Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of Russia's Federation Council, pointed out how pleased the Russians are that the initiative for this trip came from the U.S. Congress. Read that again. GOP lawmakers ASKED to go to Russia, it's not like they've been lured.https://t.co/iZ8pKRwZeK
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) June 30, 2018
GOP lawmakers requested that their meetings with members of the Russian government proceed in a closed format (no press allowed).
Here is @SenShelby chitchatting with Molotov's grandson, Vyacheslav Nikonov.
Happy #IndependenceDay. pic.twitter.com/s8RNm3GqH1— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) July 3, 2018
Meeting with Lavrov in Moscow, from left to right: @JerryMoran, @SenJohnHoeven, @RepKayGranger, @JonHuntsman, @SenShelby, @SenJohnThune, @SteveDaines, @SenJohnKennedy, @SenRonJohnson. No Dems, no coastal states (unless you count TX, AL, LA). pic.twitter.com/Tpmz7Rh8jI
— Lucian Kim (@Lucian_Kim) July 3, 2018
This is what happens when you hold meetings in Russia in a closed session: Russia gets to report what happened. Not a good look for any of these guys, but I hope they enjoyed the trip. https://t.co/JphGSXDzTR
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) July 3, 2018
The modern GOP would rather bend the knee to Putin's Russia for help then ever share power with a black man again. https://t.co/qMTkMFU3eZ
— soonergrunt ???? (@soonergrunt) July 4, 2018
People sometimes wonder how the US conservative movement went from Cold War hawkishness to its new love of Russia.
The answer is Putin pivoted Russia to be the global center of white nationalism. https://t.co/q0wUJfVGSB
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) July 3, 2018
Maybe they’re just testing out the… hotel mattress amenities for their Dear Leader, Lord Smallgloves…
DOES NOT SOUND SKETCHY AT ALL. https://t.co/KMbdIejjl0
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) July 3, 2018
Trump wants to meet with Putin alone, with no other aides present on either side, in Helsinki this month. That means no note-takers, witnesses, or official record. https://t.co/nUepSFAUNP
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) July 3, 2018
What are Putin's goals? 1- Undermine NATO. 2- Force West to accept Crimea annexation. 3- Undermine western democracies thru election interference. 4- Ensure survival of Assad regime & Russia bases in Syria. Trump is now aiding Putin on each one.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 3, 2018
One year ago… https://t.co/ynI522pzYz
— David P Gelles (@gelles) July 3, 2018
Arclite
The Art of the Deal!
Roger Moore
No, I wouldn’t. Embarrassment requires shame, and the contemporary GOP has shown it has none.
zhena gogolia
I’ll repeat what I said this morning: S dniom nezavisimosti, bliadi!
Villago Delenda Est
Big Media Matt has hit the proverbial nail on the head with his observation.
It’s about the racism.
Mai naem mobile
Just fucking imagine if Reid and Obama had pulled shut like this. Even worse if it was Schumer and Obama because it would have been the Commie Muslin and the Commie Joo doing their Rothschild One World Government!!! Saul Soros George Alinsky!!! Marxist DemonRATs!!!
Mike in NC
NY Daily News Shreds ‘Clown King’ Trump In Blistering Independence Day Cover
The newspaper’s editorial vows that Trump “won’t conquer the bedrock values this nation was founded on.”
Steve in the ATL
I’m confused by the multiple threads each with only a handful of comments
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
That’s exactly it. Russians are just as big as racists as white Republicans are. That’s why they like Russia now.
They think diversity is weakness. This is particularly rich coming from a country whose economy is smaller than Italy’s and the only the reason they are a “world power” is because of the nuclear weapons they inherited from the SU. Let’s see where Russia is in 30-40 years. How’s that declining birthrate working out for you?
zhena gogolia
@Steve in the ATL:
Adam is parceling out the Declaration of Independence with a small chunk every hour. I think it’s kind of cool, but it’s splintering the commentariat.
Yarrow
I did not expect to see Andrea Mitchell saying this:
Thought she was way more bothsides than that.
B.B.A.
This scandal is unfolding too slowly. Can we get to the part where we all die of polonium poisoning already?
Villago Delenda Est
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: The irony is that the Russians long were considered not really white by people west of say the Vistula; “Scratch a Russian, find a Tatar” was a common phrase.
MattF
So, right off the bat, Trump gets his to-do list from Big Boss.
