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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Open Thread: “President” Grampa Needs A Nap

Open Thread: “President” Grampa Needs A Nap

by Anne Laurie|  April 2, 20186:35 pm| 233 Comments

This post is in: Dolt 45, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, All Too Normal, Decline and Fall, OLD MAN YELLS AT CLOUDS

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Lou Dobbs has been on speaker phone during White House meetings on issue like trade and taxes.

Per @swin24, Trump has even cut off WH officials so Dobbs can get a word in.https://t.co/sqCq5gsq4D pic.twitter.com/lyvaEXXWm1

— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) April 2, 2018

NOTHING TO SEE HERE CITIZENS EVERYTHING IS NORMAL…

… It’s not just that President Donald Trump loves Dobbs’ show and his on-air style. It’s not just that the president asks West Wing aides and confidants if they’ve seen specific, recent segments of Dobbs’ program, or that Trump calls the cable-news personality semi-regularly to gossip or solicit counsel, or that he’s boosted Dobbs on his Twitter account. It’s not just that the president has sat for a friendly interview with Dobbs or that he is on a first-name basis with “Lou.”

Indeed, much of this can describe Trump’s relationships with various other television personalities. What sets Dobbs apart is the degree to which the president views him as a political and populism godfather, the #MAGA Socrates to Trump’s Plato…

During the more intense days of the tax-bill push, Trump made sure to have his White House personal secretary get Dobbs on the line. And toward the conclusion of one memorable meeting, when the line was disconnected and Dobbs said farewell, Trump looked up, smiled, and simply told the room, “Love Lou.”

“He cherishes Lou,” a senior White House official told The Daily Beast. And the feeling is, evidently, quite mutual…

For Dobbs, however, Trump is a revelation as much as a cause. For years, Dobbs has staked out a position for himself as one of cable news’ most strident and devoted immigrant-bashers, as well as, more recently, a staunch crusader against what he lambastes as multiculturalism’s excesses in American life—to the point where he has repeatedly attacked St. Patrick’s Day and other “ethnic holidays.”

Much like the sitting president, Dobbs has also long railed against the forces of political correctness and was similarly an early mainstream promoter of racist Obama birther conspiracy theories. Also like the president, Dobbs earned himself the political backing of Trump’s one-time White House chief strategist and campaign chief. According to two sources familiar with their past discussions, in 2010 Bannon tried, but ultimately failed, to convince Dobbs to run for president as a right-wing populist firebrand.

“Dobbs is pretty strong on immigration enforcement issues… so better that the president listen to him than his son-in-law or his daughter,” Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies and a leading activist for a stricter immigration system in the U.S., told The Daily Beast. “Dobbs has been talking about immigration for years. He has a certain body of knowledge that other advisers, even people working in the administration, don’t have.”

Though Trump regularly calls Dobbs to riff on immigration and other issues, some of the president’s earliest political supporters have hopes that the Fox host will play an even larger role in the second year of the administration. That is especially true for those pushing a more nativist immigration policy, who see Dobbs as potentially a useful cog in keeping Trump on his America First track…

I follow Dobbs on Twitter; demographically,ideologically & politically he’s about as pure an example of Trumpism as exists; like Trump, he’s profoundly ignorant on nearly everything.

Trump is pulling further back in to his safe space, which is inhabited only by white men over 70 https://t.co/bumXRHEFJk

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) April 2, 2018

Lou Dobbs was like this for *years and years* before Trump turned xenophobia into his signature issue. The only surprising thing was that it took Dobbs so long to jump from CNN, where he was an oddball, to Fox. https://t.co/YlXDGFnc9W pic.twitter.com/Los04FdIAG

— ?? DB McWeeberton ?? (@DBMcWeeberton) April 2, 2018

Why does this scare me? Partly because I wonder how many other seemingly reasonable people are *this* close to going off the deep end politically; partly because as I myself reach a certain age, I sometimes wonder if it could happen to me!

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) April 2, 2018

I think he probably snapped after the xenophobic stuff came out, when the anti-immigrant lunacy got him fired by CNN. https://t.co/QgXZ9iC9Yu

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) April 2, 2018

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Reader Interactions

233Comments

  1. 1.

    ? Martin

    April 2, 2018 at 6:40 pm

    As I noted in an earlier thread:

    I wonder if we could solve a whole mess of problems by requiring that anyone who appears on-air at Fox News be Senate confirmed?

  2. 2.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 2, 2018 at 6:43 pm

    9/11 turned him into an immigration hardliner… I usually enjoy it when a reporter just lets the crazy speak for itself, but that sentence is a bit too understated

  3. 3.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 2, 2018 at 6:51 pm

    Guess it’s as good a week as any to flee to Japan.

    inb4 people point out that North Korea exists

  4. 4.

    Jerzy Russian

    April 2, 2018 at 6:53 pm

    Christ, what an asshole!

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    April 2, 2018 at 6:53 pm

    I’ll play….

    WHAT IF….

    44 Had stopped WH Officials so that Roland Martin could talk about policy.

    Uh huh
    Uh huh ??

    The curve for Unqualified White Men is REAL ?

  6. 6.

    rikyrah

    April 2, 2018 at 6:54 pm

    On the positive..
    Black Lightning got renewed ??

  7. 7.

    cokane

    April 2, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    it’s true, 9/11 is still an under appreciated moment, especially for babyboomer aged folks it seems. so many just turned into either pat bunchanan or william kristol because of it.

  8. 8.

    smintheus

    April 2, 2018 at 6:57 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: And I thought that CNN kept airing on a loop the footage of thousands of people being cremated alive in order to drive their viewers around the bend. Turns out they were actually aiming to drive their own employees nuts.

  9. 9.

    JPL

    April 2, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    What about Larry King? He’s feeling left out.

  10. 10.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 2, 2018 at 7:02 pm

    @JPL: is he not still there in BJ’s auto play ads?

  11. 11.

    Mike in NC

    April 2, 2018 at 7:02 pm

    Both Trump and Dobbs are like your crazy old racist uncle who watches several hours of FOX News every day. Dobbs could have signed on as geriatric running mate, but they needed Pence to pull in the religious nuts.

  12. 12.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 7:02 pm

    @cokane:

    so many just turned into either pat bunchanan or william kristol because of it.

    Being a late Boomer and knowing quite a few, this really isn’t true.

