed.
Baud
@germy: I didn’t know about that.
germy
@Baud: Said he totally would have banged her, but would have insisted on an AIDS test first.
TS
@MJS: Very much doubt the Clintons – but the Obamas – 100%. I gather his bride to be said she was going to move to Canada if trump was elected – so that seems an unlikely invite – especially after the recent spat with Theresa May.
Edit Amir was there before me
Elizabelle
Good morning, all. Very brief snow shower today in Wiesbaden, a few hours ago. Very pretty. Didn’t stick.
We have to stop this tax cut thievery. I think we can. Maybe the Freedom Caucus yokels will think it isn’t destructive enough, maybe we can call GOP “moderate” senators to ask if they want to be attached to this flimflammery and greed at the cost of the middle class? Money doesn’t vote for them, people do. As politicians, they may realize that. Money only goes so far.
The vast majority of Americans did not vote for this, and they don’t like it. It’s a tax on the future. It’s a Brexit-level debacle for all of us (except the wealthy).
I see that the NY Times is finally screaming about the tax cut’s dangers, full strength.
Bobby Thomson
@Kay:
Dig deep enough and they have the same owners.
Amir Khalid
I see that der Scheißgibbon is now Twitter-fighting Theresa May. I am unsurprised by this, and so are you.
VOR
@Woodrowfan: Last year Microsoft had a chatbot named “Tay”. Unfortunately, the Internet trained Tay’s machine learning algorithms and Tay descended into racist language and profanity. Tay also seemed to echo the MRA types and Gamergate.
bystander
@Baud: Meeka read a statement of the we won’t dignify the accusation variety IIRC.
rikyrah
Roger Stone lying?
No!!
PHUCK OUTTA HERE ? with that bullshyt.
different-church-lady
@VOR:
Just like the election.
dr. bloor
So, apparently Herr Twitler has opted to use cyanide during his inevitable moment in the bunker?
Kay
Meth is back in a big way so Trump did nothing about the opiate problem and now it won’t matter, because the next big story will be meth is back. Just to cling to reality, though. Trump (and the incredibly over-promoted Chris Christie) got absolutely nothing done on opiates.
Sessions big contribution was to ramp up arrests of addicts. He’s got some ridiculous federal task force up and running to arrest people who are nodding out in convenience store rest rooms. Christ- I could bust up that drug cartel. They’re passed out on the toilet. Just give me the key to the rest room. I don’t need an AR-15. They’ll follow anyone anywhere.
On time and under budget, baby! These big, loud braggers talk a good game, don’t they? They don’t do JACK SHIT. Because they’re incompetent, over-promoted low quality hires. When you strip away all the myth-making their actual work record sucks. Chris Christie destroyed that state he ran. It’s a mess, which shouldn’t surprise anyone- he had little or no experience running ANYTHING. He’s an over – promoted lawyer and political hack. Yet- the myth continues.
Baud
@Kay: What does any of that have to do with Al Franken?
Just one more canuck
@OzarkHillbilly: my plan for when I’m buried is to have a recording of me swearing that plays whenever someone steps on a sensor
MomSense
@Anne Laurie:
NY has world class swearers!
aimai
@Kay: Kay, is that you? You seem to have become self aware like watson and started swearing, which in all these years I don’t remember you doing! Trump is definitely having some kind of vortex like effect on all of us.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: The NEW normal!
Viva BrisVegas
Ironically, they plugged Trump into the internet and he promptly forgot how to imitate a human being.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
Note that, true to form, at first Dolt 45 spewed bile at the wrong person.
Starfish
@aimai: I find a lot of really great people have gotten really upset over this.
MomSense
@Kay:
It’s always fun to drive into a neighborhood where you have a home visit and see people going by carrying blow torches..
bystander
@Baud: Ooops. They just reran the response. They accuse twitler of using fake news to attack the free press. But no factual rebuttal, which makes sense to me, given the actual decision of the factfinder. Also Joe notes that using Klaustis’s death as a weapon to attack the press is hurtful to her family, which I also agree with.
