Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

A consequence of cucumbers

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

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

“woke” is the new caravan.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

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

You cannot shame the shameless.

No one could have predicted…

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

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

This blog will pay for itself.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

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

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Because of wow. / Monday Morning Open Thread: Rock On, Fellow Jackals!

Monday Morning Open Thread: Rock On, Fellow Jackals!

by | 222 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

For this Monday, a ditty from universally beloved commentor SiubhanDuinne:

Good old Balloon Juice,
As good as it gets:
Come for the POLITICS,
Stay for the PETS.

Balloon Juice will serve you,
Whatever your mood:
Come for the ANIMALS,
Stay for the FOOD.

Most of us love Cole’s
Emotional rants:
Come for the RECIPES,
Stay for the PLANTS.

The kittehs meow,
And the puppehs do bark.
Come for the GARDENING,
Stay for the SNARK.

We make fun of Huckabee-
Sanders’s looks:
Come for the NASTINESS,
Stay for the BOOKS.

We’re few of us burdened
With riches or wealth.
But come for the WRITERS’ THREADS,
Stay for the HEALTH.

I’m by no means a lawyer,
Don’t know about torts;
But I came for OBAMACARE,
Stayed for the SPORTS.

You may care not for music,
Nor skull-fucking goats;
But come for the FOOTBALL,
And stay for the VOTES.

Brava!

***********
Not to jinx anything, but I’d be just as happy if the Chaos Gods decided to send us a week where very little “breaking news” arises, and we front-pagers get to use up some of our backlog of interesting / funny story links. Who’s with me?

Reader Interactions

222Comments

  3. 3.

    satby

    Good morning! I’m with you AL, I’ve lost innumerable hours glued to whatever breaking news clusterfuck was occurring at the time. Just one quieter week is probably way too much to ask given what we have in power though.
    On the other hand, it it was the start of real accountability for the corrupt bunch because Mueller was dropping indictments, that would give me deep joy.

  4. 4.

    satby

    @SiubhanDuinne, was too late to comment on the thread you posted this, but I love our new theme song/poem. Well done!

  8. 8.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The picture is not sombre, even though this is a funeral. Obama and Bill Clinton are smiling broadly; W has that lopsided grin that suggests he’s cracked one of his fratboy jokes. They seem relaxed. And the source of that relaxation? Could it possibly be their collective relief that Trump is not there?
    ……………..
    Which leaves Melania. Shouldn’t she be uncomfortable among all these people who despise her husband? What explains her apparent ease, smiling as readily as the rest of them?

    The clue might be in some of the other pictures taken at Saturday’s service. There she was, seated next to Barack Obama, looking positively cheery. “Have you ever, ever, EVER seen Melania smile like this, and look this relaxed, beside her own husband? Ever?,” tweeted the science writer Steve Silberman. Others noted the oddity that here was the first lady looking happier than she had in ages – at a funeral.

  10. 10.

    satby

    @NotMax: gin and squirt was my favorite drink when I was in nursing school and we’d have lunch at the tavern down the street when clinical was done. We’d go back to the afternoon lectures half in the bag.

    @OzarkHillbilly: I hadn’t seen you over the weekend, probably more a marker of how hit and miss my reading has been lately. Glad you’re here!
    Oh this Kindle word substitutions thing!

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    A footnote to a footnote to a footnote of history.

    The Syrian Foreign Ministry has returned to France the Legion d’Honneur granted to President Bashar al-Assad in 2001, according to the Syrian Presidency media office.

    The ministry returned France’s most prestigious award through the Romanian embassy in Damascus, said the report.
    [snip]
    On April 17, the French presidential office said the French government was planning to strip Assad from the Legion of Honor after accusing and striking Syria over allegations of chemical weapons use by the Syrian forces in Douma district east of Damascus on April 7. Source

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    Sister the black Les Paul of Awesomeness demands that we learn some Led Zeppelin riffs. So that’s what we’re doing, alongside the other stuff.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: We had a houseful. My brother, SIL, her daughter and son spent the wkend with us. Bro ended up in the hospital for a few days recently and SIL’s father died 3 wks ago. They needed some decompression time away from the big city and all their worries.

  18. 18.

    bystander

    @NotMax:

    A study has found that drinking gin and tonic can help ease the symptoms of hayfever.

    Great! Now if they find Negronis cure sciatica, I’m fixed.

    I liked the pics of Melania grinning at BB’s funeral. Was she thinking how even a funeral is more enjoyable without him? Looking forward to attending another funeral?

  20. 20.

    Montanareddog

    @bystander: Let’s raise a glass to the anonymous genius who decided to try mixing mother’s ruin with an anti-malarial tonic and discovered the perfect aperitif.

  21. 21.

    SFAW

    universally beloved commentor SiubhanDuinne:

    Who?

    Oh, you mean Star Lord(ette).

    [Insert obligatory Djimon Hounsou GIF as appropriate]

  22. 22.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Foul
    Ball
    Swinging Strike
    Foul
    Foul
    Ball
    Foul
    Foul
    Ball
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Foul
    Flyout

    That is a breakdown of San Francisco’s Brandon Belt’s record breaking 21 pitch plate appearance. It lasted 12 minutes and 45 seconds.

  23. 23.

    Eural Joiner

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/podcasts/the-josh-marshall-podcast/ep-9-why-did-donald-trump-get-in-so-deep-with-michael-cohen-we-explain”

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/podcasts/the-josh-marshall-podcast/extra-theres-even-more-michael-cohen-news-you-need-to-know

    Just had the pleasure of catching these two recent podcasts from Josh Marshall at TPM and they are absolutely fascinating. These people are so very, very, very guilty.
    And, as it turns out, Hannity talking about his relationship with Cohen just involved discussions concerning “real estate” is a lot more explosive than just a throwaway excuse!