  13. 13.

    oatler.

    April 2, 2018 at 7:04 pm

    Meanwhile James Woods’ Twitter keeps up the Psycho Caravan Rage. Is he even employable these days?

  14. 14.

    The Dangerman

    April 2, 2018 at 7:07 pm

    I wonder if I can still get a good deal on a bomb shelter?

    ETA: ya know, I bet Trump could make halfway decent bomb shelters as opposed to bullshit like Trump Steaks or Trump Water.

  15. 15.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 2, 2018 at 7:10 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I knew a few folks in that cohort who went various shades of far-right after 9/11. Parents of friends from high school, obviously; it would be quite unlikely that I’d socialize nowadays with somebody who’d been a wingnut for seventeen years!

    @The Dangerman: would you really bet your life on that

  16. 16.

    Betty Cracker

    April 2, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    Got a WaPo notification on my phone a while ago saying the Trump admin imposed deportation quotas on immigration judges. Look for other measures to step on immigrants — Trump is desperate to shit on immigrants to please his xenophobic base. Dobbs’ influence is obviously in the mix, but I think Trump is also reacting to Ann Coulter’s hissy fit about the lack of progress on The Wall. Trump isn’t a bright guy, but he has a bully’s instinct for the schoolyard zeitgeist. He knows the loudest Fox News howler monkeys (Dobbs, Hannity, etc.) both reflect and shape the views of Trump’s rabid base. They’re pissed that the Trump admin isn’t hurting brown immigrants more, so he’s trying to fix that. The MAGA-behatted rally rubes are truly only Americans he cares about pleasing, and only because they offer that sweet, sweet hit of adulation he craves.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    April 2, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Can’t imagine that’s legal or constitutional. Could throw the entire system into disarray if it’s not possible to determine who was deported based on the quota.

  18. 18.

    MisterForkbeard

    April 2, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Hey man, where you aware that North Korea not only exists but may not be entirely happy with us? Just a heads up.

  19. 19.

    japa21

    April 2, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Not sure that would pass a constitutionality test. At least I hope it wouldn’t.

    ETA Or what Baud said.

  20. 20.

    Citizen_X

    April 2, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    the #MAGA Socrates to Trump’s Plato

    Rrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaalph!

  21. 21.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 2, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Got a WaPo notification on my phone a while ago saying the Trump admin imposed deportation quotas on immigration judges.
    @Baud: Can’t imagine that’s legal or constitutional.

    yeah, are those “judges” officially part of the judiciary, or officers of the DHS?

  22. 22.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 2, 2018 at 7:21 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: I hear that they also might have missiles pointed at Japan and express their displeasure thusly.

    @Betty Cracker: I did hear Sessions was going to start with shit like this.

  23. 23.

    Baud

    April 2, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Part of DOJ. But that really doesn’t matter for due process purposes.

  24. 24.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 2, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    also, too, this fuckin’ guy

    Justin Miller @ justinjm1
    Pruitt’s aides explored a $100,000/month private jet lease

    ETA: Also, too, his fuckin’ agency

    Los Angeles Times @ latimes
    EPA abandons fuel mileage goals and seeks to revoke California’s ability to set its own standard

    States’ rights!

  25. 25.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    What sets Dobbs apart is the degree to which the president views him as a political and populism godfather, the #MAGA Socrates to Trump’s Plato…

    What sin did we commit that its come to this?

  26. 26.

    efgoldman

    April 2, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    are those “judges” officially part of the judiciary, or officers of the DHS?

    I’m very sure that no-one in the WH, DOJ, or DHS knows, cares, or has even thought about it.

  27. 27.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    Why does this scare me? Partly because I wonder how many other seemingly reasonable people are *this* close to going off the deep end politically; partly because as I myself reach a certain age, I sometimes wonder if it could happen to me!

    I don’t think so. My feeling is that most of those people who are *this* close to going off the deep end are racist whites, and their “going off the deep end” has more to do with them giving up filtering their thoughts for public consumption than it does with them actually changing their thinking. So unless you’ve been long resenting your inability to share your inner bigot in public, the chances of you following them are limited.

  28. 28.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    @? Martin:

    I wonder if we could solve a whole mess of problems by requiring that anyone who appears on-air at Fox News be Senate confirmed?

    Yep, that’s it in a nutshell! Trump is an incompetent boob who does not know how to execute the office of president of the United States. Instead of conferring with a cabinet, he talks to his TV set and random guests who he invites to his Florida retreat.

    This is like a bad dream.

  29. 29.

    Baud

    April 2, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Are we still doing the “economic anxiety” thing? Because that excuse is looking more and more stupid with each passing day.

  30. 30.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    @Baud:

    Can’t imagine that’s legal or constitutional.

    All that matters now is if people start complying. Legality seems to be overrated these days.

  31. 31.

    joel hanes

    April 2, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    My father, who was then a white male in his 70’s, used to like Lout Obbs on CNN –
    I found the same pieces to be stuffed full of racism and xenophobia and nostalgia for white hegemony, those such elements were always veiled.

    After 9/11, the lout dropped the veil, openly exposing his ugly bits for all to see.

  32. 32.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    @Baud:

    Are we still doing the “economic anxiety” thing? Because that excuse is looking more and more stupid with each passing day.

    To be fair, I am economically anxious that Republicans are trying to force me into cannibalizing them in the Mad Max Dystopia they seem so eager to drive us towards.

  33. 33.

    Baud

    April 2, 2018 at 7:27 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Priutt sucks, and I hate to be contrarian, but I really hate “scandals” based on something being “explored” or “considered”.

  34. 34.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Most of the folk who went RWNJ were pretty much there already, maybe in the ‘reasonable Republican” camp.

  35. 35.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    They’re pissed that the Trump admin isn’t hurting brown immigrants more, so he’s trying to fix that.

    Did you see that part in his ramblings where Trump wants to ban the whole seeking asylum process here?

  36. 36.

    Steeplejack

    April 2, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    I bet Trump could make halfway decent bomb shelters [. . .].

    Whut? With his record in construction and development, you want Trump building your bomb shelter? Archaeologists of the post-apocalyptic future would probably discover that the ventilation system actually pulled fallout in.