OzarkHillbilly
@Just one more canuck: I am sooooo gonna steal that, tho I think I might modify it to an electric eye that trips on a recording whenever someone walks in front of my grave.
“HEY! Get the fuck outa of my dogdamned sunlight!”
Jack the Second
@bystander:
So here’s a pet peeve of mine. Yes, co-workers (or co-employees, if co-workers is too limiting of a descriptor) can be in a relationship, serious or casual, and it can be totally fine. The relationship or the sex isn’t really the problem.
Where everything goes off the rails is starting or stopping a relationship with a co-worker. Just focusing on the most innocuous part: asking out a co-worker in a friendly, non-threatening way. “Hey,” you finally get up the courage to ask, “want to go see a movie or grab a cup of coffee sometime?” Congratulations! You have now, potentially, added to the pile of stress accumulating on your coworker! If they turn you down, are you going to get weird on them? If they think they might maybe-sort-of like you and go on a few dates and then break things off, then will you get weird on them? How many times have they been asked out by other coworkers already? How big is that pile of stress you’re adding to?
You can’t know; all you know about your coworkers, really, is that they need a job. If you’re a mensch, you already know not to hit on waitstaff, because they’re only their because it’s their job, and your coworkers are in the same position.
rikyrah
@MomSense:
They know that he is incompetent. They don’t care. They are equally traitors to this country for putting us through this , so that they can get tax cuts.
Where is our fellow BJ poster, who had the right idea:
” Wipe them out. All of them.”
debbie
@Kay:
Morning, Kay. How about this DeWine-Husted tag team? I can’t stop laughing, thinking Husted would take a second seat to anyone!
NotMax
@OzarkHillbilly
Would like the following carved, using the smallest possible letters;
If you can read this, you're standing on my head.MomSense
@rikyrah:
I hope he is busy assembling tumbrels.
The GOP is the party of Traitors.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: There’s not a damn thing this bunch won’t make worse before they’re voted or driven out of office. Look at this North Korea thing. Trump was blustering about that from the sidelines a few weeks before he was sworn in:
CNN yesterday: “US Defense Secretary James Mattis said earlier the missile launched demonstrated North Korea had the ability to hit “everywhere in the world.”
I’m confident the idiots will manage to ruin a fairly stable economy before we’re rid of them. It’s part of the Obama legacy, after all.
aimai
@Viva BrisVegas: I LOL’d.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@OzarkHillbilly: Alexa for the hear-after.
Jeffro
@OzarkHillbilly:
When Trumpov lost his shit going after the Khans – a Gold Star family – even Putin thought that was it, game over, no American would countenance that kind of behavior. Oh-ho-HO, Vlad! Wrong-O!
Speaking of countenancing crazy shit, here’s the online version of the garbage Fox brainwashes its moronic viewers with every day – did y’all know that Bobby Three Sticks is ENDANGERING LIVES with his stoopid investigation?
* yes…we clearly need more of Trumpov and Putin “sitting down together”…like when smitten teen Donnie chased Vlad all around that G-20 summit table
** yes…clearly it was Hillary that failed on the reset, Vlad was doing his part for world peace x eleventy
*** yes…it was Congress that escalated things, which alienated Putin
I mean, is that unbelievable or what? And yet, that’s The Bubble, all day every day…
germy
JMG
Isn’t “do what Putin wants or he’ll bomb us” what Republicans used to call “appeasement”?
OzarkHillbilly
@NotMax: My alternative was “HEY! THAT’S MY FOOT YOU STEPPED ON, FUCKHEAD!”
MomSense
@Jeffro:
If you have Netflix, watch the documentary Icarus. I keep plugging this film but I think it provides insights into the Russian op we are currently suffering under. It starts out as an experiment to see how doping changes a cyclist’s performance in a particular race and turns into a thriller about exposing a decades long Russian doping op featuring Putin, Orwell, deaths – the works.
Baud
@germy: What does that have to do with Al Franken?