  25. 25.

    SFAW

    @Eural Joiner:

    Although I sometimes get the impression that some here don’t like — or maybe don’t think much of — Josh, I really appreciate most, if not all, of what he does. He digs into stuff that’s (early on) mostly off the radar, but ends up becoming significant. He was writing about Cohen and Felix Sater awhile ago, for example. Anyway, thanks for the pointers.

  27. 27.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    That’s 20, not 21.

    Just kidding — I was just trying to get you to go back and count.

    ETA: Of course, were I smart, I would have put the “made ya look” thing in a separate comment. But, of course, the “were I smart” thing is a null set.

  28. 28.

    TS (the original)

    @NotMax:

    A study has found that drinking gin and tonic can help ease the symptoms of hayfever.

    Best news I’ve heard this year. I’m wondering if my morning hayfever started when I swapped G & Ts for wine. I shall investigate further.

  31. 31.

    RedDirtGirl

    Good morning, Jackals! Thanks again for all the input regarding my cat’s messy eating routine. So much great information in that thread (Andrea Mitchell side-eye).

  35. 35.

    satby

    Beautiful dawn and a nice day ahead. Time to plant the replacement roses that came last week. And the strawberries, which are growing out of the aluminum tray I heeled them into until they could go outside. I just hope the tomatoes I ordered don’t show up til the middle of May.

  36. 36.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Eural Joiner: I doubt that consulting with Cohen on real estate matters is the smartest of moves (beyond having an innate talent for milking his marks, Hannity isn’t known for being especially intelligent) he does have a rather extensive portfolio of real estate. He might even be telling the truth about this matter.

    The whole thing smells like Cohen was trying to inflate his “law practice” in order to make the FBI raids look more sinister than they actually were.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I would have taken a great deal more care with that doggerel (catterel) if I had thought anyone would FP it. Thanks, AL, for putting it up top, and thanks @Mary G, @SFAW, and @satby for your kind, or otherwise, comments.

    Good morning, everyone!

  39. 39.

    satby

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: This was in 1973, so before hospitals had gone to the routine 12 hour shifts. We started at 6am, got off at 2pm, had sandwiches with our drinks some days, and went back at 3 for lectures until 6pm or later. So we had 12 hour days, just not on the floor.
    Edit: the nursing floor, not the tavern floor, Baud.

  40. 40.

    Baud

    @debbie:

    Reinking, 29, was trying to meet President Trump when he attempted to cross a security barrier at the White House complex in July, federal authorities said. After an investigation by the FBI office in Springfield, Ill. — near where Reinking lived at the time — state and local officials confiscated Rein­king’s guns and revoked his firearm license.


    The guns, however, were later returned to Reinking’s father, who has acknowledged he gave them back to his son, officials said.

    I hope they bust Trump.

  42. 42.

    Eural Joiner

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    That’s the point – Cohen’s entire background involves money laundering (mostly Russian) money through real estate and taxi cab investments. It sounds innocent but he’s spent decades working with Russian/Ukrainian (and others?) immigrant families (all with mob connections) to bring their money over here and clean it up. That’s how he meet Trump and I can guarantee you Hannity is well aware of the shadiness of his investments. Just look at his reaction in public on his radio show and FOX :)

  49. 49.

    satby

    Any doubts that Republicanism and conservatism have given themselves over to one man, his whims and his survival were dispelled by the GOP’s use of the congressional oversight process to undermine a legitimate probe into a hostile power’s interference in our elections.

    As it happens, the actual memos are embarrassing to Trump and support Comey’s veracity. And if the Republicans’ obstructionist triumvirate of Reps. Devin Nunes of California, Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Trey Gowdy of South Carolina had hoped to prove that Comey leaked classified information, the memos reveal exactly the opposite.

    Here

  52. 52.

    SFAW

    @debbie:

    She ain’t no Mary Matlin, is she?

    Your comment made my “brain” jump to the “thought” of: What if KAC, not Matalin, were married to Carville? Interesting photo ops, to say the least.

  54. 54.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Eural Joiner:

    Cohen’s entire background

    He has rather extensive experience with paying off porn stars too. I took Hannitty’s immediate reaction as being one of, “Oh shit, how do I explain this to my wife?” Considering his lack of legal filings over his non attorney/client privilege, I suspect they had some casual conversations that touched on legal matters in a very oblique way and Cohen tried to inflate them into something more to bolster his arguments over the seized evidence.

    As to what those conversations were about, only those 2 know. Cohen may have been stupid enough to record those conversations, in which case the FBI will soon know as well. Time will tell.

  71. 71.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Amir Khalid: Lol!! True. Too bad she hasn’t publicly repudiated Trump’s birtherism which she apparently shared. Her marriage to Trump is obviously not based on mutual love and respect. Hence, her inability to look happy around Donald.

  72. 72.

    Steve in the SFO

    Love to start the day with exercise, a nutritious breakfast, and a skull-fucking goats poem!

  76. 76.

    Elizabelle

    @TomatoQueen: I always wished Charlotte had been born first. Granted, most of us have had a full lifetime with QE2. But still, three apparent male heirs in a row … bo-ring.

    Good morning, jackals.

  81. 81.

    Baud

    @rikyrah:

    Doesn’t matter. The GOP understands that the concept of Hillary Clinton is beyond the capacity of the minds of half of America to comprehend, resulting in “Norman, Coordinate” situation that gave them 2016 and which is their only hope for 2018.