  37. 37.

    eclare

    April 2, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: John Oliver had a great piece on the immigration courts last night, I think he said the judges are part of the executive branch, DOJ, so under KKKeebler Elf. Not part of the judicial system, and if you appear before one and can’t afford an attorney, you don’t get one appointed. Whole system is awful.

  38. 38.

    cokane

    April 2, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: well considering voting patterns, it actually is!

  39. 39.

    efgoldman

    April 2, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    @Brachiator:

    This is like a bad dream

    FTFY

  40. 40.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    @Baud:

    Priutt sucks, and I hate to be contrarian, but I really hate “scandals” based on something being “explored” or “considered”.

    Republicans should always be considered guilty unless proven otherwise.

  41. 41.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:30 pm

    @efgoldman: Normally we can wake up from bad dreams.

  42. 42.

    Betty Cracker

    April 2, 2018 at 7:30 pm

    @TenguPhule: In reference to the “caravan” in Mexico or just generally?

  43. 43.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 7:30 pm

    @cokane:
    When those 70 yr old shits were kids WWII was still very fresh in their parents minds. A number of their parents had Japan to hate. Those 70 yr old shits now have their own Pearl Harbor and an entire region to hate. Think that will go away in 50-60 yrs?

  44. 44.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Guess it’s as good a week as any to flee to Japan.

    Got a spare room?

  45. 45.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    In reference to the “caravan” in Mexico or just generally?

    Yes.

  46. 46.

    MisterForkbeard

    April 2, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: No way. Does Japan know about this?

    It’s cool, though – I’m sure their various mecha can take care of it before it’s a problem.

  47. 47.

    JPL

    April 2, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Jeff is trying to keep his job, but no worries cuz Ivanka is in charge of the rule of law.

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 7:32 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Dobbs’ influence is obviously in the mix, but I think Trump is also reacting to Ann Coulter’s hissy fit about the lack of progress on The Wall.

    Apparently, he listens to Fox News people everywhere. From CNN.

    At Mar-a-Lago, Trump hears from immigration hardliners

    His conversations — including on Saturday with Jeanine Pirro, who has previously rankled some senior White House aides for her ardent views on the Russia investigation — led up to a burst of tweets on Sunday and Monday morning in which Trump blamed Democrats for weak immigration policies.

    The immigration bigots use this access to get around John Kelly’s gatekeeping.

    And you are right that Trump is bashing immigrants from every direction. I cannot find the link just now, but I read earlier that he wants to impose tests that would make it easier to exclude poor immigrants and to let in his favorites, rich white people.

  49. 49.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    @? Martin:

    I wonder if we could solve a whole mess of problems by requiring that anyone who appears on-air at Fox News be Senate confirmed?

    We could solve a lot more if FOX was busted as a Russian propaganda site and shut down.

  50. 50.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 2, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    @TenguPhule: oddly enough yes.

  51. 51.

    Aleta

    April 2, 2018 at 7:34 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Could be notification of a loyalty test.

  52. 52.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 7:34 pm

    @cokane: Give me some links to numbers.

  53. 53.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    @Brachiator:

    This is like a bad dream.

    Correction.
    This is a horrible nightmare that just happens when you are awake.

  54. 54.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Archaeologists of the post-apocalyptic future would probably discover that the ventilation system actually pulled fallout in.

    Overly optimistic that 1) there would be Archaeologists in the future and 2) that the ventilation system wouldn’t simply explode and kill everyone upon activation.

  55. 55.

    Baud

    April 2, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    Scanning the news, the quota is not on deportions but on the speed on deciding cases. Not great, but probably legal.

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Trump is desperate to shit on immigrants to please his xenophobic base.

    I don’t think it’s just to please his base. Trump is quite the bigot himself, and is plenty eager to do awful things to immigrants to satisfy his own xenophobic urges.

  57. 57.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    I am trying to think of who could possibly be worst advisers to Trump after Bolton, Kudlow and Dobbs.

  58. 58.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Trump is quite the bigot himself

    He had the Best Teacher, Fred Trump.

  59. 59.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    ya know, I bet Trump could make halfway decent bomb shelters

    What do you mean “halfway decent”. They’d be amazing bomb shelters, the best, yugest bomb shelters. You’ve never seen a bomb shelter so great!

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    @Baud:

    Scanning the news, the quota is not on deportions but on the speed on deciding cases. Not great, but probably legal.

    Requiring a 700 cases a year minimum seems to be asking the judges to fuck Trump’s shit up.

  61. 61.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    @eclare:

    John Oliver had a great piece on the immigration courts last night, I think he said the judges are part of the executive branch, DOJ, so under KKKeebler Elf. Not part of the judicial system, and if you appear before one and can’t afford an attorney, you don’t get one appointed. Whole system is awful.

    Yes. And Trump is using this to bash immigrants. Here’s the story I was looking for. From CNN.

    How Trump is quietly rewriting US immigration policy

    Since last Thursday, here are some of the moves the administration has made:

    * Attorney General Jeff Sessions quietly reopened an immigration court precedent that he could single-handedly overrule, looking at whether the government needs to pause deportation proceedings until an immigrant is done pursuing legitimate claims to stay in the US.

    * President Donald Trump opted to not extend work permits and protections for approximately 840 Liberians who have been living and working in the US for at least 16 years and in some cases decades. Previous presidents had extended the permits on humanitarian grounds.

    * The Commerce Department will add a question inquiring about citizenship to the 2020 Census, a move critics fear could undercount immigrant communities and thus cost diverse states and localities congressional representation and federal resources.

    * Immigrations and Customs Enforcement announced it would no longer default to releasing pregnant immigrants from detention, paving the way for more pregnant women to be held in lengthy custody awaiting immigration proceedings.

    * The State Department moved to formally require all applicants for visas and legal residency in the US to submit five years of social media, email and telephone history with their applications.

    * The Department of Homeland Security advanced a policy that would substantially expand the types of government programs that could count against an immigrants’ application to stay in the US — potentially skewing the immigration system in favor of high-income immigrants.

    * The Justice Department settled a lawsuit with West Palm Beach over sanctuary city policies that clarified how much local officials can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

    * Trump is exploring whether he could build his long-promised border wall — even though Congress has rejected his request for funds and authority to do so — by using military resources to do it.

    * US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a memo that could tighten employers’ abilities to secure high-skilled visas for foreign workers.

