Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

After roe, women are no longer free.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

We still have time to mess this up!

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Second rate reporter says what?

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

You are here: Home / Good News for the White House

Good News for the White House

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If those 17 kids hadn’t been killed, just think of the ugly questions the White House would have had to answer:

“For everyone, it was a distraction or a reprieve,” said one White House official, speaking anonymously to reflect internal conversations. “A lot of people here felt like it was a reprieve from seven or eight days of just getting pummeled.”

The official likened the brief political calm to the aftermath of the October 2017 gun massacre in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and hundreds more injured. That tragedy united White House aides and the country in their shared mourning for the victims and their families.

“But as we all know, sadly, when the coverage dies down a little bit, we’ll be back through the chaos,” the official said.

Another winner:

Last Wednesday’s shooting, however, effectively stabilized Kelly’s standing internally, officials said, shifting the media glare away from him and giving the retired four-star Marine Corps general a chance to perform his job in helping coordinate the federal response. Though Trump remains frustrated and at times angry with his chief of staff, Kelly’s presence on the weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago was interpreted as an indication that he was on firmer ground with his boss.

Just think – only a few more killing sprees and Kelly might make it to the midterms!

Reader Interactions

171Comments

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    And now Trump can put out an insensitive statement about Parkland/students and the Porter/DV/security clearance issue will be gone forever down the memory hole.

  4. 4.

    Corner Stone

    Hearing a “both sides” perspective from this Parkland survivor on MSNBC right now is disheartening, to say the least.

  6. 6.

    Yutsano

    JFC…the horror of these individuals…

    They all gotta go. And never have work anywhere ever again.

  7. 7.

    Mike in NC

    The sooner Kelly is replaced by Jared, the better off the country will be. Jared won’t be able to manage the chaos. Then indict the whole rotten Trump crime family and begin the trials.

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    Speaking of vile motherfuckers who should go leap into the nearest conflagration:

    Allow me to Floridasplain: Andrew Gillum is mayor of Tally, running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination (probably won’t win). Fant is the ghoul who represents a chunk of Jax in the statehouse and is running for AG (definitely won’t win).

  12. 12.

    Jeffro

    Oh good – so they are primed and eager for the next big tragedy, the better to take the spotlight off of their daily fuckups.

  14. 14.

    efgoldman

    How anyone who hasn’t ingested the kool-aid can see Orangina’s statement and the reaction immediately to his visit was hardly a distraction from his every day horribleness. It was just more hideous, conscience free, empathy free, self- centered piece of Marmalade bullsjit.

  15. 15.

    Mandalay

    The silver lining in the cloud that is Trump is that he so completely amoral that he is not tied to any position on any issue:

    The White House indicated on Monday that President Trump was open to supporting a bipartisan congressional effort to revise federal background checks for prospective gun buyers.

    Slime like Cruz and Rubio are beholden to the NRA because they took their blood money, but Trump is better than that: he takes money from the NRA then does whatever the pollsters tell him. Trump is a honey badger.

  16. 16.

    James E. Powell

    Know this: every morning and every night, the entire staff prays for a devastating terrorist attack.

  17. 17.

    mai naem mobile

    Unless the WH staff pre and post plan the Listening Session with the school kids Dolt45 really well, they’re going to wish they were dealing with the security clearances.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    Although they have not had to fully grapple with the Porter saga or other controversies in recent days, aides said privately that they have been working behind the scenes to square their accounts and strategize for when the issues inevitably resurface in the media.

    How vile and fucked up do you have to be to just openly admit you are lying about things and not understand how that looks to normal people?

  19. 19.

    Yutsano

    @mai naem mobile:

    Unless the WH staff pre and post plan the Listening Session with the school kids Dolt45 really well

    Heh. U funnee!

    @WaterGirl: I’m in Albigensian heresy territory with these fuckers now. Kill them all. God will know His own.

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    @WaterGirl: Oh my god. Unless the media screwed up an off the record comment, this guy was actually willing to put his name to this:

    “The national tragedy in Florida has really, for now, turned the page on some of these crises,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist close to the White House. “They’re going to come back, but what it does do is give the White House a chance to collect itself and, if they can, organize a communications strategy and get their ducks in a row.”

  21. 21.

    Suzanne

    @Mike in NC:

    The sooner Kelly is replaced by Jared, the better off the country will be.

    The sooner Jared is in an orange jumpsuit, the better off the country will be.