  84. 84.

    germy

    Bernie Sanders Is Quietly Building a Digital Media Empire

    The Vermont senator, who’s been comparing corporate television programming to drugs and accusing it of creating a “nation of morons” since at least 1979 — and musing to friends about creating an alternative news outlet for at least as long — has spent the last year and a half building something close to a small network out of his office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.

    The result is a growing venue for Sanders’s legions of backers, and other curious progressives, to take in tightly curated lefty takes on policy news — one that, increasingly, competes directly with more traditional news outlets for eyeballs. There’s little room for minute-by-minute analysis of White House drama or Robert Mueller’s probe — and no panels full of opining “strategists” — but also little room for dissent.

    link

  89. 89.

    germy

    I read that three of the four victims of Reinking were Black. It wasn’t reported on the network TV news because I guess they just don’t see color.

  90. 90.

    Eural Joiner

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I hope I live another 20 years (at least!) to see all the movie and read all the books after the real story finally emerges – may take another 50 years now that I think about it! What a world we live in :O

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: I wonder if they tested each of the ingredients separately to see if it’s just the gin, or the tonic, or the lime. :-)

  93. 93.

    Fair Economist

    @Baud:

    I would never represent a client who would want me as their attorney.

    You’ll never get elected in America rephrasing Marx.

  94. 94.

    satby

    @germy: @Baud:

    but also little room for dissent.

    Alternative news media would be good, but authoritarian Wilmer has neither the right idea nor is the right person.

  95. 95.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: If Donald Trump were a physical abuser, I would expect Melania to suddenly have bruises and broken bones when she gets home. I wonder how Donald Trump punishes Melania? If Trump has seen that photo of happy Melania with Barack Obama, some sort of shit will hit the fan.

  97. 97.

    Steve in the SFO

    @germy: I’m a white man and I was naked earlier, but rather than shoot up a Waffle House I simply got out of the shower and got dressed. Wasn’t that difficult. Not sure what this guy’s problem was.

  99. 99.

    Elizabelle

    @germy: Naked came the gunman.

    Whose own father handed him back his guns after the Secret Service deemed him a threat. I hope we get some better laws after that ridiculous decision.

    I was surprised to hear he is still on the lam.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: When I was a bartender, there was a regular, kind of an old codger, who would, if he was getting sick, go home, run hot bath and drink a pint of rye and then go to bed. He swore that was a guaranteed cure.

  105. 105.

    Steve in the SFO

    @Amir Khalid: you can start easy with “whole lotta love” and “communications breakdown”, then move on to “black dog”, “rock and roll”, “how many more times”, et al, then at expert level “black mountain side”

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    @satby: I finally ordered a grow light from Amazon in order to keep my 36 new strawberry plants alive until I can plant them. It had been two weeks since they arrived and were starting to look a bit puny. There are even strawberries on them at this point!

  108. 108.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Eural Joiner: TBH, I rather doubt I will want to read any of the accounts, Maybe Jane Mayer’s forthcoming treatise “The Weird Side”.

  109. 109.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lapassionara:

    Not any more. Parliament changed the Laws of Succession several years ago, so now it’s strictly birth order, gender notwithstanding.

  110. 110.

    germy

    Republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility:

    The Morris County, NJ Republican Party lost money on their winter fundraiser after paying $24,487 to hold the event at Trump National Golf Club and paying Fox News host Greg Gutfield $30,000 to speak. https://t.co/vu1vKbgQRs— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 22, 2018

    At least the drumpf family got paid.

  111. 111.

    WaterGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne: We are willing to accept any edits you might propose, as long as they pass muster with the edit review members. Right now, it’s a committee of one, whose initials are WG.

  112. 112.

    satby

    @WaterGirl: wow! Mine are just sprouting.
    Edited to add, I had forgotten about them and the climbing roses, both were in their boxes in the garage because they were delivered while it was snowing and 36° out.

  114. 114.

    SFBayAreaGal

    @rikyrah: I love this recipe from one of the commentators:

    NR_Garrett

    @NR_Garrett

    ·

    19h

    Replying to @AP_Politics

    RW Catnip:
    2 TBSP Reagan
    4 Cups HRC
    1 Cup Pelosi
    1/2 Cup CNN
    2 Cups Soros
    3/4 Cup White Grievance

    Add all ingredients in bowl.
    Mix until ingredients turns white.
    Serve with milk and white toast.
    Eat with Fox News.

  115. 115.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I do like the fact that the new baby (a) shares a birthday (probably) with William Shakespeare, and (b) was born on the feast day of Saint George, England’s patron saint.

    Too bad the names William and George are already taken :-)

  118. 118.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @WaterGirl: The last I talked to him he is doing well. The bone regrowth is slower than the doctors would like but otherwise he’s doing fine. That was 2 weeks ago. I meant to call him last night but my sleep over the wkend was pretty broken and I was kind of beat. I’ll call him this eve, but I figure “No news is good news.”

  120. 120.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Armenian prime minister resigns after large-scale protests
    Armenia’s prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, said on Monday he was stepping down from his post amid large-scale protests against his rule, he wrote in a statement.

    If only the shitgibbon would follow suit.

  121. 121.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steve in the SFO:

    Love to start the day with exercise, a nutritious breakfast, and a skull-fucking goats poem!

    Stationary boats, steel-cut oats, and skull-fucking goats.

  122. 122.

