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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Mission Accomplished!

Mission Accomplished!

by Betty Cracker|  June 13, 20187:35 am| 126 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity

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Even for a grandiose pathological liar like Trump, this is getting out over one’s skis:

Weird…I don’t remember worrying about nuclear war with North Korea all that much until the North Koreans seemed to acquire intercontinental delivery capabilities on Trump’s watch and then Trump made bellicose threats.

It’s like Cheryl said yesterday — Trump makes the prospect of catastrophe more likely and then claims credit for people’s relief when it doesn’t immediately come to pass. Classic abuser technique.

Of course, the present Kim and his father before him committed to ending the country’s nuclear program multiple times, so it’s beyond foolish for Trump to take this premature victory lap. And since his sole focus is on notching a “win” for himself, he’s ceding even more power to Kim by talking about it as if it were a fait accompli.

We’re going to be taken to the cleaners as a country by every other nation on earth until this narcissistic fool is turned out of office. They’ll all run circles around Trump because he’s such an easily manipulated dope.

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126Comments

  1. 1.

    Waldo

    June 13, 2018 at 7:39 am

    Pivot to the nuclear threat posed by Iran in 3 … 2… 1…

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 7:43 am

    No, you can’t flip a Dolt45 voter?

    https://twitter.com/RedTRaccoon/status/1006571504518119424

  3. 3.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 7:45 am

    I have to ask
    Did any FrontPager take on the topic of Jarvanka getting $82 million dollars last year while ‘government employees’ ?

  4. 4.

    HinTN

    June 13, 2018 at 7:47 am

    Good morning, @rikyrah:. Outrage fatigue precludes my umbrage at this minor grift.

  5. 5.

    Zinsky

    June 13, 2018 at 7:48 am

    The Pervert-in-Chief thinks a few handshakes and back rubs and everything is Gucci with the creepy little pervert who runs North Korea. Those nuclear warheads haven’t gone anywhere or become any less dangerous because Old Pink Scalp kissed Rocket Man’s pimply ass.

  6. 6.

    HinTN

    June 13, 2018 at 7:48 am

    OTOH, well said Betty C!

  7. 7.

    Mustang Bobby

    June 13, 2018 at 7:54 am

    “Sleep well tonight” – Trump 2018
    “Peace in our time” – Chamberlain 1938

  8. 8.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    June 13, 2018 at 7:55 am

    The amazing thing is that none of this matters to his base. They think he did something nobody ever got done before. And when Kim backs out on whatever he says he’s going to do, they won’t care. They’ll still say this was the best deal in the history of deals. There’s nothing this guy can do to lose that base. I’m hoping it ends up being the only Crazification Factor that sticks with him for the long haul, and not the 35-40% we have now.

  9. 9.

    Ohio Mom

    June 13, 2018 at 7:55 am

    Re: the Warmbiers. In this morning’s Cincinnati Enquirer, a statement via their attorney:

    “We appreciate President Trump’s recent comments about our family. We are proud of Otto and miss him. Hopefully something positive can come from this.” (Trump: ‘Otto did not die in vain’, Page 4A)

    In case anyone was wondering where Otto’s lack of judgement came from.

  10. 10.

    Gin & Tonic

    June 13, 2018 at 7:56 am

    As somebody smarter than me put on Twitter, the click-through EULA for iTunes contains more language about nuclear weapons than Trump signed with KJU in Singapore.

  11. 11.

    ColoradoGuy

    June 13, 2018 at 8:00 am

    Safe bet: more than 50% of the one-to-one time was taken up by discussion of a new Trump Pyongyang hotel/apartment building.

    Whether it has ever any guests is irrelevant: the primary function will be international money laundering, just like the Trump edifice in Panama. Naturally, the DPRK leadership is keenly interested in money laundering, so that would be a very attractive proposal to them.

    From DJT’s perspective, the rest are just minor details, of no importance.

  12. 12.

    Amir Khalid

    June 13, 2018 at 8:00 am

    @rikyrah:
    I guess they weren’t kidding when they said they didn’t need to cash their government paycheques.

  13. 13.

    jonas

    June 13, 2018 at 8:01 am

    Like I said on another thread this morning, why didn’t we think of this approach to foreign policy earlier? Just pretend the problem is solved. I don’t see what could go wrong.

  14. 14.

    Baud

    June 13, 2018 at 8:03 am

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): I’ll never understand comments that talk about how unmovable his base is. How many times can one say water is wet before it becomes a nuisance?

  15. 15.

    Gin & Tonic

    June 13, 2018 at 8:04 am

    @jonas: Who was the Vietnam-era US Senator who argued that we should just declare victory and go home? My memory ain’t what it used to be.

  16. 16.

    Ohio Mom

    June 13, 2018 at 8:04 am

    In happier news, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s front page banner headline: “Poll gives GOP lots to fret over. Democrats lead in races for governor, senator.” (There’s a bit of panic there, the Enquirer is very right-wing.)

