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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

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

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Petty moves from a petty man.

We will not go back.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Monday Morning Open Thread: Extinction Burst (We Hope)

Monday Morning Open Thread: Extinction Burst (We Hope)

by Anne Laurie|  May 7, 20184:58 am| 203 Comments

This post is in: Dolt 45, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republicans in Disarray!, Russiagate, All Too Normal, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

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KELLYANNE CONWAY: “…you just want that to go viral. You wanna say the word ‘President Trump’ and ‘lie’ in the same sentence.”

JAKE TAPPER: “No, I would like him to stop lying, quite frankly.” https://t.co/F7Ckc2KSFi

— Sarah Lerner (@SarahLerner) May 6, 2018

In behaviorist-speak, an ‘extinction burst’ is what happens when a long-standing behavior is no longer rewarded. When pecking the red button no longer produces a food pellet, or whining in the checkout line no longer produces a candy bar, the pigeon frantically attacks with button with a flurry of non-stop pecks — or the toddler throws a full-scale screaming tantrum. It’s important, when this happens, not to reward the increased activity; difficult as it may be, you have to steel yourself to let the kid scream until he runs out of breath, although you may have to pick him up and carry him outside for the sake of the other shoppers.

Trump, and his fellow Repubs, are used to getting very well rewarded for their bad political behavior. It got them media attention, oligarch funding, votes — everything they wanted. Suddenly the rubes are catching on to the kayfabe, and the Repubs’ only response is to intensify the ugliness. Politico:

President Donald Trump may be historically unpopular. He may be under the shadow of a sprawling federal investigation that has already led to guilty pleas from some of his top associates. And he may be facing increasing questions about a $130,000 payment to a porn star with whom he allegedly had an extramarital affair.

But on Friday, before die-hard supporters at the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas, Trump found silver linings wherever he could: in tough questioning of the special counsel’s team by a federal judge, in praise from rapper Kanye West and, once again, in reliving his 2016 election victory.

“We have great love going on,” Trump told the crowd, which repeatedly interrupted his speech with long ovations. “We had a great time, and I think we’re doing better now than ever before.”

For Trump and his supporters, reality is not about to get in the way of having a good time. A spate of mass shootings went unmentioned as Trump instead said looser gun laws in France could have prevented a 2015 terrorist attack in Paris (gun deaths in France are significantly less common than in the United States). In Trump’s telling, and the crowd’s appraisal, job growth consistent with the trend of the past half-decade is instead a historic departure that could never have been predicted. Polls that underestimated Trump’s support in 2016 were actually a deliberate attempt at “suppression.” And a years-long federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election that has led to multiple indictments is nothing more than a “witch hunt.”…

“That’s his fix,” said Rick Tyler, the former communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign. “It’s like an addiction and he’s always looking for the next fix, and the next fix is who can adore me and who can praise me, and big crowds can do that.”

“But it was a colossally bad week,” Tyler added, “and that’s saying a lot, because one seems to follow the next.”…

As i said on @ThisWeekABC to give some perspective: “Benghazi was a 4 year investigation, there were zero indictments. The Clinton emails was a 2 year investigation, there were zero indictments. The Mueller investigation has been 14 months, there have been 23 indictments.”

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) May 6, 2018


Including 5 guilty pleas. https://t.co/QlHA6cN1rJ

— zeddy (@Zeddary) May 6, 2018

In about half the time that the Watergate investigation took, Mueller’s investigation of Trump and the Trump campaign already has 33% of the indictments that happened in Watergate. https://t.co/PSQcjH4Xfg

— Bryan William Jones (@BWJones) May 7, 2018

It’s never easy being the grown-up, when the kid is flailing on the dirty floor screaming at the top of his lungs, and everyone within earshot is giving you angry / embarrassed looks. But if we can go on with our jobs — and protect Mueller and all his fellows as they go on with theirs — we’ll be in a better place to stop the GOP from destroying the rest of us out of stupidity and self-indulgence.

Today's GOP, in a nutshell:

"The only thing that gets the base out is fear of impeachment. You aren't going to do that with tax cuts and deregulation."

— A Trump loyalist, to @jonkarl

Remember when the tax cut was going to be GOP's midterm salvation?https://t.co/vsgtRruHjC

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 6, 2018

when Republicans are insisting Dems not talk abt impeachment–it's probably time to talk abt impeachment https://t.co/4F3BxJ2qhD

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) May 6, 2018

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Reader Interactions

203Comments

  1. 1.

    hellslittlestangel

    May 7, 2018 at 5:28 am

    Did Conway really say that The Orange better One does a lot of other things in addition to lying? Was she referring to cheating and stealing?

  2. 2.

    raven

    May 7, 2018 at 5:33 am

    Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reportedly wishes he had never picked former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) as a running mate for his unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign.

    According to The New York Times, McCain had considered Joe Lieberman, then an independent senator from Connecticut, for the job of vice president. However, advisors warned against picking the longtime member of the Democratic Party who still caucused with them.

  3. 3.

    Zinsky

    May 7, 2018 at 5:33 am

    God, I hope you are right, Anne, but I suspect the media will continue to see Trump as a shiny object that needs to be constantly focused on and written about. The man is an ignorant, filthy dirty liar and degenerate. The media should explicitly state that and refuse to cover any aspect of this perverted and corrupt administration other than its deviance and unAmerican behavior. I love the “extinction burst” concept, though. Thanks for teaching us that!

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 5:34 am

    Good Morning Everyone ???

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 5:37 am

    Jake,
    I would like world Peace.
    But, sometimes, you have to wake up to reality.??

  6. 6.

    hellslittlestangel

    May 7, 2018 at 5:38 am

    @raven: Sounds like he’s contemplating the end. Wonder what he’ll have to say about Charlie Keating and the USS Forrestal?

  7. 7.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 5:39 am

    Kelly Anne looks bad. I mean, the ugly on the inside has manifest itself in her outward appearance.??

  8. 8.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 5:39 am

    @raven: If he picked Lieberman, a democrat would replace him in the Senate, and possibly we’d have a medicare for all buy in. McCain’s not the only one who wished he pick Lieberman.
    Of course, that would depend on whether or not he gave up his seat to run.

  9. 9.

    bystander

    May 7, 2018 at 5:41 am

    @hellslittlestangel: Adultery is hard. Covering it up is even harder. It’s a skill honed over the years.

    Is there a squad of people ready to show up at court appointments to chant “Lock him up” when Flynn and Manafort appear? If so, can I enlist? Screaming at them and jeering them publicly must be satisfying.

  10. 10.

    hellslittlestangel

    May 7, 2018 at 5:42 am

    @Zinsky: I do believe that very suddenly tens of millions of Americans, including the press corps, will realize that they always thought that Donald Trump was the meanest, most cowardly, coldest, most despicable human being they’ve ever known in their lives.

  11. 11.

    bystander

    May 7, 2018 at 5:48 am

    @rikyrah: Meant to add: Good morning from Paris!

    So far from our window, we’ve seen the side effects of a near riot in Bastille and a woman hit by a car walk herself into the ambulance.

    But when there’s a moon
    Goodbye, Rangoon
    Allo, Montmartre, allo!

  12. 12.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    May 7, 2018 at 5:51 am

    @JPL:

    If he picked Lieberman, a democrat would replace him in the Senate

    Only if McCain had won, Holly Joe wasn’t up for re-election in 2008, and even if he was, he could still run for his seat in the Senate(he did in 2000).

  13. 13.

    akryan

    May 7, 2018 at 5:53 am

    The point will come when it’s more profitable to take down Trump than white wash him.

  14. 14.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 6:03 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Yup, my theory was based on the fact that he give up his seat to run. Of course, McCain didn’t so he probably would not. Wishful thinking.

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 6:15 am

    @bystander:
    Paris????
    You lucky person, you?

  16. 16.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 6:15 am

    Cheryl’s post on the Black Cube operation and the ties to the White House is frightening, and reminiscent of past eras. Joe and Mika are talking about Rudy, rather than covering real news.

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 6:20 am

    @JPL: Rudy is news.