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
“We have to increase the federal deficit before we can reduce the federal deficit!”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: He hasn’t resigned yet?
Sab
@different-church-lady: Maybe Melania wanted Christmas decorations with a lot less gold everywhere. So she came up with the stark silver white look. I wouldn’t want it in my house, but my house doesn’t look like over the top Christmas decorations year round the way Trump’s does.
Aleta
Story is at NYT
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Is there a good compass app for the S8? I do like the one that comes with the iPhone.
BC in Illinois
@Jeffro:
Ok. You win. You sent me to a Fox News website.
And the pop-up chyron said:
Followed, I am sure, by interviews with R Ailes, B O’Reilly, S Hannity, G Carlsen . . .
debbie
@Sab:
My co-workers are much younger than I and are less obsessed about Trump. In our team meeting yesterday, I mentioned the horrorshow of the White House Christmas decorations. Someone whipped out their phone, pulled up photos, and shared it. They were all shocked speechless.
Immanentize
@MomSense:
There was a comedian in the 80’s who had the best routine about swearing and the steps before you can fight in New York. The steps were something like:
Step 1 – introduce yourself:
“Do you know who the fuck I am? Do you know who you just tried to fuck with?”
Step 2 — Ask that they introduce themselves:
Hey, Asshole, just who are you? Who the fuck do you think you are to disrespect me?
Step 3 — Explain what will happen if you fight:
“I’m gonna hit you so hard I’m gonna kill your whole family. Then I’ll rip your belly button off and slap it on top of your head so you’ll breath like a fucking porpoise.”
Ahh, I miss Brooklyn…
Cheryl Rofer
Senator Collins has decided to garner attention and make us all call or tweet at her. She is holding out a thin shred of hope that she will vote against the Republican tax abomination.
I feel embarrassed to urge y’all in Maine and thereabouts (Tom Levinson is in Massachusetts, and he calls her because he has relatives in Maine) to take to the phones once again, but we must stop this destruction. My senators are both Democrats and have even been tweeting against the Republican rampage, so I call them occasionally and thank them.
But here we are, and you folks are on the front lines. Please, for all of us.
Might not hurt for Arizonans to call Senators McCain and Jeff Flake and remind them of what they like to think of as their principled stands.
NotMax
Still enjoying The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Ale Borstein is freakin’ brilliant in her role.
NotMax
@NotMax
Oopsie.
Alex Borstein.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I’m using an app called “Compass (No Ads)”. I’m not sure what’s on the fruity phone.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: iPhone has a stock app, but it’s pretty good. Thanks for the rec.
HeleninEire
@satby: LOL. Lovely.
Signed,
Someone who LOVES to curse.
Kay
@germy:
To reduce the deficit they just created. Disgusting. This is a fucking heist. They’ve been dying to get their greedy paws on Social Security and Medicare and the dumb-ass Trump voters handed them over.
Call the police! The robbers are getting away! My only hope is they impose austerity immediately. The Trump voters have to be held accountable. They’re so fucking greedy they’ll probably lobby to shove the pain off on twenty-somethings, steal THEIR Social Security. No, sir. Make the cuts IMMEDIATELY. They need to feel it. I’d do a clawback on federal benefits they’ve already received and GIVE it to twenty-somethings if I could. They’ll need it.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I’ve never owned or used(except to take pics for folk) a fruity phone or pad.
bemused
@Baud:
Moore friendly churches only. He’d no sooner talk before a skeptical congregation than he would debate his opponent.
MomSense
@Immanentize:
That’s good. I’ll have to tell my son since he is currently in Brooklyn. Kid there’s a new swear club just for Brooklyn
debbie
@Immanentize:
Sounds like an ordinary subway commute to me.
Kay
For everyone who bitches about “millennials” I’d just like to mention that the Trump budget screws them worse than anyone.
The freaking GROSS GREED and mean-spiritedness of my generation appalls me. I paid about 3000 total for an undergraduate degree. SOMEONE ELSE paid for that. The rest of my gross “cohort” are ROBBING young people, including my kids. Good job, assholes. Leave it WORSE than you found it. Good work.
