OPINION: Please stop politicizing Martin Luther King Day. It's a day for national unity, not political division https://t.co/MiE83UYlG0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 15, 2018
Please stop shaming racists on a day set aside to honor a man who was assassinated by one. https://t.co/wOSwzOLjJK
— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) January 15, 2018
And can we remove from the Bible that stuff about Jesus kicking the money changers out of the Temple? https://t.co/Cc1a6xLTpI
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 15, 2018
.
But then! — the Horseshoe Theory in action…
More bad news for the Deep-state-crushing libs who like to pretend #MLK worked at the Center for American Progress & was killed at a GALA for the Clinton Foundation: the FBI tried to get him to kill himself https://t.co/habQt7QGcA
— Katie??Halper (@kthalps) January 15, 2018
You just found this information about the FBI and and MLK, Jr today? Damn you late.
— Sharon Sharp (@asoldiersvoice) January 15, 2018
Happy Gaslight Black People Day™ to all the cosplay socialists who've spent the entire day gentrifying Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy.
— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) January 15, 2018
.
Thing is, we Democrats give the “cosplay socialists” so little support they have to scrounge around Patreon. The Republicans have made Fox News the official state media of the Trump-occupied White House…
Student: “I don’t believe this. Can you show me a real world example of how powerful interests in America coopt dissident movements to reinforce their own power”
Me: pic.twitter.com/3KbULJU9mc— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) January 15, 2018
Current members who voted against MLK day:
Senate:
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA
House:
Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
Hal Rogers (R-KY)
John Culberson (R-TX)
Steve Scalise (R-LA)https://t.co/jz4OOSmbqe— Thom Hartmann (@Thom_Hartmann) January 15, 2018
MLK on the theory that somehow advocating for equal rights turns people into white nationalists pic.twitter.com/wQKPKajSEO
— Adam Serwer ?? (@AdamSerwer) January 15, 2018
Martin Luther King Jr. favorable ratings via Gallup –>
1966: 33% favorable, 63% unfavorable
Now: 94% favorable, 4% unfavorable
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 15, 2018
Double points if that Reddit dickhead is Donald Junior.
— Zeddy (@Zeddary) January 15, 2018
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Speaking of both sides
the President of the United States celebrated MLK day by going golfing, four days after throwing a racist tantrum, but the problem is that Dick Durbin thought the American people should maybe know the President is a racist. Also: “ya”, cause Jonathan Martin is just talkin’ some plain folks common sense here. Mario DB is the highly principled Congressman Diaz-Balart, who cares so much about DACA he’s whining to the NYT about how Dems are being mean to trump.
Bobby Thomson
The shame of politicizing the birthday of a pro- union , anti-war social activist.
#OSJW
Bobby Thomson
One of the best things about dethroning DWS is that Diaz-Balart is toast.
Barbara
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: That meeting was designed to sabotage any deal. Only an idiot would not have realized it by now.
dmsilev
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: “Candidly, the President is a racist”. There.
geg6
@Barbara:
Yeah, but I don’t think Dolt 45 planned it that way. Stephen Miller set that up, no doubt in my mind.
schrodingers_cat
I wrote this earlier today. My thoughts on MLK day.
schrodingers_cat
@geg6: I don’t they ever wanted a DACA deal.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Bobby Thomson: You know she would have been gone from the DNC at the end of 2016, right?
Viva BrisVegas
I’m glad that Fox News have finally realised that MLK was never political.
I mean peacefully agitating for black civil rights in a violent racist society is of course not a political act. His assassination by a white racist was not a political act.
It was all just street theatre, meant to warm the cockles of Jim Crow America.
If Fox News wants to promote national unity all it needs to do is turn off its transmitter.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@geg6: I doubt that Trump was displeased.
schrodingers_cat
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I also find it difficult to believe that Miller is freelancing. He has the blessings of his superiors.
Jumbo76
So, Back to the Future was on TV today. Marty goes back to 1955 and meets up with Doc Brown. Doc asks him, “Who’s president in 1985?”
Marty says, “Ronald Reagan.”
“THE ACTOR!?”
I mean, Jesus fucking Christ.
