Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Republicans do not trust women.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

So many bastards, so little time.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

In after Baud. Damn.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Olympics Open Thread: We’re Not Sending Our Best

Olympics Open Thread: We’re Not Sending Our Best

by | 223 Comments

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That Fox News executive’s now-suppressed editorial had it exactly backwards. It’s not the “Darker, Gayer, Different” competitors who are embarrassing the rest of us Americans…

If “diplomatic dance” were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong Un’s younger sister would be favored to win gold.

With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South Korea’s presidential guest book, Kim Yo Jong has struck a chord with the public just one day into the PyeongChang Games…

Kim Yo Jong is believed to be the youngest of seven siblings that their father, Kim Jong Il, had with four women. Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo Jong have the same mother, Ko Yong Hui. Kim Yo Jong was always close to her father, and after returning from Switzerland, she was appointed to positions of responsibility in the government, according to Michael Madden, who runs the blog North Korea Leadership Watch.

“Kim Yo Jong’s power exists because of proximity to the leader himself. She is the person he trusts more than anyone else in the regime,” said Ken Gause, North Korean leadership expert.

She’s been known to act as an advance-team leader, inspecting sites before official visits and taking on administrative duties, analysts said…

Experts say her visit for the Winter Games is calculated to answer the expected presence of Ivanka Trump at the closing ceremonies.

“Kim Yo Jong is the perfect counterpart to this,” Hwang said. “And it also is a signal that North Korea is not this crazy, weird former Cold War state — but it too has young women that are capable and are the future leadership.”…

Reader Interactions

223Comments

  1. 1.

    magurakurin

    Who is surprised that Mike Dense can’t handle this? Anyone? No one?

    and short track speed skating would be infinitely improved if the track made odds and took bets…

  2. 2.

    Doug R

    Looks like Joe F’n Biden wearing the Hudson’s Bay Maple leaf mittens. Note the lyric from “O Canada” in the overhead sign in another pic, in Vancouver Canucks colo(u)rs of course, eh.

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    Experts say her visit for the Winter Games is calculated to answer the expected presence of Ivanka Trump at the closing ceremonies.

    “Kim Yo Jong is the perfect counterpart to this,” Hwang said.

    ISTM that Kim Yo Jong has actual responsibilities and accomplishments behind her, even if it is a screwed up regime she’s serving. Ivanka shows up, sits down beside powerful and accomplished women, then trots back to the slopes with Jar Jar and the fam when the shits going down.

  4. 4.

    Corner Stone

    I love it that Trump accuser Jessica Leeds just said “scares the shit outta me” on a live mic on MSNBC.
    2018, we are in you.

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    I can’t believe anyone is really surprised that the people and atmosphere at these games are more favorable for Kim YJ than it is for any delegate from the USA. And Pence couldn’t diplomacy his ass out of a wet paper bag. He’s the worst Christo-fascist nutjob we could have sent.

  7. 7.

    Mike in NC

    Pence always looks like a corpse. He and Trump are on some powerful drugs. Maybe he’ll manage to leave South Korea before starting a war.

  8. 8.

    Gelfling 545

    Not surprising. It seems the Pences have the manners of a goat and yet amazingly appear to consider themselves to be superior to everyone else. Puzzling.

  11. 11.

    Yutsano

    @WaterGirl: Dense insulted the North Korean official head of state, which really is a slap in her face, I also appreciate the North Korean charm offensive here. There really are the touches that can bring about lasting change, especially if she has the influence over her brother they suspect she has.

  12. 12.

    Wag

    To paraphrase Robin Williams, “Assholes do vex us!”

    I cannot believe the ignorance and self centered behavior of the current administration

  14. 14.

    MisterForkbeard

    Joe Biden: Having fun, charming the athletes and the other VIPs.

    Mike Pence: Apparently incredibly constipated, has insulted the hosting country repeatedly and is actively damaging our foreign standing.

    Way to go, Republicans. I honestly kind of hate seeing pictures of Joe and Barack being competent and having fun, because it keeps reminding me how far our country has fallen since 11/2016.

  15. 15.

    Miss Bianca

    Oh, looking at them, the contrast between Kim YJ and the Pences is almost painful. Kim appears personable and charming, while the Pences look like they just bit into a pair of lemons – moldy lemons – and they’re trying to figure out how to make it someone else’s fault.

  16. 16.

    clay

    It’s like… incompetence and corruption aside… they don’t HAVE to be assholes. But they are, and that’s all they are.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    @Yutsano: @opiejeanne: I’m thinking how we would have felt if a head of state has disrespected Michelle Obama like that. On the other hand, I’m perfectly fine if everyone snubs Ivanka, the daughter of the pretend president.