    The fine print explains there are a lot of undecided Republicans. If they can get over their cognitive dissonance, it will be a rout. If however, they are as intractable as Mr. and Mrs.Warmbier…

  17. 17.

    Another Scott

    June 13, 2018 at 8:04 am

    In other news, Skyscraper-scaling raccoon made it to the roof.

    Good, good.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  18. 18.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    June 13, 2018 at 8:05 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Pat Paulsen

  19. 19.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 8:06 am

    @Another Scott:
    I am glad that they got the raccoon ?

  20. 20.

    zhena gogolia

    June 13, 2018 at 8:07 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Oh, he was a U.S. senator? I forgot that . . . . Cool.

  21. 21.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    June 13, 2018 at 8:07 am

    Trump wasn’t wearing a tie stepping off AF1. Looked like he was wearing a diaper, though.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    June 13, 2018 at 8:09 am

    @Baud:

    I understand it if the next thought is that therefore we need to GOTV or that Dems shouldn’t waste their time trying to reach out to them. If that’s the intent, I wish people would make that express.

  23. 23.

    Honus

    June 13, 2018 at 8:10 am

    @Ohio Mom: “we are proud of Otto” because he did something stupid and dangerous for n good reason and went to a lot of trouble and expense to do it and it cost him his life.

  24. 24.

    Betty Cracker

    June 13, 2018 at 8:11 am

    @Ohio Mom: I give parents who’ve lost a child a great deal of leeway since they’ve endured the worst thing that can befall a human being, so irrationality is to be expected. I understood why the Warmbiers would cozy up to Trump when he was talking tough — they wanted revenge, and I didn’t blame them. But to turn on a dime and express appreciation after Trump heaped praise on the man who had their son tortured and killed? Nope. I don’t get that at all.

  25. 25.

    satby

    June 13, 2018 at 8:16 am

    @Another Scott: thanks, I’ve been too worried to look. I hope they’re able to trap him, poor thing.

  26. 26.

    MattF

    June 13, 2018 at 8:16 am

    Good thing no one took all that name-calling seriously. Good thing everyone is taking Trump at his word now. Good thing everyone feels safe and happy. Good thing all our closest allies are getting whatever information they need. Good thing Trump rips up all written material after every meeting. Good thing.

    Btw, has Michael Cohen been arrested yet?

  27. 27.

    Bobby Thomson

    June 13, 2018 at 8:17 am

    The entire purpose of this meeting was to cancel joint training exercises with ROK. Putin ordered him to do it months ago and the PRC put out their press release early. That should be the lede.
    Trump couldn’t even get a fig leaf because this “agreement” is more toothless than what previous presidents negotiated – which the Republicans in the Senate blocked. Any reporter/pundit saying that “well, in his unconventional way, he pierced the bubble,” or “he got what had eluded previous presidents” is a corrupt shill.

  28. 28.

    David Evans

    June 13, 2018 at 8:18 am

    How long before Putin explains to him that US military exercises with other NATO countries are a provocation, and expensive, so he should stop them?

  29. 29.

    Baud

    June 13, 2018 at 8:18 am

    @satby:

    They should give him some sort of honor. He puts that lazy ass Punxsutawney Phil to shame.

  30. 30.

    Baud

    June 13, 2018 at 8:19 am

    @Bobby Thomson: FWIW, Today show was good on this again this morning.

  31. 31.

    Immanentize

    June 13, 2018 at 8:20 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    parents who’ve lost a child a … (ha)ve endured the worst thing that can befall a human being

    Really?

    I reject this Hallmark platitude.

  32. 32.

    OzarkHillbilly

    June 13, 2018 at 8:28 am

    @Immanentize: I don’t. I hope and pray my wife (after a long and fruitful life) dies before me (that’s the deal we’ve made, I have to outlive her, even if it’s only by 5 minutes) because I know what my death would do to her. My sons? I have been through 3 near death situations between the 2 of them and I can think of nothing worse. I have seen what happens to parents who lose a child. If they have other children they are something to soldier on for. If they don’t, death is all that remains.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    June 13, 2018 at 8:29 am

    @Immanentize: I can’t think of anything worse, and it sure as hell isn’t a “Hallmark platitude” to me — it’s my worst fear. YMMV.

  34. 34.

    Bobby Thomson

    June 13, 2018 at 8:29 am

    @Immanentize: you seem nice.

  35. 35.

    Betty Cracker

    June 13, 2018 at 8:31 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’ve got three close friends who’ve lost a child (two to heroin overdoses), and it ruined their lives. Full stop. One lost her only child, and as you said, death is all that remains.

  36. 36.

    SRW1

    June 13, 2018 at 8:32 am

    Jebus holy fuck! When you have to hope ‘Little Kim’ knows the boundaries of playing Trump so that Trump doesn’t feel compelled to ‘de-nuke’ the place by nuking it.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    June 13, 2018 at 8:33 am

    I’d like to get back to talking about the racoon please.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    June 13, 2018 at 8:34 am

    @satby: Apparently the raccoon has been safely trapped! No pics yet, but a lawyer in the building reports that the critter is okay.

  39. 39.