Sab
@debbie:Poor kids. The White House Xmas reminds me of the Beast’s palace in Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast”, with all the wall sconces that were disembodied arms holding torches.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I have an iPad and a work iPhone. It has some good features, but having used both, I prefer Android to iOS.
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
“Don’t believe it was anyone’s intention” to immediately cut Medicare??? Why can’t I stop laughing?
Baud
@Kay: Meh. Intergenerational conflict in either direction is inherently a GOP talking point. That’s generally not where the fault lines in our society lie.
ETA:. Or is it lay?
HeleninEire
@Amir Khalid: I find that fascinating. Clearly he had to get the Queen’s permission to say that. The Royals are mega scripted and super political (even though they try to hide it.)
Liz agrees with him and gave him permission to say that.
BFD.
debbie
@Amir Khalid:
Is it too much to ask to give them front-row seats?
clay
I just saw a CNN headline alert on my phone: “Army veteran tells CNN Sen. Al Franken groped her during a photo op in 2003.”
Ugh.
Even if this whole thing is an orchestrated right wing hit, it’s hard to see how he survives this.
But this whole thing is weird. Assuming that these stories are true, Franken’s M.O. seems to be to grab a woman’s butt when a picture is being taken. He’s not propositioning them; he’s not exposing himself or making lewd comments. He’s not harassing women that work for or with him — this isn’t a case of abusing his power over subordinates. This just seems to be grabbing a butt during a photo. Which is to say, right when there would be documented evidence that it was happening! On camera! With lots of people around!
Setting aside that these women must all have brilliant poker faces to not change their expressions while this is happening, it just doesn’t seem that Franken is doing this with any sort of sexual intent. It’s likely that he thought it a joke — not that it makes it okay.
But I still think that’s a long way from Roy Moore trolling for underage girls or Trump grabbing genitals, or Weinstein ruining careers.
Jeffro
In the meantime, I finally got around to reading this from Tuesday: China Has a Plan to Rule the World
Fight fear with fear – especially reality-based fear – I say. Want to win over some suburban voters? Let’s throw this around and see what the GOP comes up with in opposition…not much, I’m guessing.
MomSense
@Cheryl Rofer:
I’ve been bitching to her about the Medicare cuts, telling her that we are paying attention and with the Republicans in charge of Congress and the White House- we will know exactly who to blame for this nightmare.
ETA Today I think I will tell her that her Republican colleagues like little Marco are making it clear that cuts to Medicare and Social Security will be next.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@bemused:
His refusal to debate his opponent and only appear at friendly churches just makes Moore look like a huge coward.
B.B.A.
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Doesn’t matter. It’s Ala-fucking-bama. They’d elect Jeffrey Dahmer if he had an R next to his name.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I was informed that I will have to wait until at least tomorrow to get my new phone, but the kid and I are supposed to go hiking, guess it’ll have to wait. Funny story, I had a GS Note 8(it was a 8″ tablet).
clay
@HeleninEire:
Well, Harry’s been a bit of a wild card in the past:
http://www.newsweek.com/prince-harrys-worst-moments-meghan-markle-rogue-723177
EDIT: Hey, I have a comment stuck in moderation above. Not sure why. Could a Front Pager help a guy out?
Woodrowfan
@MomSense:
What is a New York City echo?
Helllllooooooo
SHUT THE F UP BUDDY!! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP OVER HERE!!!!
Kay
“Where did the money go? I wonder why we can’t pay working people? Is it….immigrants? Robots? Economic upheaval that like the moon or the tides can’t be changed?”
I found the money we were looking for! The top 1% take it ALL now. That’s where it went.
bemused
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
He is a typical chickenshit bully, tough guy only when he can get away with it, stalking vulnerable young girls. The videos of him riding up on a horse to speak to supporters and pulling out a pistol are pathetic but his idiot supporters just eat that up. I really feel sorry for his horse.