    Here’s a selected list of Jared nicknames that I enjoy:

    Vanilla ISIS
    Ralph Lauren of Arabia
    Fratsputin
    Coup D’Tot
    Little Lord Fauntleroy
    The Red Queen
    White Russian
    Jarhead Kushner
    Aide de Kampf

    Add more of your own!

  26. 26.

    Roger Moore

    @Mandalay:

    The silver lining in the cloud that is Trump is that he so completely amoral that he is not tied to any position on any issue:

    Except racism, Russia, and corruption. He has very consistent positions on all of those.

  28. 28.

    lgerard

    @Betty Cracker:

    Fant sounds like a real winner. After running his 65 year old family business into the ground, it is only fitting that his next job be a state legislator.

  29. 29.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @WaterGirl:
    Like that will ever happen. Hasn’t Ron been paying attention over the past year? If communications in the WH haven’t improved by now, they never will.

  32. 32.

    Gravenstone

    @James E. Powell: If we must have one, I’d like to order a decapitation strike. Preferably removing the entire existing order of succession. We can figure out what to do from there, without all those ghouls in the way.

  33. 33.

    Roger Moore

    @James E. Powell:

    Know this: every morning and every night, the entire staff prays for a devastating terrorist attack.

    Thank FSM they aren’t competent enough to pull of a successful false flag.

  36. 36.

    oatler.

    I was watching American Gods last night and the scene where Corbin Bernsen’s Vulcan gives a speech about his “religion” is even more chilling in light of the massacre.

  37. 37.

    WaterGirl

    @schrodingers_cat: I love what the Kelly scandals have surely done to Kellyt’s hopes of being the next president. Without having Trump propped up, appearing to be president.

  39. 39.

    Roger Moore

    @Yutsano:

    I’m in Albigensian heresy territory with these fuckers now. Kill them all. God will know His own.

    I’m way past you. There’s no need to worry about God recognizing anyone in Trump’s circle as being one of his own.

  40. 40.

    Chet Murthy

    @Mandalay: Don’t spend that money until the check’s been cashed and the bank’s lifted the hold, eh? He says shit like this a lot, and only ever goes in one direction. And it ain’t toward decency.

  43. 43.

    donnah

    Trump’s “listening session”, like his rallies, will be set with a group of pre-selected teens whose parents have guns. The conversation may touch on some of the school shooting issues, but mostly it will be yet another ego-stroking booster for His Royal Heinous.

    Followed by a brief statement of, “I told you so” by Sarah Huckleberry Sanders.

  44. 44.

    mai naem mobile

    @Jay: Sarah might have been too busy dealing with her wife beating gun toting son to pay attention to Russia.

  45. 45.

    Corner Stone

    @Mandalay:

    Trump is that he so completely amoral that he is not tied to any position on any issue:

    For all the BS about being a dealmaker, it seems far more likely that Trump does not want anything done on any issue. Everyone says he just wants a win, something to sign, but that is demonstrably not true.

  46. 46.

    MattF

    @Mandalay: I think that’s a category error. Given, Cruz and Rubio are slime. But taking anything Trump says as though it means something is mistaking word the words he says for linguistic expressions that have a meaning.

  47. 47.

    raven

    There is a Presidents’ Day sale on bump stocks, the device the Las Vegas shooter put on his rifles. Slide Fire Solutions, a bump stocks manufacturer, is offering 10% off with the coupon code MAGA.

    That’s a salute to the campaign slogan of President Donald Trump, who promised to “Make America Great Again”, and who has responded to the deadly massacres in the past five months by continuing to oppose any new gun control laws.

    “#HeresToFreedom,” the company wrote in a marketing email announcing the sale.

  48. 48.

    phantomist

    @Corner Stone:

    Hearing a “both sides” perspective from this Parkland survivor on MSNBC right now is disheartening

    You would think there would be one news host who remembered all the way back to 1994:

    -The Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB)—officially, the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act—is a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a United States federal law that included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms it defined as assault weapons, as well as certain ammunition magazines it defined as “large capacity”.
    The ten-year ban was passed by the U.S. Congress on September 13, 1994, following a close 52–48 vote in the Senate, and signed into law by then President Bill Clinton the same day. The ban only applied to weapons manufactured after the date of the ban’s enactment, and it expired on September 13, 2004, in accordance with its sunset provision.-

  49. 49.

    Mandalay

    @Roger Moore:

    Except racism, Russia, and corruption. He has very consistent positions on all of those.