    Elizabelle

    @germy: I wondered if he was unclothed because meth! and mental illness, or if he’s taken Forensic Files to heart. (“If I ditch the jacket and am not wearing clothes …”)

    Tragic for the poor souls who were just getting a meal and even some companionship. Waffle Houses have regulars. I’m kind of jonesing for some scrambled eggs and grits right now …

  124. 124.

    germy

    The Waffle House Massacre needs to be INVESTIGATED as a hate crime. Note, I said INVESTIGATED, not DECLARED. The demographics of the victims as well as the demographics & alleged beliefs of the prime suspect demand it. https://t.co/58fakseOP8— Hercules Mulligan (@johnvmoore) April 23, 2018

  125. 125.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @germy: Remember how when he got the nomination, rents to the RNC in his building quadrupled? It’s always been a grift, and that bloodsucker doesn’t care if the host it bleeds is the whole country or just the RNC.

  128. 128.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lapassionara:

    IIRC, it was one of the many changes made in the wake of Diana’s death. I recall there were all kinds of Royal Commissions and Parliamentary Recommendations on updating and streamlining the Monarchy, and doing away with gender bias in the Succession was one of them.

  135. 135.

    Jeffro

    Unintentionally hilarious in That Paper today: A Time For Big Economic Ideas

    David Leonhard proposes a few things that sound, well, downright HIllaryesque. Or if you prefer, straight-up normal Dem stuff (under the guise of ‘going big’)

    This is a time for big ideas. One of the Trump presidency’s only silver linings is its proof that our political discourse had been too narrow. Frustrated Americans don’t feel bound by old rules. Almost 63 million of them voted for a man who had no political experience and made a mockery of politics as usual.

    “Donald Trump’s victory implies that people need to be more bold,” as Ro Khanna, a Democratic congressman, has said.

    Yes…they certainly need to be more bold. “Innovative”, even (FSM do I ever hate that word, since it is so often used to describe a situation where folks can’t simply execute on the fundamentals.) Anyway, “bold”: what would that look like, good sir?

    A clear majority of Americans wants the government to respond aggressively to our economic problems…Fortunately, policy experts have begun working on those solutions. One possibility is a federal jobs program, putting people to work earning $15 an hour on vital projects like infrastructure and child care. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who seems to be eyeing a presidential run, favors an ambitious version called a federal jobs guarantee.

    Another option is a strong response to growing corporate power and consolidation. The Open Markets Institute and Roosevelt Institute have sketched out new antimonopoly policies. Other economists are talking about something called wage boards, where companies and workers would negotiate over industrywide pay. Such boards already exist in New York, California and Australia.

    On health care, there are proposals to open Medicare to people younger than 65 (which could also reduce health spending). On child poverty, two senators have proposed a $3,600-a-year annual allowance for children under 6. On education, states and cities have created free pre-K or community college. And to help pay for it all, experts are studying how best to raise taxes on the wealthy — who can certainly afford to pay more

    A jobs program? A higher minimum wage? Infrastructure? Child care? ‘Medicare for All’? Free pre-K and/or community college? Taxing the rich to pay for it? Positively bold Fucking straight-up Democratic Party line, Mr. Leonhardt. Straight. Up. Just call it what it is – a time for the Democrats to be back in charge for a good long while.

    Oh, the hilarious part? It was actually back up in the earlier part of the article, but I moved it down here:

    [back in the 2016 election] “People yawned at the smallness of American politics, at the stagnation of American politics, at the same faces, the same ideas, the same talking points.” Or as Neera Tanden, who runs the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, says, “Donald Trump has widened the aperture for policy discussions in the United States.”

    Ahem.
    A-hem.
    You have to laugh or you’ll cry…but technically Ms. Tanden is correct: Donald Trump most certainly has widened America’s aperture, all right. That’s one way to put it, fer sure!

  136. 136.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    AL your musings about a quiet week triggered the following fantasy (no, not that kind of fantasy you perverts!). Remember how we found out months after the fact that several people had been indicted by Mueller?

    What if T went completely silent one day on the Twitter. No statements, no photo ops, nothing. And it stretched into a week, and a month. The flowers started to bloom, people started smiling again, the birds started chirping, etc.

    Finally one day Mueller releases his report, in which he adds as a footnote that T was arrested six months before and has been in the pen awaiting trial.

  137. 137.

    Steve in the SFO

    @SiubhanDuinne: 45 Waffle Houses in Cartersville?! Is that because of I-75 traffic?

    And 29 in not-on-an-interstate Athens?! How much does raven eat? That said, I have fond, though vague, memories of the one at Milledge and Lumpkin. Which, I learned many years after law school, is open during the daytime, not just midnight to 3 am.

  139. 139.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    hen they all got in there benz’s and honked their horns at each other.

    I like that – protests in Benz’s! I’d gladly take one of these to the streets. Ridding the body politic of the tangerine toddler would be a plus.

  140. 140.

    No Drought No More

    The republican party in a nutshell:

    The Guardian reports: “..The records link [Sean] Hannity to a group of shell companies that spent at least $90m on more than 870 homes in seven states over the past decade. The properties range from luxurious mansions to rentals for low-income families. Hannity is the hidden owner behind some of the shell companies and his attorney did not dispute that he owns all of them.

    Dozens of the properties were bought at a discount in 2013, after banks foreclosed on their previous owners for defaulting on mortgages. Before and after then, Hannity sharply criticised Barack Obama for the US foreclosure rate. In January 2016, Hannity said there were “millions more Americans suffering under this president” partly because of foreclosures..”.

  141. 141.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    The Waffle House Massacre needs to be INVESTIGATED as a hate crime.

    Did Trump or any other administration official say anything about this act of domestic terrorism?