Cheryl Rofer
@MomSense: Thanks. You are helping to save things for all of us.
clay
[Reposting this to remove a bad FYWP word]
I just saw a CNN headline alert on my phone: “Army veteran tells CNN Sen. Al Franken groped her during a photo op in 2003.”
Ugh.
Even if this whole thing is an orchestrated right wing hit, it’s hard to see how he survives this.
But this whole thing is weird. Assuming that these stories are true, Franken’s M.O. seems to be to grab a woman’s butt when a picture is being taken. He’s not propositioning them; he’s not exposing himself or making lewd comments. He’s not harassing women that work for or with him — this isn’t a case of abusing his power over subordinates. This just seems to be grabbing a butt during a photo. Which is to say, right when there would be documented evidence that it was happening! On camera! With lots of people around!
Setting aside that these women must all have brilliant [certain type of card game] faces to not change their expressions while this is happening, it just doesn’t seem that Franken is doing this with any sort of sexual intent. It’s likely that he thought it a joke — not that it makes it okay.
But I still think that’s a long way from Roy Moore trolling for underage girls or Trump grabbing genitals, or Weinstein ruining careers.
B.B.A.
@clay: When he resigns, how quickly can his replacement be seated? Can McConnell fuck with the timing so the Dems are a vote short when the tax bill comes to the floor?
hueyplong
Every time I see a Franken story I think, “Maybe they’re still one vote short.”
bemused
A Brit tv journalist reported that Trump aggressively pursued Lady Diana after her divorce sending many, many bouquets to her saying Lady Diana found it “creepy”. Trump expressed regrets when she died because he thought he would have had a “shot” with her.
It’s a mystery why Harry and Meghan won’t invite him.
Amir Khalid
@HeleninEire:
I gather that Her Majesty has declined to welcome den Scheißgibbon at Buckingham Palace when he makes his state visit. Aside from an obvious desire to avoid awkwardness, the House of Windsor is well aware that such a welcome would not sit well with the nation which the Royal Family formally represents.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Here’s a pano of LA from Mt. Lowe.
(No butts were grabbed while taking these pictures.)
rikyrah
Emotionally he’s a mess. But politically he’s in control, The media has spent weeks focusing on sexual misconduct (other than his). Meanwhile he guts the CFPB and net neutrality. Senate poised to pass an awful tax bill. Then confirm some judges. Wake up!https://t.co/9yLxMxnOqo
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) November 29, 2017
Baud
@clay:
Yeah, but it’s more serious than Emails!, and as we’ve learned, when the left, right, and mainstream media join forces against a Dem, it’s hard to overcome the onslaught.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Wide.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Nothing is more serious than emails.
James E Powell
@Kay:
Republican voters are fine with the rich getting richer. Just as long as nothing went to any [insert racist epithets]! I believe Davis X Machina has the definitive statement on this.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Baud: Lie. Lay is a transitive verb. It takes an object.
MomSense
@Woodrowfan:
HA!
rikyrah
@satby:
You nailed it.
d58826
From WAPO on rise of China
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/china-has-a-plan-to-rule-the-world/2017/11/28/214299aa-d472-11e7-a986-d0a9770d9a3e_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.f75459bb57c0
WaterGirl
@OzarkHillbilly: Just like September 11. They started the ball rolling; we lost our way all by ourselves.
Baud
@WaterGirl: Excellent observation.
MomSense
@Cheryl Rofer:
Sometimes it feels like shouting into the wind but I keep shouting anyway.
d58826
@Jeffro: sigh beat me to it. sorry. really should start reading the at the top rather than the bottom
WaterGirl
@MomSense: It kind of feels like we’re on a speeding train headed off a cliff.
edit: and it turns out that all the safety measures we thought we had in place didn’t work as we expected them ro.
Baud
@d58826: I don’t disagree with the first paragraph, but I’m getting tired of the empire meme.
BellyCat
This is a promising step for Watson which should be celebrated by any self-respecting jackal.