  20. 20.

    retiredeng

    Pence has “I’m An Asshole” painted on his face. Invisible because it’s the whitest of white lettering.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    @clay:

    It’s like… incompetence and corruption aside… they don’t HAVE to be assholes.

    They did have to be assholes or they wouldn’t have been elected. Their whole purpose is to be assholes to people like you and me.

  22. 22.

    MisterForkbeard

    @WaterGirl: If Ivanka hadn’t been part of Trump’s administration and was a typical adult POTUS daughter, I’d have been pissed if someone publicly snubbed her.

    But Ivanka is, you know, a giant part of the problem that is the Trump Administration. And she’s also a giant fuck you to feminism and women’s leadership in general. So she can be snubbed, ignored or ridiculed as much as anyone wants.

  26. 26.

    Roger Moore

    @Miss Bianca:

    Pences look like they just bit into a pair of lemons – moldy lemons – and they’re trying to figure out how to make it someone else’s fault.

    I always think Pence looks like a man doing his best to avoid admitting the terrible smell everyone is complaining about has anything to do with him.

  28. 28.

    TS

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Mike Pence: Apparently incredibly constipated, has insulted the hosting country repeatedly and is actively damaging our foreign standing.

    Beginning to wonder if there is anything left of the US foreign standing to be damaged.

  31. 31.

    Sherparick

    @Wag: I can, boy I can. Also, it is a learned stupidity, which requires complete immersion in the right wing media bubble and completely rejecting information from outside that bubble. That’s the horror. VP Pence and Mrs. Pence take all their news from Fox News, right wing radio, Focus on the Family, and other approved right wing sources. Information that contradicts their views come from the “Liberal” news media conspiracy. Trump governs based on what he watches on Fox and Friends. If Steve Doocy tells him to launch the big one at Korea, we are all fucked.

  32. 32.

    JPL

    North Korea is an oppressive regime that has been in power for decades. The fact that Pence didn’t acknowledge Kim Jong Un’s sister doesn’t bother me at all. The fact that by not standing, he disrespected the host of the Olympics does. Of course, he has a right to protest by not standing. I just wished he hadn’t been representing our country while protesting.

  33. 33.

    TS

    @B.B.A.: But the “both sides” comes to the fore – look at the headline – doesn’t mention the reality of the article

    Top official departs ‘rudderless’ railroad safety agency
    The resignation of the former acting chief of the Federal Railroad Administration comes while Democrats are blocking a vote on a permanent leader — and as train-related deaths climb.

    Just miss mentioning in the headline WHY the GOP top official left.

  34. 34.

    mikefromArlington

    Pence and his soft spoken demean-er always creeped me out. He would play an excellent psychotic killer in a movie.

  36. 36.

    lamh36

    I was watching the opening ceremony last night…and even if Pence hates NK…when the joined Korea team came into the parade of nations…to not only not stand for the home nation and to not clap either? I mean…sure nah, nah, nah NK, but booo hooo too bad SK?

    Stupid.

    Anyhooo.. speaking of the Olympics an Pence…

    @thehill
    Follow Follow @thehill
    More
    Gay Olympians celebrate “#TeamUSGay” in Instagram post: “Eat your heart out, Pence” http://hill.cm/8ctEGAN

    I LOVE these guys! Good luck to them and all the Olympians.

    KICK ROCK Pence!

  37. 37.

    Baud

    @JPL:

    North Korea is an oppressive regime that has been in power for decades. The fact that Pence didn’t acknowledge Kim Jong Un’s sister doesn’t bother me at all. 

    I don’t care about the NK regime. I do care about how the U.S. appears on the world stage. A competent administration who wanted to send a message to NK would have at least tried to send that message in a way that didn’t make us look bad.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Corner Stone:

    Ha! I was in the car and heard that on XM. Took a minute to register, then I was all “Wait, what? She said ‘shit’ on the air and they never even bothered to bleep her?” The times they are a-changing, for sure. (For the record, I think her use of ‘shit’ was very appropriate in context; I’m just surprised that MSNBC producers agree with me.)

  40. 40.

    Catherine D.

    @JPL:

    North Korea is an oppressive regime that has been in power for decades. The fact that Pence didn’t acknowledge Kim Jong Un’s sister doesn’t bother me at all. The fact that by not standing, he disrespected the host of the Olympics does. Of course, he has a right to protest by not standing. I just wished he hadn’t been representing our country while protesting.