Schlemazel
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
No, it was all part of the grand Clinton plan. There would have been a fire at the reich . . . er DNC and the communists would have been blamed. Then HRC would have stepped in & offered protection to a weary party on condition that DWS was named chair for life. SHe is pure evil don’t ya know.
geg6
@schrodingers_cat:
I think he could be talked into it and word is that it would pass if Dolt would come out in support. Miller knows as well as I do that the Orange One often goes with whatever the last person he talked to says. Miller talked to Cotton, etc. and got them into the meeting before Aunt Pittypat and Durbin were due to arrive. I think Lindsay is pissed about it and that’s why he’s kinda sorta backing up Durbin’s version of events.
Peale
@schrodingers_cat: they don’t. The DACA enrollees are probably gone. Trump wants to run on the millions he’s cleansed…err deported. So does the GOP. They also want to blame someone for the default. Who better than Democrats and DACA enrollees, who can’t vote?
Patricia Kayden
@Viva BrisVegas: Dr. King’s entire protest was designed to spur political change. Waiting for the year when Fox News chides us for talking about race on Dr. King’s Day.
Adam L Silverman
@Barbara: @geg6: The President didn’t plan anything. But Miller rigged the meeting to sabotage it. It was supposed to just be the President, Senator Durbin, and Senator Graham. The latter two representing the group of Democratic and Republican members of the bipartisan Senate working group that had hammered out a compromise. Miller was tipped off, most likely by Senator Cotton, and he immediately invited six other GOP members of Congress. So the meeting turned into the President, Senator Durbin, six GOP senators and representatives, Miller, and most likely the Chief of Staff.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Schlemazel: Thank God for those emails, dodged a bullet there.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: Yep, AG Sessions, Steve Bannon, David Horowitz, and the guy’s at FAIR and the Center for Immigration Studies.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@schrodingers_cat: once again, the Speaker of the House is afraid of his Crazees
Just like Boehner, Ryan could pass the Senate bill if he wanted to.
and I believe Mario Diaz-Balart could start a discharge petition
schrodingers_cat
@geg6: I have observed this administration closely on its decisions regarding DACA and other immigration matters and I don’t think they ever wanted to do a DACA deal in good faith.
I don’t buy this CW. The are against all immigration, whether it be skilled, non-skilled. Even work visas for Canadians have become a bureaucratic nightmare, as have all other long term visas and visa renewals.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Miller is yet another boil on the bum of the body politic. I thought John Kelly, “General Moderation”, was supposed to be calling the shots at the WH? Ha ha HA ha (*sob*).
Schlemazel
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
No kidding, she is worse than Trump.
danielx
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Been saying that for months, what a narrow escape we had.
Gin & Tonic
Who the fuck is Katie Halper and why should I give a shit what she thinks?
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: The buck stops with Mr. T in the WH. I believe the CoS is on board too as is the current DHS head.
ETA: In addition to those you mention.
geg6
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t paint them all with the same brush. I know Republicans who support DACA. I know there are congressional GOPers who support it. We just disagree on this.
Viva BrisVegas
@Patricia Kayden: If Fox News had its way, the MLK legacy would involve the right of pedestrian access to public bridges.
geg6
@Adam L Silverman:
Yes, this is what I think, too.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: Hard to stop something if you don’t find out about it until it happens.
Barbara
@Adam L Silverman: Who hired Miller? Whether Trump is a senile idiot or a master negotiator he sets the rules of the game and even when he lets others set the rules it’s his responsibility.
Bobby Thomson
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I don’t know man. She was so obtuse about taking hints from Clinton that who knows? Any hoo, supporting Florida Republicans should have been cause for her immediate removal, so when it happened it was already years too late.
Eric S.
@Jumbo76: I was thinking about this over the weekend. Three of their last 4 presidents was a B-Movie actor, a C+ legacy admission, and a reality TV star.
Adam L Silverman
@Barbara: The President hired him. Though he was placed with the President by AG Sessions and Steve Bannon.
schrodingers_cat
@geg6: I agree that there are Rs in Congress that support DACA, they are not however in the leadership positions calling the shots.
ETA: I don’t think there are any DACA supporters in WH.