    Trump is an ignorant old man. But he is fixated on certain ideas and keeps trying to turn them into policy. And dear to his heart is his bigoted immigration agenda.

  62. 62.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    You’ve never seen a bomb shelter so great!

    They glow in the dark all by themselves.

  63. 63.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:44 pm

    @Brachiator: And you know he’ll have special exemptions for the cheap labor he needs at *his* properties.

  64. 64.

    Citizen_X

    April 2, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    @Ruckus:

    Those 70 yr old shits now have their own Pearl Harbor and an entire region to hate.

    What region? The world?

  65. 65.

    CaseyL

    April 2, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    Lou Dobbs started out as a business reporter on Seattle’s local TV news – back in the 70s, I think. I don’t recall that he was offensive back then, not that I paid much (any) attention to financial news back then. I vaguely remember him as an avuncular guy. Now he’s ripened into an absolute monster.

    Aaron Brown also started out on Seattle local TV news before being hired by CNN. He’s famous for starting his gig on CNN on September 11, 2001: first day on the job, and he earned a lot of praise for his coverage of the attacks. Outraged but non-alarmist, horrified but not hateful. He went on to a respectable career with CNN and PBS, and then to academia.

    Brown won a lot of awards and a lot of respect from his colleagues, but it hurts to see that Dobbs is now more “successful.”

  66. 66.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 2, 2018 at 7:49 pm

    @Brachiator: When are the John Kelly, upstanding Marine General who is the voice of sanity, myths, going to die?

  67. 67.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 7:49 pm

    @CaseyL: I loved watching Aaron Brown on King5 when I was up there for grad school in the mid-80’s.

  68. 68.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 2, 2018 at 7:51 pm

    @TenguPhule: His properties and holdings have been issued 400 temp visas IIRC, just this year.

  69. 69.

    Waldo

    April 2, 2018 at 7:52 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    I am trying to think of who could possibly be worst advisers to Trump after Bolton, Kudlow and Dobbs.

    Roseanne, Mel Gibson, Martin Shkreli — there’s really no end to the possibilities

  70. 70.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:53 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    When are the John Kelly, upstanding Marine General who is the voice of sanity, myths, going to die?

    Actually its more like “John Kelly, asshole, but even an asshole has some standards apparently”

    He’s bad, but not a full on Cartoon Villain (that we know of, yet).

  71. 71.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 7:55 pm

    @Waldo: Sorry, you can’t tell me Mel Gibson is worse then Bolton. We can compare their relative levels of insanity.

  72. 72.

    different-church-lady

    April 2, 2018 at 7:57 pm

    Ooop-s’daisy.

  73. 73.

    Boris, Rasputin's Evil Twin

    April 2, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    @TenguPhule: The bible thumpers said God was going to punish this country for approving gay marriage, but NONE of us figured He’d do so with a Trump presidency.

  74. 74.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 8:02 pm

    @different-church-lady: Roger(the guy with a lifesize tat of Tricky Dick) sez his passport* doesn’t show him leaving the country in 2016, so Fake News.

    *Of course, he might have another passport.

  75. 75.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 2, 2018 at 8:04 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: doesn’t he know that true trump voters don’t even have passports, anyway?

  76. 76.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 8:06 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Hell, most never leave their county.

  77. 77.

    Waldo

    April 2, 2018 at 8:07 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Sorry, you can’t tell me Mel Gibson is worse then Bolton. We can compare their relative levels of insanity.

    If nothing else, he could give Bolton a run for his money in the bizarre facial hair dept.

  78. 78.

    patrick II

    April 2, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    Partly because I wonder how many other seemingly reasonable people are *this* close to going off the deep end politically; partly because as I myself reach a certain age, I sometimes wonder if it could happen to me!

    That surprised me, but then I thought I have become less tolerant as I have grown older — except the people I have no empathy for are named Koch, McConnell, Hannity, Murdoch, Trump, etc.

  79. 79.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 8:09 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    When are the John Kelly, upstanding Marine General who is the voice of sanity, myths, going to die?

    I never said that Kelly is the voice of sanity. He is as much a bigot as Trump. But he is a gatekeeper. And people know how to get around him to get to Trump.

    @TenguPhule:

    And you know he’ll have special exemptions for the cheap labor he needs at *his* properties.

    Trump doesn’t need special exemptions. He just ignores the rules.

    Also, I bet you he cheats his labor out of whatever wages he promises them.

    Sorry, you can’t tell me Mel Gibson is worse then Bolton. We can compare their relative levels of insanity.

    Bolton is not insane. But he is an industrial strength warmongering fool when it comes to foreign policy. As long as Gibson has no political ambitions, his kind of bigotry can be contained to some extent.

  80. 80.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 2, 2018 at 8:10 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: just like the feudal peasants they apparently aim to be.

  81. 81.

    Jay

    April 2, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Or, he’s just lying his ass off as ususal.

  82. 82.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    @Brachiator:

    Bolton is not insane.

    I consider anyone who wants to start a war with Iran and North Korea insane.

  83. 83.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 2, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    @Waldo: What’s “bizarre” about a mustache?

  84. 84.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yup. I, on the other hand, while not possessing a valid passport did leave my county last week. Obviously not a Trump voter.

  85. 85.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 8:15 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    I am trying to think of who could possibly be worst advisers to Trump after Bolton, Kudlow and Dobbs.

    Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka, and Jared.

  86. 86.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @Jay: Did I mention the lifesize Nixon tat?

  87. 87.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    What’s “bizarre” about a mustache?

    Depends on the mustache.

  88. 88.

    JPL

    April 2, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    Jill McCabe is fighting back… https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jill-mccabe-the-president-attacked-my-reputation-its-time-to-set-the-record-straight/2018/04/02/e6bbcf66-366b-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?utm_term=.794ed59b2fb6
    We live in such strange times, that a woman and a pediatric emergency room doctor is tarnished because of her beliefs. The bully in the White House needs to be defeated and then tarred and feathered.

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Bolton is not insane.

    I consider anyone who wants to start a war with Iran and North Korea insane.

    I don’t quite agree, but yeah, I guess there is no practical difference in this case.

  90. 90.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 8:22 pm

    @JPL:

    The bully in the White House needs to be defeated and then tarred and feathered.

    Lifetime imprisonment at the SuperMax would work for me.