    Did the NRA suggest that waitresses start packing heat?

  144. 144.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @SiubhanDuinne: I am unfortunately not a composer, so though I wish I could hear your masterpiece set to music I’m not the one to do it.

    Worse, as an amateur musician I have quite a lot of music of all genres and qualities rattling around in the brain. It kicks out the most bizarre things sometimes.

    So what came out as I read the last two lines of each verse was the old Hellman’s Mayo jingle.
    https://youtu.be/27Sxx0FYdbk

  145. 145.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Jeffro:

    One possibility is a federal jobs program, putting people to work earning $15 an hour on vital projects like infrastructure

    Thereby undermining good union jobs offering $30-50/hour compensation packages. Yeah, that’ll work.

  146. 146.

    O. Felix Culpa

    From Alexandra Petri, about the sad, sad “silencing” of the fellow (whose name I don’t care to look up) who got shitcanned from the Atlantic because the editor was forced to acknowledge that the knotty-pated fool really meant it when he called for hanging women who had abortions:

    Anyone who has read my published works knows I understand what oppression is. Oppression is when you write something and then people online become upset.

    More here.

  147. 147.

    Gin & Tonic

    Armenia’s Prime Minister has resigned, apparently in reaction to anti-corruption protests.

  149. 149.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steve in the SFO:

    I haven’t set foot in a Waffle House for, probably, close to ten years — no boycott or anything, it just hasn’t occurred to me — but back in the day I drank many a coffee and ate many an egg (and many a grit!) in their friendly confines. Spent many years on the road in the seven Southeastern states; there were always countless WH locations along my route, often only a short walk from my motel. So it was easy and cheap, and I was grateful for their ubiquity.

  150. 150.

    geg6

    @SFAW:

    People can say whatever they like about him. I find TPM indispensible, especially for breaking news and investigative journalism, in which he has been heavily investing time, space and assets. And yes, when all the Cohen stuff broke, I was not surprised. He’s been featuring stuff on him and Sater for a good long while. They also do stellar work on polling and elections.

  151. 151.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Joke shamelessly stolen from the interwebs:

    Q. Why do people take an instant dislike to Ted Cruz?

    A. It saves time.

  156. 156.

    Fair Economist

    @No Drought No More:

    Hannity is the hidden owner behind some of the shell companies

    Emphasis mine. Given Cohen’s MO, I’m betting that Hannity was helping Russians launder money – for a fee, of course.

  157. 157.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    That fits very well! And I’m the same way with music of all genres — usually classical, but could just as easily be a show tune, an ad jingle, a nursery rhyme, or big band music from WW2. Or, of course, my beloved Gilbert & Sullivan.

  159. 159.

    Fair Economist

    @SiubhanDuinne: When I was a kid, I loved Waffle House and I’d go with my grandmother all the time, but I don’t like it now. Dunno whether my tastes changed or their food deteriorated or some combination thereof.

  160. 160.

    rikyrah

    So….no tweets from Dolt45 about the Waffle House Shooting…

    Uh huh

    Neither he, nor the phucking KKKeebler Elf, and goddamn SILENCE from the NRA.

    UH HUH
    UH HUH

  161. 161.

    Gin & Tonic

    @raven: I dunno, Amir Khalid, Mike J, some other folks are chatting about football every weekend around here.

  165. 165.

    Gin & Tonic

    @OzarkHillbilly: An ice cream chain here in New England has a drink they call an “Awful Awful.” People elsewhere in the country would likely call it a milk shake.

  169. 169.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Steve in the SFO:

    you can’t eat at Waffle House if you use words such as “ubiquity”

    LOL. I have never eaten at that establishment, but then I grew up in a northern state where we were blessed with resplendent Greek diners.

  171. 171.

    SFAW

    @Elizabelle:

    Whose own father handed him back his guns after the Secret Service deemed him a threat. I hope we get some better laws after that ridiculous decision.

    I’d like to see a “law” where the local “law” enforcement person pays the father a visit, resulting in extra convection-cooling holes in the father (whose excuse for a “brain” appears to have overheated), for being a fucking moron.

  172. 172.

    rikyrah

    About Shania Twain and her ‘ I would have voted for Dolt45’

    I’ll say it again..
    Ain’t got no time.
    Ain’t got no tolerance for anyone pursing their lips about supporting Dolt45.
    We can go on the internet and bring you 50 horror stories – IN POLICY- within 5 minutes..
    and, you think people gonna tolerate this bullshyt?

    ARE. YOU.SERIOUS?

    Off the top of my head, the most disgusting things I’ve read in the past 36 hours:
    1. Trying to kick Native People off Medicaid
    2. Trying to declare Native People a ‘race’, so that they can try a land grab
    3. 700 CHILDREN HAVE BEEN SEPARATED FROM THEIR PARENTS IN THE ICE DETENTION FACILITIES

    This is off the top of my head.
    And, you think that I’m gonna ‘ understand’ muthaphuckas who try and ‘explain’ their support for this evil?

    PHUCK.OUTTA.HERE.

    TWAIN IS CANCELLED.
    PERIOD.

  174. 174.

    rikyrah

    TWITTER TRUTH ABOUT THAT RIDICULOUS ATLANTIC ARTICLE:

    44 former presidents, not once was something like this written. Trump inherited a booming economy, Obama one falling apart, an auto industry collapsing, banks and institutions crumbling, but NOT ONCE did a report from @TheAtlantic or anywhere else write a piece of shit like this! https://t.co/pEJeKRWoaB

    — tina morphis (@TinaMorphis) April 23, 2018

    44 former presidents have held this office, 44 men, who stood over wars, watched a Great Depression, steered us through countless recession, terrorist strikes and NOT ONCE did a report write drivel like this, NOT ONCE.