    Maybe he should have taken a knee …

  41. 41.

    Jake the antisoshul soshulist

    Kim Jung-Un knew what he was doing sending his sister. Finally Trump may be right about something. Kim might well be a “smart cookie”. A lot of dictators aren’t really that smart.
    See Duvalier, Francois; Mussolini, Benito or Chavez, Hugo.

  43. 43.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: There’s no better way to give aid and comfort to the “enemy” than by making them seem sympathetic or making us look like ignorant foolish bullies. Pence can walk out of Hamilton or a football game all he likes, I’m down with protests. Even when they may be staged theater and foolish/misguided. But his actions are opening a crack for a regime we have been trying to isolate for years if not decades.

  46. 46.

    HRA

    @TS:

    From ShareBlue

    The official tasked with overseeing train safety for millions of Americans resigned after he was caught taking in secret payments while on the government payroll, in violation of federal ethics guidelines.

  47. 47.

    gene108

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m thinking how we would have felt if a head of state has disrespected Michelle Obama like that.

    We would have been upset.

    Conservatives would have cheered them on, because they hated her.

    @Wag:

    cannot believe the ignorance and self centered behavior of the current administration

    They are as bad as half this country, which exalts them. And, like their base, they do not want to strive to be better.

  49. 49.

    Brachiator

    @TS:

    Just miss mentioning in the headline WHY the GOP top official left.

    The Politico article I read on this suggests that Politico itself was responsible for this guy leaving:

    A top official charged with overseeing the safety of the nation’s railroads has resigned “effective immediately,” the Department of Transportation said Saturday after POLITICO raised questions about whether he was simultaneously working as a public relations consultant in Mississippi.

    However, you have to read deep into the story to get at the Democrats’ objection to the proposed replacement. And the Democrats don’t look too good.

    Schumer has held up a vote on Batory while pushing for more federal money for a massive rail project in and around New York City. His office declined to comment this past week about the nomination or calls for him to end his blockade.

    I understand politics and horse-trading, but still…

  50. 50.

    Corner Stone

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    And his wife always looks supremely discontented.

    She always looks like she’s trying to locate the nearest closet so she knows where to find Pence if he goes missing.

  51. 51.

    lamh36

    @Corner Stone: I agree…and IMHO…they did so to also snub South Korea for having the audacity to “unite” the Koreas in the spirit of the Olympics (I know, I know, it’s a more cynical ploy than that…but still, if ya not gonna use the guise of the Olympics to express unity, then ur wasting an opportunity).

    The Chump admin used this opportunity to spit in the SK faces for daring to not do what THEY would like them to have done…

  52. 52.

    Victor Matheson

    @gene108: I got quoted this week in our local city monthly magazine calling the alt-right “a bunch of assholes.” I didn’t know that was allowed, but it was a proud moment for me nonetheless.

  54. 54.

    Ruckus

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Mike Pence: Apparently incredibly constipated, has insulted the hosting country repeatedly and is actively damaging our foreign standing.

    He is full of shit isn’t he?

  55. 55.

    JMG

    @Brachiator: The rail project in question is repairs to an existing tunnel in very bad shape and construction of a new tunnel — under the Hudson River. If this project is not done, sooner or later, rail traffic between New York City and New Jersey would be cut. That sounds bad to me.

  56. 56.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    I don’t care about the NK regime. I do care about how the U.S. appears on the world stage. A competent administration who wanted to send a message to NK would have at least tried to send that message in a way that didn’t make us look bad.

    A competent government would have looked at an opportunity to have relatively easy access to a supposedly high ranking member of Kim Jong Un’s inner circle as a chance to advance some policy goal or another.

    The experienced North Korea experts would have gamed out scenarios with the VP about what to do and what not to do, as well as ways to politely advance our agenda. The VP would also be briefed by the US Ambassador to S. Korea about what to advance and what do to.

    Trump and Pence are not competent. Worse they are lazy, and don’t even bother trying to put in any extra effort, if things get tough, such as hurricane response to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

  57. 57.

    HeleninEire

    Olympics thread?
    I miss Michael Phelps (yeah I know that’s summer) Very in love with him. Too bad I’m old enough to be his mom.

    Anyway having a big fat fight with some guy on the Do the Due thread. Go back if you want a laugh.

  58. 58.

    lgerard

    You can see that the trump team had a well thought out plan to MAGA at the Olympics!

    It’s astonishing that Pence didn’t even know the South Korean ambassadors name, what a clown!