Study finds link between honesty and swearing.
But her emails!!!
@clay:
I think the original accusation might have been a rightwing hit – the actual facts behind the encounter were sensationalized to an extent in the initial release. The follow up accusations are likely organic – once one woman stepped forward, other women did as well and their accusations fit a consistent pattern (one that is significantly different than the first accusation). Franken is a butt grabber. Why, I don’t know. Maybe he has a fetish of some sort that he can actively keep under control, but if he slips into autopilot after a day of taking photos, there’s a risk he’ll impulsively grab what he shouldn’t.
Brachiator
I love this kind of thing. Some tech enthusiasts and some scientists believe that AI can always be programmed to obey us, or that it will be programmed to only “learn” benign things. But didn’t Microsoft or some company have to shut down a bot that had “learned” to be racist?
I guess the most modest take on all this is that our experiments with automation and artificial intelligence is going to take some interesting turns.
And a computer that swears like Samuel L Jackson? Too cool.
Alexa, what’s the weather today?
Why don’t you stick your muthafvcking head out the window and check for yourself? Do I look like your muthafvcking weather channel?
rikyrah
@Kay:
NO.LIE.TOLD.
Emma
@clay: It’s not a criminal offense? Let his constituents deal with it.
Amir Khalid
@bemused:
Diana was in a serious relationship with a British-born Pakistani doctor around the time of her divorce, and after breaking up with him she was dating film producer Dodi al-Fayed up to their deaths in 1997. There was much concern in Britain then that she, a member of the Royal Household, might become a Muslim to marry one of these men. It’s ironic that Trump, not known for his love of Muslims, should express a romantic interest in a woman widely thought to be considering conversion to the faith.
rikyrah
@Kay:
You are truth telling this morning, Kay.
gene108
@clay:
He has the same problem President Bush, Sr. seems to have with regards to women standing next to him, when photos are taken.
But her emails!!!
@Brachiator:
The problem isn’t that AI won’t obey us, it’s that it will obey us in a completely logical fashion that is ultimately detrimental to us.
Examples:
Programmers: End world Hunger
AI Response: Kills all humans. Hunger problem solved
Programmers: Maximize human happiness
AI Response: Human brains in a vat with pleasure centers jacked up to 111
Programmers: Create the perfect paperclip and manufacture them as fast as you can
AI Response: Converts the entire galaxy into copies of itself and paper clips, killing off all humans at some point in the process
Emma
@MJS: Unlikely. This is a private wedding, even though it is royal. They will probably do “family and friends, plus the absolute minimum of government officials” only. The Obamas are likely; the Clintons probably not. Think Zara and Mike, not Will and Kate.
chopper
@Peale:
tho hearing a computerized voice in a board meeting saying “dogg I wanna be balls deep in yo logistics” would be pretty awesome.
rikyrah
@Kay:
you are ON FIRE!!!
chopper
@satby:
“Watson, clean it up a bit. you’re delivering a speech to MIT today”.
THEY ANY SLUTS UP INS?
“No, Watson, there will not be any sluts there.”
THEN I’M OUT. CHOCOLATE LOVE, Y’ALL
d58826
@Amir Khalid: What I saw yesterday was that once the invitation was issued to visit GB it would not be withdrawn but that no formal date has been selected. I’m guessing that the date will never be selected.
different-church-lady
@But her emails!!!: In the end, Kurt Vonnegut had us nailed. We will always act like the people at the end of “Player Piano”, rebuilding the machines that oppress us because we can’t resist playing with them.
AI is not going to solve much, and the “solutions” will create other problems (like Porky Pig with a mouse problem, so he gets a cat, now he has a cat problem — The Warner Brothers animators had us nailed too). The reason Watson exists is not to better our world, but because tech geeks cannot resist building a thing like Watson, whether it is necessary or not, whether helpful or not, whether benign or not.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
You guys are really funny today. I’m laughing my ass off, here.
different-church-lady
@Amaranthine RBG: Pointing out our hypocrisy is EXACTLY how the revolution will come to pass, I’m sure of it.