    I have a fucking Idea, maybe it’s not the PRESIDENCY and or

    — tina morphis (@TinaMorphis) April 23, 2018

    the office, maybe just fucking maybe it’s the Goddamn Imbecile, lying Authoritarian wannbe ignorant sob in the office? A man who speaks on a 3rd grade level. A man who can’t read more than 3, yes 3 bullet points. This article should be burned. Yes, that’s what should happen.

    — tina morphis (@TinaMorphis) April 23, 2018

    Take all the copies from everywhere, throw it in a pile of rubbish and burn the damn thing until there’s nothing left but soot!

    JFC, what nation did I wake up in? Victim Card Mentality Award given too…….one @realDonaldTrump and the Author of this piece of shit!

    — tina morphis (@TinaMorphis) April 23, 2018

  175. 175.

    geg6

    Never stepped foot in a Waffle House in my life, despite having driven all over the Atlantic and some of the Gulf south. No idea why, but it’s probably that I try to avoid chain restaurants if at all possible. My BIL, whose mother grew up in TN and who spent a lot of time there both as a kid and now, loves a Shoney’s, in which I’ve also never set foot. Two southern franchises we just don’t have here in Western PA. Now, I will admit to having eaten a lot of breakfasts at Eat’n’Park, the local family restaurant chain. A few lunches, too. But never dinner. I like them because, although they are chain with family/diner fare, they source local ingredients. I like that a lot.

  177. 177.

    Kathleen

    I’m @germy: I eagerly await launch of his new PAC “Black Votes Matter” or “The targeted rodent procreation of the Dem base continues apace”.

  185. 185.

    rikyrah

    Trump’s bold new idea: suing the Democratic National Committee
    04/23/18 08:00 AM—UPDATED 04/23/18 08:39 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Not long after Richard Nixon and his political operation launched their Watergate scheme, the Democratic National Committee launched a civil suit against the Republican president. Last week, in a remarkable historical echo, the DNC filed a similar lawsuit against the Russian government, Donald Trump’s campaign, and WikiLeaks, alleging they coordinated to disrupt the 2016 campaign.
    The judge in the case, as luck would have it, was a former Watergate prosecutor.

    Not surprisingly, the president, who’s already the subject of a criminal investigation, heard about the civil case, and on Friday afternoon, Trump shared his initial reaction:

    “Just heard the Campaign was sued by the Obstructionist Democrats. This can be good news in that we will now counter for the DNC Server that they refused to give to the FBI, the Debbie Wasserman Schultz Servers and Documents held by the Pakistani mystery man and Clinton Emails.”

    To the extent that reality still has any meaning, nearly all of this was nonsense. The DNC, for example, didn’t refuse to cooperate with the FBI. For that matter, DNC officials aren’t in Congress, and therefore can’t be “obstructionists.” (The original version of Trump’s tweet also referred to Wendy Wasserman Schultz, instead of Debbie.)

    But the words that stood out were, “we will now counter.”

  187. 187.

    Kay

    @jameshohmann
    1h1 hour ago
    More
    Trump is violating another small, but significant, norm: He’s invited no Democratic members of Congress to the state dinner for the French president tomorrow. Obama invited opposition party leaders to his state dinners. So did the Bushes + everyone else.

    It’s Monday, so it’s “nasty, petty people in the Trump Administration” day.

    They’re bad people. They can all do backflips and whine a lot about how unpopular they are but they’re unpopular because they’re mean-spirited and petty. Every day, in small ways and large ways. It’s not just Trump either- it’s all of them.

    Part of how Democrats are winning elections in formerly GOP areas is really simple- they’re running on “I’m not an asshole, unlike these people”. Pundits are saying it’s because they’re policy moderates but that’s not it at all- they’re running on the contrast between these assholes and themselves. It’s a really low bar, too. You just have to be a person of average decency.

  188. 188.

    But her emails!!!

    @rikyrah:

    That article, or at least the title is a heaping pile of garbage. President Obama handled the office masterfully despite having to deal with the nihilistic obstruction of Republicans. Bill Clinton did a fine job, despite not being able to keep his cigar in his pants. Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton would have been solid Presidents (one of them might have even surprised us and been more than that). The Presidency only seems to be an insurmountable challenge only for the last two Presidents dredged up from the Republican sewers. That’s probably one part electing stupendously unqualified men and two parts inability to compose a competent team and listen to it’s advice because everyone is John Fucking Wayne.

  190. 190.

    Elizabelle

    @rikyrah: Shania Twain: “Man. I feel like a moron. Do do do do do do do …”

    Won’t hurt her with some of her fans, but she and Susan Sarandon can get together and gripe about immolating their own careers, with their own mouths.

  191. 191.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: I wonder if Macron will reach out to Democrats on his own; maybe the embassy is doing something.

    It’s Trump Classique: short-sighted, mean and stupid.

  193. 193.

    Kay

    I know we’re not permitted to raise this, but I’d like everyone to consider how political media would have savaged Hillary Clinton if she had lost a nomination contest for the US Senate. They would have launched 2 full weeks of using her a s punching bag.

    Compare/contrast with Mitt Romney. Many of you may recall Mitt Romney lost a Presidential race and did not take up knitting- in fact, he was given fawning coverage although he’s completely full of shit, has no principles of any kind and does NOT in fact, appear to be popular with Utah Republicans.

  196. 196.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    It’s Monday, so it’s “nasty, petty people in the Trump Administration” day.