  18. 18.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    May 7, 2018 at 6:21 am

    @rikyrah: I don’t know, I’ve been told that since they don’t have guns there, it’s very dangerous.

  19. 19.

    Quinerly

    May 7, 2018 at 6:22 am

    @rikyrah: Tail wags from Poco. He is demanding I get the leash and go for a beach walk. Ex street dog was delicate yesterday and refused to go out. It was a rainy day in Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Ex Street dogs don’t do rain. Have a great day!

  20. 20.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 6:22 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: How’s your wife?

  21. 21.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 6:23 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

  22. 22.

    Quinerly

    May 7, 2018 at 6:23 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Rudy is “a runaway beer truck” according to Mika.

  23. 23.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 6:23 am

    @bystander: Bonjour.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 6:35 am

    Trump, soon, I hope.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8u2xey4OrY&t=1m42s

  25. 25.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 6:35 am

    @JPL: Better… I suppose. Last night was fitful but at least she was able to actually lie in bed (Sat night was not able to lie back on bed, only recline on couch) I’ll take it for the moment. She’s working from home today. If the shoulder is still excessively troublesome I’ll be taking her to a Doc on the Block. I have to track down her car and get all her stuff out of it today. Supposedly it is in Sullivan. Also have to get an accident report which apparently still hasn’t been filed.

    Sigh. I’ve had fun before. This weren’t it.

  26. 26.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 6:41 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: You get to take of her for once!

  27. 27.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 6:45 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Hang in there. Both of you. She is lucky to have you near.

  28. 28.

    satby

    May 7, 2018 at 6:49 am

    @rikyrah: I can make you feel better about not being in Paris. Good morning from South Bend ???!

  29. 29.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 6:50 am

    @Quinerly:
    Morning to Poco and the tribe ??

  30. 30.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 6:50 am

    People hate to be wrong. An they hate having their wrongness rubbed in their face. There was a crabber from Maryland on NPR yesterday complaining bitterly about the Trump administration disallowing seasonal workers. He even griped that he was sure Trump got his seasonals at Mar a Lago. But, a Trump voter….

    I would vow to not say “I told you so,” if all Trump voters would agree to something like, “Well, he had a lot of great ideas but he just wasn’t a good President.” They can save face if they give him up. Of course, not gonna happen.

  31. 31.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 6:51 am

    @Immanentize:

    She is lucky to have you near.

    Most people would argue that.

  32. 32.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 6:51 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Sending positive thoughts to Mrs. Ozark

  33. 33.

    satby

    May 7, 2018 at 6:52 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Shoulders are tricky, as you no doubt know. Glad that she’s feeling a bit better, hope the rest goes as smoothly as possible.

  34. 34.

    Quinerly

    May 7, 2018 at 6:53 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: just reading about this. Hang in there. Good luck with everything.

  35. 35.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 6:53 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I was going to add, because it’s you, “Try not to remind her how lucky she is that you are there, she might start remembering….”?

  36. 36.

    satby

    May 7, 2018 at 6:56 am

    @Immanentize: No, just like with GWB what will happen is that they claim he wasn’t conservative enough, and that he’s a secret liberal. Once they pronounce him a liberal, they’ll be able to detach, but only because they’re crazy.

  37. 37.

    Quinerly

    May 7, 2018 at 6:56 am

    Love me some Michelle! http://thehill.com/homenews/news/386398-michelle-obama-on-2016-election-what-is-going-on-in-our-heads-where-we-let-that

  38. 38.

    MattF

    May 7, 2018 at 6:59 am

    There’s a piece by Frank Rich on Roy Cohn linked in an earlier thread, I strongly recommend reading it. Just horrifying, kept me awake last night, thinkin’ about it.

  39. 39.

    debbie

    May 7, 2018 at 7:01 am

    @Immanentize:

    I heard that! I couldn’t understand because Trump said that was what he would do, and then he did it. Talking about only hearing what you want to hear!

  40. 40.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 7:03 am

    @Immanentize:

    “Well, he had a lot of great ideas but he just wasn’t a good President.”

    That right there is a deal breaker for me. That any of his ideas have ever been considered “great” is exactly what got us into this mess.

  41. 41.

    Aleta

    May 7, 2018 at 7:03 am

    @JPL:
    Internet version of NYT — headline abt G:
    Trump Could Defy Subpoena From Mueller, Giuliani Says

    Internet version of W. Post — headline abt G:
    Giuliani pleased with his media tour: ‘Everybody’s reacting to us now’

  42. 42.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 7:05 am

    @debbie: It happens. Lots of people thought Obama promised to pull out of Afghanistan when he never did make such a promise. People believe what they want to believe.

  43. 43.

    RedDirtGirl

    May 7, 2018 at 7:05 am

    @bystander: Yikes!

  44. 44.

    Aleta

    May 7, 2018 at 7:08 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Accident? That’s awful. I hope she feels better soon. Glad you’re taking care of her.

  45. 45.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 7:09 am

    @Quinerly: Very nice.

    Not that I thought they would, but I’m so happy the Obamas haven’t jumped on the Hillary-hate parade. Lesser people would have.

  46. 46.

    Dave

    May 7, 2018 at 7:13 am

    @satby: Yes it’ll be lifelong Democrat former President Trump. And somehow that he won the nomination of the Republican Party and ran as their candidate and governed (well sorta) as one will be forgotten and buried. And we will be expected to go along with this.

  47. 47.

    RSA

    May 7, 2018 at 7:18 am

    @Immanentize: I sometimes ask conservative friends when Trump will get to his promises about healthcare.

    “We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump said in press conference Jan. 11. “We’re going to have a healthcare that is far less expensive and far better.”

    Of course, they weren’t believable promises. I understand people trying to save face; it’s kind of tough in this situation, aside from his not being conservative enough (as @satby says).

  48. 48.

    debbie

    May 7, 2018 at 7:18 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Taking her to the doctor is a good idea. It’s been 48 hours.

  49. 49.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    May 7, 2018 at 7:19 am

    @hellslittlestangel: When Nixon was driven out of office, there were tons of bumper stickers saying, “Don’t blame me. I voted Democratic.”

  50. 50.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 7:22 am

    Today show saying Melania’s First Lady project will be children’s welfare.

    I suspect that’s her way of signaling that she’s going to seek full custody of Barron.

  51. 51.

    Platonailedit

    May 7, 2018 at 7:29 am

    @Baud: Guess anti-bullying on innernetz is done & dusted then? Like Israel-Palestine peace?

  52. 52.

    Quinerly

    May 7, 2018 at 7:30 am

    Wonder if Blankenship has time to do a hard hitting commercial addressing this? ? https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/06/elaine-chao-father-james-transportation-department-569686

  53. 53.

    Lapassionara

    May 7, 2018 at 7:32 am

    @Baud: I thought she was taking on bullying.

    Good morning.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 7:35 am

    @Platonailedit:
    @Lapassionara:

    I think bullying is supposed to be one component of it. They are rolling it out today.

  55. 55.

    Percysowner

    May 7, 2018 at 7:35 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Yep.I didn’t have one, mostly because my bumper sticker was the overly optimistic “Nixon’s through in ’72”. I drove that car for years.

  56. 56.

    satby

    May 7, 2018 at 7:35 am

    @Baud: it’s taken her more than 16 months to decide on her FLOTUS project?
    She really was hoping she could evade almost all of it, it looks like.

  57. 57.

    SFAW

    May 7, 2018 at 7:36 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Most people would argue that.

    And they would be worng.

    Best wishes to you, and to your Hillbilly-ette for a speedy recovery. [I missed the details earlier, sounds like car-crash injury, but not excessively serious?]

  58. 58.

    jonas

    May 7, 2018 at 7:37 am

    @Immanentize: I listened to that story too, and thought “wow, he really got screwed by Trump. If only someone had warned folks that he was a fraudulent menace…”

    At least the crabber sort of owned having once supported Trump and been disappointed, unlike that California farmer in the LATimes the other day who tried to blame the ICE crackdown on Democrats and sanctuary cities.