Always bear in mind that Putin is extremely wealthy.
Yarrow
So an email from Uncommon Goods hit my inbox that said they’re partnering with Democracy Works to help people register to vote and vote. They’re selling an “I’m a voter” necklace, keychain and paperweight. Here’s the link to the necklace.
Description:
Very cool!
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
Question: Would the Russians be willing to murder people like David Hogg or would that be too high-profile?
MattF
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Maybe Russia could sub-contract to NK.
Aleta
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
Agreed Too many tabs open as it is. And without Recent Comments, no way to tell which threads are active.
ARoomWithAMoose
The pee-pee tape (or whatever, probably getting caught in the equivalent of statutory rape or a well staged manslaughter setup: liveboy/dead girl situation) and the sudden intervention of an “understanding” friend to hush it up/fend off prosecution has paid off handsomely for the Russian Federation. The Russian Intel Services _KNOW_ how to play various personality disorders to create unwitting and even willing recruited assets…
NotMax
No witnesses to the sodomy.
Yarrow
@Aleta: The Secret Service has long visited people who say and do things that could be interpreted as threats. Unless people who are in a position to know are suggesting that such visits from the SS have somehow changed under Trump and/or that he tells the SS who to visit, then this sort of thing is nothing new. Twitter may be a new vehicle for people to use to threaten the president, but the concept of threat leads to visit from the Secret Service is not new.
O. Felix Culpa
@Aleta: I don’t understand what he’s saying. He didn’t threaten T, but he deleted threatening tweets? The Secret Service visited him because they DIDN’T think his tweets were a threat? I don’t know who this man is and I am confused.
Villago Delenda Est
@Yarrow: For example, someone sent a letter or email or something to the deserting coward and said “Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee” and this was interpreted as a threat of physical violence.
Adam L Silverman
@Mai naem mobile: When Pelosi lead a fact finding mission to Syria during Bush 43s second term, it caused significant right wing outrage.
OzarkHillbilly
It’s nice of them to let us know who among the GOP is most forthright in their treason. I say we all send them Thank you cards for this unexpected gift.
SiubhanDuinne
Does anybody know anything about this Kay Granger or why she’s a member of this delegation? She’s a 75-year-old back-bencher who’s been in Congress for 20+ years. As far as I can tell, she’s never held a leadership position. She is the only House member (and the only woman) to be part of this CoDel. Why? What does she bring to the table? I feel as though I’m missing something important.
Villago Delenda Est
@Adam L Silverman: The right wing has Pelosi Derangement Syndrome, nearly as virulent as the Clinton strain.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: What do those multiple threads all have in common?
Take your time, we’ll wait…
efgoldman
@Mike in NC:
Couldja’ link it, maybe?
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: They killed the former head of RT in DC the day before he was supposed to meet with US intelligence officials. So the answer to that is (checks card): NO!
rikyrah
TRAITORS, All?
EZSmirkzz
Happy Fourth Anne Laurie! Rained like hell and killed the Freedom Over Texas shows, but the fireworks are still going to be lit off, but if you want to hear a female guitar player as fast as Stevie Ray Vaughn and as smooth as Eric Clapton, give Jackie Venson a listen to. I think you’ll like her or I wouldn’t have bothered you today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDKKzyLwCFM This woman is the real deal. Highly recommended.
(Edited for syntax sucks.)
Cheryl Rofer
For those who missed it when I posted it yesterday. Anyway, I love this.
efgoldman
@Adam L Silverman:
Every fucking thing causes significant RW outrage. Best to ignore them.
Fuckem
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Why do you hate Freedom? Why do you hate Liberty? Why do you hate America?//
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: And it’s happening again…
The Dangerman
@Adam L Silverman:
Correction: YOU’LL wait. For me, there is a burger on the grill approaching carbonization, a brew getting unpleasantly warm, and shit to blow up (OK, that’s about 9p at the Pismo Pier; anyone in the area wanna find me? I’ll be the one in swim trunks).
Mnemosyne
To be fair, nobody wants to have other people in the room while your boss gives you your annual performance review.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Putin will make sure everything is recorded. And as was the case with the Oval Office meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak, as well as the meeting that AL referenced in the post with the GOP senatorial delegation’s meeting with Russian officials, Putin will dribble the material out that he wants out for maximum effect.
feebog
@SiubhanDuinne:
Someone has to fetch the coffee from the lobby.