The Moar You Know
I found myself overwhelmingly depressed about being an American today. This is a new feeling and an altogether unpleasant one.
rikyrah
If Trump Fires Mueller, Republicans Won’t Object
By
Jonathan Chait
When Robert Mueller was hired to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible connections to the Trump campaign, Republicans in Congress supported Mueller, and even warned Trump not to interfere with his work. “Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency,” warned Senator Lindsey Graham. “I believe if he did fire Bob Mueller, you would see a special prosecutor statute go through both houses by veto-proof majorities and we’d end up with Bob Mueller in charge of a new investigation with new authorities,” predicted Senator Angus King.
Many Trump critics assume at least implicitly that these conditions still pertain. But the reality as of January 2018 is not the reality of last summer. The Republican Party has largely coalesced around Trump. If — or when — Trump quashes Mueller’s investigation, the veto-proof majorities to restore Mueller’s power will almost certainly fail to materialize.
I read conservative commentary every day. Before Trump won the Republican nomination, sentiment among conservative pundits (if not voters) ran overwhelmingly against him. Over the last year, that opinions have moved toward Trump in several jagged lurches. The first occurred when Trump sealed up the Republican nomination, at which point anti-Trump sentiment could not longer be channeled into a prospective Rubio or Cruz nomination. Another column of opponents peeled off after Trump surprisingly defeated Hillary Clinton, at which point four or more years of opposition looked like more than many “Never Trumpers” had signed up for.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/if-trump-fires-mueller-republicans-are-ready-to-defend-him.html
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Even in the era of trump, I can’t quite believe this one
they put the red and pink ones in a special gift jar
McCarthy: “Pleased to meet you, young staffer! Are you ready to work for the greatest constitutional republic the world is ever known?”
Eager young staffer: “Yes, sir, I majored in political science at Stanford, I interned for state senator…”
McCarthy: “Yeah, yeah, great, take these bags of halloween candy, and pick our the red and pink ones. I have to lobby the president!”
NotMax
May as well get their blathering about it out of the way now rather than wait.
“The 4th of July holiday has nothing to do with anything political.”
— Fox News (@FoxNews)
And while we’re at it, this sure to come one too.
“Donald J. Trump scores again! My policies pay off in U.S. winning more medals at the Olympics than ever in history! Golden Age for America!”
— Dolt 45
justawriter
Posted the paragraph from Letter From Birmingham Jail on the problem with moderate whites as a comment on a couple of blogs known for their attitude that lefties are destroying the Democratic Party. At least one deleted my comment.
Patricia Kayden
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Can you imagine that someone on Morning Joe actually said that Trump was the lesser of two evils? Speechless.
Kay
@rikyrah:
The “smear Robert Mueller” campaign didn’t really work, though. I just saw a poll where 60% of people think he will conduct a fair investigation. 29% believe Trump- probably a 2 MOE :)
They don’t know Mueller from Adam but they do know Donald Trump lies all the time so you can see who would come out on top there. It probably helps that Mueller knows how to keep his mouth shut. It cracks me up that we only ever see that one photo of Mueller. They have one?
Adam L Silverman
@Kay: Actually he’s several inches taller, he’s grayer, and he’s older than me. But other than that they definitely couldn’t tell us apart.
What?
Gravenstone
Always remember, when you say FBI in the 60s, you really mean J. Edgar Hoover. The sort of arrangement that I imagine the more historically minded Trumpites would love to return to – a one man rule of terror in the guise of the premier federal law enforcement agency.
Kay
@Adam L Silverman:
He’s probably hard to demonize – I’ve never even heard him speak. “Based on that one photograph I see over and over he seems like a fine fellow” What are they supposed to base this fear and loathing on? Donald Trump’s word? Guffaw.
Dmbeaster
@Barbara: They dont want a deal. They just want to blame Dems for deportation of Dreamers, which is what they want. Or else to extract gigantic concessions – “give us a deal or the bunny gets it!” And some effing purists on the left is gonna whine that the Dems did not do enough to do a DACA deal, so it really is the Dems fault, which the GOP will echo endlessly.