  61. 61.

    gene108

    @Brachiator:

    The ARRA had set aside around $6 billion to build another rail tunnel between NJ and NY. Christie, in keeping with the Republican philosophy of opposing all things Obama, refused to take the funds. This project has been languishing for close to a decade.

  64. 64.

    bluefish

    The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. VP Phony Pants handles all such SNAFUs with amazing aplomb while sporting the Speed Racer look. Mother looks decidedly tense.

  65. 65.

    JPL

    @Corner Stone: Which is why I didn’t support his not standing, while representing our country. He did diss the host country which is suppose to be our ally. My biggest concern will be that Trump will now do something stupid to retaliate to the bad press abroad.

    What am I thinking, of course Trump will do something stupid.

  68. 68.

    gene108

    @JPL:

    I don’t think Trump pays that much attention to Pence. I wouldn’t be surprised, if Trump forgot, who Pence is.

  71. 71.

    JPL

    Pence calls his wife Mother, and that is just plain odd. I can’t imagine what he writes on a valentine card.

  74. 74.

    Robert Sneddon

    @gene108: The VP would also be briefed by the US Ambassador to S. Korea about what to advance and what do to.

    Slight problem with that, there currently isn’t an American Ambassador to South Korea. The previous one, Marc Lippert who had been appointed by President Obama resigned on 20th January 2017 and no-one has been appointed to replace him. I doin’t know if there has even been anyone nominated by the White House to fill the role. Current head of station in Seoul is the Charge d’Affaires.

  79. 79.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: I’m not mad at all. I just think the earth should open up beneath you, causing you to fall in to a fiery pit of lava on your way to Hell!!
    *sips chocolate milk*
    “But I wouldn’t know anything about that.”
    *sips*

  82. 82.

    TopClimber

    @Corner Stone: According to Wikipedia, biggest plurality of religious followers in South Korea are Christians, about 2-1 Protestants to Catholics. So Pence not a bad pick on that score–of course that was before he probably pissed off most of the country by sitting for the passing of their team and s(h)itting all over a rare feel good moment for Koreans on both sides of the DMZ.

  83. 83.

    schrodingers_cat

    Did anyone see Snooze Hour yesterday. They had some T flunky to discuss the Olympics and he explained away Pence’s behavior as a stand against NK’s human rights record. With a straight face. And got zero push back from the interviewer.

  84. 84.

    cosima

    So much winning. I’m enjoying watching the snowboarding.

    Thank you to whomever suggested to JCole that he watch Archer on Netflix. We only had it on dvd through season 5, so lots to catch up on whilst on our Netflix trial month.

  85. 85.

    jl

    Pence fails horribly on Trump/Pence administration’s own terms. Hard to describe the sad and sorry excuse for a dignified and resolute expression on Pence’s face.
    Could be a somewhat out of it person, who knows he is at an important event and needs to pay attention, but can’t quite figure out what it is.
    Or maybe, a person who has recently noticed problems in controlling bodily functions, who has just noticed emerging mouth drool, or lower bowel, issues of some sort.
    Or, maybe, older person is very first stages of dozing off.

    Edit: made sadder in the pic by contrast with Kim Yo Jong, who knows how to do it right.

  86. 86.

    Tenar Arha

    I haven’t read through the whole thread, but the deliberate political demonstration by the VP et al basically guarantees that if a gold medalist kneels for the anthem at the Olympics, I suspect it’ll actually become even a bigger deal than it might have because of Dense’s behavior.

  87. 87.

    NorthLeft12

    @Baud: This is how the Trump gang look tough. And their base just loves it. This is exactly how they fantasize how they would act, except the fantasy can only be completed with an act of violence.

  88. 88.

    Corner Stone

    TopClimber at #82: Your Reply button opens Wikipedia.
    I would ask if you think Pence really believes any of the Christians in South Korea are *actually* Christians? Because they look nothing like him.

  89. 89.

    lgerard

    @JPL:

    Pence calls his wife Mother, and that is just plain odd. I can’t imagine what he writes on a valentine card.

    or what he does on Mother’s Day

  90. 90.

    Chet Murthy

    @WaterGirl: And yet (despite how richly Daughter-Wife deserves it) nobody actually does snub her; instead, politicians all over the world treat her diplomatically, b/c that is what adults do in those jobs — they do their jobs. Fat Termite doesn’t realize what his *job* was at the Olympics: to represent the USA. He thought it was to represent his sect of the White America For White Men and their Chattels Only Party.