MattF
At this point I’m mainly curious about the degree to which Trump will prostrate himself before Putin. If I was Estonian, I’d be worried.
Roger Moore
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
Maybe not directly, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were involved in his swatting incident.
SFAW
Well, maybe I’m a commie pinko, but I would go to Russia if I could meet Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Ivanov. The rest of his countrymen, not so much.
That being said: as we have been saying for awhile, the Rethugs are traitors to America, every fucking one of them. But now they appear to be unworried enough (about electoral changes) that they’re brazen about it.
As a wise man once* said:
Fuckem.
*Where “once” translates to “a shitload of times.”
JPL
@zhena gogolia: Pretty sure he is being facetious.
MattF
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Part of the authoritarian model is doing what you believe the Big Boss wants. In this case Putin bots will harass people like Hogg and, if they’re just a teensy bit unbalanced, go further. The advantage is that you’re doing what the boss wants and it’s deniable
Bill Arnold
@Adam L Silverman:
Does DJT realize this? I’m sure he’s been told it a lot. And why the F wouldn’t he be recording as well?
(The only answer I’m coming up with is that DJT won’t record it because he’s been “asked” by Putin to not record it. Are there any theories that don’t strongly suggest full a full owned/owner relationship? )
SFAW
@MattF:
Is that why Shitgibbon is bringing kneepads?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
A Ghost To Most
Fucking fascist traitors. Wipe ’em out.
Adam L Silverman
@Bill Arnold: If you read the article about the President wanting to invade Venezuela last year, you’ll recall that it reports that he was briefed and told to specifically not bring up the idea when he met with the heads of several other Latin American countries. The first thing he did at the meeting as to ask each of them if they thought the US should invade Venezuela.
It doesn’t matter what he’s told. What he’s been briefed. What his advisors say to him.
ETA: He won’t record it himself.
sukabi
Re last tweet…
Pretty sure he means guarded from FBI and intelligence agencies snooping.
Second civil war better include impeachment of these treasonous gasbags.
Gvg
Sometimes I think Trump also has a personality quirk of contrarianism. If serious people warn him of something he immediately believes the opposite. So much of his philosophy from way back seems to be so especially dumb, like this.
Chris T.
@ARoomWithAMoose: Personally I think it’s not a pee tape, it’s a dead girl. A dead underage girl who looks almost exactly like Ivanka.
efgoldman
@Adam L Silverman:
I’m find with that, as long as Weasel Face, personally, leads the charge up the beach. Nice to see him blubbering like a baby.
joel hanes
@The Dangerman:
Pismo
What a great place to be on the 4th!
Hope the marine layer made the morning delightfully cool and grey,
the afternoon is warm,
and that the fog holds off so you can see the fireworks.
SFAW
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Well, of course. After all, didn’t History’s Greatest Monster go to the Vineyard with Bill and Chelsea one time? Or maybe it was Nantucket. Or P-town. But it doesn’t matter which location, because if she HAD been at the Vineyard, she might have THOUGHT about shunning Doucheowitz, which is yet another demonstration of why she is unfit to be dogcatcher.
And even if she didn’t do any of that, nor had considered it, Pinche’ Sulzberger knows — he just KNOWS — that she woulda.
efgoldman
@Gvg:
Too complicated
If Obama’s name is attached to something in any way, Weasel Face has to nuke it.
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: DO NOT CONGRATULATE
Chris Johnson
Russia is not really all about cementing Republican power. I think that’s why they went. I think it’s ‘oh please don’t let our house of cards fall down just yet, what must we do’.
Villago Delenda Est
@Chris T.: That’s pretty much my take, too.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: That’s just science!
MattF
@SFAW: I was thinking of the full kowtow, which consists of three kneelings and nine knockings of the head on the ground.
Yarrow
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Related to your question:
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: I figured that’s where it was heading when I saw the initial reporting last night.
Now the questions are whether these folks stumbled into a leftover cache or something that was treated, but not used during the attack on the Skripols or whether this is Putin trying to muddy the waters to cover his tracks.
Kathleen
@Villago Delenda Est: I am shocked. Really. Good for him.
ETA Not shocked at what he said. Shocked that he said it.
efgoldman
@Yarrow:
Russian emigres? ANY connection with the motherland?
Yarrow
@efgoldman: Unclear at this point. Seems to be weird that it’s random, especially given that the UK government said the public was safe.