  59. 59.

    SFAW

    May 7, 2018 at 7:40 am

    @Baud:

    I think bullying is supposed to be one component of it. They are rolling it out today.

    What, is she going to de-nut the Bully-in-Chief on prime time TV? I would watch that. Well the aftermath, I guess — seeing that fat piece of shit in a semi-clothed state would probably cause me to stroke out.

    Apologies for any need for brain bleach that I may have induced.

  60. 60.

    jonas

    May 7, 2018 at 7:40 am

    @Baud:

    Today show saying Melania’s First Lady project will be children’s welfare.

    What happened to internet bullying? Did the irony of being married to the world’s most obscene social media bully finally get to her?

  61. 61.

    SFAW

    May 7, 2018 at 7:42 am

    @Immanentize:

    I would vow to not say “I told you so,”

    I, on the other hand, would rub their faces in it, because I’m an unforgiving asshole (about some things).

  62. 62.

    satby

    May 7, 2018 at 7:44 am

    @SFAW: does it make me a bully that when some winger posts how beautiful and classy (they always say classy) Melania is I agree and say my favorite picture of her is the one on the cover of NY Post?

  63. 63.

    TS (the original)

    May 7, 2018 at 7:48 am

    @Baud:

    Today show saying Melania’s First Lady project will be children’s welfare.

    Guess the president* told her to give up on the bullying project.

  64. 64.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 7:48 am

    @Aleta: @SFAW: Yes, she thought one of the hollers was a parking spot and that trees were the original emergency brakes.

    She is definitely not used to pain:

    Ms: Why do I hurt so much this morn?
    Me: Because one always does in the morning.
    Ms: But why? I felt so much better last night.
    Me: You’ve had all night laying down and everything has stiffened up again.

    She’ll get there.

  65. 65.

    zhena gogolia

    May 7, 2018 at 7:54 am

    @JPL:

    He would not have done that.

  66. 66.

    Feathers

    May 7, 2018 at 7:58 am

    They are fighting against a culture war they have already lost. I’m convinced the reason we are having all these white people calling the cops stories is because they know they can’t rely on the manager or their neighbors to back them up on their racist bullshit. They see cops as the only reliably racist org they have available. Which is truly terrible, but does show a deep social shift.

  67. 67.

    Elizabelle

    May 7, 2018 at 8:03 am

    Good morning, jackals.

    Extinction level event? One can only hope.

  68. 68.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 8:10 am

    @Feathers:

    I’m convinced the reason we are having all these white people calling the cops stories

    They have always called the cops and the cops have always sided with the white people because that is their default setting. We’re just hearing about it more and seeing videos of it to show the unfiltered racist bullshit for what it is.

    They can’t hide behind the “he said/she said” dodge anymore.

  69. 69.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    May 7, 2018 at 8:15 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Maybe cell phone cameras serve the same function that the news cameras used to serve when they showed dogs being set on children in civil rights marches. A good unintended consequence.

  70. 70.

    gene108

    May 7, 2018 at 8:15 am

    @RSA:

    Trump promised a lot of shit that veered off of what other Republicans were saying, like better cheaper healthcare that covers everybody, strengthening social security and Medicare, getting tough on Wall Street, and these promises helped push him over the top in the primaries.

    And now they are down the memory hole.

    Trump should be asked about all his broken campaign promises repeatedly. At least hold him accountable for some of the lying he does.

  71. 71.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 8:16 am

    The money is funny Mr.Blow, but keep on asking these kinds of questions about Cohen

    https://twitter.com/CharlesMBlow/status/993070229990379520?s=19

  72. 72.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 8:18 am

    @TS (the original):
    Children’s welfare?
    Da phuq does that mean???

  73. 73.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 8:20 am

    @rikyrah: They didn’t have specifics on the Today show. We should know more by this evening.

  74. 74.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 8:23 am

    @zhena gogolia: Indeed, he didn’t do that in 2000.

  75. 75.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 8:24 am

    @gene108: The only campaign promise he needs to fulfill is putting those people in their proper place.

  76. 76.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 8:27 am

    @rikyrah: According to the Washington Post she wants children to be kind and treat others with respect.

  77. 77.

    danielx

    May 7, 2018 at 8:28 am

    @satby:

    As we all know, conservatism can never fail, it can only be failed.

  78. 78.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 8:29 am

    The asshole is tweeting

    The 13 Angry Democrats in charge of the Russian Witch Hunt are starting to find out that there is a Court System in place that actually protects people from injustice…and just wait ‘till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!

  79. 79.

    HinTN

    May 7, 2018 at 8:29 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Most here would not.

  80. 80.

    Platonailedit

    May 7, 2018 at 8:30 am

    The french and the germans failed with the twitler on Iran nuke deal. Now it’s the brits’ turn on the traitor’s fav f&f shitshow.

  81. 81.

    Matt McIrvin

    May 7, 2018 at 8:30 am

    Are they having the extinction burst, or are we?

  82. 82.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 8:30 am

    @JPL: I wish he’d name those 13 Democrats so we could donate to their campaigns.

  83. 83.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 8:31 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Well, one of us is. Can’t coexist like this forever.

  84. 84.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 7, 2018 at 8:32 am

    I’ve had to stop reading Twitter, and I may have to stop with the political threads here, as they are not helping me relax. I’m enjoying a mid-afternoon iced coffee, sitting outside in the bright spring sunshine of old town Stockholm. Trump is guaranteed not to make this better.

    But holy fuckballs this is an expensive town.

  85. 85.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 8:33 am

    @JPL:

    Coming from her, “Don’t be like Don” would be a powerful message.

  86. 86.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 8:33 am

    @Baud: I think he means the investigators, that he decided were dems. I guess it’s okay to threaten justice officials now.

  87. 87.

    raven

    May 7, 2018 at 8:33 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Is it always more expensive to fly into Green than Logan?

  88. 88.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 8:35 am

    @Baud: This was the previous tweet

    The Russia Witch Hunt is rapidly losing credibility. House Intelligence Committee found No Collusion, Coordination or anything else with Russia. So now the Probe says OK, what else is there? How about Obstruction for a made up, phony crime.There is no O, it’s called Fighting Back

  89. 89.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 8:35 am

    @JPL: I hope they are Dems. We need this done right.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    May 7, 2018 at 8:37 am

    @JPL: Fighting back apparently means being too chickenshit to testify under oath.

  91. 91.

    Elizabelle

    May 7, 2018 at 8:37 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Wait ’til you get to Iceland! How much did the iced coffee set you back?

    I know. I lurk a lot, because current events is too unsettling and not gonna encourage the doom and gloom.

  92. 92.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    May 7, 2018 at 8:38 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Spent a week in Denmark a couple years ago, same impression. Especially Copenhagen. Great food, but how long can you live on expensive steak and herring? (I was in heaven one evening where one entree was five kinds of herring. My wife is not a fan.)

  93. 93.

    Another Scott

    May 7, 2018 at 8:38 am

    @gene108: +1

    Trump disingenuously took both sides of (most) every issue. Showing him to be a liar is about the easiest thing in the world, but the press won’t do it with anything approaching the intensity needed.

    Did you know that Hillary used e-mail???

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  94. 94.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 8:38 am

    @HinTN: Suckers.

  95. 95.

    Elizabelle

    May 7, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Good morning, and come on.

    The Women’s March. The March for Science. The March for our Lives. The special elections. You think people are just going to disappear into the woodwork?

    A lot of the problem is that we are media consumers, and our media ecosystem is getting to be as sick as the Republican ecosystem on which it feeds.

    Pay attention closer to home. Conventional wisdom is always the last to know.

  96. 96.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 7, 2018 at 8:42 am

    @raven: It depends. Domestic is often a tossup. I get direct flights to Munich or Frankfurt out of Logan, but parking there costs a fortune. For hubs like ATL or ORD it doesn’t make much difference, Green or Logan. Used to be generally cheaper to Green when Southwest started going there, but that has passed.

  97. 97.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 8:42 am

    @JPL: Pretty sure it’s DEM Committee members, not sure which committees.