  91. 91.

    jl

    @NorthLeft12: The problem is that there are domestic reasons that push Moon to respond to initiatives from NK. One is that, from what I’ve read, a substantial proportion of the SK population wants eventual reunification. Another is that Trump’s lunatic and incoherent tough talk and negotiating stance forces Moon to establish an independent SK interest in what happens: Trump tough talk and threats completely ignore the existence of SK lives at stake in any military confrontation. Which anyone with sense, even a sane ‘America firster’ should recognize is a problem, because SK is an extremely important ally.

    So, Moon has several important reasons, completely separate from Trumpster military wet dreams, to push ahead and respond to NK gestures.
    So Trump and Pence can make a big show of being childish, rude, and send boorish signals all they want.. Will just make us look ineffective and pointlessly malicious when everyone else ignores the juvenile BS of the Trumpsters.

    Coming within shouting distance of anyone involved in the leadership of NK would give me the creeps. But Pence there in official diplomatic capacity, personal feelings should have nothing to do with his behavior at official functions during the trip.

  92. 92.

    BC in Illinois

    In regard to Pence doing damage to our standing in South Korea:

    Percentage of S Koreans who have “confidence in the President of the US to do the right thing in world affairs”:
    2016 (Obama) – – 88%
    2017 (Trump) – – 17%

    That’s a a 71% drop — in SOUTH Korea.

  94. 94.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @lgerard:
    He will specifically honor her on Mother’s Day, yes. At least to the extent Pence is capable of sincerely honoring anyone. It’s part of their subculture, and my grandparents belonged to it. The idea is that her role as a mother in a nuclear family is her most important and flattering identity trait. It’s not at all creepy if you are part of that society, because no one associates it with comparing the wife to his mother. It’s creepy for all kinds of other reasons, like the total objectification and servitude implicit in those priorities, but not because ‘mother’ evokes any incestuous connotations.

  96. 96.

    jl

    @BC in Illinois: A national leader who is an incompetent jerk, and when it comes to your country talks as if its very existence, and your own life and the lives of almost all the people you know, are less than an afterthought, somehow lacks appeal.

    Maybe that is just a South Korean cultural quirk? Who knows? Maybe, or maybe not. But it is what it is.

  98. 98.

    Brachiator

    @JMG:

    The rail project in question is repairs to an existing tunnel in very bad shape and construction of a new tunnel — under the Hudson River. If this project is not done, sooner or later, rail traffic between New York City and New Jersey would be cut. That sounds bad to me.

    Thanks for the details. This sounds entirely reasonable.

  100. 100.

    JGabriel

    CNN via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    Kim Yo Jong is believed to be the youngest of seven siblings that their father, Kim Jong Il, had with four women. Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo Jong have the same mother, Ko Yong Hui.

    Presidential Intelligence Briefing Transcript, February 18, 2018, Excerpt:

    Trump: … And what is it with this fucking family? Why are they all named Kim and all have different last names, huh?

  101. 101.

    jl

    @El Caganer: I’m interested in an update on Lady Cracker’s cranky chickens. I think her chickens are far too ornery to even try that. Or get within five paces of trying.

  102. 102.

    chris

    Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

    Trump’s weekly address this week is about MS-13. Gangs are “breaking into our country because our laws are so weak, so sad, so pathetic,” he says. https://t.co/QCPZpxtL2S— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) 10 February 2018

    I really liked Obama’s weekly addresses. Sniff.

  103. 103.

    jl

    @JGabriel: If Trump has kids with four or fewer women, that news could lead to some unhealthy and counterproductive competition. I hope it is never mentioned on Fox and Friends, or Alex Jones, or other rancid garbage Trump watches.

  104. 104.

    Lahke

    Apropos of nothing, I just read Khizer Khan’s book, An American Family. Beautifully written (take that, jerks who said that the Clinton campaign wrote his speech), and very moving. A great immigration story too– there’s some examples of our best. Thank you for coming to this country, Mr. Khan.

  106. 106.

    JGabriel

    Atlas Obscura (via El Caganer’s link):

    THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL and Prevention estimates that 1.2 million Americans contract salmonella every year. The cause is usually food: meat, dairy, or vegetables that contain traces of feces from a salmonella-infected animal.

    But lately, more and more people are getting salmonella from an entirely different source: showing too much love for their backyard chickens.

    No comment.

    (I’m speechless.)

  108. 108.

    JGabriel

    jl:

    If Trump has kids with four or fewer women, that news could lead to some unhealthy and counterproductive competition.

    Perhaps it already has. When was Stormy Daniels last kid born?

  109. 109.