  91. 91.

    jl

    April 2, 2018 at 8:35 pm

    @JPL: Thanks for posting that link. I wondered what the deal was with McCabe’s wife’s campaign. Her piece makes it much clearer what a vile smear Trump, the Trumspters, and their media allies are pulling.

    Someone, (Josh Marshall ?) put it perfectly: Trump is an authoritarian without the authoritarianism. He often looks ridiculous, but what he is trying to do is very dangerous, and if the integrity of our institutions crumble more, it will be, in real time, very dangerous to our freedom and worse. In authoritarian regimes, everything is political. Anything that threatens the power of the thugs in charge is political, and the murderous smears become more ruthless and dangerous, and soon turn into unjust and arbitrary state theft, state imprisonment, and state murder. And a clown like Trump is trying to get that death train rolling in the US.

    Josh Marshall wrote a good post about it recently:

    McCabe, Amazon and Defending the Republic from Donald Trump
    By Josh Marshall | April 1, 2018
    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/mccabe-amazon-and-defending-the-republic-from-donald-trump

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 2, 2018 at 8:40 pm

    @JPL:

    The bully in the White House needs to be defeated and then tarred and feathered.

    Agree, but I’m not fussy about the precise sequence of events.

  93. 93.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 8:41 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: You have to put the tar on first or else the feathers won’t adhere properly.

  94. 94.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    @jl: Good piece, thanks for the link.

  95. 95.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: You seem to have some experience with this Omnes.

  96. 96.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 2, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    @Roger Moore: What’s “bizarre” about Bolton’s mustache, then?

  97. 97.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I was in a fraternity, wasn’t i?

  98. 98.

    Patricia Kayden

    April 2, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    @rikyrah: And on another positive note, Black Panther is on a trajectory to beat out Titanic and Jurassic World on the list of top domestic box office movies. Looking forward to the next Marvel blockbuster. Really enjoyed the last Thor as well.

  99. 99.

    rikyrah

    April 2, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    So, Dolt45 is doubling down on the attacks against Bezos

    https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/980954401945866240?s=20

  100. 100.

    gene108

    April 2, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    properties and holdings have been issued 400 temp visas IIRC, just this year.

    I wonder how many are spies?

    The man is a security risk like no other, but his base doesn’t care.

  101. 101.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 2, 2018 at 8:55 pm

    @gene108: All of them, Katie.

  102. 102.

    Baud

    April 2, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    @rikyrah: Remember when conservatives and libertarians were aghast at the thought that the government might pick winners and losers.

  103. 103.

    piratedan

    April 2, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    well, as much as I like to blame Trump for being Trump, I also think we need to talk about the elephant in the room, namely that the entire campaign by Russia also incorporates not just the GOP but also the Fox News empire. Lets face it, these so called patriots have enabled every piece of Pro-Russia stance down the line. Nary a pause, so who’s setting up those talking points. Is the Mueller investigation expansive enough to bring in not just Lumpy and Li and Coulter and the gang, but also Big Rupe himself? If its found that they’re taking money form the Russians and allowing their political agenda to be set by them, doesn’t this also make them enemies of the state and party to all of the ongoing shenanigans? Are we going to have to dismantle the entire fucking RW noise machine to see progress?

  104. 104.

    Patricia Kayden

    April 2, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    @Brachiator: So Trump supporters are winning after all!! They must love that he’s taking it to those dastardly coloreds.

  105. 105.

    Patricia Kayden

    April 2, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @rikyrah: Bezos should sue.

  106. 106.

    laura

    April 2, 2018 at 9:05 pm

    @Gin & Tonichttps://youtu.be/2vp5vHGw7kc
    Since you asked…..scuttles away….

  107. 107.

    mad citizen

    April 2, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    piratedan: Yes, dismantle the whole RW thing. No more Republican party. Time for something new for them. Meanwhile, Democratic candidates should take no quarter with the BS happening to our country. Even if the corruption, graft and teasonous acts weren’t in, or about to be, in evidence; the simple debasing of our politics and institutions is enough to turn them all out. I’m sick of it all. Vote Vote Vote, everyone!

  108. 108.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:09 pm

    @mad citizen: I will be voting tomorrow.

  109. 109.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 2, 2018 at 9:10 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You have to put the tar on first or else the feathers won’t adhere properly.

    Oh, I agree, but we could do that before we defeat him.

  110. 110.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    @gene108:

    I wonder how many are spies?

    All of em, Katie.

    If by spies we mean they sell everything they see and hear for money to somebody.

  111. 111.

    rikyrah

    April 2, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    Any FrontPager gonna do a post on the new Chait article?

  112. 112.

    Lapassionara

    April 2, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @jl: Thank you for stating this so clearly.

    I think we need to be in the streets protesting now, not just when he fires Mueller. Every Saturday. But we need masses of people. How doe we get that started. Where is Soto’s when we need him?

  113. 113.

    efgoldman

    April 2, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Bezos should sue.

    Plaintiff’s lawyers in this case would have a hell of a time proving that defendant knew what he was peddling was patently false and defamatory. When every word is a lie, and contradicts previous lies….

    ETA: I’m much more interested in criminal prosecutions, orange jump suits, and asset confiscation.

  114. 114.

    raven

    April 2, 2018 at 9:14 pm

    anybody but Michigan

  115. 115.

    Thoughtful David

    April 2, 2018 at 9:14 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:
    I was thinking about that as well. Isn’t there something in the Constitution about bills of attainder or something like that that would cover a case lie this?

  116. 116.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    @jl:

    In authoritarian regimes, everything is political. Anything that threatens the power of the thugs in charge is political, and the murderous smears become more ruthless and dangerous, and soon turn into unjust and arbitrary state theft, state imprisonment, and state murder.

    We’re 8/10ths there already.

    Only the last two boxes have been left unchecked and only for actual US citizens (As far as we know).

  117. 117.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    @Thoughtful David:

    Isn’t there something in the Constitution about bills of attainder or something like that that would cover a case lie this?

    Unfortunately that’s been fucked up by our federal court system IIRC.

  118. 118.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:17 pm

    @Baud:

    Remember when conservatives and libertarians were aghast at the thought that the government might pick winners and losers.

    They were never against that, they simply insisted that they themselves must win all the time.