    SRW1

    June 13, 2018 at 8:34 am

    @Mustang Bobby:

    You’re a sunny optimist!

  40. 40.

    JPL

    June 13, 2018 at 8:34 am

    @Another Scott: That’s the first thing I checked this morning. He finally found his way to the trap, and hopefully after plenty of food and drink, he’ll be released to better surroundings.

  41. 41.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    June 13, 2018 at 8:35 am

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    And when Kim backs out on whatever he says he’s going to do, they won’t care. They’ll still say this was the best deal in the history of deals

    No The Base will then claim Obama and not Trump made the deal if Kim breaks it.

  42. 42.

    JPL

    June 13, 2018 at 8:38 am

    For those not familiar with the travels of the raccoon, he is a short video
    https://twitter.com/alicialewisKARE/status/1006827600277397504

    Trump will take credit

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    June 13, 2018 at 8:38 am

    @Another Scott: Yea!

    Go MPRRaccoon! Back to less elevated habitat.

  44. 44.

    Honus

    June 13, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @Immanentize: I don’t. I have two sons and they are very dear to me. And I’d do everything I could to prevent them from traveling to North Korea.

  45. 45.

    Betty Cracker

    June 13, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Unless certifying progress is an international effort, one real danger is that Trump will simply ignore violations because it won’t fit his “mission accomplished” narrative. He doesn’t give a shit about anything but how this so-called deal reflects on him.

  46. 46.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    June 13, 2018 at 8:41 am

    @Bobby Thomson:

    Trump couldn’t even get a fig leaf because this “agreement” is more toothless than what previous presidents negotiated – which the Republicans in the Senate blocked.

    Trump got the real estate deal he wanted. Trump Doctrine is “Does Donald Trump benefit from this treaty personally?”

    Any reporter/pundit saying that “well, in his unconventional way, he pierced the bubble,” or “he got what had eluded previous presidents” is a corrupt shill.

    Or very subtle snark, basically saying “Trump got a bribe from the North Koreans”. Indeed, even BW Bush wasn’t wiling to go there.

  47. 47.

    Elizabelle

    June 13, 2018 at 8:41 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Was it Proxmire? I don’t recall either …

  48. 48.

    Immanentize

    June 13, 2018 at 8:42 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: @Betty Cracker:
    Having had the opportunity to study this up close, losing a parent or both as a young child may well be worse. And losing a child who is in their fifties or sixties is not the worst thing my mother lived through (losing her husband was much ‘worse’).

    But loss and grief are not a fucking competition. That platitude stated as a generality for all to follow makes it one.

  49. 49.

    Josie

    June 13, 2018 at 8:42 am

    @Immanentize: One can only speak from experience, but I have lost my parents, my spouse and my oldest son. My son’s death was and is by far the most difficult to endure. It is a daily pain that doesn’t seem to lessen.

  50. 50.

    SFAW

    June 13, 2018 at 8:44 am

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    Pat Paulsen

    Don’t I wish.

  51. 51.

    Ohio Mom

    June 13, 2018 at 8:45 am

    So many things can devastate a life, certainly the death of a child, spouse or other loved one is on or toward the top of the list. But this isn’t a contest, people!

  52. 52.

    satby

    June 13, 2018 at 8:45 am

    @Bobby Thomson: not that he needs me to defend him, but Immanentize has lost his spouse and other near relations just in the last year. He’s allowed his feelings.

  53. 53.

    JPL

    June 13, 2018 at 8:45 am

    @Elizabelle: From the magic of google George Aiken
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Aiken

  54. 54.

    SFAW

    June 13, 2018 at 8:46 am

    @David Evans:

    How long before Putin explains to him that US military exercises with other NATO countries are a provocation, and expensive, so he should stop them?

    Goof one!

    You’re apparently assuming he hasn’t already done that?

  55. 55.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    June 13, 2018 at 8:46 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Unless certifying progress is an international effort, one real danger is that Trump will simply ignore violations because it won’t fit his “mission accomplished” narrative. He doesn’t give a shit about anything but how this so-called deal reflects on him.

    I think that’s a certainty, NK will get what ever it wants as long as the bribes keep coming to the Trumps. Adam made a good point to me the real danger for war is when NK inevitably gets so brazen Trump is forced to react because Trump with go into temper tantrum rage mode.

    I think the key to understanding Trump is Trump loves Kelpotcrats like the Russians so much is because he is from a kelptocarcy himself with the NYC realestate. Trump fails with our allies because our allies follow the rule of law.

  56. 56.

    Elizabelle

    June 13, 2018 at 8:51 am

    @JPL: What an interesting and good guy. Republican senator from Vermont; succeeded by [Democrat] Patrick Leahy, who is still there. Plus:

    In 1950, Aiken was one of seven Republican senators who denounced in writing the tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy, warning against those who sought “victory through the selfish political exploitation of fear, bigotry, ignorance and intolerance.”[2]

  57. 57.

    germy

    June 13, 2018 at 8:51 am

    Smoke Signals from the Swamp: Michael Cohen – the early years

    If you’ve ever taken a taxicab in New York City, it’s easy to imagine your fare clicking ever upward as Michael Cohen, behind the wheel, takes the longest, most congested route down side streets you’ve never seen to drive you to the airport.