    But those are all positions that don’t hurt him significantly, especially with his base. If the pollsters started telling him that he needed to change position on an issue or he’s doomed he’d turn on a dime. There is no hill worth dying for in Trump’s politics.

  51. 51.

    efgoldman

    @WaterGirl:

    give the White House a chance to collect itself and, if they can, organize a communications strategy and get their ducks in a row.”

    They can’t organize anything more complicated than taking a dump

  52. 52.

    mai naem mobile

    @schrodingers_cat: Kelly’s aged for sure but so has Dolt45. They’ve been showing clips of him on the campaign trail with his statements about Russia and he clearly looks a lot lot shittier than he did during the campaign.

  56. 56.

    Kay

    @terraformer:

    They’re really like some kind of decadent gentry:

    The three-day Presidents’ Day weekend added to the hiatus, with Trump traveling to his private Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., with only a few aides and giving others on his beleaguered staff a chance to rest and recuperate.

    They have to rest and recuperate to deal with their scandals. It’s all about them. Gosh, I hope they’re okay. Thank goodness Kelly was spared having to explain why he lied about Portman. That would have been very stressful for him.

  59. 59.

    Corner Stone

    @mai naem mobile:

    Unless the WH staff pre and post plan the Listening Session with the school kids Dolt45 really well, they’re going to wish they were dealing with the security clearances

    Even as incompetent as this WH staff is, I find it literally incomprehensible they would actually go through with this.

  60. 60.

    Corner Stone

    @Suzanne: JarJar is in full on flopsweat mode. He’s losing millions of dollars in his family business, is now under the gun of CoS Kelly, and is inhaling as much classified info as he can get his hands on before the spigot is turned off. He’s going to need something to bargain with when Mueller turns his steely gaze his way.

  61. 61.

    Corner Stone

    @Gravenstone:

    Preferably removing the entire existing order of succession. We can figure out what to do from there

    May I suggest a modern day Woodstock? With all the sex, drugs and rocknroll we can handle?

  62. 62.

    Mandalay

    @MattF:

    taking anything Trump says as though it means something is mistaking word the words he says for linguistic expressions that have a meaning

    You may well be right, but so far Rubio has conceded nothing, and Cruz has (wisely) said nothing.

    Trump’s talk may also mean nothing, but he has indicated that he is open to revising background checks. Rubio is so spineless that he may end up doing the same (depending on which way the wind is blowing), but you’ll never get that concession from Cruz.

  63. 63.

    Aleta

    From Raw Story (from Bloomberg reporting)

    Jared Kushner and his family, the companies, the real estate ventures that they own, have been subpoenaed by the IRS for documents relating to their investments, and their investors, and the loans that they have received.

    The subpoenas are asking for information all the way back from the year 2010, which means potentially for seven, eight years now, Kushner and his family, through their companies, have been involved in some unsavory dealings in terms of getting money, lending money, borrowing money, and what have you.

    One thing the Bloomberg article did point out is that this investigation into Kushner has absolutely no connection whatsoever to the Robert Mueller special prosecutor’s investigation into the Trump Administration, which means, ladies and gentlemen, right now Jared Kushner is technically involved in two completely separate investigations into potential criminal conduct

    We also learned this past week that he and Ivanka’s personal debt since they came to the White House has increased by $155 million. Something’s not right here. Something’s not adding up with the Kushner family finances, and that is exactly what the IRS is hoping to find out.

  64. 64.

    Fair Economist

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has out its new Congressional map and it’s just amazingly good. Tight, compact, logical districts and only a slight tilt to the Republicans (10-8 in an evenly split state). Somebody did their homework.

  65. 65.

    EdTheRed

    Fuck these incompetent fucking ghouls. May they never live down the shame of having worked for this sociopath, nor the shame of rejoicing in the deaths of our children.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    @Aleta:

    There was absolutely no reason for Jared Kushner to go to work in the Trump Administration. He could have hidden this sleaze forever and enjoyed his free ride on nepotism to a ripe old age. He’s rich. He doesn’t really work. He has fancy friends and a famous wife. But that isn’t enough.

    They’re so arrogant, so privileged, they believe they will never be held accountable for anything. So they flaunt it.

    It’s a “fuck you, I make the rules” attitude and they ALL have it in that administration.

  69. 69.

    Calouste

    @Aleta: How the fuck can someone’s personal debt go up by $155 million in a year? Unless they are taking on company debt as personal debt.

  70. 70.

    WaterGirl

    @donnah: It makes me terribly sad to have to say that I feel certain your predictions are absolutely correct. On a happier note, how is your Pooh art project going?