  98. 98.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 7, 2018 at 8:43 am

    @Elizabelle: I’ve been to Iceland. This iced latte was 49 kronor. Close to six bucks.

  99. 99.

    SFAW

    May 7, 2018 at 8:47 am

    @satby:

    does it make me a bully that when some winger posts how beautiful and classy (they always say classy) Melania is I agree and say my favorite picture of her is the one on the cover of NY Post?

    No, it makes you an unflinching truth-teller, or something like that.

  100. 100.

    gene108

    May 7, 2018 at 8:47 am

    @JPL:

    He has gone about this before. He wants it out that he feels knows Mueller and his 13 person team are all partisan Democrats, therefore the whole investigation is a partisan witch hunt and has no credibility.

    He is trying to work the refs and inoculate his supporters against anything that might be discovered.

  101. 101.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    May 7, 2018 at 8:47 am

    @Elizabelle:

    The Women’s March. The March for Science. The March for our Lives. The special elections. You think people are just going to disappear into the woodwork?

    Cynical me says, “remember your teens and early 20s” which went like this: Nixon ended the draft. Then resigned. I thought, holy shit, the hippies won. It’s a new day. Then on college campuses it was just silliness, like streaking and a revival of dance marathons and disco. Then Reagan. And I thought, holy shit, how did the victory end so quickly and so thoroughly?

    It felt like we relaxed after the victory, and the roaches came back out worse than ever.

    But optimistic me, my default setting, agrees with you. Most days I can still hear that voice.

  102. 102.

    lowtechcyclist

    May 7, 2018 at 8:47 am

    I must disagree with Bryan William Jones’ tweet that suggests that Mueller’s investigation is moving along at a Watergate-like pace, or faster. Archie Cox was sworn in as Watergate Special Prosecutor on May 25, 1973. The special prosecutor’s big indictments were handed down on March 1, 1974, charging Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, Colson, and three others, and naming Richard Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator. Nine months. Boom.

    Mueller’s moving right along, but not at Cox/Jaworski speed. Of course, Mueller’s got a much more complicated web of criminality to unravel, and he’s going after the crime itself as well as the obstruction of justice that followed it. Comparisons to the Watergate special prosecutor’s progress aren’t particularly meaningful.

  103. 103.

    raven

    May 7, 2018 at 8:49 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Ah, I’m just looking at quick turnaround for my unit reunion in August.

  104. 104.

    Patricia Kayden

    May 7, 2018 at 8:49 am

    @Baud: Does that include advocating for children seeking refugee status in this country from Syria or Latin America whom her husband constantly demonizes? Does it include children from sh*thole African countries and Haiti?

    Melania really needs to sit down somewhere and stop pretending that she has anything positive to offer to the public. She should convince her husband to step down if she really cares about the welfare of children.

  105. 105.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 8:50 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Melania should once again talk about not using twitter to threaten people.

  106. 106.

    The Pale Scot

    May 7, 2018 at 8:50 am

    @Quinerly:

    Ex Street dogs don’t do rain

    Well Duh! Not if they can avoid it. He had enough of that shit in the day yo

  107. 107.

    SFAW

    May 7, 2018 at 8:50 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Glad she’s OK.

  108. 108.

    bemused

    May 7, 2018 at 8:58 am

    @MattF:

    A great resource piece, long but well worth reading. I’ve read much of this history but most articles focused on one topic, person, group at a time. Rich put it all together in a comprehensive piece with all the players. Frank Rich and Jane Mayer are two of my favorite long form journalists who deliver the goods and keep me riveted to the end.

  109. 109.

    Quinerly

    May 7, 2018 at 9:02 am

    @Patricia Kayden: come sit next to me! Poco will let you be in the middle, on the beach. Chair is waiting for you. ?

  110. 110.

    satby

    May 7, 2018 at 9:07 am

    @SFAW:

    No, it makes you an unflinching truth-teller, or something like that.

    Well good, because they usually just call me a bitch ???

  111. 111.

    MattF

    May 7, 2018 at 9:08 am

    @bemused: Here’s another WTF link, this time a short Slate interview with David Farenholt. Farenholt is the co-author of a very… odd… WaPo article published on Sunday. The article basically notes that Trump started buying things around 2006, with cash. Large amounts of cash. Where did all that cash come from? Good question.

  112. 112.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 7, 2018 at 9:10 am

    @raven: There’s decent commuter rail service between Green airport and South Station Boston. If the price difference is significant, you can hop on the train. From Green it’s a short cab ride to the hotel. From Logan to South Station is a free bus. All depends on the time/money equation. There’s also a bus from Logan, but only as far as Downtown, and it costs more.

  113. 113.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 9:14 am

    @Gin & Tonic: I love Stockholm — but yes, so expensive! Have you seen the Vasa? So friggin’ cool (and the builders so friggin stoopid).

  114. 114.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 9:16 am

    @raven: Any stay or layover in Boston? You are more than welcome to stay at our home. I’ll even transport you to/from the airport.

  115. 115.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 7, 2018 at 9:16 am

    The ex-band geeks would have enjoyed the mounted band that plays at the changing of the guard here. I’ve never seen a guy playing a sousaphone while on a horse, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. Got some good pics, so look for them in a couple of weeks in the On the Road thread.

  116. 116.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 7, 2018 at 9:18 am

    @Immanentize: The Vasa is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. One of the guides said it cost about 2% of GDP. A total loss.

  117. 117.

    MomSense

    May 7, 2018 at 9:19 am

    @bystander:

    Will you be visiting Sacre Coeur? Le sigh.

  118. 118.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 9:19 am

    @MattF:

    I suspected credulous, promotional coverage of Trump was key to his rise- he couldn’t have done it without them- but I had no idea it was this bad:

    Exhibit A of the Times’ credulousness is the puffy feature that put him on the media map in 1976. “He is tall, lean and blond, with dazzling white teeth, and he looks ever so much like Robert Redford,” read the lead. At this early date, Trump had only proposed ambitious projects, not built them or closed any of the requisite deals, but the profile christened him “New York’s No. 1 real estate promoter of the mid-1970’s” nonetheless. The article accepted Trump’s word that he was of Swedish descent, “publicity shy,” ranked first in his class at Wharton, made millions in unspecified land deals in California, was worth $200 million, and with his father owned 22,000 apartment units. None of this was remotely true, but the sexy brew of hyperbole and outright fantasy, having been certified by the paper of record, set the tone for much that was to come.

    That piece is also a good reminder of how horrible the 1980’s were and THAT’S the decade all of these crooked fake businesspeople long for- that was their glory days. Not the 1950’s- we still had a functioning government in the 1950’s and tax rates were much, much higher. They yearn for the 1980’s.

    One of my daughter’s friends says all the Trump people look “old fashioned” to her- like they came out of a 1980’s movie. I think that’s true. Even the women- long hair and really thin and heavily made-up.

  119. 119.

    raven

    May 7, 2018 at 9:21 am

    @Kay: Really thin???

  120. 120.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 9:21 am

    @SFAW: She’s married to me. How “OK” can she be?

  121. 121.

    bemused

    May 7, 2018 at 9:21 am

    @satby:

    This reminded me of a shocking experience a good friend had when she and her husband were having dinner with two or three other couples sometime either before or after orange buffoon got into the WH. This was when we liberals were just discovering how far gone rightwing some of our social acquaintances and even friends really are. After dinner my friend just casually made a comment wondering if Melania would regret posing for those naked photos when one woman instantly went ballistic. How dare you be so judgemental, etc. I don’t know how the woman’s husband reacted but everyone else was just stunned speechless.

  122. 122.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 9:22 am

    @satby:

    No, it makes you an unflinching truth-teller, or something like that.

    Well good, because they usually just call me a bitch

    To them they are one and the same.

  123. 123.

    Frankensteinbeck

    May 7, 2018 at 9:23 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Pay attention closer to home. Conventional wisdom is always the last to know.

    In the run-up to every special election so far, the press has assured us that our voters, especially minorities, are demotivated, and it’s adorably childish how Democrats wish there was a ‘blue wave’ going on.