    Down here in the swamp, it’s not hard to find someone willing to bet a high-priced steak dinner that Michael Cohen will bring down the president long before Paul Manafort.

  58. 58.

    Immanentize

    June 13, 2018 at 8:54 am

    @Ohio Mom: What you said.

  59. 59.

    JPL

    June 13, 2018 at 8:54 am

    @Betty Cracker: This seems like an important story.. A Customs and Border Patrol agent had access to the NYTimes reporter Watkins who reported on security matters.
    It appears that Trump is using Homeland Security files to go after reporters.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/customs-and-border-protection-examining-agents-questioning-of-national-security-reporter/2018/06/12/05dac696-6e74-11e8-afd5-778aca903bbe_story.html?utm_term=.6f7bdeb3bc2e

  60. 60.

    Jeffro

    June 13, 2018 at 8:55 am

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    the real danger for war is when NK inevitably gets so brazen Trump is forced to react because Trump with go into temper tantrum rage mode.

    I don’t see that happening. Each side got what it wanted out of that “summit”, and now Trumpov can keep looking the other way no matter what NK does (which will likely be to keep building nukes and missiles, just not testing them).

    Look at his tweets. Nothing actually happened, yet somehow Trumpov has brought perfect safety to the world – safety that Obama, OF COURSE, was unable to deliver. He will be telling us ungrateful bastards to thank him for the rest of the week if not the month.

  61. 61.

    germy

    June 13, 2018 at 8:58 am

    @JPL: From your link:

    The agent, Jeffrey A. Rambo, contacted journalist Ali Watkins last June as the Trump administration was ramping up its investigations of unauthorized leaks to reporters, and he identified himself as a government agent.

    At this point, the scriptwriters for this grotesque miniseries we’re trapped in are just being silly.

  62. 62.

    Immanentize

    June 13, 2018 at 8:59 am

    @Josie: I am truly sorry for all of your losses. But it is a nice thing that you are here with us cranky pants people.

  63. 63.

    sherparick

    June 13, 2018 at 9:00 am

    @Zinsky: Mark Sanford was defeated in a South Carolina Republican Primary today because he made some critical comments about Trump (as far a voting on right wing bills he was a 100% wingnut). The woman who won ran as a Trumpist and proclaimed the Republican Party is the Party of Donald Trump. Its the Greatest Party, the Bestest Party. For the Republican Party any deal Donald Trump makes with any foreign leader is the Greatest Deal, the Bestest Deal. That Kim has all his Nukes, all his Nuke making facilities, his missiles,and missile making factories, and no inspections or promises to do any specific thing except talk, also makes this the Bestest Deal for Kim.

    1. The Celebrity President – DT sees a win every time he dominates a news cycle, ever time the Cable Shows ratings soar because he is on the show. I had a bit of a epiphany this morning and realize that at least until Jared and/or Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr. get indicted, the last thing he wants to do is fire Mueller. Mueller now serves as his antagonist, the symbol of the deep state. Every time he starts a twitter fight about Mueller’s investigation, he dominates a news cycle as the Cable Shows invite Freedom Caucus Congressmen on their shows to echo Trump’s vendettas and then Beltway Never-Trump Republicans to to respond. Democrats and liberals have cease to exist in the the MSM since they are not “real “Muricans.”

    2. But DT does have some underlining themes, resentments one can say. The racism and immigrant phobia is I think the biggest, and also gives him a visceral connection to the Base. Never happier then going off about MS-13 and ISIS overrunning the country if there is no Wall and demonstrating outrage of offense at Black NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem. It also goes to trying expunge and destroy every Obama policy and law, to try to erase the Black President from the history books, another passion he shares with his base, and a good part of the Republican Super Donor class, who may be rich, but are also very much into White Supremacy.

    3. Another theme is if Trump and the Trump Family doing well means the United States is doing well, so firehosing as much public money as possible into Trump facilities and encouraging foreigners to firehose money to the Trumps is definitely a feature of the Presidency.

    4. Finally, the related to point 2. Trump and the Republican Donor class, all very rich, confuse being rich with being very smart. One of the features of being very rich is that you can make a lot of mistakes, but rarely feel the pain of those mistakes, The first Trump Empire (Trump Airways, USFL Football team, Casinos, etc.) went bankrupt and crashed in the early nineties. Thousands lost their jobs, foreclosures, family disruption, etc. Trump came out as least as rich as he went in (and then Fred passed on and left most of his estate to Donald). Trump thinks he came out smelling like a rose because he was “smart.” But it was only because he was rich and dishonorable enough to make others pay for his mistakes and his running a “bust out” on his businesses at the expense of his creditors and employees. Trump has always been his own “press agent,” one could say being able to celebrate and create news about himself is his one great talent (besides being born rich). It is not a great talent for a President of the United States.