    Jeffro

    @Miss Bianca: Re: the Pences

    and they’re trying to figure out how to make it someone else’s fault.

    The is the kicker, right? Living, breathing Avatars O’ Spite.

  111. 111.

    jl

    Title post reminds me that Pence’s expression could also be an elderly constipated Dorothy trying to suppress a very vague, but also very serious, worry about Toto.
    There, I think that is it.

    Edit: because my mind wandered from ‘we’re not sending our best’ to ‘we’re not in Kansas anymore’, which reminds me that Pence is out of the Midwest, but just as lost as ever.

  113. 113.

    Jeffro

    I’m just now catching up on yesterday’s news (re: Trumpov not released the Dems’ rebuttal-memo to Nunes) and it’s truly a marvel that he’s going to go with “it’s political and needs to be revised” as his excuse for not releasing it.

    How about it, House Dems? Ready to read the whole fucking thing into the Congressional Record?

    Take ’em down, IC!

  114. 114.

    lgerard

    @chris:

    Trump’s weekly address this week is about MS-13

    Do you think trump will ever mention Russian organized crime in America, which is far more damaging then MS13 ?.

  117. 117.

    TS

    @HRA: I read that in the politico piece – my comment related to the headline – blaming democrats for lack of a permanent appointee. And just to add, if the moron nominated someone who could do the job, and if the republicans brought it to the floor, then the dems would vote for said person.

    The US media ALWAYS finds ways to blame democrats for the 100% failure of republicans.

  118. 118.

    jl

    @chris: ” Trump thinks California is a foreign country. ”
    If that is a Trump thought, first honest one i’ve heard that has any merit to it.

  119. 119.

    chris

    @lgerard: You mean his friends and business partners? Only under duress.

    I’ll stop there, my imagination is too lurid for this family blog.

  124. 124.

    TS

    @gene108:

    I don’t think Trump pays that much attention to Pence. I wouldn’t be surprised, if Trump forgot, who Pence is.

    Apologies for no link – I read yesterday that a reporter asked Pence why he never seemed to know about anything until after the event. Pence gulped.
    Pence & trump seem to be 100% unrelated in what they do in and out of DC

  126. 126.

    jl

    More news coming in on exactly how that GOP tax heist will fail (except as cash transfer to the ultra rich).
    Morgan Stanley analysts look at how corporations plan to spend their tax cut haul and find thusly (rounded to nearest percent)

    Manufacturing
    capital investment: 16
    labor comp: 9
    stock buy backs, dividends, M&A, balance sheets: 75

    Services
    capital investment: 18
    labor comp: 16
    stock buy backs, dividends, M&A, balance sheets: 66

    By far the largest component for both is stock buy backs and dividends: between 40 and 50 percent.

  132. 132.

    debbie

    @TS:

    Pence gulped.

    And then said something to the effect that it was an honor to serve as VP. He’s just a Stepford Evangelical.

  134. 134.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Patricia Kayden:
    Speaking in my role as Stewardess, I Speak Racist: Trump isn’t capable of knowing MS-13 is from America. You can tell him. He can even have it in his memory as a fact. It will be a technicality that exists by itself, and does not touch his thinking about the subject. It’s a truthiness thing. A technicality doesn’t matter, he knows these are all immigrant drug dealers coming across the Mexican border to rape and murder white people. Most of the time the racist will wipe away even knowing the technicality as soon as the conversation is over.

    And that’s assuming he’s capable of listening long enough to take in or remember even a technicality. With Trump, that’s far from certain. It’s moot, regardless.

  137. 137.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @WaterGirl: Then again if Biden or Michelle acknowledged her and even a friendly gesture, the media especially Fox and the GOP would have strokes.

  138. 138.

    JMG

    @Mr Stagger Lee: 1. If Clinton was President, the Republicans would’ve said not boycotting the Olympics was treason. 2. Is the idea that if Pence makes enough faces at North Korea they’ll surrender? 3. If I were in charge of South Korea, I’d sign a mutual defense treaty with China and kick the US out yesterday.

  139. 139.

    Another Scott

    @gene108: It’s worse than that. FTFNYT: Christie took and diverted tunnel funds:

    With the precarious condition of the century-old rail links between New York City and New Jersey threatening to disrupt lives for the rest of the summer, commuters may wonder what became of all the money that had been pledged for a new train tunnel under the Hudson River.

    Well, courtesy of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, several million dollars of it have been used to provide heavily subsidized boat rides for a very small contingent of Jersey Shore residents like Tim Halligan. For more than three years, New Jersey has been paying nearly $95 a day for Mr. Halligan and each of his fellow passengers to commute to and from work in Jersey City or Hoboken.