Kathleen
@Yarrow: Shock #2 for me. I’m sure she’ll be back to her hand wringing both sides civility script very soon.
John Revolta
Whose idea was it to do this on July 4th?
Kathleen
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I thought Jeer Heet was flogging the Clinton bad/Clinton email/blahblahblah script during campaign and after election.
Kathleen
@sukabi: Yes. Foxes, hen house, etc.
Cheryl Rofer
Here’s the BBC report on the Novichok poisoning, being updated.
And the Scotland Yard statement.
The couple are believed to be Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess. Those names do not sound Russian.
Looks to me like the most likely way this poisoning would be related to the Skripal poisoning would be that these two somehow came in contact with preparations for, or discarding after, the Skripal poisoning.
From discussion on Twitter, I seem to be in a minority, but it looks to me like something Putin would do to remind the British government that they haven’t found the perpetrator yet, Trump that he is a powerful and ruthless man, and the rest of us that he is still President of Russia and all its nukes.
Heidi Mom
@MattF: “Working toward the Fuhrer” (per the first volume of Ian Kershaw’s biography of Hitler).
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: WAY too much blow-back. I don’t think even fox news could spin another state assassinating a white american child.
H.E.Wolf
@feebog:
(I think that joke was less amusing than you intended. Moving on…. Here’s the info that SuibhanDuinne asked for.)
ETA: fixed detail on # of terms in Congress.
Per her official website, US Rep Kay Granger (TX-12), an 11-term Congresswoman, is the current Chairwoman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
She seems to be a right-wing super-hawk, which means, in my view, that she’s a dangerous person to have in the US government.
Presumably she’s in the delegation to Russia because to be ultra-right-wing in the GOP these days is to be pro-Putin. Blech.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer:
This above because of what the Brexit investigations are revealing or an attempt to muddy the waters. If Russian Embassy London or the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweets something about it that states that the British authorities obviously identified the wrong suspects when the Skripols were poisoned.
Could go either way, but it’ll be one of these two.
Mike G
And Putin hauls in more kompromat tapes of Repuke traitors with underage girls and boys, to add to his collection.
Steve in the ATL
@zhena gogolia: oh, sorry. I’m not familiar with that document. Here in red state land we are more focused on Newt’s contract with America.
The Dangerman
@joel hanes:
Very. Brrrrrr.
So far, so good.
Aye, therein lies the rub; Pismo with fog is not much fun. Weatherman says … maybe (he’s good, if noncommital … weather around here is so flaky)
ETA: Weather around here … don’t like it … drive 20 miles, it can change radically. Also, for those ever desiring a Central Coast vacation, best weather is always Avila.
ETA2: No, I don’t own property in Avila. I wish :-(
Gin & Tonic
@Cheryl Rofer:
I’ll join the minority with you.
The Dangerman
@Gin & Tonic:
Bartender!
BARTENDER!!!
Gin & Tonic
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
Despite the existence of some questionable edge cases, I think terminating someone who’s had no connection with Mother Russia, and doing it in the USofA, is still a bridge just a bit too far.
Dan Yurman
@Cheryl Rofer: While this scenario is certainly plausible, another perspective might be that the operatives who placed the nerve agent in the first place did one or more of the following; (1) disposed of the surplus not needed to poison the victims by randomly tossing it in the nearby shrubbery, (2) were sloppy in their handling of the binary nerve agent substances, and spilled some on their way in while mixing the intended lethal batch, or (3) wanted to create random terror in the region that there might be other essentially invisible, perhaps odorless, applications of the nerve agent as a message that Russia’s power in everywhere and cannot be contained. #3 conforms to Rofer’s scenario and can’t be discounted
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
It’s not just that it doesn’t matter. As a toxic narcissist, he has a compulsion to reject any action by other people that he thinks is trying to control him. If you tell a narc not to do or say X, he or she will do or say X and then dare you to say anything about it.
Boussinesque
@Steve in the ATL: You mean the contract ON America?
lollipopguild
@MattF: If I were anybody in Europe I would be worried. Gee, the Baltic States, Poland, Sweden, Finland, maybe Putin wants East Germany back too.
Yarrow
@Cheryl Rofer: @Gin & Tonic: I’ll join that minority as well.
Ruckus
Guarded as in protected from people knowing that’s what they were doing?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
and Paul Manafort and maybe even Michael Cohen and … ?