  124. 124.

    bemused

    May 7, 2018 at 9:27 am

    @MattF:

    When it’s trump and company, the questions multiply like rabbits on ed meds.

  125. 125.

    Elizabelle

    May 7, 2018 at 9:27 am

    @Kay:

    One of my daughter’s friends says all the Trump people look “old fashioned” to her- like they came out of a 1980’s movie. I think that’s true. Even the women- long hair and really thin and heavily made-up.

    You’re reminding me it’s probably time to watch John Carpenter’s “They Live.” He described it as his existential scream at the Reagan era. And now, They are back.

    ETA: A blurb about “They Live” from wiki:

    They Live is a 1988 American science fiction horror film written and directed by John Carpenter. The film stars Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster. It follows an unnamed drifter (referred to as “John Nada” in the film’s credits) who discovers that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to spend money, breed, and accept the status quo with subliminal messages in mass media.

  126. 126.

    MattF

    May 7, 2018 at 9:27 am

    @Kay: Whereas now, he’s old, fat, and semi-bald… but still being promoted. Odd.

  127. 127.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    May 7, 2018 at 9:30 am

    @Kay: One of my daughter’s friends says all the Trump people look “old fashioned” to her- like they came out of a 1980’s movie

    I remember during the brief rein of Da Mooch, people talking about how charming (I do believe that word was used) and smooth he was. He struck me from the start as the skeevy Wall St boyfriend who was gonna lose the pre-Harry Met Sally Meg Ryan to the post-Bosom Buddies lovable goof Tom Hanks in a B-list rom-com from 1987

  128. 128.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 9:31 am

    @raven:

    Melania and Ivanka and the Trump son’s wives. I think a lot of younger women don’t see that specific look as required anymore. Conventional beauty, like women used to look in magazines, all of media really. There’s actually more diversity in commercial media imagies now than there is among the Trumpsters. You see athletic looking women, women with short hair, women who aren’t conventionally “pretty” as defined by the fashion industry. I don’t know but I think that’s why she sees them as “old fashioned”.

    Michelle Obama didn’t focus on “thin”, she focused on “strong and healthy”. I think there’s a push among college educated younger women to make that the ideal instead of more conventional notions of how women “should” look. Michelle Obama was really ahead of her (own) time with that because obviously she’s much older than 25 but her approach is more in tune with younger women.

  129. 129.

    MattF

    May 7, 2018 at 9:31 am

    @Kay: Note, though, that Roy Cohn was there in the ’50s, alongside good ol’ Joe McCarthy.

  130. 130.

    Frankensteinbeck

    May 7, 2018 at 9:34 am

    @Kay:

    They yearn for the 1980’s.

    The 80s was the decade where Reagan brought white people together to agree that racism was over, women were liberated, and you could oppress minorities and be a generally mean shit all you want because it was being mature and responsible. Since that was all true, fuck liberals and anything they want, like business regulation or taxes on the rich. Conservatives in general view that era where society agreed with them and the backlash was set into motion as a golden age.

  131. 131.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 9:34 am

    @MattF: Just reading that right now. This is bullshit:

    When the Trumps felt an emotional connection to a property, Eric Trump said, they didn’t want to wait for banks and outside partners to sign off. So they paid cash.

    It’s business and the first rule is to never get emotionally involved, always always be ready to walk away from a deal. Also this:

    The year before he launched his campaign for president, Trump made the two most expensive all-cash purchases that The Post found in its review. In 2014, he shelled out $79.7 million for the huge golf resorts in Doonbeg, Ireland, and Turnberry, Scotland — both of which were losing money at the time. The golf courses were his most recent cash deals and last acquisitions before becoming president. The Trump Organization pursued pricey renovations of both courses, during which time the properties have continued to suffer losses. Under Trump, the two courses are at least $240 million in the hole so far, according to British and Irish corporate records. Had Trump financed the property, the risks to the investment would be shared among lenders and other partners.

    Geltner said it was unusual to see a company not bring in financial partners in either the purchase or construction of such large development projects.

    Unusual to say the least.

    ETA reading the FARENTHOLD article right now.

  132. 132.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 9:36 am

    @raven:

    Media is actually really conventional on how women “should” look. I was blown away at the ’08 Democratic convention by how thin female cable tv celebrities are- it’s wild seeing them in person. They are so thin their heads look too big for their bodies. That has to be pressure they pick up, because one would be starving all the time to stay that thin.

  133. 133.

    bemused

    May 7, 2018 at 9:37 am

    @Kay:

    Donnie jr and Eric aren’t that old but every time I see them, I wonder if their 80’s mobster/wall street crook, oil slicked back hair style was a conscious choice.

  134. 134.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 9:38 am

    @bemused:

    How dare you be so judgemental,

    Different topic but similar discussion with an old friend recently. I replied with something along the lines of, “Fuck your false sanctimony, we all judge all the time, you’re judging me right how.”

  135. 135.

    germy

    May 7, 2018 at 9:38 am

    https://jezebel.com/mary-karr-reminds-the-world-that-david-foster-wallace-a-1825799769

    Memoirist and poet Mary Karr, whose name has long been saddled to that of her worshipped ex David Foster Wallace, is now tweeting that Wallace violently abused her. The fact that he abused her is not a revelation; this has been documented and adopted by the literary world as one of Wallace’s character traits. In a 2012 Atlantic interview, David Foster Wallace’s biographer D.T. Max mused that Wallace’s violence contributed to his glory, read: all in all made him “a really fascinating guy.”

    Deeply saddened by the allegations against #JunotDiaz & I support every woman brave enough to speak. The violence #DavidFosterWallace inflicted on me as a single mom was ignored by his biographer & @NewYorker as ‘alleged’ despite my having letters in his hand. But DFW was white.— Mary Karr, Author (@marykarrlit) May 4, 2018

    that’s about 2% of what happened. tried to buy a gun. kicked me. climbed up the side of my house at night. followed my son age 5 home from school. had to change my number twice, and he still got it. months and months it went on— Mary Karr, Author (@marykarrlit) May 5, 2018

  136. 136.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 9:43 am

    @MattF:

    Right. That’s a good catch, though, the comparison, because McCarthy, like Trump, was supposedly the fault of dumb midwesterners, not those tolerant and highly educated sophisticates at “the paper of record”.

    My theory on Trump is a little different. I don’t think it has fuck-all to do with sophistication or education. I think it has to do whether you admire bad people. It’s really that simple- there is a large group of people in this country who admire bad people. Those people can be educated, they can be urban, they can work at the NYTimes, because it’s not a logical process, judging character. It’s not a metric. They are simply poor judges of character and they can get as many graduate degrees as they want and they will STILL be poor judges of character. They don’t value character traits like “honesty” or “decency” or “kindness”- they really believe the biggest, nastiest, most dishonest assholes are “the winners”.

  137. 137.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 9:46 am

    @Kay:

    One of my daughter’s friends says all the Trump people look “old fashioned” to her- like they came out of a 1980’s movie. I think that’s true. Even the women- long hair and really thin and heavily made-up.

    Remember…

    ” Greed is good”, Kay.
    THAT is what they remember and long for.

  138. 138.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 9:47 am

    @Kay:

    1. Is your daughter totally set on moving to Atlanta?

    2. How’s the primary looking? Why is it so late?

  139. 139.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 9:48 am

    @bemused:

    That would have been a really pivotal time for them coming up. When they were most impressionable. And obviously they had zero guidance on character from their parents so they would have been subject to however the popular culture of that time defined “good”. “Good” meant “asshole rich person”. Hence…the Trump Boyz.

  140. 140.

    Tom65

    May 7, 2018 at 9:48 am

    Twittler is frantically pecking that button this morning.

  141. 141.

    bemused

    May 7, 2018 at 9:50 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    The Nordic counties are expensive to visit. Food and drink prices super high but most hotels have big breakfast spreads, meats, cheese, fruit, etc. We would stuff ourselves at the hotels vs our usual bowl of cereal with berries at home before setting out for the day, nibble something small, cheaper during the day and then find dinner that looked good, filling and cost doable from the menus with prices posted outside restaurants.