    They’re bad people. They can all do backflips and whine a lot about how unpopular they are but they’re unpopular because they’re mean-spirited and petty. Every day, in small ways and large ways. It’s not just Trump either- it’s all of them.

    You say this all the time.
    and, you are right all the time on this point.

  197. 197.

    No Drought No More

    “@JYSexton
    The President of the United States has no ethics, has the worst possible worldview, and is probably compromised by a foreign adversary. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s an idiot”.

    A minor quibble with that analysis. It’s not a matter of “probably”. It’s not a matter of Trump being “compromised”. His is ugly treason, pure and simple, and he’s been aided and abetted every step of the way by c0-conspirators.

    Hang ’em ALL high. The sole exceptions being, perhaps, those plotters that Mueller Inc. is prepared to bargain with in order to get to the bottom of this humiliating episode in American history. But only if their testimony is vital to hanging the rest high. Then we’ll begin to right the ship of state, if only then.

  198. 198.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:

    I know we’re not permitted to raise this, but I’d like everyone to consider how political media would have savaged Hillary Clinton if she had lost a nomination contest for the US Senate. They would have launched 2 full weeks of using her a s punching bag

    Willard has to run in a primary election…BWA HA HA HA HA HA

    But, yes, Kay….I have noted the difference.

    Hillary is supposed to shut up, but they had phucking McCain on Sunday shows pretty much every damn week for 3 years after 44 was elected.

  199. 199.

    Elizabelle

    @Kathleen: WaPost, about Mr. Shaw and those shot at Waffle House: say their names: and the naked shooter knew the area; he lived a mile away, in a gated apartment community:

    … Among the victims was 29-year-old Taurean C. Sanderlin of Goodlettsville, Tenn., a restaurant employee who was fatally shot while standing outside. The others killed were customers: Joe R. Perez, 20, of Nashville; Deebony Groves, 21, of Gallatin, Tenn.; and Akilah Dasilva, 23, of Antioch.

    Two others — Shanita Waggoner, 21, of Nashville, and Sharita Henderson, 24, of Antioch — remain in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, police said.

    TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center treated and released two people with minor injuries from the shooting, hospital spokeswoman Katie Radel said.

    Officials hailed Shaw’s actions, which they said probably saved many people’s lives. His elbow was grazed by a bullet during the shooting, and he was treated at a hospital.

    “You’re a hero. You’re my hero…. We’re forever in your debt,” Walt Ehmer, Waffle House’s president and chief executive, told Shaw at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

    [Mass shooting statistics: The terrible numbers that grow with each attack]

    Shaw said he doesn’t see himself as a hero.

    “I want people to know that I did that completely out of a selfish act,” he said. “I was completely doing it just to save myself…. I did save other people, but I don’t want people to think that I was the Terminator or Superman or anybody like that.”

    He said the rifle’s barrel was still hot when he grabbed the weapon away from the gunman.

    “You have to reach or you’re going to fold…. That’s all I wanted to do. I just wanted to live,” a teary Shaw told reporters.

    The gunman fled the scene, cursing, Shaw said. Police said he took off the only article of clothing he was wearing less than a block from the restaurant. Two magazines were found in the jacket’s pockets.

    Investigators believe Reinking went to his apartment, located less than a mile from the Waffle House, and put on a pair of pants before fleeing again.

    He was last seen in a wooded area near the apartment complex wearing only black pants, Aaron said.

  200. 200.

    Kathleen

    @rikyrah: Pet The Twitters Chuck Todd supposedly said DNC suit was “stunt”. Wonder how he’d react to RNC countersuit.

  202. 202.

    Elizabelle

    And, about states’ porous gun laws:

    … Months before Reinking became the target of a manhunt, authorities arrested him for trying to breach a barrier near the White House and later seized his guns.

    Among the four weapons they took from Reinking was the AR-15 semi­automatic rifle that police say he used in the Waffle House on Sunday. One of the other weapons — a pistol — is missing from Reinking’s apartment, police said.

    Reinking was trying to meet President Trump when he attempted to cross a security barrier at the White House complex in July, federal authorities said. After an investigation by the FBI office in Springfield, Ill. — near where Reinking lived at the time — state and local officials confiscated Rein­king’s guns and revoked his firearm license.

    The guns, however, were later returned to Reinking’s father, who has acknowledged he gave them back to his son, officials said.

    Under Illinois law, certain confiscated guns can be released to a family member, but Reinking could not lawfully possess the weapons in that state. It’s unclear whether possessing the weapons was illegal in Tennessee.

    … As the frantic search for Reinking continued, law enforcement and local leaders were, again, confronted with questions about gun control and people’s right to own guns.

    “You balance the rights of people to have this privacy, but on the other hand, there needs to be a coordinated effort, especially in terms of mental health issues, to make sure that weapons don’t fall into their hands,” Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson told reporters at a news conference Sunday. He added that police suspect mental issues may have played a role in the Waffle House shooting, although the motive remains unknown.

    “He’s murdered four times with no apparent reason and no apparent motive,” Anderson said. “So we’re very concerned.”

    Nashville Mayor David Briley (D) seized on the moment to renew calls for stricter gun laws.

    “For a moment, let’s be honest about what happened. Last night, innocent Nashvillians were terrorized by a man with an AR-15. Let’s be honest. Some people see these weapons as having a purpose of terrorizing other people. It’s happening too much,” Briley said.

    Police said Reinking, who previously lived in Morton, Ill., moved to the area last fall and worked in the construction industry.