  64. 64.

    chopper

    June 13, 2018 at 9:02 am

    @Immanentize:

    uh, ok. how many kids you lost, sports fan?

  65. 65.

    JPL

    June 13, 2018 at 9:04 am

    @germy: Trump’s own group of brown shirts. I’m sure that congressional oversight committees will investigate the use of ICE/CBP as your personal police force.

    Imagine if Hillary used CFB to track down her perceived enemies.

  66. 66.

    Ohio Mom

    June 13, 2018 at 9:05 am

    On the subject of raccoons, they are tough. We had a squirrels in the attic this spring, for which we hired a company that traps them and releases them two counties away (I guess they own a forested property there).

    Anyway, one evening we came home to find a squirrel in one of the traps and called the critter control people so they would put our house on their morning circuit to pick it up.

    But early the next morning when I went down the driveway to get the paper, the trap sticking out of the eave was apparently empty (I didn’t walk over to take a closer look but assumed he’d somehow made his way back into the attic); the trap on the roof had a very irate raccoon in it.

    When the critter catchers showed up and surveyed the traps, they told me the raccoon had eaten the squirrel through the wire trap (that’s why it was empty) and that they’d thoughtfully cleaned up the remaining bloody bits.

    It must have been quite the challenge to get to the squirrel through the wire grid, it must have taken a good amount of time. That was a determined raccoon.

    We weren’t charged for the racoon but we were charged for the eaten squirrel.

  67. 67.

    MomSense

    June 13, 2018 at 9:06 am

    Everyone experiences grief differently, just like we all experience love differently. Let’s just be kind to each other, ok?

  68. 68.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:10 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    But to turn on a dime and express appreciation after Trump heaped praise on the man who had their son tortured and killed? Nope. I don’t get that at all.

    White man’s ice is colder, BC.

  69. 69.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    June 13, 2018 at 9:11 am

    Can we kill this thread?

  70. 70.

    Booger

    June 13, 2018 at 9:11 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Aiken of VT, IIRC.

  71. 71.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:11 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    some sober thoughts, Ozark.
    sober thoughts.

  72. 72.

    Immanentize

    June 13, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @chopper: really none of your business. But one.

  73. 73.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    June 13, 2018 at 9:13 am

    @Jeffro:

    I don’t see that happening. Each side got what it wanted out of that “summit”, and now Trumpov can keep looking the other way no matter what NK does (which will likely be to keep building nukes and missiles, just not testing them).

    Think six months from now when this summit is out of memory and NK launches a missile to bully SK and Japan or restarts nuke testing.

  74. 74.

    MJS

    June 13, 2018 at 9:14 am

    @chopper: Immanentize can certainly speak for himself, but how about you find some other issue on which to pick a fight? This one is really not a good one.

  75. 75.

    chopper

    June 13, 2018 at 9:14 am

    @MomSense:

    being kind is nice. i don’t think immanentize’s utterly tactless response to betty’s post was a particularly good example.

  76. 76.

    Gin & Tonic

    June 13, 2018 at 9:16 am

    @chopper: deleted.

  77. 77.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:17 am

    @JPL:

    Thanks for the story.

  78. 78.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:18 am

    Scott Walker was so afraid of the #BlueWave that he tried to change WI law to stop a special election in a district Trump won by 17 points from happening. Tonight—we won that race.

    We beat Scott once—let’s do it again. Chip in to help us win in #WI01 ⬇️https://t.co/5Yhaob73zq

    — Randy Bryce (@IronStache) June 13, 2018

  79. 79.

    JPL

    June 13, 2018 at 9:18 am

    If Trump is using agents that work with Homeland Security to target reporters, that is the news we should be reporting on.

    I stand with MomSense

  80. 80.

    chopper

    June 13, 2018 at 9:23 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    it isn’t a contest. likewise, it isn’t worth yelling “bullshit!” when someone else broaches the idea of it happening to them.

    on that note, i’m done.

  81. 81.

    danielx

    June 13, 2018 at 9:23 am

    @Zinsky:

    I could SO have done without that particular image.

  82. 82.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:24 am

    Democrats pick up long-held GOP seat, Republicans hold on to another in special elections
    Molly Beck, Milwaukee
    Published 9:34 p.m. CT June 12, 2018 |
    Updated 7:50 a.m. CT June 13, 2018

    MADISON – Wisconsin Democrats came one step closer to gaining control of the state Senate by picking up a seat held by Republicans for more than 40 years, while the GOP held on to an Assembly seat in a pair of special elections Tuesday.

    Caleb Frostman topped Rep. Andre Jacque in the 1st Senate District and Jon Plumer defeated Ann Groves Lloyd in the 42nd Assembly District.

    Frostman will be the first Democrat to represent the northeast Wisconsin district since the 1970s — a win Democrats are hailing as more evidence of a so-called blue wave ready to flip more Republican-held seats in elections later this year.

  83. 83.

    Platonailedit

    June 13, 2018 at 9:24 am

    Fully agreed with the last graf. usa, usa, usa has become a laughing stock.

  84. 84.