  142. 142.

    MattF

    May 7, 2018 at 9:51 am

    @Tom65: It’s fortunate that he doesn’t have anything else to do.

  143. 143.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 9:54 am

    @rikyrah:

    That’s funny you ask because I just got back from Pittsburgh- I redid the community garden in her neighborhood because it was too messy. For me. It was a fun little project for us and I got to see her.

    On some fundamental level I may not “get” community gardens- I must be the Ruler of the Garden so if I work on one I take it over- someone has to be in charge :)

    No, they’re not set on Atlanta. I’m trying to talk her into Ann Arbor. That’s a nice smaller city and they have a medical industrial complex tied to U of M and she and her husband are both health care providers. I think she would like Ann Arbor. Well, I would like Ann Arbor so does it really matter what they like? :)

  144. 144.

    bemused

    May 7, 2018 at 9:56 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Good for you! It’s the false sanctimony, bargaining with the devil, that kills me. And it’s not just the religious excuses to be assholes. It’s that they totally abandoned the so-called republican principles they spewed for decades. Of course I judge them for pretending they really believed in any of that.

  145. 145.

    OzarkHillbilly

    May 7, 2018 at 9:58 am

    @Kay: Future Grandma will not be denied.

  146. 146.

    Manyakitty

    May 7, 2018 at 9:59 am

    @MattF: Farenthold’s reporting is the reason I subscribed to the Post in the first place.

  147. 147.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    May 7, 2018 at 10:01 am

    Trump is the Republican Party’s extinction burst personified.

  148. 148.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:04 am

    @rikyrah:

    When I got back from Piitsburgh I had a Kucinich flyer on my door- the kind that hangs from the doorknob. I think I know exactly who put it there. I was pretty impressed they canvassed, though.

    My husband has a nonpartisan part-time position in election administration so I got to vote for him-on the ballot unopposed. He’s an aggressive lawyer so I’m glad he has the job. The kind of lawyer other lawyers call “happy warriors”. I find it comforting he’s in an oversight position. The person who had the job prior to him was too wimpy.

  149. 149.

    bemused

    May 7, 2018 at 10:06 am

    @Kay:
    From observing trump voting republicans in my world, they really liked the tough guy talk and they felt so much more free to let their bully flag fly.
    @Kay:
    I wasn’t paying as much attention politically in the 80’s, so busy with kids then but I do remember thinking the 80’s as being noticeably the “me, me, me” decade and it just got worse.

  150. 150.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:09 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Oh, I don’t say that. My daughter would be mad and so would my daughter in law. I want their kids for the summers. I’m going to take them to Lake Michigan. They don’t know it yet but this is my actual secret plan. They’ll like it up there and I’ll bring them back in time for the boring, grim part of parenting- the school year.

  151. 151.

    Elizabelle

    May 7, 2018 at 10:10 am

    @Kay:

    there is a large group of people in this country who admire bad people. Those people can be educated, they can be urban, they can work at the NYTimes …. They are simply poor judges of character and they can get as many graduate degrees as they want and they will STILL be poor judges of character.

    I like where you’re going with that, because it’s effin’ true.

  152. 152.

    Yarrow

    May 7, 2018 at 10:11 am

    @Kay:

    None of this was remotely true, but the sexy brew of hyperbole and outright fantasy, having been certified by the paper of record, set the tone for much that was to come.

    The New York Times has been a problem for a long time.

  153. 153.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:12 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I like kids best when they start to talk. Everyone loves babies so I figure once the baby newness- the high demand period- wears off they’ll be open to the idea of giving them to me for July and August. That’s the plan.

  154. 154.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:14 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Don’t we have to ask that at some point? Because we’re all just accepting this idea that they “reluctantly” back Trump because of “policy” but that never made sense. They admire assholes. Lots of people do. It’s not that rare. That’s how they define “winner”.

  155. 155.

    schrodingers_cat

    May 7, 2018 at 10:15 am

    @Kay: Have they thought about the Commonwealth? We have many institutes of good repute in healthcare.

  156. 156.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    May 7, 2018 at 10:16 am

    Jesus…just found out that my wife’s favorite co-worker had a heart attack and died last night. Only 41 years old. Really sweet guy. Just married maybe a year ago, about to start a new job this week. Ugh…

  157. 157.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 10:16 am

    @Kay: The absolute worst week for parents are the two or so weeks right before school starts. There are no camps for the kids and families with two parents working not in the home are SOL. So, make your plans now and you will be thanked!

    ETA I too like kids that can communicate other than through bodily functions.

  158. 158.

    Mary G

    May 7, 2018 at 10:16 am

    @Kay: I think it also has to do with race. When everyone was talking about Mitt Romney wearing a Utah Jazz jersey over a dress shirt, I was really shocked by the crowd around him. It must have been in Salt Lake City, because it just looked like a wall of white people, and it was really shocking to me, who is used to people at Lakers games being all kinds of people for as long as I can remember.

    Young people, while still being stuck in too segregated schools and neighborhoods, still see media, music, and sports full of people of color. And of course, businesses know that everyone’s money spends the same, are way ahead of Republicans in showing commercials that market to all.

    So the thin white women that cater to rightwingers on Fox and represent Twitler’s administration look sadly lacking and old fashioned to young people today, like re-runs of “Dallas.”

  159. 159.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:18 am

    @Kay:

    No, they’re not set on Atlanta. I’m trying to talk her into Ann Arbor. That’s a nice smaller city and they have a medical industrial complex tied to U of M and she and her husband are both health care providers. I think she would like Ann Arbor. Well, I would like Ann Arbor so does it really matter what they like? :)

    I think she doesn’t want the winters anymore, Kay.
    She’s trying to be nice about it, but she doesn’t want those winters anymore.
    She’ll be getting winters in Ann Arbor..LOL

  160. 160.

    eclare

    May 7, 2018 at 10:19 am

    @Uncle Ebeneezer: Holy shit that is awful…so young. My sympathies to your wife.

  161. 161.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:20 am

    @Kay:

    I like kids best when they start to talk. Everyone loves babies so I figure once the baby newness-

    I love babies from the time they can sit up until it’s time to potty train. I LOVE babies during that time. I will not help with potty training. Uh uh.
    Give them back to me after they are potty trained, and we’re cool :)

  162. 162.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:21 am

    @Uncle Ebeneezer:

    Oh my. that’s way too young. RIP.

  163. 163.

    Frankensteinbeck

    May 7, 2018 at 10:22 am

    @rikyrah:
    I love other people’s children that I can give back when I’ve had enough.

  164. 164.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:23 am

    Blankenship

    This has changed for me with Trump. I live in a conservative area so I used to spend a lot of time figuring them out, trying to persuade them, etc. and I have just had it with that. I’m done. I’ll do turn out and drag lazy Democrats to the polls but “persuasion”? No, sir.

    If West Virginians want to continue to elect people like this they will stay poor. The world has moved on. They walk into polling places and vote for the nastiest, plain-dumb person on the ballot and then they whine that no 22 year old wants to move there and teach their children. Fix it. Stop voting for nasty, mean spirited, DEEPLY cynical morons.

  165. 165.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 10:24 am

    @Uncle Ebeneezer: The string of sorrow that death leaves…. New wife, old colleagues, new job, etc. Just so sad.

  166. 166.

    Yarrow

    May 7, 2018 at 10:24 am

    @Uncle Ebeneezer: How awful. So very young. RIP.

  167. 167.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:26 am

    @rikyrah:

    She doesn’t want the winters. I was hoping they would follow my eldest and go to Chicago because then they’re both there but she won’t go. The wind. That month where the exposed parts of your face literally start to freeze.

  168. 168.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:26 am

    Guiliani’s state of mind is very similar to trump’s. Both have a deep fear of loss of relevance. Constantly need accolades, most self-presented. Hatred of Hillary. No respect for the women in their lives. Fading competence, if they ever were competent. Sucks being them. Ugh.

    — @joboomr44 (@joboomr44) May 6, 2018

  169. 169.