  71. 71.

    Jeffro

    @Suzanne:

    The first four

    Vanilla ISIS
    Ralph Lauren of Arabia
    Fratsputin
    Coup D’Tot

    are my faves. Probably the last two, if I had to pick fave-faves.

  74. 74.

    Jay S

    @Aleta: I think the 7-8 year thing is related to IRS rules for initial investigation. They have probably been on the less than legal side for longer and if there is evidence of that from what they find here, I believe they have the authority to go back as far as the evidence leads them. OTOH they aren’t all that old are they? OK just checked Jared is 37, so could be a little farther back.

  77. 77.

    burnspbesq

    @Mandalay:

    You need to update your magic decoder ring: when Trump says he’s open to bipartisan solutions, that’s McConnell’s cue to make sure that no such thing ever comes into existence.

  78. 78.

    MattF

    @Calouste: Some not-so-smart people lent them money with the value of the Trump ‘brand’ as collateral. Old con artist saying: “If you can’t fool a banker, you should be in a different business.”

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    @Kay:

    They have to rest and recuperate to deal with their scandals. It’s all about them. Gosh, I hope they’re okay. Thank goodness Kelly was spared having to explain why he lied about Portman. That would have been very stressful for him.

    I love this, Kay!

  80. 80.

    Shana

    @Mike in NC: I thought I heard today that Kelly is going to start cracking down on interim security clearances and kick out people who haven’t been able to get permanent ones.

  81. 81.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Aleta: That’s wonderful to hear. Hasn’t our very own Yutsano said that the IRS criminal investigators are people that you really, really don’t want to run afoul of?

  82. 82.

    Fair Economist

    @Calouste:

    How the fuck can someone’s personal debt go up by $155 million in a year? Unless they are taking on company debt as personal debt.

    That’s exactly what’s happening. The billion in additional debt reported today is basically all corporate debt, but he’s personally cosigned $300 million of it. His companies are going under, and his creditors are demanding personal guarantees to roll over credit. Incredibly stupid of him; he should let some companies go under and keep his wealth sheltered but I guess he’s got to keep up appearances.

  83. 83.

    Kay

    @WaterGirl:

    Trump also “surveyed” Mara lago members on whether he should respond to the students.

    Just disgusting people. Can you imagine? His gross country club flunkies were weighing in on the politics of dead 14 year olds.

    I mean, Christ. None of these people just personally find this repulsive? Not a one?

  84. 84.

    Mandalay

    @Aleta: Looking on the bright side:

    One debt did drop in value as Ivanka Trump’s form was revised: the amount owed on a Visa account went down to a range of $50,001 to $100,000, from $100,001 to $250,000.

    No matter how rich you are, when you are carrying a credit card balance of over $50k you are either really short of ready money, or totally clueless and irresponsible with your own funds. Or both.

  85. 85.

    Elmo

    @Calouste: Easy.
    He’s been hoovering up classified intel at a record pace for the last year. He’s using it as collateral, and when he can’t do it any more, he will sell every last bit of data to the highest bidder. Think of the supposed loans as down payments. Earnest money. He’ll make sure it’s worthwhile to the eventual buyers.

  89. 89.

    moops

    @Mandalay: There is nothing the NRA can do to help him, Donald Trump, personally, at this point or any point in the future. So, it doesn’t matter how much money the NRA laundered from the Russians to help him get elected. Loyalty only goes one-way for Trump.

    In a sense, Trump can call the NRA’s threats out. What is the NRA gonna do? back Democrats? HA!

    Trump can come and take their guns away, literally, and tell everyone Obama or Hillary or Pelosi did it.

  90. 90.

    geg6

    @efgoldman:

    Yeah, I pretty much have no empathy for him at all. This is the result of his own voting choices. Now his poor deceased daughter (and any innocent siblings)? My heart breaks for her.

  92. 92.

    Jay S

    @Fair Economist:

    Incredibly stupid of him; he should let some companies go under and keep his wealth sheltered but I guess he’s got to keep up appearances

    It’s hard to believe his personal guarantees are seen as meaningful collateral but I expect that some of those lenders are people it is dangerous to say no to. Perhaps he is flailing to try to stay afloat.

  93. 93.

    moops

    @Kay: What a pathetic sight that would be. A hopeless sociopath soliciting advice about how to fake empathy from more skilled sociopaths.