    They make the 90-minute round trip on a fast ferryboat, operated by Seastreak, that costs them $12 each way. Mr. Halligan, who knows a good deal after 25 years at a Wall Street investment bank, grinned as he discussed one of the best commuting bargains around.

    […]

    That money did not come from the agency’s budget, but from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which had intended it to help fund a rail project that was known as ARC, or Access to the Region’s Core. The ARC project was designed to reduce congestion at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, the nation’s busiest railroad terminal, by doubling the capacity for trains crossing the Hudson River. It could have opened as early as next year.

    But in 2010, Mr. Christie abruptly halted work on the project, saying that he feared New Jersey could have been stuck with big cost overruns. He demanded that the $1.8 billion the Port Authority had pledged to the tunnel project be redirected to road and bridge repairs in northern New Jersey.

    That is how several million dollars of the Port Authority’s tunnel money wound up subsidizing the waterborne commutes of about a single busload of New Jerseyans.

    Among the projects Mr. Christie chose to spend the Port Authority’s money on was an overhaul of the Pulaski Skyway, a highway bridge that connects Jersey City and Newark. Knowing that years of work on the Pulaski would inconvenience many drivers, the state devised some alternatives, including the ferry.

    […]

    Chrisite was and is a crook and should be prosecuted.

    IMHO, of course.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  141. 141.

    Sloane Ranger

    So, I’ve been through the thread and no-one’s mentioned the cock up at the VIP reception. Apart from the crassness of turning up late, he apparently shouldn’t have been there at all.

    Was he blown off by the US team he was meant to be dining with, did he blow them off, did his scheduler screw up?

    I’m really curious to know the answer.

  151. 151.

    Mary G

    @Sloane Ranger: I would not be surprised to hear that some State Department lifer, disgusted by the ruination of their life’s work, made a mistake informing Dense and Mommy where they were supposed to be.

    Not standing for the combined Korean team was appalling and I am kind of distressed I haven’t heard some ex-diplomat explaining why it was so rude and self-defeating. Guess who did approve of the “tough behavior:”

    Well said, @AmbJohnBolton. The U.S will not allow the propaganda charade by the North Korean regime to go unchallenged on the world stage. The world can NOT turn a blind eye to the oppression & threats of the Kim regime. pic.twitter.com/PPtiPpeMNI— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 10, 2018

    Pretty sad that John Bolton, who hasn’t been an ambassador in decades, still puts it in his twitter handle. There was a Fox News clip of him, but I don’t have the stomach to watch it.

  152. 152.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Baud: Yeah I always was until I watched Torville and Dean dance the Bolero. Changed my mind forever. I still love watching Jane and Chris dance all these years later.

  153. 153.

    Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

    Don’t be too hard on Pence, after all, He’s probably seen more non-white people up close in the past 24 hours than in the rest of his entire lifetime. Bless his tiny shriveled black heart…….

  154. 154.

    Amir Khalid

    In Pence’s “defence”, he’s done no worse at the Winter Olympics than Trump would have.

  156. 156.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: In that pic, Pence looks like BillinGlendaleCA just after he realizes he forgot to go up to the old nuclear reactor site to refuel.

    Edit: though not claiming Pence would ever glow, I wouldn’t want to insult BillingGlendaleCA.

  158. 158.

    jl

    My rude and regrettable jape at BillinGlendaleCA somehow lead me to solve the mystery of Pence’s failure at looking resolute: gas. No question about it. Internal gas attack. A Deep State gas attack can be distressing. Most of us know that first hand.

  159. 159.

    hueyplong

    @Amir Khalid: “In Pence’s “defence”, he’s done no worse at the Winter Olympics than Trump would have.”

    By now pretty much everyone prefers frowny constipated face (Pence) to pouty anal face (Trump).

  171. 171.

    NotMax

    @Baud

    “When you hold in a fart…”

    If follow that with

    Keep your lips pressed tight
    And don’t be afraid of the pain

    it scans perfectly to the tune of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

  173. 173.

    lamh36

    @Baud:Yes…course I had to go check out video from the original Olympic performance of Bolero by Torvill & Dean…too

    From what I’ve read, Ice Dancing became much more restrictive since then with more “requirements” and …so honestly, as a layman, there seems to be little room for variation…I mean the top couples are very good though, but the level of artisty, IMHO, just isn’t the same…

    And that’s a shame…still love watching it.