  203. 203.

    germy

    Alexander Parker and Krisha Schmick didn’t want much fanfare on their wedding day; the small Camp Hill courthouse in Pennsylvania would do. The high school sweethearts were giddy as they walked into the building for their appointment, eager to exchange vows.

    “We talked back in high school about getting married and finally we were going to do it,” Krisha told Newsweek. “We were all dressed up and everything.”

    The couple’s excitement was cut short, however, when the judge that had been meant to marry them called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on the pair instead, refusing to believe Alexander, 22, was living in the United States legally.

  205. 205.

    Brachiator

    @Kay:

    Trump is violating another small, but significant, norm: He’s invited no Democratic members of Congress to the state dinner for the French president tomorrow. Obama invited opposition party leaders to his state dinners. So did the Bushes + everyone else.

    Whoah! I didn’t realize that Trump was pushing the pedal to the metal on pettiness.

    It’s Monday, so it’s “nasty, petty people in the Trump Administration” day.

    I’ve read that this is Trump’s first official state dinner, and a lot of planning has gone into it, which makes the apparent diss of Democrats all the more reprehensible.

    Part of how Democrats are winning elections in formerly GOP areas is really simple- they’re running on “I’m not an asshole, unlike these people”. Pundits are saying it’s because they’re policy moderates but that’s not it at all- they’re running on the contrast between these assholes and themselves. It’s a really low bar, too. You just have to be a person of average decency.

    The pundits are morons, but the Democrats better be running on the idea that they will do better than the Republicans, not just on the idea that they are nicer people.

    I want Republicans to be voted out and to go to jail because they are corrupt, craven and criminal.

  206. 206.

    Gin & Tonic

    @germy: You know, that’s an infuriating story, but the Newsweek article is crap. There’s no indication when this happened – the article refers to an ICE directive from January (of what year?), and says this incident was before that (OK, when?), it gives some sort of “not available” in reference to the judge, but if this happened at a minimum of 5 months ago, didn’t they have time to actually go to the judge’s office and ask in person? I don’t mean to belittle what happened to these people, but the decline and fall of Newsweek is really a sight to behold.

  212. 212.

    germy

    @Elizabelle:

    “He’s murdered four times with no apparent reason and no apparent motive,” Anderson said. “So we’re very concerned.”

    That’s the angle all the network TV news stories took. No mention of his political beliefs. No mention of the race of the victims. “It’s a mystery!” they shrugged.

    Again, I predict he’ll be taken alive by authorities. Maybe they’ll even buy him a hamburger on the way to jail if he seems hungry.

  213. 213.

    Miss Bianca

    Good morning, jackals! SD, that little ditty is genius.

    Just wanted to pop in and say thanks and thanks again for all your condolences on the passing of the Good Good Dog, Stella. You have no idea what it’s meant to me to know you all are out there thinking of us both, you jackals with the hearts of gold. I felt a little bad raining on the happy Lily parade, but I knew that everyone who comes for the politics and stays for the pets would know how I was feeling. You’ve made this fictional white mouse feel very comforted. Thank you.

  214. 214.

    Gin & Tonic

    @germy: Sorry, not buying that. Even if there was only one employee left, s/he could have written a better article.

  215. 215.

    Brachiator

    @Elizabelle:

    I wonder if Macron will reach out to Democrats on his own; maybe the embassy is doing something.

    Sadly, this would not have the same impact, but it would be damned interesting if Macron were to reach out to the Democrats in some way. But Macron is also trying to get Trump to keep US troops in Syria and to adhere to the current agreements with Iran over the nuclear deal and sanctions, so he may not want to ruffle feathers.

    Trump is laying it on thick for the French, with a lot of symbolism of friendship between the two countries.

    In fact, Macron will break bread twice with Mr. Trump.

    On Monday, the president and Melania Trump will dine privately with Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at Mount Vernon, the home of America’s first president, George Washington, on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia. The White House said the setting will serve as a reminder of France’s “unique status” as America’s first ally.

    Also, this is a big deal for Republicans and for Trump to try to prove that he has foreign policy chops:

    The last time a Republican president hosted his French counterpart was November 2007 when President George W. Bush welcomed the newly divorced Nicolas Sarkozy…

    The visit also offers Macron his first Oval Office meeting and a joint White House news conference with Mr. Trump. There’s also a State Department lunch hosted by Vice President Mike Pence before Macron and his wife arrive for the state dinner.

    But the bottom line is that given all the thought that has gone into hosting the French, Trump’s apparent cutting out of Democrats (and all journalists) is not short sighted, but cruelly deliberate, and yeah, mean and stupid. Trump, like the worst French despots, loves to indulge his resentments in public.

  218. 218.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    @rikyrah: links please? This is a huge deal for me and mine. We got family on the Rez.

  219. 219.

    gvg

    @germy: he attacked while nude except for a jacket. Honestly I am not expecting any motive except crazy or possibly bad drug trip.He may turn out to have been influenced too but the real cause is he’s nuts. I also think he may already be dead-suicide somewhere.
    There have been plenty of other cases that were domestic terrorism.

    Now his dad might be more of a factor. I am guessing gun rights nut and those are pretty influenced by some sewer thoughts.

  220. 220.

    J R in WV

    @Amir Khalid:

    Wife and I went to a Gov’t Mule show last night… strongly recommend study of their advanced RnR abilities !! Great show, lights, sets, all worked without a hitch!!

  221. 221.

    J R in WV

    @WaterGirl:

    I wonder if they tested each of the ingredients separately to see if it’s just the gin, or the tonic, or the lime. :-)

    Could it be the ice cubes????? ;-)

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