But her emails!!!
@different-church-lady:
The main problem AI will cause (provided we don’t accidentally cause our own extinction with it) is that ultimately the demand for labor will drop to zero. There is no reason to assume that there is a job AI and machines will not eventually do better than a human. Then what?
bemused
@BellyCat:
I was a bit amused by last paragraph of article of the study linking more swearing with revealing more honesty. People in NE states swear a lot more than people in southern states. Hmm…..
different-church-lady
Apparently Conyers plans to deal with his situation by dying.
Too soon? Too cold?
Baud
@But her emails!!!:
Not so. Lifeforces will be needed to power the Matrix.
different-church-lady
@But her emails!!!:
Like I said, read “Player Piano”.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
And 66 million of us are just stomping like crazy on the brakes – trying to stop it.
bemused
@Amir Khalid:
Assuming Trump actually knew that which I highly doubt. He doesn’t know much about anything. Probably only thing on his mind was getting a date with Lady Diana would have been a yuge boost to his media coverage and his ego.
Jeffro
@d58826: great article though, in an oh so chilling way
BellyCat
@bemused: Right?
When you think about it, the process of self-editing (largely due to peer pressure and social norms within one’s valued groups) can involve a whole lot more than just editing your language, moving well into editing one’s public behavior. What one thinks and does in private might be a whole ’nuther matter. (Hello, RACISM/NAZISM!)
When social norms begin to welcome abhorrent behavior (while still filtering language) then the genie is out of the bottle. And that is likely the most disheartening part about what Trump is doing/has done.
Chip Daniels
I just finished a book about Stalingrad, and how the Nazis got encircled and destroyed by the very Russians they thought they had outsmarted.
That pic of the Trump .45 gives me images of Trump in his bunker as the Russians close in…
WaterGirl
@different-church-lady: Not funny.
Chip Daniels
@But her emails!!!: @But her emails!!!:
Did you intentionally list 3 Laws to keep us safe from robots?
If so, bravo.
different-church-lady
@WaterGirl: Not really intended as such.
THE fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.
@MomSense:
Can you try describe trump’s malfunction during his speech? I try to avoid listening to him going forward – he is too gross and despicable. It feels like psychological self-abuse to listen to him.
d58826
@different-church-lady: He did check into a hospital today. So maybe just gallows humor. Nancy is now saying he should resign. She has come in for some grief about her comments but I think she was just trying to grease the skids and give him a graceful way out.
and NBC news is reporting
Not sure if that is going from bad to worse or just that have already hit bottom so nowhere to go.
I stand corrected. also report that The next CIA director could be Tom Cotton. There is still a long way to go before we hit bottom
WaterGirl
@different-church-lady: I should have said: “That’s in poor taste. Very poor taste”.
Hope that clarifies things for you.
Uncle Cosmo
@MomSense: Junior high school ca. 1962: Our section was the only one in 8th grade taking a foreign language, & we obnoxious kids would run around the halls calling one another names in fractured French.
Upon hearing about this, le professeur – a brilliant young man barely out of college who spoke 5 languages fluently (& some years later was a finalist for National Teacher of the Year) – was appalled, and one day soon he devoted an entire class session to explaining to us why we shouldn’t bandy about terms like cochon and vache and sacre dieux!
To my dying day I will recall the horrified look that swept across his visage near the session’s end, when he suddenly realized that he’d just spent 45 minutes teaching more than 30 8th graders how to swear in French… (And we never forgot! ;^D)
Uncle Cosmo
@NotMax: Oh yeah? Have a look at this – the Washington Monument in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Square (which predates the one in DC by decades). Complete with a statue of George at the top that from ground level looks like nothing so much as a “squirt” in progress.
(When my brother was an art major in college he sculpted a, shall we say, interpretation of that edifice that left precious little to the imagination – & titled it “Father Of Our Country”…:^D)
No One You Know
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That…is beautiful. Thank you.