  94. 94.

    daverave

    From The Guardian:

    “Slide Fire, a manufacturer of bump stocks, did not immediately respond to an email and a phone call seeking comment on what message it was trying to convey by using President Trump’s slogan as a marketing device. The small company, based in Moran, Texas, touts its American-made products.”

    Irony is indeed dead.

  96. 96.

    Mandalay

    @Kay:

    There was absolutely no reason for Jared Kushner to go to work in the Trump Administration…He’s rich.

    I think the jury is still out on that one.

  97. 97.

    Roger Moore

    @donnah:

    Trump’s “listening session”, like his rallies, will be set with a group of pre-selected teens whose parents have guns.

    I will also predict they’ll be liberally salted with home-schooled kids.

  98. 98.

    Gin & Tonic

    @moops:

    What is the NRA gonna do? back Democrats? HA!

    Are you aware that the NRA (successfully) backed Wilmer when he ran for the House and defeated the then-incumbent Republican Peter Smith?

  99. 99.

    No Drought No More

    “For everyone, it was a distraction or a reprieve,” said one White House official..”.

    While serving much the same purpose as once did the “body counts” during our War in Vietnam.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    @Kay: Ugh. That’s even worse than what I heard, which was that he was surveying them to see if he should come out in favor of background checks.

    Really, why listen to the professionals when you can ask FOX “news” and your buddies at the country club?

  101. 101.

    geg6

    @Fair Economist:

    Very exciting for me as I might actually get a Democratic congressperson out of the deal, with Beaver County in a district with Allegheny.

    ETA: And it would kill the career of the vile Keith Rothfus, a bonus of untold worth.

  102. 102.

    Fair Economist

    @Jay S:

    Perhaps he is flailing to try to stay afloat.

    110% no question on that. He’s hundreds of millions underwater on 666 5th alone and I’m sure that wasn’t his only boneheaded business decision.

  103. 103.

    moops

    @Fair Economist:

    The only sane reason to roll LLC debt into personal debt is if you have some big payout coming but your creditors don’t believe you, so the compromise is you demonstrate your faith in your guesses about the future.

    …Or, you take on the debt personally and load it up because you know you, personally, are going down (bad heart, impending indictment) and know your own personal bankruptcy is in the noise of your pending bad press. You will get hired back with a big salary after you get back, but there is no cushy paycheck waiting for you if the business goes under and gets picked up by vulture capitalists.

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    @geg6: Do we know how/if the new map will impact the fellow that everyone likes? (I can’t recall his name, hoping you will know who I mean.)

  108. 108.

    Kay

    @Mandalay:

    Well, we don’t know. He’s been working in the White House for 2 years and no one knows anything about his finances.

    THAT’S…odd.

    I met a person who was waiting to become a US attorney once, at a birthday party. He looked horribly drawn and stressed as he described this incredibly elaborate background check and confirmation process. It took so long!

    But not Donald Trump’s talentless and otherwise unemployable family. They get a pass.

    It’s anti-merit. The opposite of merit. The worst people get the best treatment.

  109. 109.

    Mandalay

    @moops:

    In a sense, Trump can call the NRA’s threats out. What is the NRA gonna do? back Democrats? HA!

    Exactly. The NRA needs Trump a lot more than Trump needs the NRA. Bush One told the NRA to go fuck themselves with a red hot poker and it didn’t hurt him at all.

  111. 111.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Fair Economist: he should let some companies go under and keep his wealth sheltered but I guess he’s got to keep up appearances.

    My guess is the daddy- and other issues that led him to blunder into 666 5th are still driving him, and some vague sense that daddy and president daddy-in-law, and Uncle Kizlyak and whatever Chinese patrons his sister lined up last year, will figure out how to bail him out

  112. 112.

    Corner Stone

    @efgoldman: I’m not sure. But I just think the egregious decision to wear a fucking Trump 2020 t-shirt while you are driving around looking to find out if anyone has seen your daughter after a school shooting means he deserves all the pain in the world.
    I do wonder if he’s even capable of grieving. Or just blaming liberals somehow for her murder.

  113. 113.

    Fair Economist

    @WaterGirl @? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?: : I meant there are currently 13 Republican and 5 Democratic Representatives from PA. Some Republican apparently got reelected in spite of his district going to Clinton. 12-6 is what the old map “should” have been in 2016 but of course it doesn’t always work that way.

  114. 114.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @Kay:

    It’s anti-merit. The opposite of merit.

    Wasn’t meritocracy not meant to be desirable by the person who proposed the idea?