    Jager

    June 13, 2018 at 9:25 am

    Vacationing on the beach in North Korea just never occurred to me. I can’t wait to hear the sales pitch on the condos.

  85. 85.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:26 am

    Trump military exercise giveaway to N. Korea suits Putin’s goals

    Among the consequences of Donald Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un is that he agreed without apparent condition to end joint U.S./South Korean military exercises, a concession North Korea has sought for decades. Rachel Maddow points out that it’s not just North Korea that was eager for this outcome.

  86. 86.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:28 am

    After insulting allies, Trump has effusive praise for Kim Jong Un

    Senator Chris Murphy points out the context of Donald Trump having just insulted America’s closest allies before heaping praise and adoration on Kim Jong Un and making concessions without getting any hard commitments in return.
    Jun.12.2018

  87. 87.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:29 am

    Staffers tape together torn up Trump papers to meet records law

    Annie Karni, White House reporter for Politico, talks with Rachel Maddow about her reporting on Donald Trump’s habit of tearing up papers when he is finished with them, and the staffers who tape them back together in order to keep Trump in compliance with the Presidential Records Act.
    Jun.12.2018

  88. 88.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:30 am

    Sanford facing bleak outlook even before Trump endorsed opponent

    Rachel Maddow reports on primary results in several states, including a likely loss by South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford.
    Jun.12.2018

  89. 89.

    Jeffro

    June 13, 2018 at 9:31 am

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: I’m positive they won’t re-start any testing during the rest of Trumpov’s term, and I seriously doubt they’ll launch any missiles, either. No need. They have a friend in the WH now.

  90. 90.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:32 am

    Mueller’s office says the grand jury indictment of ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort for obstruction of justice while he was on house arrest satisfies the legal standard to end his pretrial release. pic.twitter.com/BEQRc4hbvb

    — Brad Heath (@bradheath) June 13, 2018

  91. 91.

    Steve in the ATL

    June 13, 2018 at 9:37 am

    @Baud: we keep assuming that we will never reach the crazy 27%. On the plus side, our side will never lose the hardcore Baud supporters, so we have a nice floor of 0.000027%.

    Baud/Poco 2020!

  92. 92.

    germy

    June 13, 2018 at 9:42 am

    On a lighter note.

    What 22 Trump Staffers Looked Like in High School

    Bannon’s profile is to be expected:

    Benedictine College Preparatory School, ’72, Goochland, VA

    Dance Committee, German Club, Monogram Club, Debate Team, Company Efficiency Award.

    Debate Team, German Club… that preppie had plans

  93. 93.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 13, 2018 at 9:44 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    but a lawyer in the building reports that the critter is okay.

    The raccoon already has an agent?

  94. 94.

    Ohio Mom

    June 13, 2018 at 9:47 am

    @germy: What in the world is a monogram club?

  95. 95.

    germy

    June 13, 2018 at 9:49 am

    @Ohio Mom:

    What in the world is a monogram club?

    I haven’t the slightest idea. I’m a prole.

    I bet one of the elites Bannon rails against would know.

  96. 96.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 13, 2018 at 9:49 am

    @germy:

    Rudy Giuliani, attorney
    Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, ’61, Brooklyn
    “He looked like a little man, not a student, like he was dressed to go to IBM,” said a classmate.

    a little man, already dreaming of his balcony

    Mike Pence, vice-president
    Columbus North High School, ’77, Columbus, IN
    Chairman of Fun Day Committee. “He could have been a stand-up comedian,” said classmate Jeff Brown.

    I just imagined the saddest high school in the world….

  97. 97.

    Brachiator

    June 13, 2018 at 9:50 am

    We’re going to be taken to the cleaners as a country by every other nation on earth until this narcissistic fool is turned out of office. They’ll all run circles around Trump because he’s such an easily manipulated dope.

    Holy Mother of God! Trump is beyond delusional.

    And obviously, he is going to ramp this shit up to the max in his next, soon to be scheduled, political rallies. Also, easy talking points to support candidates in the midterms.

    Countries are going to be lining up to negotiate with Trump. This is easier than taking candy from a baby.

  98. 98.

    germy

    June 13, 2018 at 9:51 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Pence also drew cartoons for his law school class newspaper.

    EDIT: God, I just realized I’m older than Pence.

  99. 99.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 13, 2018 at 9:54 am

    and speaking of Rudi…

    Rudy Giuliani’s wife told The Post on Tuesday that her estranged husband is lying when he says he hasn’t been having an affair — and insisted that the illicit relationship began before they were separated.
    Nathan shot back in a statement, “My husband’s denial of the affair with the married Mrs. Ryan is as false as his claim that we were separated when he took up with her.”

    O, Judi! If only there had been some signs that Rudi was a liar and a cheater back in those sweet, romantic days when your young love blossomed, when he was cheating on his second wife with you and cheating on you with Christine Lagetano.

  100. 100.

    Jeffro

    June 13, 2018 at 9:55 am

    Oh my…Jennifer Rubin has written an open letter to John Bolton in today’s WaPo, lauding him to the skies and asking him to stick to his principles* and defy Trumpov on NK.