    Yarrow

    May 7, 2018 at 10:26 am

    @Kay:

    If West Virginians want to continue to elect people like this they will stay poor. The world has moved on. They walk into polling places and vote for the nastiest, plain-dumb person on the ballot and then they whine that no 22 year old wants to move there and teach their children. Fix it. Stop voting for nasty, mean spirited, DEEPLY cynical morons.

    Democratic politicians should consider talking like this. Point out the obvious. If people want to vote to stay poor, point it out. All the information is out there and people are still voting to hurt themselves and then whine that they’re being hurt. Point out they can change their behavior and get better results.

  170. 170.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:29 am

    Trump manages to insult key US allies with remarks to the NRA
    05/07/18 09:21 AM
    By Steve Benen

    “Your Second Amendment rights are under siege,” Donald Trump told NRA members on Friday, “but they will never, ever be under siege as long as I’m your president.”

    That, of course, didn’t make a lick of sense, since the second half of the sentence contradicted the first. But it was that kind of appearance for the president in Dallas.

    Later in the speech, Trump said, “It seems that, if we’re going to outlaw guns, like so many people want to do … we are going to have to outlaw, immediately, all vans and all trucks, which are now the new form of death for the maniac terrorists.” What the president may not realize is that vans and trucks are heavily regulated; their operators are tested and licensed; there are extensive ownership and registration records; and van and truck owners are required to purchase insurance.

    Or put another way, perhaps Trump hasn’t thought through this analogy.

    But perhaps the most newsworthy element of the president’s remarks came when he reflected on conditions in London and Paris.

    “Paris, France has the toughest gun laws in the world. The president just left Washington – Emmanuel, great guy – nobody has guns in Paris, nobody.

    “And we all remember more than 130 people, plus tremendous numbers of people that were horribly, horribly wounded … they died in a restaurant and various other close-proximity places. They were brutally killed by a small group of terrorists that had guns. They took their time and gunned them down one by one – boom, come over here, boom, come over here, boom. If you were in those rooms, one of those people – and the survivors said it just lasted forever.

    “But, if one employee or just one patron had a gun, or if one person in this room had been there with a gun, aimed at the opposite direction, the terrorists would have fled or been shot. And it would have been a whole different story. I mean, right?”

  171. 171.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:30 am

    ‘I’m Not Black, I’m Kanye’

    Breathtaking masterpiece by Ta-Nehisi Coates.https://t.co/I5eX3uZXuA pic.twitter.com/d5E95tAfgb

    — Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) May 7, 2018

    Here’s Ta-Nehisi Coates on Kanye West championing a kind of freedom—”a white freedom, freedom without consequence, freedom without criticism, freedom to be proud and ignorant”—in the age of Donald Trump. https://t.co/B9paqZ7xP3

    — The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) May 7, 2018

  172. 172.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:30 am

    @rikyrah:

    I love California. I sometimes regret not moving there when I was moving around, younger. Maybe they should look at small cities there.

  173. 173.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 10:31 am

    @Kay: Have your family visit Atlanta in July, and then they will settle on Ann Arbor.
    We have winter in Atlanta, but it is normally just an inconvenience.

  174. 174.

    Barbara

    May 7, 2018 at 10:31 am

    @Kay: I agree that images of women in movies and on tv have become more diverse, but that the standard has expanded only insofar as “thin and delectable” now includes darker skin or non-Caucasian facial features. I read a provocative article about the move “I Feel Pretty” in the NYT, and I found it illuminating if depressing. Basically, it concluded that the message in “I Feel Pretty” is a load of crap and that young women often feel even more pressured to conform to unrealistic ideals on beauty and fitness than their mothers did. It now comes loaded with the message that everyone has a choice . . .

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/movies/i-feel-pretty-amy-schumer-beauty.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fmovies&action=click&contentCollection=movies&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=69&pgtype=sectionfront

  175. 175.

    Matt McIrvin

    May 7, 2018 at 10:32 am

    @Kay: While Obama was President, the idea that the President has some kind of magic power over the economy helped with this. You could elect nothing but really ignorant or greedy Republicans who would keep doing things to keep your state poor, and keep complaining that the Democrat in the White House wasn’t doing anything to help you.

    It does sound like there are cracks in the facade finally appearing in places like Kansas that have been dealing with the consequences for many years. But it still isn’t electing Democrats, just Republicans who are slightly more civic-minded.

  176. 176.

    ruemara

    May 7, 2018 at 10:32 am

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: No, you’re right. Dems, liberals et al think every little victory, especially a Supreme Court one, means the war is done. They wander off & stop working together, stop working at all – the right looks at even minor defeats & gets to work finding ways to defeat even that bulwark against fascism. Our courts will require laws annulling appointments by traitors.

  177. 177.

    Barbara

    May 7, 2018 at 10:34 am

    @JPL: I think anyone actually contemplating moving to Atlanta should be required to live there for a month first. I have known a lot of people who moved there and were just overwhelmed by the amount of driving involved. If both spouses can live within short distance of their job, and make enough to hire a third party to take care of chauffeur duties for children’s activities, it can be manageable.

  178. 178.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:35 am

    @Yarrow:

    I’ve come to the point where I think it’s impractical, a kind of indulgence, all of this “I FEEL, my FEELINGS”. It won’t matter what they “feel” if they can’t develop some kind of viable modern economy in these states. That “China people” ad? Jesus Christ. Are they 7 years old?

  179. 179.

    Immanentize

    May 7, 2018 at 10:37 am

    I think rising gas prices will seriously hurt Trump and the republicans throughout the summer and into the fall. Be ready to exploit that….
    Over and out.

  180. 180.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:39 am

    Have the Lefties figured out that Trump is ginning up a war with Iran yet? You could weep, you really could. All that bullshit about their “feelings” that Hillary was a war monger and we’re watching it happen, complete with a full-bore political marketing campaign and smearing dissenters.

    Surprise! He wants to invade Iran! Because he’s a LIAR. He LIED to you. And you were dumb enough to fall for it.

  181. 181.

    Barbara

    May 7, 2018 at 10:39 am

    @rikyrah: “I am not black I am Kanye” won’t work when he is hailing a cab or stopped by police in a wealthy white neighborhood. The point that Kanye seems not to understand is that he has little control over whether white people perceive him to be black, and that, in turn often determines how he will be treated. Having lots of money, of course, overcomes a lot of the inconvenience — he doesn’t take too many cabs and he probably only arrives in wealthy white neighborhoods with a limousine and an entourage, the kind of trappings that are unmistakable.

  182. 182.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:40 am

    @Immanentize:

    I felt that one could track Bush’s approval ratings in this county by following gas prices. Middle income rural voters are extremely sensitive to gas prices.

  183. 183.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:42 am

    #GraduatingWhileBlack: University of Florida Apologizes for Pushing Black Graduates Off the Stage

    Yesha Callahan
    Today 7:41am

    Imagine waiting anxiously for four years to walk across the stage, give your family members a few seconds to get a good photo, or maybe a dab or two, during graduation, only to be pushed off the stage by an aggressive usher? That’s exactly what happened to black graduates at the University of Florida on Saturday.

    UF Twitter ??

    Somebody please find out this employee’s name!! Every time a Black student took more than TWO seconds, he aggressively pushed them. Watch it for yourself. #ItsGreatUF pic.twitter.com/zMee1nMbUZ

    — Chris (@ChicoFreedom) May 5, 2018

    As students graduated over the weekend, several videos were posted to social media that showed an unnamed usher literally pushing black students off the stage during their few seconds of joy.

    In an interview with the Gainesville Sun, one student, Oliver Telusma (seen in the GIF above), said he was grabbed and picked up, and rushed off the stage.

    “I had just started, and he picked me up and turned me around, which I thought was kind of embarrassing and degrading to be handled in that manner,” Telusma said.

    W. Kent Fuchs, the university’s president, issued an apology on Twitter and also during another commencement on Sunday: “During one of this weekend’s commencement ceremonies, we were inappropriately aggressive in rushing students across the stage. I personally apologize, and am reaching out to the students involved. The practice has been halted for all future ceremonies, and we will work to make sure all graduating students know we are proud of their achievements and celebrate with them their graduation.”