  175. 175.

    frosty

    @lamh36: If it’s going to be restrictive with requirements, then it’s just a variation of figure skating. Why do the same thing with a different name? Sounds like the reason I lost interest.

  178. 178.

    pluky

    @jl: It’s what happens when a GI tract accustomed to bland mid-western fodder is challenged with a little winter kimchi.

  181. 181.

    lamh36

    @frosty: Yeah…it does kinda come off as figure skating without the lifts and jumps…and more footwork and close contact..

    I mean it’s not bad, and still a pleasure to watch, but yeah…the days of Torvill & Dean seem to be long gone…and that’s a shame.

    But then again, I’m no expert…so I’m sure someone who is can set me straight…

  185. 185.

    ThresherK

    NBC is showing the mens’ slopeside snowboard final. For the third time today (including NBCSN once).

    Cheesy Petes!

    On demand has a few things not played to death yet.

  187. 187.

    Fair Economist

    I love how ice dancing has evolved. The flashy footwork is so crisp and impressive and the paired and lift spins are just beautiful. Older ice dance can be pretty, but I never get a sense of awe that people can actually do it like I do with the current programs.

  191. 191.

    raven

    We just watched The Young Girls of Rochefort. I had no idea Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, had a sister who died right after the film was made.

  197. 197.

    Aleta

    It’s not Pence’s country. South Korea’s formal ceremony to welcome the world to its first Olympics isn’t the place for his message.

    His staff really fucked up. They don’t have the education and diplomatic support to be there.

    Skip the ceremony if you can’t handle it. Can’t figure out how to do a symbolic shun of NK’s government without insulting SK athletes? So wear flag clothes to a barbecue and set some empty chairs on fire.

    His action is a little like going to a dinner party and dumping the host’s food on the floor. It comes off as so self centered that he looks weak.

  199. 199.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Aleta:
    Dense doesn’t care. He still acts like he’s governor of Indiana. He’s entitled and arrogant.

  204. 204.

    Aleta

    @hueyplong: Yeah. Imo he only came for the chance to look tough in the eyes of his home audience though. Didn’t give a fuck about the rest of the world who also came.

  205. 205.

    Ruckus

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    Best Chinese food I’ve ever had was in Rota, Spain. Had a Filipino buddy in the navy who could find the best places to eat, no matter the type of food, he didn’t even have to go inside to know. He never steered us wrong.

  206. 206.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Adam Rippon is having a great time, obviously, and I hope he snags the gold and then rubs it in Pence’s fucking face.

  211. 211.

    Honus

    @lgerard:
    “They picked a guy, Victor Cha, then withdrew him when Cha pointed out that unilaterally bombing North Korea was a spectacularly stupid idea”

    So in order to be ambassador to South Korea you have to be in favor of attacking North Korea. OK.

  212. 212.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Honus: Anyone who actually knows anything about the situation on the Korean Peninsula (/wave to Raven) knows this.

    Which explains how Donald is operating. Total ignorance, as always.

  215. 215.

    JAFD

    @Brachiator: As I have said here before, craziest thing about moving to the NYC area is the morning traffic reports “fourty-five minutes at the Hudson, an hour at the Linc, fifty minutes at the GeeDubyaBee…”. And you think ‘blizzard?’, rush to window, realize it’s June.. eventually realize that’s normal.
    Any fool except Christie could see a new Hudson tunnel was needed a decade ago. Any rational person riding the Trans-Hudson subway anywhere near rush hour would conclude that another two new tunnels oughta begin immediately thereafter (the experience of riding the PATH near rush hour is sufficient, though, to remove one from the ‘rational persons’ category ;-) )

  216. 216.

    Aleta

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I even remember watching the 1988 Olympics of Korea. The TV where I was showed hours and hours of the judo matches. Lower matches, not just the finals. As I remember it now, there was intense competition among the Koreans, Japanese, French and Brazilians. Maybe the ‘Iron Curtain’ countries.

  217. 217.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    See if you can find That Man from Rio (1964) sometime. It’s Dorléac with Jean-Paul Belmondo in a sort of French New Wave mash-up of screwball comedies and caper films. TCM ran it a few months ago, and it holds up pretty well. Great music and gorgeous scenery in Brazil.

    Huh. Nominated for best screenplay Oscar. Trailer here.

  222. 222.

    jl

    @Steeplejack: I can’t waste time with details of spelling when I’m the middle of the important discovery that Pence was the victim of a Deep State gas attack. Look for the Alex Jones story on this outrageous Deep State coup plotting tomorrow.

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