Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

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

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

People are complicated. Love is not.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

“Alexa, change the president.”

Their shamelessness is their super power.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

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

Stand up, dammit!

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

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

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Archives for January 2018

Release The Memo: A Quick Note

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Tomorrow is likely to be a bit nutso as we now know that the Nunes memo will likely be released.

As you might imagine, the FBI is not amused.

Washington, D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
January 31, 2018

FBI Statement on HPSCI Memo

The FBI takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI. We are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process.

With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it. As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.

Given the reporting, I’m not quite sure how FBI Director Wray doesn’t resign in short order if this thing is released. Fortunately, I’m not FBI Director Wray.

Congressman Schiff has now provided even more worrying information about what has been approved for release tomorrow.

Now for the quick note: If the Nunes memo, which is really more like a four page report, is released without an order of declassification from the President, the material released will still be classified. Since I am not read on to any of this stuff – the material used to get the FISA warrant and extension alleged to be the focus of the Nunes memo, as well as the material that Nunes and his staff cherry picked to produce the report – I cannot and will not read the memo, the reporting about the memo, and cannot and will not comment on them. This would violate the terms of my clearance.

Mark Zaid, who runs one of the top law practices dealing with clearance issues, as well as whistle blower protection, delineates the key issues here:

Click across and read the entire thing.

Zaid goes on to state:

To redirect: if this is released tomorrow without a specific declassification order, I’m going to be silent on it. On the actual report being released, what it means, etc. I’m sure others here will pick up the slack. And I highly recommend that you all check out Zaid‘s and his partner Brad Moss‘s twitter feeds as they’ll have expert commentary. I also highly recommend Ben Wittes‘s, Susan Hennessy‘s, Asha Rangappa‘s, Richard Painter‘s, and Walter Schaub‘s twitter feeds among others. And I’m sure Lawfare will have coverage too.

Sorry about this, but the rules are the rules and I’m not placing my clearance in jeopardy because Congressman Nunes is Congressman Nunes.

Open thread!

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But I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers

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I go back and forth about the Russia stuff. On the one hand, I think the Trump campaign’s behavior was genuinely treasonous from a moral perspective and that Trump’s behavior to stifle the investigation is mostly likely criminal from a legal perspective. On the other, none of it’s as important to me as the millions of people’s heath care, or whether 750,000 dreamers get to stay here, or the future of the American middle-class.

But I think we’re certainly headed towards a constitutional crisis. If it lasts til January 2019, it’s probably not the end of the world. If it lasts til January 2021, I think there starts to be real damage.

The Republican party will never hold Trump accountable no matter what he does. The sooner we can get Democrats into power, the better it is for everybody.

You can give here to the Balloon Juice fund that is split equally among all Democratic nominees in House districts currently held by Republicans.

Goal Thermometer

You can give here to Swing Left, which is promoting grass roots action against Republicans in 70 swing districts.

Goal Thermometer

Thanks everybody. And remember, our time will come.

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Gee Oh Pee Open Thread: Their Man Is Not Well

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NBC released this before last night’s stunt show:

Donald Trump is telling friends and aides in private that things are going great — for him.

Some reasons: He’s decided that a key witness in the Russia probe, Paul Manafort, isn’t going to “flip” and sell him out, friends and aides say. He believes Robert Mueller, who heads the investigation, can be crushed, if necessary, without being fired. Sweeping tax and regulatory cuts will juice the economy and get him re-elected in 2020, he is predicting. He thinks he’s learned how to handle the dysfunction of Congress. And he’s even come to like the White House, the bad plumbing and drafty halls notwithstanding. “I love this place!” he told one friend.

In other words, as he prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the president is very pleased to report that the State of Donald Trump himself is nothing short of fantastic.

“He called to congratulate me on how brilliant and prescient I was to tell him to run for president,” said one friend, who asked not to be identified, laughing at the thought. “What he was really doing was flattering himself by flattering me. But for him, it was a long and very enjoyable monologue.”

Trump has yet to sell the country on the value of his stewardship…

“You have to understand that you are dealing with a guy whose most fundamental, minute-by-minute fear in life is of boredom,” said a friend. “He’s decided that the presidency is the best way in the world not to be bored.”

If only the rest of us could feel such assurance.

Count on the professional comedians to take the measure of this amateur…

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Mammal And Dinosaur Tracks At NASA

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A slab of rock unearthed at NASA’s Goddard Flight Center has lots of mammal and dinosaur tracks, and maybe even a pile of fossilized poop. There are sauropod, theropod, and baby nodosaur tracks. There are mammal tracks, possibly with toe beans. There eighty or more footprints on the stone. The article has a nice diagram of the tracks on the stone and the animals that made them.

 

What kind of tracks are your animals making? I have been having some work done on the house, and Zooey and Ric have not been going out. So they do a lot of running inside instead.

 

And I’m exhausted from the news this week, with two days yet to go. Open thread.

 

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More seats and more changes

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Just a few house keeping notes on retirements and people who will change the amount of time that they spend with their lawyers.

First Trey Gowdy (R-SC-04) is retiring.

There is a freshly opened judgeship on the 4th Circuit. Given how he phrased his retirement letter, I would not be surprised if he is nominated to the bench.

Secondly, Bob Brady (D-Philly/PA-01) is retiring as well.

He has been under investigation by the FBI for allegedly paying off a 2012 primary competitor.

From a Fall 2018 perspective, PA-01 is a D+31 district. Any map that the GOP state legislature and the Dem governor (Wolf) could agree upon would probably protect incumbents. Removing an incumbent from a Democratic vote sink seat allows for some more precincts to shift to other seats so that a D+31 seat could still be safely Democratic at D+20 instead of an incumbent protected seat at D+25.

Finally, in some surprising news:

Removes the prime opportunity for Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot this year.

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Open Thread: More Reasons Not to Leave the House Fly Commercial

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ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)…

I actually checked Snopes, and it’s true. The peacock’s person — surprise! — is a “conceptual artist working in photography, performative experiences and social practice” while living in Bushwick.

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I Love the Smell of Fiscal Conservatism in the Morning

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What could I possibly add to that? And in other news, a metaphor:

A train carrying dozens of Republican members of Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, to their legislative retreat in West Virginia hit a truck Wednesday, leaving at least one person dead.

The driver of the truck was killed, President Donald Trump said Wednesday afternoon. Five patients were transported to UVA Medical Center, with one in critical condition, the hospital tweeted. Amtrak said three passengers and two crew members were hospitalized with “minor injuries.”

Republican train wreck on way to luxury resort hits truck killing blue collar worker while spilling garbage everywhere. That’s about an apt a summary of the past couple decades as anything.

I Love the Smell of Fiscal Conservatism in the MorningPost + Comments (95)