  115. 115.

    efgoldman

    @Aleta:

    Jared Kushner and his family, the companies, the real estate ventures that they own, have been subpoenaed by the IRS for documents

    Separate and distinct from the special prosecutor investigation
    Dunno where yarrow is, but tick tocl, motherfuckers

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    @Aleta:@efgoldman: Unless I am reading this wrong, Jared is the subject of 3 investigations: 1) the IRS, 2) the Justice department (for use of foreign visa program), and 3) Mueller’s investigation. Hat trick! From the article:

    The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department issued the subpoenas within the past year, according to the person. The tax inquiry appears unrelated to other investigations that have since burst into public view. It began before Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in May to investigate Russian election meddling. In a separate action around that time, U.S. prosecutors in Brooklyn sought information from Kushner Cos. about its use of a foreign visa program.

  118. 118.

    Aleta

    @Kay: My guess is 1-They thought the WH would convey the power to hide records, stall investigations and suppress stories; 2- Kusher, in a jam for immediate money, thought doors would open immediately if he and Ivan jetted around the world as presidential advisors. 3-They knew Trump couldn’t be trusted. Which is why they also (imo) put Rob Porter and Reed Cordish into close positions.

  119. 119.

    Roger Moore

    @Kay:

    There was absolutely no reason for Jared Kushner to go to work in the Trump Administration. He could have hidden this sleaze forever and enjoyed his free ride on nepotism to a ripe old age.

    I think you’re wrong about that. Kushner is deep in debt on 666 5th Ave, and he’s going to need a lot of money when the note comes due. A huge amount of his effort for the past couple of years has been about dealing with that debt, which he hasn’t been able to do through legitimate channels. He needs the power from being Trump’s confidante to justify somebody lending him money on his gigantic white elephant.

  120. 120.

    efgoldman

    @Shana:

    Kelly is going to start cracking down on interim security clearances and kick out people who haven’t been able to get permanent ones.

    Doesn’t mean shit, ccording to Adam. “The president” under current law can grant clearance to anyone he wants to

  121. 121.

    efgoldman

    @Mandalay:

    when you are carrying a credit card balance of over $50k you are either really short of ready money, or totally clueless

    “You mean I have to pay it back?”

  122. 122.

    mai naem mobile

    Don’t know much about Florida politics but Tom Rooney from District 17 just announced he’s not running again. It’s a Cook R +13 district. Is there a decent chance of a Dem pickup? I wonder if the shooting was the final straw that made him pull out.

  123. 123.

    geg6

    @WaterGirl:

    If you mean Connor Lamb, that district would be gone (which it should be; it was a weird district with Pittsburgh suburbs of Allegheny County in with rural shitkickers in two of the most rural, poor white and uneducated counties in southwestern PA). I’m not sure where Connor lives, but he went to Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, so I have to guess he’s from the Pittsburgh suburbs part of the district (specifically the South Hills). Not sure from that map how the South Hills fits in, but it looks like Allegheny County is split into two districts, the 17th and 18th. So he could conceivably run in one of those and, probably, win. I would be in the 17th.

  124. 124.

    Fair Economist

    @Roger Moore:

    He needs the power from being Trump’s confidante to justify somebody lending him money on his gigantic white elephant.

    IIRC some Chinese investors got interested when Trump got nominated but pulled out in response to either the political heat or the hopelessness of Kushner’s finances.

  127. 127.

    efgoldman

    @Corner Stone:

    I just think the egregious decision to wear a fuckin…

    I probably wouldn’t consider what I was wearing in a panic situation like that. Would you, looking for your son in similar circumstance, or just run to the car and the school as quickly as you could.

  128. 128.

    Kay

    @Corner Stone:

    It’s not just that. This shooter was deranged but he was also political. It started early. The first person he wanted to shoot was Obama. Later came the whole Trump roster- immigrants, black people, liberals.

    That’s not true of all of them – I can’t think of another school shooter who expressed such passionate political views.

    Obviously Donald Trump is not responsible for the actions of all of his fans but if they really want to look at mental health that involves looking honestly at what the shooters say. That’s what this one said. Over years.

    Adam Lanza didn’t have any expressed views about “liberals” – he loved guns but there’s no indication he was politically aware at all. This shooter was. Does it matter? I don’t know but you can’t be “concerned” about mental health and ignore what the sick people say.

  129. 129.

    Aleta

    @WaterGirl: So then 3; and (though not an investigation) I wonder if any investigating is still active due to the security clearance check– are they still looking into information that the check turned up, or was found to be hidden. Perhaps reported to the JD or one of the security organizations.