  119. 119.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:18 pm

    @piratedan:

    If its found that they’re taking money form the Russians and allowing their political agenda to be set by them, doesn’t this also make them enemies of the state and party to all of the ongoing shenanigans? Are we going to have to dismantle the entire fucking RW noise machine to see progress?

    Yes.

    And they will not go quietly.

  120. 120.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    @Baud:

    Remember when conservatives and libertarians were aghast at the thought that the government might pick winners and losers.

    They were just worried a government run by Democrats might pick the wrong kind of people. As long as it’s somebody like Trump, they’re not worried about that happening.

  121. 121.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:21 pm

    @TenguPhule: Okay, I’ll bite. How has the prohibition against bills of attainder been fucked up by our federal court system?

  122. 122.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Any FrontPager gonna do a post on the new Chait article?

    Link plz.

  123. 123.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2018 at 9:24 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Plaintiff’s lawyers in this case would have a hell of a time proving that defendant knew what he was peddling was patently false and defamatory.

    Discovery should be fun, though.

  124. 124.

    MomSense

    April 2, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Here you go. 501 days of trump and co stealing America blind

  125. 125.

    Steeplejack

    April 2, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    “Corruption, Not Russia, Is Trump’s Greatest Political Liability.”

  126. 126.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Acorn vs United States.

    A bill under another name can be inflicted and the damage done long before legal remedy is available. And to add insult to injury, the legal ruling was arbritrary about how “punishment” is defined.

  127. 127.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    @efgoldman: I hope Bezos does sue and gets Mar-a-Loco as part of the judgement and takes a wrecking ball to the place on live TV. Must See TV!

    ETA: Or he could do what the Japanese did in Korea, turn the place into a zoo.

  128. 128.

    Zinsky

    April 2, 2018 at 9:29 pm

    For someone who ostensibly worships the mythical “free market”, Dobbs knows dogshit about how markets really work. Of course, ole Pink Scalp Trump knows dogshit about everything.

  129. 129.

    debbie

    April 2, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    They’re his judges; he can do what he wants.

  130. 130.

    efgoldman

    April 2, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    they will not go quietly.

    That’s OK; we’ll let you go round them up.

  131. 131.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    @TenguPhule: Dear fucking god.

  132. 132.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    April 2, 2018 at 9:33 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    South America is probably the safest place on Earth in terms of surviving a nuclear holocaust.

  133. 133.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 9:33 pm

    @Patricia Kayden:

    So Trump supporters are winning after all!! They must love that he’s taking it to those dastardly coloreds.

    Trump supporters think they are winning. Trump holds them in contempt, and will screw them over as much as he will anyone else.

  134. 134.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    South America is probably the safest place on Earth in terms of surviving a nuclear holocaust.

    I must assume you’re joking.

  135. 135.

    efgoldman

    April 2, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Discovery should be fun

    Weasel Face will take the oath, than lie and dissemble his way thru deposition as he always has.
    Also a major civil suit like that would likely take until ferret head is out of office

  136. 136.

    FlipYrWhig

    April 2, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    IIRC Lou Dobbs once claimed that immigrants were giving Americans leprosy.

  137. 137.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Roger(the guy with a lifesize tat of Tricky Dick) sez his passport* doesn’t show him leaving the country in 2016, so Fake News.

    Also too, many countries don’t stamp your passport anymore.

    And congrats on leaving your county—not impressive where I live, but California counties are freaking huge!

  138. 138.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    April 2, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    @Brachiator: My idiot aunt yesterday in reponse to my criticising Trump replied with the deplorable remark from Hillary. I asked her why she thought deplorable referred to her when it was only half. She replied with something stupid along the lines of what gave Clinton the right to divide people like that. I should have replied that anybody who has Billo the Clown on their bookshelf doesn’t have an opinion that matters.

  139. 139.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: That kind of depends on where the missiles are going and how good their aim is.

  140. 140.

    TenguPhule

    April 2, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Pretty safe to assume that some American missiles would hit Venezuela if fired today.

  141. 141.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    @efgoldman: Jones v. Clinton says it could proceed.

  142. 142.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    @TenguPhule: you lose points for writing “Acorn vs United States” rather than “Acorn v. United States“

    ETA: BillinGlendaleCA knows what’s what!

  143. 143.

    raven

    April 2, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    @TenguPhule: What the fuck are you talking about?

  144. 144.

    Mnemosyne

    April 2, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    If we’re discussing immigration law, I think the problem is that US courts have determined that because immigration and deportation are civil matters, defendants have no right to a public defender like they do for criminal cases, so most people who get detained get totally screwed. Natural-born US citizens have been deported because they were unable to communicate their evidence to the judge without a lawyer.

    I have no idea what TP is going on about.

  145. 145.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    April 2, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    @TenguPhule: Who cares about Latin America? What targets are there, aside from capitol cities? The real targets are military assets primarily located in the homelands of nations. Civilian targets may also be in play. IOW, Russia and China’s nukes are aimed at the US and NATO allies and all of their assets. There’s only so many warheads and they’re not likely to get wasted on peripheral allies and puppet states.

  146. 146.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    California counties are freaking huge

    I think San Bernardino County is bigger than some states.

  147. 147.

    Jeffro

    April 2, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    Worth pointing out (via Twitter)

    Trump hasn’t held a press conference for 13 months.

    Every single day of 2016, the media counted days between Clinton’s press conferences — a totally manufactured narrative that she wasn’t holding enough of them.

    Be sure to remind the RWNJs in your life about this, and how they’d feel if a Democratic president were trying to take down the companies of his perceived political enemies, or if 200+ Democratic-owned “independent” TV stations were all reading the same pro-Dem propaganda.

  148. 148.

    mike in dc

    April 2, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    @rikyrah:
    Hey cool. I like that show.

  149. 149.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    I should have replied that anybody who has Billo the Clown on their bookshelf doesn’t have an opinion that matters.

    Uh oh…It was a gift and I never read it.

  150. 150.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I was in a fraternity

    RAPIST!

  151. 151.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    I asked her why she thought deplorable referred to her when it was only half.

    This seemed to upset a lot of people, and a lot of stupid pundits. “Oh, Hillary is so divisive.”

    But the test was pretty simple. “Are you a racist, sexist, a homophobe? If so, the only problem is that you don’t like being unmasked.”

  152. 152.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I used to work for attorneys.