There is no DACA deal, and Trump is going to deport them. That is what he wanted when he rescinded protection and has never offered any solution other than deportation. He cant do a deal without pissing off his base.
rikyrah
Joy ReidVerified account @JoyAnnReid
Joy Reid Retweeted Ben Smith
I was just saying to friends that Donald Trump will rue the day he became president, not just because of Russiagate, which calls into question his legitimacy, but even more so because his grimy business practices are going to be completely exposed, and his brand decimated.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
i regret that I didn’t copy the actual tweet so I could name its author, but this sums it up for me:
Ksmiami
Fuck trump and all of his supporters and collaborators- they will lose everything and deservedly so
frosty
@rikyrah:
My take as well, and it can’t come soon enough or devastating enough for me. Everything and everyone Shitmidas touches turns to shit. It would be sweet indeed if the publicity and attention boomeranged on him and left him with nothing.
Steve in the ATL
@rikyrah:
Maybe I took too many years of Latin, but I’ll be disappointed if his brand loses only 10% of its value
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: Go with the common usage. Any attempt to keep up standards around here seems to fail. The Oxford comma seems to be the lone holdout.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: ::shutters::
[yes, that was intentional]
justawriter
@Steve in the ATL: Forget where I saw it, the quote is something like, “How fucked up is a civilization that NEEDS a word for killing every tenth person?”
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: I know the Corner Stone-ism.
Omnes Omnibus
Comments disappeared. Conversations make no sense.
Steve in the ATL
@justawriter: a clever line, but if I may [continue to] be pedantic, the word referred to an army suffering a loss of 10% of its soldiers, which is very bad.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I see thanks to Fox it’s another day and another black has to ask are white people really this stupid?
Citizen Alan
@Steve in the ATL:
Um, not in battle I don’t think. Decimation referred to the arbitrary execution of 1/10 of a legion that had mutinied or committed some other similar act.
Villago Delenda Est
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Author is black. Which doubles the stupid.
TenguPhule
@Steve in the ATL:
Wrong. Decimation = Punishment of killing every tenth man in the unit by the rest of the unit.
Invented by the Romans.
Sab
@TenguPhule: Can one of you pedants come up with a word that actually means what we intend when we misuse “decimate?”
NotMax
@Sab
Eviscerate works.
Sab
@NotMax: Thank you.
Anne Laurie
@Sab:
I think that’s a lost cause. Seems like anybody who knows the deci– root assumes the word must mean ‘killed all but a tenth of the group‘ — and from my reading, that ‘popular’ error goes back to at least Victorian days, when an educated person would have been expected to know the root (even when they also knew the correct history, from the Roman legions).
It’s like hopefully — the “correct” usage, 98% of the time, would be it is to be hoped, but even those of us who were trained by parochial-school pedants with the force of corporal punishment behind them find the “correct” usage a little embarrassing, in these degraded days.
Sab
@Anne Laurie: I kind of agree with you about the lost cause, but we went on for hours criticizing the modern popular usage of “decimate” without suggesting an alternative.
I think NotMax’s suggestion of ‘eviscerate” works very well as a substitute in rikyrah’s original quote from Joy Reid. I suppose that the pedants will say that “eviscetate” only means disembowel, but they are wrong.
I guess what bugged me was that while the guys were just doing their usual nightly pedantry scuffles (which I generally find entertaining and educational) they were in effect also indirectly or inadvertantly attacking the Joy Reid tweet. I thought that tweet was an intelligent snd useful one . So if they don’t like the word used, please suggest a better one.
Sab
About a week ago somebody (steelejack?) explained to me how to disable autocorrect. What a relief. Now my typos and mispellings are my own. It used to be autocorrect would rewrite the whole comment to the extent that I couldn’t even recognize it.
evodevo
@Steve in the ATL: Yes. This. It was a custom to punish Roman army units who had screwed up bigly (mutiny or desertion) by having them line up and kill every tenth one of their comrades. So, yeah, only 10% … not enough punishment for Stump …. after all, they have jettisoned more staffers than that over the last 11 months lol
NorthLeft12
@Gin & Tonic:
THIS!!!!^^^^ times a billion. Her “take” or “breaking news” is old and lame. I see the same thing on FB and media comment sections pretty regularly. Please don’t tell me that she is getting paid for that? If she is even a she.
Reply
NorthLeft12
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
I am guessing that those people were pissed at MLK getting a holiday, and are now “I’ll celebrate his holiday how I want!”