  130. 130.

    Mandalay

    @geg6:

    it would kill the career of the vile Keith Rothfus

    I’d never heard of him until I saw your post, but “vile” seems a little too kind:

    – Rothfus voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act
    – Rothfus…has backed a number of anti-LGBT and anti marriage-equality initiatives.
    – Rothfus voted against a bill to provide disaster relief funding to victims of Hurricane Sandy
    – Rothfus voted to slash wages for federal law enforcement officers
    – Rothfus issued a statement in support of President Trump’s executive order on refugees.
    – Rothfus voted in favor of the repeal and replace of the Affordable Care Act,including provisions to defund Planned Parenthood.
    – Rothfus introduced H.J.Res.111…to prevent consumers from filing or participating in class action suits.

    Not what you would call a “people person”.

  131. 131.

    Kay

    @Corner Stone:

    I forgot “Jewish people”. THIS shooter was an early adopter of the alt Right Nazi fetish. His mother had to force him to remove a swastika he had adorned his backpack with. THIS shooter has some specific qualities that the others lack.

  133. 133.

    Corner Stone

    @Jay S: They are Jewish? Good God, that makes it so much worse.

    “This is just unimaginable to think I will never see my princess again,” he said. “This piece of s— killed my kid, and I couldn’t do anything about it. That’s never happened to me in my life. I’m always able to protect my family in any situation.”

    What a POS to make it about him and his masculinity as Daddy Protector. How about you fucking vote to change policies that allow this to happen? Garbage time motherfucker.

  134. 134.

    Corner Stone

    @efgoldman: I’m not giving him any benefit of the doubt.

    Considering I’d never be wearing something so hateful, I’m not going to go too far out on a limb on the speculative.

  135. 135.

    WaterGirl

    @geg6: Yes! Conor Lamb. He’s running now in a special election that will be held in early March, right? So that election will still happen with the old districts, correct? So the issue for him is whether he will be in a competitive district when he runs for re-election in the next regular election?

  136. 136.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    The IRS inquiries are unrelated to Meuller, but…

    Exclusive: Mueller’s interest in Kushner grows to include foreign financing efforts
    By Shimon Prokupecz, Kara Scannell and Gloria Borger, CNN
    Updated 4:41 PM ET, Mon February 19, 2018
    Sources: Mueller’s interest in Kushner grows
    Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller’s interest in Jared Kushner has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition, according to people familiar with the inquiry.
    This is the first indication that Mueller is exploring Kushner’s discussions with potential non-Russian foreign investors, including in China.

  137. 137.

    Kay

    Gov. Rick Scott will not attend Wednesday night’s CNN town hall about Parkland, his office said Monday.
    “With only three weeks left of our annual legislative session, Governor Rick Scott will be in Tallahassee meeting with state leaders to work on ways to keep Florida students safe, including school safety improvements and keeping guns away from individuals struggling with mental illness,” read a statement.
    Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio will participate in the town hall, as will Rep. Ted Deutch.

    What a coward. If Scott does something for public schools it will be a first. Not just a coward- a liar. He’s blowing them off.

  140. 140.

    WaterGirl

    @Kay: Surely Rick Scott knows it will be a clusterfuck with Trump coming and he doesn’t want to be anywhere near it. he’s a coward and a liar and he cares more about politics than he cares about the kids who were murdered. But I’ll bet his #1 reason is he’s afraid of the outspoken kids.

    I loved the tweet that I saw on Preet’s twitter feed:

    Sam Adams
    Verified account
    @SamuelAAdams
    Feb 18
    Teenagers who were almost murdered four days ago are leading the nation on gun control.
    The head of Trump’s EPA is afraid to fly coach.

  141. 141.

    Mandalay

    @Kay:

    Not just a coward- a liar.

    Long may his cowardice and lying continue.I had been assuming that he would buy that Senate seat in November, but now I’m not so sure. His position on guns could become a real liability with those pesky parents who have the temerity to get uppity about their children getting slaughtered at school.

  142. 142.

    Aleta

    A third grade baseball team is the latest to raffle off an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, just days after the very same weapon killed 17 people in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

    The 9-and-under baseball team from Neosho, Missouri joins Kansas congressional candidate Tyler Tannahill in auctioning off the popular rifle that has been the weapon of choice of a number of mass murders in recent history. Levi Patterson, coach of the baseball squad full of youngsters, told the St. Louis Post- Dispatch the highly lethal weapon was donated by one of the elementary school-age players’ parents, who is also happens to be local weapons purveyor.