  153. 153.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    April 2, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Doesn’t the govt have records of when your passport is used? Isn’t it scanned? I guess I’m not sure when that happens, but if I’m remembering right, we (or more relevantly Mueller) don’t have to take Stone’s word for anything. Which is just as well. He’s a lying lunatic. They all seem to be.

  154. 154.

    efgoldman

    April 2, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Jones v. Clinton says it could proceed.

    Ass face’s lawyers are lousy at the law, but great at delaying.

  155. 155.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Natural-born US citizens have been deported because they were unable to communicate their evidence to the judge without a lawyer.

    For a scholarly work on this subject, I recommend Cheech and Chong’s “Born in East LA”

  156. 156.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    @TenguPhule: There have been, i believe, five cases in US legal history that have successfully argued that a Bill of Attainder existed. Cases involving BoAs are very fact specific and therefore any one case has little precedential value. But do continue to see failure everywhere and continue to see violence as inevitable.

  157. 157.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Eh, weren’t you in a frat too, Steve?

  158. 158.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Good song too!

  159. 159.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    Doesn’t the govt have records of when your passport is used? Isn’t it scanned?

    Yes indeed. I read his statement as attempting a clever faux denial.

  160. 160.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): I’ve simply shown my passport at any number of borders and been simply waved through.

  161. 161.

    raven

    April 2, 2018 at 9:47 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Jesus!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5uooiAQZ8s

  162. 162.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:47 pm

    Last night I was taking pics overlooking Dodger Stadium, I knew the game was over when I could hear “I Love LA” on the stadium’s PA.

  163. 163.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:48 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I was in a fraternity, not a frat. But I was, then as now, an upstanding citizen who never raped anyone. Unlike certain other posters here, according to what I read a few posts up.

  164. 164.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:48 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: You weren’t specific.

  165. 165.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:48 pm

    @raven: I see him over by Home Depot.

  166. 166.

    divF

    April 2, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    @Baud: I have a friend who is an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security which is the same job category as the judges for the Executive Office for Immigration Review. These folks are probably unionized (the ALJs for Social Security are), and this sounds like a work speedup.

  167. 167.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    Who cares about Latin America? What targets are there, aside from capitol cities?

    Socialists.

  168. 168.

    Mnemosyne

    April 2, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Average time in ICE detention for US citizens: 180 days.

  169. 169.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:51 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Heh, we(those of us living in the dorms) called em frats.

  170. 170.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:52 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    South America is probably the safest place on Earth in terms of surviving a nuclear holocaust.

    The 1% is putting its money on New Zealand.

  171. 171.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    April 2, 2018 at 9:53 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: @Brachiator:

    They all dismissed what I had to say primarily because I’m a “kid”. She’s 68 years old and doesn’t need any gump from a kid.

    Some of my other relatives (and my own father) weren’t much better. I could only describe it as learned helplessness and cynicism with politics (I didn’t bring it up btw). I said we were perilously close to dictatorship in the guise of democracy. Dismissed. The Democrats only care about the poor and the Republicans care about the rich! Nobody cares about the middle class! Nothing will change!

    They’re a bunch of cowards who gave up a long time ago.

    Banging my head against a wall would have been a more productive use of my time.

  172. 172.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 9:55 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Just remember, “There’s no fool like an old fool”.

  173. 173.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne: that is insane. And unjust. And possibly unconstitutional. Good to see people in my hometown are on the case.

  174. 174.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne: This particular conversation has nothing to do with immigration law. And, you know what, establishing the right to representation in criminal cases was a fucking fight. Immigration isn’t special in civil and administrative cases. It is the norm. No pay, no lawyer. And no, there aren’t enough pro bono hours in the world to meet the need. We need proper legal aid for poor and middle class people, but that is whole different matter.

  175. 175.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Just remember, “There’s no fool like an old fool”.

    I thought you had agreed not to call out efgoldman and Ruckus anymore!

  176. 176.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Takes one to know one.

  177. 177.

    rikyrah

    April 2, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    Who is this Josh Barro dude???

  178. 178.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: my fraternity had a lot of lacrosse players.

  179. 179.

    Ksmiami

    April 2, 2018 at 9:59 pm

    @JPL: or hung

  180. 180.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:00 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I said fraternity as well. Don’t try to pull that weak ass shit.

  181. 181.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 10:00 pm

    @Ksmiami: hanged, not hung.

    /execution pedant

  182. 182.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:00 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Lax and rugby.

  183. 183.

    rikyrah

    April 2, 2018 at 10:01 pm

    David Hogg on LarryO tonight

  184. 184.

    Just One More Canuck

    April 2, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: he looks like the big game hunter from Jumanji

  185. 185.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: the prosecution rests!

  186. 186.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:04 pm

    @Ksmiami: @Steve in the ATL: Ahem.

  187. 187.

    Corner Stone

    April 2, 2018 at 10:04 pm

    Bunch of aggro up in this piece.

  188. 188.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:05 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I was a rugger. No sheep said no.

  189. 189.

    JR

    April 2, 2018 at 10:09 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: “A little spilled ink would have sufficed. And only one guillotine.”

  190. 190.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 2, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    Kyle Griffin @ kylegriffin1
    John Kelly has weighed firing Scott Pruitt, a senior admin official told Politico.

    By my count, 5 separate stories have come out in the last couple hours about Scott Pruitt. That doesn’t seem like an accident.

    I’d say that first one could also be an anti-Kelly leak, suggesting he thinks it’s his call, his authority. The Beast does not like that.

  191. 191.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 2, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    @rikyrah: Econ reporter. His father is a well known deficit hawk economist at one of the Ivies.

  192. 192.

    Jay

    April 2, 2018 at 10:20 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    The US has 1,350 warheads “ready to go”, Russia has 1,440, everybody else has roughly 1,040.

    As little as 150 warheads can cause human extinction under the right conditions.

  193. 193.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:20 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:
    Who the mustache is attached to. At least in this case.

  194. 194.

    trollhattan

    April 2, 2018 at 10:21 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:
    Must also ref. “Deese two yoot.”

  195. 195.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 2, 2018 at 10:21 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: What the British did to Indian freedom fighters. That or solitary confinement in either Burma or Andaman.

  196. 196.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    April 2, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    @TenguPhule: misogyny and racism.
    Are those serious enough for you?