    *I know, right? SAY WHAT??

    Neocons gotta neocon, I guess. Wow.

  101. 101.

    Steve in the ATL

    June 13, 2018 at 9:55 am

    @Baud: @Betty Cracker: raccoon was more successful than Alain Robert, the French Spider-Man (and possible trademark violator), who made it only halfway up the building he was climbing before Korean security forces stopped him.

    Raccoon 1
    France 0

  102. 102.

    Sab

    June 13, 2018 at 9:57 am

    @chopper: I normally don’t use the pie filter. “chopper” just got added to my tiny list. Sheesh.

  103. 103.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 9:59 am

    Racial Dot Map Shows Over Half of Wisconsin’s Black Neighborhoods Are Actually Prisons

    After doing some digging into the locations of Wisconsin’s predominantly Black neighborhoods, a teenage researcher discovered a disturbing trend among African-American communities in the Badger state.

    Lew Blank, 17, was tinkering with the Weldon Cooper Center’s Racial Dot Map when he realized that over half of the state’s Black neighborhoods were actually jails or prisons. The remaining Black communities in the state were either Section 8 housing, homeless shelters, or apartment complexes.

    According to Blank’s research, there are approximately 56 Black neighborhoods in Wisconsin — 31 of them are jails. The young researcher posted his startling findings on the Young, Gifted, and Black Coalition’s official blog. Using the Racial Dot Map, Blank identified predominantly Black communities, which were defined as “a certain area where the majority of residents are African-American.”

    For instance, the map shows that the city of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin has a predominantly white population. However, the city’s sole Black neighborhood is the Chippewa Valley Correctional Institution. Surprisingly, there are 14 other cities like this where the only Black neighborhood is a correctional facility.

    The case is similar for Fox Lake, Wisconsin, another white town, whose recorded Black population is roughly 15 percent. The city lies adjacent to a majority-Black jail though, so it can be inferred where much of its Black population comes from.

  104. 104.

    Josie

    June 13, 2018 at 9:59 am

    @Immanentize: Just got back from my morning walk and saw your comment. Thanks for your understanding. This cranky pants bunch has helped me cope with a multitude of ups and downs in my life for at least ten years, and I am truly grateful for it.

  105. 105.

    germy

    June 13, 2018 at 10:01 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: He’s quite the ladies man for someone who looks like Nosferatu.

  106. 106.

    different-church-lady

    June 13, 2018 at 10:07 am

    @Baud: I still say the dress is blue and black.

  107. 107.

    rikyrah

    June 13, 2018 at 10:12 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    O, Judi! If only there had been some signs that Rudi was a liar and a cheater back in those sweet, romantic days when your young love blossomed, when he was cheating on his second wife with you and cheating on you with Christine Lagetano.

    BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

  108. 108.

    schrodingers_cat

    June 13, 2018 at 10:15 am

    @Baud: Balloon Juice has become the Daily Dirge since Donny Dollhands took office.

  109. 109.

    Ruckus

    June 13, 2018 at 10:21 am

    @Betty Cracker:
    Politically they are followers. By that I mean they will follow anyone with a strong voice. Now before you laugh at dumpf/strong voice, which would be absolutely normal, you have to think about this from a follower perspective. The don’t think things through, they listen with their ears, nothing penetrates their brains. drumpf talks their kind of tough and tells them the message they want to hear so he must be a leader. Their son is dead, he died doing something stupid (wonder where he got that from) and drumpf has assured them that all is well that he didn’t die in vain. Because he’s president, he must be a strong thinker and know what he’s talking about so they are reassured.
    IOW they don’t want to actually know, they want to feel good, and the president has discussed their son, so all is well.

  110. 110.

    schrodingers_cat

    June 13, 2018 at 10:22 am

    Was there a thread on yesterday’s elections? I just read that Ds flipped a Wisconsin legislature seat where T had won by double digits.

  111. 111.

    MattF

    June 13, 2018 at 10:28 am

    @Jeffro: Ugh.

    I’ll argue, though, that not-Cleek’s Law holds here. I’m sure she pisses off the Trumpites, and that’s a good thing. But it is a reminder that we live in dark times.

  112. 112.

    chopper

    June 13, 2018 at 10:36 am

    @MattF:

    she’s still jen rubin. it’s great that she’s roasting trump in her columns but she’ll always come home to neoconservatism.

  113. 113.

    chopper

    June 13, 2018 at 10:39 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    i’m surprised there wasn’t, especially since mark ‘appalachian trail’ sanford got shown the door.

  114. 114.

    Ohio Mom

    June 13, 2018 at 10:52 am

    @Ruckus: The Warmbiers are from a few neighborhoods over from mine (they live in of the tonier neighborhoods in the Cincinnati area), and they’ve been featured heavily in the local press. They are old fashioned country club Republicans, and very committed ones.

    They are the flip side of the self-depreciating old joke that goes, If the Democrats were running Mickey Mouse and Goofy for President and Vice President, and the Republicans were running Jesus and Moses, I’d have to vote for Mickey and Goofy.