  184. 184.

    Kay

    May 7, 2018 at 10:43 am

    @rikyrah:

    I listened to AA talk radio on the way back from Pittsburgh and they were talking about this- not the TNC piece but the “I am not black” part. It was interesting. A Cleveland station.

  185. 185.

    eclare

    May 7, 2018 at 10:43 am

    @Barbara: Seconded. Traffic is one of the main reasons that I moved. For years after I moved here (Memphis) I would get to places 30 minutes early because I was so used to experiencing traffic jams pretty much 24/7.

  186. 186.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:43 am

    @Kay:

    I love California. I sometimes regret not moving there when I was moving around, younger. Maybe they should look at small cities there.

    too expensive, Kay.
    too expensive.

  187. 187.

    rikyrah

    May 7, 2018 at 10:44 am

    @Kay:

    Have the Lefties figured out that Trump is ginning up a war with Iran yet? You could weep, you really could.

    It’s quite obvious.

  188. 188.

    JPL

    May 7, 2018 at 10:45 am

    @Barbara: My sons can walk to work but not my DIL. It’s only about 5 miles to her office.

  189. 189.

    Barbara

    May 7, 2018 at 10:48 am

    @Kay: @Kay:

    1. Trump wants gas prices to rise. Objectively, and not even a point of debate: the sustainability of the carbon economy, of which Russia is perhaps the biggest, neediest dependent in the world, utterly depends on higher gas prices. Trump likes Russia and Saudi Arabia — therefore, he wants gasoline prices to be higher.

    2. Regarding Iran, There are lots of examples where Trump lied but I don’t think this is one of them. This is down to him being a narcissist and an ignoramus in one package. Whatever he internalized in the 70s about foreign countries has not changed and he can be manipulated by smarter people through appeals to his bigoted, outdated world view, along with flattery and the possibility of monetary reward.

  190. 190.

    No Drought No More

    May 7, 2018 at 10:50 am

    I’m convinced that Charleton Heston used to look art Reagan and think, “That could have been me”. So he did the next best thing and became a actor-spokesman for the NRA. At this point, I tend to think Rudy G. feels the same towards Trump and the presidency. He is obviously drunk with the belief in his own star, blind, staggering drunk, and is having the time of his life. Barring an future indictment by Mueller Inc. (for his role in the Trump campaign), this is Rudy G.’s last hurrah, his last political rodeo. Give the fool his due- the man is milking it for all it’s worth, and insofar as he wounds Trump in doing it, it’s worth its weight in gold. Darned if I don’t even feel tempted to thank him, for some strange reason.

  191. 191.

    ed_finnerty

    May 7, 2018 at 10:56 am

    @Percysowner:

    Nixon Again in 72.
    Don’t change dicks in the middle of a screw

  192. 192.

    PJ

    May 7, 2018 at 10:58 am

    @Kay: It’s definitely a thing with Fox – I know Ailes “commented” to his television personalities about their looks, as in, if you don’t look like this (and give me a BJ), you won’t have a job anymore.

  193. 193.

    Barbara

    May 7, 2018 at 11:11 am

    @Immanentize: I actually don’t wish harm on people so I would never tell someone like this that they got what they deserved even if it’s true. I might, however, say, “Sucks to be you.” Or, “I guess you will have to prove your patriotism through sacrificing your livelihood.” Or, “I am sure Trump will send his thoughts and prayers in your time of need.” But really, I just don’t care. This is the kind of guy who probably crowed that Trump’s wealth made him “independent” without the least bit of recognition that while he might not need other billionaires for money (a debatable point) he and they all benefit when government focuses on giving billionaires what they need to stay rich and get even richer without sharing with schlubs like him. People who can’t figure out that most plutocrats do not care about anyone except those in their own class really do kind of deserve what they vote for.

  194. 194.

    Shakti

    May 7, 2018 at 11:55 am

    @Immanentize:
    Yeah, I’ve been holding this back for a while —

    Honestly FUCK letting them SAVE FACE. Unless they actively work to get this freak and the Republicans out of office YESTERDAY, I HAVE NO USE FOR THEM. They voted for a man, who among many other things, ENDORSED A FUCKING CHILD MOLESTER for Senate. Every goddamn week since this man took office it’s the fucking hate crimes digest in my newsfeed.

    THEY ARE NOT GOOD PEOPLE and nobody should be reassuring them that they are. Letting them SAVE FACE is how we’re going to get another monster in office in about 12 years.

    I do not give the benefit of the doubt or presumption of goodness to PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR TRUMP, absent other info.

    They need to sit in their wrongness and shame and never participate in public life ever again while staying far away from decent people.

    It’s not bias, it’s SELF PROTECTION. Blech.

  195. 195.

    carol ann

    May 7, 2018 at 11:55 am

    @rikyrah: She looks like a late stage tweaker. Trump’s inner circle all look heavily self-medicated.

  196. 196.

    Origuy

    May 7, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: If you get a chance, go to Uppsala. The Gothic cathedral is gorgeous, and the university has some interesting things. I was there in 1986, I think it was. You can also go to Gamla Uppsala and see Viking burial mounds. It was winter when I was there, so we didn’t see a lot.
    When I saw the Vasa, it was in a temporary location. They moved it in 1988.

  197. 197.

    Barbara

    May 7, 2018 at 12:15 pm

    @Shakti: I have been thinking about this. People like Rick Wilson are hoping that Trump implodes so that they don’t want to have to work to defeat him — because that would require them to cooperate with Democrats, at least for the foreseeable future, and maybe acknowledge that they have been wrong about other things in the past. Same with this vastly less influential guy on the Eastern Shore. They want it to go away without having to make it go away. So while Rick Wison and Tom Nichols are funny tweeters, really, they aren’t much of a threat to Trump.

  198. 198.

    Gelfling 545

    May 7, 2018 at 12:16 pm

    @bystander: Bonjour. Amusez-vous bien!

  199. 199.

    Brachiator

    May 7, 2018 at 12:34 pm

    Matthew Dowd
    ‏Verified account @matthewjdowd

    As i said on @ThisWeekABC to give some perspective: “Benghazi was a 4 year investigation, there were zero indictments. The Clinton emails was a 2 year investigation, there were zero indictments. The Mueller investigation has been 14 months, there have been 23 indictments.”

    I really like this and will use it whenever some right wing moron starts talking about how the Mueller investigation is a “nothing burger.”

  200. 200.

    Ruckus

    May 7, 2018 at 1:05 pm

    @hellslittlestangel:
    most inept despicable human being
    FIFY
    But really he doesn’t make my top 5 list. There have been far worse despicable human beings on this planet. Granted drumpf is up there but how many people has this coward had killed? How much has he really managed to steal? He’s an ass, one of epic proportions, but he’s so inept that he doesn’t rate all that high in despicable human beings. The problem is that he’s our current despicable human being.

  201. 201.

    Ruckus

    May 7, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    @No Drought No More:
    Thank him? No.
    Whatever it is that he’s doing, and I don’t for a second think that he’s planned taking down drumpf, he was and is an enabler for drumpf and people in the same circles. The entire lot of them need to be taken down about a thousand notches each. That living under a bridge eating sparrow cooked on a curtain rod over a fire in a barrel? They don’t deserve that much.

  202. 202.

    Jacel

    May 7, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    @JPL: Lieberman continued to run for (and win) his senate seat while being on the ballot as Al Gore’s running mate in 2000. Running for both positions in the same election was legal in Connecticut, at least then. In this 2008 hypothetical, I’m sure Joe would have continued looking out for Joe on all fronts, including the Senate.

  203. 203.

    Mateo

    May 7, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    “or the toddler throws a full-scale screaming tantrum. It’s important, when this happens, not to reward the increased activity; difficult as it may be, you have to steel yourself to let the kid scream until he runs out of breath, although you may have to pick him up and carry him outside for the sake of the other shoppers.” A description only a parent could write…

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