  197. 197.

    Jay

    April 2, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Well, they are stupid and inbred.

    PFC’s didn’t respect the equator and neither will fallout.

  198. 198.

    Ksmiami

    April 2, 2018 at 10:28 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: hmm but as Ben franklin stated to be hanged by the neck until dead was the punishment so hanged was a future imperfect tense…

  199. 199.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:29 pm

    @Ksmiami: And yet in legalese….

  200. 200.

    Jay

    April 2, 2018 at 10:30 pm

    “Banging my head against a wall would have been a more productive use of my time.”

    Banging their heads,…….. Fixed it for you.

  201. 201.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:32 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Why is that a reasonable response to any comment here? Real question.

  202. 202.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:37 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    The county you live in, LA, is physically bigger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The population of LA county is larger than 41 of the states.

  203. 203.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:40 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    San Bernardino is larger than each of the nine smallest states, larger than the four smallest states combined, and larger than 70 sovereign nations.

  204. 204.

    Tenar Arha

    April 2, 2018 at 10:42 pm

    @rikyrah: It’s kinda killing me that we’re going to have to both fight for Bezos while also fighting against him, dagnabit *shakes fist at clouds*

  205. 205.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:43 pm

    @Ruckus: And Wisconsin is larger than Benelux.

  206. 206.

    zhena gogolia

    April 2, 2018 at 10:44 pm

    @Chacal Charles Calthrop:

    That’s what it boils down to. But it’s not the majority of the country! That’s what’s so maddening.

  207. 207.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 10:46 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:
    I thought so as well. Fuck.

  208. 208.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 10:47 pm

    @Ksmiami: “hanged” is an exception to the usual past tense and past participle which is “hung”.

    Geez, I better slow down before this place turns into LGM….

  209. 209.

    Corner Stone

    April 2, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    @Tenar Arha: I agree. This is a real motherfucker of a dilemma.

  210. 210.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    @Tenar Arha: you’ll be delighted to hear that St. Bernie seconded trump’s criticism of amazon. Isn’t he helpful?

  211. 211.

    Bill Arnold

    April 2, 2018 at 10:52 pm

    @rikyrah:

    So, Dolt45 is doubling down on the attacks against Bezos

    So DJ Trump, who might have a negative net worth (we don’t really know because he has not been forthcoming), is picking a fight with one of the richest humans on the planet, who looks a little too happy piloting a giant mechanical robot, and who is alleged to abide by an atypical ethical system. (Note, there was some pushback on that series of articles; the bottom line is supposedly that J. Bezos and Amazon have extremely high standards. And professionally I respect much of their tech work.)

    Gourmet popcorn. Lots of it.

  212. 212.

    zhena gogolia

    April 2, 2018 at 10:53 pm

    I suggest everyone go to the NBC website and watch Jesus Christ Superstar again, like I just did. It cures whatever ails you.

  213. 213.

    Steeplejack

    April 2, 2018 at 10:56 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Ready to tag in if needed.

  214. 214.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 10:57 pm

    @Steeplejack: be on the lookout for split infinitives!

  215. 215.

    Amir Khalid

    April 2, 2018 at 10:58 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:
    Stormy Daniels will know if he’s hung. Me, I’d rather she didn’t tell the rest of us.

  216. 216.

    Steeplejack

    April 2, 2018 at 11:00 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Replied to you downstairs.

  217. 217.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 11:01 pm

    @Amir Khalid: well I’ll be danged!

  218. 218.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 11:02 pm

    @Amir Khalid:
    Apparently she has mentioned something about that. I’m not getting out of the boat to go look for the quote. I probably don’t want to know about the same level as you don’t want to know. Not at all.

  219. 219.

    zhena gogolia

    April 2, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    And I replied to you, thrice.

  220. 220.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 2, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    @Amir Khalid: have you chosen a new song?

  221. 221.

    Mnemosyne

    April 2, 2018 at 11:04 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Do you have to re-watch all of the commercials in real time, or can you skip/fast-forward them?

    Though I think we DVR’d it, so I could skim past the commercials now. ?

  222. 222.

    frosty

    April 2, 2018 at 11:04 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I was waiting for someone to chime in with something like that. Well done you!

  223. 223.

    zhena gogolia

    April 2, 2018 at 11:05 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    DVR would be better but I don’t know how to do it. On the website you have to watch the commercials.

  224. 224.

    Mnemosyne

    April 2, 2018 at 11:08 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    That was the one thing that annoyed me — WAY too many commercial breaks. The production itself was great and I was telling people at work who’d missed it that they should watch it on the NBC website.

  225. 225.

    zhena gogolia

    April 2, 2018 at 11:11 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    I think perhaps there are not quite so many commercial breaks on the website, but they’re pretty long. And for some reason on my computer they kept buffering. But we just read the paper while they were on.

  226. 226.

    kdaug

    April 2, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    I am trying to think of who could possibly be worst advisers to Trump after Bolton, Kudlow and Dobbs.

    Pleased to meet you. Hope you’ve guessed my name.

  227. 227.

    Amir Khalid

    April 2, 2018 at 11:14 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:
    Working on Fucking Up by Neil Young. I’d love to learn Spanish Dancer by Patti Scialfa next — it’s a lovely song like everything else she writes — but I can’t find tabs for it.

  228. 228.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 11:20 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I didn’t, efg and Ruckus are wise men.

  229. 229.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 11:22 pm

    @kdaug: Bolton?

  230. 230.

    Ruckus

    April 2, 2018 at 11:25 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    Never mistake wisdom for age and observation. We know what we’ve seen, we don’t always know why so we often have to say, what the fuck.

  231. 231.

    Tenar Arha

    April 2, 2018 at 11:42 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: when ugh isn’t enough https://media0.giphy.com/media/YVvTCqTBglkOs/giphy.gif

  232. 232.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2018 at 11:48 pm

    @Ruckus: Heh, I’m old enough to know that!

  233. 233.

    Brachiator

    April 2, 2018 at 11:49 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    They all dismissed what I had to say primarily because I’m a “kid”. She’s 68 years old and doesn’t need any gump from a kid.

    A very late reply. I hear you. I have friends with family like this. I was very lucky to have a family where younger people are listened to and encouraged to join in whenever they think they have something to add to the conversation. One of my best friends and her husband also encouraged this with their children.

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