    They (unironically) voted for Mickey and Goofy and nothing — not even Trump betraying their tragedy — is going to budge them up one inch.

    Senator Portman, quoted in today’s paper, reminded everyone that he was with the Warmbiers when Otto’s plane arrived home “and it’s a constant reminder to me sbout the evil nature of this regime.”

    Kasich (ever positioning himself for his next run for the White House), said, “We should not forget Otto Warmbier, a victim of North Korean cruelty, and insist that human rights be a central part of any future discussions or negotiations.”

    Fred and Cindy Warmbier are mollified by statements like those. If they have any private doubts about Trump (which they might), they are still loyal to the party their new best pal Rob Portman represents. Most of all, they are chumps.

  115. 115.

    Jeffro

    June 13, 2018 at 11:14 am

    @Ohio Mom:

    Senator Portman, quoted in today’s paper, reminded everyone that he was with the Warmbiers when Otto’s plane arrived home “and it’s a constant reminder to me sbout the evil nature of this regime.”

    Kasich (ever positioning himself for his next run for the White House), said, “We should not forget Otto Warmbier, a victim of North Korean cruelty, and insist that human rights be a central part of any future discussions or negotiations.”

    Where in the heck do they think they’re going to go? 90% of the GOP supports Trumpov. it’s time to move on, #NeverTrumpers.

  116. 116.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    June 13, 2018 at 11:35 am

    @Brachiator:

    Countries are going to be lining up to negotiate with Trump. This is easier than taking candy from a baby.

    That’s what’s so amazingly stupid about Trump – he truely has no idea how cheap his bribes are to these countries.

  117. 117.

    jc

    June 13, 2018 at 11:54 am

    That Trumpy, he sure knows how to get huuuge TV coverage, which seemed to be the whole point, other than opening up the market in North Korea, such a great opportunity for real estate development … I mean diplomacy.

  118. 118.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    June 13, 2018 at 11:58 am

    @Jeffro: We will see, remember NK is an economic mess and on the edge of starvation. Saber rattling is really the only thing they have and it worked spectacularly with Trump.

  119. 119.

    J R in WV

    June 13, 2018 at 12:19 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    As somebody smarter than me put on Twitter, the click-through EULA for iTunes contains more language about nuclear weapons than Trump signed with KJU in Singapore.

    WAIT !

    iTunes is nuclear capable??????

    NOW I’M SCARED!!!!

  120. 120.

    J R in WV

    June 13, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    @JPL:

    @Another Scott: That’s the first thing I checked this morning. He finally found his way to the trap, and hopefully after plenty of food and drink, he’ll be released to better surroundings.

    Unfortunately, the lesson this raccoon is learning is that if you climb into the sky, a heaven of good cat fud awaits, followed by a plunge into the forest where nothing smells like home in suburban Sy Paul. ;-)

    I’m glad the little guy made it, was given a good meal, is headed back to raccoon country.

    I was afraid he would slip.

    Who builds a building a raccoon can climb right up the sides? Really!!

  121. 121.

    J R in WV

    June 13, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    @chopper:

    on that note, i’m done.

    Oh, boy! are you done. You are so done that thanks to cleek and M^4 I won’t even see another of your stupid ignorant posts, ever again. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

  122. 122.

    JEC

    June 13, 2018 at 1:02 pm

    It’s like Cheryl said yesterday — Trump makes the prospect of catastrophe more likely and then claims credit for people’s relief when it doesn’t immediately come to pass. Classic abuser technique.

    Everyone remembers that this is exactly how Henry Kissinger won his Nobel Peace Prize, right?

  123. 123.

    cwmoss

    June 13, 2018 at 1:07 pm

    @chopper: I don’t know you, but grief is not a contest. I lost a kid 2-1/2 years ago and it is a kind of pain that never makes sense and never goes away. There’s a reason that no culture I am aware of has a word for a parent who has lost a child, as we do with orphans, widow(er), etc. The comment you callously mock was not saying the other person is wrong. It was disagreeing (“I reject…”).

  124. 124.

    chopper

    June 13, 2018 at 1:18 pm

    @cwmoss:

    no, it isn’t a contest, as i said above. i thought calling the idea that losing a child is the worst thing a person can go through a “hallmark platitude” was pretty tactless and dismissive. it isn’t a dumb platitude, even if one doesn’t agree.

  125. 125.

    chopper

    June 13, 2018 at 1:29 pm

    well, it’s a pet peeve of mine when Men On The Internet act facile and dismissive of others’ emotions, especially when it comes to something like traumatic grief. calling out betty’s statement as a ‘hallmark platitude’ was an example of that. i clearly went too far in responding and for that i’m sorry, but that shit drives me up the wall.

  126. 126.

    J R in WV

    June 13, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    @chopper:

    “In the beginning, there was pie. Praise Jesus!”

    Pie doesn’t come from Jesus, it comes from the stove’s oven and the hands of the cook…

    Get used to it, sucker.

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