Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Here’s the live feed for Congressman Kennedy’s official response to the 2018 State of the Union.
And here’s the live feed for Virginia House of Delegates Delagate Elizabeth Guzman’s official Democratic Party Spanish language response.
Open thread!
Official Democratic State of the Union ResponsesPost + Comments (207)
My god, the Republicans are awful:
The Justice Department’s inspector general has been focused for months on why Andrew McCabe, as the No. 2 official at the FBI, appeared not to act for about three weeks on a request to examine a batch of Hillary Clinton-related emails found in the latter stages of the 2016 election campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.
The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, has been asking witnesses why FBI leadership seemed unwilling to move forward on the examination of emails found on the laptop of former congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) until late October — about three weeks after first being alerted to the issue, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
A key question of the internal investigation is whether McCabe or anyone else at the FBI wanted to avoid taking action on the laptop findings until after the Nov. 8 election, these people said. It is unclear whether the inspector general has reached any conclusions on that point.
A major line of inquiry for the inspector general has been trying to determine who at the FBI and the Justice Department knew about the Clinton emails on the Weiner laptop, and when they learned about them. McCabe is a central figure in those inquiries, these people said.
That’s what they are supposed to do. Not act in a way that will impact an election. Comey’s behavior was in violation of the protocols. Here they are, as stated original under Bush by Mukasey, and again by Holder under Obama:
Comey’s behavior was aberrant, McCabe’s was what you are supposed to do. This is particularly true when you realize that the Weiner emails TURNED OUT TO BE A NOTHINGBURGER.
So basically, Republicans are shitting all over McCabe for not releasing potentially damaging information that might have impacted an election would definitely have leaked through the corrupt NY office of Giuliani stooges and turned out to be nothing.
It’s really no exaggeration to state the Republicans are a threat to democracy. And remember, they are doing all this while trying to STOP an investigation into Trump and firing and smearing anyone who might testify under oath about him.
McCabe Under Fire From Republican Hacks for Following FBI ProtocolPost + Comments (69)
Here is Scout in her Goodwill find (fifty cents, toddler sweater) to keep her warm on the cold mornings. She was a shivering mess.
I can’t watch, don’t even feel like discussing. If you are the same, here’s your open non-political thread.
Should I do a Super Bowl Recipe Exchange on Friday or Saturday?
Let’s talk favorite movies, books or TV shows of the moment. Lucifer is my guilty pleasure and we are going to go see The Post tomorrow if my work day allows.
Scout gets her 12 week checkup on Thursday, she’s already 22.6 lbs and 18 inches tall.
Bonus Bixby:
Have at it…
Here’s the live feed for tonight’s State of the Uniom.
Updated at 9:00 PM EST
You all may need these. Courtesy of USA Today.
You know what to do in the comments.
Open thread!
Victor Cha has been mentioned as ambassador to South Korea. He is the chair of the Korea program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and is director of Asian studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He served as Asia director at the NSC under George W. Bush and participated in the Six-Party talks with North Korea as the deputy head of the U.S. delegation. But today it was announced that the administration no longer wants his services.
Cha is on the hawkish side toward North Korea. But apparently not hawkish enough for Donald Trump or someone on his staff. Cha believes that tearing up the South Korea trade agreement is a bad idea, and that attacking North Korea probably worse.
His appointment had gone as far as the administration asking South Korea for its agreement. This is a standard step in appointing ambassadors, and withdrawing the name afterwards is extremely bad form. As South Koreans woke up, they learned of the move, and they are not happy.
This story is causing shock-waves in South Korea this morning. Victor Cha is well known there and people were reassured he was being sent. Plus: South Koreans also have, er, misgivings about bloody nose/strikes on North Korea https://t.co/5uNMNomOKb
— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) January 30, 2018
The administration has handled the rest of the interaction with their usual grace and charm.
Victor Cha Won’t Be Trump’s Ambassador To South KoreaPost + Comments (122)
When Donald Trump fails to shit himself while reading a speech that could have been written by the President of the University of Southwestern Arkansas College Republicans tonight, he will be declared a truly Presidential statesman by the idiots who do play-by-play on DC politics. So, I invite all of you to pick up some form of the written word – a telephone book, an advertising flyer, the back of a cereal box – and read a sentence or two out loud. Once you’ve passed the low bar that the press sets for Trump, you can be sure that you’re just as good as Trump and can therefore do whatever you please. So, just skip tonight’s asinine ceremony and watch something better on TV. The SOTU is a waste of time even with someone decent in charge. Save your energy for the elections.
We Are All Statesmen or Stateswomen TodayPost + Comments (168)
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Remember Freya and Sweetpea, who needed a new home after their disabled owner died? Just got a great update from Alexi:
I am glad to report that we have a happy ending for Freya and Sweetpea! They have a new home in Ann Arbor with Asuki, who was newly catless.
We used the wheelchair lift van to transport the gigantic cat tower and all their other stuff.
As you can see in the photo, Sweetpea is already using the tower to surveil the Huron River and the critters who live by it.
Freya mostly stayed under the couch, but she did venture out to investigate her litter box’s new location. Their new human guardian is semi-retired, so they will get plenty of attention.
Thank you to everyone for networking and brainstorming to help us relocate Sweetpea and Freya. It’s a huge relief for my friend, B, because she isn’t able to keep her apartment now that her partner has died. Having the cats really complicated the search for affordable housing, and she was worried about future vet bills. Now B knows that the cats at least will have a good home.
P.S. I asked about setting up donations, but B isn’t comfortable with that. We didn’t end up having any cat relocation costs except driving them across town. Thanks again to everyone who offered help!
Always good to have some happy news on a politically stormy day… which is just about *every* day, right now…