    Patterson said he considered finding another rifle to raffle off following the latest school shooting in at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida (the 17th shooting at a school in 2018) to help raise money for the baseball team full of 7 to 9-year-old children. But after receiving criticism about the raffle on Facebook, he decided to stick with the weapon so he could “turn it into a positive thing,” according to the Post-Dispatch.

    Although the raffle was previously planned, my guess is their reason for going through with the raffle is more than for the necessity to not back down. But because the message ‘kids + guns = perfectly fine’ is intentional. This week, more than ever, is exactly what they want to put out. Also I’ll guess that the coach is in the NRA, maybe part of their outreach-to-youth programs.

    So he could “turn it into a positive thing” indeed.

  144. 144.

    donnah

    @WaterGirl:

    Oh, you are so kind! I have gotten back to my travel/teach schedule, so hooking time has been limited. But I did get started on the right side border, which is an oak tree, and I should have some more time this week to spend on it.

    The other side is a beech tree, and in The Hundred Acre Wood, oaks and beeches are the most common trees. Once those are finished, the background and lettering should go quickly!

  146. 146.

    Corner Stone

    @WaterGirl: As we all know, he’s not afraid to fly coach. He just knows he deserves better than everyone else, and can get away with it for as long as he likes.

  148. 148.

    WaterGirl

    @donnah: Maybe you can share some more photos once the trees are done? That would be great. If you don’t remember how to use imgur, you could always send photos to Anne Laurie or Adam or Betty Cracker. We can always use a happy open thread.

  150. 150.

    Aleta

    Dear Donjohn,
    You’re going to be in the news so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of being in the headlines, you’re going to come to the reporters and go ‘Please, please, don’t put me in the news anymore.’ You’ll say ‘Please I beg you I don’t want the headlines anymore. It’s too much. It’s not fair to everybody else.’”

  152. 152.

    Mandalay

    This interview with Mario Rubio gives insight into why nothing gets done on gun legislation: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/965706303891886085

    Rubio spends all his time nitpicking, criticizing and sniping while attempting to sound reasonable, but does not specify anything specific that he wants to do to reduce the slaughter. The contrast between Rubio’s sophistry and the straightforward plea of the grieving student (“…make some compromises and get some stuff done…”) was absolutely stunning.

    If you want to understand the terms analysis paralysis and admiring the problem you could not do better than that Rubio interview.

  153. 153.

    WaterGirl

    @donnah: You did remember how to use imgur, Go you! If I created something that amazing, I don’t think I could give it away. It’s so impressive that you want to share your gifts with your whole community. Please link to another photo when the trees are done. It’s neat to see how it progresses.

  154. 154.

    terraformer

    From what little I’ve read about Kelly, it’s hard to say whether he’s always been a racist prick. I wonder if it has anything to do with having lost his son in Afghanistan (e.g., he hates everyone not from the US)? Or is that too wide a brush?

  156. 156.

    donnah

    @WaterGirl:

    Thanks, Watergirl. I will post when it’s finished. I have done commissions and have sold my rugs before, and while sometimes it’s difficult, I treat them like surrogates, knowing I have to make a wonderful piece that is meant for others to enjoy.

    And giving it to the childrens’ area of our library will be really special to me.

  162. 162.

    J R in WV

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Are you aware that the NRA (successfully) backed Wilmer when he ran for the House and defeated the then-incumbent Republican Peter Smith?

    That’s OK for them. Wilmer isn’t a Democrat, wasn’t then, certainly isn’t today!

  164. 164.

    No One You Know

    @WaterGirl: Even in my current state of “stunned into numbness,” I felt this.

    It’s the very definition of politicizing tragedy.

    So…writing another letter. Not email, this time. Asking my reps to notice this.
    Sometimes I wonder if it matters, but even as therapy, it’s worth doing.

  166. 166.

    J R in WV

    @donnah:

    @Aleta:

    You guys know “hooking” has another meaning, right?

    ;-)

    No offense, intended, I was just a little amused. It took me a moment to remember the home hobbiest meaning. My uncle did hooked art work, his best was a copy of Picasso’s “Woman in a Mirror” IIRC. His daughter has it beside her bed, where she can see it every morning first thing.

  169. 169.

    donnah

    @J R in WV:

    Of course I know how it sounds. My husband finds it hilarious when he tells people that his wife’s a hooker. And because I cut wool into narrow strips to use, I’m a stripper, too. Har har.

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